Image capturing apparatus, method of controlling the same and program

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9420261-B2
Application number	US-201214131550-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 11, 2012
Priority date	Aug 15, 2011
Publication date	Aug 16, 2016
Grant date	Aug 16, 2016

Abstract

Left- and right-eye captured images are output upon reception of light beams having passed through one imaging optical system, and the difference, between the left- and right-eye captured images, of each of subjects included in the left- and right-eye captured images is detected. An extraction image extracted from a region which includes a main subject and has a predetermined size is output for each of the left- and right-eye captured images. At this time, the region is set so that the difference, between the left- and right-eye captured images, of a subject which is different from the main subject and included in both the extraction images has a predetermined value.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An image capturing apparatus comprising:
an image sensor which includes a left-eye light-receiving element and a right-eye light-receiving element, and outputs a left-eye captured image for left eye and a right-eye captured image for right eye upon receiving light beams having passed through one imaging optical system; and
one or more processors configured to function as the following units:
a detection unit which is able to detect a difference, between the left-eye captured image and the right-eye captured image, of each of subjects included in the left-eye captured image and the right-eye captured image;
a control unit which is able to control a focusing unit of the imaging optical system to focus on a given subject included in the left-eye captured image and the right-eye captured image, based on the difference of the given subject between the left-eye captured image and the right-eye captured image detected by the detection unit; and
a creation unit which is able to create an image for binocular stereopsis using the left-eye captured image and the right-eye captured image,
wherein the creation unit creates the image for binocular stereopsis so that a difference, between the left-eye captured image and the right-eye captured image, of a subject which is different from the given subject and is included in both the left-eye captured image and the right-eye captured image has a predetermined value in the image for binocular stereopsis.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the subject different from the given subject is a subject positioned farther from the image capturing apparatus than the given subject.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the subject different from the given subject is a subject, which is determined to stand still across a plurality of captured images obtained before the left-eye captured image and the right-eye captured image are obtained, among the subjects included in the left-eye captured image and the right-eye captured image.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the subject different from the given subject is a subject having a maximum difference among differences, between a left-eye captured image and a right-eye captured image obtained during pre-shooting before shooting for recording, of the subjects which are detected by the detection unit.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the left-eye light-receiving element and the right-eye light-receiving element receive light beams having passed through different regions in the exit pupil of the one imaging optical system.

6. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the creation unit creates the image for binocular stereopsis based on extraction images, extracted from regions which include the given subject and have a predetermined size, for each of the left-eye captured image and the right-eye captured image,
wherein the creation unit sets the region so that the difference, between the left-eye captured image and the right-eye captured image, of a subject which is different from the given subject and is included in both the extraction images has a predetermined value in the image for binocular stereopsis.

7. The apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein when at least one of the regions set for the left-eye captured image and the right-eye captured image falls outside a range of an effective pixel of the image sensor, the creation unit sets the region within the range of the effective pixel.

8. The apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein when at least one of the regions set for the left-eye captured image and the right-eye captured image falls outside a range of an effective pixel of the image sensor, the creation unit sets the region to eliminate the difference of the given subject between the left-eye captured image and the right-eye captured image.

9. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the image sensor has microlens array in which each microlens corresponds a plurality of light-receiving elements.

10. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the difference between the left-eye captured image and the right-eye captured image means an amount representing, for each pixel, a shift in relative horizontal position of the same subject in the left-eye captured image and the right-eye captured image.

11. An image capturing apparatus comprising:
an image sensor which includes a left-eye light-receiving element and a right-eye light-receiving element, and outputs a left-eye captured image for left eye and a right-eye captured image for right eye upon receiving light beams having passed through one imaging optical system; and
one or more processors configured to function as the following units:
a detection unit which is able to detect a difference, between the left-eye captured image and the right-eye captured image, of each of subjects included in the left-eye captured image and the right-eye captured image;
a control unit which is able to control a focusing unit of the imaging optical system to focus on a given subject included in the left-eye captured image and the right-eye captured image, based on the difference of the given subject between the left-eye captured image and the right-eye captured image detected by the detection unit; and
a creation unit which is able to create an image for binocular stereopsis using an extraction image, extracted from a region which includes the given subject and has a predetermined size, for each of the left-eye captured image and the right-eye captured image, the creation unit setting the region so that the difference, between the left-eye captured image and the right-eye captured image, at a predetermined distance different from a distance between the given subject and the image capturing apparatus has a predetermined value in the image for binocular stereopsis,
wherein the creation unit sets the region based on a distance between the centers of gravity of the light beams used to output the left-eye captured image and the right-eye captured image, respectively, a distance between the image sensor and an exit pupil of the one imaging optical system, and the difference between the left-eye captured image and the right-eye captured image at the predetermined distance, which is obtained from the predetermined distance.

12. A method of controlling an image capturing apparatus including an image sensor which includes a left-eye light-receiving element and a right-eye light-receiving element, and outputs a left-eye captured image for left eye and a right-eye captured image for right eye upon receiving light beams having passed through the one imaging optical system, the method comprising:
a detection step of detecting a difference, between the left-eye captured image and the right-eye captured image, of each of subjects included in the left-eye captured image and the right-eye captured image;
a control step of controlling a focusing unit of the imaging optical system to focus on a given subject included in the left-eye captured image and the right-eye captured image, based on the difference of the given subject between the left-eye captured image and the right-eye captured image detected in the detection step; and
a creation step of creating an image for binocular stereopsis using the left-eye captured image and the right-eye captured image,
wherein in the creation step, the image for binocular stereopsis is created so that the difference, between the left-eye captured image and the right-eye captured image, of a subject which is different from the given subject and is included in both the left-eye captured image and the right-eye captured image has a predetermined value in the image for bi

Assignees

• Ueda Toshiharu
• Kishi Takafumi
• Canon Kk

Inventors

• Ueda Toshiharu
• Kishi Takafumi

Classifications

• H04N23/67

  Focus control based on electronic image sensor signals · CPC title

• H04N23/63

  by using electronic viewfinders · CPC title

• G03B13/36

  Autofocus systems · CPC title

• H04N13/211 Primary

  using temporal multiplexing · CPC title

• H04N2013/0081

  Depth or disparity estimation from stereoscopic image signals · CPC title