A digital camera is provided with a number of different accessories and appropriate accessories are attached to or detached from the digital camera depending on photographing conditions and photographing intentions before photographing can be performed. Known accessories include those electrically connected to a digital camera main body whose operation is under control by signals from the digital camera main body or transmit information on the accessories stored in a storing unit to the digital camera main body. Accessories having a function of transmitting information on the accessories to the digital camera main body include, for example, an image-capturing lens having an AF (autofocusing) function and a strobe unit whereas those accessories having no such a function include, for example, various filters or hoods, close-up lenses to be attached to the front end of the image-capturing lens, conversion lenses to be attached between an exchange lens and the digital camera main body, a close-up ring, a shutter release cable, and a tripod.
When images are published, it is often the case that information on the accessories used upon the capturing the images are attached to the images. In the case of the former group of accessories, the digital camera automatically captures information on the accessory from the accessory as necessary, and attaches the information to the image data of the captured image before the image data can be recorded. Also, conditions of the accessories upon image-capturing are automatically incorporated into the digital camera. For example, for a photographic lens, information such as name of manufacturer, focal length, and open aperture number, and in addition actual aperture upon image-capturing are transmitted to the digital camera.
In the case of the latter group of accessories, the information on the accessory is added to the image data of the image captured using the accessory by manual inputting operation. Addition of the information is performed by using the digital camera having captured the subject image or a personal computer having read therein the image data of a subject image.
It has been known from the following Patent Document 1 to obtain subject identifying information being had by the subject and implement processing on the captured image in correspondence to the characteristics of the subject.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2004-328202
Patent Document 1 discloses an image processing system having a contactless readable memory storing identification information for an item; a photographing device having a reading device that reads out stored data from the memory; a database that stores the information on the item and the identification information in relation to each other; and an image processing device that performs image processing. In the conventional image processing system, the photographing device reads out the identification information and provides the read identification information in relation to the captured image to the image processing device.
The image processing device reads out corresponding item information from the database based on the identification information and performs image processing of the image data, so that upon reproduction of the image data, each item in the image can be reproduced in an appropriate color close to actual color independently of a light source used upon the image-capturing.