Digital photographing apparatus, method of controlling the same, and recording medium having recorded thereon program for executing the method

• US 20090129701A1
• Filed: 09/09/2008
• Published: 05/21/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 11/16/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Techwin Corporation (Hanwha Vision Company Limited)
• Inventors: Jang, Soon-geun, Ahn, Eun-sun, Gwak, Jin-pyo
• Granted Patent: US 8,233,736 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/284
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/20201 Motion blur correction
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 5/50 using two or more images, e.g. averaging or subtraction
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 5/73 Deblurring; Sharpening
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/68 for stable pick-up of the scene, e.g. compensating for camera body vibrations
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/6845 by combination of a plurality of images sequentially taken
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/73 by influencing the exposure time
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/741 by increasing the dynamic range of the image compared to the dynamic range of the electronic image sensors

Abstract

A digital photographing apparatus, a method of controlling the digital photographing apparatus, and a recording medium having recorded thereon a program for executing the method are provided. The digital photographing apparatus includes: a data obtainer that obtains long exposure first data about a first image of a subject and short exposure second data about a second image of the subject; a third data generator that generates third data about a third image by warping the first data so that the subject of the first image and the subject of the second image match each other; and a second data amender which, when a predetermined condition is satisfied, amends the second data so that the second data value S(x, y) at the pixel (x, y) of the second image has the third data value W(x, y) at the pixel (x, y) of the third image.

Claims

1. A digital photographing apparatus, comprising:

a data obtainer that obtains first data about a first image of a subject through long exposure, and second data about a second image of the subject through short exposure;

a third data generator that generates third data about a third image by warping the first data obtained by the data obtainer so that the subject of the first image according to the first data obtained by the data obtainer and the subject of the second image according to the second data obtained by the data obtainer are matched together; and

a second data amender which, when a third data value at a pixel (x, y) of the third image according to the third data generated by the third data generator is W(x, y) and a second data value at a pixel (x, y) of the second image according to the second data obtained by the data obtainer is S(x, y), and when |W(x, y)−

S(x, y)| or a value obtained by processing |W(x, y)−

S(x, y)| with regard to the pixel (x, y) of the second image satisfies a predetermined condition for amending the second data, amends the second data so that the second data value S(x, y) at the pixel (x, y) of the second image has the third data value W(x, y) at the pixel (x, y) of the third image.

2. The digital photographing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the amended second data of the second image is stored in a storage medium as final data.

3. The digital photographing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the second data amender determines whether the second data is amended, at each pixel (x, y) of the second image according to the second data obtained by the data obtainer, only when the corresponding third data value W(x, y) at the pixel (x, y) of the third image according to the third data generated by the third data generator exists.

4. The digital photographing apparatus of claim 1, wherein in the predetermined condition, the pixel (x, y) of the second image according to the second data obtained by the data obtainer is in a bottom area of a pre-set first graph when the pixel (x, y) of the second image is shown on a coordinate system in which a horizontal axis is a gradient norm of W(x, y) or a value obtained by processing a gradient norm of W(x, y) and a vertical axis is |W(x, y)−

S(x, y)| or a value obtained by processing |W(x, y)−

S(x, y)|, and the pixel (x, y) of the second image according to the second data obtained by the data obtainer is in a bottom area of a pre-set second graph when the pixel (x, y) of the second image is shown on a coordinate system in which a horizontal axis is a gradient norm of S(x, y) or a value obtained by processing a gradient norm of S(x, y) and a vertical axis is |W(x, y)−

S(x, y)| or a value obtained by processing |W(x, y)−

S(x, y)|.

5. The digital photographing apparatus of claim 4, wherein in the first graph, the values of the vertical axis do not decrease as the values of the horizontal axis increase.

6. The digital photographing apparatus of claim 5, wherein the first graph sequentially includes a section where the values of the vertical axis are uniform even when the values of the horizontal axis increase and a section where the values of the vertical axis increase as the values of the horizontal axis increase.

7. The digital photographing apparatus of claim 4, wherein in the second graph, the values of the vertical axis do not decrease as the values of the horizontal axis increase.

8. The digital photographing apparatus of claim 7, wherein the second graph sequentially includes a section where the values of the vertical axis are uniform even when the values of the horizontal axis increase and a section where the values of the vertical axis increase as the values of the horizontal axis increase.

9. The digital photographing apparatus of claim 4, wherein in the second graph, the values of the vertical axis do not increase as the values of the horizontal axis increase.

10. The digital photographing apparatus of claim 9, wherein the second graph sequentially includes a section where the values of the vertical axis decrease as the values of the horizontal axis increase, and a section where the values of the vertical axis are uniform even when the values of the horizontal axis increase.

11. The digital photographing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the third data generator uses MPEG or H.264 technology.

12. A method of controlling a digital photographing apparatus, the method comprising:

(a) obtaining first data about a first image of a subject through long exposure;

(b) obtaining second data about a second image of the subject through short exposure;

(c) generating third data about a third image by warping the first data about the first image so that the subject of the first image and the subject of the second image are matched together; and

(d) when a third data value at a pixel (x, y) of the third image is W(x, y) and a second data value at a pixel (x, y) of the second image is S(x, y), and |W(x,y)−

S(x,y)| or a value obtained by processing |W(x,y)−

S(x,y)| with regard to the pixel (x, y) of the second image satisfies a predetermined condition, amending the second data value S(x, y) at the pixel (x, y) of the second image so that the second data value S(x, y) at the pixel (x, y) of the second image has the third data value W(x, y) at the pixel (x, y) of the third image.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising (e) storing the second data of the second image amended in (d) in a storage medium as final data.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein (d) is performed in each pixel (x, y) of the second image only when the third data value W(x, y) at the corresponding pixel (x, y) of the third image exists.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein in the predetermined condition, the pixel (x, y) of the second image is in a bottom area of a pre-set first graph when the pixel (x, y) of the second image is shown on a coordinate system in which a horizontal axis is a gradient norm of W(x, y) or a value obtained by processing a gradient norm of W(x, y) and a vertical axis is |W(x, y)−

S(x, y)| or a value obtained by processing |W(x, y)−

S(x, y)|, and the pixel (x, y) of the second image is in a bottom area of a pre-set second graph when the pixel (x, y) of the second image is shown on a coordinate system in which a horizontal axis is a gradient norm of S(x, y) or a value obtained by processing a gradient norm of S(x, y) and a vertical axis is |W(x, y)−

S(x, y)| or a value obtained by processing |W(x, y)−

S(x, y)|.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein in the first graph, the values of the vertical axis do not decrease as the values of the horizontal axis increase.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the first graph sequentially includes a section where the values of the vertical axis are uniform even when the values of the horizontal axis increase, and a section where the values of the vertical axis increase as the values of the horizontal axis increase.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein in the second graph, the values of the vertical axis do not decrease as the values of the horizontal axis increase.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the second graph sequentially includes a section wherein the values of the vertical axis are uniform even when the values of the horizontal axis increase, and a section where the values of the vertical axis increase as the values of the horizontal axis increase.

20. The method of claim 15, wherein in the second graph, the values of the vertical axis do not increase as the values of the horizontal axis increase.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the second graph sequentially includes a section where the values of the vertical axis decrease as the values of the horizontal axis increase, and a section where the values of the vertical axis are uniform even when the values of the horizontal axis increase.

22. The method of claim 12, wherein (c) uses MPEG or H.264 technology.

23. A recording medium having recorded thereon a program for executing the method of claim 12.