JP3100718B2 - Mode setting method of electronic still camera - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a mode setting method for an electronic still camera for recording a subject image picked up by an image pickup means on a detachable recording medium as a video signal.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Unlike a silver halide camera, an electronic still camera that records a subject as a still image on a recording medium has a feature that a captured image can be reproduced by a reproducing device or a finder immediately after photographing. Its demand is increasing. Then, in order to obtain a satisfactory image, it is necessary to change the shooting conditions according to the situation of the subject.
In a conventional electronic still camera, in order to set each shooting mode, the mode is switched to a self-timer mode, a continuous mode, a no flash mode, a macro shooting mode, a normal mode, etc. by pressing a mode button while watching a liquid crystal display. Was.

[0003]

However, in order to obtain a high-quality image under a specific condition, it is necessary to set an aperture, a shutter speed, and the like suitable for the photographing conditions of the subject. In a conventional electronic still camera, for example, when trying to shoot a flower with high image quality, the aperture value and the aperture value are set to the manual mode.
If the camera is capable of setting the shutter speed and further adjusting the color, the photographing operation is performed by a procedure such as adjusting the color as needed and performing a flash in some cases. Therefore, there is a disadvantage that the number of steps to be manually operated is increased and the operation procedure is complicated. Further, even if the photographing conditions are set as described above, the photographing results are not checked and the photographing conditions are not set, so that an image which is expected by one photographing is not always obtained. Was. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned drawbacks by preparing a mode setting recording medium in which image samples photographed under different photographing conditions are recorded, reproducing the image sample of the mode setting recording medium, and selecting one of them By setting the camera itself to the shooting conditions corresponding to the selected image sample, many shooting modes can be easily and automatically set to the camera, and equivalent image samples taken in that shooting mode It is an object of the present invention to provide a mode setting method for an electronic still camera that enables a photographing mode to be set while checking the mode.

[0004]

In order to achieve the above object, a mode setting method for an electronic still camera according to the present invention is an electronic still camera which records a subject image taken by an image pickup means as a video signal on a removable recording medium. And a mode setting recording medium in which an image sample corresponding to each mode is recorded in each image area and a mode identification code corresponding to each image area, and shooting condition data are stored for each mode identification code. When the storage unit on the camera side and the mode setting recording medium are mounted on an electronic still camera, an image sample is read out from each image area of the mode setting recording medium and reproduced, and one of the image samples is selected. At this time, the storage unit is accessed by the mode identification code corresponding to the selected image sample, and the mode identification code pair is accessed. By reading the photographing condition data, and a control means for setting the photographing conditions selected the electronic still camera. The present invention also provides an electronic still camera that records a subject image captured by an imaging unit on a removable recording medium as a video signal, wherein an image sample corresponding to each mode is recorded in each image area, and an image sample corresponding to each mode is recorded. The mode identification code of
Further, a mode setting recording medium in which shooting condition data is recorded for each mode identification code, and an image sample from each image area of the mode setting recording medium when the mode setting recording medium is mounted on an electronic still camera. When an electronic still camera is selected by reading and reproducing and when one of the image samples is selected, the mode identification code corresponding to the selected image sample is recognized, and the photographing condition data corresponding to the mode identification code is read. And control means for setting the photographing conditions.

[0005]

According to the above arrangement, by preparing a recording medium that can be mounted for each shooting mode, it is possible to easily set a great variety of shooting modes in the camera as compared with the related art.

[0006]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings. The floppy disk which is the mode setting recording medium in the present invention can be easily mounted from the back of the electronic still camera or the like. FIG. 1 is a circuit block diagram showing an embodiment of a circuit of an electronic still camera using a mode setting method according to the present invention. The imaging part includes a photographing lens 5 for converging reflected light from a subject (not shown), an aperture 6 for adjusting a light amount to an appropriate amount, and a CCD for converting a light image of the subject into an electric signal.
7. Focusing operation and proper exposure adjustment are performed on the taking lens 5 and the aperture 6 under the control of the CPU 10. The CPU 10 instructs the electronic shutter circuit 13 of a shutter time, and the electronic shutter circuit 13 controls the accumulation and transfer of optical information on the CCD 7 according to the instruction. Image information output from the CCD 7 is output to a signal processing circuit 8.
A process such as adding a synchronization signal is performed to generate a video signal. The recording circuit 9 writes the image data sent from the signal processing circuit 8 to an empty track of the floppy disk 1 by applying a format suitable for recording, that is, a predetermined modulation.

At the time of reproduction, a reproduction circuit 17 reads out image data from a designated track, demodulates the data into a video signal, and outputs the video signal to a video output terminal 19. At this time, the recording data is also read from the cue track by the NRZ reading circuit 18 and sent to the CPU 10. The head 20 for reading and writing is positioned by the head drive circuit 14 on the track specified by the CPU 10. In addition, the floppy disk 1 controls the motor 16 based on the control of the servo circuit 15.
The rotation is controlled to the phase and speed corresponding to the write or read timing. R inside CPU 10
In the AM (storage unit) 21, shooting conditions are written corresponding to each mode number (mode identification code).

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of the RAM 21 in which specific photographing conditions are set for each mode number. The shutter speed is set to 1 /
The example is set to 250 seconds, and the aperture is reduced one step at a time. The key input circuit 11 stores information necessary for photographing by the CPU.
The key group is provided with a camera shooting mode selection key 11a and a mode setting key 11b. The LCD 12 displays input information and various information indicating the operation state of the camera.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the appearance of the mode setting floppy disk and an example of the recorded contents thereof. The mode setting floppy disk is 1 to
It is composed of 50 tracks and a cue track (the 52nd track). The RA of FIG.
Stored are images taken under each of the M shooting conditions. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an image sample when the image is reproduced on a multi-screen. In this image sample, a flower image is shown. Under the shooting conditions of the RAM in FIG. 2, the shutter speed is fixed at 1/250 second, and the aperture is reduced by one step. The ones whose exposure values are reduced one by one are stored. Also,
The cue track stores data that associates each image track number with a mode number. Since the data indicating the correspondence between each image track and the mode number does not have a large capacity, the user's area can be used.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart for explaining the operation and operation when setting the photographing mode by mounting the mode setting floppy disk. Key input circuit 11
When the camera is set to a shooting mode setting state by operating the shooting mode selection key 11a (step 1), the CPU 10 determines whether or not a mode setting floppy disk is mounted (step 2). If it is not mounted, the process shifts to another mode process. When the magnetic head 20 is mounted, the head driving circuit 14 is controlled to access the cue track, and the reproduction circuit 17 reads cue track data (mode numbers corresponding to 1 to 50 tracks).
The cue track data read by the reproducing circuit 17 is subjected to NRZ inverse conversion by the NRZ reading circuit 18 and
10 (step 3).

Further, image samples are read in order from one track and displayed on a display (not shown) connected to the video output terminal 19 (step 4). The display has a multi-display function, and is displayed in order from the upper left as shown in FIG. The reproduced images on the display can be displayed one by one in order. As described above, the user can select which shooting condition to set by looking at the image samples in each mode. When the user selects the image closest to the desired image and designates that track with the setting switch 11b (steps 5 and 6), the mode number is recognized by referring to the cue track data already read. And RAM
From 21, the photographing condition corresponding to the mode number is read. For example, if the mode number is C, the shutter speed is 1/2.
It is possible to obtain data with an aperture of 2.8 for 50 seconds.

The CPU 10 controls each circuit part based on the obtained photographing conditions, that is, the aperture 6 so that the aperture becomes 2.8 in this example, and the CCD 7 stores and transfers electric charges to the electronic shutter circuit 13 in 1/250 second. A control signal is sent (step 7). When the CPU 10 completes the mode setting in this way, it displays that fact on the LCD 12 (step 8). After the mode setting is completed as described above, the user can take out the mode setting floppy disk. At the time of shooting, the user prepares for shooting by mounting another floppy disk having an empty track. In the above, the example of the photographing mode in which the exposure value is changed by changing the aperture one step at a time while the shutter speed is fixed has been described. However, the photographing mode is not limited to these modes. Needless to say, the self-timer, the continuous mode, the macro shooting, and the like can be set as the shooting conditions.

In this embodiment, an electronic still camera using a floppy disk as a recording medium has been described as an example. However, the present invention is also applicable to a case where image data is compressed and stored using an IC card as a recording medium. Also, an example has been described in which a RAM is used as an area for storing shooting condition data corresponding to each mode identification code. It can also be stored with. In such a case, when the image sample is selected and the mode identification code is recognized, the mode setting recording medium is accessed and the corresponding photographing condition data is read. The present invention including the embodiments described above covers all the claims.

[0014]

As described above, according to the present invention, in an electronic still camera for recording a subject image photographed by an image pickup means as a video signal on a removable recording medium, image samples photographed under different photographing conditions are recorded. An image sample is automatically played back by preparing a mode setting recording medium that has been set, and attaching the mode setting recording medium to an electronic still camera at the time of mode setting, and when one of them is selected, the camera itself is selected. It is configured to set shooting conditions corresponding to the image sample. Therefore, many photographing modes can be easily and automatically set in the camera, and the photographing mode can be set while confirming an equivalent image sample taken in the photographing mode. In addition, a large number of types of shooting modes can be prepared simply by increasing the number of shooting mode setting recording media. Further, according to the mode setting method according to the present invention, the types of shooting modes can be increased with a small number of additional components.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a circuit section of an electronic still camera using a mode setting method according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an RA in which shooting conditions are recorded for each mode number.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of M.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an external appearance of a floppy disk and an example of a mode recorded in a cue track of 52 tracks.

FIG. 4 is a diagram in which each image sample recorded on each track of a mode setting floppy disk is multi-displayed.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining an operation of setting a mode using a mode setting floppy disk.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Floppy disk 5 ... Shooting lens 6 ... Aperture 7 ... CCD 8 ... Signal processing circuit 9 ... Recording circuit 10 ... CPU 11 ... Key input circuit 12 ... LCD 13 ... Electronic shutter circuit 14 ... Head drive circuit 15 ... Servo circuit 16 ... Motor 17 Reproduction circuit 18 NRZ reading circuit 19 Video output terminal 20 Head 21 RAM

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H04N 5/232-5/243 G03B 7/00

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. An electronic still camera for recording a subject image photographed by an image pickup means as a video signal on a removable recording medium, wherein an image sample corresponding to each mode is recorded in each image area, and an image sample corresponding to each image area is recorded. a mode setting recording medium mode identification code is recorded, the storage unit of the camera-side storing the respective photographing condition data for each mode identification code, the mode setting recording medium is attached to the electronic still camera At this time, an image sample is read out from each image area of the mode setting recording medium and reproduced. When one of the image samples is selected, the storage unit is accessed by a mode identification code corresponding to the selected image sample, and the mode identification is performed. By reading the shooting condition data corresponding to the sign, the electronic still camera is set to the selected shooting condition. Mode setting method for an electronic still camera, wherein the control unit, that was formed from. 2. An electronic still camera for recording a subject image photographed by an image pickup means as a video signal on a detachable recording medium, wherein an image sample corresponding to each mode is recorded in each image area, and an image sample corresponding to each mode is recorded. A mode setting recording medium on which a mode identification code is recorded, and further, photographing condition data is recorded for each mode identification code, and the mode setting recording medium when the mode setting recording medium is mounted on an electronic still camera. Reading and reproducing an image sample from each of the image areas, when one of the image samples is selected, recognizing a mode identification code corresponding to the selected image sample and reading out shooting condition data corresponding to the mode identification code. by, control to set the shooting conditions selected an electronic still camera
Mode setting method for an electronic still camera which is characterized by being configured from a control means.