Digital camera

• US 20040061797A1
• Filed: 12/30/2002
• Published: 04/01/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2002
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Minolta Co., Ltd. (Konica Minolta Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Minolta Co., Ltd. (Konica Minolta Inc.)
• Inventors: Takahashi, Kazusei, Nakamura, Kenji, Niikawa, Masahito
• Application Number:
  US10/334,378
• Publication Number:
  US 20040061797A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/333.01
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00283 with a television apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0013 Arrangements for the control of the connected apparatus by the still picture apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0015 Control of image communication with the connected apparatus, e.g. signalling capability
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0065 Converting image data to a format usable by the connected apparatus or vice versa
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/631 Graphical user interfaces [GUI] specially adapted for controlling image capture or setting capture parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/651 for reducing power consumption by affecting camera operations, e.g. sleep mode, hibernation mode or power off of selective parts of the camera

Abstract

The present invention provides a digital camera which performs optimum image display on a display device such as a digital TV. When a display device 2 is connected to a digital camera 1, a detection circuit 49a detects display resolution of the display device 2 and changes a method of reading a CCD image capturing device 20 in accordance with the display resolution. An image obtained from the CCD image capturing device 20 is processed by a resolution converting unit 26, thereby generating an image for display adapted to the display resolution. At the time of image reproduction, the display resolution of the display device 2 is changed according to the size of a taken image to be reproduced, thereby realizing high-definition reproduction and display on the display device 2.

Claims

1. A digital camera comprising:

a detector for detecting a display condition of a display unit for performing display;

a controller for controlling said digital camera; and

a control changing unit for changing a control operation performed by said controller in accordance with a detection signal of said detector.

2. The digital camera according to claim 1, wherein

said display unit is a display unit externally connected to said digital camera.

3. The digital camera according to claim 2, wherein

said display condition is a display resolution of said display unit.

4. The digital camera according to claim 3, wherein

said controller changes resolution of image data for display which is outputted to said display unit in accordance with said display resolution.

5. A digital camera which can be connected to an external display unit, comprising:

a detector for detecting display resolution of said external display unit for performing display;

a data processor for generating image data to be displayed on said external display unit; and

a process changing unit for changing a process to be performed by said data processor in accordance with display resolution of said external display unit detected by said detector.

6. The digital camera according to claim 5, wherein

said data processor changes resolution of image data for display which is outputted to said external display unit in accordance with display resolution of said external display unit.

7. The digital camera according to claim 5, further comprising:

an image capturing device for generating image data by an image-taking operation, wherein

said data processor generates image data adapted to display resolution of said external display unit by changing a method of reading image data from said image capturing device in accordance with display resolution of said external display unit.

8. The digital camera according to claim 7, wherein

as the display resolution of said external display unit increases, said data processor decreases a display frame rate and a rate of reading image data from said image capturing device.

9. The digital camera according to claim 5, further comprising:

an image capturing device for generating image data by an image-taking operation, wherein

said data processor executes a resolution converting process on image data obtained from said image capturing device in accordance with display resolution of said external display unit, thereby generating image data adapted to display resolution of said external display unit.

10. The digital camera according to claim 5, further comprising:

a built-in display unit provided integrally with said digital camera, wherein

said data processor generates data to be displayed on said built-in display unit when said external display unit is not connected.

11. The digital camera according to claim 10, wherein

said data processor is constructed so as to generate an image for recording and a thumbnail image for said image for recording at the time of an image-taking operation, and said thumbnail image is so generated as to be adapted to display in said built-in display unit.

12. The digital camera according to claim 5, wherein

said data processor generates image data for after view display in accordance with display resolution of said external display unit after the image-taking operation in order to display an image obtained by image-taking.

13. The digital camera according to claim 5, wherein

said data processor operates to generate and record an image for recording and a thumbnail image of said image for recording at the time of the image-taking operation, and selects an image to be reproduced from said image for recording and said thumbnail image in accordance with display resolution of said external display unit at the time of a recording image reproducing operation.

14. The digital camera according to claim 13, wherein

said data processor selects said image to be reproduced so as to be adapted to the display resolution of said external display unit on the basis of the size of said image for recording and the size of said thumbnail image.

15. The digital camera according to claim 13, further comprising:

an image memory for storing said image for recording and said thumbnail image, wherein

said data processor selects said image to be reproduced from said image memory on the basis of display resolution of said external display unit.

16. The digital camera according to claim 13, wherein

said data processor selects said image to be reproduced and performs a resolution converting process on said image to be reproduced so as to be adapted to the display resolution of said external display unit.

17. The digital camera according to claim 5, further comprising:

a resolution changing unit for changing display resolution of said external display unit, wherein

said data processor generates image data for display so as to be adapted to display resolution changed by said resolution changing unit.

18. The digital camera according to claim 17, wherein

when it is necessary to check a focus state of an image of a subject, said resolution changing unit outputs a signal for increasing the display resolution of said external display unit to said external display unit.

19. The digital camera according to claim 17, wherein

at the time of taking a moving image, said resolution changing unit outputs a signal for changing display resolution of said external display unit to said external display unit in accordance with the size of a moving image.

20. The digital camera according to claim 17, wherein

at the time of reproducing and displaying an image, said resolution changing unit outputs a signal for changing display resolution of said external display unit to said external display unit in accordance with the size of an image to be reproduced.

21. An image display system in which a digital camera and a display unit are connected to each other, wherein

said display unit has predetermined display resolution and displays an image inputted from said digital camera, and

said digital camera comprises:

a detector for detecting display resolution of said display unit;

a data processor for generating image data to be displayed on said display unit; and

a process changing unit for changing a process to be performed by said data processor on the basis of display resolution of said display unit detected by said detector.

22. The image display system according to claim 21, wherein

said data processor changes resolution of image data for display which is outputted to said display unit in accordance with display resolution of said display unit.