Image pickup control apparatus, image pickup control method and computer readable medium for changing an image pickup mode

• US 8,994,831 B2
• Filed: 10/31/2013
• Issued: 03/31/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/28/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Yoshizumi, Shingo
• Primary Examiner(s): Misleh, Justin P
• Application Number:
  US14/068,999
• Publication Number:
  US 20140055636A1
• Time in Patent Office: 516 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 348/207.1
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 17/38 Releasing-devices separate from shutter integral with shutter G03B9/08
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/16 Human faces, e.g. facial parts, sketches or expressions
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0058 Docking-station, cradle or the like
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/50 Constructional details
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/61 based on recognised objects
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/611 where the recognised objects include parts of the human body
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/62 Control of parameters via user interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/631 Graphical user interfaces [GUI] specially adapted for controlling image capture or setting capture parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/64 Computer-aided capture of images, e.g. transfer from script file into camera, check of taken image quality, advice or proposal for image composition or decision on when to take image
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/66 Remote control of cameras or camera parts, e.g. by remote control devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/69 Control of means for changing angle of the field of view, e.g. optical zoom objectives or electronic zooming
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/695 Control of camera direction for changing a field of view, e.g. pan, tilt or based on tracking of objects
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/185 from a mobile camera, e.g. for remote control

Abstract

An image pickup control apparatus, includes: a trigger acceptance section adapted to accept a predetermined trigger input as a changeover input from an automatic image pickup mode to a request responding image pickup mode; and a request responding image pickup control section adapted to establish, when the trigger input is accepted by the trigger acceptance section while an image pickup apparatus is carrying out still picture image pickup operation with an image pickup visual field of the image pickup apparatus changed in the automatic image pickup mode, the request responding image pickup mode and control the image pickup apparatus to execute a process for determining an image pickup visual field in accordance with an image pickup request and then execute still picture image pickup operation after the determination of the image pickup visual field.

Claims

1. An image pickup control apparatus, comprising:

circuitry configured to;

accept a predetermined trigger to change from an automatic image pickup mode to a request responding image pickup mode; and

operate, upon determination that an input of the predetermined trigger is accepted while an image pickup apparatus performs a first image pickup operation with a first image pickup visual field of the image pickup apparatus changed in the automatic image pickup mode, the image pickup control apparatus in the request responding image pickup mode in which the image pickup apparatus is controlled to execute a process for determining a second image pickup visual field in accordance with an image pickup request from a user and subsequently execute a second image pickup operation after the determination of the second image pickup visual field, wherein;

in the automatic image pickup mode, the image pickup apparatus automatically performs the first image pickup operation regardless of the image pickup request from the user and based on detection by the circuitry of at least one first predetermined condition within the first image pickup visual field; and

the second image pickup visual field is determined only based on detection by the circuitry of at least one second predetermined condition within the second image pickup visual field.

2. The image pickup control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the second image pickup operation captures a still image corresponding to the second image pickup visual field.

3. The image pickup control apparatus according to claim 2, wherein

the at least one first predetermined condition and the at least one second predetermined condition are the same.

4. The image pickup control apparatus according to claim 2, wherein

the at least one first predetermined condition and the at least one second predetermined condition are different.

5. The image pickup control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the at least one first predetermined condition includes presence of a predetermined pickup object and predetermined composition criteria.

6. The image pickup control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the circuitry is configured to operate the image pickup control apparatus in the automatic image pickup mode after the second image pickup operation is performed.

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

the first image pickup visual field of the image pickup apparatus is a visual field that corresponds to a still image acquired by the first image pickup operation.

8. The image pickup control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second image pickup visual field includes an image of the user who issued the image pickup request.

9. A method of an image pickup control apparatus for changing an image pickup mode, the method comprising:

accepting a predetermined trigger to change from an automatic image pickup mode to a request responding image pickup mode; and

operating, by circuitry of the image pickup control apparatus and upon determination that an input of the predetermined trigger is accepted while an image pickup apparatus performs a first image pickup operation with a first image pickup visual field of the image pickup apparatus changed in the automatic image pickup mode, the image pickup control apparatus in the request responding image pickup mode in which the image pickup apparatus is controlled to execute a process for determining a second image pickup visual field in accordance with an image pickup request from a user and subsequently execute a second image pickup operation after the determination of the second image pickup visual field, wherein;

in the automatic image pickup mode, the image pickup apparatus automatically performs the first image pickup operation regardless of the image pickup request from the user and based on detection by the circuitry of at least one first predetermined condition within the first image pickup visual field; and

the second image pickup visual field is determined only based on detection by the circuitry of at least one second predetermined condition within the second image pickup visual field.

10. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform a method of an image pickup control apparatus for changing an image pickup mode, the method comprising:

accepting a predetermined trigger to change from an automatic image pickup mode to a request responding image pickup mode; and

operating, by the computer and upon determination that an input of the predetermined trigger is accepted while an image pickup apparatus performs a first image pickup operation with a first image pickup visual field of the image pickup apparatus changed in the automatic image pickup mode, the image pickup control apparatus in the request responding image pickup mode in which the image pickup apparatus is controlled to execute a process for determining a second image pickup visual field in accordance with an image pickup request from a user and subsequently execute a second image pickup operation after the determination of the second image pickup visual field, wherein;

in the automatic image pickup mode, the image pickup apparatus automatically performs the first image pickup operation regardless of the image pickup request from the user and based on detection by the circuitry of at least one first predetermined condition within the first image pickup visual field; and

the second image pickup visual field is determined only based on detection by the circuitry of at least one second predetermined condition within the second image pickup visual field.