JP2009005356A - Imaging apparatus, image processing apparatus, image processing system, image processing method, and image processing program - Google Patents

Abstract

An image pickup apparatus that outputs an image and information related to image correction in association with each other in order to control image correction in an external image processing apparatus.
An imaging apparatus according to the present invention corrects a chromaticity or brightness of a captured image and a storage unit that stores information related to correction of the captured image by the correction unit in association with the captured image. And information relating to the correction of the captured image, and an output unit that outputs the captured image in association with each other.
[Selection] Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus, an image processing apparatus, an image processing system, an image processing method, and an image processing program. In particular, the present invention performs image correction based on information related to an image capturing apparatus that outputs an image and information related to image correction in association with each other and to control image correction in an external image processing apparatus. The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus.

  The digital camera has a function of correcting the chromaticity and lightness of a captured image based on settings at the time of factory shipment or settings by a user. The digital camera displays an image captured on the LCD monitor. Then, the user can manually adjust the chromaticity and lightness of the image while viewing the image displayed on the LCD monitor. Also, an image processing apparatus such as a monitor or a printer that automatically corrects and outputs the chromaticity and brightness of an image acquired from a digital camera based on settings at the time of factory shipment or settings by a user is used.

  However, in a digital camera, even when the user manually adjusts the chromaticity or lightness of the image while viewing the image displayed on the LCD monitor, the image processing apparatus such as the monitor or the printer does not make the correction intended by the user. May be added automatically and output.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an imaging apparatus, an image processing apparatus, an image processing system, an image processing method, and an image processing program that can solve the above-described problems. This object is achieved by a combination of features described in the independent claims. The dependent claims define further advantageous specific examples of the present invention.

  That is, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the imaging device associates the correction unit that corrects the chromaticity or brightness of the captured image and the information related to the correction of the captured image by the correction unit with the captured image. A storage unit for storing.

  The correction unit includes an auto correction unit that corrects the captured image based on a predetermined correction amount in the imaging apparatus, and the storage unit stores the correction amount by the auto correction unit as information related to correction of the captured image. May be.

  The correction unit may further include a manual correction unit that corrects the captured image based on a user operation, and the storage unit may store a correction amount by the manual correction unit as information regarding correction of the captured image.

  The correction unit further includes a manual correction unit that corrects the captured image based on a user operation, and the storage unit includes information indicating whether correction by the manual correction unit has been performed as information regarding correction of the captured image. May be stored.

  The storage unit may store information indicating whether or not correction of the captured image is prohibited in an external image processing apparatus as information regarding the correction of the captured image.

  The correction unit includes a manual correction unit that corrects the captured image based on a user operation, and the storage unit performs image processing as information regarding correction of the captured image when the manual correction unit corrects the captured image. Information indicating that the correction of the captured image is prohibited may be stored in the apparatus.

  The correction unit includes an auto correction unit that corrects a captured image based on a predetermined correction amount in the imaging apparatus, a confirmation unit that allows the user to check the captured image corrected by the auto correction unit, and a user that captures an image. A determination unit that determines whether the image has been confirmed, and the storage unit corrects the captured image in the captured image processing apparatus as information regarding correction of the captured image when the determination unit determines that the user has confirmed. Information indicating prohibition may be stored.

  You may further provide the output part which matches the mutually regarding the correction | amendment of a captured image, and a captured image, and outputs them outside.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, the image processing device includes a display image generation unit that generates a display image based on an original image, a display unit that displays a display image generated by the display image generation unit, and a user's A correction unit that corrects the display image displayed by the display unit based on the operation, and a storage unit that stores the correction content corrected by the correction unit in association with the original image.

  The display image generation unit may generate a display image by extracting a partial region of the original image. The display image generation unit may generate a display image by enlarging a part of the region and synthesizing it in the original image. You may further provide the output part which outputs an original image and the content of correction | amendment.

  You may further provide the printing part which prints the original image correct | amended by the correction | amendment part. You may further provide the imaging part which images an original image.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, an image processing device is based on a receiving unit that receives an image and information on image correction, a processing unit that performs image processing on the image, and information on image correction. And a control unit that controls image processing by the processing unit.

  The receiving unit receives information indicating whether or not the image has been corrected based on the user's operation as information regarding the correction of the image, and the control unit has received that the image has been corrected based on the user's operation. When the information indicating is received, the image processing by the processing unit may be prohibited.

  The receiving unit receives information indicating the adaptation rate of the white balance of the image as information relating to the correction of the image, and the control unit, when the adaptation rate of the white balance is not a predetermined value, the white balance as image processing by the processing unit. Adjustment may be prohibited.

  The above summary of the invention does not enumerate all the necessary features of the present invention, and sub-combinations of these feature groups can also be the invention.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described through embodiments of the invention. However, the following embodiments do not limit the claimed invention, and all combinations of features described in the embodiments are the solution of the invention. It is not always essential to the means.

  FIG. 1 shows an image processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The image processing system includes a digital camera 10, a printer 12, and a personal computer 14. The digital camera 10, the printer 12, and the personal computer 14 exchange data with each other via a data transmission path. The data transmission path is, for example, a wired cable such as USB or a wireless channel such as Bluetooth. The data transmission path may be a network network using a plurality of wired cables, wireless channels, etc., for example, the Internet network. Although FIG. 1 illustrates a mode in which data is exchanged using the data transmission path as described above, data exchange between the digital camera 10, the printer 12, and the personal computer 14 is performed by recording on a removable medium or the like. A medium may be used.

  The digital camera 10 captures an image of a subject and transmits the captured image data to the printer 12 or the personal computer 14. The printer 30 or the personal computer 14 performs predetermined processing on the received image data and outputs it. That is, the printer 12 prints and outputs image data, and the personal computer 14 outputs the image data to a monitor. The personal computer 14 transmits setting information to the digital camera 10 or the printer 12 and changes the setting information of the digital camera 10 or the printer 12. The digital camera 10 is an example of an imaging apparatus or an image processing apparatus according to the present invention, and the printer 12 and the personal computer 14 are examples of an image output apparatus according to the present invention.

  FIG. 2 shows the overall configuration of the digital camera 10 according to the present embodiment. The digital camera 10 includes an imaging unit 20, an imaging control unit 40, a processing unit 60, a display unit 100, and an operation unit 110.

  The imaging unit 20 includes a mechanism member and an electrical member related to shooting and imaging. The imaging unit 20 includes a photographic lens 22 that captures and processes an image, a diaphragm 24, a shutter 26, an optical LPF (low-pass filter) 28, a CCD 30, and an A / D converter 32. The photographing lens 22 includes a focus lens and a zoom lens. With this configuration, a subject image is formed on the light receiving surface of the CCD 30, and charges are accumulated in each sensor element of the CCD 30 in accordance with the amount of light of the imaged subject image (hereinafter, the charges are referred to as "accumulated charges"). . The accumulated charge is read to the shift register by a read gate pulse, and sequentially read as a voltage signal by a register transfer pulse.

  Since the digital camera 10 generally has an electronic shutter function, a mechanical shutter such as the shutter 26 is not essential. In order to realize the electronic shutter function, the CCD 30 is provided with a shutter drain via a shutter gate. When the shutter gate is driven, the accumulated charge is swept out to the shutter drain. By controlling the shutter gate, the time for accumulating charges in each sensor element, that is, the shutter speed can be controlled.

  The A / D conversion unit 32 color-separates the voltage signal output from the CCD 30, that is, an analog signal into R, G, and B components and performs A / D conversion, and the digital image data obtained as a result is processed by the processing unit 60. Output to.

  The imaging unit 20 further includes a finder 34 and a strobe 36. The finder 34 may include an LCD, and in that case, various information from the main CPU 62 and the like can be displayed in the finder 34. The strobe 36 emits light when the energy stored in the capacitor is supplied to the discharge tube 36a.

  The imaging control unit 40 includes a lens driving unit 42, a focus driving unit 44, an aperture driving unit 46, a shutter driving unit 48, an imaging system CPU 50 that controls them, a distance measuring sensor 52, and a photometric sensor 54. The lens driving unit 42, the focus driving unit 44, the aperture driving unit 46, and the shutter driving unit 48 have driving means such as a stepping motor. The distance measuring sensor 52 measures the distance to the subject when the release switch 114 is pressed, and the photometric sensor 54 measures the subject brightness. The measured distance data (hereinafter simply referred to as “distance data”) and the subject luminance data (hereinafter simply referred to as “photometric data”) are sent to the imaging system CPU 50. The imaging system CPU 50 adjusts the zoom magnification and focus of the photographing lens 22 by controlling the lens driving unit 42 and the focus driving unit 44 based on the photographing information such as the zoom magnification instructed by the user.

  The imaging system CPU 50 determines an aperture value and a shutter speed based on an RGB digital signal integrated value of one image frame, that is, AE information. The aperture driving unit 46 and the shutter driving unit 48 adjust the aperture amount and open / close the shutter 26 based on the determined aperture value and shutter speed.

  Further, the imaging system CPU 50 controls the light emission of the strobe 36 based on the photometric data, and simultaneously adjusts the aperture amount of the aperture 24. When the user instructs to capture an image, the CCD 30 starts to accumulate charges, and the accumulated charges are output to the A / D converter 32 after the shutter time calculated from the photometric data has elapsed.

  The processing unit 60 includes a main CPU 62 that controls the entire digital camera 10, particularly the processing unit 60, a memory control unit 64 controlled by the main CPU 62, a YC processing unit 70, an optional device control unit 74, a compression / decompression processing unit 78, A communication I / F unit 80 is included. The main CPU 62 exchanges necessary information with the imaging CPU 50 by serial communication or the like. The operation clock of the main CPU 62 is given from the clock generator 88. The clock generator 88 also provides clocks with different frequencies to the imaging system CPU 50 and the display unit 100, respectively.

  The main CPU 62 is provided with a character generation unit 84 and a timer 86. The timer 86 is backed up by a battery, always counts the date and time, and gives information related to the shooting date and other time information to the main CPU 62 from this count value. The character generation unit 84 generates character information such as a shooting date and time and a title, and the character information is appropriately combined with the shot image.

  The memory control unit 64 controls the nonvolatile memory 66 and the main memory 68. The non-volatile memory 66 is configured by an EEPROM, a FLASH memory, or the like, and stores data to be held even when the power of the digital camera 10 is turned off, such as setting information by a user and adjustment values at the time of shipment. The nonvolatile memory 66 may store a boot program, a system program, and the like for the main CPU 62. The main memory 68 has a function as a frame memory for storing data output from the imaging unit 20, a function as a system memory for loading various programs, and other functions as a work area. The nonvolatile memory 66 and the main memory 68 exchange data with each part inside and outside the processing unit 60 via the main bus 82.

  The YC processing unit 70 performs YC conversion on the image data, and generates a luminance signal Y and color difference (chroma) signals BY and RY. The memory control unit 64 temporarily stores the luminance signal and the color difference signal in the main memory 68. The compression / decompression processing unit 78 sequentially reads out the luminance signal and the color difference signal from the main memory 68 and compresses them. The option device control unit 74 writes the compressed data (hereinafter simply referred to as “compressed data”) to a memory card which is a type of the option device 76.

  The processing unit 60 further includes an encoder 72. The encoder 72 receives the luminance signal and the color difference signal, converts them into a video signal (NTSC or PAL signal), and outputs it from the video output terminal 90. When a video signal is generated from data recorded in the option device 76, the data is first supplied to the compression / decompression processing unit 78 via the option device control unit 74. The data that has undergone the necessary decompression processing in the compression / decompression processing unit 78 is converted into a video signal by the encoder 72.

  The optional device control unit 74 generates necessary signals between the main bus 82 and the optional device 76 based on the signal specifications recognized by the optional device 76 and the bus specifications of the main bus 82, logical conversion, voltage conversion, etc. I do. The digital camera 10 may support, for example, a standard I / O card conforming to PCMCIA in addition to the memory card as the optional device 76. In this case, the option device control unit 74 may include a PCMCIA bus control LSI.

  The communication I / F unit 80 performs control such as protocol conversion according to communication specifications supported by the digital camera 10, for example, specifications such as USB, RS-232C, and Ethernet. The communication I / F unit 80 includes a driver IC as necessary, and communicates with an external device including a network via the connector 92. In addition to such standard specifications, a configuration may be adopted in which data is exchanged with an original I / F with external devices such as a printer, a karaoke machine, and a game machine.

  The display unit 100 includes an LCD monitor 102 and an LCD panel 104. The LCD monitor 102 is controlled by a monitor driver 106 which is an LCD driver. The LCD panel 104 is controlled by the panel driver 108. The LCD monitor 102 is provided on the rear side of the camera with a size of about 2 inches, for example, and the current shooting / playback mode, zoom magnification for shooting / playback, battery level, date / time, mode setting screen, subject image, etc. Is displayed. The LCD panel 104 is a small black-and-white LCD, for example, provided on the top surface of the camera, and simply displays information such as image quality (FINE / NORMAL / BASIC, etc.), strobe light emission / flash inhibition, standard number of shoots, number of pixels, battery capacity, etc. To do.

  The operation unit 110 includes a mechanism and electric members necessary for the user to set or instruct the operation of the digital camera 10 and its mode. The power switch 112 determines whether to turn on or off the power of the digital camera 10. The release switch 114 has a two-stage pushing structure of half-pressing and full-pressing. As an example, AF and AE are locked when pressed halfway, and a captured image is captured when pressed fully, and is recorded in the main memory 68, optional device 76, etc. after necessary signal processing, data compression, and the like. In addition to these switches, the operation unit 110 may accept settings using a rotary mode dial, a cross key, and the like, which are collectively referred to as a function setting unit 116 in FIG. Further, the image adjustment unit 120 accepts adjustment of chromaticity or brightness of an image displayed on the LCD monitor 102. The user can adjust the chromaticity or brightness of the image while viewing the image displayed on the LCD monitor 102. Examples of operations or functions that can be specified by the operation unit 110 include “file format”, “special effect”, “print”, “decision / save”, “display switching”, and the like. The zoom switch 118 determines the zoom magnification.

  The main operation of the above configuration is as follows. First, the power switch 112 of the digital camera 10 is turned on, and power is supplied to each part of the camera. The main CPU 62 reads the state of the function setting unit 116 to determine whether the digital camera 10 is in the shooting mode or the playback mode.

  When the camera is in the shooting mode, the main CPU 62 monitors the half-pressed state of the release switch 114. When the half-pressed state is detected, the main CPU 62 obtains photometry data and distance measurement data from the photometry sensor 54 and the distance measurement sensor 52, respectively. The imaging control unit 40 operates based on the obtained data, and adjustments such as focus and aperture of the taking lens 22 are performed. When the adjustment is completed, a character such as “Standby” is displayed on the LCD monitor 102 to notify the user, and then the release switch 114 is fully pressed. When the release switch 114 is fully pressed, the shutter 26 is closed after a predetermined shutter time, and the charge accumulated in the CCD 30 is swept out to the A / D converter 32. Digital image data generated as a result of processing by the A / D converter 32 is output to the main bus 82. The image data output from the A / D conversion unit 32 is temporarily stored in the main memory 68, and thereafter processed by the YC processing unit 70 and the compression / decompression processing unit 78, and then to the option device 76 via the option device control unit 74. To be recorded. The recorded image is displayed on the LCD monitor 102 in a frozen state for a while, and the user can know the captured image. This completes a series of shooting operations.

  On the other hand, when the digital camera 10 is in the playback mode, the main CPU 62 reads the last photographed image from the main memory 68 via the memory control unit 64 and displays it on the LCD monitor 102 of the display unit 100. In this state, when the user instructs “forward” or “reverse” on the function setting unit 116, images taken before and after the currently displayed image are read and displayed on the LCD monitor 102. Then, the user adjusts the chromaticity or lightness of the image displayed on the LCD monitor 102 by operating the image adjustment unit 120.

  FIG. 3 shows an exemplary functional configuration of the image processing unit 200. The image processing unit 200 includes a storage unit 202, a display image generation unit 204, a display unit 206, an output unit 208, and a correction unit 210. The correction unit 210 includes a manual correction unit 212 and an auto correction unit 214.

  For example, the image processing unit 200 is realized by cooperation between a program stored or loaded in the nonvolatile memory 66 or the main memory 68 and the main CPU 62. The main CPU 62 may have a built-in memory, and the built-in memory may store necessary programs and implement each function as firmware. Although FIG. 2 describes the functions of the image processing unit 200 as a unitary configuration, these are not necessarily physically united in practice. For example, the main CPU 62, the nonvolatile memory 66, or the main memory 68 may have the function of the storage unit 202. Further, the display unit 100 may have the functions of the display image generation unit 204 and the display unit 206. Further, the communication I / F unit 80, the encoder 72, or the optional device control unit 74 may have the function of the output unit 208. In any case, there is a considerable degree of freedom in the design for realizing the function of the image processing unit 200 in the digital camera 10.

  The storage unit 202 stores the image data received from the A / D conversion unit 32. The correction unit 210 corrects the chromaticity or brightness of the image using the image data stored in the storage unit 202. The storage unit 202 stores information related to image correction by the correction unit 210 in association with image data.

  The auto correction unit 214 corrects the image based on the image data stored in the storage unit 202 based on a predetermined correction amount. For example, the auto correction unit 214 corrects the image based on the white balance adaptation rate according to the factory setting or the user setting.

The white balance adaptation rate is a value indicating the balance of the red signal R, the green signal G, and the blue signal B. For example, the integrated value IR of the red signal R in a predetermined field, and the integrated value of the green signal R in the predetermined field. IG, using the integrated value IB of the blue signal R in the predetermined field,
K ₁ = (IR / IG)
K ₂ = (IB / IG)
It is represented by two numerical values.

  The manual correction unit 212 corrects the image based on the image data stored in the storage unit 202 based on the operation of the image adjustment unit 120 by the user. For example, the user operates the image adjustment unit 120 while watching the image displayed on the display unit 206 to adjust the white balance and brightness of the image. The manual correction unit 214 corrects the white balance and brightness of the image based on the operation of the image adjustment unit 120 by the user.

  The storage unit 202 stores the correction amount of correction by the auto correction unit 214 in association with the image data as information relating to image correction. For example, the storage unit 202 stores the white balance adaptation rate as an example of the correction amount of the correction by the auto correction unit 214. In addition, the storage unit 202 stores information indicating whether or not the correction by the manual correction unit 212 has been performed as information related to image correction in association with the image data. Further, the storage unit 202 may store the correction amount of the correction by the manual correction unit 212 in association with the image data as information regarding image correction.

  The output unit 208 associates the image data stored in the storage unit 202 and information regarding image correction using the image data with each other, and outputs them to an external image processing apparatus such as the printer 12. Specifically, information relating to image correction, such as the correction amount of correction by the auto correction unit 214 and information indicating whether correction by the manual correction unit 212 has been performed, is output as tag information attached to the image data. .

  The storage unit 202 may store information indicating whether or not the printer 12, which is an example of an external image processing apparatus, performs image correction in association with image data. For example, when the manual correction unit 212 corrects an image, the storage unit 202 may store information indicating that the printer 12 prohibits image correction as information related to image correction.

  The storage unit 202 may store the image data acquired from the A / D conversion unit 32 or may store the image data of the image corrected by the correction unit 210. The output unit 208 may output the image data acquired by the storage unit 202 from the A / D conversion unit 32 to the printer 12 or output the image data of the image corrected by the correction unit 210 to the printer 12. May be.

  The display unit 206 as an example of the confirmation unit of the present invention may display the image corrected by the auto correction unit 214. And the manual correction | amendment part 212 as an example of the judgment part of this invention may judge whether the user confirmed the image displayed on the display part 206 based on a user's operation. Then, the storage unit 202 may store information indicating that the printer 12 is prohibited from correcting the image as information regarding the correction of the image when the user confirms the image. Then, the output unit 208 may output information indicating that the printer 12 is prohibited from correcting the image as information related to the correction of the image, as tag information attached to the image data.

  The display image generation unit 204 generates a display image to be displayed by the display unit 206 based on the image based on the image data stored in the storage unit 202. Then, the user operates the image adjustment unit 120 while viewing the display image displayed on the display unit 206 to adjust the chromaticity or brightness of the image. The manual correction unit 212 corrects the image displayed on the display unit 206 based on the user's operation of the image adjustment unit 120. The storage unit 202 stores the correction content corrected by the manual correction unit 212 in association with the image data of the image displayed by the display unit 206.

  The display image generation unit 204 may generate a display image displayed by the display unit 206 by extracting a partial region of the image based on the image data. Further, the display image generation unit 204 may generate a display image displayed by the display unit 206 by extracting and enlarging a partial region of the image based on the image data, and synthesizing it in the image based on the image data. .

  FIG. 4 shows an example of the display screen of the display unit 206. The display image generation unit 204 converts an image based on the image data selected by the user into a display image to be displayed on the display unit 206. Then, as shown in FIG. 4A, the display unit 206 displays a display image. The display image generation unit 204 may generate a display image by reducing the resolution of the image based on the image data.

  Also, on the display screen shown in FIG. 4A, the user selects a partial region 300 of the image. Then, the display image generation unit 204 extracts and enlarges a partial region 300 of the image selected by the user, and generates a display image. 4B, the display unit 206 displays the display image generated by the display image generation unit 204. Then, the user can adjust the chromaticity or lightness of the entire image while viewing a part of the enlarged region 300.

  In addition, the display image generation unit 204 may generate a display image by extracting and enlarging a partial region 300 of the image selected by the user, and synthesizing it in the image based on the image data. Then, as illustrated in FIG. 4C, the display unit 206 displays the display image generated by the display image generation unit 204. Then, the user can adjust the chromaticity or lightness of the image while viewing a part of the enlarged region 300 and the other region 302. With such a display function of the display unit 206, when the user adjusts the chromaticity or lightness of a part of the region 300, the user can check the change of the chromaticity or lightness of the other region 302, while 300 chromaticities or brightness can be adjusted.

  FIG. 5 shows an exemplary format of data output by the output unit 208. Data output by the output unit 208 includes tag information and image data. The tag information is information relating to image correction, for example, whether white balance adaptation rate (AWB adaptation rate) by the auto correction unit 214 and white balance correction (manual WB correction) by the manual correction unit 212 have been performed. Information indicating whether brightness correction (manual brightness correction) has been performed by the manual correction unit 212. The image data is, for example, JPEG format data.

  FIG. 6 shows a functional configuration of the printer 12 according to the present embodiment. The printer 12 includes a receiving unit 400, a control unit 402, a processing unit 404, and a printing unit 406. The processing unit 404 includes a white balance correction unit 408 and a brightness correction unit 410.

  The receiving unit 400 receives tag information including image data indicating an image and information related to image correction from the digital camera 10. Then, the control unit 402 analyzes the tag information received by the receiving unit 400 and controls the image processing by the processing unit 404 that performs image processing on the image received by the receiving unit 400 based on information related to image correction. To do. Then, the processing unit 404 performs image processing based on the control of the control unit 402. The printing unit 406 prints the image that has been subjected to the image processing in the processing unit 404.

  For example, the receiving unit 400 receives tag information including information indicating whether or not an image is corrected based on a user operation, as information related to image correction. When the tag information received by the receiving unit 400 is information indicating that the image has been corrected based on the user's operation, the control unit 402 prohibits the image processing by the processing unit 404.

  Further, the receiving unit 400 may receive information indicating the adaptation rate of the white balance of the image as information regarding image correction. Then, when the adaptation rate of the white balance is not a predetermined value, the control unit 402 may prohibit white balance adjustment as image processing by the white balance correction unit 408 of the processing unit 404. For example, when the white balance adaptation rate is not 1, the control unit 402 may prohibit white balance adjustment as image processing by the white balance correction unit 408 of the processing unit 404. Printing is performed by prohibiting the white balance adjustment by the white balance correction unit 408 when the user images the sunset and the white balance adaptation rate is not set to 1 in order to produce redness in the captured image. The unit 406 can print an image that suits the user's preference.

  FIG. 7 shows an example of the data format of the determination table that the control unit 402 has. FIG. 7A shows a WB correction determination table for determining whether or not the white balance correction unit 408 of the processing unit 404 corrects the white balance of an image. The WB correction determination table indicates whether the white balance adaptation rate (AWB adaptation rate) by the auto correction unit 214 of the digital camera 10 and the white balance correction (manual WB correction) by the manual correction unit 212 of the digital camera 10 have been performed. Information indicating whether or not white balance correction (printer WB correction) by the printer 12 is necessary and whether or not white balance correction (printer WB correction) is to be performed by the printer 12 are stored.

  As shown in FIG. 7A, when the manual WB correction is ON, that is, when the white balance correction is performed by the manual correction unit 212 of the digital camera 10, the user's WB correction is performed regardless of whether or not the printer WB correction is necessary. In order to emphasize the adjustment, the control unit 402 prohibits the white balance correction unit 408 from correcting the white balance of the image. When the AWB adaptation rate is other than 1, the control unit 402 places importance on adjustment of the digital camera 10 regardless of whether or not the printer WB correction is necessary. Therefore, the white balance correction unit 408 corrects the white balance of the image. Is prohibited.

  FIG. 7B shows a lightness correction determination table for determining whether or not the lightness correction unit 410 of the processing unit 404 corrects the lightness of the image. The lightness correction determination table includes information indicating whether lightness correction (manual lightness correction) has been performed by the manual correction unit 212 of the digital camera 10, necessity of lightness correction (printer lightness correction) by the printer 12, and printer 12 stores information indicating whether or not to perform lightness correction by 12 (printer lightness correction).

  As shown in FIG. 7B, when the manual brightness correction is ON, that is, when the brightness correction is performed by the manual correction unit 212 of the digital camera 10, the user adjustment is performed regardless of whether or not the printer brightness correction is necessary. Therefore, the control unit 402 prohibits the lightness correction unit 410 from correcting the lightness of the image.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart of an example of an image processing method of the printer 12. First, the receiving unit 400 receives image data indicating an image and tag information including information related to image correction from the digital camera (S100). Then, the control unit 402 analyzes the tag information received by the receiving unit 400 and determines whether or not manual WB correction is ON, that is, whether or not white balance correction is performed by the manual correction unit 212 of the digital camera 10. Judgment is made (S102). If it is determined in S102 that manual WB correction is ON, the process proceeds to S110. If it is determined in S102 that manual WB correction is OFF, the process proceeds to S104.

  Next, the control unit 402 determines whether the adaptation rate of ABW is other than 1, that is, whether the adaptation rate of white balance by the auto correction unit 214 of the digital camera 10 is other than 1 (S104). If it is determined that the adaptation rate of ABW is other than 1 in S104, the process proceeds to S110. If it is determined that the adaptation rate of ABW is other than 1 in S104, the process proceeds to S106.

  Next, the control unit 402 determines whether or not the printer WB correction is necessary based on the image based on the image data received by the receiving unit 400, that is, whether or not the white balance correction by the printer 12 is necessary (S106). . If it is determined in S106 that the printer WB correction is not necessary, the process proceeds to S110. If it is determined in S106 that the printer WB correction is necessary, the white balance correction unit 408 of the processing unit 404 corrects the white balance of the image based on the image data received by the reception unit 400 (S108).

  Next, the control unit 402 determines whether or not manual lightness correction is ON, that is, whether or not lightness correction is performed by the manual correction unit 212 of the digital camera 10 (S110). If it is determined in S110 that manual brightness correction is ON, the process proceeds to S116. If it is determined in S110 that manual brightness correction is OFF, the process proceeds to S112.

  Next, the control unit 402 determines whether or not the printer brightness correction is necessary, that is, whether or not the printer 12 needs to correct the brightness, based on the image based on the image data received by the receiving unit 400 (S112). If it is determined in S112 that printer brightness correction is not necessary, the process proceeds to S116. If it is determined in S112 that printer brightness correction is necessary, the brightness correction unit 410 of the processing unit 404 corrects the brightness of the image based on the image data received by the reception unit 400 (S114).

  Next, the printing unit 406 prints the image subjected to the image processing in the processing unit 404 (S116). This is the end of the flowchart of the image processing method of the printer 12 according to the present example.

  FIG. 9 shows a hardware configuration of the personal computer 14 according to the present embodiment. The personal computer 14 includes a CPU 700, ROM 702, RAM 704, communication interface 706, hard disk drive 708, database interface 710, floppy disk drive 712, and CD-ROM drive 714. The CPU 700 operates based on a program stored in the ROM 702 and the RAM 704 and controls each unit. The communication interface 706 communicates with the digital camera 10 and the printer 12. The database interface 710 writes data into the database and updates the contents of the database.

  The floppy disk drive 712 reads data or a program from the floppy disk 720 and provides it to the communication interface 706. The CD-ROM drive 714 reads data or a program from the CD-ROM 722 and provides it to the communication interface 706. The communication interface 706 transmits data or a program provided from the floppy disk drive 712 or the CD-ROM drive 714 to the digital camera 10 or the printer 12. The database interface 710 is connected to various databases 724 to transmit / receive data.

  The program provided to the printer 12 is stored in a recording medium such as the floppy disk 720 or the CD-ROM 722 and provided by the user. The program stored in the recording medium may be compressed or uncompressed. The program is read from the recording medium, installed in the digital camera 10 or the printer 12 via the communication interface 706, and executed in the digital camera 10 or the printer 12.

  A program stored and provided in a recording medium and installed in the digital camera 10 includes a storage module, a display image generation module, a display module, a correction module, a manual correction module, and an auto correction module as functional configurations. And having an output module. The operation that each module causes the digital camera 10 to perform is the same as the operation of the corresponding member in the digital camera 10 described with reference to FIGS.

  A program stored and provided in a recording medium and installed in the printer 12 includes a receiving module, a control module, a processing module, and a printing module as functional configurations. The operation that each module causes the printer 12 to perform is the same as the operation of the corresponding member in the printer 12 described with reference to FIGS.

  The floppy disk 720 or the CD-ROM 722 as an example of the recording medium shown in FIG. 9 may store a part or all of the functions of the digital camera 10 or the printer 12 in the embodiment described in this application. it can.

  These programs may be read directly from the recording medium by the digital camera 10 or the printer 12 and executed, or may be executed by the digital camera 10 or the printer 12 after being installed in the digital camera 10 or the printer 12. Further, the program may be stored in a single recording medium or a plurality of recording media. Alternatively, it may be stored in an encoded form.

  As recording media, in addition to floppy disks and CD-ROMs, optical recording media such as DVD and PD, magneto-optical recording media such as MD, tape media, magnetic recording media, semiconductor memories such as IC cards and miniature cards, etc. Can be used. Further, a storage device such as a hard disk or a RAM provided in a server system connected to a dedicated communication network or the Internet may be used as a recording medium, and the program may be provided to the digital camera 10 or the printer 12 via the communication network. Such a recording medium is used only for manufacturing the digital camera 10 or the printer 12, and the manufacture and sale of such a recording medium as a business constitutes infringement of patent rights based on the present application. It is clear to do.

  According to the digital camera 10 according to the present embodiment, whether or not to cause the printer 12 to correct an image by outputting information related to the image correction performed in the digital camera 10 as tag information in association with the image. Can be controlled. Further, according to the printer 12 according to the present embodiment, the tag information received from the digital camera 10 can be analyzed, and the image correction can be performed based on the information related to the image correction performed in the digital camera 10.

  Therefore, according to the digital camera 10 and the printer 12 according to the present embodiment, the printer 12 performs a correction that is not intended by the user on the printer 12 with respect to an image whose chromaticity or lightness has been corrected on the digital camera 10 based on a user operation. Since it can be controlled not to add, it is possible to print an image suitable for the user's preference.

  As mentioned above, although this invention was demonstrated using embodiment, the technical scope of this invention is not limited to the range as described in the said embodiment. Various modifications or improvements can be added to the above embodiment. It is apparent from the scope of the claims that the embodiments added with such changes or improvements can be included in the technical scope of the present invention.

  As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide an imaging apparatus that outputs an image and information related to image correction in association with each other in order to control image correction in an external image processing apparatus. .

1 is a diagram illustrating an image processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a digital camera 10 according to the present embodiment. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of an image processing unit 200. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display screen of the display unit 206. FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the format of the data which the output part 208 outputs. 2 is a functional configuration diagram of a printer 12 according to the present embodiment. FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the data format of the judgment table which the control part 402 has. 4 is a flowchart of an example of an image processing method of the printer 12. It is a hardware block diagram of the personal computer 14 concerning this embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Digital camera 12 Printer 14 Personal computer 20 Imaging unit 40 Imaging control unit 50 Imaging system CPU
60 processing unit 62 main CPU
64 Memory control unit 66 Non-volatile memory 68 Main memory 72 Encoder 74 Optional device control unit 80 Communication I / F unit 90 Video output terminal 92 Connector 100 Display unit 102 LCD monitor 104 LCD panel 110 Operation unit 120 Image adjustment unit 200 Image processing unit 202 storage unit 204 display image generation unit 206 display unit 208 output unit 210 correction unit 212 manual correction unit 214 auto correction unit 400 reception unit 402 control unit 404 processing unit 406 printing unit 408 white balance correction unit 410 brightness correction unit 700 CPU
702 ROM
704 RAM
706 Communication interface 708 Hard disk drive 710 Database interface 712 Floppy disk drive 714 CD-ROM drive 720 Floppy disk 722 CD-ROM
724 Databases

Claims (8)

A display image generation unit that generates a display image based on the original image;
A display unit for displaying the display image generated by the display image generation unit;
A correction unit that corrects the display image displayed by the display unit based on a user operation;
An image processing apparatus comprising: a storage unit that stores the correction content corrected by the correction unit in association with the original image. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the display image generation unit generates the display image by extracting a partial region of the original image. The image processing apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the display image generation unit generates the display image by enlarging the partial area and synthesizing the partial image in the original image. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising an output unit that outputs the original image and the correction content. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a printing unit that prints the original image corrected by the correction unit. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising an imaging unit that captures the original image. A display image generation stage for generating a display image based on the original image;
A display step for displaying the display image generated in the display image generation step;
A correction step of correcting the display image displayed in the display step based on a user operation;
An image processing method comprising: a storage step of storing the correction content corrected in the correction step in association with the original image. An image processing program that functions in an image processing apparatus, the image processing apparatus,
A display image generation module for generating a display image based on the original image;
A display module for displaying the display image generated by the display image generation module;
A correction module for correcting the display image displayed by the display module based on a user operation;
An image processing program comprising: a storage module that stores the correction content corrected by the correction module in association with the original image.

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