Patent ID: 6122076
Filing Date: 2000-09-19
Classification: H04N

Abstract:
An image reproducing method, wherein a visible image is reproduced from a digital image signal representing a color image, the digital image signal being made up of a series of image signal components, the method comprising the steps of:i) forming an unsharp image signal, which represents an unsharp image of the color image by,optically blurring the color image to form a blurred image by moving the focal plane of the image signal to a point displaced from the plane of an imaging device to thereby defocus the detected image, andphotoelectrically reading out the output of the imaging device as the blurred image to form the unsharp image signal;ii) narrowing a signal range of the digital image signal by coupling the image signal components of the digital image signal and said unsharp image signal with one another, which image signal components represent corresponding picture elements in the color image and said unsharp image, a narrowed signal being thereby obtained;iii) carrying out predetermined image processing only on said narrowed signal, a processed image signal having a narrowed signal range being thereby obtained; andiv) reproducing a visible image from said processed image signal.