JP2003046918A - Imaging apparatus and method therefor, computer- readable record medium, and computer program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily confirm the quality of images on a compact monitor screen. SOLUTION: When a subject is to be imaged to generate an image, imaging information corresponding to the image is recorded, the details on the imaging information are displayed so that they can be visually recognized easily, and the quality of the image can be judged also on a small liquid crystal screen, thus easily judging the quality of the image even in nonlinear editing.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image pickup apparatus, an image pickup method, a computer-readable storage medium, and a computer program, and more particularly, it is possible to obtain a picked-up image by controlling various control means included in a moving image pickup apparatus such as a video camera. It is suitable for use in displaying the contents of change in image quality so that they can be easily visually recognized.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in image pickup devices such as video cameras, AE (auto exposure), AF (auto focus), AWB (auto white balance)
In all respects, the camera control is automated and good imaging can be easily performed.

Further, a part of these control information is recorded in a disk recorder as camera information at the same time as an imaged image, and when the imaged image is reproduced, it may be displayed as imaged information superimposed on the imaged image on a monitor. It is possible.

FIG. 13 shows an example of the configuration of a conventional image pickup apparatus. Referring to FIG. 13, the structure of the image pickup unit will be described.
Is a lens which is an image pickup optical system, 304 is a diaphragm device for adjusting the amount of exposure light, 305 is a CCD which is an image pickup element, and 311 is C
It is a camera signal processing circuit that converts an electric signal photoelectrically converted and output by the CD 305 into a standard video signal such as NTSC.

The luminance signal component of the video signal obtained by the camera signal processing circuit 311 is input to the exposure calculation circuit 233. The exposure calculation circuit 233 performs the following operation based on the input luminance signal to keep the exposure state appropriate.

That is, the diaphragm drive circuit 231 is used to open and close the diaphragm device 304 to limit the amount of incident light reaching the CCD 305, thereby setting the luminance signal level to a predetermined reference level. At the same time, the CCD drive circuit 2
32 is controlled so that the brightness signal level becomes a predetermined reference level by a so-called electronic shutter operation that increases or decreases the accumulation time (exposure time) of the CCD 305 within a predetermined range.

These two exposure control operations are not individually performed, but exposure control is performed by a combination of a predetermined aperture value and shutter speed, which is called an automatic exposure program diagram, for example. In the present invention, the above-mentioned operation is not a main constituent feature, and thus a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

Two pieces of information relating to the exposure of the diaphragm amount information of the diaphragm device 304 and the electronic shutter speed information of the CCD 305 when the exposure is properly controlled as described above are obtained from the diaphragm driving circuit 231 and the CCD driving circuit 232. The data is input to the data conversion circuit 261, and converted into data that can be written in the disk recorder, such as a digital amount having a predetermined data length.

Next, the recording unit will be described. 321
Is a tape recorder, and is provided as a storage means for recording the video signal obtained from the camera signal processing circuit 311 and the exposure information converted by the data conversion circuit 261.

The video signal and the exposure information are stored in different data recording areas.

In the state where the picked-up video signal is reproduced, the video signal reproduced separately from the disc recorder 322 and the exposure information are superimposed on the data superimposing circuit 271.
The reproduced video image 330 is generated by adding in a predetermined layout according to, and is displayed on the display device 340.

The video image 331 displayed on the reproduced video image 330 is reproduced by superimposing the aperture value and the shutter speed respectively indicated by 334 and 335 on the captured image based on the exposure information recorded at the same time when the image is captured. It is a thing.

Although not shown, the exposure information can be displayed / hidden in the data superimposing circuit 271 so that it can be displayed only when necessary. is there.

[0014]

However, the exposure information as shown in the conventional example is not sufficient for grasping the control information of the camera at the time of image pickup and the image quality state of the picked-up image.

For example, with the downsizing of the image pickup apparatus, a small liquid crystal monitor or the like has been adopted for an electronic viewfinder for confirming the state of a picked-up image, so that the focus state and the exposure state of a subject image cannot be easily determined. Sometimes.

Further, in recent years, non-linear editing using a computer or the like has been performed, and it is more necessary than ever to judge the quality of a picked-up image. It divides the monitor screen of a computer into a plurality of display windows, each of which is a source window for displaying a captured image as a material, an editing window for displaying an edited result, and a program window for describing editing contents. It is generally composed of windows.

Therefore, since each window is displayed by dividing the monitor, the displayed window size is small, and it is difficult to judge the image of the source image with a small window. I sometimes realized that there was a problem with the source image quality only after it was projected.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is a first object of the present invention to make it possible to easily confirm the image quality of a captured image on a small monitor screen. A second object is to make it possible to easily check the image quality of the cut with a small window even when editing.

[0019]

In the image pickup apparatus of the present invention, the image pickup information relating to the image quality of the picked-up image is recorded together with the picked-up image as the picked-up image is generated by the image pickup means, and the picked-up image is reproduced and displayed. At the same time, the content of the imaging information relating to the image quality of the image being reproduced is displayed.

In the image pickup method of the present invention, the image pickup information relating to the image quality of the picked-up image is recorded together with the picked-up image with the generation of the picked-up image by the image pickup means, and the picked-up image is reproduced and displayed. It is characterized in that the content of the imaging information relating to the image quality of the captured image is displayed.

The storage medium of the present invention is characterized by recording a program for causing a computer to function as each of the above-mentioned means. Another feature of the present invention is that a program for causing a computer to execute the above-described imaging method is recorded.

A computer program of the present invention is characterized by causing a computer to execute the above-described image pickup method.

[0023]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings along with the embodiments. (First Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of an embodiment of an image pickup apparatus according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the structure of the image pickup section will be described. 301 is an optical shake correction lens, 303 is a focus lens, 304 is a diaphragm device, 305 is an image pickup device such as a CCD, and 311 is an electric signal output from the CCD 305. , A camera signal processing circuit for converting into a standard video signal such as NTSC.

A light ray incident from a subject is imaged on the image pickup surface of the CCD 305 through the shake correction lens 301, the focus lens 303, and the diaphragm device 304.

The formed subject image is photoelectrically converted by the CCD 305 and input to the camera signal processing circuit 311 as an electrical signal.

The camera signal processing circuit 311 includes the CCD 30.
A video signal according to the subject image can be obtained by converting the image pickup signal obtained from No. 5 into a standard video signal and outputting the standard video signal.

Here, the optical systems 301 to 304 and the CC
The operation of D305 will be described. In FIG. 1, 20
Reference numeral 1 is a shake correction lens drive circuit, 202 is a shake correction calculation circuit, and 203 is a shake detection sensor such as a gyro sensor for detecting the shake of the camera.
The shake correction lens 301 is driven by the control signal obtained from (1) to correct the shake of the captured image.

Next, 221 is a focus lens drive circuit and 222 is an autofocus arithmetic circuit, which determines and drives the operation of the focus lens 303.

Reference numeral 231 is a diaphragm drive circuit, and 232 is C.
The CD drive circuit 233 is an exposure calculation circuit, which determines the opening / closing operation of the diaphragm device 304, drives it, and reads out the CCD 305. Reference numeral 241 is a white balance control circuit.

First, the operation of the shake correction lens 301 for reducing the shake of the captured image will be described. The shake correction signal calculated by the shake correction calculation circuit 202 based on the camera shake information obtained by the shake detection sensor 203 is
The shake correction lens drive circuit 201 drives the shake correction lens 301 to correct the shake of the captured image.

Based on the camera shake information, the shake correction lens 301 is driven in a direction in which the shake information is canceled to correct the shake of the captured image.

The autofocus will be described. In order to obtain the in-focus point of the captured image, the camera signal processing circuit 311 is used.
The brightness signal obtained by the
At 2, a focusing signal is generated. The focus signal is, for example, an operation signal in a direction in which the high frequency component of the luminance signal is focused and the component increases. The focus lens drive circuit 221 generates a drive signal based on this operation signal to drive the focus lens 303, whereby an automatic focusing operation can be performed.

Explaining the automatic exposure operation, the camera signal processing circuit 311 is used to obtain the proper exposure of the captured image.
An exposure calculation circuit 233 generates an exposure signal from the obtained brightness signal. The exposure signal is opened / closed and the CCD is opened / closed so that the difference becomes 0 based on the comparison result of a value obtained by integral detection of the luminance signal and a predetermined comparison reference value.
A control signal for changing the drive of 305 is output.

Aperture drive circuit 231 and CCD drive circuit 2
The reference numeral 32 generates a drive signal for the exposure time of the diaphragm device 304 and the CCD 305 based on the control signal obtained from the exposure calculation circuit 233.

Therefore, the exposure control operation according to the present embodiment means the stop device 30 through the stop drive circuit 231.
By performing the opening / closing operation of No. 4 and limiting the amount of incident light reaching the CCD 305, the average value of the luminance signal levels is set to a predetermined reference level.

At the same time, the CCD drive circuit 232 changes the C
The so-called electronic shutter operation, which increases or decreases the accumulation time (exposure time) of the CD 305 within a predetermined range, controls the brightness signal level to a predetermined reference level, thereby enabling automatic exposure operation. is there. These are for varying the aperture value and the electronic shutter speed value in accordance with the automatic exposure program diagram described in the description of the conventional example.

Finally, the white balance control circuit 241
Will be described. The white balance control is, for example, based on the characteristic that the sum of color data occupying one screen is 0 for proper white balance, so that the sum of color signal data obtained from the camera signal processing circuit 311 becomes 0. The white balance is automatically obtained by changing the reference color.

The white balance control circuit 241 outputs the control signal, and the camera signal processing circuit 311 adjusts the reference color based on the white balance control signal obtained from the white balance control circuit 241.

Although the shake correction control, focusing control, exposure control, and white balance control are performed as described above, since it is actually a moving image, smooth operation accompanied by speed control is required.

FIG. 2 shows an example of a configuration for specifically executing the speed control. In FIG. 2, 110 is a signal input terminal of a movement target value obtained from each arithmetic circuit 202, 222, 233, 111 is a difference circuit, and the signal input from the target signal input terminal 110 and each encoder 115
The error signal is obtained by taking the difference from the output of.

Reference numeral 112 denotes an amplifier circuit, which is the difference circuit 1
By setting the gain of the error signal obtained from 11 to a predetermined value, the drive amount signal of the actuator 114 can be derived.

Reference numeral 113 is a conversion table, which is an amplifier circuit 1.
The value of the drive amount signal obtained from 12 is converted by the input / output characteristic as described later. Reference numeral 114 denotes each actuator, which is represented by, for example, a motor. Reference numeral 115 is an encoder, which detects the amount of movement of the actuator 114.

Here, the conversion table shown at 113 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a characteristic diagram showing a typical example of the conversion table, and has a characteristic of limiting the output when a large absolute value is input to a predetermined value or less.

For example, when the value "a" is input to the input, the output is also "a", but when the input is increased to "5a", the output at that time is "3.5a" and its increase amount. Decreases.

Therefore, when there is a large change in the target value signal, the difference from the value obtained from the encoder 115 also increases, but the drive amount signal input to the conversion table 113 is converted and the drive amount is greater than the actual drive amount. Since it is output as a small drive amount signal, the drive amount of the actuator 114 also becomes small, and the movement amount per unit time, that is, the operation speed is also limited.

On the other hand, when a small drive amount signal is input, the same operation as when the conversion table 113 is not provided is performed. Further, the signal obtained from the signal output terminal 121 of FIG. 2 becomes the difference between the control target value and the encoder output, that is, the error signal output, as described above.

The operation of the white balance control circuit 241 will also be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 140 is a signal input terminal to which a color signal obtained from the camera signal processing circuit 311 is input. Also, 14
Reference numeral 4 denotes a signal processing circuit of the white balance circuit, which is, for example, an averaging circuit for obtaining an average value of the input color signals.

Reference numeral 141 denotes a difference circuit, which has a color averaging signal output from the white balance signal processing circuit 144 and 1
A white balance error signal is generated by taking the difference from the internal reference value shown by 45.

As described above, the automatic white balance control may be performed so that the total sum of the color components becomes "0". Therefore, the internal reference value to be compared with the white balance signal processing circuit 144 is "0". It should be done.

Reference numeral 142 denotes an amplifier circuit, which is the difference circuit 1
By amplifying the gain of the error signal obtained from 41 to a predetermined value, a color signal control signal (WB control signal) for achieving white balance can be derived. This W
The B control signal controls a gain control circuit for a color signal provided in the camera signal processing circuit 311, and works so that the average value of the color signal becomes zero.

Reference numeral 143 is a conversion table for the amplifier circuit 1.
The value of the WB control signal obtained from 42 is converted by the input / output characteristic as described in FIG.

Therefore, when there is a large change in the color signal, the output of the difference circuit 141 also increases, but the signal input to the conversion table 143 is converted and output as a control signal smaller than the actual control amount. Therefore, the variation of the color signal also decreases accordingly.

That is, the changing speed of the color signal is also limited. On the contrary, if a small control amount is input,
The same operation as that performed when the conversion table 143 is not provided is performed. The signal output from the signal output terminal 151 in FIG. 3 becomes the difference between the output of the internal reference value and the sum of the color signals, that is, the error signal output in the white balance, as described above.

The error signals of the shake correction control, focusing control, exposure control, and white balance control are input to the image quality judgment circuit 251 shown in FIG. 1 and the image quality evaluation value normalized based on a predetermined judgment is made. After that, the data is converted into data that can be recorded in the disk recorder 322 by the data conversion circuit 261, for example, data such as a digital amount having a predetermined data length.

Next, the recording section will be described. Reference numeral 322 is a disk recorder for recording the video signal obtained from the camera signal processing circuit 311 and records it together with the image quality evaluation value converted by the data conversion circuit 261.

The video signal and the image quality evaluation value are stored in different data recording areas.

In the state where the picked-up video signal is reproduced, the video signal separately reproduced from the disc recorder 322 and the image quality evaluation value are added to the data superimposing circuit 27.
1, the reproduction video image 330 is generated by adding in a predetermined layout, and is displayed on the display device 340.

To further explain the reproduced video image 330, reference numeral 331 is a video image at the time of reproduction, which is a reproduction of a picked-up image like a conventional video camera. 33
2 is a bar graph showing the evaluation of the image quality. When the image quality is high, the display is high (close to Hi), and when the image quality is low, the display is low (close to Low). . In the case of the present embodiment, it is determined that the smaller the output value of the image quality determination circuit 251 described later, the higher the image quality, and conversely, the larger the output value of the image quality determination circuit 251, the lower the image quality.

Here, the details of the configuration of the image quality determination circuit 251 will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG.
Reference numerals 461 to 465 are absolute value circuits, reference numerals 421 to 425 are predetermined comparison reference values, reference numerals 401 to 405 are comparators, and reference numeral 431 is an addition circuit.

In FIG. 5, the shake correction lens drive circuit 201 and the focus lens drive circuit 22 described above are used.
1. The error signals obtained from the aperture driving circuit 231, the CCD driving circuit 232, and the white balance control circuit 241 are used as absolute value circuits 461 to 461 in the image quality determination circuit 251.
Input to 465 and output them as absolute values of the error amount.

Further, the shake correction lens drive error signal, the focus lens drive error signal, the aperture drive error signal, the CCD drive error signal, and the white balance adjustment error signal obtained from the absolute value circuits 461 to 465 are the comparator 40.
1 to 405 are compared with predetermined comparison reference values 421 to 425, and a comparison result based on the magnitude relation is obtained.

The output of this comparator is digital,
Alternatively, it may be output as one of analog outputs, and as a specific operation, the comparison reference values 421 to 425 are used.
On the other hand, when the value input from the absolute value circuits 461 to 465 is large, Hi is set, and conversely, the comparison reference values 421 to 425 are set.
On the other hand, when the value input from the absolute value circuits 461 to 465 is small, it outputs Low.

Alternatively, when the values input from the absolute value circuits 461 to 465 are larger than the comparison reference values 421 to 425, the positive potential corresponding to the difference is output. Further, the absolute value circuit 46 is used for the comparison reference values 421 to 425.
If the input value is smaller than 1 to 465, a negative potential corresponding to the difference is output. Also, the comparison reference value 4
When 21 to 425 are equal to the values input from the absolute value circuits 461 to 465, 0 may be output.

The respective comparison outputs obtained from the comparators 401 to 405 are added by the adding circuit 431 and output as the output value of the image quality judging circuit 251. Therefore,
The image quality determination circuit 251 determines the correction error amount of the shake correction lens,
Focus lens movement error amount, aperture error amount, CCD
It is a value obtained as the sum of the drive error amount and the white balance adjustment error amount, and the output of the image quality determination circuit 251 is large when the respective operations are large, and conversely, the output of the image quality determination circuit 251 is small when the respective operations are small. Becomes smaller.

In the embodiment of the present invention, only the display during reproduction is described, but the same operation is possible during image pickup.

(Second Embodiment) Next, another embodiment of the image quality judgment circuit 251 according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

This embodiment is particularly applicable to the image quality judgment circuit 12
The determination criterion in 51 can be arbitrarily set for each input signal, and the output signal of each comparator can be weighted.

The operation will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 6, reference numerals 461 to 465 denote absolute value circuits, and 421 to 425.
Is a comparison reference value, 441 to 445 are volumes for changing the comparison reference value, 401 to 405 are comparators, and 451 to 451.
Reference numeral 455 is a weighting circuit, and 431 is an addition circuit.

In FIG. 1 described above, the correction error amount obtained from the shake correction lens drive circuit 201, the focus lens drive circuit 221, the diaphragm drive circuit 231, the CCD drive circuit 232, and the white balance control circuit 241 is the image quality determination circuit 1251. Absolute value circuits 461 to 46
5 and is output as the absolute amount of each error amount.

Further, the shake correction lens drive error amount, the focus lens drive error amount, the aperture drive error amount, the CCD drive error amount, and the white balance adjustment error amount obtained by the absolute value circuits 461 to 465 are compared with the comparators 401 to 401, respectively. Four
In 05, the comparison reference values 421 to 425 are compared, and a comparison result based on the magnitude relation is obtained. These comparators 40
The outputs 1 to 405 are output as either digital or analog outputs.

Here, by setting the volumes 441 to 445 arbitrarily by the user, it becomes possible to change the judgment reference value of each error amount. For example, if it is not desired to change the output of the image quality determination circuit 1251 unless the error amount of the diaphragm device 304 becomes very large depending on the imaging situation, the corresponding comparison reference value is set to a large value by the volume. On the contrary, when it is desired to change the output of the image quality determination circuit 1251 when there is some error in the shake correction lens 301, the comparison reference value may be reduced by the volume.

The respective comparison outputs obtained from the comparators 401 to 405 are weighting circuits 451 to 455, respectively.
After being weighted by a predetermined ratio, the sum is added by the adder circuit 431 and output as the output value of the image quality determination circuit 1251.

The weighting circuits 451 to 455 may have a structure such as a multiplier, and amplifies or attenuates the input signal at a predetermined ratio. For example, the error amount of the focus lens is determined by the image quality determination circuit 12
To reduce the influence on the output of 51, the gain of the corresponding weighting circuits (451 to 455) is reduced, and conversely, to increase the influence, the weighting circuit (45
It is possible by increasing the gain of 1 to 455).

Although not shown, the weighting circuit 4
The gains of 51 to 455 may be those which can be reset according to the user's intention, like the comparison reference values 421 to 425.

Therefore, the image quality judgment circuit 1251 of this embodiment weights the correction error amount of the shake correction lens, the movement error amount of the focus lens, the movement error amount of the diaphragm, the CCD drive error amount, and the white balance adjustment error amount. It is the value obtained as the sum of the values.

(Third Embodiment) Third Embodiment of the Present Invention
The configuration shown in FIG. 7 is possible as an embodiment of. In the present embodiment, in particular, the correction error amount of the correction lens,
Focus lens movement error amount, aperture movement error amount, C
The CD drive error amount and the white balance adjustment error amount are independently and simultaneously recorded together with the captured image in a disk recorder which is a recording medium, and the image quality is displayed using the image quality determination circuit 251 during reproduction or editing. .

In FIG. 7, 262 is a data conversion circuit,
Reference numeral 322 is a disk recorder. Data conversion circuit 26
Reference numeral 2 denotes a predetermined data length that can record the correction error amount of the correction lens, the focus lens movement error amount, the aperture movement error amount, the CCD drive error amount, and the white balance adjustment error amount in the disk recorder 322, for example. Convert to digital data.

Next, the reproduced video image 1330 will be explained. Reference numeral 331 is a video image at the time of reproduction, which is a reproduction of a picked-up image like a conventional video camera. 332
Shows the evaluation of image quality by a line graph. In the case of this embodiment, the horizontal axis is the time axis, and the time of the entire cut during reproduction is displayed on the horizontal axis. Reference numeral 333 is a bar that displays the current playback position (time) in the entire cut, and a mark is displayed at the playback position.

This line graph is for the disk recorder 3
By using random access, which is a feature of No. 22, only the correction error amount of the correction lens, the movement error amount of the focus lens, the movement error amount of the diaphragm, the CCD drive error amount, and the white balance adjustment error amount recorded at the time of imaging are pre-read. Then, the result of signal processing by the image quality judgment circuit 251 is displayed together with the time axis.

Therefore, in the case of the present embodiment, the image quality of the captured image in the central portion is high in time among the imaged cuts, and conversely, the image quality at the start and end of the cut is inferior, and the reproduction time is cut. About 1 / from start time to end
You can see that 3 has passed.

Further, as shown in FIG. 8, an image quality judgment circuit 252 which does not include the above-mentioned addition circuit 431 is provided,
By inputting each piece of information into the data superimposing circuit 271, each piece of information can be displayed individually as shown by a line graph 334.

(Fourth Embodiment) Fourth Embodiment of the Present Invention
As an embodiment of the above, a configuration using the warning color superimposing circuit 272 shown in FIG. 9 is also possible.

In this embodiment, the image quality determination result of the image quality determination circuit 251 is not shown as a graph like the conventional superimposing circuit 271, but a reproduced video image 3330 is reproduced by superimposing a color signal on the reproduced video image itself. It is characterized by forming. Here, the superimposed color signal may be variously changed according to the image quality determination result of the image quality determination circuit 251.

(Fifth Embodiment) Next, as a fifth embodiment of the present invention, a configuration using the image processing circuit 273 shown in FIG. 10 is also possible. The present embodiment is characterized in that the image quality determination result of the image quality determination circuit 251 is not displayed as a graph like the conventional superposition circuit 271, but an image of a reproduced video image is processed and displayed.

Here, specific examples of the image processing include, for example, changing the contrast, changing the frequency characteristic, enlarging or reducing the image, and the afterimage. These degrees are changed according to the image quality determination result of the image quality determination circuit 251, and the reproduced video image 4330 is formed. FIG. 10 shows a reproduced video image in an afterimage as a specific example of image processing. 331a is a video image at the time of reproduction,
1b is an afterimage.

(Sixth Embodiment) The sixth embodiment of the present invention
As an embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to use a personal computer, a non-linear editor, or the like as a part of the blocks of the above configuration.

Specifically, it can be realized by incorporating the image quality judgment circuit 251, the disk recorder 322, the data superimposing circuit 271, the video image display device, etc. in the editing of the picked-up image such as the non-linear editing.

An example thereof will be described with reference to the flow charts shown in FIGS. First, the flowchart at the time of imaging shown in FIG. 11 will be described in order. When the process is started in step S101, the recording operation is started in conjunction with the imaging start switch, for example.

Next, in step S102, the absolute value of the error amount of the shake correction lens control is calculated.

Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S103, the absolute value of the error amount of the focusing lens control is calculated, the absolute value of the error amount of the exposure control is calculated in step S104, and the step S104 is performed.
At 105, the absolute value of the error amount of white balance control is calculated.

Next, in step S106, the calculation result is recorded together with the captured image by a recording device such as a disk recorder.

Next, in step S107, the process stands by until a predetermined time elapses. For this predetermined time, for example, the timing in which the phase is synchronized with the vertical synchronizing signal of the video signal may be used. Then, the process proceeds to step S108, and it is confirmed whether or not the recording is completed.

If the result of checking in step S108 is that recording has not ended, processing returns to step S102 and the above-described operation is repeated. In addition, step S108
If the result of the confirmation in step 1 is that the recording has ended, the recording of that cut has ended, so the flow advances to step S109 to stop recording. The above operation is performed at the time of image capturing by the camera.

Next, a processing procedure at the time of reproduction will be described with reference to FIG. When the data display for each cut during reproduction starts in the first step S201, next, step S2
In step 02, the time of the recorded image being reproduced is sampled. This sampling time is the time allocated from the beginning for each cut, the time at the time of imaging, the usage time of the recording medium, etc. What kind of real time is synchronized with the captured image in the cut? But it doesn't matter.

Next, in step S203, a predetermined weight is applied to the absolute value of the recorded shake correction error amount in the cut during reproduction. The weighting can be performed by multiplying the weighting value, as described in the above embodiments.

Next, in step S204, similarly,
The absolute value of the error amount of the focusing lens is weighted. next,
In step S205, the absolute value of the exposure control error amount is weighted. Next, in step S206, the absolute value of the white balance control error amount is weighted.

Then, in step S207, a process of adding the values obtained in steps S203 to S206 is performed. Then, in the next step S208, the added value is displayed on a display device such as a monitor together with the sampling time in step S202.
Here, the sampled time and the absolute value of each error amount are pre-read for the captured image, and the sampled time is displayed on the horizontal axis and the added value is displayed on the vertical axis. A line graph as described with reference to FIG. 7 can be displayed.

Next, in step S209, it is determined whether or not the cutting is completed. If the result of this determination is that cutting has not ended, processing returns to step S202, the processing described above is performed again, and the line graph is updated.

On the other hand, if the result of determination in step S209 is that cutting has ended, processing advances to step S210, in which the above processing is ended and cut display is ended.

As described above, according to the present invention, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the recording means for recording the image pickup information corresponding to the picked-up image at the time of picking up by the camera, and the reproducing or the editing of the picked-up image. In the imaging device, the image pickup information is provided with a display unit for visually displaying the image pickup information, wherein the image pickup information includes an error amount of a diaphragm operation, an error amount of a shutter speed, and an operation error amount of a focus lens. , A plurality of calculation means for obtaining an error amount with respect to the movement target value such as an operation error amount of the shake correction device and an operation error amount of the white balance circuit, and a predetermined preset value for the obtained error amount. By including a plurality of comparison means for comparing the magnitude of the value of, and a calculation means for calculating the sum of the comparison results obtained by the plurality of comparison means,
Even on a small liquid crystal screen, it is possible to judge the quality of the captured image. Also, the image quality of a captured image can be easily determined even in non-linear editing.

This is because the image quality is large when the aperture movement error amount, the shutter speed movement error amount, the focus lens movement error amount, the shake correction device correction error amount, the white balance circuit correction error amount, etc. are large. It has been found from the viewpoint that there is a problem with the quality, and the quality of the quality of the captured image is determined from the magnitude of the error amount of those parameters.

The image quality information can be displayed by using numerical values, characters, colors, patterns, or processing of picked-up images. Also,
The image quality information can be displayed as a preset average value, maximum value, minimum value, etc. of the image quality information per unit time.

As the image quality information, the image quality information corresponding to the captured image is displayed along with the time axis as numerical values, colors, patterns, symbols or pictographs for all or a representative part of the captured image. be able to. Also,
As the image quality information, the image quality information corresponding to the captured image can be displayed along with the time axis as characters such as “suitable” and “unsuitable” for each of the captured images together with all or a representative part of the captured image.

Further, the image quality information can be displayed by performing image processing on the corresponding captured image.
The image processing is, in particular, “to greatly change the resolution of the image”, “to add shaking to the image”, “to change the color tone of the image”, “to change the brightness of the image”, and the like.

The display of the image quality information corresponding to the picked-up image can be accelerated by a predetermined time set in advance.
All or part of the above processing can be processed by a computer program stored in the storage means of the computer.

The above-mentioned embodiments are merely examples of the implementation of the present invention, and the technical scope of the present invention should not be limitedly interpreted by these. is there. That is, the present invention can be implemented in various forms without departing from its technical idea or its main features.

(Other Embodiments of the Present Invention) The present invention may be applied to a system including a plurality of devices or an apparatus including a single device.

Further, in order to operate various devices so as to realize the functions of the above-described embodiments, a computer in an apparatus or system connected to the various devices may be operated from a storage medium or the Internet or the like. A program code of software for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiment is supplied via a transmission medium, and a computer (CPU or M) of the system or apparatus is supplied.
What was implemented by operating the above-mentioned various devices according to the program stored in PU) is also included in the category of the present invention.

In this case, the program code itself of the software realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments, and the program code itself and a means for supplying the program code to the computer,
For example, a storage medium storing such program code constitutes the present invention. As a storage medium for storing the program code, for example, a flexible disk, a hard disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a CD-RO.
M, a magnetic tape, a non-volatile memory card, a ROM, or the like can be used.

Further, by executing the supplied program code by the computer, not only the functions described in the above embodiments are realized, but also the OS (operating system) in which the program code is operating in the computer. Alternatively, the program code is also included in the embodiments of the present invention when the functions described in the above embodiments are implemented jointly by other application software or the like.

Furthermore, after the supplied program code is stored in the memory provided in the function expansion board of the computer or the function expansion unit connected to the computer, the function expansion board or function expansion unit is instructed based on the instruction of the program code. The present invention also includes a case where the CPU or the like included in the above performs a part or all of the actual processing and the processing realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments.

[0113]

As described above, according to the present invention,
When capturing an image of a subject and generating a captured image, the captured image information corresponding to the captured image is recorded, and the content of the captured information is displayed in a visually recognizable manner when the captured image is reproduced or edited. As a result, the image quality of the captured image can be easily confirmed even on a small monitor screen. As a result, the image quality of the cut can be easily confirmed with a small window during reproduction or editing.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of an imaging device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a drive circuit according to a first embodiment of the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a white balance control circuit according to the first embodiment of the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a characteristic diagram illustrating a conversion table according to the first embodiment of the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an image quality determination circuit according to the first embodiment of the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing another image quality determination circuit according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an imaging device according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing an image pickup apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a part of an imaging device according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a part of an imaging device according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a process at the time of image pickup of the image pickup apparatus of the sixth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing processing at the time of reproduction of the image pickup apparatus according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing an image pickup device according to a conventional technique.

[Explanation of symbols]

201 shake correction lens drive circuit 202 shake correction calculation circuit 203 shake detection sensor 221 focus lens drive circuit 222 autofocus calculation circuit 231 aperture drive circuit 232 CCD drive circuit 233 exposure calculation circuit 241 white balance control circuits 251, 252, 1251 image quality determination circuit 261 and 262 Data conversion circuit 271 Data superposition circuit 272 Warning color superposition circuit 273 Image quality processing circuits 301 to 304 Optical system 305 CCD 311 Camera signal processing circuit 321 Tape recorder 322 Disk recorder 330, 1330, 2330, 3330, 4330 Playback video image 331 Video image 332 Image quality graph 340 Display devices 401 to 405 Comparative reference values 461 to 465 Absolute value circuit 431 Addition circuit 441 to 445 Volume 451 to 455 Weight Only circuit

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) H04N 9/73 H04N 5/91 ZF term (reference) 5C022 AB01 AB21 AC13 AC69 5C052 AB04 AC10 DD08 5C053 FA14 FA23 JA21 LA02 LA06 5C066 AA01 CA21 EA14 KA11 KD01 KM01 KM11 5L096 AA02 AA06 CA02 DA04 GA51 MA01

Claims (39)

[Claims] 1. Along with the generation of a picked-up image by an image pickup means, picked-up information regarding the image quality of the picked-up image is recorded together with the picked-up image, and the picked-up image being reproduced is displayed together with the picked-up image reproduced. An image pickup apparatus displaying the content of image pickup information relating to image quality. 2. The display mode of colors, patterns, graphs, and characters is changed in accordance with the content of the image pickup information in order to display the content of the image pickup information in a visually easily recognizable manner. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1. 3. An image pickup means for picking up an image of a subject to generate a picked-up image, an image pickup information recording means for recording image pickup information on an image quality of the picked-up image on a recording medium at the time of picking up by the image pickup means, and the image pickup An image pickup information display means for displaying on the display device the image pickup information relating to the image quality of the picked-up image that is being played back together with the image reproduction display, and the image pickup information display means displays the display color, pattern, graph, and character. An image pickup apparatus, characterized in that at least one of them is changed according to the content of the image pickup information and is displayed on the display device so as to be easily visually recognized. 4. The image pickup information display means is the current image pickup information in at least one of the image pickup information relating to the exposure device, the focus adjustment device, the shake correction device and the white balance circuit used when the subject is imaged. 4. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the image pickup information integrated processing for detecting a difference amount from the control value is performed, and the image pickup information detected by the detection processing is displayed on the display device. 5. The image pickup information display means performs a process of obtaining second image pickup information based on each of the image pickup information,
5. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the second image pickup information obtained by the image pickup information unifying process is displayed so as to be visually easily recognized when the picked up image is reproduced or edited. 6. The image pickup information display means compares an error amount for controlling the operations of the exposure device, focus adjustment device, shake correction device and white balance circuit with a predetermined reference amount, The image pickup apparatus according to claim 5, wherein image pickup information overall processing for obtaining the image pickup information is performed based on the magnitude relation. 7. The image pickup information display means performs image pickup information overall processing for weighting error amounts for controlling operations of an exposure device, a focus adjustment device, a shake correction device and a white balance circuit. Claim 5 or 6
The imaging device according to. 8. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the image pickup information display means calculates and obtains a display value displayed on the display device. 9. The image pickup information display means displays the image pickup information corresponding to the picked-up image together with all or a representative part of the picked-up image as a graph together with a time axis as a graph. 7. A method according to claims 3 to 7, characterized in that
The imaging device according to any one of 1. 10. The image pickup information display means displays the current reproduction position in the entire cut so that it can be visually recognized easily while the image pickup image is being reproduced. The image pickup apparatus according to item 1. 11. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the image pickup information display means displays a current reproduction position in the entire cut in time. 12. The image pickup information display means displays the image pickup information corresponding to the picked-up image together with all or a representative part of the picked-up image, and a character including “appropriate” and “inappropriate” for each corresponding picked-up image. The image pickup device according to any one of claims 3 to 7, wherein the image is displayed together with the time axis. 13. The image pickup information display means displays the image pickup information corresponding to the picked-up image together with all or a representative part of the picked-up image, along with a time axis using a predetermined color for each corresponding picked-up image. 3. The method according to claim 3, wherein
The imaging device according to any one of 1 to 7. 14. The imaged information display means includes imaged information corresponding to the imaged image together with all or a representative part of the imaged image, and a predetermined pattern, a symbol, or a predetermined pattern for each imaged image. The image pickup apparatus according to any one of claims 3 to 7, wherein the image is displayed as a pictogram together with a time axis. 15. The imaged information display means displays the imaged information corresponding to the imaged image together with all or a representative part of the imaged image by performing predetermined image processing on the imaged image. The imaging device according to any one of claims 3 to 7, which is characterized. 16. The image processing includes any one of "a large change in image resolution", "adding a shake to an image", "changing a color tone of an image", and "changing an image brightness". The imaging device according to claim 15, wherein: 17. The image pickup information display means displays the image pickup information corresponding to the image pickup image earlier by a predetermined time set in advance.
The imaging device according to any one of 6 above. 18. The image pickup device according to claim 15, wherein a part of the image processing is performed on a storage unit and a display unit of a connected computer. 19. Along with the generation of a picked-up image by the pick-up means, the picked-up image information concerning the image quality of the picked-up image is recorded together with the picked-up image, and the picked-up image being reproduced is displayed together with the picked-up image reproduced. An image pickup method characterized by displaying the contents of image pickup information relating to image quality. 20. The display mode of colors, patterns, graphs, and characters is changed in accordance with the content of the imaging information in order to display the content of the imaging information in an easily recognizable manner. The imaging method according to claim 19. 21. An image pickup process for picking up an image of a subject by an image pickup unit to generate a picked-up image, and an image pickup information recording process for recording image pickup information regarding the image quality of the picked-up image in a recording medium at the time of picking up by the image pickup unit. A method for performing an image pickup information display process of displaying image pickup information regarding the image quality of the image pickup image being reproduced on a display device together with the reproduction display of the image pickup image, wherein the image pickup information display process includes An image pickup method characterized in that at least one of a color, a pattern, a graph, and a character is used and changed according to the content of the image pickup information, and the image is displayed on the display device so as to be easily visually recognized. 22. The image pickup information display process is performed based on the current image pickup information in at least one of the image pickup information related to the exposure device, the focus adjustment device, the shake correction device, and the white balance circuit used when the subject is imaged. 22. The imaging method according to claim 21, further comprising: performing a process of detecting a difference amount from a control value, and displaying the imaging information detected by the detection process on the display device. 23. In the image pickup information display process, an image pickup information generalization process for obtaining second image pickup information based on each of the image pickup information is performed, and the second obtained at the time of reproducing or editing the image pickup image. 23. The image pickup method according to claim 21, wherein the image pickup information is displayed so as to be easily visually recognized. 24. In the image pickup information display process, an error amount for controlling the operations of the exposure device, focus adjustment device, shake correction device and white balance circuit is compared with a predetermined reference amount. 24. The imaging method according to claim 23, further comprising performing imaging information overall processing for obtaining the imaging information based on the magnitude relation. 25. In the image pickup information display process, an image pickup information overall process for weighting an error amount for controlling operations of an exposure device, a focus adjustment device, a shake correction device and a white balance circuit is performed. The imaging method according to claim 23 or 24. 26. The image pickup method according to claim 21, wherein in the image pickup information display processing, a display value displayed on the display device is calculated and obtained. 27. In the image pickup information display processing, the image pickup information corresponding to the image pickup image is displayed as a graph along with a time axis for each of the image pickup images corresponding to all or a representative part of the image pickup image. The imaging method according to any one of claims 21 to 25, wherein. 28. The image pickup information display process according to claim 21, wherein the current reproduction position in the entire cut is displayed so that it can be visually recognized easily while the captured image is being reproduced. The imaging method according to any one of items. 29. The imaging method according to claim 28, wherein in the imaging information display processing, a current reproduction position in the entire cut is displayed in time. 30. In the image pickup information display processing, the image pickup information corresponding to the image pickup image is included in all or a representative part of the image pickup image, and “appropriate” and “inappropriate” is included for each corresponding image pickup image. The imaging method according to any one of claims 21 to 25, characterized in that it is displayed as a character together with a time axis. 31. In the image pickup information display process, the image pickup information corresponding to the image pickup image is displayed together with all or a representative part of the image pickup image, and a predetermined color is used for each corresponding image pickup image together with a time axis. 26. The imaging method according to claim 21, wherein the image is displayed. 32. In the image pickup information display processing, the image pickup information corresponding to the picked-up image together with all or a representative part of the picked-up image, and a predetermined pattern or symbol predetermined for each corresponding picked-up image The imaging method according to any one of claims 21 to 25, wherein the pictogram is displayed together with the time axis. 33. In the image pickup information display process, image pickup information corresponding to the image pickup image is displayed by performing predetermined image processing on the corresponding image pickup image together with all or a representative part of the image pickup image. 22.
25. The imaging method according to any one of 25 to 25. 34. The image processing includes any one of “changing image resolution significantly”, “adding shaking to image”, “changing image color tone”, and “changing image brightness”. The imaging method according to claim 33, wherein: 35. In the image pickup information display process, the display of image pickup information corresponding to the picked-up image is displayed earlier by a predetermined time set in advance, according to any one of claims 21 to 34. The described imaging method. 36. The imaging method according to claim 33, wherein a part of the image processing is performed on a storage unit or a display unit of a connected computer. 37. A computer-readable storage medium having recorded thereon a program for causing a computer to function as each unit according to any one of claims 1 to 18. 38. A computer-readable storage medium having recorded thereon a program for causing a computer to execute the imaging method according to any one of claims 19 to 36. 39. A computer program for causing a computer to execute the imaging method according to any one of claims 19 to 36.