JP2018207424A - Information transfer device - Google Patents

Abstract

To solve the problem in which usability is not good since two files must be written for one imaged image in a memory card when a camera images in a RAW+JPEG mode of recording image quality.SOLUTION: An information transfer device comprises: recording means that records at least either of RAW image data and developed image data in a recording medium; and communication means that communicates with an external device, and when the RAW image data is transferred through the communication means to the external device, the developed image data is generated by performing development processing to transfer target RAW image data, and then the generated developed image data is also transferred to the external device.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

  The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus capable of recording a RAW image and a control method thereof.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an imaging apparatus such as a digital camera, a raw image (RAW image) obtained by an imaging sensor unit is subjected to a development process (a process for generating image data in a format that can be recognized as an image), and is compressed and encoded. It is generally done to record.

  On the other hand, there is an imaging apparatus capable of recording a RAW image (Patent Document 1). A RAW image requires an enormous amount of data for recording as compared with the JPEG format or the like, but has an advantage that deterioration in image quality can be minimized.

JP 2011-244423 A

  Since there are many users who use RAW images, such as when shooting that does not want to cause degradation of image quality or when image adjustment is desired after shooting, a special application may be required to view the RAW image. Many users shoot using RAW + JPEG recording image quality in which a RAW image and a JPEG image are combined files with the same file name in order to use and select a captured image easily and at high speed.

  However, if the image quality is shot with the camera in RAW + JPEG mode, two files per shot are written to the memory card, and the amount of memory card consumed per shot increases, so high-speed writing is possible. In some cases, it is necessary to prepare an expensive memory card. In addition, the number of bursts in continuous shooting drops, causing a drop in response during shooting.

  The benefits of shooting in RAW + JPEG mode are mainly useful for viewing and editing images on a personal computer after transferring the captured image to the computer. However, it was rare to benefit from camera operations, but rather the effect of generating stress during shooting.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and can efficiently use images in the same manner as when shooting in the RAW + JPEG mode in selection and editing operations on a personal computer in a later process while avoiding stress during shooting. It aims at realizing an imaging device and its control method.

In order to achieve the above object, an imaging apparatus according to the present invention includes:
Image pickup means for picking up a subject image to generate RAW image data, development means for performing development processing on the RAW image data to generate developed image data, and at least one of the RAW image data and the developed image data A recording means for recording the image on a recording medium, and a communication means for communicating with an external device, and transferring the RAW image data from the imaging device to the external device via the communication means. The developed RAW image data is subjected to development processing to generate developed image data, and the developed image data generated at this time is also transferred to the external device so that it can be stored in the storage destination of the external device. The RAW image data and the developed image data are stored as a set file.

  According to the present invention, many general-purpose applications can be used in work on a personal computer in the subsequent process while avoiding the occurrence of stress at the time of photographing, and the photographed image can be efficiently processed in the same manner as when photographed in the RAW + JPEG mode for selection and editing work. An imaging apparatus that can be used well can be provided.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an imaging apparatus according to the present embodiment. The block diagram which shows the structure of the external device which concerns on this embodiment Sequence diagram showing processing for transferring a captured image to an external device according to the present embodiment The sequence diagram which shows a JPEG production | generation process simultaneously with a transfer of a RAW image to the external apparatus which concerns on this embodiment

  Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail. The embodiment described below is an example for realizing the present invention, and should be appropriately modified or changed according to the configuration and various conditions of the apparatus to which the present invention is applied. It is not limited to the embodiment. Moreover, you may comprise combining suitably one part of each embodiment mentioned later.

  Hereinafter, an example in which a digital camera capable of capturing and recording RAW image data of still images and moving images is applied as the imaging apparatus of the present embodiment will be described. In this embodiment, a digital camera is exemplified as the imaging device 100. However, a camera-equipped mobile phone or a smartphone (including a glasses-type terminal or a wristwatch-type terminal), a tablet terminal, or a personal computer with a camera. It may be an information processing apparatus such as (PC).

<Device configuration>
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the imaging apparatus 100 of this embodiment. These functional blocks may be realized by dedicated hardware such as ASIC, or may be realized by software when a general-purpose processor such as MPU executes a program.

  In FIG. 1, the control unit 161 includes a programmable processor such as a CPU and an MPU, and a nonvolatile memory that stores a control program executed by the programmable processor, and controls the entire processing of the imaging apparatus 100. Although only a part is shown in FIG. 1 to avoid complexity, a signal line for performing control and communication is connected from the control unit 161 to each functional block. The operation unit 162 includes input devices such as keys, buttons, and a touch panel used by the user to give instructions to the imaging apparatus 100. An operation signal from the operation unit 162 is detected by the control unit 161, and the control unit 161 controls other functional blocks so that an operation corresponding to the detected operation is executed. The display unit 123 displays an image captured or reproduced by the imaging apparatus 100, a menu screen, various information, and the like provided through the display processing unit 122. The display unit 123 includes, for example, a liquid crystal display (LCD).

  When the power of the imaging device 100 is turned on by the operation unit 162, the control unit 161 places the imaging device 100 in a shooting standby state. In the shooting standby state, a subject image to be imaged is formed on the image sensor unit 102 via the image pickup optical unit 101, and in the live view mode, an image captured by the image sensor unit 102 is displayed in live view. In response to an instruction to start recording from the operation unit 162, the control unit 161 starts shooting processing and recording processing. The operations of the imaging optical unit 101 and the imaging sensor unit 102 are performed based on the evaluation value calculation results obtained by the evaluation value calculation unit 105 such as an aperture, focus, and camera shake, and subject information from the recognition unit 131. Controlled by.

  The imaging sensor unit 102 converts light that has passed through red, green, and blue (RGB) color filters arranged for each pixel into an electrical signal. For example, it may be a CCD image sensor or a CMOS image sensor. The pixel arrangement of the image handled by the imaging apparatus 100 is, for example, red (R), green (G), and blue (B) arranged in a mosaic for each pixel, and one red pixel and one blue pixel per 2 × 2 pixels. In this structure, the two green pixels are regularly arranged as one set. Such an arrangement of color filters is generally called a primary color Bayer arrangement. The image sensor unit 102 according to the present embodiment has a pixel count of 4K (horizontal 3840 pixels × vertical 2160 pixels), but the number of pixels may be larger than this. Further, the image sensor unit 102 of the present embodiment has a capability of outputting 1 frame 4K image data at 60 frames per second (fps). In addition, the color and arrangement | sequence which comprise a color filter are not limited to a primary color Bayer arrangement | sequence, Other arbitrary arrangement | sequences are employable.

  The image signal obtained by the imaging sensor unit 102 is subjected to pixel restoration processing by the sensor signal processing unit 103. The restoration process includes a process of interpolating a pixel to be restored using a peripheral pixel value or subtracting a predetermined offset value from a missing pixel value or a low-reliability pixel value in the image sensor unit 102. It is. In the present embodiment, the image data output from the sensor signal processing unit 103 is referred to as RAW image data or RAW image meaning an undeveloped image.

  The RAW image data output from the sensor signal processing unit 103 is developed by the developing unit 110. The development unit 110 has a plurality of different development processing units, each having different processing accuracy and priority of processing load. The developing unit 110 according to the present embodiment includes two developing units, a simple developing unit 111 that performs a first developing process, and a high-quality developing unit 112 that performs a second developing process. The unit 121 is configured to be included. Both the simple development unit 111 and the high image quality development unit 112 perform debayer processing (also referred to as demosaic processing or color interpolation processing), white balance adjustment, RGB (primary color) → YUV (luminance and color difference) conversion, and noise reduction for a RAW image. Development processing such as optical distortion correction is performed. Note that these are examples of processing included in the development processing, and all of these are not essential for the development processing. Other processes may be included, or some of them may not be included.

  The high image quality developing unit 112 performs each process with higher accuracy than the simple developing unit 111. Since it is highly accurate, a developed image with higher image quality than that of the simple developing unit 111 can be obtained, but on the other hand, the processing load is large. On the other hand, the simple developing unit 111 has lower processing accuracy than the high image quality developing unit 112, so that although the obtained image quality is lower than that of the high image quality developing unit 112, it can perform development processing at high speed during shooting.

  In this embodiment, the simple developing unit 111 and the high image quality developing unit 112 exist independently in the developing unit 110. However, one developing unit switches the operation mode so that the simple developing unit and the high developing unit 112 can The image quality development process may be exclusively performed. In addition, it is sufficient that the processing loads of the plurality of developing units are different from each other, and it is not essential to reduce both the size of the image to be processed and the processing accuracy. For example, a developing unit having the same number of pixels to be processed but different processing accuracy or a developing unit having the same processing accuracy but a different number of pixels to be processed may be included. However, at least one developing unit that can complete the development processing of the captured image before the start of capturing the next image is included.

  In FIG. 1, the RAW image data from the sensor signal processing unit 103 is shown to be input to the simple development unit 111 and the high image quality development unit 112 in the development unit 110, but this is the same RAW image. It does not mean that the development processing is performed on the data in both development units. From the viewpoint of processing load, basically only one developing unit executes development processing. Accordingly, the switch unit 121 may be provided so as to switch the developing unit to which the RAW image data is input.

  Image data developed by the developing unit 110 (developed image data) is subjected to predetermined processing by the display processing unit 122 and then displayed on the display unit 123. Further, the developed image data may be output to an externally connected display device through the video output terminal 124. The video output terminal 124 includes a general-purpose interface such as HDMI (registered trademark) or SDI.

  The image data developed by the developing unit 110 is also supplied to the evaluation value calculating unit 105. The evaluation value calculation unit 105 calculates evaluation values such as a focus state and an exposure state from the developed image data. These evaluation values are used for automatic focus detection and automatic exposure control by the control unit 161, for example.

  Further, the image data developed by the developing unit 110 is also supplied to the recognition unit 131. The recognition unit 131 has a function of detecting and recognizing subject information in image data. For example, the recognition unit 131 detects the face of a person included in an image displayed based on the image data, and outputs information indicating the position and size of the face when detected. The recognition unit 131 may further perform authentication of a specific person based on feature information such as a face.

  Furthermore, the image data developed by the developing unit 110 is also supplied to the still image compression unit 141 and the moving image compression unit 142. When generating a still image file from the developed image data, the still image compression unit 141 is used. The still image compression unit 141 compresses and encodes still image data according to a known encoding method such as JPEG to generate a still image file. When a moving image file is generated from the developed image data, the moving image compression unit 142 is used. The moving picture compression unit 142 is an H.264 format. H.264, H.C. The moving image data is compressed and encoded according to a known encoding method such as H.265 to generate a moving image file. The still image compressing unit 141 and the moving image compressing unit 142 each perform high-efficiency encoding (compression encoding) on the target image data, generate an image file in which the amount of information is compressed, and send it to the recording / reproducing unit 151. .

  The RAW compression unit 113 applies high-efficiency encoding processing such as wavelet transform or differential encoding to the RAW image data output from the sensor signal processing unit 103, and generates a compressed RAW file with a reduced amount of information. The RAW compression unit 113 stores the compressed RAW file in the buffer unit 115. The buffer unit 115 may be an arbitrary storage device such as a memory or a hard disk. The compressed RAW file may be stored in the buffer unit 115, or may be moved to another recording medium after being stored in the buffer unit 115 and deleted from the buffer unit 115.

  The recording / playback unit 151 records the still image file from the still image compression unit 141 and the moving image file from the moving image compression unit 142 on the recording medium 152. The recording / playback unit 151 records the still image and / or moving image RAW file read from the buffer unit 115 on the recording medium 152 as a separate file from the compressed and encoded still image file and moving image file. The recording / playback unit 151 manages files recorded on the recording medium 152 according to a known file system such as FAT. The recording medium 152 is, for example, a built-in large-capacity memory, a hard disk, or a removable memory card. The recording / playback unit 151 can also read a still image file, a moving image file, and a RAW file from the recording medium 152.

  In this way, the imaging apparatus 100 generates a JPEG file, a RAW file, a RAW + JPEG file, a moving image file, or the like on the recording medium 152 according to the recording image quality setting.

  In addition, the communication unit 153 provides the imaging apparatus 100 with access to a computer network or an external device through a communication terminal 154 through wireless communication or wired communication. The communication unit 153 connects to a PC 201 (to be described later) via an interface such as a LAN (Local Area Network) or USB (Universal Serial Bus), and transfers captured images such as still image files, moving image files, and RAW files to the PC 201. Thus, it is possible to use the captured image of the imaging apparatus 100 in an external device.

<Description of external device PC>
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a personal computer (PC) 201 as an external device of the present embodiment.

  Reference numeral 251 denotes a CPU, reference numeral 252 denotes an internal memory, and reference numeral 253 denotes a display unit including a graphic controller, which may be connected to the external monitor device 204 or may have a built-in monitor. Reference numeral 254 denotes a keyboard, 255 denotes a mouse, and 256 denotes a communication port, which enables communication with the communication unit 153 of the imaging apparatus 100. Reference numeral 257 denotes a disk memory such as an HD. 257 may not necessarily be a disk-shaped medium, but may be a storage device that can be handled like a disk, such as a flash memory. Reference numeral 258 denotes a power source in the PC.

  The monitor device 204 is connected to the PC 201 and displays various screens including browsing of in-camera images, a shooting parameter operation screen, and a live view image display screen. Application programs for such image capturing and remote photographing systems are stored in the HD 257 and are activated by the CPU 251 when triggered by a user operation or a camera device detection.

<Explanation of transfer sequence diagram>
Next, with reference to the sequence diagram of FIG. 3, an operation for transferring and storing the captured image of the imaging apparatus 100 of the present embodiment to the HD 257 in the PC 201 will be described.

  In FIG. 3, when the connection between the communication unit 153 of the imaging apparatus 100 and the communication port 256 of the PC 201 is established, an application program is activated on the PC 201, and a file list acquisition request is issued from the PC 201 in S <b> 301. When a file list acquisition request is issued, the image capturing apparatus 100 enumerates file information such as still image files, moving image files, and RAW files recorded on the recording medium 152, and the file name, file size, file handle, etc. File list information including the information is created and notified to the PC 201 in S302.

  When the PC 201 receives the file list information, the PC 201 determines a file to be transferred by checking the file import management information (not shown) or the like. The operator may determine the file to be transferred.

  When the file to be transferred is determined, first, a file handle is designated in S303 and a file read request is issued from the PC 201. When a file read request is issued, the image capturing apparatus 100 reads target file data from the recording medium 152 and develops it in the buffer unit 115. If the expansion is normally performed, transfer preparation is completed, and the PC 201 is notified of the preparation in S304.

  When the PC 201 receives a notification that reading is ready, it issues a file data transfer request in steps S305 to S307. In S306, a split transfer request is made according to the data transfer block, and the file data is sent in S307 according to the request. The sent data is repeated for the data size of the file in S305, and when all the data is transferred, a file is generated and stored in the HD 257.

When the file transfer is completed, in S307, the PC 201 issues a message indicating that the transfer has been performed normally to the imaging apparatus 100. Upon receiving the notification in S307, the imaging apparatus 100 releases the area secured in the buffer unit 115 and notifies the PC 201 that the transfer procedure has been completed.
When a plurality of files are transferred, the above steps S303 to S308 are repeated to transfer all the files to be transferred.

  As described above, the image capturing apparatus 100 can use the captured image of the image capturing apparatus 100 on the PC 201 by transferring the target file recorded on the recording medium 152 to the PC 201. At this time, the image file previously captured as RAW + JPEG at the time of image capture by the image capturing apparatus 100 is maintained in the transfer destination HD 257 as a file having the same file name but different extension only. The program controls file management.

<Explanation of sequence diagram for simultaneous transfer development>
Next, with reference to the sequence diagram of FIG. 4, an operation of saving the RAW file of the present embodiment as RAW + JPEG when the RAW file is developed by the imaging apparatus 100 at the time of transfer and transferred to the HD 257 in the PC 201 will be described. .

  4, when the connection between the communication unit 153 of the imaging apparatus 100 and the communication port 256 of the PC 201 is established as in FIG. 3, the application program is activated on the PC 201, and a file list acquisition request is issued from the PC 201 in S301. When a file list acquisition request is issued, the image capturing apparatus 100 enumerates file information such as still image files, moving image files, and RAW files recorded on the recording medium 152, and the file name, file size, file handle, etc. File list information including the information is created and notified to the PC 201 in S302. By analyzing the list contents notified in S302, it can be determined whether the target file recorded in the recording medium 152 is a JPEG file, a RAW file, a RAW + JPEG file, or a moving image file.

  Since the RAW file is the only file for which RAW + JPEG is generated at the time of transfer, the following sequence is applied only when transferring a RAW file, and the transfer sequence described with reference to FIG. 3 is executed for other files.

  When transfer of the RAW file is detected, a file handle is designated in S403, and a file development request is issued from the PC 201. At this time, the resolution and compression rate of the JPEG file to be used as a set file may be designated from the PC 201 side. When a file development request is issued, the image capturing apparatus 100 reads the target file data from the recording medium 152 and expands it to the buffer unit 115, notifies the PC 201 in S404, and the RAW decompression unit 114, as shown in S405, The compressed RAW file stored in the unit 115 is read, decompressed into RAW image data, and decoded. The RAW image data decoded by the RAW decompression unit 114 is supplied to the high image quality development unit 112 of the development unit 110 and development is started. The development parameters at this time are the same as those at the time of shooting, and the parameter values are notified to the PC 201 as events in S406.

  Although not used in the present embodiment, if it is known in advance that the shooting parameter needs to be changed before execution of the transfer, the development parameter desired to be changed is issued to the imaging apparatus 100 after receiving S406. It is also possible to transfer RAW + JPEG that is not set at the time of shooting to the PC 201. In this case, the RAW file may be accompanied by a recipe with changed development parameters.

  Upon receiving the notification in S404, the PC 201 performs RAW file transfer in S407 to S409 in the same manner as S305 to S307 described in FIG.

  Since the RAW image data has a large capacity, it is possible to avoid duplicative reading from the recording medium 152 and improve performance by sharing the information stored in the reading buffer unit 115 from the recording medium 152 in this way. In addition, the memory consumption of the buffer unit 115 can be effectively utilized.

  In addition, by performing development processing in parallel with RAW file transfer to an external device, a large time difference occurs between the time when the RAW file and the JPEG file already stored on the recording medium 152 are specified by specifying RAW + JPEG as the recording image quality at the time of shooting. Transfer of RAW files and JPEG files can be achieved without doing so.

  In parallel with the transfer, the development process started in step S405 is the image data developed by the development unit 110 in step S410. The image data is compressed and encoded by the still image compression unit 141 according to a known encoding method such as JPEG. In this case, a still image file is generated, but is not recorded in the recording medium 152, and a file handle is virtually generated in the buffer unit 115 and notified to the PC 201 as an event including file information such as a file size. The notification event of S410 may be in the middle of S407 to S409 during RAW file transfer.

  In response to the notification in S410, the PC 201 performs JPEG file transfer in S411 to S413. The JPEG file transferred at this time is an application program that manages that it is a group file, such as a file that has the same file name as the RAW file that was transferred in S407 to S409, generated and saved on the HD 257, and only has a different extension. Control file management.

  When the transfer of the RAW file and the JPEG file is completed in this way, in S414, the fact that the transfer has been normally performed is issued from the PC 201 to the imaging apparatus 100. Upon receiving the notification in S414, the imaging apparatus 100 releases the area secured in the buffer unit 115, releases the buffer unit 115 and work memory secured for the JPEG file in S415, and informs the PC 201 that the transfer procedure is completed in S416. Notice.

  When a plurality of files are transferred, the above steps S403 to S416 are repeated in the same manner to achieve the transfer of all the files to be transferred.

100 imaging device, 161 control unit, 162 operation unit

Claims (2)

Imaging means for capturing a subject image and generating RAW image data;
Developing means for performing development processing on the raw image data to generate developed image data;
Recording means for recording at least one of the RAW image data and the developed image data on a recording medium;
Having communication means for communicating with an external device;
When transferring the RAW image data from the imaging device to the external device via the communication means, the developed RAW image data is subjected to development processing to generate developed image data. The developed image data generated at this time is also transferred to the external device, so that the raw image data and the developed image data are stored as a set file in the storage destination of the external device. Transfer device. The information transfer apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the development processing of the RAW image data to be transferred generates developed image data in parallel with the transfer processing to be transferred.