Image Capturing System, Image Capturing Device, and Image Capturing Method

• US 20070274705A1
• Filed: 05/13/2005
• Published: 11/29/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 05/13/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Kashiwa, Kotaro, Marukawa, Kazuyuki, Ohzeki, Yukihiro
• Granted Patent: US 8,023,817 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 396/310
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/60 Control of cameras or camera modules
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/63 by using electronic viewfinders
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/66 Remote control of cameras or camera parts, e.g. by remote control devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/661 Transmitting camera control signals through networks, e.g. control via the Internet
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/662 by using master/slave camera arrangements for affecting the control of camera image capture, e.g. placing the camera in a desirable condition to capture a desired image
• 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 23/90 Arrangement of cameras or camera modules, e.g. multiple cameras in TV studios or sports stadiums
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/765 Interface circuits between an apparatus for recording and another apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/772 the recording apparatus and the television camera being placed in the same enclosure
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/188 Capturing isolated or intermittent images triggered by the occurrence of a predetermined event, e.g. an object reaching a predetermined position signal generation from motion picture films H04N5/253

Abstract

To enable satisfactory simultaneous and widely varied pictures to be obtained, for example, by allowing a common user to obtain an overall picture while the common user performing desired image capturing, or the like. A first image capturing device image-captures a subject to record this image, and also transmits a trigger signal to a second image capturing device. The second image capturing device image-captures an image to record this image in accordance with the trigger signal. Thus, the first and second image capturing devices enable both of an overall image and a zoomed image to be obtained with simultaneous timing.

Claims

1. An image capturing system comprising a first image capturing device and a second image capturing device;

wherein said first image capturing device includes

first image-capturing recording means for performing image capturing to record an image,

transmission means for transmitting a trigger signal to said second image capturing device, and

first control means for controlling recording of an image-captured image at said first image-capturing recording means, and transmission of a trigger signal from said transmission means;

and wherein said second image capturing device includes

second image-capturing recording means for performing image capturing to record an image,

reception means for receiving a trigger signal from said first image capturing device, and

second control means for controlling said second image-capturing recording means to execute at least image capturing or recording of an image-captured image in response to receiving a trigger signal at said reception means.

2. The image capturing system according to claim 1, wherein said first image capturing device further comprises identifying information storing means for storing apparatus identifying information;

wherein said first control means control said transmission means to transmit the apparatus identifying information stored in said identifying information storing means along with said trigger signal;

and wherein said second control means control said second image-capturing recording means to execute recording of the apparatus identifying information received at said reception means along with image-captured image thereof at the time of controlling said second image-capturing recording means to execute image capturing or recording of an image-captured image based on a trigger signal received at said reception means.

3. The image capturing system according to claim 1, wherein said first image capturing device further comprises meta-data generating means for generating meta data relating to an image-captured image;

wherein said first control means control said transmission means to transmit the meta data generated at said meta-data generating means along with said trigger signal;

and wherein said second control means control said second image-capturing recording means to execute recording of the meta data received at said reception means along with image-captured image thereof at the time of controlling said second image-capturing recording means to execute image capturing or recording of an image-captured image based on a trigger signal received at said reception means.

4. The image capturing system according to claim 1, wherein said second image capturing device further comprises meta-data generating means for generating meta data;

and wherein said second control means control said second image-capturing recording means to execute recording of the meta data generated at said meta-data generating means along with image-captured image thereof at the time of controlling said second image-capturing recording means to execute image capturing or recording of an image-captured image based on a trigger signal received at said reception means.

5. The image capturing system according to claim 1, wherein said first control means control said first image-capturing recording means to execute recording of an image-captured image, and control said transmission means to execute transmission of a trigger signal, following which control said transmission means to transmit the image-captured image recorded at said first image-capturing recording means;

and wherein said second control means control said second image-capturing recording means to record the image-captured image received at said reception means.

6. The image capturing system according to claim 1, wherein said first image capturing device further includes first meta-data generating means for generating meta data;

wherein said first control means, when controlling said first image-capturing recording means to execute recording of an image-captured image, control said first image-capturing recording means to execute recording of the meta data generated at said first meta-data generating means by associating the meta data with image-captured image thereof;

wherein said first control means control said transmission means to transmit the image-captured image recorded at said first image-capturing means, and the meta data recorded so as to be associated with image-captured image thereof;

wherein said second image capturing device further includes second meta-data generating means for generating meta data;

wherein said second control means, when controlling said second image-capturing recording means to execute image capturing or recording of an image-captured image, control said second image-capturing recording means to execute recording of the meta data generated at said second meta-data generating means so as to be associated with image-captured image thereof;

and wherein said second control means, when an image-captured image is received at said reception means, collate the meta data received along with the image-captured image, and the meta data recorded in said second image-capturing recording means, and control said second image-capturing recording means to record the image-captured image received at said reception means so as to be associated with the specific image-captured image recorded in said second image-capturing recording means.

7. The image capturing system according to claim 1, wherein said first image-capturing recording means are configured so as to record image-captured images as still images;

and wherein said first control means control said first image-capturing recording means to perform still-image recording of an image-captured image, and control said transmission means to execute transmission of a trigger signal, with the timing specified by an operation or an operation program.

8. The image capturing system according to claim 1, wherein said first image-capturing recording means are configured so as to record image-captured images as moving images;

and wherein said first control means control said first image-capturing recording means to execute moving-image recording of an image-captured image during the period specified by a first operation, and also control said transmission means to transmit a trigger signal with the timing specified by a second operation or an operation program.

9. The image capturing system according to claim 1, wherein said first image-capturing recording means are configured so as to record image-captured images as moving and still images;

and wherein said first control means control said first image-capturing recording means to execute moving-image recording of an image-captured image during the period specified by a first operation, and also control said first image-capturing recording means to execute still-image recording of an image-captured image and control said transmission means to transmit a trigger signal with the timing specified by a second operation or an operation program.

10. The image capturing system according to claim 1, wherein said second image-capturing recording means are configured so as to record image-captured images as still images;

and wherein said second control means control said second image-capturing recording means to execute still-image recording of an image-captured image in response to receiving a trigger signal at said reception means.

11. The image capturing system according to claim 1, wherein said second image-capturing recording means are configured so as to record image-captured images as moving images;

and wherein said second control means control said second image-capturing recording means to execute moving-image recording of an image-captured image in response to receiving a trigger signal at said reception means.

12. The image capturing system according to claim 1, wherein said second image-capturing recording means are configured so as to record image-captured images as moving and still images;

and wherein said second control means control said second image-capturing recording means to execute moving-image recording of an image-captured image during the period specified by an operation, and also control said second image-capturing recording means to execute still-image recording of an image-captured image in response to receiving a trigger signal at said reception means.

13. The image capturing system according to claim 3, wherein said meta data includes any one of point-in-time information, positional information, and recording address information.

14. The image capturing system according to claim 1, wherein one or both of said first and second image-capturing recording means are configured so as to record an image-captured image signal in a recording medium.

15. The image capturing system according to claim 1, wherein one of said first and second image-capturing recording means are configured so as to record subject light as an image-captured image on a silver-salt film.

16. The image capturing system according to claim 1, wherein said first control means transmit a standby instruction prior to transmitting a trigger signal from said transmission means;

and wherein said second control means control said second image-capturing recording means to stand by in a recordable state in response to receiving a standby instruction at said reception means.

55. The image capturing system according to claim 4, wherein said meta data includes any one of point-in-time information, positional information, and recording address information.

56. The image capturing system according to claim 6, wherein said meta data includes any one of point-in-time information, positional information, and recording address information.

17-54. -54. (canceled)