Image analysis – Color image processing – Color correction
Reexamination Certificate
1998-05-19
2001-04-17
Au, Amelia (Department: 2623)
Image analysis
Color image processing
Color correction
C358S302000, C396S311000, C348S241000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06219446
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus wherein, even when using a lens-fitted film unit whose lens performance is relatively poor and a digital camera, the lens performance can be properly compensated for by processing after photographing, and to a manufacturing method of a lens-fitted film unit in which a function to compensate lens performance is provided as well as to the lens-fitted film unit.
When compared with a lens shutter camera and a single-lens reflex camera which are of the middle class or higher, lens-fitted film units sometimes tend to be inferior in terms of performance because they need to be manufactured at a lowest cost. In addition, in the field of lens-fitted film units, there is a severe competition to make them as small as possible, which makes a sacrifice of the performance.
With regard to performance of a photographic lens, for example, a distortion of a lens-fitted film unit is 5% or less, while that of a lens shutter camera and a single-lens reflex camera which are of the middle class or higher is 3% or less, lateral chromatic aberration of the former is 0.03 mm while that of the latter is 0.1 mm or less, and marginal light quantity for the former is 30% or less while that for the latter is 25% or less, which has been undeniable as a difference in the performance. Incidentally, problems similar to the problems mentioned above are caused also in a digital camera employing an inexpensive lens.
Further, with regard to marginal light quantity for strobe (a difference of quantity of light between the center and the periphery), it was 0.5 EV or less for a lens shutter camera and a single-lens reflex camera which are of the middle class or higher, while it was 1 EV or less for a lens-fitted film unit.
Though there is also available a lens-fitted film unit in which scenery of a tourist resort is photographed on the first frame in advance before shipment, this is nothing but one which simply provides a picture postcard to a user, and this image information is not utilized for processing of prints.
It is impossible, from a viewpoint of cost, for a lens-fitted film unit to have performance similar to that of a lens shutter camera and a single-lens reflex camera which are of the middle class or higher, and a lens-fitted film unit having that performance is hard to be made small. It is therefore possible not to cast a burden upon a lens-fitted film unit, if it is realizable that a lens and a strobe each having relatively poor performance are used for photographing and those performances are compensated in the subsequent processing of prints.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In view of the problems mentioned above, objects of the invention is to provide an image forming apparatus wherein performances of a lens and a strobe are recorded in a lens-fitted film unit in advance separately, and these performances are compensated in the processing of prints by the use of the aforesaid recorded information, and to provide a manufacturing method for the lens-fitted film unit.
The objects mentioned above can be achieved by any of the following composition.
An image forming apparatus having therein a reading means which reads images recorded on a recording medium, a storing means in which signals of a reference image which serves as a reference for correcting the images recorded in the aforesaid recording medium are stored in advance, a calculating means which compares signals obtained by reading a chart image obtained by recording the aforesaid reference image with signals of the aforesaid reference image to operate image correction data, an image processing means which corrects signals of the image read by the reading means mentioned above, and an output means which outputs signals of the corrected image.
A manufacturing method of a lens-fitted film unit to load an unexposed film in a manufacturing process in advance, wherein there is provided a process to record, on the aforesaid unexposed film, a chart representing characteristics of at least one of the distortion of a photographic lens, lateral chromatic aberration, a ratio of marginal light quantity and luminous intensity distribution of a strobe.
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Haraguchi Tsuyoshi
Hosaka Takao
Kiriki Toshihiko
Mori Nobuyoshi
Takaba Tetsufumi
Au Amelia
Bierman Jordan B.
Bierman, Muserlian and Lucas
Konica Corporation
Wu Jingge
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