Control device, imaging device, lighting system, control method, storage medium, and program product

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a control device, an image pickup device, a lighting system, a control method, a storage medium, and a program product. The control device is configured to control a lighting device through communication and to display an image, and includes an acquisition unit configured to acquire position information and setting information of the lighting device via the communication, and a control unit configured to display an image processed in accordance with the position information and the setting information on a display unit.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to control equipment, camera equipment, lighting systems, control methods, and storage media. Background Technology

[0002] It is common practice to use lighting equipment to reduce or eliminate shadows caused by natural light incident on a subject, or to achieve illumination by illuminating it with colored light or the like.

[0003] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2015-201839 discloses an image processing method that uses virtual lighting to illuminate image data displayed on a screen. Summary of the Invention

[0004] According to one aspect of this disclosure, a control device is used to control lighting equipment via communication and to display images. The control device includes: an acquisition unit configured to acquire position information and setting information of the lighting equipment via communication; and a control unit configured to display an image processed based on the position information and setting information on a display unit. A camera device and a lighting system, each including the aforementioned control device, also constitute another aspect of this disclosure. A control method corresponding to the aforementioned control device also constitutes another aspect of this disclosure. A storage medium storing a program that causes a computer to execute the aforementioned control method also constitutes another aspect of this disclosure.

[0005] The features of this disclosure will become apparent from the following description of embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings. The following description of the embodiments will be given by way of example. Attached Figure Description

[0006] Figure 1 This is an explanatory diagram of the camera system according to the first embodiment.

[0007] Figure 2 A, Figure 2 B, Figure 2 C and Figure 2 D is an external configuration diagram of the camera device and lighting device according to the first embodiment.

[0008] Figure 3A and Figure 3B This is a block diagram of the camera device and lighting device according to the first embodiment.

[0009] Figure 4A and Figure 4B This is an explanatory diagram illustrating the camera state in the first embodiment.

[0010] Figure 5 This is an explanatory diagram illustrating the acquisition of a distance map during the recording period according to the first embodiment.

[0011] Figure 6A , Figure 6B and Figure 6C This is a diagram illustrating the degree of influence of each illumination light in the first embodiment.

[0012] Figure 7A and Figure 7B This is an explanatory diagram illustrating another camera state in the first embodiment.

[0013] Figure 8A , Figure 8B and Figure 8C This is a diagram illustrating the degree of influence of each illumination light in the first embodiment.

[0014] Figure 9A , Figure 9B , Figure 9C , Figure 9D This is an explanatory diagram illustrating the display state of the lighting device according to the first embodiment.

[0015] Figure 10A , Figure 10B and Figure 10C This is an explanatory diagram illustrating a change in the setup of the lighting equipment using a camera device according to the first embodiment.

[0016] Figure 11 This is an explanatory diagram of another camera system according to the first embodiment.

[0017] Figure 12A and Figure 12B This is an explanatory diagram of a camera system according to a second embodiment.

[0018] Figure 13A and Figure 13B This is an explanatory diagram of a camera system according to a third embodiment.

[0019] Figure 14A and Figure 14B This is a diagram illustrating the light distribution characteristics in the third embodiment. Detailed Implementation

[0020] In the following text, the term "unit" may refer to a software context, a hardware context, or a combination of both. In a software context, the term "unit" refers to a function, application, software module, feature, routine, instruction set, or program that can be executed by a programmable processor, such as a microprocessor, central processing unit (CPU), or a specially designed programmable device or controller. Memory contains instructions or programs that, when executed by the CPU, cause the CPU to perform operations corresponding to the unit or function. In a hardware context, the term "unit" refers to a hardware element, circuit, assembly, physical structure, system, module, or subsystem. According to a specific embodiment, the term "unit" may include mechanical, optical, or electrical components, or any combination thereof. The term "unit" may include active (e.g., transistors) or passive (e.g., capacitors) components. The term "unit" may include a semiconductor device having a substrate and other material layers having various conductivity concentrations. It may include a CPU or programmable processor capable of executing programs stored in memory to perform a specified function. The term "unit" may include logic elements (e.g., AND, OR) implemented by transistor circuitry or any other switching circuitry. In the combination of software and hardware contexts, the term "unit" or "circuit" refers to any combination of software and hardware contexts as described above. Additionally, the terms "element," "assembly," "component," or "device" may also refer to a "circuit" integrated with or not integrated with packaging material.

[0021] Embodiments according to this disclosure will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. First Embodiment

[0022] First, the first embodiment will be described. Figure 1 This is an explanatory diagram of a camera system (lighting system) 10 according to this embodiment. The camera system 10 includes a camera device 100 and a plurality of lighting devices 200. Figure 1 In the middle, multiple lighting devices 200 include lighting device (first flashing device) 200a, lighting device (second flashing device) 200b and lighting device (third flashing device) 200c. Figure 2 A and Figure 2 B is the external configuration diagram of camera device 100. Figure 2 C and Figure 2 D is an external configuration diagram of the lighting equipment, preferably an external configuration diagram of each of the multiple lighting equipment 200. Figure 3A This is a block diagram of camera equipment 100. Figure 3B It is a block diagram of a lighting device, preferably a block diagram of each of the multiple lighting devices 200.

[0023] Figure 1An example is a stereoscopic view viewed from the subject S towards the camera device 100. For example... Figure 1 As illustrated, the camera lens (lens unit) 101 of the camera device 100 is directed toward the subject S, and the light emitters 201a, 201b and 201c of the lighting devices 200a, 200b and 200c are directed to illuminate the subject S.

[0024] The camera device 100 includes a camera lens 101, a release switch (release SW) 102, a display device (display unit) 103, a setting dial (operation unit) 104, and a setting button (operation unit) 105. The camera device 100 also includes a communication unit 106, a position detection device (position detector) 107, a computing and processing device (control device) 108, and an image sensor 109.

[0025] In the camera device 100, the image (optical image) of the subject formed by the camera lens 101 is captured (photoelectric conversion) by the image sensor 109 of the camera unit, thereby acquiring an image of the subject S in response to a user operation of the release switch 102. The captured image is displayed on the display device 103, and an image before the capture can also be displayed in real time (through-image display). By displaying the through-image, the user can capture images while appropriately checking the movement and lighting conditions of the subject S. The camera device 100 also includes a communication unit 106 for transmitting various types of information to and receiving various types of information from peripheral devices such as the lighting device 200. The communication unit 106 can use a wireless communication unit such as Wi-Fi or Bluetooth (registered trademark), or a wired communication unit such as an accessory socket that is directly electrically connected to the camera device 100 via USB or LAN.

[0026] The computing processing device 108 is a control device that controls one or more lighting devices 200 via communication. The computing processing device preferably includes an acquisition unit 108a and a control unit 108b. The control device may include one or more memories storing instructions, and one or more processors that operate as the acquisition unit 108a and control unit 108b when the instructions are executed. As described later, the acquisition unit 108a acquires location information and setting information related to the lighting device 200, and the control unit 108b displays an image processed based on the location information and setting information on the display device 103.

[0027] The lighting device 200 (one or more) includes a light emitter 201, a power switch (power SW) 202, a display device (display unit) 203, a setting dial (operation unit) 204, and a setting button (operation unit) 205. The lighting device 200 may also include a communication unit 206, a position detection device (position detector) 207, and a computing processing device (control device) 208.

[0028] When the power switch 202 of the lighting device 200 is turned on, the lighting device 200 can emit a predetermined amount of light from the emitter 201 upon receiving a camera signal from the camera device 100 (e.g., by pressing the release switch 102). A computing processing device (control unit) 208 can control the operation of the lighting device 200. Based on user operation of the setting dial 204 and setting button 205, the computing processing device 208 can change luminous characteristics (setting information) such as the luminous intensity, illumination angle, and color temperature of the emitter 201. The computing processing device 208 can display the setting information on the display device 203. The lighting device 200 may include a communication unit 206 and is configured to transmit various types of information to and receive various types of information from peripheral devices such as the camera device 100.

[0029] The camera device 100 and the lighting device 200 may each include position detection devices 107 and 207 for acquiring their own position information (spatial position and spatial orientation or facing). That is, one or both of the camera device and the lighting device may include a position detection device configured to acquire position information, preferably the position information of the devices including the position detection device. Since the camera device 100 and the lighting devices 200a, 200b, and 200c are configured in three-dimensional space, therefore, as Figure 1 As illustrated, each device has positional information indicating spatial location (Xn, Yn, Zn) and spatial direction (θxn, θyn, θzn).

[0030] When GPS devices are configured as position detection devices 107 and 207 in each device, the position information is the absolute position information measured by each device. Therefore, the relative position of the lighting devices with respect to the camera device 100 can be calculated using the difference between the position information related to the lighting devices 200a, 200b, and 200c and the position information related to the camera device 100. When the position detection devices 107 and 207 detect the relative position between the devices, the relative position with respect to the camera device 100 can be obtained by measuring the relative position between these devices.

[0031] Figure 4A and Figure 4BThis is an explanatory diagram illustrating the camera state in this embodiment. Figure 4A yes Figure 1 The illustrated top view of the camera state shows that the lighting effects of lighting devices 200a, 200b, and 200c on the subject S are represented by 200aL, 200bL, and 200cL, respectively. Figure 4B It is a diagram that schematically illustrates the effects of various lighting devices on the camera image (the display surface of the display unit).

[0032] like Figure 4B As illustrated, during actual filming, the lighting effects of lighting devices 200a, 200b, and 200c can be confirmed on the filmed screen. However, during the filming preparation stage, when displaying a through image on display device 103, only the lighting conditions caused by external light are reflected, and it is impossible to confirm what kind of image will be captured when lighting devices 200a, 200b, and 200c are actually emitting light. Therefore, in order to confirm in advance what kind of image will be obtained when lighting devices 200a, 200b, and 200c emit light, a light emission simulation is performed to obtain a simulated image.

[0033] Figure 5 This is an explanatory diagram illustrating the acquisition of a distance map during the recording period according to this embodiment. First, as... Figure 5 As illustrated, relative to the imaging region P used for imaging, the portions of the through image where the subject S exists and the portions where the subject S does not exist (background) are identified. Then, the region is divided into a region PS where the subject S exists and a region PO larger than PS that serves as the background, and distance information in each region is obtained to create a distance map of the entire image. Figure 5 In this process, two types of partition sizes are used to divide the region; however, depending on the situation, multiple types of partition sizes can be used for division, or the same partition size can be used for the entire region. As the partition size decreases, the number of detection regions increases, which increases the time required for distance information detection and subsequent calculations; therefore, the partition size can be changed automatically or manually depending on the processing capability of the processing device performing these operations.

[0034] Next, the camera device 100 and the lighting devices 200a, 200b, and 200c communicate the position information acquired by the position detection devices 107 and 207 via communication units 106 and 206, and calculate the directions (200aD, 200bD, and 200cD) of each illuminating light within the camera frame. Here, the spatial position (X0, Y0, Z0) of the camera device 100 and the direction (θx0, θy0, θz0) of the camera lens 101 are collectively referred to as the camera direction. Regarding the camera direction, the position information related to the lighting device 200a is represented by its position (X1, Y1, Z1) and direction (θx1, θy1, θz1). Similarly, regarding the camera direction, the positional information related to lighting device 200b is represented by position (X2, Y2, Z2) and direction (θx2, θy2, θz2), and the positional information related to lighting device 200c is represented by position (X3, Y3, Z3) and direction (θx3, θy3, θz3). Using the positional information related to lighting devices 200a, 200b, and 200c, the directions of each illuminating light within the camera frame (200aD, 200bD, and 200cD) are calculated.

[0035] The camera device 100 receives information related to the illumination light (information related to luminous characteristics) from the lighting devices 200a, 200b, and 200c, such as luminous intensity (flash index), illumination angle, and color temperature of the illumination light. Using the information related to the illumination light, the camera device 100 can determine from which directions, at what intensity, and within what range the illumination light is applied to the subject in the captured image.

[0036] Figure 6A , Figure 6B and Figure 6C This is a diagram illustrating the degree of influence of various lighting sources. Using calculated illumination information and distance maps, the effects on the subject S and background present in various areas of the image are calculated and schematically illustrated. Figure 6A , Figure 6B and Figure 6C In this context, the degree of influence is indicated by shadow density, where darker shadows indicate a greater influence (brighter) from the illumination light. Figure 6A Example of the influence of illumination light from lighting device 200a. Figure 6B Example of the influence of illumination light from lighting device 200b. Figure 6C This illustrates the degree of influence of illumination light from lighting device 200c. By adding this information to the pass-through image, images of the illumination states of lighting devices 200a, 200b, and 200c can be pseudo-reproduced.

[0037] Figure 7A and Figure 7BThis is an explanatory diagram illustrating another camera state in this embodiment. By confirming the through-image with the added light emission simulation, for example, as... Figure 7A As illustrated, when the lighting equipment 200a moves, the effect of the lighting light will change and cause, for example... Figure 7B The extent of the impact is illustrated. Figure 8A , Figure 8B and Figure 8C This is a diagram illustrating the degree of influence of the illumination light from lighting devices 200a, 200b, and 200c at this time. (Example) Figure 8B and 8C As illustrated, since the positions of lighting fixtures 200b and 200c remain unchanged, their degree of influence remains the same. Figure 6B and Figure 6C The same as illustrated. On the other hand, by moving the lighting device 200a, such as... Figure 8A As illustrated, the way the illumination light is applied becomes more lateral to the subject S.

[0038] Figures 9A-9D This is an explanatory diagram illustrating the display status of lighting equipment 200. For example... Figures 9A-9D The elements that alter the lighting effect, as illustrated, include electrically variable elements such as the luminous intensity or color temperature of the lighting device 200, or elements such as an auto-zoom mechanism for automatically changing the illumination angle. These can be changed using the lighting device 200. When changing the setting value displayed on the display device 203 by operating the setting dial 204, for example, in an attempt to change the illumination angle, the zoom setting value display 203a is selected.

[0039] When the user presses the settings button 205, such as Figure 9B As illustrated, the settings enter a state where values ​​can be changed, and the user rotates the settings dial 204 to change the value. When the user presses the settings button 205 again, the value is set. Similarly, in an attempt to change the amount of light emitted, such as... Figure 9C The example shows the selected light intensity setting value as 203b. To attempt to change the color temperature, such as... Figure 9D The example shows the selected color temperature setting value as 203c.

[0040] When the setting button 205 is pressed and the value is determined, the changed setting value is transmitted to the camera device 100. Alternatively, in a configuration where more detailed confirmation of the changed state is desired, the setting value can be transmitted to the camera device 100 whenever the setting value changes.

[0041] To change the installation positions of lighting devices 200a, 200b, and 200c, the individual lighting devices can be moved directly, but the settings can be changed using camera device 100. Figure 10A , Figure 10B , Figure 10CThis is an explanatory diagram illustrating the changes in the settings of the lighting equipment 200 using the camera equipment 100.

[0042] like Figure 10A As illustrated, when the setting button 105 of the camera device 100 is pressed, the operable lighting device 200 is displayed on the analog image illustrated on the display device 103. In this example, the display is... Figure 1 The icons 113a, 113b and 113c correspond to the illustrated lighting devices 200a, 200b and 200c.

[0043] By operating the setting dial 104, one can select the icon 113 used to change the setting value, and... Figure 10B In the image, the icon 113b representing the lighting device 200b is flashing to indicate that it is selected. At the same time, the display device 203 of the lighting device 200b is also flashing to indicate that it is being operated.

[0044] When using the settings button 105 to select icon 113b, as follows Figure 10C The example displays a list of settings for the lighting device 200b. The setting dial 104 can be used to select the item to be changed. For example... Figure 10C As illustrated, when the light quantity item is selected using the setting button 105, the value flashes. At this time, the corresponding setting value of the lighting device 200b also flashes to indicate that it is changing.

[0045] In this state, when the setting dial 104 is operated to change the value to the desired value (such as 1 / 2 or 1 / 32) and the setting button 105 is pressed to confirm the change, the setting value is transmitted to the lighting device 200b and updated.

[0046] Therefore, there is a method (real-time update method) that reflects the luminous effects caused by the movement of the camera device 100 or the change of setting value of the lighting device 200 in the pass-through image by automatically exchanging information between devices and performing luminous simulation each time. There is another method (manual update method) that performs luminous simulation by transmitting change information through a transmission button on the device that has moved or changed the setting value of the camera device 100 or the lighting device 200.

[0047] The real-time update method performs a light emission simulation and displays a pass-through image each time the information changes, allowing for immediate confirmation of the illumination effect. However, because location and setting information are repeatedly communicated and light emission simulations are performed, a large amount of information needs to be processed, requiring high-speed computing devices and large-capacity memory elements for temporary data storage.

[0048] On the other hand, the manual update method does not offer the same level of convenience as the real-time update method, but rather performs calculations only when the changed information is transmitted, thus requiring no highly advanced computing processing equipment or memory components. Therefore, when processing is performed using the camera device 100, the manual update method can be used, while when processing is performed by a separately provided external processing device capable of high-speed calculation (such as...) Figure 11 When processing personal computers (PCs) such as the PC 300 shown in the example, a real-time update method can be used. Figure 11 This is an explanatory diagram of another camera system 10a according to this embodiment, which includes a camera system with PC 300.

[0049] Position information and setting information can be transmitted and received between the PC (control device) 300 and the lighting devices 200a, 200b, and 200c. Transmitting the through-image along with the position and setting information from the camera device 100 to the PC 300 allows the through-image and simulated illumination images to be displayed on the PC 300's display device. Similar to the camera device 100, during processing and display on the PC 300, the PC 300 can be configured to change the setting values ​​of the lighting devices 200a, 200b, and 200c.

[0050] As described above, this embodiment enables the identification of the effect of a lighting device without actually emitting light and taking a photograph. In this embodiment, the camera device 100 is an electronic camera (digital camera), and the lighting device 200 is a flash emitting device, but other devices can be used as long as a similar purpose can be achieved. Second Embodiment

[0051] Next, we will refer to Figure 12A and Figure 12B The second embodiment is described. Figure 12A and Figure 12B This is an explanatory diagram of the camera system 10 according to this embodiment. Figure 12A This is a top view illustrating the camera state of the camera system 10, in which the illumination effects of the lighting devices 200a, 200b, and 200c on the subject S are represented by 200aL, 200bL, and 200cL, respectively. Figure 12B It is a diagram that schematically illustrates the effects of various lighting devices on the camera footage.

[0052] exist Figure 12AIn this method, the lighting device 200c is arranged in a direction that does not face the subject S. This corresponds to so-called wall-bounce imaging, which uses a wall or other reflective surface such as a reflector to illuminate reflected light. When using this imaging method, calculating the effect on the subject S requires information related to the wall or other reflective surface. This information may include, in addition to information related to the equipment used, the position of the wall or other reflective surface (distance from the lighting device 200c and distance from the subject S), the angle of the wall or reflective surface, the degree of reflection of the wall or other reflective surface (reflectivity or transmittance), and the color of the wall or other reflective surface. Therefore, the imaging device 100 or the lighting device 200 may have the function of measuring these functions. These functions and calculations are complex and increase the processing load.

[0053] Therefore, although in Figure 12A The illustrated installation configuration is possible, but it is determined that such a camera is unsuitable for use in the illumination simulation of this embodiment. In this case, the lighting device 200c is not required as a light source. Since illuminating the lighting device 200c may have unexpected effects on the captured image, the settings are automatically changed so that the lighting device 200c does not emit light (the illumination of the lighting device 200c is stopped). Image processing can be performed by excluding the lighting device 200c from the processing of it as a light source for illumination simulation. A similar limitation is applied even if the amount of light emitted by the lighting device 200c is too small to actually reach the subject S, thereby simulating illumination efficiently. If the control unit 108b determines that the value indicating the illumination effect of any lighting device is less than a predetermined value, the control unit 108b stops the illumination of that lighting device and does not add the illumination effect of that lighting device to the image captured by the image sensor 109.

[0054] Figure 12A The imaging state illustrated is not intentional, and the lighting equipment 200c may have been arranged to illuminate the subject S, but this was not achieved due to improper positioning, or the light intensity may have been set to provide sufficient illumination, but it is actually too low. In such cases, forcing the above-mentioned processing may lead to the misconception that the lighting equipment 200c has malfunctioned. To avoid this situation, warnings (alarms) such as "Please change the position of flash C" or "Please increase the light intensity of flash C" can be displayed on the display device 103 of the imaging equipment 100 to prompt correct imaging. Instead of warning displays, other warning units such as audible alarms can be used.

[0055] In any of these methods, the determination can be based on the direction in which the lighting devices 200a, 200b, and 200c face relative to the camera direction of the camera device 100, and on setting values ​​based on distance information of the lighting devices 200a, 200b, and 200c relative to the image. Therefore, the determination can be easily performed during communication of position information and setting value information. Consequently, since the determination can be made before the illumination simulation, processing speed can be improved by pre-excluding unsuitable lighting devices from the illumination simulation. Third Embodiment

[0056] Next, we will refer to Figure 13A and Figure 13B The third embodiment is described. Figure 13A and Figure 13B This is an explanatory diagram of the camera system (lighting system) 10b according to this embodiment. Figure 13A This illustration schematically demonstrates a position measurement method using GPS as position detection devices 107 and 207 respectively located in camera device 100 and lighting device 200 (although only camera device 100 is shown as a simplified example). To obtain position information related to an object in three-dimensional space, information from three objects (satellites 400a, 400b, and 400c) is sufficient. GPS position measurement uses information from an additional satellite 400d to correct for time errors. Therefore, in this embodiment, information from four satellites 400a, 400b, 400c, and 400d is required. If information from five or more satellites 400 can be captured, this information can be used for correction, thus improving accuracy.

[0057] Figure 13B An example is given of a method for measuring relative information between devices 107 and 207, respectively located in camera device 100 and lighting device 200. Camera device 100 and lighting devices 200a, 200b, and 200c include communication units 106 and 206 for transmitting information; however, there is a method for detecting the distance and direction of the communicating party using radio waves during communication. In this case, since information from three objects is required as described above, therefore... Figure 13B As illustrated, connectivity among the four devices is necessary. When connecting fewer devices, methods such as GPS are required to obtain the absolute location of each device.

[0058] In any of these methods, if the number of devices (satellites or connected equipment) used to obtain location information is small, errors may occur in the location information, and these errors may not be accurately reflected in the light emission simulation. Therefore, this embodiment modifies the light emission characteristics in the light emission simulation according to the degree of error in the location information relative to the actual light emission characteristics of the lighting device 200.

[0059] Figure 14A and Figure 14B This is a diagram illustrating the light distribution characteristics in this embodiment. Figure 14A This is a top view of lighting equipment 200. Figure 14B This is a side view of the lighting device 200. The illumination range during the illumination of the lighting device 200 is initially indicated by 200L (solid line). In an attempt to allow for a large tolerance to errors in the position information, the light distribution characteristics (illumination range) used for the illumination simulation are changed to extend from the illumination range 200L to the illumination range 200Lw. Therefore, even when the position information related to the lighting device 200 deviates slightly from the actual position, a lighting simulation with reduced errors can be performed.

[0060] In cases where a warning is issued as described in the second embodiment that the subject is not properly illuminated, or when the exclusion conditions for the illumination source are made more stringent, a reduced illumination range, such as changing from illumination range 200L to illumination range 200Lt, is used for determination. This allows for accurate alignment of the illumination direction. If the accuracy of the position information is low, it can be determined that correct light emission simulation cannot be performed, and light emission simulation can be disabled.

[0061] As described above, in various embodiments, the control device (computing processing device 108) may include an acquisition unit 108a and a control unit 108b. The acquisition unit 108a may be configured to acquire location information and setting information relating to one or more lighting devices 200 (200a, 200b, and 200c) via communication (preferably through a communication unit or other communication component). The control unit 108b is configured to display an image processed based on the location information and setting information relating to the lighting device or lighting devices on a display unit. The image processed based on the location information and setting information may be an image including simulated effects of the lighting to be provided by the lighting device or lighting devices. That is, the processed image shows the expected effects of the lighting to be provided by the lighting device or lighting devices.

[0062] The acquisition unit 108a may function as an image acquisition unit for acquiring images captured by the camera device 100, and the control unit 108b may display the image obtained by applying a lighting effect corresponding to the position information and setting information to the captured image on the display unit. The position information may be information indicating the position and orientation of the lighting device detected by the position detector. The position information may be information relating to the relative position of the lighting device 200 relative to the camera device 100. The setting information may be information relating to the luminous emission characteristics of the lighting device 200. The luminous emission characteristics may include at least one of the luminous intensity, illumination angle, and color temperature of the lighting device 200.

[0063] When at least one of the location information and setting information related to the lighting equipment 200 is changed, the control unit 108b can update the image displayed on the display unit. The acquisition unit 108a can acquire location information and setting information according to user operation. The acquisition unit 108a can acquire location information and setting information periodically. For example, the acquisition unit 108a can acquire location information and setting information each time a predetermined time period has elapsed.

[0064] The acquisition unit 108a can acquire distance information related to the subject (or objects within the image), and the control unit 108b can display the image processed based on the distance information on the display unit. The acquisition unit 108a can acquire distance information in the display surface (camera view) of the display unit by using different area sizes (division sizes) between a first part that is determined to correspond to the main subject and a second part that is different from the first part.

[0065] If the control unit 108b determines that the value indicating the lighting effect is less than a predetermined value, the control unit 108b may stop the lighting device 200 from emitting light and may not apply the lighting effect to the image captured by the image sensor 109. If the control unit 108b determines that the value indicating the lighting effect is less than a predetermined value, the control unit 108b may issue a warning.

[0066] The control unit 108b can adjust the luminous characteristics of the lighting device 200 used to calculate the lighting effect based on the accuracy of the position information, so as to differ from the actual luminous characteristics of the lighting device 200. If the control unit 108b determines that the accuracy of the position information is lower than a predetermined value, the control unit 108b may not apply a lighting effect to the image captured by the image sensor 109. The control unit 108b can display information related to the lighting device 200 on the display unit, and change the setting information related to the lighting device 200 when the information displayed on the display unit is changed by user operation.

[0067] In various embodiments, at least a portion of the functions of the computing processing device 108 of the camera device 100 may be housed in the computing processing device 208 of the lighting device 200. For example, at least a portion of the functions of the acquisition unit 108a and the control unit 108b of the computing processing device 108 may be housed in the computing processing device 208. Alternatively, at least a portion of the functions of the computing processing device 208 may be housed in the computing processing device 108.

[0068] Various embodiments may provide control devices, camera devices, lighting systems, control methods, and storage media that can be easily and appropriately configured to provide lighting equipment. Other embodiments

[0069] The embodiments disclosed herein (one or more) can also be implemented by a computer that reads and executes computer-executable instructions (e.g., one or more programs) recorded on a storage medium (which may also be more fully referred to as a "non-transitory computer-readable storage medium") to perform the functions of one or more of the above embodiments and / or includes one or more circuits (e.g., application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs)) for performing the functions of one or more of the above embodiments, and by a method performed by a computer of the system or device by, for example, reading and executing computer-executable instructions from a storage medium to perform the functions of one or more of the above embodiments and / or controlling one or more circuits to perform the functions of one or more of the above embodiments. The computer may include one or more processors (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor unit (MPU)) and may include a network of separate computers or separate processors for reading and executing the computer-executable instructions. The computer-executable instructions may be provided to the computer, for example, from a network or storage medium. The storage medium may include one or more of the following: hard disk, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), storage unit of a distributed computing system, optical disc (such as compact disc (CD), digital versatile disc (DVD) or Blu-ray disc (BD)™), flash memory device, and memory card.

[0070] While this disclosure has been described with reference to embodiments, it should be understood that this disclosure is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. The scope of the appended claims should be given the broadest interpretation to cover all such modifications and equivalent structures and functions.

Claims

1. A control device for controlling lighting equipment via communication and for displaying images, said control device comprising: The acquisition unit is configured to acquire the location information and setting information of the lighting device via communication, and The control unit is configured to display an image processed according to the location information and the setting information on the display unit.

2. The control device according to claim 1 further includes an image acquisition unit configured to acquire images captured by the camera device. Its features are, The control unit displays an image obtained by applying lighting effects corresponding to the location information and the setting information to the captured image as an image on the display unit.

3. The control device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The location information includes information indicating the position and orientation of the lighting device.

4. The control device according to claim 3, characterized in that, Information used to indicate the position and orientation of the lighting device is detected by a position detector.

5. The control device according to claim 3, characterized in that, If the control unit determines that the accuracy of the position information is lower than a predetermined value, the control unit will not apply the lighting effect corresponding to the position information and setting information of the lighting device to the image captured by the image sensor.

6. The control device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The location information includes information relating to the relative position of the lighting device with respect to the camera device.

7. The control device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The setting information includes information related to the luminous characteristics of the lighting device.

8. The control device according to claim 7, characterized in that, The luminescent characteristics include at least one of the following: luminous intensity, illumination angle, and color temperature.

9. The control device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The control unit is configured to update the image displayed on the display unit if at least one of the location information and the setting information of the lighting device has changed.

10. The control device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The acquisition unit is configured to acquire the location information and the setting information based on user operations.

11. The control device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The acquisition unit is configured to periodically acquire the location information and the setting information.

12. The control device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The acquisition unit is configured to acquire distance information related to the subject. The control unit is configured to display the image processed according to the distance information on the display unit.

13. The control device according to claim 12, characterized in that, The acquisition unit is configured to use multiple regions to acquire distance information. The acquisition unit is configured to use different region sizes between a first portion that is determined to correspond to the main subject and a second portion that is different from the first portion.

14. The control device according to claim 1, characterized in that, When the control unit is configured to determine that the value of the lighting effect corresponding to the location information and setting information of the lighting device is less than a predetermined value, the control unit is configured to stop the lighting device from emitting light and not apply the lighting effect to the image captured by the image sensor.

15. The control device according to claim 1, characterized in that, If the control unit is configured to determine that the value of the lighting effect corresponding to the location information and setting information of the lighting device is less than a predetermined value, the control unit is configured to issue a warning.

16. The control device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The setting information includes information related to the luminous characteristics of the lighting device. The control unit adjusts the luminous characteristics of the lighting device used to calculate the lighting effect based on the accuracy of the position information, so that they differ from the actual luminous characteristics of the lighting device.

17. The control device according to any one of claims 1 to 16, characterized in that, The control unit displays information related to the lighting device on the display unit, and when the information displayed on the display unit is changed by user operation, the control unit changes the setting information of the lighting device.

18. A camera device, comprising: An image sensor, configured to capture images; The acquisition unit is configured to acquire the location information and setting information of the lighting device by communicating with the lighting device; as well as The control unit is configured to display an image processed according to the location information and the setting information on the display unit.

19. A lighting system, comprising: The control device according to any one of claims 1 to 17; as well as One or more lighting devices.

20. A control method for controlling a lighting device via communication, the control method comprising: The location and setting information of the lighting device are obtained via communication; as well as The image processed according to the location information and the setting information is displayed on the display unit.

21. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a program that causes a computer to perform the control method according to claim 20.

22. A computer program product comprising a program that causes a computer to perform the control method according to claim 20.

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