Image pickup apparatus, image processing apparatus, image processing method, program and recording medium

Abstract

An image pickup apparatus includes an image pickup device that converts an image entering through a lens system into a captured image; a display unit that displays an image with a first field angle obtained from the captured image that is currently being shot; a moving distance detecting unit that detects a moving distance between images with the first field angle based on a plurality of images with the first angle sequentially captured; a partial image storing unit that stores an image with a second field angle that is less than the first field angle; and a panorama composing unit that composes a panoramic image based on a plurality of images with the second field angle stored in the partial image storing unit and the moving distances between the images with the first field angle that are respectively associated with the plurality of images with the second field angle.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION[0001]The present application claims priority from Japanese Patent Application No. JP 2008-227582 filed in the Japanese Patent Office on Sep. 4, 2008, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]1. Field of the Invention[0003]The present invention relates to image pickup apparatuses, image processing apparatuses, image processing methods, programs and recording media for composing panoramic images from images captured with an image pickup apparatus being moved.[0004]2. Description of the Related Art[0005]In recent years, various camera systems for capturing panoramic images have been proposed. These camera systems are roughly categorized into multi-eyed camera systems in which the whole image of a wide field of view is captured at once using a camera with multiple lenses and single-eyed camera systems in which individual images constituting a wide field of view are continuously captured using ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0007]In any of the above-mentioned methods, it is important to calculate accurate moving distances between sequentially captured images in order to combine the images seamlessly. In addition, it is necessary to temporarily store the sequentially captured images before composing a panoramic image. It is desirable to minimize a memory area to temporarily store the images in order to keep the cost of the memory area low.

[0010]Accordingly, it is desirable to provide an image pickup apparatus, an image processing apparatus, an image processing method, a program, and a recording medium for enabling the accurate detection of moving distances, the reduction of a memory area, the easy shooting as intended by a photographer.

[0016]In embodiments of the present invention, because moving distances between images are detected based on the images with a wide first field angle, the moving distances can be detected accurately. In embodiments of the present invention, a memory area to store the images can be reduced because only images with a second field angle that is less than the first field angle are stored. In addition, in embodiments of the present invention, undesirable movement of an imaging apparatus, for example, in a direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the imaging apparatus can be reduced by displaying an image with a wide first field angle on a display unit during shooting, so that the shooting can be easily performed as intended by a photographer.

Problems solved by technology

Therefore, if the moving distances between images are calculated from the images with a narrow slit-like angle of view, there is a high possibility that objects with some features are not included in images in the overlap areas, so that it often happens that the accurate calculation of the moving distances between images may not be obtained.

As mentioned above, if the accurate calculation of the moving distances between images may not be obtained, misalignments at the junctions of the images become conspicuous when a panoramic image is composed by combining a plurality of images, with the result that a desirable composite image may not be obtained.

On the other hand, if moving distances are calculated from images with a wide angle of view (wide field angle), the accuracy of the calculation of the moving distances between images is improved, but because a large memory area to temporarily store the sequentially captured images may be provided, the cost of the memory area becomes high.

In addition, when capturing a panoramic image, an imaging apparatus is often caused to move undesirably, so that it is difficult to capture a panoramic image easily as intended by a photographer.

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