Digital camera with built-in lens calibration table

Abstract

A digital camera that automatically corrects dust artifact regions within acquired images by compiling a dust map includes an optical system for acquiring an image with a corresponding dust calibration table for such optical system, including a lens assembly and an aperture stop, in which the corresponding dust calibration map can reside. A transformation between the dust map and the specific lens calibration table, enables the use for a single dust map in multiple instances of lenses and focal length, without the need to recalibrate the digital camera for each instance.

1 . A digital camera that automatically corrects dust artifact regions within acquired images, comprising:
 (a) a main camera body and an optical system for acquiring an image including a removable lens subsystem, wherein the optical system comprises:
 (i) a lens assembly, 
 (ii) a diaphram or other aperture adjustment unit, 
 (iii) an electronic control processing subsystem, and 
 (iv) a communications interface between said lens subsystem and an electronic processing subsystem within the main camera body; 
   (b) an electronic sensor array for collecting image data with multiple pixels that collectively correspond to the acquired image;   (c) a lens calibration table containing optical system data relating to said removable lens subsystem;   (d) a master dust map describing a physical manifestation of one or more dust artifacts on said sensor array;   (e) an intermediate dust map determined to match a specific lens, focal length, or aperture, or combinations thereof, and calculated as a transformation of the master dust map based at least in part on one or more parameters included in the lens calibration table;   (f) an electronic subsystem for digital processing including a processor for converting processing the digital data according to programming instructions;   (g) a communications interface between said electronic subsystem and said removable lens subsystem, and   (h) wherein the camera is configured to correct for the dust artifacts on the sensor array in an acquired image based on the intermediate dust map.   
     
     
         2 . The camera of  claim 1 , wherein said lens calibration table comprises processor-readable digital code embedded within a memory component that is located inside the lens assembly. 
     
     
         3 . The camera of  claim 1 , wherein said lens calibration table is located in an external application. 
     
     
         4 . The camera of  claim 1 , wherein said lens calibration table is downloadable from a server. 
     
     
         5 . The camera of  claim 1 , wherein said master dust map comprises a statistical dust map. 
     
     
         6 . The camera of  claim 5 , wherein additional images are digitally-acquired with said digital camera, and said statistical dust map is dynamically updated. 
     
     
         7 . The camera of  claim 6 , wherein said statistical map comprises probabilities based on comparisons with suspected equivalent dust artifact regions within said additional images. 
     
     
         8 . The camera of  claim 7 , wherein determining of said probabilities is based on a pixel analysis of the suspected dust artifact regions in view of predetermined characteristics indicative of the presence of a dust artifact region. 
     
     
         9 . The camera of  claim 5 , wherein whether said additional digitally-acquired images have non-contradicting data that said probability that certain pixels correspond to dust artifact regions within said images is validated prior to correcting pixels corresponding to correlated dust artifact regions within said images based on the manifestation of said master statistical dust map. 
     
     
         10 . The camera of  claim 1 , wherein said dust artifacts are corrected on a image from raw format. 
     
     
         11 . The camera of  claim 1 , wherein said dust artifacts are corrected on a processed image after being converted from raw format to a known red, green, blue representation. 
     
     
         12 . The camera of  claim 1 , wherein said dust artifacts are corrected by replacing said pixels within said one or more digitally-acquired images with new pixels. 
     
     
         13 . The camera of  claim 1 , wherein said dust artifacts are corrected by enhancing values of pixels within said one or more digitally-acquired images. 
     
     
         14 . The camera of  claim 1 , wherein the parameters included in the lens calibration table comprise exit pupil dimension of the lens assembly, or distance of dust from a surface of the electronic sensor array that corresponds to a focal plane of the lens assembly, or both. 
     
     
         15 . A method of automatically correcting dust artifact regions within acquired images, comprising:
 (a) acquiring a digital image with a digital camera that includes an optical system including a removable lens subsystem, wherein the optical system comprises:
 (i) a lens assembly, 
 (ii) a diaphram or other aperture adjustment unit, 
 (iii) an electronic control processing subsystem, and 
 (iv) a communications interface between said lens subsystem and an electronic processing subsystem within the main camera body; and wherein the acquiring comprises collecting image data with an electronic image sensor that includes multiple pixels that collectively correspond to the acquired image; 
   (b) reading a lens calibration table containing optical system data relating to said removable lens subsystem;   (c) calibrating a dust correction component with a master dust map describing a physical manifestation of one or more dust artifacts on said sensor array or one or more components of said optical system, or both; and wherein the calibrating comprises matching with an intermediate dust map a specific lens, focal length, or aperture, or combinations thereof, and including calculating the intermediate dust map as a transformation of the master dust map based at least in part on one or more parameters included in the lens calibration table;   (d) digitally processing the digital image including converting processing the digital data according to programming instructions;   (e) providing communications interfacing between said electronic subsystem and said removable lens subsystem, and   (f) correcting for the dust artifacts on the sensor array or the one or more components of the optical system, or both, in the acquired digital image based on the intermediate dust map.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , further comprising downloading the lens calibration table from a server. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 15 , further comprising acquiring one or more further digital images with said digital camera and dynamically updating the master dust map based in-part on an analysis thereof. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 15 , further comprising converting one or more pixels corresponding to one or more dust artifacts from raw format to a known red, green, blue representation. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the correcting comprises replacing pixels within said one or more digitally-acquired images with new pixels. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the correcting comprises enhancing values of pixels within said one or more digitally-acquired images. 
     
     
         21 . One or more processor-readable media having code embodied therein for programming a processor to perform a method of automatically correcting dust artifact regions within acquired digital images, wherein the method comprises:
 (a) acquiring a digital image with a digital camera that includes an optical system including a removable lens subsystem, wherein the optical system comprises:
 (i) a lens assembly, 
 (ii) a diaphram or other aperture adjustment unit, 
 (iii) an electronic control processing subsystem, and 
 (iv) a communications interface between said lens subsystem and an electronic processing subsystem within the main camera body; and wherein the acquiring comprises collecting image data with an electronic image sensor that includes multiple pixels that collectively correspond to the acquired image; 
   (b) reading a lens calibration table containing optical system data relating to said removable lens subsystem;   (c) calibrating a dust correction component with a master dust map describing a physical manifestation of one or more dust artifacts on said sensor array or one or more components of said optical system, or both; and wherein the calibrating comprises matching with an intermediate dust map a specific lens, focal length, or aperture, or combinations thereof, and including calculating the intermediate dust map as a transformation of the master dust map based at least in part on one or more parameters included in the lens calibration table;   (d) digitally processing the digital image including converting processing the digital data according to programming instructions;   (e) providing communications interfacing between said electronic subsystem and said removable lens subsystem, and   (f) correcting for the dust artifacts on the sensor array or the one or more components of the optical system, or both, in the acquired digital image based on the intermediate dust map.   
     
     
         22 . The one or more processor-readable media of  claim 21 , wherein the method further comprises downloading the lens calibration table from a server. 
     
     
         23 . The one or more processor-readable media of  claim 21 , wherein the method further comprises acquiring one or more further digital images with said digital camera and dynamically updating the master dust map based in-part on an analysis thereof. 
     
     
         24 . The one or more processor-readable media of  claim 21 , wherein the method further comprises converting one or more pixels corresponding to one or more dust artifacts from raw format to a known red, green, blue representation. 
     
     
         25 . The one or more processor-readable media of  claim 21 , wherein the correcting comprises replacing pixels within said one or more digitally-acquired images with new pixels. 
     
     
         26 . The one or more processor-readable media of  claim 21 , wherein the correcting comprises enhancing values of pixels within said one or more digitally-acquired images.