JP3765503B2 - Electronic imaging device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an electronic imaging apparatus including a camera unit having a photographing lens and a main body unit having a display device such as a finder and a liquid crystal serving as a monitor.
[0002]
[Prior art]
As one of the electronic imaging devices, a photographing lens and a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) are provided. Further, a liquid crystal display device (Liquid Crystal Display, hereinafter referred to as a viewfinder at the time of image recording and a monitor at the time of image reproduction) There is known a digital still camera with an LCD provided with an LCD monitor).
[0003]
In such a digital still camera with an LCD, a CCD color process for converting a signal from the CCD into a video signal is executed, and a video memory is displayed on the LCD monitor as a view finder, along with a flash memory. It is possible to record an image in a storage unit using the above. Here, the viewfinder monitoring of the image captured by the CCD with the LCD monitor is called “video through display”.
[0004]
By the way, when video through display is performed on an LCD monitor, it is desirable to refresh a screen of several frames or more per second, for example, in order to show the motion of the video through display on the display screen smoothly. In a storage unit such as a flash memory that performs recording, it is also desired to record a captured image with high image quality.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, if such a request is to be realized by hardware, the circuit configuration becomes extremely complicated and expensive in terms of cost.
Therefore, attempts have been made to implement these color process processing by software. However, such software processing has a greater time limit than hardware, and the normal color process requires time. It takes. For this reason, for example, if a screen refresh of several frames or more per second is realized in an attempt to smooth the movement of the video through display on the display screen, the high-speed processing is required, so that the captured image is increased. It is difficult to record the picture quality, also shooting when you try to realize recording in the storage unit the shadow image with high image quality, since the procedure of the process is increased, smooth video through display motion on the display screen There was a problem that it was impossible.
[0006]
The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide an electronic imaging device that can smooth video through display and high quality image recording simultaneously satisfied.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Invention]
The invention described in claim 1 includes an image pickup device , a display means, a compression means, a storage means, and a recording key, and for video-through display on the display means for an image pickup signal output from the image pickup element. Image signal generating means for generating image signals by selectively executing high-speed mode image processing and high-definition mode image processing for recording in the storage means, and the image signal generating means Image signal transfer means for transferring an image signal to the display means , compression means and storage means; and judgment means for judging whether or not the recording key is pressed, wherein the image signal generation means comprises the judgment means Until the recording key is determined to have been pressed, the high-speed mode image processing for video-through display on the display means is performed on the imaging signal to generate a display image signal, and the determination means Image processing switching means for generating a recorded image signal by switching to high-definition mode image processing for recording in the storage means when it is determined that the recording key is further pressed; The display image signal generated by the image signal generation unit is transferred to the display unit until the determination unit determines that the recording key is pressed, and the determination unit determines that the recording key is pressed. The recording image signal generated by the image signal generation unit at the time is transferred to the compression unit and compressed, and then the compressed image signal is transferred to the storage unit. The image processing in the high-speed mode includes at least pixels for the imaging signal. It is configured to include a thinning process.
[0008]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the expansion means for reading and expanding the compressed image signal generated by the image signal generation means, compressed by the compression means, and recorded in the storage means. And a display control means for displaying the recorded image signal expanded by the expansion means on the display means .
[0009]
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the invention, the high-definition mode image processing includes moire balance processing, low-pass filter processing, or edge enhancement processing for the imaging signal.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the first to third aspects, the image signal generating unit includes a temporary storage unit that temporarily stores an imaging signal output from the imaging element. The image signal is generated by executing image processing on the image pickup signal temporarily stored in the temporary storage means .
[0011]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Embodiments of an electronic imaging apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
First, FIG. 1 shows a digital still camera with an LCD as an example of an electronic imaging apparatus to which the present invention is applied. FIGS. 2 and 3 are a rear view and a front view thereof, and FIGS. 4 (a) and 4 (b). Are a plan view and a bottom view, and FIGS. 5 (a) and 5 (b) show one side view and the other side view, respectively.
[0012]
As shown in the figure, the digital still camera with LCD 1 which is an electronic camera device is composed of two blocks divided into a main body 2 and a camera 3.
That is, an LCD 6 is provided in the case 4 of the main body 2, and the LCD 6 is directed to the rear side of the case 4.
[0013]
In addition, a photographic lens 7 is provided at an upper portion in the case 5 of the camera unit 3, and the photographic lens 7 is directed to the front side of the case 5.
The main body 2 includes a power switch 8, a shutter button 9, a delete key 10, a plus key 11, a minus key 12, a mode key 13, a display key 14, a zoom key 15, and a self-timer key 16 on the upper surface of the case 4. In addition, the open / close lid 17 includes an external power supply terminal, a video output terminal, and a digital input / output terminal (not shown).
[0014]
Further, a function switching key 18 is provided on the front surface of the case 4, and a tripod hole 19 is provided on the lower surface of the case 4.
The case 4 of the main body 2 described above is a grip portion 20 having a bulge-shaped grip portion so that the right-hand operation side by the photographer can be easily gripped by the hand, and an open / close type lower surface corresponding to the grip portion 20. A battery lid 21 is provided. The shutter button 9 is located on the upper surface of the grip portion 20.
[0015]
The camera unit 3 includes a focus changeover switch 22 on the side surface of the case 5.
And this camera part 3 is arrange | positioned with respect to the main-body part 2 at the side by the side of the left hand operation by a photographer, and as shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. It is assembled so that it can rotate 180 °.
[0016]
That is, as shown in FIG. 8, a hole 23 is formed in the left side surface of the case 4 of the main body 2, and a hole 24 is also formed in the right side surface of the case 5 of the camera unit 3. In FIG. 24, the main body 2 and the camera 3 are assembled so as to be rotatable around the shaft member through a shaft member (not shown).
[0017]
Further, as shown in FIG. 8, the inside of the grip portion 20 of the case 4 of the main body portion 2 is a battery chamber 25 that is a battery housing portion, that is, four batteries are included in the battery chamber 25. 26, 26, 26, 26 are accommodated.
[0018]
Above these four batteries 26, 26, 26, 26, as shown in FIG. 9, respective battery contact pieces 27, 27, 27, 27 are arranged, and these battery contact pieces 27, 27 are arranged. 27, 27 are attached by soldering directly to the lower surface of the projecting portion 29 projecting into the battery chamber 25 of various switch circuit boards 28 which are circuit boards for power switches and button switches.
[0019]
On the various switch circuit boards 28, the power switch 8, shutter button 9, delete key 10, plus key 11, minus key 12, mode key 13, display key 14, zoom key 15, and self-timer key 16 are mounted. At the same time, wiring by a printed pattern is provided.
[0020]
As shown in FIG. 8, the LCD 6 includes an LCD panel 6 p accommodated in a shield case 30 and a backlight 31 disposed in the case 4 so as to be adjacent to the back side of the shield case 30.
[0021]
Further, an LCD peripheral circuit board 32 is disposed in the case 4 so as to be adjacent to the back side of the backlight 31. The LCD peripheral circuit board 32 has a flexible printed board 33 extending from the LCD panel 6p. And the backlight 31 are also connected.
[0022]
Further, as shown in FIG. 8, a main circuit board 34 is disposed in the case 4 on the side opposite to the LCD 6. The main circuit board 34 has a CPU 35 and other various electronic components such as LSI. 36, 37, 38, and 39 are concentratedly mounted.
[0023]
In the case 5 of the camera unit 3, in addition to the photographing lens 7, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, a CCD 40 and a CCD peripheral circuit board 41 on which the CCD 40 is mounted are housed.
[0024]
A flexible printed circuit board (not shown) extends from the CCD peripheral circuit board 41, and the flexible printed circuit board passes through the shaft member serving as the rotation center of the camera unit 3 in the case 4 of the main body unit 2. It is connected to the circuit board 34.
[0025]
FIG. 10 shows a circuit configuration of the digital still camera with an LCD configured as described above. The CCD 40 that converts a video signal into an electrical signal, the A / D converter 52 that converts an analog signal into a digital signal, and the CCD 40 are driven. A timing generator 53 for generating a timing signal for controlling the driving circuit 54, a compression / expansion circuit 55 for compressing / decompressing the digital image signal by encoding / decoding, a DRAM 56 for temporarily recording the captured digital image signal, The CPU 61 operates based on the program recorded in the flash memory 57 and the ROM 58 for storing the image signal, and the RAM 59 as a work RAM, and operates based on the input from the key input unit 60. To generate a digital video signal by adding Generator 62, VRAM 63 for recording digital video signal, D / A converter 64 for converting digital video signal output from signal generator 62 to analog signal, and analog video signal input through amplifier 65 The LCD 6 displays the image by driving the liquid crystal, and the interface 67 inputs and outputs the image signal converted into the serial signal by the CPU 61.
[0026]
Next, the operation of the embodiment configured as described above will be described.
Now, a timing signal is output from the timing generator 53 at a predetermined cycle to control the drive circuit 54, and an image pickup signal corresponding to the subject image formed by the CCD 40 is taken in. An analog signal is converted into a digital signal by the A / D converter 52. It is converted and temporarily stored in the DRAM 56 as a digital image signal. In this case, the imaging signal from the CCD 40 stored in the DRAM 56 passes through the color filter of the CCD 40 and has color components such as Ye, Cy, and Gr.
[0027]
Then, the CPU 61 executes the flowchart shown in FIG. 11 based on the image pickup signal stored in the DRAM 56, and the image signal for the video through display of the monitor by the image processing in the high speed mode and the image recording by the image processing in the high image quality mode are executed. The image signal for generating is generated.
[0028]
First, in step 201, luminance signal generation processing with a reduced amount of information is executed. In this case, the luminance signal is generated using, for example, only the Ye component of the Ye, Cy, and Gr components of the signal read from the DRAM 56. As shown in FIG. A part of the image pickup signal stored in the image signal is selected, the process proceeds to step 302, and the pre-filter consisting of LPF is applied to the corresponding signal and Ye component data of a total of three pixels from both sides of the corresponding signal. A luminance signal is generated by applying γ correction (because luminance and LDC characteristics are not linear, the luminance and LCD characteristics are corrected in advance so that they are linear when displayed on the LCD). .
[0029]
Returning to FIG. 11, the process proceeds to step 202, and a color signal generation process corresponding to the luminance signal with the reduced amount of information is executed. In this case, as shown in FIG. 6, the generation of the color signal is performed for the Ye, Cy, and G component signals read from the DRAM 56 in step 402, and a total of 5 pixels from both sides of the corresponding signal. Generate data for and prefilter. In step 403, the pre-filtered Ye, Cy, and Gr component signals are corrected in such a manner that white balance (color signal variation due to color filter variation is corrected and white is changed to white). In step 404, color calculation is performed to generate color signals RY and BY.
[0030]
Next, returning to FIG. 11, the process proceeds to step 203 where the luminance signal and the color signal generated in steps 201 and 202 are transferred to the signal generator, converted into a video signal, and the video through display of the monitor is performed on the LCD 6. .
[0031]
Next, in FIG. 11, the process proceeds to step 204, where it is determined whether the recording key (shutter button) of the key input unit 60 has been pressed. If the record key has not been pressed, the process returns to step 201 and the above-described operation is repeated.
[0032]
As a result, the video through display on the LCD 6 is continued. At this time, the video through display reduces the number of pixels to be processed by synthesizing the image signals read from the DRAM 56 and also reduces the processing procedure. Therefore, high-speed video through display is possible, and in order to smooth the movement of the monitor screen, it is possible to realize, for example, refreshing a monitor screen of several frames or more per second.
[0033]
Next, when it is determined in step 204 shown in FIG. 11 that the recording key of the key input unit 60 has been pressed, the process proceeds to step 205 to execute a high-quality luminance signal generation process. In this case, the luminance signal is generated by generating continuous data of a total of 7 pixels from the corresponding signal and both sides of the corresponding signal in step 501, as shown in FIG. 14, for the signal read from the DRAM 56. A pre-filter is applied, γ correction is applied in step 502, and moire balance is obtained in step 503. This moire balance corrects variations in luminance signals due to variations in color filters.
[0034]
Then, in step 504, after applying high-pass filter to reduce high-frequency component noise, in step 505, enhancer processing is performed to generate a luminance signal. The enhancer processing in this case is for enhancing the resolution by emphasizing the edge portion because the high frequency component becomes dull and the resolution is lowered by applying the LPF.
[0035]
Then, returning to FIG. 11, the process proceeds to step 206 to execute a color signal generation process corresponding to a high-quality luminance signal. In this case, as shown in FIG. 15, the color signal is generated in step 601 with respect to the Ye, Cy, and Gr component signals read from the DRAM 56, and a total of 11 pixels from the corresponding signal and from both sides of the corresponding signal. Pre-filter the data. Then, the pre-filtered Ye, Cy, and G component signals are subjected to white balance in step 602, and color calculation is performed in step 603 to generate color signals RY and BY.
[0036]
Next, returning to FIG. 11, the process proceeds to step 207, where the luminance signal and the color signal generated in steps 205 and 206 are transferred to the compression / decompression circuit 55, and the compression / decompression circuit 55 encodes the luminance signal and the color signal. The compressed image signal (luminance signal and color signal) is transferred to the flash memory 57 and recorded.
[0037]
And it returns to step 201 again and the operation | movement mentioned above is repeated.
Thereby, since the image recording in the flash memory 57 is performed with fine signal processing without performing pixel blinking, a high-quality image can be recorded. On the other hand, when the image signal is reproduced, if a reproduction key is operated by the key input unit 60, a predetermined compressed image signal (compressed luminance signal and color signal) is read from the flash memory 57 and transferred to the compression / expansion circuit 55. Then, the luminance signal and the color signal are expanded, and a synchronization signal is added by the signal generator 62 to generate a digital video signal, which is displayed on the LCD 6 via the D / A converter 64 and the amplifier 65.
[0038]
Therefore, in this way, in the digital still camera 1 with LCD having the main body 2 having the LCD 6 and the camera unit 3, the image signal captured from the camera unit 3 is stored in the DRAM 56, and the imaging signal stored in the DRAM 56 is stored. Therefore, the CPU 61 generates an image signal for video through display on the LCD 6 by image processing in the high-speed mode and an image signal for image recording by image processing in the high-definition mode. Video through display and image recording to the flash memory 57 in the high-definition mode can be selectively obtained by simple instructions, and an image recorded in the flash memory 57 in the high-definition mode can be read and displayed on the LCD 6. Thus, a high-definition image can be reproduced and displayed on the LCD 6, and the reproduced image can be displayed. It also becomes possible to shim.
[0039]
In addition, since the generation of the image signal in the high-speed mode is configured by at least a luminance signal generation process and a color signal generation process for performing pixel blinking, it is possible to realize image processing with a reduced number of pixels to be processed and a processing procedure. .
[0040]
FIG. 16 is a diagram for more specifically explaining the color process processing by such software.
In the figure, reference numeral 71 denotes a CCD, which is composed of, for example, a 1/5 inch 270,000 pixel frame transfer type CCD, and uses a stripe filter of Ye (yellow) Cy (cyan) G (green) as a filter. Yes.
[0041]
Here, the reason why the frame transfer type CCD is used is that the CCD has an exposure part and a storage part, so that it is not easily affected by external light when reading data.
[0042]
A core IC 72 is connected to the CCD 71. The core IC 72 includes an analog processing unit 721, an amplifier 722, an A / D converter 723, and a CCD drive signal generator 724. After the signal from the CCD 71 is subjected to CDS (correlated double sampling) by the analog processing unit 721. The A / D converter 723 performs A / D conversion at 8 bits via the amplifier 722 and outputs the result digitally.
[0043]
A data bus 73 is connected to the core IC 72, and a CPU 74 and a DRAM 75 are connected to the data bus 73. The CPU 74 includes a DMAC 742, a DRAM controller 743, and a bus controller 744 in addition to the MPU 741, and digital data transfer from the core IC 72 is written to the DRAM 75 by the DMA controller 743.
[0044]
Here, since the CCD 71 outputs one data in three clocks, the DMAC 742 is set to three states when writing to the DRAM 75. Further, the CCD 71 deteriorates the S / N ratio unless data for one line is read continuously. Since it takes about 120 μs to read out one line, this time becomes a problem when the refresh of the DRAM 75 is set to the CAS before RAS refresh. However, this problem was solved by performing refresh several times before reading out.
[0045]
In this way, the data exposed by the CCD 71 is developed on the DRAM 75 in the order of Ye, Cy, G.
In such a configuration, a color process is performed by software. In this case, in addition to a color process for creating a recorded image signal, two kinds of color processes, a high-speed color process for video-through display, are performed. Is adopted.
[0046]
First, in the color process mode for video-through display, an LCD that does not require much resolving power is adopted as an image output destination, and the number of times of accessing the DRAM 75 and the number of operations are reduced by reducing the number of pixels used for the operation as much as possible. And try to generate image data as fast as possible.
[0047]
FIG. 17 shows a flowchart of the Y process (luminance signal generation process) for video through display. In this case, in step 1601, only the most sensitive Ye of the output data Ye, Cy, Gr of the CCD 71 is used as the luminance original signal, and in step 1602, the gamma-processed one is used as the luminance signal as it is. Yes.
[0048]
That is, here, assuming that the number of horizontal effective pixels of the CCD 71 is 480, processing is performed on 160 pixels out of these, and processing is performed only on 112 lines out of 240 effective CCD data lines in the vertical direction. That is, the number of data by this processing is 160 × 112. In this Y process, special processing such as low-pass filter and edge enhancement is not performed because high speed is taken into consideration.
[0049]
FIG. 18 shows a flowchart of the C process (color signal generation process) for video through display. First, in step 1701, processing using a low-pass filter is performed. In this case, of the output data of the CCD 71, a certain Ye and the two pixels before and after it (Cy (-1), Gr (-1), Ye (0), Cy (1), Gr (1)) total 5 pixels. On the other hand, coefficients 1, 2, 3, 2, 1 are assigned to generate color signal calculation data Yec, Cyc, Grc as follows.
[0050]
Yec = (3 × Ye (0)) / 3
Cyc = (Cy (−1) + 2 × Cy (1)) / 3
Grc = (2 × Gr (−1) + Gr (1)) / 3
This low-pass filter is considered to be the minimum necessary for suppressing chroma noise and edge noise while suppressing processing time. Next, in step 1702, chroma calculation is executed. The chroma data RY and BY here are generated by performing the following operation on Yec, Cyc, and Grc.
[0051]
RY = KY1 * Yec + KC1 * Cyc + KG1 * Grc (1)
BY = KY2 * Yec + KC2 * Cyc + KG2 * Grc (2)
The coefficients KY1, KC1, KG1, KY2, KC2, and KG2 will be described in the section of AWB (Auto White Balance).
[0052]
In step 1703, the data is subjected to high luminance Gr removal and edge false color removal processing to obtain a final color difference signal. This process is performed for Ye of 80 pixels horizontally and 56 pixels vertically and 2 pixels before and after that. That is, the number of chroma data in the video through mode (viewfinder mode) is 80 × 56.
[0053]
Next, in a color process mode for creating a recorded image signal, high-definition image data for PC (personal computer) transfer and video output is generated.
FIG. 19 shows a flowchart of a Y process (luminance signal generation process) for creating a recorded image signal. In this case, the problem in generating the luminance signal is the difference in sensitivity between the CCD color filters Ye, Cy, and Gr. If the CCD data is processed as it is, the image may appear dark or the subject may appear as a stripe. In order to suppress this phenomenon, this system uses the following method.
[0054]
First, in step 1801, among the CCD data Ye, Cy, and Gr used to calculate the luminance signal, Cy and Gr are respectively multiplied by 1.2 and 1.5 to create Cy ′ and Gr ′ (moire balance). In step 1802, the data is subjected to a horizontal 7-tap low-pass filter (coefficients -1, 0, 4, 6, 4, 0, -1) to absorb the sensitivity difference between pixels.
[0055]
In step 1803 and step 1804, the final luminance signal is generated by performing gamma processing and edge enhancement processing on the data obtained by the above processing. Since the above processing is performed for all the CCD effective pixels 480 × 240, the number of luminance signal data is 480 × 240.
[0056]
FIG. 20 shows a flowchart of a recording image signal creation C process (color signal generation process). First, in step 1901, processing using a low-pass filter is performed. In this case, a certain Ye of the output data of the CCD and the five pixels before and after it (Cy (-2), Gr (-2), Ye (-1), Cy (-1), Gr (-1), Ye ( 0), Cy (1), Gr (1), Ye (2), Cy (2), Gr (2)) for a total of 11 pixels 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 5, 4 The coefficients 3, 3, and 1 are assigned to generate color signal calculation data Yec, Cyc, and Grc in the same manner as in the video through mode.
[0057]
Yec = (3 * Ye (-1) + 6 * Ye (0) + 3 * Ye (1)) / 12
Cyc = (Cy (-2) + 4 * Cy (-1) + 5 * Cy (1) + 2 * Cy (1)) / 12
Grc = (2 × Gr (−2) + 5 × Gr (−1) + 4 × Gr (1) + Gr (2)) / 12
In step 1902, this data is subjected to the same calculation as in equations (1) and (2), and then in step 1903, high luminance Gr removal / edge false color removal processing is performed to obtain a color difference signal.
[0058]
This processing is performed for Ye of 160 pixels horizontally and 120 pixels vertically and 5 pixels before and after that. That is, the final number of chroma data is 160 × 120.
By the way, AWB (auto white balance) mentioned in the above-described C process (color signal generation process) will be described. When white balance is achieved, the following relations exist among the three primary colors R, G, and B: It is made up.
[0059]
R = G = B (3)
The pixel data handled by this apparatus are three colors of Ye, Cy, and Gr, and R, G, and B are R = rky × Ye + rkc × Cy + rkg × Gr (4), respectively.
B = bky × Ye + bkc × Cy + bkg × Gr (5)
G = gky × Ye + gkc × Cy + gkg × Gr (6)
It can be expressed as.
[0060]
Here, rky ·· gkg is an independent coefficient, and Ye, Cy, and Gr are independent variables that change with time. In order to satisfy (3), the coefficients are respectively R, G, and B. It is necessary to apply. When the coefficients for R, G, and B are RAMP, GAMP, and BAMP, respectively, and R, G, and B in a state where white balance is achieved by the coefficients are Rw, Gw, and Bw, (4) (5) (6 ) Can be expressed as:
[0061]
Rw = (rky × Ye + rkc × Cy + rkg × Gr) × RAMP (7)
Bw = (bky × Ye + bkc × Cy + bkg × Gr) × BAMP (8)
Gw = (gky × Ye + gkc × Cy + gkg × Gr) × GAMP (9)
If the color difference signals RY and BY in this state are (RY) (w) and (BY) (w),
(R−Y) (w) = Ir × (Rw−Gw) + Jb × (Bw−Gw) (10)
(B−Y) (w) = Ib × (Bw−Gw) + Jr × (Rw−Gw) (11)
From the conditions, (R−Y) (w) = 0, (B−Y) (w) = 0
That is,
Ir × (Rw−Gw) + Jb × (Bw−Gw) = 0 (12)
Ib × (Rw−Gw) + Jr × (Rw−Gw) = 0 (13)
It becomes. Here, if (R−Y) (w) and (B−Y) (w) are functions of Ye, Cy, and Gr,
(R−Y) (w) = KY1 × Ye + KC1 × Cy + KG1 × Gr (14)
(B−Y) (w) = KY2 × Ye + KC2 × Cy + KG2 × Gr (15)
From (7) (8) (9) (12) (13) (14) (15),
KY1 = Ir * rky * RAMP + Jb * bky * BAMP- (Ir + Jb) * gky * GAMP
KC1 = Ir * rkc * RAMP + Jb * bkc * BAMP- (Ir + Jb) * gkc * GAMP
KG1 = Ir × rkg × RAMP + Jb × bkg × BAMP− (Ir + Jb) × gkg × GAMP
KY2 = Ib * bky * BAMP + Jr * rky * RAMP- (Ib + Jr) * gky * GAMP
KC2 = Ib × bkc × BAMP + Jr × rkc × BAMP− (Ib + Jr) × gkc × GAMP
KG2 = Ib × bkg × BAMP + Jr × rkg × BAMP− (Ib + Jr) × gkg × GAMP
Become
GAMP = "Constant"
RAMP = Gw × GAMP / Rw
BAMP = Gw × GAMP / Bw
It becomes.
[0062]
As a result, when the color difference signal is calculated in the C process, it is only necessary to calculate the equations (1) and (2), so that the number of calculations can be reduced and the calculation time can be shortened.
By the way, when trying to realize such an AWB, if the white balance calculation as described above is performed without correlation in the time axis direction, the color of the same subject changes every finder mode screen. Such a phenomenon occurs. When calculating the white balance using integral values INTEG _- Ye, INTEG _- Cy, INTEG _- Gr of the whole screen, Ye, Cy, Gr, for example, a subject (A) with a red object in a white background and white When there is a subject (B) with a blue object in the background and the camera is suddenly shaken from (A) to (B), the information on the entire screen changes, so the background white that should actually be the same color Changes from blue to red. In order to prevent this phenomenon, INTEG the calculation of n screens th WB in this system _{- Ye, INTEG - Cy, INTEG} - INTEG without a _{Gr - Yen = (Σ INTEG -} Ye (k)) / 16
_{INTEG - Cyn = (Σ INTEG -} Cy (k)) / 16
INTERG _- Grn = (Σ INTERG _- Gr (k)) / 16
Is used.
[0063]
That is, by using the data of Ye, Cy, and Gr for the previous 15 screens for the calculation of WB, the appearance color is prevented from changing greatly.
Therefore, even in this case, by adopting two kinds of color processes, that is, a color process for video-through display and a color process for creating a recorded image signal, these processes are performed by software with time constraints. It is possible to realize this technology, and the device can be greatly reduced in size and price, and by executing these color processes, high-speed video through display and high-quality image recording and playback can be realized. You can also.
[0064]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, the high-speed mode selectively obtained by simple instruction to image recording by the video through display and high-definition mode by further the number of pixels to be processed during a video through display Image processing with fewer processing steps can be realized.
[0065]
In addition, since the image recorded in the storage unit in the high definition mode can be read and displayed on the display unit, it is possible to enjoy the image reproduced on the display unit in high definition.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a digital still camera with an LCD as an example of an electronic imaging apparatus to which the present invention is applied.
2 is a rear view of the digital still camera with an LCD in FIG. 1 as viewed from the LCD side.
3 is a front view of the digital still camera with an LCD shown in FIG. 1 as viewed from the opposite side of the LCD. FIG.
FIGS. 4A and 4B are a top view and a bottom view of the digital still camera with an LCD shown in FIG. 1, wherein FIG. 4A is a plan view and FIG. 4B is a bottom view.
5A and 5B show both side surfaces of the digital still camera with LCD in FIG. 1, wherein FIG. 5A is a side view of one side, and FIG. 5B is a side view of the other.
6 is a rear view of the main body portion viewed from the LCD side in a state in which the camera portion is rotated 90 ° forward in the digital still camera with an LCD of FIG. 1;
7 is a plan view of the main body viewed from the upper surface side in a state in which the camera unit is rotated 90 ° forward in the digital still camera with an LCD of FIG. 1;
8 is a cross-sectional plan view showing an example of an internal arrangement configuration of the digital still camera with an LCD in FIG. 1. FIG.
9 is a rear perspective view seen from the LCD side, showing an example of the internal arrangement of the digital still camera with LCD in FIG. 1. FIG.
10 is a diagram showing a circuit configuration of the digital still camera with an LCD in FIG. 1. FIG.
11 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the digital still camera with an LCD in FIG.
12 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the digital still camera with an LCD shown in FIG.
13 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the digital still camera with an LCD in FIG.
FIG. 14 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the digital still camera with an LCD in FIG. 1;
15 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the digital still camera with an LCD shown in FIG.
16 is a diagram showing a more specific circuit configuration of the digital still camera with an LCD shown in FIG.
17 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of a more specific one of the digital still camera with an LCD in FIG.
18 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of a more specific digital still camera with LCD in FIG. 1; FIG.
19 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of a more specific digital still camera with an LCD in FIG.
20 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of a more specific one of the digital still camera with an LCD shown in FIG.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Electronic camera apparatus 2 ... Main-body part 3 ... Camera part 4, 5 ... Case 6 ... LCD
6p ... LCD panel 7 ... taking lens 8 ... power switch 9 ... shutter button 20 ... grip part 21 ... battery cover 25 ... battery housing part (battery compartment)
26 ... Battery 27 ... Battery contact piece 28 ... Various switch circuit boards 29 ... Projection 30 ... Shield case 31 ... Backlight 32 ... LCD peripheral circuit board 33 ... Flexible printed circuit board 34 ... Main circuit board 35 ... CPU
36, 37, 38, 39 ... electronic component 40 ... CCD
41 ... CCD peripheral circuit board 52 ... A / D converter 53 ... timing generator 54 ... drive circuit 55 ... compression / decompression circuit 56 ... DRAM
57 ... Flash memory 58 ... ROM
59 ... RAM
60 ... Key input unit 61 ... CPU
62 ... Signal generator 63 ... VRAM
64 ... D / A converter 65 ... Amplifier 67 ... I / O port 71 ... CCD
72 ... Core IC
73 ... Data bus 74 ... CPU
75 ... DRAM

Claims (4)

An image sensor , display means, compression means, storage means, and a recording key;
For high-speed mode image processing for video-through display on the display means and high-definition mode image processing for recording in the storage means for the image pickup signal output from the image pickup device. Image signal generation means for executing and generating an image signal;
Image signal transfer means for transferring the image signal generated by the image signal generation means to the display means , compression means and storage means;
Determining means for determining whether or not the recording key is pressed,
The image signal generation means executes high-speed mode image processing for video-through display on the display means on the image pickup signal until the determination means determines that the recording key is pressed, and displays the display image signal. Image processing switching means for generating a recording image signal by switching to high-definition mode image processing for recording in the storage means when the determination means determines that the recording key has been pressed. ,
The image signal transfer means transfers the display image signal generated by the image signal generation means to the display means until the determination means determines that the recording key is pressed, and the determination means determines that the recording key is When the recording image signal generated by the image signal generation means is determined to have been pressed and transferred to the compression means and compressed, the compressed image signal is transferred to the storage means,
The electronic image pickup apparatus, wherein the high-speed mode image processing includes at least pixel thinning processing for the image pickup signal. Decompression means for reading out and decompressing the compressed image signal generated by the image signal generation means, compressed by the compression means and recorded in the storage means;
2. The electronic imaging apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising display control means for displaying the recorded image signal expanded by the expansion means on the display means . 3. The electronic imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image processing in the high-definition mode includes moire balance processing, low-pass filter processing, or edge enhancement processing for the imaging signal. Comprising temporary storage means for temporarily storing an imaging signal output from the imaging element ;
4. The electronic imaging according to claim 1, wherein the image signal generation unit generates an image signal by performing image processing on the imaging signal temporarily stored in the temporary storage unit. 5. apparatus.

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