JP2005260324A - Digital camera - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a digital camera capable of carrying out interval photographing by using a recording medium with a limited capacity and storing image files as many as possible to the recording medium with the limited capacity in the interval photographing. <P>SOLUTION: The digital camera having an interval photographing function for automatically repeating photographing at an interval set by a user includes: a function of extracting an evaluation value of difference between two adjacent images subjected to interval photographing; and a means for storing image information of a photographed image to the recording medium and is characterized in that the digital camera records the image to the recording medium when a difference between the two images is greater than a level and records only the image information to the recording medium when the difference is small so as to ensure a free space of the recording medium and continue the interval photographing so long as the capacity permits. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a digital camera capable of interval shooting, and also relates to a digital camera provided with means for saving / deleting an image file on a recording medium in the camera.

  In recent years, with the development of digital technology, digital cameras that process captured image information electronically have become widespread. The subject luminous flux that has passed through the photographic lens reaches a solid-state image sensor (CCD, etc.), converts the subject image into an electrical signal and outputs it as a video signal, and the captured image undergoes various conversion processes in the image processing circuit. Finally, what is stored as an image file on a recording medium such as a memory card is generally used.

In addition, there are digital cameras having an interval photographing function that automatically repeats photographing at regular intervals using a clock or the like inside the digital camera and can be used for fixed-point observation.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-191875

  When interval shooting is performed with a single digital camera, only the number of image files can be recorded in proportion to the free capacity of the recording medium (memory card, microdrive, etc.). In addition, when performing fixed point observation in interval shooting, shooting is performed at a constant interval even when there is no or very little movement of the subject, so the recording medium is pressed with an image with little change.

  An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems and to provide a digital camera capable of continuing interval shooting using a recording medium having a limited capacity. Another object of the present invention is to save as many image files as possible on a recording medium with a limited capacity in interval shooting.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention of claim 1
A function that converts the subject image projected by the photographic lens into an electrical signal by the imaging device, outputs the image as a video signal, compresses the captured image, and saves it as an image file on a recording medium. A digital camera having an interval shooting function that automatically repeats shooting at the camera, and a function for extracting an evaluation value of a difference between a shot image and two images shot at the next interval and only image information of the shot image Is recorded on the recording medium, and only when the difference is larger than a certain level, the image taken later is recorded on the recording medium. When the difference is smaller than the certain level, only the image information is recorded. In addition, it is characterized in that free space of the recording medium is secured and interval shooting is continued as much as possible. That is, in interval shooting, the first reference image is first recorded on the recording medium, and the image file is not recorded until the next image with the largest change is shot. However, only the information of the image that has not been recorded is stored as a separate file on the recording medium. Therefore, in fixed point shooting or the like, when there is little change in the captured image, more interval shooting can be performed.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a means for selecting an image file to be deleted from a photographed image file when the recording medium capacity is predicted to be insufficient during interval photographing. A means for deleting the image file is provided, and by deleting the image, the free space of the recording medium is secured and the interval shooting is continued.

  The invention of claim 3 has a function of transferring an image file stored in a recording medium to a PC or the like via a transmission path such as USB, wireless, IEEE 1394, etc., and an image file subjected to interval shooting is transmitted via the transmission path. When transferring to a PC or printer, a copy of the image is generated from the recorded image file and the image information of the unrecorded image, and all are transferred as the main image.

  Furthermore, if further explained, the present invention has solved the above-mentioned problems with the following configuration.

  (1) A function of converting a subject image projected by a photographing lens into an electric signal by an image sensor, outputting an image as a video signal, compressing the photographed image, and saving the image as an image file on a recording medium. A digital camera having an interval shooting function that automatically repeats shooting at a set interval, and a function for extracting an evaluation value of a difference between two adjacent images shot at interval shooting and storing image information of the shot images in a recording medium A digital camera that records an image on a recording medium only when a difference between two images is greater than a certain level, and records only image information when the difference is small.

  (2) In the digital camera described in the above (1), when the recording medium capacity is insufficient, a means for selecting an image file to be deleted from the captured image files, and the selected captured image file A digital camera comprising means for deleting, ensuring free space on a recording medium and continuing interval shooting.

  (3) The digital camera described in the above (1) or (2) is provided with a function of transferring an image file stored in a recording medium to a PC or the like via a transmission path such as USB, wireless, IEEE 1394, and so on. When transferring the image file that has been processed to the PC or printer through the transmission path, a copy of the image is generated from the recorded image file and the image information of the unrecorded image, and all are transferred as the main image. A digital camera characterized by that.

According to the present invention,
In the case of performing interval shooting with a single digital camera, it has a function of extracting an evaluation value of a difference between two adjacent images that have been interval-photographed and means for storing image information of the captured images in a recording medium. By recording an image on a recording medium only when the level is higher than a certain level, and recording only image information when the difference is small, interval shooting can be continued even if the free space of the recording medium is limited. A digital camera can be provided. In addition, when transferring a group of image files taken at intervals to the outside world such as a PC, by making a copy of the image file that was not recorded by the above method, the transfer destination PC has image information specialized for this digital camera. It is not necessary to know the file information, and it can be handled as a group of image files obtained by simple interval shooting.

  FIG. 1 shows an example of an embodiment of the present invention. 101 is an image diagram in which image data taken at intervals by a digital camera having an interval shooting function is arranged, and numbers are assigned in the order of shooting. It has been. The image 103 is a deletion target image selected by means for selecting an image file that can be deleted from the interval-captured image 101. An image 102 is an image that remains on the recording medium without being deleted by the above means. A file 104 is a file for recording information of an image group obtained by interval shooting, and records interval intervals, deleted image files and their order.

  Next, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the above-described digital camera. Reference numeral 100 denotes a digital camera body having an interval shooting function.

  Reference numeral 10 denotes a photographing lens, 12 denotes a shutter having a diaphragm function, 14 denotes an image sensor that converts an optical image into an electrical signal, and 16 denotes an A / D converter that converts an analog signal output from the image sensor 14 into a digital signal. A timing generation circuit 18 supplies a clock signal and a control signal to the image sensor 14, the A / D converter 16, and the D / A converter 26, 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 16 or the data from the memory control circuit 22. Further, 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 42 based on the obtained calculation result. TTL (through-the-lens) AF (autofocus) processing, AE (automatic exposure) processing, and EF (flash pre-emission) processing are performed. Further, the image processing circuit 20 performs predetermined arithmetic processing using captured image data, and also performs TTL AWB (auto white balance) processing based on the obtained arithmetic result.

  A memory control circuit 22 controls the A / D converter 16, the timing generation circuit 18, the image processing circuit 20, the image display memory 24, the D / A converter 26, the memory 30, and the compression / decompression circuit 32.

  The data of the A / D converter 16 is written into the image display memory 24 or the memory 30 via the image processing circuit 20 and the memory control circuit 22 or the data of the A / D converter 16 is directly passed through the memory control circuit 22. It is.

  Reference numeral 24 denotes an image display memory, 26 denotes a D / A converter, 28 denotes an image display unit including a TFT LCD, and the image data for display written in the image display memory 24 passes through the D / A converter 26. Displayed by the image display unit 28. An electronic viewfinder (EVF) function can be realized by sequentially displaying image data captured using the image display unit 28. Further, the image display unit 28 can arbitrarily turn on / off the display according to an instruction from the system control circuit 50. When the display is turned off, the power consumption of the imaging apparatus 100 can be significantly reduced. I can do it.

  Reference numeral 30 denotes a memory for storing captured still images and moving images, and has a storage capacity sufficient to store a predetermined number of still images and a moving image for a predetermined time. This makes it possible to write a large amount of images to the memory 30 at high speed even in continuous shooting or panoramic shooting in which a plurality of still images are continuously shot. The memory 30 can also be used as a work area for the system control circuit 50.

  Reference numeral 32 denotes a compression / decompression circuit that compresses and decompresses image data by adaptive discrete cosine transform (ADCT), wavelet transform, etc., and reads the image stored in the memory 30 to perform compression processing or decompression processing. Is written into the memory 30.

  Reference numeral 40 denotes an exposure control means for controlling the shutter 12 having a diaphragm function, and has a flash light control function in cooperation with the flash 48.

  Reference numeral 42 denotes a distance measuring control means for controlling the focusing of the photographing lens 10, reference numeral 44 denotes a zoom control means for controlling zooming of the photographing lens 10, and reference numeral 46 denotes a barrier control means for controlling the operation of the protection means 11 as a barrier.

  A flash 48 has an AF auxiliary light projecting function and a flash light control function. The exposure control means 40 and the distance measurement control means 42 are controlled using the TTL method. Based on the calculation result obtained by calculating the captured image data by the image processing circuit 20, the system control circuit 50 performs the exposure control means 40 and the distance measurement. Control is performed on the control means 42.

  Reference numeral 50 denotes a system control circuit that controls the entire imaging apparatus 100, and 52 denotes a memory that stores constants, variables, programs, and the like for operation of the system control circuit 50.

  Reference numeral 54 denotes a display unit such as a liquid crystal display device or a speaker that displays an operation state or a message using characters, images, sounds, or the like in accordance with execution of a program in the system control circuit 50, and an operation unit of the imaging device 100 A single or a plurality of locations are provided in the vicinity where they can be easily seen, and are configured by a combination of, for example, an LCD, an LED, and a sounding element.

  In addition, the display unit 54 is partially installed in the optical viewfinder 29. Among the display contents of the display unit 54, what is displayed on the LCD or the like is, for example, single shot / continuous shooting display, self-timer display, compression rate display, recording pixel number display, recording number display, remaining number of remaining images display , Shutter speed display, Aperture value display, Exposure compensation display, Flash display, Red-eye reduction display, Macro shooting display, Buzzer setting display, Clock battery level display, Battery level display, Error display, Multi-digit number information display Detachment status display of the recording media 200 and 210, communication I / F operation display, date / time display, display of image files stored in the recording medium, display of list of image file names stored in the recording medium, external Display showing connection status with computer, display showing connection status with external digital camera, Image with external computer or digital camera Display indicating the state of transmission and reception of data such as Airu, and the like.

  Further, among the display contents of the display unit 54, what is displayed in the optical viewfinder 29 is, for example, in-focus display, shooting preparation completion display, camera shake warning display, flash charge display, flash charge completion display, shutter speed display, There are an aperture value display, an exposure correction display, a recording medium writing operation display, and the like.

  Further, among the display contents of the display unit 54, what is displayed on the LED or the like includes, for example, in-focus display, photographing preparation completion display, camera shake warning display, camera shake warning display, flash charge display, flash charge completion display, recording medium There are a writing operation display, a macro shooting setting notification display, a secondary battery charge state display, and the like. And what is displayed on a lamp | ramp etc. among the display contents of the display part 54 includes a self-timer notification lamp etc., for example. This self-timer notification lamp may be used in common with AF auxiliary light.

  Reference numeral 56 denotes an electrically erasable / recordable nonvolatile memory such as an EEPROM or a flash memory.

  Reference numerals 60, 62, 64, 70, and 72 are operation means for inputting various operation instructions of the system control circuit 50, and include one or a plurality of switches, dials, touch panels, pointing by line-of-sight detection, voice recognition devices, and the like. Composed of a combination.

  Here, a specific description of these operating means will be given.

  Reference numeral 60 denotes a power switch (main switch) that can switch and set the power-on and power-off modes of the image processing apparatus 100. In addition, the power on and power off settings of various accessory devices connected to the image processing apparatus 100 can be switched and set together.

  Reference numeral 62 denotes a shutter switch SW1, which is turned ON during the operation of a shutter button (not shown), and performs AF (auto focus) processing, AE (auto exposure) processing, AWB (auto white balance) processing, EF (flash pre-flash) processing, and the like. Instruct to start operation.

  Reference numeral 64 denotes a shutter switch SW2, which is turned on when the operation of a shutter button (not shown) is completed, and an exposure process for writing a signal read from the image sensor 12 to the memory 30 via the A / D converter 16 and the memory control circuit 22. A series of recording processes such as a development process using an operation in the image processing circuit 20 and the memory control circuit 22, a recording process in which the image data is read from the memory 30, compressed by the compression / decompression circuit 32, and the image data is written to the recording medium 200 Instructs the start of processing operation.

  Reference numeral 70 denotes an operation unit composed of various buttons, a touch panel, etc., a menu button, a set button, a macro button, a multi-screen playback page break button, a flash setting button, a single shooting / continuous shooting / self-timer switching button, menu movement + (plus) Button, menu shift-(minus) button, playback image shift + (plus) button, playback image-(minus) button, shooting image quality selection button, exposure compensation button, date / time setting button, image display ON / OFF button, compression Mode switch, quick review switch for setting a quick review function for automatically reproducing and displaying image data taken immediately after photographing using the image display unit 28, selection and switching of various functions when photographing and / or reproducing and / or communicating Select / change switch to set, shooting and / or re And or various functions and user settings in performing the communication, there is a decision / execution switch for performing decision and the execution of such property setting for the image. Note that one of the properties for an image includes a compression permission attribute for the image.

  The compression mode switch is a switch for selecting a compression ratio of JPEG (Joint Photographic Expert Group) compression, or for selecting a CCD RAW mode for digitizing the signal of the image sensor and recording it on a recording medium.

  As a JPEG compression mode, for example, a normal mode, a fine mode, and an economy mode are prepared. The user of the image capturing apparatus 100 can perform shooting by selecting the normal mode or economy mode when emphasizing the data size of the captured image and selecting the fine mode when emphasizing the image quality of the captured image. .

  In the JPEG compression mode, image data read from the image sensor 14 and written to the memory 30 via the A / D converter 16, the image processing circuit 20, and the memory control circuit 22 are read and compressed / compressed. The data is compressed to the compression rate set by the decompression circuit 32 and recorded on the recording medium 200.

  In the CCD RAW mode, the image data is read as it is for each line in accordance with the pixel arrangement of the color filter of the image sensor 14, and the image data written in the memory 30 via the A / D converter 16 and the memory control circuit 22. Are recorded on the recording medium 200.

  Reference numeral 72 denotes a mode dial switch which can switch and set various function modes such as an automatic shooting mode, a shooting mode, a panoramic shooting mode, a playback mode, a multi-screen playback / erase mode, a PC connection mode, and a camera connection mode.

  Reference numeral 80 denotes a power supply control means, which includes a battery detection circuit, a DC-DC converter, a switch circuit for switching a block to be energized, etc., and detects the presence / absence of a battery, the type of battery, the remaining battery level, and the detection result In addition, the DC-DC converter is controlled based on an instruction from the system control circuit 50, and a necessary voltage is supplied to each unit including the recording medium for a necessary period.

  Reference numeral 82 denotes a connector, 84 denotes a connector, and 86 denotes a primary battery such as an alkaline battery or a lithium battery, a secondary battery such as a NiCd battery, NiMH battery, or Li-ion battery, an AC adapter, or the like.

  Reference numeral 90 denotes an interface with a recording medium such as a memory card or hard disk, and reference numeral 92 denotes a connector for connecting to a recording medium such as a memory card or hard disk.

  Reference numeral 11 denotes protection means that is a barrier that prevents the imaging unit from being soiled or damaged by covering the imaging unit including the lens 10 of the imaging device 100.

  Reference numeral 29 denotes an optical viewfinder, which can take an image using only the optical viewfinder without using the electronic viewfinder function of the image display unit 28. Further, in the optical viewfinder 29, some functions of the display unit 54, such as a focus display, a camera shake warning display, a flash charge display, a shutter speed display, an aperture value display, an exposure correction display, and the like are installed.

  33 is a communication means having various communication functions such as RS232C, USB (Universal Serial Bus), IEEE1394, modem, wired communication such as LAN (Local Area Network), infrared communication such as IrDA (Infrared Data Association), and optical communication. Any one of the configurations or a configuration including a plurality of them may be used.

  Reference numeral 200 denotes a recording medium such as a memory card or a hard disk. The recording medium 200 includes a recording unit 202 composed of a semiconductor memory, a magnetic disk, and the like, an interface 204 with the imaging device 100, and a connector 206 that connects to the imaging device 100. Also, it is assumed that the recording medium can acquire the currently available free space. In this embodiment, the recording medium 200 is described as being built in the imaging apparatus 100.

  58 is an interval generator that generates a reference time for interval shooting, and may be configured with an IC having a timer function such as RTC (Real Time Clock), or when an interval is generated from a timer interrupt to the system. It is done. Using the interval generator 58, it is possible to continuously shoot at intervals specified by the user and sequentially record them on the recording medium 200.

  Reference numeral 59 denotes a difference detection circuit that subtracts two image data and detects a difference, reads two images stored in the memory 30, calculates a difference, and writes the processed difference data to the memory 30. Further, it has a function of calculating an evaluation value obtained by quantifying the difference between two images and separately storing it in the memory 30.

  An embodiment of claim 1 of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings and flowcharts.

  FIG. 1 shows an execution example of a function that does not store an image with a small difference in a recording medium in the interval shooting function of the digital camera realized in the first embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, with respect to images taken at equal intervals, the difference between the reference image and the next image is taken, and if the evaluation value is smaller than a certain threshold value α, the image is deleted. Similarly, images with a small difference are deleted. If the difference is larger than the threshold value α, the same operation is repeated without deleting it and using it as a new reference image. Detailed operations such as a data flow and a control flow at the time of shooting in the digital camera shown in FIG. 2 and the like are as described above, and are omitted here.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a schematic flow of a mechanism for determining whether to record an image file on a recording medium from an evaluation value of a difference between an image serving as a reference in interval shooting and a newly shot image. When the user gives an instruction for setting the interval shooting by a GUI operation or the like, a shooting preparation operation is performed as shown in step 301. During shooting preparation, set parameters such as shooting interval, number of shots (limited or not specified), threshold value α of evaluation value when performing difference detection, and settings such as framing, focus, aperture, and shutter speed. Including. When the preparation for photographing is completed, it is determined in step 302 whether photographing can be continued. The continuation of shooting is determined by the free space of the recording medium or the number of shots set in step 301. If the free space is sufficient and only shooting of the set number or less is performed (in the case of [YES]), the process proceeds to step 303. Step 303 waits until the shooting interval of the interval timer designated by the user comes. When the next shooting time comes, the process proceeds to step 304, and one image is shot. Details regarding the shooting are as described above, and are omitted here. When the photographing is completed, the process proceeds to step 305, where it is determined whether a reference image is set. The reference image is an image necessary for extracting the difference between the two images, and is an image captured before the image captured in step 304. Accordingly, there is no reference image in the first shooting after the interval shooting is started. In this case, the process proceeds to step 306, where the latest image taken in step 304 is set as a reference image, and in step 307, the image is converted into an image file in a format such as Jpeg and stored in a recording medium such as a CF card. . Since creation of the image file and storage of the media are as described above, they are omitted here. When step 307 is completed, in step 310, information on the captured image such as the number of images to be captured and the presence or absence of storage as an image file is recorded in the file 104. Thereafter, the process returns to step 302, and the same is repeated thereafter.

  If the reference image is set in step 305, the process proceeds to step 308, where the difference between the reference image and the image captured in step 304 is extracted, and the evaluation value of the difference is obtained therefrom. In step 309, it is determined whether or not the difference evaluation value is smaller than the threshold value α set by the user. If larger, the process proceeds to step 306, where the latest image is set as a new reference image, and in step 307 the image file is set. Create and record to media. If it is determined in step 309 that the evaluation value is smaller than the threshold value α, the process proceeds to step 310 and only the image information is recorded. In this case, the image file is not saved.

  When step 310 is completed, the process returns to step 302 and repeats in the same manner as long as the photographing can be continued.

  As described above, if the difference from the previous image is small in interval shooting, it is possible to artificially increase the number of shots by interval shooting with a limited amount of media by not saving the image file on the recording medium. Become.

  A second embodiment of the second aspect of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings and flowcharts.

  FIG. 4 shows an execution example of the function of selecting and deleting an image to be deleted from images continuously shot by the interval shooting function of the digital camera implemented in the first embodiment of the present invention. When the free space of the recording medium is reduced during the interval shooting, the interval shooting is continued by deleting the recorded images so that the shot images are equally spaced as shown in FIG. It is possible to continue.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the processing flow. In step 501, preparation similar to that in step 301 is performed. In step 502, it is determined whether or not to continue interval shooting. Specifically, the operation of the switches by the user is monitored, and it is confirmed whether or not an instruction to stop interval shooting is given. If interval shooting is to be continued, the process proceeds to step 503. In step 503, it is determined whether or not the free space of the recording medium is sufficient. If the free area is insufficient, the process proceeds to step 504, and the image is deleted to secure the free area. In the image deletion method, when it is necessary to secure a free space for recording the next sheet, images are deleted in order from the oldest image until a sufficient free space can be secured. If there is still not enough free space after deleting every other image by that method, the images in between are deleted as the second cycle. There are various variations of the image deletion method, such as a method of simply deleting an old image, but not all of them are mentioned here.

  As a result of trying to secure a free area in step 504, it is determined in step 505 whether a free area has been secured. If a free area can be secured, the process proceeds to step 506, and the shooting interval of the interval shooting changed by the area securing operation performed in step 504 is reset. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step 507 and waits for the next shooting. In step 508, a new one is shot. In step 509, the photographed image is recorded on the medium. Then, it returns to step 502 and repeats similarly.

  If it is determined in step 503 that there is no shortage of free space, the process proceeds to step 507, and one image is taken and stored in the same manner.

  With this function, although the length of the shooting interval may change with respect to a limited recording medium, it is possible to always continue interval shooting at equal intervals.

  A third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to a flowchart.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a procedure for transferring a plurality of image files taken by the digital camera according to the first aspect to a PC or the like. As a precondition, it is assumed that at least one interval shooting (a set of a plurality of shootings) is completed and an image file is recorded on a recording medium.

  In step 601, a connection is established with a transfer destination PC or other digital camera. The details are omitted here. After the connection is established, in step 602, the contents of the image information file 104 in which information on interval shooting scheduled to be transferred is recorded are read. In step 603, the first interval photographed image file to be transferred is set as the next transfer scheduled file. Next, in step 604, it is determined whether or not the transfer of all the number of image files shot in one interval shooting is completed. If there are still untransferred images, the process proceeds to step 605. In step 605, it is determined whether the entity of the next transfer scheduled image is stored in the recording medium or whether the entity is stored in the image information file. If the entity is stored, the process proceeds to step 606. Set an image file as a reference image. In step 607, the image file is transferred to the connection destination. When the transfer is completed, the process proceeds to step 604 and the same is repeated until there are no more images to be sent.

  If it is determined in step 605 that the image does not exist, the process proceeds to step 608, where the reference image file set in step 606 is set as the next transfer file, and in step 607, the next transfer file is transferred to the connection destination. To do.

  As described above, in the case of transferring a plurality of images taken at intervals by the digital camera of claim 1 and saving to the recording medium to an image file to an external device such as a PC, all the images are stored. All images can be transferred in a restored form as if they were taken by interval shooting. That is, knowledge of the image information file 104 specialized for this digital camera is not required at the transfer destination.

It is a figure explaining the Example which selectively preserve | saves only the image with a big difference from the image data imaged by the interval adaptation which applied the 1st Example of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the electrical structure inside the digital camera to which this invention is applied. It is the flowchart which showed the interval imaging | photography procedure regarding the 1st Example of this invention. It is a figure explaining the Example which selectively preserve | saves only the image with a big difference from the image data image | photographed by the interval which applied the 2nd Example of this invention. It is the flowchart which showed the procedure of the image file deletion after interval imaging | photography concerning the 2nd Example of this invention. It is the flowchart which showed the transfer procedure of the several file by which interval imaging | photography concerning the 3rd Example of this invention was carried out.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Shooting lens 11 Protection means 12 Shutter 14 Image pick-up element 16 A / D converter 18 Timing generation circuit 20 Image processing circuit 22 Memory control circuit 24 Image display memory 26 D / A converter 28 Image display part 29 Optical viewfinder 30 Memory 32 Image Compression / decompression circuit 33 Communication means 34 Image resizing circuit 40 Exposure control means 42 Distance control means 44 Zoom control means 46 Barrier control means 48 Flash 50 System control circuit 52 Memory 54 Display unit 56 Non-volatile memory 58 Interval generator 59 Difference detection Circuit 60 Power switch (main switch)
62 Shutter switch SW1
64 Shutter switch SW2
70 Operation unit 72 Mode dial switch 80 Power control means 82 Connector 84 Connector 86 Power supply means 90 Interface 92 Connector 101 Image data taken by interval shooting 102 Image file having a large difference from the previous reference image 103 From the previous reference image Image data with small difference 104 Image information file 401 for recording image information taken by interval shooting Image file 402 shot by interval shooting Image file 403 remaining after being thinned at equal intervals Thinned (deleted) ) Image file 404 An image information file for recording image information captured by interval shooting

Claims (3)

  A function that converts the subject image projected by the photographic lens into an electrical signal by the imaging device, outputs the image as a video signal, compresses the captured image, and saves it as an image file on a recording medium. A digital camera having an interval shooting function that automatically repeats shooting at the camera, and a function for extracting an evaluation value of a difference between two adjacent images shot at interval shooting and means for storing image information of the shot images in a recording medium And a digital camera which records an image on a recording medium only when a difference between two images is larger than a certain level, and records only image information when the difference is small. The digital camera according to claim 1, wherein
When there is insufficient recording media capacity, there is a means to select the image file to be deleted from the recorded image files and a means to delete the selected captured image file, thus ensuring free space on the recording medium. A digital camera characterized by continuing interval shooting. The digital camera according to claim 1 or 2,
A function for transferring an image file stored on a recording medium to a PC or the like via a transmission path such as USB, wireless, or IEEE 1394, and transferring an image file subjected to interval shooting to a PC or a printer via the transmission path. In this case, the digital camera generates a copy of the image from the recorded image file and the image information of the unrecorded image, and transfers all of them as the main image.

Images