DIGITAL CAMERA, ELECTRONIC DEVICE EQUIPPED WITH DIGITAL CAMERA, IMAGING METHOD FOR DIGITAL CAMERA AND STORAGE MEDIUM PROVIDED WITH PROGRAM OF DIGITAL CAMERA

• US 20090231464A1
• Filed: 11/21/2005
• Published: 09/17/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 11/21/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Nakamura, Hifumi
• Application Number:
  US12/094,348
• Publication Number:
  US 20090231464A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/229.100
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/68 for stable pick-up of the scene, e.g. compensating for camera body vibrations
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/6812 based on additional sensors, e.g. acceleration sensors
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/73 by influencing the exposure time
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/76 by influencing the image signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/81 for suppressing or minimising disturbance in the image signal generation
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/52 Automatic gain control
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/57 Control of contrast or brightness
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/772 the recording apparatus and the television camera being placed in the same enclosure

Abstract

Provided is a digital camera which can display an image quickly following a change in a position of an object with a small-sized, inexpensive construction at the time of picking up the image of the object in a low brightness. The digital camera is provided with an image pickup unit (110) for picking up an image of an object, a storage unit (130) for storing the image constructed by a signal outputted from the image pickup unit (110) and a control unit (150), which, in a case where the illuminance is less than a predetermined value when the image pickup unit (110) picks up the image of the object during the preview at a display unit (120) and also it is detected that any one of an entirety of the image, a specific object in the image or a digital camera body moves, sets each of a gain value and a frame rate to a value larger than a designed value for photography.

Claims

1. A digital camera comprising:

a body;

a storage unit;

an image pickup unit for picking up an image of an object at regular intervals in a preview mode, and outputting a signal indicative of the image, the image taken by the image pickup unit being stored in the storage unit; and

a control unit or a control unit and a direction monitoring unit provided with a function for changing a gain value of the signal outputted from the image pickup unit and a function for determining whether or not an entirety of the image, a specific object in the image or the body stops moving in the preview mode, wherein

the control unit sets the gain value of the signal to a designed value when the object is larger in illuminance than a predetermined value, or not moving with respect to the body, and increases the gain value of the signal when the object is lower in illuminance than the predetermined value, and moving with respect to the body.

2. A digital camera according to claim 1, wherein:

the control unit includes a function for changing a frame rate, wherein

in a case where the illuminance of the object during the preview is lower than the predetermined value and it is determined that any one or more selected out of the entirety of the image, the specific object in the image or the body does not stop moving, the control unit increases each of the gain value and the frame rate to a value larger than the designed value for the photography.

3. A digital camera according to claim 1, wherein:

in a case where it is determined that any one or more selected out of the entirety of the image, the specific object in the image or the body stops moving and the illuminance of the object is lower than a predetermined value, each of the gain value and the frame rate is made to the designed value for the photography.

4. A digital camera according to any of claim 1, further comprising:

an operation unit including an operation for setting each of the gain value and the frame rate to the designed value for photography, wherein;

even before it is determined that any one or more selected out of the entirety of the image, the specific object in the image or the body stops moving, each of the gain value and the frame rate is instantaneously made to the designed value for photography at the time of performing the operation of setting each of the gain value and the frame rate to the designed value for the photography.

5. An electronic device in which the digital camera according to any of claim 1 is mounted.

6. An image pickup method of a digital camera provided with an image pickup unit for picking up an image of an object and a control unit for controlling an image constructed by a signal outputted from the image pickup unit comprising:

an illuminance determining step in which the control unit determines whether or not the illuminance at the time of picking up the image of the object at the image pickup unit during the preview is lower than a predetermined value;

an object determining step in which the control unit determines whether or not any one or more selected out of an entirety of the image, a specific object in the image or a body stops moving in a case where the control unit determines that the illuminance is lower than the predetermined value at the illuminance determining step; and

a step in which the control unit increases a gain value to a value larger than a designed value for the photography during the preview in a case where the control unit determines that any one or more selected out of the entirety of the image, the specific object in the image or the body does not stop moving at the object determining step.

7. An image pickup method according to claim 6, comprising:

an illuminance determining step in which the control unit determines whether or not the illuminance at the time of picking up the image of the object at the image pickup unit during the preview is lower than a predetermined value;

an object determining step in which the control unit determines whether or not any one or more selected out of an entirety of the image, a specific object in the image or the body stops moving in a case where the control unit determines that the illuminance is lower than the predetermined value at the illuminance determining step; and

a step in which the control unit increases the gain value to the value larger than the designed value for photography during the preview and increase a frame rate to a value larger than that at the photography in a case where the control unit determines that any one or more selected out of the entirety of the image, the specific object in the image or the digital camera body do not stop moving at the object determining step.

8. An image pickup method according to claim 6, comprising:

a step in which the control unit sets each of the gain value and the frame rate to the designed value for photography at the photography.

9. An image pickup method according to claim 6, wherein:

at the object determining step, the control unit compares a position of an entirety of an image incorporated with a position of an entirety of an image previously incorporated to determine whether or not the entirety of the image stops moving.

10. An image pickup method according to claim 6, wherein:

at the object determining step, the control unit compares a position of a specific object in an image incorporated with a position of a specific object of an image previously incorporated to determine whether or not the position of the specific object of the image stops moving.

11. An image pickup method according to claim 6, wherein:

at the object determining step, the control unit determines whether or not the body stops moving based upon the monitoring result of a direction monitoring unit for monitoring whether or not the body stops moving.

12. A program for making a computer perform each step of the image pickup method according to claim 6.