JP2011129992A - Image capturing apparatus, control method, and control program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To facilitate performing defect detection for a pixel at an image capturing apparatus having a solid-state imaging object with a plurality of pixels, without hindering improvement in the speed and without an increase in cost. <P>SOLUTION: The image capturing apparatus has a solid-state imaging object including a plurality of pixels. A defective pixel detector detects a pixel with defects as a defective pixel. As a lapse period, a controller detects a period (step S202) past after the defective pixel detector operates at the latest (step S206). Then, the controller performs selection processing to select whether the defective pixel detector operates (step S205), if the lapse period is equal to or longer than a prescribed lapse period predetermined beforehand. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image pickup apparatus using a solid-state image pickup device such as a charge coupled device (CCD) or a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor, a control method thereof, and a control program.

  A solid-state imaging body formed of a semiconductor such as a CCD or CMOS has a plurality of imaging elements. In the following description, each of these image sensors is also referred to as a pixel.

  In recent years, the number of pixels of solid-state imaging bodies has been increasing. In a solid-state image pickup device having a large number of pixels (that is, the number of image pickup devices), a so-called defective pixel whose sensitivity is lowered due to a local crystal defect of a semiconductor may occur due to a problem such as a yield in manufacturing. Are known.

  Due to such defective pixels, dot-like scratches appear in the image at the time of imaging, causing image quality degradation. For this reason, in an imaging apparatus such as a digital camera equipped with a solid-state imaging body, it is performed to detect defective pixels generated in the manufacturing process. When a defective pixel is detected, it is known that address information (address data) of the defective pixel is stored in a memory, and the defective pixel is corrected based on the address information stored in the memory. ing.

  In general, it is known that defective pixels become conspicuous when the temperature of the solid-state imaging body becomes high or when the exposure time becomes long. Some defective pixels do not always lose their sensitivity. In particular, a defective pixel having a long period of sensitivity reduction may not be detected as a defective pixel even if an inspection is performed in the manufacturing process of the imaging device.

  In addition to the case where the defective pixel occurs at the time of manufacturing the solid-state imaging body, there is a defective pixel that occurs later due to some stress after the shipment of the solid-state imaging body. As described above, defective pixels become conspicuous when the temperature of the solid-state imaging body becomes high or when the exposure time becomes long.

  Furthermore, for example, when the imaging apparatus is carried and the airplane is taken and flies at a high altitude, the pixels of the solid-state imaging body are destroyed due to cosmic ray exposure and the number of defective pixels increases.

  For defective pixels that could not be detected in the manufacturing process of the imaging device described above or subsequent defective pixels, there is a mechanism for self-diagnosing the presence or absence of defective pixels when the imaging device is turned on and correcting the image data based on the diagnostic results An imaging device is known.

  It is known that a later defective pixel has many so-called white scratches in which a constant amount of charge is always added to a normal output signal.

  In general, when detecting the above-described white scratch, that is, detecting a defective pixel that follows, the aperture of the optical system that guides the light input to the solid-state imaging body is closed. And the output signal output from each pixel (namely, image pick-up element) of a solid-state image sensing body is read, and each output signal and a predetermined level (threshold) are compared. From this comparison result, if the output signal is equal to or greater than the threshold value, the pixel is determined as a defective pixel.

  Subsequently, data indicating the position of the address of the defective pixel (that is, address information) is generated from the position information regarding the defective pixel. Then, the output signal output from the defective pixel based on the data is interpolated based on the output signals from other normal pixels.

  Some threshold values are changed according to the temperature of the imaging device (for example, the ambient temperature of the solid-state imaging body) (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In general, the detection of defective pixels as described above is performed at the time of startup or shutdown of the imaging apparatus or according to a menu or the like.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-268527

  By the way, when the detection of the defective pixel described above is performed at the time of startup or shutdown of the imaging device, if the detection of the defective pixel is performed by software processing, the cause of hindering the speeding up of the startup or shutdown of the imaging device End up.

  On the other hand, if the imaging device is provided with a dedicated detection circuit for detecting defective pixels, the cost of the imaging device is inevitably increased.

  In addition, when a menu item for detecting a defective pixel is provided in the menu, the user does not always detect the defective pixel using the menu item. That is, since it is an extra menu operation for the user, the detection of defective pixels is not often performed. As a result, there arises a problem that scratches remain in the captured image.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an imaging apparatus capable of easily detecting a defective pixel without hindering the speedup and without increasing the cost, a control method thereof, and a control program.

  An imaging apparatus according to the present invention is an imaging apparatus having a solid-state imaging body having a plurality of pixels, and a defect pixel detection unit that detects a defective pixel in the plurality of pixels, and a time elapsed since the defective pixel detection unit last operated. And a control unit that performs a process of selecting whether or not to operate the defective pixel detection unit when the elapsed period is equal to or longer than a predetermined specified elapsed period. .

  An imaging apparatus control method according to the present invention is an imaging apparatus control method including a solid-state imaging device having a plurality of pixels, and includes a first step of detecting defective pixels in the plurality of pixels, and the first step. A second step of detecting an elapsed period that has elapsed since the last execution, and whether to execute the first step when the elapsed period is equal to or greater than a predetermined elapsed period And a third step of performing processing.

  A control program for an image pickup apparatus according to the present invention is a control program used for an image pickup apparatus having a solid-state image pickup body having a plurality of pixels and executed by a computer. The first control program detects a defective pixel in the plurality of pixels. A step, a second step of detecting an elapsed period that has elapsed since the last execution of the first step, and the first step when the elapsed period is equal to or greater than a predetermined elapsed period. And a third step of performing a selection process of whether to execute or not.

  According to the present invention, defective pixels are not frequently detected, and the speed-up of the imaging apparatus is not hindered.

  That is, it is possible to select whether or not to detect a defective pixel without impairing the user-friendliness when the imaging apparatus is activated. And detection of a defective pixel is not performed unnecessarily. Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to easily detect a defective pixel without hindering the increase in speed and without increasing the cost.

It is a block diagram which shows an example of the imaging device by embodiment of this invention. 3 is a flowchart for explaining a defective pixel detection operation in the imaging apparatus shown in FIG. 1. It is a figure which shows an example of the display displayed at the time of the detection of a defective pixel in the imaging device shown in FIG.

  Hereinafter, an example of an imaging apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of an imaging apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and the imaging apparatus is, for example, a digital camera.

  In FIG. 1, the imaging apparatus 100 </ b> A has an image processing apparatus 100. The image processing apparatus 100 includes a photographic lens 10, a mechanical shutter 12 having a diaphragm function, a solid-state imaging body 14, and an A / D (Analog / Digital) converter 16. In the solid-state imaging body 14, for example, a plurality of imaging elements are arranged in a matrix. In the following description, each of the imaging elements may be referred to as a pixel.

  The solid-state imaging body 14 converts the optical image input from the photographic lens 10 into an electrical signal (analog signal) and outputs it. The A / D converter 16 converts the analog signal output from the solid-state imaging body 14 into a digital signal.

  A clock signal and a control signal are supplied from the timing generation circuit 18 to the solid-state imaging body 14, the A / D converter 16, and the D / A converter 26. The timing generation circuit 18 is controlled by the memory control circuit 22 and the system control circuit 50.

  If the reset timing of the solid-state imaging body 14 is controlled, the charge accumulation time can be controlled as a so-called electronic shutter. The electronic shutter is used for moving image shooting.

  The image processing circuit 20 receives the digital signal output from the A / D converter 16 and performs predetermined pixel interpolation processing and color conversion processing. The image processing circuit 20 receives image data from the memory control circuit 22 and performs predetermined pixel interpolation processing and color conversion processing on the image data.

  The image processing circuit 20 performs image cropping and scaling processing, thereby realizing a so-called electronic zoom function.

  In addition, the image processing circuit 20 performs predetermined arithmetic processing using the image data. The system control circuit 50 controls the exposure control circuit 40 and the distance measurement control circuit 42 according to the calculation result. For example, here, TTL (Through the Lens) AF (auto focus) processing, AE (automatic exposure) processing, and EF (flash pre-flash) processing are performed. Further, the image processing circuit 20 performs TTL AWB (auto white balance) processing based on the above calculation result.

  The memory control circuit 22 controls the A / D converter 16, the timing generation circuit 18, the image processing circuit 20, the image display memory 24, the D / A converter 26, the memory 30, and the compression / decompression circuit 32.

  The digital signal output from the A / D converter 16 is supplied as image data to the image display memory 24 or the memory 30 via the image processing circuit 20 and the memory control circuit 22 or directly via the memory control circuit 22. Written.

  The image display unit 28 is, for example, a TFT LCD (Thin film transistor Liquid Crystal Display). The image data written in the image display memory 24 is sent to the image display unit 28 via the D / A converter 26 under the control of the memory control circuit 22 and displayed on the image display unit 28. If image data is sequentially displayed using the image display unit 28, an electronic viewfinder function can be realized.

  Further, the image display unit 28 turns the display ON / OFF (ON / OFF) under the control of the system control circuit 50. When the display in the image display unit 28 is turned off, the power consumption in the image processing apparatus 100 can be significantly reduced.

  The memory 30 is a memory for storing captured still images and moving images as image data. The memory 30 has a storage capacity sufficient to store a predetermined number of still images and a moving image for a predetermined time.

  Thus, even in so-called continuous shooting or panoramic shooting in which a plurality of still images are continuously shot, a large amount of image data can be written to the memory 30 at high speed. The memory 30 can also be used as a work area for the system control circuit 50.

  The compression / decompression circuit 32 is a circuit that compresses / decompresses image data by adaptive discrete cosine transform (ADCT) or the like. Then, the compression / decompression circuit 32 reads the image data stored in the memory 30, performs compression processing or decompression processing, and writes the processed image data in the memory 30 again.

  The exposure control circuit 40 controls the shutter 12 having a diaphragm function. The exposure control circuit 40 has a flash light control function that performs light control of the flash in cooperation with the flash unit 48.

  The distance measurement control circuit 42 controls the focusing of the photographic lens 10. The zoom control circuit 44 controls zooming of the taking lens 10. The barrier control circuit 46 controls the operation of the protection unit (barrier) 102 that protects the imaging unit including the photographing lens 10. The protection unit 102 is for preventing the imaging unit from being dirty and damaged.

  The flash unit 48 also has an AF auxiliary light projecting function and a flash light control function. As described above, the exposure control circuit 40 and the distance measurement control circuit 42 are controlled using the TTL method, and the system control circuit 50 is based on the calculation result calculated by the image processing circuit 20 according to the image data. The exposure control circuit 40 and the distance measurement control circuit 42 are controlled.

  The system control circuit 50 controls the entire image processing apparatus 100 and further functions as a defective pixel detection unit and a control unit described later. The memory 52 stores constants, variables, programs, and the like for operating the system control circuit 50.

  The system control circuit 50 displays on the display unit 54 in accordance with the execution of the program. For example, the display unit 54 includes a liquid crystal display device and a speaker, and an operation state and a message are displayed on the liquid crystal display device using characters and images. In addition, an operating state and a message are output from the speaker by voice.

  The display unit 54 is installed at a position that is easily visible near the operation unit of the image processing apparatus 100, and includes, for example, a combination of an LCD or LED (Light Emitting Diode) and a sound generation element. In addition, the display unit 54 is partially installed in the optical viewfinder 104.

  Specifically, in the display unit 54, the liquid crystal display device displays a single shot / continuous shooting display, a self-timer display, a compression rate display, a recording pixel number display, a recording number display, a remaining image number display, a shutter speed display. Aperture value display, exposure correction display, flash display, red-eye reduction display, macro shooting display, and the like are performed.

  The liquid crystal display device performs a buzzer setting display, a battery remaining amount display, an error display, an information display by a multi-digit number, an attachment / detachment state display of the recording media 200 and 210, a communication I / F operation display, and the like. Also good.

  Examples of the display in the optical viewfinder 104 include an in-focus display, a camera shake warning display, a flash charge display, a shutter speed display, an aperture value display, and an exposure correction display. As described above, when the optical viewfinder 104 is used, it is possible to perform shooting without using the electronic viewfinder function of the image display unit 28.

  The non-volatile memory 56 is an electrically erasable / recordable non-volatile memory, and for example, an EEPROM (Electronically Erasable and Programmable Read Only Memory) or the like is used.

  As illustrated, the image processing apparatus 100 includes a mode dial 60, shutter switches 62 and 64, a display changeover switch 66, an operation unit 70, a zoom switch 72, and a subject detection unit 74. These mode dial 60, shutter switches 62 and 64, display changeover switch 66, operation unit 70, zoom switch 72, and subject detection unit 74 serve as operation means for inputting various operation instructions to the system control circuit 50. Used.

  For example, the mode dial switch 60 includes power off, automatic shooting mode, shooting mode, panoramic shooting mode, moving image shooting mode, playback mode, multi-screen playback / erase mode, PC (personal computer) connection mode, TV reception mode, and the like. It is used when switching between function modes.

  A shutter switch 62 (hereinafter also referred to as SW1) is turned ON during the operation of the shutter button. When the SW1 is turned on, the system control circuit 50 is instructed to start operations such as AF processing, AE processing, AWB processing, and EF processing.

  The shutter switch 64 (hereinafter also referred to as SW2) is turned on when the operation of the shutter button is completed. By turning on SW2, the system control circuit 50 is instructed to start a series of processing operations such as exposure processing, development processing, and recording processing.

  Here, the exposure process refers to a process of writing an output signal from the solid-state imaging body 12 as image data in the memory 30 via the A / D converter 16 and the memory control circuit 22. Further, the development processing refers to arithmetic processing in the image processing circuit 20 and the memory control circuit 22. The recording process refers to a process of reading image data from the memory 30, compressing the data by the compression / decompression circuit 32, and then writing the image data to the recording medium 200 or 210.

  The display changeover switch 66 is used when display changeover is performed in the image display unit 28. When this display switching function is used to shoot using the optical viewfinder 104, power can be saved by cutting off the current supply to the image display unit 28.

  The operation unit 70 includes various buttons and a touch panel. For example, various buttons include a menu button, a set button, a macro button, a multi-screen playback page break button, a flash setting button, a single shooting / continuous shooting / self-timer switching button, and the like.

  Further, as various buttons, menu movement + (plus) button, menu movement-(minus) button, reproduction image movement + (plus) button, reproduction image-(minus) button, shooting image quality selection button, exposure correction button, and date. / There is a time setting button.

  The zoom switch 72 is used for a user to issue a magnification change instruction at the time of imaging. The zoom switch 72 has a tele switch (not shown) that changes the imaging angle of view to the telephoto side and a wide switch (not shown) that changes it to the wide angle side. By operating the zoom switch 72, the system control circuit 50 instructs the zoom control unit 44 to change the imaging field angle of the photographic lens 10. That is, the operation of the zoom switch 72 serves as a trigger for performing an optical zoom operation.

  The operation of the zoom switch 72 also serves as a trigger for electronic change of the imaging angle of view by image cropping and pixel interpolation processing by the image processing circuit 20. The subject detection unit 74 is an element that detects a subject. For example, face detection is performed as subject detection.

  The power supply control circuit 80 is configured by a battery detection circuit, a DC-DC converter, a switch circuit, and the like, and blocks (areas) to be energized are switched by the switch circuit. The power supply control circuit 80 detects the presence / absence of a battery, the type of battery, and the remaining battery level. Based on the detection result and an instruction from the system control circuit 50, the power supply control circuit 80 controls the DC-DC converter to supply a necessary voltage to each part including the recording medium for a necessary period.

  The power supply control circuit 80 is connected to a power supply 86 via connectors 82 and 84. For example, a primary battery such as an alkaline battery or a lithium battery, a secondary battery such as a NiCd battery, a NiMH battery, or a Li battery, or an AC adapter is used as the power source 86.

  Further, the illustrated image processing apparatus 100 includes interfaces (I / F) 90 and 94, and the recording medium 200 is connected to the I / F 90 via connectors 92 and 206, for example. Similarly, the recording medium 210 is connected to the I / F 94 via connectors 96 and 216. The recording media 200 and 210 have I / F 204 and I / F 214 and recording units 202 and 212, respectively. The recording media 200 and 210 are, for example, a memory card or a hard disk.

  In the illustrated example, the image processing apparatus 100 is provided with two systems of interfaces and connectors for attaching the recording medium. However, the image processing apparatus 100 includes at least one of these interfaces and connectors. What should I do?

  When the image processing apparatus 100 includes a plurality of interfaces and connectors, those interfaces and connectors having different standards may be used in combination.

  Further, as the interfaces 90 and 94 and the connectors 92 and 96, those compliant with a standard such as a PCMCIA card or a CF (Compact Flash (registered trademark)) card may be used. That is, if various communication cards such as a LAN card, a modem card, a USB card, an IEEE 1394 card, a SCSI card, or a communication card such as a PHS are connected, image data and images can be exchanged with other computers or peripheral devices such as printers. Information attached to data can be transferred.

  A communication unit 110 used as a communication unit is connected to the system control circuit 50. The communication unit 110 has various communication functions such as USB, IEEE1394, LAN, and wireless communication. The communication unit 110 is connected to a connector 112 for connecting the system control circuit 50 to other devices. Note that an antenna is used instead of the connector 112 when wireless communication is used.

  As described above, the system control circuit 50 functions as a defective pixel detection unit and a control unit. The system control circuit 50 is connected to a temperature sensor unit (temperature detection unit) 100B. The temperature sensor unit 100B is disposed in the vicinity of the solid-state imaging body 14, detects the temperature of the individual imaging body 14, and supplies the detected temperature to the system control circuit 50. And the system control circuit 50 performs the process mentioned later using detected temperature.

  By the way, when the system control circuit 50 functions as a defective pixel detection unit, the system control circuit 50 detects a defective pixel as follows, for example.

  First, the system control circuit 50 compares the level of an output signal output from each pixel of the solid-state imaging body 14 with a predetermined threshold in a state where there is no light input to the solid-state imaging body 14. If it is determined from the comparison result that the level of the output signal is greater than the threshold value, the system control circuit 50 detects a pixel corresponding to the level of the output signal as a defective pixel.

  Subsequently, the system control circuit 50 stores the address information of the defective pixel in the memory 52 together with the date and time when the defective pixel was detected.

  FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining the defective pixel detection operation in the imaging apparatus 100A shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display displayed when a defective pixel is detected in the imaging apparatus illustrated in FIG.

  With reference to FIG. 1 to FIG. 3, an operation at the time of detecting a defective pixel (hereinafter also referred to as flaw detection) will be described. First, the imaging device 100A is activated (step S201). In the example shown in the figure, it is assumed that the imaging apparatus 100A has selected the still image shooting mode with the mode dial switch 60 and the imaging apparatus 100A has been powered on. When flaw detection is performed, the system control circuit 50 records the date and time when flaw detection is performed in the memory 52 as described above.

  When the power supply is activated, the system control circuit 50 searches the memory 52 and examines the number of days (elapsed period) that have elapsed since the last detection of the scratch as the number of days (elapsed period) (step S202). That is, the system control circuit 50 detects an elapsed period that has elapsed since the last detection of a scratch. For example, the system control circuit 50 calculates the number of elapsed days according to the detection date and time and the current date and time recorded in the memory 52. As a result, when the number of elapsed days is less than the predetermined number of days D (specified elapsed period) (NO in step S202), activation of the system control circuit 50 and the shooting mode (in this case, the still image shooting mode) is started. Execute (step S212: control unit).

  On the other hand, when the number of elapsed days is equal to or greater than the predetermined number of days D (more than the specified elapsed period) (YES in step S202), the system control circuit 50 detects the temperature detected by the temperature sensor unit 100B (hereinafter, detected temperature). Is called a preset temperature or higher (T degrees or higher) (step S203: control unit). If the detected temperature is lower than set temperature T (NO in step S203), system control circuit 50 proceeds to step S212 described above.

  On the other hand, when the detected temperature is equal to or higher than set temperature T (YES in step S203), system control circuit 50 displays the following flaw correction selection menu screen on image display unit (menu display unit) 28 (step S204: Control unit).

  This flaw correction selection menu screen 300 is, for example, the menu screen shown in FIG. 3A, and the word “back flaw correction” is displayed on the upper part thereof. Further, in the middle of the scratch correction selection menu screen 300, a message “Do you want to perform post-scratch correction?” Is displayed, and below that, a SET button 301 and a Cancel button 302 are displayed. The

  The user (operator) sees this scratch correction selection menu screen 300 and determines whether or not to perform the scratch correction. The system control circuit 50 is waiting for an input (instruction input) from the user. First, the system control circuit 50 determines whether or not the SET button (YES button) 301 has been selected (step S205: control unit). .

  When selection of the SET button 301 is detected (YES in step S205), the system control circuit 50 starts the above-described flaw detection (hereinafter also referred to as flaw correction) (step S206: defective pixel detection unit). When the flaw detection is started, the system control circuit 50 switches the flaw selection menu screen 300 to the flaw correction progress status screen 303.

  The flaw correction progress situation screen 303 is, for example, the screen shown in FIG. 3B, and the word “rear flaw correction” is displayed on the upper part thereof, similarly to the flaw correction selection menu screen 300. Further, in the middle stage of the rear wound correction progress status screen 303, the word “currently performing rear wound correction” is displayed, and a bar display body (progress bar) 304 indicating the progress status is displayed.

  The bar display 304 changes its color as the flaw detection progresses. For example, when the progress of the flaw detection is 0%, the bar display 304 is black, but as the progress progresses, the bar display body turns white from the left side in the figure. When the progress of the flaw detection reaches 100%, the entire bar display 304 is white. Note that a Cancel button 302 is displayed on the flaw correction progress status screen 303, and flaw detection can be canceled halfway.

  When the flaw detection is started, the system control circuit 50 determines whether or not the Cancel button (MENU button) 302 has been pressed (step S209). When Cancel button 302 is pressed (YES in step S209), system control circuit 50 proceeds to step S212.

  On the other hand, if Cancel button 302 is not pressed (NO in step S209), system control circuit 50 determines whether or not the flaw detection is completed (step S210). That is, the system control circuit 50 determines whether or not the flaw detection has been completed for all the pixels (cells) of the solid-state imaging body 114. If flaw detection has not been completed for all pixels (NO in step S210), the system control circuit 50 returns to step S209.

  When the flaw detection is completed for all the pixels (YES in step S210), the system control circuit 50 writes the defective pixel address data in the memory 52 as detection data (step S211). Furthermore, the system control circuit 50 writes the date and time when the flaw detection is performed in the memory 52 in association with the detection data. Then, the system control circuit 50 proceeds to step S212.

  If the selection of the SET button 301 is not detected in step S205 described above (NO in step S205), the system control circuit 50 determines whether or not the Cancel button 302 has been selected (step S207).

  When selection of Cancel button 302 is detected (YES in step S207), system control circuit 50 proceeds to step S212. On the other hand, if selection of the Cancel button 302 is not detected (NO in step S207), the system control circuit 50 detects whether or not SW1 is operated (step S208: control unit).

  If operation of SW1 is detected (YES in step S208), system control circuit 50 proceeds to step S212. On the other hand, if the operation of SW1 is not detected (NO in step S208), system control circuit 50 returns to step S205.

  In this way, when the power of the imaging apparatus 100A is turned on in the still image shooting mode, the system control circuit 50 displays the scratch correction selection menu screen on the image display unit 28 according to the elapsed days and the detected temperature. In this case, the user is prompted whether or not to perform the scratch detection.

  In the illustrated embodiment, the scratch correction selection menu screen is displayed separately after activation without using the normal menu screen, so that the user can save the trouble of searching the scratch detection menu from the normal menu. And since the user does not need to perform an extra menu operation, the trouble at the time of performing a flaw detection can be saved, and as a result, the frequency of flaw detection can be improved. Furthermore, it is not necessary to provide the image pickup apparatus with a dedicated detection circuit for detecting flaws.

  Therefore, according to the imaging apparatus according to the above-described embodiment, there is an effect that the flaw detection can be easily performed without hindering the speed increase and without increasing the cost.

  In the above-described embodiment, it is determined whether or not to perform the flaw detection according to the elapsed days and the detected temperature. However, whether or not the flaw detection is performed according to only the elapsed days without step S203. You may make it discriminate | determine.

  In this way, the system control circuit 50 performs a selection process for determining whether or not to detect a defective pixel when the number of elapsed days is equal to or longer than a predetermined elapsed period.

  By the way, in general, in the moving image mode, there is a very low possibility that a large back-scratch (that is, a defect of a large number of pixels) will occur due to the limitation of the exposure time. For this reason, in the above embodiment, for example, when the imaging apparatus 100A is activated and in the moving image shooting mode, the predetermined number of elapsed days D is set as a sufficiently large number of elapsed days, and the normal operation is performed in step S202. May be determined as NO. That is, the scratch correction selection menu screen may not be displayed in the moving image shooting mode.

  Further, for example, in the case of a special shooting mode in which fireworks or night scenes are always captured with a long exposure time, the predetermined number of elapsed days D is made smaller than in the still image shooting mode. It may be.

  In any case, as described in the above embodiment, even if the scratch correction selection menu screen is displayed when the image pickup apparatus 100A is activated, when the operation of SW1 is detected, the mode shifts to the shooting mode. Usability of the imaging apparatus 100A is not impaired.

  Here, another embodiment of flaw correction will be described with reference to FIG. Assume that the imaging apparatus 100A is in a shooting standby state. At this time, a through image is displayed on the image display unit 28, and the imaging apparatus 100A is in the electronic viewfinder state.

  When the system control circuit 50 detects an operation of the menu button of the operation unit 70 in the shooting standby state, the system control circuit 50 displays an image of a menu screen (hereinafter referred to as a main menu screen) for performing various settings for shooting. Displayed on the unit 28.

  On this main menu screen, for example, camera setting items such as auto focus point setting, setting of shooting conditions such as whether to allow digital zoom, ON / OFF of camera operation sound, and time setting are displayed as menu items. Is done. Further, it is assumed that the menu item includes a menu item for performing flaw detection and creating detection data (hereinafter referred to as a flaw detection menu item).

  The system control circuit 50 acquires the detected temperature at the time when the menu button is pressed and the number of days elapsed since the previous scratch detection, and the scratch detection menu item on the main menu screen according to the detected temperature and the elapsed days. Change the display position of.

  For example, when the number of elapsed days is short, the system control circuit 50 positions the scratch detection menu item at the lowermost layer of the main menu screen. That is, the system control circuit 50 positions the scratch detection menu item at a position that the user will not operate in a normal operation. Alternatively, the scratch detection menu item may be grayed out so that it cannot be selected.

  On the other hand, if the number of days elapsed is long, the system control circuit 50 positions the scratch detection menu item at the top of the main menu screen so that the user can easily select it. When determining the length of the elapsed days, for example, the previously specified elapsed days D may be used. That is, if the elapsed days are equal to or greater than the predetermined elapsed days D, it is determined that the elapsed days are long.

  If scratch detection is performed as in this embodiment, a photo opportunity is not missed. In addition, there is an advantage that scratch detection is not performed unnecessarily, and it is easy to perform scratch detection only when necessary.

  Although the present invention has been described based on the embodiments, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and various forms within the scope of the present invention are also included in the present invention. And you may make it combine a part of above-mentioned embodiment suitably.

  For example, the imaging apparatus 100A may be controlled using the function of the above-described embodiment as a control method. In this case, the control method includes at least a first step for detecting defective pixels in a plurality of pixels, and a second step for detecting an elapsed period since the last execution of the first step, In the case where the elapsed period is equal to or longer than a predetermined elapsed period, a third step of performing a selection process as to whether or not to execute the first step is included.

  Further, a program having the functions of the above-described embodiments may be executed by the system control circuit 50 as a control program. Further, the control program may be read from a recording medium storing the control program into a computer such as a microprocessor and executed.

  Accordingly, since the functions according to the above-described embodiments are realized by a computer, the program code itself supplied or installed in the computer also realizes the present invention. That is, the present invention includes a computer program for realizing the functions according to the above-described embodiments.

  In this case, as long as it has a function as a program, the form of a program such as an object code, a program executed by an interpreter, or script data supplied to an OS (operating system) is not limited.

  As a recording medium for supplying the control program, for example, a magnetic recording medium such as a hard disk or a magnetic tape, an optical / magneto-optical storage medium, or a nonvolatile semiconductor memory is used. Further, when supplying the control program, the program may be stored in a server on a computer network, and the client computer may download the program.

28 Image display unit 30, 52 Memory 50 System control circuit 62 Shutter switch (SW1)
64 Shutter switch (SW2)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Image processing apparatus 100A Imaging apparatus 100B Temperature sensor part

Claims (10)

In an imaging device having a solid-state imaging body having a plurality of pixels,
A defective pixel detector for detecting defective pixels in the plurality of pixels;
Selection of whether or not to operate the defective pixel detection unit when an elapsed period that has elapsed since the defective pixel detection unit last operated is detected and the elapsed period is equal to or longer than a predetermined specified elapsed period A control unit for processing;
An imaging device comprising: A menu display unit for displaying a selection menu screen for selecting whether to operate the defective pixel detection unit;
In the selection process, the control unit displays the selection menu screen on the menu display unit, and detects that an instruction input for operating the defective pixel detection unit is performed by an operator, The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a defective pixel detection unit is operated. A temperature detection unit for detecting the temperature of the solid-state imaging body;
The control unit performs the selection process when the elapsed period is equal to or longer than the specified elapsed period and the temperature detected by the temperature detection unit is equal to or higher than a preset temperature. The imaging device according to claim 1 or 2.   The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit detects the elapsed period when the imaging apparatus is activated.   The imaging apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the specified elapsed period is varied according to a shooting mode of the imaging apparatus.   The said control part displays the progress status screen which shows the progress status of the detection of the said defective pixel on the said menu display part, after operating the said defective pixel detection part, The any one of Claims 1-5 characterized by the above-mentioned. The imaging apparatus according to 1.   The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit activates a preset shooting mode when the detection of the defective pixel by the defective pixel detection unit is completed. Has a shutter button that is operated when shooting,
When the control unit detects that the shutter button is operated by an operator while the selection menu screen is displayed on the menu display unit in the selection process, the control unit activates a preset shooting mode. The imaging apparatus according to claim 2. A method of controlling an imaging apparatus having a solid-state imaging body having a plurality of pixels,
A first step of detecting defective pixels in the plurality of pixels;
A second step of detecting an elapsed period of time since the last execution of the first step;
And a third step of selecting whether to execute the first step when the elapsed period is equal to or longer than a predetermined elapsed period. A control program used in an imaging device having a solid-state imaging body having a plurality of pixels and executed by a computer,
A first step of detecting defective pixels in the plurality of pixels;
A second step of detecting an elapsed period of time since the last execution of the first step;
And a third step of performing a selection process as to whether or not to execute the first step when the elapsed period is equal to or longer than a predetermined elapsed period.

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