ELECTRONIC CAMERA

• US 20100013977A1
• Filed: 12/11/2007
• Published: 01/21/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/11/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Maxell, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Nikon Corporation
• Inventors: Suzuki, Maki
• Granted Patent: US 8,264,545 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/333.110
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/61 based on recognised objects
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/634 Warning indications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/635 Region indicators; Field of view indicators
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/675 comprising setting of focusing regions
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/2628 Alteration of picture size, shape, position or orientation, e.g. zooming, rotation, rolling, perspective, translation

Abstract

It is enabled to check a detail of a subject being a tracking object more rapidly and easily by including an image-capturing unit capturing a subject image and generating an image, a selecting unit continuously selecting a focus detection object area at the time of image-capturing by the image-capturing unit based on the image generated by the image-capturing unit, a displaying unit capable of displaying the image generated by the image-capturing unit, a generating unit cutting out a part corresponding to the focus detection object area from the image generated by the image-capturing unit and generating a tracking object checking image, and a controlling unit displaying on the displaying unit by overlapping a through image for a composition checking based on the image generated by the image-capturing unit and the tracking object checking image at the time of image-capturing by the image-capturing unit.

Claims

1. An electronic camera, comprising:

an image-capturing unit capturing a subject image and generating an image;

a selecting unit continuously selecting a focus detection object area at a time of image-capturing by the image-capturing unit based on the image generated by the image-capturing unit;

a displaying unit capable of displaying the image generated by the image-capturing unit;

a generating unit cutting out a part corresponding to the focus detection object area from the image generated by the image-capturing unit and generating a tracking object checking image;

an overwatching unit overwatching a selection accuracy of the focus detection object area selected by the selecting unit; and

a controlling unit displaying on the displaying unit by overlapping a through image for a composition checking based on the image generated by the image-capturing unit and the tracking object checking image at the time of image-capturing by the image-capturing unit, and displaying the tracking object checking image when the selection accuracy becomes lower than a predetermined accuracy.

3. The electronic camera according to claim 1, wherein

the controlling unit notifies a user of the selection accuracy being lower than the predetermined accuracy by performing an alarm display on the displaying unit when the selection accuracy becomes lower than the predetermined accuracy.

4. The electronic camera according to claim 1, wherein

the controlling unit displays the tracking object checking image at a position not overlapping the focus detection object area.

5. The electronic camera according to claim 1, further comprising

an accepting unit accepting a user instruction designating a position to display the tracking object checking image, wherein

the controlling unit displays the tracking object checking image according to the user instruction.

6. The electronic camera according to claim 1, further comprising

a magnification changing unit changing an imaging magnification of the image-capturing unit by using at least one of an electrical method and an optical method, wherein

the controlling unit displays the tracking object checking image by enlarging or reducing the tracking object checking image in accordance with the imaging magnification.

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

an accepting unit accepting a user instruction designating an enlarging magnification of the tracking object checking image, wherein

the controlling unit displays the tracking object checking image by enlarging or reducing the tracking object checking image according to the user instruction.

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

a recording unit recording by associating the image generated by the image-capturing unit and positional information indicating a position of the focus detection object area at the time of image-capturing; and

an accepting unit accepting a user instruction to display the image recorded in the recording unit on the displaying unit, wherein

the generating unit generates the tracking object checking image by cutting out a part corresponding to the focus detection object area from the image based on the positional information when the user instruction is accepted, and

the controlling unit displays on the displaying unit by overlapping the image and the tracking object checking image when the user instruction is accepted.

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

a creating unit creating an overlapped image by overlapping the image generated by the image-capturing unit and the tracking object checking image; and

a recording unit recording the overlapped image.

2. (canceled)