JP2004040559A - Method and program for processing image and image processor - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image processing method, an image processor and an image processing program by which image processing can be efficiently applied to raw image data in a short period of time. <P>SOLUTION: This image processor consists of an input-output interface 1, a control part 2, a storing part 3, a display part 4 and an operation part 5. The control part 2 includes a partial image extraction processing part 21 and a conversion processing part 22. The partial image extraction processing part 21 displays an image based on image data for display corresponding to the raw image data to be processed, inputted through the input-output interface 1 on the display part 4 to urge a user to designate an optional partial area. When the partial area is designated by an operation of the operation part 5, partial raw image data corresponding to the partial area is extracted. The conversion processing part 22 applies image conversion processing based on an image quality adjustment parameter inputted from the outside to the partial raw image data, and at that time, an image based on the partial image data subjected to image conversion is displayed on the display part 4. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an image processing method, an image processing apparatus, and an image processing program for performing processing on raw digital image data (hereinafter referred to as “RAW image data”) acquired by an imaging apparatus.
[0002]
[Prior art]
A digital camera outputs digital image data based on an image pickup signal from an image pickup unit including a CCD image pickup device or the like, and has been remarkably popular in recent years. One feature of a digital camera is that images of a subject can be continuously displayed before shooting, the images to be shot can be checked and shot, or the shot images can be played back and checked. Another feature is that since it is digital data, a wide range of image processing is possible after shooting. That is, correction processing such as offset correction, gain correction (white balance correction), gradation correction (gamma correction), contour correction, hue correction, and the like can be performed to easily obtain an image that suits the user's preference.
[0003]
When image processing is performed after shooting, using RAW image data, which is image data as it is as an output signal of the imaging unit, can obtain an image that makes use of the pixel configuration, characteristics, and the like of the imaging device. In addition, RAW image data generally has a large number of output bits per pixel and is not compressed data, so processing without image degradation is possible. Therefore, an increasing number of digital cameras are provided with a function for outputting RAW image data.
[0004]
Image processing for digital image data is performed based on the user's instructions while displaying an image based on the image data to be processed, and the user's request while further displaying and confirming the processed image. An image to be created is created. When such processing is performed, an image after image processing according to an instruction can be confirmed in a short time, and image processing can be performed efficiently.
[0005]
In order to display an image based on digital image data, synchronized image data, that is, RGB data for each pixel, or luminance signal data Y and color difference signal data Cr obtained by performing YC conversion on RGB data, Cb is required. However, processing such as offset correction, gain correction (white balance correction), gradation correction (gamma correction), etc. for RAW image data, contour correction after synchronization processing, hue correction, and the like require considerable processing time. Furthermore, it is difficult to display the image after image processing by calculating image data for display in a short time. In addition, the recent increase in the number of imaging pixels makes it difficult to display in a short time.
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide an image processing method, an image processing apparatus, and an image processing program that can perform image processing on RAW image data efficiently and in a short time. .
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The image processing method of the present invention is an image processing method for performing processing on raw digital image data acquired by an imaging apparatus, and corresponds to the raw digital image data to be processed and the raw digital image data. From the image input step of inputting image data for display, the step of displaying an image based on the image data for display, the step of designating an arbitrary area of the displayed image, and the raw digital image data, A partial image data extraction step for extracting partial image data corresponding to an arbitrary area of the designated image, a partial image conversion processing step for performing an image conversion process based on an image quality adjustment parameter for the partial image data, And a converted image display step for displaying an image based on the image data that has been subjected to image conversion.
[0008]
An image processing apparatus of the present invention is an image processing apparatus that performs processing on raw digital image data acquired by an imaging apparatus, and corresponds to the raw digital image data to be processed and the raw digital image data. Image input means for inputting image data for display, partial image data extraction means for extracting partial image data from the raw digital image data, and image conversion processing based on image quality adjustment parameters for the partial image data Image conversion processing means for performing display, display means capable of displaying at least the image data for display, and an image based on the partial image data, at least information for designating the partial image data, and the image quality adjustment parameter And an image processing control unit, wherein the partial image data extraction unit is configured to display the display. Partial image data extraction processing based on an image based on display image data displayed in a row and information for designating the partial image data set by the operation means, and the image The processing control means instructs the image conversion means to perform image conversion processing based on the image quality adjustment parameter set by the operation means on the partial image data, and outputs an image based on the partial image data. It is displayed on the display means.
[0009]
An image processing program of the present invention is an image processing program for causing a computer to execute each step in the image processing method. An image processing program for realizing the image processing apparatus by a computer.
[0010]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an image processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 includes an input / output interface 1, a control unit 2, a storage unit 3, a display unit 4, and an operation unit 5. The control unit 2 includes a partial image extraction processing unit 21, a conversion processing unit 22. including.
[0011]
The input / output interface 1 inputs / outputs various data including input of raw image data to be processed and output of image data after image processing, and is connected to a recording medium drive device, a communication control unit, etc. (not shown). The The input RAW image data is usually stored in a medium such as a memory card of a digital camera, for example, in a file format as shown in FIG. 3, and stored directly from the medium or in another external storage device. Input to the processing unit. Note that the display image data in FIG. 3 is obtained by converting RAW image data into displayable image data in accordance with image processing parameters such as white balance and sharpness according to shooting conditions.
[0012]
The reading from the media may be performed by connecting the media taken out from the digital camera to the media interface connected to the input / output interface 1, or the digital camera is connected with a predetermined cable and attached to the digital camera. You may go on. Further, the image data after the image processing is output to an arbitrary recording medium via the recording medium drive or to another device via the communication control unit.
[0013]
The control unit 2 includes a partial image extraction processing unit 21 and a conversion processing unit 22, and controls the entire image processing apparatus including processing for extracting partial RAW image data from input RAW image data and image data conversion processing. Is.
[0014]
The partial image extraction processing unit 21 displays an image based on the display image data corresponding to the RAW image data to be processed input via the input / output interface 1 on the display unit 4, so that an arbitrary portion is displayed to the user. Prompt for area specification. The selection of the partial area to be specified is preferably performed by moving a cursor corresponding to an area of a predetermined size on the display screen. When a partial area is designated by the operation of the operation unit 5, the designated partial area is mapped to the input RAW image data, and partial RAW image data corresponding to the partial area is extracted.
[0015]
The conversion processing unit 22 performs image conversion processing according to an operation from the operation unit 5. Image conversion processing includes processing such as offset correction, gain correction (white balance correction), gradation correction (gamma correction), etc. for RAW image data, synchronization processing for obtaining an RGB signal for each pixel from the corrected RAW image data, Contour correction (sharpness correction), hue correction (saturation correction), etc. are included for the image data after the synchronization processing, and the image data is converted based on predetermined image quality adjustment parameters.
[0016]
The processing target image data of the conversion processing unit 22 is RAW image data input via the input / output interface 1 and partial RAW image data extracted by the partial image extraction processing unit 21. The conversion process for the partial RAW image data is automatically performed following the extraction of the partial RAW image data by the partial image extraction processing unit 21 and is performed based on a parameter change instruction from the operation unit 5. At that time, the converted image data is converted into data that can be displayed on the display unit 4 and sent to the display unit 4. Therefore, the user can set the conversion process and the image quality adjustment parameter to be applied while confirming the displayed image, and can efficiently obtain the requested image.
[0017]
The image conversion processing for the RAW image data input via the input / output interface 1 is performed based on the applied conversion processing and image quality adjustment parameters by storing the conversion processing content for the partial RAW image data in a storage device (not shown). . This process is performed when the image after the conversion process of the entire input RAW image data is confirmed, and when the converted image data is output.
[0018]
The storage unit 3 performs conversion processing on the RAW image data input via the input / output interface 1, the partial RAW image data obtained by the partial image extraction processing unit 21, and the input RAW image data. Various data including processed image data is stored. When the processed image data is output directly via the input / output interface 1 after being processed by the conversion processing unit 22, the storage of the processed image data may be omitted. Further, without applying or storing the processed image data, the applied conversion processing and image quality adjustment parameters are output together with the RAW image data, the image processing parameters of the image file stored in the storage unit 3 are rewritten, or additionally stored. May be.
[0019]
The display unit 4 displays an image corresponding to the input RAW image data to be processed at the time of partial image extraction processing, displays information for the user to specify an arbitrary partial region, and reduces RAW At the time of image conversion processing for image data, an image based on the converted image data is displayed. Also, various information necessary for the operation of the image processing apparatus, such as setting menu information for image quality adjustment parameters, is displayed.
[0020]
The operation unit 5 inputs various operation signals when using the image processing apparatus, in addition to an operation for designating an arbitrary region of the image and an operation for instructing the image processing content for the RAW image data.
[0021]
1 can be realized by installing a predetermined program in a computer such as a personal computer. However, the computer for realizing the image processing apparatus is not limited to a stand-alone type, and is processed by a client computer and a server computer. May be shared. As an example of sharing, there is a method in which a server computer performs a reduction process of an image to be processed and an image conversion process for unreduced RAW data, and a client computer performs other processes.
[0022]
Next, the operation when image processing is performed on RAW image data using the image processing apparatus shown in FIG. 1 will be described based on the flowchart of FIG.
[0023]
In step S101, a list of thumbnail images is displayed on the display unit 4 in order to select RAW image data to be processed. Since the image data created at the time of shooting has a file format as shown in FIG. 3, a list display image based on the thumbnail data is created. At this time, all the image data that are candidates for image processing may be temporarily stored in the storage unit 3 and then displayed as a list, or only thumbnail data may be stored in the storage unit 3 and displayed as a list. .
[0024]
When the user selects a processing target image in step S102, a screen for designating an arbitrary area of the selected image as shown in FIG. 4 is displayed on the display unit 4 (step S103). . The image 41 displayed on this screen is based on display image data corresponding to the selected image. If the image file of the selected image to be processed is stored in the storage unit 3, the display image data included in the file is used. If the image file is not stored in the storage unit 3, input / output is performed at this time. The entire corresponding image file is input via the interface 1 and stored in the storage unit 3.
[0025]
The cursor 42 displayed superimposed on the image 41 in FIG. 4 can be moved by operating the operation unit 5. After the user moves the cursor 42 to a portion to be used as a reference for image processing, the determination button 43 is pressed and a partial region is displayed. Is designated (step S104), an image conversion processing screen as shown in FIG. 5 is displayed on the display unit 4 (step S105).
[0026]
When the partial area is designated, the designated partial area is mapped to the input raw image data, and the partial raw image data corresponding to the partial area is extracted (step S106). At that time, even if the RAW image data included in the image file is read from the storage unit 3 to the work memory (not shown) and then the mapping process is performed, the part corresponding to the specified partial region is obtained by performing the mapping process. Only RAW image data may be read out. The partial RAW image data is held in the work memory and is an object of image conversion processing.
[0027]
The image conversion processing screen of FIG. 5 includes a preview image display area 51, an image quality adjustment parameter setting area 52, a determination button 53, and a cancel button 54. The preview image display area 51 is an area for displaying an image based on partial RAW image data to be processed, and displays an image based on image data obtained by performing predetermined conversion on the partial RAW data.
[0028]
In the flow of FIG. 2, since the partial RAW image data extraction process is performed after the image conversion process screen is displayed, an image based on the image data cut out from the display image data included in the image file is initially displayed on the image conversion process screen. Is displayed. The processing order of the image conversion processing screen display step (step S105) and the partial RAW image data extraction processing step (step S106) is arbitrary, and when the partial RAW image data extraction processing is performed first, the partial RAW image data is converted into partial RAW image data. On the other hand, an image based on image data obtained by applying default adjustment parameters or parameters stored in the image file of the storage unit may be displayed.
[0029]
The determination button 53 on the image conversion processing screen in FIG. 5 is a button that is pressed when the image quality adjustment parameter is determined, and the cancel button 54 cancels the latest setting set in the image quality adjustment parameter setting area 52. This button is used to return to the previous setting. The degree to which the setting processing history is retained is arbitrary.
[0030]
The image quality adjustment parameter setting area 52 is an area for setting parameters by moving the setting bar 520 for each item. The parameter setting is changed by moving the setting bar 520 by operating the operation unit 5.
[0031]
In step S107, it is determined whether or not the image quality setting parameter has been changed. If the image quality setting parameter has been changed, image conversion processing is performed on the partial RAW image data (step S108). The image conversion process is performed based on the parameters set at that time, and an image based on the converted image data is displayed in the preview image display area 51 (step S109). Since the image conversion process of step S108 is performed on the partial RAW image data, it can be processed in a short time, and the process for displaying in the preview image display area 51 can also be performed in a short time. When the number of pixels of the synchronized image data obtained from the partial RAW image data is matched with the number of display pixels in the preview image display area 51, the processing time for display can be further shortened.
[0032]
In step S110, it is determined whether or not the enter button 53 has been pressed. If the image quality setting parameter is changed without detecting the press of the enter button 53, the same processing is repeated. When the cancel button 54 is pressed, the same processing is repeated using the stored image quality setting parameters.
[0033]
If it is detected in step S110 that the enter button 53 is pressed, the same image conversion process as that performed in step S108 is performed on the entire RAW image data corresponding to the image selected in step S102 (step S111). In step S112, the converted image data is output. The converted image data may be output after being compressed, or may be output without being compressed.
[0034]
In the flow of FIG. 2, the processed image data after the conversion processing is performed on the input RAW image data is output. However, the processed image data is additionally stored in the image file of the storage unit 4. May be. Further, the applied conversion processing and image quality adjustment parameters may be output together with the RAW image data, only the image processing parameters of the image file stored in the storage unit 3 may be rewritten, or the image processing parameters may be additionally stored.
[0035]
【The invention's effect】
As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, the conversion process for image quality adjustment is executed using the partial RAW image data, so that the display speed of the preview image can be improved, and the RAW image data Image processing can be performed efficiently and in a short time.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an image processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a schematic operation flow of image processing by the image processing apparatus of FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a screen for designating an arbitrary region of an image. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of an image conversion processing screen.
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Input / output interface 2 ... Image processing part 3 ... Memory | storage part 4 ... Display part 5 ... Operation part 21 ... Partial image extraction process part 22 ... Conversion process part

Claims (3)

An image processing method for performing processing on raw digital image data acquired by an imaging device,
An image input step of inputting the raw digital image data to be processed and display image data corresponding to the raw digital image data;
Displaying an image based on the image data for display;
Designating an arbitrary region of the displayed image;
A partial image data extraction step for extracting partial image data corresponding to an arbitrary region of the designated image from the raw digital image data;
A partial image conversion processing step for performing image conversion processing based on image quality adjustment parameters for the partial image data;
And a converted image display step of displaying an image based on the image data that has been subjected to the image conversion. An image processing device that performs processing on raw digital image data acquired by an imaging device,
Image input means for inputting the raw digital image data to be processed and display image data corresponding to the raw digital image data;
Partial image data extraction means for extracting partial image data from the raw digital image data;
Image conversion processing means for performing image conversion processing based on image quality adjustment parameters for the partial image data;
Display means capable of displaying at least the image data for display and an image based on the partial image data;
At least information for designating the partial image data, and an operation means capable of setting the image quality adjustment parameter;
Image processing control means,
The partial image data extraction unit is configured to output partial image data based on an image based on display image data displayed on the display unit and information for designating the partial image data set by the operation unit. To perform the extraction process,
The image processing control means instructs the image conversion means to perform an image conversion process based on the image quality adjustment parameter set by the operation means on the partial image data, and an image based on the partial image data Is displayed on the display means. An image processing program for causing a computer to execute each step in the image processing method according to claim 1.

Images