JP2017011629A - Digital camera - Google Patents

Abstract

[PROBLEMS] To evaluate a moving image file composed of a plurality of scenes and select one suitable for browsing.
Shooting information related to each scene included in a moving image file is recorded in association with the scene, and determination is performed using an evaluation value obtained by evaluating individual shooting information.
[Selection] Figure 6

Description

  The present invention relates to a digital camera.

  In recent years, opportunities to shoot movies with digital cameras have increased. There is an increasing need to enjoy not only watching videos but also editing them according to user preferences.

  In response to user needs, digital cameras are provided with various functions for handling moving images. As in Patent Document 1, images taken with a digital camera are automatically combined to create a so-called digest movie, or a user collects favorite movies to create one movie work. These scenes are generally recorded as a single video file, and viewed and shared with family members and friends.

Japanese Patent No. 5683301

  You can create a single movie file by combining multiple scenes, and as the number of movie files consisting of multiple scenes increases, you do not know which scenes are recorded in each movie file. It may be difficult to manage, such as not finding the desired video file.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a method for improving usability by selecting a preferable moving image file from moving image files including a plurality of scenes.

In order to achieve the above object, a digital camera according to the present invention provides:
A digital camera capable of recording a video file composed of multiple videos,
The moving image file includes a shooting information recording unit that records moving images and shooting information at the time of shooting each moving image,
A reproduction determination unit is provided that determines whether or not the moving image file is to be reproduced using evaluation values calculated by evaluating the shooting information of the plurality of moving images included in the moving image file. Yes.

  According to the digital camera of the present invention, a moving image file composed of a highly evaluated scene can be extracted by removing a moving image file including a failed scene from a moving image file composed of a plurality of scenes.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the digital camera of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the combined moving image shooting mode of Example 1 of this invention. It is a schematic diagram of a moving image file recorded in the combined moving image shooting mode according to the first embodiment of the present invention. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the reproduction | regeneration function of Example 1 of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement of the process which excludes the failure combined moving image file of Example 1 of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement of the process which selects the excellent combined moving image file of Example 1 of this invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[Example 1]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a digital camera 100 that is an embodiment of the present invention. A protection unit 10 is a barrier that prevents the imaging unit from being soiled or damaged by covering the imaging unit including the photographing lens 11 of the digital camera 100. Reference numeral 11 denotes a photographing lens, 12 denotes a shutter having a diaphragm function, 13 denotes an image sensor composed of a CCD or CMOS element for converting an optical image into an electric signal, and 15 denotes an analog signal output from the image sensor 13 to a digital signal. It is an A / D converter.

  A timing generation circuit 14 supplies a clock signal and a control signal to the image sensor 13, the A / D converter 15, and the D / A converter 21, and is controlled by the memory control circuit 22 and the system control circuit 50. An image processing circuit 20 performs predetermined pixel interpolation processing and color conversion processing on the data from the A / D converter 15 or the data from the memory control circuit 22.

  The image processing circuit 20 performs predetermined calculation processing using the captured image data, and the system control circuit 50 controls the exposure control means 40 and the distance measurement control means 41 based on the obtained calculation result. AF (autofocus) processing, AE (automatic exposure) processing, and EF (flash pre-flash) processing are performed. The image processing circuit 20 performs predetermined arithmetic processing using the captured image data, and also performs AWB (auto white balance) processing based on the obtained arithmetic result.

  Further, the image processing circuit 20 reads an image stored in the memory 25 and performs compression processing or decompression processing in the JPEG format or MPEG-4 AVC / H.264 format, and the processed data is stored in the memory 25. Write. A memory control circuit 22 controls the A / D converter 15, the timing generation circuit 14, the image processing circuit 20, the image display memory 24, the D / A converter 21, and the memory 25.

  The data of the A / D converter 15 is written to the image display memory 24 or the memory 25 via the image processing circuit 20 and the memory control circuit 22, or the data of the A / D converter 15 is directly written via the memory control circuit 22. It is. Reference numeral 24 denotes an image display memory, 21 denotes a D / A converter, 23 denotes a display unit including a TFT LCD, and the display image data written in the image display memory 24 is displayed via the D / A converter 21. Displayed on the unit 23.

  If image data captured using the display unit 23 is sequentially displayed, an electronic viewfinder function for displaying live video can be realized. Reference numeral 25 denotes a memory for storing captured still images and moving images, and has a sufficient storage capacity to store a predetermined number of still images and a predetermined time of moving images. The memory 25 can also be used as a work area for the system control circuit 50.

  Reference numeral 40 denotes exposure control means for controlling the shutter 12 having an aperture function. Reference numeral 41 denotes a distance measurement control means for controlling the focusing of the photographing lens 11, reference numeral 42 denotes a zoom control means for controlling zooming of the photographing lens 11, and reference numeral 43 denotes a barrier control means for controlling the operation of the protection means 10 as a barrier. A system control circuit 50 controls the entire digital camera.

Reference numeral 51 denotes an electrically erasable / recordable nonvolatile memory, such as an EEPROM. Not only the program but also map information is recorded.
Reference numerals 60, 61, and 62 denote operation means for inputting various operation instructions of the system control circuit 50. The power switch, the mode changeover switch, the menu button, the cross key, the touch panel, the pointing by gaze detection, and the voice recognition. It consists of a single or a combination of devices.

  Reference numeral 60 denotes a shutter switch SW1, which is turned ON during the operation of a shutter button (not shown) and performs AF (autofocus) processing, AE (automatic exposure) processing, AWB (auto white balance) processing, EF (flash pre-flash) processing, and the like. Instruct to start operation. Reference numeral 61 denotes a shutter switch SW2, which is turned on upon completion of an operation of a shutter button (not shown), and an exposure process for writing a signal read from the image sensor 13 to the memory 25 via the A / D converter 15 and the memory control circuit 22. , Development processing using computations in the image processing circuit 20 and the memory control circuit 22, image data is read out from the memory 25, compressed by the image processing circuit 20, stored in the memory 25, and then externally via the card controller 90. The start of a series of processing operations called recording processing for writing image data to the recording medium 91 is instructed.

  Reference numeral 62 denotes an operation unit composed of various buttons, a touch panel, etc., a power button, a menu button, a mode switching switch for switching between a shooting mode / playback mode / other special shooting mode, a cross key, a set button, a macro button, and a multi-screen playback change. Page button, flash setting button, single / continuous shooting / self-timer switching button, menu movement + (plus) button, menu movement-(minus) button, playback image movement + (plus) button, playback image-(minus) button , Image quality selection button, exposure compensation button, date / time setting button, and the like.

Reference numeral 70 denotes a moving image shooting button which is an operation member for instructing start and end of moving image shooting.
Reference numeral 71 denotes a microphone that captures external sound such as a subject, 72 denotes a speaker that outputs operation sound and shutter sound of the digital camera 100, and sound during moving image reproduction, and 73 denotes control and input / output of the microphone 71 and speaker 72. This is a voice control unit that performs recording level and volume of voice data, noise cancellation processing, voice compression processing, and the like.

  Reference numeral 92 denotes a motion detection sensor that detects movement, tilt, and blur of the digital camera 100, and includes an acceleration sensor, a gyro sensor, and the like. Reference numeral 93 denotes a face detection unit. The image data processed by the image processing circuit 20 and the image data stored in the image display memory 24 are analyzed to detect a region that is considered to be a face in the image data. In the face detection unit, when a region that seems to be a face is detected, the probability that the face is likely to be a human face, the position in the input image data, the size, and the like are output. Also, the feature amount of each feature point of the detected face is detected. It is possible to determine the facial expression based on the feature amount, such as whether the facial expression of the person is a smile or an eye-opening state. Further, the person is identified and authenticated using the feature amount.

Reference numeral 81 denotes power supply control means. Reference numeral 80 denotes a power source including a primary battery such as an alkaline battery or a lithium battery, a secondary battery such as a NiCd battery, a NiMH battery or a Li battery, or an AC adapter. A card controller 90 transmits and receives data to and from an external recording medium such as a memory card.
Reference numeral 91 denotes an external recording medium such as a memory card.

  With reference to FIG. 2, the photographing operation of the digital camera 100 will be described. In the digital camera 100, by switching a mode change switch included in the operation unit 62, it is possible to select a combined moving image shooting mode to be recorded in one moving image file for a predetermined number of moving image shooting times.

  When the combined moving image shooting mode is selected in the digital camera 100, in step S201, it is confirmed whether there is a combined moving image already recorded in the external recording medium 91, and there is no recorded combined moving image file, or a predetermined number of times. If there are only combined moving image files recorded, the process proceeds to step S203. If there is a combined moving image file recorded less than the predetermined number of times, the process proceeds to step S202.

  In step S202, the number of combined files is displayed on the display unit 23 so that the user can recognize how many times the combined moving image files have been combined. In step S203, it is confirmed whether the mode change from the combined moving image shooting mode has been performed. The mode change includes a change of another shooting mode by a mode change switch included in the operation unit 62, a transition to a reproduction mode, a power OFF by a power switch, and the like. When the mode is changed, the combined moving image shooting mode is ended.

  In step S204, it is confirmed whether the moving image shooting button 70 has been pressed. If not, the process returns to step S203, and if it has been pressed, the process proceeds to step S205. In step S <b> 205, a display image is generated based on the output of the image sensor 13 that is controlled by the exposure control 40 and has an appropriate exposure, and is recorded in the image display memory 24. In step S <b> 206, the display image recorded in the image display memory 24 is displayed on the display unit 23.

  In step S207, a moving image recording image is generated based on the output of the image sensor 13 in the same manner as in step S205. In step S208, the moving image recording image is converted into video data using a video compression process included in the image processing circuit 20. And is stored in the memory 25. Also, audio data input from the microphone 71 together with the compression of the video data is compressed using the audio control unit 73 and stored in the memory 25.

  In step S209, the face information recorded in the image data is detected from the display image recorded in the image display memory 24 using the face detection unit 93. The face information includes information such as the number of faces included in the screen, the likelihood of each face, position, size, inclination, whether the facial expression is a smile, whether it is blinking or not. The information is detected and recorded in the memory 25.

  In step S210, the motion detection sensor 92 is used to detect information about the situation in which the camera is being photographed, information on the motion and tilt of the camera itself, and the information is recorded in the memory 25.

  In step S211, the moving image / audio data recorded in the memory 25 in step S208 is recorded in the external recording medium 91. If it is determined in step S201 that there is no recorded combined moving image file or there is only a combined moving image file recorded a predetermined number of times, the combined moving image file recorded as a new file and recorded less than the predetermined number of times is recorded. If there is, it is added to the combined moving image file and recorded.

  In step S212, the moving image shooting button 70 has been pressed, or in step S213, the mode change switch included in the operation unit 62 is changed to another shooting mode, the mode is changed to the playback mode, and the mode is changed such as the power is turned off by the power switch. If it has been interrupted, the process proceeds to step S214, and the moving image shooting is terminated. Otherwise, the process returns to step S205, and the moving image recording is continued.

  In step S214, the video / audio compression process is terminated. In steps S215 and S216, subject information and camera motion information recorded in the memory 25 during moving image recording are acquired, and recorded in a moving image file as information acquired at the time of shooting in step S217 in association with the currently captured moving image. To do. In addition to this, shooting information such as subject brightness information indicating whether or not the subject brightness is appropriate, focus level indicating whether the subject is focused properly, and whether or not a zoom operation is performed are also recorded. Can do.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an outline of the combined moving image file recorded in the present invention. As shown in FIG. 3, the file format is such that moving image data shot a plurality of times and shooting information including subject information, camera motion information, etc. are recorded in the header information portion of the moving image file in association with each other. Yes.

  FIG. 4 shows an operation in a playback mode in which the digital camera 100 automatically provides a good image to the user. In step S401, it is searched whether or not the combined moving image file is recorded in the external recording medium 91. If there is a combined moving image file, the process proceeds to step S402, and if not, the process proceeds to step S404.

  In step S402, a failure combined video exclusion process described later is performed. In the failed combined moving image exclusion process, a combined moving image file that is not suitable for reproduction is excluded from the reproduction targets among the combined moving image files recorded on the partial recording medium 91. In step S403, an excellent combined moving image selection process described later is performed. In the excellent combined video selection process, the shooting information of the scenes included in the combined video file is evaluated from the combined video files that were not excluded from the playback target in the failed combined video exclusion process, and the combined video file with excellent evaluation value To select.

  In step S404, among the still images recorded on the external recording medium 91, an image with extremely high or low subject brightness recorded on the still image, an image with a low degree of focus recorded on the still image, Excluded from the playback target from conditions such as an image with a low user preference recorded in a still image. In step S405, in the moving image files other than the combined moving image file recorded on the external recording medium 91, the focus during the shooting period continues to operate from the focus degree recorded in the moving image file, and the focus is not fixed. If the zooming operation continues during the shooting period, the angle of view is not stable, or the movement of the camera changes during the shooting period, and the subject angle is not stable, it is excluded from the playback target.

  In step S406, for example, a still image / moving image in which a smile of a subject is detected during the shooting period as shown in FIG. As a playback target. In step S407, reproduction is performed so that only the combined moving image file, still image, and moving image selected in steps S403 and S406 are viewed by the user.

  FIG. 5 illustrates the failed combined video exclusion process. In steps S501 and S502, the processes in and after step S503 are repeated for all the combined moving image files recorded on the external recording medium 91. In step S503, variables are initialized (i = 1). In steps S504 and S505, it is confirmed whether or not the i-th shooting information exists in the combined moving image file, and if there is, shooting information is acquired.

  In step S506, the shooting information is evaluated and an evaluation value is calculated. The object to be evaluated is whether the face included in the shooting information is a smile, the face of the person being shot is sufficiently large during the shooting period, and is in a position that fits within a predetermined composition, The focus during the shooting period continues to operate based on the degree of focus recorded in the movie file, such as whether the size and tilt have changed significantly, whether the camera has stably taken pictures from the movement of the camera, etc. Combined evaluation based on conditions such as undefined, zooming continued during the shooting period, the angle of view not stable, and camera movement changing during the shooting period, the subject angle may not be stable Then, an evaluation value is calculated.

  When the variables are updated in step S507 and the evaluation of the shooting information in all shooting scenes included in the combined moving image file is completed, the process proceeds to step S508. In step S508, it is confirmed whether there are a predetermined number of evaluation values calculated from each piece of shooting information that are lower than a predetermined threshold. If there are more than a predetermined number of evaluation values, in step S509, the combined moving image file is excluded from the reproduction target as a failed combined moving image file because it is not suitable for reproduction. When all the combined movie files have been processed, the process ends.

  FIG. 6 illustrates the excellent combined video selection process. In steps S601 and 602, the processes in and after step S603 are repeated for all the combined moving image files recorded on the external recording medium 91. In step S603, it is confirmed whether or not the combined moving image file is determined to be the failed combined moving image file described in FIG. 5. If the combined moving image file is a failed combined moving image file, the process returns to step S601 to process the next combined moving image file. If it is not a failed combined video file, the process proceeds to step S604.

  In step S604, variable initialization (i = 1) is performed. In steps S605 and S606, it is confirmed whether or not the i-th shooting information exists in the combined moving image file, and if there is, shooting information is acquired. In step S607, the imaging information is evaluated and an evaluation value is calculated. The object to be evaluated is whether the face included in the shooting information is a smile, the face of the person being shot is sufficiently large during the shooting period, and is in a position that fits within a predetermined composition, An evaluation value is calculated by multiple evaluations such as whether the size and inclination have not changed greatly or whether or not photographing has been performed stably from the movement of the camera.

  When the variables are updated in step S608 and the evaluation of the shooting information in all shooting scenes included in the combined moving image file is completed, the process proceeds to step S609. In step S609, the highest evaluation value among the evaluation values calculated from the respective shooting information is set as the evaluation value of the combined moving image file. When the calculation of evaluation values for all the combined moving image files is completed, a combined moving image file having a high evaluation value is selected and set as a reproduction target in step S610.

100 digital camera, 10 protection means, 11 taking lens, 12 shutter,
13 Image sensor, 15 A / D converter

Claims (5)

A digital camera capable of recording a video file composed of multiple videos,
The moving image file includes a shooting information recording unit that records moving images and shooting information at the time of shooting each moving image,
A reproduction determining unit that determines whether or not the moving image file is to be reproduced using evaluation values calculated by evaluating the shooting information of the plurality of moving images included in the moving image file; Digital camera. 2. The digital camera according to claim 1, wherein the reproduction determination unit determines whether or not the highest evaluation value among the calculated evaluation values is to be reproduced as the evaluation value of the moving image file. . The shooting information includes at least one of position, size, orientation, angle, facial expression, feature data on the moving image data of the face of a person photographed as a subject at the time of moving image shooting, and movement, tilt, and blur information of the digital camera. The digital camera according to claim 1. The digital camera according to claim 1, further comprising a moving image editing unit that deletes shooting information corresponding to the deleted moving image portion when editing the moving image file. The reproduction determination unit determines that the moving image file is not to be reproduced when a predetermined number of evaluation values that are less than a predetermined threshold are calculated for each calculated evaluation value. The digital camera described in 1.