JP2006261912A - Imaging device - Google Patents

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to make it possible to confirm the effect of shooting under a set exposure condition before shooting.
In an imaging apparatus, when exposure condition setting information is input via an input unit, provisional shooting is performed by a camera unit according to the exposure condition setting information. The photographed image obtained by the provisional photographing is subjected to a reduction process by the image processing unit 17 to create a preview image. Next, a display screen of a through image is displayed on the display unit 12, a sub screen is provided on the display screen by the display control of the CPU 11, and the created preview image is displayed on the sub screen.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a photographing apparatus capable of photographing under different photographing conditions.

  Conventionally, there has been a demand for shooting with changing exposure conditions (aperture, shutter speed, etc.) during shooting. On the other hand, an imaging apparatus has been developed that allows a user to correct an imaging parameter after first performing preliminary imaging and confirming the imaging result by display (for example, see Patent Document 1).

  There is also a photographing device capable of bracket photographing that generates a photographed image with different exposure conditions for the same subject. Bracketing is convenient because it can compare the shooting effects under various exposure conditions, and can select a suitable one from those shot images.

Normally, the user can set the exposure conditions during bracket shooting, but it is not possible to set arbitrary exposure conditions. The user only sets the shift amount for the parameter value of each exposure condition, and the shooting device The parameter value is shifted by the shift amount, and the parameter value and the number of photographing are automatically set. For example, if the aperture parameter F value range is ± 2 and the shift amount is set to “1” by the user, the F value is automatically shifted one by one in the photographing apparatus. A total of five shootings are performed with F values of 2, -1, 0, +1, and +2.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-212359

  Since the image quality and the like of the image when the exposure condition is changed must be confirmed without actually checking the image obtained by photographing, the method described in Patent Document 1 displays the photographed image obtained by preliminary photographing on the display screen. It is displayed for confirmation throughout. However, since conditions relating to image processing such as color correction and contrast are usually set in addition to the exposure conditions, image processing is performed on the captured image before display. Therefore, it takes time to reproduce and display as much as the image processing is performed, and the photographing efficiency is lowered.

  In addition, in the case of bracket shooting, since a plurality of shot images are obtained, if image processing and confirmation display are performed for all of the plurality of shot images after preliminary shooting, a considerable amount of time is required before moving to the next shooting. It becomes.

  An object of the present invention is to make it possible to confirm the effect of shooting under a set exposure condition before shooting.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, input means for inputting exposure condition setting information at the time of photographing, instruction means for instructing a preview of a photographed image based on the exposure conditions, and a preview instruction by the instruction means Accordingly, a photographing unit that performs provisional photographing according to the input exposure condition setting information, an image generation unit that generates a preview image based on the photographed image obtained by the provisional photographing, and a child screen on the display screen. And a display means for displaying the preview image on the sub-screen.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the preview image of the exposure condition set by the user is generated and displayed by provisional shooting, the user can obtain the shooting effect by the exposure condition set by the preview image before the actual shooting. Can be confirmed.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the preview images of the plurality of exposure conditions are generated and displayed, the user can confirm the photographing effect of the plurality of exposure conditions by the preview image, and the photographing of each exposure condition. The effects can be compared.

  According to the third aspect of the invention, it is possible to easily recognize which preview image is based on which exposure condition based on the exposure condition information of the preview image.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to perform image processing that emphasizes the photographing effect according to the exposure condition of the preview image. Thereby, even when the size of the preview image displayed on the small screen is small, it is easy to grasp the shooting effect according to the shooting conditions.

  In this embodiment, the user can freely set the exposure conditions at the time of shooting, an example of temporarily shooting with the set exposure conditions before performing the main shooting, and previewing the shot image on the child screen, A case of normal shooting and bracket shooting will be described.

  Note that normal shooting refers to shooting once under set shooting conditions, and bracket shooting refers to generating a plurality of bracket images with different shooting conditions for the same subject. Say. The shooting conditions include exposure conditions such as aperture and shutter speed, and conditions related to post-shooting image processing such as saturation and contrast.

  In bracket shooting, you can shoot multiple times continuously while changing the shooting conditions and generate multiple bracket images for each shooting, and you can shoot only once, and the shooting image obtained by this shooting can be used as shooting conditions. And a method of generating a plurality of bracket images by performing corresponding image processing. The former is applied in the case of an exposure condition that needs to be changed during shooting, and the latter is applied in the case of a condition relating to image processing. Further, the bracket image refers to a plurality of captured images obtained by bracket shooting, which are captured or image-processed according to the shooting conditions set for each bracket image.

First, the configuration will be described.
FIG. 1 shows a configuration of the photographing apparatus 1 in the present embodiment.
As the photographing apparatus 1, an information processing apparatus such as a digital camera, a digital video camera, a mobile phone equipped with a camera, a portable terminal such as a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), or a personal computer equipped with a camera can be applied.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the photographing apparatus 1 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11, a display unit 12, an input unit 13, a camera unit 14, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 15, a storage unit 16, and an image processing unit 17. Each part is connected via a bus 18.

  The CPU 11 reads various control programs such as the normal photographing processing program (see FIG. 3) and the bracket photographing processing program (see FIG. 5) according to the present invention from the storage unit 16, performs various calculations according to the program, and executes the processing. Overall control. The contents of the process will be described later.

  The display unit 12 is a display unit configured to include a display such as an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), and sets shooting conditions such as a menu screen and exposure conditions at the time of shooting on the display according to display control of the CPU 11. Various operation screens, such as a setting screen for displaying.

  The input unit 13 includes a shutter button for instructing photographing, a cursor key for performing a selection operation, a mode switching key for switching operation modes such as a photographing mode and a reproduction mode, and a preview display that is an instruction means for preview display. The input means includes various operation buttons such as buttons. The input unit 13 generates an operation signal corresponding to the operated button and outputs the operation signal to the CPU 11.

  The camera unit 14 performs imaging according to control by the CPU 11 and generates data of the captured image. The camera unit 14 includes, for example, a photographing lens, a diaphragm mechanism, an image sensor, a drive circuit, an analog processing circuit, an A / D conversion circuit, a buffer register, a signal processing circuit, and the like.

A photographing method using the camera unit 14 will be described.
First, when a subject image (an optical image of a subject) enters the camera unit 14, the subject image is formed on an imaging element such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) via a photographing lens and a diaphragm mechanism. In the imaging device, a subject image is formed, and charges corresponding to the amount of light are accumulated. The accumulated charges are sequentially read out by a drive pulse signal provided from the drive circuit and output to the analog processing circuit. . The analog processing circuit performs various signal processing such as color separation, gain adjustment, and white balance, and the processed signal is stored in a buffer register as a digital data frame image (still image) via the A / D conversion circuit. Is done. Next, the frame image stored in the buffer register is converted into a luminance signal and a color difference signal in the signal processing circuit, and is output to the RAM 15 shown in FIG.

  The RAM 15 is a work memory that provides a temporary storage area to the CPU 11.

The storage unit 16 stores various control programs and various data such as parameters necessary for processing and processing results.
The storage unit 16 stores files including a bracket exposure setting file 161, a manual exposure setting file 162, and an image file 163.

The bracket exposure setting file 161 is a file in which shooting condition setting information for each of a plurality of shootings in bracket shooting is stored.
As shown in FIG. 2, the bracket exposure setting file 161 stores exposure conditions set for each shooting order. As exposure conditions, aperture (F value) and shutter speed setting information is stored. Yes.

  The bracket exposure setting file 161 stores a flag indicating an exposure condition setting mode. The flag is formed of, for example, two codes, and the first code indicates a manual setting mode that is set by the user himself or an automatic mode that is automatically set on the photographing apparatus 1 side. In the automatic mode, A is set. The following code indicates which of the aperture or shutter speed is to be set manually prior to manual setting, in aperture priority AE mode where the aperture condition is set manually and the shutter speed condition is set automatically On the contrary, the aperture condition is set automatically, and S is set in the shutter speed priority AE mode where the shutter speed condition is set manually. Therefore, for example, in the case of manual setting and the aperture priority AE mode, the flag “MA” is stored.

  The manual exposure setting file 162 is used to manage shooting condition setting information input by the user when performing normal shooting, not bracket shooting. That is, the manual exposure file 162 has the same file structure as that obtained by deleting the shooting order item in the bracket exposure setting file 161 shown in FIG. 2, and stores only the shooting conditions for one shot. Become.

The image file 163 is a file for managing captured image data generated by the camera unit 14.
A portable external memory may be connectable, and the image file 163 may be stored in the external memory.

  The storage unit 16 is not limited to the above-described files 161 to 163, but is a priority setting file (a file in which an output parameter value appropriate for the input parameter value is defined in advance) used in the aperture priority AE mode and the shutter speed priority AE mode. ) And other files necessary for shooting and setting processing.

  The image processing unit 17 performs various image processes on the captured image in accordance with instructions from the CPU 11. Examples of the image processing include gradation conversion processing, sharpness adjustment processing, and color conversion processing.

Next, the operation will be described.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the normal photographing process executed by the photographing apparatus 1 in the normal photographing mode. As a premise for explanation, it is assumed that a manual setting mode for manually operating the exposure condition is set by the user.

  In the normal photographing process shown in FIG. 3, first, image capture by the camera unit 14 is started, and through display is performed on the display unit 12 by the generated frame image (step A1). The through display means that the frame image generated by the camera unit 14 is displayed on the display unit 12 without being saved.

  Next, a setting screen for manually setting the exposure conditions at the time of shooting is displayed on the display unit 12 (step A2). On the setting screen, an input area for the F value, which is an aperture parameter, and a parameter value for the shutter speed is displayed as the exposure condition. Therefore, the user can input exposure condition setting information from the input unit 13 on this setting screen. . When the user wants to confirm the shooting effect according to the input exposure condition, the user presses the preview button.

  In the photographing apparatus 1, when the exposure condition setting information is input on the setting screen, the CPU 11 writes the setting information in the manual exposure setting file 162, and the exposure condition is set (step A3). When the aperture priority AE mode or the shutter speed priority AE mode is set, when the user sets a parameter value for either the aperture or the shutter speed, the CPU 11 sets an appropriate value for the input parameter value in advance. An appropriate shutter speed or aperture parameter value corresponding to the set parameter value is assigned and set based on a priority setting file in which a proper shutter speed or aperture parameter value is defined.

  When the setting of the exposure condition is completed, the display unit 12 switches to the through display by the display control of the CPU 11. When the preview button is pressed through the operation unit 12 in the through display state (step A4; Y), provisional photographing is performed by the camera unit 14 under the set exposure condition, and the provisional photographing is generated. The captured image is temporarily stored in the RAM 15 (step A5). The provisional photographing is photographing performed to obtain a preview image for confirming the photographing effect before the main photographing.

  Next, image processing is performed on the captured image by the image processing unit 17 to create a preview reduced image (referred to as a preview image) (step A6). At the same time, the camera unit 14 resumes image capture, and the display unit 12 starts through display. Then, under the display control of the CPU 11, a preview image created on the through-displayed frame image (referred to as a through image) is synthesized and a preview display of temporary shooting is performed (step A7).

FIG. 4 shows a preview display example.
In FIG. 4A, a preview image e1 created by provisional shooting under an exposure condition with an F value of “2.8” and a shutter speed of “1/125” is displayed on a sub-screen provided in the through image E1. FIG. 4B shows an example in which the preview image e2 under the exposure condition of F value “8” and shutter speed “1/125” is displayed on the sub-screen of the through image E2. is there. In both cases, exposure conditions p1 and p2 at the time of shooting are displayed corresponding to the preview images e1 and e2.

  The user can confirm the shooting effect when the exposure condition is changed based on the preview images e1 and e2. For example, in the preview image e1, since the F value is set to a small value, it can be seen that the depth of field is shallow and the front and back of the focused flower subject are blurred. Further, in the preview image e2, since the F value is large and the depth of field is deep, it can be seen that the front and back of the flower subject are sharp as if they are in focus.

  As a result of observing the preview images e1 and e2, the user confirms the set exposure condition if the photographed result is satisfactory, and presses the shutter button via the input unit 13 to perform the main photographing. On the other hand, when there is dissatisfaction with the photographing result, an instruction to change the exposure condition is given.

  In the photographing apparatus 1, after the preview display, when the CPU 11 determines that the instruction operation by the user is on standby and the exposure condition change setting is instructed (step A8; Y), the process returns to step A2, and steps A2 to A2 are performed. Repeat the process of A8.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the shutter button has been pressed instead of the exposure condition change setting instruction operation (step A9; Y), the exposure condition set in the manual exposure setting file 161 is read by the CPU 11, The main photographing is performed by the camera unit 14 according to the exposure condition. That is, a frame image generated immediately after the shutter button is pressed in the through display state is acquired as a captured image. Then, when this captured image is stored in the image file 163 of the storage unit 16 and saved (step A10), this process is terminated.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 5, it is a flowchart explaining the bracket imaging process performed by the imaging device 1 in the bracket imaging mode. As a premise of the explanation, it is assumed that the setting mode for manually setting the exposure condition is set by the user.

  In the bracket photographing process shown in FIG. 5, first, image capture by the camera unit 14 is started, and through display is performed on the display unit 12 by the generated frame image (step B1).

  Next, a setting screen for manually setting the exposure conditions during bracket shooting is displayed on the display unit 12 (step B2). On the setting screen, input areas of F value and shutter speed values, which are aperture parameters, are displayed for each shooting order as exposure conditions. Therefore, the user can set the exposure condition from the input unit 13 for each shooting of bracket shooting on this setting screen. The setting information can be entered. It should be noted that the number of shots can be set to increase or decrease. When the user wants to confirm the shooting effect according to the input exposure condition, the user presses the preview button.

  In the photographing apparatus 1, when setting information of exposure conditions for each photographing is input on the setting screen, the CPU 11 writes the setting information into the bracket exposure setting file 161 and sets the exposure conditions (step B3). When the aperture priority AE mode or the shutter speed priority AE mode is set, when any parameter value of the aperture or the shutter speed is set by the user, the CPU 11 sets the parameter value based on the priority setting file. An appropriate shutter speed or aperture parameter value is assigned and set according to the parameter value.

  When the setting is completed, the display unit 12 switches to the through display by the display control of the CPU 11. When the preview button is pressed through the operation unit 12 in this through display state (step B4; Y), provisional bracket shooting is performed by the camera unit 14 under the set exposure conditions. That is, shooting is continuously performed a plurality of times while changing to the exposure condition set for each shooting. Then, each captured image generated by the provisional bracket shooting is temporarily stored in the RAM 15 (step B5). The temporary bracket shooting is shooting performed to obtain a preview image for confirming the shooting effect before the main bracket shooting.

  Next, each captured image is subjected to image processing by the image processing unit 17, and a preview image in which the captured image is reduced is created (step B6). At the same time, the camera unit 14 resumes image capture, and the display unit 12 starts through display. Then, under the display control of the CPU 11, preview images for a plurality of shots created on the through image displayed as a through display are combined and a preview display of the temporary bracket shooting is performed (step B 7).

FIG. 6 shows a preview display example.
FIG. 6A shows an example of a preview image in the manual setting mode. A sub-screen is provided on the through image E3, and preview images e31 to e34 created by provisional bracket shooting on the sub-screen. Is displayed. In addition, the aperture (F value) and shutter speed setting values are displayed in association with the preview images e31 to e34. Each of the preview images e31 to e34 has the F value “2.8”, “4”, “5.6”, “8” individually set, and the shutter speed is uniformly set to “1/125”. Have been filmed.

  The user can confirm the photographing effect when the exposure condition is changed by comparing the preview images e31 to e34. For example, in the preview image e31, since the F value is set to a small value, it can be seen that the depth of field is shallow and the front and back of the focused flower subject are blurred. On the other hand, as the F value gradually increases, the depth of field becomes deeper, and the preview image e34 having the maximum F value becomes sharper as if the front and back of the subject of the flower are also in focus. I can see that

  When the aperture priority AE mode or the shutter speed priority AE mode is set, a preview display as shown in FIG. 6B is performed. FIG. 6B shows an example of the aperture priority AE mode. In the priority AE mode, parameter values determined to be appropriate on the photographing apparatus 1 side are automatically set, so that previews with different F values and different shutter speeds are used. An image is displayed on the sub-screen.

  The user determines the exposure condition that has been set if the shooting result is satisfactory based on the preview image, and presses the shutter button via the input unit 13 when performing the actual shooting without changing the exposure condition. On the other hand, when there is dissatisfaction with the photographing result, an instruction to change the exposure condition is given.

  In the photographing apparatus 1, after the preview display, an instruction operation by the user is on standby. When the CPU 11 determines that an exposure condition change setting instruction has been operated via the input unit 13 (step B8; Y), the process returns to step A2, and the processes of steps A2 to A8 are repeated.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the shutter button has been pressed instead of the exposure condition change setting instruction operation (step B9; Y), the exposure condition set in the manual exposure setting file 161 is read by the CPU 11, The main photographing is performed by the camera unit 14 according to the exposure condition. That is, a frame image generated immediately after the shutter button is pressed in the through display state is acquired as a captured image. Then, when this captured image is stored in the image file 163 of the storage unit 16 and saved (step B10), this process is terminated.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the user can set the exposure conditions at the time of shooting, and a preliminary image is created before the main shooting to create a review image. Then, a sub-screen is provided on the through image display screen, and a preview image is displayed on the sub-screen. Since the preview image is a reduced image, the time until the preview display can be shortened, and the user can quickly confirm the shooting effect according to the exposure condition set by the user before the actual shooting. Therefore, the shooting efficiency is improved.

  Also, during bracket shooting, temporary bracket shooting is performed in the same manner, and each preview image is displayed on a sub-screen for each shooting. Therefore, the user can obtain the shooting effect according to the exposure condition set for each bracket shooting. You can quickly check before shooting. In the case of bracket shooting, a plurality of preview images are displayed. However, since preview display is performed with reduced images, the time required for display can be shortened even when all preview images are displayed. Can do. Therefore, it is particularly effective to apply the present invention during bracket photography.

In addition, the imaging device 1 in this embodiment is a suitable example to which the present invention is applied, and is not limited to this.
For example, in the above description, the through image is displayed on the full screen, and the preview image is displayed on the sub screen. However, the display of the full screen and the sub screen is switched according to a user operation. Also good. That is, when the switching display is instructed by the user, the through image displayed on the entire screen is displayed on the sub screen, and the preview image displayed on the sub screen is displayed on the entire screen. Alternatively, the preview image displayed on the child screen may be enlarged and displayed according to the instruction operation. As a result, the preview image can be enlarged and displayed, and the shooting effect can be easily confirmed.

  In addition, the preview image is displayed on a small screen, but if the screen size of the display unit 12 is small, the review image is also small. In this case, since it may be difficult to confirm the shooting effect, the image processing unit 17 may perform image processing that emphasizes the shooting effect on the preview image. For example, when shooting splashes, if the shutter speed is set fast to capture an image that captures water droplets, sharpness adjustment is emphasized by sharpness adjustment processing, and the flow of water is expressed. Therefore, if the shutter speed is set slower, the sharpness is lowered. Thereby, since the shooting effect is emphasized, the shooting effect can be grasped even if the display size of the preview image is small.

  In the above description, an example in which only the exposure condition is set has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and shooting conditions relating to image quality such as white balance, saturation, and contrast can be set, and a preview reflecting the shooting condition is set. An image may be displayed. Thereby, it is possible to easily confirm not only the exposure condition but also the photographing effect by other conditions.

It is a figure which shows the internal structure of the imaging device in embodiment to which this invention is applied. It is a figure which shows the file structure of the bracket exposure setting file 161. FIG. It is a flowchart explaining the normal imaging | photography process performed with an imaging device. (A), (b) is a figure which shows the example of a preview image. It is a flowchart explaining the bracket imaging | photography process performed with an imaging device. (A), (b) is a figure which shows the example of a preview image.

Explanation of symbols

1 photographing device 11 CPU
12 Display unit 13 Input unit 14 Camera unit 15 RAM
16 Storage unit 17 Image processing unit

Claims (4)

Input means for inputting exposure condition setting information at the time of shooting;
An instruction means for instructing a preview of a captured image according to the exposure condition;
In response to a preview instruction from the instruction unit, an imaging unit that performs provisional shooting according to the input exposure condition setting information;
Image generating means for generating a preview image based on the captured image obtained by the provisional imaging;
A display means for providing a sub-screen on the display screen and displaying the preview image on the sub-screen;
An imaging apparatus comprising: The input means inputs a plurality of exposure condition setting information,
The photographing means performs provisional photographing a plurality of times in accordance with the inputted setting information of the plurality of exposure conditions,
The image generation means generates a preview image for each of a plurality of captured images obtained by the provisional shooting,
The photographing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display unit displays the plurality of generated preview images.   3. The display unit according to claim 1, wherein the display unit displays the preview image on the sub-screen, and displays information on an exposure condition at the time of photographing in association with the preview image. The imaging device described. Image processing means for performing image processing according to an exposure condition at the time of shooting the preview image;
The photographing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display unit displays a preview image on which the image processing has been performed.

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