JP2004056440A - Digital camera and image reproducer - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a digital camera and an image reproducer which can print an image having an quality corresponding to user's intention. <P>SOLUTION: A photographing intention identifying means identifies photographer's intention upon shooting on the basis of shot history information. The shot history information is information relating to set contents, shot images, etc. in past shooting. When the photographing intention identifying means identifies the presence of a photographing intention, a user intention flag is set ON and the flag is recorded and saved as associated with the recorded image data. When the recorded image data is printed, the means reads the user intention flag and changes the amount of operation of parameters to be processed before printing. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a digital camera and an image reproducing apparatus that reproduces an image photographed by the digital camera on a monitor or a printer.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, when an image photographed by a digital camera is printed by a printer, the scene of the input image is discriminated by the printer, and print processing is performed after automatically setting optimum conditions. However, in this method, when the user sets a processing tendency with a specific intention at the time of shooting and records an image, for example, when setting to suppress white balance and enhance redness in a twilight scene, Even if the processing tendency is set to a desired one, the printer side automatically performs the condition processing, so that an image with an image quality different from the user's intention may be printed.
[0003]
In order to solve this problem, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-191246 discloses a method in which shooting information is given when shooting with a camera and automatic processing in a printer is controlled. As one of the shooting information, a predetermined flag indicating that the image data has been subjected to individual image processing is set for each image, and the printer performs normal automatic processing on the image for which this flag is set. It is a method of changing and reducing or stopping this more than usual.
[0004]
However, if the photographer can select the ON / OFF setting of this flag with the camera, the photographer cannot sequentially grasp the tendency of the recorded image, and cannot determine when to turn on. Further, when it is set unnecessarily, there is a problem that the print output has a lower quality than that in the automatic processing.
[0005]
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-41511 discloses a method of storing an operation history at the time of photographing with a camera, recording frequently recorded data as photographing data, and calling and reusing the data. According to this method, the camera settings frequently used by the photographer can be reproduced. However, the use of this operation history information is limited to the camera and can be used as a material for reproduction of the image reproduction apparatus. There wasn't.
[0006]
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-234600 discloses a method in which an operation history is recorded for each image and the history information is used for image retrieval. However, there is no function for determining one piece of information from the operation history, and it cannot be used as a material for reproduction of the image reproduction apparatus.
[0007]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a digital camera that can automatically provide shooting intention information to an image playback device so that an image having a quality that matches the shooting intention of a photographer can be played back. To do.
[0008]
It is another object of the present invention to provide an image reproducing apparatus that reproduces an image captured by a digital camera so as to reflect a photographer's intention to capture.
[0009]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The present invention of claim 1 is a digital camera,
A shooting intention identifying means for identifying a shooting intention at the time of shooting based on shooting history information;
Intention information generating means for generating intention information indicating that there was a shooting intention when the shooting intention identifying means identifies that there was a shooting intention;
Recording means for recording and storing the intention information in correspondence with the recorded image data;
A digital camera, characterized by comprising
[0010]
According to the first aspect of the present invention, the photographing intention identifying means identifies the photographing intention at the time of photographing based on the photographing history information. The shooting history information is information regarding setting contents, shot images, and the like when shooting in the past. Shooting intent is a specific intent when a user wants to produce a desired image in shooting, for example, to capture vivid sunsets, to suppress whiteness, to sharpen images, Etc. When the photographing intention identifying unit identifies that there was a photographing intention, the intention information generating unit generates intention information indicating that there was a photographing intention. The intention information is recorded and saved by the recording means in association with the recorded image data. Therefore, when the recorded image data is reproduced, the intention information is also recorded and stored in correspondence with the recorded image data. Therefore, the intention information is referred to for setting conditions when reading and reproducing the intention information. be able to.
[0011]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, the shooting history information includes camera setting history information including a history of camera setting items, and the shooting intention identifying means is configured such that any of the camera setting items is set to a manual value and The digital camera according to claim 1, wherein the digital camera identifies that the photographing intention is intended when at least one of the setting values is changed.
[0012]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, the shooting history information includes camera setting history information including a history of camera setting items. The history of camera setting items includes exposure setting, exposure correction, exposure time, white balance, sharpness, saturation enhancement, contrast, shooting scene type, and the like when shooting in the past. The photographing intention identifying means identifies that there is a photographing intention when at least one of the camera setting item is set to a manual value and the setting value is changed. That any of the camera setting items is set to a manual value,
This is because it is considered that there was some kind of shooting intention, and that the setting value up to that time was also changed.
[0013]
According to a third aspect of the present invention, the shooting history information includes each captured still image information, and the shooting intention identification unit is configured to determine whether each shooting image information is captured based on each captured still image information. By determining the similarity of the captured images by determining the correlation between the images, the intention information generating unit identifies all the images having high similarity when the image capturing intention is identified. The digital camera according to claim 2 for generating intention information.
[0014]
According to the third aspect of the present invention, the shooting history information includes information of each shot still image. The shooting intention identifying means determines the similarity of the shot images by determining the correlation between the shot still image information based on the shot still image information, and identifies that there was a shooting intention. . That is, when it is determined that there is a similarity in the captured image by determining the correlation between each piece of still image information, it is identified that there was an intention to capture. Shooting a similar image multiple times is because there is often some intention of shooting, such as when shooting the same object by changing camera setting conditions. When it is identified that there was a shooting intention, the intention information generation unit generates intention information for all images having high similarity.
[0015]
According to the present invention of claim 4, when the camera setting item is set to a manual value or when the setting value is not changed within a predetermined time after the setting value of the camera setting item is changed, The digital camera according to claim 2, wherein the intention information is erased when it is determined that the setting is incorrect.
[0016]
According to the present invention of claim 4, the same setting value is not changed within a predetermined time after the camera setting item is set to a manual value or after the setting value of the camera setting item is changed. Since it is considered that the user does not have a specific shooting intention, the intention information once generated is determined to be erroneous setting.
[0017]
5. The digital camera according to claim 2, wherein at least one of the camera setting items is set to a value different from a standard value, whereby the photographing intention identifying means identifies that there is a photographing intention. Camera.
[0018]
According to the present invention of claim 5, among camera setting items, levels called “standard” may be defined for sharpness, saturation enhancement, contrast, shooting scene type, and the like. Since it is considered that there is a specific photographing intention by setting one to a value different from the standard, the photographing intention identifying means identifies that there was a photographing intention.
[0019]
The present invention of claim 6 is an image reproduction apparatus for reproducing an image taken by a digital camera,
When the recorded image data recorded and stored corresponding to the intention information is reproduced when the intention information indicating that the photographing intention is present is received, the processing amount of the reproduction pre-processing parameter is changed. An image reproducing apparatus.
[0020]
According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, when the image reproducing apparatus receives intention information indicating that there was an intention to shoot, when reproducing the recorded image data recorded and stored corresponding to the intention information. Change the processing amount of the playback preprocessing parameter. This prevents the image reproducing apparatus from automatically processing with normal preprocessing parameters so that it can be reproduced under intended conditions.
[0021]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of a digital camera and a printer as an image reproducing apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0022]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the digital camera 2 and the printer 20.
[0023]
The digital camera 2 includes an imaging unit 4, an image processing unit 6, a shooting mode setting unit 8, a display unit 10, a CPU 12, a memory buffer 14, and a card I / F (interface) 16.
[0024]
The imaging unit 4 includes a photographing lens, a diaphragm, a CCD image sensor, an analog processing circuit, an A / D converter, and the like.
[0025]
The image processing unit 6 includes a luminance / color difference signal generation circuit, a gamma correction circuit, a sharpness correction circuit, a contrast correction circuit, a white balance correction circuit, a compression / decompression circuit, and the like.
[0026]
The shooting mode setting unit 8 can set various shooting modes to automatic setting, manual setting, or change setting values. Specifically, the exposure setting, exposure correction, exposure time, and white balance can be set automatically or manually. In addition, items such as sharpness, saturation enhancement, contrast, and shooting scene type can be set to standard values or values different from the standard values. Furthermore, it is possible to change the automatic setting, change the manual setting, change the setting value, change to the standard value setting, or change the setting to a value different from the standard value.
[0027]
The display unit 10 is composed of an LCD.
[0028]
The CPU 12 is a control unit that performs overall control of the digital camera 2. The CPU 12 controls the operation of the corresponding circuit on the basis of input signals received from the power supply, the shooting mode setting unit 8 and other operation units, and controls display on the display unit 10, strobe light emission control, autofocus (AF). ) Control, automatic exposure (AE) control, etc. The CPU 12 performs various calculations such as a focus evaluation calculation and an AE calculation based on the image data input via the CCD, and controls the lens driving unit based on the calculation result to move the photographing lens to the in-focus position. On the other hand, the iris drive unit is controlled to set the aperture to an appropriate aperture value and to control the charge accumulation time of the CCD.
[0029]
The memory buffer 14 stores past setting values related to camera setting conditions, and has a work area where the CPU 12 performs various arithmetic processes. The image data is recorded in the memory card 18 through the card I / F 16 in a compressed state. In this embodiment, a memory card is applied as a means for recording image data. However, the form of the recording medium is not limited to this, and a PC card, a compact flash, a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a memory stick, or the like may be used. It should be noted that past setting values relating to camera setting conditions may be stored in a nonvolatile memory provided in the digital camera 2.
[0030]
The configuration of the printer 20 will be described.
[0031]
The memory card 18 storing the photographed image data is inserted into the card I / F 22. The image data read from the memory card 18 is sent to the memory buffer 26 and temporarily stored in the memory buffer 26. The image data stored in the memory buffer 26 is sent to the reproduction unit 28 and stored therein. The image data stored in the reproduction unit 28 is subjected to image analysis by the image determination unit 30, density processing is performed by the density processing unit 32 based on the analysis result, edge enhancement processing is performed by the edge enhancement processing unit 34, and WB (white balance) is performed. ) White balance correction is performed in the correction processing unit 36. In these processes, the processing amount of the preprocessing parameter is determined in advance according to the processing content. These processes are performed according to commands from the CPU 24.
[0032]
When a captured image is displayed and output, the image data that has undergone the above-described density processing and the like is expanded by the reproduction unit 28, converted into an analog signal, output from the print engine 38, and printed.
[0033]
The CPU 24 is a control unit that performs overall control of the printer 20. The CPU 20 controls the operation of the corresponding circuit based on the input signal received from the power switch and other operation units, and controls the reproduction unit 28, the density processing unit 32, the edge enhancement processing unit 34, and the WB correction processing unit 36. Etc.
[0034]
The operation of the present embodiment will be described.
[0035]
First, the shooting history information of the digital camera 2 will be described. The shooting history information includes camera setting history information and captured images.
[0036]
The camera setting history information is information on conditions and setting times set by the photographer in the camera at the time of photographing. This camera setting history information is stored in a predetermined area (to be described later) attached to the image data every time an image is recorded under the setting conditions, and the photographer's intention to shoot is based on this camera setting history information. Identified.
[0037]
The camera setting history information includes information on what was selected in each item of exposure settings, exposure compensation, exposure time, white balance, sharpness, saturation enhancement, contrast, and shooting scene type when shooting in the past. It is.
[0038]
That is, in this camera setting history information, in the exposure-related matters (exposure setting, exposure compensation, exposure time) and white balance, what was automatic exposure and automatic white balance has been changed to manual setting, or these exposures It also includes information about whether the related setting or white balance has been manually set up to that point, and whether or not the setting value has been changed so far. It is processed that there is a shooting intention.
[0039]
The camera setting history information also includes information on whether at least one of sharpness, saturation enhancement, contrast, and shooting scene type is set to a value different from the standard. When set to a different value, it is processed that the photographer has an intention to photograph.
[0040]
Furthermore, the camera setting history information includes information when at least one of exposure setting, exposure correction, exposure time, white balance, sharpness, saturation enhancement, contrast, and shooting scene type is changed within a predetermined time, In this case, it is processed that there is a shooting intention.
[0041]
Next, a photographed image as photographing history information will be described. This is because the possibility that the photographer has taken a photograph with some kind of photographing intention is high when the pattern of the photographed image has similarity between the photographed images. This is because it is common practice to shoot the same object many times under various conditions such as exposure and white balance. Auto-bracketing, which shoots the same subject repeatedly and gradually reduces the exposure, is often equipped with a dedicated mode for the camera, but when the dedicated mode is selected, manual exposure and white balance settings and setting value changes Therefore, it is preferable to make a similarity determination between the photographed images. Further, the processing of the presence of the shooting intention may be performed based on the fact that the auto bracket shooting mode is set.
[0042]
Judgment of similarity between captured images is performed by determining the correlation between each captured still image data, and when it is determined that the correlation is high, that is, when similarity is identified between the captured images In the case, all images having high similarity are processed as having an intention of photographing. Whether the correlation is high or low is determined by taking a difference between images in consideration of a motion vector, details of which will be described later. The method for judging the presence / absence of the photographing intention by looking at the similarity between the photographed images is performed in addition to the method for judging the photographing intention based on the camera setting history information described above.
[0043]
A mode in which camera setting history information is recorded and a mode in which shooting intention information is generated will be described. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a data format in which camera setting history information is recorded and shooting intention information is recorded. Shooting condition information, a user intention flag, and model information are attached as attached information to image data in which a shot image is recorded.
[0044]
The shooting condition information includes white balance automatic / manual information indicating whether white balance is performed automatically or manually, exposure automatic / manual information indicating whether exposure is performed automatically or manually, and what is used as a photographing light source. Shooting light source information indicating whether the camera is used (for example, sunlight, candlelight, strobe light, etc.), and shooting scene setting information indicating what is set as the shooting scene (for example, night view, landscape, person, etc.) .
[0045]
The user intention flag is set as the above-described process of presence of shooting when it is identified that there was a shooting intention at the time of shooting based on the shooting history information, and is usually 1-bit information. That is, the user intention flag is turned ON when it is identified that there was an intention to shoot.
[0046]
The model information includes information on the model of the digital camera.
[0047]
Since the photographing condition information, the user intention flag, and the model information are recorded together with the image data, they are recorded and stored in the memory card 18 with the attached information formed corresponding to each image data.
[0048]
In the camera setting history information, if the exposure setting, exposure compensation, exposure time, and white balance are set to the same value without changing within the predetermined time after they are set to manual values, it is determined that the setting is incorrect. Delete the user intention flag once set. Even if the setting value of each item of sharpness, saturation enhancement, contrast, and shooting scene type has been changed and the same setting value has not been changed within the specified time, the user who once set up after judging it to be an incorrect setting Return the intention flag to OFF. Since the camera setting item is set to the manual value or the setting value of the camera setting item is changed and each setting value is not changed within a predetermined time, the photographer does not have a specific shooting intention. Therefore, it is determined that the setting is incorrect, and the user intention flag once set is deleted.
[0049]
When printing the image data recorded and stored in the memory card 18, the memory card 18 is inserted into the card I / F 22 of the printer 20. The image data and the attached information are read from the memory card 18, sent to the memory buffer 26, and temporarily stored in the memory buffer 26. The image data and attached information stored in the memory buffer 26 are sent to the reproduction unit 28 and stored therein. The reproduction unit 28 reads the image data and the attached information, and also reads whether the user intention flag is set to ON.
[0050]
For image data having attached information for which the user intention flag is set to ON, the processing amount of the pre-print processing parameter set by reading the shooting scene setting information is reduced or prohibited from normal. Alternatively, for image data having attached information for which the user intention flag is set to ON, setting pre-print processing parameters by referring to other shooting condition information (for example, white balance, automatic / manual information of exposure) May be changed. As described above, by changing the preprocessing parameters, the density processing in the density processing unit 32, the edge enhancement processing in the edge enhancement processing unit 34, and the white balance correction in the white balance correction processing unit 36 are performed manually. Etc., and print output according to the user's intention is performed.
[0051]
A process for turning on the user intention flag when the camera setting is changed within a predetermined time will be described. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing for turning on the user intention flag when the camera setting is changed within a predetermined time.
[0052]
First, there is a state in which the user intention flag is OFF as an initial value (step 40). Frame n is photographed with a digital camera (step 42). It is determined whether or not the exposure at the time of shooting is automatic (step 44). If it is automatic, the process proceeds to the step for the next frame (step 52). If it is manual, the exposure setting information and gain information of the past recorded images (nk to n-1) whose shooting time is within tsec are read (step 46). This “within tsec” may be “within t minutes”. It is determined whether the exposure setting is constant in the images nk to n−1 (step 48). If it is constant, the process proceeds to the step for the next frame (step 52). If it is not constant, the user intention flag is turned on (step 50). The case where it is not constant includes the case where exposure is corrected at the time of shooting, auto bracket shooting, and the case where shooting is performed with a new value by manually setting the exposure value. Thereafter, the process proceeds to the step for the next frame (step 52).
[0053]
On the other hand, if the correlation between the captured images is detected and it is determined from the operation history of the exposure mode when it is determined that the image is similar, the user intention flag is set when it is determined that the similar image is recorded multiple times with different exposure settings. The process to turn on will be described. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing for turning on the user intention flag when it is determined that a similar image is recorded a plurality of times with different exposure settings. In this flowchart, the correlation between captured images is determined from the similarity between images in consideration of a motion vector from the difference value between successive image data.
[0054]
First, there is a state in which the user intention flag is OFF as an initial value (step 54). Frame n is photographed with a digital camera (step 56). The difference value of the image of the frame (n) just taken and the previous frame (n−1) is taken (step 58). A motion vector is detected from the difference value, and correction considering the motion vector is performed on the difference value (step 60). This is because it is determined that the same subject is being photographed even when the subject is moving or the camera pan is being performed. It is determined whether or not the sum of the difference values after the motion vector correction is smaller than a predetermined value (step 62). If the sum of the difference values is equal to or greater than the predetermined value, it is considered that a different image has been taken and the process proceeds to the step for the next frame (step 72). If the sum of the difference values is smaller than the predetermined value, it is considered that a similar image has been taken, and it is further checked whether the exposure setting is automatic (step 64). If it is automatic, the process proceeds to the step for the next frame (step 72). If it is not automatic, it is checked whether the same exposure as the previous frame (n-1) is set (step 66). If the same exposure is not set, it is determined that the exposure has been changed, and the user intention flag is set to ON (step 68). Thereafter, the process proceeds to the step for the next frame (step 72). If the same exposure as the frame (n-1) is set in step 66, it is checked whether the shooting scene type setting is standard (step 70). If it is not standard, the process proceeds to step 68 and the user intention flag is turned ON. If it is standard, the process proceeds to the step for the next frame (step 72).
[0055]
In the above flow, the continuous shooting frames n-1 and n have been described. However, a correlation image may be searched from images shot in the past to determine whether or not a similar scene was shot with different settings. .
[0056]
In the above flow, when the exposure setting is the same, the shooting scene type setting (standard / landscape / dusk / night view / portrait / group photo, etc.) is referred to. A change history such as saturation enhancement, sensitivity setting, contrast setting, and light source setting is referred to, and when these are changed, the user intention flag may be turned ON.
[0057]
According to the present embodiment, an image output having an image quality intended by the photographer can be obtained by appropriately setting the photographer's intention as a printing parameter without bothering the user. It is also possible to prevent the condition set in the digital camera from being erroneously determined by the digital camera as the user's intention to shoot and setting the user intention flag inappropriately.
[0058]
【The invention's effect】
According to the digital camera of the present invention, it is possible to automatically provide shooting intention information to the image playback device so that an image having an image quality that matches the shooting intention of the photographer can be played back. It can be played back with image quality that suits the shooting intention.
[0059]
According to the image reproducing apparatus of the present invention, when an image photographed with a digital camera is reproduced, the image can be reproduced with an image quality that automatically reflects the photographer's intention to shoot.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a digital camera and a printer.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a data format in which camera setting history information is recorded and shooting intention information is recorded.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing for turning on a user intention flag when a camera setting is changed within a predetermined time.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing for turning on a user intention flag when it is determined that a similar image is recorded a plurality of times with different exposure settings.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 2 ... Digital camera, 4 ... Imaging part, 6 ... Image processing part, 8 ... Shooting mode setting part, 12 ... CPU, 14 ... Memory buffer, 18 ... Memory card, 20 ... Printer, 24 ... CPU, 26 ... Memory buffer, 28 ... Playback unit, 30 ... Image determination unit, 32 ... Density processing unit, 34 ... Edge enhancement processing unit, 36 ... White balance correction processing unit, 38 ... Print engine

Claims (6)

A digital camera,
A shooting intention identifying means for identifying a shooting intention at the time of shooting based on shooting history information;
Intention information generating means for generating intention information indicating that there was a shooting intention when the shooting intention identifying means identifies that there was a shooting intention;
Recording means for recording and storing the intention information in correspondence with the recorded image data;
A digital camera characterized by comprising: The shooting history information includes camera setting history information including a history of camera setting items, and the shooting intention identification means indicates that any of the camera setting items is set to a manual value and a setting value is changed. The digital camera according to claim 1, wherein at least one of them is identified as having a shooting intention. The shooting history information includes each shot still image information, and the shooting intention identification unit determines a correlation between each shot still image information based on each shot still image information. 3. The intention information is generated by the intention information generation means for all images having high similarity when it is determined that there is a shooting intention by judging the similarity of the captured images. Digital camera. If the camera setting item is set to a manual value or the same setting value is not changed within a predetermined time after the setting value of the camera setting item is changed, it is determined that the setting is incorrect and the intention is 3. The digital camera according to claim 2, wherein information is erased. 3. The digital camera according to claim 2, wherein the photographing intention identifying means identifies that there is a photographing intention by setting at least one of the camera setting items to a value different from a standard value. An image playback device for playing back images taken with a digital camera,
When the recorded image data recorded and stored corresponding to the intention information is reproduced when the intention information indicating that the photographing intention is present is received, the processing amount of the reproduction pre-processing parameter is changed. Image playback device.

Images