Imaging device, control method thereof, and program

Abstract

To provide an imaging apparatus that, when performing alignment and composition of a plurality of time-continuously photographed still images in the imaging apparatus composed of a camera system, can photograph the plurality of still images in an appropriate exposure condition, a method for controlling the imaging apparatus, and a program.SOLUTION: An imaging apparatus 1000 comprises: a camera-side image shake correction unit 7 and a lens-side image shake correction unit 15 that can change the position of an optical image formed on a surface of an image pickup device 6; a camera control unit 8 that causes the image pickup device 6 to time-continuously photograph a plurality of still images; and an image processing unit 10 that performs alignment of the plurality of photographed still images to create a composite image. The exposure time and the total number of the plurality of photographed still images are set based on information on a focal distance and information on image shake correction angles included in the camera-side image shake correction unit 7 and the lens-side image shake correction unit 15.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an imaging device, a control method thereof, and a program, and more particularly to an imaging device that performs optical image shake correction and alignment synthesis of a plurality of still images captured continuously over time, a control method thereof, and a program.

Background Art

[0002] A so-called image shake correction technique that reduces the influence of unnecessary vibrations such as camera shake applied to an imaging device by moving a part of the imaging optical system or the imaging element within a plane perpendicular to the optical axis is widely adopted in imaging devices such as digital still cameras.

[0003] In addition, a technique of performing alignment synthesis that obtains an effect similar to image shake correction by capturing a plurality of still images continuously over time by an imaging element, performing alignment sequentially, and performing synthesis in various addition methods has also been widely adopted in recent years.

[0004] Patent Document 1 discloses a technique of synthesizing a plurality of still images captured continuously over time with an exposure time shorter than a preset hand shake exposure limit time specific to the photographer when the exposure time becomes longer than the preset hand shake exposure limit time specific to the photographer to obtain an appropriate exposure image. Thereby, in shooting that exceeds the hand shake exposure limit time specific to the photographer, since the influence of hand shake can be reduced for each still image, an image with appropriate exposure and less influence of hand shake can be obtained by synthesizing them.

[0005] In addition, the technique of Patent Document 1 also discloses that by using the detection information of the camera angle detection sensor, the focal length information, and the aperture information to determine the degree of influence of hand shake, it is determined whether to perform alignment synthesis.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0006]

Patent Document 1

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

PROBLEMS TO BE SOLVED BY THE INVENTION

[0007] However, Patent Document 1 does not mention the shake correction performance for each combination, which is an extremely important element in a lens exchangeable camera system or a camera system incorporating a set of a plurality of imaging elements and an optical system.

[0008] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an imaging device, a control method thereof, and a program capable of capturing a plurality of still images under appropriate exposure conditions when performing alignment synthesis of a plurality of still images continuously captured over time in an imaging device including a camera system.

MEANS FOR SOLVING THE PROBLEMS

[0009] To solve the above problems, an imaging device according to the present invention includes an imaging element that receives a light beam transmitted through an imaging optical system and performs photoelectric conversion, an optical image shake correction unit that drives the imaging optical system and / or the imaging element, a control unit that acquires a plurality of still images continuously over time by the imaging element, and a composite image generation unit that generates a composite image by aligning the plurality of still images. Determining means for determining information regarding an image blur correction angle of the optical image blur correction means based on information regarding a focal length of the imaging optical system; information regarding the focal length of the imaging optical system, and determined by the determining means setting means for setting the exposure time and the total number of sheets of the plurality of still images based on information regarding the image shake correction angle of the optical image shake correction means.

EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION

[0010] According to the present invention, when performing alignment synthesis of a plurality of still images continuously captured over time in an imaging device including a camera system, the plurality of still images can be captured under appropriate exposure conditions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011] [FIG. 1A]It is a central cross-sectional view of the imaging device according to the present invention. [FIG. 1B] It is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the imaging device. [FIG. 2] It is a flowchart of continuous shooting processing executed in the imaging device. [FIG. 3] It is a flowchart of the subroutine of the shake prevention performance determination process in step S201 of FIG. 2.

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0012] The imaging device 1000 including a camera system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the following embodiments do not limit the present invention according to the claims, and not all combinations of the features described in this embodiment are essential for the solution means of the present invention.

[0013] FIGS. 1A and 1B are schematic conceptual diagrams for explaining the configuration of the imaging device 1000 according to the present invention. FIG. 1A is a central cross-sectional view of the imaging device 1000, and FIG. 1B is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the imaging device 1000. The same reference numerals in FIGS. 1A and 1B correspond to each other.

[0014] In FIGS. 1A and 1B, the imaging device 1000 includes a camera body 1, a mount block 5, and an interchangeable lens 2 mounted on the camera body 1 via the mount block 5.

[0015] As shown in FIG. 1A, the camera body 1 includes an imaging element 6 and a camera-side image shake correction unit 7. The interchangeable lens 2 includes a photographic optical system 3 on the optical axis 4.

[0016] Specifically, the camera system formed by the imaging device 1000 is a so-called interchangeable-lens single-lens reflex camera, and various interchangeable lenses (interchangeable lens 2 in this embodiment) can be attached to and detached from it via a circular mount block 5. Note that although the imaging device 1000 is an interchangeable-lens single-lens reflex camera, the present invention is not limited to this as long as it is a camera system in which the shake correction performance changes for each combination. For example, even if the imaging device 1000 is a mobile device such as a smartphone having a plurality of imaging devices that use different combinations of lenses and image sensors according to the focal length range, the effects of the present invention can be exhibited.

[0017] Also, as shown in FIG. 1B, in addition to the configuration shown in FIG. 1A, the camera body 1 includes a camera control unit 8, a camera-side image shake correction control unit 9, an image processing unit 10, electrical contacts 12, and a camera-side storage unit 17. Further, in addition to the configuration shown in FIG. 1A, the interchangeable lens 2 includes a lens control unit 13, a lens-side storage unit 14, a lens-side image shake correction unit 15, and a lens-side image shake correction control unit 16.

[0018] In the camera system formed by the imaging device 1000, a light beam from the shooting angle of view centered on the optical axis 4 of the imaging optical system 3 of the interchangeable lens 2 passes through the imaging optical system 3 and is received and imaged as a subject image on the image sensor 6 disposed in the camera body 1.

[0019] <0 / / The subject image is photoelectrically converted after being accumulated as charges for a predetermined exposure time in the photoelectric conversion unit (not shown) of the image sensor 6, and becomes an electrical signal (image signal, still image) and is sent to the image processing unit 10. The exposure time is determined by the camera control unit 8 based on the settings of the photographer and the brightness of the subject, etc. The imaging device 1000 has a continuous shooting function that performs this accumulation and photoelectric conversion continuously in time.

[0020] In the image processing unit 10, the image signal is converted into an image file format through development processing, gamma processing, etc., and is stored in a non-volatile memory (not shown) by the camera control unit 8. Further, the image processing unit 10 has a function as a composite image generation means for performing relative alignment from the feature point information of a plurality of still images obtained by the above-described continuous shooting function. Furthermore, the image processing unit 10 can perform a shooting operation including an alignment composite process for obtaining one composite image from a plurality of images by addition processing or the like. Details of the shooting operation including the alignment composite process performed by this imaging device 1000 will be described later.

[0021] The imaging element 6 disposed in the camera body 1 is configured to be movable within a plane perpendicular to the optical axis 4 by the camera-side image shake correction unit 7 (optical image shake correction means). Further, the camera-side image shake correction control unit 9 (optical image shake correction control means) drives and controls the camera-side image shake correction unit 7.

[0022] Similarly, an image shake correction optical system (details not shown), which is a part of the imaging optical system 3 of the interchangeable lens 2, is configured to be movable within a plane perpendicular to the optical axis 4 by the lens-side image shake correction unit 15 (optical image shake correction means). Further, the lens-side image shake correction control unit 16 (optical image shake correction control means) drives and controls the lens-side image shake correction unit 15.

[0023] That is, by driving the image shake correction optical system and / or the imaging element 6 by the camera-side image shake correction unit 7 and the lens-side image shake correction unit 15, the position of the optical image formed on the surface of the imaging element 6 can be changed.

[0024] The camera control unit 8 and the lens control unit 13 cooperate through communication via the electrical contact 12, and perform drive control for reducing unnecessary vibrations input to the imaging device 1000 using the camera-side image shake correction unit 7 and the lens-side image shake correction unit 15, respectively. At this time, the vibration is detected by angular velocity sensors (not shown: detection means) disposed in each of the camera body 1 and the interchangeable lens 2, and either both or one of the angular velocity information is used according to the method of cooperative control performed by the camera control unit 8 and the lens control unit 13.

[0025] In the camera system including the imaging device 1000 according to the present embodiment shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the lens control unit 13 drives and controls various control means via various control units (not shown) in response to an instruction given from the camera body 1 side. For example, according to the subject focus detection information and photometry information obtained by the image processing unit 10, the lens control unit 13 drives and controls a focus adjustment means and a diaphragm means (not shown) via a focus adjustment control unit and a diaphragm control unit (not shown), and adjusts the imaging state and the diaphragm state of the subject image.

[0026] The lens-side storage unit 14 stores the current focal length information of the interchangeable lens 2, the image blur correction angle of the lens-side image blur correction unit 15, the response characteristic information in a specific frequency band, and the like. The focal length information, the image blur correction angle of the lens-side image blur correction unit 15, and the response characteristic information stored in the lens-side storage unit 14 are referred to by the lens control unit 13 and also by the camera control unit 8 disposed in the camera body 1 via the electrical contact 12.

[0027] The camera control unit 8 issues a command regarding the drive control of the camera-side image blur correction unit 7 to the camera-side image blur correction control unit 9 based on the focal length information received from the interchangeable lens 2 and the image blur correction angle of the lens-side image blur correction unit 15. At this time, the camera control unit 8 calculates the image blur correction angle of the camera-side image blur correction unit 7 from the focal length information received from the lens control unit 13. Further, the camera control unit 8 determines the image blur correction angle that can be exhibited by the imaging device 1000 and the drive amount ratio between the lens-side image blur correction unit 15 and the camera-side image blur correction unit 7 from the calculated image blur correction angle and the image blur correction angle of the lens-side image blur correction unit 15. Further, the camera control unit 8 (setting means) sets the exposure at the time of generating the composite image of the image processing unit 10 based on the focal length information received from the interchangeable lens 2, the image blur correction angle of the lens-side image blur correction unit 15, and the response characteristic information.

[0028] The camera-side storage unit 17 stores an exposure table and the like that are referred to for determining the exposure during the alignment and composition process of the continuously captured images performed by the imaging device 1000 described later.

[0029] In this embodiment, the camera body 1 has a camera-side image shake correction unit 7, and the interchangeable lens 2 has a lens-side image shake correction unit 15. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and image shake correction may be performed by either one of them.

[0030] FIG. 2 is a flowchart of continuous shooting processing executed in the imaging device 1000. This processing starts when the imaging device 1000 is powered on. In actual shooting, operations such as focus adjustment are also performed, but since they do not affect the effects of the present invention, the description thereof is omitted.

[0031] This processing is executed by the camera control unit 8 reading a program from a ROM (not shown) in the camera body 1 and expanding the program in a RAM (not shown) also in the camera body 1.

[0032] First, in step S201, a shake prevention performance determination process, which is a subroutine, is performed. Although details will be described later with reference to FIG. 3, in this shake prevention performance determination process, the camera control unit 8 determines the current shake prevention performance of the imaging device 1000.

[0033] In step S202, based on the shake prevention performance determined in step S201, the camera control unit 8 (setting means) sets the exposure conditions for the next continuous shooting. Specifically, in addition to setting a shutter device and an aperture means (not shown) provided in the interchangeable lens 2 or setting the sensitivity of photoelectric conversion (so-called ISO sensitivity) of the image sensor 6 provided in the camera body 1, the exposure time and the number of shots of each shot of the continuous shooting image are set.

[0034] In step S203, the camera control unit 8 determines whether a shooting start instruction has been given by the photographer, specifically, whether a switch (hereinafter referred to as SW2) (not shown) has been turned on by the photographer pressing the release button. If SW2 is turned on (YES in step S203), the process proceeds to step S204. If SW2 is not turned on (NO in step S203), the process returns to step S203.

[0035] In step S204, the camera control unit 8 (control means) executes continuous imaging processing using the imaging element 6 based on the exposure conditions set in step S202. In this embodiment, when a continuous captured image is acquired in the imaging device 1000, the image processing unit 10 (composite image generation means) first extracts the feature points of each of the continuous captured images. Then, based on existing methods such as template matching, alignment is sequentially performed, and through addition processing, one composite image is generated. By shortening the exposure time of these continuous captured images, it becomes possible to reduce the amount of blur within one frame. Since these are sequentially aligned and combined, it becomes possible to increase the apparent total exposure time, and finally, one image with a reduced amount of blur is obtained. When using the addition average method during synthesis, it is also possible to obtain a secondary effect that the random noise appearing in the image is averaged and smoothed.

[0036] In step S205, the camera control unit 8 executes a recording process of recording and storing the one composite image obtained in the process of step S204 in a non-volatile memory (not shown).

[0037] In step S206, the camera control unit 8 determines again whether SW2 is ON, that is, whether the instruction for continuous shooting is still in progress. Here, if SW2 is ON (YES in step S206), it returns to step S201. That is, after power-on, when the focal length is changed, the anti-shake performance is rejudged (updated). On the other hand, if SW2 is not ON (NO in step S206), this process ends.

[0038] FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a subroutine of the anti-shake performance determination process in step S201 of FIG. 2. This subroutine is sequentially executed in such a manner that the camera control unit 8 refers to both the various information stored in the lens-side storage unit 14 and the various information stored in the camera-side storage unit 17 as described above.

[0039] In step S301, the camera control unit 8 (acquisition means) acquires, from the interchangeable lens 2, the focal length information (information regarding the focal length) stored in the lens-side storage unit 14. Generally, as the focal length increases, the amount of blur appearing on the image plane becomes larger with respect to the blur angle input to the imaging device 1000. Conversely, as the focal length decreases, the amount of blur appearing on the image plane becomes smaller with respect to the blur angle input to the imaging device 1000. Therefore, in this embodiment, in the next step S302, the necessary image blur correction angle corresponding to the focal length is calculated, and based on this, the image blur correction performance (anti-shake performance) of the imaging device 1000 is determined. Details will be described later. Note that the focal length information is stored in the lens-side storage unit 14 in this embodiment, but it is not limited thereto. For example, in the case of an optical system having a zoom function such as a zoom lens, the lens control unit 13 may determine the current zoom state (focal length) based on the table data of the focal length information in the lens-side storage unit 14, and may deliver this to the camera control unit 8 by communication at any time. Further, when the imaging device 1000 is a camera system in which the combination of the imaging element and the imaging optical system is changed, for example, according to an instruction from the photographer, when this combination is changed, it may have a mechanism to read the corresponding focal length information.

[0040] In step S302, the camera control unit 8 acquires from the interchangeable lens 2 information on the image blur correction angle (hereinafter referred to as the lens-side image blur correction angle) of the lens-side image blur correction unit 15 stored in the lens-side storage unit 14. At the same time, the camera control unit 8 calculates the image blur correction angle (hereinafter referred to as the camera-side image blur correction angle) of the current camera-side image blur correction unit 7 using the focal length information acquired in step S301. Specifically, the camera-side image blur correction angle is calculated as an angle obtained from the tangent of the stroke amount of the camera-side image blur correction unit 7 and the focal length (focal length information) of the imaging optical system 3. In this embodiment, the camera-side image blur correction angle is calculated using the tangent, but depending on the conditions, it may be approximated and calculated by the simple ratio of the stroke amount and the focal length. The optical image blur correction angle, which is the sum of the lens-side image blur correction angle and the camera-side image blur correction angle obtained here, is calculated. As described above, since the image blur correction angle required for blur changes in relation to the focal length, in this embodiment, the image blur correction performance of the imaging device 1000 is determined based on the optical image blur correction angle that the imaging device 1000 can achieve at the current focal length. When only one of the lens-side image blur correction unit 15 and the camera-side image blur correction unit 7 is used according to the focal length, the optical image blur correction angle of the imaging device 1000 is determined by the optical axis angle that can be changed for the one to be used.

[0041] In step S303, the camera control unit 8 determines whether or not it needs to acquire response characteristic information from the imaging device 1000. Generally, the focal length information and optical image blur correction angle described above contribute significantly to image blur correction, but these alone may not be sufficient to achieve a high level of image blur correction effectiveness. For example, depending on the performance of the angular velocity sensors provided in the camera body 1 and the interchangeable lens 2, they may under- or over-detect the amount of blur in a specific frequency band that should be accurately detected—for example, a low-frequency band below 5 Hz. In this case, the camera-side image blur correction unit 7 and the lens-side image blur correction unit 15 cannot issue position commands to move the image sensor and the image blur correction optical system to appropriate positions. Furthermore, even if the angular velocity sensors provided in the interchangeable lens 2 have sufficiently high performance and can accurately detect the amount of blur in the specific frequency band that should be accurately detected, the lens-side image blur correction control unit 16 and the lens-side image blur correction unit 15 may not respond correctly to the amount of blur. In this case, accurate image blur correction is also impossible to achieve. The same applies to the angular velocity sensor disposed in the camera body 1. Therefore, specifically, in step S303, the camera control unit 8 checks whether any of these cases applies and whether it is necessary to acquire the response characteristic information of the imaging device 1000.

[0042] If it is necessary to acquire response characteristic information of the image capturing apparatus 1000 (YES in step S303), the process proceeds to step S304; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S305. If it is not necessary to acquire response characteristic information of the image capturing apparatus 1000, in step S305 (described below), the image stabilization performance is determined from the “focal length information” and “optical image blur correction angle information” obtained in steps S301 and S302. That is, the camera control unit 8 determines that the image stabilization performance is higher when the optical image blur correction angle is a second angle greater than the first angle than when the optical image blur correction angle is a first angle. Also, the camera control unit 8 determines that the image stabilization performance is lower when the focal length is a second distance longer than the first angle than when the focal length is a first distance. If it is known in advance in step S303 that none of the above cases apply, the process may proceed directly from step S302 to step S305.

[0043] In step S304, the camera control unit 8 acquires response characteristic information of the imaging device 1000. Specifically, similar to the focal length information, the camera control unit 8 receives, by communication, information regarding response characteristics (hereinafter referred to as lens-side response characteristics) of the lens-side image stabilization control unit 16 and the lens-side image stabilization unit 15, which are stored in the lens-side storage unit 14. Further, the camera control unit 8 calculates the response characteristics of the imaging device 1000 by integrating information regarding response characteristics (hereinafter referred to as camera-side response characteristics) of the camera-side image stabilization control unit 9 and the camera-side image stabilization unit 7 and information regarding the lens-side response characteristics.

[0044] Here, the information regarding the lens-side response performance may not be limited to only the information on the mechanical response characteristics (lens-side response characteristics) with respect to a position command in a predetermined band (for example, a low-frequency band of 5 Hz or less) where vibration including camera shake is assumed to be applied to the imaging device 1000. For example, information on the drift characteristics of the angular velocity sensor disposed in the interchangeable lens 2 may also be included in the information regarding the lens-side response performance. Here, the drift characteristics refer to, in particular, the fluctuation characteristics of the detected angular velocity in a stationary state or in the above-mentioned predetermined band. Similarly, the information regarding the camera-side response performance may also include not only the information on the mechanical response characteristics (camera-side response characteristics) but also the information on the drift characteristics of the angular velocity sensor disposed in the camera body 1. In this case, based on not only the lens-side response characteristics and the camera-side response characteristics but also the drift characteristics of each angular sensor disposed in the imaging device 1000, it is determined whether accurate image blur correction can be achieved (vibration-proof performance). Note that in this embodiment, it is assumed that the drift performance of each angular velocity sensor disposed in the imaging device 1000 may be used for determining the vibration-proof performance, but it is not limited to this. For example, there may be a case where an externally attachable angular velocity sensor unit, a sub-camera, LiDAR, etc. are attached to the imaging device 1000 as devices for ensuring the accuracy of the position command of the imaging device 1000. In this case, the drift characteristics detected by those devices may be used for determining the vibration-proof performance. Also, there may be a case where a so-called panning shooting mode in which panning is intentionally performed during the exposure operation while the imaging device 1000 is directed toward the subject is selected. In this case, the drift characteristics in the panning direction of each angular velocity sensor disposed in the imaging device 1000 may not be used for determining the vibration-proof performance.

[0045] Note that although the lens-side response characteristic information is assumed to be stored in the lens-side storage unit 14, it is not limited to this, and it is sufficient that the camera control unit 8 can grasp the response characteristics in the frequency band of the characteristics of the lens-side image blur correction unit 15. For example, the camera control unit 8 may hold the lens response characteristic information for each interchangeable lens in advance in the camera-side storage unit 17, and read out the lens response characteristic information of the interchangeable lens 2 from the camera-side storage unit 17 based on the basic information such as the lens name of the interchangeable lens 2 obtained by communication.

[0046] Also, although different from this embodiment, for example, when the imaging device 1000 performs image blur correction using a gimbal mechanism that holds the entire device, it is sufficient if it is possible to use the response characteristic information in a predetermined band that the gimbal mechanism and its control unit have. At this time, it may detect the weight of the entire imaging device 1000 that changes according to the attachment of an accessory or the like, and use the response characteristic information obtained from the current state of the imaging device 1000. Similarly, although different from this embodiment, for example, there may be a case where the imaging device 1000 performs image blur correction using a swing mechanism that swings the lens module itself that holds the lens and the imaging element. In this case, it is sufficient if it is possible to use the response characteristic information in a predetermined band that the swing mechanism and its control unit have. Further, the imaging device 1000 may have a so-called varifocal liquid crystal having two degrees of freedom in two axes. In this case, the detection result that the varifocal liquid crystal is used in a state of being opened outside the imaging device 1000 may be included in the response characteristic information as information that can be assumed to be a situation where blur is likely to occur.

[0047] Next, in step S305, "anti-shake performance" is determined from the "focal length information", "optical image shake correction angle information", and "response characteristic information" obtained in steps S301, S302, and S304, and exposure conditions are determined based on the anti-shake performance. Specifically, an exposure table associated with the anti-shake performance is stored in advance in the camera-side storage unit 17, the determined anti-shake performance is compared with the exposure table, and the exposure time per frame of continuous shooting and the total number of frames used for alignment synthesis executed after the subroutine of FIG. 3 are determined. In this embodiment, when the "anti-shake performance" is high (the second performance) (the focal length information is less than a predetermined value, and the optical image shake correction angle is greater than or equal to a predetermined value, and the response characteristic is greater than or equal to a predetermined value), the exposure time per frame of continuous shooting is determined to be relatively long, and the total number of frames is determined to be relatively small. When the anti-shake performance is high, it is possible to sufficiently suppress the amount of blur in a single pre-synthesis image, and even if the total number of frames used for alignment synthesis is small, it is possible to obtain sufficient exposure. On the other hand, when the "anti-shake performance" is low (the first performance) (the focal length information is greater than or equal to a predetermined value, or the optical image shake correction angle is less than a predetermined value, or the response characteristic is less than a predetermined value), the exposure time per frame of continuous shooting is determined to be relatively short, and the total number of frames is determined to be relatively large. Thereby, the amount of blur in the pre-synthesis image can be suppressed to obtain an appropriate exposure for the synthesized image. When performing multi-frame image synthesis, it is expected that the amount of blur in each pre-synthesis image is sufficiently reduced, so that the shapes of feature points among multiple images are close to each other, and the detection of the amount of misalignment can be performed more accurately. After the comparison with the exposure table is completed and the exposure conditions such as the exposure time and the number of frames of the pre-synthesis image in the continuous imaging process executed in step S204 of FIG. 2 are determined, this subroutine is terminated.

[0048] According to this embodiment, when executing continuous shooting images to be subjected to alignment synthesis, the anti-shake performance of the imaging device 1000 is determined based on the focal length information, the optical image shake correction angle information, and the response characteristic information. Thereby, appropriate exposure conditions (the exposure time and the total number of frames of the pre-synthesis image) can be set.

[0049] The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above. However, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and various modifications and changes are possible within the scope of the gist thereof.

[0050] (Other Embodiments) The present invention can also be realized by supplying a program that realizes one or more functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or apparatus via a network or a storage medium, and causing one or more processors in a computer of the system or apparatus to read and execute the program. Further, it can also be executed by a circuit (for example, ASIC) that realizes one or more functions.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0051] 3 Imaging optical system 6 Image sensor 7 Camera-side image shake correction unit 8 Camera control unit 9 Camera-side image shake correction control unit 10 Image processing unit 14 Lens-side storage unit 15 Lens-side image shake correction unit 16 Lens-side image shake correction control unit 17 Camera-side storage unit

Claims

1. An imaging device comprising: an image sensor that receives a light beam transmitted through an imaging optical system and performs photoelectric conversion; optical image shake correction means for driving the imaging optical system and / or the image sensor; control means for acquiring a plurality of still images continuously in time by the image sensor; composite image generation means for aligning the plurality of still images and generating a composite image; determination means for determining information regarding an image shake correction angle of the optical image shake correction means based on information regarding a focal length of the imaging optical system; setting means for setting an exposure time and a total number of the plurality of still images based on information regarding the focal length of the imaging optical system and information regarding the image shake correction angle of the optical image shake correction means determined by the determination means.

2. Information regarding the image shake correction angle of the optical image shake correction means is information based on a sum of an image shake correction angle of the image shake correction means for driving the imaging optical system and an image shake correction angle of the image shake correction means for driving the image sensor, according to Claim 1.

3. When the anti-shake performance corresponding to the information regarding the focal length and the information regarding the image shake correction angle determined according to the focal length is a first performance, the setting means sets an exposure time of each of the plurality of still images to a shorter time and sets the total number of images to a larger number than in a case where the anti-shake performance is a second performance higher than the first performance, according to Claim 1 or 2.

4. The setting means determines that the anti-shake performance is higher when the image shake correction angle is a second angle larger than a first angle than when the image shake correction angle is the first angle, according to Claim 3.

5. The setting means determines that the anti-shake performance is lower when the focal length is a second distance longer than a first distance than when the focal length is the first distance, according to Claim 3 or 4.

6. The setting means determines the anti-shake performance according to response characteristics of the optical image shake correction control means and the optical image shake correction means in a predetermined band among vibrations applied to the imaging device, according to any one of Claims 3 to 5.

7. The imaging device further comprises detection means for detecting the vibration, and the setting means determines the anti-shake performance according to drift characteristics of the detection means in the predetermined band, according to Claim 6.

8. The imaging device according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the predetermined band is a low-frequency band of 5 Hz or less.

9. comprising acquisition means for acquiring information regarding the focal length, wherein the acquisition means acquires information regarding the focal length when the imaging device is powered on, and then updates the information when the focal length is changed, the imaging device according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

10. When the optical image stabilization means drives only at least a part of the imaging optical system and one of the imaging elements according to the focal length, the imaging device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the image stabilization angle is determined at an optical axis angle that can be changed for the one to be driven.

11. The imaging device according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the setting means calculates the image stabilization angle based on information regarding the focal length.

12. an imaging element that receives a light beam transmitted through the imaging optical system and performs photoelectric conversion; optical image stabilization means for driving at least a part of the imaging optical system and / or the imaging element; control means for continuously acquiring a plurality of still images over time by the imaging element; A control method for an imaging device having composite image generation means for generating a composite image by aligning the plurality of still images, a determination step of determining information regarding the image stabilization angle of the optical image stabilization means based on information regarding the focal length of the imaging optical system; A control method comprising a setting step of setting an exposure time and a total number of frames of the plurality of still images based on information regarding the focal length of the imaging optical system and information regarding the image stabilization angle of the optical image stabilization means determined in the determination step.

13. A program for causing a computer to function as each means of the imaging device according to any one of claims 1 to 11.

Images