JP6548211B2 - Imaging apparatus and imaging method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an imaging device and an imaging method provided with a mechanism for detecting camera shake and correcting the same.

  Recently, in image pickup apparatuses such as digital still cameras and video cameras, in order to obtain a shake-free image on hand, those having a shake correction mechanism are generally used. For example, a shake applied to an imaging apparatus is detected by a gyro sensor or an acceleration sensor, and a technique for performing shake correction by moving an imaging element or a lens in a direction that cancels it, or a plurality of images captured with a high speed shutter There is known a technique for performing shake correction. Furthermore, there is also disclosed a technique in which a plurality of methods are combined and implemented so as to correct a large shake (for example, Patent Document 1).

  There is also disclosed a technique for notifying the photographer of the displacement of the camera body when a shake of the camera body is detected so that the photographer can hold the camera as little as possible. For example, Patent Document 2).

JP, 2005-189654, A JP, 2011-82719, A

  According to the method disclosed in Patent Document 1, each shake correction method is assigned to each direction of shake. With respect to the size of the image circle determined by the specifications of the imaging device, setting the range that can be corrected for each direction of the shake for each of the imaging element and the lens limits the correctable range of the direction of each shake. For this reason, in a shooting scene where large camera shake occurs, such as when taking a long exposure, the correction may not be completed depending on the direction of the shake, and a shaked picture may be taken.

  According to the method disclosed in Patent Document 2, the photographer needs to recognize a plurality of shake directions and move the imaging device in a direction to cancel the shake. For this reason, it is difficult to suppress camera shake by such a method in practice, and in many cases, a blurred picture is taken.

It is desirable for the photographer who is the user of the imaging apparatus to be able to effectively correct camera shake by a simple method.
An object of the present invention is to provide a technique capable of obtaining an image free from camera shake in a simple manner for a user who performs shooting with a hand-held, even when shooting a still image that performs exposure for several seconds where large camera shake easily occurs. Do.

  According to an imaging apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention, an imaging unit, a camera shake detection unit, a camera shake correction unit for correcting a camera shake based on the camera shake information obtained by the camera shake detection unit, and A display unit for displaying the selected image, and a control unit for switching the control method of camera shake correction according to the exposure time, and the control unit determines that the exposure time of the imaging unit is equal to or longer than a predetermined time The correction range of the rotation direction in the plane orthogonal to the optical axis is set to a small range with respect to the case where the exposure time is less than the predetermined time, and the information on the camera shake in the rotation direction in the plane orthogonal to the optical axis is It is characterized in that it is controlled to be displayed on the display unit.

  According to the imaging method according to the other aspect of the present invention, the imaging unit receives the light flux obtained through the imaging lens, detects an instruction to start exposure in the imaging unit, and the exposure time is equal to or longer than a predetermined time For the case where the exposure time is less than the predetermined time, the correction range of the rotation direction in the plane orthogonal to the optical axis is set to a smaller range, and the information on the camera shake in the rotation direction in the plane orthogonal to the optical axis Are controlled to be displayed on the display unit.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to easily obtain an image without camera shake for a user who is taking a hand-held image even when shooting a still image which is exposed for several seconds where a large camera shake is likely to occur.

It is a figure showing an example of composition of an imaging device concerning a 1st embodiment. It is a figure explaining detection of hand movement of a pitch, yaw, and roll direction. It is a figure explaining the relationship between the movement amount of an image pick-up element, and the range which can be shake-corrected about each axial direction. It is the graph which showed the change with the time series of shaking amount. It is a figure which illustrates the allocation method of the correction range of each axial direction in 1st Embodiment. It is the flowchart which showed the whole processing by the imaging device concerning a 1st embodiment. It is the flowchart which showed the details of still picture photographing operation. 5 is a flowchart showing details of the shooting operation when the camera shake correction function is off. 5 is a flowchart showing details of a normal shooting operation. It is the flowchart which showed the detail of long second photographing operation processing. It is the flowchart which showed the details of animated picture photographing operation. It is a figure which shows the example of a display of the guide to a liquid crystal monitor. It is a figure explaining the relationship between the guide displayed on a liquid crystal monitor, and the hand shake of the roll direction of an image pick-up element. It is a figure explaining the display method of camera shake amount of a roll direction. It is a figure which shows the other example of a guide display. It is a figure which shows the further another example of a guide display. FIG. 17 is a diagram for explaining the relationship between a guide and camera shake of the imaging device when displaying the guide shown in FIG. 16. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the relationship between the frequency component of the shake in the roll direction and the magnitude of the shake. It is the flow chart which showed the details of long-second photography operation processing by the imaging device concerning a 2nd embodiment. It is the flowchart which showed the detail of long second photographing operation processing with the photographing device which relates to 3rd execution form.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
First Embodiment
FIG. 1 is a view showing a configuration example of an imaging device according to the present embodiment. In the imaging device 1 shown in FIG. 1, an interchangeable lens 10 is attached to a body 100, and it is possible to capture still images and moving images, and reproduce captured images.

  The body 100 includes a power supply circuit 21, a shutter 22, a dustproof mechanism 23, an imaging element 24, an imaging stage 25, a shutter charge mechanism 26, a shutter control circuit 27, a dustproof control circuit 28, an imaging element interface circuit 29 and an imaging stage drive circuit 30. Image stabilization controller 31, image processing controller 32, recording medium 33, synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM) 34, flash ROM (read only memory) 35, liquid crystal monitor 36, strobe 37, strobe drive circuit 38, camera operation switch An operation display unit 40, a wireless circuit 41, an EEPROM 42, and a body control microcomputer (hereinafter referred to as BCPU) 43 are connected to the interchangeable lens 10 through the communication connector 20.

  The interchangeable lens 10 includes a lens group 11, an aperture 12, a lens drive circuit 13, an aperture drive circuit 14, and a lens control microcomputer (L_CPU) 15. The lens group 11 is drive-controlled by the lens drive circuit 13 and condenses light from a subject. The diaphragm 12 is drive-controlled by the diaphragm drive circuit 14 to adjust the exposure. The lens control microcomputer 15 comprises, for example, a CPU, communicates with the body 100 via the communication connector 20, and controls each part of the interchangeable lens 10 based on an instruction from the body 100 side.

Note that, in FIG. 1, for simplification of the description, a part of the configuration of the imaging device 1 such as the lens group 11 is simplified and described.
The power supply circuit 21 of the body 100 supplies power to each circuit constituting the imaging device 1.

  The shutter 22 is charged by the shutter charge mechanism 26, driven and controlled by the shutter control circuit 27, and is configured to open only during the exposure time. The dustproof mechanism 23 is drive-controlled by the dustproof control circuit 28 to remove dust appearing on an image. The strobe 37 is controlled by the strobe drive circuit 38 to emit light when it is necessary for photographing.

  The camera operation switch 39 includes a release button and the like, and receives an instruction and the like of an imaging operation from the user via the camera operation switch 39. The operation display unit 40 includes an LED (Light Emitting Diode) or the like, and is provided to display an operation state or the like of the imaging device 1.

The wireless circuit 41 performs wireless communication with, for example, a wireless terminal device or the like (not shown in FIG. 1), and receives an instruction such as an imaging operation from the wireless terminal device.
The image pickup device 24 is configured of a charge coupled device (CCD), a complementary MOS (CMOS), or the like, receives light condensed by the interchangeable lens 10 and photoelectrically converts the light, and transmits the image processing controller Output to 32.

  The image processing controller 32 performs necessary processing on the image signal read from the image sensor 24 through the image sensor interface circuit 29. The image processing performed by the image processing controller 32 is a known technique, and thus the detailed description is omitted here.

Image data obtained by processing by the image processing controller 32 is displayed through the liquid crystal monitor 36. Also, it is recorded on the recording medium 33 according to the instruction of the user.
The BCPU 43 comprises, for example, a CPU, and controls each part of the body 100. The EEPROM 42 stores data necessary for various operations such as an imaging operation. The flash ROM 35 stores control programs necessary for various operations of the imaging device 1. The SDRAM 34 is used, for example, as a work area when performing image processing in the image processing controller 32.

  An imaging element 24 is fixed to the imaging stage 25. The imaging stage 25 is drive-controlled by the imaging stage drive circuit 30, and in the embodiment, the camera shake correction is performed by moving along with the imaging element 24. The BCPU 43 calculates the shake amount and shake direction of the imaging device 1 in each axial direction from the signal detected by the sensor unit 50, and moves the movement amount and movement direction of the imaging stage 25 so as to cancel out the calculated shake in each axial direction. Decide.

  The shake in each axial direction is detected by the sensors 51A, 51B, 52A to 52C of the sensor unit 50. In the embodiment, the sensor unit 50 includes G sensors 51A and 51B that detect translational shake in the X-axis direction and Y-axis direction, and gyro sensors 52A to 52C that detect rotational shake in the pitch, yaw, and roll directions, respectively. Configured

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the detection of hand shake in the pitch, yaw, and roll directions.
Of the sensor unit 50 of the body 100, in a plane perpendicular to the optical axis, the X axis and the Y axis are taken about the optical axis. The G sensors 51A and 51B described above detect shake in these directions.

  Among the three gyro sensors 52A to 52C in FIG. 1, the gyro sensor 52A detects rotational runout in the pitch direction. Here, rotation around the X axis is defined as rotation in the pitch direction. Similarly, the gyro sensor 52B detects rotational shake in the yaw direction, and sets rotation around the Y axis as rotation in the yaw direction. The gyro sensor 52C detects rotational runout in the roll direction, and sets rotation around the optical axis as rotation in the roll direction.

  Signals detected by the respective sensors 51A, 51B, 52A to 52C of the sensor unit 50 are input to the BCPU 43. The image stabilization control circuit 31 drives and controls the imaging stage 25 in accordance with the movement direction and the movement amount of the imaging stage 25 in each axial direction obtained by the BCPU 43 based on the signal input from the sensor unit 50.

  As described above, in the imaging device 1, the imaging stage 25 is driven based on the information representing the shake obtained by the sensor unit 50, and the imaging element 24 is moved together with the imaging stage 25 to correct the camera shake. In the imaging device 1 configured as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, camera shake correction is performed for each of rotation in the X axis direction, Y axis direction, pitch direction, rotation in the yaw direction, and rotation in the roll direction. How much camera shake correction can be performed in each axial direction depends not only on the specifications of the imaging device 1 such as the size of the lens and the imaging device 24, but also on the direction and size of the vibration at a certain point. This will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 3 is a view for explaining the relationship between the amount of movement of the image sensor 24 and the range in which the camera shake can be corrected in each axial direction.
FIG. 3A shows the positional relationship between the image sensor 24 and the image circle formed by the lens group 11 when the image sensor 24 does not shake in the roll direction, and the correction range determined therefrom.

  The size of the image sensor 24 is horizontal (X direction) Lx and vertical (Y direction) Ly, and the diameter of the image circle is D. At this time, in the camera shake correction process, it is necessary to move the imaging stage 25 so that the imaging element 24 falls within the rectangular region R inscribed in the image circle. Here, the rectangular region R is taken as an allowable correction range R.

In the case of FIG. 3A, for example, even if the image sensor 24 moves by the distance l_x in the + X direction and by the distance l_y in the + Y direction, the movement is within the allowable correction range R, so correction is possible. is there.
On the other hand, in FIG. 3B, the image sensor 24 is corrected based on the shake in the roll direction. In this case, the movable distances of the imaging device 24 in the X and Y directions are smaller than those in the case of FIG. For example, in the lower right area of the imaging device 24, the imaging device 24 is rotating in the roll direction, so the imaging device 24 can move only by the distance l_xb in the + X direction. Also, only the distance l_ya can move in the + Y direction. As described above, when the imaging device 24 has a shake in the roll direction, the distance by which the imaging device 24 can be moved for camera shake correction becomes smaller as compared to the case shown in FIG.

  Here, for example, in a long-second shooting operation (shooting operation with an exposure time of several seconds), the camera shake exceeds the allowable correction range R in FIG. 3 and a case where the camera shake can not be corrected easily occurs. This will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 4 is a graph showing a time-series change of the shake amount. The temporal change of the shake amount in the yaw, pitch and roll directions is shown sequentially from the upper part of FIG. Here, the timing at which the release button of the camera operation switch 39 is half pressed is time t = 0, and the shake amount in each rotational direction thereafter is represented by an angle [deg].

Release button is exposure is started from the time t _0, which is totally depressed. The shooting in the normal photographing operation (the exposure in FIG. 4 at time t ₀ ~t _1), there is no significant difference in the amount of hand-shake yaw, for any of the pitch and roll directions. However, in the long-second shooting operation (time t _{0 to} t ₂ in FIG. 4), the amount of camera shake in the roll direction is often larger than that in the yaw direction and the pitch direction as illustrated in FIG. In the following, a photographing operation whose exposure time is less than the time set in the long-second photographing operation is referred to as a normal photographing operation.

  As described above, in the long-second imaging operation, the shake amount in the roll direction tends to be large. As described in FIG. 3B, as the correction amount for camera shake in the roll direction increases, the correctable range of directions other than the roll direction, that is, the yaw direction, the pitch direction, the X direction, and the Y direction decreases. turn into. Therefore, the shake can not be properly corrected in directions other than the roll direction, and the shake may appear in the image.

  Therefore, in the imaging device 1 according to the present embodiment, when the exposure time is equal to or more than the predetermined value, the range in which the roll direction can be corrected is the size (Lx, Ly) of the imaging element 24 or the diameter (D of the image circle Allocate smaller than the correction range defined by). By doing this, for the directions other than the roll direction, a larger range is allocated as a correctable range.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a method of assigning the correction range in each axial direction in the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 5, in the present embodiment, the correction range in each direction performed by the imaging device 1 is changed depending on whether it is the normal imaging operation or the long-second imaging operation.

  In the example shown in FIG. 5, the correction range is not changed in the case of the normal shooting operation. On the other hand, in the case of the long-second imaging operation, as described with reference to FIG. 4, the shake amount in the roll direction is large, and the correction range in the other axial directions is easily affected. Therefore, for camera shake in directions other than the roll direction, the correction range (correction stroke) by the imaging device 1 is set larger than in the case of the normal shooting operation, and for camera shake in the roll direction, the correction range by the imaging device 1 (correction Stroke) is set smaller than in the normal shooting operation. Then, for the shake in the roll direction, the liquid crystal monitor 36 of the imaging device 1 displays a guide regarding shake correction in the roll direction. By presenting various types of information regarding camera shake in the roll direction by the guide, a notification for prompting the user to correct camera shake is performed for camera shake exceeding the correction range in which camera shake correction can be performed by the camera shake correction mechanism of the imaging device 1.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the entire processing by the imaging device 1 according to the present embodiment.
In the series of processes shown in FIG. 6, first, in step S1, the BCPU 43 determines whether the power switch, which is one of the camera operation switches 39, has been switched on. Here, the process waits until the power switch is switched from off to on, and when the BCPU 43 recognizes that the power switch is switched to on, the process shifts to step S2. In step S2, the BCPU 43 executes the initialization operation of the body 100.

  In step S3, the BCPU 43 receives the selection of the operation mode. In the embodiment, there are a reproduction mode for reproducing moving images and still images and a photographing mode for photographing images. The photographing mode further includes a moving image photographing mode for photographing moving images and a still image for photographing still images. Prepare the shooting mode. The user selects an operation mode from the operation mode menu or the like displayed on the liquid crystal monitor 36 via a touch panel or the like (not shown) in FIG. If the reproduction mode is selected, the process proceeds to step S4, and if the shooting mode is selected, the process proceeds to step S11.

  If the reproduction mode is selected, the BCPU 43 executes the reproduction mode operation in step S4. Here, image data and the like recorded in the SDRAM 34, the recording medium 33 and the like are read out, and processing for displaying a moving image or a still image on the liquid crystal monitor 36 is executed.

  In step S5, the BCPU 43 determines whether or not an instruction to end reproduction has been input from the user. If the instruction is recognized, the process proceeds to step S7. Then, in step S7, the BCPU 43 determines whether the power switch has been switched from on to off. If it is not switched off (in the case of No in step S7), the process returns to step S3, and if it is switched off (in the case of Yes in step S7), the BCPU 43 selects the system of the imaging device 1 in step S8. Execute the process to end the process and end the process.

  When the shooting mode is selected in step S3, the BCPU 43 controls the respective units to enter a shooting preparation state in step S11. Then, in step S12, the BCPU 43 determines whether the shooting mode selected by the user is a moving image shooting mode. If the moving image shooting mode is selected, the process proceeds to step S23. If the still image shooting mode is selected, the process proceeds to step S13.

  In step S13, the BCPU 43 waits for the start of shooting. When the photographing starts (in the case of Yes in step S13), the process proceeds to step S14, and the still image photographing operation processing is executed. At this time, as described above, in the case of the long-second shooting operation, the guide is displayed on the liquid crystal monitor 36 while setting the correction range of the roll direction by the imaging device 1 smaller than that in the normal shooting operation. Then, the user is notified that the shake in the roll direction falls within the correction range in which the shake correction can be performed by the shake correction mechanism of the imaging device 1. Details of the still image shooting operation process of step S14 will be described in detail later with reference to the flowchart.

  In step S15, the BCPU 43 determines whether or not an instruction to end shooting of a still image has been input from the user. If the instruction is recognized, the process proceeds to step S16. In step S16, the BCPU 43 reads the data of the image captured in step S14 from the SDRAM 34 or the like, and controls each unit to output a view display of a still image to the liquid crystal monitor 36.

The processes after step S17 are the same as the processes after step S7.
On the other hand, if it is determined in step S12 that the current mode is the moving image shooting mode, the BCPU 43 waits for an instruction to start shooting from the user in step S23. When the imaging starts (in the case of Yes in step S23), the process proceeds to step S24, and a moving image imaging operation process is performed. Details of the moving image shooting operation processing will be described later with reference to FIG.

  In step S25, the BCPU 43 determines whether or not an instruction to end shooting of a moving image has been input from the user, and when recognizing the instruction, the B CPU 43 shifts the processing to step S26. The processes after step S26 are the same as the processes after step S7 or step S17.

Next, with reference to FIG. 7 to FIG. 11, details of the operation in each shooting mode of step S14 and step S24 of FIG. 6 will be described.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the details of the still image shooting operation of step S14 of FIG.

  In the still image photographing operation, first, in step S31, the BCPU 43 inputs information of the lens group 11 of the interchangeable lens 10 as initialization processing. In step S32, the BCPU 43 initializes the center position (point O in FIG. 3) of the imaging surface (centering operation).

  In step S33, the BCPU 43 determines whether the camera shake correction function is set to on. If the camera shake correction function is set to off (No in step S33), the process proceeds to step S37, the shooting operation process is performed when the camera shake correction function is off, and the shooting operation in the still image shooting mode is performed. finish. If the camera shake correction function is set to ON (Yes in step S33), the process proceeds to step S34.

  In step S34, the BCPU 43 determines whether the imaging device 1 is stationary. The stillness determination of the imaging device 1 here is determined from an image or the like obtained by imaging with the imaging device 24. When the imaging device 1 is fixed by a tripod or the like, no shake appears in the image, and it is determined that the imaging device 1 is stationary. If it is determined that the image pickup apparatus 1 is stationary, the process proceeds to step S37 as described above, and the photographing operation process when the camera shake correction function is off is executed, and the camera shake correction is not performed particularly. End the shooting operation. If it is determined that the imaging device 1 is not stationary (the image is blurred), the process proceeds to step S35.

  In step S35, the BCPU 43 determines whether the shake correction function in the long-second shooting operation is set to ON. The camera shake correction function in the long-second shooting operation is set smaller than that in the normal shooting operation by limiting the correction range of the roll direction by the imaging device 1 during the long-second shooting operation as described with reference to FIG. (For example, it is set to 60% at the time of the normal shooting operation), and the guide is displayed on the liquid crystal monitor 36, and the camera shake correction method entrusts the user with control of camera shake in the roll direction exceeding the correction range which can be corrected by the camera shake correction mechanism. is there. If the long-second shake correction function is set to ON (Yes in step S35), the process proceeds to step S36, and it is further determined whether or not the long-second shooting operation is performed. It is determined based on whether or not the exposure time is longer than a predetermined value set in advance. If it is a long-second shooting operation (Yes in step S36), the process advances to step S39 to execute long-second shooting operation processing and end the shooting operation in the still image shooting mode. If it is determined in step S36 that the long-second imaging operation is not performed (i.e., the normal imaging operation, No in step S36), the process proceeds to the normal imaging operation process of step S38. If it is determined in step S35 that the long-second shake correction function is set to off (No in step S35), the process also proceeds to step S38.

Details of the respective photographing operations in steps S37, S38 and S39 will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 to 10, respectively.
FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing the details of the photographing operation when the camera shake correction function is turned off in step S37 of FIG.

  When the camera shake correction function is off, first, in step S41, the BCPU 43 holds the vibration reduction imaging stage 25 at a predetermined position, and waits for half depression of the release button in step S42. As a holding method, for example, an actuator such as an existing VCM (voice coil motor) is used to drive and hold. If the release button is not half pressed (No in step S42), the process returns to step S41. If the first half depression of the release button is recognized (in the case of Yes in step S42), the process proceeds to step S43.

  In step S43, the BCPU 43 controls each unit to perform AF (auto focus) or AE (automatic exposure). Then, in step S44, the BCPU 43 waits for all the release buttons to be pressed. If the release button has not been fully pressed (No in step S44), the process returns to step S42. If all depressions of the release button are recognized (in the case of Yes in step S44), the process proceeds to step S45.

  In step S45, the BCPU 43 starts the exposure operation, and in step S46 determines whether or not the exposure has ended after a predetermined exposure time has elapsed. If the exposure is not completed (No in step S46), the process returns to step S45, and if the exposure is completed (Yes in step S46), the series of photographing operations shown in FIG. 8 are completed.

FIG. 9 is a flow chart showing details of the normal shooting operation of step S38 of FIG.
In the normal shooting operation, first, in step S51, the BCPU 43 initializes a correction range (correction stroke) by the imaging device 1. As described in the description of FIG. 5, limitation of the correction range for the roll direction is not performed here.

  In step S52, the BCPU 43 controls each unit to start camera shake correction driving. As a result, the imaging stage 25 is driven to move in a direction that cancels the movement of the imaging device 1 in each axial direction.

  In step S53, the BCPU 43 waits for half depression of the release button. If the release button is not pressed halfway (No in step S53), the process returns to step S52. If the half depression of the release button is recognized (in the case of Yes in step S53), the process proceeds to step S54. The processing of step S54 and step S55 is similar to the processing of step S43 and step S44 of FIG. 8, respectively, and when all depression of the release button is recognized in step S55 (in the case of Yes in step S55), processing to step S56 is performed. Migrate

  In step S56, the BCPU 43 temporarily initializes the position of the imaging stage 25 before the exposure operation started in the subsequent steps. Step S56 is performed to make the correction range of camera shake correction as much as possible. In another embodiment, step S56 may not be performed. The processes after step S57 are the same as the processes after step 45 in FIG.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the details of the long-second imaging operation process of step S39 of FIG.
In the long-second shooting operation process, first, in step S61, the BCPU 43 initializes a correction range (correction stroke) for each axis. As described above, in the case of the long-second shooting operation, the correction range in the roll direction is set to a smaller range than in the case of the normal shooting operation (for example, set to 60% of the normal shooting operation) . As for directions other than the roll direction, a larger range is set than the case of the normal shooting operation by setting a smaller range as the correction range of the roll direction (for example, 130% of the normal shooting operation is set).

  In step S62, the BCPU 43 updates and initializes the guide margin displayed on the liquid crystal monitor 36. The guides displayed on the liquid crystal monitor 36 will be specifically described later with reference to the drawings.

In step S63, the BCPU 43 controls each unit to start camera shake correction driving. About this, it is the same as that of FIG.8 S52.
In step S64, the BCPU 43 determines whether or not to display the guide on the liquid crystal monitor 36 during live view. The display / non-display of the guide in the live view is selected by the user, for example, in advance or at the timing of step S64. When the guide is not displayed during live view (No in step S64), no particular process is performed, and the process proceeds to step S66. If the guide is to be displayed during live view (Yes in step S64), the process proceeds to step S65, the BCPU 43 starts the display of the guide on the liquid crystal monitor 36, and proceeds to step S66.

  The processes of step S66 to step S69 are the same as the process of step S56 of FIG. 9, respectively. If the position of the imaging stage 25 is initialized before the start of the exposure operation in step S69, the BCPU 43 initializes the display of the guide in step S70. The initialization of the display of the guide before the start of the exposure operation will also be specifically described later with reference to the drawings.

The processes after step S71 are the same as the processes after step S45 of FIG. 8 or step S57 of FIG.
Also in the shooting operation processing of a moving image in step S24 of FIG. 6, as in the case of a still image, when the camera shake correction function is set to ON, camera shake correction is performed. The details of the moving image shooting operation will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing details of the moving image shooting operation of step S24 of FIG.
The processes from step S81 to step S83 are the same as those from step S31 to step S33 in the flowchart of FIG. 7 showing the details of the still image shooting operation.

  If it is determined in step S83 that the camera shake correction function is set to off (No in step S83), the process proceeds to step S85. In step S85, as in the case where the camera shake function is set to off in step S41 of FIG. 8, that is, photographing of a still image, the image pickup stage 25 for image stabilization is held at a predetermined position, and the process proceeds to step S86. Migrate the process.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S83 that the shake correction function is set to ON (Yes in step S83), the process proceeds to step S84. In step S84, as in step S52 in FIG. 9 and step S63 in FIG. 10, the BCPU 43 starts camera shake correction driving and shifts the process to step S86.

Steps S86 and S87 are the same as steps S42 and S43 in FIG.
In step S88, the BCPU 43 determines whether an instruction to start recording has been issued. Specifically, when all the release buttons have been pressed, if there is no instruction to start recording (No in step S88), the process returns to step S86. If the release button is all pressed and there is a recording start instruction (Yes in step S88), the process proceeds to step S89.

  In the subsequent processing, in step S89, the BCPU 43 executes a recording operation, and in step S90, the BCPU 43 waits for an instruction to end recording from the user, and there is no input of the instruction (No in step S90). In the case of ()), the process returns to step S 89, and when the instruction is input (Yes in step S 90), the photographing operation is ended.

  As described in the description of the flowchart in FIG. 10, in the long-second shooting operation, the correction range (correction stroke) in the roll direction is set smaller than in the normal shooting operation, and a guide is displayed on the liquid crystal monitor 36 For camera shake in the roll direction exceeding the correction range set in step S61 in FIG. 10, a notification for prompting the user to perform correction is performed. Next, the guide displayed on the liquid crystal monitor 36 will be specifically described.

  FIG. 12 is a view showing a display example of a guide to the liquid crystal monitor 36. As shown in FIG. 12, the guides displayed on the liquid crystal monitor 36 at each step in the flowcharts shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 10 are described in association with the image at that time and the position of the imaging stage 25. Here, a case where the guide is displayed also in the live view is illustrated.

  As illustrated in FIG. 12, the guide displays a guide having a shape resembling a level so that it is easy to intuitively confirm whether the roll direction fluctuation falls within the correction range (correction stroke) and correct it. Do. In the embodiment, the guide is displayed superimposed on the captured image. The user grasps the state of the shake in the roll direction of the imaging stage 25 through such a guide displayed on the liquid crystal monitor 36. The configuration of the guide will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 13 is a view for explaining the relationship between the guide displayed on the liquid crystal monitor 36 and the shake in the roll direction of the imaging device 24. As shown in FIG.
In the embodiment, the center position (“0” in FIG. 13) of the guide G is set to “no shaking”.

  As shown in FIG. 13A, when the imaging device 24 is rotated by + θ [deg] with respect to the neutral position (the imaging device 1 is rotated by −θ [deg]), the guide G is a diagram. As indicated by 13 (b), the position information P indicating the current position in the roll direction is moved to the left according to the rotation angle θ of the imaging element 24. When the position information P is out of the correction stroke S in FIG. 13B, when the user rotates the imaging device 1 in the + θ direction, the imaging element 24 rotates in the −θ direction, and hence the position in the diagram. Information P moves to the right. The user can control the shake in the roll direction by inclining the imaging device 1 in the + θ direction until the position information P returns to the position within the correction stroke S with reference to the guide G displayed on the liquid crystal monitor 36.

  When the rotation angle of the imaging device 24 in the roll direction is −θ, the position information P is displayed on the right with respect to the center position 0 of the guide. Also in this case, when the user rotates the imaging device 1 in the roll direction in the −θ direction, the position information P moves to the left and tilts the imaging device 1 until the position information P returns to the position within the correction stroke S. Control the hand movement in the roll direction.

In FIG. 13A, assuming that the counterclockwise rotation direction in FIG. 13A is the + direction, the image pickup device 24 when the rotation angle of the image pickup device 24 in the roll direction, that is, the shake amount is + θ based on the position of the X axis. The position of the image sensor 24 is indicated by a solid line, and the position of the image sensor 24 when camera shake of the maximum angle + .theta. ₀ occurs within the correction stroke in the + .theta. Further, the position of the image sensor 24 when camera shake at the maximum angle in the correction stroke in the + θ direction in the normal photographing operation occurs is indicated by an alternate long and short dash line. In the camera shake correction in the roll direction at the long second photographing operation, camera shake correction is performed by rotating the imaging element 24 within a range (−θ ₀ ≦ θ ≦ + θ ₀ ) of a correction stroke smaller than that at the normal photographing operation. If the detected shake amount in the roll direction exceeds ± θ ₀ , the position information P is displayed outside the correction stroke S of the guide G. In this case, image stabilization mechanism is driven to ± theta ₀ in the roll direction, until the camera shake amount is less than ± theta ₀ in the roll direction again, and holds the state. With regard to a large camera shake in which the amount of camera shake in the roll direction exceeds ± θ ₀ , the user controls the amount of camera shake in the roll direction not to exceed ± θ ₀ while referring to the guide G. If the hand movement amount in the roll direction, which is considered difficult to be controlled by the user, is small hand movement with ± θ ₀ or less, it can be canceled by driving the hand movement correction mechanism. Note that the maximum angle in the correction stroke at the time of the normal shooting operation in the above embodiment is set to, for example, k · θ ₀ (k> 1).

However, in the embodiment, the correction stroke S is in the range of −θ ₀ ≦ θ ≦ + θ ₀ , but the guide G shown in FIG. 13B has a margin of Δ with respect to the correction stroke. As shown in FIG. 13A, if up to + θ _0, which is the maximum shake amount that can be corrected by the imaging device 1, is displayed within the correction stroke S, the roll of the imaging device 1 is instantaneously caused by high frequency hand movement. This is because the amount of camera shake in the direction may exceed the correction stroke. As described above, in the embodiment, when the camera shake amount θ in the roll direction is within the range of −θ ₀ + Δ ≦ θ ≦ θ ₀ −Δ with a margin Δ, the camera shake in the roll direction is performed by the camera shake correction mechanism. The position information P is displayed on the assumption that the position is within the correction stroke S which is a correction range that can be corrected.

FIG. 14 is a diagram for explaining a display method of the shake amount in the roll direction of the imaging device 1.
FIG. 14A shows the case where the hand movement in the roll direction is within the range S of the correction stroke, and FIG. 14B shows the case where it is outside the range S of the correction stroke. By the method described with reference to FIG. 13, it is determined whether the shake in the roll direction is within the correction stroke S or outside the correction stroke S.

  Note that, as shown in FIG. 14C, in the case where the imaging device 1 is tilted to perform imaging, the angle between the screen and the guide G may be changed according to the angle of the imaging device 1. With such a configuration, even in the case of shooting while tilting the imaging device 1, the user can appropriately control the shake in the roll direction with reference to the guide G.

  It returns to the explanation of FIG. The display in the live view of FIG. 12 represents the shake guide in the live view before shooting. In the case of displaying the guide also in the live view in step S65 of FIG. 10, the user refers to the guide and controls the shake in the roll direction while pressing the release button all the way.

  When the release button is fully pressed, the display of FIG. 12 is performed. The guide display in this case represents the attitude of the imaging device 1 and the position of the imaging element 25 at the start of exposure. By fully pressing the release button, the position of the imaging stage 25 is reset in step S69 in FIG. 10, and in step S70, the display of the guide is initialized and the amount of camera shake in all directions is reset to zero. In this way, by displaying various types of information regarding camera shake in the roll direction on the guide that has been similarly initialized based on the position of the imaging stage 25 after reset, camera shake during a long second imaging operation can be effectively controlled. In another embodiment, when the position of the imaging stage 25 is not reset, the position information P of the guide display is not reset to the center position, and the display corresponding to the position of the imaging stage 25 is performed.

  Thereafter, while the exposure operation is performed in step S71 of FIG. 10, the guide is continuously displayed on the liquid crystal monitor 36 as it is. The guide display during the exposure operation of FIG. 12 represents a shake guide in the exposure operation. The user can control the shake in the roll direction during the long second shooting operation with reference to the guide.

  When outputting the view display of the image obtained by imaging in this manner to the liquid crystal monitor 36 in step S16 of FIG. 6, as illustrated in FIG. The range may be color-coded on the guide. In the illustrated example, the range of the correction stroke and the actual shake is displayed together with the display of “OK” indicating that the shake in the roll direction falls within the correction stroke.

  The guide is a display form other than those exemplified in FIGS. 13 and 14 as long as the user can intuitively grasp and control the shake amount in the roll direction of the imaging device 1 through the display of the liquid crystal monitor 36. May be

FIG. 15 is a view showing another example of the guide display.
For example, as shown in FIG. 15A, the center of the bar may be set as the center position 0 of no shake (θ = 0), and color-coded display may be performed according to the amount of shake in the roll direction. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 15 (b), it may be displayed in the form of an attitude indicator of the aircraft. In addition to this, the shake amount θ in the roll direction may be displayed using a scale, a number, or the like. In addition, the shake amount θ in the roll direction may be displayed by an icon or the like.

Furthermore, in addition to the shake in the roll direction, shake amounts in other directions may be displayed in combination.
FIG. 16 is a view showing still another example of the guide display. In FIG. 16, a guide G1 representing a camera shake amount in the X direction and a guide G2 representing a camera shake amount in the Y direction are displayed. Here, not only hand movement in the roll direction, but also other hand movement in the yaw and pitch directions and other axial directions such as translational directions in the X and Y directions are displayed on the guide.

FIG. 17 is a view for explaining the relationship between the guides G1 and G2 and the shake of the imaging device 24 when the guides shown in FIG. 16 are displayed.
In the case of displaying the camera shake in the axial direction other than the roll axis with the guides G1 and G2, the guides G1 and G2 display how much the imaging device 24 is displaced with respect to the imaging stage 25. For each of the guide G1 and G2, similar to the guide G in FIG. 13, respectively a margin Deruta' and _{Δ'', -x 0 + Δ'≦ x} ≦ x 0 -Δ' and -y ₀ + Δ' The range of '≦ y ≦ y ₀ −Δ ′ ′ is taken as the correction stroke. The user can appropriately control camera shake by moving the imaging device 1 so that the positional information P1 and P2 fall within the correction stroke for any of the guides G1 and G2.

As described above, according to the imaging device 1 according to the present embodiment, when shooting a still image by the long-second shooting operation, normal shooting is performed as a range in which the imaging device 1 performs correction in the roll direction. Set a smaller range than at the time of operation. Then, on the liquid crystal monitor 36, a guide indicating information on camera shake occurring in the roll direction is displayed. The user refers to the guide to move (rotate) the imaging device 1 in a direction to eliminate camera shake in the roll direction that occurs at the time of exposure. As described above, for camera shake exceeding the correction range where camera shake correction can be performed by the camera shake correction mechanism of the imaging device 1, the user who is the photographer gives control of the camera shake to set the correction range in the roll direction smaller. As a result, the correction range can be set larger for other axial directions, and even in the long-second shooting operation, a situation in which camera shake in the other axial direction can not be prevented due to camera shake in the roll direction is effectively avoided. it can. Therefore, the user can obtain an image without camera shake by a simple method, even for hand-held shooting.
Second Embodiment

  In the above embodiment, at the time of the long second photographing operation of the still image, the guide is displayed on the liquid crystal monitor 36 while setting the correction range small for camera shake in the roll direction and taking a large correction range in other directions. The user controls the shake in the roll direction. On the other hand, the present embodiment is different in that only the shake of the component of the frequency band that is relatively easy to control among the shakes in the roll direction is left to the control of the user.

  Hereinafter, a method of correcting camera shake at the time of long-second shooting operation by the imaging device according to the present embodiment will be described focusing on differences from the above-described embodiment. The configuration and the like of the imaging device 1 are as described above with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 18 is a diagram showing the relationship between the frequency component of camera shake in the roll direction and the magnitude of camera shake. The amplitude, that is, the shake amount [deg] in the roll direction is taken on the vertical axis of FIG. 18, and the frequency [Hz] of the shake is taken on the horizontal axis.

  Although camera shake occurs independently of the user's photographer's intention, of these, low-frequency camera shake can be controlled by the user's awareness. The frequency controllable by the user is approximately 1 Hz. In the graph of FIG. 18, the amplitude (the shake amount in the roll direction) whose frequency component corresponds to 1 [Hz] is approximately 0.5 [deg]. From this, the threshold value Th is set to 1 [Hz], and the user controls camera shake larger than the value 0.5 [deg] corresponding to the threshold value Th on the graph. The image pickup apparatus 1 corrects a shake with an amplitude of 0.5 [deg] or less, that is, a shake with a frequency of 1 [Hz] or more.

  In this case, it is desirable that a predetermined margin be given to 0.5 [deg] as the correction range in the roll direction, and a range larger than ± 0.5 [deg] be a correction range by the imaging device 1. The margin is as described with reference to FIG. 13 in the description of the first embodiment.

  Further, the threshold Th and the margin described above are not limited to the above-described values, and may be set in advance as fixed values, and these may be used, but the values may be appropriately selected according to the skill etc. of the user who is the user. The configuration may be selectable. In any case, the necessary values are held in the SDRAM 34 or the like of FIG. 1 and read out and used.

  Alternatively, an appropriate value may be set based on the shooting conditions. For example, it can be changed according to the focal length. Specifically, in the wide-angle shooting, it is expected that there is a margin in the correction range in the pitch direction and the yaw direction. From this, it is possible to change the threshold value Th to a lower frequency or to increase the margin. However, in macro photography, it is necessary to keep in mind that the threshold Th and the margin can not be made large because it is necessary to make the correction range large for camera shake in the translational direction (X direction and Y direction).

  Furthermore, for camera shake with a frequency component of 1 [Hz] or more, the variation (deviation) may be obtained, and the margin may be set based on this. With such a configuration, the margin can be appropriately set based on the camera shake that is actually occurring.

  FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing details of the long-second imaging operation processing by the imaging device 1 according to the present embodiment. In comparison with the flowchart of the first embodiment of FIG. 10, the flowchart of FIG. 19 differs in that steps S112, S117 and S118 are added.

  Specifically, after initializing the correction range (correction stroke) for each axis in step S111, the BCPU 43 starts a shake analysis process in step S112. The processes of step S113 to step S116 executed after the start of the shake analysis process are the same as the processes of step S63 and step S66 to step S68 of FIG. 10, respectively.

  If all depressions of the release button are recognized (in the case of Yes in step S116), the process proceeds to step S117. In step S117, the BCPU 43 ends the shake analysis process. In the camera shake analysis process, camera shake data actually occurring during the AF and SE operations are collected and frequency-resolved to determine the above-mentioned threshold Th and margin.

  Thus, in step S118, the BCPU 43 updates the correction stroke and the guide margin based on the result of camera shake analysis. The process after step S119 is the same as the process after step S69 of FIG.

As described above, according to the imaging apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, the user controls the camera shake in the low frequency band that can be controlled by the user who is the photographer among the camera shake in the roll direction. The camera shake correction is performed on the side of the imaging device 1 for camera shake in a high frequency band that is difficult to do. This makes it possible to suppress camera shake more effectively in the long-second imaging operation.
Third Embodiment

  In the above-described first and second embodiments, in the long-second imaging operation, the correction range in the roll direction by the imaging device 1 is reduced, and the user controls the shake in the roll direction. Camera shake is effectively corrected by taking a larger correction range. In this embodiment, electronic shake correction is further combined with such a method to perform shake correction.

  Hereinafter, a method of correcting camera shake at the time of long-second imaging operation by the imaging device according to the present embodiment will be described focusing on differences from the above-described embodiment. The configuration and the like of the imaging device 1 are as described above with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing details of the long-second imaging operation process by the imaging device 1 according to the present embodiment. Among the processes from the process of initializing the correction axis and the correction range (correction stroke) of step S131 to the process of starting the exposure operation of step S140 are substantially the same as the processes of step S61 to step S71 of FIG. . However, the flow of FIG. 20 is different in that there is no determination of whether or not to display a guide during the live view in step S64 of FIG.

  After the exposure operation is started in step S140, the BCPU 43 shifts the process to step S142 when the electronic image stabilization function is set to ON (Yes in step S141) in step S141. Here, when the electronic camera shake correction function is set to OFF (No in step S141), the process proceeds to step S144, and thereafter, the same process as the above embodiment is executed.

  When the electronic shake correction is performed, the BCPU 43 determines whether the shake amount exceeds the end of the correction range (whether or not it is within the correction stroke) in step S142. If the camera shake is within the correction range (No in step S142), the process proceeds to step S144, the BCPU 43 determines whether the exposure has ended after a predetermined exposure time has elapsed, and the exposure has not ended In the case, the process returns to step S140.

  On the other hand, when the camera shake exceeds the correction range (Yes in step S142), the process proceeds to step S143, the BCPU 43 temporarily terminates the exposure, and temporarily reads an image obtained by reading a signal from the image sensor I will remember. Then, the process returns to step S138, and after performing control to initialize the position of the imaging stage 25 and return it to the initial position, an exposure operation is newly started (step S140). The exposure time is also reset once and counting is newly started. Thus, when it is determined in step S144 that the exposure has ended, the BCPU 43 instructs the image processing controller 32 to align and combine the image temporarily stored in the SDRAM 34 or the like in step S143. To end the series of processing shown in FIG.

A known technique is used to obtain one image by combining and aligning a plurality of images in electronic image stabilization.
As described above, according to the image pickup apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, since electronic camera shake correction is further used in combination, even when a beginner or a very large scene of camera shake is targeted, the camera shake is sufficiently made. It becomes possible to suppress.

  In the above description of the first to third embodiments, the case of performing camera shake correction by driving the imaging device 24 is described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the present invention may be applied to camera shake correction by converting the readout address of the image sensor 24 according to the rotation, or to camera shake correction by performing data conversion from the data read from the image sensor 24 according to the rotation. . The same effect as described above can be obtained even in the case where the image pickup method according to the first to third embodiments is applied to the image pickup apparatus 1 that performs the shake correction by these methods and the shake is corrected.

  Further, in the description of the first to third embodiments, the case of setting the correction range small for camera shake in the roll direction at the time of long-second imaging operation is described as an example, but it is also limited thereto It is not something to be done. For example, even when the above-described image stabilization method is applied to a rotation direction in a plane orthogonal to the optical axis such as rotation around an axis decentered from the optical axis, the same effect as described above can be obtained.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment as it is, and constituent elements can be modified and embodied without departing from the scope of the invention at the implementation stage. In addition, various inventions can be formed by appropriate combinations of a plurality of components disclosed in the above embodiments. For example, all components shown in the embodiments may be combined as appropriate. Furthermore, components in different embodiments may be combined as appropriate. Of course, various modifications and applications are possible without departing from the scope of the invention.

Reference Signs List 1 imaging device 10 interchangeable lens 11 lens group 12 aperture 22 shutter 23 dustproof mechanism 24 imaging device 50 sensor unit 100 body

Claims (5)

An imaging unit,
Camera shake detection unit,
A shake correction unit that corrects shake based on the shake information obtained by the shake detection unit;
A display unit for displaying an image obtained by the imaging unit;
A control unit that switches the control method of camera shake correction according to the exposure time;
Have
When the exposure time of the imaging unit is equal to or longer than a predetermined time, the control unit reduces the correction range of the rotation direction in the plane orthogonal to the optical axis to a smaller range than when the exposure time is less than the predetermined time. An image pickup apparatus, which is set and controlled to display information on camera shake in a rotational direction in a plane orthogonal to the optical axis on the display unit. The camera shake correction unit corrects camera shake by driving the imaging unit.
The control unit causes the display unit to display the position of the imaging unit at the start of exposure as a reference position, and the camera shake with respect to the reference position generated during exposure in a rotational direction in a plane orthogonal to the optical axis. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the direction and the amount of camera shake are displayed. Claim wherein the control unit of the rotational direction of the camera shake in a plane perpendicular to the optical axis, for the deflection of the higher frequency band than a predetermined frequency, characterized in that intends line correction by the shake correction unit The imaging device according to 1 or 2. An exposure control unit that, when the camera shake exceeds a predetermined value during exposure in the imaging unit, terminates exposure and acquires image data, and then starts exposure in the imaging unit newly;
An image combining unit for obtaining a single image with camera shake correction from a plurality of pieces of image data obtained by the exposure control by the exposure control unit;
The image pickup apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising: A light flux obtained through the photographing lens is received by the imaging section, and an instruction to start exposure in the imaging section is detected;
When the exposure time is equal to or longer than the predetermined time, the correction range of the rotational direction in the plane orthogonal to the optical axis is set to a smaller range than in the case where the exposure time is less than the predetermined time.
Imaging method characterized by information about the rotational direction of the camera shake in a plane perpendicular to the optical axis, it controls to display in the table radical 113.