JP2003107335A - Imaging device, automatic focusing method, and program for causing computer to execute the method - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Problem] Regardless of the position / range of a person on the screen, the face of the person on the screen is focused, and the composition of the person between automatic focusing and shooting is not changed. Provided is an imaging device capable of performing photographing. SOLUTION: A CPU 115a detects a person's face from input image data, and performs automatic focusing control using at least a part of the detected person's face as a distance measurement area.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image pickup apparatus, an automatic focusing method, and a program for causing a computer to execute the method, and more specifically, to an image pickup apparatus having an automatic focusing function and a face recognition processing function. , An automatic focusing method, and a program for a computer to execute the method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Skilled camera work technology is required to manually focus an image of a subject whose distance from a camera changes every moment and to always capture an in-focus image.
Therefore, an automatic focusing function has been developed so that even an amateur can always capture an image in focus. In a conventional image pickup apparatus having an automatic focusing function, it is general to perform automatic focusing by using one or a plurality of areas at the center of the screen as a distance measuring area.

[0003]

However, in the above-described distance measuring method, when a person is photographed, the composition is such that the person and the distance measuring area overlap each other and automatic focusing is performed, and after the focusing, the desired composition is changed. Therefore, there is a problem that it takes time and effort to focus on a person and perform shooting.

The present invention has been made in view of the above, and focuses on the face of a person on the screen regardless of the position / range of the person on the screen, and performs automatic focusing and photographing. An object of the present invention is to provide an imaging device capable of photographing a person without changing the composition, an automatic focusing method, and a program for a computer to execute the method.

[0005]

In order to solve the above problems, the invention according to claim 1 provides an image pickup device for inputting image data according to a subject in an image pickup device having an automatic focusing function. A face detection means for detecting a person's face from the image data input by the image pickup means; and an automatic focusing control using at least a part of the person's face detected by the face detection means as a ranging area. And an automatic focusing control means for performing.

According to the above invention, the image pickup means inputs the image data corresponding to the subject, and the face detection means detects the face of the person from the image data inputted by the image pickup means, and the automatic focusing control means is provided. The automatic focusing control is performed by setting at least a part of the face of the person detected by the face detection means as the focusing area, and the focusing area is set at the position where the person is determined to exist. Execution is performed, regardless of the position of the person on the screen, the face of the person is focused, and the person is photographed without changing the composition between the automatic focusing operation and the photographing.

The invention according to claim 2 is based on claim 1.
In the invention according to the first aspect of the invention, there is provided a notifying unit for notifying the user that the face of the person is detected by the face detecting unit.

According to the above invention, the notifying means notifies the user that the face of the person has been detected by the face detecting means.
As a result, the user is notified of the determination result of the face detection, and the user is allowed to confirm whether or not the face detection is erroneously operated, thereby preventing a photographing error.

The invention according to claim 3 provides the invention according to claim 1.
Alternatively, in the invention according to claim 2, when a plurality of faces are detected by the face detection unit, the automatic focusing control unit automatically sets at least a part of the face near the center as the distance measurement area. Focus control is performed.

According to the above invention, the automatic focusing control means comprises:
When a plurality of faces are detected by the face detecting means,
Automatic focusing control is performed with at least a part of the face close to the center as the distance measuring area. If there are multiple people on the screen, the subject with a face in the center is likely to be the main subject, and in the group photo, if the face in the center is focused, the front, back, left, and right faces will be Entering the depth of field, the front, back, left, and right faces are more likely to be in focus.

The invention according to claim 4 is the same as claim 1.
Further, in the invention according to claim 2, further, when a plurality of faces are detected by the face detecting means, a user has a distance measuring area selecting means for selecting the distance measuring area from the plurality of faces. And the automatic focusing control means,
The automatic focusing control is performed based on the distance measuring area selected by the distance measuring area selecting means.

According to the above invention, when a plurality of faces are detected by the face detecting means, the user selects a distance measuring area from the plurality of faces, and the automatic focusing control means is operated by the user. Automatic focusing control is performed based on the selected distance measuring area. Which person on the screen is the main subject depends on the situation of the photographer. Therefore, the user selects which person to focus on, thereby reflecting the user's shooting intention.

The invention according to claim 5 provides the invention according to claim 1.
The invention according to any one of claims 4 to 4, further comprising face detection operation setting means for allowing a user to set permission / prohibition of the face detection operation of the face detection means, wherein the automatic focusing control means is When permission of the face detection operation of the face detection unit is set by the face detection operation setting unit, the face detection unit is caused to execute the face detection operation, and at least a part of the detected face of the person is measured. While performing automatic focusing control as the distance area, when the face detection operation setting unit prohibits the face detection operation of the face detection unit, the face detection unit is caused to execute the face detection operation. Instead, automatic focus control is performed.

According to the above invention, the user sets permission / prohibition of the face detection operation of the face detection means, and the automatic focusing control means is set by the user to permit the face detection operation of the face detection means. In this case, the face detection means is caused to execute the face detection operation, and automatic focusing control is performed with at least a part of the detected face of the person as the distance measurement area, while the user performs the face detection operation of the face detection means. When the prohibition is set, the user performs the automatic focus control without causing the face detection means to execute the face detection operation, and the user sets the permission / prohibition of the face detection operation when performing the automatic focusing. It can be so. For example, when shooting a landscape, there are many cases where there are no people in the screen. Face detection is useless in such photographing.
Therefore, by allowing the user to set permission / prohibition of the face detection operation, more rapid shooting can be performed.

The invention according to claim 6 is the same as claim 1.
The invention according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the face detection operation of the face detection means is executed to perform automatic focusing.
The shooting mode or the mode setting means for setting the second shooting mode for performing the automatic focusing without performing the face detection operation of the face detecting means, and the automatic focusing control means,
When the first photographing mode is set by the mode setting unit, the face detection unit is caused to execute a face detection operation, and at least a part of the detected face of the person is used as a distance measurement area for automatic focusing. On the other hand, when the second photographing mode is set by the mode setting unit while performing the control, the automatic focus control is performed without causing the face detection unit to perform the face detection operation.

According to the above invention, the mode setting means executes the face detection operation of the face detection means to perform the automatic focusing, or the first photographing mode in which the face detection operation of the face detection means is performed or the face detection operation of the face detection means is not performed. The automatic focusing control means causes the face detection means to execute the face detection operation when the first photography mode is set by the mode setting means Automatic focusing control is performed using at least a part of a person's face as a distance measurement area, and when the second shooting mode is set by the mode setting unit, the face detection unit is caused to execute the face detection operation. Instead, automatic focus control is performed. This makes it easy to distinguish between portrait shooting and landscape shooting by separating the shooting mode in which face recognition is performed (first shooting mode) and the shooting mode in which automatic face recognition is not performed (second shooting mode). To do.

The invention according to claim 7 is the same as claim 1.
~ In the invention according to any one of claims 6 to 6, when the face detection means detects a face of a person,
The eyes are detected, and when the eyes are detected by the face detecting means, the automatic focusing control means performs the automatic focusing control with at least a part of the eyes as the distance measuring area.

According to the above invention, when the face detecting means detects the face of a person, the face detecting means further detects the eyes,
When the eyes are detected by the face detection means, the automatic focus control means performs automatic focus control with at least a part of the eyes as a distance measurement area. When photographing a person, it is basically focused on the eyes. Therefore, if face recognition is performed, the eye position is determined, and the focusing operation is performed at that position, it is possible to easily capture an image in focus.

The invention according to claim 8 relates to claim 1.
~ In the invention according to any one of claims 6 to 6, when the face detection means detects a face of a person,
The eyes, nose and mouth are detected, and the face detection means
When the nose and the mouth are detected, the user is provided with a second distance measuring area selecting unit for selecting the distance measuring area from the eyes, the nose, and the mouth, and the automatic focusing control unit is the The automatic focusing control is performed based on the distance measuring area selected by the second distance measuring area selecting means.

According to the above invention, when the face detecting means detects the face of a person, the face detecting means further detects the eyes, nose and mouth, and the face detecting means detects the eyes, nose and mouth. In this case, the user selects the distance measuring area from the eyes, nose, or mouth,
The automatic focusing control means performs automatic focusing control based on the distance measuring area selected by the user. For example, in a lipstick commercial, even when photographing a person, the photograph is focused on the mouth instead of the eyes. Therefore, the user selects any one of eyes, nose, or mouth as the distance measuring area, performs a focusing operation in the selected distance measuring area, and reflects the user's photographing intention.

The invention according to claim 9 is the same as claim 1.
Alternatively, in the invention according to claim 2, the automatic focusing control means sets the size of the distance measuring area based on the size of the face of the person detected by the face detecting means to perform automatic focusing control. Is to do.

According to the above invention, the automatic focusing control means is
Based on the size of the face of the person detected by the face detecting means, the size of the distance measuring area is set to perform automatic focusing control. This improves the accuracy of focusing on the person's face. For example, when the size of the distance measuring area is larger than the size of the face, another subject around the face may be in focus. On the other hand, when the size of the distance measurement area is smaller than the area of the face, the accuracy of the AF evaluation value may decrease, and the accuracy of focusing on the face may decrease.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the first or second aspect of the invention, there is further provided distance measuring area size selecting means for a user to select the size of the distance measuring area. The automatic focusing control means sets the distance measuring area having the size selected by the distance measuring area size selecting means to perform automatic focusing control.

According to the above invention, the user selects the size of the distance measuring area, and the automatic focusing control means sets the distance measuring area of the size selected by the user to perform automatic focusing control. To do. When it is desired to focus on a specific part of the face, such as the eyes, it is necessary to set a distance measuring area of an appropriate size.

The invention according to claim 11 is the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein
Each time the automatic focusing control means performs automatic focusing control with at least a part of the face of the person detected by the face detection means as the distance measuring area, the distance measuring result is stored in the memory, The next focus position is predicted from the past distance measurement results stored in the memory.

According to the above invention, the automatic focusing control means includes:
Each time automatic focusing control is performed with at least a part of the face of the person detected by the face detection means as a distance measurement area, the distance measurement result is stored in the memory, and the past distance measurement stored in the memory is performed. The next focus position is predicted from the result. This allows
The next focus position is predicted from the past focus position, the focus is swiftly focused, and quick shooting is possible.

According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, an image input step of inputting image data corresponding to a subject, a face detection step of detecting a human face from the image data input in the image input step, And an automatic focusing control step of performing automatic focusing control with at least a part of the face of the person detected in the face detecting step as a distance measuring area.

According to the above invention, the image data corresponding to the subject is input, the face of the person is detected from the image data input by the image pickup means, and at least a part of the detected face of the person is measured in the distance measuring area. As a result, by performing automatic focusing control, the focus detection operation is performed by setting the ranging area at the position where it is determined that there is a person, and the face of the person is focused regardless of the position of the person on the screen. , A person is photographed without changing the composition between the automatic focusing operation and the photographing.

The invention according to claim 13 is the invention according to claim 12, further comprising a notification step for notifying the user that the face of the person is detected by the face detection step.

According to the above invention, the user is notified that the face of a person has been detected. As a result, the user is notified of the determination result of the face detection, and the user is allowed to confirm whether or not the face detection is erroneously operated, thereby preventing a photographing error.

According to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to the twelfth aspect or the thirteenth aspect, the automatic focusing control means controls the center when a plurality of faces are detected by the face detecting means. The automatic focusing control is performed with at least a part of the face close to the part as the distance measuring area.

According to the above-mentioned invention, when a plurality of faces are detected, the automatic focusing control is performed by using at least a part of the faces near the center as the distance measuring area. If there are multiple people on the screen, the subject with a face in the center is likely to be the main subject, and in the group photo, if the face in the center is focused, the front, back, left, and right faces will be Entering the depth of field, the front, back, left, and right faces are more likely to be in focus.

The invention according to claim 15 is the same as the invention according to claim 12 or 13,
When a plurality of faces are detected by the face detecting step, the user includes a distance measuring area selecting step for selecting the distance measuring area from the plurality of faces, and in the automatic focusing control step, The automatic focusing control is performed based on the distance measuring area selected in the distance measuring area selecting step.

According to the above invention, when a plurality of faces are detected, the user selects a distance measuring area from the plurality of faces, and automatic focusing is performed based on the distance measuring area selected by the user. Take control. Which person on the screen is the main subject depends on the situation of the photographer. Therefore, the user selects which person to focus on, thereby reflecting the user's shooting intention.

According to a sixteenth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the twelfth to fifteenth aspects, the user further sets permission / prohibition of the face detecting operation in the face detecting step. Face detection operation setting process for
In the automatic focusing control step, if the permission of the face detection operation of the face detection step is set by the face detection operation setting step, the face detection operation is executed by the face detection step, and the face detection operation is detected. The automatic focus control is performed with at least a part of the face of the person as the distance measurement area, while the face detection operation of the face detection step is prohibited in the face detection operation setting step, the face detection operation is performed. The automatic focus control is performed without causing the process to execute the face detection operation.

According to the above invention, when the user sets the permission / prohibition of the face detection operation and the user sets the permission of the face detection operation, the person detected by executing the face detection operation. While performing automatic focusing control with at least a part of the face as a distance measurement area, if the user has prohibited the face detecting operation, the automatic focusing control is performed without executing the face detecting operation. This allows the user to set permission / prohibition of the face detection operation when performing automatic focusing. For example, when shooting a landscape, there are many cases where there are no people in the screen. Face detection is useless in such photographing. Therefore, by allowing the user to set permission / prohibition of the face detection operation, more rapid shooting can be performed.

The invention according to claim 17 is the invention according to any one of claims 12 to 15, further comprising the step of performing a face detecting operation in the face detecting step to perform automatic focusing. 1 mode or a mode setting step for setting a second shooting mode in which automatic focusing is performed without performing the face detection operation of the face detection step, and in the automatic focusing control step, the mode setting step When the first shooting mode is set by, the face detection step is executed to perform a face detection operation, and automatic focusing control is performed while at least a part of the detected face of the person is used as a distance measurement area. ,
When the second shooting mode is set in the mode setting step, the automatic focus control is performed without causing the face detection step to execute the face detection operation.

According to the above-mentioned invention, the first photographing mode in which the face detection operation is performed for automatic focusing or the second photographing mode in which automatic focusing is performed without performing the face detection operation of the face detecting means is set. However, when the first shooting mode is set, the automatic focusing control is performed while the face detection operation is performed and at least a part of the face of the person detected is used as the distance measurement area. When the shooting mode is set, automatic focusing control is performed without executing the face detection operation. This makes it easy to distinguish between portrait shooting and landscape shooting by separating the shooting mode in which face recognition is performed (first shooting mode) and the shooting mode in which automatic face recognition is not performed (second shooting mode). To do.

Further, in the invention according to claim 18, in the invention according to any one of claims 12 to 17, when a face of a person is detected in the face detecting step, the face of the person is further detected. In the automatic focusing control step, when the eyes are detected in the face detecting step, the automatic focusing control is performed with at least a part of the eyes as the distance measuring area.

According to the above invention, when the face of a person is detected, the eyes are further detected, and when the eyes are detected, at least a part of the eyes is used as the distance measuring area for automatic focusing. Take control. When photographing a person, it is basically focused on the eyes. So, face recognition,
By determining the position of the eye and performing the focusing operation at that position, it becomes possible to easily capture an image in focus.

The invention according to claim 19 is the invention according to any one of claims 12 to 17, wherein in the face detecting step, when a face of a person is detected, the eyes of the person are further detected. , A nose and a mouth, and a second step for the user to select the distance measuring area from the eyes, the nose and the mouth when the face, the nose and the mouth are detected by the face detecting step. In the automatic focusing control step, the automatic focusing control is performed based on the distance measuring area selected in the second distance measuring area selecting step.

According to the above invention, when the face of a person is detected, the eyes, nose and mouth of the person are further detected, and further,
When the eyes, nose, and mouth are detected, the user selects a distance measurement area from the eyes, nose, and mouth, and performs automatic focusing control based on the distance measurement area selected by the user, for example, With lipstick commercials, even when shooting people, you focus on your mouth instead of your eyes. Therefore, the user selects any one of eyes, nose, or mouth as the distance measuring area, performs a focusing operation in the selected distance measuring area, and reflects the user's photographing intention.

According to a twentieth aspect of the invention, in the invention according to the twelfth or thirteenth aspect, the automatic focusing control step is based on the size of the face of the person detected by the face detecting step. The size of the distance measuring area is set to perform automatic focusing control.

According to the above invention, the size of the distance measuring area is set on the basis of the detected size of the face of the person to perform the automatic focusing control. This improves the accuracy of focusing on the person's face. For example, when the size of the distance measurement area is larger than the size of the face, another subject around the face may be in focus. On the other hand, when the size of the distance measurement area is smaller than the area of the face, the accuracy of the AF evaluation value may decrease, and the accuracy of focusing on the face may decrease.

The invention according to claim 21 is the same as the invention according to claim 12 or 13,
A distance measuring area size selecting step for the user to select the size of the distance measuring area is included, and in the automatic focusing control step, the distance measuring of the size selected in the distance measuring area size selecting step is performed. The area is set to perform automatic focusing control.

According to the above invention, the user selects the size of the distance measuring area, and the automatic focusing control means sets the distance measuring area of the size selected by the user to perform the automatic focusing control. To do. When it is desired to focus on a specific part of the face, such as the eyes, it is necessary to set a distance measuring area of an appropriate size.

The invention according to claim 22 is the invention according to any one of claims 12 to 21, wherein in the automatic focusing control step, the face of the person detected in the face detecting step is detected. Every time automatic focusing control is performed with at least a part of the distance measuring area, the distance measuring result is stored in the memory, and the next focusing position is predicted from the past distance measuring result stored in the memory. Is.

According to the above-described invention, each time the automatic focusing control is performed with at least a part of the detected face of the person as the distance measuring area, the distance measuring result is stored in the memory and stored in the memory. The next focus position is predicted from the past distance measurement results. As a result, the next in-focus position is predicted from the in-focus position in the past, the in-focus position is swiftly focused, and quick shooting is possible.

The invention according to claim 23 is a program for causing a computer to execute each step of the invention according to any one of claims 12 to 22.

According to the above invention, by executing the program on the computer, the focusing area is set by setting the distance measuring area at the position where it is determined that there is a person, and regardless of the position of the person on the screen, Focuses on a person's face and shoots a person without changing the composition between automatic focusing operation and shooting.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of an image pickup apparatus, an automatic focusing method, and a digital camera to which a computer executes the method according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. (Embodiment 1),
(Embodiment 2), (Modification 1), and (Modification 2) will be described in detail in this order.

(First Embodiment) FIG. 1 is an external view of a digital camera according to the first embodiment.
Shows a front view, (B) shows a side view, and (C) shows a top view. FIG. 1 shows a state in which the upper lid is opened. In the figure, 1 is a camera body, 2 is a photographing lens,
3 is a strobe, 4 is a viewfinder, 5 is an openable lid, 6 is a hinge that supports the openable lid 5, 7
Is a liquid crystal monitor provided inside the upper lid 5, 8 is a sub-LCD provided outside the upper lid 5, 9 is an upper lid opening / closing detection switch for detecting opening / closing of the upper lid 5, 10 is a barrier opening / closing knob, and 11 is photographing. Etc., a release switch for issuing operation instructions, 12 a mode switch for selecting each mode, 13 a strobe switch for strobe emission, 14 an image quality mode switch for setting a shooting image quality, and 15 A cursor key, 16 is a DATE switch for inputting a date, 17 is an ENTER key, and 18 is a SELECT key.

The mode change switch 12 is a SETUP mode for changing or confirming the setting of the camera,
Still image mode for recording still images, moving image mode for recording moving images, playback mode for playing recorded files, connecting to a computer to send files to the computer and operate the camera from the computer For selecting the PC mode, the communication mode for performing communication via the network, and the like.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the digital camera according to the first embodiment. The digital camera shown in the figure includes a photographing lens 2 (zoom lens 2a, focus lens 2b), a mechanical mechanism (mechanical shutter, diaphragm, filter, etc.) 101, CCD 102, F / E (CD
S circuit, AGC circuit, A / D conversion circuit) 103, IPP
104, compression / expansion circuit 105, memory card 106,
DRAM 107, liquid crystal monitor 7, sub-LCD 10, operation unit 108, motor (zoom lens motor 109a, focus motor 109b, aperture / shutter motor 109)
c) 109, driver (zoom driver 110a, focus driver 110b, aperture / shutter driver 1)
10c) 110, SG111, battery 112, DC / DC
Converter 113, AC adapter 114, controller (CPU 115a, FLASH_ROM 115b, SD
_RAM 115c) 115, a communication driver unit 116, and a network communication unit 117.

The taking lens 2 is for forming an image of a subject, and a zoom lens 2a for realizing a zoom function and a focus lens 2 for focusing on the subject.
b. The mechanical mechanism 101 includes a mechanical shutter, a diaphragm for adjusting the brightness of a subject, a filter, and the like. The CCD 102 converts the subject image formed by the taking lens 2 into an electric signal and outputs it to the F / E 103 as analog image data.

The F / E 103 pre-processes the analog image data input from the CCD 102, and includes a CDS circuit for performing correlated double sampling of the analog image data input from the CCD 102 and a CDS circuit. An AGC circuit that adjusts the gain of the output analog image data, and an A / D conversion that performs A / D conversion on the analog image data output from the AGC circuit and outputs the digital image data to the IPP 104. It consists of a circuit.

The IPP 104 is for subjecting the input image data to various types of image processing. For example, F / E
After performing interpolation processing on the color image data input from 103, YUV data (luminance Y data, color difference U,
V data).

The compression / expansion circuit 105 compresses the YUV data by a compression method conforming to the JPEG method, and decompresses the compressed image data stored in the memory card by the expansion method conforming to the JPEG method. To do.

The DRAM 107 is a frame memory for temporarily storing captured image data, image data read from the memory card 106, and the like. The memory card 106 is detachably attached to the main body of the digital camera and stores the compressed image data as an image file.

The liquid crystal monitor 7 is for displaying image data and the like. The sub LCD 8 is for displaying the set mode and operation contents of the digital camera.

The zoom driver 110a drives the zoom motor 109a to move the zoom lens 2a in the optical axis direction in response to a control signal input from the controller 115. The focus driver 110b drives the focus motor 109b according to a control signal input from the controller 115 to move the focus lens 2b in the optical axis direction. Aperture / Shutter driver 110
In response to a control signal input from the controller 115, c drives the diaphragm / shutter motor 119c to set the diaphragm value of the diaphragm of the mechanical mechanism 101 and open / close the mechanical shutter of the mechanical mechanism 101.

The SG 111 is based on a control signal input from the controller 115, and the CCD 10 and 2F / E1
Drive 03. The battery 112 is, for example, a battery of NiCd, nickel hydrogen, lithium, or the like, and supplies a DC voltage to the DC / DC converter 113. AC adapter 1
14 converts the AC voltage into a DC voltage and supplies the DC voltage to the DC / DC converter 16. DC / DC converter 113
Is the D input from the battery 112 or the AC adapter 114.
The level of the C voltage is converted to supply power to each part of the digital camera.

The communication driver 116 is for connecting to an external device (for example, a personal computer or the like) to perform data communication. Network communication unit 117
Is for data communication with the network.

The operation unit 108 includes various keys and switches (release switch 11, mode changeover switch 12, strobe switch 13, image quality mode switch 1) shown in FIG. 1 for the user to give various instructions to the digital camera.
4, cursor key 15, DATE switch 16, ENT
ER key 17 and SELECT key 18)
The controller 11 detects the operation of various keys and switches.
Output to 5. The above-mentioned release switch 11 is a two-step SW, and when it is half-pressed (first pushing stroke), the first SW is turned on, and when fully pressed (second pushing stroke), the second SW is turned on. In the digital camera, the AE operation and the AF operation are executed when the first SW is turned on, and the photographing operation is executed when the second SW is turned on.

FIG. 3 shows a recording condition user setting screen displayed on the liquid crystal monitor 7 when the SETUP mode is selected by the mode changeover switch 12 of the operation unit 108. The recording condition user setting screen shown in the figure shows the setting conditions for each item ("focus / [AF / manual]", "face detection (face detection operation mode)" / "ON / OF".
F], "Auto / Manual" for "Metering Point", "ON / OFF" for "Long Exposure", "ON / O" for "Dated"
FF]) is a screen for the user to set. On the screen shown in the figure, the cursor key 15 is used to select a desired item, the SELECT key 18 is used to select a desired setting condition, and the ENTER key 17 is used to set the setting condition. In the example shown in the figure, "focus" is "AF" and "face detection (face detection operation mode)" is "O".
N], "Metering point" is "Auto", "Long exposure" is "O"
FF] and “with date” are set to [OFF].

The controller 115 is a unit for controlling the overall operation of the digital camera, and based on an instruction from the operation unit 108, according to a control program stored in the FLASH_ROM 115b, the FLASH_RAM.
A CPU 115a that controls the operation of each unit of the digital camera by using 115c as a work area, and a CPU 1
SD_ROM 11 storing various control programs to be executed by 15a and parameters and data necessary for control
5b and an SD_RAM 115c used as a work area for the CPU 115a. FLA
The control program, parameters, and data stored in the SH_ROM 115b can be distributed via the network, and can be downloaded and stored via the network. Also, FLASH_
Programs, parameters, and data can be written in the ROM 115b from an external device connected via the communication driver unit 116.

Further, the CPU 115a controls the monitoring operation, AF operation, AE operation, photographing operation and the like. Next, the basic operations of the monitoring operation, AF operation, and still image shooting operation executed under the control of the CPU 115a will be described.

When the still image mode or the moving image mode is selected by the mode changeover switch 12 of the monitoring operation operating unit 108, the CPU 115a displays the monitoring image of the subject on the liquid crystal monitor 7.
Specifically, the image data of the subject input from the CCD 102 is processed by the F / E (CDS, AGC, A / D) 103, then signal-processed by the IPP 104, and the DRA is processed.
Written to M107. The CPU 115a is a DRAM
A monitoring image corresponding to the image data stored in 107 is displayed on the liquid crystal monitor 7. The user can determine the composition of shooting by looking at the monitoring image of the subject displayed on the liquid crystal monitor 7.

After the still image mode or the moving image mode is selected by the mode changeover switch 12 of the AF operation operation unit 108, the release switch 11
When is pressed halfway to turn on SW1, the CPU 115a
Executes the AF operation. Specifically, in the AF operation,
When the face detection mode is set, first, face detection processing is executed to detect a human face. Specifically, C
The image data input from the CD 102 is F / E (CD
S, AGC, A / D) 103 and then IPP1
The signal is processed in 04 and written in the DRAM 107.
The CPU 115a detects a person's face from the image data stored in the DRAM 107 by using a known face recognition technique (Gabor wavelet transform + graph matching). Then, the CPU 115a performs an automatic focusing process using a known automatic focusing method such as a hill climbing servo method with the detected face of the person as a distance measuring area (AF area), and sets the focus lens 2b to the focusing position. To move the focus to the face of the person. More specifically, in the automatic focusing process, the focus lens 2b is moved to move the CC
Of the image data input from D102, the AF evaluation value indicating the contrast of the subject according to the image data in the distance measurement area (AF area) is sampled, and the peak position of the AF evaluation value is set as the focus position.

Although the CPU 115a executes the control program to detect the face in this case, dedicated hardware for face detection may be provided.

Still image photographing operation When the still image mode is selected by the mode selection switch 12 of the operation unit 108 and the release switch of the operation unit 108 is fully pressed to turn on SW2, the CPU 115a operates as follows.
Executes a still image shooting operation. The image data captured from the CCD 102 is signal-processed by the IPP 104 and compressed by the compression / expansion circuit 105, and then the DRAM 1
It is written in 07. Then, the CPU 115a causes the DR
The compressed image data written in the AM 107 is written in the memory card 106 as a still image file.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart for explaining the AF operation of the digital camera. 5 to FIG.
6 is a diagram showing a display example of a liquid crystal monitor 7. FIG. FIG. 5 shows a display example in the case where there is one human face of the subject, and FIG. 6 shows a display example in the case where there are a plurality of (two) human faces as the subject. The AF operation of the digital camera will be described with reference to the display example of the liquid crystal monitor 7 of FIGS. 5 and 6 according to the flowchart of FIG. After the still image mode or the moving image mode is selected by the mode selector switch 12 of the operation unit 108, the CPU 115a presses the release switch 13 halfway to switch SW1.
When is turned on, AF processing is executed.

In FIG. 4, first, the CPU 115a
It is determined whether or not the face detection operation mode in which face detection of a person is executed is performed (step S1). The face detection operation mode is set on the user setting screen for the above-described recording conditions (see FIG. 3 above).
reference). If the result of this determination is that it is in the face detection operation mode, the CPU 115a executes face detection processing to detect a face (step S2).

The following methods (1) to (4) are well known as methods for detecting a face in a subject image, and in the first embodiment, any one of them is used.

Television Society Journal Vol. 49, N
o. 6, pp. 787-797 (1995) “Proposed modified HSV color system effective for face area extraction”, a method of converting a color image into a mosaic image and extracting the face area by focusing on the skin color area. IEICE Journal Vol. 74-D-II, No.
11, pp. 1625-1627 (1991), "Geometry regarding each part constituting the head of a front human figure such as hair, eyes and mouth" as shown in "Method of extracting face area from still gray scene image". Method to extract the head region of a front person using various shape features. As shown in "Face detection for videophone and its effect" in Image Lab 1991-11 (1991), in the case of a moving image, contour edges of a human image generated by a subtle movement of a human between frames are used. The method of extracting the front person image.

When the face of a person is detected, the CPU 115a detects the eyes, nose, mouth and ears. The eyes, nose, mouth, and ears in the face can be detected using a known method. For example, the eye detection is performed by Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-176.
96, JP-A-4-255015, JP-A-5
The techniques described in JP-A-300601, JP-A-9-21611 and JP-A-9-251342 can be used.

Then, the CPU 115a determines whether or not a face is detected (step S3). As a result of this judgment,
When the face is detected, the CPU 115a displays a rectangular frame on the face portion of the person in the image data displayed on the liquid crystal monitor 7 (displays the result of face detection execution OK) to detect that the face is detected. Is notified to the user (step S4).
FIG. 5A shows a display example of the image data (monitoring image) displayed on the liquid crystal monitor 7 (when there is one human face). FIG. 5B shows a display example when a rectangular frame A is displayed on the face portion of a person in the image data of FIG. In FIG. 6A, a plurality of faces (2
3) A display example of image data (monitoring image) displayed on the liquid crystal monitor 7 in the case of being present is shown. Figure 6
FIG. 6B shows a display example when rectangular frames A1 and A2 are displayed on the face portion of the person in the image data of FIG.

Then, the CPU 115a determines whether or not there are a plurality of faces (step S5). When a plurality of faces are detected as a result of this determination, the CPU 115a
It is determined whether or not the user is in the ranging area selection mode in which the user selects the ranging area (step S6). The distance measuring area selection mode is set on the user setting screen for the above-mentioned recording conditions (see FIG. 3 above). If the result of this determination is that it is not in the ranging area selection mode, the CPU 115a
After setting the face close to the center as the distance measuring area (step S7), the automatic focusing process described above is executed (step S8).

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S6 that the mode is the distance measuring area selection mode, the CPU 115a
Displays characters or the like for the user to select the distance measuring area on the liquid crystal monitor 7 (step S11). FIG. 6 (C)
6 shows a display example in which characters or the like (guidance display for selecting a distance measuring area) for the user to select the distance measuring area are displayed on the screen of FIG. 6B.

Then, the operation of the operation unit 108 by the user
A desired position is selected as a distance measuring area from the face-recognized positions displayed on the liquid crystal monitor 7 (step S1).
2). In FIG. 6C, the user selects one of the rectangular frames A1 and A2 by operating the cursor key 15 and determines the rectangular frame selected by the ENTER key 17 as the distance measuring area. FIG. 6D shows the case where the rectangular frame A2 is selected as the distance measurement area in FIG. 6C.

After setting the inside of the selected rectangular frame as the distance measuring area (step S13), the CPU 115a executes the above-described automatic focusing processing (step S8).

On the other hand, if a plurality of faces are not detected in step S5, that is, if only one face is detected, it is determined whether the eyes, nose, mouth, or ears can be detected in the face. It is determined (step S14). When the eyes, nose, mouth, and ears cannot be detected as a result of this judgment, CP
The U 115a sets the center position of the face in the distance measuring area (step S17), and then performs the above-described automatic focusing processing (step S8).

On the other hand, in step S14, the eyes,
When the nose, mouth, and ears cannot be detected, it is determined whether or not the mode is the range-finding area selection mode in which the user selects the range-finding area (step S15). If the result of this determination is that it is not in the ranging area selection mode, the CPU 11
After setting the position of the eyes as the distance measuring area (step S18), 5a executes the above-described automatic focusing processing (step S8).

If it is determined in step S15 that the focus detection area selection mode is set, the CPU 1
15a displays rectangular frames on the liquid crystal monitor 7 for each of eyes, nose, mouth, and ears (step S16). FIG. 5C shows
In the image data of the subject shown in FIG.
It is a figure which shows the example of a display when rectangular frame a1-a4 is displayed on a nose and a mouth, respectively.

Then, the user operates the operation unit 108 to select a desired position as the distance measuring area from the positions where the eyes, nose, mouth and ears are displayed on the liquid crystal monitor 7 (step S12). ). In FIG. 5 (C) above,
The user operates the cursor keys 15 to make rectangular frames a1 to a1.
4 is selected and the rectangular frame selected by the ENTER key 17 is determined as the distance measuring area. FIG. 5 (D) shows
FIG. 5C shows a case where the rectangular frame a3 is selected as the distance measuring area.

The CPU 115a sets the face portion within the rectangular frame determined by the user as the distance measuring area (step S13), and then executes the above-described automatic focusing processing (step S8).

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S1 that the face detection operation mode is not set, or if no face is detected in step S3, the normal distance measuring area position is set as the distance measuring area ( Step S
10), execute the above-mentioned automatic focusing processing (step S)
8). Then, when the release switch 11 is fully pressed, shooting is performed.

As described above, according to the first embodiment, the CPU 115a detects a person's face from the image data input by the CCD 102 and detects at least a part of the detected person's face in the distance measuring area. As the automatic focusing control is performed as described above, the automatic focusing operation is performed by using the face of the person on the screen as the distance measurement area, and the face of the person is focused regardless of the position of the person on the screen. Therefore, it is possible to photograph a person without changing the composition between the automatic focusing operation and the photographing.

Further, according to the first embodiment, the CPU 11
5a indicates the liquid crystal monitor 7 when a human face is detected.
Since a rectangular frame (see FIG. 5 above) is displayed on the face of the image data displayed on the screen, the user is notified that the face has been detected, and the user recognizes that the face has been detected. Can be made.

Further, according to the first embodiment, the CPU 11
In 5a, when a plurality of faces are detected, the face close to the center is used as the focus detection area for automatic focusing control, so that the main subject can be focused with high probability. Also in the group photo, it is possible to increase the possibility that the faces in the front, back, left and right with respect to the face in the center are focused with high probability.

Further, according to the first embodiment, when a plurality of faces are detected, the user selects a distance measuring area from the plurality of faces (see FIG. 6), and the CPU 115a causes the user to Since the automatic focusing control is performed based on the distance measuring area selected by, the user can select which person to focus on.

Further, according to the first embodiment, the user can set permission / prohibition of the face detection operation (see FIG. 3 above).
The user can omit the unnecessary face detection operation by setting permission / prohibition of the face detection operation, and can perform quicker shooting.

Further, according to the first embodiment, the CPU 11
5a, when the eyes of a person's face are detected and the focusing area selection mode is not set, the automatic focusing control is performed with the eyes as the focusing area, so that the eyes are in focus. It is possible to easily capture the captured image.

Further, according to the first embodiment, when any one of the eyes, mouth, nose, and ears of a person's face is detected and the ranging area selection mode is set, the user The CPU 115a selects the distance measuring area from the detected eyes, nose, mouth, and ears, and the CPU 115a performs automatic focusing control based on the distance measuring area selected by the user. Therefore, the user wants to focus. It is possible to focus on the face portion, and it is possible to reflect the user's shooting intention.

(Second Embodiment) A digital camera according to a second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. The configuration of the digital camera according to the second embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment.
The same configuration (see FIGS. 1 and 2) can be used. The digital camera according to the second embodiment changes the size of the distance measurement area according to the size of the detected face of the person.

FIG. 7 shows a user setting screen of recording conditions displayed on the liquid crystal monitor 7 when the SETUP mode is selected by the mode changeover switch 12 of the operation unit 108. The recording condition user setting screen shown in the figure shows the setting conditions for each item ("focus / [AF / manual]", "face detection (face detection operation mode)" / "ON / OF".
F], "ON / OFF" of "automatic setting of ranging area (range-finding area automatic setting mode)", "Auto / Manual" of "metering point", "ON / OFF" of "long exposure", "Date" This is a screen for the user to set “ON / OFF” of “ON”. On the screen shown in the figure, select a desired item with the cursor keys 15 and select the selected item.
A desired setting condition is selected by the T key 18, and the setting condition selected by the ENTER key 17 is set. In the example shown in the figure, "focus" is "AF", "face detection (face detection operation mode)" is "ON", and "range-finding area automatic setting (range-finding area automatic setting mode)" is "ON". ], “Photometry point” is set to “Auto”, “Long exposure” is set to “OFF”, and “Date entered” is set to “OFF”.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart for explaining the AF operation of the digital camera of the second embodiment. Figure 9
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a display example of the liquid crystal monitor 7. The AF operation of the digital camera according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to the display example of the liquid crystal monitor 7 of FIG. 9 according to the flowchart of FIG. After the still image mode or the moving image mode is selected by the mode changeover switch 12 of the operation unit 108, the CPU 115a presses the release switch 13 halfway to turn on SW1.
If N, the AF process is executed.

In FIG. 8, first, the CPU 115a
It is determined whether or not the face detection operation mode for detecting the face of a person is performed (step S31). Face detection operation mode is
It is set on the user setting screen of the above-mentioned recording condition (see FIG. 7 above). If the result of this determination is that it is the face detection operation mode, the CPU 115a executes the same face detection processing as in Embodiment 1 (step S32).

Then, the CPU 115a determines whether or not a face is detected (step S33). If the result of this determination is that a face has been detected, the CPU 115a displays a rectangular frame in the face portion of the person in the image data displayed on the liquid crystal monitor 7 (face detection execution result OK display), and Is notified to the user (step S
34).

The CPU 115a determines whether or not it is in the ranging area automatic setting mode in which the size of the ranging area is automatically set (step S35). This distance measuring area automatic setting mode is set on the user setting screen of the above-described recording conditions (see FIG. 7 above). If the result of this determination is that it is in the distance measuring area automatic setting mode, the CPU 115a compares the detected face size with a predetermined value 1 (step S3).
6) If the size of the face is not larger than the predetermined value 1, the size 1 of the distance measuring area is set (step S41). On the other hand, when the size of the face is larger than the predetermined value 1, the CPU 11
5a compares the size of the face with a predetermined value 2 (however, the predetermined value 2> the predetermined value 1) (step S37), and when the size of the face is larger than the predetermined value 2, the CPU 115a measures the distance. While the area size 3 is set (step S38), when the face size is not larger than the predetermined value 2, the distance measurement area size 2 is set (step S42).

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S35 that the distance measuring area automatic setting mode is not set, the user sets the distance measuring area sizes 1, 2, and 3 (step S4).
3). FIG. 5A shows a display example of image data (monitoring image) displayed on the liquid crystal monitor 7.
FIG. 9 shows a screen for the user to select the size of the distance measurement area in the screen of FIG. 5 (A). In FIG. 9, the sizes (size 1, size 2, and size 3) of three distance measuring areas having different sizes are displayed, and the user operates the cursor key 15 to select size 1, Select either size 2 or size 3 and enter
The size selected by the R key 17 is determined as the size of the distance measuring area. In the example shown in FIG. 9, the size of the distance measurement area is 2
Is selected.

Then, the CPU 115a executes the above-described automatic focusing processing after setting the distance measuring area automatically set or selected by the user to the detected human face portion (step S39). .

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S31 that the face detection operation mode is not set, or if no face is detected in step S33, the normal distance measuring area position is set as the distance measuring area ( In step S40), the above-described automatic focusing process is executed (step S39).

As described above, according to the second embodiment, when the distance measuring area automatic determination mode is set, the CPU 115a determines the distance measuring area based on the size of the detected face of the person. Since the size of is automatically set to perform the automatic focusing control, it is possible to improve the focusing accuracy.

Further, according to the second embodiment, when the distance measuring area automatic determination mode is not set, the user selects the size of the distance measuring area (see FIG. 9), and the CPU
In the case of 115a, a focusing area having a size selected by the user is set to perform automatic focusing control. Therefore, it is possible to improve focusing accuracy when focusing on a specific portion of the face. It will be possible.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described first and second embodiments, but can be modified as appropriate without changing the gist of the invention. For example, the following modifications can be made. It is possible.

(Modification 1) In the digital camera of the present invention,
A portrait photographing mode (first photographing mode) for photographing a person and a landscape photographing mode (second photographing mode) for photographing a landscape are provided, and this mode can be selected by the mode selector switch 12, for example. Every CPU11
5a is an automatic focusing control including face detection processing when the person photographing mode is selected (“Y” in step S1 of FIG. 4 described above).
If "landscape photography mode" is selected after performing "ES" processing), face detection processing is not performed, and automatic focusing control is performed based on the normal distance measurement area ("NO" in step S1 in FIG. 4 above). It is also possible to perform the following processing). This is because the face detection processing is necessary in the person photographing mode in which the face needs to be focused, but the face detection processing is unnecessary in the landscape photographing mode in which the face is not required to be focused.

(Modification 2) Each time the CPU 115a performs automatic focusing control with the face detected by the face detection processing as the distance measurement area, the result of the distance measurement (focus position) is FLASH_ROM.
FLASH_ROM 115b
The next focus position may be predicted based on the past distance measurement results stored in. As a result, the next focus position can be predicted from the past focus position, the face can be focused quickly, and quick shooting is possible.

[0108]

As described above, according to the image pickup device of the first aspect, in the image pickup device having the automatic focusing function, the image pickup means for inputting the image data according to the object, and the image pickup device. Face detection means for detecting a person's face from the image data input by the means, and automatic focusing control using at least a part of the person's face detected by the face detection means as a ranging area. Since the focusing control means is provided, the automatic focusing operation is executed with the face of the person in the screen as the distance measuring area, regardless of the position of the person in the screen.
The face of the person can be focused, and the person can be photographed without changing the composition between the automatic focusing operation and the photographing.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the image pickup apparatus according to the first aspect, there is provided notifying means for notifying the user that the face detecting means has detected a human face. Therefore, in addition to the effect of the invention according to claim 1, it is possible to inform the user of the determination result of the face detection and confirm the user whether the face detection is malfunctioning, and prevent the user from making a mistake in photographing. It becomes possible to do.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to the first or second aspect, the automatic focusing control means is provided when a plurality of faces are detected by the face detecting means. Since the automatic focusing control is performed by using at least a part of the face near the center as the distance measuring area, in addition to the effect of the invention according to claim 1 or 2, there is a high probability that the main subject It is possible to focus on, and also in the group photograph, it is possible to increase the possibility that the faces in the front, back, left, and right with respect to the face in the center are also focused with high probability.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to the first or second aspect, further, when a plurality of faces are detected by the face detecting means, the user can detect the plurality of faces. A distance measuring area selecting means for selecting the distance measuring area from the face, and the automatic focusing control means performs automatic focusing control based on the distance measuring area selected by the distance measuring area selecting means. Since it is decided to perform, in addition to the effect of the invention according to claim 1 or claim 2, it becomes possible for the user to select which person is focused.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the user sets permission / prohibition of the face detecting operation of the face detecting means. Face detection operation setting means for performing face detection operation setting means for performing face detection operation setting means for controlling the face detection operation of the face detection means when the face detection operation setting means permits the face detection operation. The face detection operation is executed, and automatic focusing control is performed while using at least a part of the detected face of the person as a distance measurement area, while the face detection operation setting means sets prohibition of the face detection operation of the face detection means. If it is determined that the automatic focus control is performed without causing the face detection unit to perform the face detection operation,
In addition to the effect of the invention according to any one of claim 4,
The user can set the permission / prohibition of the face detection operation to omit the unnecessary face detection operation, which enables more rapid shooting.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the face detecting operation of the face detecting means is executed to perform automatic focusing. The autofocus control means includes a mode setting means for setting a first shooting mode or a second shooting mode in which automatic focusing is performed without performing the face detection operation of the face detection means. When the first photographing mode is set by the means, the face detection means is caused to execute a face detection operation, and automatic focusing control is performed by using at least a part of the detected face of the person as a distance measurement area. On the other hand, when the second photographing mode is set by the mode setting unit, the automatic focus control is performed without causing the face detection unit to perform the face detection operation.
In addition to the effect of the invention according to any one of claims 4 to 4, in automatic focusing, a shooting mode in which face recognition is performed (first shooting mode) and a shooting mode in which face recognition is not performed (second shooting mode) ), It is possible to easily distinguish between portrait photography and landscape photography.

The invention according to claim 7 relates to claim 1
~ In the invention according to any one of claims 6 to 6, when the face detection means detects a face of a person,
The automatic focus control means detects the eyes, and when the face detection means detects the eyes, the automatic focus control means performs the automatic focus control with at least a part of the eyes as the distance measurement area. In addition to the effects of the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 6, it is possible to easily capture an image in focus.

According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the first to sixth aspects, when the face detecting means detects a face of a person, , The eyes, nose and mouth are detected, and when the face detection means detects the eyes, nose and mouth, the user selects the distance measuring area from the eyes, nose and mouth. Since the automatic focusing control means performs the automatic focusing control based on the distance measuring area selected by the second distance measuring area selecting means,
In addition to the effects of the invention according to claims 1 to 6, the user can focus on the face portion that the user wants to focus on, and it is possible to reflect the user's shooting intention.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to the first or second aspect, the automatic focusing control means includes the face size of the person detected by the face detection means. Based on the above, since the size of the distance measuring area is set to perform the automatic focusing control, it is possible to improve the focusing accuracy in addition to the effect of the invention according to claim 1 or claim 2. It will be possible.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to the first or second aspect, the size of the distance measuring area for the user to select the size of the distance measuring area is further increased. The automatic focusing control means is provided with a selecting means, and the automatic focusing control means sets the distance measuring area having the size selected by the distance measuring area size selecting means to perform the automatic focusing control. In addition to the effect of the invention according to claim 2, it becomes possible to improve the focusing accuracy when focusing on a specific part of the face.

The invention according to claim 11 is the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 10,
Each time the automatic focusing control means performs automatic focusing control with at least a part of the face of the person detected by the face detection means as the distance measuring area, the distance measuring result is stored in the memory, The next focus position is predicted from the past distance measurement results stored in the memory.
In addition to the effect of the invention according to any one of 0, the next focus position can be predicted from the past focus position, the focus can be focused quickly, and quick shooting can be performed.

According to the automatic focusing method of the twelfth aspect, the image input step of inputting the image data corresponding to the subject and the face of the person are detected from the image data input in the image input step. Since the face detection step and the automatic focusing control step for performing the automatic focusing control with at least a part of the face of the person detected in the face detection step as the distance measurement area are included, The face can be used as the focus detection area to perform the automatic focusing operation to focus on the person's face regardless of the position of the person on the screen, and the composition can be changed between automatic focusing operation and shooting. It is possible to shoot a person without doing this.

According to the thirteenth aspect of the automatic focusing method, in the invention according to the twelfth aspect, a notice is provided for notifying the user that the face of the person is detected by the face detecting step. Since the process is included, in addition to the effect of the invention according to claim 12, it is possible to notify the user of the determination result of face detection and to let the user confirm whether or not the face detection is malfunctioning. It is possible to prevent shooting mistakes.

According to the automatic focusing method of the fourteenth aspect, in the invention of the twelfth aspect or the thirteenth aspect, the automatic focusing control means detects a plurality of faces by the face detecting means. In this case, since the automatic focusing control is performed by using at least a part of the face near the center as the distance measuring area, in addition to the effect of the invention according to claim 12 or 13, there is a high probability. It is possible to focus on the main subject, and also in the group photograph, it is possible to increase the possibility of focusing on the faces in the front, back, left, and right with respect to the face in the center with high probability.

According to the fifteenth aspect of the automatic focusing method, in the invention according to the twelfth or thirteenth aspect, when a plurality of faces are detected by the face detecting step, the user can A distance measuring area selecting step for selecting the distance measuring area from the plurality of faces, and in the automatic focusing control step, automatic focusing is performed based on the distance measuring area selected in the distance measuring area selecting step. Since the control is performed, in addition to the effect of the invention according to claim 12 or claim 13, the user can select which person is focused.

According to the sixteenth aspect of the automatic focusing method, in the invention according to any one of the twelfth to fifteenth aspects, the permission / prohibition of the face detection operation in the face detection step is further added. A face detection operation setting step for the user to set, and in the automatic focusing control step, if permission of the face detection operation of the face detection step is set by the face detection operation setting step, The face detection operation is executed in the face detection step, and automatic focusing control is performed while using at least a part of the detected face of the person as a distance measurement area, while the face detection operation of the face detection step is performed by the face detection operation setting step. When the prohibition is set, the automatic focus control is performed without performing the face detection operation in the face detection step. Therefore, the method according to any one of claims 12 to 15 is performed. In addition to the effects of the invention Te, user, face detection operation of the permit /
By setting prohibition, unnecessary face detection operation can be omitted, and more rapid shooting is possible.

Further, according to the automatic focusing method of the seventeenth aspect, in the invention of any one of the twelfth to fifteenth aspects, the face detecting operation of the face detecting step is further executed to perform automatic focusing. The automatic focus control step includes a mode setting step for setting a first shooting mode for performing focus or a second shooting mode for performing automatic focus without executing the face detection operation of the face detection step. When the first shooting mode is set by the mode setting step, the face detection step is caused to execute a face detection operation, and at least a part of the detected face of the person is set as a distance measurement area to perform automatic matching. While performing the focus control, when the second shooting mode is set in the mode setting step, the automatic focus control is performed without executing the face detection operation in the face detection step. Claim In addition to the effect of the invention according to any one of claims 2 to 15, in auto focusing, a shooting mode in which face recognition is performed (first shooting mode) and a shooting mode in which face recognition is not performed (second shooting) By dividing the modes, it becomes possible to easily distinguish between portrait photography and landscape photography.

Further, according to the automatic focusing method of the eighteenth aspect, in the invention of any one of the twelfth to seventeenth aspects, when the face of the person is detected in the face detecting step. Further, the eyes are detected, and in the automatic focusing control step, when the eyes are detected in the face detecting step, at least a part of the eyes is used as the distance measuring area to perform the automatic focusing control. Therefore, in addition to the effects of the invention according to any one of claims 12 to 17,
It is possible to easily take an image that is in focus.

Further, according to the automatic focusing method of the nineteenth aspect, in the invention of any one of the twelfth to seventeenth aspects, when the face of the person is detected in the face detecting step. Furthermore, the eyes, nose, and mouth are detected, and when the eyes, nose, and mouth are detected by the face detection step, the user selects the distance measurement area from the eyes, nose, and mouth. In the automatic focusing control step, the automatic focusing control is performed based on the distance measuring area selected in the second ranging area selecting step. In addition to the effect of the invention according to any one of claims 12 to 17, it is possible to focus on the face portion that the user wants to focus on, and it is possible to reflect the user's shooting intention. Become.

According to the automatic focusing method of the twentieth aspect, in the invention of the twelfth aspect or the thirteenth aspect, in the automatic focusing control step, the face of the person detected by the face detecting step is detected. The size of the distance measuring area is set based on the size to perform automatic focusing control. Therefore, in addition to the effect of the invention according to claim 12 or 13, In addition to the effects of the invention according to 13, it becomes possible to improve the focusing accuracy.

According to the automatic focusing method of the twenty-first aspect, in the invention of the twelfth or thirteenth aspect, a distance measuring area for the user to select the size of the distance measuring area. A size selection step is included, and in the automatic focusing control step, the automatic focusing control is performed by setting the ranging area having the size selected in the ranging area size selecting step. In addition to the effects of the invention according to the twelfth or thirteenth aspect, it is possible to improve the focusing accuracy when focusing on a specific part of the face.

According to the automatic focusing method of the twenty-second aspect, in the invention of any one of the twelfth to twenty-first aspects, in the automatic focusing control step, it is detected in the face detecting step. Each time automatic focusing control is performed with at least a part of the face of a person as the distance measuring area, the distance measuring result is stored in the memory, and the next focusing is performed from the past distance measuring result stored in the memory. Since the position is predicted, in addition to the effects of the invention according to any one of claims 12 to 21, the next focus position is predicted from the past focus position to quickly focus. This makes it possible to shoot quickly.

Further, according to the automatic focusing method of the twenty-third aspect, the computer executes the program to realize each step of the invention according to any one of the twelfth to twenty-second aspects. Therefore, by executing the program on a computer, the face of a person on the screen can be used as the focus detection area for automatic focusing, and the face of the person can be focused regardless of the position of the person on the screen. Therefore, the person can be photographed without changing the composition between the automatic focusing operation and the photographing.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external configuration diagram of a digital camera according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a digital camera according to the first exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a user setting screen of recording conditions displayed on a liquid crystal monitor when the SETUP mode is selected by the mode changeover switch of the operation unit in the digital camera according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an AF operation of the digital camera according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a display example of the digital camera liquid crystal monitor according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a display example of the liquid crystal monitor according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a user setting screen of recording conditions displayed on a liquid crystal monitor when the SETUP mode is selected by the mode changeover switch of the operation unit according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an AF operation of the digital camera according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a display example of a liquid crystal monitor of the digital camera according to the second embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 camera body 2 Shooting lens 3 Strobe unit 4 finder 5 Top lid 6 hinges 7 LCD monitor 8 sub LCD 9 Top lid open / close detection switch 10 Barrier opening / closing knob 11 Release switch 12 Mode selector switch 13 Strobe switch 14 Image quality mode switch 15 Cursor key 16 DATE switch 17 ENTER key 18 SELECT key 2a zoom lens 2b Focus lens 101 Mechanical mechanism 102 CCD 103 F / E 104 IPP 105 compression / expansion circuit 106 memory card 107 DRAM 108 Operation part 109a Zoom lens motor 109b Focus motor 109c Aperture / Shutter motor 110a zoom driver 110b focus driver 110c Aperture / Shutter driver 111 SG 112 batteries 113 DC / DC converter 114 AC adapter 115 controller 115a CPU 115b FLASH_ROM 115c SD_RAM 116 Communication driver section 117 Network Communications Department

Front page continuation (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) H04N 5/225 G02B 7/11 N 5L096 5/232 G03B 3/00 AF term (reference) 2H011 AA03 BB04 DA05 2H051 CE16 DA01 DA03 DA04 DA07 DA13 EB20 GA12 GB12 5B047 BC16 CA12 CB21 5B057 CA12 CA16 DA08 DB02 DC01 DC36 5C022 AA13 AB12 AB15 AB20 AB28 AB40 AC02 AC03 AC13 AC22 AC32 AC42 AC73 AC74 5L096 AA02 AA06 CA03 DA05 EA03 FA69 FA59 FA59 FA59 FA38 FA66 FA38 FA66 FA59 FA38

Claims (23)

[Claims] 1. An image pickup apparatus having an automatic focusing function, wherein image pickup means for inputting image data according to a subject, and for detecting a person's face from the image data input from the image pickup means And an automatic focusing control means for performing automatic focusing control using at least a part of the face of the person detected by the face detecting means as a distance measurement area. . 2. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising notifying means for notifying a user that the face of the person is detected by the face detecting means. 3. The automatic focusing control means, when a plurality of faces are detected by the face detecting means, controls the automatic focusing by setting at least a part of the face near the center as the distance measuring area. The imaging device according to claim 1 or 2, which is performed. 4. When the face detection unit detects a plurality of faces, the user further includes a distance measurement area selection unit for selecting the distance measurement area from the plurality of faces. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the automatic focusing control means performs automatic focusing control based on the distance measuring area selected by the distance measuring area selecting means. 5. A face detection operation setting means for allowing a user to set permission / prohibition of the face detection operation of the face detection means, wherein the automatic focusing control means uses the face detection operation setting means. When the permission of the face detection operation of the detection unit is set, the face detection unit is caused to execute the face detection operation, and the automatic focusing control is performed by using at least a part of the detected face of the person as the ranging area. On the other hand, if the face detection operation setting unit prohibits the face detection operation of the face detection unit, the automatic focus control is performed without causing the face detection unit to execute the face detection operation. The imaging device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: 6. A first photography mode in which the face detection operation of the face detection means is performed to perform automatic focusing, or a second photography mode in which the face detection operation of the face detection means is not performed to perform automatic focusing. Mode setting means for setting, the automatic focusing control means, when the first shooting mode is set by the mode setting means, causes the face detection means to perform a face detection operation, When at least a part of the detected face of the person is used as a distance measurement area, automatic focusing control is performed, while when the second photographing mode is set by the mode setting unit, the face detection unit detects the face. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1, wherein automatic focusing control is performed without performing an operation. 7. The face detecting means further detects eyes of a person when the face is detected, and the automatic focusing control means detects the eyes when the face detecting means detects the eyes. The automatic focusing control is performed by using at least a part of the eyes as the distance measuring area.
The image pickup apparatus according to claim 6. 8. The face detecting means further detects an eye, a nose and a mouth of the person when the face is detected, and the face detecting means further detects the eye, the nose and the mouth. In this case, the user is provided with a second distance measurement area selection unit for selecting the distance measurement area from the eyes, nose, and mouth, and the automatic focusing control unit is configured to select the second distance measurement area. 7. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1, wherein automatic focusing control is performed based on the distance measurement area selected by the means. 9. The automatic focusing control means sets the size of the distance measuring area based on the size of the face of the person detected by the face detecting means to perform automatic focusing control. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image pickup apparatus is characterized in that. 10. The distance measuring area size selecting means for the user to select the size of the distance measuring area, wherein the automatic focusing control means is selected by the distance measuring area size selecting means. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a focusing area having a predetermined size is set to perform automatic focusing control. 11. The automatic focusing control means stores a distance measurement result in a memory every time automatic focusing control is performed with at least a part of the face of the person detected by the face detection means as a distance measurement area. The imaging device according to claim 1, wherein the next focus position is predicted from the past distance measurement result stored in the memory. 12. An image input step of inputting image data according to a subject, a face detection step of detecting a human face from the image data input in the image input step, and a face detection step detected in the face detection step. An automatic focusing control step of performing automatic focusing control using at least a part of a person's face as a distance measurement area. 13. The automatic focusing method according to claim 12, further comprising a notification step for notifying a user that a face of a person has been detected by the face detection step. 14. The automatic focusing control means, when a plurality of faces are detected by the face detecting step, performs automatic focusing control by using at least a part of a face close to a central portion as the distance measuring area. The automatic focusing method according to claim 12, wherein the automatic focusing method is performed. 15. A distance measuring area selecting step for a user to select the distance measuring area from a plurality of faces when a plurality of faces are detected by the face detecting step, 14. The automatic focusing method according to claim 12, wherein in the automatic focusing control step, automatic focusing control is performed based on the distance measuring area selected in the distance measuring area selecting step. 16. A face detection operation setting step for allowing a user to set permission / prohibition of the face detection operation in the face detection step, wherein the automatic focusing control step is performed by the face detection operation setting step. When the permission of the face detection operation of the face detection step is set, the face detection step is caused to execute the face detection operation, and at least a part of the detected face of the person is set as the distance measurement area and automatically detected. While performing the focus control, when the face detection operation setting step prohibits the face detection operation in the face detection step, the automatic focus control is performed without causing the face detection step to execute the face detection operation. The automatic focusing method according to claim 12, wherein the automatic focusing method is performed. 17. A first photographing mode in which the face detection operation of the face detection step is performed to perform automatic focusing, or a second imaging mode in which the face detection operation of the face detection step is not performed to perform automatic focusing. A mode setting step for setting a shooting mode is included, and in the automatic focusing control step, when the first shooting mode is set in the mode setting step, a face detection operation is executed in the face detection step. While the automatic focusing control is performed with at least a part of the detected face of the person as the distance measuring area, when the second shooting mode is set in the mode setting step, the face detection step is performed. 16. The automatic focusing method according to claim 12, wherein the automatic focusing control is performed without executing the face detection operation. 18. In the face detecting step, when a face of a person is detected, the eyes are further detected, and in the automatic focusing control step, when an eye is detected by the face detecting step. 18. The automatic focusing method according to claim 12, wherein the automatic focusing control is performed by using at least a part of the eyes as the distance measuring area. 19. In the face detection step, when a face of a person is detected, the eyes, nose, and mouth of the person are further detected, and further, the eyes, nose, and mouth are detected by the face detection step. In this case, the method includes a second distance measuring area selection step for the user to select the distance measuring area from the eyes, nose, and mouth. In the automatic focusing control step, the second distance measuring area selection is performed. 18. The automatic focusing method according to claim 12, wherein the automatic focusing control is performed based on the distance measuring area selected in the step. 20. In the automatic focusing control step, based on the size of the face of the person detected in the face detecting step,
14. The automatic focusing method according to claim 12, wherein the size of the distance measuring area is set to perform automatic focusing control. 21. A range-finding area size selecting step for a user to select the size of the range-finding area, wherein the automatic focusing control step selects in the range-finding area size selecting step. 14. The automatic focusing method according to claim 12 or 13, wherein the automatic focusing control is performed by setting a distance measuring area having a specified size. 22. In the automatic focusing control step, every time the automatic focusing control is performed with at least a part of the face of the person detected in the face detecting step as a distance measuring area, the distance measuring result is stored in a memory. 22. The automatic focusing method according to claim 12, wherein the next focusing position is predicted from the past distance measurement results stored in the memory. 23. Any one of claims 12 to 22.
A program for causing a computer to execute each step of the invention described in No. 1.