Image analysis – Image enhancement or restoration
Reexamination Certificate
1999-04-02
2003-12-02
Lee, Tommy (Department: 2724)
Image analysis
Image enhancement or restoration
C382S260000, C382S190000, C382S203000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06658163
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing method, and particularly to an image processing method which intentionally changes image tone of an image represented by image data.
2. Description of the Related Art
There has conventionally been known an image processing system in which an image exposed and recorded on a photographic film is read by a film reading device equipped with a reading sensor such as a CCD sensor, image processing including various correction is effected for image data obtained by reading the image, and based on image data subjected to the image processing, the image is recorded on a recording material. This image processing system has a merit over a conventional photographic processing system in which a film image is recorded on a photographic printing paper by plain (analogue) exposure, in that the quality of a recorded image can be freely controlled by image processing for image data.
As a filter mounted to a camera when an image is exposed and recorded on a photographic film, there have been known various filters such as a color-temperature conversion filter, a color correction filter, an ND filter, and a deflection filter. In addition to the above-described filters, a special filter for intentionally changing image tone (for example, a cross filter for making one or more striations, whose center is a high-luminance region in a image, on the image in a radial manner when a sparkling surface of water or night scene is photographed) is also provided.
However, the special filter such as a cross filter is used to intentionally change image tone as described above, and therefore, it is not always used at the time of photographing. Only when photographing of a scene with image tone changed is required, the special filter is mounted in a camera by a photographer, and after photographing of the scene has been completed, the special filter is removed from the camera and is stored. Accordingly, when an image of which tone is changed is obtained, there was a problem in that handling of a special filter, which includes the need of giving attention to storage of an unused special filter, is complicated.
Further, almost all of relatively low-cost cameras such as lens-attached films and compact cameras or digital cameras which have rapidly spread in recent years does not allow mounting of filters therein. When photographing is effected using these cameras, it is not possible to obtain an image of which tone is intentionally changed using a special filter such as a cross filter.
Moreover, when a camera in which the special filter can be mounted is used, an image of which image tone is changed can be obtained only by using the special filter at the time of photographing. However, it was not possible to change the image tone of the image photographed without using the special filter after photographing, for example, observing a finished state of an image photographed without using the special filter.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has been devised in view of the above-described facts and an object thereof is to provide an image processing method in which an image equivalent to that of which tone is intentionally changed using a special filter can be easily obtained without using the special filter.
In order to achieve the above-described object, an image processing method according to a first aspect of the present invention comprises the steps of extracting a bright region in an image based on image data and, based on the extracted bright region, synthesizing striation data, which represents striations extending from the bright region, with the image data.
In the first aspect of the present invention, a bright region in an image is extracted based on image data. The above-described image data may be image data obtained by reading a film image exposed and recorded on a photographic film using an ordinary camera or an image recorded on other recording medium such as plain paper, or may be image data stored in an information storage medium by a digital camera, or may be image data which represents density or luminance. Further, according to a second aspect of the present invention, extraction of the bright region in the image can be effected by extracting highlight points in the image based on the image data and extracting a region in which highlight points concentrate.
Then, in the first aspect of the present invention, based on the extracted bright region, striation data which indicates striations extending from the bright region is synthesized with the image data. According to a third aspect of the present invention, first striation data which indicates a plurality of striations extending from the bright region in a radial manner can be used as the striation data. Further, according to the third aspect of the present invention, second striation data which indicates a striation extending from the bright region and including polygonal high-luminance regions may also be used as the striation data.
As a result, an image represented by the image data becomes an image in which striations extend from the bright region, and therefore, a tone of the image represented by the image data can be changed to that similar to an image obtained by photographing using a cross filter or the like. As described above, an image having a peculiar tone which can be obtained only by photographing using a special filter such as a cross filter whose handing has been conventionally complicated can be obtained without photographing using the cross filter or the like. For this reason, according to the first aspect of the present invention, an image similar to that whose tone is intentionally changed using a special filter such as a cross filter can be easily obtained without using the special filter such as a cross filter.
Meanwhile, the striation data to be synthesized with the image data may be generated based on the extracted bright region, for example, when the striation data is synthesized with the image data. Alternatively, when with plural kinds of striation data being in advance generated, striation data is synthesized with the image data, striation data to be synthesized may be selected from the plural kinds of striation data based on the extracted bright region.
Further, the length, width, color tint, and the like of striations appearing on a photographed image by photographing using a special filter such as a cross filter each vary in accordance with a characteristic amount of a light source (i.e., a striation generating source corresponding to the bright region on the image). For this reason, a fourth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in the first aspect of the present invention, parameters which define a striation to be synthesized are determined based on characteristic amounts of at least one of the brightness, size, and color tint of the extracted bright region, and the striation data is generated or selected based on the determined parameters.
In the fourth aspect of the present invention, as the parameter which defines striations, the length, width, color tint, and the like of striations are used. For example, as the brightness (luminance) of the bright region becomes high (or as the size of the bright region becomes large), the length of a striation can be increased or the width of a striation can be made larger. Further, the color tint of the striations can be determined so that, for example, the color tint of the striations coincides with the color tint of the bright region.
According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the parameter which defines striations is determined based on at least one of characteristic amounts of brightness, size, and color tint of the bright region, and based on the determined parameter, the striation data is generated or selected. For these reasons, the striation represented by the striation data can be approximated to that appearing on a photographed image when photographing is effected using a special filter such as a cross filter. Accord
Fuji Photo Film Co. , Ltd.
Lee Tommy
LandOfFree
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