Imaging device, its control method, and program

Abstract

This invention provides an imaging device, a control method therefor, and a program that allows a user to easily distinguish between the output destinations of multiple regions extracted from captured image data using a cropping function and outputting each region to a different output destination. [Solution] The microcomputer 108 of the imaging device 100 extracts image data of two regions specified by the user from the captured image data obtained by shooting and outputs them to external image output destinations (external device display 116 and external device switcher 117), respectively. At the same time, when displaying the obtained captured image data on the liquid crystal panel 120 by combining frames indicating the two regions in different display formats, the microcomputer 108 combines frames in a display format corresponding to the frames combined on the captured image data obtained for each of the two regions with the image data of those regions and outputs them to the respective external image output destinations.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an imaging device, a control method thereof, and a program, and particularly to an imaging device having a plurality of video output functions different from a crop function for cutting out a part of a video, a control method thereof, and a program.

Background Art

[0002] There is an imaging device having a crop function for cutting out an arbitrary 2K region from a 4K image and capable of allocating the cut-out 2K region to any one of a plurality of video outputs for output.

[0003] As a method for designating the cut-out position of the 2K region in such an imaging device, a method is known in which a frame (crop frame) for designating the position of the 2K region to be cut out is displayed on the UI so as to be position-changeable with respect to the entire angle of view of the 4K image before cutting out, for example, using an OSD display function or the like. By such a method, the user can intuitively designate the cut-out position of the 2K region.

[0004] As a conventional technique for displaying a frame in a specific region within a video, for example, there is the technique of the video processing device of Patent Document 1. The video processing device of Patent Document 1 sets different captured videos received from a plurality of cameras to any one of main output, preliminary output, and output from a camera to be remotely controlled (control target output), respectively. Then, when generating a screen for displaying the plurality of captured videos together on one screen and checking each captured video, display regions of the captured videos of the main output, preliminary output, and control target output on the screen are displayed with different color frames. Thereby, the user can easily visually recognize which of the main output, preliminary output, and control target output each of the plurality of captured videos on the screen is set to.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0005]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

[0006] However, Patent Document 1 does not mention the cropping function described above, which extracts an arbitrary area from the camera's captured video.

[0007] Therefore, Patent Document 1 fails to solve the unique challenges of the cropping function. For example, a cameraman may display the full field of view of a 4K image captured by a camera, set multiple cropping frames, and output the 2K region of each set cropping frame to different output destinations. In this case, Patent Document 1 fails to solve the problem that the cameraman cannot determine which cropping frame's video is assigned to which output destination without carefully comparing the overall image displayed with the output video itself. Furthermore, if the camera that captured the 4K image and the display device that is the output destination for the 2K region of the video from the camera are not close together, Patent Document 1 fails to solve the problem that it is time-consuming to confirm whether the video of the set cropping frame is assigned to the expected output destination. Moreover, if the positions of the two set cropping frames are close together, Patent Document 1 fails to solve the problem that it is difficult to determine which output destination each cropped video was output to by simply comparing the overall image with the cropping frames superimposed with the video of each output destination.

[0008] Therefore, the present invention aims to provide an imaging device, a control method thereof, and a program that allow the user to easily distinguish between the output destinations of multiple cropped regions when multiple regions are cropped from captured image data using a cropping function and output to different output destinations. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] To solve the above problems, the imaging device according to claim 1 of the present invention is an imaging device having an imaging unit and a plurality of output units that output captured image data obtained by imaging unit to a plurality of external image output destinations, wherein the device has a display control means for controlling the display of captured image data obtained by imaging unit on a display unit, and a control means for cutting out image data of a plurality of regions specified by the user from the captured image data obtained by imaging unit and outputting them to the plurality of output units, wherein the display control means controls the display to display the captured image data by combining frames indicating the plurality of regions in different display formats, and the control means controls the display to display the images on the display unit, and for each of the image data of the plurality of regions cut out from the captured image data, a frame in a display format corresponding to the frame combined on the captured image data for that region, and outputting them to the plurality of output units, respectively. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] According to the present invention, when multiple regions are extracted from captured image data using a cropping function and output to different destinations, the user can easily distinguish the output destination of each of the extracted regions. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0011] [Figure 1] This figure shows the hardware configuration of the imaging device according to Example 1. [Figure 2] This diagram illustrates the image processing flow according to Example 1 in the imaging device. [Figure 3] This is a flowchart showing the image processing flow according to Example 1. [Figure 4] This diagram illustrates the image processing flow according to Example 2 in the imaging device. [Figure 5] This is a flowchart showing the image processing flow according to Example 2. [Figure 6] This is a modified example of the display image data shown on the external device display in Example 1. [Figure 7]This is a modified example of the image display in the liquid crystal panel of Example 1. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0012] The embodiments will be described in detail below with reference to the attached drawings. Note that the following embodiments do not limit the invention to the claims. While the embodiments describe multiple features, not all of these features are essential to the invention, and the features may be combined in any way. Furthermore, in the attached drawings, the same or similar configurations are given the same reference numerals, and redundant descriptions are omitted.

[0013] <Example 1> In this embodiment, assuming that both HDMI® and SDI are for monitor use, we will describe the cropping process and frame information merging process when merging a frame indicating the crop position.

[0014] Figure 1 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of the imaging device 100 according to this embodiment.

[0015] In Figure 1, the imaging device 100 includes a lens unit 101, an image sensor 102, an image processing unit 103, display resizing circuits 104, 105, 119, and an on-screen display (OSD) generation circuit 106. Furthermore, the imaging device 100 includes a liquid crystal panel output 107, a microcomputer (MPC) 108, a ROM 110, a RAM 111, and external output units 114, 115. Each of these blocks exchanges data via a bus 118. In addition, the MPC 108 is connected to the operation switch group 109 for communication, and the liquid crystal panel output 107 is connected to the liquid crystal panel 120 for communication. The external output units 114, 115 are connected to the external device display 116 and the external device switcher 117 (multiple external image output destinations), respectively.

[0016] The lens unit 101 is composed of a fixed lens group for light collection, a zoom lens group, an aperture, and a correction lens group that has the function of correcting the imaging position moved by the movement of the zoom lens group and the function of performing focus adjustment. The lens unit 101 finally forms a subject image on the imaging surface of the image sensor 102 described later.

[0017] The image sensor 102 (imaging unit) converts light into electric charges and generates an imaging signal. The generated imaging signal is output to the image processing unit 103. The image sensor 102 is an imaging element composed of a CCD image sensor, a CMOS image sensor, or the like. Note that as the imaging element, a so-called dual pixel type in which all pixels on the imaging surface are each composed of a pair of light receiving elements and a pair of optical images formed by micro lenses in each pixel can be photoelectrically converted by the pair of light receiving elements may be used.

[0018] The image processing unit 103 (image processing unit) converts the imaging signal generated and output from the image sensor 102 into RAW data (RAW image). Then, the image processing unit 103 performs RAW development processing such as interpolation processing and image quality adjustment processing on the RAW data to generate YUV format image data (captured image data) corresponding to the RAW data and stores it in the RAM 111.

[0019] The display resizing circuits 104, 105, and 119 read the YUV format image data from the RAM 111, perform resizing processing, generate display image data 162 to 164 (Fig. 2) for each output destination, and store them in the RAM 111. Also, when crop regions for each output destination are specified by the user as the target of the resizing processing, the display image data 162 to 164 become images obtained by cutting out (cropping) the specified crop regions from the original video. When a crop range is specified within a range of pixel numbers larger than the specified pixel number of the display image data and smaller than the pixel number of the YUV format image data, the crop and reduction processing are executed simultaneously. <(

[0020] The OSD generation circuit 106 stores, in the RAM 111, the OSD data for various setting menus, titles, time, and frames indicating crop positions, associated with any one of the display image data 162 to 164. The stored OSD data is combined with the associated one of the display image data 162 to 164 stored in the RAM 111, and output via the liquid crystal panel output 107, the external output section 114 for HDMI, and the external output section 115 for SDI.

[0021] The liquid crystal panel output 107 is for displaying, on the liquid crystal panel 120 (display section), a frame indicating the full-angle display or cut-out position (crop region) of the 4K video, which is the display image data 162.

[0022] The microcomputer 108 controls the entire imaging device 100.

[0023] The operation switch group 109 is a UI that receives user operation inputs, and is composed of, for example, a touch panel, operation keys (buttons, dials, levers, etc.). Also, the operation switch group 109 is provided with switches for selecting, mainly, a camera mode for performing camera shooting, a playback mode for mainly performing playback, and a power-off mode for turning off the power. The specification of the crop position, which will be described later, is also performed by the operation switch group 109.

[0024] The ROM 110 stores programs executed by the microcomputer 108 and the like. Also, a partial area of the ROM 110 is used for backup to hold the state of the system and the like.

[0025] The RAM 111 is a volatile memory used as a work area by the microcomputer 108, the image processing section 103, the display resizing circuits 104, 105, 119, the OSD generation circuit 106, and the like.

[0026] External output units 114 and 115 (multiple output units) output data such as HDMI / SDI to the outside. For example, external output units 114 and 115 output display image data that the image processing unit 103 and the display resizing circuits 104 and 105 have output to the RAM 111. Display image data can be output in signals such as 4K60P and 2K60P. In this embodiment, external output unit 114 (second output unit) is the external output unit for HDMI display image data 162, and external output unit 115 (first output unit) is the external output unit for SDI display image data 163.

[0027] The external device display 116 (one of several external image output destinations) displays the HDMI display image data 162 output from the external output unit 114.

[0028] The external device switcher 117 (one of several external image output destinations) displays the SDI display image data 163 output from the external output unit 115.

[0029] Next, using Figure 2, we will explain the cropping process and frame information synthesis process in this embodiment.

[0030] Figure 2 is a diagram illustrating the image processing flow in the imaging device 100 according to this embodiment.

[0031] First, when the user captures a subject with the imaging device 100 at a field of view such as the subject image 151, the captured subject is imaged onto the image sensor 102 by the lens unit 101. The imaged and photoelectrically converted imaging signal 152 is input to the image processing unit 103, where the aforementioned image processing is performed, and then stored in the RAM 111 as 4K YUV format image data 153.

[0032] The 4K YUV format image data 153 stored in RAM 111 is cropped by display resizing circuits 104 and 105 to generate 2K display image data 156 and 157, which are then stored in RAM 111. The method for specifying the position and range of the cropping area during this cropping process is not shown in Figure 2 and is not particularly limited. However, in this case, this specification is made by the user using the OSD function via the operation switch group 109 after reading the display image data 157 from RAM 111 and displaying the entire field of view of the image data 153 on the LCD panel 120. In this case, the image data of cropping area 154 (first area) is cropped as 2K display image data 156 for HDMI, and the image data of cropping area 155 (second area) is cropped as 2K display image data 157 for SDI. Furthermore, the display resize circuit 119 performs a reduction process, and the entire field of view of the 4K YUV format image data 153 is reduced to the display size of the liquid crystal panel 120 and stored in the RAM 111 as display image data 158. Meanwhile, the OSD generation circuit 106 generates frame OSD data 159 and 160 to be superimposed on the outer edges of the display image data 156 and 157, respectively, and stores them in the RAM 111. Similarly, the OSD generation circuit 106 also generates frame OSD data 161, which is data for displaying frame lines indicating the cropped areas 154 and 155 on the display image data 158, and stores it in the RAM 111.

[0033] Furthermore, the frames representing the cropping areas 154 and 155 in the OSD data 161 for the frames are drawn in a way that makes them easily distinguishable visually, such as using different line types (e.g., solid and dashed lines, dotted and dashed lines, etc.) or different colors (e.g., green and red, purple and green, etc.).

[0034] Furthermore, the OSD data for the frame 159 is drawn with the same line type and color as the frame line display indicating the cut-out area 154 of the OSD data for the frame 161, and the OSD data for the frame 160 is drawn with the same line type and color as the frame line display indicating the cut-out area 155 of the OSD data for the frame 161.

[0035] The display image data 156 and frame OSD data 159 stored in RAM 111 are combined by the external output unit 114 and transmitted to the external device display 116 via the HDMI terminal (not shown) as display image data 162. While the data transmitted here consists only of the display image data 156 and frame OSD data 159, this is not limited to these. For example, the portion of the frame OSD data 160 corresponding to the cropped area 155 in the display image data 156 may also be combined by the external output unit 114 to transmit display image data 162a (Figure 6).

[0036] The display image data 157 and frame OSD data 160 stored in RAM 111 are combined by the external output unit 115 and transmitted to the external device switcher 117 via the SDI terminal (not shown) as display image data 163.

[0037] The display image data 158 and frame OSD data 161 stored in RAM 111 are combined by the liquid crystal panel output 107 and transmitted to the liquid crystal panel 120 as display image data 164. Alternatively, at this time, display image data 162 and 163 may also be transmitted to the liquid crystal panel 120 simultaneously with display image data 164, resulting in a multi-view display (Figure 7) where each image is displayed on the liquid crystal panel 120 in a split screen.

[0038] Next, using the flowchart in Figure 3, the image processing flow in this embodiment, from the image formed on the image sensor 102 to the output and display on the external device display 116, the external device switcher 117, and the liquid crystal panel 120, will be explained. This processing is achieved by the microcontroller 108, which constitutes the imaging device 100, executing a program stored in the RAM 111.

[0039] First, in step S301, the microcontroller 108 controls the image sensor 102 and converts the image formed on the image sensor 102 into an image processing signal, which is then input to the image processing unit 103.

[0040] In step S302, the microcontroller 108 controls the image processing unit 103 to convert the imaging signal into RAW data (RAW image). Then, it performs RAW development processing such as interpolation and image quality adjustment on the RAW data to generate 4K size image data in YUV format corresponding to the RAW data, and stores it in RAM 111.

[0041] In step S303, the microcontroller 108 determines the data to be output from the HDMI terminal to the external device display 116. Specifically, the microcontroller 108 determines whether the data to be output should be the full field of view of the 4K-sized YUV format image data stored in RAM 111, or a 2K-sized image data obtained by cropping a portion of it. The method of this determination is not particularly limited, but here, the determination is made in response to instructions from the user via the operation switch group 109 or the like. If the full field of view of the image data is to be used (NO in step S303), the process proceeds to step S307; if the cropped image data is to be used (YES in step S303), the process proceeds to step S304.

[0042] In step S304, the microcontroller 108 (control means) controls the display resize circuit 104 to generate cropped 2K-sized image data (display image data 156) as data to be output from the HDMI terminal. Specifically, the display resize circuit 104 extracts image data of the cropped area for HDMI output, as instructed by the user via the operation switch group 109, from the 4K-sized YUV-format image data stored in RAM 111, and converts it to 2K size. After that, the display resize circuit 104 stores the converted 2K-sized image data in RAM 111 as display image data 156 to be output via the external output unit 114 for HDMI output.

[0043] In step S305, the microcontroller 108 controls the OSD generation circuit 106 to generate OSD data 159 for the frame of the display image data 156 generated in step S304, and stores it in the RAM 111.

[0044] In step S306, the microcontroller 108 stores HDMI crop frame information, which indicates the position and range of the crop area instructed by the user in step S304, in the RAM 111 for 4K-sized YUV format image data stored in the RAM 111.

[0045] In step S307, the microcontroller 108 controls the display resize circuit 104 to generate image data that is a reduced version of the entire YUV format image data to be output from the HDMI terminal. Specifically, in this step, the display resize circuit 104 reduces the entire 4K size YUV format image data stored in RAM 111 and stores it in RAM 111 as display image data to be output via the HDMI external output unit 114. Note that if a 4K resolution signal is output from the HDMI terminal, the entire YUV format image data may be used as display image data without reduction.

[0046] In step S308, the microcontroller 108 determines whether the data to be output from the SDI terminal to the external device switcher 117 should be the entire 4K-size YUV image data stored in RAM 111 or a cropped 2K-size image data. The method of this determination is not particularly limited, but here, as in step S303, the determination is made in response to instructions from the user via the operation switch group 109 or the like. If the entire YUV image data is to be used (NO in step S308), the process proceeds to step S312; if the cropped image data is to be used (YES in step S308), the process proceeds to step S309.

[0047] In step S309, the microcontroller 108 (control means) controls the display resize circuit 105 to generate cropped 2K-sized image data (display image data 157) as data to be output from the SDI terminal. Specifically, the display resize circuit 105 extracts image data of the cropped area instructed by the user via the operation switch group 109 or the like from the 4K-sized YUV-format image data stored in RAM 111 and converts it to 2K size. After that, the display resize circuit 105 stores the converted 2K-sized image data in RAM 111 as display image data 157 to be output via the external output unit 115 for SDI output.

[0048] In step S310, the microcontroller 108 controls the OSD generation circuit 106 to generate OSD data 160 for the frame of the display image data 157 generated in step S309, and stores it in the RAM 111.

[0049] In step S311, the microcontroller 108 stores SDI crop frame information in the RAM 111 that indicates the position and range of the crop area instructed by the user in step S309, for 4K-sized YUV format image data stored in the RAM 111.

[0050] In step S312, the microcontroller 108 controls the display resize circuit 105 to generate image data that is a reduced version of the entire YUV format image data to be output from the SDI terminal. Specifically, in this step, the display resize circuit 105 reduces the entire 4K size YUV format image data stored in RAM 111 and stores it in RAM 111 as display image data to be output via the external output unit 115 for SDI. Note that if a 4K resolution signal is output from the SDI terminal, the entire YUV format image data may be used as display image data without reduction.

[0051] In step S313, the microcontroller 108 controls the display resize circuit 119 to generate image data by reducing the size of the entire YUV format image data as data to be output to the liquid crystal panel 120. Specifically, in this step, the display resize circuit 119 reduces the size of the entire 4K YUV format image data stored in RAM 111 and stores it in RAM 111 as display image data 158 for the liquid crystal panel 120. Note that if a 4K resolution signal is to be output to the liquid crystal panel 120, the entire YUV format image data may be used as display image data 158 without reduction.

[0052] In step S314, the microcontroller 108 controls the OSD generation circuit 106 to generate frame OSD data 161 indicating the respective crop positions for HDMI output and SDI output, corresponding to the display image data 158 generated in step S313. Specifically, the microcontroller 108 generates this frame OSD data 161 based on the HDMI crop frame information and SDI crop frame information stored in RAM 111 in steps S306 and S311, and stores it in RAM 111.

[0053] In step S315, the microcontroller 108 (control means) controls the external output unit 114 to generate image data for HDMI output and outputs the image data from the HDMI terminal (not shown).

[0054] If the RAM 111 contains cropped image data (display image data 156) generated in step S304, the external output unit 114 generates display image data 162 by combining the frame OSD data 159 and the display image data 156. This display image data 162 is output in step S315 as image data for HDMI output.

[0055] On the other hand, if RAM 111 contains reduced image data of the YUV format image data generated in step S307, that image data is output in step S315 as image data for HDMI output. Furthermore, if SDI crop frame information is generated in step S311, the external output unit 114 may combine the frame OSD data 161 generated in step S314 with the reduced image data of the entire YUV format image data. In this case, the combined image data is output in step S315 as image data for HDMI output.

[0056] In step S316, the microcontroller 108 (control means) controls the external output unit 115 to generate image data for SDI output and outputs the image data from the SDI terminal (not shown).

[0057] If the RAM 111 contains cropped image data (display image data 157) generated in step S309, the external output unit 115 generates display image data 163 by combining the frame OSD data 160 and the display image data 157. This display image data 163 is output in step S316 as image data for SDI output.

[0058] On the other hand, if RAM 111 contains image data that is a reduced version of the entire YUV format image data generated in step S312, that image data is output in step S316 as image data for SDI output. Furthermore, if HDMI crop frame information is generated in step S306, the external output unit 115 may combine the frame OSD data 161 generated in step S314 with the reduced image data of the entire YUV format image data. In this case, the combined image data is output in step S316 as image data for SDI output.

[0059] In step S317, the microcontroller 108 (display control means) controls the liquid crystal panel output 107 and combines the display image data 158 for the liquid crystal panel generated in step S313 with the frame OSD 161 data 161 generated in step S314. Next, the microcontroller 108 controls the liquid crystal panel output 107 and outputs display image data 164 to the liquid crystal panel 120, in which frame information indicating the crop area is superimposed over the entire field of view of the subject image 151, and then terminates this process.

[0060] Furthermore, the OSD data 159 for the HDMI composite frame generated in step S305 is drawn in the same color as the frame indicating the HDMI cutout area 154 displayed on the LCD panel 120 generated in step S314, so that it can be easily associated with it. Similarly, the OSD data 160 for the SDI composite frame generated in step S310 is drawn in the same color as the frame indicating the SDI cutout area 155 displayed on the LCD panel 120 generated in step S314, so that it can be easily associated with it. However, the OSD data 159 for the HDMI composite frame and the OSD data 160 for the SDI composite frame are drawn in different colors. Moreover, the method of expressing the difference is not limited to the color used, as long as the frame OSD data 159 and 160 are displayed in a way that makes them easily distinguishable visually. For example, the difference between the frame OSD data 159 and 160 could be expressed by the type of line used (solid line, dashed line, dotted line, line thickness, double line, etc.). In this embodiment, the OSD data 159 for the frame (and the cropping area 154) for HDMI compositing is represented by a dashed line, and the OSD data 160 for the frame (and the cropping area 155) for SDI compositing is represented by a dotted line.

[0061] In this embodiment, the positions and ranges of the cropped areas extracted by the display resizing circuits 104 and 105 are different, but they may be the same position and range.

[0062] <Example 2> The following describes cropping and frame information compositing in an embodiment assuming that the SDI output is used as live video for recording or program display. Note that parts identical to those in Embodiment 1 will be numbered the same way as in Embodiment 1, and their explanations will be omitted.

[0063] Figure 4 is a diagram illustrating the image processing flow in the imaging device 100 according to this embodiment.

[0064] In Example 1, OSD data 159 and 160 for the crop frame were generated to clearly indicate the correspondence with the crop frame for both the HDMI output and the SDI output, and these were combined with the cropped display image data 156 and 157, respectively, for use as the output video. On the other hand, when the external output (SDI in this example) is used as the video output for the actual production such as recording or broadcasting, it is undesirable for the frame information to be combined with the output video.

[0065] Therefore, in this embodiment, the external output unit 115 does not synthesize the frame OSD data 160, but uses only the display image data 157 stored in RAM 111 and outputs it as the final display image data 400. However, if the frame information (frame OSD data 160) is not synthesized into the final display image data 400 output by the external output unit 115, it becomes difficult to determine which frame on the LCD panel 120 is being used for SDI output. Therefore, in the frame OSD data 401 for indicating the cropping area, the word "SDI" (first output unit identification indicator) is displayed near the frame (crop frame) that indicates the crop area of ​​the video being output via SDI through the external output unit 115. This makes it easier to determine which crop frame is the crop frame for SDI output on the LCD panel 120, even when the final display image data 400 without synthesized frames is output via SDI. The display image data 158 and frame OSD data 401 stored in RAM 111 are combined by the liquid crystal panel output 107 and transmitted to the liquid crystal panel 120 as display image data 402.

[0066] Next, using the flowchart in Figure 5, the image processing flow in this embodiment, from the image formed on the image sensor 102 to the output and display on the external device display 116, the external device switcher 117, and the liquid crystal panel 120, will be explained. This processing is achieved by the microcontroller 108, which constitutes the imaging device 100, executing a program stored in the RAM 111.

[0067] Furthermore, for processes similar to the image processing shown in Figure 3 of Example 1, the same numbering will be used as in Example 1, and the explanation will be omitted.

[0068] After executing the processes from steps S301 to S315, the process proceeds to step S501, where the microcontroller 108 determines whether or not to combine the frame OSD data 160 with the production display image data 400. The decision to combine or not may also be made in response to instructions from the user via the operation switch group 109 or the like. Alternatively, if a tally signal indicating that the SDI output is for production is received from the external device switcher 117, the microcontroller may decide not to combine the data, and if no tally signal is received, the microcontroller may decide to combine the data. The tally signal from the external device switcher 117 is received via Ethernet (not shown) or a dedicated control line (not shown).

[0069] If it is determined that the OSD data 160 for the frame should be synthesized (YES in step S501), the processing from step S316 onwards is executed. On the other hand, if it is determined that the OSD data 160 for the frame should not be synthesized (NO in step S501), the process proceeds to step S502.

[0070] In step S502, the microcontroller 108 (first instruction means) controls the external output unit 115 to generate image data for SDI output, outputs the image data from the SDI terminal (not shown), and proceeds to step S317.

[0071] In step S502, if the RAM 111 contains cropped image data (display image data 157) generated in step S309, that display image data is output directly from the SDI terminal. On the other hand, if the RAM 111 contains display image data for SDI output, which is a reduced version of the entire YUV format image data generated in step S312, that display image data is output directly from the SDI terminal.

[0072] In this embodiment, the microcontroller 108 (second instruction means) was described in a case where the frame OSD data 160 is not combined with the image data for SDI output. However, it is also possible to control the microcontroller 108 so as not to combine the frame OSD data 159 with the image data for HDMI output. In that case, it can be easily implemented by replacing the SDI portion of this embodiment with HDMI.

[0073] Furthermore, since the external output unit 114 (acquisition means) is an HDMI output, it is possible to acquire the capability information (EDID: Extended Display Identification Data) of the connected external device, and therefore the following processing may be performed. For example, if the external device display 116 connected to the imaging device 100 via HDMI has a recording function, control may be made so that the frame is not composited.

[0074] Furthermore, if the external device display 116 has a recording function, the frame merging may be controlled depending on whether or not image data from the imaging device 100 is being recorded on the external device display 116. Specifically, if the external device display 116 is recording, the frame merging may be disabled, and if the external device display 116 is not recording, the frame merging may be enabled. The microcontroller 108 receives notification from the external device display 116 via the DDC or CEC line (receiving means) of the HDMI cable regarding whether or not recording is in progress, and performs such control. Here, DDC stands for Display Data Channel, and CEC stands for Consumer Electronic Control.

[0075] Furthermore, the microcontroller 108 (third instruction means) may be configured to instruct the external device display 116 to record based on the operation of the imaging device 100. This instruction may also be implemented by synthesizing metadata instructing recording with the HDMI output image data output from the HDMI terminal of the imaging device 100.

[0076] As described above, according to each of the embodiments, when the imaging device 100 outputs images of different cropped regions from the entire YUV-formatted image data to each of multiple output destination devices, the user can easily determine which cropped region's image was output to which output destination device.

[0077] (Other embodiments) Although the present invention has been described in detail above based on its preferred embodiments, the present invention is not limited to these specific embodiments, and various forms that do not depart from the spirit of the invention are also included in the present invention. Some of the above embodiments may be combined as appropriate.

[0078] Furthermore, the present invention also includes cases in which a software program that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiment is supplied directly from a recording medium or via wired / wireless communication to a system or device having a computer capable of executing the program, and the program is executed.

[0079] Therefore, in order to implement the functional processing of the present invention on a computer, the program code supplied to and installed on the computer itself also realizes the present invention. In other words, the computer program itself for realizing the functional processing of the present invention is also included in the present invention.

[0080] In that case, the form of the program is irrelevant, as long as it possesses the functionality of a program, including object code, programs executed by an interpreter, and script data supplied to the OS.

[0081] The recording medium for supplying the program may be, for example, a hard disk, a magnetic recording medium such as magnetic tape, an optical / magneto-optical storage medium, or a non-volatile semiconductor memory.

[0082] Another possible method for supplying the program is to store the computer program forming the present invention on a server on a computer network, and then have connected client computers download and run the computer program.

[0083] The invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications and variations are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, claims are attached to disclose the scope of the invention.

[0084] Although preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and various modifications and changes are possible within the scope of its gist.

[0085] This embodiment includes the following configurations, methods, and programs. (Configuration 1) An imaging device having an imaging unit and a plurality of output units that output captured image data obtained by the imaging unit to a plurality of external image output destinations, wherein the imaging device has a display control means that controls the display of captured image data obtained by the imaging unit on a display unit, and a control means that cuts out image data of a plurality of regions specified by the user from the captured image data obtained by the imaging unit and outputs them to the plurality of output units, wherein the display control means controls the display to display the captured image data by combining frames indicating the plurality of regions in different display formats, and the control means controls the display to display the images on the display unit by combining frames indicating the plurality of regions with each of the frames that have been cut out from the captured image data for that region and outputting them to the plurality of output units, respectively. (Configuration 2) The imaging device according to Configuration 1, wherein the plurality of output units include a first output unit that outputs the captured image data to an external device switcher which is one of the plurality of external image output destinations, and further comprises a first instruction means that instructs the external device switcher whether or not to composite the frame onto the outer periphery of the image data output by the first output unit when the image data of the area specified by the user is cut out by the control means and output by the first output unit, and the first instruction means instructs the control means not to composite the frame onto the outer periphery of the image data output by the first output unit when the image data output by the first output unit is used for the actual video, and instructs the control means to composite the frame onto the outer periphery of the image data output by the first output unit when the image data output by the first output unit is not used for the actual video. (Configuration 3) The imaging apparatus according to Configuration 2, characterized in that, among the frames synthesized by the control means, an identification display of the first output unit is provided near the frame indicating a crop region specified for the image data output by the first output unit. (Configuration 4) The imaging device according to Configuration 2 or 3, characterized in that the first output unit outputs the captured image data to the external device switcher from the SDI terminal. (Configuration 5) The imaging device according to any one of Configurations 1 to 4, wherein the plurality of output units include a second output unit that outputs the captured image data to an external device display which is one of the plurality of external image output destinations, and further comprises a second instruction means that instructs the external device display whether or not to composite the frame onto the outer periphery of the image data output by the second output unit when the control means cuts out the image data of the area specified by the user and outputs it by the second output unit, and an acquisition means that acquires capability information of the external device display, wherein the second instruction means instructs not to composite the frame onto the outer periphery of the image data output by the second output unit when the acquisition means acquires a recording function as capability information of the external device display. (Configuration 6) The imaging device according to any one of Configurations 1 to 4, wherein the plurality of output units include a second output unit that outputs the captured image data to an external device display having a recording function, which is one of the plurality of external image output destinations, and a second instruction means that instructs the external device display whether or not to composite the frame onto the outer periphery of the image data output by the second output unit when the image data of the area specified by the user is cut out by the control means and output by the second output unit, and the second instruction means instructs not to composite the frame onto the outer periphery of the image data output by the second output unit when the image data output by the second output unit is being recorded on the external device display. (Configuration 7) The imaging device according to Configuration 6, further comprising a receiving means for receiving notification from the external device display whether or not recording is in progress. (Configuration 8) The imaging device according to Configuration 6 or 7, further comprising a third instruction means for instructing the external device display to record the image data output by the second output unit. (Configuration 9) The imaging apparatus according to Configuration 8, characterized in that the instruction by the third instruction means is combined as metadata with the image data output by the second output unit. (Configuration 10) The imaging device according to any one of Configurations 5 to 9, characterized in that the second output unit outputs the captured image data to the external device display via an HDMI terminal. (Configuration 11) The imaging apparatus according to any one of Configurations 1 to 10, characterized in that when the display control means displays the captured image data, the cropped image data output to each of the plurality of output units is also displayed on the display unit with a frame superimposed on its outer periphery by the control means. (Configuration 12) The imaging device according to any one of Configurations 1 to 11, wherein the plurality of output units include a first output unit that outputs the captured image data to an external device switcher which is one of the plurality of external image output destinations, and a second output unit that outputs the captured image data to an external device display which is one of the plurality of external image output destinations, and when a first area specified by the user for the external device display and a second area specified by the user for the external device switcher overlap, the control means also combines the image data output by the first output unit with a frame indicating the outer periphery of the overlapping portion of the image data output by the second output unit. (Configuration 13) The imaging apparatus according to any one of Configurations 1 to 12, characterized in that the frames indicating the plurality of regions differ in at least one of the type of line and color. (Method 1) A control method for an imaging device having an imaging unit and a plurality of output units that output captured image data obtained by the imaging unit to a plurality of external image output destinations, comprising: a display control step that controls the device to display the captured image data obtained in the imaging step on a display unit; and a control step that extracts image data of a plurality of regions specified by the user from the captured image data obtained by the imaging unit and outputs them to the plurality of output units, wherein the display control step controls the device to display the captured image data on the display unit by combining frames indicating the plurality of regions in different display formats, and the control step controls the device to output each of the plurality of output units by combining a frame in a display format corresponding to the frame extracted from the captured image data for that region. A control method for an imaging device, characterized by the following: (Program 1) A program for causing a computer to function as one of the means of an imaging device described in any one of configurations 1 to 13. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0086] 100 Imaging device 101 Lens Unit 102 Image Sensor 103 Image Processing Unit 104, 105, 119 Display resizing circuit 106 OSD generation circuit 107 LCD panel output 108 Microcontrollers 109 Operating switch group 110 ROM 111 RAM 114,115 External output section 116 External Device Display 117 External device switcher 118 Bus 120 LCD panel

Claims

1. An imaging device having an imaging unit and a plurality of output units that output captured image data obtained by the imaging unit to a plurality of external image output destinations, A display control means that controls the display unit to display captured image data obtained by the imaging unit on the display unit, The system includes a control means that extracts image data from multiple regions specified by the user from the captured image data obtained by the imaging unit and outputs them to the multiple output units, respectively. The display control means controls the captured image data to combine the frames representing the multiple regions in different display formats and display them on the display unit. The control means controls each of the multiple regions of image data extracted from the captured image data to combine a frame of a display format corresponding to the frame composited with the captured image data for that region, and to output them to the multiple output units, respectively. An imaging device characterized by the following features.

2. The plurality of output units include a first output unit that outputs the captured image data to an external device switcher, which is one of the plurality of external image output destinations. The external device switcher further includes a first instruction means that instructs whether or not to perform the compositing of the frame around the outer edge of the image data output by the first output unit when the control means extracts image data of the area specified by the user and outputs it by the first output unit. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the first instruction means instructs the control means not to composite the frame onto the outer periphery of the image data output by the first output unit when the image data output by the first output unit is used for the final video, and instructs the control means to composite the frame onto the outer periphery of the image data output by the first output unit when the image data output by the first output unit is not used for the final video.

3. The imaging apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that, among the frames synthesized by the control means, an identification display of the first output unit is provided near the frame indicating a crop region specified for the image data output by the first output unit.

4. The imaging apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that the first output unit outputs the captured image data to the external device switcher via the SDI terminal.

5. The plurality of output units include a second output unit that outputs the captured image data to an external device display, which is one of the plurality of external image output destinations. When the control means extracts image data of the area specified by the user from the external device display and outputs it to the second output unit, a second instruction means instructs whether or not to composite the frame onto the outer periphery of the image data output by the second output unit, An acquisition means for acquiring capability information of the external device display, Furthermore, The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that when the acquisition means acquires a recording function as capability information of the external device display, the second output unit instructs that the frame not be superimposed on the outer edge of the image data output.

6. The plurality of output units include a second output unit that outputs the captured image data to an external device display having a recording function, which is one of the plurality of external image output destinations. When the control means extracts image data of the area specified by the user from the external device display and outputs it to the second output unit, a second instruction means instructs whether or not to composite the frame onto the outer periphery of the image data output by the second output unit, The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the second instruction means instructs that the frame not be superimposed on the outer periphery of the image data output by the second output unit when the image data output by the second output unit is being recorded on the external device display.

7. The imaging device according to claim 6, further comprising a receiving means for receiving notification from the external device display whether or not recording is in progress.

8. The imaging apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising a third instruction means for instructing the recording of image data output by the second output unit to the external device display.

9. The imaging apparatus according to claim 8, characterized in that the instruction by the third instruction means is combined as metadata with the image data output by the second output unit.

10. The imaging apparatus according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that the second output unit outputs the captured image data to the external device display via an HDMI terminal.

11. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that when the display control means displays the captured image data, the cropped image data output to each of the plurality of output units is also displayed on the display unit with a frame superimposed around its outer periphery by the control means.

12. The plurality of output units include a first output unit that outputs the captured image data to an external device switcher, which is one of the plurality of external image output destinations, and a second output unit that outputs the captured image data to an external device display, which is one of the plurality of external image output destinations. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, if a first area specified by the user for the external device display and a second area specified by the user for the external device switcher overlap, the control means also combines the image data output by the first output unit with a frame indicating the outer perimeter of the overlapping portion of the image data output by the second output unit.

13. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the frames indicating the plurality of regions differ in at least one of the type of line and color.

14. A control method for an imaging device having an imaging unit and a plurality of output units that output captured image data obtained by the imaging unit to a plurality of external image output destinations, A display control step that controls the display unit to display the captured image data obtained in the aforementioned imaging step, The control step includes extracting image data from multiple regions specified by the user from the captured image data obtained by the imaging unit, and outputting them from the multiple output units, respectively. The display control step controls the captured image data to combine the frames representing the multiple regions in different display formats and display them on the display unit. The control step involves controlling each of the multiple regions extracted from the captured image data to be combined with a display format frame corresponding to the frame composited with the captured image data for that region, and outputting them from the multiple output units. A control method for an imaging device, characterized by the following:

15. A program for causing a computer to function as each of the means of the imaging apparatus described in claim 1.

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