1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus such as digital camera, and more particularly to art of image conversion in an imaging apparatus such as white balance or the like.
2. Related Art
Patent document 1 discloses an electronic still camera capable of selecting a mode of imaging with continuously varying white balance (possibly abbreviated to “WB”). When taking images in this mode, the electronic still camera in patent document 1 can record images plural times while changing the detected color temperature stepwise.
Patent document 2 discloses an electronic camera including an image divider for dividing a whole region of the captured image into plural regions, a white balance detector for determining plural white balance correction values based on the image data in each region, and a white balance calculator for determining one final white balance correction value from the plural white balance correction values, in which white balance of the captured image is corrected based on the final white balance correction value. Thus, the precision of white determination is enhanced, and a favorable white balance is obtained if the subject has no white color.                Patent document 1: JP 01-221994 A        Patent document 2: JP 2002-95004 A        
The electronic still camera in patent document 1 is intended to adjust white balance stepwise so as to obtain a predetermined color temperature regardless of the captured image. Hence, the electronic still camera in patent document 1 does not always provide the image having white balance suited to user's preference depending on the tone of the original captured image.
The electronic still camera in patent document 1 takes images plural times, but does not provide a plurality of images each having different white balance to a single captured image. As a result, if white balance is suited to user's preference, the layout of the captured image may not be always suited to user's preference.
The electronic camera in patent document 2 determines the final white balance correction value from plural white balance correction values, and can enhance precision of white color determination. But only one image is corrected by using the final white balance correction value, and thus the finally corrected image may not be always suited to user's preference.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds