Image Processing Device, Image Processing Program, and Image Processing Method

• US 20090010535A1
• Filed: 07/12/2006
• Published: 01/08/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 07/12/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nikon Corporation
• Original Assignee: Nikon Corporation
• Inventors: Koishi, Erika
• Granted Patent: US 8,270,712 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/167
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/001 Texturing; Colouring; Generation of texture or colour inpainting G06T5/77
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/6072 adapting to different types of images, e.g. characters, graphs, black and white image portions
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/6086 by scene illuminant, i.e. conditions at the time of picture capture, e.g. flash, optical filter used, evening, cloud, daylight, artificial lighting, white point measurement, colour temperature
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/6088 by viewing conditions, i.e. conditions at picture output

Abstract

An image processing device that transforms first image data of an image captured under an image-capturing condition into second image data that reproduce a color appearance under a viewing condition, includes: an image data acquiring unit that acquires the first image data of the image captured under the image-capturing condition; a first transformation unit that transforms the acquired first image data into the second image data pixel by pixel based on the image-capturing condition and the viewing condition by a first method that takes into consideration chromatic adaptation; a second transformation unit that transforms the acquired first image data into the second image data pixel by pixel based on the image-capturing condition and the viewing condition by a second method that is simpler than the first method and takes into consideration chromatic adaptation; and a controlling unit that controls such that either the first transformation unit or the second transformation unit is selected depending on a state of a transformation target pixel or a neighborhood pixel neighboring the transformation target pixel in the first image data.

Claims

1. An image processing device that transforms first image data of an image captured under an image-capturing condition into second image data that reproduce a color appearance under a viewing condition, comprising:

an image data acquiring unit that acquires the first image data of the image captured under the image-capturing condition;

a first transformation unit that transforms the acquired first image data into the second image data pixel by pixel based on the image-capturing condition and the viewing condition by a first method that takes into consideration chromatic adaptation;

a second transformation unit that transforms the acquired first image data into the second image data pixel by pixel based on the image-capturing condition and the viewing condition by a second method that is simpler than the first method and takes into consideration chromatic adaptation; and

a controlling unit that controls such that either the first transformation unit or the second transformation unit is selected depending on a state of a transformation target pixel or a neighborhood pixel neighboring the transformation target pixel in the first image data.

2. An image processing device according to claim 1, wherein:

the controlling unit controls such that when a color of the transformation target pixel in the first image data is within a predetermined color gamut, the first transformation unit is selected, and when the color of the transformation target pixel in the first image data is not within the predetermined color gamut, the second color transformation unit is selected.

3. An image processing device according to claim 2, wherein:

the predetermined color gamut includes a predetermined range of luminance or a predetermined range of hue.

4. An image processing device according to claim 2, further comprising:

a color gamut defining unit that in case that many persons select a specified color different from an original color as a corresponding color achieving a corresponding color appearance with the original color under an influence of at least one of a background luminance surrounding a transformation target pixel in the image and a difference between the image-capturing condition and the viewing condition, defines a group of such original colors as the predetermined color gamut, wherein;

the controlling unit, referring to the color gamut defining unit, judges whether or not a color of a transformation target pixel in the first image data is within the predetermined color gamut.

5. An image processing device according to claim 1, wherein:

the controlling unit controls such that the first image data are divided into a plurality of regions and any one of the first transformation unit and the second unit is selected region by region depending on a state of pixels included in each divided region so that the same transformation unit is selected for each pixel in the same region.

6. An image processing device according to claim 5, wherein:

the controlling unit controls such that when for pixels included in a transformation target region in the first image data, a ratio of a number of pixels whose color is in a predetermined color gamut to a number of all the pixels is equal to or more than a predetermined ratio, the first transformation unit is selected, and when the ratio of the number of pixels whose color is in the predetermined color gamut to the number of all the pixels is less than the predetermined ratio, the second transformation unit is selected.

7. An image processing device according to claim 6, wherein:

the predetermined color gamut includes a predetermined range of luminance and a predetermined range of hue.

8. An image processing device according to claim 6, further comprising:

a color gamut defining unit that in case that many persons select a specified color different from an original color as a corresponding color achieving a corresponding color appearance with the original color under an influence of at least one of a background luminance surrounding a transformation target pixel in the image and a difference between the image-capturing condition and the viewing condition, defines a group of such original colors as the predetermined color gamut, wherein;

the controlling unit, referring to the color gamut defining unit, judges whether or not a color of each pixel included in a transformation target region in the first image data is within the predetermined color gamut.

9. An image processing device according to claim 5, wherein:

the controlling unit controls such that when a color representing a transformation target region in the first image data is within the predetermined color gamut, the first transformation unit is selected, and when the color representing the transformation target region in the first image data is not within the predetermined color gamut, the second color transformation unit is selected.

10. An image processing device according to claim 9, wherein:

the predetermined color gamut includes a predetermined range of luminance or a predetermined range of hue.

11. An image processing device according to claim 9, further comprising:

a color gamut defining unit that in case that many persons select a specified color different from an original color as a corresponding color achieving a corresponding color appearance with the original color under an influence of at least one of a background luminance surrounding a transformation target pixel in the image and a difference between the image-capturing condition and the viewing condition, defines a group of such original colors as the predetermined color gamut, wherein;

the controlling unit, referring to the color gamut defining unit, judges whether or not the color representing the transformation target region in the first image data is within the predetermined color gamut.

12. An image processing device according to claim 9, wherein:

the color representing the transformation target region is a color obtained by averaging colors of all or a predetermined number or more of pixels included in the transformation target region.

13. An image processing device according to claim 1, wherein:

both the first method and the second method are methods based on the same color appearance model, and the second method is obtained by omitting a predetermined calculation from the color appearance model.

14. An image processing device according to claim 1, wherein:

the second method is a method that involves only four basic operations of arithmetic.

15. An image processing device according to claim 1, wherein:

both the first method and the second method are methods that perform a transformation taking into consideration a background luminance of the transformation target pixel;

the first method calculates the background luminance of the transformation target pixel based on a luminance of a neighboring pixel; and

the second method sets the background luminance of the transformation target pixel to a predetermined fixed value.

16. An image processing device according to claim 13, wherein:

the first method and the second method are each a method using a color appearance model according to CIECAM02.

17. An image processing device according to claim 1, wherein:

the first method is a method using a color appearance model according to CIECAM02 and the second method is a method using a von Kries adaptation transformation formula.

19. An image processing program that causes a computer to realize a function of the image processing device according to claim 1.

18. An image processing device that transforms first image data prepared based on a first viewing condition into second image data that reproduce a color appearance under a second viewing condition that is different from the first viewing condition, comprising:

an image data acquiring unit that acquires the first image data prepared based on the first viewing condition;

a first transformation unit that transforms the acquired first image data into the second image data pixel by pixel based on the first viewing condition and the second viewing condition by a first method that takes into consideration chromatic adaptation;

a second transformation unit that transforms the acquired first image data into the second image data pixel by pixel based on the viewing condition and the second viewing condition by a second method that is simpler than the first method and takes into consideration chromatic adaptation; and

a controlling unit that controls such that either the first transformation unit or the second transformation unit is selected depending on a state of a transformation target pixel or a neighborhood pixel neighboring the transformation target pixel in the first image data.

20. An image processing method that transforms first image data of an image captured under an image-capturing condition into second image data that reproduce a color appearance under a viewing condition, comprising:

acquiring the first image data of the image captured under the image-capturing condition; and

when the acquired first image data are transformed into the second image data pixel by pixel based on the image-capturing condition and the viewing condition, using selectively either one of a first method that takes into consideration chromatic adaptation and a second method that takes into consideration chromatic adaptation simpler than the first method depending on a state of a transformation target pixel or a neighborhood pixel neighboring the transformation target pixel in the first image data.

21. An image processing method according to claim 20, further comprising;

dividing the first image data into a plurality of regions, wherein

when the acquired first image data are transformed into the second image data pixel by pixel based on the image-capturing condition and the viewing condition, either one of the first method that takes into consideration chromatic adaptation and the second method that takes into consideration chromatic adaptation simpler than the first method is used selectively region by region depending on a state of pixels included in each of the regions.

22. An image processing method that transforms first image data prepared based on a first viewing condition into second image data that reproduce a color appearance under a second viewing condition that is different from the first viewing condition, comprising:

acquiring the first image data of the image captured under the first viewing condition; and

when the acquired first image data are transformed into the second image data pixel by pixel based on the first viewing condition and the second viewing condition, using selectively either one of a first method that takes into consideration chromatic adaptation and a second method that takes into consideration chromatic adaptation simpler than the first method depending on a state of a transformation target pixel or a neighborhood pixel neighboring the transformation target pixel in the first image data.