JP2000125153A - Camera - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a camera that accurately confirms the change in the field depth by the aperture of a photographing lens without the need for adopting a special image processing technology. SOLUTION: A microcomputer 1 of this camera properly reads image data that have been photographed earlier by an image sensor 5, receive prescribed processing by an image processing circuit 7 and stored in an image memory 8 based on an operation of a display selection SW 30 by the user and allows a liquid crystal display monitor 1 to display an image based on a set aperture value and an image based on an open aperture value in a plurality of modes where respective display occupied areas are properly changed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a camera having a feature in a display mode when a photographed image is displayed on a monitor such as an LCD provided in the camera body.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Today, photography using silver halide film and C
Techniques have been developed that allow both imaging using an image sensor such as a CD, and use both of them properly. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-20392 discloses a technique in which photographing using a silver halide film and electronic photographing using an image sensor are possible, and a photographed image is displayed on a monitor. In particular, in this technique, the display is performed so that the copy body photographed on the film and the degree of blur of the background can be confirmed.

That is, in the above technique, the effect of the aperture of the photographing lens, that is, a change in the depth of the subject can be equivalently confirmed by separating the main subject from the background image and performing low-pass filtering on the background image. Like that.

[0004]

However, it is technically difficult to automatically separate the main subject from the background.
Although it is conceivable to adopt a method in which the user manually selects a subject, a complicated operation is required, which is not practical. In addition, even when low-pass filtering is performed on the background, if the processing is performed without knowing the distribution of the objects existing in the background in the depth direction, the actual aperture effect cannot be accurately shown.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has as its object to accurately confirm a change in depth of field due to a diaphragm of a photographing lens without using a special image processing technique. It is to provide a camera.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, according to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electronic image pickup means for converting a subject image into an electric signal, and silver for exposing the subject image to a silver halide film. Salt photographing means, aperture means for adjusting the amount of subject light flux incident through the taking lens, aperture value setting means for setting the subject light flux amount adjusted by the aperture means, and the electronic imaging means in a time-division manner The first image data when the aperture value for limiting the amount of luminous flux of the subject is set by the aperture value setting means, and the second image data when the aperture means is opened by the aperture value setting means. Storage means for storing image data; and a first means for displaying a first subject image based on the first image data.
And monitor means having a second display form for displaying at least one of a second subject image based on the first image data and the second image data, and one display form in the monitor means. When the first display mode is selected by the display mode selection unit to be selected and the first display mode is selected by the display mode selection unit, only the first image data stored in the storage unit is read out and the first subject image is read. When the second display mode is selected by the display mode selection unit, both the first image data and the second image data stored in the storage unit are read out, and are displayed on the monitor unit. And a monitor control means for displaying the subject image on the monitor means.

In a second aspect, in the first aspect, when the second display mode is selected by the display mode selection means, the monitor control means includes the first image data and the second image data. A camera is provided which combines data and causes the monitor to display the second subject image based on the combined data.

[0008] In a third aspect, in the first aspect, the second display form is a display of the third subject image based on the first subject image and the second image data on the monitor means. A camera is provided, wherein the occupied area has a plurality of display forms different from each other.

That is, in the first aspect of the present invention, the subject image is converted into an electric signal by the electronic imaging means, the subject image is exposed to the silver halide film by the silver halide photographing means, and is transmitted through the photographing lens by the diaphragm means. The amount of the luminous flux incident on the subject is adjusted, the luminous flux amount of the subject adjusted by the aperture means is set by the aperture value setting means, and the storage means
The first image data and the aperture value are output by the aperture value setting device when the aperture value that limits the amount of luminous flux of the subject is set by the aperture value setting device and is output from the electronic imaging device in a time-sharing manner. The second image data in the case of being opened is stored, and a first display mode for displaying a first subject image based on the first image data by the monitor means, and the first image data and the second image data are displayed. At least one of the second object images based on the image data is displayed, the first display mode on the monitor is selected by the display mode selector, and the first display mode is selected by the display mode selector by the monitor controller. When the display mode is selected, only the first image data stored in the storage unit is read, and the first subject image is displayed on the monitor unit. When the second display mode is selected by the display mode selection unit, both the first image data and the second image data stored in the storage unit are read, and the second subject image is displayed on the monitor. Displayed on the means.

According to a second aspect, in the first aspect, when the monitor control means selects the second display mode by the display mode selection means, the first image data and the second image data are displayed. The data is synthesized, and the second subject image is displayed on the monitor based on the synthesized data.

In a third aspect, in the first aspect, the second display mode is a display of the third subject image based on the first subject image and the second image data on the monitor means. The occupied area has a plurality of display modes different from each other.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a camera according to one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, a photographing lens 2 driven by a lens driving mechanism 18, a diaphragm 3 driven by a diaphragm driving mechanism 17, and a quick return mirror 4 are arranged on the optical path of the subject light as shown. The image sensor 5 is arranged on the optical path of the light reflected by the quick return mirror 4.

A mirror driving mechanism 14 is connected to the quick return mirror 4, and an image processing circuit 7 is connected to the image sensor 5 via an image sensor driving circuit 6.
Is connected. The image processing circuit 7 is communicably connected to an image memory 8, and is also connected to a liquid crystal monitor 10 via a liquid crystal monitor driving circuit 9.

A focal plane shutter 11 driven by a shutter driving mechanism 16 and a film 12 fed by a film driving mechanism 13 are arranged behind the quick return mirror 4 as shown in the figure. An AF sensor 15 is arranged below the quick return mirror 4.

Further, a microcomputer (hereinafter simply referred to as a microcomputer) 1 for controlling the entire system includes a lens driving mechanism 18, an aperture driving mechanism 17, an AF sensor 15, a photometric sensor 19, and a shutter driving mechanism 1.
6, the film drive mechanism 13, the mirror drive mechanism 1
4, the image processing circuit 7, the display circuit 20, and various switches 21 to 30 are connected as shown.

In such a configuration, the microcomputer 1
Drives the photographing lens 2 by controlling the lens driving mechanism 18 to form a subject image on the film 12 or on the image sensor 5. Further, the microcomputer 1
Aperture UPSW21 or Aperture DOWNSW2 by user
The diaphragm driving mechanism 17 is controlled based on the diaphragm value set by the operation 2 to drive the diaphragm 3 to the diaphragm value.

The quick return mirror 4 guides the luminous flux of the photographing lens 2 to the image sensor 5 and the AF sensor 15 when lowered. The AF sensor 15 is for detecting a shift between a film surface and a subject image of the image sensor 5 and the photographing lens 2, and is a solid-state imaging device such as a CCD. When the quick return mirror 4 is flipped up, the luminous flux of the taking lens 2 is guided to the film surface.

A focal plane shutter 11 is disposed in the vicinity of the film surface, and the microcomputer 1 controls the shutter driving mechanism 16 to expose the film 12 at a desired shutter time. Film drive mechanism 13
Is a mechanism for performing the winding and rewinding operations of the film 12. Further, the photometric sensor 19 is a sensor for measuring the brightness of the subject. Then, the display circuit 20
Is for displaying various operation states of the camera,
The display circuit 20 displays, for example, an exposure mode, a shutter time, an aperture value, and the like.

The image processing circuit 7 drives and controls the image sensor driving circuit 6 based on a command from the microcomputer 1. The image sensor drive circuit 6 includes a timing pulse generation circuit necessary for driving the image sensor 5, an A / D converter for converting a subject image into digital data, and the like.

The image processing circuit 7 stores image data output from the image sensor driving circuit 6 in an image memory 8. This image data is converted into a predetermined format as required and stored in the image memory 8. As the image memory 8, a hard disk, a flash memory, or the like can be employed. The image data is output to the liquid crystal monitor driving circuit 9 via the image processing circuit 7, and the liquid crystal monitor driving circuit 9 displays the image data on the liquid crystal monitor 10.

Here, the various switches 21 to 30 connected to the microcomputer 1 will be described in detail. Aperture UPS
W21 and aperture DOWNSW 22 are switches operated when changing the aperture setting value. Aperture UPSW21
By operating, the aperture value is changed to the open side. By operating the aperture DOWNSW 22, the aperture value is changed in a direction to narrow the aperture. The preview SW 23 is a switch operated when confirming what the depth of field will be based on the set aperture value. The preview switch 23 is a switch having a two-stage structure. When the user half-presses the switch, the first switch (preview 1st SW) turns on, and when the user presses the switch fully, the second switch (preview 2nd SW) also turns on. ing.

The release switch 26 is a switch operated by the user when exposing the film 12 and photographing with the image sensor 5. The release SW 26 is a switch having a two-stage structure. When the user half-presses the switch, the first switch (1RSW 27) turns on, and when the user presses the switch fully, the second switch (2RSW 28) also turns on. . The power SW 29 is a switch for controlling a power supply. When the switch is ON, the camera can operate. The display selection SW 30 is a switch for selecting a display mode for performing a preview display.

Hereinafter, referring to the flowchart of FIG.
A main routine of the microcomputer 1 of the camera according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail. When the power SW 29 is turned on and power is supplied to each part of the camera, the microcomputer 1 starts operating, and first, initializes the system. Here, initialization of an I / O port (not shown) of the microcomputer 1, initialization of a memory, and the like are performed (step S1). Subsequently, data indicating the operation state of the camera is transmitted to the display circuit 20. Since this transmission operation is periodically executed, the display circuit 20
Will always display the new camera operation state (step S101).

Subsequently, the state of the aperture UPSW 21 is detected. Here, when it is detected that the aperture UPSW 21 is operated and turned on, the process proceeds to step S103,
The microcomputer 1 raises the set value of the aperture 3 by one step, and returns to step S101 to change the display. On the other hand, aperture UP
If the switch 21 is OFF, the process proceeds to step S104 without changing the set value of the aperture 3 (step S104).
102).

Next, the state of the stop DOWNSW 22 is detected. Here, when it is detected that the aperture DOWNSW 22 has been operated and turned on, step S105 is performed.
Then, the set value of the aperture 3 is lowered by one step, and the process proceeds to step S10.
Move to 1. On the other hand, if the aperture DOWNSW 22 is OFF, the process proceeds to step S106 without changing the set value of the aperture 3 (step S104).

Subsequently, the microcomputer 1 sets the display selection SW 30
Is detected (step S106). Here, when it is detected that the display selection SW 30 has been operated and turned on, the display state counter is incremented (+1) (step S107). Subsequently, the value of the counter is “4”
Is determined (step S108). If the value of the counter is not "4", step S
Move to 110. On the other hand, if the value of the counter is "4"
If it is, the process proceeds to step S109, sets the value of the counter to “1”, and then proceeds to step S110.

By the operations of steps S106 to S109, the display mode counter is incremented every time the display selection SW 30 is operated, and the count value changes as "1 → 2 → 3 → 4 →...". One of the display states of the preview display corresponds to the value of each display counter. This will be described later.

Subsequently, the state of the preview 1st SW 24 is detected (step S110). Here, when it is detected that the preview 1st SW 24 has been operated and turned on, a subroutine "preview display" is executed (step S111). In this subroutine "preview display", image data when the aperture 3 is set with the set aperture value is displayed on the liquid crystal monitor 10. Details will be described later.

If the preview 1st SW 24 is OFF, the flow shifts to step S112. In step S112, the microcomputer 1 instructs the image processing circuit 7 to capture image data. Then, the image processing circuit 7 controls the image sensor driving circuit 6 to
The integration operation of the image sensor 5 is performed. Further, the output of the image sensor 5 is A / D converted and taken in as image data. The image data is stored in a predetermined area of the image memory 8 (Step S112).

An example of the memory map of the image memory 8 is as shown in FIG. 3. The image data taken in step S112 is data when the aperture is opened. Therefore, it is stored in the area indicated by * 0 in the figure.

Subsequently, the microcomputer 1 instructs the image processing circuit 7 to display image data (step S11).
3). Then, the image processing circuit 7 executes the processing shown in FIG.
The image data at the time of opening the aperture stored in * 0 is output to the liquid crystal monitor drive circuit 9. By this operation, the image at the time of opening the aperture is displayed on the liquid crystal monitor 10.

Next, the state of the 1RSW 27 is detected (step S114). This 1RSW 27 is operated,
When it is detected that the switch is turned on, the process proceeds to step S116, and when it is turned off, the process proceeds to step S115. When the process proceeds to step S115, the state of the power SW 29 is detected. When the power SW 29 is turned off,
Since the operation of the system is stopped, the microcomputer 1 stops the operation. If the power switch 29 is ON, the process returns to the step S101 to continue the operation.

Steps S114 to S11
When the process has proceeded to 6, the luminance information of the subject is input from the photometric sensor 19. The second time of the shutter 11 is determined based on the luminance information, the film sensitivity, and the set aperture value (the value previously set in steps S102 to S105) (step S116).

Subsequently, information relating to the amount of focus shift is input from the AF sensor 15. The lens driving mechanism 18 is controlled based on this information to form an image of the subject on the image sensor 5 and the film 12 (step S117).
Next, based on the set aperture value, the aperture drive mechanism 17
Control. When the luminous flux of the photographing lens 2 is gradually reduced by the aperture 3, the accuracy of autofocusing is reduced.
Is not performed until the focus adjustment is completed (step S118).

Then, image data is fetched from the image sensor 5 in the same manner as in step S112 (step S112).
119). This image data is stored in a predetermined area of the image memory 8 (corresponding to the area * 1 in FIG. 3).

Next, the state of the 2RSW 28 is detected.
When the release SW 26 is fully pressed, the 2RSW 28 also turns on.
I do. At this time, from step S120 to step S12
Move to 1. If half-pressed, 2RSW28 is O
Since the FF is performed, steps S120 to S1 are performed.
27 (step S120). Then, in step S127, the aperture drive mechanism 17 is controlled to return to the aperture open position.

As is clear from the above description, when the release SW 26 is half-pressed, the steps S112, S11
8, S119, S127,
The image data when the aperture is open and the image data at the aperture value set by the user are alternately captured in a time-sharing manner. These data are stored in a predetermined area of the image memory 8 for use in preview display. Although it is possible to always take in the two image data alternately irrespective of the state of the release SW 26, what should be noted at this time is the durability of the diaphragm 3. If the aperture 3 is driven only for the preview display, the aperture 3 will be deteriorated without performing the photographing operation.

However, this does not apply to the case where the stop 3 constituted by using a liquid crystal or the like without using any mechanical member can be used. As shown in this embodiment, 1R
One of the reasons for taking in image data necessary for preview display only while the SW 27 is ON is to prevent the aperture 3 from being destroyed.

Another reason is the time required to capture image data. When the set aperture value is large and the subject is dark, the integration time of the image sensor 5 becomes longer,
It takes time to capture image data. Therefore,
In such a scene, data capture should be avoided as much as possible.

If the 2RSW 28 is ON, the process shifts from step S120 to S121, and the microcomputer 1 controls the mirror driving mechanism 14. Then, the quick return mirror 4 is brought up (step S1).
21). Next, the microcomputer 1 controls the shutter driving mechanism 16
To expose the film at the shutter time previously determined in step S116 (step S122). Subsequently, the quick return mirror 4 is driven to be lowered (Step S123), and the aperture 3 is returned to the open position (Step S124).

Subsequently, the film drive mechanism 13 is controlled to wind the film 12 by one frame (step S12).
5). Then, it instructs the image processing circuit 7 to create an image file (step S126). Then, the image processing circuit 7 reads out the image data stored in the area * 1 of the image memory 8 and previously fetched in step S119, and reads a predetermined image file (for example, JPEG; JPE
G). The converted image file is stored in a predetermined storage area of the image memory 8 corresponding to the number of frames of the film 12.

Hereinafter, referring to the flowchart of FIG.
The operation of the subroutine "preview display" will be described in detail. Here, the liquid crystal monitor 10 shown in FIG.
Will be described with reference to various display examples.

At the start of this routine, the microcomputer 1 sends an instruction to the image processing circuit 7 to a predetermined area of the image memory 8 (FIG. 3).
(Corresponding to the area * 1) (step S200). Next, the microcomputer 1 checks whether the image data is correctly input (Step S).
201). As described above, if the 1RSW 27 is not operated, the image data at the set aperture value is not captured.

Preview S before operating 1RSW 27
When W23 is operated, the preview cannot be displayed.
Therefore, if preview display is possible, step S201
The process proceeds to step S202 if impossible.
In the following step S202, a warning is displayed, and the process returns to the main routine.

In step S201, the microcomputer 1 determines whether or not the value of the display mode counter is "1".
Here, if the value of the display mode counter is "1", the image processing circuit 7 is instructed to display on the liquid crystal monitor 10 only with the image data previously read in step S200 (step S202).

FIG. 5A shows an example of a monitor display corresponding to the operation of step S202. “1” of the display mode counter indicates that image data based on the set aperture value is displayed on the entire surface of the monitor. This display mode corresponds to a preview operation in a single-lens reflex camera.

On the other hand, if the display mode counter is not "1", the image processing circuit 7 is instructed to read image data from a predetermined area (corresponding to the area * 0 in FIG. 3) of the image memory 8 (step S203). ), Preview 2ndSW2
5 is detected (step S204). If the preview 2nd SW 25 is OFF, step S20
Then, the process proceeds to step S212.

In step S205, it is determined whether the display mode counter is "2". If the display mode counter is "2", the image processing circuit 7 is instructed to combine the image data read in steps S200 and S203 (step 206). The synthesized image data is displayed on the liquid crystal monitor 10 in step S211.

The display corresponding to the image data synthesized in step S206 is as shown in FIG. In the figure, the display (* 2) surrounded by a thick line corresponds to the image data captured at the set aperture value. The display (* 3) surrounded by a thin line corresponds to the image data captured with the aperture 3 open.

When the display mode counter is "2",
When the preview SW 23 is fully pressed, the preview 2nd
SW25 is turned on, and the process proceeds from step S212 to S213. In step S213, the image data corresponding to FIG. 5C is synthesized. Then, in step S218, the composite image is displayed on the liquid crystal monitor 10. Therefore, when the user sets the preview SW 23
LCD monitor 1 depends on whether half-press or full-press is performed.
The display mode of 0, that is, FIG. 5B and FIG. 5C can be arbitrarily switched.

When the display mode counter is "3",
When the preview SW 23 is half-pressed, the image data corresponding to FIG. 5D is synthesized (step S208) and displayed (step S211). Furthermore, preview SW
When the button 23 is operated and fully pressed, image data corresponding to FIG. 5E is synthesized (step S215) and displayed on the liquid crystal monitor 10 (step S218).

When the display mode counter is "4",
When the preview SW 23 is half-pressed, the image data corresponding to FIG. 5F is synthesized (Step S210) and displayed on the liquid crystal monitor 10 (Step S211). Further, when the preview SW 23 is operated and fully pressed, FIG.
The image data corresponding to (g) is synthesized (step S2).
17) is displayed on the LCD monitor 10 (step S21)
8).

As described above, the value of the display mode counter can be changed by operating the display selection switch 30. Therefore, by appropriately operating the display selection switch 30 and the preview switch 23, the user can confirm the aperture effect in a desired display state. As is clear from the structure of the main routine, while the preview SW 23 is being operated, updating of the display on the liquid crystal monitor 10 is prohibited, and display for preview only is performed. Therefore, the display on the monitor is locked, and the user can calm down and check the aperture effect, which is convenient.
If there is no operation of the preview SW 23, the above step S
The operations of step 112 and step S113 are repeatedly executed. Therefore, the latest image data of the aperture-open state is continuously displayed on the liquid crystal monitor 10. this is,
This operation is indispensable for checking the composition while looking at the monitor screen, and is not necessary during preview display.

Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to this, and it is a matter of course that various improvements and modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. For example, in the above embodiment, the aperture UP
Although the example in which the aperture value is set by the user operating the SW 21 and the aperture DOWN SW 22 has been described, the microcomputer 1 may be configured to automatically set the aperture value according to the shooting mode of the camera. For example, when the macro shooting mode is selected, the aperture value is automatically set to FNo =
11 may be set. At this time, if the user operates the preview SW 23, the effect of the aperture at FNo = 11 can be confirmed.

[0055]

As described in detail above, according to the present invention,
It is possible to provide a camera capable of accurately confirming a change in depth of field due to a stop of a taking lens without using a special image processing technique.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a camera according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating in detail a main routine according to an operation of the microcomputer 1 of the camera according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a memory map of an image memory 8;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation of a subroutine “preview display” in detail.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing various display examples of the liquid crystal monitor 10.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 microcomputer 2 photographing lens 3 aperture 4 quick return mirror 5 image sensor 6 image sensor drive circuit 7 image processing circuit 8 image memory 9 liquid crystal monitor drive circuit 10 liquid crystal monitor 11 shutter 12 film 13 film drive mechanism 14 mirror drive mechanism 15 AF sensor Reference Signs List 16 shutter drive mechanism 17 aperture drive mechanism 18 lens drive mechanism 19 photometric sensor 20 display circuit 21 aperture UPSW 22 aperture DOWNSW 23 preview SW 24 preview 1stSW 25 preview 2ndSW 26 release SW 27 1RSW 28 2RSW 29 power SW 30 display selection SW

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 2H002 AB00 CC21 DB02 DB19 EB00 FB51 FB62 GA68 JA09 2H054 BB07 CA02 CD03 2H102 AA32 BA01 BB08 CA34 2H104 AA18 5C022 AA13 AB12 AB21 AB68 AC01 AC13 AC14 AC42 AC51 AC52 AC69 AC74

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An electronic image pickup means for converting a subject image into an electric signal, a silver halide photographing means for exposing the subject image to a silver halide film, and a diaphragm means for adjusting an amount of a subject light beam incident through a photographing lens. An aperture value setting means for setting a subject light flux amount to be adjusted by the aperture means; and an aperture value output from the electronic imaging means in a time-division manner, the aperture value limiting the subject light flux amount by the aperture value setting means. Storage means for storing the first image data when set and the second image data when the aperture means is opened by the aperture value setting means; a first subject based on the first image data A first display mode for displaying an image, and a second display mode for displaying at least one of a second subject image based on the first image data and the second image data. Display means, a display form selection means for selecting one display form on the monitor means, and when the first display form is selected by the display form selection means, the first image stored in the storage means Only the data is read out and the first subject image is displayed on the monitor means. When the second display form is selected by the display form selection means, the first image data and the first image data stored in the storage means are read out. A monitor control unit for reading both of the second image data and displaying the second subject image on the monitor unit. 2. The monitor control means, when the second display form is selected by the display form selection means, combines the first image data and the second image data, and based on the combined data, 2. The camera according to claim 1, wherein the second object image is displayed on a monitor. 3. The second display mode includes a plurality of display modes in which display occupied areas of the first subject image and a third subject image based on the second image data in the monitor means are different from each other. The camera according to claim 1, wherein: