Imaging apparatus, image processor, image filing method, image processing method and image processing program

• US 20080013787A1
• Filed: 06/18/2007
• Published: 01/17/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 07/12/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Fujifilm Corporation (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Fujifilm Corporation (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Kobayashi, Koji
• Application Number:
  US11/812,352
• Publication Number:
  US 20080013787A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/103
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/166 using acquisition arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/2112 using still video cameras
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32128 attached to the image data, e.g. file header, transmitted message header, information on the same page or in the same computer file as the image for information embedded in the image H04N1/32144
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2101/00 Still video cameras
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3243 of type information, e.g. handwritten or text document
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3245 of image modifying data, e.g. handwritten addenda, highlights or augmented reality information
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/611 where the recognised objects include parts of the human body
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/76 by influencing the image signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/88 for colour balance, e.g. white-balance circuits or colour temperature control

Abstract

A digital camera produces RAW data of a captured image through A/D conversion of an analog image signal outputted from an image sensor, and also detects human faces from the captured image based on the RAW data, to produce face data on the detected human faces. The digital camera records an image file that is produced from the RAW data, the face data, JPEG data of a thumbnail of the captured image and image processing parameters which are preset in the digital camera or determined by the digital camera regardless of the face area data. An image processing apparatus obtains the image file, and processes the RAW data with the attached image processing parameters, or calculates a gamma parameter based on the face data and the RAW data, to use the calculated gamma parameter for optimizing the gradation of the detected human faces.

Claims

1. An imaging apparatus comprising:

an image sensor for capturing an image of a subject;

a data producing device for producing RAW data of the captured image through analog-to-digital conversion of image signals outputted from said image sensor;

a face detecting device that examines the RAW data to detect face areas of persons contained in the captured image and produces face data on the detected face areas;

a filing device for producing an image file from main image data and additional data, said filing device producing a first kind of image file using the RAW data as the main image data and attaching the face data as the additional data; and

a file outputting device for outputting the image file from said imaging apparatus.

2. An imaging apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein if said face detecting device detects a plural number of face areas, said face detecting device decides the order of priority among the detected face areas depending upon size and location of the face areas, and adds priority data indicating the decided order of priority to the face data.

3. An imaging apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein said filing device further attaches a first series of image processing parameters as the additional data to the RAW data on producing said first kind of image file, said first series of parameters being determined regardless of the face data, and usable for processing the RAW data.

4. An imaging apparatus as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

an image processing device for processing the RAW data to produce processed image data, wherein said image processing device processes the RAW data with a first series of image processing parameters which are determined regardless of the face data if said face detecting device detects no human face in the captured image, or with a second series of image processing parameters which are determined with reference to the face data so as to optimize image quality of the detected faces if said face detecting device detects some human faces.

5. An imaging apparatus as recited in claim 4, further comprising:

a data conversion device for converting the processed image data into a universal data format; and

a mode selection device for selecting between a first mode and a second mode, wherein said filing device produces said first kind of image file containing the RAW data and the face data in said first mode, and said filing device produces a second kind of image file using the processed image data of the universal data format as the main image data in said second output mode.

6. An imaging apparatus as recited in claim 4, wherein said second series of image processing parameters include a gamma parameter for converting gradation of the whole image so as to optimize gradation of the face areas detected in the captured image.

7. An imaging apparatus as recited in claim 4, wherein said second series of image processing parameters include a parameter for correcting white balance of the whole image so as to optimize color of the face areas detected in the captured image.

8. An imaging apparatus as recited in claim 5, wherein said filing device further attaches said first series of image processing parameters as the additional data to the RAW data on producing said first kind of image file.

9. An imaging apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein if said face detecting device detects a plural number of face areas, said face detecting device decides the order of priority among the detected face areas depending upon size and location of the face areas, and adds priority data indicating the decided order of priority to the face data, and wherein said imaging apparatus further comprises:

an image processing device for processing the RAW data to produce processed image data, wherein said image processing device refers to the face data and processes the RAW data with a second series of image processing parameters if said face detecting device detects a plural number of human faces, said second series of image processing parameters being determined so as to optimize image quality of the detected faces while taking account of the order of priority indicated by the priority data;

a data conversion device for converting the processed image data into a universal data format; and

a mode selection device for selecting between a first mode wherein said filing device produces said first kind of image file containing the RAW data and the face data, on one hand, and a second mode wherein said filing device produces a second kind of image file using the processed image data of the universal data format as the main image data.

10. An imaging apparatus as recited in claim 9, wherein said image processing device processes the RAW data with a first series of image processing parameters which are determined regardless of the face data if said face detecting device detects no human face, and said filing device further attaches said first series of image processing parameters as the additional data to the RAW data on producing said first kind of image file.

11. An imaging apparatus as recited in claim 9, wherein said second series of image processing parameters include a gamma parameter for converting gradation of the whole image so as to optimize gradation of the face areas detected in the captured image.

12. An imaging apparatus as recited in claim 9, wherein said second series of image processing parameters include a parameter for correcting white balance of the whole image so as to optimize color of the face areas detected in the captured image.

13. An imaging apparatus as recited in claim 4, further comprising a device for producing subsidiary image data from the image data processed by said image processing device, wherein said filing device further attaches the subsidiary image data to the main image data.

14. An imaging apparatus as recited in claim 13, wherein the subsidiary image data is data of a thumbnail image obtained by thinning out pixels of the processed image data.

15. An imaging apparatus as recited in claim 14, wherein the subsidiary image data is JPEG format data.

16. An image processing apparatus for processing RAW data of an image captured by an imaging apparatus, to produce processed image data, said image processing apparatus comprising:

a file obtaining device for obtaining an image file that includes the RAW data of the captured image and face data on face areas of persons contained in the captured image; and

a data processing device for processing the RAW data with reference to the face data so as to optimize image quality of the face areas indicated by the face data.

17. An image processing apparatus as recited in claim 16, wherein said data processing device makes an optimizing process for converting gradation of the whole image so as to optimize gradation of the face areas contained in the captured image.

18. An image processing apparatus as recited in claim 16, wherein said data processing device makes an optimizing process for correcting white balance of the whole image so as to optimize color of the face areas contained in the captured image.

19. An image processing apparatus as recited in claim 16, wherein said image file further includes subsidiary image data that is produced from the RAW image data by processing and converting it into a universal data format, and said image processing apparatus further comprises a display device for displaying an image corresponding to the captured image based on the subsidiary image data.

20. An image processing apparatus as recited in claim 16, wherein said face data include priority data indicating the order of priority among the face areas if the captured image contains more than one face area, and said data processing device makes the optimizing process while putting greater importance on the image quality of such face area that is given higher priority.

21. An image processing apparatus as recited in claim 20, further comprising a device for changing the order of priority among the face areas according to commands entered from outside, wherein said data processing device makes the optimizing process according to the changed order of priority.

22. An image processing apparatus as recited in claim 21, wherein said image file further includes subsidiary image data that is produced from the RAW image data by processing and converting it into a universal data format, and said image processing apparatus further comprises a display device for displaying an image corresponding to the captured image based on the subsidiary image data, wherein said display device displays on said image the face areas based on the face data, and the order of priority of the respective face areas based on the priority data or according to the commands for changing the order of priority.

23. An image processing device as recited in claim 20, further comprising a trimming device for extracting the RAW data from a trimming range of the captured image when the trimming range is defined according to a command entered from outside, and a device for revising the order of priority among those face areas which are contained in the trimming range based on the face data, wherein said data processing device makes the optimizing process on the extracted RAW data according to the revised order of priority.

24. An image processing device as recited in claim 23, wherein said image file further includes subsidiary image data that is produced from the RAW image data by processing and converting it into a universal data format, and said image processing apparatus further comprises a display device for displaying an image corresponding to the captured image based on the subsidiary image data, wherein said display device displays the trimming range on said image.

25. An image processing apparatus as recited in claim 16, wherein said data processing device outputs the processed image data after converting it into a universal data format.

26. An image processing apparatus as recited in claim 25, wherein said universal data format is JPEG format.

27. An image file producing method comprising steps of:

producing RAW data through analog-to-digital conversion of image signals obtained from an image of a subject through an image sensor that;

detecting face areas of persons contained in the image based on the RAW data, to produce face data on the detected face areas; and

producing an image file by attaching the face data to the RAW data.

28. An image processing method comprising steps of:

obtaining an image file including RAW data of a captured image and face data on face areas of persons contained in the captured image; and

processing the RAW data so as to optimize image quality of the face areas indicated by the face data.

29. An image processing program for a computer to execute image processing including the following steps of:

obtaining an image file including RAW data of a captured image and face data on face areas of persons contained in the captured image; and

processing the RAW data so as to optimize image quality of the face areas indicated by the face data.