Image pick-up apparatus, image processing apparatus and method of correcting chromatic aberration of lens

• US 7,425,988 B2
• Filed: 09/23/2004
• Issued: 09/16/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 10/07/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Okada, Miyuki, Mitsui, Satoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Ye; Lin
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hannett; James M.
• Application Number:
  US10/947,272
• Publication Number:
  US 20050179788A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,454 Days
• Field of Search: 348/222.1
• US Class Current: 348/222.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/135 based on four or more different wavelength filter elements
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/611 Correction of chromatic aberration

Abstract

Through an image pick-up lens 1, image light is focused on an image pickup surface of an image pickup unit 2 for which a primary color filter is provided. An electrical signal removed from the image pickup unit 2 is supplied to an A/D conversion circuit 3 to be converted into raw data of each primary color and is supplied to a first camera signal processing circuit 61 without any change. In the first camera signal processing circuit 61, only basic video signal processing such as gamma-correction is performed. Then, the raw data of each primary color processed in the first camera signal processing circuit 61 is stored in a picture memory 4. The raw data of each primary color stored in the picture memory 4 is supplied to a magnification-reduction circuit 94 functioning as a first resolution conversion processing circuit for correcting the chromatic aberration of a lens.

Claims

1. An image pick-up apparatus, comprising:

an image pick-up lens;

an image pickup unit configured to convert image light having passed through said image pick-up lens into an electrical picture signal;

a first camera signal processing unit configured to process said picture signal without any change from a primary color signal at a time of image pick-up;

a first resolution conversion unit configured to perform a magnification or reduction of a picture on each color of said primary color signal at the time of said image pick-up with respect to an output signal from said first camera signal processing unit;

a detection unit provided in said image pick-up lens configured to detect a drive state of an iris diaphragm and a lens image height of a subject;

a control unit configured to control a conversion factor and a coordinate of the center of light axis for performing the magnification or reduction in said first resolution conversion unit in accordance with a detected output from said detection unit;

a second camera signal processing unit configured to convert an output signal from said first resolution conversion unit into a video signal;

a primary color filter including a color separating unit of arbitrary three colors or more corresponding to each pixel in said image pickup unit;

data memory unit in which chromatic aberration data specific to said image pick-up lens is stored for each color of said primary color filter; and

a computing unit configured to compute a control parameter which controls the conversion factor and the coordinate of the center of light axis for performing said magnification or reduction in said control unit using said chromatic aberration data stored in said data memory unit and the detected output from said detection unit.

2. The image pick-up apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a display system processing unit configured to output the video signal from said second camera signal processing unit to a display apparatus or to an external output terminal and/or

a recording and reproducing unit configured to record the video signal from said second camera signal processing unit in a recording medium.

3. The image pick-up apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising:

an inverse conversion unit configured to inversely convert a video signal reproduced from said recording medium in said recording and reproducing unit into a primary color signal, wherein

a signal from said inverse conversion unit is supplied to said first resolution conversion unit.

4. The image pick-up apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a second resolution conversion unit configured to perform a magnification or reduction of a picture of the whole screen with respect to the video signal from said second camera signal processing unit.

5. The image pick-up apparatus according to claim 4, wherein

said first and second resolution conversion units are made into one unit used in common by providing signal switching units prior to and subsequent to the unit.

6. The image pick-up apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

a difference between a coordinate of a detected pixel on a screen and a coordinate of the center of light axis is used for the detection of said lens image height of the subject.

7. The image pick-up apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

an automatic focus adjusting unit capable of controlling a focusing position, wherein

a coordinate of said controlled focusing position is made to represent said detecting pixels of the whole screen to be used for the detection of said lens image height of the subject.

8. The image pick-up apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

a drive status and an amount of camera shake correction of said image pick-up lens are further detected, and

the conversion factor for performing the magnification or reduction is controlled and said coordinate of the center of light axis for performing the magnification or reduction is controlled in said resolution conversion unit, in accordance with said further detected output in addition to said detected output.

9. The image pick-up apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

an input unit configured to input manually information corresponding to said drive state of the iris diaphragm and lens image height of the subject in relation to said control unit.

10. An image processing apparatus used for an apparatus performing an image pick-up by converting image light having passed through an image pick-up lens into an electrical picture signal, comprising:

a first camera signal processing unit configured to process said picture signal without any change from a primary color signal at a time of image pick-up;

a first resolution conversion unit configured to perform a magnification or reduction of a picture on each color of said primary color signal at the time of image pick-up with respect to an output signal from said first camera signal processing unit;

a detection unit provided in said image pick-up lens configured to detect a drive state of an iris diaphragm and a lens image height of a subject;

a control unit configured to control a conversion factor and a coordinate of the center of light axis for performing the magnification or reduction in said first resolution conversion unit in accordance with a detected output from said detection unit;

a second camera signal processing unit configured to convert an output signal from said first resolution conversion unit into a video signal;

a primary color filter including a color separating unit of arbitrary three colors or more with respect to each pixel to perform said image pickup;

a data memoiy unit in which chromatic aberration data specific to said image pick-up lens is stored for each color of said primary color filter; and

a computing unit configured to compute a control parameter for controlling said conversion factor and coordinate of the center of light axis for performing the magnification or reduction in said control unit using said chromatic aberration data stored in said data memory unit and the detected output from said detection unit.

11. The image processing apparatus according to claim 10, further comprising:

a display system processing unit configured to output the video signal from said second camera signal processing unit to a display apparatus or to an external output terminal, and/or

a recording and reproducing unit configured to record the video signal from said second camera signal processing unit in a recording medium.

12. The image processing apparatus according to claim 11, further comprising:

an inverse conversion unit configured to convert inversely the video signal reproduced from said recording medium in said recording and reproducing unit into a primary color signal, wherein

a signal from said inverse conversion unit is supplied to said first resolution conversion unit.

13. The image processing apparatus according to claim 10, further comprising:

a second resolution conversion unit configured to perform a magnification or reduction of a picture of the whole screen with respect to the video signal from said second camera signal processing unit.

14. The image processing apparatus according to claim 13, wherein

said first and second resolution conversion units are made into one unit used in common by providing signal switching units prior to and subsequent to the unit.

15. The image processing apparatus according to claim 10, wherein

a difference between a coordinate of a detected pixel on a screen and the coordinate of the center of light axis is used to detect said lens image height of the subject.

16. The image processing apparatus according to claim 10, further comprising:

an automatic focus adjusting unit capable of controlling a focusing position, wherein

a coordinate of said controlled focusing position is made to represent said detecting pixels of the whole screen to be used for the detection of said lens image height of the subject.

17. The image processing apparatus according to claim 10, wherein

a drive state and an amount of camera shake correction of said image pick-up lens are further detected, and

the conversion factor for performing the magnification or reduction is controlled and also said coordinate of the center of light axis for performing the magnification or reduction is controlled in said resolution conversion unit, in accordance with said further detected output in addition to said detected output.

18. The image processing apparatus according to claim 10, further comprising:

an input unit configured to input manually information corresponding to said drive state of the iris diaphragm and lens image height of the subject in relation to said control unit.

19. A method of correcting chromatic aberration of a lens used for an apparatus to perform image pick-up by converting image light having passed through an image pick-up lens into an electrical picture signal, comprising steps of:

performing a first camera signal processing on said picture signal without any change from a primary color signal at a time of image pick-up;

performing a magnification or reduction of a picture by a first resolution conversion on each color of said primary color signal at the time of image pick-up with respect to a signal on which said first camera signal processing is performed;

detecting a drive state of an iris diaphragm and a lens image height of a subject which are provided in said image pick-up lens;

controlling a conversion factor and a coordinate of the center of light axis for performing the magnification or reduction in said first resolution conversion in accordance with said detected output; and

converting a signal on which said first resolution conversion is performed into a video signal by a second camera signal processing,

wherein said image pickup unit is provided with a primary color filter including a color separating unit of arbitrary three colors or more that is provided corresponding to each pixel, further comprising steps of;

storing chromatic aberration data specific to said image pick-up lens in a data memory unit for each color of said primary color filter, and

computing a control parameter for controlling said conversion factor and coordinate of the center of light aixis for performing the magnification or reduction in said control unit, using said chromatic aberration data stored in said data memory unit and the detected output from said detection unit.

20. The method of correcting the chromatic aberration of the lens according to claim 19, further comprising steps of:

performing display system processing to output the video signal on which said second camera signal processing is performed to a display apparatus or to an external output terminal, and/or

recording the video signal on which said second camera signal processing is performed in a recording medium.

21. The method of correcting the chromatic aberration of the lens according to claim 20, further comprising steps of:

inversely converting a video signal reproduced from said recording medium into a primary color signal, wherein

said first resolution conversion is performed with respect to said inversely converted signal.

22. The method of correcting the chromatic aberration of the lens according to claim 19, further comprising a step of:

performing a second resolution conversion with respect to the video signal, on which said second camera signal processing is performed, to perform a magnification or reduction of the whole screen.

23. The method of correcting the chromatic aberration of the lens according to claim 22, wherein

said first and second resolution conversion is performed by switching a signal supplied to a single block.

24. The method of correcting the chromatic aberration of the lens according to claim 19, wherein

a difference between a coordinate of a detected pixel on a screen and the coordinate of the center of light axis is used for the detection of said lens image height of the subject.

25. The method of correcting the chromatic aberration of the lens according to claim 19, further comprising steps of:

adjusting focus to control a focusing position, and

representing said detecting pixels of the whole screen, with a coordinate of said controlled focusing position, to be used for the detection of said lens image height of the subject.

26. The method of correcting the chromatic aberration of the lens according to claim 19, further comprising steps of:

further detecting a drive state and an amount of camera shake correction of said image pick-up lens, and

controlling the conversion factor for performing the magnification or reduction in said resolution conversion unit and said coordinate of the center of light axis for performing the magnification or reduction in said resolution conversion unit, in accordance with said further detected output in addition to said detected output.

27. The method of correcting the chromatic aberration of the lens according to claim 19, wherein

information corresponding to said drive state of the iris diaphragm and lens image height of the subject can be input manually.