Digital image recording method and apparatus therefor and digital image processing apparatus

Claim 2

A digital image recording method for recording a positive reproduction image based on image data of a negative or positive original, said method comprising the steps of: obtaining an image characteristic amount from said image data of said original; determining a basic image recording amount from said image characteristic amount, said basic image recording amount being used for every pixel of one color; determining an image control amount for a color pixel from said basic image recording amount and a value of said image data assigned to said color pixel; and recording said color pixel in accordance with said image control amount.

Claim 3

A digital image recording method according to claim 1, wherein said image characteristic amount includes an average of those image data values detected from an entire area or a part of said original, or an average of selected image data values, while said basic image recording amount is constituted of a density control value for controlling density of said positive reproduction image and a color control value for controlling color of said positive reproduction image.

Claim 4

A digital image recording method for recording a positive reproduction image based on image data of a negative or positive original, said method comprising the steps of: obtaining an image characteristic amount from said image data of said original; determining a basic image recording amount based on said image characteristic amount, said basic image recording amount being used for every pixel of one color; determining recording data for recording a color pixel based on said basic image recording amount and a value of said image data assigned to said color pixel; predetermining a look-up table or function defining a relationship between said recording data and an image control amount necessary for obtaining a recording density corresponding to said recording data; determining said image control amount from said recording data in accordance with said relationship; and recording said color pixel in accordance with said image control amount.

Claim 5

A digital image recording method for recording a positive reproduction image based on image data of a negative or positive original, said method comprising the steps of: obtaining an image characteristic amount from said image data of said original; determining a basic image recording amount based on said image characteristic amount, said basic image recording amount being used for every pixel of one color; determining recording data for recording a color pixel based on said basic image recording amount and a value of said image data assigned to said color pixel; predetermining a look-up table or function defining a relationship between said recording data and an image control amount necessary for obtaining a recording density corresponding to said recording data; determining said image control amount from said recording data in accordance with said relationship; and recording said color pixel in accordance with said image control amount.

Claim 6

A digital image recording method according to claim 3, wherein said image characteristic amount includes an average of those image data values detected from an entire area or a part of said original, or an average of selected image data values, while said basic image recording amount is constituted of a density control value for controlling density of said positive reproduction image and a color control value for controlling color of said positive reproduction image.

Claim 7

A digital image recording method for recording a positive reproduction image based on image data of a negative or positive original, said method comprising the steps of: obtaining responsive to a first selection signal an image characteristic amount from said image data of said original to determine a basic image recording amount based on said image characteristic amount, said basic image recording amount being used for every pixel of one color; determining recording data for recording a color pixel based on said basic image recording amount and a value of said image data assigned to said color pixel; predetermining a look-up table or function defining a relationship between said recording data and a first image control amount necessary for obtaining a recording density corresponding to said recording data; determining said first image control amount from said recording data in accordance with said relationship; obtaining responsive to a second selection signal a second image control amount based on a highlight point and a shadow point of said original; outputting one of said first and second selection signals depending upon conditions of said original, to select one of said first and second image control amounts; and recording each color pixel in accordance with said selected one of said first and second image control amounts.

Claim 8

A digital image recording method for recording a positive reproduction image based on image data of a negative or positive original, said method comprising the steps of: obtaining responsive to a first selection signal an image characteristic amount from said image data of said original to determine a basic image recording amount based on said image characteristic amount, said basic image recording amount being used for every pixel of one color; determining recording data for recording a color pixel based on said basic image recording amount and a value of said image data assigned to said color pixel; predetermining a look-up table or function defining a relationship between said recording data and a first image control amount necessary for obtaining a recording density corresponding to said recording data; determining said first image control amount from said recording data in accordance with said relationship; obtaining responsive to a second selection signal a second image control amount based on a highlight point and a shadow point of said original; outputting one of said first and second selection signals depending upon conditions of said original, to select one of said first and second image control amounts; and recording each color pixel in accordance with said selected one of said first and second image control amounts.

Claim 9

A digital image recording method according to claim 5, wherein said image characteristic amount includes an average of those image data values detected from an entire area or a part of said original, or an average of selected image data values, while said basic image recording amount is constituted of a density control value for controlling density of said positive reproduction image and a color control value for controlling color of said positive reproduction image.

Claim 10

A digital image recording method for recording a positive reproduction image based on image data of a negative or positive original, said method comprising the steps of: dividing said original into a large number of pixels to obtain said image data from said pixels; deriving from said image data a plurality of image characteristic amounts which characterize said original, said image characteristic amounts including an average of those image data values obtained from a predetermined area of said original, an average of those image data values obtained from selected pixels, and differences between said image data values; determining a basic image recording amount from said image characteristic amounts by an operation, said basic image recording amount defining color and density of said positive reproduction image; determining recording data of a pixel from said basic image recording amount, a value of said image data assigned to said pixel, and a predetermined recording condition value; and recording said pixel in accordance with said recording data.

Claim 11

A digital image recording method for recording a positive reproduction image based on image data of a negative or positive original, said method comprising the steps of: dividing said original into a large number of pixels to obtain said image data from said pixels; deriving from said image data a plurality of image characteristic amounts which characterize said original, said image characteristic amounts including an average of those image data values obtained from a predetermined area of said original, an average of those image data values obtained from selected pixels, and differences between said image data values; determining a basic image recording amount from said image characteristic amounts by an operation, said basic image recording amount defining color and density of said positive reproduction image; determining recording data of a pixel from said basic image recording amount, a value of said image data assigned to said pixel, and a predetermined recording condition value; and recording said pixel in accordance with said recording data.

Claim 12

A digital image recording method according to claim 7, wherein all or part of said image data is corrected in accordance with a predetermined method, and said recording data is calculated from said corrected image data.

Claim 13

A digital image recording method according to claim 8, wherein said corrected image data is used for obtaining said plurality of image characteristic amounts.

Claim 14

A digital image recording method according to claim 8, wherein one or more of said plurality of image characteristic amounts is obtained from corrected image data of a plurality of images relating to one another.

Claim 15

A digital image recording method according to claim 7, wherein said recording condition value is predetermined so that a positive image reproduced from a reference image has predetermined color and density.

Claim 16

A digital image recording method according to claim 11, wherein said recording data is determined according to the following equation: logEij=Ai(Dmi-Dij)+ΔD+Bi wherein logEij represents said recording data; Dmi represents said basic image recording amount; Dij represents a density of a color pixel: i represents one of three primary colors; j represents a serial number of said pixel; ΔD represents a manual correction value determined according to an observation; and Ai and Bi represent said recording condition values, wherein Ai is a coefficient for correcting said image data with respect to an image data input device, said recording device and a spectral property of recording material, and Bi is a coefficient for correcting variations caused by factors relating to the recording material and said recording device as well as daily variations.

Claim 17

A digital image processing apparatus for processing image data of a negative or positive original to record a positive image based on said image data, said apparatus comprising: a basic amount operation device for determining a basic image recording amount from an image characteristic amount obtained from said image data of said original, said basic image recording amount being used for every pixel of one color; a recording data operation device for determining recording data for recording a color pixel from said basic image recording amount and a value of said image data assigned to said color pixel; and a conversion device having a predetermined look-up table or function showing a relationship between said recording data and an image control amount necessary for obtaining a recording density corresponding to said recording data, to determine said image control amount from said recording data in accordance with said relationship.

Claim 18

A digital image processing apparatus for processing image data of a negative or positive original to record a positive image based on said image data, said apparatus comprising: a basic amount operation device for determining a basic image recording amount from an image characteristic amount obtained from said image data of said original, said basic image recording amount being used for every pixel of one color; a recording data operation device for determining recording data for recording a color pixel from said basic image recording amount and a value of said image data assigned to said color pixel; and a conversion device having a predetermined look-up table or function showing a relationship between said recording data and an image control amount necessary for obtaining a recording density corresponding to said recording data, to determine said image control amount from said recording data in accordance with said relationship.

Claim 19

A digital image processing apparatus for processing image data of a negative or positive original to record a positive reproduction image based on said image data, said apparatus comprising: a first operation device for obtaining a basic image recording amount from an image characteristic amount detected from said image data, said basic image recording amount being used for every pixel of one color, and determining based on said basic image recording amount and a value of said image data assigned to a color pixel a first image control amount for recording said color pixel; a second operation device for determining based on said image signal a second image control amount for recording a color pixel of said positive reproduction image, with reference to an image recording table which connects a highlight image reference point to a shadow image reference point; and a selection device for selecting one of said first and second operation devices.

Claim 20

A digital image processing apparatus for processing image data of a negative or positive original to record a positive reproduction image based on said image data, said apparatus comprising: a first operation device for obtaining a basic image recording amount from an image characteristic amount detected from said image data, said basic image recording amount being used for every pixel of one color, and determining based on said basic image recording amount and a value of said image data assigned to a color pixel a first image control amount for recording said color pixel; a second operation device for determining based on said image signal a second image control amount for recording a color pixel of said positive reproduction image, with reference to an image recording table which connects a highlight image reference point to a shadow image reference point; and a selection device for selecting one of said first and second operation devices.

Claim 21

A digital image recording apparatus for recording a positive reproduction image based on image data of a negative or positive original, said apparatus comprising: a first operation device for obtaining a basic image recording amount from an image characteristic amount detected from said image data, said basic image recording amount being used for every pixel of one color, and determining based on said basic image recording amount and a value of said image data assigned to a color pixel a first image control amount for recording said color pixel; a second operation device for determining based on said image signal a second image control amount for recording a color pixel of said positive reproduction image, with reference to an image recording table which connects a highlight image reference point to a shadow image reference point; and a selection device for selecting one of said first and second operation devices; and a recording device for recoding said positive reproduction image in accordance with said first or said second image control amount selected by said selection device.

Claim 22

A digital image recording apparatus for recording a positive reproduction image based on image data of a negative or positive original, said apparatus comprising: a first operation device for obtaining a basic image recording amount from an image characteristic amount detected from said image data, said basic image recording amount being used for every pixel of one color, and determining based on said basic image recording amount and a value of said image data assigned to a color pixel a first image control amount for recording said color pixel; a second operation device for determining based on said image signal a second image control amount for recording a color pixel of said positive reproduction image, with reference to an image recording table which connects a highlight image reference point to a shadow image reference point; and a selection device for selecting one of said first and second operation devices; and a recording device for recoding said positive reproduction image in accordance with said first or said second image control amount selected by said selection device.

Claim 23

A digital image processing apparatus for processing image data of a large number of pixels of a negative or positive original to record a positive reproduction image based on said image data, said apparatus comprising: a basic amount operation device which obtains an image characteristic amount from said image data, and determines based on said image characteristic amount a basic image recording amount, said basic image recording amount defining color and density of said positive reproduction image; and a recording data operation device which determines recording data for recording a color pixel based on said basic image recording amount, a value of said image data assigned to said color pixel, and a predetermined recording condition value.

Claim 24

A digital image processing apparatus for processing image data of a large number of pixels of a negative or positive original to record a positive reproduction image based on said image data, said apparatus comprising: a basic amount operation device which obtains an image characteristic amount from said image data, and determines based on said image characteristic amount a basic image recording amount, said basic image recording amount defining color and density of said positive reproduction image; and a recording data operation device which determines recording data for recording a color pixel based on said basic image recording amount, a value of said image data assigned to said color pixel, and a predetermined recording condition value.

Claim 25

A digital image processing apparatus according to claim 16, wherein said basic amount operation device and said recording data operation device constitute a first operation device, and said digital image processing apparatus further comprises a second operation device for determining based on said image data second recording data for recording a color pixel, with reference to an image recording table which connects a highlight image reference point to a shadow image reference point; and a selection device for selecting one of said first and second operation devices.

Claim 26

A digital image processing apparatus according to claim 15, wherein all or part of said image data is corrected in accordance with a predetermined method, and said recording data is calculated from said corrected image data.

Claim 27

A digital image recording apparatus for recording a positive reproduction image based on image data of a negative or positive original, said apparatus comprising: an image input device which divides said original into a large number of pixels to detect said image data from said pixels; a first operation device consisting of a basic amount operation device and a recording data operation device, said basic amount operation device obtaining an image characteristic amount from said image data, to determine based on said image characteristic amount a basic image recording amount, said basic image recording amount defining color and density of said positive reproduction image, said recording data operation device determining first recording data for recording a color pixel based on said basic image recording amount, a value of said image data assigned to said color pixel, and a predetermined recording condition value; a second operation device for determining based on said image data second recording data for recording a color pixel, with reference to an image recording table which connects a highlight image reference point to a shadow image reference point; a selection device for selecting one of said first and second operation devices; and a recording device for recoding said positive reproduction image in accordance with said first or said second recording data from said selected one of said first and second operation devices.

Claim 28

A digital image recording apparatus for recording a positive reproduction image based on image data of a negative or positive original, said apparatus comprising: an image input device which divides said original into a large number of pixels to detect said image data from said pixels; a first operation device consisting of a basic amount operation device and a recording data operation device, said basic amount operation device obtaining an image characteristic amount from said image data, to determine based on said image characteristic amount a basic image recording amount, said basic image recording amount defining color and density of said positive reproduction image, said recording data operation device determining first recording data for recording a color pixel based on said basic image recording amount, a value of said image data assigned to said color pixel, and a predetermined recording condition value; a second operation device for determining based on said image data second recording data for recording a color pixel, with reference to an image recording table which connects a highlight image reference point to a shadow image reference point; a selection device for selecting one of said first and second operation devices; and a recording device for recoding said positive reproduction image in accordance with said first or said second recording data from said selected one of said first and second operation devices.

Claim 29

A digital image recording apparatus according to claim 19, wherein said recording condition value is predetermined so that a positive image having predetermined color and density will be reproduced from a reference image.

Claim 30

A digital image recording apparatus according to claim 20, wherein said first recording data is determined according to the following equation: logEij=Ai(Dmi-Dij)+ΔD+Bi wherein logEij represents said first recording data; Dmi represents said basic image recording amount; Dij represents a density of a color pixel; i represents one of three primary colors; j represents a serial number of said pixel; ΔD represents a manual correction value determined according to an observation; and Ai and Bi represent said recording condition values, wherein Ai is a coefficient for correcting said image data with respect to said image data input device, said recording device and a spectral property of recording material, and Bi is a coefficient for correcting variations caused by factors relating to the recording material and said recording device as well as daily variations.