Imaging apparatus

An imaging apparatus includes a first detector configured to detect an elapsed time after starting to shoot an image in a specific shooting mode for shooting the image by moving the imaging apparatus in a predetermined shooting direction, a second detector configured to detect amount of movement of the imaging apparatus, and a controller configured to control display of a display unit to display, in the specific shooting mode, a first indicator fixedly positioned on the display unit and a second indicator movably positioned on the display unit. The controller decides a first amount of movement in the predetermined shooting direction according to the detected elapsed time and a second amount of movement in an opposite direction according to the detected amount of movement of the imaging apparatus, and controls a display position of the second indicator based on the first and second amounts of movement.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to an imaging apparatus which controls display contents in a shooting mode.

2. Related Art

Imaging apparatuses having a panoramic shooting mode have come into use. For example, JP 2006-20111 A discloses a camera which captures a plurality of images and generates a panoramic image from the plurality of captured images. The camera disclosed in JP 2006-20111 A displays a shooting frame indicating a shooting range of a previously captured image and the shooting frame indicating the shooting range of an image to be captured at the same time. That configuration facilitates positioning in shooting a panoramic image and enables appropriate panoramic shooting.

In general, a photographer takes a panoramic image of surrounding landscape by horizontally moving the arms holding the camera or by changing the orientation of the body. In the case where the photographer moves the camera too fast or too slow, the photographer may fail in taking an appropriate panoramic image.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure provides an imaging apparatus which facilitates operation on a camera for appropriate panoramic shooting.

The imaging apparatus of the present disclosure is an imaging apparatus which has a specific shooting mode for shooting an image by moving the imaging apparatus in a predetermined shooting direction. The imaging apparatus includes an imaging unit configured to capture a subject image to generate image data; a display unit configured to display an image based on the generated image data; a first detector configured to detect an elapsed time after shooting of the image is started in the specific shooting mode; a second detector configured to detect amount of movement of the imaging apparatus; and a controller configured to control display of the display unit to display, on the display unit in the specific shooting mode, a first indicator fixedly positioned on the display unit and a second indicator movably positioned on the display unit. The controller decides a first amount of movement in the predetermined shooting direction according to the detected elapsed time and a second amount of movement in a direction opposite to the predetermined shooting direction according to the detected amount of movement of the imaging apparatus, and controls a display position of the second indicator based on the first and second amounts of movement.

According to the present disclosure, an imaging apparatus which facilitates operation for appropriate panoramic shooting can be provided.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Embodiments will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings as required. However, unnecessarily detailed description may be omitted. For example, detailed description of already known matters and redundant description of substantially the same configuration may be omitted. All of such omissions are for facilitating understanding by those skilled in the art by preventing the following description from becoming unnecessarily redundant. The inventor(s) provide the attached drawings and the following description for those skilled in the art to fully understand the present disclosure and does not intend to limit the subject described in the claims by the attached drawings and the following description.

First Embodiment

An example in which the idea of the present embodiment is applied to a digital camera will be described. The digital camera has a panoramic shooting mode for shooting a panoramic image by moving the digital camera in a predetermined shooting direction. The digital camera includes a CMOS image sensor which captures a subject image and generates image data, a liquid crystal display which displays an image based on the image data generated by the CMOS image sensor, a controller which detects an elapsed time after shooting of an image is started in the panoramic shooting mode, a gyro sensor which detects information on movement of the digital camera, and a controller which controls display of the liquid crystal display so that a fixed frame (a first indicator) fixedly displayed on the liquid crystal display and a target (a second indicator which indicates a moving speed (or an amount of movement) in a turning operation or the like) are displayed on the liquid crystal display in the panoramic shooting mode. The controller decides a first amount of movement in a panoramic shooting direction according to the elapsed time detected by the controller while deciding a second amount of movement in a direction opposite to the panoramic shooting direction according to the amount of movement of the digital camera detected by the gyro sensor, and controls a display position of the target based on the first and second amounts of movement. That allows a photographer to more easily perform an operation for realizing appropriate panoramic shooting.

In the digital camera according to the first embodiment, the panoramic shooting is started based on the detection result of the gyro sensor. Further, the panoramic shooting direction is decided based on the detection result of the gyro sensor. That allows the user to perform intuitive operation for the panoramic shooting and facilitates the operation on the digital camera. The configuration and operation of the digital camera will be described in order below.

The configuration of the digital camera of the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the digital camera. In a digital camera100, a subject image is formed by an optical system110and is captured by a CMOS image sensor120. The CMOS image sensor120generates image data based on the captured subject image. The image data generated by the capturing is subjected to various types of processing in an AFE (AFE: Analog Front End)121and an image processor130. The image data is stored in a flash memory160or a memory card192. The image data stored in the flash memory160or the memory card192is expanded in a frame memory169and reproduced on a liquid crystal display170in response to an operation performed by a user on an operation unit180. Further, the image data captured by the CMOS image sensor120and then output from the image processor130is displayed on the liquid crystal display170as a through image.

The optical system110includes a focus lens111, a zoom lens112, a diaphragm113, and a shutter114. Although not illustrated in the diagram, the optical system110may include an Optical Image Stabilizer (OIS). The optical system110may include any number of lenses of various types or any number of lens groups of various types.

The focus lens111is used for adjusting a focal distance. The zoom lens112is used for adjusting a magnification/reduction rate of a subject image. The diaphragm113is used for adjusting a light quantity incident on the CMOS image sensor. The shutter114adjusts an exposure time of light incident on the CMOS image sensor. The focus lens111, the zoom lens112, the diaphragm113, and the shutter114are driven by corresponding drivers (not shown) such as a DC motor and a stepping motor according to control signals notified from a controller150.

The CMOS image sensor120captures a subject image formed by the optical system110and generates image data. The CMOS image sensor120generates a new frame of image data at a predetermined frame rate (for example, 30 frames/second). Timing of generating the image data and an electronic shutter operation of the CMOS image sensor120are controlled by the controller150. With the image data successively displayed on the liquid crystal display170as the through image, the user can confirm the state of the subject on the liquid crystal display170in real time. In the present disclosure, another imaging device such as a CCD image sensor or an NMOS image sensor may be used in place of the CMOS image sensor120.

The AFE121performs processing such as correlated double sampling and gain control for the image data generated by the CMOS image sensor120. Further, the AFE121converts analog image data to digital image data. Then, the AFE121outputs the image data to the image processor130.

The image processor130performs various types of processing for the image data. The various types of processing include, but not limited to, gamma correction, white balance correction, YC conversion process, electronic zoom process, compression, and expansion. The image processor130may be configured with a hardwired electronic circuit or may be configured with a microcomputer or the like which executes a program for performing these types of processing. The image processor130may also be made into a single integrated circuit together with the controller150and the like.

The liquid crystal display170is provided on the back of the digital camera100. The liquid crystal display170displays an image based on the image data processed by the image processor130. The liquid crystal display170displays images such as a through image and a recorded image. The liquid crystal display170displays images, which are generated for every certain period of time by the CMOS image sensor120, as the through image in real time. By viewing the through image displayed on the liquid crystal display170, the user can shoot an image while confirming the composition of the subject. The recorded image is an image recorded on the memory card192or the flash memory160. The liquid crystal display170displays an image based on already recorded image data in response to an operation performed by the user. Besides, the liquid crystal display170can display various setting conditions and the like of the digital camera100. Although a change of design can be made as required with respect to the numbers of vertical and horizontal dots which the liquid crystal display170can display, it is assumed that the number of vertical dots is 405 and the number of horizontal dots is 720 in the first embodiment, for convenience of description. Also, although a change of design can be made as required with respect to the viewing angle of an image which the liquid crystal display170displays, it is assumed that the viewing angle is 120 degrees in the present embodiment, for convenience of description.

In the shooting mode, the image data (the through image) processed by the image processor130is expanded in the frame memory169. Alternatively, in the reproduction mode, the image data (the recorded image) recorded on the memory card192is expanded in the frame memory169. The image data expanded in the frame memory169is displayed on the liquid crystal display170.

The controller150performs integrated control over the operation of the entire digital camera100. The controller150notifies control signals to the CMOS image sensor120, the image processor130, and the like based on a vertical synchronizing signal (VD). The controller150includes components such as a ROM (not shown) which stores information including a program and the like, and a CPU (not shown) which processes information including a program and the like. The ROM stores programs related to autofocus control and auto-exposure control as well as programs for performing integrated control over the operation of the entire digital camera100.

The controller150may be made of a hardwired electronic circuit, or may be made of a microcomputer or the like. The controller150may also be made into a single integrated circuit together with the image processor130and the like. The ROM needs not to be provided inside the controller150and may be provided outside the controller150.

A buffer memory140is a storage unit which functions as a work memory for the image processor130or the controller150. The buffer memory140can be implemented by a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) or the like.

The flash memory160functions as an internal memory for storing image data and the like. The controller150stores the image data to be processed by the image processor130in the flash memory160or the memory card192.

The gyro sensor185detects shake in the yawing direction and movement in the pitching direction based on an angular change per unit time, i.e., an angular velocity of the digital camera100. The gyro sensor185outputs a gyro signal indicating a detected amount of movement to the controller150.

The card slot191is a connecting unit to which the removable memory card192can be connected. The memory card192can be electrically and mechanically connected to the card slot191. The card slot191may also be provided with a function of controlling the memory card192.

The memory card192is an external memory provided with a storage unit such as a flash memory inside. The memory card192can store data such as the image data to be processed by the image processor130. Although the memory card192is shown as an example of external memory in the present embodiment, the external memory may be a storage medium such as an optical disk, an HDD or the like.

The operation unit180is a collective name of a button, a lever, a dial and the like provided on the exterior of the digital camera100and accepts an operation performed by a user. For example, as illustrated inFIG. 2, a release button200, a zoom lever201, selection buttons203, a decision button204, a power button202and the like are the operation unit180. When the operation unit180accepts an operation performed by the user, it notifies the controller150of the respective operation instructing signals.

The release button200is a push button. In response to a half-press operation of the release button200by the user, the controller150performs the autofocus control, the auto-exposure control, and the like. In the ordinary shooting mode, when the release button200is pressed, the controller150records, as the recorded image, the image data captured in the timing of the press operation onto the memory card192or the like. In the panoramic shooting mode, when the release button200is pressed, the controller150displays a target260which serves as an indicator for indicating the moving speed (or an amount of movement) in a turning operation on the liquid crystal display170instead of immediately starting to record of the image data as described later.

The zoom lever201automatically returns to its neutral position between the wide-angle end and telephoto end for adjusting the angle of view. When the zoom lever201is operated by the user, the zoom lever201notifies the controller150of an operation instructing signal for driving the zoom lens112.

The power button202is a push button for switching ON/OFF the power supply for the respective components of the digital camera100. When the power button202is pressed by the user in the power OFF state, the controller150supplies power to the respective components of the digital camera100to activate them. When the power button202is pressed by the user in the power ON state, the controller150stops supplying power to the respective components.

The selection buttons203are push buttons arranged in the upward/downward/leftward/rightward directions. By pressing any one direction of the selection buttons203, the user can select one of the various conditional items displayed on the liquid crystal display170.

The decision button204is a push button. When the decision button204is pressed by the user while the digital camera100is in the shooting mode or the reproduction mode, the controller150displays a menu screen on the liquid crystal display170. The menu screen is for the user to set various conditions for shooting/reproducing. When the various conditional setting items are selected and the decision button204is pressed, the controller150establishes the settings of the selected items.

The digital camera100according to the first embodiment has the panoramic shooting mode. By operating the selection buttons203and the decision button204while viewing the menu screen displayed on the liquid crystal display170, the user can select and set a shooting mode such as the ordinary shooting mode or the panoramic shooting mode. Meanwhile, setting of a shooting mode by operating the selection buttons203and the decision button204while viewing the menu screen is merely an example, and a mode setting dial for setting one of a plurality of shooting modes or a dedicated button for directly specifying the panoramic shooting mode may be additionally provided for the operation unit180.

The operation of the digital camera100according to the first embodiment will be described with reference toFIG. 3andFIGS. 4A to 4C.FIG. 3is a flow chart describing an entire operation of the panoramic shooting mode in the first embodiment.FIGS. 4A to 4Care figures illustrating a screen display in the panoramic shooting mode according to the first embodiment.

In the first embodiment, the user performs the panoramic shooting by turning the digital camera100by 90 degrees around the position where the user is standing. In addition, in the first embodiment, it is assumed that the shooting time required for acquiring an appropriate panoramic shot image is 1 second in the case where the user shoots the image by turning the digital camera100by 90 degrees around the position where the user is standing. That is, the user performs the panoramic shooting by turning the digital camera100by 9 degrees around the position where the user is standing every 0.1 second after the panoramic shooting is started. The digital camera100of the first embodiment displays, on the liquid crystal display170, the target which serves as a standard (indicator) of the turning speed and turning direction for the user who is panning the digital camera100so that the user can perform appropriate panoramic shooting. The operation will be described in order below.

When the power supply of the digital camera100is switched ON, the controller150supplies power to the respective components for initial startup. As a result, the optical system110, the CMOS image sensor120, and the like become ready for shooting. When the components become ready for shooting, the controller150controls the liquid crystal display170to display a generated image (the through image).FIG. 4Ais a diagram illustrating an example of screen display of the liquid crystal display170which is displaying a through image. As illustrated inFIG. 4A, the through image is displayed on the liquid crystal display170so that the user can confirm the angle of view of currently shot image on the liquid crystal display170.

The shooting mode of the digital camera100is set to the panoramic shooting mode by the user to perform the panoramic shooting (S300). In response to the setting of the panoramic shooting mode, the controller150draws a fixed frame250on the through image displayed by the liquid crystal display170(S301).FIG. 4Bis a diagram illustrating an example of screen display of the liquid crystal display170on which the fixed frame250is drawn together with the through image. As illustrated inFIG. 4B, the controller150draws the fixed frame250to clearly indicate to the user a position on the through image where an optical axis center of the optical system110is positioned. Specifically, the fixed frame250is a cross-shaped frame and is drawn so that the optical axis center of the optical system110is positioned at the crossing of the fixed frame250. The fixed frame250clearly indicates the position on the through image where the optical axis center of the optical system110is positioned. As a result, with the fixed frame250, the user can understand easily the position on the shooting angle of view where the optical axis center of the optical system110is positioned.

InFIG. 4B, the horizontal line of the fixed frame250indicates an axis in the X direction and the vertical line of the fixed frame250indicates an axis in the Y direction. On the horizontal line of the fixed frame250, the rightward direction is the positive in the X direction and the leftward direction is the negative in the X direction. On the vertical line of the fixed frame250, the upward direction is the positive in the Y direction and the downward direction is the negative in the Y direction. The crossing of the horizontal line and the vertical line is the position at the coordinates 0.

When the panoramic shooting mode is set and the fixed frame250is drawn on the screen of the liquid crystal display170, the controller150starts monitoring the release button200for a press operation (S302). Until the user presses the release button200, the controller150stays in a standby state without performing a shooting operation (NO at S302). When the press operation of the release button200by the user is accepted (YES at S302), the controller150draws the target on the through image displayed by the liquid crystal display170(S303).FIG. 4Cillustrates an example of a target260drawn on the through image displayed on the liquid crystal display170. As illustrated inFIG. 4C, in order to perform appropriate panoramic shooting, the controller150draws the target260at a position on the screen of the liquid crystal display170on which the fixed frame250is to be positioned. Details of the display control of the target260on the screen of the liquid crystal display170by the controller150will be described later. Since the target260is drawn at the position on the screen on which the fixed frame250is to be positioned, the user can easily perform an operation for moving a casing of the digital camera100to position the fixed frame250on the display position of the target260.

The present embodiment is adapted to display the target260when the release button200is pressed during setting of the panoramic shooting mode instead of the timing of setting of the panoramic shooting mode. In response to the moving operation of the digital camera100performed while the target260is displayed, the panoramic shooting is started. Accordingly, the user can easily determine whether the user is allowed to start the panoramic shooting or not by determining whether the target260is displayed (seeFIG. 4C) or not (seeFIG. 4B) when the panoramic shooting mode is set.

When the fixed frame250and the target260are drawn on the screen of the liquid crystal display170, the controller150starts monitoring shake of the casing of the digital camera100(S304). In that case, the controller150is monitoring a gyro signal with respect to the direction (the pitching direction or the yawing direction) of shake of the casing of the digital camera100and the angular velocity output from the gyro sensor185.

Specifically, in the operation at step S304, the controller150compares a value indicated by the obtained gyro signal with a predetermined value. If the value indicated by the obtained gyro signal is lower than the predetermined value, the controller150determines that the moving operation (shake) of the casing of the digital camera100is not performed by the user (NO at S304). If the value indicated by the obtained gyro signal is higher than the predetermined value, the controller150determines that the moving operation (shake) of the casing of the digital camera100has been performed by the user (YES at S304). Here, the controller150compares the value indicated by the gyro signal with the predetermined value for the purpose of preventing misidentification of an angular velocity resulting from a mere camera shake made by the user as the moving operation of the casing performed by the user.

When the controller150determines that the moving operation (shake) on the casing of the digital camera100has been performed by the user (YES at S304), it starts the panoramic shooting operation (S305). When a predetermined time has passed after starting the panoramic shooting, the controller150finishes the panoramic shooting.

During the panoramic shooting, the CMOS image sensor120generates a plurality of images for panorama image synthesis. When the panoramic shooting finishes, the image processor130performs panorama image synthesis processing by using the plurality of images for panorama image synthesis generated during the panoramic shooting. The image processor130supplies the controller150with the panoramic image acquired by the panorama image synthesis processing. The controller150creates an image file for the supplied panoramic image according to a predetermined file system. Then, the controller150records the created image file of the panoramic image onto the memory card192. With the above described operation, the controller150has completed the panoramic shooting, the panoramic synthesis processing, and the image recording processing.

In the panoramic shooting operation, the controller150performs the display control of the target260to be drawn on the screen of the liquid crystal display170in parallel with the panoramic shooting processing. Details of the display control of the target260to be drawn on the screen of the liquid crystal display170and the panoramic shooting operation will be described below.

[1-2-1. Display Control of Target]

First, the display control of the target260to be drawn on the screen of the liquid crystal display170will be described with reference toFIG. 5andFIGS. 6A to 6D.FIG. 5is a flow chart describing the display control in the panoramic shooting mode in the first embodiment.FIGS. 6A to 6Dare diagrams illustrating the target display control in the panoramic shooting mode in the first embodiment.

When the controller150determines that the shake (movement) of the casing of the digital camera100has occurred (S400), it starts a target display control operation in the panoramic shooting mode. Step S400corresponds to the processing performed when it is determined YES at step S304in the flow chart ofFIG. 3.

The controller150maintains the time elapsed after starting the panoramic shooting as a variable t and the coordinate of the target260in the X direction when the coordinate of the crossing of the fixed frame250is 0 as a variable X. When it is determined that the shake of the casing of the digital camera100has occurred, the controller150resets the values of the variable t and the variable X to 0 (S401).

The controller150stores and recognizes the time between the start and finish of the panoramic shooting in a memory of the controller150as a predetermined time (in this example, 1 second). The controller150maintains the predetermined time (1 second) at 10 intervals. Therefore, the controller150also increments the variable t correspondingly to the intervals. The controller150compares the variable t with a threshold value (in this example, 10) indicating that the predetermined time (1 second) has passed (S402). If the variable t is equal to or more than 10 (NO at S402), it is determined that the shooting time (1 second) required for the panoramic shooting has elapsed. As a result, the controller150finishes the operation. On the other hand, if the variable t is less than 10 (YES at step S402), it is required to continue the panoramic shooting, therefore, the controller150moves the operation to step S403.

Subsequently, the controller150calculates a variation ΔX of the casing of the digital camera100on the screen per unit time Δt (S403). In the embodiment, the user needs to turn the digital camera100by 9 degrees per unit time Δt (1 interval) to perform appropriate panoramic shooting. Therefore, the controller150calculates a unit variation ΔX corresponding to the turning of 9 degrees. As described above, the liquid crystal display170has 720 horizontal dots and the viewing angle of 120 degrees. Accordingly, as a result of proportional calculation, the turning of 9 degrees corresponds to 54 dots on the liquid crystal display170. That is, the controller150finds that the unit variation ΔX is 54 dots by the proportional calculation. A sign of the unit variation ΔX is set to positive when the direction of movement of the camera for shooting a panoramic image is rightward, and is set to negative when the direction of movement is leftward.

Next, the controller150calculates a real amount of movement (an amount of rotation) ΔX′ of the digital camera100per unit time Δt based on the gyro signal obtained from the gyro sensor185(S404). The output from the gyro sensor185is information on the angular velocity. Therefore, the controller150obtains the amount of movement (the amount of rotation) by performing integration processing on the output result from the gyro sensor185. As in the case of calculating the unit variation ΔX, the controller150calculates the number of dots on the liquid crystal display170corresponding to the amount of movement by a proportional calculation.

Next, the controller150calculates the coordinate X on which the target is to be drawn based on the expression below (S405):
X=X+(ΔX−ΔX′)  (1)

According to the expression (1), when the panoramic shooting is started but the user does not perform the turning operation of the casing of the digital camera100, the value of ΔX′ does not increase and only the value of ΔX keeps increasing as the time passes after the start of the panoramic shooting. Therefore, under the above described conditions, the coordinate X on which the target is to be drawn keeps increasing. On the other hand, when the panoramic shooting is started and then the user performs the turning operation of the casing of the digital camera100, the value of ΔX′ keeps increasing and also the value of ΔX keeps increasing as the time passes after the start of the panoramic shooting. Therefore, when the user keeps performing the turning operation of the casing of the digital camera100to offset the value of ΔX which keeps increasing as the time passes after the start of the panoramic shooting, the coordinate X on which the target260is to be drawn approaches 0.

FIGS. 6A to 6Dare diagrams illustrating the display control of the target260in the panoramic shooting mode in the first embodiment.FIGS. 6A to 6Dillustrate examples of the case where the user performs the panoramic shooting by moving the casing of the camera100rightward. As illustrated inFIG. 6A, when the panoramic shooting is started, the target260moves rightward according to the time change. The user performs the moving operation of the casing of the digital camera100rightward to position the moving target260on the crossing of the fixed frame250. As a result, the image is displayed as illustrated inFIG. 6B. As far as the panoramic shooting is continued, the target260moves according to the time change as illustrated inFIG. 6C. In association with the movement, the user performs the moving operation of the casing of the digital camera100to position the crossing of the fixed frame250on the moving target260. As a result, the image is displayed as illustrated inFIG. 6D. By moving the casing of the digital camera100like that, the user can realize appropriate movement of the casing (the appropriate moving speed or appropriate amount of movement) for the panoramic shooting.

Subsequently, the controller150determines whether the value of X calculated by the expression (1) is within a predetermined threshold value (S406). If the calculated value of X is the predetermined value or more (NO at S406), the controller150controls the liquid crystal display170to display an error indication (S409). This is because the fact that the value of the coordinate X of the target has exceeded the predetermined value means that the user fails in performing the appropriate turning operation of the digital camera100, and therefore, the user cannot perform the appropriate panoramic shooting. On the other hand, if the calculated value of X is within the predetermined value (YES at S406), the controller150redraws the target260on the liquid crystal display170according to the calculated value of X (S407).

Now, an example of error indication will be described.FIGS. 7A to 7Dare diagrams illustrating an error indication in the panoramic shooting mode in the first embodiment. As illustrated inFIG. 7A, when the panoramic shooting is started, the target260moves according to the time change. In the case where the user does not perform an operation for moving the casing of the digital camera100or performs an operation for moving the casing of the digital camera100too fast or too slow with respect to the moving target260, the display position of the target260moves to the end of the liquid crystal display170as illustrated in ofFIG. 7BandFIG. 7C. When the display position of the target260reaches a threshold value line265on the liquid crystal display170as illustrated inFIG. 7C, the controller150determines that the panoramic shooting is failed and displays the error indication as illustrated inFIG. 7D.

Returning to the flow chart ofFIG. 5, when the controller150finishes redrawing of the target260, it increments the variable t by 1 (S408). Then, the controller150returns to step S402and repeats the operation from step S402to step S408until it is determined that the variable t is increased to 10 or more.

As described above, the controller150controls the display position of the target260displayed on the liquid crystal display170based on the time passed after the panoramic shooting is started and the gyro signal (the angular velocity of the rotation) obtained from the gyro sensor185. As a result, the controller150can display the indicator (the target260) of the speed at which the user is to perform the turning operation of the casing of the digital camera100in order to perform appropriate panoramic shooting. Accordingly, the user can easily perform the panoramic shooting.

Although it is assumed that the rotation angle of the panoramic shooting is 90 degrees and the time required to perform the panoramic shooting spanning 90 degrees is 1 second (at 10 intervals) in the above description, the present disclosure is not limited to them. Changes of design may be made with respect to the rotation angle of the panoramic shooting and the time (intervals) required to perform the panoramic shooting as required according to the specifications of the controller150and the image processor130.

The panoramic shooting operation of the digital camera100will be described with reference toFIG. 8.FIG. 8is a flow chart describing the panoramic shooting operation in the panoramic shooting mode according to the first embodiment.

When the controller150determines that the shake (movement) of the casing of the digital camera100has occurred, it resets the variable t to 0 to start the panoramic shooting (S500). Step S500corresponds to step S401which has been described by usingFIG. 5.

As described above, the controller150stores and recognizes the time between the start and finish of the panoramic shooting in the memory of the controller150as the predetermined time (in this example, 1 second). The controller150maintains the predetermined time (1 second) at 10 intervals. The controller150compares the variable t with a threshold value (in this example, 10) indicating that the predetermined time (1 second) has passed (S501). If the variable t is less than 10 (YES at step S501), the controller150moves the control to step S502to continue the panoramic shooting.

The controller150controls the CMOS image sensor120and the image processor130to capture an image for generating a panoramic image (S502). When the controller150finishes capturing an image for generating a panoramic image, it increments the variable t by 1 (S503). Then, the controller150returns to step S501and repeats the operation from step S502to step S503until it is determined that the variable t is increased to 10 or more. As a result, the digital camera100can acquire a plurality of images required for synthesizing a panoramic image.

On the other hand, when the variable t is increased to 10 or more (NO at step S501), the controller150acquires information on the direction into which the user has shaken the casing of the digital camera100at the start of the panoramic shooting (S504). At the start of the panoramic shooting, the controller150acquires information indicating whether the casing of the digital camera100is shaken by the user in the pitching direction or the yawing direction based on the output from the gyro sensor185, and saves the information in the memory of the controller150. By acquiring the direction into which the user has shaken the casing of the digital camera100, the controller150can figure out an orientation into which the controller150should synthesize the plurality of images which have been captured as materials to be synthesized into a panoramic image.

According to the information indicating the shake direction acquired at step S504, the controller150instructs the image processor130to synthesize the plurality of images which have been captured as materials to be synthesized into a panoramic image (S505). The image processor130performs synthesis of a panoramic image according to the instruction from the controller150. If the shake direction acquired at step S504is rightward (the yawing right direction), the image processor130synthesizes the plurality of captured images by arranging the images from left to right in the capturing order. In the panoramic image synthesis processing, the image processor130may synthesize the images by arranging the adjacent images to partially overlap or by arranging the adjacent images not to overlap.

As described above, when the panoramic shooting is started, the digital camera100of the embodiment starts capturing a plurality of images which are to be used as materials synthesized into a panoramic image while performing the display control of the target260drawn on the liquid crystal display170. According to the time passed after the panoramic shooting is started, the controller150shifts a prescribed position at which the target260is to be drawn in the direction of shake of the casing at the start of the panoramic shooting (the direction of movement). On the other hand, according to the output result from the gyro sensor185made in association with the turning operation of the casing by the user, the controller150intends to shift the prescribed position at which the target260is to be drawn in the direction opposite to the shake direction (in the direction toward the origin position of the fixed frame250). As a result, the digital camera100can precisely indicate, to the user, the speed of the turning operation of the casing in order to perform appropriate panoramic shooting, therefore, the user can easily perform appropriate panoramic shooting.

Other Embodiments

The first embodiment has been described above as an example of the technology disclosed in the present application. However, the technology in the present disclosure is not limited to that embodiment and may also be applied to embodiments which are subjected to modification, substitution, addition, or omission as required. Then, other embodiments will be exemplified below.

In the above described embodiment, the timing of starting the panoramic shooting is assumed to be the time when a shake of the casing of the digital camera100by the user is detected. By configuring the embodiment to start the panoramic shooting when a shake of the casing is detected, the embodiment has an advantage of allowing the user to be easily informed of the start of the panoramic shooting as the operational feeling. However, the timing of starting the panoramic shooting may be the time when the shutter button is pressed. Alternatively, the timing of starting the panoramic shooting may be the time after the elapse of a predetermined time after the shutter button is pressed (in this case, the countdown to the timing may be displayed).

In the above described embodiment, it is assumed that the direction of the panoramic shooting is set based on the direction into which the user has shaken the casing of the digital camera100. By configuring the embodiment to specify the direction into which the user has shaken the casing of the digital camera100as the direction of the panoramic shooting, the embodiment has an advantage of allowing the user to be easily informed of the direction of the panoramic shooting as the operational feeling. However, the present disclosure is not limited to that and the direction of the panoramic shooting may be set previously by the user before pressing the shutter button. Alternatively, a certain direction may be previously decided as the direction of the panoramic shooting at manufacturing time of the digital camera100instead of being set by the user.

Although the target260is assumed to be in a cross shape in the above described embodiment, the present disclosure is not limited to that. For example, the target260may be in a frame shape (round frame, triangle frame, square frame, etc.) as illustrated inFIG. 9. In the case where the target260is in a frame shape, the user performs the panoramic shooting by positioning the intersection point of the fixed crossing in the frame. In the case where the target260is in a cross shape, the user positions the fixed frame250on the point of the target260, in which case the user is allowed to easily position the fixed frame250on the target260precisely. On the other hand, in the case where the target260is in a frame shape, the user is allowed to position the intersection point of the fixed frame250in the target260with likelihood, in which case the user is allowed to easily position the fixed frame250on the target260.

Although the error indication is displayed when the target260moves in the X direction over the threshold value in the above described embodiment, the error indication may also be displayed in the Y direction. In that case, the error indication may be displayed when the amount of movement in the Y direction after the start of the panoramic shooting exceeds a predetermined threshold value. As a result, the present disclosure can notify the user of the failure of the panoramic shooting caused by the user shaking the casing in the Y direction during the panoramic shooting in the X direction.

Although the fixed frame250is drawn in a cross shape so that the intersection point of the fixed frame250is positioned on the center of the optical axis of the optical system110in the example illustrated inFIG. 4Bin the above described embodiment, the fixed frame is not limited to that. The fixed frame250may be in other shapes such as a dot shape as far as the shape clearly indicates the position on the through image where the optical axis center of the optical system110is. Further, the fixed frame250needs not to clearly indicate the position on the through image where the optical axis center of the optical system110is, and may be positioned anywhere on the screen. That is, the fixed frame250may be any frame as far as it is fixedly displayed somewhere on the through image regardless of the moving operation of the digital camera100.

Although the fixed frame250and the target260in the panoramic shooting are displayed in the above described embodiment, the present disclosure is not limited to them. That is, the display control of the fixed frame and the target disclosed in the above described embodiment may be applied to an imaging apparatus which shoots an image by moving the casing in a predetermined direction as in the panoramic shooting. For example, the display control may also be applied to the imaging apparatus which has a 3D shooting mode for successively capturing a plurality of images by moving the casing of the digital camera in a predetermined direction and generating a 3D image by using some of the plurality of images.

Although the information on movement of the imaging apparatus (the digital camera100) is detected by the gyro sensor185in the above described embodiment, the present disclosure is not limited to that. For example, the information on movement of the imaging apparatus may be detected by the image processor130which analyzes a captured image of each frame and computes the amount of movement of the subject instead of using the gyro sensor185. That is, other configurations and methods which can detect the information on movement of the imaging apparatus may be used.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The present disclosure can be applied to an imaging apparatus which shoots an image by moving the casing in a predetermined direction as in the panoramic shooting. Specifically, the present disclosure can be applied to imaging apparatuses such as a digital still camera, a movie camera with still shooting function, a camera-equipped information terminal, and a camera-equipped game console.