Method of producing digital image with improved performance characteristic

• US 5,982,941 A
• Filed: 02/07/1997
• Issued: 11/09/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 02/07/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
• Original Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
• Inventors: McIntyre, Dale F., Weldy, John A., Loveridge, Jennifer C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, Thomas D
• Assistant Examiner(s): BRINICH, STEPHEN M
• Application Number:
  US08/796,348
• Time in Patent Office: 1,005 Days
• Field of Search: 382/260-265, 382/284, 382/154
• US Class Current: 382/260
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/409 Edge or detail enhancement; Noise or error suppression

Abstract

A method of producing a digital image with improved performance characteristics including capturing at least two photographic film images of a scene and digitizing the at least two photographic film images of a scene. The method further includes combining and processing the at least two digitized photographic film images to produce another digital image with improved performance characteristics.

Claims

1. A method of producing a digital image with improved performance characteristics, comprising the steps of:

a) capturing a first photographic film image of a scene through a first lens of a camera;

b) capturing at least one or more photographic film images of the same scene which are captured simultaneously with the first photographic image;

c) digitizing the first and the at least one or more photographic film images of a scene; and

d) combining and processing the digitized first photographic film image with the at least one or more digitized photographic film images to produce another digital image with improved spatial resolution and reduced noise including;

(i) converting images to a common color space;

(ii) converting images to a common number of pixels;

(iii) converting to a common global geometry;

(iv) globally aligning the digitized first and at least one more photographic film images, then, when there is misalignment in local areas, measuring and correcting misalignment in locally misaligned areas of the digitized first and at least one more photographic film images; and

(v) combining and processing the converted digitized first and at least one more photographic film images to produce another digital image with improved performance characteristics.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein at misaligned local areas, selected portions of the digitized photographic film images are further processed.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the combining and processing step includes low-pass and high-pass filtering of the digitized first and the at least one more digitized photographic film images, and combining the images by first averaging the low-pass filtered images and then adding the high-pass filtered images containing more information.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the combining and processing step includes high-pass filtering of the digitized first and at least one more digitized photographic film images containing more information at high spatial frequencies, and combining the images by adding these high-pass filtered images to the at least one image containing less information at high spatial frequencies.