JPH1188811A - Camcorder and photographing method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make it possible to easily execute panoramic photographing of high picture quality by a camcorder. SOLUTION: When photographing is started, processing is allowed to wait for a camera to be turned to a static state based on a moving vector to be used for compression encoding. When the camera is turned to the static state, its frame is recorded and a message is displayed in a finder and informed of (S2). After recording, the accumulated values ax, ay of horizontal and vertical moving vectors are respectively initialized and horizontal and vertical moving vectors are respectively accumulated as ax and ay (S3, S4). The ax and ay are respectively compared with a prescribed value (m) and moving vectors are accumulated until either one of the ax and ay exceeds the value (m) to wait for the camera to move a certain distance (S5). When either one of the ax and ay exceeds the value (m), the processing is returned to a step S1 and steps S1 to S5 are repeated to obtain a panoramic picture.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a camera-integrated video recorder and a photographing method for photographing a plurality of still images so that a panoramic image can be synthesized.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a digital camera-integrated video tape recorder, for example, a CCD is used as an image pickup device, and a video signal obtained by shooting a moving image is recorded on a magnetic tape as digital video data. In such a camera-integrated video tape recorder, it is conceivable to record a plurality of field images while slowly moving the shooting area vertically and horizontally, and combine the recorded plurality of field images. As a result, it is possible to obtain a still image having a larger area range than an image of one field at the time of capturing a moving image.

[0003] That is, recording is performed by gradually moving the photographing area so that a field image can be obtained continuously from the photographing start point. Then, for the recorded field image, the overlapping portion of the field image that is positionally adjacent is extracted, and by performing a predetermined operation on the overlapping portion, the respective field images are seamlessly combined, Image processing is performed to obtain one still image as a whole. Such image processing is performed by software processing by a personal computer, for example.

[0004] By applying such a photographing method, a panoramic image can be obtained by a video tape recorder integrated with a camera. The photographer performs photographing while moving the camera in the horizontal direction. For example, 360 around the photographer
° continuous shooting. By connecting the obtained images for each field while applying appropriate processing to the overlapping portion, a horizontally long panoramic image can be obtained. This image processing
For example, it can be performed by software on a personal computer.

[0005]

In order to obtain a panoramic image by such a photographing method, it is actually necessary to move the camera very slowly. That is, for example, an image having 640 horizontal pixels is converted into a moving rate of 5% per field (an overlapping rate between fields is:
95%), 32 seconds in 1/60 second
It will move by pixels. At this time, if the shutter speed is 1/120 seconds, blurring of 16 pixels occurs for each field, and the resolution is significantly impaired.

[0006] By minimizing blurring, this reduction in resolution can be avoided. However, under the above-mentioned shooting conditions, for example, when trying to suppress blurring to within one pixel, the shutter speed is increased 16 times to 1/1920 seconds or less, or the movement rate is reduced to 0.3% or less of 1/16. Moving the camera slowly to take a picture.

[0007] Among these methods, when the shutter speed is increased, the sensitivity is reduced. Therefore, if the subject is not a fairly bright subject, the captured image becomes dark and cannot be used. In addition, when shooting at a movement rate of 0.3% / field, it takes 48 seconds to shoot a 360 ° panoramic image even with a standard lens having a horizontal angle of view of 40 ° pp.

[0008] The time t required for photographing can be obtained as follows. Set the horizontal angle of view of the lens to ah [deg
pp], and the number of horizontal pixels of the CCD is nh, the angle ap [deg] of one pixel is ap = ah / nh.

Here, the time ts during which the shutter is open
It is assumed that ne (= 1) pixels may be moved in [sec]. That is, it is assumed that blurring of one pixel in the horizontal direction is allowed. In this case, the angle af [deg] that may be moved during one field period tf [sec] is as follows: af = ne × ap × tf / ts. However, ts ≦ 1/60.

When an angle a [deg] of movement per second is obtained based on the obtained angle af, a = af / tf is obtained. The time t required for a change of 360 ° is t = 360 / a. Become. When rearranging the expressions so far, t = 360 × ts × nh / (ah × ne).

At this time, the ratio of the angle af of the movement in the period of one field to the angle of view ah is represented by a movement rate Km [% /
Field], Km = af / ah = ne × tf / (nh × ts). Therefore, the overlap rate K [% / field] is obtained as K = 1−Km.

FIGS. 4A and 4B list each value obtained in this way. In this list, the number of horizontal pixels nh = 640, the allowable number of blurring pixels ne =
1, the calculation is performed with the field period tf = 16.666 [msec].

According to FIGS. 4A and 4B, for example, at a horizontal angle of view of 20 ° pp, the shutter speed is 1/100 sec.
When performing 360 ° panoramic photography in c), 115
If it does not take seconds (approximately 2 minutes), the blur will exceed one pixel and the resolution will be impaired. Of course, the movement rate Km at this time is 0.26% [% / field], and the overlap rate K is 99.7%. As described above, there is a problem in that simply moving the camera continuously during the panorama shooting to perform shooting requires shooting with a lot of useless portions.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a camera-integrated video recorder and a photographing method capable of performing panoramic photographing with a small number of overlapping portions of recorded images, high resolution, and without increasing the shutter speed. To provide.

[0015]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a camera-integrated video recorder capable of shooting a still image as well as a moving image.
Detecting means for detecting the movement of the camera in the shooting direction; and recording one or more field images taken by the camera on a recording medium when the camera is determined to be stationary based on the detection result of the detecting means. Recording means, and accumulating means for accumulating the amount of movement based on the detection result of the detecting means, and when the accumulated result by the accumulating means exceeds a preset value, automatically performs recording by the recording means, This is a camera-integrated video recorder characterized by resetting the accumulation result.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a photographing method in which a single still image is obtained by photographing an overlapping area in order to solve the above-mentioned problem. A recording step of recording one or a plurality of field images photographed by the camera on a recording medium when the camera is determined to be stationary based on the detection result of the detection step; An accumulation step of accumulating the amount of movement based on the detection result of the step. If the accumulation result of the accumulation step exceeds a preset value, the recording in the recording step is automatically performed, and the accumulation result is recorded. This is a photographing method characterized by resetting.

As described above, the present invention detects the amount of movement of the camera in the shooting direction, records field image data on a recording medium when the camera is stationary, accumulates the amount of movement of the camera, When the accumulated value is equal to or more than the predetermined value, the camera is detected to stop again.
Even if the shutter is not pressed each time, a panorama image can be taken quickly and automatically simply by stopping the camera for a moment.

[0018]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an example of the configuration of a camera-integrated video recorder to which the present invention can be applied. In FIG. 1, a lens system 1 can adjust optical systems such as iris, focus, and zoom. These adjustments are respectively controlled by the lens system drive circuit 16. This control is automatically performed based on the control of the system controller 18 described later. The adjustment of the optical system is not limited to this, and can be performed manually. Based on this control, control information is output from the lens system drive circuit 16. In this example, respective values of iris, focus, and zoom are output.
This control information is supplied to the system controller 18.

An image of a subject is captured by a CCD (C
harge Coupled Device) 2. The illuminated subject image is converted into an electric signal by the CCD 2.
Although not shown, the CCD 2 has a predetermined signal processing circuit, and further converts the converted electric signal into digital image data and outputs it. The number of pixels of the CCD 2 corresponds to the image size of the moving image area. Image data is output from the CCD 2 at the timing of the field.

The output of the CCD 2 is supplied to a terminal REC of a switch circuit 13 and also to a compression encoding circuit 3. The motion detection circuit 5 is connected to the compression encoding circuit 3. The motion detection circuit 5 obtains a motion vector by comparing time-series adjacent field image data, and thereby performs motion detection of the field image data. The compression encoding circuit 3 uses this motion vector and DCT (Discrete Cosine Transform) to
The compression encoding of the supplied field image data is performed. As a compression coding method, MPEG (Moving Pict
ure Experts Group) 2 can be used.

The output of the motion detecting circuit 5 is supplied to an average value calculating circuit 22, where the average value of the motion vectors of the entire field is calculated. The average value of the motion vector is stored in the storage signal processing circuit 6 and the system controller 18 described later.
Supplied to

The switch circuit 1 is used at the time of photographing (at the time of recording).
By selecting the terminal REC at 3, the CCD
In step 2, the image being captured can be displayed on the viewfinder 14. Further, this image can be led out to the video output terminal 15 and displayed on an external video monitor or the like.

On the other hand, the image data compressed and encoded by the compression encoding circuit 3 is supplied to a recording signal processing circuit 6. The recording signal processing circuit 6 includes an error correction encoding circuit, a recording amplifier, a modulation circuit suitable for a recording method, and the like. The image data is error-correction-encoded by a product code using, for example, a Reed-Solomon code, and is converted into a signal suitable for recording via a predetermined modulation circuit and a recording amplifier.

In the recording signal processing circuit 6, together with the image data, the control information of the lens system output from the lens system driving circuit 16, that is, the iris value, focus value,
A zoom value is also provided. Further, the average value of the motion vector of one field based on the output of the above-described motion detection circuit 5 is supplied to the recording signal processing circuit 6 as the motion information. As will be described later, the accumulated value of the motion vector is also supplied from the system controller 18 to the recording signal processing circuit 6. The control information and the motion information of these lens systems are used as subcode data for the field image data. The sub-code data is subjected to error correction encoding together with image data in an error correction encoding circuit.

As the recording medium 8 for recording these data, various types of recording media having a suitable capacity and capable of recording digital signals can be applied. For example, a recording medium such as a magneto-optical disc such as an MD (Mini Disc), a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), a semiconductor memory, and a hard disk can be used. Of course, a magnetic tape can be used as the recording medium 8.

When an MD is used as the recording medium 8, the recording data composed of image data and subcode data is:
In the recording signal processing circuit 6, for example, EFM (Eight to
The modulation is performed by Fourteen Modulation and supplied to a magnetic head drive circuit (not shown). Then, in the magnetic head driving circuit, according to the recording data subjected to the modulation processing,
A magnetic head drive signal is supplied to a magnetic head (not shown). That is, an N or S magnetic field is applied to the MD by the magnetic head. At this time, a laser beam at a recording level is output by an optical head (not shown). The control of the laser beam can be performed by, for example, a system controller 18 described later.

When a magnetic tape is used as the recording medium 8, the output of the recording signal processing circuit 6 is supplied to a recording head (not shown) and recorded on the recording medium 8 made of a magnetic tape by, for example, a helical scan method. . Playback is
Similarly, the reading is performed by reading a signal recorded on the recording medium 8 by a reproducing head (not shown). The read signal is supplied to the reproduction signal processing circuit 10.

The reproduction signal processing circuit 10 includes a reproduction amplifier, a demodulation circuit corresponding to a recording system, an error correction circuit, and the like. The signal reproduced from the recording medium 8 is converted into a signal suitable for digital processing via a reproduction amplifier or the like, and supplied to an error correction circuit. The error correction code applied at the time of recording is decoded by the error correction circuit. The decoded data is supplied to the decompression circuit 12, where it is decompressed at the time of recording, and is output as reproduced image data. Expansion circuit 1
2 is supplied to the terminal PB of the switch circuit 13.

Note that, from the output of the reproduction signal processing circuit 10,
Only the above-described subcode data can be extracted.
The extracted subcode data is led out to the data output terminal 11.

At the time of reproduction, the terminal PB is selected by the switch circuit 13, and reproduced image data is derived to the video output terminal 15. At the same time, the reproduced image data is supplied to the viewfinder 14. When the terminal PB is selected by the switch circuit 13 at the time of reproduction, the reproduced image from the recording medium 8 is displayed on the viewfinder 14.
Can be displayed.

It should be noted that the system controller 18
U and a RAM, a ROM, and the like, and control the operation of the camera-integrated video recorder. Key input unit 1
9 includes a switch for various settings of the camera-integrated video recorder, and ON / OFF of panoramic shooting.
Is provided. The key input unit 19 is provided with a start / stop key for instructing start and end of shooting. When the start / stop key is pressed, shooting starts,
Shooting continues while the button is pressed. By releasing the key, the shooting is interrupted or terminated.

Setting information from these various setting keys is supplied from the key input unit 19 to the system controller 18 and stored in, for example, a RAM. Although not shown, the system controller 18 has a timer capable of setting a predetermined time.

Further, as described above, the average value of the motion vector output from the average value calculation circuit 22 is supplied to the system controller 18. This is a value indicating how much the current field has moved with respect to the previous field, and includes, for example, horizontal and vertical movement amounts x and y. The values of the motion vectors x and y are stored in the RAM in the system controller 18, and
They are accumulated and are respectively set to accumulated values ax and ay. These accumulated values ax and ay are stored in the RAM. RAM
Are set to ax = 0 and ay = 0 by a predetermined command from the system controller 18 and reset. As described above, these accumulated values ax and ay are supplied to the recording signal processing circuit 6 and are used as subcode data.

For this camera-integrated video recorder, an angular acceleration sensor 20 composed of, for example, a gyro sensor is used.
Is provided. As the angular acceleration sensor 20, a sensor mounted on a camera-integrated video recorder for a so-called camera shake prevention function can be used. The output of the angular acceleration sensor 20 is integrated by an integrating circuit 21 to obtain motion information. This motion information is supplied to the system controller 18.

By using the output of the angular acceleration sensor 20 as motion information, even when the motion detection circuit 5 does not work well, such as when photographing a flat subject or when photographing in an image or in darkness. , The relative position of the captured image can be known. The angular acceleration sensor 20 and the integrating circuit 21 can be omitted. Similarly, the relative position can be obtained using only the output from the angular acceleration sensor 20. In this case, the motion detection circuit 5 and the average value calculation circuit 22 can be omitted.

In the example shown in FIG. 1, the output from the motion detection circuit 5 and the output from the angular acceleration sensor 20 can be appropriately switched. That is, when a motion vector obtained by the motion detection circuit 5 cannot be correctly obtained in a flat portion of the subject or the like, the motion information based on the output of the angular acceleration sensor 20 is used, and
If the motion information can be obtained correctly, the output of the motion detection circuit 5 with higher accuracy is used. The present invention is not limited to this. For example, automatic switching can be performed by detecting a pattern of image data.

The field image data thus photographed and recorded is reproduced and supplied to a device for performing predetermined image processing, for example, a personal computer equipped with corresponding image processing software. In addition to the supply of the field image data, the subcode data is output from the data output terminal 11. This subcode data is also supplied to the personal computer together with the field image data. A seamless synthesizing process is performed on the supplied field image data by the image processing software, and a panoramic image can be obtained. At this time, by using the motion information and various photographing information such as zoom, iris, and focus supplied as the subcode data, it is possible to perform the synthesizing process with higher accuracy.

For example, the positional relationship between the image data of each field can be known based on the motion information included in the subcode data. As a result, an overlapping portion between the respective field image data is obtained, and by performing a predetermined operation on the overlapping portion, it is possible to automatically synthesize the respective field image data. In addition, based on various information of the optical system such as zoom, iris, and focus included in the subcode data, image correction is performed, and a still image is automatically synthesized after homogenizing each field image data. Is made possible.

For example, based on the zoom information, the conversion of the field image data into a plane or the conversion into a cylindrical surface or a spherical surface can be reliably performed. Further, the brightness correction of each field image data can be reliably performed based on the iris information. Further, field image data with different focus may be obtained even in the same photographing area.
Based on the focus information, the sharpest field image data can be selected in pixel units, whereby an image with a deep depth of focus can be obtained.

Using the camera-integrated video recorder having such a configuration, the photographer turns on the panorama photographing ON / OFF setting switch provided on the key input section 19.
By pressing the start / stop key as N,
Start panoramic shooting. Then, the lens system 1 is momentarily stopped toward a part of the subject, and then momentarily stopped toward, for example, a second portion having 50% overlap, and this operation is repeated to divide the front part of the subject into a plurality of images. Record. This recording is automatically performed in accordance with the movement of the camera based on an algorithm described later. The recorded field image data is reproduced and transferred to, for example, a personal computer equipped with the above-described predetermined image processing software, and a seamless process is performed to complete one panoramic image. .

Next, an algorithm for performing such photographing will be described. FIG. 2 shows a principle algorithm of panoramic image shooting according to the present invention. This algorithm is executed by the system controller 18 based on the average value in the field of the motion vector output from the motion detection circuit 5 and calculated by the average value calculation circuit 22. Hereinafter, the average value of these motion vectors in the field is abbreviated as “motion vector”.

When photographing is started, the field image data output from the CCD 2 is supplied to the recording signal processing circuit 6 via the compression encoding circuit 3, and the motion detection circuit 5 and the average value calculation circuit 22 The vector is detected. In the first step S1, the motion vector is set to a predetermined value (n
Wait until the camera becomes still. If the motion vector becomes equal to or smaller than the predetermined value n and the camera is determined to be stationary, predetermined signal processing is performed in the recording signal processing circuit 6, and the frame is recorded on the recording medium 8 (step S2). At this time, the recording is not limited to one frame, and a plurality of frames may be recorded.
The subcode is also recorded together with the recording of the frame.

If it is determined in step S1 that the camera is still, the photographer may be notified by some method. This notification is sent, for example, by the system controller 1
This is done by displaying a predetermined message (such as “next”) generated in 8 in the viewfinder 14. The present invention is not limited to this display. For example, a sound generating device (not shown) for generating a beep sound may be provided to the camera-integrated video recorder, and the sound may be notified by sound. Of course, the display and the sound may be used together,
You can switch between them.

When field image data is recorded in step S2, the accumulated values ax and ay of the horizontal and vertical motion vectors are initialized in step S3, and ax = 0 and ay = 0. Then, in the next step S4, the horizontal motion vector and the vertical motion vector are accumulated from the initialized values, respectively, and a
x and ay. Here, the explanation is made assuming that the accumulation of the motion vectors is started in step S4. However, in practice, the accumulation of the motion vectors is started at the same time as the photographing is started.

In step S5, the accumulated motion vectors ax and ay are compared with a predetermined value m. The predetermined value m is, for example, 20% of the frame. The accumulation of the motion vectors is continued until one of the accumulated motion vectors ax and ay exceeds m. That is,
Wait for the camera to move to some extent. If either one of the cumulative motion vectors ax and ay exceeds m, the process proceeds to step S6, and the above-described steps S1 to S5 are performed until the photographing of one panoramic image is completed.
The processing up to 5 is repeated. When the start / stop key provided on the key input unit 19 is released, the photographing ends.

According to the present invention, a still image of a portion where the camera is stationary is intermittently recorded while repeating movement and stationary of the camera. By reproducing the recorded field image data and performing predetermined image processing, a single panoramic image can be obtained.

By the way, in the algorithm shown in FIG. 2, in step S1, the predetermined value n for recognizing the stillness of the camera cannot be made sufficiently small. That is, if the predetermined value n is reduced in this algorithm, it may not be possible to proceed to step S2 due to camera shake of the photographer or the like. When the predetermined value n is large,
Sufficient high image quality cannot be obtained.

FIG. 3 shows an algorithm obtained by improving the algorithm of FIG. This basically follows the one shown in FIG. 2 described above, but adds a determination based on the elapsed time to the processing in step S1. When shooting starts, C
The field image data output from the CD 2 is supplied to the recording signal processing circuit 6 via the compression encoding circuit 3, and the motion vector is detected by the motion detection circuit 5 and the average value calculation circuit 22. In the first step S10, the process waits until the motion vector becomes equal to or smaller than a predetermined value (n), and the field image data is written into a predetermined area of a frame memory of the compression encoding circuit 3, for example. The value of the motion vector corresponding to the field image data is stored in a predetermined memory, for example, the system controller 18.
Is written to the RAM included in.

At this time, the motion vector of the field image data already written in the frame memory is compared with the motion vector of the newly written field image data. Then, as a result of the comparison, the field image data having the smaller value of the motion vector is written to a predetermined area of the frame memory. At the same time, the value of the motion vector of the field image data is written to the RAM. Therefore, the field image data written in the predetermined area of the frame memory is updated to data having a smaller motion vector.

In the next step S11, it is determined whether or not any of the horizontal and vertical motion vectors has become equal to or less than a predetermined value n within a preset time t1. If it is determined that the value has become equal to or smaller than the predetermined value n, the process proceeds to step S12, and the frame is recorded.
Note that the time tl is set in advance for a timer of the system controller 18.

On the other hand, in step S11, the time tl
If it is determined that the motion vector has not become equal to or smaller than the predetermined value n even after elapse of the processing, the process proceeds to step S13, and the above-described field image data written in the predetermined area of the frame memory as having a smaller motion vector is determined. It is read, subjected to predetermined signal processing, and recorded.

When the field image data is recorded in steps S12 and S13, the photographer is notified of this by a predetermined message or beep sound displayed in the viewfinder 14 as described above. Good. Also, here, as described above with reference to FIG. 2, not only one frame but also a plurality of frames may be recorded.

When field image data is recorded in step S12 or S13, in step 143,
Cumulative values of horizontal and vertical motion vectors ax, ay
Are initialized, and ax = 0 and ay = 0 are set.
Then, in the next step S15, the horizontal motion vector and the vertical motion vector are respectively accumulated, and a
x and ay.

In step S16, the accumulated motion vectors ax and ay are compared with a predetermined value m. One of the cumulative motion vectors ax and ay is this m
, The motion vector accumulation is continued. That is, it is waited for the camera to move to some extent. Young
If one of the cumulative motion vectors ax and ay exceeds m, the process proceeds to step S17, and the above-described steps S10 to S10 are performed until one panoramic image is captured.
The processing up to step S16 is repeated.

If the following information is included as sub-code data, it is useful for seamless processing when creating a panoramic image. The information on the lens system 1 includes (1) zoom magnification or horizontal angle of view (2) field or frame aspect ratio (3) autofocus value (4) auto iris value (5) direction of optical axis by angular acceleration sensor 20 (6) When an optical axis variable element is provided for the lens system 1, information indicating the direction of the optical axis variable element.

The motion detection data at the time of compression encoding is also useful. This includes (1) the average amount of vertical, horizontal, and horizontal movement, (2) the rotation in the image plane (rotation angle), and (3) the magnification of the image. Among these, the magnification of the image may be different between the upper part of the screen and the lower part of the screen with respect to the magnification in the horizontal direction depending on the angle relationship with the subject. Similarly, regarding the vertical magnification, the magnification may be different between the left part of the screen and the right part of the screen. The motion detection data is a small amount of data obtained from a large amount of motion detection data at the time of compression encoding, and can be recorded while being included in the compressed data.

Further, the photographing time may be included as subcode data. This is because the frame period is not constant in the photographing based on the above algorithm.

In the above description, the photographing is automatically performed in response to the movement of the camera. However, the present invention is not limited to this example. Can also be performed by the same processing. In this case, first, the camera is pointed at a part of the subject, and the start / stop key is pressed and then released. Then, a frame image determined to have the smallest movement while the key is pressed is recorded. Next, the camera is moved and stopped so that the range that can be synthesized by image processing, for example, 50%, overlaps with the shooting range immediately before shooting. Then, the key is pressed again and released. By repeating the movement of the camera and the photographing, the entire subject is photographed. According to this photographing method, since recording is not performed during movement, there is an advantage that unnecessary recording on the recording medium 8 need not be performed when performing panoramic photographing.

By applying the above-described algorithm shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, such a photographing method can be realized. For example, in the algorithm shown in FIG. 2, steps S1 and S2 are executed and recording is performed. Simultaneously with the recording, the accumulated motion vector is reset. Then, after the start / stop key is released and the shooting is stopped, when the start / stop key is pressed again to start shooting, the processing from step S1 is started again. This can be similarly applied to the algorithm shown in FIG.

[0060]

As described above, according to the present invention, the system recognizes that the camera is stationary by monitoring the motion vector used in the compression encoding. Therefore, there is an effect that a panoramic image can be quickly taken.

Similarly, since recording is performed after recognizing that the camera is stationary, there is no need to increase the shutter speed, and there is an effect that a dark subject can be easily photographed.

Further, without pressing the shutter one by one,
Since the recording is automatically performed only by stopping the camera for a moment, there is an effect that the panorama image can be photographed very easily.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a configuration of a camera-integrated video recorder to which the present invention can be applied.

FIG. 2 is a principle algorithm of panoramic image shooting according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an improved algorithm for panoramic image capture according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a calculation result of a time required for shooting, a moving rate, and an overlap rate when a panoramic image is shot so as to reduce camera shake.

[Explanation of symbols]

2 ... CCD, 3 ... Compression coding circuit, 5 ... Motion detection circuit, 6 ... Recording signal processing circuit, 11 ... Data output terminal, 14 ... Viewfinder, 16 ...・
Lens system drive circuit, 18 ... system controller,
19: key input unit, 20: angular acceleration sensor, 2
2. Average value calculation circuit

[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] November 28, 1997

[Procedure amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] Claim 1

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

[Procedure amendment 2]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] Claim 4

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

[Procedure amendment 3]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] Claim 5

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

[Procedure amendment 4]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] Claim 10

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

[Procedure amendment 5]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0015

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

[0015]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a camera-integrated video recorder capable of shooting a still image as well as a moving image.
Accumulating means for detecting the movement of the photographing direction of the camera, recording means for recording one or a plurality of field images taken by the camera to the recording medium, the amount of movement based on the detection result of the detecting means and a accumulation means, when exceeding the value accumulation result is set in advance by the accumulation means, on
The stillness of the camera is detected based on the detection result of the detection means
When the stationary state is detected, the recording by the recording means is automatically performed, and the accumulated result is reset.

[Procedure amendment 6]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0016

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a photographing method in which a single still image is obtained by photographing an overlapping area in order to solve the above-mentioned problem. comprising of a step, a recording step of recording the recording medium one or a plurality of field images taken by the camera, and the cumulative step of accumulating the amount of movement based on the detection result by the step of detecting, If the accumulation result of the accumulation step exceeds a preset value, the value is increased based on the detection result of the detection step.
This is a photographing method characterized in that the stillness of the camera is detected, and when the stillness is detected, recording is automatically performed in a recording step, and the accumulated result is reset.

[Procedure amendment 7]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0034

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

[0034] For this camera-integrated video recorder, angular velocity sensor 20 consisting of gyro sensor is provided, for example. This angular velocity sensor 20 is mounted on a camera-integrated video recorder, it can be used a sensor for the so-called hand-shake preventing function. Angular velocity sensor 2
The output of 0 is integrated by the integrating circuit 21 to obtain motion information. This motion information is supplied to the system controller 18.

[Procedure amendment 8]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0035

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

[0035] By using as the output motion information of the angular velocity sensor 20, and when photographing a flat object, such as a time of photographing in the image and the dark, when such motion detecting circuit 5 does not work well However, the relative position of the captured image can be known. Incidentally, the angular velocity sensor 20 and the integrating circuit 21 can be omitted. Similarly, it is also possible to determine the relative position by using only the output by the angular velocity sensor 20. In this case, the motion detection circuit 5 and the average value calculation circuit 22 can be omitted.

[Procedure amendment 9]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0036

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

[0036] In the example shown in FIG. 1, it is also possible to switch between the output from the output and the angular velocity sensor 20 from the motion detection circuit 5 appropriately. That is,
When the motion vector by the motion detection circuit 5 in such a flat portion of the subject can not be obtained correctly, using motion information based on the output of the angular velocity sensor 20, when the correct motion information by the motion detection circuit 5 to obtain Uses the output of the motion detection circuit 5 with higher accuracy. The present invention is not limited to this. For example, automatic switching can be performed by detecting a pattern of image data.

[Procedure amendment 10]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0055

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

If the following information is included as sub-code data, it is useful for seamless processing when creating a panoramic image. The information related to the lens system 1, according to (1) zoom magnification or horizontal angle of view (2) the aspect ratio of the field or frame (3) autofocus value (4) auto iris value (5) angular velocity sensor 20, the optical axis Information indicating direction (6) When an optical axis variable element is provided for the lens system 1, information indicating the direction of the optical axis variable element.

[Procedure amendment 11]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] Explanation of sign

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

[Description of Code] 2 ... CCD, 3 ... Compression coding circuit, 5 ... Motion detection circuit, 6 ... Recording signal processing circuit, 11 ... Data output terminal, 14 ... View Viewfinder, 16 ...
Lens system drive circuit, 18 ... system controller,
19 ... the key input unit, 20 ... angle velocity sensor, 22
... Average value calculation circuit

[Procedure amendment 12]

[Document name to be amended] Drawing

[Correction target item name] Fig. 1

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

FIG.

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A camera-integrated video recorder capable of photographing a still image together with a moving image, comprising: detecting means for detecting a movement of the camera in a photographing direction; When it is determined to be stationary, 1
Or a recording unit for recording a plurality of the field images on a recording medium, and an accumulation unit for accumulating the amount of movement based on a detection result of the detection unit, wherein the accumulation result by the accumulation unit is preset. A video recorder integrated with a camera, characterized in that when the value is exceeded, the recording by the recording means is automatically performed and the accumulated result is reset. 2. The camera-integrated video recorder according to claim 1, wherein: a motion detecting means for detecting a motion of the field image output from the photographing means; and a motion detection result by the motion detecting means. A video recorder integrated with a camera, further comprising compression encoding means for compressing and encoding a field image, wherein the detection means detects movement of the camera based on a result of motion detection by the motion detection means. 3. The camera-integrated video recorder according to claim 1, wherein: a motion detecting unit that detects a motion of the field image output from the photographing unit; and a motion detection result obtained by the motion detecting unit. Compression encoding means for compressing and encoding the field image, wherein the accumulation means accumulates the motion detection result by the motion detection means for each field to obtain the accumulation of the movement amount. Camera-integrated video recorder. 4. The camera-integrated video recorder according to claim 1, further comprising an angular acceleration sensor, wherein said detecting means detects a movement of said camera based on an angular acceleration detection result by said angular acceleration sensor. A video recorder integrated with a camera. 5. The camera-integrated video recorder according to claim 1, further comprising an angular acceleration sensor, wherein said accumulating means accumulates the angular acceleration detection result by said angular acceleration sensor for each field, and sets the amount of movement. A video recorder integrated with a camera, characterized in that it is cumulative. 6. The camera-integrated video recorder according to claim 1, wherein a comparison result of the movement amount comparing means for sequentially comparing the amount of movement for each field, and the movement amount comparing means photographed by the camera. Memory means for storing the field image in which the amount of movement is smaller, and a timer capable of setting a predetermined time. When the movement is detected by the detection means, If the camera is not determined to be still after the set predetermined time has elapsed, the recording unit may record the field image stored in the memory unit and having the smaller amount of movement. A video recorder integrated with a camera. 7. The camera-integrated video recorder according to claim 1, wherein, when the camera is determined to be stationary based on the detection result of the detection means, the photographer is notified of the fact. A video recorder integrated with a camera. 8. The camera-integrated video recorder according to claim 7, wherein the notification is performed by displaying a predetermined message in a viewfinder. 9. The camera-integrated video recorder according to claim 7, wherein the notification is performed by sound. 10. A photographing method in which a single still image is obtained by photographing an overlapped area, wherein: a detecting step of detecting a movement of a camera in a photographing direction; A step of recording one or more field images taken by the camera on a recording medium when the camera is determined to be stationary; An accumulation step of accumulating the amount of the data. If the accumulation result of the accumulation step exceeds a preset value, the recording in the recording step is automatically performed, and the accumulation result is reset. Characteristic shooting method.