Image capturing device, method of controlling the same, program, and recording medium

Abstract

To provide an image capturing device that enables accurate focusing.SOLUTION: An image capturing device is provided, comprising an image capturing unit for capturing an image of an object formed by an image capturing optical system, a signal processing unit for executing noise reduction processing on the image according to the image of a plurality of frames captured by the image capturing unit, an acquisition unit for acquiring an evaluation value indicative of contrast of an image subjected to noise reduction processing by the signal processing unit, and a control unit configured to control the focus position of the image capturing optical system according to the evaluation value, where the control unit stops the focus position at a predetermined timing for a predetermined period of time corresponding to intensity of the noise reduction processing.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an imaging device, a control method for an imaging device, a program, and a storage medium. [Background technology]

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, 3DNR (Digital Noise Reduction) processing is known as a type of digital signal processing for reducing image noise, which detects and removes noise by comparing multiple consecutive frames.

[0003] Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for displaying focus information using an evaluation value stabilized by time filtering processing. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2015-34869 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] When performing autofocus (hereinafter referred to as AF) control to control the focus position of a lens using an evaluation value stabilized by a time filtering process as in Patent Document 1, the evaluation value is smoothed over multiple frames. As a result, a focus position that is shifted from the original focus position becomes a peak position (a position where the evaluation value is maximum), and there are cases where the focus position cannot be detected with high accuracy.

[0006] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an imaging device capable of focusing with high accuracy when AF control is performed based on an image that has been subjected to 3DNR processing. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above problem, an imaging device according to one aspect of the present invention has an imaging unit that captures an image of a subject using an imaging optical system, a signal processing unit that performs noise reduction processing on the image based on multiple frames of images captured by the imaging unit, an acquisition unit that acquires an evaluation value that indicates the contrast of the image on which the noise reduction processing has been performed by the signal processing unit, and a control unit that controls a focus position of the imaging optical system based on the evaluation value, and is characterized in that the control unit stops the focus position at a predetermined timing for a predetermined time corresponding to the intensity of the noise reduction processing. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an imaging apparatus capable of focusing with high accuracy. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an imaging device according to a first embodiment; [Diagram 2] Flowchart showing AF operation of a conventional imaging device [Diagram 3] A diagram showing the relationship between AF evaluation value and 3DNR [Figure 4] 1 is a flowchart showing an AF operation of an imaging apparatus according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 5] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a hardware configuration of an imaging apparatus according to a first embodiment; DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] Hereinafter, the embodiment for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. The embodiment described below is one example of a means for realizing the present invention, and should be appropriately modified or changed depending on the configuration of the device to which the present invention is applied and various conditions, and the present invention is not limited to the following embodiment.

[0011] <Embodiment 1> (Device configuration) 1 shows the configuration of an image capturing apparatus according to this embodiment. The image capturing apparatus 100 includes a zoom lens 101, a focus lens 102, an aperture unit 103, a bandpass filter 104, a color filter 105, an image sensor 106, an AGC (Auto Gain Control) 107, an AD conversion unit 108, a signal processing unit 109, a communication unit 110, an acquisition unit 112, a control unit 113, and a drive unit 114.

[0012] The zoom lens 101, the focus lens 102, and the aperture unit 103 constitute the imaging optical system of the imaging device 100. The zoom lens 101 changes the focal length by moving in the optical axis direction. The focus lens 102 changes the focus position by moving in the optical axis direction. The aperture unit 103 adjusts the amount of light incident on the imaging element 106.

[0013] Light passing through the imaging optical system forms an image of a subject on an imaging surface of an imaging element 106 via a bandpass filter 104 and a color filter 105. The bandpass filter 104 may be removable from the optical path of the imaging optical system.

[0014] The image sensor 106 is an image capturing section that captures an image of a subject using an imaging optical system. Specifically, the image sensor 106 photoelectrically converts light incident on the image sensor 106 and outputs the image of the subject as an analog electrical signal (image signal).

[0015] The AGC 107 amplifies the electrical signal output from the image sensor 106 based on a set amplification factor and outputs the amplified signal.

[0016] The AD conversion unit 108 converts the analog image signal amplified by the AGC 107 into a digital image signal and outputs the digital image signal to the signal processing unit 109 .

[0017] The signal processing unit 109 performs various image processing on the digital image signal to generate an image. The image processing can perform 3DNR processing to reduce noise contained in the digital imaging signal. In addition, noise reduction processing by spatial filtering and white balance adjustment can also be performed. The 3DNR processing is a process of detecting noise contained in the digital image signal based on a comparison of signals of multiple consecutive frames output by the AD conversion unit 108, and smoothing the noise between multiple frames. This makes it possible to reduce noise on a pixel-by-pixel basis. The user can arbitrarily set whether or not to perform 3DNR processing and the strength of the 3DNR processing. The number of frames used for smoothing in the 3DNR processing depends on the set strength. The higher the strength, the more frames are used, and therefore a stronger noise reduction effect can be obtained. On the other hand, the higher the strength (i.e., the more frames are used), the more blurring may occur in the image when capturing a moving object, and the responsiveness of the evaluation value indicating the contrast may decrease.

[0018] The communication unit 110 is a network interface for outputting the image generated by the signal processing unit 109 to the monitor device 110 connected by wired or wireless communication, etc. Note that the image does not necessarily need to be output to the monitor device 110, and may be stored in a main storage device (not shown) such as a memory or an auxiliary storage device (not shown) such as a hard disk.

[0019] The acquisition unit 112 acquires an evaluation value indicating the contrast of the image generated by the signal processing unit 109. Specifically, the evaluation value can be acquired by generating a specific frequency component (e.g., a high frequency component) from among the spatial frequency components of the image as the evaluation value. Here, it is assumed that the evaluation value of the image on which the signal processing unit 109 has performed 3DNR processing is acquired.

[0020] The control unit 113 performs AF control based on the evaluation value acquired by the acquisition unit 112. In addition, in the case of manual focus control, the control unit 113 performs focus control based on user operation information input via the communication unit 110. More specifically, the focus control is performed by driving the focus position of the focus lens 101 of the imaging optical system in the optical axis direction. Although the switching between AF control and manual is also performed based on user operation information via the communication unit 110, the switching between AF and manual may be automatically performed when a predetermined condition is satisfied (for example, temperature focus correction, etc.). Although the focus control will be described in more detail later, at least one of the driving speed and the focus position of the imaging optical system is determined by the control unit 113 based on the strength of the 3DNR processing.

[0021] The driving unit 114 controls the focus lens 102 to the focus position instructed by the control unit 113 .

[0022] (Conventional AF control) 2 is a flowchart showing an example of conventional AF control. The AF control by the control unit 113 is executed by a CPU (Central Processing Unit) of the imaging device reading a program stored in a non-volatile storage medium such as a ROM (Read Only Memory). The hardware configuration of the imaging device 100 will be described later.

[0023] AF control is performed by combining a method of moving the imaging optical system widely at high speed to identify the approximate focus position (hereinafter referred to as the hill-climbing method) and a method of moving the imaging optical system minutely to identify the focus position with high precision (hereinafter referred to as the wobbling method).

[0024] After the AF operation starts, a wobbling method is performed. In the wobbling method, the focus lens 102 is slightly driven from the current focus position, and the evaluation values ​​before and after the drive are compared to identify the direction in which the evaluation value increases. The identified direction is set as the direction of the in-focus position as seen from the focus position (focusing direction), and the focus lens 102 is gradually driven in the in-focus direction. More specifically, the current focus position is driven by wobbling alternately between a front focus position (first position) and a rear focus position (second position), and the change in the evaluation value at the front focus position and the rear focus position is obtained.

[0025] In step S201, a wobbling amount according to depth is set. Generally, the wobbling amount is kept within one depth to make image changes caused by focus control less noticeable, but this is not always the case when the current focus position is not near the in-focus position.

[0026] In step S202, the lens is driven to the front focus position (first position), and in step S203, the change in the evaluation value before and after the front focus drive (whether it increased or decreased) is obtained. The front focus position is the position obtained by subtracting the amount of wobbling from the wobbling center position (the current focus position in the first step).

[0027] Next, in step S204, the lens is driven to a rear focus position (second position), and in step S205, the change in the evaluation value (whether it has increased or decreased) due to the rear focus drive is acquired. The rear focus position is a position obtained by adding the amount of wobbling to the wobbling center position.

[0028] In step S206, the focus direction is specified based on the results of the change in evaluation value before and after front focus drive and the change in evaluation value before and after rear focus drive. When the evaluation value increases before and after front focus drive and decreases before and after rear focus drive, the focus direction is specified as the front focus direction. When the change in evaluation value is opposite between front focus and rear focus, the rear focus direction is specified as the focus direction. At the same time, the wobbling center position is shifted in the focus direction.

[0029] In step S207, it is determined whether the focus direction is the same continuously. If it is the same continuously, the process proceeds to the hill-climbing method (step S208), and if not, it is determined whether the number of reversals of the focus direction is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold (step S209). If the number of reversals is less than the predetermined threshold, the process returns to step S201 to continue the wobbling method, and if it is equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold, it is considered that the focus position has been reached, and the AF process is terminated.

[0030] In the hill climbing method (step S208), the focus lens 102 is driven at high speed in the focusing direction to detect the focus position (peak position) at which the evaluation value is maximized. While the focus lens 102 is driven, the evaluation value and focus position are stored, and it is determined whether the difference between the stored evaluation value and the current evaluation value is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold (step S210). If it is equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold, the hill climbing method is terminated, and the stored focus position is detected as the peak position (step S211). When the peak position is detected, the focus lens 102 is driven to the peak position (S212), and the process returns to the wobbling method (step S201).

[0031] If the evaluation value is less than the predetermined threshold in step S210, it is determined in step S213 whether the evaluation value has decreased a predetermined number of times in succession. If the evaluation value has decreased in succession, it is considered that the lens is being driven in the opposite direction to the focusing direction, so the direction of the hill climbing is reversed (step S214) and the process returns to step S209.

[0032] (Relationship between evaluation value and 3DNR processing) 3 shows the transition of the evaluation value for each strength (off / weak / strong) of 3DNR processing when the focus position of the imaging optical system (focus lens 102) is driven from focus position A to focus position B. Note that focus position A is the in-focus position, and focus position B is the out-of-focus position. As shown in FIG. 3, as the focus position of the imaging optical system is driven from focus position A to focus position B, the evaluation value decreases from evaluation value A to evaluation value B.

[0033] Graph 301 shows the transition of the evaluation value when the strength of 3DNR processing is turned off, i.e., when 3DNR processing is not performed. When 3DNR processing is not performed, there is no influence from the previous frame, so after reaching focus position B, the evaluation value immediately converges to B.

[0034] Graph 302 shows the evaluation values ​​when the strength of 3DNR processing is weak, and graph 303 shows the evaluation values ​​when the strength of 3DNR processing is strong. When 3DNR processing is performed, the evaluation value for the current frame is affected by the previous frame, so even if the focus position of the imaging optical system reaches focus position B, it takes longer for the evaluation value to converge to evaluation value B than when 3DNR processing is not performed. The stronger the strength of 3DNR (i.e., the more previous frames are used for noise reduction), the longer it takes for the evaluation value to converge. Three problems arise when the time it takes for the evaluation value to converge is longer.

[0035] The first issue concerns the reversal of direction in the hill-climbing method. When driving in the opposite direction to the focus direction, the direction is usually reversed, but when 3DNR processing is being performed, it may be affected by the frames acquired while driving in the opposite direction. This may cause the evaluation value to continue to drop for a certain period of time even after the direction is reversed, which may lead to repeated direction reversals.

[0036] The second issue concerns the transition from the hill-climbing method to the wobbling method. Consider the case where the focus position of the imaging optical system is driven to the peak position detected by the hill-climbing method and then transitions to wobbling. When 3DNR processing is being performed, it is affected by the evaluation value obtained from the frame captured while driving to the peak position of the hill-climbing. Specifically, 3DNR processing is performed on the frame captured immediately after transitioning to the wobbling method and the frame captured before the transition. In this case, the AF evaluation value continues to rise for a certain period of time even after transitioning to wobbling, which may result in incorrect direction determination.

[0037] The third is related to the wobbling method. With the wobbling method, an evaluation value is obtained after the front or rear focus position is reached. When 3DNR processing is being performed, a frame before the front or rear focus position is reached may be used for 3DNR processing. In that case, if an evaluation value is obtained from an image that has been 3DNR processed, it may be difficult to detect changes in the evaluation value. This is because 3DNR virtually smooths the evaluation value before and after the front or rear focus position is reached. The accuracy of determining the focus direction may decrease as changes in the evaluation value become more difficult to detect.

[0038] To solve these problems, the control unit 113 of the imaging device according to this embodiment stops the focus position for a predetermined time at a predetermined timing. More specifically, the control unit 113 controls the focus position to stop for a predetermined time corresponding to the strength of the 3DNR.

[0039] Here, the stop time (predetermined time) of the focus position is set to be longer as the strength of 3DNR increases (i.e., as the number of previous frames used for noise reduction increases). Here, the predetermined timing is at least one of the timings when the focus position reaches the target position, when the target position is changed, and when the focus drive direction is reversed. More specifically, it is the timing when the front focus position or the back focus position is reached in the wobbling method, or the timing when the current focus position (i.e., the wobbling center position) is shifted in the focusing direction to a predetermined target position. Other predetermined timings include the timing of transition from the hill climbing method to the wobbling method, and the timing of reversal of the drive direction in the hill climbing method.

[0040] In the wobbling method, when the stop time is set as described above, the focus position stops at the front focus position and the rear focus position, respectively, so that the time required for AF control may be longer than usual. Therefore, the control unit 113 of the imaging device according to this embodiment increases the wobbling drive amount by a predetermined amount. The wobbling drive amount is the amount of drive from the current focus position (reference position) to the front focus position or the rear focus position. Therefore, as the distance between the front focus position and the rear focus position increases with an increase in the wobbling drive amount, it becomes easier to detect a change in the acquired evaluation value (whether the evaluation value has increased or decreased). The predetermined amount is set to increase as the strength of the 3DNR processing increases. In general, when the wobbling drive amount is increased, the change in the focus position becomes large, so that the image quality may be degraded. However, when the 3DNR processing is performed, the blurring and shaking of the image caused by the focus position changing at high speed due to wobbling is smoothed by the time filter processing, so that the degradation of the image quality can be suppressed.

[0041] The above-mentioned two methods (the method of stopping the focus position for a predetermined time at a predetermined timing and the method of increasing the wobbling drive amount) may be both executed, or only one of them may be executed.

[0042] (Operation description) 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the AF operation of the imaging device according to this embodiment. The operation of this flowchart is executed by the CPU of the imaging device 100 loading a program from the ROM. Note that steps similar to those in the description of the conventional AF operation are given the same reference numerals and will not be described.

[0043] In step S401, the wobbling amount set in step S201 is increased by a predetermined amount according to the strength of the 3DNR processing. The strength of the 3DNR processing is acquired based on a setting value set by the user (e.g., off / weak / strong), an internal setting value set in the imaging device, the amount of noise detected or estimated from an output image, the number of frames used in the 3DNR processing, and the like. As described above, the wobbling drive amount is increased so that it increases as the strength of the 3DNR processing increases. For example, the increase ratio or increase amount may be roughly set using table data according to the setting value set by the user, or the increase ratio or increase amount may be calculated from the setting value, the number of frames used in the 3DNR processing, and the like.

[0044] After the focus position of the imaging optical system (focus lens 102) is driven to the front focus position in step S202, the focus position is stopped for a predetermined time in order to wait for the evaluation value to converge in step S402. The stop time is set so as to become longer as the strength of the 3DNR processing becomes stronger, as described above. For example, the stop time may be set by table data according to a set value set by the user, or the stop time may be calculated from the set value or the number of frames used in the 3DNR processing. In addition, the stop time may be dynamically changed so as to stop until the evaluation value converges within a predetermined range. However, since the time required for AF control becomes longer as the stop time becomes longer, the setting is performed taking this into consideration. For example, a user or a designer may set an allowable AF control time, and an upper limit may be set for the stop time so that AF control is completed within the set time. In other words, an upper limit for the stop time may be set according to the allowable AF control time.

[0045] Similarly, after driving the focus position of the imaging optical system to the back focus position in step S204, a stop time of the focus position is set in order to wait for the evaluation value to converge in step S403. This stop time during wobbling drive increases the amount of change in the evaluation value acquired in steps S203 and S205, improving the accuracy of determining the focus direction.

[0046] In step S212, the focus position is driven to the peak position (target position) specified by the hill-climbing method, and then a time is provided for stopping the focus position in step S403. This stop time makes it possible to obtain a stable evaluation value in the wobbling method when returning to step S201.

[0047] After driving to the peak position specified by the hill-climbing method in step S214, a stop time for the focus position is provided in step S405, which makes it possible to suppress the phenomenon in which the direction of the hill-climbing is repeatedly reversed.

[0048] The setting of the stop time of the focus position in steps S404 and S405 is basically the same as during wobbling (steps S403 and S403), and is set so that the stronger the strength of the 3DNR processing, the longer the stop time. However, since the processing in steps S404 and S405 is not executed frequently, even if the stop time is set to a certain extent, it does not have a large effect on the time required for AF control. Therefore, it is possible to set the stop time until the evaluation value completely converges.

[0049] (Hardware configuration) 5 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of an imaging device according to this embodiment. The imaging device 100 has an imaging optical system 501, a drive unit 114, an imaging element 106, a CPU 502, a RAM 503, and a ROM 504. The drive unit 114 and the imaging element 106 are the same as those in FIG. 1. The imaging optical system 501 includes at least the zoom lens 101, the focus lens 102, and the aperture unit 103 in FIG. 1.

[0050] The CPU 502 is a central processing unit for executing AF control of the imaging device according to this embodiment. Functions (e.g., the acquisition unit 112 and the control unit 113) that are realized by software among the blocks shown in Fig. 1 are realized by the CPU 502 loading a program stored in a ROM 504 and executing it using a RAM 503 as a workspace. The RAM (Random Access Memory) 503 temporarily stores, for example, a setting value indicating the strength of 3DNR processing, a stop time of the focus position, an increase in the wobbling drive amount, and the like.

[0051] <Other embodiments> The present invention can be realized by a process of reading and executing a program that realizes one or more functions of the above-mentioned embodiment 1. The program is supplied to a system or device via a network or a storage medium, and is read and executed by one or more processors in the computer of the system or device. The present invention can also be realized by a circuit (e.g., ASIC) that realizes one or more functions. [Explanation of symbols]

[0052] 100 Imaging device 101 Zoom Lens 102 Focus Lens 103 Aperture unit 104 Bandpass Filter 105 Color Filter 106 Image sensor 107 AGC 108 AD conversion section 109 Signal Processing Section 110 Communications Department 111 Monitor device 112 Acquisition Department 113 Control Unit 114 Drive unit

Claims

1. an imaging unit that captures an image of a subject using an imaging optical system; a signal processing unit that performs noise reduction processing on an image based on a plurality of frames of images captured by the imaging unit; an acquisition unit that acquires an evaluation value indicating the contrast of the image on which the noise reduction processing has been performed by the signal processing unit; a control unit that controls a focus position of the imaging optical system based on the evaluation value, The image pickup apparatus is characterized in that the control unit stops the focus position at a predetermined timing for a predetermined time corresponding to the intensity of the noise reduction processing.

2. The imaging device according to claim 1 , wherein the control unit extends the predetermined time period as the intensity of the noise reduction processing increases.

3. The imaging device according to claim 1 , wherein the control unit determines the predetermined time based on the number of the plurality of frames used in the noise reduction process.

4. 2. The imaging device according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined timing is at least one of the timings when the focus position is controlled to a target position by the control unit, when the target position is changed, and when the driving direction of the focus position is reversed.

5. the control unit performs wobbling drive to alternately drive a focus position of the imaging optical system between a first position and a second position; the acquisition unit acquires a change in the evaluation value from the focus position at the first position and the second position, 2. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit determines a direction in which to drive the focus position of the image pickup optical system based on the change in the evaluation value.

6. 6. The imaging device according to claim 5, wherein the control unit increases a wobbling drive amount for driving from the focus position to the first position or the second position based on the intensity of the noise reduction processing.

7. 7. The imaging apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the control unit increases the wobbling drive amount so that the wobbling drive amount increases as the intensity of the noise reduction processing increases.

8. 7. The imaging device according to claim 6, wherein the control unit increases the wobbling drive amount based on the number of the plurality of frames used in the noise reduction process.

9. An imaging unit that captures an image of a subject using an imaging optical system; a signal processing unit that performs noise reduction processing on an image based on a plurality of frames of images captured by the imaging unit; an acquisition unit that acquires an evaluation value indicating the contrast of the image on which the noise reduction processing has been performed by the signal processing unit; a control unit that performs wobbling drive to alternately drive a focus position of the imaging optical system between a first position and a second position, and determines a direction in which to drive the focus position of the imaging optical system based on a change in the evaluation value, The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit sets a wobbling drive amount for driving from the focus position to the first position or the second position based on the intensity of the noise reduction processing.

10. The imaging device described in Claim 9, characterized in that the control unit increases the wobbling drive amount so that the wobbling drive amount becomes larger as the intensity of the noise reduction processing becomes stronger.

11. an imaging step of capturing an image of a subject using an imaging optical system; a signal processing step of performing noise reduction processing on the image based on the multiple frame images captured in the imaging step; an acquisition step of acquiring an evaluation value indicating the contrast of the image on which the noise reduction process has been performed in the signal processing step; a control step of controlling a focus position of the imaging optical system based on the evaluation value, The control method for an imaging apparatus, wherein the control step stops the focus position at a predetermined timing for a predetermined time period corresponding to the intensity of the noise reduction processing.

12. 12. The method of controlling an image pickup apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the control unit step extends the predetermined time period as the intensity of the noise reduction processing increases.

13. 12. The method for controlling an image pickup apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the control step determines the predetermined time based on the number of the plurality of frames used in the noise reduction process.

14. 12. The control method for an imaging device according to claim 11, wherein the predetermined timing is at least one of the timings of when the focus position is controlled to a target position in the control process, when the target position is changed, and when the driving direction of the focus position is reversed.

15. In the control step, a wobbling drive is performed to alternately drive a focus position of the imaging optical system between a first position and a second position, In the obtaining step, a change in the evaluation value from the focus position at the first position and the second position is obtained; 12. The method for controlling an image pickup apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the control step determines a direction in which the focus position of the image pickup optical system is to be driven based on a change in the evaluation value.

16. 12. The imaging device according to claim 11, wherein the control step increases a wobbling drive amount for driving from the focus position to the first position or the second position based on the strength of the noise reduction processing.

17. 17. The method for controlling an image pickup apparatus according to claim 16, wherein in the control step, the wobbling drive amount is increased so that the wobbling drive amount increases as the intensity of the noise reduction processing increases.

18. 17. The method for controlling an image pickup apparatus according to claim 16, wherein in the control step, the wobbling drive amount is increased based on the number of the plurality of frames used in the noise reduction process.

19. An imaging step of capturing an image of a subject using an imaging optical system; a signal processing step of performing noise reduction processing on the image based on the multiple frame images captured in the imaging step; an acquisition step of acquiring an evaluation value indicating the contrast of the image on which the noise reduction process has been performed in the signal processing step; a control step of performing wobbling drive to alternately drive a focus position of the imaging optical system between a first position and a second position, and determining a direction to drive the focus position of the imaging optical system based on a change in the evaluation value, A control method for an imaging device, characterized in that in the control step, a wobbling drive amount for driving from the focus position to the first position or the second position is set based on the strength of the noise reduction processing.

20. A control method for an imaging device as described in Claim 19, characterized in that in the control step, the wobbling drive amount is increased so that the wobbling drive amount becomes larger as the intensity of the noise reduction processing becomes stronger.

21. A program for executing the method for controlling an imaging device according to any one of claims 11 to 20.

22. A computer-readable storage medium storing the program according to claim 21.

Images