Digital camera having video file creating function

• US 20110063463A1
• Filed: 10/18/2010
• Published: 03/17/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/03/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nikon Corporation
• Original Assignee: Nikon Corporation
• Inventors: Ejima, Satoshi, Ohmura, Akira
• Granted Patent: US 8,605,162 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/220.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/2112 using still video cameras
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/212 Motion video recording combined with still video recording television signal recording H04N5/76
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/215 Recording a sequence of still pictures, e.g. burst mode
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2101/00 Still video cameras
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/667 Camera operation mode switching, e.g. between still and video, sport and normal or high- and low-resolution modes
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/772 the recording apparatus and the television camera being placed in the same enclosure
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/775 between a recording apparatus and a television receiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/907 using static stores, e.g. storage tubes or semiconductor memories H04N5/91 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/7921 for more than one processing mode
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8042 involving data reduction
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8047 using transform coding

Abstract

A digital camera includes an image capturing unit, an image capturing control unit, and an image processing unit. The image capturing control unit controls the image capturing unit so as to obtain a still image. The image processing unit creates freeze video data used for reproducing the still image for a predetermined period of time.

Claims

1. A digital camera comprising:

an image capturing unit which captures an image of a photographic subject; and

an image capturing control unit which controls said image capturing unit to obtain a still image and to create video data before or after said still image is captured, wherein;

said image capturing control unit sets an exposure value of said still image based on a signal level of an image output from said image capturing unit and sets an exposure value of said video data so as to obtain an exposure result same as the exposure value of said still image; and

an image processing unit which creates freeze video data by using said still image and creates only one video file in which said video data and said freeze video data are connected in a reproduction order.

2. The digital camera of claim 1, wherein

said image processing unit creates, in a data format compliant with a predetermined video file specification, said freeze video data for reproducing said still image for the predetermined period of time.

3. The digital camera of claim 1, further comprising:

a sound collecting unit which collects a sound to create sound data; and

a sound processing unit which acquires, from said sound collecting unit, sound data during a period of time including a point of time when said still image is captured, and then adds said sound data to said freeze video data so that said sound data is reproducible in synchronization with said freeze video data.

4. The digital camera of claim 1, further comprising:

a sound effect processing unit which adds predetermined sound effect data to said video file such that said predetermined sound effect data is reproducible in synchronization with a time when freeze video data reproduction and video data reproduction are switched.

5. The digital camera of claim 1, further comprising:

an effective image processing unit which adds to said video file a predetermined effective image to be inserted when freeze video data reproduction and video data reproduction are switched, the predetermined effective image effectively showing that the switching between the freeze video data reproduction and the video data reproduction is done.

6. The digital camera of claim 1, wherein

said image capturing control unit creates said video data by reading pixels with a low resolution from said image capturing unit;

and

said image capturing control unit converts a resolution of said still image obtained through a high resolution reading from said image capturing unit, so as to create said freeze video data whose number of pixels matches with that of said video data.

7. The digital camera of claim 1, wherein

said image capturing control unit increases, by a pixel interpolation, the number of pixels of said video data which is read with a low resolution from said image capturing unit;

and

said image capturing control unit converts a resolution of said still image obtained through high resolution reading from said image capturing unit, so as to create said freeze video data whose number of pixels matches with that of said video data.

8. The digital camera of claim 1, further comprising:

a position determination unit which determines in which shooting position, vertical or horizontal, an image is shot; and

a rotational conversion unit which rotationally converts said still image according to the shooting position to form a rotationally converted still image, wherein

said image processing unit stores the rotationally converted still image in a video frame, thereby creating freeze video data used for reproducing the rotationally converted still image for a predetermined period of time.

9. The digital camera of claim 8, wherein

when rotationally converting said still image, said rotational conversion unit converts a resolution of said still image such that a number of pixels of said still image on a long side of a frame is smaller than an other number of pixels of said still image on a short side of the frame.

10. The digital camera of claim 8, wherein

when rotationally converting said still image, said rotational conversion unit adds a predetermined image for aspect adjustment outside a frame of the rotationally converted still image so as to maintain an aspect ratio before rotational conversion.

11. The digital camera of claim 1, wherein

said image processing unit connects a plurality of pieces of freeze video data to create a video file usable for an automatic slide reproduction.

12. The digital camera of claim 11, wherein

said image processing unit creates, from said still image, an image to be displayed for one of options to reproduce, and stores a created image in said video file for a chapter menu.

13. The digital camera of claim 11, wherein

said image processing unit creates, from a still image with a shooting date different from that of an immediately preceding still image, an image to be displayed for one of options to reproduce, and stores a created image in said video file for a chapter menu.

14. The digital camera of claim 11, wherein

when said plurality of pieces of freeze video data to connect have different shooting dates, said image processing unit inserts a shooting date to a portion at which the shooting dates of the free video data change at reproduction.

15. The digital camera of claim 11, wherein

said image processing unit stores, in said video file, identification information specifying a still image file from which an image to be displayed is created.

16. A digital camera capable of shooting a video and a still image, comprising:

a first control unit which sets an exposure value of said still image based on a signal level of an image output from an image capturing unit and sets an exposure value of said video so as to obtain an exposure result same as the exposure value of said still image upon an input of a first start signal, and starts buffering said video captured under the exposure value of said video upon an input of said first start signal, and releases the video being buffered without storing it upon a cancellation of said first start signal; and

a second control unit which shoots said still image under the exposure value of said still image upon an input of a second start signal, creates only one video file in which said video being buffered and said still image are connected in a reproduction order, and stores said video file in synchronization with said second start signal.

17. The digital camera according to claim 16, further comprising:

a release operating member which has a two-step switch of a half press and a full press, outputs said first start signal in response to the half press and cancels said first start signal in response to a release of the half press, and outputs said second start signal in response to the full press, wherein

said first control unit starts buffering a video in response to the half press and releases the video being buffered without storing it in response to a release of the half press; and

said second control unit shoots and stores a still image in response to the full press and stores the video being buffered in synchronization with the full press.

18. The digital camera of claim 16, further comprising:

a framing determination unit which outputs said first start signal when detecting that a framing of the digital camera is in a stable state, and cancels said first start signal when detecting that the framing thereof is in an unstable state, wherein

said first control unit starts buffering a video in response to a detection that the framing is in a stable state, and releases the video being buffered without storing it in response to a detection that the framing is in an unstable state.

19. The digital camera of claim 16, further comprising:

a self-timer unit which outputs said first start signal in response to a start of a self-timer, cancels said first start signal in response to a cancellation of said self-timer, and outputs said second start signal in response to a time elapse of said self-timer, wherein

said first control unit starts buffering a video in response to a start of said self-timer and releases the video being buffered without storing it in response to a cancellation of said self-timer; and

said second control unit shoots and stores a still image in response to the time elapse of said self-timer and stores the video being buffered in synchronization with the time elapse.

20. The digital camera of claim 16, further comprising:

a period determination unit which determines a transition period of time according to a threshold value, and does not store said video when the transition period of time is less than the threshold value, the transition period of time being a time from an input of said first start signal to an input of said second start signal.

21. The digital camera of claim 16, further comprising:

a brightness determination unit which evaluates brightness of said video and does not store said video when evaluating the brightness of said video to be dark.

22. The digital camera of claim 21, wherein

the brightness determination unit stores not said video but a sound portion of said video when evaluating the brightness of said video to be dark.

23. The digital camera of claim 16, further comprising:

a freeze video creating unit which creates freeze video used for reproducing a still image for a predetermined period of time, wherein

said second control unit stores a video file in which said video and said freeze video are connected in reproduction order.

24. The digital camera of claim 16, further comprising:

a shooting preparation unit which performs a shooting preparation of at least one of an automatic exposure control and an automatic focusing control, wherein

said first control unit performs the shooting preparation in response to an input of said first start signal and starts buffering said video after the shooting preparation.