JPH05191688A - Cam coder having surrounding-background searching function - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To easily contrast an object and a peripheral background by selectively supplying the video signal of the object or the peripheral background to a viewer finder. CONSTITUTION: One terminal (c) of a first switch 17 which selectively outputs an object video signal or a peripheral background video signal in accordance with the control of a microcomputer 10 is connected to a first contact (d) of a second switch 32, and the output end of a mixer 30 which mixes the object video signal and the peripheral background video signal is connected to a second contact (e) of the second switch 32. The second switch 32 is controlled by the microcomputer 10 to select and supply one of the video signals supplied from the first switch 17 and the mixer 30 to a viewer finder 4. The microcomputer 10 supplies a control signal to the second switch 32 so as to connect one terminal (f) to the second contact (e) and drives a PIP(picture-in-picture) control part 31 to generate a PIP control signal. Then, the object and the peripheral background are displayed in a PIP form.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cam coder, and in particular, it is possible to shoot not only a subject, but also the surrounding background of the subject, so that the subject and its surrounding background can be easily observed and compared The present invention relates to a camcorder having a background search function.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, a camcorder is provided with one lens, and a user shoots a target subject through this lens. When shooting, the user operates the lens to zoom (zoom
m) Can perform functions. In this way, the photographer considers the background surrounding the subject when photographing the subject. That is, when the zoom function is performed, the subject and its surrounding background should be compared in order to determine which part or how large the surrounding background should be. However, in the conventional camcorder, only the subject photographed through the lens is displayed on the viewfinder, so that the photographer must keep his eyes off the viewfinder in order to observe the background surrounding the subject. there were. In addition, this causes unstable shooting of the subject, which adversely affects the eyesight of the photographer.

[0003]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to add means for photographing a surrounding background to a conventional camcorder to display the subject and the surrounding background on a viewfinder simultaneously or selectively. It is an object of the present invention to provide a camcorder having a surrounding background search function that enables easy comparison between a subject and a surrounding waveform.

[0004]

In order to achieve such an object, a camcorder according to the present invention comprises a subject photographing means for photographing a subject and outputting a video signal, and a video signal supplied from the subject photographing means. And a viewfinder for displaying, and a video recording / playback unit for recording and playing back a video signal supplied from the subject photographing means, the surrounding background photographing means for photographing the surrounding background of the subject and outputting the video signal. A switch means for selectively supplying the image signals output from the subject photographing means and the surrounding background photographing means to the viewfinder, and a control means for controlling the switch means according to an operation signal from the outside. .

Also, the camcorder of the present invention is supplied from a subject photographing means for photographing a subject and outputting a video signal, a viewfinder for displaying the video signal supplied from the subject photographing means, and the subject photographing means. A camcorder having a recording / playback unit for recording and playing back a video signal, comprising: a surrounding background photographing means for photographing a surrounding background of a subject and outputting a video signal; and the subject photographing means and the surrounding background photographing means, respectively. A mixer that mixes the supplied video signal and supplies it to the viewfinder,
A PIP control unit for dividing a video signal from the mixer into a subject screen and a surrounding background screen for simultaneous display on the viewfinder, and control means for driving the PIP control unit according to an operation signal from the outside. Including and

Further, the camcorder of the present invention is supplied from a subject photographing means for photographing a subject and outputting a video signal, a viewfinder for displaying the video signal supplied from the subject photographing means, and the subject photographing means. A camcorder having a recording / playback unit for recording and playing back a video signal, which is output from the surrounding image capturing means for capturing an image of the surrounding background of the subject and outputting the image signal, and the subject capturing means and the surrounding background means. First switch means for selectively applying a video signal, a mixer for mixing video signals supplied from the subject photographing means and the surrounding background photographing means, and outputs from the first switch means and the mixer Second for selectively supplying the viewfinder to the viewfinder
While the switch means and the second switch means supply the output from the mixer to the viewfinder, the viewfinder is divided so that the video signal from the mixer is divided into a subject screen and a surrounding background screen for simultaneous display. It includes a PIP control unit for controlling and a control unit for controlling the first switch unit, the second switch unit and the PIP control unit according to an external operation signal.

[0007]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a camcorder according to the present invention. The main body 1 of the camcorder has a normal subject photographing lens 2 for photographing a subject using a zoom function, and a surrounding background photographing lens 3 for photographing the surrounding background at a constant screen angle due to the characteristics of the lens. Equipped with. Further, a microphone 5 for receiving sound is provided facing forward. A viewfinder 4 on which a subject to be photographed and / or a surrounding background is displayed is mounted on the back surface of the main body 1 so that the photographer can observe it. On one side surface of the main body 1, there is a tape mounting portion 6 on which a video tape can be mounted, and on the upper end of the main body 1, a belt 7 for carrying a camcorder is provided. Various function keys used at the time of shooting are provided at appropriate positions of the main body 1.

FIG. 2 is an internal block diagram showing an embodiment of a camcorder having a surrounding background search function according to the present invention. A camcorder having a surrounding background search function includes a subject photographing means for photographing a subject and outputting a video signal corresponding to the form, and a surrounding background photographing means for photographing the surrounding background and outputting a video signal corresponding to the form. Have. Video signals output from the subject photographing means and the surrounding background photographing means are selectively displayed on the viewfinder 4. In addition, the user operates various function keys to perform a necessary function, and the microcomputer (hereinafter, microcomputer) 10 senses an input key signal and controls each part of the system so that the corresponding function is performed. To do.

First, when a subject is photographed, a corresponding key signal is input to the microcomputer 10, so that the microcomputer 10 supplies a control signal to the lens driving section 11. Then, the lens driving unit 11 can drive the object photographing lens 2 to perform the zoom function. The optical signal incident through the subject photographing lens 2 is converted into an electrical signal by the first photoelectric conversion unit 12. The first color signal processing unit 13 processes the output signal of the first photoelectric conversion unit 12 and outputs the color signals R, G, B and the luminance signal Y. Then, the first color difference signal processing unit 14 processes the output signal of the first color signal processing unit 13 and outputs the color difference signals R-Y, B-Y and the luminance signal Y. The first video processing unit 15 combines the color difference signal and the luminance signal supplied from the first color difference signal processing unit 14 and outputs a video signal corresponding to the subject being photographed.

One output end of the first video processing unit 15 is connected to the recording / playback unit 16, and the other output end is connected to the first contact a of the switch 17 having one end connected to the viewfinder 4. It Under the control of the microcomputer 10, the recording / reproducing unit 16 records the video signal supplied by the first video processing unit 15 or reproduces the recorded video signal and supplies it to the monitor. The switch 17 has one terminal c connected to the viewfinder 4, and the other terminal connected to the first contact a connected to the output end of the first image processing unit 15 and the output end of the second image processing unit 25. The second contact b is formed, and the switching operation is performed under the control of the microcomputer 10. Therefore, if the switch 17 is connected to the first contact a, the subject to be photographed is displayed on the viewfinder 4.

On the other hand, the surrounding background is a lens 3 for photographing the surrounding background.
However, the surrounding background is photographed at a predetermined screen angle using a wide angle lens or a telephoto lens. The optical signal incident through the surrounding background photographing lens 3 is converted into an electrical signal by the second photoelectric conversion unit 22.
The output signal of the second photoelectric conversion unit 22 is supplied to the second video processing unit 25 via the second color signal processing unit 23 and the second color difference signal processing unit 24, as in the case of photographing a subject.
Then, the second video processing unit 25 outputs a video signal corresponding to the surrounding background during shooting. Here, the second video processing unit 25
Is connected to the second contact b of the switch 17. Therefore, the switch 17 is set to the second position under the control of the microcomputer 10.
When it is connected to the contact, the surrounding background to be photographed is displayed on the viewfinder 4.

By the way, according to an external key input signal,
The microcomputer 10 controls the switch 17 to selectively display the photographed subject or the surrounding background on the viewfinder 4. Then, the user sees the viewfinder 4
Through it, the subject or the surrounding background can be selectively observed as needed. Further, the microcomputer 10 uses a pulse signal having a constant frequency as a signal for controlling the switch 17 so that the switching operation is performed at high speed. This allows
The subject to be photographed and the surrounding background are displayed on the viewfinder 4 while alternating at a high speed.

For example, when the microcomputer 10 uses a pulse signal of several KHz as a switch control signal, the switch performs a switching operation at intervals of several msec. As a result, the subject to be photographed and the surrounding background are displayed on the viewfinder 4 while alternating at intervals of several msec. When the alternating speed of the two kinds of objects displayed in this way is high, the state actually observed by the viewfinder 4 appears in a state where the images of the two kinds of objects overlap. Therefore, the photographer can selectively observe the subject and the surrounding background through the viewfinder 4 by operating the corresponding function keys, or simultaneously observe the subject and the surrounding background in an overlapping state.

FIG. 3 is an internal block diagram showing another embodiment of a camcorder having a surrounding background search function according to the present invention. The embodiment of FIG. 3 is similar to the embodiment of FIG. 2, and is a subject photographing means for photographing a subject and outputting its video signal, and a surrounding background photographing means for photographing the surrounding background and outputting the video signal thereof. Viewfinder 4 for displaying the video signal of the computer, and a microcomputer 10 for controlling the system
It has and. The same parts as those in the embodiment of FIG. 2 are indicated by the same reference numerals in FIG. 3, and the description thereof will be omitted.

In FIG. 3, the respective video signals output from the subject photographing means and the surrounding background photographing means are mixed by the mixer 30 and supplied to the viewfinder 4. The microcomputer 10 drives a picture-in-picture (hereinafter referred to as PIP) control unit 31 in response to a key input signal from the outside (not shown). Then, the PIP control unit 3
Reference numeral 1 supplies control data to the viewfinder 4 so that the subject and the surrounding background are displayed on two screens at the same time. At this time, the two screens are divided into a main screen and an auxiliary screen. The subject is displayed on the main screen and the surrounding background is displayed on the auxiliary screen, or conversely, the surrounding background is displayed on the main screen and the subject is displayed on the auxiliary screen. Can be done.

FIG. 4 is an internal block diagram showing still another embodiment of the camcorder having the surrounding background search function according to the present invention. This embodiment has a configuration in which the embodiments disclosed in FIGS. 2 and 3 are combined. That is, in this embodiment, the subject photographing means for photographing the subject and outputting the video signal, the surrounding background photographing means for photographing the surrounding background and outputting the video signal, and the viewfinder 4 for displaying these video signals. And the microcomputer 1 that controls the system
0, a first switch 17 for selectively outputting the video signals output from the subject photographing means and the surrounding background photographing means, and a mixer for mixing the video signals output from the subject photographing means and the surrounding background photographing means, respectively. 30 and the first
A second switch 32 for selecting and supplying one of the video signal output from the switch 17 and the video signal output from the mixer 30 to the viewfinder 4, and a screen having two objects and the surrounding background. And a PIP control unit 31 for supplying a control signal to the viewfinder 4 so that they are displayed simultaneously. The same parts as those of the embodiment of FIGS. 2 and 3 are indicated by the same reference numerals in FIG. 4, and the description thereof will be omitted.

In FIG. 4, one terminal c of the first switch 17 for selectively outputting the subject image signal or the surrounding background image signal under the control of the microcomputer 10 is connected to the first contact d of the second switch 32. The output end of the mixer 30 that mixes the subject video signal and the surrounding background video signal is connected to the second contact e of the second switch 32. Second
Under the control of the microcomputer 10, the switch 32 selects one of the video signals supplied from the first switch 17 or the mixer 30 and supplies it to the viewfinder 4. The microcomputer 10 supplies a control signal to the second switch 32 so that one terminal f is connected to the second contact e, and at the same time,
The PIP controller 31 is driven to generate a PIP control signal. Then, the video signal output from the mixer 30 and the PI
The control signal output from the P control unit 31 is supplied to the viewfinder 4, and the subject and the surrounding background are displayed in the PIP form.

Then, the microcomputer 10 uses the second switch 32.
A control signal is supplied to the one terminal f so that the one terminal f is connected to the first contact d. Then, the video signal output from the first switch 17 is supplied to the viewfinder 4, and the subject or the surrounding background is selectively displayed, or two images are displayed when the first switch 17 is switched at high speed. It is displayed overlapping.

Although the present invention has been described above through specific embodiments, it is merely an example and does not limit the present invention. For example, a lens for photographing the surrounding background for photographing the surrounding background may also have a zoom function, and the photographed surrounding background may be recorded on a video tape. Such various modifications and applications will be possible without departing from the scope of the technical idea of the present invention defined in the claims.

[0020]

As described above, the camcorder having the surrounding background searching function according to the present invention enables the photographer to selectively or simultaneously observe the subject being photographed and the surrounding background with the viewfinder. As a result, the photographer can easily observe and compare the subject and the surrounding background without taking his eyes off the viewfinder, and the photographing can be performed stably, and the adverse effect on the visual acuity of the photographer can be eliminated.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a camcorder having a surrounding background search function according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a camcorder having a surrounding background search function according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing another embodiment of a camcorder having a surrounding background search function according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing another embodiment of a camcorder having a surrounding background search function according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Main body, 2 ... Lens for photographing subject, 3 ... Lens for photographing surrounding background, 4 ... Viewfinder, 10 ... Microcomputer, 1
1 ... Lens drive unit, 12, 22 ... Photoelectric conversion unit, 13, 2
3 ... Color signal processing unit, 14, 24 ... Color difference signal processing unit, 1
5, 25 ... video processing unit, 16 ... recording / playback unit, 17, 3
2 ... Switch, 30 ... Mixer, 31 ... PIP control unit

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A subject photographing means for photographing a subject and outputting a video signal, a viewfinder for displaying a video signal supplied from the subject photographing means, and a video signal supplied from the subject photographing means. A camcorder having a recording / playback unit for playing back, wherein a surrounding background photographing means for photographing a surrounding background of a subject and outputting a video signal, and a video signal output from the subject photographing means and the surrounding background photographing means are selectively selected. A camcorder having a surrounding background search function, including switch means for supplying to the viewfinder, and control means for controlling the switch means according to an operation signal from the outside. 2. The surrounding background photographing means is configured separately from the subject photographing means, and has a lens capable of photographing the surrounding background at a predetermined screen angle, and a photoelectric converter for converting light incident through the lens into an electrical signal. The camcorder having a surrounding background search function according to claim 1, further comprising: a conversion unit; and a video processing unit that outputs the surrounding background photographed by receiving the output signal of the photoelectric conversion unit as a video signal. .. 3. The camcorder having a surrounding background search function according to claim 1, wherein the control means applies a control signal having a predetermined frequency for switching the switch means at a high speed to the switch means. 4. A subject photographing means for photographing a subject and outputting a video signal, a viewfinder for displaying a video signal supplied from the subject photographing means, and a video signal supplied from the subject photographing means. A camcorder having a recording / playback unit for playing back, wherein a surrounding background photographing means for photographing a surrounding background of a subject and outputting a video signal, and a video signal respectively supplied from the subject photographing means and the surrounding background photographing means. A mixer for mixing and supplying the mixture to the viewfinder, a PIP controller for dividing a video signal from the mixer into a subject screen and a surrounding background screen and displaying them simultaneously on the viewfinder, and an external operation A cam having a surrounding background search function, which includes a control unit that drives the PIP control unit according to a signal. Over da. 5. The surrounding background photographing means is configured separately from the subject photographing means, a lens capable of photographing the surrounding background at a predetermined screen angle, and a photoelectric conversion unit converting light incident through the lens into an electrical signal. 5. The camcorder having a surrounding background search function according to claim 4, further comprising: a video processing unit that receives the output signal of the photoelectric conversion unit and outputs the captured surrounding background as a video signal. 6. A subject photographing means for photographing a subject and outputting a video signal, a viewfinder for displaying a video signal supplied from the subject photographing means, and a video signal supplied from the subject photographing means. A camcorder having a recording / playback unit for playing back, wherein a surrounding background photographing means for photographing a surrounding background of a subject and outputting a video signal, and a video signal output from the subject photographing means and the surrounding background means are selectively A first switch means for applying the voltage, a mixer for mixing the video signals supplied from the subject photographing means and the surrounding background photographing means, and an output from the first switch means and the mixer selectively in the viewfinder. Second switch means for supplying to the viewfinder while the second switch means supplies the output from the mixer to the viewfinder. And the PIP control unit for controlling the viewfinder to display simultaneously by dividing the video signal to the subject window and the surrounding background screen, the first switching means in response to an external operation signal, the second
A camcorder having a surrounding background search function, comprising: a switch means and a control means for controlling the PIP controller. 7. The surrounding background photographing means is configured separately from the subject photographing means, a lens capable of photographing the surrounding background at a predetermined screen angle, and a photoelectric conversion unit converting light incident through the lens into an electrical signal. 7. The surrounding background search function according to claim 6, further comprising: a video processing unit for receiving the output signal of the photoelectric conversion unit and outputting the captured surrounding background as a video signal. Camcorder. 8. The surrounding background search function according to claim 6, wherein the control means applies a control signal having a predetermined frequency to the first switch means so as to switch the first switch means at high speed. Have a camcorder.