Image device and image processing method for generating control information indicating the degree of stereoscopic property or whether or not 3D image needs to be outputted

An image capture device comprising:

• first and second shooting sections, each of which is configured to shoot an image of a subject, the first shooting section having an optical zoom function and the second shooting section not having an optical zoom function;
• and
• a signal processing section configured to generate, based on a first image shot by the first shooting section with optical zoom and a second image shot by the second shooting section without optical zoom, information indicating the amount of parallax between the first and second images, and determine whether or not the information indicating the amount of parallax needs to be recorded based on the states of the first and second images and/or a shooting condition,
• wherein the second shooting section has a larger number of pixels than the first shooting section, and
• wherein the signal processing section outputs a control signal instructing that a 3D image be shot if the number of pixels of a portion of the second image corresponding to the first image and the zoom power of the first shooting section fall within predetermined ranges and otherwise outputs a control signal instructing that a non-3D image be shot.

An image capture device comprising:

• first and second shooting sections, each of which is configured to shoot an image of a subject, the first shooting section having an optical zoom function and the second shooting section not having an optical zoom function;
• and
• a signal processing section configured to generate, based on a first image shot by the first shooting section with optical zoom and a second image shot by the second shooting section without optical zoom, information indicating the amount of parallax between the first and second images, generate a 3D image based on the first image and an image to be generated from the information indicating the amount of parallax and the first image, and determine, based on at least one of the states of the first and second images, a zoom power during shooting, and the tilt of the image capture device during shooting, whether or not the 3D image needs to be generated,
• wherein the second shooting section has a larger number of pixels than the first shooting section, and
• wherein the signal processing section outputs a control signal instructing that a 3D image be shot if the number of pixels of a portion of the second image corresponding to the first image and the zoom power of the first shooting section fall within predetermined ranges and otherwise outputs a control signal instructing that a non-3D image be shot.

An image processing method comprising the steps of:

• generating, based on a first image shot with optical zoom by a first shooting section of an image capture device having an optical zoom function and a second image shot without optical zoom by a second shooting section of the image capture device not having an optical zoom function and having a larger number of pixels than the first shooting section, information indicating the amount of parallax between the first and second images;
• generating, based on at least one of the states of the first and second images, a zoom power during shooting, and the tilt of the image capture device during shooting, control information indicating the degree of stereoscopic property of a 3D image to be generated based on the first and second images or whether or not the 3D image needs to be output;
• recording the control information and the information indicating the amount of parallax, and
• outputting a control signal instructing that a 3D image be shot if the number of pixels of a portion of the second image corresponding to the first image and the zoom power of the first shooting section fall within predetermined ranges and otherwise outputting a control signal instructing that a non-3D image be shot.

An image processing method comprising the steps of

• generating, based on a first image shot with optical zoom by a first shooting section of an image capture device having an optical zoom function and a second image shot without optical zoom by a second shooting section of the image capture device not having an optical zoom function and having a larger number of pixels than the first shooting section, information indicating the amount of parallax between the first and second images;
• determining, based on at least one of the states of the first and second images, a zoom power during shooting, and the tilt of the image capture device during shooting, whether or not the 3D image needs to be generated;
• generating a 3D image based on the information indicating the amount of parallax, an image to be generated on the first image, and the first image itself, and
• outputting a control signal instructing that a 3D image be shot if the number of pixels of a portion of the second image corresponding to the first image and the zoom power of the first shooting section fall within predetermined ranges and otherwise outputting a control signal instructing that a non-3D image be shot.