Image processing apparatus, imaging apparatus, and image processing method

[0041]First, an imaging apparatus including an image processing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be explained below. In the first embodiment, the image processing apparatus is included in a compact digital still camera 1 as one example of the imaging apparatus.

[0042]As illustrated in FIG. 1, the digital camera 1 includes an imaging unit 2, a control unit 3, an image processing unit 4 as one example of the image processing apparatus, an image output unit 5, and an operating unit 6.

[0043]The imaging unit 2 includes an imaging optical system 20, a mechanical shutter 21, an imaging element 22, a correlated double sampling (CDS) circuit 23, an analog-to-digital converter (hereinafter, described as “A / D converter”) 24, a motor driver 25, and a timing signal generator 26. The imaging unit 2 continuously captures images of a moving object to generate continuous images formed of a plurality of still images.

[0044]The imaging optical system 20 includes, f...

[0083]A second embodiment has approximately the same configuration as the first embodiment described above. In the digital camera 1 according to the second embodiment, a configuration of an image processing unit 204 differs from the first embodiment but other configurations are the same as the first embodiment. Therefore, the same components are denoted by the same reference symbols of the first embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1 to FIG. 3, and only differences will be explained in detail below.

[0084]As illustrated in FIG. 6, the image processing unit 204 according to the second embodiment includes the storage unit 40, an image blur amount detecting unit 245, an image blur correcting unit 246, the size reducing unit 41, the mask generating unit 42, the size restoring unit 43, and the combining unit 44.

[0085]The image blur amount detecting unit 245 detects the amount of image blur in a continuous image before the continuous image is reduced by the size reducing unit 41. The image blur ...

[0097]A third embodiment has approximately the same configuration as the first embodiment described above. In the digital camera 1 according to the third embodiment, a configuration of an image processing unit 304 differs from the first embodiment but other configurations are the same as the first embodiment. Therefore, the same components are denoted by the same reference symbols of the first embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1 to FIG. 3, and only differences will be explained in detail below.

[0098]As illustrated in FIG. 9, the image processing unit 304 according to the third embodiment includes the storage unit 40, an image blur amount detecting unit 345, an image blur correcting unit 346, the size reducing unit 41, the mask generating unit 42, the size restoring unit 43, and the combining unit 44.

[0099]The image blur amount detecting unit 345 detects the amount of image blur in a continuous image before the continuous image is reduced by the size reducing unit 41. The image blur amo...