Electronic camera

• US 20070098396A1
• Filed: 11/01/2006
• Published: 05/03/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 11/02/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Olympus Corporation
• Original Assignee: Olympus Corporation
• Inventors: Nagata, Hideki, Watanabe, Nobuyuki, Shiratani, Fumiyuki, Furuki, Satoko, Matsuzaki, Hiroshi, Yachi, Akikazu, Matsuzawa, Toru
• Granted Patent: US 7,643,742 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 396/374
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/61 based on recognised objects
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/611 where the recognised objects include parts of the human body
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/635 Region indicators; Field of view indicators
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/675 comprising setting of focusing regions

Abstract

An electronic camera detects a person'"'"'s face image from an object image obtained by photographing an object, executes an enlarging process on the detected face image so as to obtain a face image whose face size is suitable, and displays the face image which is enlarged into the suitable size on a display device. When a plurality of people are present on the object image, the enlarged face images are switched by an image operating switch. As a result, the switched face image is displayed on the display device.

Claims

1. An electronic camera comprising:

an image processing section which, when a plurality of people are present in an object image, recognizes face images from the object image;

an image operating section which accepts an instruction for sequentially switching the face images to be displayed on a display section; and

a control section which controls the face images so that they are enlarged and sequentially switched to be displayed on the display section according to the instruction accepted by the image operating section.

2. The electronic camera according to claim 1, wherein the control section causes the face images to be displayed on the display section in an order according to positions of the face images with respect to a raster order.

3. The electronic camera according to claim 1, wherein the image processing section divides the object image into a plurality of divided regions, and the control section causes the face images in the divided regions to be displayed on the display section in an order according to positions of the divided regions.

4. The electronic camera according to claim 1, wherein the control section causes the face images to be displayed on the display section in an order according to evaluated values for recognizing the face images.

5. The electronic camera according to claim 1, wherein the image operating section further comprises a change instructing section that changes a size of the face images to be displayed on the display section into a desired size.

6. The electronic camera according to claim 1, wherein the control section causes positions on the object image where the face images to be displayed on the display section are present to be displayed on the display section in a superimposing manner.

7. The electronic camera according to claim 1, further comprising:

a distance measuring section which detects a distance to the object;

a storage section which, when a plurality of people are present in the object image, stores estimated lens positions where focusing states of positions of the recognized face images become the best; and

wherein

the image operating section accepts an instruction for sequentially switching the face images to be displayed on the display section according to information about the estimated lens positions stored in the storage section.

8. The electronic camera according to claim 7, wherein the control section causes the face images to be displayed on the display section sequentially starting from face images in positions where the distance measuring section determines that the distance is shorter.

9. The electronic camera according to claim 7, wherein the control section causes the face images to be displayed on the display section sequentially starting from the face images inpositions where the distance measuring section determines that the distance is farther.

10. The electronic camera according to claim 7, wherein the control section causes the face images to be displayed on the display section sequentially according to an order such that the face images are closer to focusing positions determined by the distance measuring section.

11. The electronic camera according to claim 7, wherein the control section causes the face images to be displayed on the display section according to an order such that the face images are farther from focusing positions determined by the distance measuring section.

12. The electronic camera according to claim 7, wherein the image operating section further comprises a change instructing section that changes a size of the face images to be displayed on the display section into a desired size.

13. The electronic camera according to claim 7, wherein the control section causes positions on the object image where the face images displayed on the display section are present to be displayed on the display section in a superimposing manner.