Image sensing apparatus and image processing method
AssigneeCanon Kabushiki Kaisha
InventorEiichiro Ikeda
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An image sensing apparatus that senses objects and processes image signals obtained from such image sensing includes a white balance correction means that performs white balance correction of the image signals using white balance correction values calculated based on a face area and on other areas contained in the image signals, and a CPU that changes the proportion of image signals of the face area used in calculating the white balance correction values when calculating the white balance correction values based on the image signals.
Claims11
An image sensing apparatus that senses objects and processes image signals obtained from such image sensing, comprising:
- a face detection unit adapted to detect a face area from said image signals and acquiring a degree of reliability indicating a probability that said detected face area shows a face;
- a first calculation unit adapted to calculate first white balance correction values using image signals deemed white from among said image signals;
- a second calculation unit adapted to calculate second white balance correction values using image signals of said face area detected by said face detection unit from among said image signals;
- a third calculation unit adapted to calculate third white balance correction values by weighting and combining said first white balance correction values and said second white balance correction values based on said degree of reliability acquired by said face detection unit;
- and
- a white balance correction unit adapted to perform white balance correction using said third white balance correction values.
An image processing method of processing image signals obtained by sensing objects, comprising:
- a face detection step of detecting a face area from said image signals and acquiring a degree of reliability indicating a probability that said detected face area shows a face;
- a first calculation step of calculating first white balance correction values using image signals deemed white from among said image signals;
- a second calculation step of calculating second white balance correction values using image signals of said face area detected in said face detection step from among said image signals;
- a third calculation step of calculating third white balance correction values by weighting and combining said first white balance correction values and said second white balance correction values based on said degree of reliability acquired in said face detection step;
- and
- a white balance correction step of performing white balance correction using said third white balance correction values.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.