JP5595239B2 - Image processing apparatus and control method thereof - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus having a function of processing image data captured by bracketing and a control method thereof.

  Some video cameras and digital cameras have a function of performing bracket shooting for continuously shooting the same subject under a plurality of different shooting conditions. For example, there are exposure bracket shooting for shooting with multiple exposures, focus bracket shooting for shooting with multiple focus positions, ISO bracket shooting for shooting with multiple sensitivities (ISO values), and the like. Shooting parameters that vary the set values in bracket shooting are referred to as bracket shooting parameters. By using bracket shooting, it is possible to avoid failed shooting and to record the same scene under different shooting conditions. The bracket shooting function can also be applied to moving image shooting.

  Image data taken with bracketing (hereinafter referred to as bracketing imaging data) is composed of a plurality of image data (hereinafter referred to as bracketing content) having different bracketing shooting parameter values. The bracket shooting data and the bracket content will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 shows an example of bracket shooting data composed of two image data obtained by bracket shooting using a focus shooting position (focus position) as a bracket shooting parameter among various shooting parameters. That is, the values of the shooting parameters other than the focus are common between the bracket contents. Focus bracket shooting is performed by, for example, dividing an imaging range into a plurality of divided areas, selecting a plurality of different divided areas, and shooting a plurality of times by limiting a focus target to a subject in each divided area.

  In FIG. 3, the focus bracket shooting data 301 has different focus positions for focus A (focusing on subject A in a certain divided area) and focus B (focusing on subject B in another divided area). It is the image data taken with focus bracketing. Image data photographed with focus A is bracket content 302, and image data photographed with focus B is bracket content 303. The relationship between bracket shooting data and bracket content is the same for bracket shooting data for still images and bracket shooting data for moving images.

  Since the bracket shooting data includes a plurality of bracket contents shot under a plurality of different shooting conditions, there is a problem that the amount of data increases. In particular, this problem is more conspicuous in bracket shooting of moving images.

  In order to solve this problem, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for preferentially deleting image data captured by bracketing to secure a free space on a recording medium.

JP 2005-175955 A

In some cases, the bracketed image data includes a plurality of redundant image data with different image capturing conditions but almost no difference in actual images. On the other hand, bracket shooting may be performed by the user's positive intention to record image data shot under a plurality of different shooting conditions. In such a case, it is considered that all of the plurality of image data captured by bracket shooting is image data necessary for the user.

  In the technique of Patent Document 1, since image data captured by bracketing is unconditionally deleted, image data necessary for the user may be deleted unintentionally.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a technique capable of reducing the data amount of image data obtained by bracket photographing.

According to the present invention, two pieces of image data in which a difference between the photographing parameter values is equal to or less than a threshold value among a plurality of pieces of image data obtained by bracket photographing that performs photographing with different values of predetermined photographing parameters are similar image data. Determining means for determining
A deletion unit that deletes one of the two pieces of image data determined to be similar image data by the determination unit;
Is an image processing apparatus.

According to the present invention, two pieces of image data in which a difference between the photographing parameter values is equal to or less than a threshold value among a plurality of pieces of image data obtained by bracket photographing that performs photographing with different values of predetermined photographing parameters are similar image data. A determination step for determining
A deletion step of deleting one of the two pieces of image data determined to be similar image data by the determination step;
Is a control method of an image processing apparatus having

  According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the data amount of image data captured by bracketing.

Block diagram of image processing device Flow chart for deleting bracket contents in bracket shooting data Diagram showing bracket contents of focus bracket shooting data The figure which shows the bracket contents of exposure bracket photographing data The figure which shows the similarity determination method of focus bracket photography data

  DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the invention of an image processing apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the image processing apparatus according to the present embodiment.

  The image processing apparatus 101 includes an image input unit 102, a storage unit 103 (memory), an image processing unit 104, and a display unit 105, and video input to the image input unit 102 is stored in the storage unit 103 and the image processing unit 104. Then, it is displayed on the display unit 105. Also, a bracket determination unit 106 that determines whether or not the input image data is bracket shooting data, and a similarity determination unit 107 that determines whether or not there are similar bracket contents in the bracket content group in the bracket shooting data. Is provided. Furthermore, a deletion instructing unit 108 that issues a bracket content deletion processing instruction, a deletion notification unit 109, and an operation unit 110 are included. Details of each part will be described below.

The image processing apparatus 101 can store input image data, and can reproduce and display the result of performing image processing on the image data. Further, the image processing apparatus 101 can determine whether or not the accumulated image data is bracket shooting data, and can perform a process of deleting the bracket content in the bracket shooting data.

  The image input unit 102 is an input interface for image data that can be stored and displayed in the image processing apparatus 101, and outputs received image data to the storage unit 103.

  The accumulation unit 103 accumulates the image data input from the image input unit 102. Further, the storage unit 103 outputs the image data to the bracket determination unit 106. Thereby, it is determined whether or not the image data input from the image input unit 102 and accumulated is bracket shooting data. When the image data is bracket shooting data, the bracket content in the bracket shooting data is deleted according to an instruction from the deletion instruction unit 108 according to the result of similarity determination described later. Details of the similarity determination and deletion processing will be described later. Further, the storage unit 103 transmits the image data to the subsequent image processing unit 104 in order to display the image data.

  The image processing unit 104 performs image processing on the image data input from the storage unit 103. Further, the information display graphics input from the deletion notification unit 109 is combined with the image data and transferred to the display unit 105.

  The display unit 105 displays image data input from the image processing unit 104 or data obtained by combining image data and information display graphics on a display panel.

  The bracket determination unit 106 analyzes the image data input from the storage unit 103 and determines whether the image data is bracket shooting data. In the case of still image data, the analysis of image data is performed based on shooting condition information added to the image data on the imaging apparatus side, such as EXIF (Exchangeable Image File Format). In the case of a moving image, it is possible to determine whether or not it is bracket shooting data by analyzing the image data based on shooting condition information described in, for example, MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group) metadata.

  The similarity determination unit 107 determines whether there is bracket content (similar image data) similar to each other in the bracket shooting data when the bracket determination unit 106 determines that the bracket shooting data is ( Determination means). The determination method includes a method of analyzing the value of the shooting parameter indicated by the shooting condition information, and a method of analyzing the difference between the image data of the bracket contents. Details will be described later.

  The deletion instruction unit 108 outputs a deletion instruction signal to the storage unit 103 when receiving a signal indicating that there is similar bracket content in the similarity determination unit 107. Further, even when a deletion instruction is received from the operation unit 110, a deletion instruction signal is output to the storage unit 103. Specifically, the deletion instruction unit 108 outputs to the storage unit 103 an instruction to leave one of the two bracket contents determined to be similar and delete the other.

  When the deletion notification unit 109 receives a signal indicating that there is similar bracket content in the similarity determination unit 107, the deletion notification unit 109 notifies the user of deletion. For this purpose, the deletion notification unit 109 generates graphics constituting a GUI (graphical user interface) that allows the user to input a deletion instruction, and outputs the generated graphics to the image processing unit 104. The deletion notification unit 109 functions as an input unit of the present invention.

The operation unit 110 receives a user operation for inputting an instruction to the image processing apparatus 101, converts the operation by the user into an instruction to the image processing apparatus 101, and notifies a predetermined function unit. For example, a user who confirms the notification for prompting deletion on the display unit 105 can determine whether or not to delete, and can input the instruction to the image processing apparatus 101 by operating the operation unit 110. The operation unit 110 outputs a signal as to whether or not to perform a deletion process to the deletion instruction unit 108 in response to a user operation.

  FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a control method of the image processing apparatus for performing the process of deleting the bracket content in the bracket shooting data in the image processing apparatus 101.

  When the deletion processing of the bracket content in the bracket shooting data is started in step S201, the image data is input to the image input unit 102 in step S202. In step S 203, the input image data is stored in the storage unit 103. The accumulated image data is analyzed for shooting conditions by the bracket determination unit 106 (step S204).

  In step S205, the bracket determination unit 106 determines whether the input (accumulated) image data is bracket shooting data from the analysis result of the shooting conditions. If it is determined that it is bracket shooting data (step S205: Yes), the process of step S206 is executed. If not (step S205: No), the process of this flow ends in step S213.

  In step S206, the similarity determination unit 107 determines whether there are bracket contents similar to each other in the bracket contents in the bracket shooting data. If there is similar bracket content in the bracket shooting data (step S207: Yes), the process of step S208 is executed. If not (step S207: No), the process of this flow ends in step S213. A specific method for determining the similarity between bracket contents will be described later.

  In step S208, it is determined whether the image processing apparatus 101 is set to the automatic deletion mode. When the automatic deletion mode is set (step S208: Yes), in step S209, the deletion instruction unit 108 instructs the storage unit 103 to delete one of the two bracket contents determined to be similar. To do. The accumulation unit 103 deletes the instructed bracket content, and the processing of this flow ends in step S213.

  Here, the “automatic deletion mode” refers to the above-described deletion processing for bracket contents that are determined to be similar without displaying a notification requesting confirmation from the user or waiting for the user to input an instruction. Is an operation mode of the image processing apparatus 101 in which is executed. The user can input an instruction via the operation unit 110 as to whether or not to set the image processing apparatus 101 to the automatic deletion mode.

  If the automatic deletion mode is not set (step S208: No), a display for notifying the user that there is similar bracket content in the bracket shooting data is displayed on the display unit 105 in step S210.

  In step S <b> 211, a GUI for the user to confirm the bracket content image determined to be similar is displayed on the display unit 105. Further, a GUI for allowing the user to input an instruction on whether or not to delete the bracket content to the image processing apparatus 101 via the operation unit 110 is displayed on the display unit 105. When the user performs an operation for instructing deletion of the bracket content on the operation unit 110 for the bracket content determined to be unnecessary, the storage unit 103 executes the deletion of the bracket content in accordance with an instruction from the deletion instruction unit 108 ( Step S212).

  In bracket shooting performed with the intention that the user wants to leave image data in which shooting conditions are actively changed, the value of the bracket shooting parameter is considered to be significantly different. Conversely, if the bracket shooting parameter values in the two bracket contents hardly change, that is, they are similar, it reflects the user's positive intention to leave image data shot under different shooting conditions. Is hard to say. Therefore, it is determined that such similar bracket contents are low in importance to the user, and in this embodiment, one of the bracket contents is to be deleted. On the other hand, bracket contents with greatly different bracket shooting parameter values are judged to be highly important for the user and are not deleted.

  In this embodiment, only one bracket content is automatically deleted only when it is determined that two bracket contents in the bracket shooting data are similar. Alternatively, the user is notified that the bracket contents are similar, or a GUI for actually confirming the contents of the bracket contents determined to be similar is displayed. Then, an interface for inputting an instruction as to whether or not to delete one of the bracket contents is provided (GUI is displayed).

  Therefore, according to the image processing apparatus of the present embodiment, in the bracket shooting data deletion process, the bracket content shot with the shooting intention that the user wants to actively shoot with different shooting conditions is unintentionally deleted. Can be suppressed. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the data amount of image data obtained by bracket shooting while suppressing deletion of image data necessary for the user.

  Next, a bracket content similarity determination method in the similarity determination unit 107 will be described. Here, two methods are exemplified as the determination method. The first determination method is a method of comparing the bracket shooting parameter values of two bracket contents and determining that the bracket contents are similar when the difference between the set values is equal to or less than a reference. The second determination method is a method of analyzing a difference between image data of two bracket contents to be determined and determining that the bracket contents are similar when the difference is equal to or smaller than a certain threshold value.

  First, a first determination method, that is, a method of performing similarity determination by comparing the bracket shooting parameter values of two bracket contents will be described. In this embodiment, a difference (magnitude of difference) between bracket shooting parameter values of two bracket contents to be determined is calculated, and when the calculated difference is equal to or less than a preset threshold, the two brackets It is determined that the contents are similar.

  For example, when the bracket shooting parameter is exposure, when the difference between the exposure values of the two bracket contents is within ± 1 (the difference is 1 or less), the two bracket contents are determined to be similar. The threshold value is an example, and is not limited to the above value.

  For example, when the exposure bracket shooting data 401 shown in FIG. 4A is input, the image processing apparatus 101 first recognizes from the shooting condition information that it is exposure bracket shooting data (the bracket shooting parameter is exposure). To do. Next, the difference between the exposure values of the two bracket contents 402 and 403 is calculated. The exposure value of the bracket content 402 is “standard ± 0 EV”, the exposure value of the bracket content 403 is “standard + 1 EV”, and the difference is 1 EV or less which is a threshold value. Therefore, the image processing apparatus 101 determines that the bracket content 402 and the bracket content 403 are similar. Here, EV (Exposure value) represents a unit of exposure value.

  Therefore, when the exposure bracket shooting data 401 in FIG. 4A is input, the image processing apparatus 101 deletes one of the bracket content 402 and the bracket content 403. If the exposure value of the bracket content 403 is “standard + 2EV”, the image processing apparatus 101 determines that the bracket content 402 and the bracket content 403 are not similar, and does not delete any bracket content.

  As described above, in the first determination method, when the difference between the bracket shooting parameter values of the two bracket contents is small, it is determined that the two bracket contents are similar, and it is determined that the bracket contents can be deleted.

  Note that finer similarity determination can also be performed based on the values of shooting parameters other than the bracket shooting parameters. Specifically, in addition to the difference between the bracket shooting parameter values of the two bracket contents, the difference between the other shooting parameter values is also calculated, and the calculated difference between the various shooting parameter values is multiplied by a coefficient to obtain the total. Calculate (take weighted sum). At this time, the coefficient to be multiplied by the difference between the bracket shooting parameter values is set larger than the coefficient to be multiplied by the difference between the other shooting parameter values. That is, the influence of the difference in the bracket shooting parameter value is more strongly reflected in the weighted sum. When the weighted sum is equal to or less than a preset threshold value, it is determined that the two bracket contents are similar.

  For example, in exposure bracket shooting data, the difference between exposure values between two bracket contents is multiplied by a large coefficient, and the difference between other shooting parameter values (shutter speed, aperture, etc.) is multiplied by a small coefficient to obtain the sum (weighted). Sum) is calculated. If the calculated weighted sum is equal to or smaller than a predetermined threshold value, it is determined that the two exposed bracket contents of interest are similar. By such similarity determination, similarity determination can be performed with emphasis on the difference in bracket shooting parameter values. Therefore, it is possible to accurately determine the importance of the bracket shooting data for the user.

  Next, a second determination method, that is, a method of analyzing a difference between actual image data of two bracket contents and determining that the two bracket contents are similar when the difference is small will be described. . As the simplest method, there is a method in which pixel values of all corresponding pixels of two bracket contents are compared, and the similarity is determined based on the total value of the differences. That is, when the sum of absolute differences of all pixels is equal to or smaller than a predetermined threshold, it can be determined that the two bracket contents are similar.

  Note that the method of comparing two bracket contents may be changed according to the type of bracket shooting parameter. For example, when the bracket shooting parameter is exposure, the brightness values of two bracket contents may be compared, and the similarity may be determined based on the difference between the brightness values.

  A similarity determination method for two image data obtained by focus bracket imaging will be described with reference to FIG. In the example of FIG. 5, the imaging region is divided into nine divided regions, and a focus frame corresponding to each divided region is selected, so that shooting is performed so as to focus on a subject within the selected focus frame. be able to. In this case, the bracket shooting parameter is the position of the focus frame. The focus bracket shooting data 501 includes bracket content 502 in which the center focus frame 506 is selected as a focus target and bracket content 503 in which the lower right focus frame 507 is selected as a focus target.

When the similarity determination is performed for the bracket contents 502 and 503, the pixels within the same focus frame are compared with each other. In the case of FIG. 5, between the bracket content 502 and the bracket content 503, the pixels in the focus frame 506 selected as the focus target in the bracket content 502 are compared (504). Further, between the bracket content 502 and the bracket content 503, the pixels in the focus frame 507 selected as the focus target in the bracket content 503 are compared (505).

  As a result of the comparison 504 and the comparison 505, if the difference in pixel value between the two bracket contents 502 and the bracket contents 503 is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold in both the focus frame 506 and the focus frame 507, the two are similar. It is determined that

  In this way, by changing the similarity determination method according to the type of bracket shooting parameter, it is possible to perform similarity determination with emphasis on the shooting parameters that the photographer has actively tried to shoot.

In this embodiment, an example in which bracket shooting data is composed of two bracket contents has been described. However, as shown in FIG. 4B, one bracket shooting data includes three or more bracket contents. The present invention can also be applied to cases where For example, two bracket contents that satisfy the condition that the difference between the bracket shooting parameter values is equal to or less than a threshold value are selected from three or more bracket contents. When there are a plurality of combinations of two bracket contents that satisfy the condition that the difference in bracket shooting parameter value is less than or equal to the threshold value, any of them can be selected, and the priority order is set according to the difference in bracket shooting parameter value. It may be determined. Then, one of the two selected bracket contents is deleted. By executing such deletion processing once, for example, one bracket content is deleted from bracket shooting data consisting of three bracket contents, and as a result, the amount of bracket shooting data can be reduced. However, the representative image specified by the user or an image that serves as a search key (eg, an image with an exposure value “standard ± 0 EV”) may not be deleted.
After the deletion process is executed once, if there are still two bracket contents in the bracket shooting data that satisfy the condition that the difference between the bracket shooting parameter values is less than or equal to the threshold value, the present invention targets the two bracket contents. The deletion process may be executed. In other words, the deletion processing of the present invention is executed at least once for bracket shooting data including three or more bracket contents. Thereby, the data amount of bracket imaging | photography data can be reduced. If the deletion process of the present invention is executed a plurality of times, the data amount of the bracket shooting data can be further reduced. In any deletion process, since it is one of the bracket contents that are determined to be similar to each other, it is preferable to suppress the deletion of the data that the user actively captured and deleted. it can.
The present invention can also be understood as follows. That is, the bracket contents included in the bracket shooting data are grouped according to a set of bracket contents that satisfy the condition that the difference in bracket shooting parameter values is equal to or less than a threshold value. Thus, a plurality of bracket contents having similar bracket shooting parameter values belong to one group, and bracket contents having different bracket shooting parameter values are grouped so as to belong to different groups. In particular, regarding a group including a plurality of bracket contents, at least one of the bracket contents belonging to the group is left and the other is deleted.
For example, in bracket shooting data including six bracket contents with different bracket shooting parameters whose exposure is the bracket shooting parameter, the five exposure values EV1 to EV5 have a magnitude relationship of EV1 to EV2 << EV3 to EV4 << EV5. And Here, EV1 to EV2 represent that the difference between EV1 and EV2 is equal to or less than the threshold value, and EV2 << EV3 represents that the difference between EV2 and EV3 exceeds the threshold value. In this case, bracket contents with exposure values EV1 and EV2 are grouped into a first group, bracket contents with exposure values EV3 and EV4 are grouped into a second group, and bracket contents with exposure values EV5 are grouped into a third group. The Among these groups, a process of leaving at least one bracket content belonging to the group and deleting others is performed on the first group and the second group including a plurality of bracket contents. Thereby, for example, bracket contents with exposure values EV1, EV4, and EV5 are left and other bracket contents are deleted, so that the data amount of bracket shooting data can be reduced while leaving dissimilar bracket contents. .

  This embodiment can be applied to both bracket shooting data of still images and bracket shooting data of moving images. In the case of moving image bracket shooting data, the appearance of the effect on the frame image by changing the value of the bracket shooting parameter may differ depending on the scene. Therefore, comparison by similarity determination may be performed for all frames of a moving image, a plurality of frames extracted every several frames, a plurality of frames extracted for each scene by detecting a scene change, and the like. Then, when all the frames or all the extracted frames are similar, the bracket contents of the two moving images may be determined to be similar.

  The image processing apparatus according to the present embodiment can be applied to an imaging apparatus such as a digital camera or a video camera, an image display apparatus such as a digital television or a media player, and the like. In particular, when applied to an imaging device, redundant bracket content is preferentially deleted while suppressing the deletion of bracket content that is highly important to the user when there is insufficient free space on the recording medium. Making it easy to secure free space quickly.

101 Image processing device 107 Similarity determination unit 108 Deletion instruction unit

Claims (23)

Judgment to determine, as similar image data, two pieces of image data in which a difference between the photographing parameter values is equal to or less than a threshold value among a plurality of image data obtained by bracket photographing in which photographing is performed with different values of predetermined photographing parameters Means,
A deletion unit that deletes one of the two pieces of image data determined to be similar image data by the determination unit;
An image processing apparatus.   The determination means includes a value obtained by multiplying a difference between the imaging parameter values by a predetermined coefficient, and a difference between imaging parameter values other than the imaging parameters among the plurality of image data, and a value smaller than the predetermined coefficient. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein two image data having a sum of a multiplied value and a threshold value equal to or less than a threshold are determined as similar image data.   The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit determines, as similar image data, two image data in which a total sum of pixel value differences between corresponding pixels is equal to or less than a threshold value among the plurality of image data. The predetermined imaging parameter is exposure;
The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit determines two image data having a luminance value difference equal to or less than a threshold among the plurality of image data as similar image data. The predetermined shooting parameter is a position of a focus frame,
2. The determination unit according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit determines, as similar image data, two pieces of image data in which a total sum of pixel values of pixels within a corresponding focus frame is equal to or less than a threshold among the plurality of image data. Image processing device. Input means for allowing the user to input an instruction as to whether or not to delete one of the two pieces of image data determined as similar image data by the determination means;
6. The deletion device according to claim 1, wherein when the user inputs the instruction, the deletion unit deletes one of the two pieces of image data determined to be the similar image data. 7. The image processing apparatus described. When there are three or more pieces of image data obtained by the bracket photographing, the determination unit selects two pieces of image data in which the difference between the photographing parameter values is equal to or less than a threshold value from the three or more pieces of image data. Select as data,
The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the deletion unit deletes one of the two pieces of image data of the similar image data selected by the determination unit. The image processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the determination unit selects any combination as similar image data when there are a plurality of combinations of two pieces of image data in which a difference between the photographing parameter values is equal to or less than a threshold value. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the deleting unit does not delete a representative image designated by a user. The determination unit groups the plurality of image data according to a set of image data that satisfies a condition that a difference between the photographing parameter values is equal to or less than a threshold value,
The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the deletion unit deletes at least one of the image data belonging to the group and deletes the other regarding the group including the plurality of image data. The image data is image data of a moving image,
The determination means determines whether all the frames of the moving image, a plurality of frames extracted every several frames, or a plurality of frames extracted for each scene by detecting a scene change, are the similar image data, The image processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein when all of the determined frames are determined to be similar image data, the image data of the two moving images are determined to be similar. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the deletion unit deletes the image data when a free space of a recording medium is insufficient. Judgment to determine, as similar image data, two pieces of image data in which a difference between the photographing parameter values is equal to or less than a threshold value among a plurality of image data obtained by bracket photographing in which photographing is performed with different values of predetermined photographing parameters Process,
A deletion step of deleting one of the two pieces of image data determined to be similar image data by the determination step;
A method for controlling an image processing apparatus. In the determination step, a value obtained by multiplying a difference between the imaging parameter values by a predetermined coefficient among the plurality of image data and a difference between the imaging parameter values other than the imaging parameters are set to a value smaller than the predetermined coefficient. The method of controlling an image processing apparatus according to claim 13, wherein two image data whose sum of multiplied values is equal to or less than a threshold is determined as similar image data. The image processing apparatus according to claim 13, wherein in the determination step, two image data in which a total sum of pixel value differences between corresponding pixels is equal to or less than a threshold among the plurality of image data is determined as similar image data. Control method. The predetermined imaging parameter is exposure;
The method of controlling an image processing apparatus according to claim 13, wherein in the determination step, two image data having a luminance value difference equal to or less than a threshold value among the plurality of image data are determined as similar image data. The predetermined shooting parameter is a position of a focus frame,
14. The determination according to claim 13, wherein in the determination step, two image data in which a total sum of pixel values of pixels in a corresponding focus frame is equal to or less than a threshold among the plurality of image data is determined as similar image data. A method for controlling an image processing apparatus. An input step for causing the user to input an instruction as to whether or not to delete one of the two pieces of image data determined to be similar image data in the determination step;
18. The deletion process according to claim 13, wherein, when the instruction is input by a user, deletion of one of the two pieces of image data determined as the similar image data is executed. A control method of the image processing apparatus described. In the determination step, when there are three or more pieces of image data obtained by the bracket photographing, two pieces of image data in which the difference between the photographing parameter values is equal to or less than a threshold value are selected from the three or more pieces of image data. Select as data,
19. The method of controlling an image processing apparatus according to claim 13, wherein, in the deletion step, one of the two pieces of image data of the similar image data selected in the determination step is deleted. 19. 20. The control of the image processing device according to claim 19, wherein, in the determination step, when there are a plurality of combinations of two image data whose difference between the photographing parameter values is equal to or less than a threshold value, any one of the combinations is selected as similar image data. Method. 21. The control method for an image processing apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the representative image designated by the user is not deleted in the deletion step. In the determination step, the plurality of image data are grouped by a set of image data satisfying a condition that a difference between the photographing parameter values is equal to or less than a threshold value,
The method for controlling an image processing apparatus according to any one of claims 13 to 21, wherein in the deletion step, with respect to a group including a plurality of image data, at least one of the image data belonging to the group is left and the other is deleted. . The image data is image data of a moving image,
In the determination step, it is determined whether all the frames of the moving image, a plurality of frames extracted every several frames, or a plurality of frames extracted for each scene by detecting a scene change, are the similar image data, The control of the image processing apparatus according to any one of claims 13 to 22, wherein when all the frames that have been determined are determined to be similar image data, the image data of the two moving images are determined to be similar. Method.

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