Image Stabilization Range Restriction During Live View
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing image pickup apparatuses face challenges in correcting camera shake and positional shifts during consecutive photography, leading to image stabilization range limitations and decreased image quality due to excessive centering processing and increased positional shifts, especially in long exposure times.
Innovation Solution
An image pickup apparatus with a blur detecting section, image stabilization section, correlation value calculating section, and combination processing section that restricts image stabilization range during live view when in consecutive photographing combination mode, allowing for accurate blurring correction and alignment of image data without exceeding image stabilization limits.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the image stabilization mechanism is continuously operated during consecutive photographing, then camera shake during exposure can be corrected, but the stroke limit of the IS mechanism will be exceeded and positional shift between images will increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs centering processing before consecutive photographing begins, returning the IS mechanism to its initial position. This preliminary action prevents the IS mechanism from exceeding its stroke limit during subsequent shooting by ensuring it starts from a neutral position, thus maintaining reliable camera shake correction throughout the sequence.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements periodic centering processing during consecutive photographing operations. The IS mechanism is repeatedly returned to its initial position between shots, creating a periodic reset pattern that prevents cumulative displacement and maintains the mechanism within its operational stroke limits while continuing to correct camera shake.
2Measurement precision
If centering processing is performed to return the IS mechanism to initial position, then camera shake correction accuracy is maintained, but positional shift between images increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces reliance on mechanical IS mechanism positioning with computational image processing. By using correlation operations to calculate global vectors and perform alignment during combination processing, the system achieves accurate image alignment without being constrained by mechanical centering operations, thus resolving the conflict between correction accuracy and alignment precision.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the search target region is widened to calculate global vector with large positional shift, then alignment can be performed, but processing time and computational load increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the alignment process into two stages: first calculating local vectors for small regions to identify correspondence relationships, then using these local results to inform the calculation of global vectors. This segmentation allows the system to handle large positional shifts without requiring an excessively wide search region from the start, thereby reducing processing time while maintaining alignment capability.
Data Source
AI summary
An image pickup apparatus includes: an IS unit that corrects blurring during exposure by driving a lens or an image pickup device based on a blur amount detected by a blur detecting unit; an alignment processing section that calculates a correlation value for arbitrary two images among image data of a plural images obtained by consecutive photographing; a combination processing section that aligns and combines image data of the two images based on the correlation value; and a microcomputer that is capable of setting a consecutive photographing combination mode. In a case where the consecutive photographing combination mode is set, the IS unit restricts an image stabilization range during live view.