Image pickup apparatus

• US 8,036,486 B2
• Filed: 08/24/2007
• Issued: 10/11/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 09/06/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Casio Computer Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Casio Computer Company Limited
• Inventors: Yui, Takaaki, Sakurai, Keiichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Mehta; Bhavesh
• Assistant Examiner(s): ENTEZARI, MICHELLE M
• Application Number:
  US11/895,466
• Publication Number:
  US 20080002030A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,509 Days
• Field of Search: 382/255, 382/274
• US Class Current: 382/274
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/20221 Image fusion; Image merging
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 5/40 using histogram techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 5/50 using two or more images, e.g. averaging or subtraction
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 5/92 based on global image properties

Abstract

It is an object of the present invention to provide an image pickup apparatus which informs a user of a state of brightness adjusting operation and which has excellent usability for the user. Disclosed is a digital camera including an image adder 5d for synthesizing a plurality of continuously taken image frames to produce a synthesized image, an image processing apparatus 5 for executing image brightness adjusting processing for synthesizing a required synthesis number of image frames and adjusting brightness of the synthesized image at the time of continuous picture-taking of a subject, and a display device for displaying an image which is being synthesized by the image adder in the image brightness adjusting processing.

Claims

1. An image pickup apparatus comprising:

a picture-taking section to continuously take images of a subject to output a plurality of image frames;

an image synthesizing section to synthesize the plurality of image frames to produce a synthesized image;

an image brightness adjusting section which allows the image synthesizing section to synthesize the image frames and executes image brightness adjusting processing for adjusting a brightness of the synthesized image while the picture-taking section continuously takes the images of the subject; and

a partway-image display section to display a partway synthesized image of the synthesized image, which is produced by the image synthesizing section in the image brightness adjusting processing executed by the image brightness adjusting section,

wherein the image brightness adjusting section executes the image brightness adjusting processing such that an entire image of the synthesized image is gradually brightened as a number of the image frames synthesized by the image synthesizing section increases until the brightness of the synthesized image produced by the image synthesizing section becomes almost equal to a brightness of an image taken by a normal picture-taking method, and after the brightness of the synthesized image produced by the image synthesizing section becomes almost equal to the brightness of the image taken by the normal picture-taking method, the image brightness adjusting section executes the image brightness adjusting processing such that only a dark portion of the synthesized image is gradually brightened as the number of the image frames synthesized by the image synthesizing section increases.

2. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a tone adjusting section which executes tone adjusting processing for adjusting tone of the synthesized image,

wherein the tone adjusting section changes the tone adjusting processing between before and after the brightness of the synthesized image produced by the image synthesizing section becomes almost equal to the brightness of the image taken by the normal picture-taking method.

3. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a number calculating section to calculate a required synthesis number of the image frames required for the synthesized image produced by the image synthesizing section to obtain a predetermined brightness based on a brightness of an image of the images of the subject taken by the picture-taking section;

a number measuring section to measure a number of the image frames synthesized by the image synthesizing section; and

a number display section to display the required synthesis number calculated by the number calculating section and the number measured by the number measuring section while the picture-taking section takes the images of the subject; and

a display changing section to change a display status of the required synthesis number calculated by the number calculating section and the number measured by the number measuring section, which are displayed on the number display section, when the number measured by the number measuring section becomes equal to or more than the required synthesis number calculated by the number calculating section.

4. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising:

a picture-taking operation input section to receive an input of a picture-taking command for the picture-taking section,

wherein the image brightness adjusting section executes the image brightness adjusting processing based on an operation on the picture-taking operation input section by an operator, and allows the image synthesizing section to synthesize the image frames of the required synthesis number.

5. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a picture-taking operation input section to receive an input of a picture-taking command for the picture-taking section,

wherein the image brightness adjusting section executes the image brightness adjusting processing while the picture-taking operation input section is operated by an operator.

6. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising:

an image storing section to store the synthesized image produced whenever a plurality of the image frames are synthesized by the image synthesizing section in the image brightness adjusting processing executed by the image brightness adjusting section; and

an image display section to display the synthesized image stored in the image storing section.

7. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

each of the images taken by the picture-taking section is exposed for a shorter time than the image taken by the normal picture-taking method,

the image synthesizing section synthesizes the image frames by detecting a motion amount of the subject between the image frames, and adjusting a position to synthesize the image frames in accordance with the motion amount, and

the image brightness adjusting section executes the image brightness adjusting processing by changing a brightness adjusting parameter value or a tone correcting parameter value.

8. An image pickup apparatus comprising:

a picture-taking section to continuously take images of a subject to output a plurality of image frames;

an image synthesizing section to synthesize the plurality of image frames to produce a synthesized image;

an image brightness adjusting section which allows the image synthesizing section to synthesize the image frames and executes image brightness adjusting processing for adjusting a brightness of the synthesized image while the picture-taking section continuously takes the images of the subject; and

a partway-image display section to display a partway synthesized image of the synthesized image, which is produced by the image synthesizing section in the image brightness adjusting processing executed by the image brightness adjusting section;

wherein the image brightness adjusting section executes the image brightness adjusting processing such that an entire image of the synthesized image is gradually brightened as a number of the image frames synthesized by the image synthesizing section increases until the brightness of the synthesized image produced by the image synthesizing section becomes almost equal to a brightness of an image taken by a normal picture-taking method, and after the brightness of the synthesized image becomes almost equal to the brightness of the image taken by the normal picture-taking method, the image brightness adjusting section executes noise reducing processing for reducing noise of the synthesized image by allowing the image synthesizing section to add an image frame outputted by the picture-taking section to the synthesized image on which the image brightness adjusting processing is executed.