Aspects of the present disclosure are directed to a method for focusing a camera. In one embodiment, the method includes: dividing the field of view of the camera in to at least two segments: assigning, in each case, at least one operating element or at least one position of an operating element to the at least two segments; recognizing and tracking at least one object in at least two segments; automatically assigning the recognized at least two objects to the respective operating element or position of the operating element depending on which segment the objects are assigned to; and focusing the camera on the object assigned to the operating element or the position of the operating element in response to the operating element being actuated or the operating element being brought into the corresponding position.

A waveform monitor for generating a modified image from an original image includes a measuring system to select luminance frequency values of the original image that are above a first and a second threshold. A modifier changes selected pixels of the original image that fall above the first and second thresholds. In some embodiments these changed pixels are given a false color as color markers to indicate DOF and areas of sharpest focus of the original image. Methods of modifying images in this manner are also described.

A waveform monitor for generating a modified image from an original image includes a measuring system to select luminance frequency values of the original image that are above a first and a second threshold. A modifier changes selected pixels of the original image that fall above the first and second thresholds. In some embodiments these changed pixels are given a false color as color markers to indicate DOF and areas of sharpest focus of the original image. Methods of modifying images in this manner are also described.

A depth estimation method for a monocular image based on a multi-scale CNN and a continuous CRF is disclosed in this invention. A CRF module is adopted to calculate a unary potential energy according to the output depth map of a DCNN, and the pairwise sparse potential energy according to input RGB images. MAP (maximum a posteriori estimation) algorithm is used to infer the optimized depth map at last. The present invention integrates optimization theories of the multi-scale CNN with that of the continuous CRF. High accuracy and a clear contour are both achieved in the estimated depth map; the depth estimated by the present invention has a high resolution and detailed contour information can be kept for all objects in the scene, which provides better visual effects.

A depth estimation method for a monocular image based on a multi-scale CNN and a continuous CRF is disclosed in this invention. A CRF module is adopted to calculate a unary potential energy according to the output depth map of a DCNN, and the pairwise sparse potential energy according to input RGB images. MAP (maximum a posteriori estimation) algorithm is used to infer the optimized depth map at last. The present invention integrates optimization theories of the multi-scale CNN with that of the continuous CRF. High accuracy and a clear contour are both achieved in the estimated depth map; the depth estimated by the present invention has a high resolution and detailed contour information can be kept for all objects in the scene, which provides better visual effects.

Provided is an image-capturing device including: an image-capturing unit that acquires an image of a subject; a subject-extracting unit that separates and extracts a main subject and a background from the acquired image; a distance-information acquiring unit that calculates the distance between the image-capturing unit and the extracted main subject and the distance between the image-capturing unit and the extracted background; a photographing-condition acquiring unit that acquires acquisition-time photographing conditions for an acquisition time of the image and an adjustable photographing condition that can be adjusted with respect to the acquisition-time photographing conditions; a photographing-condition selecting unit that selects a photographing condition that is worth adjusting on the basis of the acquired acquisition-time photographing conditions and adjustable photographing condition and the acquired distances; and an image-processing unit that generates, by performing image processing on the acquired image, an image that will be acquired when the selected photographing condition is set.

Provided are an imaging apparatus and an imaging method capable of relatively accurately focusing on a main object in a relatively short time. A movement region (40) of a main object OA is imaged in a camera apparatus A and a different camera apparatus B. In the camera apparatus A, the main object OA is recognized from a captured image. Data indicating the position of the main object OA, transmitted from the camera apparatus B, is received in the camera apparatus A, and a focusing target range is set at the front and back of the position of the main object OA. A movement of a focus lens of the camera apparatus A is limited so as to focus on the focusing target range.

The present disclosure provides a detection system, which includes an image sensor, a lens device, and a processor. The image sensor is configured to take a first picture of a foreground object and a background object. The lens device is attached to the image sensor and configured to allow the foreground object to form a clear image on the first picture and the background object to form a blurred image on the first picture. The processor is configured to determine the image of the foreground object by analyzing the sharpness of the images of the first pictures.

A detection system comprises a light source configured to illuminate an object, an image sensor configured to receive light reflected from the object, and a processor. The image sensor generates a first picture when the light source is turned on. The image sensor generates a second picture when the light source is turned off. The processor is configured to subtract the second picture from the first picture for determining an object image produced by the object.

A method for determining the depth of field for a specific distance by means of measuring optics comprises manual optical focussing of the measuring optics by means of the human eye without projection onto a focussing screen or intermediate projection surface, monitoring of the movement of the measuring optics mechanism during focussing, determining and indicating the adjusted distance from the movement, wherein, with consideration of focal distance, aperture, hyperfocal distance and circle of confusion, the range of the depth of field to the adjusted distance is arithmetically determined and indicated.