System and method for automatic format selection for digital photographs
A system and method for automatically determine whether an image captured by a digital camera should be stored in a raw format or a compressed format. After an image is captured by the digital camera, the digital camera checks certain sets of characteristics of the captured image to check the image quality. If the image quality falls within an acceptable range, then the digital camera saves the image in a compressed format. If the captured image does not fall within predetermined quality levels, then the captured image is save in raw format for later processing.
1. A method for saving an image on a digital camera, comprising the steps of:
capturing an image;
analyzing an image quality of the captured image;
determining whether the image quality of the captured image meets predetermined criteria based on a histogram of the captured image;
if the image quality of the captured image does not fall within the predetermined criteria, saving the image to a memory unit in a first form;
if the image quality of the captured image does fall within the predetermined criteria, saving the image to the memory unit in a second form;
wherein the predetermined criteria comprises at least one of:
whether the captured image is underexposed; and
whether a white balance in the captured image is within a satisfactory range.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first form comprises a raw, uncompressed form, and wherein the second form comprises a compressed form.
3. The method of claim 2 , wherein if the image quality of the captured image does fall within the predetermined criteria, the image is compressed into a .jpg format.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of capturing the image involves using at least one lens to focus the image onto at least one image sensor.
5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the at least one image sensor comprises a charge coupled device.
6. The method of claim 4 , wherein the at least one image sensor comprises a complementary metal oxide semiconductor.
7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising the step of, after capturing the image, calculating the histogram of the captured image.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the predetermined criteria are modifiable by a user.
9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising the step of transferring the captured image to a remote terminal.
10. The method of claim 1 , further comprising the step of, if the captured image is saved to the memory unit in raw form, using third party software to process the raw captured image.
11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the raw captured image is processed at a remote terminal.
12. The method of claim 10 , wherein the raw captured image is processed within the digital camera.
13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of determining whether the image quality of the captured image meets predetermined criteria can be enabled and disabled through a user profile in the digital camera.
14. The method of claim 1 , further comprising the step of repairing deficiencies in the captured image.
15. A non-transitory computer readable medium embodied with a computer program for saving an image on a digital camera, comprising the steps of:
computer code for capturing an image;
computer code for analyzing an image quality of the captured image;
computer code for determining whether the image quality of the captured image meets predetermined criteria based on a histogram of the captured image;
computer code for, if the image quality of the captured image does not fall within the predetermined criteria, saving the image to a memory unit in a first form;
computer code for, if the image quality of the captured image does fall within the predetermined criteria, saving the image to the memory unit in a second form;
wherein the predetermined criteria comprises at least one of:
whether the captured image is underexposed; and
whether a white balance in the captured image is within a satisfactory range.
16. A device for taking digital images, comprising:
a housing;
a lens positioned within the housing for focusing an image;
a sensor unit receiving the image focused by the lens; and
a memory unit operatively connected to a processor, the memory unit including:
computer code for analyzing an image quality of the image;
computer code for determining whether the image quality of the image meets predetermined criteria based on a histogram of the captured image;
computer code for, if the image quality of the image does not fall within the predetermined criteria, saving the image to a memory unit in a first form;
computer code for, if the image quality of the image does fall within the predetermined criteria, saving the image to the memory unit in a second form;
wherein the predetermined criteria comprises at least one of:
whether the captured image is underexposed; and
whether a white balance in the captured image is within a satisfactory range.