JP2007295529A - Camera, recording method of camera, program, and recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a camera for recording two images at the same time and capable of more effectively photographing the two images at two-image photographing, and to provide a recording method of the camera, a program thereof, and a recording medium. <P>SOLUTION: In the case of a switching operation from a photographing of a whole area image for photographing the whole image to photographing of a designated part image being a partial image, a main image for displaying the photographed image and a sub image for displaying an auxiliary image are displayed in a form of multi-screen. First at start of the switching (Fig. 9(A)), the whole area image is displayed as a sub image 12c, and the designated part image is displayed as a sub image 12d. Further, the photographed image is switched in a way of gradually zooming up from the whole area image to the designated image (Fig. 9(B)). Moreover, the whole area image is always displayed as the sub image 12c (Fig. 9(B), (C)). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a camera, and more particularly to a camera that simultaneously captures two screens, an entire screen and a partial screen.

  Conventionally, when performing framing or zooming during shooting, the orientation of the camera is changed or the optical zoom is adjusted. However, frequent framing and zooming are not only troublesome in operation, but also have various problems such as mechanical noise caused by the operation as sound noise, and discontinuity in the angle of view that makes it difficult to see.

  Therefore, an imaging apparatus that simultaneously captures two different images regardless of optical means has been proposed (Patent Document 1). This imaging apparatus is an apparatus that reads out signals from different areas of the imaging element and records them as moving image signals.

In addition, as a camera that obtains two images from one image sensor, a camera that can alternately read a moving image signal and a still image signal and can shoot a still image during moving image shooting has been proposed (Patent Document 2, Patent). Reference 3).
JP 2006-42399 A JP 2005-117375 A JP 2005-057378 A

  As described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 above, a camera that simultaneously captures two screens and images has been proposed.

  However, while a camera that shoots two screens at the same time is very convenient, a new problem peculiar to a two-screen shooting camera that does not exist in a conventional camera that shoots only one screen occurs. For example, the change in the screen at the time of switching the screen becomes unnatural, and which to display on the monitor screen at the time of shooting becomes a problem.

  In view of the above problems, the present invention has an object to provide a camera capable of simultaneously recording two screens, capable of more effective shooting during two-screen shooting, a recording method for the camera, a program therefor, and a recording medium. To do.

  In order to achieve the above object, a camera according to a first aspect of the present invention includes a whole area photographing operation unit that starts photographing a whole area image that is a whole range that can be photographed, and a range designation part that designates a partial range of the whole area image. , A designated portion photographing operation unit for starting photographing of a designated portion image that is an image of a range designated by the range designated portion, and a designated portion image and a whole area image on a monitor screen at the time of photographing by the designated portion photographing operation portion. And a display control unit that divides the screen and displays the screen simultaneously.

  A camera according to a second aspect of the present invention is a camera capable of selectively photographing a whole area image corresponding to a full screen range that can be photographed and a designated portion image that is an image of a range designated in the whole area image. When the designated part image is taken, a display control part is provided that displays a screen showing the whole area image and a screen showing the designated part image on a multi-screen on a monitor.

  The camera according to the third invention is an image of a plurality of areas within the shootable range, and is the same as the first area image obtained at the first timing and the second area image obtained at the second timing. The image forming apparatus includes a screen configuration unit that reconstructs timing images and a control unit that records the configured images as one moving image.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, an image signal of a whole area corresponding to the entire screen range and an image signal of a designated portion, which is an image signal of a range designated by a part of the screen, are alternately and continuously supplied from the imaging device. A read-out unit to be read out, a screen composition unit for synthesizing the image signal of the whole area and the image signal of the designation part to create one image composed of two screens of the whole area image and the designation part image; A control unit for recording an image as a moving image is provided.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a recording method of a camera for recording a moving image, wherein the designation is an image signal of a whole area corresponding to the whole screen range and an image signal of a range designated by a part of the screen. The image signal of the part is read out alternately and continuously from the image sensor, and the image signal of the whole area and the image signal of the designated part are combined to create one image consisting of two screens of the whole area image and the designated part image, One image configured as described above is recorded as a moving image.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the camera which can image | record two screens simultaneously, and can perform more effective imaging | photography at the time of 2 screen imaging | photography, the recording method of the camera, its program, and a recording medium can be provided.

The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
Here, we briefly introduce the conventional video camera shooting method. FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining a conventional photographing method. First, FIG. 1A is a view of a state in which a conventional video camera is set as seen from the back. FIG. 1B is a simple flowchart showing the operation procedure. The user aligns the camera with the subject (step A1). The camera zoom is adjusted in accordance with the size of the subject (step A2). Then, shooting is started by a shooting start instruction (step A3). Waiting for the shooting end instruction, the shooting ends (step A4).

  FIG. 1C shows an example of a captured image. For example, during shooting of an image such as C-1, it is often performed that framing is changed as in C-2 or zooming as in C-3. In many cases, this frequent operation results in a shake state due to the movement of the user's hand. In addition, such an image may be uncomfortable during viewing. In addition, due to this frequent operation, operation sounds such as zoom sounds may be annoying, and if zooming control is missed, there is a difficulty that it will immediately lead to failure.

(First embodiment)
The first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 is an overall block diagram of the camera 1 to which the present invention is applied. The camera 1 includes a photographic lens 2, an image sensor 3, an AFE (analog front end) 4, a selection unit 5, and an image processing unit 8. The taking lens 2 forms an image of the incident subject 20 on the image sensor 3. The image sensor 3 is composed of a CCD or a CMOS, and converts the formed subject image into an electrical signal. The AFE 4 reads an image signal from the image sensor 3 and outputs the read image signal as digital image data by performing AGC processing, CDS processing, AD conversion, or the like. The AFE 4 also controls driving of the image sensor 3. The selection unit 5 selects and outputs the image data from the AFE 4 to the two subsequent image processing units according to the type.

  The image processing unit 8 performs various processing on the image data and records it on a recording medium. The image processing unit 8 includes a first image processing unit 6a, a second image processing unit 6b, a first recording / reproducing unit 7a, and a second recording / reproducing unit 7b. The selection unit 5 outputs a signal of an area of the entire screen, which is image data thinned out according to a predetermined rule, to the first image processing unit 6a. The selection unit 5 outputs image data limited to a predetermined area to the second image processing unit 6b. The first image processing unit 6a and the second image processing unit 6b are provided with a color processing unit, a compression unit, an expansion unit, and the like, and perform processing such as color correction, signal compression, and expansion on image data. The compression unit performs, for example, JPEG compression or MPEG compression for recording image data in a memory (not shown), and also has a sound compression function. The decompressing unit performs a process of restoring the compressed image data.

  That is, an image of the entire shooting area (hereinafter referred to as an entire image or an entire image) is input to the first image processing unit 6a. The second image processing unit 6b receives a part of the image of the photographing region (hereinafter referred to as a designated part image or a part image). The first recording / reproducing unit 7 a records the entire image processed by the first image processing unit 6 a on the recording medium 19. Similarly, the second recording / reproducing unit 7b records the image of the portion subjected to the image processing by the second image processing unit 6b on the recording medium 19. At the time of reproduction, the first recording / reproducing unit 7a and the second recording / reproducing unit 7b read the entire area image and the partial image from the recording medium 19, respectively, and the first image processing unit 6a and the second image processing unit 6b perform the expansion process.

  The camera 1 is provided with a display control unit 9, a display unit 12, and a touch panel 13. The display control unit 9 performs control for displaying the image processed by the first image processing unit 6 a and the second image processing unit 6 b on the display unit 12. The display unit 12 is composed of, for example, an LCD, and displays a monitor image at the time of shooting, and displays a decompressed recorded image at the time of reproduction. The touch panel 13 is mounted on the surface of the display unit 12 and directly detects an operator's touch operation on the screen of the display unit 12.

  In addition, the camera 1 is provided with an AF unit 14, a microphone unit 15, and an audio recording unit 17. The AF unit 14 includes an actuator and a position encoder, and controls the movement of the focus lens in the photographing lens 2. The AF unit 14 detects the in-focus position based on the contrast value of the image from the image processing unit 8 and moves the focus lens. The microphone unit 15 is for detecting and recording sound during shooting. The audio recording unit 17 digitizes the audio signal detected by the microphone unit 15 and records it in a memory (not shown). The voice recording unit 17 records the voice to be recorded so as to relate to the photographed image.

  In addition, the camera 1 is provided with an MPU 10, a ROM 11, an operation unit 16, and a time unit 18. The MPU 10 is a control unit that controls the entire camera 1 such as shooting and reproduction according to a program. The selection unit 5 and the touch panel 13 are also controlled by the MPU 10. The ROM 11 is a non-volatile and recordable memory such as a flash ROM, and stores a control program for performing camera processing. The operation unit 16 notifies the MPU 10 of the photographer's instruction. Switches 16 a and 16 b are provided as a representative example of the operation unit 16. For example, the switch 16b is for instructing photographing (release). The time unit 18 is a time generation unit for attaching a time stamp to an image or sound during recording. Based on the accompanying time data, each image and sound are reproduced in synchronization during reproduction.

  The camera 1 is a camera of a type that receives the subject image 20 by the image pickup device 3 via the photographing lens 2 and converts it into an electric signal and records it. The image pickup device 3 used here is, for example, 10 million. It is more desirable that the pixel is a high pixel of the pixel class and a CMOS sensor or the like. That is, it is desirable that the imaging device 3 used here adopts the latest technology that enables high-speed all-pixel readout from 60 frames to 100 frames per second.

  On the other hand, with such a high-pixel and high-speed readout sensor, there is currently no display device that uses all the pixels during reproduction. For example, even a so-called high-definition TV (HDTV) has a resolution equivalent to 1 million pixels. In other words, shooting using all the pixels (10 million pixels) becomes over-spec when considering reproduction. Therefore, in the present invention, an arbitrary part is read and only a necessary part is read and recorded. Such reading out of a predetermined area, thinning out, addition of pixel signals, and the like are also good at the CMOS sensor. Therefore, in the present invention, such a function is effectively used.

  The moving image shooting camera of the present invention makes full use of high-definition high-speed image sensors, reduces the movable parts by conventional optical zoom, and effectively uses a larger amount of information to make a moving subject. On the other hand, it is possible to shoot a smooth moving image.

  FIG. 3 shows an example of an area frame changing operation at the time of shooting using the camera 1 of the present invention. FIG. 3A is a view of the camera 1 held by the user's hand as seen from the back. The switch 16b is for a release instruction, and the switch 16a is for a designated portion image recording instruction. A display surface of the display unit 12 is disposed on the back surface of the camera 1. On the screen of the display unit 12, a square area frame 12a is displayed so as to be superimposed on the monitor image. The area frame 12a is a frame that is displayed to indicate the position and size of the designated portion image that is partially captured. The user holds the switch 16a and the switch 16b while operating with the right hand, and looks at the display unit 12 to determine the composition and shooting timing. While the switch 16b (release) is being pressed, the entire area image displayed on the display unit 12 is recorded in the memory by the first image processing unit 6a and the first recording / reproducing unit 7a. When the position and size of the area frame 12a are designated with the left hand, the touch panel detects it and the designated portion image in the area frame 12a is recorded by the second image processing unit 6b and the second recording / reproducing unit 7b. .

  Here, there are various ways of determining and changing the area frame 12a. As an example, as shown in FIG. 3B, several frame patterns 12a-1 having different sizes are displayed in advance. The area frame may be selected depending on whether it is touched. For example, a small range (inner frame), a large range (outer frame), an elongated range (dashed frame), and the like. Alternatively, the size may be changed according to the touched position and the number of times. Further, in order not to record the erroneously touched area, the image (designated part) of that part cannot be recorded unless the switch 16a is pressed.

  FIG. 4A is a diagram showing a comparison between an imaging area that is imaged in the entire area and an imaging area that is imaged in the designated portion. The entire imaging area 3c is an area where the entire area is captured. The designated portion imaging area 3d is a partial area of the entire imaging area 3c. Note that if only the designated portion imaging area 3d is recorded, it is the same as when the image is captured by the electronic zoom with a conventional camera. If the image sensor has multiple pixels, the entire area captured image may be recorded without using all the pixels of the image sensor. The thinning rate is set to a thinning rate so that the resolution at the time of reproduction is sufficient. FIG. 4B is a pixel array diagram schematically showing pixels to be thinned out and read. Of all the pixels constituting the entire imaging region 3c, for example, the pixel 3e in the hatched portion is read out by thinning out.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the photographing process of the camera 1. This process is mainly executed by the MPU 10 according to a program. Assume that the camera 1 is set to the shooting mode. Then, it is determined whether or not the user has operated the switch 16b (step S12). When the switch 16b is operated (YES in step S12), first, the whole area photographing is started (step S13). Next, it is determined whether or not the user operates the touch panel 13 (step S14).

  If there is no operation on the touch panel (NO in step S14), it is next determined whether or not the switch 16a is operated (step S15). The switch 16a is a switch for instructing photographing of the designated portion image. When the user operates the switch 16a (step S15 YES), it is next determined whether or not the area frame 12a is designated (step S16). If the area frame 12a is designated (YES in step S16), the designated part photographing for photographing the range designated by the frame is performed (step S17). Here, since the whole area shooting is continuously performed, two moving image shootings are simultaneously performed. If the area frame 12a is not designated, a warning is displayed (step S22), and the process returns to step S12.

  On the other hand, if there is an operation on the touch panel (YES in step S14), the area frame 12a is changed. First, the area frame 12a is displayed centering on the touched place (step S19). Subsequently, it is determined whether the touch has been made a plurality of times (step S20). The size of the area frame 12a is changed according to the number of times touched (step S21). For example, it is made smaller according to the number of times.

  FIG. 6 shows a screen of a variation example of the area frame 12a. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a change in the size of the frame area 12a displayed on the display unit 12 by a touch operation. FIG. 6A shows the size of the first area frame 12a and the touch operation on the area frame 12a. For example, the area frame 12a is gradually reduced as shown in FIGS. 6A to 6B by a plurality of touch operations.

  If it is determined that the operation of the switch 16b has been released during shooting (NO in step S12), the shooting of both the entire area and the designated portion is completed (step S18), and the process waits for the operation of the switch 16b (resumption of shooting).

  Further, after step S20 and step S21, the process proceeds to step S12, and photographing is continued unless an end instruction is given. Through the above flowchart, the entire area image and the designated portion image in the range designated at the timing designated by the user are recorded.

  Next, a modification of the above operation is shown in FIG. FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a modification of the photographing process described in FIG. In the flowchart of FIG. 5 above, when the switch 16b is pressed, the whole area shooting is always performed. However, it is also convenient to allow only the designated portion to be shot without shooting the entire area. Therefore, in this modification, the entire area shooting and the specified area shooting are performed independently.

  First, it is determined whether or not the switch 16b is operated (step S31). When the switch 16b is operated (YES in step S31), the entire area shooting is switched so that the entire area shooting is ended if the entire area shooting is being performed, and the entire area shooting is started if the entire area shooting is not being performed (step S32). On the other hand, if the switch 16b is not operated (NO in step S31), the shooting is continued if the whole area is being shot, and if it is stopped, the process proceeds to step S34 as it is. Subsequently, it is determined whether or not the switch 16a is operated (step S34). Next, if the switch 16a is operated (YES in step S34), the designated part photographing is terminated if the designated part photographing the part designated by the area frame 12a is being photographed. The designated part photographing operation is switched so as to start photographing (step S35). On the other hand, if the switch 16a is not operated (NO in step S34), the operation relating to the designated portion photographing is not switched. Then, the process returns to step S31, and this loop is circulated. As a result, it is possible to arbitrarily perform both or any one of the whole area photographing and the designated portion photographing.

  As described above, the camera 1 described in the first embodiment is different from the conventional video camera in the shooting method and the quality of the captured image. The video camera of the present invention uses the latest high-definition high-speed image sensor to reduce the number of movable parts by optical zoom as in the past, and to effectively use more information and change It is possible to shoot a smooth moving image with a certain movement.

  Further, in the present invention, even if the zooming cannot be performed well, the entire image is always taken, so that it is sufficient to employ this, and there is an effect that the operation sound which is anxious due to intermittent zooming is eliminated. In addition, since it is possible to perform an electrically effective zoom instead of a manual zoom, it is not necessary for the user to control the zoom while looking at it manually, resulting in a smooth screen change and a more effective expression. Since the user only needs to consider the location where he / she wants to shoot, he / she is freed from the zooming operation and can easily shoot moving images with easy-to-see images. Conventionally, there is a method of shooting with high pixels in advance and selecting a part at the time of playback. However, this makes the memory size of the camera huge, the recording time shortens, and the compression circuit becomes huge. , Energy consumption will increase. If shooting is performed as in the present embodiment, these problems do not occur.

(Second Embodiment)
The second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. During zooming according to the first embodiment, if the image is suddenly switched from the entire image to the designated portion image, the viewer may feel discontinuity. Therefore, in the second embodiment, in order to reduce this discontinuity, at the time of switching to the designated portion image, zooming is gradually performed on the image, and shooting control is performed such that the image is gradually narrowed down. Hereinafter, this is referred to as a transition effect (photographing). In the first embodiment, it has been described that either or both of the whole area image and the designated portion image are selectively recorded. However, in the second embodiment, an example in which any one of them is selected and recorded will be described below. explain. Of course, both may be recorded. The block diagram of the applied camera is the same as that in FIG.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining the shooting procedure of the second embodiment including transition shooting. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a monitor screen displayed on the display unit 12 during transition shooting. 9A, 9B, and 9C sequentially show temporal changes in the monitor screen. Briefly, the captured and recorded image does not immediately switch from the entire area image to the designated portion image, but instead of the intermediate size image (third) from 12b (all area image) in (A) to 12b in (B). The image is switched to 12b (designated portion image) in (C). Hereinafter, it demonstrates along the flow of a flowchart. In the following, the screen on which the currently captured image is displayed is called a main screen, and the other screens are called sub screens. An intermediate size image is also referred to as a third image.

  Assume that the camera 1 is set to the shooting mode and an instruction to shoot the whole area image is given. Shooting of the entire area image is started (step S41). Here, it is determined whether or not there is an instruction to shoot the designated portion (step S42). When an instruction to set the designated part shooting mode is given (YES in step S42), the display unit 12 displays the multi-screen display (step S44). At this stage, the designated portion shooting has not yet started. It is a stage of preparation. If the end operation is performed (YES in step S43), the entire area image capturing is ended.

  FIG. 9A shows the initial display of this multi-screen. On the display unit 12, a main screen 12b is displayed in a large size, and a sub screen 12c and a sub screen 12d are displayed as small screens beside the main screen 12b. An area frame 12a is superimposed on a part of the main screen 12b. As described above, the area frame 12a indicates the area of the designated portion. The sub screen 12c and the sub screen 12d show images of the start and end of transition shooting, and are displays for allowing the user to confirm the effect of transition shooting. On the upper right screen 12c, a whole area image that is an image of the start time point size is displayed. On the lower right sub-screen 12d, an image of the area frame 12a, which is an image at the end time point, is displayed. In addition, a thick frame is displayed around the main screen 12b, which indicates that this image is currently being shot. In the following (B) and (C) as well, the main screen has a thick frame.

  Next, it is determined whether or not there is a user switching operation (step S45). If there is an operation for switching from full-range shooting to designated-section shooting (YES in step S45), transition shooting is started (step S46). The screen changes from FIG. 9 (A) to FIG. 9 (B).

  Two screens, a large main screen 12b and a small sub-screen 12c, are displayed as a multi-screen. A captured image is displayed on the main screen 12b. In this state, a screen that is slightly zoomed up from the entire image is photographed. Instead of immediately switching from the full-range image to the designated portion image, it is changed while zooming up. In addition, the entire image is displayed on the sub-screen 12c with a size smaller than that in FIG. This is because the entire area image can always be confirmed. Change the shooting size little by little for natural zooming.

  Then, the image of the designated portion size is reached, the transition photographing is finished, and the normal designated portion photographing is switched (step S47). FIG. 9C shows a screen after transition shooting is completed. Similar to (B), two large screens, a large main screen 12b and a small sub-screen 12c, are displayed. The designated portion image being shot is displayed on the main screen 12b. On the sub screen 12c, the entire area image is displayed in the same size as in FIG. This is because the entire area image can always be confirmed. Thereafter, the designated portion image is continuously photographed unless there is a change operation.

  During the designated portion image shooting, it is determined whether or not there is a switching operation to the whole area image shooting (step S48). When the whole area image shooting is instructed (YES in step S48), the transition shooting is started (step S49). Contrary to FIG. 9, shooting is performed while gradually reducing the size from the designated portion image to the entire image. Then, the designated portion photographing is terminated and the whole area image photographing is switched (step S50). Then, the process returns to step S41.

  Further, during the designated portion image shooting, it is determined whether or not the user has performed an end operation (step S51). If it is determined that there is an end instruction (YES in step S51), the image capturing is ended. If there is no end instruction (NO in step S51), the process returns to step S47, and the designated portion image shooting is continued.

  As described above, since the camera 1 described in the second embodiment can automatically perform effective zooming instead of manual zooming, it is not necessary for the user to perform control while watching the adjustment. Screen changes and more effective expression is possible. In addition to simply zooming, settings such as fade-in / fade-out or special effects may be taken into account. With such a device, the user only has to consider the designation of a place to be photographed, so that the user is freed from the zooming operation and can easily shoot a moving image with an easy-to-view image. Of course, both the whole area image and the designated part image may always be recorded.

(Third embodiment)
A third embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11. The third embodiment relates to a method for viewing two images recorded according to the first and second embodiments during reproduction. FIG. 10 is a flowchart for explaining a method of appreciating these two images. FIG. 11 is a screen example displayed on the display unit 12 when two images are reproduced. Note that the camera 1 of the first embodiment is used as a playback apparatus to be applied.

  First, the entire area image is reproduced (step S61). At the same time, it is determined whether or not the designated portion image is attached to the entire area image (step S62). If there is a designated part image (step S62 YES), a display indicating that there is a designated part image is displayed (step S63). FIG. 11A shows the screen displayed at this time. For example, the letter “S” is displayed in the lower right corner of the screen. This “S” is a display (12e) indicating that there is a designated portion image.

  It is determined whether or not the designated portion image is displayed by the user (step S64). When the designated part image display is selected (YES in step S64), the designated part image is enlarged (step S65). Then, as shown in FIG. 11B, both the designated part image and the entire area image are displayed (step S66). The designated portion image is displayed on the large sub-screen 12f, and the entire area image is displayed on the small sub-screen 12g (FIG. 11B). When the designated part image does not exist (step S62 NO) or when there is no designated part image display operation (step S64 NO), the process returns to step S61.

  In the display state of FIG. 11 (B), it is determined whether or not there is an end operation (step S67) or a playback end operation of the designated portion image display by the user (step S68). If there is an instruction to end the designated portion image display (step S67 YES), the process returns to step S61 to display only the entire area image. When there is a reproduction end operation (step S68 YES), the reproduction ends. If there is none, the designated part display is continued.

  As described above, since the entire area image and the designated part image can be switched freely, a reproduction method for changing the screen is possible.

(Fourth embodiment)
The fourth embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. In each of the above embodiments, the entire area image and the designated portion image are recorded separately. In the fourth embodiment, the two images are not recorded separately, but the two images are synthesized from the beginning to form one screen, and then recorded on one recording unit.

  FIG. 12 is an overall block diagram of a digital camera 31 to which the present invention is applied. Here, the same reference numerals are given to the same functional units as those in the first embodiment, and the description thereof will be omitted. Only the differences will be described. The image processing unit 26 has a function equivalent to a combination of the first image processing unit 6a and the first image processing unit 6a. Similarly, the recording / reproducing unit 27 has a function equivalent to a combination of the first recording / reproducing unit 7a and the second recording / reproducing unit 7b.

  From the image sensor 3, signals of odd field images and even field images are alternately output. The AFE 4 reads these two image signals from the image sensor 3 alternately. This odd field signal is an odd field signal in the entire range of the image sensor. The even field signal is an even field signal of a specified partial area. The AFE 4 alternately outputs the entire area image data based on the odd field signal and the designated portion image data based on the even field signal. Then, the selection unit 24 outputs the entire area image data (odd field image) to the memory 22 and the designation unit image data (even field image) to the screen configuration unit 23 among the signals read from the image sensor. Note that the even-numbered field signal serving as the designated portion image may be once read out from the imaging device 3 as a signal in the entire range and cut out into a signal only in the designated area by the AFE 4.

  The memory 22 is a memory that temporarily stores one image data in order to synthesize the two images output from the selection unit 24 at the same timing. The screen configuration unit 23 synthesizes two images, an even field image directly output from the selection unit 24 and an odd field image temporarily stored in the memory. Specifically, the image as shown in FIG. 11B is recorded. Note that the imaging device 3 used here is a high-speed one that can capture a large amount of images within a predetermined time, and is a high pixel that can obtain a smooth moving image without using all of the data. Image sensor.

  A procedure for combining two image data into one image will be described. FIG. 14 is a timing chart illustrating a procedure for creating a composite image from an image signal output from the image sensor 3.

  FIG. 4A shows image signal columns in field units that are alternately output from the image sensor 3 in even columns (even fields) and odd columns (odd fields). The image signal sequence (B) is obtained by extracting an odd-numbered timing image signal from the image data (A). This image signal corresponds to the entire image. The image signal sequence (C) indicates the timing at which the image signal sequence (B) is temporarily stored in the memory 22, shifted by a predetermined time, and output from the memory 22 to the screen configuration unit 23.

  On the other hand, the image data sequence (D) is obtained by extracting even-numbered timing image data from the image data sequence (A). This image data corresponds to the designated portion image. Then, one of the odd-numbered image data in (C) and one of the even-numbered image data in (D) are combined by the screen composition unit 23. The image data sequence (E) indicates a sequence of synthesized image data output from the screen configuration unit 23. The synthesized image data is compressed by the image processing unit 26. The image data sequence (F) indicates the timing of image data that is compressed and output from the image processing unit 26. This image data is sequentially recorded as a moving image. As described above, it is possible to obtain images of different imaging regions that are reconstructed into one image in one shooting.

  FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the photographing process of the camera 31. This process is mainly executed by the MPU 10 according to a program.

  The presence / absence of a photographing (release) operation by the user is determined (step S71). If it is determined that the release operation has been performed (YES in step S71), the entire area image is captured (step S72). Imaging of substantially the entire region signal (odd field) of the image sensor 3 is performed. At this time, thinning-out reading as described in FIG. 3 is performed. It is determined whether or not the user has finished photographing (step S73). If the photographing end operation is performed (YES in step S73), the end processing is performed. If there is no end operation, the process proceeds to the next step.

  Next, it is determined whether or not there is an area designation operation (step S74). The area designating operation is an operation for designating an area for imaging a designated part that captures a part of the entire area. Here, this area designation operation also serves as a start operation of the designated portion imaging. The area designation may be designated on the touch panel as described with reference to FIG. 5, or may be operated with a cross key provided elsewhere. If there is an area designation (YES in step S74), the entire area image signal (odd field) and the image signal (even field) in a predetermined area are alternately read (step S75). At this time, as the monitor display, the screen is switched as shown in FIGS.

  At the time of this switching, the designated image is photographed for a few seconds (starting transition) so as to have a transition effect that gradually zooms as described with reference to FIG. The two images thus obtained are reconstructed (step S76). The whole area image is composed of a small screen as indicated by 12b in FIG. Then, this is recorded as a moving image (step S77). Then, the process returns to step S75 and circulates until the predetermined transition shooting is completed. When the transition shooting is completed, the process shifts to shooting of the entire area image and the image of the normal designated portion range. The entire area image and the image of the designated area are alternately read out, and the resultant image is recorded by the screen configuration section (step S79).

  On the other hand, during the designated portion image photographing, an operation for canceling the designated portion photographing is determined (step S80). When the releasing operation is performed (YES in step S80), the designated portion photographing is canceled and the process proceeds to step S72. The canceling operation may be performed by pressing the designated portion started again by operating the switch 16c or pressing the switch 16a.

  on the other hand. Transition shooting is also performed when switching from designated-part image shooting to full-area image shooting (end transition). In contrast to the previous case, the designated portion image is gradually made smaller by giving a predetermined transition effect (step S81). Read the specified part image. The whole area image and the designated portion image are given a transition effect to reconstruct the image (step S82). The moving image of the whole area image and the designated portion image is recorded as one moving image (step S83). Then, steps S81 to S83 are repeated until the transition ends (NO in step S84). When the transition shooting is completed (YES in step S84), the process returns to step S72 and only the normal whole area image is shot. Further, an end operation is determined (step S85), and if there is an end operation (YES in step S85), photographing is ended.

  As described above, in this embodiment, since the two screens are compressed and recorded as one image, the configuration can be made simpler than the embodiment in which the images are separately recorded.

  Next, a fifth embodiment will be described. Transition shooting can be applied not only to a multi-image composed of a full-area image and a designated portion image, but also when switching the shooting angle of view. FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating how images are gradually switched during image switching. When an operation for switching the angle of view from the entire area image to the image of the partial area is performed, the screen is not changed suddenly as shown in FIG. Change to gradually close up. That is, if the moving image shooting range is switched based on the concept of changing in the order of FIGS. 15A to 15C, it is possible to prevent the screen from changing discontinuously.

  FIG. 16 is a flowchart for describing shooting control for gradually switching between the entire area image and the designated image. Assume that a screen as shown in FIG. 15A is being photographed (step S91). When the switching operation to the angle of view as shown in FIG. 15B is performed (YES in step S92), the difference between the designated area and the current area is determined (step S94). The number of times the designated area is larger than the current area, that is, the area ratio of the designated area to the current area is n, and this n times is calculated. First, it is determined whether the operation is enlargement (step S95). When the operation is enlargement (YES in step S95), that is, if the designated area is in the zoom-up direction ((A) → (B)), the process proceeds to step S96. Then, shooting is performed with the area to be shot set to (1 / n) × (3) times the designated area (step S96). Next, the area to be imaged is imaged with a size (1 / n) × (3/2) times the designated area (step S97). The shooting area is gradually narrowed so as to approach the final n-fold enlarged image. That is, if n = 6, the shooting area is reduced in order of 1/2, 1/4, and 1/6. After this predetermined transition shooting, the process shifts to shooting of a specified area size (step S98).

  Thereafter, the photographing end operation is determined (step S99), and if there is an end operation (step S99 YES), the end processing is performed. Further, a screen switching operation is determined (step S100), and if there is a switching operation (step S100 YES), the process returns to step 94. On the other hand, if there is no photographing end operation (step S99) and there is no screen switching operation (step S100), the photographing in step S98 is continued.

  On the other hand, if the switching operation in step S92 is a switching operation for returning to the angle of view in step S91, it is determined in step S95 that the image is not enlarged, and the process proceeds to step S101. The area to be photographed is photographed at a size (n / 3) times the current area (step S102), then at a size (2/3 × n) times (step S103), and finally at the size of the designated area (step S104). ). That is, if the designated image is an image of n = 6 times, the shooting area is enlarged by 2, 4, and 6 times to shift to the size of the designated area, and the process proceeds to step 98. In FIG. 15, it changes from (B) → (D) → (C) → (A).

  As described above, according to the fifth embodiment, even when discontinuous shooting area switching is performed, an analog angle of view switching effect can be added so that the angle of view naturally changes instead of suddenly changing the screen. You can enjoy more natural and smooth video images.

  Note that part or all of the processing of the MPU 10 described in the above embodiments may be configured by hardware. The specific configuration is a design matter. Each control process by the MPU 10 is realized by a software program stored in the ROM 11 being supplied to the MPU 10 and operating according to the supplied program. Therefore, the software program itself realizes the functions of the MPU 10, and the program itself constitutes the present invention. A recording medium for storing the program also constitutes the present invention. As a recording medium, besides a flash memory, an optical recording medium such as a CD-ROM or DVD, a magnetic recording medium such as an MD, a tape medium, a semiconductor memory such as an IC card, or the like can be used. In the embodiment, an example in which the present invention is applied to a digital camera has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and may naturally be applied to, for example, a camera unit of a mobile phone.

  Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment as it is, and can be embodied by modifying the constituent elements without departing from the scope of the invention in the implementation stage. In addition, various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining a plurality of components disclosed in the embodiment. For example, some components may be deleted from all the components shown in the embodiment. Furthermore, constituent elements over different embodiments may be appropriately combined.

The figure explaining the conventional imaging | photography method in 1st Embodiment. 1 is an overall block diagram of a digital camera to which the present invention is applied in a first embodiment. The figure which shows the example of a change operation of the area frame at the time of imaging | photography in 1st Embodiment. The figure which contrasted and showed the imaging area imaged whole area | region and the imaging area imaged partially in 1st Embodiment. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a photographing process of the camera 1 in the first embodiment. The figure which shows the example of a change of the magnitude | size of the frame area displayed on a display part by touch operation in 1st Embodiment. 9 is a flowchart for explaining a modification example of photographing processing in the first embodiment. 9 is a flowchart for describing a shooting procedure including transition shooting in the second embodiment. The figure explaining the specific example of transition imaging | photography in 2nd Embodiment. The flowchart explaining the appreciation method in 3rd Embodiment. The figure which shows the example of a screen displayed at the time of reproduction | regeneration in 3rd Embodiment. FIG. 14 is an overall block diagram of a digital camera 31 to which the present invention is applied in a fourth embodiment. 14 is a flowchart illustrating a shooting process of a camera 31 in the fourth embodiment. 9 is a timing chart illustrating a procedure for creating a composite image from image data output from an image sensor in the fourth embodiment. The figure which shows the example in which an image switches gradually at the time of image switching in 5th Embodiment. 10 is a flowchart for describing imaging processing for gradually switching between a full-area image and a designated portion image in the fifth embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Camera, 2 ... Shooting lens, 3 ... Imaging element, 3c ... All imaging area, 3d ... Designated part imaging area,
3e: thinned pixels, 4 ... analog front end (AFE) section,
5 ... selection unit, 6a ... first image processing unit, 6b ... second image processing unit,
7a ... 1st recording / reproducing part, 7b ... 2nd recording / reproducing part, 8 ... Image processing unit, 9 ... Display control part 10 ... MPU, 11 ... ROM, 12 ... Display part, 12a ... Area frame, 12b ... Main screen, 12c, 12d, 12f, 12g ... sub-screen,
13 ... Touch panel, 14 ... AF section,
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 15 ... Microphone part, 16 ... Operation part, 16a, 16b, 16c ... Operation part, 17 ... Audio | voice recording part, 18 ... Time part, 19 ... Recording medium, 20 ... Subject,
22 ... Memory, 23 ... Screen configuration unit, 24 ... Selection unit, 26 ... Image processing unit, 27 ... Recording / playback unit 31 ... Camera,

Claims (9)

A whole area shooting operation section for starting shooting of a whole area image that is a whole range that can be shot;
A range designating unit for designating a partial range of the whole area image;
A designated portion photographing operation unit for starting photographing of a designated portion image that is an image in a range designated by the range designated portion;
A camera comprising: a display control unit configured to simultaneously display a designated part image and a whole area image on a monitor screen during photographing by the designated part photographing operation unit. A switching operation unit for switching between shooting of the first image and shooting of the second image included in the shooting range of the first image;
When switching from the first image to the second image or from the second image to the first image by the switching operation unit, an image having an intermediate size between the first image and the second image is converted to the third image. A camera characterized by comprising a control unit for photographing. In order to confirm the change from the first image to the second image or the change from the second image to the first image, a display control unit for simultaneously displaying the first image and the third image on the monitor is provided. The camera according to claim 2. In a camera that can selectively shoot a whole area image corresponding to a full screen range that can be photographed and a designated portion image that is an image of a range designated in the whole area image,
A camera, comprising: a display control unit configured to display a multi-screen display on a monitor of a screen on which the whole area image is displayed and a screen on which the specification unit image is displayed when the specified unit image is captured. A screen configuration unit configured to configure a first area image obtained at a first timing and a second area image obtained at a second timing as images of the same timing, which are images of a plurality of areas within a shootable range;
A camera comprising a control unit that controls to record a configured image as one moving image. A readout unit that alternately and continuously reads out the image signal of the designated portion which is the image signal of the entire region corresponding to the entire screen range and the image signal of the range designated by a part of the screen from the imaging device;
A screen composition unit for synthesizing the image signal of the whole area and the image signal of the designated part to create one image composed of two screens of the whole area image and the designated part image;
A camera comprising a control unit that records the one image configured as described above as a moving image. In the recording method of the camera that records moving images,
The image signal of the entire area corresponding to the entire screen range and the image signal of the designated portion, which is the image signal of the range specified by a part of the screen, are continuously read out from the image sensor,
The image signal of the whole area and the image signal of the designated part are synthesized to create one image composed of two screens of the whole area image and the designated part image, and the one image configured as described above is recorded as a moving image. And the camera recording method. In a program for causing a camera computer to execute a recording method for recording a moving image,
The recording method of the camera is
The image signal of the entire area corresponding to the entire screen range and the image signal of the designated portion, which is the image signal of the range specified by a part of the screen, are continuously read out from the image sensor,
The image signal of the whole area and the image signal of the designated part are synthesized to create one image composed of two screens of the whole area image and the designated part image, and the one image configured as described above is recorded as a moving image. Program. In a recording medium on which a program for executing a recording method for recording a moving image on a computer of a camera is recorded,
The recording method of the camera is
The image signal of the entire area corresponding to the entire screen range and the image signal of the designated portion, which is the image signal of the range specified by a part of the screen, are continuously read out from the image sensor,
The image signal of the whole area and the image signal of the designated part are synthesized to create one image composed of two screens of the whole area image and the designated part image, and the one image configured as described above is recorded as a moving image. A recording medium.