JP2010273166A - Photographic condition control device, camera and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a photographic condition control device which can easily set a photographic scene according with photographer's intention. <P>SOLUTION: The photographic condition control device which executes a scene photographic mode wherein photographic conditions matching photography of a subject are all determined together at a time by setting a photographic scene corresponding to the kind of the subject detects a plurality of kinds 45 of the subject, sets a plurality of photographic scenes corresponding to the plurality of detected kinds 45 of the subject as photographic scene candidates, and displays corresponding candidate icons 54. When the photographer 42 performs a sliding operation, a scene selected in a predetermined order among the photographic scene candidates is set as the photographic scene, and a live-view image is displayed which is image-processed under image processing conditions determined according to the photographic scene set in the predetermined order. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a scene shooting mode technique in which various shooting conditions of a digital camera are optimally set according to a shooting scene.

  Most cameras have an auto mode in which AE, AF, and AWB are automatically set according to the subject. With this auto mode, it is possible to capture an image without failure. However, since the auto mode alone often does not give the shooting atmosphere and subject characteristics well, recently scene shooting modes have been developed and used that set optimal shooting conditions for the subject. .

  The scene shooting mode is a mode in which shooting conditions are automatically set so that the subject is well reflected in accordance with the type of the selected subject. For example, when “portrait” is selected as the scene shooting mode, the pixel is set to be fine and the aperture is set shallow, and the color processing is performed so that the skin color is clean. When “night scene” is selected, the shutter speed is decreased, the ISO sensitivity is increased, and a filter effect that adds a special effect to the light beam is added. An example of a camera equipped with a scene mode is a camera disclosed in Patent Document 1.

  Furthermore, in the conventional scene shooting mode, the photographer himself had to select an appropriate scene from the types of scenes prepared, but this was improved and the type of shooting scene was automatically selected from the subject image. An imaging apparatus that makes a determination is also proposed (Patent Document 2).

JP 2005-31878 A JP 2008-154261 A

  In the scene shooting mode, where the photographer selects the type of scene, the operation of selecting an appropriate scene from the scene menu is cumbersome, and the correct selection can be made if the photographer has no knowledge of selecting a scene. There is a problem that you can't.

  On the other hand, a camera equipped with an auto scene mode in which scenes are automatically selected does not require any troublesome selection from the scene menu and knowledge necessary for scene selection, and thus seems to be easy to use without any problems. However, on the actual screen, people, landscapes, flowers, houses, the sun, etc. are mixed, so the scene judged by the camera does not necessarily match the type of scene from which the photographer wants the image. There is a problem that is not limited.

  In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a photographing condition control device that can easily set a photographing scene according to a photographer's intention, such a camera, and a program that executes such processing.

In order to achieve the above object, the shooting condition setting apparatus according to the present invention executes a scene shooting mode in which shooting conditions corresponding to the type of subject are set and shooting conditions suitable for shooting the subject are collectively determined. In the shooting condition control device, a display control unit that displays a live view image on a screen, an operation detection unit that detects an instruction from a photographer corresponding to the screen,
A subject detection unit for detecting the type of the subject on the live view image; a scene setting unit for setting a shooting scene according to the type of the detected subject from the prepared shooting scenes;
A shooting condition setting unit that sets the shooting condition including an image processing condition for a displayed live view image according to the set shooting scene, and the subject detection unit detects a plurality of types of the subject. Then, the scene setting unit sets a plurality of shooting scenes corresponding to the detected types of subjects as shooting scene candidates, and if there is an instruction from the photographer, The scene selected in a predetermined order is set as the shooting scene, and the display control unit displays information on the plurality of shooting scene candidates, and when there is an instruction from the photographer, A live view image that is image-processed based on image processing conditions determined by the shooting condition setting unit according to shooting scenes set in a predetermined order is displayed. That.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a photographing condition control device that can easily set a photographing scene in accordance with a photographer's intention, such a camera, and a program that executes such processing.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a digital camera equipped with an imaging condition control apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining in order the manner in which shooting scenes are switched by an operation. FIG. 3 is a diagram for sequentially explaining how the shooting scenes are switched by operation following FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining an example in which a reset operation is performed on a screen in which shooting scenes are switched by an operation. FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining another example of the screen on the screen where the shooting scene is switched by the operation. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining another display example of candidate icons on a screen where shooting scenes are switched by an operation. FIG. 7 is a main flowchart for explaining the flow of the shooting scene setting process performed by the shooting condition control apparatus. FIG. 8 is a subroutine of the main flowchart of FIG.

  Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a digital camera equipped with a photographing condition control apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  A digital camera 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a control unit 11, a program data storage unit 12, a button operation unit 13, a touch panel operation unit 14, an imaging unit 15, an SDRAM 16, an image processing unit 17, a display control unit 18, and a display unit. 19, a compression / decompression unit 20, a recording / reproducing unit 21, an image storage unit 22, and a bus line 25 are provided as main units.

  The control unit 11 is a CPU that reads a control program stored in the program data storage unit 12 and comprehensively controls the entire digital camera 1. In the scene shooting mode, which is one of the features of the present embodiment, the control unit 11 executes each process of shooting condition control according to a program. For convenience, each process is performed as a shooting condition setting unit 11a, a scene setting unit 11b, and subject detection. These are expressed as functional units called a unit 11c and an operation detection unit 11d.

  The scene shooting mode is a mode in which shooting conditions are set so that the subject is well reflected according to the type of the selected subject. For example, when “portrait” for photographing a person is selected as a photographing scene, the aperture is set shallow and the skin color is processed as color processing. When the “night view” mode is selected, the shutter speed is slowed down, the ISO sensitivity is increased, and a filter effect that gives a special effect to the light beam is added depending on the preference. The entire scene shooting mode is controlled by the control unit 11.

  The shooting condition setting unit 11a sets each shooting according to the set shooting scene in a scene shooting mode in which shooting conditions corresponding to the type of the subject are set and the shooting conditions suitable for shooting the subject are collectively determined. It defines the conditions. The shooting condition setting unit 11a sets shutter speed, the number of pixels, strobe conditions, focus conditions, or various shooting conditions such as contrast and color correction. The imaging unit 15 or the image processing unit 17 is controlled according to the conditions and values set by the imaging condition setting unit 11a.

  The scene setting unit 11b sets a shooting scene corresponding to the detected type of the subject from the shooting scenes prepared to correspond to the type of subject as the shooting scene. Data relating to each shooting scene corresponding to a plurality of types of subjects is stored in shooting scene data prepared in advance. In addition, the scene setting unit 11b selects shooting scenes corresponding to the detected types of subjects as shooting scene candidates, and sets shooting scenes from the shooting scene candidates according to an instruction from the photographer.

  The subject detection unit 11c detects the type of the subject specified by the photographer on the screen on which the live view image is displayed. Specifically, the subject detection unit 11c extracts image data existing at a position designated by the operator on the screen from the entire image data, and determines the type of the subject. In order to determine the type of subject, first, the characteristics of the subject, such as the shape, color, presence / absence of a face, relationship with the entire screen, shooting date / time, and the like are extracted. These features are compared with the subject database stored in the program data storage unit 12 to identify the type of subject. Further, if a face is present in a part of the subject, the subject is determined to be a person.

  The operation detection unit 11d detects an instruction from the photographer corresponding to the screen. Specifically, the operation detection unit 11 d detects the operation content from the signals output from the button operation unit 13 and the touch panel 14.

  The program data storage unit 12 is composed of a non-volatile memory such as a flash memory, and stores a program for executing processing of the control unit 11 and data of a subject database for specifying the type of the instructed subject. The program data storage unit 12 also stores shooting scene data, icons displayed on the screen, and window image data.

  The button operation unit 13 is an operation unit provided on the back or top surface of the digital camera 1 and includes a release button for instructing execution of shooting and a menu button for switching between a shooting mode and a playback mode.

  The touch panel operation unit 14 is provided so as to be superimposed on the display unit 19 disposed on the back surface of the digital camera 1, and detects an operator's touch input or a locus of a finger that is moved while being touched.

  The imaging unit 15 includes an optical unit including a lens to an imaging element, and a signal processing unit that processes a photoelectric conversion signal output from the driving circuit that drives the imaging element and the imaging element and outputs the result as digital image data. The optical unit includes a lens that forms a subject image, an AF mechanism unit and a zoom mechanism unit that move the position of the lens, a diaphragm unit that narrows the subject light beam, and the like.

  The signal processing unit includes a CDS circuit for reducing noise in the photoelectric conversion signal output from the image sensor, an AGC circuit for amplifying the signal level to an appropriate level, and an analog image signal processed by these signals as a digital image. It consists of an AD circuit that converts data.

  The SDAM 16 is a temporary memory and is a working area used for digital image processing. The digital image signal output from the imaging unit 15 is temporarily stored, and image processing by the image processing unit 17 is executed. Similarly, it is also used when the display control unit 18 or the compression / decompression unit 20 executes each process.

  The image processing unit 17 performs predetermined gamma processing, pixel interpolation processing, color correction processing, YC conversion, and the like on the image data output from the imaging unit 15 for a live view image or a recorded image. In the scene shooting mode, the image processing unit 17 changes the intensity of the smoothing process, for example, in the case of color correction, contrast correction, or face processing according to the contents of the set shooting conditions.

  The display control unit 18 converts the number of pixels of the captured image data into a display pixel number for display on the display unit 19, and further adds a menu to the live view image and the recorded image converted for display. A process of superimposing characters, icons indicating the type of shooting scene, information such as a cursor, etc. on the subject is executed.

  The display unit 19 is composed of an LCD or EL panel and is arranged on the back surface of the digital camera 1, and has a live view image output from the display control unit 18, a recorded image taken or a menu screen on which menu information is displayed. Is displayed.

  The compression / decompression unit 20 records image data based on a well-known JPEG method or the like when recording image data of a captured image in the image storage unit 22 or displaying image data recorded in the image storage unit 22. Perform compression processing and decompression processing.

  The recording / reproducing unit 21 writes the compressed image data to the image storage unit 22 and conversely reads the compressed image data from the image storage unit 22. The image storage unit 22 is, for example, an xD picture card (registered trademark) or a compact flash (registered trademark) recording medium or HDD that can be attached to and detached from the camera body. The bus line 25 connects the above constituent elements with a data line and an address line.

  Up to this point, the main components of the digital camera 1 have been described. The procedure for setting shooting conditions in the scene shooting mode is briefly described as follows.

  The operation detection unit 11d detects the subject in the entire live view image, and the subject detection unit 11c compares the subject characteristics with the data in the subject database to detect the type of the subject. Then, the scene setting unit 11b selects a plurality of shooting scenes suitable for the type of the subject in the scene data from the detected types of the subject, and orders the selected shooting scene candidates. The shooting scene candidates are switched in that order in accordance with the photographer's instruction. In accordance with the switching of the shooting scene, the shooting condition setting unit 11a sets each parameter of the imaging unit 15 and the image processing unit 17 to various shooting conditions determined according to the shooting scene. Further, the operation screen is controlled by the display control unit 18 in accordance with the switching of the shooting scene, and an icon and a cursor corresponding to the shooting scene are displayed on the live view image.

  A combination of all or part of the control unit 11, the shooting condition setting unit 11a, the scene setting unit 11b, the subject detection unit 11c, the operation detection unit 11d, and the display control unit 18 is also referred to as a shooting condition control device.

The contents and screens of each process performed in the scene shooting mode using the digital camera 1 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 2 and subsequent figures. First, an example of the relationship between the shooting conditions derived corresponding to the subject Are described in Table 1.

  Table 1 shows seven examples. The first example is when the subject is sunset. If the subject has most of the following conditions: “Color (red) and brightness protrude from the surroundings. The surroundings have low contrast. The shape is a circle, the distance is infinity, and the shooting date and time is evening.” The subject detection unit 11c detects that the subject type is “sunset”. Since the type of subject is sunset, the scene setting unit 11b sets a shooting scene of “sunset”. Then, the shooting condition setting unit 11a sets “red and yellow are emphasized on the entire screen in the image processing unit. Focus is auto. Brightness is slightly under” as the shooting condition corresponding to the shooting scene “sunset”. .

  The second example is a case where the subject is a mountain. If most of the conditions of the subject “the focus is infinite, the contrast is low, the color is brown or green, and the shape indicates a mountain” are satisfied, the subject detection unit 11c causes the subject The type is detected as “mountain”. The scene setting unit 11b sets a shooting scene of “distant scenery”. Then, the photographing condition setting unit 11a sets photographing conditions such as “focus is auto, processing is performed so that blue and green colors around the mountains are clean, and brightness is slightly brighter”. The third and subsequent examples will be described from time to time with the contents of the following screens, but shooting conditions are set based on the same logic as in the first and second screens.

  FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 are diagrams for explaining how shooting scenes are switched by an operation. 2 (1) to (6) are screens showing a series of flows in time order. Here, a live view image of “a woman jogging with a mountain background on the evening coast and a dog on the beach” is taken as an example.

  In FIG. 2A, the auto mode is set as the default shooting scene on the screen before the shooting scene is set by the photographer, and the auto mode icon is displayed on the shooting mode icon 50 in the upper left of the screen 40. Has been. This live view image is also displayed as an image subjected to image processing (color correction or the like) in the auto mode.

  FIG. 2B is a screen on which an instruction to select a photographic scene candidate is given. The start operation is, for example, a double-click operation on the screen 40, but may be an operation by the button operation unit 13. When the start operation is performed, the subject detection unit 11c extracts a characteristic subject such as a color, shape, and movement from the entire screen, and compares the characteristic subject with a subject registered in the subject database. The type of subject existing on the entire screen is detected.

  Here, the subject detection unit 11c detects a total of four types of subjects, “sunset 45a”, “animal 45b”, “exercising person 45c”, and “mountain 45d” from the above characteristics, and this is the scene setting unit. 11b is notified. The scene setting unit 11b sets “sunset”, “animal”, “sports”, and “far landscape”, which are guided corresponding to the types of detected subjects, as shooting scene candidates.

  FIG. 2 (3) is a screen displayed so that each icon of the set shooting scene candidate is superimposed on the corresponding subject. The display control unit 18 displays a candidate icon 54a for “Sunset 45a”, a candidate icon 54b for “Animal 45b”, a candidate icon 54c for “Exercise person 45c”, and a candidate icon 54d for “Mountain 45d”. Is displayed as a scene candidate icon. This scene candidate icon 54 (a, b, c, d) is moved and displayed in accordance with the movement of the subject.

  FIG. 2 (4) shows a state in which a leftward sliding operation is performed with the photographer's finger 42 on the screen on which the candidate icon 54 of FIG. 2 (3) is displayed. Here, the switching order of the shooting scene candidates is determined by the left and right positions on the screen of the subject corresponding to the sliding direction. Specifically, when the direction of the sliding operation is to the left, the shooting scene candidates corresponding to the leftmost subject are switched in order, and conversely, when the direction of the sliding operation is to the right, the rightmost is selected. The rule is to switch in order from the shooting scene candidate corresponding to a certain subject. That is, when an operation in the left direction is detected by the operation detection unit 11d, the scene setting unit 11b operates the shooting scenes in the order of “sunset”, “animal”, “sports”, “far landscape”. It is switched every time. Conversely, when an operation in the right direction is detected by the operation detection unit 11d, the scene setting unit 11b captures the shooting scenes in the order of "distant scenery", "sports", "animals", "sunset" Switching is set for each operation. Of course, the switching order rule is not limited to this. In addition, on the left and right sides of the screen 40, marks 44 indicating that the shooting scenes are switched by a left / right sliding operation are also displayed.

  Returning to FIG. 2 (4), when a leftward sliding operation is detected by the operation detection unit 11d, the scene setting unit 11b selects the subject that is most left on the screen among the four scene candidates. The corresponding sunset scene is set.

FIG. 4 (5) is a screen in which a sunset scene is set. 4 (4), the scene setting unit 11b sets a sunset scene.
The shooting condition corresponding to the shooting scene “sunset” set by the scene setting unit 11 b by the shooting condition setting unit 11 a, that is, the conditions shown in the first example of Table 1, are the imaging unit 15 and the image processing unit 17. Set to

  On the screen, the display control unit 18 displays a live view image in which the color is emphasized in red or yellow by image processing under the condition of the shooting scene “sunset”. The content of the shooting mode icon 50 is also switched to the sunset icon. In addition, a scene cursor 56 for displaying the subject on which the shooting scene is based is displayed so as to surround the sunset 45a portion of the screen 40. This is because it becomes clear which subject corresponds to the current shooting scene. If the photographer likes this screen, the image is recorded if the composition is determined and the release operation is performed.

  FIG. 4 (6) shows the screen shown in FIG. 4 (5), in which the photographing scene is switched from “sunset” to “animal” when the photographer's finger 42 is further slid leftward. It is. If the photographer does not like the “sunset” live view image shown in FIG. 4 (5), it is possible to switch to the next shooting scene. When a sliding operation in the left direction is detected by the operation detection unit 11d, the scene setting unit 11b changes and sets the shooting scene from “sunset” to “animal”. The shooting condition setting unit 11a also changes each shooting condition in accordance with the change to the shooting scene “animal”. The image processing condition (parameter) of the live view image is also switched to the “animal” condition.

  The display control unit 18 also changes the content of the shooting mode icon to an animal icon, and the scene cursor 56 is displayed around the animal 45b.

  FIG. 3 (1) is a continuation of FIG. 2 (6). In FIG. 2 (6), when a leftward sliding operation is further performed with the photographer's finger 42, the shooting scene is switched from “animal” to “sport”.

  Further, when the leftward sliding operation is detected by the operation detection unit 11d, the scene setting unit 11b sets the shooting scene from “animal” to “sports”. The shooting condition setting unit 11a also changes each shooting condition to the “sport” condition in accordance with the change to the shooting scene “sport”.

  FIG. 3 (2) is a continuation of FIG. 3 (1). When the leftward sliding operation with the photographer's finger 42 is performed again, the shooting scene is switched from “sports” to “distant scenery”. When the operation detection unit 11d detects a leftward sliding operation, the scene setting unit 11b changes and sets the shooting scene from “sports” to “far landscape”. The shooting condition setting unit 11a also changes each shooting condition to the “far landscape” condition in accordance with the change to the shooting scene “far landscape”. The display control unit 18 displays a live view image that has been subjected to image processing under conditions based on the shooting scene “far landscape”, that is, blue and green are clearly colored by image processing.

  FIG. 3 (3) shows a state in which a sliding operation in the right direction is performed on the screen of FIG. 3 (2). According to the above rules, the shooting scene is switched from “distant scenery” to “sports”.

  FIG. 3 (4) is a screen in which the shooting scene is switched from “distant scenery” to “sports”. When a sliding operation in the right direction is detected by the operation detection unit 11d, the scene setting unit 11b changes and sets the shooting scene from “far landscape” to “sports”. The shooting condition setting unit 11a also changes each shooting condition in accordance with the change to the shooting scene “sports”.

  FIG. 4 is a screen showing a reset operation for switching from the shooting scene “sunset” to the first auto mode. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, an image shot by a shooting scene according to the subject is monitored as a live view image. However, it may be desired to return to the first auto mode after all. .

  FIG. 4A shows a state where the screen is double-clicked by the photographer's finger 42 on the screen of FIG. FIG. 4B is a screen in which the shooting mode is returned to the auto mode by a double click operation. Since it is set to the first auto mode by a simple double-click operation, it is easy to change to the auto mode.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an operation for directly selecting a scene candidate icon displayed on the screen and setting a desired shooting scene. This is because when the shooting scene to be set is known, it is not necessary to check the image quality of the live view image in order to determine the shooting scene.

  FIG. 5A shows a state in which the animal candidate icon 54b is directly touched by the hand 42 on the screen of FIG. FIG. 5 (2) shows a situation where the shooting scene is switched to “animal” by directly touching the animal candidate icon 54b. The scene setting unit 11c sets the shooting scene “animal”, and the shooting condition setting unit 11a sets shooting conditions corresponding to the shooting scene “animal” instead of the auto mode. Shooting speedily by switching the shooting scene in order as described in FIGS. 2 and 3 and finding the desired shooting scene and selecting the direct shooting scene as described above. A scene can be selected.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining another example related to the display of the candidate icon 54. As described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, if the candidate icon 54 indicating a scene candidate is displayed near or superimposed on the subject, the contents of the selectable scene and the type of the intended subject can be immediately known. . However, the display of the candidate icon 54 also has an adverse effect that the visual recognition of the subject is hindered. Two display examples for preventing this problem will be described below.

  FIG. 6A shows a screen in which the set candidate icons 54 are displayed together at the top of the screen. In FIG. 2C, the candidate icon 54 set by the display control unit 18 is displayed so as to be superimposed on the corresponding subject. In this example, an icon area 60 is provided at the top of the screen, and the candidate icon 54 is displayed. Was displayed together there. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the candidate icon 54 from interfering with the visual recognition of the subject.

  FIG. 6B is an example in which a scene candidate cursor 58 is displayed instead of the candidate icon 54. If it is a cursor, it can be made smaller than an icon, and it is not obstructive because of its simple shape. As described above, it is more convenient to select which of the three examples related to the display of the candidate icon 54 can be selected on the menu screen of the digital camera 1.

  7 and 8 are flowcharts for explaining the flow of the shooting scene setting process described so far. First, FIG. 7 is a main flowchart for explaining the entire shooting scene setting process. These processes are mainly executed by the control unit 11, the shooting condition setting unit 11a, the scene setting unit 11b, the subject detection unit 11c, the operation detection unit 11d, the display control unit 18, and the like. Here, it is assumed that the digital camera 1 is already set to the shooting mode and the scene shooting mode.

  In the shooting mode, the control unit 11 continuously displays live view images at a constant frame rate (step S11). It is assumed that the live view image continues to be displayed except during a period during which a photographing process described later is performed. As described with reference to FIG. 2, in the scene shooting mode, the default of the shooting scene is the auto mode. This is the scene shown in FIG. Next, the control unit 11 executes shooting scene setting processing (step S12).

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a sub-routine that specifically explains the shooting scene setting process. The control unit 11 determines whether an operation for selecting a shooting scene candidate has been performed by the photographer using the operation detection unit 11d on the screen on which the live view image is displayed (step S31).

  If the control unit 11 determines that an instruction operation for selecting a shooting scene candidate has not been performed (NO in step S31), it next determines whether a candidate icon has been selected (step S32). This is because, when the process of selecting a shooting scene candidate has already been completed and this subroutine is passed again, it is necessary to change the subsequent processes depending on whether the candidate icon has been selected. If it is determined that the candidate icon has been selected (YES in step S32), the process proceeds to step S37. If it is determined that the candidate icon has not been selected (NO in step S32), this subroutine is exited, and FIG. Proceed to S13.

  Returning to step S31, if the control unit 11 determines that an instruction operation (double-click) for selecting a photographing scene candidate has been performed (YES in step S31), the control unit 11 proceeds to step S33. This is the scene shown in FIG. The subject detection unit 11c extracts a characteristic subject from the entire screen of the live view image (step S33).

  Specifically, the subject detection unit 11c searches for a characteristic subject in the entire image data of the live view image. When searching for a characteristic subject, not only the subject but also the relationship between the designated subject and the entire screen, conditions such as the shooting date and time are considered.

  Next, the subject detection unit 11c determines the type of the subject from the extracted subjects (step S34). Specifically, the subject detection unit 11c compares the subject feature with a subject database stored in the program data storage unit 12 to determine the type of subject. The type of the subject cannot be determined if the specified subject has few features or if there is a feature but the type is not registered in the subject database. The subject extraction unit 11c notifies the control unit 11 whether or not the type of subject has been determined.

  The control unit 11 determines whether the type of the subject has been determined by the notification from the subject extraction unit 11c (step S35). When determining that the type of subject has not been determined (NO in step S35), the control unit 11 ends the subroutine flow of FIG. 8 and proceeds to step S13 of FIG.

  If the control unit 11 determines that the type of subject has been determined (YES in step S35), the control unit 11 proceeds to step S36.

  The scene setting unit 11b selects a shooting scene according to the type of the detected subject from the shooting scene data stored in the program data storage unit 12, and sets these as shooting scene candidates (step S36).

  The display control unit 18 displays a candidate icon indicating the content of the photographing scene candidate on the corresponding subject in an overlapping manner or in the vicinity thereof (step S37). It is a screen shown in FIG. That is, candidate icons are displayed on all subjects whose types have been determined. In this case, candidate icons may be displayed separately even for the same subject type. For example, there may be three people on the screen and the candidate icon “person” as the subject type may be separately attached to the three people.

  Next, the control unit 11 determines three interrupts of step S38, step S41, and step S43. First, the control unit 11 determines whether the candidate icon has been directly selected by the photographer (step S38). It is the example demonstrated in FIG. When the control unit 11 determines that the candidate icon is directly selected (step 38 YES), the control unit 11 switches to the selected shooting scene (step S39). Specifically, the scene setting unit 11b sets a shooting scene corresponding to the selected icon, and the shooting condition setting unit 11a sets each shooting condition corresponding to the set shooting scene. Correspondingly, the image processing unit 17 changes image processing conditions for the live view image.

  Then, the display control unit 18 switches the content of the mode icon 50 on the screen 40 to the set shooting scene, and displays the scene cursor on the corresponding subject (step S40). Further, the display control unit 18 displays a live view image based on the image processing condition changed in association with the setting of the shooting condition. It is a screen shown in FIG.

  Next, when it is determined that the candidate icon is not directly selected (NO in step S38), the control unit 11 determines whether or not the photographer has performed a sliding operation left and right (step S41). It is a screen shown in FIG. When the control unit 11 determines that the left / right sliding operation has been performed by the photographer (YES in step S41), the control unit 11 sequentially switches the shooting scenes from the shooting scene candidates (step S42). Specifically, the left / right direction of the sliding operation is determined by the operation detection unit 11d, and the scene setting unit 11b sets one shooting scene from the sliding direction and shooting scene candidates. Details of the selection rule have already been described with reference to FIG. The shooting condition setting unit 11a sets each shooting condition corresponding to the shooting scene set by the scene setting unit 11b.

  Then, the display control unit 18 switches the content of the mode icon 50 to the set shooting scene (step S40). Further, the display control unit 18 displays a live view image based on the image processing condition changed in association with the setting of the shooting condition. This is an example as shown in FIG.

  Next, the control part 11 judges whether reset operation was performed, when it has set to the imaging | photography scene (step S43). The reset operation is a double-click operation on the screen as shown in FIGS. 3 (3) and 3 (4). When determining that the reset operation has been performed (YES in step S43), the control unit 11 returns the shooting scene to an initial state, for example, an auto mode.

  When the control unit 11 determines that any of the operations of step S38, step S41, and step S43 is not performed, or after the completion of step S40 or step S44, the subroutine of FIG. 8 is terminated and the process proceeds to step S13 of FIG. move on.

  In step S13 and subsequent steps, the control unit 11 determines whether there is an off operation or a release operation as a representative interrupt operation. If not, the control unit 11 returns to step S11 and repeats the shooting scene setting process.

  First, the control unit 11 determines whether an off operation has been performed (step S13). The off operation is an operation performed by the button operation unit 13. If the control unit 11 determines that an off operation has been performed (YES in step S13), the control unit 11 performs a power supply termination process for the digital camera 1.

  When determining that the off operation has not been performed (NO in step S13), the control unit 11 determines whether or not a release operation, which is an instruction to perform shooting, has been performed (step S14). When the control unit 11 determines that the release operation is not performed (NO in step S14), the control unit 11 returns to step S11. When determining that the release operation has been performed (YES in step S14), the control unit 11 executes the shooting process under the set shooting conditions (step S15), returns to step S11, and repeats the shooting scene setting process.

  As described above, a plurality of shooting scene candidates are selected according to the subject, and a live view image reflecting the shooting conditions of the selected shooting scene candidate can be switched and viewed with a simple operation. Even a photographer who does not have detailed knowledge about a scene can reliably select a desired shooting scene.

  In the above description, the scene setting unit determines the order of switching the shooting scene candidates according to the left and right positions of the corresponding subject on the screen. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The scene setting unit may be switched in a predetermined default order at a general frequency. Or you may make it make it appear preferentially from the thing with a big subject size on a screen. In addition, it may be made to appear with priority from the scenes frequently used by the photographer.

  Since the control unit 11 reads out and executes the operation control program stored in the program data storage unit 12, the selection of the shooting scene according to the subject is realized. The control program relating to this is also the present invention. A recording medium on which such a control program is recorded is also the present invention. The recording medium for storing the program is not limited to the flash memory, but an optical recording medium such as a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM, a magnetic recording medium such as an MD, a tape medium, or a semiconductor memory such as an IC card. It may be.

  In the present embodiment, the execution of processing has been described as a combination of software processing and hardware processing. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the combination is a matter of choice.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the example in which the photographing condition control device is applied to the digital camera 1 has been described. May be. Further, although the screen instruction operation means from the photographer has been described only with the touch panel operation unit 14, it is naturally not limited to this, and may be performed with the button operation unit 13 or the touch pad.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Digital camera, 11 ... Control part, 11a ... Shooting condition setting part, 11b ... Scene setting part, 11c ... Subject detection part, 11d ... Operation detection part, 12 ... Program data storage part, 13 ... Button operation part, DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 14 ... Touch panel operation part, 15 ... Imaging part, 16 ... SDRAM, 17 ... Image processing part, 18 ... Display control part, 19 ... Display part, 20 ... Compression / decompression part, 21 ... Recording / reproducing part, 22 ... Image storage part, 25 ... bus line, 40 ... screen, 42 ... hand, 44 ... mark, 45a, 45b, 45c, 45d ... subject, 50 ... shooting mode icon, 54, 54a, 54b, 54c, 54d ... candidate icon, 56 ... scene cursor 58 ... Scene candidate cursor, 60 ... Icon area

Claims (7)

In a shooting condition control apparatus that executes a scene shooting mode in which shooting conditions suitable for shooting a subject are collectively set by setting a shooting scene corresponding to the type of the subject,
A display control unit for displaying a live view image on the screen;
An operation detection unit that detects an instruction from the photographer corresponding to the screen;
A subject detection unit for detecting the type of subject on the live view image;
A scene setting unit for setting a shooting scene according to the type of the detected subject from the prepared shooting scenes;
A shooting condition setting unit that sets the shooting conditions including image processing conditions for a live view image to be displayed according to the set shooting scene;
The subject detection unit detects a plurality of types of the subject,
The scene setting unit sets a plurality of shooting scenes corresponding to the detected types of subjects as shooting scene candidates, and when there is an instruction from the photographer, a predetermined one of the shooting scene candidates is set. Set the scene selected in the order of
The display control unit displays information of the plurality of shooting scene candidates, and when there is an instruction from the photographer, the shooting condition setting unit according to the shooting scene set in the predetermined order. An image capturing condition control apparatus that displays a live view image that is subjected to image processing based on an image processing condition defined by. 2. The scene setting unit according to claim 1, wherein the scene selection unit follows a sequence in which subjects corresponding to the scene are arranged on the screen of the live view image as a predetermined sequence for selecting a scene from the shooting scene candidates. The imaging condition control apparatus described. The photographing condition control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display control unit displays information of the photographing scene candidate in the vicinity of a subject corresponding to the photographing scene candidate. 4. The photographing condition control apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the display control unit displays an icon representing the photographing scene candidate as the photographing scene candidate information. 3. The display control unit according to claim 1, wherein the display control unit displays the information of the set shooting scene and the information specifying the position of the subject corresponding to the shooting scene, superimposed on the live view image. The imaging condition control apparatus described. A camera comprising the imaging condition control device according to any one of claims 1 to 6. In a program for causing a camera computer to execute a shooting condition control process for executing a scene shooting mode in which shooting conditions suitable for shooting a subject are collectively determined by setting a shooting scene corresponding to the type of the subject.
Detecting a plurality of types of subjects on a live view image displayed on the screen;
Corresponding to a plurality of detected subjects, a step of setting a plurality of shooting scenes from prepared shooting scenes as shooting scene candidates;
Furthermore, when there is an instruction from the photographer, a step of setting a scene selected from the shooting scene candidates in a predetermined order as a shooting scene;
Determining the shooting conditions including image processing conditions of a live view image to be displayed according to the set shooting scene;
And a step of displaying a live view image to be image-processed based on the predetermined image processing conditions.

Images