Image pickup apparatus including white balance control

• US 8,144,209 B2
• Filed: 05/09/2008
• Issued: 03/27/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 10/19/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Takeuchi, Yoshitaka
• Primary Examiner(s): WHIPKEY, JASON T
• Application Number:
  US12/118,434
• Publication Number:
  US 20080211934A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,418 Days
• Field of Search: 348/223.1, 348/231.6, 348/231.3, 348/224.1, 348/225.1, 382/167, 358/523, 358/518, 358/516, 399/39
• US Class Current: 348/223.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/88 for colour balance, e.g. white-balance circuits or colour temperature control

Abstract

An image pickup apparatus having an improved convenience of use of white sheet data for correcting the color of a picked-up image. Image pickup data is converted into files by an image filing unit and recorded by a medium-recording unit. Average value data of each color component data for part of the picked-up data is stored in an area different from the image pickup data recording area in each file.

Claims

1. An image pickup apparatus comprising:

an extracting unit constructed to extract information from first image data obtained from an image pickup element, wherein the extracted information includes average pixel values corresponding to each of pixel colors of the first image data to which a white balance correction is not performed in an image pickup operation thereof;

a storing unit constructed to store a plurality of files in a memory, wherein the plurality of files include the first image data obtained from the image pickup element and the extracted information including the average pixel values of the first image data;

a display unit which displays information of at least one of the plurality of files including the first image data and the extracted information, wherein the displayed information includes at least one of the first image data and attribute data;

a selection member constructed to accept selection of a file from the plurality of files including the first image data of which information is displayed on said display unit;

an adjusting unit constructed to adjust a white balance of second image data obtained from the image pickup element, in accordance with the extracted information of the first image data included in the file selected by said selection member, wherein the second image data is new image data which is picked up after said selection member selects the first image data; and

a control unit which controls storage of the second image data adjusted by said adjusting unit as a file different from the files of the first image data.

2. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said selection member is disposed on a surface of said image pickup apparatus.

3. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information displayed on said display unit is image data generated by reproducing the file of the first image data.

4. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information displayed on said display unit is attribute data of the first image data.

5. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said adjusting unit adjusts the white balance of the second image data in accordance with attribute data in the file of the first image data.

6. A control method of an image pickup apparatus, said control method comprises the steps of:

extracting information from first image data obtained from an image pickup element, wherein the extracted information includes average pixel values corresponding to each of pixel colors of the first image data to which a white balance correction is not performed in an image pickup operation thereof;

reading at least one of the first image data obtained from the image pickup element from a memory, wherein said memory stores a plurality of files including the first image data and the extracted information including the average pixel values of the first image data;

displaying information of the first image data read in said reading step, wherein the displayed information includes at least one of the first image data and attribute data thereof;

selecting, with a selection member, a file from the plurality of files including the first image data of which information is displayed in said display step;

adjusting a white balance of a second image data obtained from the image pickup element, in accordance with the extracted information of the first image data included in the file selected with said selection member, wherein the second image data is new image data which is picked up after said selection member selects the first image data; and

controlling storage of the second image data adjusted in said adjusting step as a file different from the files of the first image data.

7. An image pickup apparatus comprising:

a generating unit constructed to generate attribute data from first image data obtained from an image pickup element, wherein the attribute data includes average pixel values corresponding to each of pixel colors of the first image data to which a white balance correction is not performed in an image pickup operation thereof;

a storing unit constructed to store a plurality of files including the first image data obtained from the image pickup element and the attribute data;

a display unit which displays information of at least one of the plurality of files including first image data, wherein the displayed information includes at least one of the first image data and the attribute data;

a selection member constructed to accept selection of a file from the plurality of files including the first image data of which information is displayed on said display unit;

an adjusting unit constructed to adjust a white balance of second image data obtained from the image pickup element, in accordance with the attribute data in the file of the first image data included in the file selected by said selection member, wherein the attribute data includes white balance data calculated from the first image data; and

a control unit constructed to control storage of the second image data adjusted by said adjusting unit as a file different from the files of the first image data.

8. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the information displayed on said display unit is image data generated by reproducing the file of the first image data.

9. A control method of an image pickup apparatus, said control method comprises the steps of:

generating attribute data from first image data obtained from an image pickup element, wherein the attribute data includes average pixel values corresponding to each of pixel colors of the first image data to which a white balance correction is not performed in an image pickup operation thereof;

reading at least one first image data file obtained from the image pickup element from a memory, wherein said memory stores a plurality of files including the first image data and the attribute data including the average pixel values of the first image data;

displaying information of the first image data read in said reading step, wherein the displayed information includes at least one of the first image data and attribute data thereof;

selecting, with a selection member, a file from the plurality of files including the first image data of which information is displayed in said display step;

adjusting a white balance of second image data obtained from the image pickup element, in accordance with attribute data in the file of the first image data included in the file selected with said selection member, wherein the attribute data includes white balance data calculated from the first image data; and

controlling storage of the second image data adjusted in said adjusting step as a file different from the files of the first image data.

10. An image pickup apparatus comprising:

an extracting unit constructed to extract information from first image data obtained from an image pickup element, wherein the includes average pixel values corresponding to each of pixel colors of the first image data to which a white balance correction is not performed in an image pickup operation thereof;

a storing unit constructed to store a plurality of files in a memory, wherein the plurality of files include the first image data obtained from the image pickup element and the extracted information including the average pixel values of the first image data;

a display unit which displays information of at least one of the plurality of files including the first image data, wherein the information displayed on said display unit is attribute data of the first image data;

a selection member constructed to accept selection of a file from the plurality of files including the first image data of which information is displayed on said display unit;

an adjusting unit constructed to adjust a white balance of second image data obtained from the image pickup element, in accordance with the extracted information of the first image data included in the file selected by said selection member; and

a control unit constructed to control storage of the second image data adjusted by said adjusting unit as a file different from the files of the first image data.

11. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 10, wherein said adjusting unit adjusts the white balance of the second image data in accordance with attribute data in the file of the first image data.

12. A control method of an image pickup apparatus, said control method comprising the steps of:

extracting information from first image data obtained from an image pickup element, wherein the extracted information includes average pixel values corresponding to each of pixel colors of the first image data to which a white balance correction is not performed in an image pickup operation thereof is specified after an image pickup data is implemented in accordance with a predetermined setting;

storing, in a memory, a plurality of files including the first image data obtained from the image pickup element and the extracted information including the average pixel values of the first image data;

displaying information of at least one of the plurality of files including the first image data and the extracted information, wherein the information displayed in said displaying step is attribute data of the first image data;

selecting, with a selection member, a file from the plurality of files including the first image data of which information is displayed on said display step;

adjusting a white balance of second image data obtained from the image pickup element, in accordance with the extracted information of the first image data included in the file selected in said selecting step; and

controlling storage of the second image data adjusted in said adjusting step as a file different from the files of the first image data.

13. An image pickup apparatus comprising:

an extracting unit constructed to extract information from first image data obtained from an image pickup element, wherein the extracted information includes average pixel values corresponding to each of pixel colors of the first image data to which a white balance correction is not performed in an image pickup operation thereof;

a storing unit constructed to store a plurality of files including the first image data obtained from the image pickup element and the extracted information including the average pixel values of the first image data;

a display unit which displays information of at least one of the plurality of files including the first image data and the extracted information, wherein the displayed information includes the first image data and attribute data thereof;

a selection member constructed to accept selection of a file from the plurality of files including the first image data of which information is displayed on said display unit;

an adjusting unit constructed to adjust a white balance of second image data obtained from the image pickup element, in accordance with the extracted information of the first image data included in the file selected by said selection member, wherein said adjusting unit adjusts the white balance of the second image data in accordance with the extracted information in the file of the first image data; and

a control unit constructed to control storage of the second image data adjusted by said adjusting unit as a file different from the files of the first image data.

14. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the information displayed on said display unit is attribute data of the first image data.

15. A control method of an image pickup apparatus, said control method comprises the steps of:

extracting information from first image data obtained from an image pickup element, wherein the extracted information includes average pixel values corresponding to each of pixel colors of the first image data to which a white balance correction is not performed in an image pickup operation thereof;

reading at least one of first image data obtained from the image pickup element from a memory, wherein said memory stores a plurality of files including the first image data and the extracted information including the average pixel values of the first image data;

displaying information of the first image data read in said reading step,

selecting, with a selection member, a file from the plurality of files including the first image data of which information is displayed in said display step;

adjusting a white balance of a second image data obtained from the image pickup element, in accordance with the extracted information of the first image data included in the file selected with said selection member, wherein said adjusting step adjusts the white balance of the second image data in accordance with the extracted information in the file of the first image data; and

controlling storage of the second image data adjusted in said adjusting step as a file different from the files of the first image data.