JP2001292367A - Imaging apparatus and image pickup method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an imaging apparatus and an imaging method that prevent production of an improper finally generated image on the occurrence of a fault disturbing multiple image processing in a multiple photographing image mode and to provide the image pickup device that can inform a photographer about the occurrence of a fault. SOLUTION: The imaging apparatus has the multiple photographing image mode where a plurality of photographing image are synthesized to obtain a single image as a multiple image processing. A fault disturbing the multiple image processing is detected during the photographing in the multiple photographing image mode. When any fault is detected, the processing in the multiple photographing image mode is stopped. Thus, a defect that the processing in the multiple photographing image mode is automatically continued and a defective photographing image corresponding to the fault is automatically integrated as a multiple image processing object can be avoided.

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 and an image pickup method applied to a digital camera and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a digital camera, for example, a digital camera capable of performing photographing in a mode called a multiplex image photographing mode for multiplex photographing processing is known.

[0003] Such multiple image processing includes, for example, high-resolution processing for creating a high-resolution image from a plurality of images, depth control processing for synthesizing an image whose subject depth has been adjusted from a plurality of images, and dynamic range of imaging. Combine multiple images of the same subject under different imaging conditions to create a single image, such as a large gradation process that expands or a blurring process that combines multiple images to create a blur-free image. This processing is performed inside a digital camera or using a personal computer or the like. Further, the multiple image shooting mode is a mode for obtaining a plurality of images for the multiple image processing.

[0004] The acquisition of a plurality of images in the above-mentioned multiple image shooting mode is based on the premise that the same subject having substantially the same shooting position is imaged. Therefore, in the multiple image shooting mode, the same subject is continuously captured. Take an image. Specifically, a plurality of images are continuously photographed in response to one photographing instruction by the photographer.

[0005]

The photographer,
Sometimes, the subject is photographed without checking the current mode. For example, if the photographer gives a photographing instruction while thinking that the current mode is the multiple image photographing mode but the single image photographing mode, the digital camera may be moved during photographing. It is possible enough. However, if the digital camera is moved during photographing of a multiplex image, an image whose photographing position is greatly shifted is used for multiplex image processing, and a good final generated image cannot be obtained. In addition, even if an obstacle suddenly jumps in front of the digital camera during shooting of multiple images, the image of the obstacle will be used for multiplex image processing, and a good final generated image will be obtained. Can not.

In the multiple image processing stage after photographing, of the plurality of captured images,
In some cases, the exposure of some images is insufficient and blackening occurs. Conversely, the subject may be illuminated with light more than expected, causing overexposure and the like. When such an underexposed image or an overexposed image is used for multiplex image processing, the appearance of the final generated image becomes poor due to the influence of the defective image.
Not suitable for multiple image processing.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an image pickup apparatus and an image pickup apparatus capable of preventing an inappropriate final generated image from being generated when an abnormality that hinders the multiple image processing occurs in the multiple image mode. It is an object to provide an imaging method or an imaging device that can notify a photographer that an abnormality has occurred.

[0008]

An object of the present invention is to provide an image pickup apparatus having a multiple image photographing mode for performing a multiple image processing for synthesizing a plurality of photographed images to obtain a single image.
An abnormality detecting unit that detects an abnormality that hinders the multiple image processing during shooting in the multiple image shooting mode; and a control unit that stops processing in the multiple image shooting mode when an abnormality is detected by the abnormality detecting unit. Are solved by an imaging device characterized by comprising:

In this imaging apparatus, when an abnormality is detected during photographing, for example, camera shake during photographing, poor exposure, or the like, or a shielding object crosses in front of the photographing lens,
Further, when the power is turned off or the like, the processing in the multiple image capturing mode is stopped, so that the processing in the multiple image capturing mode is automatically continued, and the defective captured image corresponding to the abnormality is subjected to the multiple image processing. The inconvenience of being automatically incorporated as a target is eliminated, and the occurrence of an inappropriate final generated image is prevented.

[0010] Further, the object is to provide an image pickup apparatus having a multiple image photographing mode for performing a multiple image processing for combining a plurality of photographed images to obtain a single image. In contrast, an abnormality detection unit that detects an abnormality that hinders the multiplex image processing, and a control unit that stops processing in the multiplex image shooting mode when an abnormality is detected by the abnormality detection unit, It is also solved by an imaging device that performs the above.

In this imaging apparatus, when there is an image abnormality, for example, an image of a blackened image or an overexposed image, the processing in the multiple image shooting mode is stopped. The inconvenience of being automatically incorporated as an image processing object is eliminated, and the occurrence of an inappropriate final generated image is prevented.

[0012] Further, an object of the present invention is to provide an image pickup apparatus having a multiple image photographing mode for performing a multiple image processing for combining a plurality of photographed images to obtain a single image. An abnormality detection unit that detects an abnormality that hinders the multiplex image processing, and a display unit that displays that the multiplex image capturing has failed when an abnormality is detected by the abnormality detection unit, It is also solved by an imaging device that performs the above.

With this imaging apparatus, the photographer can recognize by the display means that the multiple image photographing has failed.

Further, the object is to provide an image pickup apparatus having a multiple image photographing mode for performing a multiple image processing for synthesizing a plurality of photographed images to obtain a single image, the image photographed in the multiple image photographing mode. On the other hand, there is provided an abnormality detecting means for detecting an abnormality that hinders the multiplex image processing, and a display means for displaying that the multiplex image photographing has failed when an abnormality is detected by the abnormality detecting means. The imaging device described above also solves the problem.

[0015] Also with this imaging device, the photographer can recognize by the display means that the abnormality has occurred.

[0016] The object of the present invention is to detect an abnormality that hinders the multiple image processing during multiple image processing for performing multiple image processing for obtaining a single image by combining a plurality of captured images; A step of stopping processing in the multiple image processing mode when an abnormality is detected, and a multiple image processing for combining a plurality of captured images to obtain a single image. Detecting an abnormality that hinders the multiplex image processing for an image obtained by multiplex image capturing for performing the operation, and stopping the processing in the multiplex image processing mode when an abnormality is detected. The invention is also solved by an imaging method characterized by the above.

According to these imaging methods, when an abnormality is detected during photographing or when an abnormality is detected in the obtained image, the processing in the multiple image processing mode is stopped. The corresponding defective picked-up image is not automatically incorporated as a target of the multiple image processing, and the occurrence of an inappropriate final generated image is prevented beforehand.

[0018]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 to FIG. 3 show a digital camera as an image pickup apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the multiplex image processing is performed by an external device, for example, a personal computer.

1 to 3, a digital camera 1 is shown.
Is composed of a box-shaped camera body 2 and a rectangular parallelepiped imaging unit 3. The imaging unit 3 is detachably attached to the right side of the camera body 2 when viewed from the front (the front side in FIG. 1), and is rotatably mounted in a plane parallel to the right side.

The image pickup unit 3 includes a photographing lens 301 having a macro zoom and a CCD (Charge) shown in FIG.
It has an image pickup device including a photoelectric conversion element such as a Coupled Device (303), and converts an optical image of a subject into a CCD3.
The image data is converted into an image composed of charge signals photoelectrically converted by the respective pixels 03 and taken in.

On the other hand, the camera body 2 is an LCD (Liq
display unit 10 comprising a U.S. Uid Crystal Display, and a memory card 8 as an example of a recording medium
And a connection terminal 13 to which a personal computer or the like is externally connected. After subjecting the image signal captured by the imaging unit 3 to predetermined signal processing, the display on the LCD display unit 10 and the memory card 8 and processing such as transfer to a network-connected device (FIG. 4) 19 such as a personal computer.

A photographing lens 301 is provided inside the image pickup section 3, and a C
An imaging circuit unit including a CD color area sensor 303 (FIG. 4) is provided. In addition, in an appropriate place in the imaging unit 3,
A dimming circuit 304 (FIG. 4) including a dimming sensor 305 that receives the flash light reflected from the subject is provided.

The light control sensor 305 detects the amount of light incident on the photographing lens 301.
It is possible to detect that a person or the like crosses before 01.

Further, a white balance (WB) sensor 21 and a distance measuring sensor (not shown) are provided at appropriate places in the image pickup section 3.
And so on. The WB sensor 21 detects a color temperature of light and adjusts a white balance of an image. The distance measurement sensor measures the distance to the subject for auto-focus (AF).

As shown in FIG. 1, on the front surface of the camera body 2, a grip 4 is provided at an appropriate position at the left end, and a built-in flash 5 is provided at an appropriate upper portion at the right end. As shown in FIG. 1, on the upper surface of the camera body 2, switches 6 and 7 for frame advance when reproducing a recorded image are provided substantially at the center. The switch 6 is used to advance the recorded image in the direction in which the frame number increases (the direction of the photographing order) (hereinafter referred to as the Up key). (Hereinafter referred to as Down key). Also, when viewed from the back side (the front side in FIG. 2), Dow
An erase switch D for erasing an image recorded on the memory card 8 is provided on the left side of the n key 7, and a shutter button 9 is provided on the right side of the Up key 6.

As shown in FIG. 2, on the back of the camera body 2, an LCD display for displaying a monitor of a photographed image (corresponding to a view finder) and reproducing and displaying a recorded image is provided substantially at the center of the left end. 10 are provided. Also LC
As shown in FIG. 7, in a lower area in the D display unit 10, a display unit 431 that warns and displays the occurrence of an inconvenience in the multiplex image processing in the multiplex image processing mode, A display unit 432 for displaying the presence is provided, and when the photographer visually recognizes the image VD of the subject, the display units 431 and 432 can be easily confirmed. A compression rate setting slide switch 12 for switching and setting a compression rate K of the image data recorded on the memory card 8 is provided below the LCD display section 10. A switch PS is provided. The connection terminal 13 is provided on a side surface of the camera body 2 on the imaging unit 3 side.

Further, the camera main body 2 is provided with a microphone / MIC loudspeaker MIC for recording audio or for generating the recorded audio during reproduction. Can be heard through the microphone MIC.

The digital camera 1 has a flash mode (hereinafter, flash is sometimes referred to as FL) flash mode, an "automatic flash mode" in which the built-in flash 5 is automatically flashed in accordance with the subject brightness. The LCD 10 is provided with a "forced light emission mode" for forcibly emitting light from the built-in flash 5 and a "light emission inhibition mode" for forbidden light emission from the built-in flash 5 regardless of the
Each time the FL mode setting key 11 arranged above the key is pressed, each mode of "automatic flash", "forced flash" and "flash disabled" is cyclically switched, and any one of the modes is selected and set. It has become.

The digital camera 1 has 1/8 and 1 /
For example, when the compression ratio setting switch 12 is slid to the right, the compression ratio K is set to 1/8, and when it is slid to the left, the compression ratio K is set.
= 1/20 is set.

Further, a mode setting switch 14 for switching between a "standard photographing mode (single image photographing mode)" and a "multiple image photographing mode" is provided at the upper right end of the rear surface of the camera body 2. . The standard photographing mode is a mode for performing normal photographing, and the multiple image photographing mode is a mode for continuously photographing a plurality of images for multiple image processing. The mode setting switch 14 also includes a two-contact slide switch. For example, sliding to the right sets the standard shooting mode, and sliding to the left sets the multiple image shooting mode.

A battery loading chamber 1 is provided on the bottom of the camera body 2.
8 and a card loading chamber 17 for the memory card 8 are provided.
The loading ports of the loading chambers 17 and 18 are closed by a clamshell type lid 15. The digital camera 1 in this embodiment uses a power supply battery formed by connecting four AA batteries in series as a drive source.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a control system of the digital camera 1.

In the imaging section 3, the CCD 303
Transforms an optical image of a subject formed by the macro zoom lens 301 into image signals of R (red), G (green), and B (blue) color components (from a signal train of pixel signals received by each pixel). ) And output. The timing generator 314 generates various timing pulses for controlling driving of the CCD 303.

The exposure control in the image pickup unit 3 is performed by adjusting the exposure amount of the CCD 303, that is, the charge accumulation time of the CCD 303 corresponding to the shutter speed, since the stop is a fixed stop. If the appropriate shutter speed cannot be set when the subject brightness is low,
By adjusting the level of the image signal output from D303, improper exposure due to insufficient exposure is corrected. That is, when the luminance is low, exposure control is performed by combining the shutter speed and the gain adjustment. The level adjustment of the image signal is performed in the gain adjustment of the AGC circuit in the signal processing circuit 313.

The timing generator 314 generates a drive control signal for the CCD 303 based on the reference clock transmitted from the timing control circuit 202. The timing generator 314 generates clock signals such as integration start / end (exposure start / end) timing signals and light-receiving signal readout control signals (horizontal synchronization signal, vertical synchronization signal, transfer signal, etc.) for each pixel. CCD3
03 is output.

The signal processing circuit 313 performs predetermined analog signal processing on an image signal (analog signal) output from the CCD 303. The signal processing circuit 313
It has a DS correlation double sampling) circuit and an AGC (auto gain control) circuit. The CDS circuit reduces noise of the image signal, and adjusts the gain of the AGC circuit to adjust the level of the image signal.

The light control circuit 304 controls the light emission amount of the built-in flash 5 in flash photography to a predetermined light emission amount set by the overall control unit 211. In flash photography, the reflected light of flash light from the subject is received by the light control sensor 305 at the same time as the start of exposure, and when the amount of received light reaches a predetermined light emission amount, the light control circuit 3
An emission stop signal is output from 04 to the flash control circuit 214 via the overall control unit 211. The flash control circuit 214 forcibly stops the light emission of the built-in flash 5 in response to the light emission stop signal, whereby the light emission amount of the built-in flash 5 is controlled to a predetermined light emission amount.

In the camera body 2, the A / D converter 205 converts each pixel signal of the image signal into a 10-bit digital signal. The A / D converter 205 is
Each pixel signal (analog signal) is converted into a 10-bit digital signal based on an A / D conversion clock.

In the camera body 2, a timing control circuit 202 for generating a reference clock, a timing generator 314, and a clock for the A / D converter 205 is provided. The timing control circuit 202 is controlled by the overall control unit 211.

The black level correction circuit 206 corrects the black level of the pixel signal (hereinafter referred to as pixel data) A / D converted by the A / D converter 205 to a reference black level. A white balance circuit (hereinafter, referred to as a WB circuit) 207 performs level conversion of pixel data of each of R, G, and B color components so that the white balance is also adjusted after the γ correction. WB circuit 207
Converts the level of the pixel data of each of the R, G, and B color components using the level conversion table input from the overall control unit 211.

The gamma correction circuit 208 corrects gamma characteristics of pixel data. The γ correction circuit 208 has, for example, six types of γ correction tables having different γ characteristics, and performs γ correction of pixel data using a predetermined γ correction table according to a shooting scene or shooting conditions.

The image memory 209 is a memory for storing pixel data output from the gamma correction circuit 208. The image memory 209 has a storage capacity for M frames. That is, in the image memory 209, the CCD 303
In the case of having pixels in rows and m columns, it has a storage capacity of pixel data of M × n × m pixels, and each pixel data is stored in a corresponding pixel position.

The VRAM 210 is a buffer memory for image data reproduced and displayed on the LCD display unit 10. VR
The AM 210 has a storage capacity for image data corresponding to the number of pixels of the LCD display unit 10.

As described above, the MIC is a microphone / speaker. When displaying the video signal described later,
The audio signal in the video signal is audio-separated by the overall control unit 211 and can be heard on the speaker MIC.

In the photographing standby state, each pixel data of the image picked up by the image pickup unit 3 every 1/30 (second) is
After being subjected to predetermined signal processing by the A / D converters 205 to γ correction circuit 208, the signals are stored in the image memory 209, transferred to the VRAM 210 via the overall control unit 211, and displayed on the LCD display unit 10. You. This allows the photographer to visually recognize the subject image from the image displayed on the LCD display unit 10. In the reproduction mode, after the image read from the memory card 8 is subjected to predetermined signal processing by the overall control unit 211, the VRAM 21
0 and is reproduced and displayed on the LCD display unit 10.

The card I / F 212 is an interface for writing image data to the memory card 8 and reading image data. Also, communication I / F2
Reference numeral 13 denotes an interface for externally connecting the digital camera 1 to each of the network connection devices 19 such as a personal computer in a communicable manner.
394 standard.

The flash control circuit 214 is a circuit for controlling the light emission of the built-in flash 5. The flash control circuit 214 controls the presence / absence of light emission of the built-in flash 5, the light emission amount, the light emission timing, and the like based on the control signal of the overall control unit 211, and based on the light emission stop signal STP input from the dimming circuit 304. The light emission amount of the flash 5 is controlled.

The RTC 219 is a clock circuit for managing the shooting date and time, and is driven by another power source (not shown).

The operation unit 250 includes the Up key 6,
It comprises a Down key 7, a shutter button 9, an FL mode setting key 11, a compression ratio setting switch 12, a mode setting switch 14, and the like.

The overall control unit 211 includes the WB sensor 2
1 and a camera shake sensor 320 are connected. The camera shake sensor 320 detects a camera shake while the photographer is taking a picture of the digital camera 1 by hand, and is configured by a gyro having a position displacement detection function. In addition, the overall control unit 211 is also connected to a sensor (not shown) for detecting the exhaustion of the capacity of each power supply.

The overall control unit 211 is composed of a microcomputer, and includes the inside of the image pickup unit 3 and the camera main unit 2 described above.
Digital camera 1 by organically controlling the driving of each member in the
Is a general control of the photographing operation.

Further, when the mode setting switch 14 is set to the multiple image capturing mode, the overall control unit 211 controls the camera shake detection sensor 320, the WB sensor 21, the light control sensor 305, and a distance measuring sensor (not shown). Based on information obtained by a sensor or the like for detecting a battery (battery) exhaustion, multiplexing to be performed later, such as an abnormality during photographing, for example, a camera shake, a crossing state of a shielding object, a sudden change in incident light, a dead battery, etc. It also functions as an abnormality detection unit that detects a state in which an image that is not desirable for image processing may be obtained, or detects that the obtained captured image is an image that is not desirable for multiplex image processing. In addition, when an abnormality is detected, as described later, the function also serves as control means for temporarily stopping the processing in the multiple image capturing mode and displaying that the multiple image capturing has failed.

Further, the overall control unit 211 has an image number counter for counting the number of captured images for multiplex photography.

Further, as shown in FIG.
Reference numeral 1 includes a luminance determining unit 211a for setting an exposure control value (shutter speed (SS)) and a shutter speed (SS) setting unit 211b. The brightness determination unit 211a determines the brightness of a subject in an imaging standby state by using an image captured by the CCD 303 every 1/30 (second). That is, the luminance determination unit 211a determines the brightness of the subject using the image data that is renewedly stored in the image memory 209.

The luminance determination section 211a is provided in the image memory 209.
Is divided into nine blocks, and the luminance data representing each block is calculated using the pixel data of the G (green) color component included in each block.

The shutter speed setting section 211b is a shutter speed (integration time of the CCD 303) based on the result of the brightness determination of the subject by the brightness determination section 211a.
Is set. Shutter speed setting unit 21
1b has a shutter speed table.

The shutter speed is set to 1 when the camera is started.
/ 128 (seconds), and in the shooting standby state, the shutter speed setting unit 211b shifts one step from the initial value to the high-speed side or the low-speed side according to the result of the brightness determination of the subject by the brightness determination unit 211a. Change and set each time.

The general control unit 211 sets “low-brightness scene”, “medium-brightness normal scene”, “middle-brightness scene”, and “shutter speed” in order to set an appropriate shutter speed, γ correction, and filtering correction (described later) according to the shooting scene. A scene determination unit 211c that determines four types of shooting scenes, that is, a “medium brightness backlight scene” and a “high brightness scene” is provided. "Low brightness scene"
Is usually used for flash 5 like indoor photography and night photography.
The “medium-luminance normal scene” is a scene in which illumination light (including natural light and artificial light) for the main subject is in normal light and its brightness is appropriate and there is no auxiliary light. This is a scene that can be taken with. The “medium brightness backlight scene” is a scene in which the overall brightness is appropriate, but the flash light is preferable because the illumination light for the main subject is backlight, and the “high brightness scene” is, for example, a clear sea scene. It is a very bright scene like shooting at a ski resort. The determination result by the scene determination unit 211c is stored in the memory 211d.

Further, the overall control unit 211 determines whether the captured image is an image of a normal photograph of a landscape, a person, or the like (hereinafter, this type of captured image is referred to as a natural image) or is drawn on a white board or the like. Images of characters, charts, etc.
An image similar to the value image is called a character image. ) Is provided.

The image determining unit 211e is provided with an image memory 209
A histogram of the luminance data at each pixel position is created based on the pixel data constituting the captured image stored in the storage device, and the content of the captured image is determined based on the histogram.

In general, the histogram of the luminance data of a captured image has a small bias in the luminance distribution in the case of a natural image.
In the case of a character image such as a character drawn on a whiteboard, for example, a luminance distribution is biased in a white background portion and a black character portion, and a two-peak distribution having two peak values is obtained. Mountain distribution. Therefore, the image determination unit 2
11e determines whether the captured image is a natural image or a character image by determining whether the histogram of the luminance data of the captured image has a single-peak distribution or a two-peak distribution. Then, this determination result is also stored in the memory 211d.

The overall control unit 211 includes a filter unit 211f for performing a filtering process and a recorded image generating unit 211g for generating a thumbnail image and a compressed image in order to perform the recording process of the photographed image. In order to reproduce the recorded image on the LCD display unit 10,
A reproduction image generation unit 211h that generates a reproduction image is provided.

The filter section 211f corrects the high-frequency component of the image to be recorded by a digital filter to correct the image quality related to the outline. Filter unit 21
1f is a digital filter for performing a standard contour correction for each of the compression ratios K = 1/8 and 1/20, and two types of digital filters for enhancing the contour and the contour for the standard contour correction. A total of five types of digital filters, two types of digital filters to be weakened, are provided.

The recording image generating section 211g reads out pixel data from the image memory 209 and generates a thumbnail image and a compressed image to be recorded on the memory card 8. The recording image generation unit 211g reads pixel data for every eight pixels in both the horizontal direction and the vertical direction while scanning from the image memory 209 in the raster scanning direction, and sequentially transfers the pixel data to the memory card 8, thereby obtaining the thumbnail image. Is recorded on the memory card 8 while generating.

The recording image generating unit 211g reads out all pixel data from the image memory 209 and converts these pixel data into JPE data such as two-dimensional DCT transform and Huffman coding.
A predetermined compression process according to the G method is performed to generate image data of a compressed image, and the compressed image data is recorded in the main image area of the recording medium 8.

As shown in FIG. 6, 40 images can be stored in the image recorded by the digital camera 1 at a compression ratio of 1/20, and each of the frames 81 to 85 is compressed in the JPEG format with a tag portion. High-resolution image data (64
0 × 480 pixels) and image data for thumbnail display (8
0 × 60 pixels). For example, each frame can be handled as an image file in the EXIF format.

When the photographing is instructed by the shutter button 9 in the normal photographing mode, the general control unit 211
A thumbnail image of the image taken into the image memory 209 after the photographing instruction and a compressed image compressed by the JPEG method using the compression ratio K set by the compression ratio setting switch 12 are generated, and tag information (frame number, frame number, Exposure value, shutter speed, compression ratio K, shooting date, shooting time,
Flash on / off data during shooting, scene information,
Both images are stored in the memory card 8 together with information such as image determination results).

When the multiple photographing mode is selected,
When shooting is instructed by the shutter button 9 in the same manner as described above, after acquiring N images in the image memory 209,
A thumbnail image of the image captured in the image memory 209 and a compressed image compressed by the JPEG method using the compression ratio K set by the compression ratio setting switch 12 are generated,
Along with tag information (frame number, exposure value, shutter speed, compression ratio K, shooting date, flash on / off data at shooting, scene information, image determination result, etc.) related to the shot image. The operation of storing both images in the memory card 8 is repeated N times.

By the way, the multiple image processing, that is, the processing of synthesizing a single image from a plurality of images obtained by continuously photographing the same subject is performed for various purposes as follows. (1) Method of Obtaining a Super-Resolution Image A plurality of images are shot for the same subject with the shooting positions slightly shifted. From the plurality of images having different sampling phases, one image with increased resolution is obtained. (2) Depth control Changes the depth of field without actually operating the aperture.
When the subject has a distance distribution, for example, in the case of a foreground and a background, shooting is performed with hints in the foreground and the background. From these two images, an image in which both the foreground and the background are in focus (omnifocal image), an image in which the background blur is emphasized, and the like are obtained. (3) Gradation control An image taken twice with different exposure levels is synthesized to widen the apparent dynamic range. By manipulating the tone characteristics (γ curve) of the synthesized image, the tone reproducibility is optimized for the scene. (4) Shake Sealing The appropriate shutter speed is S seconds, and if camera shake is likely to occur under these conditions, if the camera shake is likely to occur, N shots will be taken with shutter speed T seconds sufficient to prevent camera shake (T × N = S). Then, by combining those images, an image without camera shake is obtained.

Next, in the digital camera 1, first,
FIG. 8 shows the operation when performing standard shooting (single image shooting mode).
This will be briefly described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In the following description and drawings, steps are abbreviated as S.

In step S101, when the shutter button 9 (release) is pressed by the photographer, in step S102,
Start exposure. When the predetermined exposure is completed in S103, in S104, image processing such as white balance correction, gamma correction, noise removal, color correction, and color enhancement is performed. After the predetermined exposure is completed, there is a case where the processing is temporarily performed after being temporarily stored in the buffer memory. After the end of the image processing, in S105, the image information is stored in the memory card 8 (S105).

Next, the operation for detecting an abnormality during photographing in the multiple image photographing mode will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

In step S201, a mode is set according to a mode setting operation by the photographer. In step S202, when the shutter button 9 (release) is pressed by the photographer's operation,
In step S203, the display unit 432 displays that the image capturing is performed in the multiple image capturing mode. Thereby, the photographer can understand that the current mode is the multiple image photographing mode.

When exposure is started in S204, S205
Thus, the overall control unit 211 determines whether the multiple image shooting has failed during the exposure. If there is no abnormality (NO in S205), the exposure ends in S206, and in S207,
The captured image is temporarily stored in the image memory 209.

Thereafter, in S208, it is determined whether or not the number of shot images has reached a predetermined number required for the multiple image shooting mode. If the predetermined number has not been reached (NO in S208), the process returns to S204 and repeats the predetermined operation.
If the predetermined number has been reached (YES in S208), S2
In step 09, the display unit 432 displays the end of the multiple image shooting (turns off the display). Next, in S210, processing such as white balance of the image stored in the image memory 209 is performed, and in S211 the data of all the images is stored in the memory card 8.

In the determination in S205, if the overall control unit 211 detects an abnormality (failure) during the multiplex image shooting (the determination in S205 is YES), the overall control unit 211
Temporarily stops the processing in the normal multiple image shooting mode,
At 212, the display indicating that the multiple image shooting is being performed by the display unit 432 is turned off, and at S213, the fact that the multiple image shooting has failed is displayed on the display unit 431.

In step S214, a dialogue for allowing the photographer to select whether to keep all the photographed images or to leave a part of the photographed images is displayed on the LCD display unit 10. indicate. When the photographer selects an image, the process advances to step S210 to perform image processing such as white balance correction on the selected image. Then
In S211, the selected image is stored in the memory card 8. Of course, it is also effective to automatically store all or a part of the captured image in the memory card 8 without selecting the photographer.

At the time of this image selection, a compressed image SV using thumbnails is displayed on the LCD display section 10, as shown in FIG. The photographer can move the arrow P on the screen to an arbitrary position by selecting and operating the UP key 6 and the DOWN key 7, so that the photographer can release the shutter button 9 while pointing at the desired image SV. By pressing the image, selection / non-selection of an image can be switched. Note that, here, the border Sa of the thumbnail image SV is made thick for the selected image, so that the image selection state is easy to understand. This image selection state corresponds to the image SV
Any method such as changing the overall color can be adopted.

Further, when the power is turned off or the like, the photographer is notified of the failure of the multiple image photographing,
In addition to replacing batteries etc., you can give instructions for multiple shooting again,
It is also possible to save the captured image as a single image.

The finder (LCD display unit 1)
In addition to the display unit 432 shown in FIG. 11), if a display unit 433 indicating that multiple images are to be taken is provided on the front side of the digital camera 1, for example, on the front side of the imaging unit 3 as shown in FIG. By notifying that multiplex shooting is being performed, it is possible to prevent a subject from moving.

Next, the operation in the case of performing abnormality detection on a photographed image in the multiple image photographing mode will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

First, in step S301, the multiplex image shooting mode is set. In step S302, when the shutter button 9 (release) is pressed by the photographer, the display unit 432 displays in step S303 that the multiplex image shooting is to be performed. indicate. After this,
In S304, exposure is started. When the exposure is completed in S305, the captured image is stored in the image memory 2 in S306.
09 is stored.

Next, in S307, it is determined whether or not the number of shot images has reached a predetermined number required for the multiple image shooting mode. If the number has not reached the predetermined number (NO in S307), the process returns to S304 and repeats the predetermined operation.
If the number of times reaches the predetermined number (YES in S307), S3
At 08, the display unit 432 in the viewfinder displays that the multiple image shooting has been completed (turns off the display).

Thereafter, in S309, the overall control unit 211
Determines from the content of the image data or the number of the image data whether or not the multiple image shooting has failed. If there is no abnormality (NO in S309), in S310, image processing such as white balance correction is applied to all the images temporarily stored in the image memory 209, and in S311 the image information of all the images is stored in the memory card 8 To memorize.

When the number of images desired by the photographer has not been photographed, or when the number of images is sufficient, blurring of the images is conspicuous, or abnormalities such as crushed black or whiteout occur. The overall control unit 211 detects that there is an abnormality (YES in S309),
Temporarily stops the processing in the normal multiple photographing mode, and returns to S31
In step 2, the failure of the multiple image shooting is displayed on the display unit 431 in the viewfinder.

Next, in S 313, a dialog is displayed on the display unit 10 for allowing the photographer to select whether to keep all the photographed images or to leave some of the photographed images. . When the photographer selects an image, S
Proceeding to 310, image processing such as white balance correction is performed on the selected image. Next, in S311,
The selected image is stored in the memory card 8. Of course, all or some of the captured images may be automatically stored in the memory card 8 without selection by the photographer.

As described above, if the number of images for the multiplex image is satisfied, but there is a defective image in which blurring of the image is conspicuous or abnormalities such as crushed black and whiteout occur, there is a problem. Since the appearance of the final composite image deteriorates due to the influence of the defective image, it is not suitable for multiplex image processing. That is, the photographer can delete the defective image by temporarily stopping the multiple image photographing mode processing.

Even if an image shot in the multiple image shooting mode is unsuitable for multiple image processing, if the user misses a photo opportunity, the same scene can be shot again. It can be difficult. Even in such a situation, the photographer can save the image as it is in the memory card 8 by saving the image as a single image, not as a target image of the multiple image processing.

In this case, of the plurality of images photographed for the multiplex image processing, the image to be stored is stored in the digital camera 1.
May be automatically selected.

When the photographer selects a desired one of a plurality of images photographed in the multiple image photographing mode to record only necessary images on the memory card, the capacity of the memory card 8 is reduced. It is possible to save money and to record many images.

As described above, one embodiment of the present invention has been described, but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment.
For example, when an abnormality that hinders the multiple image processing is detected, the processing in the multiple image shooting mode is stopped, and the fact that an abnormality is occurring is displayed on the display means. Only one of the certain indications may be displayed.
Further, when an abnormality is detected, a retry of the multiple image shooting may be instructed.

Further, the description has been made assuming that the abnormality detection during photographing and the abnormality detection based on the image data after photographing are performed separately. However, a configuration in which the abnormality detection is performed in the same multiple image photographing mode is also possible.

An LCD as a view finder
Although the display unit 431 for displaying an abnormality on the display unit 10 and the display unit 432 for displaying the fact that the image is a multiplex image are provided, if the digital camera has an optical or electronic finder, Inside the display unit 431
Or 432 may be provided. Further, the display unit may be configured by a light emitting diode or the like instead of the liquid crystal. Although the display unit may be provided in a part other than the finder unit, it is preferable that the display unit is provided in a finder in which the photographer is always looking at the subject image during shooting, in that the visibility of the display unit can be improved. .

Further, a case has been described in which the multiplex image processing is performed by an external device and the processes from photographing to image recording are performed by the digital camera. However, the multiplex image processing function may be provided in the digital camera.

[0096]

According to the first or second aspect of the present invention,
If an abnormality is detected during shooting, the processing in the multiple image shooting mode is stopped, so that the processing in the multiple image shooting mode is automatically continued, and the defective captured image corresponding to the abnormality is processed in the multiple image processing. The inconvenience that is automatically incorporated as a target can be eliminated, and occurrence of an inappropriate final generated image can be prevented beforehand.

According to the third or fourth aspect of the present invention, the photographer can easily recognize by the display means that the multiple image photographing has failed.

According to the fifth or sixth aspect of the present invention, when an abnormality is detected during photographing or when an abnormality is detected in the obtained image, the processing in the multiplex image processing mode is stopped. In addition, the defective captured image corresponding to the abnormality is not automatically included as a target of the multiple image processing, and the occurrence of an inappropriate final generated image can be prevented.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing a digital camera to which an imaging device according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a rear view showing the same digital camera.

FIG. 3 is a bottom view showing the digital camera.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a control system of the digital camera.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an overall control unit in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of an image storage structure in a memory card.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of a display unit provided in a liquid crystal display unit (viewfinder).

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an operation in a single image shooting mode.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an operation in a multiple image shooting mode.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of a method for selecting a plurality of captured images.

FIG. 11 is a front view of the digital camera showing the display unit during multiplex image shooting.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing an operation in a multiple image capturing mode in another embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Digital camera (imaging device) 211 Overall control unit (abnormality detection means, control means) 431 ..Multiple shooting failure display

──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) H04N 5/225 H04N 5/225 A 5C053 5/907 5/907 B 5/91 5/91 J 5/92 5/92 H (72) Inventor Yasuhisa Kanto 2-3-13 Azuchicho, Chuo-ku, Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture F-term in Osaka International Building Minolta Co., Ltd. (reference) 2H054 AA01 2H102 AB00 AB17 AB21 5B047 AA01 BB02 BC14 CA02 CA17 CA23 CB15 CB22 EB03 5C022 AA13 AB03 AB15 AB17 AB18 AB20 AB27 AB55 AB66 AB68 AC03 AC13 AC16 AC18 AC22 AC31 AC32 AC42 AC54 AC69 AC71 AC72 AC73 AC77 AC80 5C052 AA17 AB04 CC11 DD02 EE02 EE03 EE08 GA05 GA03 GB08 FA08 FA27 GB36 JA07 JA16 KA03 KA04 KA24 KA25 LA01 LA04 LA06 LA11

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An imaging apparatus having a multiplex image processing mode for performing a multiplex image processing for obtaining a single image by combining a plurality of captured images, wherein the multiplexing is performed during the imaging in the multiplex image shooting mode. An imaging apparatus comprising: an abnormality detection unit that detects an abnormality that hinders image processing; and a control unit that stops processing in a multiplex image capturing mode when an abnormality is detected by the abnormality detection unit. 2. An image capturing apparatus having a multiple image capturing mode for performing multiple image processing for combining a plurality of captured images to obtain a single image, wherein the image captured in the multiple image capturing mode is An imaging apparatus comprising: an abnormality detection unit that detects an abnormality that hinders multiplex image processing; and a control unit that stops processing in a multiplex image shooting mode when an abnormality is detected by the abnormality detection unit. . 3. An image capturing apparatus having a multiple image capturing mode for performing multiple image processing for combining a plurality of captured images to obtain a single image, wherein the multiple image capturing mode is used during capturing in the multiple image capturing mode. An imaging apparatus, comprising: an abnormality detection unit that detects an abnormality that hinders image processing; and a display unit that displays, when an abnormality is detected by the abnormality detection unit, that multiplex imaging has failed. . 4. An image capturing apparatus having a multiple image capturing mode for performing multiple image processing for combining a plurality of captured images to obtain a single image, wherein the image captured in the multiple image capturing mode is An imaging device comprising: an abnormality detection unit that detects an abnormality that hinders multiplex image processing; and a display unit that, when an abnormality is detected by the abnormality detection unit, displays that multiplex imaging has failed. apparatus. 5. A step of detecting an abnormality which hinders the multiple image processing during multiple image processing for performing multiple image processing for obtaining a single image by combining a plurality of captured images; Stopping the process in the multiple image capturing mode when the image capturing mode has been performed. 6. A step of detecting an abnormality that hinders the multiplex image processing for an image obtained by multiplex image processing for performing multiplex image processing for combining a plurality of captured images to obtain a single image. Stopping the processing in the multiple image capturing mode when an abnormality is detected.