JPH1068992A - Video recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To instruct a focal position by the cursor operation of a track ball by adopting the track ball as a shutter button and displaying a cursor at the inside of the visual field of a finder. SOLUTION: A camera main body 10 processes the track ball 11, and when the cursor at the inside of the finder is aligned with an object by the track ball 11, the range-finding position of a range-finding element is aligned with a cursor position, so that focusing is attained at the cursor position. The track ball 11 is normally locked at a center position, and the track ball 11 is clicked as it is, so that normal shutter operation is performed. Also, the camera main body 10 is provided with a photometric mode button 12, a zooming mode button 13 and a lens operation switch 14 or the like, and by the operation of the mode buttons 12-14 and the track ball 11, the operation of photometry, zooming, the shifting of a lens and swing and tilt or the like is performed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a video recording apparatus, and more particularly to a camera in general (APS camera, video camera, digital still camera, etc.). Is operated to indicate the focus position of the auto focus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional autofocus camera, a line-of-sight input or the like is employed so that a focus position in a finder field of view can be controlled to some extent, but the focus position is limited to some extent. In addition, when an index is added to the photographed information and managed by a database, an electronic album, etc., conventionally, the photographed result is
A person added and managed an index using the contents and notes at the time of shooting. Creation of these indices consumes a lot of time and, at the same time, has been a long time since the photograph was taken, so that the storage was sometimes ambiguous or information could not be added in some cases.

[0003]

As described above, in the conventional autofocus camera, the focus position in the viewfinder field is predetermined, and generally, the autofocus position is located at the center position in the field of view. Because it is determined, the in-focus point (focus position) cannot be freely selected within the field of view.

Further, in the conventional camera, an index is attached to a photographing result with reference to a memo at the time of photographing. Creating such an index not only consumes a lot of time but also creates a photograph. Because time has passed since the time of shooting, there were cases where the memory was ambiguous or information could not be added.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances. According to the first aspect of the present invention, a trackball is used as a shutter button to display a cursor in a finder field of view and set a focus position. The purpose of the present invention is to make it possible to give an instruction by operating a trackball and thereby to adjust the focus position to a desired position in the finder visual field.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, information that can be mechanically acquired at the time of photographing is automatically added to the film, and information that can be used to estimate the characteristics of the photographed object or a combination of the information is collected. The purpose is to record all possible information and to collect and record a lot of index information at the time of shooting.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, a shutter button for photographing an image is constituted by a trackball, and the trackball is operated to operate a cursor in a finder to perform auto-focusing. The position is designated, and the trackball is pushed to release the shutter.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the video recording apparatus according to the first aspect, further comprising a photometric mode button, wherein the photometric mode button is pressed and the cursor is operated with the trackball. Instruct the photometry point of the subject, photometry by pressing the trackball,
It is characterized in that the shutter is released by pressing the trackball again.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, a zoom mode button is provided, and when the zoom mode button is pressed, the trackball is turned to one side to zoom to the telephoto side, and is turned to the opposite side. In this way, the zoom is widened.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, a lens operation switch is provided, the lens operation switch is set to a lens shift position, and the trackball is operated to shift the lens left, right, up and down. It is characterized by doing so.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the fourth aspect of the present invention, the lens operation switch can be set to a lens shift position and a lens tilt position, and the lens operation switch is set to the lens tilt position to set the track operation. The ball is operated to tilt the lens in the direction of operation of the trackball.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a means for recording a current position by mounting a GPS, a means for recording an external situation at the time of photographing, and a means for recording various photographing settings inside the photographing apparatus, The present position, external photographing status, and photographing settings are recorded on a recording medium.

[0013]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is a schematic front view for explaining an embodiment of a video recording apparatus (camera) according to claims 1 to 5, wherein 10 is a camera body, and 11 is a truck. Ball, 12 photometry button, 13 zoom button, 1
Reference numeral 4 denotes a rotor switch (for shifting and tilting operation of the lens), and the trackball 11 is used for indicating an in-focus position of the auto focus.
It also has a shutter function. Also, metering button 1
2 and the zoom button 13 are interlocked or separated so that they cannot be pressed at the same time.
The trackball 11 and the photometry button 12 and the zoom button 13 are provided on the right and left opposite sides as shown, and in the illustrated example, the trackball 11 is a finger of the right hand, and the photometry button 12 and the zoom button 13 are used. Is operated by the finger of the left hand. Note that these photometry buttons 1
The 2 and the zoom button 13 can be attached to the back side of the camera body 10, and in this case, they can be operated with only one finger (thumb), so the attachment position does not matter much. In the illustrated example, the rotor switch 14 is
Although provided on the front surface of the camera body 10, it is not limited to the illustrated position, and may be provided, for example, on the upper part of the camera body 10.

FIG. 2 shows the trackball 11 shown in FIG.
FIG. 2A is an enlarged perspective view of a portion (FIG. 2A), and FIG. 2B is a diagram showing a focus position instruction (FIG. 2B) in the related art and a focus position instruction (FIG. 2C) in the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2A, a small trackball 11 is used for a conventional shutter button portion, and a cursor is displayed on the transmissive liquid crystal inside the viewfinder as the trackball 11 moves. Thus, according to the prior art, as shown in FIG. 2B, the focus position P is fixed substantially at the center of the viewfinder, so that the focus position P cannot be adjusted to the subject to be photographed. Therefore, the subject always becomes the center of the captured image, and it is difficult to freely select the composition of the entire subject. On the other hand, in the present invention, the in-focus position can be moved to any desired position in the viewfinder from the P position to the P ₁ position by using the trackball 11, so that the composition of the entire subject can be adjusted. It is possible to focus on a desired subject without changing.

The camera body 10 adjusts the distance measuring position of the distance measuring element to the cursor position, and focuses on the cursor position. The trackball is normally locked at the center position, and a normal shutter operation can be performed by clicking the trackball as it is. In addition, the movement of the cursor by operating the trackball allows the user to follow the operation position by changing the mode or to set the movement in the operation direction.

The present invention has a trackball as described above, and further includes a photometry mode button 12, a zoom mode button 1
3, a lens operation switch 14 and the like, and these modes can be operated in the following modes by a combination operation of the mode button and a track ball, and a lens operation switch and a track ball.

Focus position mode: The photographing mode is set to the normal mode. The state in which nothing is performed is always the normal mode. By operating the trackball 11 placed on the shutter section, the cursor on the transmission liquid crystal in the viewfinder is operated. Link the distance measurement point of the camera to the cursor position,
Focus on the subject at the cursor position. When the distance measurement point is determined, the shutter operates by pressing the trackball.

Photometry mode: While the photometry mode button 12 is pressed, the main photometry mode is set. By operating the trackball 11 placed on the shutter section, the cursor on the transmission liquid crystal in the viewfinder is operated. For the cursor position,
The photometry point of the camera is linked, and photometry of the subject at the cursor position is performed. When the photometry point is determined, the photometry is performed by pressing the trackball 11. When the photometry mode button 12 is released and the trackball 11 is pressed again, the shutter operates.

Zoom mode: The main zoom mode is set while the zoom mode button 13 is pressed. By turning the trackball forward, you zoom in on the telephoto side and turn it toward you to operate the widening side.

Lens shift mode: The lens operation switch 14 is set to shift operation. Turning the trackball 11 to the left shifts the lens to the left, and turning it to the right shifts the lens to the right. Also, turning the trackball forward shifts down, and turning it forward shifts up.

Lens tilt mode: The lens operation switch 14 is set to tilt operation. The lens is tilted toward the direction of movement of the trackball 11 to determine the tilt position.

FIG. 3 is an overall schematic diagram for explaining an embodiment of the invention described in claim 6, wherein 10 is a camera body, 21 is a GPS (Global Positioning System).
m) and 22 are sensors for detecting external conditions such as temperature and humidity. In the present invention, in addition to the click ball operating as described above, the camera body 10 further automatically detects the shooting conditions by a machine. In order to record, GPS21 which can record the current position, temperature sensor, humidity sensor, etc.
It is equipped with a sensor 22 that detects the external situation that can record the external situation at the time of shooting, and inside the camera body,
Focus distance, aperture, shutter speed, shooting mode,
A recording device for recording settings inside the photographing device such as a focal length of a mounted lens, an exposure correction value, a photometric method, and a photometric range;
A device for recording such information on a magnetic recording medium such as a video tape, a memory card, an APS (Advance Photo System) film, or the like is provided.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the functions of the camera shown in FIG. 3. The camera 10 includes a camera internal photographing information acquisition module 31, a camera external photographing situation sensor 32, and a GPS position sensor 33. , An information storage module unit 34, a data recording module unit 35, etc., a GPS device and a temperature sensor are mounted on a camera mounted with a trackball as described above, and information from these modules is stored inside the camera. After setting a shooting condition and a focus position, a device is prepared, a trackball is operated to shoot, and at the same time, the set values are recorded. As the operation inside the camera, the focal length, the focusing distance, the aperture value, the shutter speed, the light metering method, the light metering range of the lens mounted on the camera, and the photographing mode information are stored in the camera having the program AE function. The stored information is recorded on a magnetic tape device, a memory card, or a magnetic recording unit of an APS film at the time of photographing.

For example, as shown below, it is possible to extract a target image by designating a certain search condition based on the recorded information. Date: Search by time is possible. Focus position: Data of the point of interest in the video can be extracted. Focus distance: classification into distant and near views is possible. Aperture value, shutter speed: It is possible to estimate a shooting target. Aperture value: Large, Shutter speed: Low speed, → Landscape Aperture value: Small, Shutter speed: Medium speed to high speed, → Portrait Focal length of attached lens: Estimation of photographed object by judging whether wide-angle lens or telephoto lens is used It is possible. Photographing mode: This is a mode specified by the photographer, so that the photographing target can be grasped. Metering method, range: It is possible to comprehend the state of a captured image and to correct the image. Temperature and humidity: It is possible to grasp the general situation of the shooting location. Location information obtained by GPS or the like: A shooting location can be specified from geographical location information (longitude, latitude, sea level, etc.).

[0025]

Since the focus is focused on the cursor position in the viewfinder visual field, it is possible to focus on an arbitrary position after deciding the composition. By recording information on which position in the composition is focused, the coordinates of the point of interest in the video are clarified, and accurate information for judging information about what was shot by image processing etc. from the shooting information Information can be collected. When the captured information is downloaded to the host and stored and managed in a database, all information recorded at the time of shooting is registered as index information, and a certain search condition is specified based on the registered information. By doing so, the target video can be extracted.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view for explaining an embodiment of a video recording apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the trackball shown in FIG. 1 and its operation.

FIG. 3 is an overall perspective view for explaining an embodiment of a video recording apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining functions of the video recording device shown in FIG. 3;

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Video recording device (camera main body), 11 ... Trackball, 12 ... Metering button, 13 ... Zoom button, 14 ...
Rotor switch, 21 ... GPS sensor, 22 ... External status sensor.

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A shutter button for photographing an image is constituted by a trackball, a cursor in a finder is operated by operating the trackball to indicate an in-focus position of an autofocus, and the trackball is pressed by pressing the trackball. A video recording device, characterized in that the video recording device is turned off. 2. The video recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a photometry mode button, wherein the photometry mode button is pressed, and the cursor is operated with the trackball to set a photometry point of the subject with the cursor. Instruct,
An image recording apparatus characterized in that photometry is performed by pressing the trackball, and a shutter is released by pressing the trackball again. 3. The video recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a zoom mode button, wherein the zoom mode button is pressed and the trackball is turned to one side to zoom to a telephoto side and to turn to the opposite side. A video recording apparatus characterized in that the zoom is made to wide-angle side by (1). 4. The video recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a lens operation switch, setting the lens operation switch to a lens shift position, and operating the trackball to shift the lens left, right, up, and down. A video recording apparatus characterized in that: 5. The image recording apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said lens operation switch can be set to a lens shift position and a lens tilt position, and said lens operation switch is set to a lens tilt position and said trackball is set. Characterized in that the lens is tilted in the direction of operation of the trackball. And means for recording a current position by mounting a GPS, means for recording an external situation at the time of photographing, and means for recording various photographing settings inside the photographing apparatus. A video recording apparatus characterized in that a shooting condition and a shooting setting are recorded on a recording medium.