Hue-Correction Scheme Considering Non-Linear Camera Response for Multi-Exposure Image Fusion

TL;DR

This paper introduces a hue-correction scheme for multi-exposure image fusion that uses HDR images as a reference to correct hue distortions caused by non-linear camera responses, resulting in higher-quality fused images.

Contribution

The proposed method is the first to incorporate hue correction considering non-linear camera responses in multi-exposure image fusion using HDR references.

Findings

Effective correction of hue distortion demonstrated in simulations

Improved image quality regardless of input exposure conditions

Compatible with various existing MEF methods

Abstract

We propose a novel hue-correction scheme for multi-exposure image fusion (MEF). Various MEF methods have so far been studied to generate higher-quality images. However, there are few MEF methods considering hue distortion unlike other fields of image processing, due to a lack of a reference image that has correct hue. In the proposed scheme, we generate an HDR image as a reference for hue correction, from input multi-exposure images. After that, hue distortion in images fused by an MEF method is removed by using hue information of the HDR one, on the basis of the constant-hue plane in the RGB color space. In simulations, the proposed scheme is demonstrated to be effective to correct hue-distortion caused by conventional MEF methods. Experimental results also show that the proposed scheme can generate high-quality images, regardless of exposure conditions of input multi-exposure images.