Imaging device, edition device, image processing method, and program

• US 8,553,092 B2
• Filed: 05/03/2012
• Issued: 10/08/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 03/06/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Corporation of America (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Tezuka, Tadanori, Fuchigami, Ikuo
• Primary Examiner(s): Ye, Lin
• Assistant Examiner(s): COWAN, EUEL K
• Application Number:
  US13/462,930
• Publication Number:
  US 20120212641A1
• Time in Patent Office: 523 Days
• Field of Search: 348/229.1, 348/208.12, 348/221.1, 348/362, 348/333.01, 396/161, 396/166, 396/213, 396/215
• US Class Current: 348/208.12
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/2145 of a sequence of images for selection of a single frame before final recording, e.g. from a continuous sequence captured before and after shutter-release
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/215 Recording a sequence of still pictures, e.g. burst mode
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2101/00 Still video cameras
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/667 Camera operation mode switching, e.g. between still and video, sport and normal or high- and low-resolution modes
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/80 Camera processing pipelines; Components thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/951 by using two or more images to influence resolution, frame rate or aspect ratio
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/2621 Cameras specially adapted for the electronic generation of special effects during image pickup, e.g. digital cameras, camcorders, video cameras having integrated special effects capability
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/772 the recording apparatus and the television camera being placed in the same enclosure
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8042 involving data reduction
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8047 using transform coding
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8205 involving the multiplexing of an additional signal and the colour video signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8227 the additional signal being at least another television signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8233 the additional signal being a character code signal

Abstract

An imaging device for supporting the user to generate satisfactory synthesized images, not missing photo opportunities. The imaging device generates a plurality of still images continuously and generates a synthesized image from the still images. While the shooting button is pressed to instruct continuous shooting, the imaging device performs a process in which it writes still image data, which is obtained by the continuous shooting, into a recording medium sequentially. After the continuous shooting ends, the imaging device enters a wait state to wait for a new instruction, and then upon receiving an instruction to start generating a synthesized image, it performs a process of generating a synthesized image by using a plurality of pieces of still image data stored in the recording medium.

Claims

1. An image processing device for generating a synthesized image from a plurality of continuous still images which are obtained by a continuous shooting, the image processing device comprising:

a synthesizing unit operable to generate the synthesized image by synthesizing the still images; and

a calculating unit operable to calculate a synthesized shutter speed indicating a shutter speed of the synthesized image after the synthesizing, by multiplying a continuous shooting shutter speed by a number of pieces of still image data that are used to generate the synthesized image.

2. The image processing device of claim 1 further comprising:

an output control unit operable to display, on a monitor, the calculated synthesized shutter speed of the synthesized image in association with the synthesized image.

3. The image processing device of claim 1 further comprising:

a writing control unit operable to record, into a recording medium, the calculated synthesized shutter speed of the synthesized image in association with the synthesized image.

4. An image processing method for generating a synthesized image from a plurality of continuous still images which are obtained by a continuous shooting, the image processing method comprising the steps of:

generating the synthesized image by synthesizing the still images; and

calculating a synthesized shutter speed indicating a shutter speed of the synthesized image after the synthesizing, by multiplying a continuous shooting shutter speed by a number of pieces of still image data that are used to generate the synthesized image.