Image capture apparatus, method of controlling the same, and program

• US 8,218,021 B2
• Filed: 01/08/2010
• Issued: 07/10/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 02/03/2009
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Terayama, Kota
• Primary Examiner(s): Chan, Jason
• Assistant Examiner(s): OSINSKI, MICHAEL S
• Application Number:
  US12/684,398
• Publication Number:
  US 20100194916A1
• Time in Patent Office: 914 Days
• Field of Search: 348/207.99, 348/207.1, 348/218.1, 3482221-2231, 348/229.1, 348/234, 348/235, 348/237, 348239-251, 382/162, 382166-167, 382254-275, 382/284, 382/294
• US Class Current: 348/218.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10024 Color image
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/20021 Dividing image into blocks, subimages or windows
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 5/70 Denoising; Smoothing
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/60 Control of cameras or camera modules
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/81 for suppressing or minimising disturbance in the image signal generation
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/84 for processing colour signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/951 by using two or more images to influence resolution, frame rate or aspect ratio
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/445 by skipping some contiguous pixels within the read portion of the array

Abstract

An apparatus includes an image capture unit which includes an image sensor in which pixels for photoelectrically converting an object image are two-dimensionally arrayed in correspondence with color filters of a plurality of colors, and generates an image signal, a reducing unit which reduces the image signal output from the image capture unit to generate a reduced image, an image processing unit which performs development processing for the reduced image to obtain a first developed image containing luminance components and color difference components and performs development for the image signal output from the image capture unit to obtain a second developed image containing luminance and color difference components, an enlargement unit which enlarges the first developed image to the same size as that of the second developed image, and a composition unit which performs composition of the second developed image and an enlarged image.

Claims

1. An image capture apparatus comprising:

an image capture unit, including an image sensor in which pixels for photoelectrically converting an object image are two-dimensionally arrayed in correspondence with color filters of a plurality of colors, configured to generate an image signal;

a reducing unit configured to reduce the image signal output from the image capture unit to generate a reduced image;

an image processing unit configured to perform development processing for the reduced image to obtain a first developed image containing luminance components and color difference components and performing development processing for the image signal output from the image capture unit to obtain a second developed image containing luminance components and color difference components;

an enlargement unit configured to enlarge the first developed image to the same size as that of the second developed image;

a composition unit configured to perform composition of the second developed image and an enlarged image enlarged by the enlargement unit; and

a storage unit configured to store the image signal output from the image capture unit, the reduced image, the first developed image, the second developed image, and the enlarged image,

wherein the image processing unit performs the development processing for a partial region of the image signal output from the image capture unit to obtain the second developed image corresponding to the partial region, and after the composition unit has composited the second developed image corresponding to the partial region with the enlarged image corresponding to the partial region, performs the development processing for a remaining region of the image signal output from the image capture unit to obtain the second developed image corresponding to the remaining region.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image processing unit performs first noise reduction processing and the development processing for the reduced image to obtain the first developed image including the luminance components and the color difference components and performs second noise reduction processing and the development processing for the image signal output from the image capture unit to obtain the second developed image including the luminance components and the color difference components.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the second noise reduction processing is weaker than the first noise reduction processing.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when a sensitivity during image capture is not more than a predetermined sensitivity, the composition unit sets a composition ratio of the enlarged image with respect to the second developed image at zero or outputs only the second developed image as a composite image.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when a sensitivity during image capture is not more than a predetermined sensitivity, the image processing unit generates only the second developed image without performing reduction processing by the reducing unit and enlargement processing by the enlargement unit, and the composition unit does not execute composition processing.

6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a reduction ratio of the reducing unit is changed in accordance with a set value of the sensitivity upon image capture.

7. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the composition ratio of the enlarged image and the second developed image by the composition unit is changed between the luminance component and the color difference component of the image signal and also changed in accordance with the set value of the sensitivity upon image capture.

8. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image processing unit, the enlargement unit, and the composition unit perform processing after dividing a process target image into a plurality of regions.

9. A method of controlling an image capture apparatus comprising an image capture unit, including an image sensor in which pixels for photoelectrically converting an object image are two-dimensionally arrayed in correspondence with color filters of a plurality of colors, configured to generate an image signal, comprising:

a reducing step of reducing the image signal output from the image capture unit to generate a reduced image;

an image processing step of performing development processing for the reduced image to obtain a first developed image containing luminance components and color difference components and performing development processing for the image signal output from the image capture unit to obtain a second developed image containing luminance components and color difference components;

an enlargement step of enlarging the first developed image to the same size as that of the second developed image;

a composition step of performing composition of the second developed image and an enlarged image enlarged in the enlargement step; and

a storage step of storing, in a storage unit, the image signal output from the image capture unit, the reduced image, the first developed image, the second developed image, and the enlarged image,

wherein in the image processing step, the development processing is performed for a partial region of the image signal output from the image capture unit to obtain the second developed image corresponding to the partial region, and after the second developed image corresponding to the partial region has been composited with the enlarged image corresponding to the partial region in the composition step, the development processing is performed for a remaining region of the image signal output from the image capture unit to obtain the second developed image corresponding to the remaining region.

10. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing a program which causes a computer to execute a method of controlling an image capture apparatus according to claim 9.