JP4696614B2 - Image display control device and program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image display control device (so-called electronic album device) that stores a plurality of images and reproduces and displays on a display device an image selected so that a desired image can be selected from a list of selected images. The image display technology in (1).

  When outputting (printing or displaying) a plurality of captured images as a thumbnail (reduced image) list or an index list (for example, patents), adjusting the image posture so that each image becomes an upright image Reference 1).

In addition, there is a technique (for example, see Patent Document 2) that automatically displays an upright image based on top and bottom information at the time of shooting.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-43736 JP-A-10-173984

  Images taken by a camera usually have different vertical and horizontal sizes (usually an aspect ratio of 4: 3, that is, a ratio of horizontal 4: vertical 3). However, in the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, a horizontal image (for example, an aspect ratio of 4: 3) How to capture images with different vertical and horizontal sizes when the subject of an image taken with a camera with a frame size of 3 is recorded as a horizontally long image (right or left) There was a problem that it was not disclosed how to handle it.

  In the technique disclosed in Patent Document 2, since the top and bottom information is added at the time of shooting, the landscape image can be erected, but the erected image is a vertically long image (aspect ratio 4: 3 (horizontal image of 3) is rotated 90 ° (vertical image with an aspect ratio of 3: 4 (horizontal 3: vertical 4)). Therefore, an image recorded with a mixture of portrait and landscape images taken at different times. When the reduced images are generated and displayed as a list, there is a problem that the horizontally long image 101 and the vertically long image 102 are mixed and a useless space 103 is generated as shown in FIG.

  As a method of arranging multiple images so that there is no wasted space when displaying images with different aspect ratios upright and displaying them as a list, all images are displayed in either a portrait or landscape format. A method is conceivable. In the case of unifying a horizontally long image, to convert an upright vertically long image into a horizontally long image, (A): a method of converting the entire vertically long image into a horizontally long shape, and (B): from a vertically long image to a horizontally long image It is conceivable to cut out the partial images.

(A); Furthermore, as a method of expressing the entire vertically long image by converting it into a horizontally long shape, the vertically long image is reduced to a horizontally long shape while maintaining the vertically long shape, and the shape of the entire vertically long image is expanded horizontally. There is a method to make it horizontally long, but the former is difficult to see because the image is too small, and there is a problem that wasteful space is generated (left and right margins are created), and in the latter, the image is deformed because it stretches horizontally There is a problem that it becomes (distorted) and becomes an unnatural pattern.
(B): In the method of cutting out a partial image from a vertically long image to a horizontally long image, there is a problem of which portion of the vertically long shape is cut out, and although the method of cutting out the central portion is technically easy, it is photographed. When the subject is a person, there is a problem that the face is cut off in the middle and the original image is not understood.

Further, even in the case of unifying the vertically long image, there is a problem similar to the case (1) described above.
In other words, when all the images displayed in the list are horizontally long images, the horizontally long image is displayed in full, but the vertical image is cut off about half of the vertical direction, and conversely all the images displayed in the list are vertically long images. The vertical image is displayed in full, but the horizontal image is cut off about half in the horizontal direction, so the image displayed in the list will be unbalanced regardless of the image shape. there were.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and provides an image display control apparatus and a program that can display erect images of images having different aspect ratios without causing useless space. Objective.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, according to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image display control device for reproducing image data recorded in a storage memory and displaying the reproduced image on the image display device. An in-focus position acquiring means for acquiring an in-focus position; an image extracting means for extracting a square image of the maximum size from the reproduced image with reference to the in-focus position acquired by the in-focus position acquiring means; and an image extracting means Display control means for causing the image display device to display the cut-out square image, and the in-focus position acquisition means performs the reproduction when in-focus position data is not associated with the reproduced image. Provided is an image display control device characterized in that a center position of an image is acquired as a focus position.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the image data is associated with in-focus position data selected from a plurality of in-focus positions at the time of photographing and used for automatic in-focus, and in-focus position acquisition means The image display control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the in-focus position of the reproduced image is acquired based on the in-focus position data associated with the reproduced image .

Further, the invention according to claim 3 further includes a reduced image generating means for generating a reduced image from the square image cut out by the previous image cutting means, and the display control means is generated by the reduced image generating means. The reduced image is displayed as a list on the image display device, and the image display control device according to claim 1 is provided .

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image display control device for reproducing image data recorded in a storage memory and displaying the reproduced image on the image display device, wherein a plurality of in-focus points are obtained when the image data is captured. When there is in-focus position data selected from the possible positions and associated with the image data, in-focus position acquisition means for acquiring the in-focus position of the reproduced image from the in-focus position data, and in-focus position acquisition Image cutting means for cutting out a square image of the maximum size from the reproduced image with reference to the in-focus position acquired by the means, and reduced image generation for generating a reduced image from the square image cut out by the image cutting means And display control means for displaying a list of reduced images generated by the reduced image generating means on the image display device, and the in-focus position acquiring means is provided with an in-focus position for the reproduced image. If over data is not associated with, to provide an image display control apparatus characterized by obtaining a center position of the reproduction image as a focus position.

Further, in the invention according to claim 7 , the reduced image generating means has means for erecting the reproduced image based on the erecting discrimination data associated with the reproduced image. An image display control device described in item 4 is provided .

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the image data recorded in the storage memory is reproduced by the computer of the image display control device that reproduces the image data recorded in the storage memory and displays the reproduced image on the image display device. A function for playing back data, a function for acquiring the in-focus position of the playback image, a function for cutting out a square image of the maximum size from the playback image based on the acquired focus position, and a cut-out square image And a program for realizing the function to be displayed on the image display device.

According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, the computer of the image display control device that reproduces the image data recorded in the storage memory and displays the reproduced image on the image display device has a plurality of in-focus points when photographing the image data. When there is in-focus position data selected from the possible positions and associated with the image data, a function for acquiring the in-focus position of the reproduction image of the maximum size from the in-focus position data, and the acquired in-focus position In order to realize a function of cutting out a square image from a reproduced image based on the above, a function of generating a reduced image from the cut out square image, and a function of displaying the generated reduced image in a list on an image display device Provide a program.

  According to the present invention, since a square image cut out based on a focus position selected from a plurality of focusable positions at the time of shooting and used for automatic focusing is displayed, excess images are cut off and shooting is performed. Since only the shooting target focused by the photographer is positioned at the approximate center of the square, an image in which the shooting target focused by the photographer is clear can be displayed. In addition, when displaying a plurality of images on an image display device, even if a plurality of images having different aspect ratios are mixed, each image is cut out as a square image centered on the in-focus position. Even if the original image is a portrait image or a landscape image, a balanced image can be displayed. In addition, since a square image is cut out with reference to the in-focus position, the user can easily read the characteristics of the displayed image.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic explanatory diagram of a square image cutting method according to the present invention. FIG. 1 (a) shows a horizontally long image, and FIG. 1 (b) shows a square image cut out. In FIG. 1, a horizontally long image 81 is an image taken by a camera having a multi-focus AF (autofocus by a plurality of focal points) function. For the sake of explanation, the camera has three in-focus positions (AF1 to AF3) as shown in FIG. 4, and the in-focus position of the horizontally long image 81 is set to AF1, as shown in the figure, and the user takes a picture while paying attention to the dog 82. Shall be. At this time, the horizontally long image 81 is cut out as a square-shaped image 85 with the short side 83 of the horizontally long image 81 as a center length L, with the in-focus position AF1 as the center. By cutting out in this way, it is easy to see without creating a wasteful space when displaying the list, and images that clearly show the photographer's intention to shoot can be displayed as a list of reduced images or index images.

FIG. 2 is an external view of an embodiment of a digital camera as an example of an image display control apparatus according to the present invention.
In FIG. 2, the digital camera 1 has an imaging lens 2 on the front side as shown in FIG. Further, as shown in FIG. 2B, a mode dial 3, a liquid crystal monitor screen 4, a cursor key 5, a SET key 6 and the like are provided on the back of the digital camera 1. Further, as shown in FIG. 2C, a zoom lever 7, a shutter key 8, and a power button 9 are provided on the upper surface, and although not shown, a personal computer (hereinafter referred to as a personal computer) or a modem is provided on the side. A USB terminal connection unit used when connecting the apparatus to a USB cable is provided.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an embodiment of the electronic circuit configuration of the digital camera shown in FIG. In FIG. 3, the digital camera 1 is a lens that constitutes an imaging lens 2 including an AF driving unit 11 that moves a focus lens 12 to perform a focusing operation in a photographing mode that is a basic mode, and a zoom lens and a focus lens 12. Optical system, CCD 13 as image pickup device, timing generator (TG) 14, vertical driver 15, sample hold circuit (S / H) 16, A / D converter 17, color process circuit 18, DMA (Direct Memory Access) controller 19, DRAM interface (I / F) 20, DRAM 21, vertical / horizontal detection unit 22, reduced image generation unit 23, storage memory 24, control unit 25, JPEG circuit 26, VRAM 27, VRAM controller 28, digital video encoder 29, display unit 30 The key input unit 31 and the like are provided. Moreover, you may make it provide the audio | voice output part (not shown) which outputs a warning and notification information.

  In the monitoring state in the shooting mode, the AF drive unit 11 drives a focus lens drive motor (not shown) to move the focus lens 12. A CCD 13, which is an image sensor disposed behind the photographic optical axis of the optical system 12 constituting the imaging lens 2, is scanned and driven by a timing generator (TG) 14 and a vertical driver 15, and is formed at regular intervals. The photoelectric conversion output corresponding to is output for one screen.

  The CCD 13 is a solid-state imaging device that captures a two-dimensional image of a subject, and typically captures an image of several tens of frames per second. The imaging element is not limited to a CCD, and may be a solid-state imaging device such as a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor).

  The photoelectric conversion output is appropriately gain-adjusted for each primary color component of RGB in the state of an analog value signal, sampled and held by a sample hold circuit (S / H) 16, and digital data by an A / D converter 17. The color process circuit 18 performs color process processing including image interpolation processing and γ correction processing in the color process circuit 18 to generate a digital luminance signal Y and color difference signals Cb and Cr, and a DMA (Direct Memory Access) controller 19. Is output.

  The DMA controller 19 uses the luminance signal Y and the color difference signals Cb and Cr output from the color process circuit 18 by using the composite synchronization signal, the memory write enable signal, and the clock signal from the color process circuit 18 as well as a DRAM interface. DMA transfer is performed via the (I / F) 20 to the DRAM 21 used as a buffer memory.

  The vertical / horizontal detection unit 22 includes a tilt sensor that detects the tilt angle of the camera, and sends the detection result to the control unit 25. Further, the reduced image generation unit 23 cuts out a square image based on the in-focus position under the control of the control unit 25, and generates the reduced image. The reduced image generation unit 23 may be configured as a program module or subprogram of the square reduced image list operation program.

  The control unit 25 is responsible for the overall control operation of the digital camera 1, and is executed by the CPU or MPU (hereinafter referred to as CPU) and the CPU including image display operation control in the playback mode as will be described later. It is composed of a program storage memory such as a flash memory in which a program is fixedly stored, a RAM used as a work memory, etc., and after the DMA transfer of the luminance and color difference signals to the DRAM 21, the luminance and color difference signals are transferred to the DRAM interface. The data is read out from the DRAM 21 through 20 and written into the VRAM 27 through the VRAM controller 28.

  The control unit 25 also extracts processing programs and menu data corresponding to each mode stored in a program storage memory such as a flash memory in response to the status signal from the key input unit 31, and For execution control of other functions, for example, when displaying a list of images, cutting out a square image based on the in-focus position of the captured image, generating an upright reduced image, displaying a list of generated reduced images, etc. In addition to related control, it performs execution control such as through display, automatic focusing, shooting, recording, and playback / display of recorded images, function selection menu display control at the time of function selection, setting screen display control, etc. .

  The digital video encoder 29 periodically reads out the luminance and color difference signals from the VRAM 27 via the VRAM controller 28, generates a video signal based on these data, and outputs the video signal to the display unit 30.

  As described above, the display unit 30 functions as a monitor display unit (electronic finder) in the shooting mode. By performing display based on the video signal from the digital video encoder 29, the display unit 30 receives from the VRAM controller 28 at that time. An image based on the stored image information is displayed on the liquid crystal monitor screen 4 in real time.

  When there is a focus instruction (half-press of the shutter key 8 in the present embodiment), the control unit 25 sends a drive control signal to the AF drive unit 11 to move the focus lens 12 of the lens optical system 12 to move a plurality of focus positions ( In this embodiment, a focusing (AF) operation is performed so as to focus on any one of AF1 to AF3), and shooting is performed when there is an imaging instruction (in this embodiment, the shutter key 8 is fully pressed) (that is, Immediately after that, the path from the CCD 13 to the DRAM 21 is stopped and switching to the CCD driving system at the time of actual photographing different from that at the time of through image acquisition is executed), and the state is shifted to the recording / saving state.

  In this storage recording state, the control unit 25 outputs the luminance and color difference signals for one frame written in the DRAM 21 through the DRAM interface 20 for each of Y, Cb, and Cr components of 8 pixels × 8 pixels horizontally. Are read out in units called basic blocks and written into a JPEG (Joint Photograph Cording Experts Group) circuit 27. The JPEG circuit 26 uses ADCT (Adaptive Discrete Cosine Transform) and a Huffman code which is an entropy coding system. Data compression is performed by processing such as conversion.

  The obtained code data is read from the JPEG circuit 26 and recorded as a data file of one image in the storage memory 24 which is a recording medium of the digital camera 1, and the luminance and color difference signals for one frame are compressed and stored in the storage memory 24. As the compressed data is written, the control unit 25 activates the path from the CCD 13 to the DRAM 21 again.

The JPEG circuit 26 supports a plurality of compression ratios, and the mode for storing in correspondence with the compression ratio is a mode and compression corresponding to a high resolution (generally called high precision, fine, normal, etc.) with a low compression ratio. There is a high rate low resolution (commonly called economy) mode.
It also supports high to low pixel counts. For example, there are pixel sizes called SXGA (1600 × 1200), XGA (1024 × 786), SVGA (800 × 600), VGA (640 × 480) and the like.

  Further, in the playback mode which is the basic mode, the control unit 25 selectively reads out the image data recorded in the storage memory 24 and is compressed by a procedure completely opposite to the procedure of data compression at the time of shooting by the JPEG circuit 26. The image data is expanded, and the expanded image data is developed and stored in the VRAM 27 via the VRAM controller 28, and then periodically read out from the VRAM 27, and a video signal is generated and displayed based on the image data. The reproduced image is output (= displayed) on the liquid crystal monitor screen 4 of the unit 30.

  The key input unit 31 includes the mode dial 3, the cursor key 5, the SET key 6, the zoom lever 7, the shutter key 8, the power button 9, and the like described above, and signals associated with these key operations are sent directly to the control unit 25. Is done.

  A mode dial 3 is used to switch between a recording mode and a reproduction mode. The cursor key 5 is used to select (designate) a menu or icon displayed on the LCD monitor screen 4 when setting a mode, selecting a menu, or the like, or out of a plurality of in-focus positions displayed in the case of multi-focus. This key is operated when one is selected (selected), and the cursor can be moved up and down or left and right by operating the cursor key 5. The SET key 6 is a key to be pressed when selecting, setting, or confirming the item or position displayed by the cursor key 5.

  The zoom lever 7 is used for zoom operation. In the case of optical zoom, the zoom lens (variable focal length lens) 12-1 is moved to the wide side or the tele side in response to the operation of the zoom lever 7, and the zoom lever 7 is A zoom value is determined corresponding to the operation, the angle of view actually changes following the change of the zoom value, and a wide-angle image or a tele image is displayed on the liquid crystal monitor screen 4. In the case of digital zoom, the zoom value is determined in accordance with the operation of the zoom lever 7, but the actual angle of view does not change, and an image of a size corresponding to the zoom value is trimmed on the liquid crystal monitor screen 4. Is displayed.

  The shutter key 8 performs a release operation at the time of shooting, has a stroke of two steps, and performs auto focus (AF) and automatic exposure (AE) by the first step operation (half-pressed state). And a shooting instruction signal for performing a shooting process in the second-stage operation (fully pressed state).

  FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of the multi-focus area. FIG. 4A is an example of a focus position (focus area) displayed on the liquid crystal monitor screen 4 when shooting a horizontally long image, and three focus positions AF1 (left). ), AF2 (center), and AF3 (right) are translucently displayed. FIG. 4B is an example of a focus position displayed on the liquid crystal monitor screen 4 when shooting a horizontally long image. The three focus positions AF1 (upper), AF2 (center), and AF3 (lower) are semi-transmissive. Is displayed. In this example, three in-focus positions are arranged in a horizontal row and a vertical row, but the number and arrangement of the in-focus positions are not limited to this example.

  When the shutter key 8 is pressed halfway during shooting, the in-focus operation is started. However, when the in-focus state is set at any of AF1 to AF3, the shutter key 8 can be fully pressed, and the shutter key 8 When the full pressing operation is performed, the photographing process is performed. At this time, the vertical and horizontal flags for determining the vertical and horizontal directions of the camera and the in-focus position are stored in association with the image file.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of shooting information stored in a storage memory in association with an image file. In this embodiment, shooting information 50 is embedded in each image file as EXIF (Exchangeable Image File Format) data. However, the method of associating the image with the shooting information is not limited to this.
As shown in FIG. 5, the shooting information 50 includes a file number 51, date and time 52, vertical / horizontal flag 53, in-focus position 54, and image size 55 of the captured image. Here, the default value of the vertical / horizontal flag 53 is “0”, meaning “horizontal”, and “1” means vertical. The default position of the in-focus position 54 is the center (“AF2”). The image size 55 stores a pixel size (for example, any one of 1600 × 1200 pixels, 1024 × 786 pixels, 800 × 600 pixels, and 640 × 480 pixels) set at the time of shooting.

  FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a method for extracting a square image from a horizontally long image. FIG. 6 (a) is a diagram visually showing the arrangement of reproduced images on the work area, and FIG. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a square image cutting method when the focal position is AF1 (FIG. 4A), and FIG. 6C is an explanatory diagram of a square image cutting method when the focusing position is AF2. FIG. 6D is an explanatory diagram of a method for extracting a square image when the in-focus position is AF3.

  In FIG. 6A, a reference numeral 60, that is, a horizontally long rectangle (rectangle) surrounded by symbols A, B, C, and D means a photographed image of 640 × 480 pixels, and reference numeral 61, that is, a symbol A. A rectangle surrounded by ', B', C ', D' means a standard image area having an aspect ratio of 4: 3, and is surrounded by reference numeral 61, that is, symbols A ", B", C ", D". The rectangular shape (rectangle) means a wide image area having an aspect ratio of 16: 9. Here, the symbol W means the horizontal length of the photographed image, the symbol H means the length of the photographed image in the vertical direction, and the coordinates of the rectangles A, B, C, and D have A as the origin, A (0, 0), B (0, H), C (W, H), and D (0, W). In this example, W> H.

  FIG. 6B shows the captured image 60 shown in FIG. 6A and shows a square image 61-1 cut out when the in-focus position is AF1 (FIG. 4A). 61-1 is cut out as a square image having the shorter length H of the sides of the captured image 60 as the side. That is, as shown in the drawing, the square portion surrounded by the coordinates (0, 0), (0, H), (H, H), (H, 0) so that the left focus position AF1 is in the center. Is cut out.

  6C shows the captured image 60 shown in FIG. 6A, and shows a square image 61-2 cut out when the in-focus position is AF2, and the image 61-2 shows the captured image 60. Is cut out as a square image having the shorter side length H as the side. That is, as shown in the drawing, the coordinates ((W−H) / 2, 0), (0, H), ((W + H) / 2, H), A square portion surrounded by ((W + H) / 2, 0) is cut out.

  FIG. 6D shows the captured image shown in FIG. 6A, and shows a square image 61-3 cut out when the in-focus position is AF3. It is cut out as a square image with the side length H of the shorter side out of the side lengths. That is, as shown in the drawing, the right focus position AF3 is in the center, and the coordinates (WH, 0), (WH, H), (W, H), (W, 0) are used. The enclosed square is cut out.

  FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of a method for extracting a square image from a vertically long image. FIG. 7A is a diagram visually showing the arrangement of reproduced images on the work area, and FIG. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of a method for extracting a square image when the focal position is AF1 (FIG. 4B), and FIG. 7C is an explanatory diagram for a method for extracting a square image when the focal position is AF2. FIG. 7D is an explanatory diagram of a method for extracting a square image when the in-focus position is AF3.

  In FIG. 7A, a vertically long rectangle surrounded by reference numeral 70, that is, symbols 符号, Β, Γ, and Δ (rectangle represented by a broken line) is a horizontal image of 640 × 480 pixels (for vertical shooting). The rectangle surrounded by the reference numeral 71, that is, the symbols Α ′, Β ′, Γ ′, and Δ ′, is a vertically long image obtained by rotating the horizontally oriented image 70 leftward by 90 °. It means an image (upright image) area. Here, if the symbol W means the horizontal length of the erect image and the symbol H means the vertical length of the erect image, the coordinates of the rectangles Α ′, Β ′, Γ ′, Δ ′ are If Α is the origin, Α ′ (0, 0), Β ′ (0, H), Γ ′ (W, H), Δ ′ (0, W) are obtained. In this example, W <H.

  FIG. 7B shows the upright image 71 shown in FIG. 7A, which is a square image 72-1 cut out when the in-focus position is AF1, and the image 72-1 is upright. The image 71 is cut out as a square image having the shorter side length W of the sides of the image 71 as the side. That is, as shown in the figure, the square portion surrounded by the coordinates (0, 0), (0, W), (W, W), (W, 0) with the upper focus position AF1 being the center. Is cut out.

  FIG. 7C shows the upright image 71 shown in FIG. 7A, which is a square image 72-2 cut out when the in-focus position is AF2, and the image 72-2 is upright. The image 71 is cut out as a square image having the shorter side length W of the sides of the image 71 as the side. That is, as illustrated, the coordinates ((H−W) / 2, 0), (0, H), (W, (W + H) / 2), A square portion surrounded by (W, (W−H) / 2) is cut out.

  FIG. 7D shows the upright image 71 shown in FIG. 7A, and shows a square image 72-3 cut out when the in-focus position is AF3. The image 72-3 is upright. The image 71 is cut out as a square image having the shorter side H of the sides as the side. That is, as shown in the drawing, the coordinates (0, WH), (0, H), C (W, H), and D (W, H-W) are set so that the right focus position AF3 becomes the center. The enclosed square is cut out.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an example of the shooting control operation of the digital camera and the list display control operation of the recorded image. This flowchart is a program for causing the digital camera 1 to realize the list display function of the reduced square image according to the present invention. It is for explaining.
The processing shown below will be basically explained by an example in which the control unit 25 executes in accordance with a program stored in advance in a program memory such as a flash memory. However, it is not necessary to store all functions in the program memory. Alternatively, a part or all of them may be received via a network. Hereinafter, description will be given with reference to FIGS.

  When the digital camera 1 is activated, the user operates the mode dial 3 to select a processing mode. Therefore, the control unit 25 examines a signal from the key input unit 31. If the recording mode is selected, step S2 is performed. If the playback mode is selected, the process proceeds to step S18. If another mode is selected, the execution of the selected other processing mode is controlled. If the end operation is performed, the recording mode is selected. Is finished (step S1).

  When the recording mode is selected, the control unit 25 sends data indicating selectable image sizes and message data for prompting the user to select a photographed image size to be displayed on the liquid crystal monitor screen 4, and is selected by the user. When the user operates the cursor key 5 to select the displayed captured image size, the size value is stored in the RAM, and the process proceeds to step S3. If the SET key 6 is simply pressed, the standard image size is held (step S2).

  Next, the control unit 25 executes AE processing at a focal length corresponding to the zoom value at that time, obtains image data from the CCD 13, and achieves white balance corresponding to the color of the light source by automatic white balance (AWB) processing. A video obtained by performing the DMA transfer to the DRAM 21 through the coordinate conversion unit 18, the DMA controller 19 and the DRAM interface (I / F) 20 after the color process circuit 18 is adjusted, and the VAM 27 is thinned out from the image data from the CCD 13. The through image is rewritten with the through image data, and the through image is displayed on the liquid crystal monitor screen 4 of the display unit 26 with the image size set in step S1. At this time, the focus positions AF1, AF2, and AF3 are displayed semi-transparently on the liquid crystal monitor screen 4 in accordance with the direction of the camera (see FIG. 4) (step S3).

  The control unit 25 checks the signal from the key input unit 31, and proceeds to step S6 if the shutter key 8 is half-pressed, and returns to step S3 if it is not depressed (step S4).

  Since the user can designate the in-focus position by operating the cursor key 5, the control unit 25 checks the signal from the key input unit 31. If the in-focus position AF3 is designated, the process proceeds to step S7, and the in-focus position AF1. When the focus position AF2 is specified or when the operation of specifying the focus position with the cursor key 5 is not performed (default focus position = AF2), the process proceeds to step S9. (Step S6).

  The control unit 25 controls the AF driving unit 11 so that the in-focus position AF1 is in focus and performs an automatic focusing process, that is, performs a focusing operation by moving the focus lens and performs an aperture control to perform the focusing process. When is finished, the in-focus position is locked and the process proceeds to step S10. Although not shown, the through image is displayed even during the focusing operation (step S7).

  The control unit 25 controls the AF driving unit 11 so as to focus on the in-focus position AF3, and performs an automatic focusing process, that is, performs a focusing operation by moving the focus lens and performs an aperture control to perform the focusing process. When is finished, the in-focus position is locked and the process proceeds to step S10. Although not shown, the through image is displayed even during the focusing operation (step S8).

  The control unit 25 controls the AF driving unit 11 so that the in-focus position AF2 is in focus and performs an automatic focusing process, that is, performs a focusing operation by moving the focus lens and performs an aperture control to perform the focusing process. When is finished, the in-focus position is locked and the process proceeds to step S10. Although not shown, the through image is displayed even during the focusing operation (step S9).

  The control unit 25 checks the signal from the key input unit 31 to determine whether or not the shutter key 8 has been fully pressed, and if the shutter key 8 has been fully pressed, the process proceeds to step S11 (step S10).

  When the shutter key 8 is fully pressed, the path from the CCD 13 to the DRAM 21 is immediately stopped at that time, and switching to the CCD drive system at the time of actual photographing, which is different from that at the time of through image acquisition, is performed. While capturing (step S11), an EXIF file including the captured image size and shooting date and time set in step S2 and the in-focus position acquired in step S9 is generated (step S12).

  The control unit 25 also examines the signal from the vertical / horizontal detection unit 22, and proceeds to step S14 if the camera is in the horizontal position (state in which the camera is held horizontally) based on the tilt angle. If the camera is in the horizontal position (step S13), if the camera is in the horizontal position, the value of the vertical / horizontal flag 53 of the EXIF file generated in step S12 is set to “0” and the process proceeds to step S16 (step S16). Step S14). If the camera is in the vertical position, the value of the vertical / horizontal flag 53 of the EXIF file generated in S12 is set to “1”, and the process proceeds to step S16 (step S15).

  The control unit 25 associates the EXIF file generated in steps S12 to S14 with the image data captured in step S11, and then performs image compression processing in the JPEG circuit 26 (step S16). It records in the storage memory 24 and returns to step S1 (step S17).

  When the playback mode is selected, the control unit 25 further checks whether the selected playback mode is a reduced image list display mode (such as a thumbnail display mode) or a normal playback mode. The process proceeds to step S19, and in the normal playback mode, the process proceeds to step S21. If the user performs an end operation, the playback mode is ended (step S18).

  When the reduced image list reproduction mode is selected, the control unit 25 performs a reduced image list display process as shown in FIG. 9 (cutting out a square image with one side of a short side out of vertical and horizontal sides as an upright image. (Step S19), the signal from the key input unit 31 is examined, and if the reproduction mode is changed, the process returns to Step S18. If not, the process returns to step S19 (step S20).

  When the normal view reproduction mode is selected, the control unit 25 performs normal reproduction processing to cause the display unit 26 to reproduce and display the selected image (step S21), examines the signal from the key input unit 31, and reproduces the selected image. If a mode change operation has been performed, the process returns to step S18, and if not, the process returns to step S21 (step S22).

  By the operation shown in the flowchart of FIG. 8 above, the digital camera 1 generates a square-shaped reduced image centered on the in-focus position from the image that has been erected by determining the length and width of the image in the playback mode and displayed as a list. Therefore, since the square upright images are arranged in the list display area on the screen with almost no gap, there is no useless space on the screen, and the display area can be used effectively. In addition, since the square image centered at the in-focus position is displayed in a reduced size, the shooting object that the photographer was paying attention to becomes clear, and the photographer's intention to capture is clearly arranged in a square shape. Therefore, it is easy to see a reduced image and to select an image.

  Further, in step S6 of the flowchart of FIG. 8, the default value of the focus position is set to AF2 (center), and AF2 (center) is set to the focus position when there is no operation for specifying the focus position. It is possible to reduce and display a square image cut out based on the in-focus position for an image captured by an imaging device that does not have an in-focus position or an image in which in-focus position data is not associated with image data. it can.

  Further, in step S19 in the flowchart of FIG. 8, a square image having one short side among the vertical and horizontal sides is cut out, but a square image having the maximum size that can be displayed in the display area is cut out. May be.

  FIG. 9 is a detailed flowchart of the reduced image list display processing operation of the flowchart shown in FIG. 8. The operations in steps S19-16 and S19-17 correspond to the operation of the reduced image generation unit 23 (FIG. 3). . Note that the operations of steps S19-16 and S19-17 may be performed by a program instead of the reduced image generation unit 23.

  When the playback mode is the reduced image list display mode in step S18 of the flowchart of FIG. 8, the control unit 25 reads the compressed image file recorded in the storage memory 24 and decompresses the compressed data to the JPEG circuit 26 in FIG. Processing is performed (step S19-1), and the decompressed image data is drawn (bitmap development) in the work area of the DRAM 21 with the same size as the image size included in the associated EXIF file ( Step S19-2).

  The control unit 25 checks the value of the vertical / horizontal flag included in the EXIF file. If the vertical / horizontal flag = “1”, the control unit 25 determines that the image is a landscape image (that is, an image taken vertically) and proceeds to step S19-4. If "0", the process proceeds to step S19-5 (step S19-3). In the case of a landscape image, the landscape image area drawn in the work area of the DRAM 21 in step S19-2 is rotated 90 ° to the left as shown in FIG. The image (upright image) is again drawn (bitmap development) in the work area (step S19-4).

  Next, the control unit 25 obtains the vertical length (H) and the horizontal length (W) of the rectangular image area drawn in the work area (step S19-5), and includes the result included in the EXIF file. The focal position is acquired (step S19-6), and the vertical / horizontal flag is checked again. If the vertical / horizontal flag value is “0”, the image is determined to be a horizontally long image, and the process proceeds to step S19-8. The process proceeds to step S19-12 (step S19-7).

  In the case of a horizontally long image, the control unit 25 checks the in-focus position acquired in step S19-6. If the in-focus position is AF1 (left in the example of FIG. 4A), the process proceeds to step S19-9. In the case of AF3 (right), the process proceeds to step S19-10, and in the case of AF2 (center), the process proceeds to step S19-11 (step S19-8).

If the focus position of the horizontally long image of AF1, the control unit 25 identifies the coordinates (0, 0) in the work area advances to step S19-16 (Step S19- 9), a work area in the case of AF3 to identify the coordinates (W-H, 0) of the inner flow advances to step S19-16 (step S19- 10), identifying the coordinates of the work area in case of AF2 ((W-H) / 2,0) the process proceeds to step S19-16 Te (step S19- 11).

  In the case of a vertically long image, the control unit 25 checks the in-focus position acquired in step S19-6. If the in-focus position is AF1 (upper in the example of FIG. 4B), step S19-13. In the case of AF3 (down), the process proceeds to step S19-14, and in the case of AF2 (center), the process proceeds to step S19-15 (step S19-12).

  If the in-focus position of the vertically long image is AF1, the control unit 25 identifies the coordinates (0, 0) in the work area and proceeds to step S19-16 (step S19-13). If AF3, the control area 25 The coordinates (0, H-W) are specified and the process proceeds to step S19-16 (step S19-4). In the case of AF2, the coordinates (0, (H-W) / 2) in the work area are specified. The process proceeds to step S19-16 (step S19-15).

  The control unit 25 gives the reduced image generation unit 23 (FIG. 3) as the left end point the coordinate specified in any of the above steps S19-9 to S19-11 or any of the above steps S19-13 to S19-15. As shown in FIG. 6 (b) to FIG. 6 (d) or FIG. 7 (b) to FIG. 7 (d), the image of the square area is cut out (step S19-16), and the image of the cut out area is predetermined. The reduced image reduced to the size (for example, the size of the thumbnail image) is generated (step S19-17).

  The control unit 25 reads out the reduced image generated by the reduced image generation unit 23 in step S19-17 from the DRAM 21 via the DRAM interface 20, and sets the display position on the display line of the list display screen of the VRAM 27 via the VRAM controller 28. The data is written and displayed on the monitor screen 4 of the display unit 30 (step S19-18).

  Next, the control unit 25 checks whether or not the list-displayable number of reduced images have been displayed. If the number of displayable images is less than the list-displayable number, the control unit 25 returns to step S19-1 to extract the next image. When the reduced image is displayed, the process proceeds to step S20 in the flowchart of FIG. 8 (step S19-19).

  FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a list display example of thumbnail images according to the prior art. As shown in the figure, a horizontally long image 101 and a vertically long image 102 are mixedly displayed on the list display screen, and a useless space 103 is generated, which is difficult to see. .

  FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a list display example of reduced images according to the present invention. Since the square upright images 111 are arranged with almost no gap, there is no useless space on the screen. In addition, since the photographer's intention of photographing is clearly arranged and a square shape is arranged, the reduced image is easy to see and the image can be easily selected.

  In the above description of each embodiment, the case of a still image is taken as an example, but the scope of application of the present invention is not limited to a still image. When the present invention is applied to a moving image, a moving image shooting start / end button, a moving image shooting mode and a moving image playback mode are added to the digital camera 1, and MPEG (Motion Picture Experts Group) compression / decompression processing is added to the configuration of FIG. 8 is provided, and the “shooting mode” and “playback mode” are read as “moving picture shooting mode” and “moving picture playback mode” in the flowchart of FIG. 8, and step S16 of the flowchart of FIG. Thus, the moving image is compressed by the MPEG circuit, and the moving image file compressed in step S16 is recorded in the storage memory 24. Furthermore, it is assumed that the moving image file is expanded by the MPEG circuit in step S19-1 in FIG.

  In the description of each of the above embodiments, the digital camera is taken as an example of the image display control device. However, the image display control device is not limited to the digital camera. ) May be a list display device (for example, an electronic album device).

  As mentioned above, although several Example of this invention was described, it cannot be overemphasized that this invention is not limited to said each Example, A various deformation | transformation implementation is possible.

It is outline | summary explanatory drawing of the cutting-out method of the square image concerning this invention. It is a figure which shows the external appearance of one Example of the digital camera as an example of the image display control apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which shows one Example of the electronic circuit structure of a digital camera. It is explanatory drawing of a multi-focus area. It is a figure which shows one Example of the imaging | photography information linked | related with an image file and memorize | stored in a storage memory. It is explanatory drawing of the cutting-out method of the square-shaped image from a horizontally long image. It is explanatory drawing of the cutting-out method of the square-shaped image from a vertically long image. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a shooting control operation of a digital camera and a list display control operation of recorded images. 9 is a detailed flowchart of a reduced image list display processing operation of the flowchart shown in FIG. 8. It is a figure which shows the list display example of the thumbnail image by a prior art. It is a figure which shows the list display example of the reduced image based on this invention.

Explanation of symbols

1 Digital camera (image display controller)
22 Control unit (focus position acquisition means, image cutout means)
23 Reduced image generation unit (reduced image generation means)
24 storage memory 26 display unit (image display device)
53 Vertical / horizontal flag (upright discrimination data)
54 Focus position (focus position data)
55 Image size AF1, AF2, AF3 Focus position

Claims (7)

An image display control device that reproduces image data recorded in a storage memory and displays a reproduced image on an image display device,
A focus position acquisition means for acquiring a focus position of the reproduced image;
Image cutout means for cutting out a square image of the maximum size from the reproduced image with reference to the focus position acquired by the focus position acquisition means;
Display control means for displaying on the image display device a square image cut out by the image cutting means,
The in-focus position acquisition unit acquires the center position of the reproduced image as the in-focus position when in-focus position data is not associated with the reproduced image.   The image data is associated with in-focus position data selected from a plurality of in-focus positions at the time of shooting and used for automatic focusing, and the in-focus position acquisition unit is associated with the reproduced image. The image display control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the in-focus position of the reproduced image is acquired based on in-focus position data.   Reduced image generation means for generating a reduced image from a square image cut out by the image cutout means, and the display control means displays a list of reduced images generated by the reduced image generation means on the image display device. The image display control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: An image display control device that reproduces image data recorded in a storage memory and displays a reproduced image on an image display device,
When there is in-focus position data selected from a plurality of in-focus positions at the time of shooting the image data and associated with the image data, the in-focus position of the reproduced image is acquired from the in-focus position data. Focusing position acquisition means;
Image cutout means for cutting out a square image of the maximum size from the reproduced image with reference to the focus position acquired by the focus position acquisition means;
Reduced image generating means for generating a reduced image from a square-shaped image cut out by the image cutting means;
Display control means for causing the image display device to display a list of reduced images generated by the reduced image generating means,
The in-focus position acquisition unit acquires the center position of the reproduced image as the in-focus position when in-focus position data is not associated with the reproduced image.   5. The image display control apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the reduced image generation means includes means for erecting the reproduced image based on erecting discrimination data associated with the reproduced image. . The computer of the image display control device that reproduces the image data recorded in the storage memory and displays the reproduced image on the image display device, and the combination of the function of reproducing the image data recorded in the storage memory and the reproduction image. A function of acquiring a focal position, a function of cutting out a square image of the maximum size from the reproduced image with reference to the acquired focus position, a function of displaying the cut-out square image on the image display device, A program to realize The image data recorded in the storage memory is reproduced, and the image data selected by the computer of the image display control device for displaying the reproduced image on the image display device is selected from a plurality of focusable positions when the image data is captured. When there is in-focus position data associated with the in-focus position data, the function of acquiring the in-focus position of the reproduced image from the in-focus position data, and the maximum size square shape from the reproduced image with reference to the acquired in-focus position A program for realizing a function of cutting out the image, a function of generating a reduced image from the cut out square-shaped image, and a function of displaying the generated reduced image in a list on the image display device.

Images