JP2004317699A - Digital camera - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a digital camera which discriminates the size of an extracted feature point to set the most suitable AF area in accordance with the discrimination result and allows a distance to a subject to be calculated on the basis of the feature point. <P>SOLUTION: The digital camera is provided with; an AF means for performing focus control based on a signal from a prescribed AF area in image data; an extraction means for extracting a feature part from the image data; a face discrimination means for discriminating a face of a person from the feature part extracted by the extraction means; a determination means for determining whether the size of the face discriminated by the face discrimination means is larger than a prescribed value or not; and a setting means for setting the AF area in accordance with the determination result of the determination means. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a digital camera that identifies feature points of a person and operates according to the identification result.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there are many known techniques for identifying a person from image data, including a system for authenticating a person by registering feature points of a fingerprint or an iris in advance and collating the feature points with the feature points. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-251534 describes in detail a method of extracting eyes, nose, mouth, and the like, registering the points as feature points, and comparing the extracted points with feature points extracted from an input image to identify the person. Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. Hei 10-232934 discloses a method of increasing the accuracy of a dictionary image when registering feature points extracted in this manner. Examples of applying these technologies to cameras are described below.
[0003]
Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 5-37940 discloses a video camera that extracts a flesh-colored part of a person and uses a slightly wider range as a distance measurement area. At this time, if a plurality of persons are detected, priority is given to a person near the center of the screen or to a person having a large area. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-215403 discloses an imaging device that detects eyes based on recognized face information and obtains focus information in accordance with the eyes. At this time, if a plurality of eyes are detected, the closest eye is selected. Alternatively, the distance detection unit 111 creates a distance map for a necessary distance measuring point based on the principle of triangulation, and generates distance information so that a plurality of eyes within a predetermined distance are focused. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-255455 discloses a distance measuring device that raises the priority of focusing on a person determined to be facing forward. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-51255 discloses a main subject detection camera that determines a main subject and measures a distance when a plurality of persons are extracted by a person extracting unit. Here, the person located closest, the person having the largest area, or the person closest to the center of the screen is determined as the main subject. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-162559 discloses a first focus control unit that detects a pupil region used in a portrait mode and performs focus control, and a second focus control unit used in a general shooting mode different from the first focus control unit. There is disclosed an imaging device for selecting two focusing control means. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-333652 discloses an imaging device that detects pre-recorded feature information that matches a face detected by a face detection unit and generates a focus adjustment signal. If there are a plurality of faces on the screen, the focus is on the face corresponding to the face code having the higher priority.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In the above-described conventional invention, the feature points of the face are mainly extracted, and the largest face or the face with the highest priority is automatically set as the main subject. However, when the user wants to select and set the main subject, it cannot cope. . Further, the subject distance is not calculated using the extracted subject information itself.
[0005]
In the present invention, it is possible to determine the size of the extracted feature point, set an optimum AF area according to the determination result, and calculate the distance to the subject based on the feature point. The purpose is to provide a digital camera.
[0006]
[Means to solve the problem]
In order to solve the above problem, the invention according to claim 1 includes an AF unit that performs focus control based on a signal from a predetermined AF area in image data, and an extraction unit that extracts a characteristic part from the image data. A face discriminating means for discriminating a face of a person from the characteristic parts extracted by the extracting means, a discriminating means for discriminating whether or not the size of the face discriminated by the face discriminating means is not less than a predetermined value; Setting means for setting the AF area in accordance with the determination result of the means. That is, an optimal AF area can be set according to the size of the detected face.
[0007]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, when the determination unit determines that the size of the face is larger than a predetermined value, the setting unit sets the face portion specified from the size of the face as the AF area. It is characterized by. 4. The method according to claim 3, wherein if the determining unit determines that the size of the face is smaller than a predetermined value, the setting unit sets a predetermined area wider than the face portion and including the face portion in the AF area. It is characterized by being set as. The invention according to claim 4, further comprising eye identification means for identifying eyes inside the face identified by the face identification means, wherein the identification means determines that the size of the face is larger than a predetermined value. The setting means sets a predetermined area which is smaller than the face portion and includes the eyes identified by the eye identification means inside as the AF area. 6. The invention according to claim 5, wherein said discriminating means further includes a face discriminating means for discriminating a human face from the characteristic parts extracted by said extracting means, and a position discriminating means discriminating a position of the face identified by said face discriminating means. Wherein the position determining means sets a predetermined second area as the AF area if the position of the face is outside a predetermined first area. I have. That is, when a subject is located at a corner of the shooting screen, a preset center area or the like is set as the AF area. The invention according to claim 6, wherein the discriminating means further includes a face discriminating means for discriminating a face of a person from the characteristic parts extracted by the extracting means, and a number discriminating the number of faces discriminated by the face discriminating means. When the number determination unit determines that the number of faces is plural, the selection unit sets a predetermined area including a largest face among the plurality of faces as the AF area. It is characterized by:
[0008]
According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a photographing lens including a zoom lens and a focus lens for photographing a subject, a detecting unit for detecting the zoom lens position, and a characteristic portion based on image data photographed through the photographing lens. Extracting means for extracting information related to the characteristic part; calculating a distance to the subject based on the information related to the characteristic part extracted by the extracting means and the zoom lens position detected by the detecting means. And a calculating means. That is, the distance to the subject is calculated from the extracted characteristic part information and the zoom lens position. The invention according to claim 8 is characterized in that the information related to the characteristic portion is at least one of a face size or an interpupillary distance. According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, the image processing apparatus further includes limiting means for limiting a moving range of the focus lens to a predetermined range based on the distance to the subject calculated by the calculating means. By limiting the movement range of the focus lens in this way, it is possible to increase the speed of the AF operation, and to prevent the subject from being pulled by a subject having a large contrast in the background. I can do it. The invention according to claim 10, further comprising a diaphragm means for controlling the amount of light incident on the imaging means, and a distance to each of the plurality of faces calculated by the calculating means when the extracting means extracts a plurality of faces. Aperture value determining means for determining an aperture value of the aperture means such that a predetermined face of the plurality of faces is focused on the basis of the plurality of faces. That is, a predetermined face can be brought within the depth of focus of the photographing lens by changing the aperture value according to the calculated distance to each face.
[0009]
An invention according to claim 11, wherein extraction means for extracting a characteristic portion of the subject from the image data;
Instructing means for instructing start of photographing, continuous photographing mode setting means for continuously photographing based on one photographing instruction of the instructing means, and setting the continuous photographing mode by the continuous photographing mode setting means, Calculating means for calculating a distance to the subject based on information on a difference in size of the subject specified from the characteristic portion when performing continuous shooting based on a shooting instruction by the means. I have. Thus, in the continuous shooting, since only the difference information from the first frame is used for the second and subsequent frames, the distance to the continuously moving subject can be detected at high speed. A twelfth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that the subject size difference information is at least one of the subject's eye width or face size difference information extracted by the extracting means.
[0010]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating major functions of the digital camera of the present invention.
[0011]
The photographing lens 101 includes a zoom lens for continuously changing its focal length, a focusing lens for adjusting focus, and a VR (Vibration Reduction) lens for correcting camera shake during photographing. These lenses are driven by a driver 113. Here, the driver 113 includes a zoom drive mechanism of the zoom lens and its drive circuit, a focus drive mechanism of the focusing lens and its drive circuit, and a VR lens drive mechanism and its drive circuit, and is controlled by the CPU 112, respectively. The detector 121 detects the position of the focusing lens and the position of the zoom lens, and notifies the CPU 112 of the respective lens positions.
[0012]
The taking lens 101 forms a subject image on the imaging surface of the imaging device 103. The imaging device 103 is a photoelectric conversion imaging device that outputs an electric signal corresponding to the light intensity of the subject image formed on the imaging surface, and a CCD or MOS solid-state imaging device is used. The image sensor 103 is driven by a driver 115 that controls the timing of signal extraction. An aperture 102 is provided between the taking lens 101 and the image sensor 103. The aperture 102 is driven by a driver 114 having an aperture mechanism and a drive circuit for the aperture mechanism. An imaging signal from the solid-state imaging device 103 is input to an analog signal processing circuit 104, and the analog signal processing circuit 104 performs processing such as correlated double sampling processing (CDS). The image signal processed by the analog signal processing circuit 104 is converted from an analog signal to a digital signal by the A / D converter 135.
[0013]
The A / D-converted signal is subjected to various image processing such as contour enhancement and gamma correction in a digital signal processing circuit 106. A plurality of contour emphasis parameters are prepared in advance, and an optimum parameter is selected according to image data. The digital signal processing circuit 106 also includes a luminance / color difference signal generation circuit for performing processing for recording and the like, and a plurality of parameters for generating these are prepared in advance. From the plurality of color conversion parameters, an optimum parameter is selected to obtain the best color reproduction according to the captured image. A plurality of parameters for contour enhancement and color reproduction are stored in a storage unit 1127 described later, and the CPU 112 selects an optimum parameter therefrom. The buffer memory 105 is a frame memory capable of storing data for a plurality of frames captured by the image sensor 103, and the A / D-converted signal is temporarily stored in the buffer memory 105. The digital signal processing circuit 106 reads the data stored in the buffer memory 105 and performs each processing described above, and the processed data is stored in the buffer memory 105 again.
[0014]
The CPU 112 is connected to the digital signal processing circuit 106, the drivers 113 to 115, and performs sequence control of a camera photographing operation. The AE calculation unit 1121 of the CPU 112 performs an automatic exposure calculation based on the image signal from the image sensor, and the AWB calculation unit 1122 performs a calculation for setting a white balance parameter. The feature point extraction calculation unit 1123 stores the feature points such as the shape, position, and size of the person from the image data in the storage unit 1127 in accordance with a predetermined algorithm, and detects the size of the detected face and eye width and the like at that time. The approximate distance to each person extracted from the focal length of the zoom lens detected by the detector 121 is also calculated and stored in the storage unit 1127 together with the date and time of extraction. Here, this distance calculation method will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 22 shows a case where the distance to the person is calculated based on the extracted eye width. A is the average of the actual eye width of a general adult, a is the eye width formed on the extracted image sensor, L is the distance from the imaging lens to the person, and f is the focal length of the lens. From this figure, the following proportional equation is easily derived.
[0015]
A / L = a / f
From this, the distance L to the person is L = (A / a) · f. The storage unit 1127 temporarily stores the feature points extracted in this manner and the distances to the feature points calculated based on the feature points. The user selects and registers a feature point to be left from those stored feature points. Details of the registration and the registration method will be described later in detail with reference to FIG.
[0016]
The band-pass filter (BPF) 1124 extracts a high-frequency component in a predetermined band based on an image signal in a focus detection area provided in an image area. The output of the BPF 1124 is input to the next evaluation value calculator 1125, where the absolute value of the high frequency component is integrated and calculated as a focus evaluation value. The AF calculation unit 1126 performs an AF calculation by a contrast method based on these focus evaluation values. The CPU 112 adjusts the focusing lens of the photographing lens 101 using the calculation result of the AF calculation unit 1126 to perform a focusing operation.
[0017]
An operation unit 116 connected to the CPU 112 includes a power switch 1161 for turning on / off the power of the camera, a half-press switch 1162 and a full-press switch 1163 for turning on / off in conjunction with a release button, and various kinds of contents of a shooting mode. A setting button 1164, an up / down (U / D) button 1165 for updating a reproduced image and the like are provided. With the setting button 1164, it is also possible to select and set alphabets, hiragana, katakana, simple kanji, etc. by using the U / D button 1165 together to name the extracted feature points. The U / D button 1165 is also used for selecting a desired person from a plurality of extracted persons, and for manually driving the zoom lens to the telephoto or wide-angle side during photographing.
[0018]
When the subject luminance is low, the strobe 122 is caused to emit light. The pre-flash which emits auxiliary light before shooting to prevent or reduce red-eye of the person's pupil photographed when using the strobe to prevent or reduce red-eye and to measure the subject brightness at low brightness It also has functions. Reference numeral 123 denotes a sounding body such as a buzzer for giving a voice alert when any abnormality occurs in the camera. In addition to the above-mentioned feature point information, the storage unit 1127 also stores the peak value of the evaluation value detected from the result of the AF calculation, the corresponding lens position, and the like. The image data that has been subjected to various processes by the digital signal processing circuit 106 is temporarily stored in the buffer memory 105, and then is recorded on an external storage medium 111 such as a memory card via the recording / reproduction signal processing circuit 110. When recording image data on the storage medium 111, data compression is generally performed in a predetermined compression format, for example, the JPEG method. The recording / playback signal processing circuit 110 performs data compression when recording image data on the external storage medium 111 and decompression processing of compressed image data transferred from the external storage medium 111 or another camera. Reference numeral 121 denotes an interface circuit that performs data communication by wirelessly or wiredly connecting to another external device such as a digital camera. A plurality of these interfaces may be provided at the same time.
[0019]
The monitor 109 is a liquid crystal (LCD) display device for displaying various setting menus when displaying a captured subject image, photographing, or reproducing. Here, it is also used when reproducing and displaying image data recorded in the storage medium 111 or image data transferred from another camera. When displaying an image on the monitor 109, the image data stored in the buffer memory 105 is read, and the digital image data is converted into an analog video signal by the D / A converter 108. Then, an image is displayed on the monitor 109 using the analog video signal.
[0020]
The contrast method of the AF control method used in this camera will be described. In this method, there is a correlation between the degree of blur of an image and the contrast, and focusing is performed using the fact that the contrast of the image is maximized when there is a focus. The magnitude of the contrast can be evaluated based on the magnitude of the high frequency component of the imaging signal. That is, a high-frequency component of the image signal is extracted by the BPF 1124, and an integrated value of the absolute value of the high-frequency component by the evaluation value calculation unit 1125 is set as a focus evaluation value. As described above, the AF calculation unit 1126 performs the AF calculation based on the focus evaluation value. The CPU 112 adjusts the focusing lens position of the photographing lens 101 using the calculation result of the AF calculation unit 1126 to perform a focusing operation.
[0021]
2 and 3 show the overall operation flow of a digital camera having a face recognition function. In FIG. 2, first, when it is detected in step S101 that the power of the digital camera is turned on by the power switch 1161, the operation mode of the digital camera is confirmed in step S102. Here, it is determined whether the setting button S1164 has been set to the shooting mode for shooting the subject or the playback mode for playing back and displaying the image data recorded on the memory card. If the mode is set to the reproduction mode, the process proceeds to step S117 in FIG. 3, and if the mode is set to the shooting mode, the process proceeds to step S103. In step S103, the subject image to be captured is displayed on the LCD monitor 109 as a moving image. In step S104, it is determined whether or not it is set to perform a feature point extraction process for extracting feature points according to a predetermined algorithm on the displayed image. The setting button 1164 is used for this setting. If it is not set to perform the feature point extraction processing, the process proceeds to step S113 to perform a normal photographing operation. If the feature point extraction processing has been set, the flow advances to step S105 to extract feature points and their positional information from the display image for each frame or every two to three frames of the moving image data displayed on the LCD monitor 109. I do. The extracted feature points include the contours of the face, eyes, pupils, eyebrows, nose, mouth, ears, hands, feet, glasses, and the like of the person and their directions, positions, and sizes. Furthermore, by extracting the hairstyle, the skeleton, and the type of clothing, it is possible to determine the gender and race of the male and female, and to determine the age. Further, it is possible to extract not only humans but also animals such as dogs, cats and birds, and general subjects such as houses and automobiles. In the following description, feature points are mainly extracted for humans.
[0022]
In step S106, it is determined whether or not any of the plurality of extracted feature points matches a feature point registered in the storage unit 1127 of the digital camera in advance. If there is no matching feature point, in step S107, a marker indicating that a feature point has been detected is superimposed on the image displayed on the LCD monitor 109 and displayed. If a feature point that matches the registered feature point is detected, in step S108, it is superimposed and displayed with a marker different from the other feature points so that the registered feature point can be distinguished. FIG. 15 shows an example of the display result. Here, one of the five persons on the screen is too far and too small to detect a feature point as a face, and feature points of the face are detected for the remaining four persons, and one of them is registered. It is determined that it has been completed. For three persons whose feature points are simply detected, their faces are surrounded by wavy lines, and one registered person is surrounded by a solid line.
[0023]
Further, when personal name information such as a personal name corresponding to a feature point is also registered as feature point information at the same time, it is also displayed as shown in FIG. Thereby, the confirmation of the subject can be further ensured. Further, in this embodiment, the priority order when selecting an AE area or AF area described later is also registered as the feature point information. FIG. 13 shows an example of a recording state regarding a feature point in the storage unit 1127. In FIG. 13, feature points each having a name such as Mr. A, B child, and C chan, and feature points not named are registered in order as no name. In the registered contents of Mr. A, the priority in selecting the AE area and the AF area is set to 1. Thus, for example, if Mr. A and Mr. C are simultaneously extracted in the shooting screen, the area including Mr. A is set as the AE area or the AF area with priority. This priority can be arbitrarily changed. The date when the feature point of Mr. A was registered as the feature point information of Mr. A is recorded next as the registration date. Here, the registration date shown in (1) is the date when Mr. A was first registered (2), and (3) is A taken in a state different from (1), for example, landscape, backward, wearing glasses, etc. It shows the date on which he added other feature points and registered.
[0024]
As described above, by registering a plurality of feature points as the same person based on the presence or absence of glasses, beards, and the like, the accuracy of identifying a person with respect to the extracted feature points is improved. The contents of this feature can also be displayed on the LCD monitor 109 and arbitrarily added or deleted. In addition to the priority, the registration date, a simple comment, a processing method at the time of recording or reproduction effective when this feature point is detected (white balance setting, contour compensation processing setting, etc.), the distance to the feature point, etc. It may be recorded. Actual data of the feature points set to be registered in this way are sequentially recorded in the lower feature point data area.
[0025]
Steps S109 to S114 show steps for performing specific processing according to the extracted feature points. Of course, even when a feature point is detected, which of these steps is adopted can be arbitrarily selected using the setting button 1164. Hereinafter, a case in which all the steps are set to be selected will be described. In step S109, the displayed extraction result is registered. The registration in step S109 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. When the registration is completed, the process proceeds to the step of setting the shooting angle of view in step S110. By performing the setting in step S110, even when there are a plurality of persons in the shooting screen, the target subject can be automatically determined, and the persons can be zoomed up and captured in the center of the screen. This function is effective when shooting at your child's athletic meet or recital. Details of step S110 will be described with reference to FIG. In step S111, shooting conditions are set. Here, when there are a plurality of persons in the shooting screen, a predetermined area including a desired person is set as an AF area or an AE area, and aperture setting is performed according to the size and number of persons. Details of step S111 will be described with reference to FIGS. In step S112, the flash is set. Details of step S112 will be described with reference to FIG. Steps S109 to S112 up to this point are the settings before shooting, and the setting order can be arbitrarily changed according to the shooting screen, and the contents once set in each step can be reset.
[0026]
In step S113, the subject is photographed. Here, a person is detected to automatically set the number of shots, or actual exposure is performed according to an operation at the time of shooting a person. This photographing step will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. After the photographing is completed, a recording process is performed in step S114. Here, a process of detecting the face of the subject and changing the white balance and automatically reducing spots and moles on the face are performed. Details of step S114 will be described with reference to FIG. In step S115, the processed image data and feature point information are recorded as one file on a memory card. In step S116, it is determined whether the power is off. If it has not been turned off, the process returns to step S102 to determine the operation mode of the digital camera. If the power switch has been turned off, this sequence ends.
[0027]
If the reproduction mode has been set in step S102, the image data recorded in the memory card 111 is reproduced and displayed on the LCD monitor 109 in step S117 in FIG. This reproduced image may be a still image or a moving image. In step S118, it is determined whether or not it is set to perform the feature point extraction processing on the reproduced image in the same manner as in step S104. If it has not been set, the flow advances to step S126 to perform a normal reproduction operation. If the feature point extraction process has been set, the process advances to step S119 to determine whether any feature point information has already been added to the reproduced image data. If the feature point information has not been added, feature points are extracted from the image data in step S120 as in step S105. If the feature point information has been added, the process proceeds to step S121, and the feature point information added to the image data is read. In step S121, the extracted feature points or the read feature points and feature point information are superimposed on the reproduced image. The above-described marker display or icon display may be performed instead of the feature point.
[0028]
In step S123, it is determined whether or not the extracted feature point or the added feature point matches any of the feature points registered in the recording unit 1127. Here, as in step S106 described above, if there is no matching feature point, a marker or icon indicating that a feature point has been detected is superimposed on the image displayed on the LCD monitor 109 in step S124. To display. If a feature point that matches a registered feature point is detected, the fact that the feature point has been registered is discriminated in step S125, and a superimposed display is performed using a marker different from the other feature points. In step S126, the displayed extraction result is registered. This registration will also be described with reference to FIG. When the registration in step S126 is completed, it is determined in step S127 whether or not the next image data is to be reproduced. If the next image is selected with the U / D button 1165, the process returns to step S117. If the next image has not been selected, the flow advances to step S128 to determine whether the power switch 1161 has been turned off. If it has not been turned off, the process returns to step S102 in FIG. 2, and if it has been turned off, this sequence ends.
[0029]
《Registration of feature point information》
The step of registering feature point information will be described with reference to FIG. The registration step in FIG. 4 is common to step 109 in FIG. 2 and step S126 in FIG. If the image data is captured image data, in step S151, it is determined whether the same feature point as the feature point extracted by the feature point extraction calculation unit 1123 is registered in the storage unit 1127. If the image data is reproduced image data, in step S151, the characteristic points and characteristic point information added to the reproduced image data are read, and the read characteristic points or the same characteristic points or characteristic points as the characteristic point information are read out. It is determined whether the information is stored in the storage unit 1127 in the recording format described with reference to FIG. When the feature points and feature point information are not added to the reproduced image data, the feature points are extracted from the reproduced image in the same manner as in the case of the captured image data. Here, the feature point information added to the image data will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 14, in a file of image data DSC002, feature point information and feature point data are recorded in addition to actual image data. In the case of FIG. 14, the feature point information is registered for two persons, Mr. A and Mr. C. The registration contents include the priority, the date when Mr. A or C was extracted in this image data, the position of the center of gravity of the feature point, and Mr. A. In addition, Mr. A extracted from image data other than the DSC002 image data. Since there are two feature points, they are additionally registered. Here, as in FIG. 13, a simple comment or a processing method at the time of recording or reproduction may be recorded. Further, the distance to the feature point calculated by the feature point extraction calculation unit 1123 may be recorded. Changing, adding, or deleting the data content of the feature point information is optional. The actual feature point data of Mr. A or Mr. C is sequentially recorded in the feature point data area thereunder.
[0030]
If the feature points of the captured image data or the feature points added to the reproduced image data and the feature point information have been registered in the storage unit 1127 in step S151, the process proceeds to step S152. Here, it is determined whether to add or change the registered feature points or feature point information. Specifically, the user inputs or changes the extracted person name or priority. If no addition or change is made in step S152, the process proceeds to step S156, and if addition or change is input, the process proceeds to step S153.
[0031]
If the feature point and the feature point information have not been registered in step S151, the process proceeds to step S153. Here, the extracted feature points and feature point information to be registered are displayed on the LCD monitor 109. In step S154, it is determined whether or not an instruction has been issued to register the displayed feature points and feature point information. In principle, unless the newly detected feature point is exactly the same as the already registered feature point, the newly extracted feature point adds the feature point and the feature point information to the storage unit 1127 in step S155 and stores them. This storage instruction can be performed, for example, by selecting a registration execution display displayed on the screen of the LCD monitor 109 with the setting button 1164 (not shown). As a result, the accuracy of person identification gradually increases. If the extracted feature point has already been registered or a feature point completely unrelated to the user has been extracted, no registration instruction is newly issued, and the process proceeds to step S156. In step S156, it is determined whether or not to register another feature point in the same screen. If another feature point is selected, the process returns to step S151 and is registered in the same procedure as before.
[0032]
If another feature point has not been selected, the flow advances to step S157 to determine the operation mode of the digital camera. If the photographing mode has been set, the registration step ends. This registration operation is performed each time the display screen is changed by changing the subject or the like. If the operation mode of the camera is the playback mode, the process proceeds to step S158. Here, it is determined whether or not the card recording execution display is selected by the setting button 1164 (not shown). When the recording instruction is selected, the changed or newly added feature point or feature point information is added to the original image and recorded on the memory card. If not selected, the main registration step ends without updating the additional information.
[0033]
《Shooting angle of view》
The setting of the shooting angle of view in step S110 in FIG. 2 will be described with reference to FIG. This is a suitable setting sequence when, for example, the user wants to photograph his / her child C at the athletic meet. First, in step S171, a person to be photographed (for example, C-chan) is selected from the feature point information stored in the storage unit 1127 using the setting button 1164 based on the unique name information of the person, and registered in advance as a priority photographing person. . The person registered as the priority photographing person has priority over the priority added to the feature point described above. In step S172, it is determined whether a person (mainly a face) has been extracted from the shooting screen. If not extracted, the process proceeds to step S173, where the CPU 112 drives the driver 113 to zoom up the zoom lens in the long focal direction. This zooming up may be manual or automatic. In step S174, it is determined whether or not the zoom lens has reached the maximum zoom position, and if not, the process returns to step S172 and repeats this until a person is extracted. If the zoom lens has reached the maximum focal position in step S174, the flow advances to step S175 to display a warning (not shown) on the LCD monitor 109 indicating that no person is detected, and ends the step of setting the angle of view. When the photographer changes the photographing direction and the photographing screen changes, the steps from step S172 are repeated.
[0034]
If a face is detected in step S172, a marker is superimposed and displayed on the extracted face of the person as shown in FIG. 15 in step S176. Looking at this display screen, the user confirms whether or not a preset face of the person is in the shooting screen. If not, the user can move the screen to easily capture the desired person in the screen. In step S177, it is determined whether the set person on the screen is equal to or larger than a predetermined size. If the size is equal to or larger than the predetermined size, this step is ended. If the size is equal to or smaller than the predetermined size, the process proceeds to step S178. In step S178, the CPU 112 automatically zooms up the zoom lens. At this time, the above-described VR lens is also driven by the driver 113 at the same time so that the center of gravity of the extracted subject does not deviate from the vicinity of the center of the screen.
[0035]
In step S179, it is determined whether or not the size of the set face of the person has become equal to or larger than a predetermined size. If not, the process returns to step S177 to continue driving the zoom lens and the VR lens. If the maximum zoom position has been reached in step S180, the flow advances to step S181 to issue a warning. This warning is displayed on the LCD monitor 109 (not shown), and the buzzer 123 also issues a voice warning to end this sequence. If the size of the face of the desired person has become equal to or larger than the predetermined size in step S179, the present sequence ends. Here, the predetermined size is set in advance using the setting button 1164, for example, about 10% of the entire screen. In addition, the zoom-up in step S178 may be performed without moving the face of the desired person to the center of the screen using the VR lens. By doing so, the user can manually zoom up the desired subject at the center to the desired size manually. In this way, it is possible to reliably find and record one's own child from a large number of children, such as an athletic meet, a concert, and a recital. In the description so far, zooming up is automatically performed when the face is small. Conversely, when the face is too large, the zoom is automatically reduced so that the face becomes a predetermined size. You may do it. Similarly, if the screen is changed by the user after reaching the maximum zoom position in step S174, the zoom may be reversed again until a face is extracted. Since the sequence in these cases is almost the same as that in the case of zooming up, the description is omitted.
[0036]
<< Setting of shooting conditions >>
The setting of the photographing conditions in step S111 in FIG. 2 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 6 is a flowchart for setting an optimum depth of focus by changing the aperture value according to the distance to each of the subjects when a plurality of subjects are extracted. In step S201, it is determined whether or not a contour or an eye of a person's face has been detected. If neither is detected, the process proceeds to step S208, where it is determined that a distant view such as a landscape is to be taken, and the process proceeds to step S208 to set a large aperture value to increase the depth of focus. If the face outline or the eyes are detected in step S201, the process proceeds to step S202. In step S202, the zoom lens position (focal length) at that time is detected by the detector 121 and stored in the storage unit 1127. In step S203, the distance to the subject is calculated from the size or eye width of the face contour extracted as described above and the zoom lens position stored in the storage unit 1127, and stored in the storage unit 1127. In step S204, it is determined whether the distance calculation has been completed for all the persons in the shooting screen. If the processing has not been completed, the process returns to step S203, and the distance is calculated for each person and stored in the storage unit 1127.
[0037]
When the distance calculation is completed for all the extracted persons, the process proceeds to step S205, and the number of extracted persons is determined. If it is determined in step S205 that the number of persons is equal to or more than the predetermined value, it is determined that the photograph is a group photograph, and the flow advances to step S208 to increase the depth of focus and increase the aperture value so that all persons are in focus. Set. Specifically, based on the distance to each person detected in step S203, an optimum depth of focus for focusing on all the persons is obtained, and an aperture value corresponding thereto is set. If it is determined in step S205 that the number of persons is equal to or less than the predetermined value, the process proceeds to step S206, where the size of each face is determined. If it is determined that the size of the face is equal to or larger than the predetermined size, the process proceeds to step S207, in which it is determined that portrait shooting is to be performed, and the aperture value is reduced to set the depth of focus to be shallow. If it is determined in step S206 that the size of the face is equal to or smaller than the predetermined size, it is determined that the photograph is a commemorative photograph including scenery, and the flow advances to step S208 to increase the aperture value to increase the depth of focus. Here, the predetermined number is set in advance to about 3 or 4 persons.
[0038]
In this way, if the user has previously set the shooting mode to a landscape shooting mode and a person is detected in the shooting screen, a portrait shooting with a shallow depth suitable for shooting a person is automatically performed. You can shoot in the mode for use. Conversely, if no person is detected when the mode is set to portrait shooting, the mode can be automatically changed to the mode for scenery shooting with a large depth, and shooting can be performed. In the method of calculating the distance to the subject described here, the size of the face and the interpupillary distance differ for adults and children, and there are individual differences between adults and children. Therefore, it is only an approximate distance obtained from the average face size and eye width of an adult or child. The accurate focus position is determined based on the peak position by the above-described contrast method.
[0039]
Next, setting of the AF area or the AE area will be described with reference to FIGS. 7, 16, 17, and 18. FIG. In FIG. 7, the setting of the AF area is described, but the setting of the AE area is completely the same. In step S221 in FIG. 7, it is first determined whether or not a person is within a predetermined range in the shooting screen. Here, as a method of determining the presence or absence of a person, the determination is made based on whether or not the outline of the face has been extracted. If there is no person, the process proceeds to step S222, and a fixed area such as a preset central portion is set as an AF area. This is because, even if a person is extracted, if the person is located near the corner of the screen, the photographer determines that the photographer is not trying to focus on the person and eliminates this. FIG. 16 shows an example of a shooting screen in this case. In the figure, the person indicated by the thick wavy line is outside the range shown by the thin wavy line in the screen. In this case, the AF area is set in the thick solid line frame at the center of the screen. When multi-point distance measurement is possible, this AF area can be set at a position other than the center of the screen.
[0040]
If a person is extracted within the predetermined range of the screen in step S221, the process proceeds to step S223, and it is determined whether or not the number of faces of the extracted person is plural. If not, the process proceeds to step S228; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S224. In step S224, the largest face among the extracted faces is selected, set as the AF area, and displayed as the AF area. FIG. 17 shows a display example of the shooting screen in this case. Here, it is shown that the largest face portion displayed by the extracted solid line is set as the AF area. In step S225, it is determined whether a person position other than the automatically set AF area is set in the AF area. If the photographer operates the setting button 1164 to select any of the other persons displayed in wavy lines, the AF area is sequentially moved according to the operation. In this case, the order of selection is such that if a person has the above-mentioned priority order stored, the person is selected according to the priority order, but is selected in the order of the size of the extracted face. May be. If the selection is completed in step S227, the flow advances to step S228 to determine whether or not the size of the extracted face area is equal to or larger than a first predetermined value. If the value is equal to or smaller than the first predetermined value, the process proceeds to step S229 to set the AF area to a predetermined size (for example, a first predetermined value) including the extracted face inside. This is because if the area of the extracted face is too small, the accuracy in the AF calculation described above deteriorates. FIG. 18 shows a display example in this case.
[0041]
If the area of the face extracted in step S228 is equal to or larger than the first predetermined value, the process proceeds to step S230, where it is determined whether the area is equal to or larger than the second predetermined value. If the value is equal to or larger than the second predetermined value, it is determined that the portrait shooting is being performed, and the process proceeds to step S231 to set the position of the extracted eyes in the AF area instead of setting the entire face in the AF area. FIG. 19 shows a display example in this case. If the value is equal to or smaller than the second predetermined value, the process proceeds to step S232, and the area of the face extracted earlier is set as the AF area. Here, the first and second predetermined values are set in advance to optimal values after photographing various objects.
[0042]
In the description so far, in step S224, the largest face is selected first, but this is displayed first with the person with the highest registration priority or the priority photographing person described in the section of setting the photographing angle of view. You may do it. Alternatively, the distance to the person may be calculated simultaneously with the extraction of the face, and the person at the shortest distance may be selected in order. Also, for the above-mentioned priority photographing person, the movement range of the focus lens is limited based on the calculated distance so that it can move only a predetermined range before and after the calculated distance, so that the AF operation on the person can be performed in the background. It is possible to reduce the influence. Further, the AF following operation for this priority photographing person is reliably and quickly performed. In addition, when the continuous shooting mode is set for sports shooting or the like, the shooting distance for the first frame is determined based on the evaluation value peak by the contrast method. It is also possible to detect the difference (change amount) between the previous shot and the outline of the person or face or the frame before the eye width and calculate the distance to the subject together with the zoom lens position at that time. It is. By doing so, it is possible to realize AF control that can quickly follow a subject change.
[0043]
The sequence of setting the AF area up to this point can be applied to the setting of the AE area in the same manner as described above. Of course, also in this case, the first predetermined value and the second predetermined value described above are optimally determined in advance by an experiment similarly to the case of the AF area.
[0044]
Next, the change of the photographing mode will be described with reference to FIG. In step S241, it is determined whether the photographing mode is set to a person photographing mode suitable for photographing a person. In this person photographing mode, as an example, in order to blur the background, the aperture is set to a value close to open, the white balance is set to emphasize the skin color, and the distance measurement mode is set to the AF mode. If the portrait mode has been set, the process proceeds to step S242, in which it is determined whether a person has been extracted. If not extracted, the process proceeds to step S243, a warning is issued by a buzzer, a monitor, or the like, and in step S244, the mode is changed to a landscape photographing mode suitable for distant photographing, and the sequence ends. In the case of this mode for landscape photography, the aperture is set to a large value in order to increase the depth of focus, and in the distance measurement mode, the focus lens is driven to a fixed position that focuses on an infinite position according to the depth of focus. The white balance may be set to be used during normal shooting, or may be set to emphasize the green and blue sky of trees in daytime shooting. If a person is detected in step S242, this step ends. If the person photographing mode has not been set in step S241, the process proceeds to step S245, where it is determined whether a person has been detected. If not detected, the present sequence is terminated. If detected, the process proceeds to step S246 to warn the user with a buzzer or a monitor. In step S247, the mode is changed to a portrait photographing mode and the present sequence is terminated.
[0045]
《Strobe setting》
A method of setting the amount of light emission of the strobe will be described with reference to FIG. In step S251, it is determined whether or not the subject brightness measured by the AE operation circuit 1121 for the subject in the predetermined AE area is larger than a predetermined value. Here, the subject is not limited to a person. If the subject is a dark subject whose brightness is smaller than the predetermined value, the process proceeds to step S261. If the subject is brighter than the predetermined value and the subject is bright, the process proceeds to step S252. In step S252, it is determined whether or not a person has been extracted from the shooting screen. Here, the person is also determined based on whether or not the outline of the face has been extracted. If the face outline has not been extracted, the flow advances to step S253 to set the strobe to non-emission. At the time of shooting, the CPU 112 controls the strobe to emit no light based on the non-light emission setting. Thus, at the time of actual shooting, the subject is exposed with the shutter speed and the aperture value based on the calculation result of the AE calculation unit 1121.
[0046]
If the face outline has been extracted in step S252, the process proceeds to step S254 to measure the brightness of the extracted human face. In step S255, if the measured brightness of the face portion is brighter than a predetermined value, the process proceeds to step S253, and if it is dark, the process proceeds to step S256. In step S256, the distance to the extracted person is calculated based on the detected face size or eye width and the zoom lens position at that time, as in the case of step S203 in FIG. 6 described above. In step S257, it is determined whether or not the distance to the person is within the proper exposure range of the strobe. If the exposure is within the proper exposure range, the flow advances to step S258 to set pre-emission for red-eye reduction before photographing, and the distance calculated in step S259 so that the person's face extracted in step S259 has proper exposure. Set the amount of flash light based on. Accordingly, the CPU 112 controls to set the shutter speed and the aperture value calculated by the AE calculation unit 1121 at the time of actual shooting. Thus, the entire screen excluding the person is photographed in the proper exposure state. On the other hand, for a person who is darker than the surroundings, control is performed so that the strobe light is emitted with the light emission amount set based on the distance. Thus, a person can be photographed in an appropriate exposure state. This function is particularly effective in backlit shooting. Prior to the main flash emission, the CPU 112 controls the pre-flash for red-eye reduction based on the setting in step S258. This pre-emission may be performed a plurality of times. If it is determined in step S257 that the exposure is out of the proper exposure range, the process advances to step S259 to display a warning that a person does not perform proper exposure (not shown).
[0047]
If the subject is dark in step S251, the flow advances to step S261 to determine whether or not the outline of the face as a person has been extracted in the shooting screen. If the outline of the face has been extracted, the process proceeds to step S262, and the distance to the extracted person is calculated in the same manner as in step S256. In step S263, it is determined whether or not the distance to the person is within the proper exposure range of the strobe. If the exposure is out of the proper exposure range, the process proceeds to step S260 to display a warning that the person is out of the proper exposure. If the exposure is within the proper exposure range, the flow advances to step S264 to set the flash to pre-emit light before photographing. In this case, the role of the pre-emission is to determine the amount of strobe light emission at the time of actual photographing based on the reflected light from the person due to the pre-emission in addition to the red-eye reduction described in step S258. In step S265, a setting is made so that the flash emission amount at the time of shooting is determined based on the reflected light from the face portion at the time of the pre-flash. Here, as in the previous case, the pre-emission may be performed a plurality of times, and the pre-emission for red-eye reduction and the pre-emission for reflected light measurement may be separated. If no person is extracted in step S260, the flow advances to step S266 to set the amount of light emitted from the strobe based on the result of subjecting the subject brightness to AE. Instead of setting the pre-flash emission for red-eye reduction in steps S258 and S264, a setting may be made in which the pupil photographed after photographing is detected and the red-eye portion is corrected by software.
[0048]
"photograph"
The sequences of two types of imaging methods different from the normal ones will be described with reference to FIGS. 10, 11, 20, and 21. FIG. 10 shows a sequence configured so that when the full-press SW 1163 is pressed once, an image is automatically taken at a plurality of peak positions of the focus evaluation value obtained from the AF area. As a result, a plurality of focused image data can be obtained for each subject corresponding to each peak position. When it is detected in step S301 that the half-press SW 1162 has been turned on, in step S302, the CPU 112 moves the focus lens from a close range to infinity, calculates an evaluation value, and detects a peak of the evaluation value. In step S303, it is determined whether there are a plurality of peaks. If there is only one peak, the process proceeds to step S306, and if a plurality of peaks are detected, the process proceeds to step S304. In step S304, it is determined whether or not a person has been extracted by the feature point extraction calculation unit 1123. If a person is extracted here, the distance to the extracted person from the extracted eye width and zoom lens position is calculated in the same manner as before, and the calculated distance to the person is calculated as multiple peaks. Is determined. In step S305, the closest person position is selected as the first photographing position, and the CPU 112 drives the focus lens to the peak position indicating the closest person position. If there is only one peak position in step S303, the peak position detected in step S306 (in this case, this position is the closest peak position) is selected. Even when a plurality of peaks are detected and no person is detected in step S304, the process proceeds to step S306, and the closest position is selected as the shooting position.
[0049]
In step S307, it is determined whether the full-press SW 1163 has been turned on. If it has not been turned on, the process proceeds to step S313, and if it has been turned on, the process proceeds to step S308. In step S308, exposure is performed at the peak position selected in step S305 or step S306, and the stored image data is read out after the exposure is completed. In step S309, it is determined whether there is a peak position corresponding to another person position. If there is a peak position corresponding to another person position, the process returns to step S308 to read out the image data accumulated after the second exposure at that position. If there is no other peak position corresponding to the person position, the flow advances to step S311 to determine whether exposure at the nearest peak position has been completed. If the exposure at the closest peak position has not been completed, the process proceeds to step S312, and exposure is continued at the closest position. If the exposure at the closest position has been completed, the present sequence ends. If it is determined in step S307 that the full-press SW 1163 has not been pressed, the process advances to step S313. In step S313, it is determined whether the half-press SW 1162 has been pressed. If the half-press SW 1162 has been pressed, the flow returns to step S307 to lock the focus until the full-press SW 1163 is pressed. If it is determined in step S313 that the half-press SW 1162 has not been pressed, the present sequence ends.
[0050]
An actual photographing example will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 20 shows a case where a person and a flower are arranged in front of the person in the shooting screen. In normal AF photography, focusing is performed with the closest priority, so in this case, only one image is focused on the flower in front. FIG. 21 shows an evaluation value change corresponding to the focus lens position in this case. Here, the evaluation value change when the entire screen is set as the AF area is shown. In this case, two peaks (P1, P2) are detected in the focus evaluation value. In normal AF, if the size is a certain level or more regardless of the size of P1 and P2, the closest peak P2 is selected. As described above, it is not possible to determine which of the position x1 corresponding to P1 and the position x2 corresponding to P2 exists by simply detecting the contrast of the subject. On the other hand, by calculating the distance to the person from the size or eye width of the person's face, the position x1 can be determined to be the peak of the person. Therefore, by photographing twice at the closest position x2 and at the person position x1, it is possible to obtain in-focus image data. Alternatively, the image may be taken only at the person peak position, and the image may not be taken when the closest peak is a peak other than the person. At this time, as in the case of the setting of the photographing angle of view described above, the priority photographing person may be set in the camera in advance, and the photographing may be performed only once at the peak corresponding to the person.
[0051]
Thereby, even if a plurality of persons are in the AE area, an image in which a desired person is in focus can be reliably obtained. When there are a plurality of persons, the photographing may not be performed for all persons but may be performed at a person position corresponding to a peak having a certain evaluation value or more. Alternatively, the maximum number of consecutive shots may be set. As described above, since the distance to the feature point calculated based on the feature point is not an accurate distance, it is used to assist the determination of the person position peak when there are a plurality of peaks in the contrast method. This makes it possible to focus accurately.
[0052]
Next, a method for preventing an image from being photographed with the eyes closed will be described with reference to FIG. If the full-press SW 1163 is pressed in step S321, the feature point extraction calculation unit 1123 detects the pupil of the subject from the image data before the full-press switch is pressed in step S322. Here, if it is determined that the subject has closed eyes and the pupil is not detected, the actual exposure is delayed until the pupil of the subject is detected in step S323, and the process returns to step S322. If a pupil is detected, exposure is actually performed in step S324, and the exposed image data is read in step S325. In step S326, the pupil is detected again by the feature point extraction and calculation unit 1123 immediately from the read image data. If no pupil is detected at this time, a warning is given by the buzzer 123 in step S327, and the process returns to step S322 to confirm that the pupil has been detected and immediately re-expose. If a pupil is detected in step S326, the present sequence ends. In this way, the user confirms that the subject has opened his / her eyes before taking a picture, and immediately confirms whether or not the subject has taken a picture with his / her eyes closed after taking the picture. Thus, if the image is taken with the eyes closed, the image can be taken again immediately. Alternatively, when the image is taken with the eyes closed instead of taking the image again, only that portion may be corrected by software after the image is taken. As a correction method, an open eye of the subject when a moving image of the subject is shot on the monitor after shooting may be extracted and replaced with a closed eye.
[0053]
In the description of FIG. 11, it is detected that the eyes are closed after the photographing, and the photographing is performed again. However, it is possible to obtain the best image by detecting the defect of the photographed subject and photographing again. It can be. For example, if the subject has moved during shooting, it can be determined by detecting blurring from the reproduced image. Alternatively, if the face is hidden in the group photo, compare the number of faces before shooting with the number of faces after shooting, or if the face contour extraction is insufficient. It is also possible to set to shoot again. Further, in the warning in step S327, not only a buzzer is used to warn the user, but also voices such as "the image was taken with your eyes closed", "the image was taken with blurring", and "some people have hidden faces.""Or the like may be specifically warned of a defect.
[0054]
《Recording process》
The process at the time of recording accompanying the feature point extraction will be described with reference to FIG. In step S401, first, it is determined whether or not the outline of the face of the person has been extracted by the feature point extraction calculation unit 1123. If not extracted, recording processing using preset color reproduction or contour emphasis parameters is performed. If extracted, the process proceeds to step S402 to determine the number of extracted faces. If the number of faces is equal to or smaller than the predetermined value, the process proceeds to step S406, and if it is equal to or larger than the predetermined value, the process proceeds to step S403. Here, a value of about 3 to 4 is suitable as the predetermined value. If the number of faces is more than three or four, it is determined that a group photograph is being taken, and in step S403 the parameters for color reproduction are used in the digital signal processing circuit 106 with the emphasis on skin color. To do. In step S404, a specific part of the face is further detected, and in step S405, processing is performed to weaken the outline enhancement of the face part other than the vicinity of the specific part. The specific site is, for example, an eye, a nose, a mouth, an ear, a hair, an eyebrow, or the like. As a result, a low-pass filter is applied to the frequency characteristics in portions other than the vicinity of these specific portions, so that wrinkles, moles, spots, and the like on the cheeks and forehead can be made inconspicuous. If the number of faces is equal to or smaller than the predetermined value in step S402, the process proceeds to step S406 to determine the size of the face. If a plurality of faces are detected, it is determined that the face has the largest size. If the area of the face is larger than the predetermined value, the process proceeds to step S403 where it is determined that the portrait shooting is to be performed and a process that emphasizes the skin color is performed. If the area of the face is smaller than a predetermined value, it is determined to be a commemorative photograph including scenery, and normal recording processing is performed.
[0055]
As described above, in step S403, the skin color emphasis processing is not performed only on the face portion, but the parameter emphasizing the skin color is selected and processed on the entire image data instead of the normal color parameters. This is because, even in a portion other than the flesh color, even if the process using the parameter that emphasizes the flesh color is performed, since the flesh color component is originally small, the influence of the flesh color emphasis treatment is small. This eliminates the need for a complicated process of extracting a face part and performing a skin color emphasis processing only on the face part.
[0056]
In the description so far, in contrast to the processing performed in step S405, a sharp face is obtained by strongly enhancing the contours of the extracted eyes, nose, mouth, ears, hair, eyebrows and the vicinity thereof. It can also be expressed. Further, since the effect is small even if the contour emphasis is performed on a very small face, the contour emphasis may be performed only on a certain large face. Further, only one of the flesh color processing in step S403 and the contour enhancement processing in step S405 may be selectable. A plurality of parameters for the skin color processing or the contour enhancement processing are provided, and it is easy to appropriately select from these parameters to make the degree of the skin color or the degree of contour enhancement the best. In addition, in the case of an elderly person or a woman, a parameter for increasing the saturation or the luminance other than the hue may be selected by judging the age or the sex of the gender. Alternatively, if the optimal color balance for a specific race is applied to other races as it is, an unnatural skin color will be reproduced, so it is also possible to select a color parameter that reduces the skin color according to the race. It is effective. For this purpose, the race may be determined by judging from the skeleton shape of the face, limbs, ears, nose, etc., the color of the pupil and face, the lip shape, clothing, hairstyle, and the like. Furthermore, in the description so far, these processes are performed before recording, but may be performed during reproduction. That is, in addition to the above-described feature point information and feature point data, information unique to each individual, white balance processing information, and contour enhancement processing information are simultaneously recorded in the image file described with reference to FIG. Processing can be performed.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a digital camera according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an operation sequence of the digital camera according to the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an operation sequence of the digital camera according to the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a sequence when registering feature point information.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a sequence when setting a shooting angle of view.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a sequence when setting photographing conditions.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a sequence when setting other photographing conditions.
FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a sequence when setting other photographing conditions.
FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a sequence when setting the flash emission amount.
FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an imaging sequence.
FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating another photographing sequence.
FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a recording processing sequence.
FIG. 13 is a diagram for describing a recording state of feature points and feature point information.
FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a recording state of image data and feature point information added thereto.
FIG. 15 is a display example in which markers are displayed for each of the extracted feature points separately.
FIG. 16 is a display example showing setting of an AF area or an AE area.
FIG. 17 is a display example showing another setting of the AF area or the AE area.
FIG. 18 is a display example showing another setting of the AF area or the AE area.
FIG. 19 is a display example showing another setting of the AF area or the AE area.
FIG. 20 is a display example showing setting of an AF area.
FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating the positional relationship between subjects in FIG. 20;
FIG. 22 is an explanatory diagram for calculating a distance to a person from a focal length of a lens and an interpupillary distance.
[Explanation of symbols]
101 Shooting lens
102 Aperture
103 Image sensor
104 analog signal processing unit
105 buffer memory
106 digital signal processing unit
108 D / A converter
109 LCD monitor
110 Recording / playback signal processing unit
111 External storage medium
112 CPU
113 Lens drive unit
114 Aperture drive unit
115 Image sensor driver
116 operation members
120 interface
121 lens position detector
122 Strobe
123 Pronunciation
135 A / D converter
1121 AE operation unit
1122 AWB operation unit
1124 Bandpass filter
1125 Adder
1126 AF operation unit
1127 Storage unit
1161 Power switch
1162 Half-press switch
1163 Full-press switch
1164 Setting button
1165 up / down button

Claims (12)

AF means for performing focus control based on a signal from a predetermined AF area in the image data, extraction means for extracting a characteristic part from the image data, and a face of a person from among the characteristic parts extracted by the extraction means A face discriminating means for discriminating the face, a discriminating means for discriminating whether or not the size of the face discriminated by the face discriminating means is equal to or larger than a predetermined value; A digital camera comprising: 2. The digital camera according to claim 1, wherein the setting unit sets the face portion specified from the size of the face as the AF area if the determining unit determines that the size of the face is larger than a predetermined value. A digital camera characterized in that: 2. The digital camera according to claim 1, wherein if the determination unit determines that the size of the face is smaller than a predetermined value, the setting unit determines a predetermined area wider than the face portion and including the face portion inside. Is set as the AF area. 2. The digital camera according to claim 1, further comprising eye identification means for identifying eyes inside the face identified by the face identification means, wherein the identification means determines that the size of the face is larger than a predetermined value. The digital camera according to claim 1, wherein the setting unit sets a predetermined area which is smaller than the face portion and includes an eye inside the eye identified by the eye identification unit as the AF area. 2. The digital camera according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit further determines a face identification unit that identifies a human face from among the characteristic portions extracted by the extraction unit, and a position of the face identified by the face identification unit. A position determining unit configured to set a predetermined second area as the AF area if the position of the face is outside a predetermined first area; Digital camera characterized by the following. 2. The digital camera according to claim 1, wherein said determining means further determines a face identifying means for identifying a person's face from among the characteristic portions extracted by the extracting means, and a number of faces identified by the face identifying means. When the number determining unit determines that the number of the faces is plural, the selecting unit sets a predetermined area including the largest face among the plurality of faces as the AF area. Digital camera characterized by setting. A photographing lens comprising a zoom lens and a focus lens for photographing a subject; a detecting means for detecting the position of the zoom lens; and information relating to the characteristic part and the characteristic part from image data photographed through the photographing lens. Extracting means for extracting the distance, and calculating means for calculating a distance to the subject based on the information related to the characteristic portion extracted by the extracting means and the zoom lens position detected by the detecting means. Digital camera characterized by the following. 8. The digital camera according to claim 7, wherein the information related to the characteristic part is at least one of a face size or an interpupillary distance. 8. The digital camera according to claim 7, further comprising a limiter that limits a movement range of the focus lens to a predetermined range based on the distance to the subject calculated by the calculator. . 8. The digital camera according to claim 7, further comprising: aperture means for controlling the amount of light incident on said imaging means; and for each of said plurality of faces calculated by said calculation means when said extraction means extracts a plurality of faces. A digital camera comprising: an aperture value determining unit that determines an aperture value of the aperture unit so that a predetermined face among the plurality of faces is focused based on a distance. Extracting means for extracting a characteristic portion of a subject from image data, instructing means for instructing start of photographing, continuous photographing mode setting means for continuously photographing based on one photographing instruction from the instructing means, The continuous shooting mode is set by the mode setting means, and when the continuous shooting is performed based on the shooting instruction by the shooting instructing means, the distance to the subject is determined based on the size difference information of the subject specified from the characteristic portion. A digital camera, comprising: calculating means for calculating a distance. 12. The digital camera according to claim 11, wherein the subject size difference information is at least one of the subject's eye width or face size difference information extracted by the extracting means. Digital camera.

Images