KR20150015351A - Photographing apparatus, method for controlling the same - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a photographing apparatus and a photographing method, capable of more reducing fixture pattern noise by calculating dark current compared to a related art of reducing the fixture pattern noise. The photographing apparatus according to one embodiment includes: an image sensor; a photographing control unit that photographs a plurality of images; a vibration reduction control unit that performs a control operation to shift a coordinate position of a photographing region in which a subject image is formed by the number of predetermined pixels within a photographable region of the image sensor whenever each of images is photographed; a coordinate transformation unit that performs coordinate transformation such that coordinate positions of a plurality of photographed images match a coordinate position of a particular photographed image; and an image combining unit that combines a plurality of coordinate-transformed photographed images.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to an image capturing apparatus and a control method thereof.

The present invention relates to an image pickup apparatus and a control method thereof.

An imaging device such as a digital camera or a video camera forms an image of an object on an imaging element made up of an image sensor or the like through an optical system having an image-capturing lens and an image stabilization unit to obtain captured image data of the object.

The above-described camera-shake correction unit is provided to prevent image blur due to camera shake in a digital camera or the like. For example, when a change in the posture of the digital camera is detected by a sensor such as a gyro sensor, the dedicated correction optical system or the image pickup element is relatively moved to change the image shake caused by the camera shake.

In the imaging device, a noise signal called a dark current (dark current) is generated by the temperature even in the light shielding state. As a result, there is a problem that the fixed pattern noise due to the dark current is superimposed on the sensed image data read out from the effective pixel region of the image pickup element, thereby raising the black level.

In this case, the degree of color reproduction of the subject image in the captured image data is degraded. Therefore, the picked-up image data of the image pickup element in the state of not irradiating light from the picked-up image data (in the dark (dark) state) is subtracted (dark current is subtracted) to suppress the fixed pattern noise.

A conventional dark current subtraction method involves an error in the energy of both dark current components in the quantization process when A / D conversion is performed between the captured image data obtained by capturing the subject image and the captured image data obtained by capturing in the dark state. Therefore, even if the dark current is subtracted, the fixed pattern noise can not be sufficiently removed from the captured image data, and fixed pattern noise may remain in the captured image data obtained by capturing the subject image.

For example, when dark current subtraction processing is performed according to the conventional method, the following expression (1) is obtained. In the following equation (1), the signal intensity of the sensed image is I, the deviation from the dark current is sigma d, and the deviation after dark current subtraction processing is d '.

[Equation 1]

(d ') 2 = d2 + d2

? d '= 21 / 2d

S / N '= I (21 / 2d)

That is, when the dark current subtraction process is performed as in the equation (1), the energy of the fixed pattern noise of the captured image is reduced, but the deviation is increased.

Therefore, the present invention is directed to an image pickup apparatus and an image pickup apparatus capable of effectively reducing fixed pattern noise in a picked-up image as compared with a conventional method of reducing fixed pattern noise in a picked-up image by performing dark current subtraction according to an embodiment, The method comprising the steps of:

The present invention relates to an image pickup device and an image pickup control section for picking up a plurality of picked-up images in accordance with an embodiment. Each time picking up the picked-up image, a coordinate position of an image pickup range in which an object image is formed within an image pickup- And a control unit for controlling the movement of the coordinate positions of the picked-up images so as to coincide with the coordinate positions of any one of the picked-up images; And an image synthesizing unit.

The image pickup apparatus according to an embodiment may further include a dark current operation unit for performing a dark current subtraction process on each of the captured images.

The dark current subtraction processing according to an embodiment can acquire captured image data in a dark state and subtract captured image data acquired in the dark state from data of the captured image.

The vibration damping control unit according to the embodiment can move the position of the imaging range in which the object image is formed on the imaging surface of the imaging element by moving the imaging lens and the dustproof lens disposed between the imaging element.

The vibration damping control unit according to the embodiment can move the imaging element and move the position of the imaging range in which the object image is formed on the imaging plane of the imaging element.

According to the present invention, there is provided a method of reducing fixed pattern noise in a picked-up image according to an embodiment, comprising the steps of: capturing a plurality of picked-up images every time picking up the picked- A step of shifting a coordinate position of an imaging range by a preset number of pixels; a step of performing coordinate transformation such that a coordinate position of the plurality of sensed images is coincident with a coordinate position of a sensed image; . ≪ / RTI >

The image capturing step according to an embodiment may further include a dark current subtraction process for each of the captured images.

The dark current subtraction processing step according to an embodiment may include a step of obtaining captured image data in the dark state and a step of subtracting the captured image data obtained in the dark state from the data of the captured image.

According to an embodiment, the moving step may move the position of the imaging range in which the object image is formed on the imaging surface of the imaging element by moving the imaging lens and the dustproof lens disposed between the imaging element.

According to an embodiment, the moving step may move the imaging element and move the position of the imaging range in which the object image is formed on the imaging surface of the imaging element.

In addition to this, another method for implementing the present invention, another system, and a computer-readable recording medium for recording a computer program for executing the method may be further provided.

According to the above description, the imaging apparatus and its control method according to the embodiment can process the fixed pattern noise as random noise through the synthesis of the captured images, thereby improving the S / N ratio in the synthesized captured image . Therefore, the fixed pattern noise can be further reduced.

1 is a block diagram schematically showing a configuration example of an image pickup apparatus according to the first embodiment.
2 is a diagram showing the position of a captured image moved by the vibration damping control section 112 on the image pickup surface of the image pickup device 104. Fig.
3 is a diagram showing an example of a picked-up image in the picked-up image data stored in the storage unit 116. As shown in Fig.
4 is a diagram showing a fixed pattern noise state when the image synthesizing unit 115 synthesizes the picked-up images of the first to third pick-up ranges 300 to 305. Fig.
5 is a flowchart showing an example of a method of reducing fixed pattern noise by the imaging apparatus 100 according to an embodiment.
6 is a block diagram schematically showing a configuration example of an image pickup apparatus according to the second embodiment.
7 is a flowchart showing an example of a method of reducing fixed pattern noise by the imaging apparatus 100A according to the embodiment.

Hereinafter, the method of making and using the present invention will be described in detail. The terms " part, "" module, " and the like, as used herein, refer to a unit that processes at least one function or operation, and may be implemented in hardware or software or a combination of hardware and software.

An embodiment "or" an embodiment "of the principles of the present invention as used herein is intended to mean the particular features, structures, features, etc., which are described in connection with the embodiments included in at least one embodiment of the principles of the invention . Therefore, the appearances of the phrase "in one embodiment" or "in an embodiment" appearing in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment.

≪ Embodiment 1 >

Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a schematic block diagram showing a configuration example of an image pickup apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

1, an image capturing apparatus 100 according to an embodiment includes an image capturing lens 101, a dustproof portion 102, a dustproof lens 103, an image capturing element 104, a shutter portion 105, a viewfinder 106 and an image pick-up processing section 110. The image pickup processing section 110 includes an image pickup parameter setting section 111, a vibration damping control section 112, an image pickup control section 113, a coordinate conversion section 114, an image synthesis section 115 and a storage section 116 .

In the present embodiment, the fixed pattern noise can be suppressed as random noise by using the dustproof portion for preventing camera shake of the picked-up image provided in the image pickup apparatus such as a digital camera. Further, a composite process of synthesizing a plurality of photographs (picked-up images) to generate a final picked-up image can be used. Here, in each captured image to be synthesized, the imaging positions where the subject images are formed within the image capture enabling area of the imaging element 104 are moved by the preset number of pixels and photographed. The fixed pattern noise can be suppressed as random noise by converting the coordinates of the pixels of the picked-up image each time the image pickup position is shifted and the positions of the fixed pattern noise in the picked-up images are staggered.

In the present embodiment, mode conversion of normal camera shake prevention and fixed pattern noise suppression can be controlled based on user input or by the image pickup apparatus 100. [

The imaging lens 101 images an object image with respect to the imaging plane (two-dimensional coordinate system: imaging plane) of the imaging element 104. [

The dustproof portion 102 drives the dustproof lens 103 on a two-dimensional plane parallel to the imaging surface to move the image of the subject image to a predetermined position on the imaging surface of the imaging element 104. [

The photographing parameter setting unit 111 sets a parameter to be used when taking an image of a subject such as an exposure setting and an F-number setting of the imaging lens 101 by a user's input or the like.

The image pickup element 104 is constituted by an image sensor such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) or MOS (Metal Oxide Semiconductor), and outputs an object image formed on the image pickup surface to the image pickup control section 113 as a pickup image. Since the imaging position of the subject moves by the dustproof portion of the imaging element 104, an area larger than the size of the actual imaging image is configured as the imaging area in which the imaging image is generated. The image pickup element 104 outputs the image pickup data of the entire image pickup area including the image pickup image to the image pickup control section 113. [

The shutter unit 105 transmits a shutter signal to the image sensing element 106 by the user pressing the shutter.

The viewfinder 106 displays an object image formed on the imaging surface of the imaging element 106. [

When a shutter signal is supplied from the shutter unit 105, the imaging control unit 113 reads a plurality of imaging data from the imaging device 104 in a time series. Further, the image pickup control section 113 outputs the vibration control signal to the vibration control section 113 at the timing of reading each of the plurality of image data at the time of image pickup.

The vibration damping control unit 112 supplies a drive signal to the vibration damping unit 102 to shift the position of the captured image on the image pickup plane of the image pickup device 104 by a predetermined pixel value when the vibration damping control signal is supplied from the image pickup control unit 113 Output.

2 is a diagram showing positions of sensed images moved by the dustproof control section 112 on the image sensing plane of the image sensing element 104. Fig. In Fig. 2, NO shows the position of the fixed pattern noise. An image capture area 1042 for acquiring image capture data is set in the image capture plane 1041 of the image capture device 104. [ For example, in Fig. 2, image pickup data is read six times by the image pickup control section 113 to perform one image pickup process.

The first imaging range 300 shows the position in the image capture area of the captured image in the first captured image data. Likewise, each of the second imaging range 301 to the sixth imaging range 305 has a position in the image capture area of the captured image in the second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth readout imaging data, / RTI > On the other hand, in the case where the composite processing is performed on a plurality of captured images, the image capturing control section 113 divides the exposure time in the normal image capturing mode and divides the result of division into a plurality of And picks up a picked-up image. Therefore, the total value of the exposure times of the plurality of captured images photographed for the composite processing is the same as the exposure time when one image is captured in the normal imaging mode.

The coordinate position Z1 of the reference point P1 is a position (X0 + X1, Y0 + Y1) shifted by X1 in the x-axis direction and Y1 in the y-axis direction with respect to the coordinate position Z0 (X0, Y0) of the reference point P0 . Similarly, the coordinate position Z2 of the reference point P2 is a position (X0 + X2, Y0 + Y2) shifted by X2 in the x-axis direction and Y2 in the y-axis direction with respect to the coordinate position Z0 (X0, Y0) to be. The coordinate position Z3 of the reference point P3 is a position (X0 + X3, Y0 + Y3) shifted by X3 in the x-axis direction and Y3 in the y-axis direction with respect to the coordinate position Z0 (X0, Y0) of the reference point P0 . The coordinate position Z4 of the reference point P4 is a position (X0 + X4, Y0 + Y4) shifted by X4 in the x-axis direction and Y4 in the y-axis direction with respect to the coordinate position Z0 (X0, Y0) of the reference point P0 . The coordinate position Z5 of the reference point P5 is a position (X0 + X5, Y0 + Y5) shifted by X5 in the x-axis direction and Y5 in the y-axis direction with respect to the coordinate position Z0 (X0, Y0) of the reference point P0 .

The number of shifted pixels X1 to X5 and Y1 to Y5 indicating the coordinate positions to be shifted of the picked up images to be photographed a plurality of times may be preset in the storage unit 116. [ The vibration damping control unit 112 sequentially reads out the number of pixels set in advance in the storage unit 116 every time the vibration damping control signal is supplied from the image pickup control unit 113 and outputs the picked up image on the image pickup surface of the image pickup device 104 The dustproof lens 103 can be moved through the dust-proof part 102 so that the imaging range of the image (the area where the subject image is formed) is staggered by the number of the staggered pixels.

Similarly, each of the second imaging range 301 to the sixth imaging range 305 shows the position of the captured image in the second to sixth read image data. Referring to Fig. 2, the first imaging range 300 is disposed at the center of the image capture possible area. In each of the first to third sensing ranges 300 to 305, reference points P0 to P5 for alignment, which will be described later, are set. On the other hand, the picked-up image data is sequentially stored in the storage unit 116 by the image pickup control unit 113. [

3 is a diagram showing an example of a picked-up image in the picked-up image data stored in the storage unit 116. As shown in Fig.

3 (a) shows a picked-up image of the first pick-up range 300 in the pick-up data of the pick-up area 1042. Fig. Fig. 3 (b) shows a picked-up image of the second pick-up range 301 in the picked-up image of the pick-up area 1042. Fig. Fig. 3 (c) shows the picked-up image of the third pick-up range 302 in the picked-up image of the pick-up area 1042. Fig. 3 (d) shows the picked-up image of the fourth pick-up range 303 in the picked-up image of the pick-up area 1042. Fig. Fig. 3 (e) shows the picked-up image of the fifth pick-up range 304 in the picked-up image of the pick-up area 1042. Fig. Fig. 3 (f) shows the picked-up image of the sixth pick-up range 305 in the picked-up image of the pick-up area 1042. Fig.

3 (a) to 3 (f), the position of the fixed pattern noise in each of the plurality of sensed images photographed according to an embodiment is staggered. For example, the fixed pattern noise in the picked-up image in Fig. 3 (a) is denoted by NO_0, the fixed pattern noise in the picked-up image in Fig. 3 (b) is denoted by NO_1, The fixed pattern noise is shown as NO_2, the fixed pattern noise in the captured image in Fig. 3 (d) is shown as NO_3, the fixed pattern noise in the captured image in Fig. 3 (e) is shown as NO_4, The fixed pattern noise in the picked-up image of f) is shown as NO_5.

1, the coordinate transforming unit 114 transforms the coordinates of the reference points P0 and P5 to coordinate values of the reference points P0 and P5 stored in the storage unit 116, From the coordinate values of the pixels in the first to sixth imaging ranges (300, 301, 302, 303, 304, 305). For example, the coordinate transformation unit 114 transforms the coordinate values of the respective pixels included in the first imaging range 300 so that the coordinate values of the corresponding pixels in the different imaging ranges 301 to 305 have the same coordinate value . That is, the coordinate transformation unit 114 can perform coordinate transformation so that the coordinate values of the reference points P1 to P5 of the different imaging ranges 301 to 305 coincide with the reference point P0 of the first imaging range 300 .

The image synthesizing unit 115 synthesizes the picked-up images from the first pick-up range 300 to the sixth pick-up range 305 so that the reference points P0 to P5 overlap each other. Here, the image composition unit 115 superimposes image data (for example, gradation levels) of pixels corresponding to the same coordinate positions in the first imaging range 300 to the sixth imaging range 305, respectively. The image composition unit 115 stores the image data of the superimposition result in the external storage unit 200 as image data of each pixel of the composite image.

4 is a diagram showing a fixed pattern noise state when the image synthesizing unit 115 synthesizes the picked-up images of the first to third pick-up ranges 300 to 305. Fig.

 Referring to FIG. 4, the fixed pattern noise in the combined picked-up image moves to positions where the fixed pattern noise is staggered relative to the position in the picked-up image of the first pick-up range 300 by the interleaved pixels. Thus, when a plurality of captured images are combined, the energy of the fixed pattern noise is lowered, and the S / N ratio of the captured image is improved.

That is, the S / N 'ratio of the N picked-up images of the N picked-up images when the N (six, for example) picked-up images in FIG. 3 are synthesized by polymerization is synthesized as random noise, S ratio of the captured images.

The signal intensity (for example, the gradation level of each pixel) per one sensed image in the following expression (2) is I, the signal intensity obtained by synthesizing N sensed images as I ', and the noise per one sensed image , And the intensity of the N synthesized noise is'.

&Quot; (2) "

I '= NI

(') 2 = N2

S / N '= I' / '= N1 / 2S / N

Next, referring to Fig. 5, the operation of imaging including reduction of fixed pattern noise of the imaging apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment will be described.

5 is a flowchart showing an example of a method of reducing fixed pattern noise by the imaging apparatus 100 according to an embodiment.

In the following description, the reduction of the fixed pattern noise due to the synthesis of N, for example, six captured images will be described.

Step S1:

The photographing parameter setting unit 111 sets parameters of each photographing when compositing a plurality of photographs as a parameter input by the user by the input unit when the image capturing apparatus is turned on and power is supplied. For example, the shutter opening time for obtaining necessary exposure is set to 1 / N (number of shots). In addition, the setting of the number of pixels to be shifted in the N-th group, that is, the photographing parameter setting unit 111 writes and stores the number of shifted pixels in correspondence with the storage unit 116 in turn. In this parameter, the image pickup control section 113 and the vibration damping control section 112 respectively read predetermined set values from the storage section 116 to control the image pickup.

In addition, each of the vibration damping control unit 112 and the image pickup control unit 113 resets the internal counter to 0 (zero). Here, the counter value corresponds to the number of shots.

Step S2:

The imaging control section 113 causes the viewfinder 106 to display a captured image of an object image formed on the imaging surface of the imaging element 104. [

The image pickup control section 113 determines whether or not a shutter signal is supplied from the shutter section 105 at a constant cycle. At this time, when the shutter signal is supplied, the imaging control section 113 proceeds to step S3, and if the shutter signal is not supplied, repeats step S2.

Step S3:

The image pickup control section 113 outputs a vibration control signal to the vibration control section 112 when a shutter signal is detected.

When the vibration control signal is supplied from the image pickup control section 113, the vibration damping control section 112 reads the number of misaligned pixels corresponding to the count value of the internal counter from the storage section 116.

For example, if the count value is 0, since the picked-up image to be picked up is the first pick-up range 300, it is not necessary to move the picked-up image, If the count value is 1, the number of misaligned pixels is (Y1, X1) because the captured image to be captured is the image pickup range 301. When counting progresses and the count value becomes 5, the number of misaligned pixels is (Y5, X5) since the captured image to be captured is the sixth imaging range 305. [

In order to move the imaging position of the subject image in accordance with the number of pixels staggered by the storage unit 116 in accordance with the count value, that is, to shift the imaging range within the imaging possible range 1042 The dustproof portion 102 is controlled to move the dustproof lens 103.

In addition, the vibration damping control unit 112 transmits a termination signal to the image pickup control unit 113 when the vibration damping unit 102 moves the dustproof lens 103. [

Step S4:

When the end signal is supplied, the image pickup control section 113 reads the image pickup data from the image pickup element 104, performs image pickup processing of the image pickup data to be used for the composition, and proceeds to step S5.

Step S5:

Next, the image pickup control section 113 adds identification information for identifying the image pickup data, for example, a number indicative of the shooting order, to the image pickup data read from the image pickup element 104. [

Then, the image pickup control section 113 writes and stores the image pickup data to which the identification information is added in the storage section 116, and transmits an image pickup end signal to the vibration damping control section 112, and proceeds to step S6.

Step S6:

Next, when the image pickup end signal is supplied, the vibration damping control unit 112 increments the internal counter (increases by one) and proceeds to step S7.

At this time, the image pickup control section 113 also increases the internal counter. That is, the vibration damping control unit 112 and the image pickup control unit 113 increase the coefficient corresponding to the number of images by one.

Step S7:

The image pickup control section 113 determines whether or not the number of shots is N (= 6). That is, it is judged whether the internal counter value is N-1 (= 5).

 At this time, the imaging control unit 113 proceeds to step S9 when the number of images to be captured is N, and proceeds to step S8 if the number of images to be captured is less than N. [

Step S8:

The vibration damping control unit 113 increases the coefficient corresponding to the number of images to be shot and then controls the vibration damping unit 102 to return to the reference position before moving, and the process proceeds to step S3.

Step S9:

The coordinate conversion unit 114 converts the coordinate positions of the pixels of the second imaging range 301 to the sixth imaging range 305 to the coordinate positions of the pixels corresponding to the first imaging range 300 in the subject image Conversion.

That is, the coordinate conversion unit 114 reads out the imaging data from the storage unit 116 in the imaging order, and calculates coordinate values of the respective pixels from the coordinate positions of all the pixels in the imaging range 301 to the sixth imaging range 305 (Including the reference point P0) of the pixel in the first imaging range 300 by subtracting the number of pixels deviated from the imaging position of the subject image at the time of imaging. For example, in the case of the imaging range 301, the number of pixels to be subtracted is X1 in the X-axis direction and Y1 in the Y-axis direction. Thus, the coordinate position Z1 (X0 + X1, Y0 + Y1) of the reference point P1 in the imaging range 301 becomes the coordinate position Z1 (X0, Y0) and the coordinate position Z0 (X0, Y0) . The coordinate position of each pixel in the imaging range 301 is also shifted from the coordinate position of each pixel in the first imaging range 300 corresponding to the reference point P0 because the coordinates are converted relative to the reference point P1 The same coordinate value is obtained.

Step S10:

The image combining section 115 combines the images of the first to third imaging range 300 to the sixth imaging range 305 respectively.

That is to say, the image synthesis section 115 generates the first imaging range (first imaging range) in each of the second imaging range 301 to the sixth imaging range 305 after coordinate conversion with respect to the image data of each pixel in the first imaging range 300 Image data of the pixel at the same coordinate position as that of the pixel at the coordinate position.

Step S11:

The image synthesizing unit 115 stores the picked-up image obtained by synthesizing the images of the first to third pick-up range 300 to the external storage unit 200 as a composite picked-up image.

Then, the image composition unit 115 proceeds to step S2 again.

According to the present embodiment described above, the fixed pattern noise can be processed with random noise, so that compared with the conventional method, the fixed pattern noise can be sufficiently reduced and the S / N ratio of the captured image can be improved.

≪ Embodiment 2 >

Hereinafter, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 6 is a block diagram schematically showing a configuration example of an image pickup apparatus according to the second embodiment.

 6, the same components as those of the image capturing apparatus 100 of Fig. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and a description thereof will be omitted.

The image pickup apparatus 100A according to the embodiment includes an image pickup lens 101, a dustproof portion 102, a dustproof lens 103, an image pickup element 104, a shutter 105, a viewfinder 106, 110). The image pickup processing section 110A includes an image pickup parameter setting section 111, a dustproof section 112, an image pickup control section 113, a coordinate conversion section 114, an image synthesis section 115, a storage section 116, And may include a subtractor 17. On the other hand, the second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that a dark current subtraction section 17 is added, and only different points will be mainly described below.

The dark current subtraction section 17 subtracts the dark current subtraction section 17 from the image data of each pixel of the image pickup data obtained by imaging the object image on the image pickup surface of the image pickup element 104, And performs dark current subtraction processing for subtracting image data of each pixel.

Thus, the dark current subtraction section 17 can reduce the energy of the fixed pattern noise NO_0 to the fixed pattern noise NO_5 in the first imaging range 300 to the sixth imaging range 305, respectively.

As described above with respect to the first embodiment, the image synthesizing unit 115 synthesizes the images of the first to third imaging ranges 300 to 610 with the reduced fixed pattern noise, A reduced composite picked-up image can be generated.

Next, Fig. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of a method of reducing fixed pattern noise by the imaging apparatus 100A according to the embodiment.

7, step S4A for performing the operation of the dark current subtraction section 117 described above is added between steps S4 and S5 in comparison with the flowchart of FIG.

In step S4A, the following process is performed.

The imaging control section 113 reads the dark state imaging data from the imaging element 104 when the imaging surface of the imaging element 104 is dark after performing imaging.

Next, the dark current subtraction section 117 subtracts the image data of each pixel included in the dark state image pickup data from the image data of each pixel included in the image pickup data obtained by picking up the object image, and performs dark current subtraction processing . Next, the dark current subtraction section 117 outputs the imaging data obtained by subtracting the dark current to the imaging control section 113. [

When the imaging data obtained by subtracting the dark current in step S5 is supplied, the imaging control section 113 adds the identification information to the imaging data as described above, stores it in the storage section 116, and outputs the imaging end signal to the anti- (112), and the process proceeds to step S6. The description of the operations in steps S6 to S11 is omitted since it has been described above with reference to FIG.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, fixed pattern noise is treated as random noise after dark current subtraction to reduce fixed pattern noise, so that the energy of the fixed pattern noise can be further reduced as compared with the first embodiment.

In the first and second embodiments described above, the dustproof portion 102 is moved by the dustproof lens 103. However, the structure used for moving the image pickup range 300 to 305 described above is not necessarily the dustproof lens 103, (103). For example, the dustproof portion 102 can move the imaging element 104 in the X-axis and Y-axis directions on the XY plane parallel to the imaging surface of the imaging element 104. [

That is, by moving the imaging device 104 in a plane by the staggered pixels, the imaging device 100 is configured to move the imaging range (the area to be the captured image) of the captured image in which the subject image is formed within the range of the imaging area can do. Also in this case, the processing operations such as the coordinate conversion of the imaging range and the synthesis of the picked-up image are the same as the processing operations described in the first and second embodiments.

It is also possible to record a program for realizing the fixed pattern noise removing function of the image pickup apparatus 100 in Fig. 1 and the image pickup apparatus 100A in Fig. 6 on a computer-readable recording medium according to an embodiment, By reading a program recorded on the recording medium into a computer system, the fixed pattern noise can be controlled as random noise to reduce the energy of the fixed pattern noise. The term " computer system " as used herein means hardware including OS and peripheral devices.

If the " computer system " is using a WWW (world wide web) service, it also includes a home page providing environment (or display environment).

The "computer-readable recording medium" refers to a storage medium such as a flexible disk, an optical magnetic disk, a portable medium such as a ROM or a CD-ROM, or a hard disk built in a computer system. The term " computer-readable recording medium " refers to a medium in which a program is dynamically maintained in a short period of time, such as a communication line when transmitting a program via a communication line such as a network such as the Internet or a telephone line, And storing a program for a predetermined time such as a volatile memory in a computer system serving as a client. The program may be for realizing a part of the functions described above, or may be realized by a combination of the functions described above and a program already recorded in the computer system.

While the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail with reference to the drawings, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, but includes designs and the like that do not depart from the gist of the present invention.

100, 100A imaging device
101 imaging lens
102 anti-vibration part
103 Dustproof lens
104 image pickup element
105 shutter mechanism
106 Viewfinder
110, and 110A,
111 Shooting parameter setting section
112 anti-
113 imaging control unit
114 coordinate transformation unit
115 image synthesis section
116 storage unit
117 Dark Current subtraction unit
200 external storage unit

Claims (11)

An imaging device;
An image pickup control section for picking up a plurality of picked-up images;
A vibration damping control unit that controls the movement of the coordinate position of the imaging range in which the subject image is formed within the image capture area of the imaging device every predetermined number of pixels every time the imaging unit captures the captured image;
A coordinate conversion unit for performing coordinate conversion such that the coordinate positions of the captured plurality of captured images coincide with the coordinate positions of any one of the captured images; And
And an image synthesizing unit for synthesizing the plurality of coordinate-converted sensed images. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1,
And a dark current operation unit for performing a dark current subtraction process on each of the captured images. 3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the dark current subtraction process comprises:
Capturing image data in a dark state,
And subtracts the captured image data obtained in the dark state from the data of the captured image. The apparatus according to claim 1,
Moving the image pickup lens and the dustproof lens disposed between the image pickup elements to move the position of the image pickup range in which the object image is formed on the image pickup surface of the image pickup element. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the vibration-
And moves the imaging element to move the position of the imaging range in which the subject image is formed on the imaging surface of the imaging element. A method for reducing fixed pattern noise in a captured image,
Capturing a plurality of captured images;
Shifting a coordinate position of an imaging range in which an object image is formed within an image capture enabling area of the imaging element by a preset number of pixels every time the imaging image is captured;
Transforming the coordinate positions of the picked-up plurality of captured images so as to coincide with the coordinate positions of any one of the picked-up images; And
And combining the plurality of coordinate-converted captured images. 7. The method according to claim 6,
And performing dark current subtraction processing for each of the captured images. 8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the dark current subtraction processing step comprises:
Obtaining captured image data in a dark state; And
And subtracting the captured image data acquired in the dark state from the data of the captured image. 7. The method of claim 6,
And shifting the position of the imaging range in which the object image is formed on the imaging surface of the imaging element by moving the imaging lens and the dustproof lens disposed between the imaging element. 7. The method of claim 6,
And shifting the position of the imaging range in which the object image is formed on the imaging surface of the imaging element by moving the imaging element. A computer-readable recording medium on which a program for implementing the method of claim 1 is recorded.

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