KR20060124392A - Outfocusing imaging method and digital image processing device executing the same - Google Patents

Abstract

An out-focusing photographing method and a digital image processing apparatus for performing the same are provided to change an out-focusing frame. An out-focusing photographing mode is selected(S100). A position of an out-focusing frame is moved and designated to be fitted to a position of an object(S102). An AF(Auto Focus) region is moved according to the position of the out-focus frame(S104). Out-focusing photographing is performed(S106). One of plural out-focus frame types is designated.

Description

Outfocusing imaging method and digital image processing device executing the same}

1A to 1C illustrate an image capturing process using an out of focus capturing function in a conventional digital camera.

2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an exemplary digital camera to which the concept of the present invention can be applied.

3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a rear surface of a digital camera as shown in FIG. 2 as an example of a digital image processing apparatus to which the present invention may be applied.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart for describing a method of segmented multiplexing of a digital image processing apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

5 illustrates an example of a display screen for selecting a focus focusing mode.

6 and 7 show examples of the focus frame.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining a preferred embodiment of step S106 of FIG. 4.

9A to 9C are screens illustrating an out-focus photographing method of the digital image processing apparatus of the present invention.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a digital image processing apparatus capable of capturing images, such as a digital camera, and more particularly to a digital image processing apparatus having an out-of-focus photographing function.

1A to 1C illustrate an image capturing process using an out of focus capturing function in a conventional digital camera.

First, FIG. 1A illustrates a state in which a predetermined focus frame and a subject do not match. 1B illustrates a state in which the camera is adjusted to bring the subject into the out of focus frame and the AF marker is placed on the face of the subject for auto focusing. In addition, FIG. 1C adjusts the subject to the focus frame and performs focus shooting.

Conventional digital cameras have a limitation in capturing the composition because the subject is photographed according to a fixed focus frame. In addition, because the size of the focus frame can not be changed, it is not possible to take a different size of focus. In addition, since the AF area represented by the AF marker for focusing is fixed at the center, it is necessary to center the subject for AF and shoot the subject again with the focus frame after AF. For this reason, the focusing process is complicated, and it is inconvenient for the user to use this function.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in an effort to provide an out-of-focus photographing method of a digital image processing apparatus capable of changing an out-of-focus frame, and a digital image processing apparatus performing the same.

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for focusing a digital image processing apparatus, the method including: (a) selecting an focus focusing mode; (b) moving and specifying a position of the focus frame to match the position of the subject; (c) moving the autofocus area according to the position of the focus frame; And (d) performing focus shooting.

Step (a) may include designating any one of several types of out of focus frames. In the step (c), it is preferable that the autofocus area represented by the autofocus marker is changed according to the shape of the focus frame.

In the step (b), the size of the focus frame may be enlarged / reduced. In this case, it is preferable that the autofocus area is moved as the size of the focus frame is enlarged / reduced.

Step (d) may include taking a photograph and storing the photographed image as a first image; Blurring the first image to generate a second image; Generating a third image by synthesizing the second image and the image in the focus frame of the first image; And displaying the third image.

In addition, the digital image processing apparatus according to the present invention for achieving the above technical problem, means for selecting an out of focus imaging mode; Means for moving and specifying a position of the focus frame by a user's operation; Means for moving a marker indicating an autofocus area according to the position of the focus frame to position the marker within the focus frame; Means for photographing an original image in an out-of-focus photographing mode, blurring the original image, and synthesizing the image in the focus frame and the blurring image of the original image; And means for displaying the synthesized image.

Hereinafter, the configuration and operation of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Like reference numerals in the drawings denote components that perform the same function.

2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an exemplary digital camera to which the concept of the present invention can be applied.

The optical system OPS including the lens unit and the filter unit optically processes light from a subject. The lens unit in the optical system OPS includes a zoom lens, a focus lens, and a compensation lens.

A photoelectric conversion unit (OEC) of a charge coupled device (CCD) or a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) converts light from an optical system (OPS) into an electrical analog signal. Here, the DSP 7 controls the timing circuit 2 to control the operations of the photoelectric converter OEC and the analog-digital converter 1. The CDS-ADC (Correlation Double Sampler and Analog-to-Digital Converter) element 1 as an analog-to-digital converter processes the analog signal from the photoelectric converter (OEC), removes the high frequency noise, and adjusts the amplitude. (auto gain control, AGC) and then convert to a digital signal. The DSP 7 processes the digital signal from the CDS-ADC element 1 to generate a digital image signal classified into luminance and chroma signals.

The DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) 4 temporarily stores digital image signals and other temporary processing data from the DSP 7.

The EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory) 5 stores algorithms and setting data necessary for the operation of the DSP 7. The memory card of the user is attached to and detached from the memory card interface 6.

The digital image signal from the DSP (Digital Signal Processor) 7 is converted into the display signal of the LCD panel by the LCD driver 14 so that the image is displayed on the color LCD panel 17.

On the other hand, the digital image signal from the DSP 7 can be transmitted by serial communication via the USB (Universal Serial Bus) connection 18 or the RS232C interface 8 and its connection 19, and the video filter 9 And a video signal through the video output unit 20.

The audio processor 13 outputs the audio signal from the microphone MIC to the DSP 7 or the speaker SP, and outputs the audio signal from the DSP 7 to the speaker SP.

The user input unit INP may include a shutter button, a mode selection button, a function selection button, a zoom button, a direction movement button, and the like. The user input unit INP is operated by the user to generate a command for performing each function according to the user's instruction.

The microcontroller 12 controls the lens driver 10, whereby the zoom motor M _Z , the focus motor M _F , and the aperture motor M _A are zoom lenses in the optical system OPS, The focus lens and the aperture are driven respectively. The light emitting unit LAMP driven by the microcontroller 12 may include a self-timer lamp, an auto-focus lamp, a flash standby lamp, and the like. On the other hand, the microcontroller 12 drives the flash 15 by controlling the operation of the flash controller 11 in accordance with the signal from the flash-light amount sensor 16.

The function of the microcontroller 12 may be implemented in one chip with the DSP 7.

The digital camera to which the present invention can be applied does not have to include all the components of FIG. 2, and those skilled in the art can delete some of the components, add another component, or modify some components according to the specification. It will be appreciated that the functionality of the various components may be implemented in combination.

3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a rear surface of a digital camera as shown in FIG. 2 as an example of a digital image processing apparatus to which the present invention may be applied.

At the rear of the digital camera of Fig. 3, the viewfinder 100, autofocus lamp 101, flash status lamp 102, mode dial 103, wide-angle zoom button 104, telephoto zoom button 105, 5 Function button 106, speaker 107, external output terminal 108, DC power input terminal 109, playback mode button 110, LCD monitor 111, the currently set shooting information on the monitor or LCD An LCD button 112, a manual focus button 113, a pause button 114, etc. for turning off / turning on the monitor are provided.

In this case, the five-function button 106 includes a menu entry / confirmation button and a top, bottom, left and right direction buttons at the center. When the menu is displayed on the monitor, the up, down, left, and right directional buttons can function as special function buttons instead of directional movement.

The various function buttons shown in FIG. 3 may be provided to perform two or more complex functions in addition to the functions shown in the names.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart for describing a method of segmented multiplexing of a digital image processing apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

First, the focus shooting mode is selected (S100). When the focus shooting mode is selected, the position of the focus frame is moved to match the position of the subject by the user's operation (S102). The AF (autofocus) marker is moved according to the position of the focus frame and positioned within the focus frame (S104). And out of focus photographing is performed by the user's shutter button input (S106).

Hereinafter, the steps S100 to S106 will be described in more detail.

Select the focus shooting mode (S100). In the focus shooting mode, a peripheral portion of a captured still image is blurred to emphasize a subject within a specified range (out of focus frame). 5 illustrates an example of a display screen for selecting a focus focusing mode. The input means for selecting the focus shooting mode may be, for example, the five function button 106 of FIG. 3. The user may enter the out-focus shooting mode by inputting a MENU button in the center of the five function button 106, selecting a special effect by inputting a direction button, and selecting an out focusing function from the submenu.

When the focus shooting mode is selected, the position of the focus frame is moved to match the position of the subject by the user's operation (S102). The means for moving the focus frame may be, for example, the five function button 106 of FIG. The position of the frame may be determined by the user inputting a direction button to move the position of the focus frame and inputting an OK button. In the conventional focus focusing method, since the focus frame is fixed and the subject must be photographed according to the focus frame fixed at the center, various photographing compositions cannot be obtained. On the other hand, in the focus focusing method of the present invention, since the focus frame can be moved to match the position of the subject, the focus focusing can be performed in various compositions.

6 and 7 show examples of the focus frames 200a and 200b. 6 and 7, AF markers 202a and 202b are positioned within the focus frame. Accordingly, autofocus calculation is performed in the area within the AF marker. In operation S100, the focus focusing mode may be selected, and the sub-menu may specify a shape of the focus frame. In addition to FIGS. 6 and 7, various types of focus frames may be built. In addition, the AF area represented by the AF markers 202a and 202b is not fixed to the center portion, but the position may be changed according to the shape of the focus frame 200a or 200b. That is, the AF marker 202a may be positioned at the center of the frame in the rectangular frame of FIG. 6, and the AF marker 202b may be positioned at a position corresponding to the face of the person in the frame of the figure outline of FIG. 7. .

The AF (autofocus) marker is moved according to the position of the focus frame and positioned within the focus frame (S104). The position of the AF marker can be automatically calculated by the coordinates according to the position of the focus frame moved by the DSP 7 of FIG. In the conventional focusing method, the focus frame is fixed and the AF marker is fixed to the center of the focus frame, so it is inconvenient to shoot the subject by focusing on the focus frame again after focusing the subject for AF. There was this. In contrast, in the present invention, the position of the focus frame can be changed, and the position of the AF marker is automatically changed accordingly.

In addition, in the present invention, it is possible to enlarge / reduce the size of the focus frame. According to this function, it is possible to perform out-of-focus shooting with more various shooting compositions. The enlargement / reduction operation of the focus frame may be performed by the user inputting the zoom buttons 104 and 105 of FIG. 3. The AF marker is preferably moved as the size of the focus frame is enlarged / reduced. That is, if the zooming is made with respect to the center of the bottom side of the focus frame, the position of the AF marker is preferably changed by the ratio.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining a preferred embodiment of step S106 of FIG. 4. The digital camera of FIG. 2 will be described together as an example of a digital image processing apparatus that performs the out-focus imaging method of the present invention.

First, photographing is performed and the photographed image is stored as a first image (S200). The photographed image is photographed by the optical system OPS, the photoelectric conversion unit OEC, the CDS-ADC element 1, and the DSP 7 of FIG. 2 to convert the digital image signal and temporarily convert the digital image signal to the DRAM 4 as a first image. Stored.

The DSP 7 reads the first image from the DRAM 4 and stores the second image obtained by blurring it in the DRAM 4 (S202).

The blurring process may be implemented using, for example, a 3 × 3 low pass filter as in Equation 1 or a 3 × 3 Gaussian smoothing filter as in Equation 2.

The DSP 7 stores the third image obtained by combining the second image and the image in the focus frame among the first images on the recording medium 6 (S204). The DSP 7 converts and stores the third image into a predetermined compression format, for example, a joint photographic coding experts group (JPEG) format.

The third image is converted into display data by the LCD driver 14 and displayed on the color LCD panel 17 (S206).

9A to 9C are screens illustrating an out-focus photographing method of the digital image processing apparatus of the present invention.

First, referring to FIG. 9A, when the focus shooting mode is selected, the initial frame is positioned at the center of the screen. The subject is located in the right corner of the screen, so the frame and the subject do not match. Referring to FIG. 9B, the user manipulates the direction button to move the focus frame to the right to match the subject position. At this time, the AF marker moves with it. The focus frame is larger than the subject. Referring to FIG. 9C, the user operates the wide-angle zoom button 104 of FIG. 3 to reduce the size of the focus frame to fit the subject. At this time, the position of the AF marker is also changed automatically.

The above embodiments have been described with reference to a digital camera as an example of a digital image processing apparatus to which the present invention can be applied, but are not limited thereto. Those skilled in the art will understand that the present invention can be applied to a mobile phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), etc., capable of capturing an image and having a built-in defocusing function. In addition, the present invention can be applied to a portable multimedia player (PMP), which has recently been in the spotlight. PMP is a portable, next-generation multimedia player with complex functions such as music playback, broadcast reception, games, electronic dictionary, video playback, and digital camera such as MP3. As such, the concept of the present invention can be applied to a PMP capable of capturing an image and having a built-in defocusing function.

The best embodiments have been disclosed in the drawings and specification above. Although specific terms have been used herein, they are used only for the purpose of describing the present invention and are not used to limit the scope of the present invention as defined in the meaning or claims. Therefore, those skilled in the art will understand that various modifications and equivalent other embodiments are possible from this. Therefore, the true technical protection scope of the present invention will be defined by the technical spirit of the appended claims.

As described above, the present invention has the following effects.

First, it is possible to change the position of the focus frame according to the composition desired by the user. Therefore, it is possible to perform focus shooting in various compositions.

Secondly, the position of the AF marker is changed to suit the shape of the focus frame. Therefore, shooting can be performed easily without complicated AF process.

Third, it is possible to change the size of the focus frame according to the composition desired by the user. Therefore, it is possible to perform focus shooting in various compositions.

The invention is not limited to the examples described above and represented in the drawings. Those skilled in the art taught by the above-described embodiments, many modifications to the above-described embodiments are possible by substitution, erasure, merging, etc. within the scope and object of the present invention described in the following claims.

Claims (7)

(a) selecting the focus shooting mode; (b) moving and specifying a position of the focus frame to match the position of the subject; (c) moving the autofocus area according to the position of the focus frame; And and (d) performing out-of-focus photographing. The method of claim 1, wherein step (a) And a step of designating any one of a plurality of types of defocus frames. The method of claim 2, wherein step (c) And an autofocus area represented by an autofocus marker is changed according to the shape of the focus frame. The method of claim 1, wherein step (b) And an enlarged / reduced size of the defocus frame. The method of claim 4, wherein And an autofocus area is moved as the size of the focus frame is enlarged / reduced. The method of claim 1, wherein step (d) Performing photographing and storing the photographed image as a first image; Blurring the first image to generate a second image; Generating a third image by synthesizing the second image and the image in the focus frame of the first image; And And a step of displaying the third image. Means for selecting a focus shooting mode; Means for moving and specifying a position of the focus frame by a user's operation; Means for moving a marker indicating an autofocus area according to the position of the focus frame to position the marker within the focus frame; Means for photographing an original image in an out-of-focus photographing mode, blurring the original image, and synthesizing the image in the focus frame and the blurring image of the original image; And And means for displaying the synthesized image.

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