Imaging device and setting screen thereof

Abstract

Provided is an image pickup apparatus and a setting screen thereof, with the aim of improving the ease of use during shooting or reproduction in an image pickup apparatus having a plurality of image pickup sections. In order to achieve the above aim, in an image pickup apparatus having a plurality of image pickup sections, a setting unit that sets a plurality of shooting modes that can be set in advance is provided, and a unit that controls the plurality of image pickup sections in accordance with the set shooting mode and an operation unit are provided. Thus, by selecting a desired shooting mode by the user, the plurality of image pickup sections can be caused to shoot in unison with a simple operation, and the plurality of image pickup sections can be independently or simultaneously controlled to shoot, and an image pickup apparatus with good ease of use can be provided.

Description

[0001] This case is a divisional application of the patent application filed on May 18, 2017, with application number 201780031181.6 (international application number PCT / JP2017 / 018706) and entitled "Camera Device and Setting Screen Thereof". Technical Field

[0002] This invention relates to a technique for controlling and capturing images by using different operating modes for each of the multiple camera units in a camera device having multiple camera units. Background Technology

[0003] Camera devices such as digital cameras that use imaging elements such as CCD or CMOS sensors to capture images of subjects generally have a single imaging unit consisting of a single imaging element and an optical system. In contrast, camera devices with multiple imaging units have also been proposed. As background technology in this field, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 10-134187 (Patent Document 1) is available. Patent Document 1 discloses a camera with a wide-angle field of view and a camera with a narrow-angle field of view, and a device capable of accurately estimating depth information.

[0004] Existing technical documents

[0005] Patent documents

[0006] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 10-134187 Summary of the Invention

[0007] The problem that the invention aims to solve

[0008] The device in Patent Document 1 can estimate a wide field of view and a depth with good accuracy. However, ease of use during shooting or playback is not taken into consideration.

[0009] Methods for solving problems

[0010] To achieve the aforementioned objectives, the present invention provides, for example, a camera device comprising a first camera unit, a second camera unit, a display unit, an image signal processing circuit, a control circuit, an operation unit, a mode setting unit, and a recording unit. The device is configured such that the first and second camera units are arranged at a predetermined interval and shoot in the same direction; the image signal processing circuit generates a first image signal from the signal captured by the first camera unit, generates a second image signal from the signal captured by the second camera unit, and generates a third signal from the signals captured by the first and second camera units; the control circuit controls the first and second camera units, the image signal processing circuit, and the recording unit through a single shooting operation performed by the operation unit, based on multiple shooting modes that can be preset via input from the mode setting unit. The multiple shooting modes include a shooting mode that records the first image signal, a mode that records both the first and second image signals, and a mode that records the third signal.

[0011] Invention Effects

[0012] According to the present invention, multiple camera units can be controlled simultaneously for shooting with simple operation, thus providing a camera device with good ease of use. Attached Figure Description

[0013] Figure 1 This is a block diagram showing the structure of the camera device in Embodiment 1.

[0014] Figure 2 This is an external view showing an example of the camera device in Embodiment 1.

[0015] Figure 3 This is an external view showing another example of the camera device in Embodiment 1.

[0016] Figure 4 This is a list of the shooting modes in Example 1.

[0017] Figure 5 This is an explanatory diagram showing the timing of the normal shooting action 2 in Embodiment 1.

[0018] Figure 6 This is an explanatory diagram showing the camera timing of the camera unit in the high-speed continuous shooting mode of Embodiment 1.

[0019] Figure 7 This is a list of the shooting modes in Example 2.

[0020] Figure 8 This is a block diagram illustrating an example of the structure of the image signal processing circuit in Embodiment 2.

[0021] Figure 9 This is an example image from Example 2.

[0022] Figure 10 It means and Figure 9 The image is the distance histogram corresponding to the image.

[0023] Figure 11 This is an example of the synthesized output image in Example 2.

[0024] Figure 12 This is an example of the user interface display in the distance adaptive processing mode of Embodiment 2.

[0025] Figure 13 This is another example of a user interface display in the distance adaptive processing mode of Example 2.

[0026] Figure 14 This is a list of the shooting modes in Example 3.

[0027] Figure 15 This is an example of a menu screen when individually setting the first and second camera units in Embodiment 3.

[0028] Figure 16 These are examples of the monitoring screen displays in Examples 1 to 3.

[0029] Figure 17 This is an explanatory diagram of the imaging method in Example 4.

[0030] Figure 18 This is an external view showing an example of the camera device in Embodiment 4.

[0031] Figure 19 This is an external view showing another example of the camera device in Embodiment 4.

[0032] Figure 20 This is an external view showing an example of the camera device in Embodiment 5.

[0033] Figure 21 This is a block diagram illustrating the structure of the camera device in Embodiment 6.

[0034] Figure 22 This is a summary of the typical shooting modes in Example 6.

[0035] Figure 23 This is an overview of the simultaneous shooting modes in Example 6.

[0036] Figure 24 This is an explanatory diagram of the relationship between focal length and zoom ratio in Example 6.

[0037] Figure 25 This is an explanatory diagram showing the screen display of the still image shooting mode in Example 6.

[0038] Figure 26This is an explanatory diagram showing the screen display of the dynamic image capture mode in Example 6.

[0039] Figure 27 This is an explanatory diagram of the display screen in the wide-angle image recording of the dynamic image shooting mode in Example 6.

[0040] Figure 28 This is an explanatory diagram of the display screen in the narrow-angle image recording of the dynamic image shooting mode in Example 6.

[0041] Figure 29 This is an explanatory diagram showing the screen display of the simultaneous still image capture mode in Example 6.

[0042] Figure 30 This is an explanatory diagram of the dual-screen display in the simultaneous still image capture mode of Example 6.

[0043] Figure 31 This is an explanatory diagram showing the screen display of the simultaneous dynamic image capture mode in Example 6.

[0044] Figure 32 This is an explanatory diagram showing the screen display during the simultaneous recording of dynamic images in the simultaneous shooting mode of the dynamic image in Example 6.

[0045] Figure 33 This is an explanatory diagram showing the screen display of the simultaneous shooting mode of dynamic and still images in Example 6.

[0046] Figure 34 This is an explanatory diagram of the screen display in the reproduction mode of Example 6.

[0047] Figure 35 These are explanatory diagrams showing other screen displays in the reproduction mode of Example 6.

[0048] Figure 36 This is a general view of the camera device in Embodiment 7.

[0049] Figure 37 This is a general view of the camera device in Embodiment 8.

[0050] Figure 38 This is another overview view of the camera device in Embodiment 8.

[0051] Figure 39 This is an explanatory diagram showing the shooting mode screen in Example 8. Detailed Implementation

[0052] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0053] (Example 1)

[0054] Figure 1 This is a block diagram illustrating the structure of the camera device of this embodiment. The camera device 1 of this embodiment has two camera units. 2a and 2b are lens units, and 3a and 3b are camera units. Furthermore, the camera units 3a and 3b are arranged to capture images in the same direction at predetermined intervals. The lens units 2a and 2b are composed of multiple lenses, including a focusing lens, and the focusing operation is performed by controlling the position of the focusing lens by the control circuit 6.

[0055] The camera units 3a and 3b are composed of imaging elements such as CMOS or CCD. On the imaging surfaces of the camera units 3a and 3b, photoelectric conversion elements are arranged in a two-dimensional pattern, converting the optical image of the subject input through the lens units 2a and 2b and imaged on the imaging surfaces into a shooting signal. The camera units 3a and 3b have built-in AD conversion circuits that convert analog signals to digital signals, outputting the digitized shooting signal. Furthermore, the camera units 3a and 3b can also use imaging elements equipped with pixels for phase difference AF (autofocus) to achieve high-speed AF. The camera units 3a and 3b can also have built-in memory to achieve high-speed input and output of the captured signal. Alternatively, if an imaging element without a built-in AD conversion circuit is used, the AD conversion circuit can be placed externally to the camera units 3a and 3b. The camera units 3a and 3b and the lens units 2a and 2b are controlled by the control circuit 6 according to the operating mode.

[0056] Interface circuit 4 outputs input signals from camera units 3a and 3b to image signal processing circuit 5 in accordance with the operating mode of the camera device. At this time, it outputs one or both of the captured signals obtained by camera units 3a and 3b, in accordance with the operating mode. This operation is controlled by control circuit 6.

[0057] The image signal processing circuit 5 performs various signal processing operations on the output signal from the interface circuit 4, including filtering, amplification corresponding to the sensitivity setting, and white balance correction. Furthermore, the image signal processing circuit 5 generates dynamic image data and still image data for display or recording, respectively, in accordance with the operating mode. These display and recording image signals include image signals corresponding to the camera units 3a and 3b, and image signals generated by combining the output signals from the camera units 3a and 3b.

[0058] The image signal processing circuit 5 is connected to a control circuit 6, a display 8, a memory 12 such as DRAM and flash memory, an encoding / decoding circuit 15, and a recording / reproducing circuit 10, enabling high-speed collaborative processing with each component. The hardware structure of the image signal processing circuit 5 and the control circuit 6 can be a single-chip LSI or a separate LSI. Furthermore, the image signal processing circuit 5 and the recording / reproducing circuit 10 can be configured to perform signal processing for both systems simultaneously, corresponding to the performance requirements of the imaging device, with two separate signal processing and recording circuits for each of the two imaging units.

[0059] The control circuit 6 is connected to lens units 2a and 2b, camera units 3a and 3b, interface circuit 4, image signal processing circuit 5, attitude detection unit 7, operation input unit 9, position information input unit 13, and wireless communication unit 14. The control circuit 6 controls these connected units according to the operating mode. Furthermore, the control circuit 6 controls the display 8, encoding / decoding circuit 15, and recording / reproducing circuit 10 via the image signal processing circuit 5 or directly. The attitude detection unit 7 includes a gyroscope sensor and an electronic compass, and is capable of detecting the shooting direction (azimuth and elevation angle) and image tilt of the camera device.

[0060] Thus, in this embodiment, the control circuit 6 controls the camera units 3a and 3b, the image signal processing circuit 5, the display 8, the recording and playback circuit 10, etc., in accordance with the operation mode preset by the user operation, and displays or records one of the image signals captured by the camera unit 3a in one shooting action, the image signals captured by the camera unit 3b, or the image signals generated by combining the image signals captured by the camera units 3a and 3b in one shooting action.

[0061] The encoding / decoding circuit 15 performs encoding processing on the processed image signal for recording and decoding processing on the reproduced image data. The recording / reproduction circuit 10 records the captured image data into the recording medium 11 and reproduces the image recorded in the recording medium 11.

[0062] The operation input unit 9 accepts user input. Specifically, as described later, the mode setting dial, shutter button, mode setting button, etc., correspond to the operation input unit 9. The mode setting dial can be assigned to the operations that the user uses most frequently in the settings of the camera device 1.

[0063] The display 8 is, for example, a display that integrates a touch panel and an LCD panel, and may also include an optical or electronic viewfinder. Furthermore, the display type is not limited to LCD; any type, such as OLED, can be used. Additionally, the touch panel may use capacitive or pressure-sensitive methods, for example.

[0064] Figure 2 This is an external view showing an example of the camera device in this embodiment. (A) is a rear view, (B) is a right side view, and (C) is a front view. Figure 2 In the middle, the camera device 1 has a display 8 that integrates a touch panel on the back side.

[0065] Lens units 2a and 2b are arranged at predetermined intervals with approximately the same optical axis direction. Furthermore, lens units 2a and 2b can be fixed or detachable. The operation input unit 9 of the imaging device 1 includes a mode setting dial 31, a shutter button 32, an operation button 33, and a video recording button 34. 35 is a power switch. The mode setting dial 31 selects the type of shooting mode of the imaging device 1. The shutter button 32 is located on the upper right side of the main body; pressing it initiates the shooting operation. The operation button 33 has a central button and buttons for up, down, left, and right directions, used for displaying and selecting menu screens. Alternatively, an electronic viewfinder can be provided on the top surface of the imaging device 1.

[0066] The camera device 1 has at least a shooting mode and a playback mode in its operating modes, and the shooting mode has multiple modes. These operating modes can be switched using the mode setting dial 31. Alternatively, a dedicated playback mode button can be provided for the playback mode.

[0067] The types and details of shooting modes will be described later; here, a general overview of the shooting mode's operation is provided. When the control circuit 6 detects that a specific shooting mode has been set via the operation input unit 9, it performs controls corresponding to the shooting mode on the camera units 3a and 3b, the image signal processing circuit 5, the display 8, the encoding / decoding circuit 15, and the recording / reproducing circuit 10. In shooting modes, both still image and video image capture are possible.

[0068] The control circuit 6 reads the shooting signal from the camera unit 3a or 3b at a predetermined cycle, performs predetermined signal processing via the interface circuit 4 and the image signal processing circuit 5, converts it into a display format, and displays the dynamic image in real time on the display 8. The user can take pictures while monitoring the dynamic image by performing the actions described below.

[0069] When capturing a still image, the user presses the shutter button 32. The control circuit 6 detects the shutter button 32 being pressed from the output of the operation input unit 9 and sets the aperture value and shutter speed according to the shooting conditions set by the user. The shutter button 32 can also be controlled by having two states: half-press and full-press, with the focus and shutter speed settings determined in the half-press state. These settings are executed by the control circuit 6 controlling the lens units 2a and 2b and the imaging units 3a and 3b. The shutter button operation determines which imaging unit 3a or 3b is used for shooting, whether both imaging units 3a and 3b are used, the type of signal processing, and which signal is recorded, all according to a preset shooting mode. The still image capture signal obtained by the imaging units 3a and 3b is processed by the image signal processing circuit 5 according to a prescribed still image signal processing procedure, and then encoded for still image use by the encoding / decoding circuit 15. The memory 12 is used as a buffer memory for still image signal processing and encoding. The encoding method may be JPEG, but other methods such as MPEG or high-definition RAW format can also be used. The encoded still image data is recorded into the recording medium 11 via the recording and playback circuit 10 through the memory 12.

[0070] When capturing moving images, press the moving image capture button 34 to start capturing, and press it again to stop capturing. Moving images can be encoded in MPEG formats such as H.264 or H.265, or any other moving image format. In the case of capturing moving images, the encoding / decoding circuit 15 also encodes the images according to the specified format, and the encoded moving image data is recorded into the recording medium 11 by the recording and playback circuit 10 via the memory 12.

[0071] When the control circuit 6 detects that the playback mode is set based on the input from the operation input unit 9, it uses the recording playback circuit 10 to read the still image or moving image recorded in the recording medium 11. Then, after decoding by the encoder-decoder circuit 15, it is controlled to display the image on the display 8.

[0072] As explained above, the camera device of this embodiment has multiple camera units, and can cause multiple camera units to shoot in a single shooting action performed by the shutter button or the like according to a preset action mode.

[0073] Figure 3 This is an external view showing another example of the camera device 1 in this embodiment, (A) is a rear view and (B) is a front view. Figure 3 In the example, relative to Figure 2 An example is an elongated shape, with the display 8' relative to... Figure 2 Example (A) is relatively larger. Additionally, Figure 3 In the examples, there is no Figure 2 The mode setting dial 31, shutter button 32, operation button 33, and video capture button 34 are shown, but icons corresponding to these operation buttons are displayed on the display 8', which enables the required input to be made through the touch panel operation.

[0074] Next, the shooting mode in this embodiment will be described. Figure 4 This is an overview of the shooting modes in this embodiment. The shooting modes include five modes: Normal Shooting 1, Normal Shooting 2, Simultaneous Shooting, High-Speed ​​Continuous Shooting, and Video / Still Image Shooting. Figure 4 In each mode, the operation of the two cameras, the recorded images, and a summary of the controls in each mode are described. The first camera corresponds to... Figure 1 The first camera unit is 3a, and the second camera unit corresponds to the third camera unit 3b. Furthermore, "valid" indicates that a shooting action is performed, and "invalid" indicates that a shooting action is not performed. Additionally, regarding image recording, "first" or "second" indicates recording an image captured by the first camera unit or the second camera unit, and "first second" indicates recording both images captured by the first and second cameras.

[0075] Normally, shooting mode 1 operates in the same way as a camera with a single camera unit, activating only the first camera unit. In still image shooting, the first camera unit performs both monitoring and still image capture; in video shooting, the first camera unit also performs both monitoring and video capture. This mode is identical to any known camera device with a single camera unit, so detailed descriptions are omitted. Furthermore, while the first camera unit is "activated" here, it is also possible to "deactivate" the first camera unit and activate the second camera unit. In this shooting mode, only one camera unit operates, thus reducing power consumption.

[0076] Normally, shooting 2 makes both the first and second camera units "effective," but the first camera unit is used for monitoring, and the second camera unit is used for still image shooting. Figure 5 This is an explanatory diagram showing the timing of the normal shooting action 2 in this embodiment, with the horizontal axis representing time. In this mode, the first camera unit reads frame images at a predetermined period to generate moving images for monitoring. Exposure and reading are performed in parallel at frame periods. The read moving images are used... Figure 1 The image signal processing circuit 5 converts the image into a display image, which is then displayed on the monitor 8. The user monitors this dynamic image and displays it at the required time. Figure 5Press the shutter button (if the shutter is ON). The second camera unit detects that the shutter is ON using the control circuit 6 and begins exposure. At the end of the exposure, which is equivalent to the set shutter speed, the captured still image signal is read. The reading time is determined by the number of pixels in the still image and the reading speed, but generally requires a longer time than the frame of the monitoring video in the first camera unit.

[0077] In a camera device with a single camera unit, both still image capture and pre-capture monitoring are performed using the same camera unit. Therefore, if monitoring is interrupted during still image capture, there is a possibility of missing the next shutter opportunity. According to the operation of this embodiment, continuous monitoring is possible even during still image capture, making it less likely to miss shutter opportunities.

[0078] Next, the simultaneous shooting mode will be explained. In simultaneous shooting mode, the first camera and the second camera shoot simultaneously. In this mode, the first camera performs monitoring and still image capture, while the second camera captures still images at the same time as the first camera. In this mode, the shooting conditions (e.g., shutter speed, aperture, ISO sensitivity, effects, etc.) of the first and second cameras can be changed simultaneously.

[0079] Next, we will explain the high-speed continuous shooting mode. Figure 6 This diagram illustrates the timing sequence of the first and second cameras in the high-speed continuous shooting mode of this embodiment. In this mode, the first and second cameras take pictures alternately. Let T be the time interval for capturing still images at the fastest speed using a single camera unit. The number of still images that can be captured in one second is 1 / T. In this case, it is assumed that the time required for signal processing and recording is sufficient relative to the time interval for capturing images. In the high-speed continuous shooting mode, by staggering the timing sequence of the first and second cameras by T / 2, high-speed continuous shooting can be performed at approximately twice the speed compared to the case of a single camera unit.

[0080] Next, the motion picture and still image shooting mode will be explained. In this mode, motion picture shooting is performed using the first camera unit, and still image shooting is performed using the second camera unit. Because different camera units are used for motion picture shooting and still image shooting, still image shooting can be performed at any time during motion picture shooting. Unlike shooting with a single camera unit, there is no risk of missing a portion of the motion picture or the size of the still image recorded during motion picture shooting being limited when shooting a still image. In this mode, still image shooting is performed when the shutter button 32 is pressed, and the start and end of motion picture shooting are performed by pressing the shutter button 32.

[0081] In this embodiment, by operating the shutter button 32, shooting with multiple cameras can be performed using the same simple operation as a camera device with a single camera unit, providing a camera device with excellent ease of use. Furthermore, it offers advantages such as uninterrupted monitoring during still image shooting, minimizing missed shutter opportunities, and the ability to shoot at high speeds.

[0082] In addition, in this embodiment, as a specific example of the shooting mode, five modes are described: normal shooting 1, normal shooting 2, simultaneous shooting, high-speed continuous shooting, and dynamic image / still image shooting. However, it may have all five modes or only some of them.

[0083] Thus, in this embodiment, the camera device having multiple camera units includes a setting unit for setting multiple preset shooting modes, a unit for controlling the multiple camera units in accordance with the set shooting modes, and an operation unit. Therefore, a single shooting instruction from the operation unit can cause the multiple camera units to shoot in tandem.

[0084] In other words, the camera device having a first camera unit, a second camera unit, a display unit, an image signal processing circuit, a control circuit, an operation unit, a mode setting unit, and a recording unit is configured such that: the first camera unit and the second camera unit are arranged at a predetermined interval and shoot in the same direction; the image signal processing circuit generates a first image signal from the signal captured by the first camera unit, generates a second image signal from the signal captured by the second camera unit, and generates a third signal from the signals captured by the first camera unit and the second camera unit; the control circuit controls the first camera unit, the second camera unit, the image signal processing circuit, and the recording unit through a single shooting operation performed by the operation unit based on multiple shooting modes that can be preset by input from the mode setting unit. The multiple shooting modes include a shooting mode that records the first image signal, a mode that records the first image signal and the second image signal, and a mode that records the third signal.

[0085] Therefore, multiple camera units can be controlled simultaneously for shooting with simple operation, providing a camera device with good ease of use.

[0086] (Example 2)

[0087] Other embodiments of the present invention will be described. The structure of the camera device in this embodiment is similar to... Figure 1 The situation is the same as in Example 1. The difference from Example 1 is the content of the shooting mode. Figure 7 Please provide an explanation. Figure 7 This is an overview of the shooting modes in this embodiment. The shooting modes in this embodiment include five modes: rangefinding, background blur, distance adaptive, HDR, and 3D.

[0088] In the ranging mode, a first camera captures still or moving images, and the first and second cameras calculate the distance information of each part in the captured image. The calculated distance information is recorded along with the image information captured by the first camera. The distance information is calculated using known methods such as stereo matching, based on the distance information of each pixel or each region composed of multiple adjacent pixels, using the parallax information of the first and second cameras. The distance information calculated in this way is recorded in an image file along with the captured image data, or as a separate file. The file format of the separate file recording the 3D information is arbitrary, but it can also be converted to polygon data such as STL format used in 3D printing and recorded.

[0089] In this ranging mode, distance information for any location on the image can be obtained during shooting or playback. For example, it is also possible to set up an interface on the display showing the distance from the shooting position to the subject or other specified points when the user specifies any point on the screen on the touch panel.

[0090] In addition, in this ranging mode, the recorded image is assumed to be the image captured by the first camera, but it is also possible to record only the image captured by the second camera instead of the image captured by the first camera, or to record both images captured by the first and second cameras.

[0091] In this ranging mode, images captured by the first or second camera are recorded. Simultaneously, based on the two images captured by the first and second cameras, distance information corresponding to each pixel or pixel region is calculated and recorded. Distance information can be determined for any point in the captured image. Furthermore, regarding the distance measurement method, an active ranging method can be used, employing both a light-emitting part (such as a laser) and a light-receiving part, measuring distance based on the time difference between light emission and light reception, which particularly improves ranging accuracy at long distances.

[0092] Next, the background blur mode will be explained. This mode, like the previously explained ranging mode, uses images captured by the first and second cameras to calculate distance information. This distance information is then used to blur the background. Details of this process will be explained.

[0093] Figure 8 It means Figure 1 A block diagram illustrating an example of the structure of the image signal processing circuit 5 in the diagram. Figure 8In this circuit, 100 is a still image / moving image signal processing circuit, 101 is a distance information generation circuit, 102 is a distance histogram generation circuit, 103 is a long-range image processing circuit, 104 is a short-range image processing circuit, 105 is an image histogram generation circuit, 106 is a synthesis circuit, and 107 is a display signal generation circuit. The still image / moving image signal processing circuit 100 generates still image data and moving image data for recording based on the still image data and moving image data output from the first or second camera unit. The still image / moving image signal processing circuit 100 operates according to the control circuit 6 (… Figure 1 ) under the control of memory 12 ( Figure 1 Image data can be appropriately buffered while signal processing is performed. Alternatively, a signal processing unit for subject recognition can be built into the still image / moving image signal processing circuit 100 to recognize various subjects or perform person recognition processing.

[0094] The distance information generation circuit 101 generates distance information based on images captured by the first camera and the second camera, either per pixel or in pixel groups consisting of multiple adjacent pixels. When generating the distance information, images captured simultaneously by the first and second cameras are used. In the following description, the frame image generated at a predetermined time by the first camera is referred to as the first image, and the image generated at the same time as the first image by the second camera is referred to as the second image. The distance information is generated using known methods based on the first and second images. For example, it can be calculated based on the first and second images using the principle of triangulation. The distance information generation circuit 101 has an input unit that receives first image data from the first camera and second image data from the second camera as input signals. Furthermore, the distance information generation circuit 101 has a memory 12 capable of storing the input first and second image data. Figure 1 This provides an input / output interface for reading and writing. This allows for various processing of any pixel in the first and second images. Here, pattern matching is used to determine which pixel in the second image corresponds to each pixel in the first image. The first and second cameras are arranged parallel to the optical axis at intervals of a certain distance B. Any pixel p1 in the first image has a parallax including δ when the corresponding pixel in the second image, determined by pattern matching, is p2. The distance information generation circuit 101 generates this δ for each pixel. At this time, the distance Z between the camera and the subject can be calculated according to the principle of triangulation, based on the relationship Z = B × f ÷ δ. Here, f is the focal length of the camera, which is equal to the focal lengths of the first and second cameras. Thus, by calculating the distance image for each pixel, the distance information of any pixel in the first image can be obtained.

[0095] The distance histogram generation circuit 102 calculates the distance histogram, which is to calculate the number of pixels at a given distance, or in other words, the frequency of pixels relative to the distance. Figure 9 The image shown is an example, in Figure 10 The image shows a distance histogram relative to the image. The image includes a person 111 as the subject and buildings 112 in the distance. Figure 10 In the distance histogram, 111' represents the part corresponding to the person, which is at close range. 112' represents the part corresponding to the building, which is at a long distance.

[0096] The still image / moving image signal processing circuit 100 has a separation unit that separates image data into multiple signal groups belonging to a specified subject distance, and then performs different signal processing according to the distance using the subsequent long-distance image processing circuit 103 and short-distance image processing circuit 104.

[0097] The long-distance image processing circuit 103 performs signal processing on a portion of the image located at a distance. In this background blur mode, the long-distance image processing circuit 103 performs strong low-pass filtering on the long-distance image corresponding to the background. The image histogram generation circuit 105 calculates, for example, the number of pixels or the frequency of pixels in an image with a given brightness. It can also calculate a histogram corresponding to the RGB signal and display it on a display.

[0098] The close-up image processing circuit 104 performs signal processing on portions of the image located at close range. In this background blur mode, the close-up image processing circuit 104 performs arbitrary signal processing suitable for the subject in close-up images, such as those of a person. For example, in Figure 10 In the distance histogram, the long-distance image processing circuit 103 performs a strong low-pass filtering on the long-distance image that corresponds to the background.

[0099] The images processed by the near-field image processing circuit 104 and the far-field image processing circuit 103 with different signal processing according to the distance are combined by the synthesis circuit 106 and generated on the display 8 by the display signal generation circuit 107. Figure 1 The image displayed on the screen. Figure 11 The following shows an example of the composited output image. 130 is the composited image displayed on the monitor, 131 is the part corresponding to the person, and 132 is the part corresponding to the background such as buildings, which is blurred by filtering because it is equivalent to the background.

[0100] The outputs of the distance histogram generation circuit 102 and the image histogram generation circuit 105 are also connected to the synthesis circuit 106, enabling not only the display of images but also the display of distance histograms or image histograms separately or overlaid with images on the display. Such a display can be achieved by displaying a menu for users to selectively switch the content displayed on the display, allowing for user selection. Furthermore, the image histogram and distance histogram can be displayed separately, or they can be combined using methods such as representing pixel count with color using distance as the horizontal axis and brightness as the vertical axis. Figure 1 A two-dimensional histogram that integrates distance and brightness is displayed.

[0101] The intensity and type of signal processing, such as the intensity of the low-pass filter in the long-range image processing circuit 103 and the near-range image processing circuit 104, as well as the distance on the histogram switching these signal processing steps, can be adaptively changed according to the shape of the histogram calculated by the distance histogram generation circuit 102. Furthermore, it can be combined with person recognition processing within still / moving image signal processing to change the processing when a person is detected and when no person is detected.

[0102] in addition, Figure 8 The system employs a structure that allows for different signal processing for two stages of distance, namely, a long-range image processing circuit 103 and a short-range image processing circuit 104. However, it can also employ a structure that can be divided into three or more stages and perform different processing for other stages corresponding to the distance.

[0103] By using this background blur mode, you can make close-up subjects such as people stand out while blurring the background. Even when using a small camera element, you can generate an image with a blurred background that looks like it was taken with an SLR camera.

[0104] Next, the distance-adaptive processing mode will be explained. The previously described background blur mode makes foreground subjects such as people stand out while blurring the background. In contrast, the distance-adaptive processing mode makes background blur more versatile. Depending on the user's preferences, it can perform different processing based on the distance to the subject, including the same processing as background blur, and can also perform processing such as blurring foreground subjects. Therefore, an interface is provided that allows the user to change the processing content.

[0105] Figure 12 This is an example of the user interface display in distance-adaptive processing mode. For example, setting the user to display from the menu screen. Figure 12 The screen displays a menu like this. Figure 12In the diagram, 8' represents the display screen, which has three areas: an image display area 140, a distance histogram display area 143, and an image display area 145 at a specific distance. The input image is the same as previously described. Figure 9 The image is the same as the image displayed in image display area 140. The image displayed in image display area 140 is the processed image. In distance histogram display area 143, the image is the same as the image displayed in image display area 140. Figure 10 The example shown also displays a distance histogram, along with a selection box 144. This selection box 144 can be repositioned via user touch panel operations. The image corresponding to the position selected in the distance histogram area is displayed in the distance histogram display area 143. In the distance histogram display area 143, the portion corresponding to a close-up of the person is selected using selection box 144, so the input image 141' of the person is displayed in the image display area 145 at a specific distance. 146 is a quality adjustment display; here, as an example of a quality adjustment item, a menu for adjusting the strength of the low-pass filter used for blurring is displayed. The user can adjust the strength of the low-pass filter via touch panel operations and can confirm the effect of the quality adjustment in the image display area 140. Additionally, menus for arbitrary image processing such as color correction can also be displayed besides the low-pass filter.

[0106] Figure 12 This is an example of a screen display where the figure is selected within the histogram display area of ​​143. In contrast, Figure 13 This is an example of a screen display where a background area including a building has been selected using selection box 144'. Therefore, the input image 142', including the background portion of the building, is displayed in the image display area 145 at a specific distance.

[0107] In this distance-adaptive processing mode, for any region in the image that can be separated from the subject at a corresponding distance, the user can apply processing according to their preferences. In addition to background blurring, this can also correct the subject's color or blur foreground elements. Similar to background blurring, the processing in this mode can be divided into multiple stages instead of two stages corresponding to the distance. Furthermore, the user interface can display the before and after images side-by-side, making it easier to compare the image processing effects. Alternatively, the distance can be selected without displaying the distance histogram.

[0108] Figure 7 In this context, HDR (High Dynamic Range) is a mode that combines images captured by the first and second cameras under different shooting conditions to create an image with minimal loss of shadow and highlight detail. Furthermore, "shooting conditions" here refers not to the shooting environment, but rather to the settings of the camera device, such as shutter speed, aperture, and ISO sensitivity.

[0109] Extending the exposure time generally yields images with good signal-to-noise ratio (S / N), but it is prone to saturation, and the reproducibility of high-brightness areas tends to deteriorate. Conversely, shortening the exposure time generally yields images with good reproducibility of high-brightness areas, but the S / N of low-brightness areas tends to deteriorate. Therefore, in this HDR mode, images with different exposure times are captured using the first and second cameras. For example, a high shutter speed is set for the first camera and a low shutter speed for the second camera; or the aperture value of the first camera is increased and the aperture value of the second camera is decreased; or the ISO sensitivity of the first camera is increased and the ISO sensitivity of the second camera is decreased; or combinations are changed to capture images with a large dynamic range and images with a small dynamic range but good S / N using the first and second cameras respectively, and then these images are combined. During combination, an image with good balance of brightness, color reproducibility, and S / N in both low-brightness and high-brightness areas, and effectively a wide dynamic range, is generated according to the image histogram.

[0110] Even in a camera device with only a single camera unit, it is possible to continuously capture and composite images with varying exposure times. However, when the subject is moving, variations occur in the continuous images with different exposure times, easily leading to ghosting and failing to achieve the desired dynamic range expansion. In contrast, in this embodiment, because the first and second camera units can capture images simultaneously, it achieves a wider dynamic range and minimizes the occurrence of ghosting.

[0111] In addition, this embodiment uses Figure 7 While described, the device could be equipped with all of these modes, or it could be a device with only some of these modes. Furthermore, they could be modes that combine different modes. For example, background blur and HDR could be combined. Known dynamic range enhancement processing can be performed by continuously capturing high-speed and low-speed shutter images with the first camera and then combining them, while background blurring is performed using distance information obtained from the first and second cameras. Furthermore, the methods described in Embodiment 1 can be appropriately combined. Figure 4 The pattern recorded in the text.

[0112] Next, the 3D mode is a mode in which the first camera records images for the right eye and the second camera records images for the left eye. When capturing or reproducing images captured in this 3D mode, the right-eye image from the first camera and the left-eye image from the second camera can be displayed side-by-side on the display 8. In order to view the 3D images, a dedicated viewer is installed on the display to prevent interference between the left and right images, so that the left eye can view only the left-eye image and the right eye can view only the right-eye image.

[0113] As described above, this embodiment, like embodiment 1, enables multiple camera units to shoot in tandem with a single shooting instruction from the operation unit. It allows multiple camera units to be controlled simultaneously in multiple shooting modes with simple operation, thus providing a camera device with good ease of use.

[0114] (Example 3)

[0115] Other embodiments of the present invention will be described. The structure of the camera device in this embodiment is similar to... Figure 1 The situation is the same as in Example 1. The difference from Examples 1 and 2, namely the shooting mode, is explained using... Figure 14 The following explanation is provided. This embodiment includes five shooting modes: Program AE, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, Dual Mode, and Manual.

[0116] Program AE mode is a shooting mode in which the first and second camera units shoot according to two different program line charts. The program line charts are arbitrary, or the user can select two from multiple program line charts. Furthermore, in this mode, the focus mode and timer settings can be individually set for the first and second camera units. For example, the first camera unit can be set to manual focus, and the second camera unit to autofocus; or the timer can be set for the second camera unit without setting it, and a timer can be set for the first camera unit. After the first camera unit takes a picture when the shutter button is turned on, the second camera unit takes a picture after a predetermined time based on the timer setting.

[0117] Aperture priority mode is a shooting mode in which the first and second cameras shoot at two different aperture priority AE settings. It allows shooting at two different aperture values ​​simultaneously.

[0118] Shutter priority mode is a shooting mode in which the first and second cameras each shoot at two different shutter priority AE settings. It allows shooting at two different shutter speeds simultaneously.

[0119] Dual mode is a shooting mode that uses two different action modes—Program AE, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, and Manual—in the first and second camera units respectively. For example, it can simultaneously shoot in Aperture Priority mode in the first camera unit and Shutter Priority mode in the second camera unit, or it can simultaneously shoot in any combination of the two modes selected from Program AE, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, and Manual.

[0120] Manual mode allows you to set shooting conditions using two different manual settings in both the first and second camera sections and shoot simultaneously. The shooting conditions that can be set are arbitrary; in addition to ISO sensitivity, aperture value, and shutter speed, you can also adjust focus, timer, image quality, and special effects.

[0121] According to this embodiment, it is possible to shoot in two shooting modes with different shooting conditions, thereby increasing the frequency of taking the required photos.

[0122] exist Figure 15 The image shows an example of the menu screen when individually setting the first and second camera units in this embodiment. Settings 800-804 are for the first camera unit, sequentially including settings for ISO sensitivity, aperture value, shutter speed, timer, and flash. For example, the desired item can be selected and its settings changed via the touch panel. Similarly, settings 805-809 are for the second camera unit, allowing for different settings in both the first and second camera units. In manual mode, all settings can be performed, but possible settings are automatically configured according to the mode. For example, in aperture priority mode, the aperture value can be set, but the shutter speed is set automatically, so manual setting is not allowed.

[0123] In addition, this embodiment uses Figure 14 This has been described, but it can refer to a camera device equipped with all of these modes, or a camera device having only some of these modes. Furthermore, the methods described in Embodiments 1 and 2 can also be combined. Figure 4 and Figure 7 The pattern recorded in the text.

[0124] use Figure 16 Examples of screen display during monitoring when capturing still or moving images, as described in Examples 1 to 3 above. Figure 16 (A) is a single-screen display that shows the image of either the first camera or the second camera. Figure 16 In (A), 8 is the monitor, 92 is the mode display button, which displays the currently set mode name using OSD. 93 is the camera setting button; selecting it displays... Figure 8The menu screen. This selection operation is performed, for example, via the touch panel built into the display 8. 94 is a screen switching button, used to switch between the first and second cameras in single-screen display, and between dual-screen display. Switching between the first and second cameras in single-screen display, and between single-screen and dual-screen display, can be done sequentially by pressing the same button. Alternatively, switching between the first and second cameras in single-screen display, and between single-screen and dual-screen display, can also be done using different operation buttons.

[0125] Figure 16 (B) is a dual-screen display, simultaneously displaying images from both the first and second cameras. It also allows switching between single-screen and dual-screen display depending on the camera mode. For example, Figure 4 In normal shooting mode 1, only the first camera is active, so only a single frame can be displayed. The frame switching button is not displayed at this time. On the other hand, Figure 14 Each mode utilizes both the first and second cameras, so a screen switching button is displayed. This improves usability by allowing selective switching between single-screen and dual-screen display depending on the shooting mode.

[0126] As described above, this embodiment, like embodiments 1 and 2, enables multiple camera units to shoot in tandem with a single shooting instruction from the operation unit. It allows multiple camera units to be controlled simultaneously in multiple shooting modes with simple operation, thus providing a camera device with good ease of use.

[0127] (Example 4)

[0128] This embodiment describes an embodiment using a first camera unit and a second camera unit with different hardware structures. That is, in embodiments 1 to 3, the first camera unit and the second camera unit have substantially the same hardware structure, while in this embodiment, the first camera unit and the second camera unit employ different hardware structures.

[0129] Figure 17 This is an explanatory diagram of the camera method in this embodiment. Figure 17 and Figure 4 , 7 Similarly, section 14 records the actions of the two cameras, the recorded images, and a summary of the controls in each mode. As... Figure 17 The shooting methods described include five types: video recording / recognition, visible light / near infrared, telephoto / wide-angle, panoramic, and with or without OLPF, which are explained below.

[0130] First, in the camera / recognition shooting method, normal shooting is performed in the first camera unit, and image recognition processing is performed in the second camera unit. AE, AF, AWB, and other detection methods can also be performed in the second camera unit. The second camera unit can also be used as a dedicated phase difference AF sensor. In this shooting method, the same effect as the normal shooting mode of Embodiment 1 can be obtained.

[0131] Next, in the visible light / near-infrared imaging mode, visible light imaging is performed in the first camera unit, and near-infrared or near-infrared to infrared imaging is performed in the second camera unit. The imaging signals from the first and second camera units are combined in the image signal processing circuit 5. Because visible light imaging is performed in the first camera unit, an image with good color reproduction can be obtained, and because near-infrared or near-infrared to infrared imaging is performed in the second camera unit, a high-sensitivity image can be obtained. This imaging mode has the effect of balancing color reproduction and high sensitivity.

[0132] Next, in the telephoto / wide-angle shooting mode, lenses with different focal lengths are used in the first and second camera units for shooting. Alternatively, by combining electronic zoom with lenses, images with equivalent focal lengths are captured using the first and second camera units. During recording, each image captured by the first and second camera units is recorded. Images captured simultaneously by the first and second camera units can also be recorded together. In this shooting mode, because two images with equivalent focal lengths can be captured simultaneously by using lenses with different focal lengths, or by combining electronic zoom with lenses, it is possible to capture wide-angle and narrow-angle images simultaneously, or to capture images of the entire scene and specific parts of the scene.

[0133] Next, in the panoramic shooting method, a wider-angle shot than that captured by a single camera is achieved using both the first and second camera units; this is referred to as a panoramic shot. The first and second camera units are configured such that their shooting ranges are adjacent or partially overlapping. For example, the camera units are horizontally positioned such that the first camera unit captures a 90-degree angle to the left, and the second camera unit captures a 90-degree angle to the right, with these shooting ranges overlapping. By combining the images captured by the first and second camera units using an image signal processing circuit, a 180-degree wide-angle shot can be achieved. This shooting method has the effect of generating a wide-angle panoramic image with a single shot.

[0134] Finally, in the shooting method with and without an OLPF, a camera unit with an optical low-pass filter is used in the first camera unit, and a camera unit without an optical low-pass filter is used in the second camera unit. Shooting is performed simultaneously in both the first and second camera units. The images captured by the first and second camera units are recorded separately. When shooting with an optical low-pass filter, aliasing noise that occurs when sampling the optical image with pixels during shooting can be removed. This reduces so-called moiré patterns when shooting subjects with fine patterns. However, the resolution is reduced due to the characteristics of the optical low-pass filter. On the other hand, when shooting with a camera unit without an optical low-pass filter, moiré patterns may occur depending on the subject, but it has the advantage of obtaining high-resolution images. In this shooting method, it is possible to simultaneously capture images with less moiré and high-resolution images, thus allowing the photographer to select an image that better suits their needs based on the subject.

[0135] In addition, the contents of Embodiments 1 to 3 can also be combined in the various shooting methods of this embodiment.

[0136] Figure 18 This is an external view showing an example of the camera device in this embodiment, (A) is a rear view, and (B) is a front view. Figure 3 The difference is that, Figure 3 The lens section 2a and lens section 2b are arranged laterally, and in contrast, Figure 18 The lens is arranged longitudinally. It is also possible to make the lens part 2a fixed or the lens part 2b detachable.

[0137] Figure 19 This is an external view showing another example of the camera device in this embodiment, with a rear view shown. Figure 2 The difference is that, Figure 2 The lens section 2a and lens section 2b are arranged laterally, and in contrast, Figure 19 The lenses are arranged longitudinally. Similarly, different imaging units with different focal lengths can be used in lens section 2a and lens section 2b. Figure 18 Similarly, the lens part 2a can be fixed, and the lens part 2b can be detachable.

[0138] When lens sections 2a and 2b are arranged longitudinally, there is an advantage in that horizontal parallax between the two camera sections is not generated. However, it is not suitable for situations such as 3D photography and panoramic photography where parallax needs to be set between two camera sections.

[0139] As described above, like Embodiment 1, the present embodiment enables a plurality of imaging units to perform imaging in an interlocked manner in response to one shooting instruction from the operation unit, and can simultaneously control the plurality of imaging units to perform shooting in a plurality of shooting modes with a simple operation, thereby providing an imaging device with good usability.

[0140] (Embodiment 5)

[0141] This embodiment is intended to illustrate another appearance of the imaging device.

[0142] Figure 20 is a rear view which is an example appearance diagram of the imaging device in the present embodiment. The difference from Figure 19 is that the number of lens units is increased from two to three. Corresponding to the lens units, three imaging units 3a, 3b and 3c (omitted in the drawings) are also required. For example, the lens units 2b and 2c perform the operations described in Embodiments 1 to 4, and the lens unit 2a performs normal shooting. The still image or moving image shooting performed by the lens unit 2a and the distance detection or recognition processing performed by the lens units 2b and 2c can be performed independently, enabling higher-speed and higher-performance imaging.

[0143] As described above, in the present embodiment, in an imaging device having a plurality of imaging units, there are provided a unit that individually sets imaging unit-related control settings for the plurality of imaging units, a unit that performs interlocked control on the plurality of imaging units, and an operation unit. Accordingly, in response to one shooting instruction from the operation unit, the plurality of imaging units can perform imaging in an interlocked manner.

[0144] (Embodiment 6)

[0145] Figure 21 is a block diagram showing the structure of the imaging device in the present embodiment. Figure 21 in this embodiment, the same reference numerals are assigned to the same functions as those in Figure 1 , and descriptions thereof are omitted. Figure 21 the difference from Figure 1 is that the imaging device comprises an image and audio signal processing circuit 20, a microphone 16, a speaker 17, and a proximity sensor 18, and the lens unit 2a and the lens unit 2b are lenses with different focal lengths. The focal lengths of the lens unit 2a and the lens unit 2b are arbitrary, wherein the lens unit 2b is a narrow-angle lens with respect to the lens unit 2a, and the lens unit 2a is a wide-angle lens with respect to the lens unit 2b. In addition, the specifications such as size and pixel count of the imaging units 3a and 3b may be the same or different, wherein the imaging unit 3a is an imaging unit for wide-angle images, and the imaging unit 3b is an imaging unit for narrow-angle images.

[0146] The image and audio signal processing circuit 20 is configured in Figure 1In addition to image processing, the image signal processing circuit 5 also has sound signal processing functions, performing prescribed sound signal processing such as encoding on the sound input from the microphone 16. Furthermore, the encoded sound signal is decoded and output from the speaker 17.

[0147] Control circuit 6 in Figure 1 In addition to the functions described herein, a proximity sensor 18 is also connected, and the proximity sensor 18 is controlled in accordance with the operating mode. Furthermore, the control circuit 6 controls the display 8, the encoding / decoding circuit 15, and the recording / reproducing circuit 10 via the image and sound signal processing circuit 20 or directly.

[0148] Thus, in this embodiment, the control circuit 6 corresponds to the operation mode preset by the user, and the encoding / decoding circuit 15 controls the camera units 3a and 3b, the image and sound signal processing circuit 20, the display 8, the recording and playback circuit 10, etc. Through such control, it is possible to independently control the camera units 3a and 3b to take pictures, or to make the camera units 3a and 3b cooperate in taking pictures, or to simultaneously control the camera units 3a and 3b to take pictures of still images and moving images simultaneously, or to use one camera unit to take pictures of moving images and use the other camera unit to take pictures of still images during recording, or to take pictures of moving images simultaneously. Furthermore, control can be performed in a manner that displays or records either the image signal captured by the camera unit 3a, the image signal captured by the camera unit 3b, or an image signal generated by combining the image signals captured by the camera units 3a and 3b.

[0149] This diagram shows an example of the external appearance of the camera device in this embodiment, for example, as shown below. Figure 18 The diagram shows a display 8 with lens units 2a and 2b arranged vertically and a touch panel integrated on the rear side. The lens units 2a and 2b are arranged at predetermined intervals, each having approximately the same optical axis direction. Alternatively, the lens units 2a and 2b can be arranged horizontally, and can be either fixed or detachable. In addition to the touch panel operation described above, user operation can also be performed using hardware-based operation units such as a shutter button.

[0150] Next, details of the shooting mode in this embodiment will be explained. Figure 22 , Figure 23 This is a list of the shooting modes in this embodiment. Figure 22 This is a list of the usual shooting modes. Figure 23 This is a list of simultaneous shooting modes. Figure 22The normal shooting mode is a mode in which one of the cameras 3a and 3b is used to shoot, and it has a still image shooting mode of mode 1 and a moving image shooting mode of mode 2. Figure 23 The simultaneous shooting mode is an action mode in which camera units 3a and 3b simultaneously capture wide-angle and narrow-angle images. It includes mode 3 for simultaneous shooting of dynamic and still images, mode 4 for simultaneous shooting of still images, and mode 5 for simultaneous shooting of dynamic images. Figure 22 , Figure 23 The table lists the shooting mode, wide-angle camera, narrow-angle camera, and action in the vertical columns on the left, starting from the top. For shooting modes 1 to 5, it describes the differences between still images and moving images taken with the narrow-angle camera and the wide-angle camera, as well as a summary of the action for each mode.

[0151] First of all, for Figure 22 The still image shooting mode of Mode 1 will be explained. This mode uses one of the two camera units 3a or 3b to shoot wide-angle or narrow-angle still images. Which camera unit is used depends on the zoom ratio set through zoom operation. Zoom can be optical zoom using a zoom lens, or electronic zoom using signal processing for magnification. A combination of both methods can also be used, but in the following explanation, it is assumed that lens units 2a and 2b are fixed-focus lenses, and zoom processing is performed through electronic zoom. Let the focal lengths of the wide-angle lens unit 2a and the narrow-angle lens unit 2b be fa and fb, respectively. The focal length of the wide-angle lens is smaller, so fa < fb. Let the state of focal length fa be the zoom ratio of 1. When the electronic zoom ratio performed by camera unit 3a is Ma, the electronic zoom ratio can be set within the range of 1 ≤ Ma < (fb / fa). Furthermore, when the electronic zoom ratio of the narrow-angle camera unit 3b is set to Mb, the electronic zoom ratio can be set within the range of 1 ≤ Mb < Mm. Here, Mm is the maximum value of the electronic zoom ratio of the camera unit 3b. The value of Mm is arbitrary, but increasing the electronic zoom ratio will decrease the resolution, so the maximum value Mm should be determined within the allowable range of image quality.

[0152] exist Figure 24 The diagram shows the relationship between focal length and zoom ratio when the zoom ratio is defined with the wide-angle camera unit 3a as a reference. For example... Figure 24As shown, a wide-angle camera 3a is used to take pictures when the focal length f is zoomed within the range of fa ≤ f < fb. In this case, the electronic zoom ratio Ma of the wide-angle camera 3a is controlled within the aforementioned range. A narrow-angle camera 3b is used to take pictures when the focal length f is zoomed within the range of fb ≤ f < fm. In this case, the electronic zoom ratio Mb of the narrow-angle camera 3b is controlled within the aforementioned range. For this zoom ratio, assuming the focal length fa of the wide-angle camera is the reference zoom ratio (1x), it is possible to continuously zoom from 1x to fb / fax using the wide-angle camera and from fb / fax to fm / fax using the narrow-angle camera. For example, if the 35mm equivalent focal length fa is 20mm and fb is 50mm, the electronic zoom of the wide-angle camera can be controlled within the range of 1x to 2.5x. For example, when the focal length (fm) is equivalent to 200mm, the electronic zoom for the narrow-angle camera can be controlled within the range of 1x to 4x, and the total zoom ratio for both the wide-angle and narrow-angle cameras is a maximum of 10x. In the above description, zoom is achieved through electronic zoom, but optical zoom can also be used by employing a zoom lens.

[0153] Figure 25 This is an explanatory diagram of the single-screen display in still image shooting mode 1. Figure 25 (A) shows a wide-angle image captured by camera 3a. Figure 25 (B) is an example showing a narrow-angle image captured by camera 3b. Figure 25 In (A) and (B), 8 represents the display screen. 52 represents the subject (the person being photographed). 53 to 56 are shooting mode setting icons: 53 is the still image shooting mode icon, 54 is the video shooting mode icon, 55 is the simultaneous video shooting mode icon, and 56 is the simultaneous still image shooting mode icon. The user can set the shooting mode by touching the desired shooting mode icon. This setting is controlled by the control circuit 6 (…). Figure 21 The system detects user operations performed using the touch panel and controls the camera units 3a and 3b, the interface circuit 4, and the image and sound signal processing circuit 20 to perform these operations. Figure 25 In the example, the still image shooting mode icon 53 is selected. To distinguish which icon is selected from the unselected mode, the brightness of the selected mode icon is increased. 500 is the still image shooting button; touching this button takes a picture and records the image. In the pre-shooting preparation state, as explained above, the moving image being captured by the camera unit 3a or 3b is displayed in real-time on the image display unit 50 of the monitor. Figure 25In (A), 51 is a box representing the narrow-angle image area, allowing you to know the shooting angle of the narrow-angle image while monitoring the wide-angle image. The box representing the narrow-angle image area 51 can also be switched off. Alternatively, the narrow-angle image can be displayed on a sub-screen. 601 is the playback mode button; touch this button to switch to the playback mode described later.

[0154] Figure 25 Switching between wide-angle and narrow-angle image displays (A) and (B) is done via the view switching buttons 501 or 502 on the touchscreen. Zooming is performed by pinching in and pinching out on the touch panel. Pinch in and pinch out are used for continuous zooming, while view switching buttons 501 and 502 are used for instantaneous switching between wide-angle and narrow-angle images.

[0155] Figure 25 In the narrow-angle image display of (B), 58 is the wide-angle shooting area, which is displayed in a scaled-down superimposed manner on the narrow-angle image. In the case of shooting still images, compared to... Figure 25 Similarly, in the case of the wide-angle image displayed in (A), the shutter button is touched to take pictures and record. In addition, the shutter button can also be operated in two stages by detecting the pressure of the touch panel. When the pressure is weak, it is determined to be a half-press state of the shutter button, and when the pressure reaches a certain value, it is determined to be a full-press state. Exposure and focus control are performed in the half-press state, and the shooting action is performed in the full-press state.

[0156] In the still image shooting mode of Mode 1, the camera unit 3a or camera unit 3b is automatically switched for shooting by using the perspective switching button and the zoom operation of pinching and opening. Therefore, the user can operate the device in the same way as a camera with a single camera unit, making it easy to use.

[0157] Next, we will explain the dynamic image shooting mode of mode 2. Figure 26 This is an explanatory diagram of the single-screen display in dynamic image shooting mode. Figure 26 (A) shows a wide-angle image captured by camera 3a. Figure 26 (B) is an example showing a narrow-angle image captured by camera 3b. Figure 25 It is a still image shooting mode, in contrast, Figure 26 The situation is the mode for shooting moving images. Apart from this difference, the switching between wide-angle and narrow-angle images, and the zoom operation using pinch and open, are also different. Figure 25The example of the still image shooting mode is roughly the same. In this moving image shooting mode, the moving image shooting mode icon 54 is selected in the shooting mode setting icon. To shoot a moving image, touch the moving image shooting button 600. When the moving image shooting button 600 is touched, similar to the case of still image shooting, the control circuit 6 detects this and controls the camera unit, signal processing unit, etc., to perform moving image shooting, signal processing, recording, and other actions. In addition, the moving image shooting button 600 can be changed by... Figure 25 The still image capture button 500 is distinguished by its edge.

[0158] Figure 27 This is the display screen in the dynamic image shooting mode, showing the display screen during wide-angle image recording. Figure 27 (A) is a wide-angle image. Figure 27 (B) is a screen display example of switching to narrow-angle image display using the perspective switching button 501 during wide-angle image shooting. Figure 27 (A) shows the scene during video recording, so the "End Video Recording" button 700 is displayed. Additionally, 70 is the elapsed time display, showing the time elapsed since the start of recording. To end video recording, touch the "End Video Recording" button 700. Furthermore, Figure 27 (B) In the narrow-angle image display, because narrow-angle image recording is not performed, the motion image capture end button is not displayed. However, still image capture is possible; by touching the still image capture button 500, narrow-angle still image capture can be performed during the motion image capture and recording of wide-angle images. Additionally, at this time, the overlay display will be... Figure 27 (A) The same wide-angle image is displayed as a scaled-down version of the wide-angle image, image 701, indicating that a wide-angle moving image is being captured. Additionally, 503 is a display mode icon indicating which mode the displayed image is in. Figure 27 In case (A), it indicates that it is in motion image capture mode. Figure 27 In case (B), it indicates a still image shooting mode that enables the shooting of still images with a narrow angle.

[0159] exist Figure 27 (A) In the dynamic image capture of a wide-angle image, when the zoom is increased by pinching the screen, electronic zoom processing is performed, and the image continues to be captured and recorded in the zoomed state corresponding to the operation. When the zoom is further increased to a zoom ratio equivalent to the focal length of a narrow-angle image ( Figure 24At point B), two actions can be considered. One is to continue shooting with the wide-angle image camera 3a, and the other is to have the narrow-angle image camera 3b take over the motion picture shooting action and continue recording. Either method can be used.

[0160] Figure 27 In (A), wide-angle still images can also be captured and recorded during wide-angle motion picture recording. However, because it is during wide-angle motion picture recording, the image size and other parameters of the recorded still images are limited. In contrast, since no shooting or recording action is performed in the narrow-angle camera unit, high-quality narrow-angle still images can be captured and recorded during wide-angle motion picture recording.

[0161] Figure 28 This is the display screen for dynamic image capture mode. Figure 27 This refers to the display screen in a wide-angle image recording, in contrast to... Figure 28 (A) indicates the display screen during narrow-angle image recording. To end the recording of a narrow-angle image, touch the video capture end button 700. The viewing angle can be switched using the viewing angle switch button 502. Figure 28 (B) displays a wide-angle image. Figure 28 In the wide-angle image (B), the "End Video Recording" button is not displayed because it is not in the video recording. However, it is possible to capture still images of the wide-angle image while capturing video of the narrow-angle image.

[0162] In the motion picture shooting mode of Mode 2 described above, it is possible to capture narrow-angle still images at any time during the shooting and recording of wide-angle motion pictures, and similarly, it is possible to capture wide-angle still images at any time during the shooting and recording of narrow-angle motion pictures. Thus, still image shooting can be performed while shooting and recording motion pictures, making this motion picture shooting mode also usable as... Figure 23 The mode 3 described in the document is a simultaneous shooting mode for both moving and still images.

[0163] Furthermore, still images captured during video recording are preferably grouped so that they can be reproduced in a related manner during playback. Therefore, information indicating that they belong to the same group can be recorded in the recorded video and still image files, or information about when a still image was captured can be recorded in the video file.

[0164] Next, regarding Figure 23 The still image simultaneous shooting mode of mode 4 described in the document will be explained. Figure 29 This is an explanatory diagram of the display screen in the simultaneous still image capture mode. Figure 29 In (A) and (B), the still image simultaneous shooting mode icon 56 was selected. Otherwise, the content displayed on the screen is the same as... Figure 25The still image shooting mode is the same. In still image shooting mode, when the shutter button is pressed, one side of the still image (wide-angle or narrow-angle) is captured. Conversely, in the simultaneous still image shooting mode, both wide-angle and narrow-angle still images can be captured and recorded simultaneously with a single shutter button press. Furthermore, the simultaneously captured wide-angle and narrow-angle still images are preferably grouped for related reproduction during playback. Therefore, information indicating that they belong to the same group can be recorded in the recorded video and still image files.

[0165] Furthermore, when the display screens for Mode 1 (still image shooting mode) and Mode 4 (simultaneous still image shooting mode) are similar, it can be difficult for users to determine which mode is set. Therefore, in addition to the shooting mode icon, the current setting mode can be easily identified by differentiating the shape of the shutter button or the shutter sound in the two modes. Additionally, to achieve high-speed recording and playback, multiple recording and playback circuits and recording media can be set up to record wide-angle and narrow-angle still images onto different recording media.

[0166] Figure 30 This is an illustration of dual-screen display in simultaneous still image capture mode. This display method will... Figure 29 (A) and Figure 29 (B) The wide-angle and narrow-angle images are displayed simultaneously in a dual-screen arrangement. This display is, for example, achieved by... Figure 29 (A) When the narrow-angle image area 51 is touched and moved to the end of the screen, the user is transferred to... Figure 30 (A) can be switched by using dual-screen display or by setting a dedicated display switching button (omitted in the figure).

[0167] Figure 30 In (A), the image is displayed vertically, in contrast to... Figure 30 (B) is displayed at a reduced aspect ratio of the original image. In this case, relevant shooting information can also be displayed in the blank space. Figure 30 In (b), focal length display 210, exposure level display 211, and level display 212 are displayed as relevant shooting information, but other arbitrary shooting information can also be displayed.

[0168] Figure 31 yes Figure 23 The illustration shows the single-screen display in the simultaneous shooting mode of Mode 5, which is described in the document. Figure 31 (A) is the display screen of the wide-angle image. Figure 31(B) is the display screen for narrow-angle images. Aside from selecting the "Simultaneous Video Capture" mode icon 55, and touching the "Simultaneous Video Capture" button 600 to start video capture and recording, the content displayed is the same as... Figure 29 The display is largely the same as the simultaneous still image shooting mode. In this shooting mode, when the motion image shooting button 600 is touched to shoot motion images, both the wide-angle camera unit 3a and the narrow-angle camera unit 3b simultaneously capture and record wide-angle motion images and narrow-angle motion images. Furthermore, to achieve high-speed recording and playback, multiple recording and playback circuits and recording media can be provided to record wide-angle and narrow-angle motion images onto different recording media.

[0169] Figure 32 This refers to the display screen during simultaneous video recording in the simultaneous video capture mode. Figure 32 (A) is the display screen of the wide-angle image. Figure 32 (B) is the display screen of a narrow-angle image. Additionally, it is also possible to capture still images during video recording. However, since both wide-angle and narrow-angle cameras are used in video recording operations, the size and timing of the captured still images are limited.

[0170] Figure 33 yes Figure 23 The illustration shows a single-screen display in the simultaneous shooting mode of moving and still images, as described in Mode 3. The simultaneous shooting mode of moving and still images has been used... Figure 27 , Figure 28 The actions in the dynamic image shooting mode were explained, in contrast, Figure 33 This is an example of icon 57, which is dedicated to the simultaneous shooting mode of moving and still images. With this dedicated mode, the still image shooting function within the moving image shooting mode can be omitted.

[0171] In the embodiments described above, for those having Figure 22 and Figure 23 The camera device shown has been described with five shooting modes, but it may not have all of these shooting modes. For example, it may only have the still image shooting mode of mode 1 and the still image simultaneous shooting mode of mode 4, which are related to still images. It is sufficient to have one or more of the five modes, such as mode 1, 2, 3, and 4.

[0172] Next, the reproduction mode of this embodiment will be described. Figure 34 This is an explanatory diagram showing the playback mode screen in this embodiment. To display the playback mode screen, for example, from... Figure 25When the shooting mode screen is touched, the playback mode button 601 will be activated, and the control circuit will detect the situation and switch to playback mode. Figure 34 In (A), images 150, 151, and 160-164 are thumbnails, which are reduced-size images of multiple images recorded on the recording medium, arranged and displayed in two dimensions. Furthermore, the images are arranged in chronological order of recording time. The patterns of the thumbnails are not illustrated, but they are actually reproduced and displayed as reduced-size images. 152 is a still image icon, and 153 is a moving image icon, indicating whether the image data corresponding to each thumbnail is a still image or a moving image. Additionally, Figure 34 In this context, icons are added to thumbnails to distinguish between still and moving images, but other display methods that can differentiate between still and moving images can also be used.

[0173] Figure 34 In screen (A), by touching the display mode button 154, one can switch to... Figure 34 (B) is the scene. Figure 34 In (B), 156 is the icon for simultaneous shooting of still images, 157 is the icon for simultaneous shooting of moving images, and 159 is the icon for simultaneous shooting of moving and still images, indicating the shooting mode for shooting images corresponding to each thumbnail. Figure 34 (B) thumbnail 166 corresponds to Figure 34 (A) contains two thumbnails, 160 and 161. These images correspond to two images captured in the simultaneous still image shooting mode. Similarly, Figure 34 (B) Thumbnails 167 and 169 correspond to respectively Figure 34 (A) thumbnails 162 and 151, 164 and 165.

[0174] Figure 35 This is an explanatory diagram of other display methods for displaying the reproduction mode screen in this embodiment. Figure 35 (A) indicates that... Figure 34 (B) Other display methods of equivalent content, which include appending the area of ​​the narrow-angle image and distinguishing icons for moving and still images within the thumbnail of the wide-angle image. Figure 34 The thumbnails 166, 167, and 169 in (B) correspond to... Figure 35 (A) thumbnails 176, 177, 179.

[0175] Figure 35 (B) is the correct choice. Figure 35(A) When the thumbnail image 177 is displayed, it represents the wide-angle moving image corresponding to the image in thumbnail image 177. Touching the play button 180 allows the wide-angle moving image to be played back. 181 is a box indicating the narrow-angle image area, and the play button 182 for the narrow-angle image can also be displayed. Touching this area allows the narrow-angle moving image to be played back directly. Similarly, for still images, they are first displayed in wide-angle mode, and the narrow-angle still image is played back by touching the play button for the narrow-angle image.

[0176] in addition, Figure 34 (B) Figure 35 In (A), icons are added to each thumbnail to distinguish the shooting mode, but this display can also be replaced by, for example, displaying the shooting mode information of the thumbnail when a specific thumbnail is selected.

[0177] As described above, in this embodiment, the imaging device having a wide-angle image camera unit and a narrow-angle image camera unit controls the shooting operation in a manner that includes a first shooting mode for shooting narrow-angle or wide-angle still images, a second shooting mode for shooting narrow-angle or wide-angle moving images, a third shooting mode for simultaneously shooting narrow-angle and wide-angle still images, and a fourth shooting mode for simultaneously shooting wide-angle moving images and narrow-angle still images or simultaneously shooting narrow-angle moving images and wide-angle still images. Furthermore, these shooting modes can be selected through user settings.

[0178] That is, the imaging device having a first camera unit for capturing narrow-angle images, a second camera unit for capturing wide-angle images, a signal processing unit, a control unit, an operation input unit, and a recording unit is configured such that: the signal processing unit generates first still image data and first moving image data based on the signal captured by the first camera unit, and generates second still image data and second moving image data based on the signal captured by the second camera unit; the control unit controls the first camera unit, the second camera unit, the signal processing unit, and the recording unit in accordance with the shooting mode input from the operation input unit; the shooting modes include: a first shooting mode that records either the first still image data or the second still image data into the recording unit; a second shooting mode that records either the first moving image data or the second moving image data into the recording unit; a third shooting mode that records either the second still image data into the recording unit while recording the first moving image data, or records either the first still image data into the recording unit while recording the second moving image data; and a fourth shooting mode that simultaneously records both the first still image data and the second still image data into the recording unit.

[0179] Therefore, by allowing users to set and select shooting modes, multiple camera units can be controlled independently or simultaneously with simple operation, providing a user-friendly camera device.

[0180] (Example 7)

[0181] Figure 36 This is a general view of the camera device in this embodiment. Figure 36 In the diagram, (A) is the rear view, (B) is the right side view, and (C) is the front view. A display 8 integrating a touch panel is arranged on the rear side of the camera device.

[0182] The difference between the camera device in this embodiment and that in embodiment 6 is that a 2c is added to the lens portions 2a and 2b, and a 3c is added to the camera portions 3a and 3b. Figure 36 In this embodiment, lens units 2a and 2c are ultra-wide-angle lenses. By combining the images captured by camera units 3a and 3c, a so-called all-sky image can be generated. In this embodiment, the camera unit that captures the all-sky image captured by camera units 3a and 3c serves as the wide-angle image, and the image captured by camera unit 3b serves as the narrow-angle image. The other parts are the same as in Embodiment 6, and the description is omitted.

[0183] (Example 8)

[0184] Figure 37 This is a general view of the camera device in this embodiment. Figure 37 In the diagram, (A) is the rear view, (B) is the right side view, and (C) is the front view. Figure 36 Similarly, a display 8 integrating a touch panel is provided on the back side of the camera device.

[0185] Similar to Embodiment 7, this embodiment uses a full-sphere camera unit as the wide-angle image sensor. The difference from Embodiment 7 is that the lens unit 2b is... Figure 37 (B) is provided on the side of the main body. According to the structure of this embodiment, the lens of the narrow-angle camera is oriented at approximately 90 degrees to the lens of the wide-angle camera, which has the advantages of making it easy to shoot the blind spot of the wide-angle camera with the narrow-angle camera, and making it difficult for the photographer to obstruct the shooting of the wide-angle image when shooting with the wide-angle camera.

[0186] Alternatively, the display 8 can be made movable. Figure 38 Is to make Figure 37 The display is movable. The display 8 is mounted on the movable part 185 and rotated 90 degrees to a side view, allowing observation of the subject's side view from the left. This movable display facilitates shooting. Alternatively, an electronic viewfinder 186 can be mounted on the side of the subject. Furthermore, a lens part 2b is mounted on the opposite side of the electronic viewfinder 186. Other parts are the same as in Embodiment 6, and descriptions are omitted.

[0187] Figure 39This is an explanatory diagram of the shooting screen in this embodiment. In the shooting mode of this embodiment, the same display as the shooting mode described in Embodiment 6 can be performed, but it is also possible to perform... Figure 39 The dual-screen display is shown. Figure 39 In (A), 190 is the display area for the narrow-angle image, and 192 is the display area for the all-sky image, which is also the display area for the wide-angle image. In the wide-angle image display area, the all-sky image captured and composited by cameras 3a and 3c is displayed. Meanwhile, in the narrow-angle image display area of ​​190, the narrow-angle image captured by camera 3b is displayed. The display of the all-sky image in the all-sky image display area 192 can be switched to view the all-sky image from any viewpoint by dragging. When an image corresponding to the narrow-angle image display area of ​​190 is displayed in the all-sky image display area 192, the area of ​​the corresponding narrow-angle image is displayed using a frame 191.

[0188] Figure 39 (B) is achieved through a pinching motion. Figure 39 Example of a magnified view of the full-sky image display area 192 in (A), for example... Figure 39 (A) area 193 is enlarged and displayed. Figure 39 (B) in the 195 region.

[0189] The embodiments have been described above, but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments and includes various modifications. For example, the above embodiments are described in detail for ease of understanding of the present invention and are not limited to all structures that must be included. Furthermore, a part of the structure of one embodiment can be replaced with the structure of another embodiment, and a structure of another embodiment can be added to the structure of one embodiment. In addition, for a part of the structure of each embodiment, other structures can be added, deleted, or replaced.

[0190] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached figures

[0191] 1: Camera device

[0192] 2a, 2b, 2c: Lens section

[0193] 3a, 3b, 3c: Camera Department

[0194] 4: Interface circuit

[0195] 5: Image signal processing circuit

[0196] 6: Control circuit

[0197] 7: Attitude Detection Department

[0198] 8: Monitor

[0199] 9: Operation Input Section

[0200] 10: Recording and playback circuit

[0201] 11: Recording medium

[0202] 12: Memory

[0203] 13: Location Information Input Unit

[0204] 14: Wireless Communications Department

[0205] 15: Encoding / Decoding Circuit

[0206] 16: Microphone

[0207] 17: Speaker

[0208] 18: Proximity sensor

[0209] 20: Image and sound signal processing circuit

[0210] 31: Mode Setting Dial

[0211] 32: Shutter button

[0212] 33: Operation Buttons

[0213] 34: Dynamic image capture button

[0214] 35: Power switch

[0215] 50: Image display unit

[0216] 51: Narrow-angle image region

[0217] 52: Subject

[0218] 53: Still image shooting mode icon

[0219] 54: Dynamic Image Capture Mode Icon

[0220] 55: Simultaneous shooting mode icon for dynamic images

[0221] 56: Still image capture mode icon

[0222] 92: Mode Display Button

[0223] 93: Camera settings button

[0224] 94: Screen Switching Button

[0225] 140: Image display area

[0226] 141: Input image for the human figure portion

[0227] 142: Input image for the background portion

[0228] 143: Distance histogram display area

[0229] 144: Selection Box

[0230] 145: Image display area

[0231] 146: Image quality adjustment display

[0232] 800-804: Setting items for the 1st Camera Unit

[0233] 805-809: Setting items for the 2nd Camera Department

[0234] 186: Electronic viewfinder

[0235] 190: Narrow-angle image display area

[0236] 192: Full-sky image display area

[0237] 500: Still image capture button

[0238] 501, 502: View switching buttons

[0239] 600: Live image capture button

[0240] 601: Reproducible Mode Button

[0241] 700: End of video recording button.

Claims

1. A camera device comprising a first camera unit for capturing a narrow-angle image directed toward a first direction, a second camera unit for capturing a wide-angle image directed toward the first direction, a third camera unit directed toward a second direction opposite to the first direction, a signal processing unit, a control unit, an operation input unit, a recording unit, and a display unit, characterized in that: The signal processing unit generates first still image data or first moving image data from the signal captured by the first camera unit, and generates second still image data or second moving image data from the signal captured by the second camera unit. The control unit controls the first camera unit, the second camera unit, the signal processing unit, the recording unit, and the display unit according to the shooting mode input from the operation input unit. The shooting modes include: a first shooting mode that records either the first still image data or the second still image data into the recording unit; a second shooting mode that records either the first moving image data or the second moving image data into the recording unit; a third shooting mode that records the second still image data into the recording unit while recording the first moving image data, or records the first still image data into the recording unit while recording the second moving image data; and a fourth shooting mode that simultaneously records both the first still image data and the second still image data into the recording unit. The control unit controls the display to allow for both a narrow-angle image display state and a wide-angle image display state during shooting in either the first or second shooting mode. In the narrow-angle image display state, the display primarily shows the narrow-angle image captured by the first camera, and secondarily displays the viewpoint area of ​​the wide-angle image captured by the second camera. In the wide-angle image display state, the display primarily shows the wide-angle image captured by the second camera, and secondarily displays the viewpoint area of ​​the narrow-angle image captured by the first camera. In both the narrow-angle and wide-angle image display states, a viewpoint switching icon for switching the viewpoint of the primarily displayed image is displayed on the display. The control unit further controls the recording of the recording medium to continue recording when an input for a viewpoint change operation is received during the recording of first motion image data of a narrow-angle image captured by the first camera unit or second motion image data of a wide-angle image captured by the second camera unit, and switches the recorded motion image data between the first motion image data captured by the first camera unit and the second motion image data captured by the second camera unit (different from the first camera unit) according to the input for the viewpoint change operation. The control unit, When a recording operation is performed on the operation input unit, and the system is capable of recording composite image data generated by combining the second motion image data captured by the second camera unit and the third motion image data captured by the third camera unit, it has the following characteristics: A first display mode simultaneously displays composite image data of the second and third dynamic image data and narrow-angle image data that spatially corresponds to the composite image data but has a different display size; and A second display mode is provided, in which at least narrow-angle image data captured by the first camera is displayed in a first area of ​​the display unit, and at least a portion of wide-angle image data captured by the second camera corresponding to the composite image data or wide-angle image data captured by the third camera corresponding to the composite image data is displayed in a second area of ​​the display unit, which is different from the first area.

2. The camera device as described in claim 1, characterized in that: The shooting mode also includes a fifth shooting mode that simultaneously records the first dynamic image data and the second dynamic image data into the recording unit.

3. The camera device as described in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The first camera unit and the second camera unit are configured to shoot in the same direction.

4. The camera device as described in claim 3, characterized in that: When shooting in the third shooting mode, the control unit associates and groups multiple dynamic image data or still image data generated during the shooting process and records them in the recording unit. When shooting in the fourth shooting mode, the control unit associates and groups multiple still image data generated during the shooting process and records them in the recording unit.

5. The camera device as described in claim 3, characterized in that: In the first shooting mode, the operation input unit includes a zoom operation input unit for adjusting the zoom ratio to magnify or reduce the image. The signal processing unit generates magnified first still image data or second still image data from the output signal of the first camera unit or the second camera unit, corresponding to the zoom ratio input by the operation input unit. When the zoom ratio is less than a first threshold and greater than or equal to a second threshold, the first still image data captured by the first camera unit that captures narrow-angle images is recorded in the recording unit. When the zoom ratio is less than a second threshold and greater than a third threshold, the second still image data captured by the second camera unit that captures wide-angle images is recorded in the recording unit.

6. The camera device as described in claim 3, characterized in that: In the second shooting mode, the operation input unit includes a zoom operation input unit for adjusting the zoom ratio to magnify or reduce the image. The signal processing unit generates magnified first dynamic image data or second dynamic image data from the output signal of the first camera unit or the second camera unit, corresponding to the zoom ratio input by the operation input unit. When the zoom ratio is less than a first threshold and greater than or equal to a second threshold, the first dynamic image data captured by the first camera unit that captures narrow-angle images is recorded in the recording unit. When the zoom ratio is less than a second threshold and greater than a third threshold, the second dynamic image data captured by the second camera unit that captures wide-angle images is recorded in the recording unit.

7. The camera device as described in claim 5 or 6, characterized in that: An upper limit is set for the zoom ratio used in amplifying the output signal of the second camera unit that captures wide-angle images. The upper limit is set to a zoom ratio below that equivalent to the focal length of the first camera unit used to capture narrow-angle images.

8. A processing method for a camera device, the camera device comprising a first camera unit for capturing a narrow-angle image directed toward a first direction, a second camera unit for capturing a wide-angle image directed toward the first direction, a third camera unit directed toward a second direction opposite to the first direction, a signal processing unit, an operation input unit, a recording unit, and a display unit, the processing method being characterized in that: The signal captured by the first camera unit generates first still image data or first moving image data, and the signal captured by the second camera unit generates second still image data or second moving image data. The first and second cameras are controlled according to the input shooting mode. The shooting modes include: a first shooting mode that records either the first still image data or the second still image data; a second shooting mode that records either the first moving image data or the second moving image data; a third shooting mode that records the second still image data in the recording of the first moving image data, or records the first still image data in the recording of the second moving image data; and a fourth shooting mode that simultaneously records both the first still image data and the second still image data. When shooting in either the first or second shooting mode, there are two modes: a narrow-angle image display mode and a wide-angle image display mode. In the narrow-angle image display mode, the narrow-angle image captured by the first camera is primarily displayed, and the viewing angle area of ​​the wide-angle image captured by the second camera is displayed secondarily along with the narrow-angle image. In the wide-angle image display mode, the wide-angle image captured by the second camera is primarily displayed, and the viewing angle area of ​​the narrow-angle image captured by the first camera is displayed secondarily along with the wide-angle image. In both the narrow-angle and wide-angle image display modes, a view switching icon is displayed to switch the view angle of the primarily displayed image. Furthermore, when an input for a viewpoint change operation is received during the recording of first motion image data of a narrow-angle image captured by the first camera unit or second motion image data of a wide-angle image captured by the second camera unit, recording continues on the recording medium, and the recorded motion image data is switched between the first motion image data captured by the first camera unit and the second motion image data captured by the second camera unit (different from the first camera unit) according to the input for the viewpoint change operation. When a recording operation is performed on the operation input unit, and the system is capable of recording composite image data generated by combining the second motion image data captured by the second camera unit and the third motion image data captured by the third camera unit, it has the following characteristics: A first display mode simultaneously displays composite image data of the second and third dynamic image data and narrow-angle image data that spatially corresponds to the composite image data but has a different display size; and A second display mode is provided, in which at least narrow-angle image data captured by the first camera is displayed in a first area of ​​the display unit, and at least a portion of wide-angle image data captured by the second camera corresponding to the composite image data or wide-angle image data captured by the third camera corresponding to the composite image data is displayed in a second area of ​​the display unit, which is different from the first area.

9. The processing method as described in claim 8, characterized in that: The shooting mode also includes a fifth shooting mode that simultaneously records the first dynamic image data and the second dynamic image data.

10. The processing method as described in claim 8 or 9, characterized in that: When shooting in the third shooting mode, multiple dynamic image data or still image data generated during the shooting process are associated, grouped, and recorded. When shooting in the fourth shooting mode, multiple still image data generated during the shooting process are associated, grouped, and recorded in the recording unit.

11. The processing method as described in claim 8, characterized in that: In the first shooting mode, corresponding to the zoom ratio of magnifying or reducing the image, magnified first still image data or second still image data is generated from the output signal of the first or second camera unit. When the zoom ratio is less than a first threshold and greater than or equal to a second threshold, the first still image data captured by the first camera unit that captures narrow-angle images is recorded. When the zoom ratio is less than a second threshold and greater than a third threshold, the second still image data captured by the second camera unit that captures wide-angle images is recorded.

12. The processing method as described in claim 8, characterized in that: In the second shooting mode, corresponding to the zoom ratio of magnifying or reducing the image, magnified first dynamic image data or second dynamic image data is generated from the output signal of the first or second camera unit. When the zoom ratio is less than a first threshold and greater than or equal to a second threshold, the first dynamic image data captured by the first camera unit that captures narrow-angle images is recorded. When the zoom ratio is less than a second threshold and greater than a third threshold, the second dynamic image data captured by the second camera unit that captures wide-angle images is recorded.

13. The processing method as described in claim 11 or 12, characterized in that: An upper limit is set for the zoom ratio used in amplifying the output signal of the second camera unit that captures wide-angle images. The upper limit is set to a zoom ratio below that equivalent to the focal length of the first camera unit used to capture narrow-angle images.

Images