JP2009278675A - Digital camera, image display method for digital camera, and computer program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide the digital camera capable of facilitating the filter works for monochromic photographing. <P>SOLUTION: The digital camera includes an imaging means, a selection means, and a black and white image generating means. The imaging means carries out photoelectric conversion for the incident light and outputs a color image. The selection means selects any one among the one or more identifier currently colored by mutually different colors. The tone value of each color for each pixel of the color image, outputted from the imaging means, is weighted, and the weighted tone value is added. The black and white image generating means generates black and white image where correlation with light volume of light of wavelength which penetrates the color filter is stronger than the correlation with the light volume of light of wavelength absorbed by the color filter, when the incident light is entered into a color filter of substantially same color as the identifier selected by the selection means. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a digital camera.

  Conventionally, color filters such as a green filter, a yellow filter, an orange filter, and a red filter are used for shooting with a black and white film in a silver salt camera. When a color filter is used, a black and white image having a stronger correlation with the amount of light having a wavelength that passes through the color filter than that with a light amount having a wavelength absorbed by the color filter is captured. For example, when a green filter is used, light in a generally green wavelength region is strongly reflected in the contrast of a black and white image, and light in other wavelength regions is absorbed by the color filter and is relatively less likely to be reflected. When shooting with a black-and-white film of a silver salt camera, color filters are used according to the subject. Specifically, for example, the yellow filter is suitable for photographing a landscape whose subject is from the near to the middle, and the orange filter is suitable for photographing a distant view using a telephoto lens. The red filter is more suitable for clearly depicting a distant view. The green filter has the effect of suppressing the red color and, at the same time, has the same contrast as the yellow filter, so the skin and lips of the person can be adjusted to a calm tone. It is effective for. By using the filter work that selectively uses these filters, even when shooting a black-and-white film in which the color is expressed by shades of black and white, it is possible to express the effect according to the image of the photographer.

  When shooting a monochrome image with a digital camera, a monochrome image that has the same effect as a color filter in a silver salt camera by weighting and adding the gradation values for each color of the pixels that make up the captured color image Can be obtained. That is, a black and white image having a strong correlation with a specific color can be obtained. For this reason, the filter work similar to the silver salt camera can be performed by selecting the weighting corresponding to the color to be strongly correlated.

  In the case of a silver salt camera, since the target color filter can be distinguished by color, the selection of the color filter is easy. However, in the case of a digital camera, for example, when selecting a weight that can obtain an effect equivalent to that of a “yellow filter” of a silver halide camera or a weight that can obtain an effect equivalent to that of a “green filter”, Since it is not selected, it is selected by a menu or operation switch displayed on the LCD. However, in this case, when the selection item is displayed as a character string such as “yellow filter” or “green filter”, the user has difficulty in grasping the color intuitively, and there is a problem in that it is not easy to use.

  In addition, with a silver salt camera, the color filter is in front of the lens, so the user can always be aware of its presence, and it is unlikely that an error such as taking a color filter when you do not want to take a color filter will not occur. . However, in the case of a digital camera, the color filter does not physically exist. Therefore, if the user forgets to select the color filter, the photographing result may differ from the expected result.

  The present invention has been created in view of such problems, and an object thereof is to provide a digital camera that facilitates filter work for monochrome photography.

  In order to achieve the above object, a digital camera according to the present invention includes any one of an imaging unit that photoelectrically converts incident light and outputs a color image, and one or more identifiers that are colored in mutually different colors. A selection means for selecting the color, and a gradation value of each color for each pixel of the color image output from the imaging means, and adding the incident light with the same color as the identifier selected by the selection means A black and white image generating means for generating a black and white image whose correlation with the amount of light having a wavelength transmitted through the color filter is stronger than the correlation with the amount of light having a wavelength absorbed by the color filter when being incident on the color filter And comprising. In this digital camera, when a colored identifier is selected, a black and white image having an effect equivalent to that of a black and white image taken by a silver salt camera using a color filter of substantially the same color as the identifier is obtained. Can do. In other words, it is possible to select by color which color filter of the silver halide camera has the same effect as that of the color filter of the monochrome camera. For this reason, colors can be grasped intuitively and selection is easy as compared with the case of selecting from choices displayed as character strings such as “green filter”. Therefore, this digital camera facilitates black and white photography filter work.

  Further, in the digital camera according to the present invention, the selection unit moves the identifier for each selectable color, an instruction symbol for indicating any one of the identifiers, and either the identifier or the instruction symbol. An operation switch, and accepts the identifier indicated by the instruction symbol as the selected identifier. According to this digital camera, since the selected identifier is always indicated by the instruction symbol, the user can easily confirm the color selected at that time without performing any special operation.

  Furthermore, in the digital camera according to the present invention, the identifier is a circle filled with the color. Since the color filter of the silver salt camera is circular, displaying the identifier with a filled circle reminds the color filter of the silver salt camera, and selecting the identifier selects the color of the color filter of the silver salt camera. The user can intuitively understand that it is substantially synonymous.

  Furthermore, in the digital camera according to the present invention, the selection means includes an operation switch for selecting the identifier, and a first display means for displaying only the identifier selected by the operation switch. According to this digital camera, since the identifier selected at that time is displayed on the first display means, the user can easily know which color is selected by looking at the first display means. .

Furthermore, in the digital camera according to the present invention, the identifier is a circle filled with the color. According to this digital camera, the user can intuitively understand the meaning of the identifier.
Furthermore, the digital camera according to the present invention further includes second display means capable of displaying arbitrary information, and the selection means is a menu for selecting the identifier, and the identifier is displayed as a selection item. A menu is displayed on the second display means. According to this digital camera, the identifier can be easily selected because it can be selected by color when selecting the identifier from the menu. That is, filter work becomes easy.

Furthermore, in the digital camera according to the present invention, the selection means displays the identifier as a circle filled with the color. According to this digital camera, the user can intuitively understand the meaning of the identifier.
The digital camera according to the present invention further includes image display means for displaying the black and white image generated by the black and white image generation means on the second display means.

  Furthermore, in the digital camera according to the present invention, the image display means displays the identifier selected when the monochrome image is generated together with the monochrome image on the second display means. According to this digital camera, when displaying a captured monochrome image, the user can know the identifier selected when capturing the monochrome image. For this reason, it is possible to easily know which color filter of the silver halide camera has been subjected to the same processing as that of the color filter.

Furthermore, in the digital camera according to the present invention, the image display means displays the identifier as a circle filled with the color. According to this digital camera, the user can intuitively understand the meaning of the displayed identifier, and as a result, can know that the displayed monochrome image has a correlation with a specific color.
Furthermore, in the digital camera according to the present invention, a through image is displayed on the second display unit based on the color image output from the imaging unit, and the identifier selected at that time is displayed on the second display unit. Further, a through image display means for displaying on the screen is further provided. According to this digital camera, it is possible to easily know at the time of photographing that an identifier is selected and which color identifier is selected.

Furthermore, in the digital camera according to the present invention, the through image display means displays the identifier as a circle filled with the color. According to this digital camera, the user can intuitively understand the meaning of the identifier.
Further, in the digital camera according to the present invention, the through image display means is a black and white through generated by the black and white image generation means based on the color image output from the imaging means and the identifier selected at that time. The image is displayed on the second display means. According to this digital camera, the effect obtained by the selected identifier can be confirmed before shooting, and it is not necessary to perform useless shooting, and shooting can be performed efficiently.

  The functions of the plurality of means provided in the present invention are realized by hardware resources whose functions are specified by the configuration itself, hardware resources whose functions are specified by a program, or a combination thereof. The functions of the plurality of means are not limited to those realized by hardware resources that are physically independent of each other.

The schematic diagram which shows an example of the menu which concerns on the 1st Example of this invention. 1 is a block diagram of a digital camera according to a first embodiment of the present invention. (A) is a rear view of the digital camera according to the first embodiment of the present invention, (B) is a top view thereof. The schematic diagram for demonstrating GUI which concerns on the 1st Example of this invention. The schematic diagram of the through image which concerns on 1st Example of this invention. The schematic diagram which shows an example of the display of the identifier which concerns on 1st Example of this invention. (A), (B) and (C) are schematic diagrams of an operation switch according to a second embodiment of the present invention. (A) And (B) is a schematic diagram which shows an example of the 1st display means which concerns on 3rd Example of this invention.

Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described based on examples.
(First Example)
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of a digital still camera (DSC) 1 as a digital camera according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
The optical system 11 includes a lens group 11a composed of one or more lenses, a diaphragm 11b provided in the lens group 11a, and the like. The optical system 11 makes light incident on the light receiving surface of the image sensor 12.
The image sensor 12 is an imaging device including photoelectric conversion elements discretely arranged in a two-dimensional space and charge transfer elements such as a charge coupled device (CCD), and is a so-called CCD image sensor, CMOS image sensor, or the like. . The image sensor 12 is driven by a sensor controller (not shown). The image sensor 12 accumulates charges obtained by photoelectrically converting light incident by the optical system 11 for each photoelectric conversion element for a certain period of time, and outputs an electrical signal corresponding to the amount of light received for each photoelectric conversion element. The image sensor 12 has a four-color filter of C (Cyan), M (Magenta), Y (Yellow) and G (Green) or a three-color filter of R (Red), G (Green) and B (Blue) on the light receiving surface. By providing, it is possible to capture color image information. In the first embodiment, description will be made assuming that RGB three-color filters are provided. The amount of charge accumulated in the image sensor 12 (exposure amount) is determined by the opening time of a mechanical shutter (not shown) placed between the optical system 11 and the image sensor 12 and the aperture 11b. The exposure time of the image sensor 12 may be adjusted by electrically controlling the charge accumulation time itself of the image sensor 12.

An analog front end (AFE) unit 13 quantizes an electrical signal output from the image sensor 12 into a digital signal by an AD converter and outputs the digital signal. Specifically, for example, the AFE unit 13 performs CDS (Correlated Double Sampling) processing, which is processing for reducing noise included in an electrical signal, optical black clamp control for reproducing the black level of an image, and gain adjustment. The digital signal is output to the digital image processing unit 14 by performing level adjustment processing of the electric signal, quantization processing for quantizing the digital signal to a predetermined bit length, and the like. In the first embodiment, it is assumed that the AD converter quantizes a 12-bit digital signal. When the bit length of the digital signal is long, the amount of information is larger than when the bit length is short, and various processes can be performed based on a larger amount of information in the digital image processing unit 14 described later.
For this reason, image quality can be improved. Since the maximum value of the bit length is determined according to the latitude (exposure tolerance) of the image sensor 12, if the image sensor 12 has a wide latitude, it may be quantized to a longer bit length.

  The digital image processing unit 14 performs color image formation processing, white balance correction, gamma correction, monochrome image generation processing, and color space conversion processing for converting the color space of the formed color image on the digital signal output from the AFE unit 13. Then, the gradation value of the formed color image or generated black-and-white image is subjected to processing for converting the gradation value into 8 bits, and the like, and is output to the control unit 20. Here, the color image forming process is, for example, one color output from each pixel of the image sensor 12 in which color filters are arranged in a checkered pattern with regularity (one color filter on the surface of the sensor is formed). By interpolating R, G, or B with the luminance information of each color of neighboring pixels, the color information is formed with all the pixels having R, G, and B color information. This is the process to do. White balance correction is correction that makes white appear white on a digital image even if the light source is different. The DSC 1 performs white balance correction based on the type of light source set by the user. Details of the processing for generating a monochrome image will be described later.

  The digital image processing unit 14 further includes an image reduction unit 21. The image reduction unit 21 reduces the digital image in response to an image reduction instruction from the control unit 20, and generates a reduced image (hereinafter referred to as a reduced image). The digital image here refers to a color image and a black and white image. The image size of the reduced image is set by the control unit 20. In order to display the photographed digital image on the screen of the LCD 18a (see FIG. 3A), the photographed digital image is reduced and displayed by the image reduction unit 21 to the screen size of the LCD 18a. Of course, the image reduction unit 21 can reduce the size to other sizes. The reduced image generated by the image reduction unit 21 is output to the removable memory 17 in association with the original digital image (main image) by the external storage unit 16. By doing so, the digital image recorded in the removable memory 17 can be quickly and easily displayed on the screen of the LCD 18a. The various processes performed by the digital image processing unit 14 may be replaced with processes by a computer program executed by the control unit 20.

  The compression / decompression unit 15 compresses the digital image output from the control unit 20 and decompresses the compressed digital image. Specifically, the compression / decompression unit 15 performs compression using, for example, the JPEG format, which is an irreversible compression method, or a reversible compression method without data truncation. In addition, the compression / decompression unit 15 is configured to be able to convert it into a TIFF format digital image that is not compressed.

  The external storage unit 16 includes a card slot for connecting a removable memory 17 which is a non-volatile removable storage medium, a memory controller, and the like. The external storage unit 16 is controlled by the control unit 20 and performs processing for writing the digital image compressed by the compression / decompression unit 15 into the removable memory 17 and processing for reading out the digital image stored in the removable memory 17. In the first embodiment, a case where a digital image is compressed in JPEG format and written as an EXIF (Exchangeable Image File Format) file will be described as an example. A file format other than EXIF may be used. Since any tag can be set in an EXIF format file, in the first embodiment, information for specifying an identifier selected when a monochrome image is captured is written in the tag. The information specifying the identifier is, for example, an identification number uniquely assigned to the identifier. When information specifying the identifier is written, the identifier selected at the time of shooting when reproducing the monochrome image stored in the EXIF file can be displayed. As a result, the user can reproduce the black-and-white image that has been weighted according to a specific color at the time of generation, that is, the same effect as the color filter of the silver halide camera, and the color The color of the filter can be easily known. Details of the identifier will be described later.

  The display unit 18 as the second display means includes an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) 18a (see FIG. 3A), a display controller for controlling the LCD 18a, and the like. The display unit 18 is controlled by the control unit 20, and displays various menus, through images, color images, monochrome images, and the like on the LCD 18a. The display unit 18 functions as an electronic viewfinder in the shooting mode and displays a through image. Further, the reduced image or the main image generated by the image reduction unit 21 in the reproduction mode is displayed on the LCD 18a.

The operation unit 19 includes a shutter button, a dial switch for setting exposure conditions and other various shooting conditions, a plurality of push button switches for operating various displayed menus, a jog dial, and the like. Details of the operation unit 19 will be described later.
The control unit 20 includes a CPU 20a, a flash memory 20b, and a RAM 20c. The CPU 20a controls the entire DSC 1 by executing a program stored in the flash memory 20b. The CPU 20a also functions as an imaging unit, a selection unit, a monochrome image generation unit, an image display unit, and a through image display unit by executing a program stored in the flash memory 20b. The flash memory 20b is a memory that stores various programs and data. Various programs and data stored in the flash memory 20b may be downloaded and stored from a predetermined server via a network, or may be read from a computer-readable storage medium such as the removable memory 17 and stored. The RAM 20c is a memory for temporarily storing various programs and data.

The “imaging means” described in the claims corresponds to the optical system 11, the image sensor 12, the AFE unit 13, the digital image processing unit 14, the operation unit 19, and the control unit 20.
The “selection unit” described in the claims corresponds to the display unit 18, the operation unit 19, and the control unit 20.

“Monochrome image generating means” described in the claims corresponds to the digital image processing unit 14 and the control unit 20.
The “through image display means” described in the claims corresponds to the digital image processing unit 14 and the control unit 20.

Next, the external appearance of the DSC 1 will be described.
3A is a rear view of the DSC 1, and FIG. 3B is a top view of the DSC 1 viewed from the Z direction shown in FIG. 3A.
The optical viewfinder 30 is used by the user for visually recognizing the photographing target. As described above, it is possible to take a picture while looking at the electronic viewfinder.
The switch 31, the winding lever 32, the dial switch 33, the shutter button 34, the rotary dial 35 a, the lever switch 36, the jog dial 37, the display switch 38, the menu switch 39, the enter switch 40, and the cancel switch 41 constitute the operation unit 19. ing.

  The switch 31 is a power switch. The winding lever 32 is provided to perform an operation for raising and mechanically fixing the shutter curtain in a state in which the shutter is mechanically released so that the next shutter operation can be performed again. The user rolls up the winding lever 32 and performs shutter charging before shooting, thereby enabling the shooting operation of the mechanical shutter. The dial switch 33 is a rotary switch for selecting the shutter speed, the type of shooting conditions, and the like. The shutter button 34 is installed at the center of the dial switch 33. By pressing the shutter button 34, the photographing operation is started.

  The outer periphery of the needle-type display device 35 installed next to the dial switch 33 is a rotary dial 35a, and the exposure value can be adjusted in increments of 1/3 EV from −2 EV to +2 EV. The number of remaining images that can be photographed is displayed on a fixed ring 35b provided inside the rotary dial 35a. A dial 35c provided inside the fixed ring 35b has a plurality of white balances, a plurality of data formats, and a battery level scale indicating the remaining battery level. Specifically, the plurality of data formats are represented as a letter R representing the RAW format, a character T representing the TIFF format, a character H representing the JPEG format with a high compression rate, and a character N representing a JPEG format with a low compression rate. Yes. The number of remaining images, the currently selected item, and the remaining battery level are indicated by hands 35g, 35d, 35e, and 35f. The user can change the selected item by operating the lever switch 36 and turning the jog dial 37 to move the pointer.

  The jog dial 37 is provided so as to be rotatable in the XY directions and movable in the axial direction of the rotation shaft. The jog dial 37 is provided so as to be rotatable at two axial positions. In the following description, the side closer to the casing 10 of the DSC 1 is the lower position, and the position where the jog dial 37 is lifted upward from the lower position is called the upper position. To do. In FIG. 3A, the jog dial 37 in the lower position is indicated by a solid line, and the jog dial 37 in the upper position is indicated by a broken line. The user combines the switches and the jog dial 37 to select various settings and functions.

  A display switch 38, a menu switch 39, an enter switch 40, and a cancel switch 41 are installed on the right side of the LCD 18a. The display switch 38 is a switch for inputting an instruction to display a reduced image on the LCD 18a, and the menu switch 39 is an instruction for displaying a menu for selecting color photography or monochrome photography, a menu for selecting an identifier, and the like. This is a switch for inputting. The enter switch 40 and the cancel switch 41 are switches used for menu operations and the like.

  Next, a monochrome image generation process in the digital image processing unit 14 will be described. Note that, as described above, part or all of the processing of the digital image processing unit 14 may be performed by the control unit 20, and accordingly, the generation of a monochrome image may be performed by the control unit 20. A monochrome image is performed based on a 12-bit color image formed by a color image forming process. The digital image processing unit 14 generates a black and white image by weighting and adding the gradation values that the pixel has for each color for each pixel constituting the formed color image. Here, the gradation value that the pixel has for each color is the gradation value for each of R, G, and B in the case of a color image represented in the RGB color space. Specifically, the process of weighting and adding is performed by the following equation.

Standard Y = 0.30R + 0.59G + 0.11B ・ ・ Formula 1
Green filter Y = −0.10R + 1.20G−0.10B ・ ・ Formula 2
Yellow filter Y = 0.52R + 0.92G-0.44B ・ ・ Formula 3
Orange filter Y = 0.60R + 0.50G-0.10B ・ ・ Formula 4
Red filter Y = 0.70R + 0.50G-0.20B ・ ・ Formula 5

  When a monochrome image is represented in the YCbCr color space, the value obtained by addition is stored in the Y (luminance) value of the pixel, and 0 is stored in Cb and Cr to generate a monochrome image. Here, the gradation range of Y is 0 to 255, and the gradation range of Cb and Cr is -128 to 127. The gradation range of RGB is all 0-255. Note that a black and white image represented in the RGB color space may be generated. In this case, the luminance value Y obtained by Equation 1 is stored in the RGB value of the pixel. The coefficients applied to RGB in the above equations mean weighting. When weighted and added according to the above formulas except Formula 1, it is possible to obtain a black and white image with the same effect as when a specific color filter is attached with a silver salt camera and photographed with a black and white film. Equation 1 is a weighting defined by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) recommendation 601. Since Formula 1 has the same result as when photographing with a silver salt camera without attaching a color filter, Formula 1 is not included in the color filter in the first embodiment. When a color filter is used, the user selects any one of Equations 2 to 5, and when a color filter is not used, Equation 1 is applied. In the first embodiment, Formula 1 is referred to as a standard. For example, when a green filter is used with a silver salt camera, light with a wavelength near green passes through the green filter, and light with other wavelengths is absorbed by the green filter. A black-and-white image is stronger than the correlation with the amount of light of other wavelengths. For example, in the case of Expression 2, as is clear from the difference between the coefficient of Expression 2 and the standard coefficient, the value of G (green) is more strongly reflected in the monochrome image than in the standard. R and B are less likely to be reflected compared to the standard. For this reason, when Expression 2 is used, the green color is reflected more strongly, and a black and white image having substantially the same effect as that obtained by photographing with a silver salt camera using a green filter is obtained. Therefore, the black and white image generated using Equation 2 correlates with the amount of light having a wavelength that passes through the green filter when the incident light when shooting the black and white image is incident on the green filter of the silver salt camera. However, it can be said that the black-and-white image has a stronger correlation with the amount of light having a wavelength absorbed by the green filter in the incident light. The same applies to other expressions. In the first embodiment, the user selects an expression by selecting an identifier, and the tone value of the color image is added with a weight specified by the selected expression. Since the same effects as those of the color filter of the silver halide camera can be obtained electronically in the expressions 2 to 5, the expressions 2 to 5 are referred to as color filters in the first embodiment, and more specifically, the expression 2 Is a green filter, and Equation 3 is a yellow filter. The same applies to the orange filter and the red filter.

Next, the GUI of DSC 1 will be described.
FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram for explaining the GUI of the DSC 1. When the power is turned on, the DSC 1 is activated and transitions to the shooting mode. In the shooting mode, the image sensor 12 outputs an electrical signal to the AFE unit 13 at a predetermined interval. The digital image processing unit 14 generates a color image based on the digital signal output from the AFE unit 13 at the predetermined interval, and outputs the color image to the display unit 18 at the predetermined interval. As a result, the moving image of the subject is displayed as a through image on the LCD 18a. When the monochrome photography is selected, the control unit 20 generates the monochrome image based on the color filter (Equation 2 to Equation 5) specified by the identifier selected at that time or Equation 1, or the digital image processing unit 14. To control. The identifier will be described later. As a result, a black and white through image is displayed. In the shooting mode, a high-level menu for performing various settings can be displayed by performing a predetermined operation. When performing black and white photography, the user selects a menu for selecting black and white photography from the upper menu, and selects black and white photography from the displayed menu. When a black and white image having the same effect as a color filter of a silver salt camera is desired to be taken, an identifier having substantially the same color as the color filter is selected from a menu. In the following, a menu for selecting an identifier will be described first, and then black and white photography and display of a through image when the identifier is selected will be described.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a menu for selecting an identifier. In the menu 50, identifiers 51 to 54 colored with different colors and “no filter” are displayed as selection items. “No filter” corresponds to the standard. The identifier is for selecting any one of selectable color filters (Equation 2 to Equation 5), and is displayed in the same color or substantially the same color as the corresponding color filter. The same color as the corresponding color filter is, for example, green for a green filter (Formula 2). For example, in the case of a green filter, if the color of the identifier 51 is displayed in a range from light green to dark green, the user can associate a green filter. Let it be a color. The identifier 51 is displayed in a green circle, the identifier 52 is displayed in a yellow circle, the identifier 53 is displayed in an orange circle, and the identifier 54 is displayed in a red circle. Since the color filter of the silver salt camera is circular, displaying a filled circle as an identifier is reminiscent of the color filter of the silver salt camera, and selecting the identifier selects the color of the color filter of the silver salt camera. The user can intuitively understand that it is substantially synonymous. Therefore, the operability is improved. A more realistic image of the color filter of the silver salt camera may be displayed instead of the filled circle. In the first embodiment, character strings “green filter”, “yellow filter”, “orange filter”, and “red filter” are also displayed together with the filled circle. These character strings do not have to be displayed if unnecessary. Moreover, you may display those character strings by the character of a corresponding color. When displaying a colored character string, since the colored character string serves as an identifier, it is not always necessary to display a filled circle. However, a filled circle is desirable from the viewpoint of operability. The user operates the operation unit 19 to move the cursor 55 to a target identifier, and selects a color by pressing a predetermined button.

  FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the LCD 18a in a state where the black and white image 61 is displayed as a through image. The control unit 20 controls the display unit 18 to display the selected identifier, and the display unit 18 superimposes the currently selected identifier 62 on the black and white through image and displays it on the LCD 18a with color as shown in the figure. To do. The identifier 62 is displayed as a circle filled with the same color as in the case of the menu 50. When displaying a black and white live view image, the user can easily know that black and white shooting will occur when shooting now, and the effect obtained by the selected identifier can be confirmed before shooting. There is no need to do this and you can shoot efficiently. When the selected identifier is displayed on the LCD 18a, the user can easily know at the time of shooting that the identifier of a specific color is selected and which color identifier is selected. For this reason, it is unlikely that the photographing result is different from the expected result.

  When the shutter button 34 is pressed in the shooting mode, the digital image processing unit 14 outputs the generated color image or monochrome image to the compression / decompression unit 15. Specifically, if monochrome photography and an identifier are selected, a monochrome image is generated and output based on a color filter specified by the selected identifier. If monochrome photography is selected and no identifier is selected, a monochrome image is generated and output based on the standard. If color shooting is selected, a color image is output. The compression / decompression unit 15 compresses the output digital image based on the setting and stores it in the removable memory 17. At this time, as described above, if the image is a black and white image, information specifying the identifier selected at that time is written in the tag of the EXIF file.

  When the display switch 38 is pressed in the shooting mode, the mode is changed to the playback mode. The reproduction mode is a mode in which an image stored in the removable memory 17 is displayed on the LCD 18a. When the jog dial 37 is in the lower position in the playback mode, the user performs an operation to rotate the jog dial 37, whereby the image file (EXIF file) stored in the removable memory 17 is selected in a predetermined order and is displayed on the LCD 18a. Displayed on the screen. The selection order of the image file is ascending order or descending order of the file name including a serial number assigned to the image file at the time of shooting. That is, the image selection order is the order in which images are taken when the jog dial 37 is rotated to the right, and the order opposite to the order in which images are taken when the jog dial 37 is rotated to the left. Note that the image selection order may not be the order of the image file names, but the order of the photographing date and time of the images.

  In the reproduction mode, a reduced image, a main image, or various attached information about the main image of the file selected at that time is displayed. Specifically, the DSC 1 of the first embodiment has a plurality of playback modes including a standard display 75a, a simple information display 75b, a histogram display 75c, a highlight display 75d, a detailed information display 75e, a GUI non-display 75f, and a quadrant display 75g. is there. When the user rotates the jog dial 37 at the upper position, the control unit 20 displays the reduced image, the main image, or the attached information in a reproduction mode corresponding to the rotation.

  In a specific playback mode in which a specific image file is selected, when the jog dial 37 is rotated at the lower position, an image file in the front and rear order is newly selected (75h), and a reduced image of the newly selected image file, The main image or the attached information is displayed in the playback mode as it is. At this time, if the main image is a black and white image, it is displayed in black and white, and if it is a color image, it is displayed in color.

  In the standard display 75a, the reduced image or the main image and “image number / total number of images” are combined and displayed. When a specific image file is selected, the control unit 20 may first display a reduced image of the file and then display a main image of the file. Similarly, in other playback modes for displaying images, when a specific image file is selected, a reduced image of the file may be displayed first, and then the main image of the file may be displayed.

In the simple information display 75b, the reduced image or the main image, the current “image number / total number of images”, file number, shooting quality, file protection, and shooting date and time are displayed in a combined manner.
In the histogram display 75c, a reduced image or main image, the current “image number / total number of images”, and a histogram of luminance values are combined and displayed. In the histogram display 75c, only a histogram may be displayed without displaying an image.

In the highlight display 75d, an overexposed portion of the reduced image or the main image is displayed on the reduced image.
In the detailed information display 75e, the reduced image or the main image, the current “image number / total number of images”, file number, shooting quality, file protection, shooting date / time, file number, shutter speed, identifier, white balance (WB), resolution , ISO sensitivity, and film settings are composited and displayed. Details of the detailed information display 75e will be described later.
In the GUI non-display 75f, only the reduced image or the main image is displayed.
In the 4-split display 75g, the reduced images of the four image files having continuous file names are displayed in each area obtained by dividing one screen into four.

Next, details of the detailed information display 75e will be described.
FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a display when the detailed information display 75e is selected. In addition to the image, the detailed information display 75e includes the current image number / total number of images 200, file number + shooting quality 202, file protection 204, shooting date / time 206, file name 208, shutter speed 210, identifier 219, white balance ( WB) 212, resolution 214, ISO sensitivity 216, and film setting 218 are displayed. The identifier 219 is read from the tag and displayed only when it is a monochrome image. The identifier 219 is displayed as a filled circle as in the menu 50 described above. When the identifier 219 is displayed, the user can know the identifier selected when photographing the monochrome image when the photographed monochrome image is displayed. For this reason, it is possible to easily know which color filter of the silver halide camera has been subjected to the same processing as that of the color filter. The identifier may be displayed in another playback mode.

  According to the DSC 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention described above, the identifier for selecting the expressions 2 to 5 is colored with a color corresponding to the expression. When an effect equivalent to that of a color filter is desired, an expression that can obtain an effect equivalent to that of the color filter can be selected by selecting an identifier that is colored in substantially the same color as the color filter. For this reason, since the color can be grasped intuitively as compared with the case of selecting an expression from choices displayed as character strings such as “green filter”, the selection is easy. Therefore, this digital camera facilitates black and white photography filter work.

In the first embodiment, a black and white image is generated at the time of photographing. However, a black and white image may be generated from a color image recorded in the removable memory 17.
In the first embodiment, the digital still camera has been described as an example. However, the present invention may be applied to a digital video camera.

(Second embodiment)
In the second embodiment, an identifier is mechanically selected by an operation switch. In the second embodiment, there are three examples of operation switches: a slide type switch that moves an instruction symbol, a dial type switch that moves an instruction symbol, and a dial type switch that moves an identifier.
FIG. 7A is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a slide switch that moves an instruction symbol. Specifically, the slide type switch 81 is provided on the upper surface or the rear surface of the DSC of the second embodiment. In the illustrated slide type switch 81, a slide button 82 is slidable in the horizontal direction, and switches are provided at four positions in the slide direction. Each switch is turned on by touching the slide button 82, and a control signal corresponding to the switch is output to the control unit 20. The control unit 20 determines which switch is turned on by the output signal. The identifiers 51 to 54 are described by being attached as, for example, a seal at a position where each switch is turned on or colored with a paint. The identifiers 51 to 54 are represented as circles filled with green, yellow, orange, and red as in the first embodiment. For example, when the slide button 82 is slid to match the instruction symbol 83 with the green identifier 51, the control unit 20 selects the green filter by the output control signal.

  FIG. 7B is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a dial switch that moves an instruction symbol. The dial switch 84 is a switch that outputs a control signal corresponding to the rotation angle. The identifiers 51 to 54 are written at positions corresponding to the angle at which the control signal is output. For example, the green identifier 51 is written at a position indicated by the instruction symbol 85 at an angle at which a control signal for selecting a green filter is output.

FIG. 7C is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a dial switch that moves an identifier. The dial type switch 86 is substantially the same as FIG. 7B except that the arrangement of the identifier 51 to the identifier 54 and the instruction symbol 85 in FIG.
According to the DSC according to the second embodiment of the present invention described above, since the selected identifier is always indicated by an instruction symbol, the user can easily select the color selected at that time without performing a special operation. I can confirm. Moreover, since the configuration is simple, the design is easy.

(Third embodiment)
In the third embodiment, only the selected identifier is displayed on the first display means. In the third embodiment, a small LCD capable of color display and two LEDs are exemplified.
FIG. 8A is a schematic view showing an example of a small LCD, and is a top view of a DSC 90 according to the third embodiment. The DSC 90 includes a small LCD 91. The small LCD 91 is for displaying the remaining number of shots 92, the selected setting 93, and the selected identifier 94. The identifier 94 is surrounded by a dotted line in FIG. 8A on the display area of the small LCD 91. Displayed in the area 95. This area 95 is a dedicated display area in which information other than the identifier is not displayed. The first display means for displaying only the selected identifier corresponds to a function for displaying the identifier in the area 95 among the display functions of the small LCD 91. The identifier 94 is displayed as a circle filled with the corresponding color as in the first embodiment. The selected settings are specifically white balance and compression rate. Information other than the identifier may be selected as appropriate.

  FIG. 8B is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of an LED, and is a top view of a DSC 96 different from FIG. 8A. The DSC 96 includes four LEDs 97 to 100. The LEDs 97 to 100 are provided in one-to-one correspondence with selectable identifiers. Each LED emits green, yellow, orange, and red light. These colors correspond to the color filters, and only the LEDs corresponding to any selected identifier are lit. In the DSC 96, the LEDs 97 to 100 correspond to the first display means.

  In the third embodiment, the user selects an identifier using the menu 50 as in the first embodiment or the operation switch as in the second embodiment. For example, when selecting from the menu 50, the identifier selected from the menu 50 is displayed on the small LCD 91 or the LEDs 97 to 100. This allows the user to confirm the selected identifier without any special operation at any time while the power is on. For example, when selecting with the operation switch as in the second embodiment, even if the identifier is not written at the position where the switch is turned on, the user confirms which identifier is currently selected by looking at the small LCD. it can. For example, when one operation switch is shared by a plurality of operations, it is confusing that there is a notation corresponding to only a specific operation. By displaying on the small LCD 91 or the LEDs 97 to 100, the user can confirm the selected identifier even if there is no notation on the operation switch. For this reason, even if one operation switch is used for various operations, there is no confusion and operability is good for the user.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... DSC (digital still camera), 11 ... Optical system (imaging means), 12 ... Image sensor (imaging means), 13 ... Analog front end part (imaging means), 14 ... Digital image processing part (imaging means, monochrome image) Generation unit, through image display unit), 18 ... display unit (second display unit, selection unit), 19 ... operation unit (imaging unit, selection unit), 20 ... control unit (imaging unit, selection unit, monochrome image generation) Means, image display means, and through-image display means), 50 ... menu, 51-54 ... identifier, 62 ... identifier, 81 ... sliding switch (operation switch), 83 ... indicating symbol, 84 ... dial type switch (operation switch) ), 85 ... Indicating symbols, 86 ... Dial type switches (operation switches), 91 ... Small LCD (first display means), 94 ... Identifiers, 97-100 ... LE (First display means), 219 ... identifier.

Claims (7)

Imaging means for photoelectrically converting incident light and outputting a color image;
Display means capable of displaying arbitrary information;
Selecting means for selecting any one of the one or more identifiers;
A black and white image generating means for generating a black and white image from the color image output from the imaging means based on the selected identifier;
A through image display means for displaying a through image on the display means based on a color image output from the imaging means and displaying the identifier selected at that time on the display means;
A digital camera comprising: Imaging means for photoelectrically converting incident light to output a first image;
Display means capable of displaying arbitrary information;
Selecting means for selecting any one of the one or more identifiers;
The second image is generated by weighting and adding the gradation value of each color representing the first image based on the selected identifier with respect to the first image output from the imaging unit. Second image generating means for
A through image display means for displaying a through image on the display means based on the first image output from the imaging means and displaying the selected identifier on the display means;
A digital camera comprising:   The digital camera according to claim 2, wherein the through image is a through image of the second image generated by the second image generation unit.   The digital camera according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the through image display means displays the through image and the identifier so as to overlap each other. An imaging process for photoelectrically converting incident light and outputting a color image;
A selection step of selecting any one of the one or more identifiers;
Based on the selected identifier, a monochrome image generation step of generating a monochrome image from the color image output in the imaging step;
A through image display step of displaying a through image on a display unit based on the color image output in the imaging step, and displaying the identifier selected at that time on the display unit;
An image display method for a digital camera, comprising: An imaging step of photoelectrically converting incident light to output a first image;
A selection step of selecting any one of the one or more identifiers;
For the first image output in the imaging step, the second image is obtained by weighting and adding to the gradation value of each color representing the first image based on the selected identifier. A second image generation step to generate;
A through image display step of displaying a through image on a display unit based on the first image output in the imaging step and displaying the selected identifier on the display unit;
An image display method for a digital camera, comprising:   A computer program for displaying an image on a digital camera by the image display method according to claim 5.

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