JP2009086601A - Camera - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a camera which is free from erroneous operations by additionally providing an operation acceptance range limiting means to resolve the problem that a camera having an operation input member having a conventional touch panel has a disadvantage of causing erroneous operations due to a wide operation acceptance range of the touch panel. <P>SOLUTION: The camera determines a mode of an operated switch and detects an eye contact state and detects whether a grip is attached or not and controls an acceptance area of the touch panel in accordance with determination and detection results. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus such as a camera or a digital still camera, and relates to a setting method for setting various shooting conditions and setting operation control conditions for the imaging apparatus.

  Various apparatuses for setting shooting conditions in cameras and digital still cameras have been proposed. As an operation member, in recent years, an operation member having various types of buttons and a touch panel-like two-dimensional input means is known. This constitutes a transparent touch panel on the surface of the liquid crystal display member on the back of the camera, and is used as an input member by touching the touch panel with a finger while viewing the display screen.

For example, in the following prior art, (Patent Document 1) it has been proposed to provide a digital camera that can operate the functions of the digital camera with a simple operation based on the locus of coordinate input in the operation on the touch panel. .
JP 2002-281365 A

  Generally, as an operation on a touch panel mounted on a camera, it is necessary to set shooting conditions and the like while holding the camera. At this time, if the operation reception area on the panel is wide, it is likely to cause a malfunction due to various kinds of finger contacts with the camera.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an input device that is less likely to be erroneously operated even under input use conditions of various cameras in a camera using a touch panel.

In order to achieve the above object, the camera of the present invention provides:
The input acceptance area of the touch panel is changed by a means for discriminating whether the operation input to the photographing mode operated by the camera or the operation of the display system is performed.

  Further, it is characterized in that a posture state of a camera built in the camera is detected, and an input operation reception range to the touch panel is changed according to the posture state.

In addition, the input acceptance area of the touch panel is changed by a determination unit as to whether or not a grip for vertical position shooting is attached to the camera.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the input device which prevented the misoperation to the camera can be provided.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.

  In FIG. 1, reference numeral 100 denotes a camera.

  Reference numeral 12 denotes a shutter for controlling the amount of exposure to the image sensor 14, and reference numeral 14 denotes an image sensor that converts an optical image into an electrical signal.

  The light beam incident on the photographic lens 310 can be guided through the diaphragm 312, the lens mounts 306 and 106, the mirror 130, and the shutter 12 by the single lens reflex method, and can be formed on the image sensor 14 as an optical image.

  Reference numeral 16 denotes an A / D converter that converts an analog signal output from the image sensor 14 into a digital signal.

  An image processing circuit 20 performs predetermined pixel interpolation processing and color conversion processing on the data from the A / D converter 16 or the data from the memory control circuit 22.

  Further, the image processing circuit 20 performs predetermined calculation processing using the captured image data as necessary, and the system control circuit 50 performs photometry control means 46 and distance measurement control means based on the obtained calculation result. TTL (through-the-lens) AF (autofocus) processing, AE (automatic exposure) processing, and EF (flash light control) processing can be performed.

  Further, the image processing circuit 20 performs predetermined arithmetic processing using the captured image data, and also performs TTL AWB (auto white balance) processing based on the obtained arithmetic result.

  In the present embodiment, since the distance measuring means 42 and the photometry means 46 are exclusively provided, AF (autofocus) processing, AE (automatic exposure) processing, EF using the distance measuring means 42 and photometry means 46 are used. (Flash dimming) processing may be performed, and AF (autofocus) processing, AE (automatic exposure) processing, and EF (flash dimming) processing using the image processing circuit 20 may not be performed. good.

  Alternatively, each of AF (autofocus) processing, AE (automatic exposure) processing, and EF (flash dimming) processing is performed using the distance measuring means 42 and the photometry means 46, and the image processing circuit 20 is used. An AF (autofocus) process, an AE (automatic exposure) process, and an EF (flash dimming) process may be performed.

  A memory control circuit 22 controls the A / D converter 16, the timing generation circuit 18, the image processing circuit 20, the image display memory 24, the D / A converter 26, the memory 30, and the compression / decompression circuit 32.

  The data of the A / D converter 16 is written into the memory 30 via the image processing circuit 20 and the memory control circuit 22, or the data of the A / D converter 16 is directly written via the memory control circuit 22.

  Reference numeral 24 denotes an image display unit composed of a TFT LCD or the like. Display image data written in the memory 30 is displayed on the image display unit 24.

  If the image data captured using the image display unit 24 is sequentially displayed, an electronic viewfinder function can be realized.

  The image display unit 24 can arbitrarily turn on / off the display according to an instruction from the system control circuit 50. When the display is turned off, the power consumption of the camera 100 can be greatly reduced. .

  The surface of the image display unit 24 corresponds to 4 in FIG.

  In this image display, a MENU screen is prepared so that finer camera settings can be made.

  Reference numeral 30 denotes a memory for storing captured still images, display images, and moving images, and has a sufficient storage capacity to store a predetermined number of still images and a predetermined time of moving images.

  This makes it possible to write a large amount of images to the memory 30 at high speed even in continuous shooting or panoramic shooting in which a plurality of still images are continuously shot.

  The memory 30 can also be used as a work area for the system control circuit 50.

  Reference numeral 32 denotes a compression / decompression circuit that compresses and decompresses image data by adaptive discrete cosine transform (ADCT) or the like, reads an image stored in the memory 30, performs compression processing or decompression processing, and stores the processed data in the memory 30. Write to.

  Reference numeral 40 denotes shutter control means for controlling the shutter 12 in cooperation with the aperture control means 340 for controlling the aperture 312 based on photometric information from the photometry means 46.

  Reference numeral 42 denotes distance measuring means for performing AF (autofocus) processing. Light beams incident on the lens 310 are converted into an aperture 312, lens mounts 306 and 106, a mirror 130, and a distance measuring sub mirror (not shown) by a single-lens reflex system. , The in-focus state of the image formed as an optical image can be measured.

  Reference numeral 46 denotes photometric means for performing AE (automatic exposure) processing. Light rays that have entered the lens 310 are converted into an aperture 312, lens mounts 306 and 106, mirrors 130 and 132, and a photometric lens (not shown) by a single-lens reflex system. Then, the exposure state of the image formed as an optical image can be measured.

  The photometry means 46 also has an EF (flash dimming) processing function in cooperation with the flash 48.

  A flash 48 has an AF auxiliary light projecting function and a flash light control function.

  The system control circuit 50 controls the shutter control unit 40, the aperture control unit 340, and the distance measurement control unit 342 based on the calculation result obtained by calculating the image data captured by the image sensor 14 by the image processing circuit 20. It is also possible to perform exposure control and AF (autofocus) control using the video TTL method.

  Further, AF (autofocus) control may be performed by using both the measurement result by the distance measuring means 42 and the calculation result obtained by calculating the image data captured by the image sensor 14 by the image processing circuit 20.

  Then, exposure control may be performed using both the measurement result obtained by the photometry unit 46 and the calculation result obtained by calculating the image data captured by the image sensor 14 by the image processing circuit 20.

  Reference numeral 50 denotes a system control circuit that controls the entire camera 100, and 52 denotes a memory that stores constants, variables, programs, and the like for operation of the system control circuit 50.

  Reference numeral 54 denotes a display unit such as a liquid crystal display device or a speaker that displays an operation state or a message using characters, images, sounds, or the like in accordance with execution of a program in the system control circuit 50. One or a plurality of positions are installed at a position where it is easy to visually recognize, and for example, it is configured by a combination of an LCD, an LED, a sound generation element, and the like.

  In addition, the display unit 54 is partially installed in the optical viewfinder 104.

  Among the display contents of the display unit 54, what is displayed on the LCD etc. is, for example, single shot / continuous shooting display, self-timer display, compression rate display, number of recorded pixels, number of recorded images, number of remaining images that can be captured , Shutter speed display, Aperture value display, Exposure compensation display, Flash display, Red-eye reduction display, Macro shooting display, Buzzer setting display, Clock battery level display, Battery level display, Error display, Multi-digit number information display , Attachment / detachment state display of the recording media 200 and 210, attachment / detachment state display of the lens unit 300, communication I / F operation display, date / time display, display showing a connection state with an external computer, and the like.

  In addition, among the display contents of the display unit 54, what is displayed in the optical viewfinder 104 is, for example, in-focus display, shooting preparation completion display, camera shake warning display, flash charge display, flash charge completion display, shutter speed display, There are an aperture value display, an exposure correction display, a recording medium writing operation display, and the like.

  Further, among the display contents of the display unit 54, what is displayed on the LED or the like includes, for example, in-focus display, shooting preparation completion display, camera shake warning display, camera shake warning display, flash charge display, flash charge completion display, recording medium There are a writing operation display, a macro shooting setting notification display, a secondary battery charge state display, and the like.

  And what is displayed on a lamp etc. among the display contents of the display part 54 includes a self-timer notification lamp, for example. This self-timer notification lamp may be used in common with AF auxiliary light.

  Reference numeral 56 denotes an electrically erasable / recordable nonvolatile memory, such as an EEPROM.

  Reference numeral 150 denotes an eyepiece detecting unit that is disposed in the vicinity of the optical viewfinder 104 of the camera 100 as shown in FIG. 5 and detects that the photographer has approached the face to remove the viewfinder. This is indicated by 7 in FIG. The configuration of the eyepiece detection unit 150 includes, for example, a mechanism for detecting an eyepiece state by projecting infrared light and detecting reflected light reflected by the photographer's eyes and face, and an ultrasonic wave. A mechanism for detecting reflected waves reflected by the eyes and face, a detection mechanism using a pressure sensitive element, and the like.

  Reference numerals 60, 62, 64, 66, and 70 are operation means for inputting various operation instructions of the system control circuit 50, and include one or a plurality of switches, dials, touch panels, pointing by line-of-sight detection, voice recognition devices, and the like. Composed of a combination.

  Here, a specific description of these operating means will be given.

  Reference numeral 60 denotes a mode dial switch, which is an automatic shooting mode, program shooting mode, shutter speed priority shooting mode, aperture priority shooting mode, manual shooting mode, depth of focus priority (depth) shooting mode, portrait shooting mode, landscape shooting mode, and close-up shooting. Each function shooting mode such as a mode, a sports shooting mode, a night view shooting mode, and a panorama shooting mode can be switched and set.

  Reference numeral 62 denotes a shutter switch SW1, which is indicated by 8 in FIG. 5 and is turned ON during the operation of the shutter button. AF (autofocus) processing, AE (automatic exposure) processing, AWB (auto white balance) processing, EF (flash) Instructs the start of operations such as light control).

  Reference numeral 64 denotes a shutter switch SW2, which is turned on when the shutter button is fully pressed, and performs exposure, and a signal read from the image sensor 12 is sent to the memory 30 via the A / D converter 16 and the memory control circuit 22. Exposure processing for writing, development processing using computations in the image processing circuit 20 and the memory control circuit 22, reading out image data from the memory 30, compression in the compression / decompression circuit 32, and writing the image data in the recording medium 200 or 210 An instruction to start an operation of a series of processing called recording processing is given.

  Reference numeral 66 denotes a regeneration switch, which is indicated by 3 in FIG. In the shooting mode state, an instruction to start a reproduction operation for reading a shot image from the memory 30 or the recording medium 200 or 210 and displaying it by the image display unit 24 is given.

  Reference numeral 70 denotes an operation unit including a touch panel and the like, a menu button, a set button, a macro button, a multi-screen playback page break button, a flash setting button, a single shooting / continuous shooting / self-timer switching button, a menu movement + (plus) button, a menu. When performing shooting and playback such as move-(minus) button, playback image move + (plus) button, playback image-(minus) button, image quality selection button, exposure compensation button, date / time setting button, panorama mode, etc. A selection / switch button for setting various functions to be selected and switched, a determination / execution button for setting the determination and execution of various functions when performing shooting and playback in panorama mode, etc., and ON / OFF of the image display unit 24 Image display ON / OFF switch to set, quick review function to automatically play back image data taken immediately after shooting Quick review ON / OFF switch to set, compression mode switch to select the JPEG compression rate, or to select the RAW mode to digitize the image sensor signal and record it on the recording medium, playback mode, Playback switch that can set each function mode such as multi-screen playback / erase mode, PC connection mode, auto focus operation starts when the shutter switch SW1 is pressed, and keeps the in-focus state once focused There is an AF mode setting switch that can set the one-shot AF mode to continue and the servo AF mode to continue autofocus operation while pressing the shutter switch SW1.

As an operation unit of the touch panel, for example, as shown in FIG. 7, when a finger operation in the direction of the arrow is performed, when in the shooting mode, it becomes a function to change the distance measurement point up, down, left, or right. Used in MENU screen operation when in MENU display mode. Also, as shown in Fig. 8, this touch panel finger operation is a dial-like input operation because it draws a circle of fingers. You can also. This is used for exposure correction in the photographing mode. When in the MENU display mode, it is used to change the value on the MENU screen. For example, it is used for numerical value input of color temperature values in white balance setting.

  Reference numeral 72 denotes a power switch which can switch and set the power-on and power-off modes of the camera 100. In addition, the power on and power off settings of various attached devices such as the lens unit 300, the external strobe, and the recording media 200 and 210 connected to the camera 100 can be switched.

  80 is a power control means, which is composed of a battery detection circuit, a DC-DC converter, a switch circuit for switching a block to be energized, etc., and detects the presence / absence of a battery, the type of battery, the remaining battery level, and the detection result In addition, the DC-DC converter is controlled based on an instruction from the system control circuit 50, and a necessary voltage is supplied to each part including the recording medium for a necessary period.

  Reference numerals 82 and 84 denote connectors, and 86 denotes a primary battery such as an alkaline battery or a lithium battery, a secondary battery such as a NiCd battery, a NiMH battery or a Li battery, an AC adapter, or the like.

  Reference numeral 90 denotes an interface with a recording medium such as a memory card or hard disk, and reference numeral 92 denotes a connector for connecting to a recording medium such as a memory card or hard disk.

  In this embodiment, it is assumed that there is one interface and connector for attaching a recording medium. Of course, the interface and connector for attaching the recording medium may have a plurality of systems. Moreover, it is good also as a structure provided with combining the interface and connector of a different standard.

  The interface and the connector may be configured using a PCMCIA card compliant standard.

  In addition, when the interface 90 and the connector 92 are configured using a PCMCIA card or other standard, a LAN card, modem card, USB card, IEEE1394 card, P1284 card, SCSI card, PHS communication card, etc. By connecting the various communication cards, image data and management information attached to the image data can be transferred to and from peripheral devices such as other computers and printers.

  Reference numeral 104 denotes an optical viewfinder, which can guide and display a light beam incident on the lens 310 through an aperture 312, lens mounts 306 and 106, and mirrors 130 and 132 as an optical image by a single lens reflex system. Thereby, it is possible to perform photographing using only the optical viewfinder 104 without using the electronic viewfinder function of the image display unit 24. In the optical viewfinder 104, some functions of the display unit 54, for example, a focus display, a camera shake warning display, a flash charge display, a shutter speed display, an aperture value display, an exposure correction display, and the like are installed.

  A communication unit 110 has various communication functions such as RS232C, USB, IEEE1394, P1284, SCSI, modem, LAN, and wireless communication.

  Reference numeral 112 denotes a connector for connecting the camera 100 to another device by the communication means 110 or an antenna in the case of wireless communication.

  Reference numeral 120 denotes an interface for connecting the camera 100 to the lens unit 300 in the lens mount 106, 122 denotes a connector for electrically connecting the image processing apparatus 100 to the lens unit 300, and 124 denotes the lens mount 106 and / or the connector 122. This is lens attachment / detachment detection means for detecting whether or not the lens unit 300 is attached.

  The connector 122 transmits a control signal, a status signal, a data signal, and the like between the camera 100 and the lens unit 300, and also has a function of supplying currents of various voltages. The connector 122 may be configured to transmit not only electrical communication but also optical communication, voice communication, and the like.

  Reference numerals 130 and 132 denote mirrors that can guide the light beam incident on the lens 310 to the optical viewfinder 104 by a single-lens reflex system. The mirror 132 may be either a quick return mirror or a half mirror.

  Reference numeral 200 denotes a recording medium such as a memory card or a hard disk.

  The recording medium 200 includes a recording unit 202 composed of a semiconductor memory, a magnetic disk, or the like, an interface 204 with the camera 100, and a connector 206 for connecting with the camera 100.

  Reference numeral 300 denotes an interchangeable lens type lens unit.

  Reference numeral 306 denotes a lens mount that mechanically couples the lens unit 300 to the camera 100. The lens mount 306 includes various functions for electrically connecting the lens unit 300 to the camera 100.

  Reference numeral 310 denotes a photographing lens, and 312 denotes an aperture.

  Reference numeral 320 denotes an interface for connecting the lens unit 300 to the camera 100 in the lens mount 306, and reference numeral 322 denotes a connector for electrically connecting the lens unit 300 to the camera 100.

  The connector 322 transmits a control signal, a status signal, a data signal, and the like between the camera 100 and the lens unit 300, and also has a function of supplying or supplying a current of various voltages. The connector 322 may be configured to transmit not only electrical communication but also optical communication, voice communication, and the like.

  Reference numeral 340 denotes aperture control means for controlling the aperture 312 in cooperation with the shutter control means 40 for controlling the shutter 12 based on photometric information from the photometry means 46.

  Reference numeral 342 denotes distance measurement control means for controlling the focusing of the photographing lens 310, and reference numeral 344 denotes zoom control means for controlling zooming of the photographing lens 310.

  A lens system control circuit 350 controls the entire lens unit 300. The lens system control circuit 350 includes a memory for storing operation constants, variables, programs and the like, identification information such as a number unique to the lens unit 300, management information, function information such as an open aperture value, a minimum aperture value, a focal length, It also has a non-volatile memory function for holding current and past set values.

Description of FIG. 5 FIG. 5 shows the back of the camera. In FIG. 5, 1 is the camera body, 2 is a grip for vertical position photography connected to the camera body, and 3 is a playback button (PLAY). , Play back the captured image 4 shows the surface of the image display unit 5 is the MENU button. Buttons for jumping into the MENU setting mode on the screen 4, 6 indicates an eyepiece finder unit, and 7 indicates an eyepiece detection circuit. In this figure, for example, infrared light is projected from the left black circle, and a light receiving sensor is present in the right black circle.

8). The shutter switch (switch) 9 is a button for entering a distance measuring point selection mode. After pressing this button, the button enters the distance measuring point selection mode, and an actual distance measuring point is selected by operating the touch panel. Reference numeral 10 denotes an AE lock button, 11 denotes a touch panel, 12 denotes a vertical position grip, a ranging point selection mode button 13 denotes a vertical position grip, and an AE lock button 14 denotes a vertical position grip. The operation of the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 5 which are shutter buttons for position photographing.

  FIG. 2 shows a flowchart of the main routine of the camera 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  The operation of the camera 100 will be described with reference to FIG.

  Upon power-on such as battery replacement, the system control circuit 50 initializes flags, control variables, and the like, and performs predetermined initial settings necessary for each part of the camera 100 (S101).

  The system control circuit 50 determines the set position of the power switch 72, and if the power switch 72 is set to power OFF (S102), the display on each display unit is changed to the end state, and flags, control variables, etc. Necessary parameters, setting values, and setting modes including the above are recorded in the non-volatile memory 56, and predetermined termination processing such as shutting off unnecessary power sources of the respective parts of the camera 100 including the image display unit 24 is performed by the power control unit 80. After (S103), it goes to END.

  If the power switch 72 is set to ON (S102), the system control circuit 50 has a problem with the operation of the camera 100 due to the remaining capacity and operation status of the power source 86 constituted by a battery or the like by the power control means 80. It is determined whether or not there is a problem (S104), and if there is a problem, a predetermined warning is displayed by an image or sound using the display unit 54 (S105), and then END is reached.

If there is no problem with the power supply 86 (S104), the system control circuit 50
In S106, SW input processing, setting and display are performed.

  The system control circuit 50 displays various setting states of the camera 100 using images and sounds using the display unit 54. If the image display of the image display unit 24 is ON, the image display unit 24 is also used to display various setting states of the camera 100 using images and sounds.

  If the shutter switch SW1 has not been pressed (S121), the process returns to S106.

  If the shutter switch SW1 is pressed (S121), the system control circuit 50 performs a distance measurement process to focus the photographing lens 300 on the subject, performs a photometry process, and determines an aperture value and a shutter time. Distance / photometry processing is performed (S122), and the process proceeds to S123. In the photometric process, the flash is set if necessary.

  Details of the distance measurement / photometry processing S122 will be described later with reference to FIG.

  If the shutter switch SW2 is not pressed (S123), the process returns to S121.

  If the shutter switch SW2 is pressed (S123), the system control circuit 50 determines whether there is an image storage buffer area in the memory 30 that can store the captured image data (S125), and stores the image in the memory 30. If there is no area where new image data can be stored in the buffer area, a predetermined warning is displayed by means of an image or sound using the display unit 54 (S126), and then END is reached.

  For example, immediately after performing the maximum number of continuous shots that can be stored in the image storage buffer area of the memory 30, the first image to be read from the memory 30 and written to the storage medium 200 or 210 is still in the recording medium 200 or 210. An example of this state is an unrecorded state where one empty area cannot be secured in the image storage buffer area of the memory 30 yet.

  When the captured image data is compressed and stored in the image storage buffer area of the memory 30, it can be stored in consideration of the fact that the amount of compressed image data varies depending on the compression mode setting. Whether or not the area is on the image storage buffer area of the memory 30 is determined in S125.

  If there is an image storage buffer area capable of storing the image data captured in the memory 30 (S125), the system control circuit 50 reads out the image signal that has been imaged and accumulated for a predetermined time from the image sensor 12, and performs A / D conversion. The photographing process for writing the photographed image data in a predetermined area of the memory 30 is executed via the memory 16, the image processing circuit 20, the memory control circuit 22, or directly from the A / D converter via the memory control circuit 22 ( S127).

  Details of the photographing process S127 will be described later with reference to FIG.

  When the photographing process S127 is completed, the system control circuit 50 reads a part of the image data written in the predetermined area of the memory 30 through the memory control circuit 22 and performs WB (necessary for performing the development process. White balance) integration calculation processing and OB (optical black) integration calculation processing are performed, and the calculation result is stored in the internal memory or the memory 52 of the system control circuit 50.

  The system control circuit 50 reads the captured image data written in a predetermined area of the memory 30 using the memory control circuit 22 and, if necessary, the image processing circuit 20, and stores the internal memory or memory of the system control circuit 50. Various development processes including an AWB (auto white balance) process, a gamma conversion process, and a color conversion process are performed using the calculation result stored in 52 (S128).

  Then, the system control circuit 50 reads the image data written in the predetermined area of the memory 30 and performs the image compression processing according to the set mode by the compression / decompression circuit 32 (S129), and the image storage buffer of the memory 30 Image data that has been photographed and completed a series of processing is written in the empty image portion of the area.

  Along with execution of a series of photographing, the system control circuit 50 reads the image data stored in the image storage buffer area of the memory 30 and writes it to the recording medium 200 such as a memory card via the interface 90 and the connector 92. The recording process is started (S130).

  This recording start process is performed on the image data every time new image data that has been shot and finished a series of processes is newly written in the empty image portion of the image storage buffer area of the memory 30.

  During the writing of the image data to the recording medium 200, in order to clearly indicate that the writing operation is being performed, a recording medium writing operation display such as blinking an LED is performed on the display unit 54. If the image display of the image display unit 24 is ON, the image display unit 24 may be used to display the writing operation using an image or sound.

When the recording process for writing to the recording medium 200 is completed, the system control circuit 50 returns to S102 and determines the set position of the power switch 72. FIG. 3 shows the details of the distance measurement / photometry process in S122 of FIG. 1 shows a flowchart.

  In the distance measurement / photometry processing, the exchange of various signals between the system control circuit 50 and the aperture control means 340 or the distance measurement control means 342 is performed by the interface 120, the connector 122, the connector 322, the interface 320, and the lens control means. 350.

  The system control circuit 50 starts an AF (autofocus) process using the image sensor 14 distance measurement means 42 and the distance measurement control means 342 (S201).

  The system control circuit 50 causes the light beam incident on the lens 310 to enter the distance measuring means 42 through the stop 312, the lens mounts 306 and 106, the mirror 130, and the distance measuring sub mirror (not shown), thereby forming an optical image. The focus state of the formed image is determined, and the distance measuring means 42 is operated while driving the lens 310 using the distance control means 342 until the distance measurement (AF) is determined to be in focus (S203). The AF control for detecting the in-focus state is executed (S202).

  If distance measurement (AF) is determined to be in focus (S203), the system control circuit 50 determines a focused distance point from a plurality of distance measurement points on the shooting screen, and the determined distance measurement point. The distance measurement data and / or setting parameters are stored in the internal memory of the system control circuit 50 or the memory 52 together with the data, and the process proceeds to S205.

  Subsequently, the system control circuit 50 starts an AE (automatic exposure) process using the photometry means 46 (S205).

  The system control circuit 50 causes the light beam incident on the lens 310 to enter the photometric means 46 through the stop 312, the lens mounts 306 and 106, the mirrors 130 and 132, and a photometric lens (not shown), thereby forming an optical image. The exposure state of the formed image is measured, and photometric processing is performed using the exposure control means 40 (S206) until the exposure (AE) is determined to be appropriate (S206).

  If it is determined that the exposure (AE) is appropriate (S207), the system control circuit 50 stores the photometric data and / or the setting parameters in the internal memory or the memory 52 of the system control circuit 50, and proceeds to S208.

  The system control circuit 50 determines the aperture value (Av value) and the shutter speed (Tv value) according to the exposure (AE) result detected in the photometric process S206 and the shooting mode set by the mode dial 60. .

  Then, according to the shutter speed (Tv value) determined here, the system control circuit 50 determines the charge accumulation time of the image sensor 14 and performs the photographing process and the dark capturing process with the same charge accumulation time.

  Based on the measurement data obtained in the photometric process S206, the system control circuit 50 determines whether or not a flash is necessary (S208), sets a flash flag if the flash is necessary, and until the flash 48 is completely charged (S210). ) And charge the flash 48 (S209).

  When the charging of the flash 48 is completed (S210), the distance measurement / photometry processing routine S122 is terminated.

  FIG. 4 shows a detailed flowchart of the photographing process in S127 of FIG.

  In the photographing process, various signals are exchanged between the system control circuit 50 and the aperture control unit 340 or the distance measurement control unit 342 via the interface 120, the connector 122, the connector 322, the interface 320, and the lens control unit 350. Done.

  The system control circuit 50 moves the mirror 130 to the mirror-up position by a mirror driving unit (not shown) (S301), and the aperture control unit 340 performs the photometry data stored in the internal memory or the memory 52 of the system control circuit 50. The diaphragm 312 is driven to a predetermined diaphragm value (S302).

  The system control circuit 50 performs the charge clear operation of the image sensor 14 (S303), starts the charge accumulation of the image sensor 14 (S304), opens the shutter 12 by the shutter control means 40 (S305), and performs imaging. The exposure of the element 14 is started (S306).

  Here, it is determined whether or not the flash 48 is necessary based on the flash flag (S307), and if necessary, the flash is emitted (S308).

  The system control circuit 50 waits for the exposure of the image sensor 14 to end according to the photometric data (S309), closes the shutter 12 by the shutter control means 40 (S310), and ends the exposure of the image sensor 14.

  The system control circuit 50 drives the diaphragm 312 to the open diaphragm value by the diaphragm control means 340 (S311), and moves the mirror 130 to the mirror down position by the mirror driving means (not shown) (S312).

  If the set charge accumulation time has elapsed (S313), the system control circuit 50 reads the charge signal from the image sensor 14 after completing the charge accumulation of the image sensor 14 (S314), and the A / D converter 16, The photographed image data is written to a predetermined area of the memory 30 through the image processing circuit 20, the memory control circuit 22, or directly from the A / D converter 16 through the memory control circuit 22 (S315).

  When the series of processing is finished, the photographing processing routine S127 is finished.

A specific example of the S106 SW input processing, setting, and display in FIG. 2 will be described with reference to FIG.
In S501, the vertical and horizontal orientations of the camera are determined based on information from the camera orientation detection sensor. This sensor block is indicated by 500 in FIG.
In S50, input various SW states operated by the camera. In S503, the obtained SW type is determined earlier. Specifically, it is determined whether the shutter SW1 or AE lock SW.
If it is determined that SW1 or AE lock SW is pressed, go to S504
If it is determined that the MENU button (5 in FIG. 5) or the playback button (3 in FIG. 5) has been pressed, it is determined that the SW of the display system has been pressed, and the process proceeds to S510.

  If the shooting system switch is pressed, at S504. It is determined whether the horizontal position obtained in S502 is present, and if it is a horizontal position, the process proceeds to S507 and the touch panel operation reception range is set to A. As shown in FIG. 6-A, the range of A is such that an input operation is accepted only in the upper part of the touch panel.

If the vertical position is determined in S504, then in S505. Determine if the grip is attached. This grip is indicated by 2 in FIG. A vertical grip that can be attached to the camera. When this vertical position grip is attached, it is determined that it is attached in S505. If the vertical position is photographed in S504, and the camera is attached in s505, the photographer intends to photograph while grasping the vertical position grip. At this time, the touch panel reception range is set to B in S506. As shown in Fig. 6-B, only the area at the bottom of the touch panel is the operation acceptance range for this B range.
When the vertical position grip does not exist in S505 in spite of the vertical position shooting in S504, the photographer is holding the camera grip as in the horizontal position shooting. Therefore, in S507, the horizontal position shooting is the same and the reception range is set to be the same.
Input operation of the photographer's finger operation in the operation reception range restricted in S508. This is the operation shown in FIG. 7 and FIG. 8 with the limited range of the A and B regions as the detection region. In S509, the shooting conditions are set, the exposure is corrected, and the distance measuring point is selected. If it is determined that the display system SW (MENU SW, PLAYSW) is selected in S503, the touch panel is selected in S510. Set the input range to C.

In S511, a finger operation input process is performed. This is the same process as S508
In S512, setting is made on the MENU screen or the like with the operation input information. For example, if the operation is performed as shown in FIG. 8 in the white balance setting mode, the numerical setting of the color temperature is increased or decreased based on the rotation direction and the movement amount.
After the processing of S512 and S509, this subroutine ends and returns to the main routine of FIG. 2. As a second embodiment, a description will be given using FIG. 10. In the second embodiment, S513 is replaced with S503 of FIG. It was a thing.

  In S513, it is determined whether the photographer has looked into the viewfinder. This is based on information output from the eyepiece detection block 150 in FIG. For example, in this case, infrared light is projected from the camera, and the light receiving sensor detects that the amount of reflected light changes depending on the approach state of the face to the camera. When the eye is touched, the amount of reflected light increases. Conversely, when the eye is moved away, the amount of reflected light decreases. This determines the presence or absence of an eyepiece.

  If it is determined in S513 that the photographer is in the eyepiece state, the photographer determines that shooting is going to be performed, and the subsequent operation performed on the touch panel is determined to be an operation for setting shooting conditions, and the process proceeds to s504. Go. The process after S504 determines whether the lateral position is not significant is the same as that in the first embodiment.

Also, if it is determined in S513 that there is no eyepiece detection, shooting is considered as an operation when there is no intention to take a shot. Since the receiving area C is set in S510, the subsequent steps are the same as those in the first embodiment, and are omitted.

  In the description of the embodiment, it has been described that the mirror 130 is moved to the mirror-up position and the mirror-down position to perform the photographing operation. However, the mirror 130 is configured as a half mirror, and the photographing operation is performed without moving. There is no problem even if it is done.

  The recording medium 200 includes not only a memory card such as a PCMCIA card, a hard disk, but also a micro DAT, a magneto-optical disk, an optical disk such as a CD-R or CD-WR, a phase change optical disk such as a DVD, and the like. Of course there is no problem.

  Of course, there is no problem even if the recording medium 200 is a composite medium in which a memory card and a hard disk are integrated. Further, there is no problem even if a part of the composite medium is detachable.

  In the description of the embodiments, the recording medium 200 is described as being separated from the camera 100 and can be arbitrarily connected. However, it is a matter of course that all the recording media may remain fixed to the camera 100. No problem.

  Further, the recording medium 200 may be connected to the camera 100 by an arbitrary number or a plurality of recording media.

It is a block diagram of a configuration of an embodiment of the present invention. It is a part of flowchart of the main routine of a present Example. 3 is a flowchart of a distance measurement / photometry processing routine of the present embodiment. It is a flowchart of the imaging | photography process routine of a present Example. It is a rear view of the camera of a present Example. It is a figure which shows the operation reception area | region with respect to the touchscreen of a present Example. It is an example of finger operation with respect to the touch panel of a present Example. It is another example of finger operation with respect to the touch panel of a present Example. It is a flowchart of SW input, setting and display routine of the first embodiment. It is a flowchart of SW input, setting and display routine of the second embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 12 Shutter 14 Image pick-up element 16 A / D converter 20 Image processing circuit 22 Memory control circuit 24 Image display part 30 Memory 32 Image compression / decompression circuit 40 Shutter control means 42 Distance measurement means 46 Photometry means 48 Flash
50 System Control Circuit 52 Memory 54 Display Unit 56 Nonvolatile Memory 60 Mode Dial Switch 62 Shutter Switch SW1
64 Shutter switch SW2
66 playback switch 70 touch panel 72 power switch 80 power control means 82 connector 84 connector 86 power supply means 90 interface 92 connector means 100 camera 104 optical viewfinder 106 lens mount 110 communication means 112 connector (or antenna)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 120 Interface 122 Connector 130 Mirror 132 Mirror 500 Attitude detection sensor 150 Eyepiece detection means 200 Recording medium 202 Recording part 204 Interface 206 Connector 300 Lens unit 306 Lens mount 310 Shooting lens 312 Aperture 320 Interface 322 Connector 340 Exposure control means 342 Distance control means 344 Zoom control means 350 Lens system control circuit

Claims (3)

  The touch panel has a setting input member for the camera, has a means for determining the mode of the operation member for the camera (photographing and playback), and controls the operation reception area of the touch panel based on the determination result. Camera.   A camera having a setting input member for a camera on a touch panel, an eyepiece detection unit for the camera, and a reception area for operation of the touch panel is controlled based on the determination result.   The touch panel has a setting input member for the camera, has an eyepiece detection means for the camera, and controls the reception area for the operation of the touch panel based on the determination result and the mounting determination result of the vertical position grip. Features a camera.

Images