Image pickup apparatus with white balance extraction

• US 8,212,888 B2
• Filed: 10/26/2010
• Issued: 07/03/2012
• 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:
  US12/912,184
• Publication Number:
  US 20110037872A1
• Time in Patent Office: 616 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 which can improve convenience of white sheet data used for correcting the color of a picked-up image. Each image pickup data is converted into a file 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 for white balance calculation from first image data obtained from an image pickup element, wherein the extracted information for white balance calculation includes calculation values corresponding to each of colors from the first image data;

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 for white balance calculation including the calculation values corresponding to each of colors from 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 for white balance calculation, wherein the display information includes at least one of the first image data and 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 the display unit; and

a calculation unit constructed to calculate a white balance setting parameter for second image data by using the extracted information for white balance calculation of the first image data included in the file selected by the selection member, wherein the second image data is new image data which is picked up after said selection member selects the file.

2. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the extracted information for white balance calculation is specified after the image pickup operation for the first image data is implemented in accordance with a predetermined setting.

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

4. The image pickup apparatus according to Claim 1, wherein the calculation values are average pixel values corresponding to each of pixel colors from a center area of the first image data.

5. The image pickup apparatus according to Claim 1, further comprising an adjusting unit constructed to adjust a white balance of the second image data obtained from the image pickup element, in accordance with the calculation by the calculation unit.

6. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 5, further comprises a control unit which controls storage of the second image data adjusted by the adjusting unit as a file different from the files of the first image data.

7. A control method of an image pickup apparatus including an image pickup element and a display unit, comprising the steps of:

extracting information for white balance calculation from first image data obtained from the image pickup element, wherein the extracted information for white balance calculation includes calculation values corresponding to each of colors from the first image data;

storing 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 for white balance calculation including the calculation values corresponding to each of colors from the first image data;

displaying, on the display unit, information of at least one of the plurality of files including the first image data and the extracted information for white balance calculation, wherein the display information includes at least one of the first image data and attribute data of the first image data;

accepting selection of a file from the plurality of files including the first image data of which information is displayed on the display unit; and

calculating a white balance setting parameter for second image data by using the extracted information for white balance calculation of the first image data included in the file selected in the selection accepting step, wherein the second image data is new image data which is picked up after the selection accepting step accepts the selection of the file.

8. The method according to Claim 7, wherein the calculation values are average pixel values corresponding to each of pixel colors from a center area of the first image data.

9. The method according to Claim 7, further comprising adjusting a white balance of the second image data obtained from the image pickup element, in accordance with the calculation in the calculation step.