Image blur correction device, control method thereof, program, and storage medium

Abstract

To provide an image blur correction device with which it is possible to appropriately correct image blurs, even when having captured a moving-image while walking, with a stabilizer mounted to an imaging device.SOLUTION: The image blur correction device comprises: a calculation unit that calculates the movement amount of a movement unit that moves a subject image on the image plane of an imaging element, in order to correct image blurs due to device shaking; an acquisition unit that acquires information regarding the movement position of the movement unit; a control unit that feedback controls the movement of the movement unit on the basis of information regarding the movement amount of the movement unit and information regarding the movement position of the movement unit; an electronic vibration correction unit that corrects the image data for electronic image blurs that was obtained by capturing images with the imaging element; and a selection unit that selects to cause the control unit to exercise feedback control in a first image blur correction mode, or exercise feedback control in a second image blur correction mode in which the position change amount of the movement unit due to a change of acceleration applied to the device is reduced to be smaller than in the first image blur correction mode.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an image stabilization device for use in an imaging device. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, many imaging devices such as digital cameras and video cameras are equipped with an image stabilization function that corrects shake and other motions that occur in the imaging device. This image stabilization function has made it possible to capture images with higher image quality.

[0003] However, when shooting a video while walking with an imaging device, the imaging device may be subjected to large vibrations that may exceed the driving range of an image blur correction member such as a shift lens.

[0004] Patent Document 1 discloses a method for performing image blur correction control by expanding the driving range of the shift mechanism of the correction lens when a large vibration is applied to the imaging device, such as when shooting while walking. According to this method, image blur caused by large vibration, such as when shooting while walking, can be reduced by expanding the correction angle of the shift mechanism. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] JP 2010-139694 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] Incidentally, some of the image blur correction mechanisms in the imaging apparatuses described above have a shift mechanism for an image sensor that captures a subject image, and reduce image blur by shifting the image sensor with respect to the optical axis of the imaging optical system.

[0007] Furthermore, when shooting moving images while walking, shooting may be performed with an electric gimbal stabilizer (hereinafter referred to as a stabilizer) attached to the imaging device in order to reduce shaking of the imaging device.

[0008] When using a stabilizer to take pictures while walking, a large vibration acceleration is applied to the entire imaging device, but the vibration of the imaging device body is suppressed by the effect of the stabilizer. However, the same acceleration as that of the imaging device body is applied to the imaging element, and if the imaging element is held relative to the imaging device body via a shift mechanism as described above, the following problem occurs. In other words, while the imaging device body does not vibrate due to the effect of the stabilizer, only the imaging element moves relative to the imaging device body, which may cause the image to be blurred.

[0009] The method disclosed in Patent Document 1 does not take into consideration any measures against the above-mentioned image blurring that occurs when a stabilizer is attached.

[0010] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an image blur correction device that can appropriately correct image blur even when a stabilizer is attached to an imaging device and a video is shot while walking. [Means for solving the problem]

[0011] An image blur correction device according to the present invention comprises: a calculation means for calculating a movement amount of a moving means for moving an object image on an image plane of an image sensor in order to correct image blur caused by shake of the device; an acquisition means for acquiring information on a movement position of the moving means; a control means for feedback controlling the movement of the moving means based on information on the movement amount of the moving means and information on the movement position of the moving means; a correction means for performing electronic image blur correction on image data obtained by capturing an image with the image sensor; and a selection means for selecting whether to cause the control means to perform the feedback control in a first image blur correction mode or a second image blur correction mode in which an amount of positional fluctuation of the moving means associated with a change in acceleration applied to the device is smaller than in the first image blur correction mode. the selection means selects control in the second image stabilization mode when an angular velocity of shake of the device in the gravity direction is equal to or less than a first threshold and an acceleration in the gravity direction is equal to or more than a second threshold, and selects control in the first image stabilization mode when the angular velocity in the gravity direction is not equal to or less than the first threshold, or when the angular velocity in the gravity direction is equal to or less than the first threshold and an acceleration in the gravity direction is not equal to or more than the second threshold. It is characterized by the above. Effect of the Invention

[0012] According to the present invention, even when a stabilizer is attached to an imaging device and a moving image is taken while walking, it is possible to appropriately correct image blur. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an imaging system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a feedback control unit of an image blur correction control unit according to the first embodiment. [Diagram 3] 5A and 5B are diagrams for explaining differences in output values ​​of an acceleration sensor depending on shooting scenes. [Figure 4] 5A and 5B are diagrams for explaining differences in output values ​​of an angular velocity sensor depending on shooting scenes. [Diagram 5] 5A and 5B are diagrams for explaining relative differences in output values ​​of an acceleration sensor and an angular velocity sensor depending on the shooting scene. [Figure 6] 10 is a flowchart showing a selection process of an image stabilization mode in the second embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0014] Hereinafter, the embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. Note that the following embodiments do not limit the invention according to the claims. Although the embodiments describe a number of features, not all of these features are essential to the invention, and the features may be combined in any manner. Furthermore, in the attached drawings, the same reference numbers are used for the same or similar configurations, and duplicated descriptions are omitted.

[0015] (First embodiment) 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an imaging system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The imaging system includes a camera body 100 and an interchangeable lens device (hereinafter referred to as an "interchangeable lens") 200 that is detachable from the camera body 100. The camera body 100 may be a still camera or a video camera. In this embodiment, a system in which an interchangeable lens is detachably attached to the camera body will be described, but the present invention is also applicable to an imaging device in which a camera and a lens are integrated.

[0016] In the camera body 100, the image sensor 101 captures (photoelectrically converts) an object image formed by the imaging optical system 210 of the interchangeable lens 200. An output signal (image signal) from the image sensor 101 is input to the image processing unit 108. The image processing unit 108 performs various image processing on the image signal to generate image data. The image data is displayed on a monitor (not shown) or recorded on a recording medium (not shown). The image data generated by the image processing unit 108 is output to a motion vector detection unit and an electronic image stabilization correction unit 110. The motion vector detection unit 109 detects motion information of feature points in the image data as a motion vector using a plurality of image data with different shooting times generated by the image processing unit 108 after the image sensor 101 has continuously captured images. Any known method such as a correlation method or a block matching method may be used as a method of detecting the motion vector, and a description of the detection method will be omitted. The electronic image stabilization correction unit 110 performs so-called electronic image stabilization (electronic image blur correction) such as image data clipping processing and geometric transformation processing on the image data output from the image processing unit 108. The image data cut-out process and geometric transformation process may be performed by known methods, and a description thereof will be omitted. The execution or non-execution of electronic image stabilization and optical image stabilization described later may be set by the camera microcomputer 102 based on a user's instruction, or may be automatically set based on various information such as the mode of the camera body 100. In the first embodiment, electronic image stabilization is not performed, but optical image stabilization is performed.

[0017] The image sensor 101 can be moved by a shift mechanism 101a in a direction intersecting with the optical axis OP of the image sensor 210. For example, the image sensor 101 can be shifted in a plane perpendicular to the optical axis OP, or rotated around the optical axis OP in a plane perpendicular to the optical axis OP. The following description will be focused on the case where the image sensor 101 is shifted.

[0018] The camera shake detection unit 105 detects the shake of the camera body 100 caused by the user's hand shake or the like (hereinafter referred to as "camera shake") and outputs a camera shake detection signal indicating the camera shake to the camera microcomputer 102. The camera shake detection unit 105 generates a camera shake detection signal using the detection results of the angular velocity detection sensor 111 and the acceleration detection sensor 112. The camera microcomputer 102 has a function as a control unit that controls the movement of the image sensor 101. The camera microcomputer 102 calculates a shift amount (movement amount) of the image sensor 101 for reducing (correcting) image shake caused by camera shake from the camera shake detection signal, and outputs an image shake correction instruction including the shift amount to the image shake correction control unit 103. The image shake correction control unit 103 controls an actuator included in the shift mechanism 101a in response to the image shake correction instruction from the camera microcomputer 102 to shift and drive the image sensor 101 by the shift amount. As a result, the subject image is moved on the image plane of the image sensor 101, and image blur correction due to the shift of the image sensor 101 is performed.

[0019] The camera microcomputer 102 instructs the attitude detection unit 104 to detect the attitude of the camera body 100 (hereinafter referred to as "camera attitude"), and the attitude detection unit 104 detects the attitude of the camera and outputs an attitude detection signal to the camera microcomputer 102. The camera attitudes include a normal position, a vertical position (grip up, grip down), upward facing, etc. The attitude detection unit 104 detects the camera attitude using the detection results of the angular velocity detection sensor 111 and the acceleration detection sensor 112. In addition, the camera microcomputer 102 is capable of communicating with the lens microcomputer 226 via the camera communication unit 106 and the lens communication unit 229 in the interchangeable lens 200.

[0020] In the interchangeable lens 200, the imaging optical system 210 has a variable magnification lens 201, an aperture 202, a focus lens 203, and an image blur correction lens (optical element) 204. A zoom control unit 221 can detect the position of the variable magnification lens 201 (hereinafter referred to as the "zoom position"), and performs magnification by driving the variable magnification lens 201 in response to a zoom drive command from the camera microcomputer 102. A focus control unit 223 can detect the position of the focus lens 203 (hereinafter referred to as the "focus position"), and performs focus adjustment by driving the focus lens 203 in response to a focus drive command from the camera microcomputer 102.

[0021] The aperture control unit 222 can detect the aperture opening diameter of the aperture 202 (hereinafter referred to as "aperture position"), and adjusts the amount of light by driving the aperture 202 in response to an aperture drive command from the camera microcomputer 102. The aperture control unit 222 may detect and control the aperture position continuously, or may detect and control the aperture position discontinuously, such as fully open, two stops (intermediate), and one stop (minimum). In addition, the aperture position may be detected using the drive amount of a drive mechanism that drives the aperture 202.

[0022] Then, the zoom position, the aperture position, and the focus position detected by the zoom control unit 221, the aperture control unit 222, and the focus control unit 223 are transmitted to the camera microcomputer 102. Note that the transmitted zoom position may be information on the position of the variable magnification lens 201, or may be information on the focal length corresponding to the zoom position.

[0023] During image blur correction, the image blur correction lens 204 can be shifted in a direction including a directional component perpendicular to the optical axis by a shift mechanism 204a. In other words, the image blur correction lens 204 may be shifted within a plane perpendicular to the optical axis, or may be rotated around a point on the optical axis.

[0024] The lens shake detection unit 228 detects shake of the interchangeable lens 200 caused by a user's hand shake or the like (hereinafter referred to as “lens shake”), and outputs to the lens microcomputer 226 a lens shake detection signal indicative of the lens shake.

[0025] The lens microcomputer 226 uses the lens shake detection signal to calculate the shift amount of the image blur correction lens 204 for reducing (correcting) image blur caused by lens shake, and outputs an image blur correction instruction including the shift amount to the image blur correction control unit 224. The image blur correction control unit 224 controls the movement of the image blur correction lens 204 based on the image blur correction instruction from the lens microcomputer 226. Specifically, the actuator included in the shift mechanism 204a is controlled in response to the image blur correction instruction to drive the image blur correction lens 204 by the calculated shift amount, thereby performing lens image blur correction. The image blur correction by shifting the image sensor 101 and the lens image blur correction by driving the image blur correction lens 204 described above are generally called optical image stabilization. The execution or non-execution of optical image stabilization can be set independently for each of the image blur correction by shifting the image sensor 101 and the lens image blur correction.

[0026] The lens microcomputer 226 has a function as a transmission section that reads out information such as image circle information (described later) stored in a data storage section (storage section) 227 and transmits the image circle information and the like to the camera body 100 .

[0027] The data storage unit 227 stores optical information such as the zoom range (variable range of focal length), focus range (focusable distance range), and variable range of aperture value of the imaging optical system 210. The data storage unit 227 also stores information about the image circle of the imaging optical system 210 (hereinafter referred to as "image circle information"). Here, the image circle information includes information representing the position of the image circle and information representing the size of the image circle. In this embodiment, image circle center information representing the center position of the image circle is stored as the information representing the position of the image circle.

[0028] For example, when the camera body 100 is attached to an external electric gimbal stabilizer (hereinafter referred to as the stabilizer) and a video is shot while walking, the impact of the photographer landing causes an acceleration change in the direction of gravity in the camera body 100. At this time, the vibration of the camera body 100 is corrected by the stabilizer, and the camera body 100 hardly vibrates at all. In contrast, since the image sensor 101 is movably held relative to the camera body 100 via the shift mechanism 101a, if the acceleration change in the direction of gravity applied to the image sensor 101 is large, the position of the image sensor 101 will fluctuate relative to the camera body 100. This fluctuation appears as a blur on the image, degrading the quality of the captured image.

[0029] On the other hand, if a mechanism for fixing the image sensor 101 to the camera body 100 is provided and a stabilizer is used with the image sensor 101 mechanically fixed to the camera body 100, the above-mentioned shaking does not occur. However, if a mechanism for mechanically fixing the image sensor 101 is provided in the camera body 100, the entire camera body 100 becomes larger. Furthermore, if the image sensor 101 is fixed to the camera body 100, the image shake correction operation by the image sensor 101 cannot be performed. In that case, the image sensor 101 cannot correct the residual shake that could not be corrected by the stabilizer, so the residual shake becomes visible in the image, and the quality of the captured image is reduced.

[0030] For this reason, in this embodiment, a first image blur compensation mode and a second image blur compensation mode are provided in the image blur compensation control unit 103. The image blur compensation control unit 103 selects which image blur compensation mode is used to perform image blur compensation control.

[0031] The first image blur compensation mode is a mode in which normal image blur compensation control is performed, and the second image blur compensation mode is a mode in which image blur compensation control is performed when a stabilizer is attached. The first and second image blur compensation modes have different control parameters in the position feedback control of the image sensor 101 in the image blur compensation control. In the second image blur compensation mode, the control parameters for the position feedback control of the image sensor 101 are set so that the position fluctuation of the image sensor 101 due to the change in acceleration applied to the camera body 100 is smaller than in the first image blur compensation mode.

[0032] 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a feedback control unit of the image blur correction control unit 103 in this embodiment. In this embodiment, PID control is used for the feedback control.

[0033] The target position calculation unit 301 calculates a target position of the image sensor 101 for reducing image blur from a camera shake detection signal output from the camera shake detection unit 105. The position detection unit 302 detects (acquires) the current position (movement position) of the image sensor 101. In this embodiment, a Hall element is used for the position detection unit 302. The PID control unit 303 receives as input a deviation 304, which is the difference between the output signals of the target position calculation unit 301 and the position detection unit 302, and calculates a drive amount 305 of the image sensor 101. The drive unit 306 drives the shift mechanism 101a of the image sensor 101 based on the drive amount 305 of the image sensor 101 output from the PID control unit 303.

[0034] The PID control unit 303 sums a signal obtained by multiplying the deviation 304 by a P-term gain Kp 312, a signal obtained by performing integration processing 310 on the deviation 304 and multiplying it by an I-term gain Ki 313, and a signal obtained by performing differentiation processing 311 on the deviation 304 and multiplying it by a D-term gain Kd 314. Then, the drive amount 305 is calculated based on the sum result.

[0035] In this embodiment, in the second image blur correction mode, the gain Kp312 of the P term in the PID control unit 303 of the image sensor 101 is set higher than in the first image blur correction mode. By setting the gain Kp312 of the P term higher, the electrical spring effect in the feedback control becomes stronger, and the amount of positional fluctuation of the image sensor 101 due to a change in acceleration of the camera body 100 can be reduced.

[0036] The user can manually select either the first image blur compensation mode or the second image blur compensation mode by operating the menu of camera body 100. When the user mounts camera body 100 on a stabilizer and takes pictures while walking, if the user selects the second image blur compensation mode on the menu screen of camera body 100, image blur compensation control unit 103 performs image blur compensation control of image sensor 101 in the second image blur compensation mode.

[0037] As described above, in the first embodiment, when a stabilizer is attached to the camera body 100 and a video is shot while walking, the electrical spring effect in the feedback control of the shift drive of the image sensor 101 is strengthened to make the image sensor 101 less likely to move in response to shock acceleration. This makes it possible to prevent the position of the image sensor 101 from fluctuating against the photographer's intention, causing blurring of the image and degrading the quality of the shot video.

[0038] In the first embodiment, PID control is used for feedback control of the image sensor 101, and the P term gain Kp312 is set higher in the second image blur correction mode than in the first image blur correction mode, but the present invention is not limited to this. In the second image blur correction mode, the I term gain Ki313 or the D term gain Kd314 of the PID control unit 303 may be set higher than in the first image blur correction mode. Also, among the P term gain Kp312, the I term gain Ki313, and the D term gain Kd314, multiple gains or all of the gains may be set higher.

[0039] Furthermore, when the P term gain Kp312 and the D term gain Kd314 are set high, the gain in the high frequency band increases, so the stationary high frequency noise also increases, and the high frequency noise sound recorded in the captured video also increases. On the other hand, when the I term gain Ki313 is set high, the gain in the low frequency band increases, but the gain in the high frequency band does not increase, so the stationary high frequency noise does not change. Therefore, the high frequency noise sound recorded in the captured video does not change. Therefore, in the second image stabilization mode, the gain of each term is set higher than in the first image stabilization mode, and the amount of change in the gain of each term may be set so that the I term gain Ki313 is larger than the P term gain Kp312 and the D term gain Kd314. This makes it possible to suppress an increase in the high frequency noise recorded in the captured video in the second image stabilization mode.

[0040] Furthermore, when PI control is used for feedback control, the gain of the P term or the gain of the I term may be set high in the second image stabilization mode, or the gains of both terms may be set high. For the reasons described above, the gains of each term may be set high in the second image stabilization mode compared to the first stabilization mode, and the amount of change in the gain of each term may be set to be larger for the I term than for the P term. This makes it possible to suppress the deterioration of high-frequency noise recorded in a video shot in the second image stabilization mode.

[0041] Setting a higher gain for the feedback control in the second image blur correction mode compared to the first image blur correction mode reduces position fluctuations of the image sensor 101 caused by the image sensor 101 being unable to maintain a commanded position due to changes in acceleration of the camera body 100. This makes it possible to reduce blurring of captured videos.

[0042] In the above description, the gain of the feedback control is made different between the first image blur compensation mode and the second image blur compensation mode. However, the control block configuration or the control filter characteristic of the feedback control may be made different.

[0043] In the above description, the image sensor may move due to the impact of walking when the stabilizer is attached. However, the image stabilization lens in the interchangeable lens may also move due to the impact of walking. Therefore, in the case of shooting while walking, the control of the second image stabilization mode of the image sensor may also be applied to the control of the image stabilization lens. This makes it possible to correct image blur caused by the movement of the image stabilization lens.

[0044] Second embodiment Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the second embodiment, a case will be described in which the image stabilization mode described in the first embodiment is selected by an image capture device automatically determining the shooting situation. Note that since the configuration of the image capture system is similar to that of the first embodiment, a description will be omitted and only differences in operation will be described.

[0045] The image stabilization control unit 103 of this embodiment automatically determines the shooting situation of the camera body 100 and selects the image stabilization mode. As an example, a case will be described in which the image stabilization control unit 103 automatically determines the shooting situation of the camera body 100 from angular velocity information detected by the angular velocity detection sensor 111 and acceleration information detected by the acceleration detection sensor 112, and selects the image stabilization mode. When the second image stabilization mode is selected, the control parameters of the position feedback control of the imaging device 101 in the image stabilization control unit 103 are set so that the amount of positional fluctuation of the imaging element 101 accompanying the change in acceleration applied to the camera body 100 is reduced.

[0046] 3(a) shows the change in acceleration in the direction of gravity detected by acceleration detection sensor 112 when shooting video while walking, with and without a stabilizer attached to camera body 100. Comparing the case where a stabilizer is attached to camera body 100 and shooting video while walking with and without a stabilizer attached, there is no significant difference in the change in acceleration in the direction of gravity applied to camera body 100.

[0047] Next, Fig. 3(b) shows the change in acceleration in the direction of gravity when a stabilizer is attached to the camera body 100 and when video shooting is performed in a stationary state and while walking. It can be seen that the change in acceleration in the direction of gravity is greater when video shooting is performed while walking compared to when video shooting is performed in a stationary state. This is because when video shooting is performed while walking, a change in acceleration in the direction of gravity occurs in the camera body 100 due to the impact of the photographer landing.

[0048] 4 shows the change in angular velocity in the direction of gravity (angular velocity in the pitching direction of the camera) when shooting video while walking, with and without a stabilizer attached to camera body 100. It can be seen that the change in angular velocity in the direction of gravity is relatively smaller when shooting with a stabilizer attached to camera body 100 compared to when it is not attached. This is because the stabilizer detects the change in angular velocity applied to camera body 100 and operates to offset that change.

[0049] From the results shown in Figures 3 and 4, the relative relationship between the acceleration in the gravity direction and the angular velocity acting on camera body 100 when a stabilizer is attached to camera body 100 and video is shot in a stationary state and when video is shot while walking is shown in Figure 5. From Figure 5, it can be seen that when a stabilizer is attached to camera body 100 and video is shot while walking, the change in angular velocity in the gravity direction is relatively small and the change in acceleration in the gravity direction is relatively large (satisfying a specified condition).

[0050] 5 is used to determine whether a stabilizer is attached to camera body 100 and video shooting is being performed while walking. That is, if the change in angular velocity in the gravity direction applied to camera body 100 is small and the change in acceleration in the gravity direction is large, it is determined that camera body 100 is attached to a stabilizer and shooting is being performed while walking. In that case, image blur correction control unit 103 selects the second image blur correction mode and performs image blur correction control so that the amount of positional fluctuation of image sensor 101 accompanying the change in acceleration in the gravity direction applied to camera body 100 is reduced.

[0051] FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an operation of the anti-shake control unit 103 for determining the anti-shake mode in the second embodiment.

[0052] When the power supply of the camera body 100 is turned on and the image blur correction control unit 103 starts image blur correction control, the process proceeds to step S701.

[0053] In step S701, the image blur correction control unit 103 determines whether the acceleration in the gravity direction detected by the acceleration detection sensor 112 is equal to or greater than a predetermined value (above a threshold value). If it is determined that the acceleration is equal to or greater than the predetermined value, the process proceeds to step S702; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S704.

[0054] In step S702, the image blur correction control unit 103 determines whether or not the angular velocity in the gravity direction detected by the angular velocity detection sensor 111 is equal to or less than a predetermined value (a threshold value). If it is determined that the angular velocity in the gravity direction is equal to or less than the predetermined value, the process proceeds to step S703; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S704.

[0055] In step S703, the image stabilization control unit 103 determines that the camera body 100 is attached to a stabilizer and that shooting is being performed while walking, selects the second image stabilization mode, and proceeds to step S705.

[0056] On the other hand, in step S704, the image stabilization control unit 103 determines that the camera body 100 is attached to a stabilizer and shooting is not being performed while walking, selects the first image stabilization mode, and proceeds to step S705.

[0057] In step S705, the anti-shake control unit 103 determines whether or not to continue the anti-shake process, and if the anti-shake process is to be continued, the process returns to step S701, whereas if the anti-shake process is to be ended, the process of this flow ends.

[0058] As described above, according to the second embodiment, in addition to the same effects as those of the first embodiment, the image stabilization control unit 103 can automatically select an image stabilization mode according to the shooting conditions. As a result, unlike the first embodiment, the photographer does not need to select an image stabilization mode, and the image stabilization control unit 103 selects an appropriate image stabilization mode according to the shooting conditions, making it possible to suppress deterioration in the quality of the captured image.

[0059] In the second embodiment, the image stabilization mode is selected based on both the information on the acceleration in the gravity direction and the angular velocity, but it is not necessary to determine the image stabilization mode based on both information. The image stabilization mode may be selected by determining the shooting state based on only the information on the acceleration in the gravity direction.

[0060] (Third embodiment) Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the third embodiment, a case will be described in which blurring of an image caused by a relative change in the position of the image sensor 101 with respect to the camera body 100 in the first embodiment is corrected by electronic image stabilization. Note that since the configuration of the imaging system is the same as that of the first embodiment, a description will be omitted and only differences in operation will be described. Note that in this embodiment, it is assumed that the camera microcomputer 102 is set to execute electronic image stabilization in accordance with a menu operation of the camera body 100 by the user.

[0061] As described in the first embodiment, when a video is shot while walking with a stabilizer attached, the position of the image sensor 101 changes relative to the camera body 100. The change appears as a blur on the video, and the quality of the video is reduced. In this embodiment, the image stabilization control unit 103 detects the amount of relative positional change between the image sensor 101 and the camera body 100 based on a motion vector, which is motion information detected by the motion vector detection unit 109. Then, the image stabilization control unit 103 calculates the amount of electronic stabilization correction based on the information on the amount of relative change. The electronic stabilization correction unit 110 executes electronic stabilization so as to cancel the relative change between the image sensor 101 and the camera body 100 based on the amount of electronic stabilization correction. For example, the image cut-out position from the first image data and the image cut-out position from the second image data are shifted based on the amount of positional change corresponding to the motion vector detected from the first image data and the second image data. Alternatively, a geometric transformation process is performed on the second image data based on a positional variation amount corresponding to a motion vector detected from the first image data and the second image data.

[0062] As described above, even when a stabilizer is attached to an imaging device and a moving image is taken while walking, image blur can be appropriately corrected by electronic image stabilization.

[0063] Note that the electronic image stabilization in this embodiment may be applied to image data that has not been subjected to image blur correction due to a shift of the image sensor 101 and lens image blur correction, or may be applied to image data that has been subjected to image blur correction due to a shift of the image sensor 101 or lens image blur correction.

[0064] Also, it may be combined with the first or second embodiment. In that case, it is possible to reduce image blurring between images caused by relative positional fluctuations between the image sensor 101 and the camera body 100, which could not be suppressed by the control of the first or second embodiment. Furthermore, since the relative positional fluctuations between the image sensor 101 and the camera body 100 can be reduced by the control of the first or second embodiment, it is possible to improve the detection accuracy of motion vectors and to suppress the positional fluctuations from exceeding the correction range of electronic image stabilization.

[0065] (Other embodiments) The present invention can also be realized by a process in which a program for implementing one or more of the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or device via a network or a storage medium, and one or more processors in a computer of the system or device read and execute the program. The present invention can also be realized by a circuit (e.g., ASIC) that implements one or more of the functions.

[0066] The invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications and variations are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the following claims are appended to apprise the public of the scope of the invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0067] 100 Camera body 101 Image sensor 101a Shift mechanism 102 Camera microcomputer 103 Image stabilization control unit 105 Camera shake detection unit 108 Image Processing Unit 109 Motion Vector Detector 110 Electronic image stabilization unit 111 Angular velocity detection sensor 112 Acceleration detection sensor 200 Interchangeable Lenses 204 Image stabilization lens 204a Shift mechanism 224 Image stabilization control unit 226 Lens Microcomputer 227 Data Storage Unit 301 Target position calculation section 302 Position detection unit 303 PID control unit

Claims

1. a calculation means for calculating a movement amount of a movement means for moving an object image on an image plane of an imaging element in order to correct an image blur caused by a vibration of the apparatus; An acquisition means for acquiring information on a movement position of the moving means; A control means for feedback-controlling the movement of the moving means based on information on the amount of movement of the moving means and information on the movement position of the moving means; a correction unit that performs electronic image blur correction on image data obtained by capturing an image with the image sensor; a selection means for selecting whether to cause the control means to perform the feedback control in a first image blur correction mode or a second image blur correction mode in which an amount of positional fluctuation of the moving means caused by a change in acceleration applied to the apparatus is smaller than that in the first image blur correction mode; Equipped with the selection unit selects control in the second image blur correction mode when an angular velocity of shake of the device in the gravity direction is equal to or less than a first threshold and an acceleration in the gravity direction is equal to or greater than a second threshold, and selects control in the first image blur correction mode when the angular velocity in the gravity direction is not equal to or less than the first threshold, or when the angular velocity in the gravity direction is equal to or less than the first threshold and the acceleration in the gravity direction is not equal to or greater than the second threshold.

2. 2. The image blur correction apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the moving means moves the image pickup element in a direction intersecting with an optical axis.

3. 2. The image blur correction device according to claim 1, wherein the moving means is a means for moving an image blur correction lens provided in an imaging optical system in a direction intersecting an optical axis.

4. 4. The image blur correction device according to claim 1, wherein in the second image blur correction mode, a gain of the feedback control is set higher than in the first image blur correction mode.

5. 4. The image blur correction device according to claim 1, wherein in the second image blur correction mode, a configuration of a control block of the feedback control or characteristics of a control filter are different from those in the first image blur correction mode.

6. 6. The image blur correction device according to claim 1, wherein the feedback control is a PID control or a PI control.

7. a detection means for detecting motion information based on a plurality of image data obtained by performing imaging using the imaging element; 7. The image stabilization device according to claim 1, wherein the correction means performs the electronic image stabilization based on the motion information.

8. a calculation step of calculating a movement amount of a moving means for moving an object image on an image plane of an imaging element in order to correct an image blur caused by a vibration of the apparatus; An acquisition step of acquiring information on a movement position of the moving means; a control step of feedback-controlling the movement of the moving means based on information on the amount of movement of the moving means and information on the movement position of the moving means; a correction step of performing electronic image blur correction on image data obtained by capturing an image with the image sensor; a selection step of selecting whether the feedback control is performed in a first image blur correction mode or in a second image blur correction mode in which a positional fluctuation amount of the moving means caused by a change in acceleration applied to the apparatus is smaller than that in the first image blur correction mode; having the selection step selects control in the second image blur correction mode when an angular velocity of shake of the device in the gravity direction is equal to or less than a first threshold and an acceleration in the gravity direction is equal to or greater than a second threshold, and selects control in the first image blur correction mode when the angular velocity in the gravity direction is not equal to or less than the first threshold, or when the angular velocity in the gravity direction is equal to or less than the first threshold and the acceleration in the gravity direction is not equal to or greater than the second threshold.

9. A program for causing a computer to execute each step of the control method according to claim 8.

10. A computer-readable storage medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute each step of the control method according to claim 8.

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