JP2000125178A - Image pickup unit - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain an image pickup unit by which the focus of a photographed image can immediately be confirmed after the photographing. SOLUTION: The image pickup unit is provided with an automatic focus adjustment means 10 that has a plurality of range finding points within a finder visual field of a photographing system, a 1st operation member 14 that selects an automatic selection mode where the range finding point is automatically selected or a manual selection mode where the range finding point is manually selected, a 2nd operation member 15 that can select an optional range finding point when the 1st operation member 14 selects the manual selection mode, and a display means 17 that reproduces a photographed image. When the automatic selection mode is selected, an image in the vicinity of the range finding point selected automatically is displayed on an entire screen of the display means 17 after the photographing and when the manual selection mode is selected, an image in the vicinity of the range finding point selected by the 2nd operation member 15 is displayed on an entire screen of the display means 17 after the photographing.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus such as an electronic still camera, and more particularly to an apparatus and a method for confirming the focus of a photographed image on a small monitor of an electronic still camera body.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an image of a subject incident from an optical system is photographed using an image pickup device, and an image signal obtained as a result is subjected to signal processing and converted into image information. Various electronic still cameras have been proposed in which the image information is recorded on a recording device including a memory card, a floppy disk, or a hard disk having a built-in flash memory. Some of these cameras have a built-in monitor in the camera body so that the captured images can be reproduced on the spot, and can display captured images or display multiple captured images on one screen. can do.

However, the monitor built in the camera body is almost always small, and there is a problem that the monitor built in the camera body cannot confirm the focus of the photographed image. Therefore, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-244471
In the “electronic still camera device” disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. H11-27139, a photographed image is displayed on a small monitor after photographing in order to easily perform focus adjustment even using a monitor having a small number of pixels. There has been proposed an image display apparatus in which a part of a displayed image is designated by a photographer, and the designated part is enlarged and displayed on a small monitor.

[0004]

However, in the above-described conventional apparatus, when performing focus adjustment on a monitor, the photographer must display a photographed image and specify a place to be further enlarged.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an image pickup apparatus capable of confirming the focus of a photographed image immediately after photographing.

[0006]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image pickup apparatus comprising: an automatic focus adjusting means having a plurality of distance measuring points within a finder visual field of a photographing system; a display means capable of reproducing a photographed image;
And displaying an image in the vicinity of the focus point after focusing on the entire screen of the display means.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image pickup apparatus comprising: an automatic focus adjusting means having a plurality of distance measuring points in a finder visual field of a photographing system; an automatic selection mode for automatically selecting the plurality of distance measuring points; A first operating member for switching between a manual selection mode for manually selecting a ranging point, and an arbitrary ranging point from the plurality of ranging points when the manual selection mode is selected by the first operating member. A selectable second operation member;
Display means for reproducing a captured image, wherein when the automatic selection mode is selected by the first operation member, an image near an automatically selected distance measuring point is displayed after shooting, If the manual selection mode is selected by the first operation member, the image is displayed on the entire screen and the second
The image near the distance measuring point selected by the operating member is displayed on the entire screen of the display means.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an imaging apparatus for detecting a gaze direction of a photographer looking into a finder visual field of a camera, and an automatic focus adjusting means having a plurality of distance measuring points in the finder visual field of the photographing system. A first operation member for switching between an automatic selection mode for automatically selecting the plurality of distance measurement points and a manual selection mode for manually selecting the plurality of distance measurement points; and manual selection using the first operation member. A second operating member capable of selecting an arbitrary ranging point from the plurality of ranging points when a mode is selected, and irrespective of the settings of the first operating member and the second operating member, A third operation member that sets a line-of-sight selection mode for enabling a line-of-sight detection unit to select the plurality of ranging points based on line-of-sight information obtained by the line-of-sight detection unit, and a display unit capable of reproducing a captured image; Having the eye-gaze detecting hand Is invalid and the automatic selection mode is selected by the first operation member, after photographing, an image near the automatically selected distance measuring point is displayed on the entire screen of the display means, and the line-of-sight detection means Invalid and the first
When the manual selection mode is selected by the operation member of the above, after photographing, an image near the distance measuring point selected by the second operation member is displayed on the entire screen of the display means, and the third operation member is displayed. When the eye-gaze detecting means is enabled and the eye-gaze selection mode is selected, an image near the focus detection point selected by the eye-gaze is displayed on the entire screen of the display means after shooting.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image pickup apparatus, comprising: storage means for temporarily storing a photographed image; a recording medium for storing the image stored in the storage means; Erasing means for erasing the photographed image when an image near the measured distance measuring point is displayed,
When the photographed image is not erased by the erasing means, the photographed image stored in the storage means is transferred to the recording medium.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image pickup apparatus, wherein: a storage unit for temporarily storing a photographed image; a recording medium for storing an image stored in the storage unit; Image processing means for cutting out the vicinity of the focused ranging point to the screen size of the display means from the captured image being
And storing the cut-out image in the recording medium in association with the photographed image.

An image pickup apparatus according to a sixth aspect of the present invention is an image pickup apparatus, comprising: an automatic focus adjusting means having a plurality of distance measuring points in a finder visual field of a photographing system; an automatic selection mode for automatically selecting the plurality of distance measuring points; A first operating member for switching between a manual selection mode for manually selecting a ranging point, and an arbitrary ranging point from the plurality of ranging points when the manual selection mode is selected by the first operating member. A selectable second operation member;
A first stroke switch that is turned on at the first stroke of a release switch for performing a photographing preparation operation such as photometry and distance measurement, a second stroke switch that performs shooting after the first stroke switch is turned on, and a captured image. Reproducible display means, and when the first stroke switch is turned on in a state where the automatic selection mode is selected by the first operation member, an image near the automatically selected distance measuring point is displayed. The first stroke is displayed on the entire screen of the display means, and when the second stroke switch is turned on, the photographing is performed and the manual selection mode is selected by the first operating member. When the switch is turned on, an image near the distance measuring point selected by the second operation member is displayed on the entire screen of the display means, and further, the second straw is displayed. Switch, characterized in that the imaging to be turned on is performed.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image pickup apparatus, wherein: a line-of-sight detecting means for detecting a gaze direction of a photographer looking into a finder field of view of a camera; A first operation member for switching between an automatic selection mode for automatically selecting the plurality of distance measurement points and a manual selection mode for manually selecting the plurality of distance measurement points; and manual selection using the first operation member. A second operating member capable of selecting an arbitrary ranging point from the plurality of ranging points when a mode is selected, and irrespective of the settings of the first operating member and the second operating member, A third operation member for setting a line-of-sight selection mode to select a plurality of distance measurement points based on line-of-sight information obtained by the line-of-sight detection unit, and a photographing preparation operation such as photometry and distance measurement. The first release switch to do A first stroke switch that is turned on by a stroke, a second stroke switch that performs photographing after the first stroke switch is turned on, and display means capable of reproducing a photographed image; When the first stroke switch is turned on in a state in which the automatic selection mode is selected by the first operation member and is invalid, an image near the automatically selected focusing point is displayed on the entire screen of the display means. Followed by the second
When the stroke switch is turned on, shooting is performed, and when the first stroke switch is turned on in a state where the line-of-sight detection unit is disabled and the manual selection mode is selected by the first operation member, An image near the distance measuring point selected by the second operating member is displayed on the entire screen of the display means, and when the second stroke switch is turned on, shooting is performed, and the third operating member is shot. When the first stroke switch is turned on in a state in which the line-of-sight detection unit is enabled and the line-of-sight selection mode is selected, an image near the distance-measuring point selected by the line-of-sight is displayed on the entire screen of the display unit. Subsequently, when the second stroke switch is turned on, photographing is performed.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the image near the focused ranging point in the captured image is displayed on the entire screen of the display means in conjunction with the ranging point of the camera. You can immediately check the focus of the captured image.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the image near the focused ranging point in the photographed image is displayed on the display means regardless of whether the ranging point selection mode is the automatic selection mode or the manual selection mode. Since the image is displayed on the entire screen, the focus of the photographed image can be confirmed immediately after photographing.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, in any of the line-of-sight selection mode, the automatic selection mode, and the manual selection mode, the image in the vicinity of the focused distance measurement point in the captured image. Is displayed on the entire screen of the display means, so that the focus of the shot image can be confirmed immediately after shooting.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, in any of the line-of-sight selection mode, the automatic selection mode, and the manual selection mode, the image in the vicinity of the focused distance measurement point in the captured image. Is displayed on the entire screen of the display means, and after the image is confirmed to be in focus, the image is recorded on the recording medium, so that it is possible to eliminate waste of recording the out-of-focus photograph on the recording medium.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, an image obtained by cutting out the vicinity of the focused distance measuring point in the photographed image is stored in association with the photographed image. , The photographed image can be quickly displayed without processing, and the focus can be confirmed.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, when the first stroke of the release button is turned on, regardless of whether the focus detection point selection mode is the automatic selection mode or the manual selection mode, the number of points in the captured image can be reduced. Since the image near the focused ranging point is displayed on the entire screen of the display means, the focus of the photographed image can be confirmed, and the waste of recording the out-of-focus photograph on the recording medium can be eliminated.

According to the present invention, when the first stroke of the release button is turned on, regardless of whether the focus detection point selection mode is the line-of-sight selection mode, the automatic selection mode, or the manual selection mode, photographing is performed. Since the image in the vicinity of the focusing point in the image is displayed on the entire screen of the display means, the focus of the photographed image can be confirmed, and the waste of recording the out-of-focus photograph on the recording medium can be eliminated.

[0020]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of an imaging apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. (First Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of an electronic still camera as an imaging device according to the present embodiment. In the figure, 1 is a taking lens, 2 is a taking lens 1
An image sensor, such as a CCD image sensor, for receiving a subject image via the CCD and photoelectrically converting the subject image; 3, a signal processing circuit for converting a signal output from the image sensor 2 into a digital signal; Is a buffer memory for temporarily storing image data, which corresponds to the storage means of the present invention. Reference numeral 5 denotes an image processing circuit for converting image data stored in the buffer memory 4 into a predetermined video signal, and corresponds to an image processing means of the present invention.

Reference numeral 6 denotes a recording control circuit for recording a video signal on a recording medium, and reference numeral 7 denotes a memory card for recording an image, which corresponds to the recording medium of the present invention. Reference numeral 8 denotes a drive circuit for driving the photographing lens to the in-focus position, and reference numeral 9 denotes a control circuit for controlling the signal processing circuit 3, the image processing circuit 5, the recording circuit 6, and the like.

Reference numeral 10 denotes an AF circuit for automatically detecting a focus using a plurality of distance measuring points in the screen, and corresponds to an automatic focus adjusting means of the present invention. Reference numeral 11 denotes an AE circuit for determining the exposure of a photographed image, and 12 denotes a line-of-sight detection circuit that detects a gaze direction of a photographer who looks into the viewfinder visual field of the camera, and corresponds to a line-of-sight detection unit of the present invention.

Reference numeral 13 denotes a line of sight detection circuit 12 which is turned ON / O.
It is a line-of-sight switch that performs FF, and corresponds to the third operation member of the present invention. Reference numeral 14 denotes a selection mode switch for selecting whether to automatically select the ranging point or to select manually, and corresponds to a first operation member of the present invention. Reference numeral 15 denotes a focus detection point selection switch for the photographer to manually select a plurality of focus detection points in the field of view when manual selection is selected by the selection mode changeover switch 13. The second operation member of the present invention Corresponds to.

Reference numeral 16 denotes a reproducing circuit for reproducing a photographed image, and 17 denotes an LCD monitor for displaying a photographed image and displaying various setting items, and corresponds to a display means of the present invention. Reference numeral 19 denotes a release switch, which corresponds to the first stroke switch and the first stroke switch of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an operation relating to photographing of the electronic still camera having the above-described configuration. Next, the operation of the electronic still camera will be described. In step S100, the operation starts. Step S10
In 1, the camera is activated by turning on the power by a power switch (not shown). In step S102,
When the camera is started, initial operations such as a battery check and a lens presence check are performed.

Next, in step S103, the state of the line-of-sight switch 13, the selection mode changeover switch 14, the ranging point selection switch 15 and the like are checked to set the ranging point selection mode. In this case, the operation is performed according to the flowchart shown in FIG. When the set mode is changed in step S104, the process returns to step S103,
If there is no change, the process proceeds to step S105. Step S1
At 05, when the first stroke switch SW1 (hereinafter simply referred to as SW1) of the release switch 19 is turned on, the control circuit 9 causes the AF circuit 10 and the AE circuit 11 to operate.
Operates to prepare for shooting. At this time, the AF circuit 11
In, the AF operation is performed according to the focus detection point selection mode set previously. In step S106, when preparation for photographing is completed, the process proceeds to step S107.

In step S107, if the switch SW1 is maintained in the ON state after the completion of the photographing preparation, the second stroke switch SW2 (hereinafter simply referred to as SW) of the release switch 19 is held while holding the in-focus position and the exposure value data.
2), and the process proceeds to step S108. On the other hand, if SW1 is in the off state, step S10
Proceed to 4.

When SW2 is turned on in step S108, a photographing operation is performed in step S109. In step S109, when SW2 is turned on, a subject image is exposed in the image sensor 2 by opening and closing a shutter mechanism (not shown) by a signal from the control circuit 9, and this image is photoelectrically converted. After being converted into digital data by the signal processing circuit 3, the data is temporarily stored in the buffer memory 4. In step S110, the focus of the captured image is confirmed. In this case, the operation is performed according to the flowchart shown in FIG. In step S111, after the focus is confirmed, the data stored in the buffer memory 4 is converted into predetermined image data in the image processing circuit 5,
Then, the data is recorded on the memory card 17 using the recording circuit 6. In step S112, the operation ends.

Here, the operation of setting the focus detection point selection mode by checking the states of the line-of-sight switch 13, the selection mode changeover switch 14, and the focus detection point selection switch 15 will be described with reference to FIG.
This will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Step S200
In, the operation is started. In step S201, the state of the line-of-sight switch 13 is detected, and it is determined whether or not the line-of-sight detection circuit 12 performs line-of-sight detection. If the gaze detection is not performed, the process proceeds to step S202, and a selection mode of automatic selection or manual selection of distance measuring points is set.

Next, in step S202, the state of the selection mode changeover switch 14 is detected, and it is determined whether the focus detection point selection is performed automatically or manually. If the manual selection mode is selected, the process proceeds to step S203, and the photographer selects a ranging point. In step S203,
The photographer manually selects a ranging point by using the ranging point selection switch 15. In step S202, the operation ends.

Next, the operation of enlarging and reproducing the image near the focus detection point selected after shooting will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In step S300, the operation starts. In step S301, upon receiving the ranging point signal selected by the control circuit 9, the image processing circuit converts an image near the selected ranging point to a predetermined size from the captured images stored in the buffer memory 4. cut. Step S30
In 2, the cut-out image is sent to the reproduction circuit 16 and converted into a signal that can be displayed on the LCD monitor 17.
In step S303, the image near the selected ranging point is displayed on the entire screen of the LCD monitor 17 as shown in FIG. In step S304, the operation ends.

With the above operation, the image near the focused ranging point in the photographed image is displayed on the LCD monitor screen regardless of whether the ranging point selection mode is the line-of-sight selection mode, the automatic selection mode, or the manual selection mode. Since the entire image is displayed, the focus of the captured image can be confirmed immediately after the image is captured.

(Second Embodiment) FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of an electronic still camera according to this embodiment. In particular, in this example, in addition to the electronic still camera, an erasing switch 18 for erasing a captured image stored in the buffer memory 4 without recording the image on the memory card 7 if the image is out of focus at the time of focus confirmation is set. Prepare.

The operation of the electronic still camera having the above configuration at the time of photographing is substantially the same as that of the first embodiment except for the operation at the time of focus confirmation (the flowchart of FIG. 4). Next, using the flowchart of FIG.
In the embodiment, the operation at the time of focus confirmation will be described.

In step S400, the operation starts. In step S401, upon receiving the ranging point signal selected by the control circuit 9, the image processing circuit converts an image near the selected ranging point into a predetermined size from the captured images stored in the buffer memory 4. cut. Step S40
In 2, the clipped image is sent to the reproduction circuit 15 and converted into a signal that can be displayed on the LCD monitor 17.
In step S403, an image near the selected distance measuring point is displayed on the entire screen of the LCD monitor as shown in FIG.

At this time, in step S404, the image is out of focus, and the erase switch 1
When 8 is pressed, the captured image is not recorded on the memory card 7. The process advances to step S405 to delete the captured image stored in the buffer memory 4. Step S
At 405, the buffer memory 4 is cleared to delete the captured image. In this case, step S111 is also skipped. In step S406, the operation ends.

With the above operation, the image near the focused ranging point in the captured image is displayed on the screen of the display means, regardless of whether the ranging point selection mode is the line-of-sight selection mode, the automatic selection mode, or the manual selection mode. Displayed in the whole. Since the out-of-focus photograph can be erased, it is possible to eliminate waste such as recording the out-of-focus photograph on a recording medium.

(Third Embodiment) The electronic still camera according to the third embodiment has substantially the same configuration as that of the first embodiment shown in FIG. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the operation of the electronic still camera in which an image near the distance measuring point is displayed on the LCD monitor 17 when the release switch 19 is pressed to the first stroke.
The operation of the third embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

In step S500, the operation starts. In step S501, the camera is started by turning on the power with a power switch (not shown). When the camera is started in step S502, an initial operation such as a battery check or a lens presence check is performed.

Next, in step S503, the state of the line-of-sight switch 13, the selection mode changeover switch 14, the ranging point selection switch 15, and the like are checked to set the ranging point selection mode. In this case, the operation is performed according to the flowchart shown in FIG. If the set mode is to be changed in step S504, the process returns to step S503,
If there is no change, the process proceeds to step S505. Step S5
At 05, when SW1 of the release switch 19 is turned on, the control circuit 9 causes the AF circuit 10 and the AE circuit 1 to operate.
1 operates to prepare for shooting. At this time, the AF circuit performs the AF operation according to the focus detection point selection mode previously set. In step S506, when the shooting preparation is completed, the process proceeds to step S507.

In step S507, the focus of the photographed image is confirmed. In this case, the operation is performed according to the flowchart shown in FIG. In step S508,
After the focus is confirmed, when photographing, that is, when SW1 is maintained in the ON state, the focusing switch and the exposure value data are held, and the switch SW2 of the release switch 19 enters a standby state, and the process proceeds to step S509. On the other hand, when photographing is stopped, that is, when SW1 is in the off state, the process proceeds to step S504.

In step S509, when SW2 of the release switch 19 is turned on, a photographing operation is performed. In step S510, when SW2 is turned on, a subject image is exposed in the image sensor 2 by opening and closing a shutter mechanism (not shown) by a signal from the control circuit 9, and this image is photoelectrically converted. After being converted into digital data by the signal processing circuit 3, the data is temporarily stored in the buffer memory 4. Then, the data stored in the buffer memory 4 is converted into predetermined image data in the image processing circuit 5, and is recorded on the memory card 17 using the recording circuit 6. In step S511, the operation ends.

With the above operation, the first release button is activated.
When the stroke is turned on, regardless of whether the AF point selection mode is the automatic selection mode or the manual selection mode,
Since the image near the focusing point in the photographed image is displayed on the entire screen of the display means, the focus of the photographed image can be confirmed, and waste such as recording a blurred photograph on a recording medium can be eliminated. .

By the way, in this type of conventional digital camera having an AF function and a monitor, for example,
When the image is recorded on the recording medium by the second operation and the image recorded on the recording medium is reproduced by the third operation, the image and its additional information are displayed on the monitor.

In recent years, the types and capacities of recording media have dramatically improved, and the capacities of recording media that can be mounted on digital cameras have also increased dramatically. As a result, a large amount of images can be recorded. Also, unlike a conventional silver halide camera, a digital camera can check a photographed image on the spot, and can easily eliminate unnecessary images. As a result, the photographer shoots as frequently as the recording medium continues, and the number of images to be removed increases accordingly. However, since a large number of images are recorded on the recording medium, it takes a long time to check the images.

On the other hand, in a digital camera using an image sensor having a high number of pixels, the number of images that can be recorded is limited. Therefore, it is preferable that the image to be recorded on the recording medium be recorded on the recording medium after the image is confirmed after photographing. However, the performance of a display device mounted on a digital camera is limited, and does not have sufficient performance to evaluate a captured image.

Therefore, in the following embodiment, in a digital camera having an AF function and having a monitor, an image storage means for storing one or more images at a stage preceding a recording medium;
An imaging apparatus having means for generating a focus position and synthesizing an image stored in the image storage means will be described.

FIG. 9 is a configuration diagram showing a basic configuration of the imaging apparatus according to this embodiment. 9, reference numeral 101 denotes an optical unit including a lens or the like; 102, a CCD constituting a solid-state imaging device; 103, a CDS / AGC unit for performing correlated double sampling and gain control;
Is an A / D converter for performing analog / digital conversion,
105, a memory control unit that performs memory management of image data; 106, an image processing unit that performs image correction, image compression, and the like;
Reference numeral 107 denotes a recording medium for recording an image.

Reference numeral 108 denotes a TG / SSG unit for generating a reference signal; 109, a memory unit for temporarily storing images; 110, a control unit for controlling the entire camera;
111 is a display device for displaying an image, and 112 is a release switch. This release switch 112
The first stage is the release 1 and the second stage is the release 2.

Next, the operation of the image pickup apparatus having the above-described configuration for photographing will be described. When the release switch 112 is pressed by the release switch 112, the control unit 110 calculates the in-focus position with respect to the subject and controls the optical unit 101. Further, the control unit 110 holds the X and Y coordinates of the focal position (focus point) at this time. When the release switch 112 is pressed by the release switch 112, the light incident from the focused optical unit 101 is converted into an electric signal by the CCD unit 102. The noise is removed and the gain is controlled by the CDS / AGC unit 104, and the A / D conversion unit 104
Send to Various timing pulses required at this time are output from the TG / SSG unit 1 controlled by the control unit 110.
08.

The electric signal sent to A / D conversion section 104 is subjected to analog / digital conversion by A / D conversion section 104 and sent to memory control section 105. The image data sent to the memory control unit 105 is temporarily stored in the image memory unit 109, and the control unit 110 displays an image on the display device 111. At this time, the control unit 110 performs a thinning process so that all images are displayed on the display device 111, and performs image display. Then, it is in a state of waiting for various commands from the key input unit 113.

Next, various commands will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 10 is a table showing examples of various commands, and FIG. 11 is an example of a key input unit mounted near a display device.

When the command 1 is input from the key input unit 113, the image data currently displayed on the display device 111 is not stored in the recording medium 107 but is stored in the image memory unit 1.
09 is erased.

When the command 2 is input from the key input unit 113, the image data currently displayed on the display device 111 is subjected to image processing such as image compression by the image processing unit 106 and stored in the recording medium 107. . At the same time, the X and Y coordinate data of the focus point are recorded. Also,
This image data is deleted from the image memory unit 109.

When the command 3 is input from the key input unit 113, the control unit 110 displays an image without thinning out or an enlarged image around the X and Y coordinates of the in-focus position.
11 is displayed.

When the command 4 is input from the key input unit 113, the control unit 110 generates a cursor on the X and Y coordinates of the in-focus position and displays the cursor in an overlay. FIG.
An example of a case where an in-focus position is displayed by overlay is shown.

The control unit 110 gives a command to the recording medium 107 and inputs the stored image data to the image processing unit 106. The image processing unit 106 performs image processing such as image decompression, and stores the processed image data in the image memory unit 109. The control unit 110 sends the image data temporarily stored in the image memory unit 109 to the display device 111, and reproduces and displays the image data stored in the recording medium 107. At the same time, the focus position data of the reproduced image is generated from the X and Y coordinate data of the focus position read from the recording medium. The above four commands can be operated as they are for the reproduced and displayed image data.

The image thus photographed is displayed on the display device 11.
When displaying in step 1, the in-focus position is synthesized and displayed. In addition, by enlarging and displaying the area around the focus position, it is possible to determine at what focus position the captured image is an image captured at
The photographer can check before recording on the recording medium 107 and freely select whether to record or exclude. Also when reproducing and displaying an image recorded on the recording medium 107, it is possible to judge in what situation the image is captured by synthesizing and displaying the in-focus position.

Therefore, at the time of photographing, before storing the image in the recording medium, the image is temporarily stored in the built-in memory, and after confirming the image on the display device, especially without focusing on the focusing position, or without enlargement display, After confirming the image with a high-quality image, the image data can be recorded on the recording medium. Therefore, it is possible to prevent useless use of the recording medium with useless data, and make a judgment with a clear image by enlarging and displaying the focus position on the display device.

The present invention provides a plurality of devices (for example, host computer, interface device, reader, printer, etc.)
, Or may be applied to an apparatus composed of one device.

In order to realize the functions of the above-described embodiments, a device connected to the above-mentioned various devices or a computer in a system is operated so as to operate various devices so as to realize the functions of the above-described embodiments. The present invention also includes programs implemented by supplying the program code of the software described above and operating the various devices according to programs stored in a computer (CPU or MPU) of the system or apparatus.

In this case, the program code of the software implements the functions of the above-described embodiment, and the program code itself and means for supplying the program code to the computer are provided.
For example, a storage medium storing such a program code constitutes the present invention. As a storage medium for storing such a program code, for example, a floppy disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, CD-ROM,
A magnetic tape, a nonvolatile memory card, a ROM, or the like can be used.

When the computer executes the supplied program code, not only the functions of the above-described embodiment are realized, but also the OS (Operating System) or other operating system running on the computer. Needless to say, even when the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized in cooperation with application software or the like, such program codes are included in the embodiments of the present invention.

Further, after the supplied program code is stored in the memory provided in the function expansion board of the computer or the function expansion unit connected to the computer, the function expansion board or the function expansion unit is specified based on the instruction of the program code. It is needless to say that the present invention also includes a case where the CPU or the like provided in the first embodiment performs part or all of the actual processing, and the processing realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments.

[0065]

As described above, according to the present invention, in this type of camera, an image near a focused ranging point in a captured image is displayed on the entire screen of the display means in conjunction with the ranging point. Therefore, the focus of the photographed image can be confirmed immediately after the photographing. Regardless of whether the focus detection point selection mode is the line-of-sight selection mode, the automatic selection mode, or the manual selection mode, the image is recorded on the recording medium after confirming the focus of the image. Recording waste can be eliminated. It is possible to realize an imaging apparatus which is excellent in usability and handling properties and has improved usability.

[Brief description of the drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a camera operation according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of setting a focus detection point selection mode according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of enlarging and reproducing an image near a distance measuring point according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of image display near a distance measurement point on a monitor screen according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of an electronic still camera according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of enlarging and reproducing an image near a distance measuring point according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a camera operation according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a basic configuration according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a command example of a key input unit according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a key input unit according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of a case where a cursor display of a focus position is overlaid according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 photographing lens 2 image pickup device 3 signal processing circuit 4 buffer memory 5 image processing circuit 6 recording circuit 7 memory card 8 drive circuit 9 control circuit 10 AF circuit 11 AE circuit 12 operation unit 13 line of sight switch 14 selection mode changeover switch 15 ranging point Selection switch 16 Reproduction circuit 17 LCD monitor 18 Erase switch 19 Release switch 101 Optical unit 102 CCD 103 CDS / AGC unit 104 A / D conversion unit 105 Memory control unit 106 Image processing unit 107 Recording medium 108 TG / SSG unit 109 Memory unit 110 Control unit 111 Display device 112 Release switch 113 Key input unit

Continued on the front page F-term (reference) 5C022 AA13 AB22 AC00 AC03 AC09 AC13 AC14 AC31 5C023 AA18 AA31 AA37 AA38 BA01 CA05 DA04

Claims (30)

[Claims] 1. An image pickup apparatus comprising: an automatic focus adjustment means having a plurality of distance measuring points within a finder visual field of a photographing system; and a display means capable of reproducing a photographed image. An imaging apparatus for displaying an image on an entire screen of a display means. 2. An automatic focus adjusting means having a plurality of distance measuring points within a finder field of view of a photographing system; an automatic selection mode for automatically selecting the plurality of distance measuring points; and manually selecting the plurality of distance measuring points. A first operation member for switching between a manual selection mode and a second operation capable of selecting an arbitrary ranging point from the plurality of ranging points when the manual selection mode is selected by the first operating member. Member, and display means capable of reproducing a photographed image. When the automatic selection mode is selected by the first operation member, an image near the automatically selected focus detection point is displayed after photographing. And displaying the image near the ranging point selected by the second operation member after photographing when the manual selection mode is selected by the first operation member. Imaging device characterized by displaying the whole image 3. A sight line detecting means for detecting a gaze direction of a photographer looking into a finder visual field of a camera; an automatic focus adjusting means having a plurality of distance measuring points in a finder visual field of a photographing system; A first operation member for switching between an automatic selection mode for automatically selecting points and a manual selection mode for manually selecting the plurality of ranging points; and when a manual selection mode is selected by the first operation member. A second operating member capable of selecting an arbitrary ranging point from the plurality of ranging points, and irrespective of the settings of the first operating member and the second operating member, enabling the visual line detection unit; A third operation member for setting a line-of-sight selection mode for selecting the plurality of ranging points based on line-of-sight information obtained by the line-of-sight detection unit; and a display unit capable of reproducing a captured image; Means are invalid and said first When the automatic selection mode is selected by the operation member, after photographing, an image near the automatically selected distance measuring point is displayed on the entire screen of the display means, and the visual line detection means is invalid and the first When the manual selection mode is selected by the operation member, after photographing, an image near the focus detection point selected by the second operation member is displayed on the entire screen of the display means, and the image is displayed by the third operation member. An image pickup apparatus characterized in that, when the line-of-sight detection unit is enabled and the line-of-sight selection mode is selected, an image near the focus detection point selected by the line of sight is displayed on the entire screen of the display unit after shooting. 4. A storage device for temporarily storing a captured image, a recording medium for storing an image stored in the storage device, and an image near a focus detection point focused on the display device. Erasing means for erasing the captured image when is displayed,
The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein, when the photographed image is not erased by the erasing means, the photographed image stored in the storage means is transferred to the recording medium. Imaging device. 5. A storage device for temporarily storing a captured image, a recording medium for storing an image stored in the storage device, and a captured image stored in the storage device. 4. An image processing means for cutting out the vicinity of the focused ranging point to a screen size of a display means, wherein the cut out image is stored in the recording medium in association with a photographed image. An imaging device according to any one of the above. 6. An automatic focus adjusting means having a plurality of distance measuring points in a finder visual field of a photographing system, an automatic selection mode for automatically selecting the plurality of distance measuring points, and manually selecting the plurality of distance measuring points. A first operation member for switching between a manual selection mode and a second operation capable of selecting an arbitrary ranging point from the plurality of ranging points when the manual selection mode is selected by the first operating member. A member, a first stroke switch that is turned on at the first stroke of a release switch that performs a shooting preparation operation such as photometry and distance measurement, a second stroke switch that performs shooting after the first stroke switch is turned on, Display means capable of reproducing a photographed image, and when the first stroke switch is turned on in a state where the automatic selection mode is selected by the first operation member, the automatically selected measurement is performed. An image near the distance point is displayed on the entire screen of the display means, and subsequently, when the second stroke switch is turned on, shooting is performed, and the manual selection mode is selected by the first operation member. Then, when the first stroke switch is turned on, an image near the distance measuring point selected by the second operating member is displayed on the entire screen of the display means, and further, the second stroke switch is turned on. An imaging apparatus characterized in that a photographing is performed when the photographing is performed. 7. A line-of-sight detecting means for detecting a gaze direction of a photographer looking into a viewfinder view of a camera; an automatic focus adjusting means having a plurality of distance measuring points in a viewfinder view of a photographing system; A first operation member for switching between an automatic selection mode for automatically selecting points and a manual selection mode for manually selecting the plurality of ranging points; and when a manual selection mode is selected by the first operation member. A second operating member capable of selecting an arbitrary ranging point from the plurality of ranging points, and irrespective of the settings of the first operating member and the second operating member, enabling the visual line detection unit; A third operation member for setting a line-of-sight selection mode for selecting the plurality of distance measurement points based on line-of-sight information obtained by the line-of-sight detection means; and a first stroke of a release switch for performing a shooting preparation operation such as photometry and distance measurement. Turn on A one-stroke switch, a second stroke switch for performing photographing after the first stroke switch is turned on, and a display unit capable of reproducing a photographed image, wherein the line-of-sight detection unit is disabled and the second When the first stroke switch is turned on in a state where the automatic selection mode is selected by the first operation member, an image near the automatically selected distance measuring point is displayed on the entire screen of the display means, and further continuously. When the second stroke switch is turned on, photographing is performed, and the first stroke switch is turned on in a state where the line-of-sight detection means is disabled and the manual selection mode is selected by the first operation member. Then, an image near the distance measuring point selected by the second operation member is displayed on the entire screen of the display means, and further, the second stroke switch is turned on. When the first stroke switch is turned on in a state where the line-of-sight detection means is enabled and the line-of-sight selection mode is selected by the third operation member, the photographing is performed. Image is displayed on the entire screen of the display means, and further,
An image pickup apparatus, wherein photographing is performed when the second stroke switch is turned on. 8. It has display means capable of displaying a photographed image,
What is claimed is: 1. An image pickup apparatus which records a photographed image on a removable recording medium, wherein the image can be confirmed on a display unit before recording the photographed image on the recording medium. . 9. The imaging apparatus according to claim 8, wherein a focus position is imposed on an image displayed on the display means. 10. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the image can be enlarged and displayed on the display means around the in-focus position. 11. The imaging apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising a built-in image memory for temporarily storing a captured image. 12. The imaging apparatus according to claim 8, wherein, when recording a photographed image on a recording medium, information on the in-focus position is recorded at the same time. 13. The imaging apparatus according to claim 8, wherein a captured image is read out from a recording medium and can be reproduced and displayed. 14. The image processing apparatus according to claim 13, wherein when the photographed image is read out from the recording medium and the reproduced image is reproduced and displayed, the information on the in-focus position is read out, and the in-focus position can be displayed on the display image. Imaging device. 15. An image pickup system comprising: an automatic focus adjustment step having a plurality of distance measuring points within a finder visual field; and a display step capable of reproducing a photographed image. An imaging method, wherein an image is displayed on the entire screen of a display means. 16. An automatic focus adjustment step having a plurality of ranging points in a finder field of view of an imaging system, an automatic selection mode for automatically selecting the plurality of ranging points, and manually selecting the plurality of ranging points. A first operation step of switching between a manual selection mode and a second operation capable of selecting an arbitrary ranging point from the plurality of ranging points when the manual selection mode is selected in the first operating step. And a display step capable of reproducing a captured image. When the automatic selection mode is selected in the first operation step, an image near an automatically selected focus detection point is displayed after shooting. And displaying the image near the ranging point selected in the second operation step after photographing when the manual selection mode is selected in the first operation step. Imaging method characterized by displaying the whole image . 17. A line-of-sight detecting step of detecting a gaze direction of a photographer looking in a finder field of view of a camera; an automatic focus adjusting step having a plurality of distance measuring points in a finder field of an imaging system; A first operation step of switching between an automatic selection mode for automatically selecting points and a manual selection mode for manually selecting the plurality of ranging points; and when the manual selection mode is selected by the first operation step. A second operation step capable of selecting an arbitrary ranging point from the plurality of ranging points; and enabling the line-of-sight detecting step, based on the line-of-sight information obtained in the line-of-sight detecting step. A third operation step of setting a line-of-sight selection mode to be selected; and a display step of reproducing a captured image, wherein the line-of-sight detection step is invalid and the automatic selection mode is selected by the first operation step. If After photographing, an image in the vicinity of the automatically selected ranging point is displayed on the entire screen of the display means. If the line-of-sight detection step is invalid and the manual selection mode is selected by the first operation step, photographing is performed. After that, an image near the focus detection point selected in the second operation step is displayed on the entire screen of the display means, and when the line-of-sight detection step is enabled and the line-of-sight selection mode is selected by the third operation step Is a method for displaying an image near a focus detection point selected by a line of sight on the entire screen of a display unit after photographing. 18. A storage step of temporarily storing a photographed image in a storage unit, a recording step of storing an image stored in the storage unit on a recording medium, and a vicinity of a focusing point focused on the display unit. And an erasing step of erasing the photographed image by the erasing means when the image is displayed. If the erasing means does not erase the photographed image, the photographed image stored in the storage means is deleted. The imaging method according to claim 15, wherein the image data is transferred to the recording medium. 19. A storage step of temporarily storing a captured image in a storage unit, a recording step of storing an image stored in the storage unit on a recording medium, and a step of storing the captured image in the storage unit. 18. An image processing step of cutting out the vicinity of the focused focusing point to the screen size of the display means, wherein the cut out image is stored in the recording medium in association with the photographed image. The imaging method according to any one of the above. 20. An automatic focus adjustment step having a plurality of ranging points in a finder visual field of a photographing system; an automatic selection mode for automatically selecting the plurality of ranging points; and manually selecting the plurality of ranging points. A first operation step of switching between a manual selection mode and a second operation capable of selecting an arbitrary ranging point from the plurality of ranging points when the manual selection mode is selected in the first operating step. A step in which the first stroke switch is turned on at the first stroke of the release switch to perform a photographing preparation operation such as photometry and distance measurement; and after the first stroke switch is turned on, a picture is taken with the next second stroke switch. And a display step capable of reproducing a captured image. When the first stroke switch is turned on while the automatic selection mode is selected by the first operation member, An image in the vicinity of the moving-measuring distance measuring point is displayed on the entire screen of the display means, and subsequently, when the second stroke switch is turned on, photographing is performed. When the first stroke switch is turned on in a state where is selected, an image near the ranging point selected in the second operation step is displayed on the entire screen of the display means, and further, the An imaging method characterized in that imaging is performed when a two-stroke switch is turned on. 21. A line-of-sight detecting step of detecting a gaze direction of a photographer looking into a viewfinder view of a camera; an automatic focus adjusting step having a plurality of distance measuring points in a viewfinder view of an imaging system; A first operation step of switching between an automatic selection mode for automatically selecting points and a manual selection mode for manually selecting the plurality of ranging points; and when the manual selection mode is selected by the first operation step. A second operation step capable of selecting an arbitrary ranging point from the plurality of ranging points; and enabling the line-of-sight detecting step, based on the line-of-sight information obtained in the line-of-sight detecting step. A third operation step of setting a line-of-sight selection mode to be selected, a step in which the first stroke switch is turned on at the first stroke of the release switch, and performing a photographing preparation operation such as photometry and distance measurement; After the switch is turned on, the next second stroke switch performs photographing, and a display step capable of reproducing a photographed image, wherein the line-of-sight detection step is invalid and the first operation step When the first stroke switch is turned on in the state where the automatic selection mode is selected, an image near the automatically selected distance measuring point is displayed on the entire screen of the display means, and further, the second stroke switch is turned on. When the first stroke switch is turned on in a state where the line-of-sight detection step is disabled and the manual selection mode is selected by the first operation step, the second shot is performed. The image in the vicinity of the distance measuring point selected in the operation step is displayed on the entire screen of the display means, and further, when the second stroke switch is turned on, photographing is performed. When the first stroke switch is turned on in a state where the line-of-sight detection step is enabled and the line-of-sight selection mode is selected, an image near the distance-measuring point selected by the line of sight is displayed on the entire screen of the display means. continue,
An image pickup method, wherein photographing is performed when the second stroke switch is turned on. 22. An imaging method comprising a display means capable of displaying a photographed image and recording the photographed image on a removable recording medium, wherein the display means is provided before recording the photographed image on the recording medium. An imaging method characterized in that an image can be confirmed in (1). 23. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the in-focus position is imposed on the image displayed on the display means.
3. The imaging method according to 2. 24. The imaging method according to claim 22, wherein the image can be enlarged and displayed on the display means around the in-focus position. 25. The imaging method according to claim 22, wherein the captured image is temporarily stored in a built-in image memory. 26. The imaging method according to claim 22, wherein, when a captured image is recorded on a recording medium, information on the in-focus position is recorded simultaneously. 27. The imaging method according to claim 22, wherein the captured image is read out from a recording medium and can be reproduced and displayed. 28. The apparatus according to claim 27, wherein when the photographed image is read out from the recording medium and reproduced and displayed, the information on the in-focus position is read out at the same time, and the in-focus position can be displayed on the display image. Imaging method. 29. A storage medium storing a program for causing a computer to function as each unit constituting the imaging device according to claim 1. Description: 30. A storage medium in which the steps constituting the imaging method according to claim 15 are stored so as to be readable by a computer.