JP2000305122A - Camera with shake reducing function - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a camera with a shake reducing function, whose operability is improved, and with less shutter time lag even in the case of photographing while making the best use of a shutter chance, such as panning, etc. SOLUTION: In order to reduce the shake, a decision to start an exposure operation is executed by an exposure start deciding part 02 based on the output of a shake detecting/calculating part 01, and the camera is made in a standby state until the shake is reduced. In parallel with this operation, it is decided by a panning deciding part 07 based on the output of the part 01 whether or not the camera is in a panning state at the present. In the case of deciding that the camera is in the panning state, the deciding method by the part 02 is changed. The decision to start the exposure is executed by the part 02 based on only the output of the shake axis direction not related with the panning. Then, consequently, the shake is reduced, and also, the delay time which is not required at panning-photographing is shortened.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a camera with a blur reduction function that starts an exposure operation at a timing at which camera shake is small, and more particularly to a method for determining the start of an exposure operation in such a camera.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, various proposals have been made for a camera with a blur reduction function that starts an exposure operation at a timing at which camera shake is small.

For example, the applicant of the present invention has disclosed in
In Japanese Patent No. 38433, a camera shake state is detected by detecting a camera shake state, detecting that the camera shake has become smaller, such as a shake amount within a predetermined value, and starting an actual exposure operation. We propose an anti-shake camera that prevents (reduces) camera shake. In addition, in order to prevent the photographer from recognizing a malfunction as the exposure cannot be started indefinitely when the shake is large, the camera with the shake reduction function disclosed in this publication provides a time lag with a limit time so that the camera can recognize the malfunction. A method in which an exposure operation is forcibly started regardless of a state is disclosed.

[0004]

By the way, there is panning photography as one method of photography.

[0005] In the case of such a panning shot, in which movement (blurring) originally occurs during a shooting operation, a camera provided with a blurring reduction function as disclosed in the above-mentioned publication discloses a panning shot operation. , It is not easy to start the exposure operation, and there is a possibility that a photo opportunity is missed.

In such a case, the above-described function (shake reduction mode) may be turned off, but it is necessary to perform setting / operation for that, which is troublesome.

[0007] In a direction different from the direction in which the camera is moved for performing the "panning shot", the problem of "blur" exists as usual.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a camera with an easy-to-use blur reduction function that has a small shutter time lag even when taking a picture taking advantage of a shutter chance such as a panning shot. And

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, a camera with a blur reduction function according to the first aspect of the present invention responds to a release operation in a manner perpendicular to a camera optical axis and mutually with each other. A shake data sampling unit that samples the shake state in two orthogonal axes in time series, and based on an output of the shake data sample unit, determines whether or not the camera is performing panning,
When it is determined that the panning shooting is being performed, the panning determination unit that invalidates the shake sample data in the moving direction of the camera among the outputs of the shake data sampling unit, and the output of the pre-data sampling unit is determined by the predetermined determination. And control means for starting an exposure operation when a criterion is satisfied or when a predetermined time has elapsed since the release operation.

That is, according to the camera with the shake reduction function of the first aspect of the present invention, the panning determination unit determines whether or not the camera is performing panning based on the output of the shake data sampling unit. If it is determined that panning is being performed, the shake sample data in the moving direction of the camera is invalidated among the outputs of the shake data sampling means, so that the panning is performed during panning. With respect to the direction, the start of the exposure operation based on the magnitude of the blur is not determined, and the start of the exposure operation based on the magnitude of the blur is determined only in the direction orthogonal to the follow shot direction. Therefore, it is possible to provide a camera with an easy-to-use blur reduction function that has a small shutter time lag even when performing shooting taking advantage of a shutter chance such as panning.

The control means changes the predetermined time to a shorter time when the panning determination means determines that panning is being performed.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, a camera with a blur reduction function detects a blur state of the camera in a plurality of directions in response to a release operation, and performs an exposure operation in anticipation of a timing at which blur is reduced. A camera to be started, wherein, based on the detected blur state detection signals in a plurality of directions, it is determined whether or not the camera is performing a panning shot, and means for invalidating the blur state detection signal in the panning direction is provided. It is characterized by having.

[0013] That is, according to the camera with the blur reduction function according to the third aspect of the present invention, it is determined whether or not the camera is performing a panning shot based on the detected blur state detection signals in a plurality of directions. Since the blur state detection signal in the panning direction is invalidated, during the panning direction, the start of the exposure operation is not determined in consideration of the timing at which the blur becomes small, and the direction perpendicular to the panning direction is not performed. The start determination of the exposure operation is performed in consideration of the timing at which the blur becomes small only for the case of. Therefore, it is possible to provide a camera with an easy-to-use blur reduction function that has a small shutter time lag even when performing shooting taking advantage of a shutter chance such as panning.

[0014]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1A is a conceptual diagram of a camera with a blur reduction function according to an embodiment of the present invention.

A shake detection / calculation unit 01 as shake data sampling means performs a process of detecting / state of hand shake.
This corresponds to the X-axis and Y-axis of the shooting screen, respectively.
Two sets are prepared. The exposure start determination unit 02 as control means determines whether the current blur state is large or small based on the output from the shake detection calculation unit 01, that is, the camera shake state, and permits exposure start when the shake state is small. Things. The shutter device 03 operates according to the result of determination by the exposure start determination unit 02 to perform exposure. The panning determination unit 07 as a panning determination unit determines whether or not the camera is in the panning state from the output of the shake detection calculation unit 01, that is, from the shake state signal. The exposure start determination method changing unit 04 changes the exposure start determination method of the exposure start determination unit 02 in response to the determination result of the panning determination unit 07.

The operation of the camera with the shake reduction function having such a configuration will be briefly described. An exposure start determination unit 02 determines an exposure operation start for blur reduction based on the output of the shake detection calculation unit 01. You will have to wait for the blur to become smaller. In parallel with this operation, the shake detection operation unit 01
The panning determination unit 07 determines whether or not the camera is in the panning state based on the output of the panning. As a result, when it is determined that the camera is in the panning state, the determination method in the exposure start determination unit 02 is changed. As a result, the exposure start determination unit 02 makes the exposure start determination only on the basis of the output in the blur axis direction which is not related to the follow shot. By doing so, it is possible to reduce the delay time which is unnecessary at the time of the panning shooting, while reducing blurring.

FIG. 1B is a diagram illustrating the exposure start determination method changing unit 04 in more detail.

That is, the exposure start determination method changing unit 04 is included in the exposure start determination control unit 05. The exposure start determination control unit 05 further includes an occurrence delay time counting unit 24,
A delay limit time setting unit 25 is provided.

The operation of the configuration shown in FIG. 1B will be briefly described. When the panning determination section 07 determines that the panning is in the panning state, the shutter operation is more easily permitted than usual. In order to shorten the delay time (time lag) as much as possible, the operation time of the exposure determination control in the exposure start determination unit 02 is reduced. Specifically, the set time in the delay limit time setting unit 25 is set to a short time, and the occurrence delay time counting unit 2 is set.
The exposure start determination by the exposure start determination unit 02 is terminated when the set time is reached, and the shutter device 03 performs the exposure operation.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a main part of a single-lens reflex camera to which a camera with a blur reduction function according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied.

That is, the shake detection / calculation unit 01 includes the first
, A second shake sensor 12, a first sampling unit 13, a second sampling unit 14, a first shake calculation unit 15, and a second shake calculation unit 16.
Here, “first” and “second” correspond to the X axis and the Y axis, respectively.

The first and second blur sensors 11 and 12 are:
A known vibration gyro (angular velocity sensor) or the like is used.
The first and second sampling units 13 and 14 use A / D input ports of a microcomputer (CPU). That is, the first and second sampling units 13, 1
Each of the following units, except for a storage unit composed of an EEPROM or the like, after 4 is realized by a CPU.

The first and second shake calculating units 15 and 16
A filter operation or the like for removing unnecessary frequency components is performed on the sampled blur state data. The outputs of these two shake calculation units 15 and 16 are sent to an exposure start determination unit 02, a follow shot determination unit 07, a shake prediction unit 08, and a shake state determination unit 51.

The first and second blur sensors 1
Reference numerals 1 and 12 are arranged in the camera body 81 in a form as shown in FIG. Here, in the figure, reference numeral 74 is a release button, and reference numeral 82 is a lens.

The panning determination section 07 performs a panning determination based on the output state from the shake detection calculation section 01, and includes a first panning determination section 31 and a second panning determination section 32. Is included. Here, "first" and "second" correspond to the X axis and the Y axis, respectively. The panning determination result here is based on the exposure start determination method changing unit 0.
4

The blur predicting unit 08 is provided with the blur detecting arithmetic unit 0
Based on the output of No. 1, the blur state is predicted. These include a first shake information storage unit 41, a second shake information storage unit 42, a first shake prediction operation unit 43, and a second shake prediction operation unit 44. Here, "first" and "second"
Respectively correspond to the X axis and the Y axis. The first and second shake information storage units 41 and 42 are used by the corresponding first and second shake prediction calculation units 43 and 44 to perform calculations.
It is used to store past blur state data. In the first and second shake prediction calculation units 43 and 44, based on the present / past shake information stored in the corresponding first and second shake information storage units 41 and 42, a slightly earlier shake state is set. Is predicted by calculation. Specifically, a method as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-204012 by the applicant of the present invention is used. In brief, the prediction operation is performed by the following equation.

BL (t + m) = Ka * BL (t) + Kb * BL (t-10) + Kc * BL (t-2
0) Here, BL (t + m) is the blur state value m [mSEC] ahead of the present, BL (t) is the current blur state value, and BL (t)
-10) is the blur state value 10 [mSEC] before the present,
BL (t-20) is a blurring state value 20 [mSEC] before the present. Further, Ka, Kb, and Kc are coefficients for the prediction calculation. By this calculation, it is possible to predict a slightly earlier blur state from the current and previous two pieces of blur information. formula,
The coefficient itself is common to both X and Y.

The result of the predictive calculation is sent to the exposure start determining section 02. Further, the shake information storage state monitoring unit 45 includes the first and second shake information storage units 41 and 4.
This is to check whether a predetermined number (for a predetermined time) of the blur state data stored in 2 is stored. The result checked here is the exposure start determination method change unit 0
4 and becomes a judgment material for changing the exposure start judgment method in the exposure start judgment unit 02.

The blur state judging section 51 compares the blur state data from the blur detecting / calculating section 01 with the focal length information detecting section 5.
The current image blur amount is calculated based on the focal length information from the second and the exposure time information from the exposure time information detection unit 53. Then, the calculation result is transmitted to the camera control unit 06.
, And the current blur state (level) is notified (displayed) by the state notification section 66 in the display section 67 in the finder.
Is done.

The camera control section 06 controls the entire camera. In FIG. 2, only the parts related to the present invention are particularly described, and other parts are omitted.

The operation outputs of the exposure preparation instruction unit 54 (first release) and the exposure start instruction unit 55 (second release) are input to the camera control unit 06. In response to the first-step pressing operation of the release button 74 of the two-step pressing type, the exposure preparation instructing section 54 generates a first release signal, and the camera control section 06 receives the first release signal. AE, AF, lens extension, and the like are performed to perform a shooting preparation operation of the camera. At the same timing, the camera control unit 06 issues an instruction to the shake detection control unit 56 to operate the shake detection calculation unit 01 in order to notify the generated shake level.

Then, in response to the pressing operation of the release button 74 at the second stage, the exposure start instruction section 55 generates a second release signal, and when the second release signal is input,
The camera control unit 06 performs an operation for exposure. That is,
When the camera is a single-lens reflex camera, the mirror driving unit 61 drives the quick return mirror 62 so that the incident light from the lens 82 can reach the imaging surface (film). Here, the operation state monitor 63 is a means for monitoring the operation state of the quick return mirror 62. In addition, an aperture device (not shown) is driven so as to have an aperture value as needed. In order to perform the exposure operation in response to the mirror 62 and the aperture being in a predetermined state,
The shutter device 03 is driven (operated) by the shutter driver 64. After a predetermined exposure time has elapsed, the exposure is terminated, the mirror 62 and the diaphragm are driven to predetermined positions, a film winding operation is performed, and a series of exposure operations is completed.

At this time, the camera according to the present embodiment operates the blur reduction function. More specifically, the shake detection operation is started from the completion of the above-described mirror operation, the shake state is monitored, a predetermined algorithm is used to determine that the shake is reduced, and the operation of the shutter device 03 is permitted. is there.
Hereinafter, this series of operations is referred to as exposure start timing control. At this time, an impact occurs when the mirror 62 is fully moved up. However, if the shake detection result is used as it is, the result of the shake prediction calculation described above may be affected. This leads to a reduction in the effect of reducing blur. Therefore, it is necessary to consider the timing of starting the motion detection operation. The operation time information storage unit 65 stores information on the timing. This time information may be held as a fixed value, or may be EEPR
It is also possible to store it in a memory such as OM.

The above-described exposure start timing control is performed by the exposure start determination section 02 and the exposure start determination control section 05. The exposure start determination control unit 05 is provided with an exposure start determination method change unit 04 for changing the exposure start determination method in the exposure start determination unit 02 as necessary. Further, an exposure start method setting unit 21, an exposure start determination time setting unit 22,
An exposure start determination level setting unit 23 is also provided, and the exposure start determination unit 02 basically includes these setting units 2.
An exposure start determination is made based on the parameters set in 1, 2, and 23.

That is, an algorithm for determining the start of exposure (to be described in detail later) is set in the exposure start method setting section 21. In the exposure start determination time setting unit 22, information on the blur state determination permission time between the X and Y axes is set among the parameters for the exposure start determination. If the determination permission time is set to be long, the frequency of occurrence of exposure start permission increases, and if it is short, the exposure start permission decreases. In the exposure start determination level setting unit 23, among the parameters for the exposure start determination, information on the determination level (threshold) of the blurred state is set. If the determination level is set high, the frequency of occurrence of the exposure start permission increases, and if the determination level is low, the exposure start permission decreases. These are set as needed.

The basic idea of the exposure start timing control is to permit the start of exposure when the blur becomes small. However, if the blur does not become small, the exposure cannot be started. In this state, exposure cannot be started forever, and the photographer may mistakenly think that the camera has malfunctioned. Therefore, it is common to stop the exposure start timing control after a predetermined time has elapsed regardless of the blur state. Further, it is conceivable to perform control so that the exposure start can be easily performed even if the predetermined time has not been reached, in other words, the delay time (release time lag) is shortened. Specifically, according to the time from the start of the exposure start timing control, the exposure start determination unit 02, which is set in the exposure start determination time setting unit 22 or the exposure start determination level setting unit 23, starts the exposure start determination unit 02. This is for changing the parameters of the judgment. Further, the exposure start timing control is performed for a certain period of time or more (that is,
By notifying that the blur is not small) by the state notification unit 66 in the display unit 67 in the finder, it is possible to urge the photographer to evoke.

In order to perform these operations, the exposure start determination control section 05 is further provided with an occurrence delay time counting section 24, a delay limit time setting section 25, and a delay time information storage section 26. Here, the occurrence delay time counting unit 24 counts the time during which exposure start timing control is performed, that is, the occurrence delay time. The delay limit time setting section 25 sets predetermined time information for ending the above-described exposure start timing control. The delay time information storage unit 26
A predetermined time shorter than the delay limit time is stored, and the setting information of the exposure start determination time setting unit 22 and the like is changed according to the above-described exposure start timing control time, and the notification operation by the state notification unit 66 is performed. Used as a source of judgment. The occurrence delay time measuring unit 24, the delay limit time setting unit 25, and the delay time information storage unit 26 are connected to the exposure start determination method changing unit 04, where the determination regarding the time is performed.

FIG. 4 is an operation flowchart of the camera having the above configuration.

That is, when the operation is started by mounting a battery or turning on a power switch (not shown), first, initialization is performed (step S01), and thereafter, a first release signal (1R) by operation of the exposure preparation instruction unit 54 is performed. ) Is turned on (step S02).

When 1R is turned on, the exposure time information detecting section 53 performs photometry (AE) (step S0).
3) Distance measurement (AF) is performed by the focal length information detection unit 52 (step S04), and the lens 82 is driven (lens drive: L) according to the focal length information obtained by the AF.
D) is performed (step S05). Then, it is determined whether the LD is OK (step S06). In case of NG, 1
After waiting for R to be turned off (step S11), the process returns to step S02.

On the other hand, when it is determined that the LD is OK, the blur detection / calculation unit 01 detects and calculates a blur (step S07). In response to the result of the shake detection calculation, the shake state determination unit 51 calculates the shake amount, and the state notification unit 66 notifies the current shake level state (step S08).

An example of notification (display) of the blur level state will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in the figure, a finder display section 67 is provided below a finder field frame 75 provided with a guide 76 indicating a distance measuring point. In the finder display section 67, a state notification section 66 is provided. In addition, a shooting information display unit 77 for displaying an exposure time, an aperture value, and the like, and a blur reduction mode display unit 78 for displaying whether or not the camera is in a blur reduction mode by a blur reduction mode setting unit (not shown) are provided. The state notification unit 66 can be displayed in three stages as shown in the figure, such as (a) when the blur is small, (b) in the middle, and (C) when the blur is large. The lighting display in the form is performed. That is, the display changes according to the shake level situation at that time.

After such a blur state notification, the second release signal (2R) is turned on by operating the exposure start instructing section 55.
It is determined whether or not it has been performed (step S09).
Here, if 2R is OFF, it is determined that 1R is OFF (step S12). If 1R is still ON, the process returns to step S07 to perform the shake detection calculation and shake state notification. Is repeated. Also, 1
If R is OFF, the process returns to step S02.

When the 2R is turned on, exposure control is performed as will be described in detail later (step S10).
After the end of the exposure control, the process returns to step S02.

The "exposure control" operation executed in step S10 is performed as shown in a series of flowcharts shown in FIGS.

That is, first, the shake detection calculation operation in the shake detection calculation section 01 is stopped, and the blur state notification in the state notification section 66 is stopped (step S101). And
The quick return mirror 62 is driven up by the mirror drive unit 61 (step S102), and the stop mechanism (not shown) is driven down (step S103).

Here, it is determined whether or not the state change of the mirror up switch has occurred (step S104). This is determined based on information from the operation state monitor 63. This decision is repeated until it changes.

If the state of the mirror-up switch has changed, timing (time) information for starting the blur detection operation is read out (step S10).
5). This is information stored in the operation time information storage unit 65.

Next, RAM (counter) / flags used for exposure timing control and thereafter (see FIG. 5 for names and meanings of each counter / flag)
Is cleared (initial setting) (step S106).

Then, it is determined whether the time read in S105 has elapsed (step S107). This determination is repeated until the time has elapsed.

Here, waiting for the above-mentioned time will be described with reference to the time chart of FIG. The figure shows, from the top, a waveform representing a vibration state (position change state) accompanying the mirror-up operation, a waveform of the mirror-up SW state (corresponding to the output signal of the operation state monitor 63), and exposure timing control-related. The waveform at the timing when the RAM / flag is cleared (step S106) and the waveform indicating the OFF / ON state of the blur detection operation (sampling). Note that the horizontal axis is a time axis.

Here, the time during which the vibration accompanying the mirror-up operation actually converges is as shown in the figure, but after such a long time (several hundred mSEC), the blur detection (sampling) is started. If you do, the time lag will be very long. For this reason, even if vibrations associated with the mirror-up operation occur, the shake detection operation is started after a time that has no problem in the shake detection processing. This time is shorter than the time until the vibration caused by the mirror-up actually converges. This time is stored in the operation time information storage unit 65.

If it is determined in step S107 that the detection start time has elapsed, then a shake detection period timer is started (step S111). This is to enable the shake information to be sampled at a constant period.

Then, the first shake information sampling unit 1
3, the blur information sampling corresponding to the image plane X-axis direction is performed (step S112), and the second blur information sampling unit 14 performs the blur information sampling corresponding to the image plane Y-axis direction (step S113). Next, a shake calculation process corresponding to the image plane X-axis direction is performed by the first shake calculation unit 15 (step S114).
6, a shake calculation process corresponding to the image plane Y-axis direction is performed (step S115). Then, the panning determination unit 07 makes a panning determination using the blur information calculated by the first and second blur calculation units 15 and 16 (step S1).
16). The method of this panning determination will be described later.

Next, the shake information corresponding to the image plane X-axis direction calculated by the first shake calculating section 15 is stored in the first shake information storage section 41 (step S117), and the second shake information is stored. The blur information storage corresponding to the image plane Y-axis direction calculated by the calculation unit 16 is stored in the second shake information storage unit 42 (step S118). Then, after that, the contents of the blur prediction calculation data accumulation number counter B_COUNTA configured as the shake information storage state monitoring unit 45 are incremented (step S119), and the resulting contents of the blur prediction calculation data accumulation number counter B_COUNTA are: It is determined whether it is equal to or more than a predetermined value (step S120). This makes it possible to determine whether or not a predetermined number (time) or more of blur information is stored in the first and second blur information storage units 41 and 42. Here, when it is determined that the value is equal to or more than the predetermined value, the process proceeds to step S122, and otherwise, the process proceeds to step S121.

That is, until a predetermined number of pieces of blur information are stored, it is not possible to determine the exposure start based on blur prediction. Therefore,
If it is determined that the predetermined number (time) or more of the blur information has not been stored yet, the exposure start determination unit 02 outputs the output of the blur detection calculation unit 01, that is, the exposure start determination A using the current blur information. (Step and 121). The details of the exposure start determination A will be described later. However, if it is determined in the exposure start determination A that the exposure should be started, the front curtain travel start permission flag F_GOFLAG is set to “1”.
Becomes

On the other hand, when a predetermined number (time) or more of blur information is stored, it is possible to determine the exposure start by predicting the blur. Therefore, in this case, the first shake prediction calculation unit 43 performs a shake prediction calculation corresponding to the image plane X-axis direction (step S122), and the second shake prediction calculation unit 44 performs a shake prediction calculation corresponding to the image plane Y-axis direction. Is performed (step S123). Then, the exposure start determination unit 02 performs an exposure start determination B using these blur prediction calculation results (step S124). Although the details of the exposure start determination B will be described later, in the exposure start determination B, if it is determined that the exposure should be started, the front curtain travel start permission flag F_GOFLAG becomes “1”.

After executing the exposure start determination A or B, it is determined whether or not the front curtain travel start permission flag F_GOFLAG is "1" (step S125). Then, when it is determined that the front curtain running start permission flag F_GOFLAG is not “1”, the content of the occurrence delay time counter B_COUNTB is incremented (step S126). If the processing cycle from step S111 to step S136, which will be described later, is a fixed time, this is the same as the time counted by the occurrence delay time counting unit 24.

Then, it is determined whether or not the content of the occurrence delay time counter B_COUNTB has become "150" or more (step S127). If the series of processing cycles from step S111 to step S136 described later is, for example, every 2 mSEC, 300 mSEC after starting the exposure start timing control
It will be determined whether or not it has passed. The information corresponding to the time here is set in the delay limit time setting unit 25.

Here, the generated delay time counter B_COU
If it is determined that the content of NTB has not yet reached "150", it is further determined whether or not the content of this counter B_COUNTB is equal to or greater than "51" (step S12).
8). This means that if a series of processing cycles from step S111 to step S136 described later are every 2 mSEC, it is determined whether 100 mSEC has elapsed since the start of the exposure start timing control. The information corresponding to the time here is stored in the delay time information storage unit 26. Here, when the time has not elapsed, that is, the occurrence delay time counter B_COUNT
If it is determined that the content of TB has not yet reached "51", the process waits for the blur detection cycle timer started in step S111 to measure a predetermined time (step S129). And if the predetermined time has passed,
Returning to step S111, the above series of processing is repeated. The timer predetermined time here is, for example, 2 mSE
C.

Thus, after the loop of steps S111 to S129 is repeated 50 times, at the 51st time, it is determined in step S128 that the content of the occurrence delay time counter B_COUNTB is "51" or more.
In this case, next, the generated delay time counter B_C
It is further determined whether or not the content of OUNTB is “100” or less (step S130). This corresponds to step S11
Assuming that a series of processing cycles from 1 to step S136 described later is every 2 mSEC, it is determined whether 200 mSEC has elapsed since the start of exposure start timing control. The information corresponding to the time here is
It is stored in the delay time information storage unit 26.

If less than 200 mSEC, step S1
Proceed to step 31 and if it is 200 mSEC or more, step S1
Proceed to 34. Thus, in the case of 102 mSEC to 200 mSEC after the start of the exposure start timing control, steps S131 to S133 are executed, and 102 mSEC after the start of the exposure start timing control.
Steps S134 to S136 are executed in the case of EC to 200 mSEC.

That is, the generated delay time counter B_COUN
When it is determined that the content of the TB is equal to or less than "100", first, the state notification unit 66 in the display unit 67 in the finder notifies the first delay state (step S131). This is 102 ms after the start of the exposure start timing control.
This is to notify that more than EC has passed. For example,
In FIG. 3B, one display lighting as shown in FIG.

Next, the occurrence delay time counter B
It is determined whether or not the content of _COUNTB is "51" (step S132), and if so, the next step S1
The process proceeds to step S129, otherwise to step S129. That is, the content of this counter B_COUNTB is "5
If "1", the exposure start determination time is changed or the exposure start determination level is changed (step S133).
This means that the determination permission time information set in the exposure start determination time setting unit 22 is changed (increased), or the blur state determination level (threshold) set in the exposure start determination level setting unit 23 is changed. (Increase). Thus, it is assumed that the exposure start permission is easily performed while the blurring is reduced by the exposure start timing control, and as a result, the occurrence delay time is reduced as much as possible. After this change processing, the process proceeds to step S129.

In this way, after the above loop has been repeated 50 more times, the occurrence delay time counter B_COUNT is counted 101 times from the beginning in step S130.
It is determined that the content of B does not appear below “100”. In this case, a second delay state notification is performed by the state notification unit 66 in the finder display unit 67 (step S13).
4). This is 2 seconds after starting the exposure start timing control.
This is for notifying that 00 mSEC or more has elapsed.
For example, as shown in FIG.
Display lighting is conceivable. This corresponds to step S1
The meaning of the warning is stronger than the first delay state notification at 31.

Next, the occurrence delay time counter B
It is determined whether or not the content of _COUNTB is "101" (step S135), and if so, the next step S
Proceed to 136, otherwise proceed to step S129. That is, if the content of the counter B_COUNTB is “101”, the exposure start determination time or the exposure start determination level is changed again (step S).
136). This is done by changing the determination permission time information set in the exposure start determination time setting unit 22 (step 133 above).
Is changed), or the determination level (threshold) of the blurring state set in the exposure start determination level setting unit 23 is changed (larger than the one changed in step 133). . Thus, it is assumed that the exposure start permission is more easily performed than at the time of the above-described step 133 while the blurring is reduced by the exposure start timing control, and as a result, the occurrence delay time is reduced as much as possible.

As described above, if it is determined in step S125 that the front curtain travel start permission flag F_GOFLAG has become “1” while the above loop is repeated up to 150 times, the exposure is started. The notification of the blurred state by the state notification unit 66 in the finder display unit 67 performed in step S131 or step S134 is turned off (step S137).

On the other hand, even if the above loop is repeated 150 times, the front curtain running start permission flag F_GOFLAG
Does not become "1", the content of the generated delay time counter B_COUNTB is set to "15" in step S127.
It is determined that it is time to end the exposure timing control after the delay time reaches 0 or more, that is, the delay limit time has elapsed. In this case, after the delay limit time excess flag F_OVER is set to “1” (step S138), the above-described step S138 is performed.
Proceed to 137.

After turning off the blur state notification in step S137, first, the front curtain operation of the shutter device 03 is started (step S139). That is, exposure is started. Then, it is determined whether or not a predetermined exposure time detected by the exposure time information detecting unit 53 has elapsed (step S).
140).

Here, if it is determined that the predetermined exposure time has not yet elapsed, a blurring state during exposure is detected, and a process for notifying this is performed after exposure. That is, first, it is determined whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed from the shake detection cycle timer started in step S111 (step S14). When the predetermined time has elapsed, the first shake information sampling unit 13 performs shake information sampling corresponding to the image plane X-axis direction (step S10).
142), the second shake information sampling unit 14 uses the image plane Y
Perform shake information sampling corresponding to the axial direction (step S
143). Then, the first shake calculator 15 performs shake calculation processing corresponding to the image plane X-axis direction (step S144), and the second shake calculator 16 performs shake calculation processing corresponding to the image plane Y-axis direction (step S144). Step S145). Then, based on the shake information values calculated by the first and second shake calculation units 15 and 16, the shake state determination unit 51 calculates the amount of image blur (step S146), and the above-described step S140.
Return to As a method of calculating the image blur amount, for example,
A form in which the shake information values during exposure from the first and second shake calculating sections 15 and 16 are integrated is exemplified.

Then, in step S140,
If it is determined that the predetermined exposure time has elapsed, the rear curtain operation of the shutter device 03 is started (step S14).
7). That is, the exposure ends. Next, the mirror driving unit 6
Then, the mirror return drive of the quick return mirror 62 is performed by step 1 (step S148). After the aperture mechanism (not shown) is driven to open the aperture (step S149), the film winding operation is performed by the film drive mechanism (not shown) (step S150). Then, it is determined whether or not the operation processing of steps S148 to S150 has been completed (step S151). If the operation processing has been completed, information on the blurring state during exposure and the exposure start timing control state (delay limit time is set to Post-exposure notification of whether or not exposure has started regardless of the blur state (step S152). The specific method here will be described later. Thereafter, the "exposure control" operation is completed, and the process returns to the main routine (RETURN).

The above steps S127 and S127
In steps S128, S132, S130, and S135, “150”, “51”,
Although the values are “100” and “101”, the present invention is not limited to these values (time). Of course, other values may be used as long as the ideas match those described above.

Next, a description will be given of a method of "panning determination" in step S116.

FIGS. 9A to 9C are diagrams showing the difference between the blur detection result (waveform) at the time of normal hand-held shooting and the follow-up shooting. The vertical axis of each of (A) to (C) is a voltage value [V] corresponding to the generated shake angular velocity [DEG / SEC], and the voltage when the shake angular velocity is ± 0 is Vref. The horizontal axis is time. Note that FIG.
9 shows an example of a normal hand-held state, and FIGS. 9B and 9C show examples of a panning state.

As shown in FIG. 9A, in the case of a normal hand-held state, a timing at which the shake angular velocity crosses ± 0 is likely to occur. On the other hand, in the panning state,
Moving (shaking) the camera in a certain direction
Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 9B and 9C, the frequency of crossing ± 0 is low (no). Note that FIG.
9B shows a state in which the camera is moving at a slow speed, and FIG. 9C shows a state in which the camera is moving at such a high speed that the analog processing system for blur detection is saturated.

FIG. 10 and FIG.
6 shows a series of flowcharts for explaining a “pan shot determination” determination method in No. 6.

First, it is determined whether or not the current shake state value corresponding to the image plane X-axis (the output of the first shake calculating unit 15) is a plus sign (step S201). That is, it is determined whether or not the blur state value is a voltage value higher than the vertical axis Vref described in FIGS. 9A to 9C. If the sign is +, the process proceeds to the next step S202; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S209 described later.

If the current shake state value corresponding to the X-axis of the image plane is a plus sign, the shake state (X) value sign state flag F_XDIRN indicating the sign state of the current shake state (X) value is set to “1”. It is set (step S202). Then, it is determined whether or not the shake state (X) value sign state flag F_XDIRO indicating the sign state of the previous sampled shake state (X) value is “1” (+ sign) (step S203). . This blur state (X) value sign state flag F_
If XDIRO is “1”, the current blur state value and the blur state value sampled immediately before have the same sign, so the process proceeds to the next step S204, otherwise, crosses ± 0. Then, the process proceeds to step S207 described later.

That is, the blur state (X) value code state flag F
When _XDIRO is “1”, the blur state (X) value +
The content of the direction existence number counter B_XDIRP is incremented (step S204), and as a result, it is determined whether or not the content of the counter B_XDIRP has become a predetermined value or more (step S205). This counter B_X
If the content of the DIRP is not equal to or more than the predetermined value, the process immediately proceeds to step S216 described later. If the content of the DIRP is equal to or more than the predetermined value, it is determined that the image plane in the X-axis direction is in the panning state.
After setting the direction follow shooting state flag F_XBL to “1” (step S206), the process proceeds to step S216.

In step S203, the blur state (X) value code state flag F_XDIRO is set to "1".
If it is determined that the value is not the same, that is, in response to the crossing of the ± 0 level, the contents of the blur state (X) value + direction presence number counter B_XDIRP and the blur state (X) value−direction presence number counter B_XDIRM The contents are cleared (zero), respectively (step S207). And X
After setting the direction follow shot state flag F_XBL to “0” (step S208), the process proceeds to step S216 described below.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S201 that the current blur state value corresponding to the X-axis of the image plane is not a plus sign, then the blur state indicating the sign state of the current blur state (X) value is determined. The state (X) value code state flag F_XDIRN is set to “0” (step S209). Then, it is determined whether or not the blur state (X) value code state flag F_XDIRO indicating the code state of the previous sampled blur state (X) value is "0" (-sign) (step S210). . This blur state (X) value sign state flag F_
If XDIRO is “0”, the current blur state value and the blur state value sampled immediately before have the same sign, so the process proceeds to the next step S211. Otherwise, ± 0 is crossed. Then, the process proceeds to step S214 described later.

That is, the blur state (X) value code state flag F
When _XDIRO is “0”, the blur state (X) value−
The content of the direction existence number counter B_XDIRM is incremented (step S211), and as a result, it is determined whether or not the content of the counter B_XDIRM has become a predetermined value or more (step S212). This counter B_X
If the content of the DIRM is not equal to or more than the predetermined value, the process immediately proceeds to step S216 described later. If the content of the DIRM is equal to or more than the predetermined value, it is determined that the image plane X-axis direction is in the panning state, and X
After setting the direction follow shooting state flag F_XBL to “1” (step S213), the process proceeds to step S216.

In step S210, the blur state (X) value code state flag F_XDIRO is set to "0".
If it is determined that the value is not the same, that is, in response to the crossing of the ± 0 level, the contents of the blur state (X) value + direction presence number counter B_XDIRP and the blur state (X) value−direction presence number counter B_XDIRM The contents are cleared (zero), respectively (step S214). And X
After setting the direction follow shooting state flag F_XBL to “0” (step S215), the process proceeds to step S216 described below.

The processing of steps S201 to S215 is performed by the first panning determination section 31 in the panning determination section 07.

Next, the same processing is performed for the Y-axis direction of the image plane.

That is, first, it is determined whether or not the current shake state value corresponding to the Y-axis of the image plane (the output of the second shake calculating unit 16) is a plus sign (step S216). That is, it is determined whether or not the blur state value is a voltage value higher than the vertical axis Vref described in FIGS. 9A to 9C. If the sign is +, the process proceeds to the next step S217; otherwise, the process proceeds to a step S224 described later.

If the current shake state value corresponding to the Y-axis of the image plane is a plus sign, the shake state (Y) value sign state flag F_YDIRN indicating the sign state of the current shake state (Y) value is set to “1”. It is set (step S217). Then, it is determined whether or not the shake state (Y) value sign state flag F_YDIRO indicating the sign state of the previous sampled shake state (Y) value is "1" (+ sign) (step S218). . This blur state (Y) value code state flag F_
If YDIRO is “1”, the current blur state value and the blur state value sampled immediately before have the same sign, so the process proceeds to the next step S219, and if not, ± 0 is crossed. Then, the process proceeds to step S222 described below.

That is, the blur state (Y) value code state flag F
When _YDIRO is “1”, the blur state (Y) value +
The content of the direction existence number counter B_YDIRP is incremented (step S219), and as a result, it is determined whether or not the content of the counter B_YDIRP has become a predetermined value or more (step S220). This counter B_Y
If the content of the DIRP is not equal to or more than the predetermined value, the process immediately proceeds to step S231 described later.
After setting the direction follow shooting state flag F_YBL to “1” (step S221), the process proceeds to step S231.

In step S218, the blur state (Y) value code state flag F_YDIRO is set to "1".
If it is determined that the value is not the same, that is, in response to crossing the ± 0 level, the contents of the blur state (Y) value + direction presence number counter B_YDIRP and the blur state (Y) value−direction presence number counter B_YDIRM The contents are cleared (zero), respectively (step S222). And Y
After setting the direction follow shooting state flag F_YBL to “0” (step S223), the process proceeds to step S231 described below.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S216 that the current shake state value corresponding to the Y-axis of the image plane is not a plus sign, then the shake state indicating the sign state of the current shake state (Y) value is determined. The state (Y) value code state flag F_YDIRN is set to “0” (step S224). Then, it is determined whether or not the blur state (Y) value code state flag F_YDIRO indicating the code state of the previous sampled blur state (Y) value is "0" (-sign) (step S225). . This blur state (Y) value code state flag F_
If YDIRO is "0", the current blur state value and the blur state value sampled immediately before have the same sign, so the process proceeds to the next step S226. Otherwise, ± 0 is crossed. Then, the process proceeds to step S229 described later.

That is, the blur state (Y) value code state flag F
If _YDIRO is “0”, the blur state (Y) value−
The content of the direction presence number counter B_YDIRM is incremented (step S226), and as a result, it is determined whether or not the content of the counter B_YDIRM has become a predetermined value or more (step S227). This counter B_Y
If the content of DIRM is not equal to or greater than the predetermined value, the process immediately proceeds to step S231 described below.
After setting the direction follow shooting state flag F_YBL to “1” (step S228), the process proceeds to step S231.

In step S225, the blur state (Y) value code state flag F_YDIRO is set to "0".
If it is determined that the value is not the same, that is, in response to crossing the ± 0 level, the contents of the blur state (Y) value + direction presence number counter B_YDIRP and the blur state (Y) value−direction presence number counter B_YDIRM The contents are cleared (zero), respectively (step S229). And Y
After setting the direction follow shooting state flag F_YBL to “0” (step S230), the process proceeds to step S231 described below.

The processing of steps S216 to S230 is performed by the second panning determination section 32 in the panning determination section 07.

When the processing in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction is completed in this way, a blur state (X) value sign state flag F_XDIRN indicating the sign state of the current blur state (X) value is obtained. Is written into the blur state (X) value code state flag F_XI_RO indicating the code state of the previous sampled blur state (X) value (step S).
231). Also, the contents of the blur state (Y) value code state flag F_YDIRN indicating the code state of the current shake state (Y) value are changed to the blur state (Y) indicating the code state of the previous sampled blur state (Y) value. ) Value code state flag F_Y
Write to DIRO (step S232).

Thereafter, the X-direction panning shooting state flag F_X
It is determined whether BL is "1" (step S23).
3) If the flag F_XBL is “0”, the process proceeds to step S236 described below. On the other hand, when the flag F_XBL is “1”, that is, in the panning state in the X-axis direction, the output value of the first shake calculating unit 15 and the value of the first shake Regardless of the output value,
It is determined that the current blur state value (X) and the predicted blur value (X) are to be treated as a predetermined level (zero) (step S2).
34). Then, in response to the panning state, the delay limit time information set in the delay limit time setting unit 25 is changed (decreased) (step S235).

Then, or alternatively, in step S233
If it is determined that the X-direction follow-up shooting state flag F_XBL is “0”, then it is determined whether or not the Y-direction follow-up shooting state flag F_YBL is “1” (step S236). When the flag F_YBL is “0”, the process proceeds to RETURN. On the other hand, the flag F
When _YBL is “1”, that is, in a panning state in the Y-axis direction, regardless of the output value of the second shake calculating unit 16 and the output value of the second shake It is determined that the blur state value (Y) and the blur prediction value (Y) are to be treated as a predetermined level (zero) (step S23).
7). And in response to this panning state,
After changing (decreasing) the delay limit time information set in the delay limit time setting unit 25 (step S238), R
ETURN.

The processing from step S233 to step S238 is performed by the exposure start determination control unit 05. Thereby, at the time of panning shooting, a substantial exposure start determination is performed only for the axial blurring state value and the blurring prediction value irrelevant to the panning shooting,
Unnecessary delay generation time during panning can be reduced.

Next, a specific example of "exposure start determination B" in step S124 will be described.

First, the first example will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

That is, first, it is determined whether or not the blur state value (X) crosses the zero level based on the output from the first blur prediction operation unit 43 (step S30).
1). This is to determine whether or not the vertical axis ± 0 level in FIG. 13A, that is, the shake angular velocity has become zero. If the signal does not cross the zero level, the process proceeds to step S305 described below.

On the other hand, if the zero level is crossed, the X-direction blur state flag F_XFLAG is set to "1" (step S302). Then, it is determined whether or not the blurring state flag F_YFLAG in the Y direction is “0” (step S303). This is for determining whether or not the predicted blur state value (Y) is in a state of crossing zero (within an exposure start determination permission time described later). This Y-direction blur state flag F_YF
When the LAG is not “0”, that is, when the LAG crosses and is “1”, the process proceeds to step S314 described later. Also,
If the flag F_YFLAG is “0”, that is, if the predicted blur state value (Y) does not cross the zero level, the timer for the exposure start determination is reset /
Start (step S304).

After that, or in step S301
If it is determined that the shake state value (X) does not cross the zero level, the second shake prediction calculation unit 44
Then, it is determined whether or not the predicted blur state value (Y) crosses the zero level based on the output from (step S305). This corresponds to the vertical axis ± in FIG.
This is for determining whether or not the zero level, that is, the shake angular velocity has become zero. If the signal does not cross the zero level, the process proceeds to step S309 described below.

On the other hand, if the zero level is crossed, the Y-direction blur state flag F_YFLAG is set to "1" (step S306). Then, here, it is determined whether or not the blurring state flag F_XFLAG in the X direction is “0” (step S307). This is for determining whether or not the predicted blur state value (X) is in a state of crossing zero (within an exposure start determination permission time described later). This X-direction blur state flag F_XF
When the LAG is not “0”, that is, when the LAG crosses and is “1”, the process proceeds to step S314 described later. Also,
If the flag F_XFLAG is “0”, that is, if the predicted blur state value (X) does not cross the zero level, the timer for the exposure start determination is reset /
The process starts (step S308).

Thereafter, or in step S305 described above.
If it is determined that the shake state value (Y) does not cross the zero level, the exposure start determination time setting unit 2
The exposure start determination time information set to 2 is read (step S309). Then, the time of the timer started in step S304 or step S308 is
It is determined whether or not the read exposure start determination time has elapsed (step S310). That is, it is determined whether or not both the blur state values (X) and (Y) predicted within the exposure start determination permission time have crossed the zero level. If the timer has not reached the read exposure start determination time, the process proceeds to RETURN.

On the other hand, if the exposure start determination time has elapsed, it is determined that the blur is large, and the X-direction blur state flag F_XFLAG is set to "0" (step S311). , Y-direction blur state flag F_YFLAG is set to “0” (step S31).
2). This means that the shake does not cross zero. Then, step S304 or step S
The timer started at 308 is stopped (step S313), and the process proceeds to RETURN. This is because the camera is far from the state where the blur is small, or the exposure start determination described later has been completed.

On the other hand, if the Y-direction blur state flag F_YFLAG is determined to be "1" in step S303,
In step S307, the X-direction blur state flag F_
When XFLAG is determined to be "1", these determinations are made because both the X and Y predicted blur state values cross the zero level within the exposure start determination time. Therefore, it is determined that exposure should be started. Therefore, in such a case, the front curtain running start permission flag F_GOFLAG is set to “1” (step S
314). As a result, the start of exposure is permitted in step S125 described above. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S313, where the timer is stopped, and RETUR is set.
Go to N.

The above is described with reference to FIG. 13 (A).
It is time to set _GOFLAG to “1”. In addition,
“Δt” in the figure is the exposure start determination permission time.

Next, a second specific example of “exposure start determination B” in step S124 will be described with reference to the flowchart in FIG.

That is, first, the exposure start determination level setting section 2
The exposure start determination level information set to 3 is read (step S321). This is shown in FIG.
And "TH +" and "TH-" on the vertical axis in FIG. 4B, and are allowable values of blur. The ± 0 level in the middle is the level at which the blur angular velocity is zero.

Then, based on the output from the first blur prediction operation unit 43, it is determined whether or not the predicted blur state value (X) is within the above-mentioned "TH +" to "TH-". (Step S322). Here, if within the level range, the X-direction blur state flag F_XFLAG is set to "1" (step S323), otherwise, the X-direction blur state flag F_XFLAG is set to "0" (step S323). Step S324).

Next, based on the output from the second blur prediction operation section 44, it is determined whether or not the predicted blur state value (Y) is within the above-mentioned "TH +" to "TH-". Performed (Step S325). Here, if it is within the level range, the Y-direction blur state flag F_YFLAG is set to "1" (step S326), otherwise, the Y-direction blur state flag is set to "0" (step S32).
7).

Thereafter, the X-direction blur state flag F_XFLAG and the Y-direction blur state flag F_YFLAG
Is determined whether both are "1" (step S
328). That is, the predicted blur state value (X),
It is determined whether (Y) is within the allowable levels “TH +” to “TH−”. If it is not in this state, the process proceeds to RETURN. If it is in this state, the front curtain running start permission flag F_GOFLAG is set to “1”.
Is set to (step S329). Thus, the start of exposure is permitted in step S125 described above. Then, proceed to RETURN.

The above will be described with reference to FIG. 13B. The timing T is determined by setting the leading-curtain running start permission flag F_GO.
It is time to set FLAG to “1”.

Next, a specific example of "exposure start determination A" in step S121 will be described.

First, the first example will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Note that FIG. 15 includes the same portion of the “exposure start determination B” as in FIG. 12, and therefore, only different portions will be described here.

That is, in steps S301 and S305 in FIG. 12, the judgment is made based on the predicted blur state values (X) and (Y), but in FIG. (Y), that is, the determination is made based on the outputs of the first shake calculating unit 15 and the second shake calculating unit 16 (step S401, step S40).
5).

Steps S403 and S4 corresponding to steps S303 and S307 described above.
At 07, the processing after the case where the X-direction blur state flag F_XFLAG and the Y-direction blur state F_YFLAG are determined to be “1” is different. This will be described below.

That is, the X-direction or Y-direction blur state flag F
If it is determined that _XFLAG or F_YFLAG is “1”, first, the blur small continuous state counter B_ZCOU
The content of NT is incremented (step S41)
5). Then, it is determined whether or not the content of the counter B_ZCOUNT is equal to or more than a predetermined value (step S416). If it is equal to or greater than the predetermined value, the front curtain running start permission flag F_GO
After setting FLAG to “1” (step S417),
Step S414 (corresponding to step S313 in FIG. 12)
Proceed to. On the other hand, if it is determined that the predetermined value has not been reached, the timer for exposure start determination is reset / started (step S418), and then the process proceeds to RETURN, as in steps S304 and S308 in FIG.

After the same determination as in step S310 of FIG. 12 is made (step S410), step S410 is performed.
Step S41 corresponding to step 311 and step S312
After step 1 and step S412, a process of setting the content of the small blur continuous state counter B_ZCOUNT to zero is added (step S413). In this sense,
This is because the blur has temporally departed from the state where it crossed zero.

The feature described above is that the blur state values (X) and (Y) predicted in FIG.
15 permit exposure start when crossing the zero level within the exposure start determination time, whereas in FIG. 15 (exposure start determination A), the current blur state values (X) and (Y) The point is that the exposure start is permitted when the zero level is crossed a plurality of times within the start determination time. Thus, the exposure start determination can be performed even if the blur state value to be stored for the blur prediction calculation is less than a predetermined number (for a predetermined time). In this case, it is desirable to perform the determination based on the originally predicted result, but since it is not possible, the determination is performed under more severe conditions than normal (exposure start determination B).

The above will be described with reference to FIG. 16A. When the timing T is equal to the front curtain running start permission flag F_GO
It is time to set FLAG to “1”. Note that “Δt” in the figure is the exposure start determination permission time. That is, the exposure start is permitted by crossing the zero level at least a predetermined number of times within the exposure start determination time.

In this example, the predetermined value in step S416 is "4", but may be other than this value. By modifying FIG. 15, each of X and Y crosses the zero level at least a predetermined number of times.
It is also possible to allow the exposure start.

Next, a second specific example of “exposure start determination A” in step S121 will be described with reference to the flowchart in FIG. Note that FIG.
Has the same part as that of FIG. 14 for the “exposure start determination B”, and therefore, only the different part will be described here.

That is, in steps S322 and S325 in FIG. 14, the judgment is made based on the predicted blur state values (X) and (Y), but in FIG. 17, the current blur state values (X) and (Y), that is, the determination is made based on the outputs of the first shake calculating unit 15 and the second shake calculating unit 16 (steps S422 and S42).
5).

In step S428 corresponding to step S328, the X-direction blur state flag F_X
When the FLAG and the Y-direction blurring state F_YFLAG are both determined to be “1”, and when it is determined that they are not, the subsequent processing is different. This will be described below.

That is, the X-direction blur state flag F_XFLA
When it is determined that both the G and Y direction blur states F_YFLAG are “1”, first, a small blur continuous state counter B_Z
Increment the content of COUNT (step S4)
29). Then, it is determined whether or not the content of the small-blur continuous state counter B_ZCOUNT after the increment is equal to or more than a predetermined value (step S430). If it is equal to or greater than the predetermined value, the leading curtain start permission flag F_GOFLAG is set to “1”.
(Step S431), and then proceeds to RETURN. If the value has not reached the predetermined value, the process directly proceeds to RETURN.

On the other hand, in step S428, the X-direction blur state flag F_XFLAG and the Y-direction blur state F_YF
When it is determined that both LAGs are not “1”, the content of the small blur continuous state counter B_ZCOUNT is set to zero (step S432). This is because the blur has deviated in time from the state of crossing zero. Then, proceed to RETURN.

The feature described above is that, in FIG. 14 (exposure start judgment B), when the predicted blur state values (X) and (Y) are both within the exposure start judgment level, the exposure start is permitted. On the other hand, in FIG. 17 (exposure start determination A), the exposure start is permitted when the current blur state values (X) and (Y) continuously exist several times within the exposure start determination level. Is a point. Thus, the exposure start determination can be performed even if the blur state value to be stored for the blur prediction calculation is less than a predetermined number (for a predetermined time). In this case, it is desirable to perform the determination based on the originally predicted result, but since it is not possible, the determination is performed under more severe conditions than normal (exposure start determination B).

The above will be described with reference to FIG. 16B. The timing T is set at the time when the front curtain running start permission flag F_GO is set.
It is time to set FLAG to “1”. In other words, the start of exposure is permitted when the blurring state values (X) and (Y) exist more than a predetermined number of times continuously within the exposure start determination level.

In this example, the predetermined value in step S430 is "4", but may be other than this value.

Next, the method of “post-exposure blur notification” in step S152 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

That is, first, it is determined whether or not the blur state value during exposure is less than a predetermined level A (step S50).
1). If the level is lower than the predetermined level A, the notification pattern A is set (step S502), and thereafter, the process proceeds to step S506 described later.

If the level is not lower than the predetermined level A,
Next, it is determined whether or not the blurring state during the exposure is lower than a predetermined level B (step S503). If it is lower than the predetermined level B, the notification pattern B is set (step S5).
04), and the process proceeds to Step S506 described later. On the other hand, if not less than the predetermined level B, the notification pattern C
Is set (step S505), and the process proceeds to step S506 described later.

Here, as the notification pattern, a pattern as shown in FIG. 3B can be considered. That is, the notification pattern A is a pattern as shown in FIG. 7A, the pattern B is a pattern as shown in FIG.
In the case of the pattern C, a pattern as shown in FIG.

As the blur state value during exposure used in steps S501 and S503, the final result calculated in step S146 is used.
For the predetermined level A and the predetermined level B, for example, if the low level A is 50 μm on a 35 mm film surface,
m, a value corresponding to a numerical value such as 100 μm for the predetermined level B can be considered. The point is that it is only necessary to be able to discriminate at a level such as a level at which blur is not a concern, a level at which the blur is a concern, or a level at which the blur is a concern.

After the notification pattern has been set, a timer for performing the post-exposure blur notification for a predetermined time is started (step S506). Thereafter, it is determined whether or not the delay limit time excess flag F_OVER is “0” (step S507).

Here, the delay limit time excess flag F_OV
If ER is “0”, there is no excess, that is, the exposure has been performed in response to the reduced blur, so that the above-described step S502, S504, or S505 is performed.
The state notification unit 66 is turned on based on the notification pattern set in (Step S508).

On the other hand, the delay limit time excess flag F_O
If the VER is "1", there is excess, that is, the exposure is started because the blur is not small but is not mistaken for a failure, and thus the above steps S502 and S50 are performed.
The state notification unit 66 is blinked (controlled) based on the notification pattern set in step S4 or S505 (step S50).
9). In this case, the blinking is performed because the exposure is performed beyond the delay limit time (that is, the exposure is performed in a state where the blur is not small). This is to notify the photographer that the possibility is high.

After the lighting or blinking of the state notification unit is started, it is determined whether the notification time timer set in step S506 has passed a predetermined time (step S510). If the predetermined time has not elapsed, the process returns to step S507. Note that the predetermined time here is, for example, 300 mSEC.

After the predetermined time has elapsed, the post-exposure blur notification by the status notification unit 66 is turned off (turned off) (step S511), and the process proceeds to RETURN.

Although the present invention has been described based on one embodiment, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications and applications may be made within the scope of the present invention. It is possible.

For example, in the above embodiment, the exposure operation start determination is made by selectively using two exposure operation start determination methods in accordance with the value of the blur prediction calculation data accumulation number counter B_COUNTA. Two or more exposure operation start determination methods may be provided, and the determination method may be selected and used in accordance with not only the value of the counter B_COUNTA but also some predetermined timing such as time.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to a single-lens reflex camera has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Further, the present invention can be similarly applied to a so-called digital camera in which a subject image is captured by an image sensor without using a film and the image is stored in a storage medium.

The summary of the present invention is as follows.

(1) A shake detection / calculation means (for example, corresponding to the shake detection / calculation unit 01) for detecting a camera shake state and performing a processing calculation; Exposure start determination means (e.g., corresponding to the exposure start determination unit 02) for performing exposure operation start determination to reduce blurring, and operates for performing an exposure operation in response to the determination result of the exposure start determination means. A shutter device (e.g., equivalent to the shutter device 03), and a panning determination unit (e.g., the panning determination unit 07) that determines whether the camera is in a panning state based on the output of the shake detection calculation unit. Exposure start determination method changing means (for example, the exposure start determination method change) which changes the exposure start determination method of the exposure start determination means in response to the determination result of the panning determination means. Stabilization function camera characterized by comprising the equivalent) in section 04, the.

(2) The blur reduction according to (1), wherein the panning determination means makes a panning determination in accordance with a blurring state in two directions perpendicular to the photographing optical axis of the camera. Camera with function.

(3) The exposure start judging method changing means changes the output of the blur detection calculating means to a predetermined value when the panning judging means judges that the panning is to be performed. A camera with a blur reduction function according to (1) or (2).

(4) The exposure start judging method changing means changes the judgment operation limit time of the exposure start judging means when the panning shot judging means judges that it is panning shooting. A camera with a blur reduction function according to (1) or (2).

[0150]

As described in detail above, according to the present invention,
It is possible to provide an easy-to-use camera with a blur reduction function that has a small shutter time lag even when performing shooting taking advantage of a shutter chance such as panning.

That is, in the present invention, it is determined whether or not the camera is in the panning shooting state from the blurring state signal, and the state signal in the axial direction of the blurring determined as the panning shooting is ignored (the blurring is regarded as zero) to determine the exposure start. Is going. Thus, in a camera that starts an exposure operation by judging a timing at which camera shake is small, a shutter time lag can be reduced at the time of panning shooting.

If it is determined that panning is to be performed, the parameters (time and level) for determining the start of exposure and the determination limit time are changed, so that unnecessary time lag during panning can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1A is a conceptual diagram of a camera with a shake reduction function according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1B is a diagram in which the configuration of FIG.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a main part of a single-lens reflex camera to which the camera with a shake reduction function according to one embodiment of the present invention is applied;

FIG. 3A is a diagram for explaining a mounting position of first and second blur sensors on a camera body, and FIG. 3B is a diagram showing an example of notification (display) of a blur level state.

FIG. 4 is an operation flowchart of the camera in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a view showing a first part of a series of flowcharts for explaining an “exposure control” operation in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a view showing a second part of a series of flowcharts for explaining the “exposure control” operation in FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a view showing a third part of a series of flowcharts for explaining the “exposure control” operation in FIG. 4;

FIG. 8 is a timing chart for explaining a waiting time until the start of shake detection.

9A and 9B are diagrams illustrating a difference between a blur detection result (waveform) during normal hand-held shooting and a panning shot, wherein FIG. 9A is an example of a normal hand-held state, and FIGS. It is an example of a shooting state.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the first half of a series of flowcharts for explaining the “panning shot determination” operation in FIG. 6;

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating the latter half of a series of flowcharts for explaining the “follow-up shooting determination” operation in FIG. 6;

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an “exposure start determination B” operation in FIG. 6;

13A is a diagram illustrating the relationship between the shake angular velocities in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction for explaining an example of the “exposure start determination B” operation in FIG. 12, and FIG. It is a figure for explaining another example of exposure start judgment B "operation which shows a relation of blurring angular velocity in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating another example of the “exposure start determination B” operation in FIG. 6;

FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an “exposure start determination A” operation in FIG. 6;

16A is a diagram illustrating the relationship between the shake angular velocities in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction for explaining an example of the “exposure start determination A” operation in FIG. 15, and FIG. It is a figure for explaining another example of exposure start judging A ”operation, and showing the relation of the blurring angular velocity in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating another example of the “exposure start determination A” operation in FIG. 6;

FIG. 18 is a flowchart for explaining the “post-exposure blur notification” operation in FIG. 7;

[Explanation of symbols]

 01 shake detection calculation section 02 exposure start determination section 03 shutter device 04 exposure start determination method change section 05 exposure start determination control section 06 camera control section 07 panning shot determination section 08 blur prediction section 11, 12 blur sensor 13, 14 blur information sampling section 15, 16 Shake calculation section 21 Exposure start method setting section 22 Exposure start judgment time setting section 23 Exposure start judgment level setting section 24 Occurrence delay time counting section 25 Delay limit time setting section 26 Delay time information storage section 31, 32 Panning state Judgment units 41, 42 Shake information storage units 43, 44 Shake prediction calculation unit 45 Shake information storage state monitor unit 51 Shake state determination unit 52 Focal length information detection unit 53 Exposure time information detection unit 54 Exposure preparation instruction unit (first release) 55 Exposure start instruction unit (second release) 56 Shake detection control unit 61 Mirror drive unit 62 Quick return mirror 63 Operating state monitor section 64 Shaft driving section 65 Operating time information storage section 66 State notification section 67 Viewfinder display section 77 Photographing information display section 78 Shake reduction mode display section

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A blur data sampling means for sampling, in response to a release operation, blur states in two axial directions perpendicular to each other and perpendicular to a photographing optical axis of a camera in a time-series manner. Based on the output, it is determined whether or not the camera is panning, and if it is determined that the camera is panning, the shake sample data in the movement direction of the camera is included in the output of the shake data sampling means. And a control means for starting an exposure operation when the output of the pre-data sampling means satisfies a predetermined criterion or when a predetermined time has elapsed since the release operation. A camera with a blur reduction function. 2. The blur reduction function according to claim 1, wherein the control unit changes the predetermined time to a shorter time when the panning determination unit determines that panning is being performed. With camera. 3. A camera which detects a blur state of a camera in a plurality of directions in response to a release operation and starts an exposure operation in anticipation of a timing at which the blur is reduced. Based on the state detection signal,
A camera with a blur reduction function, characterized in that it is provided with means for determining whether or not the camera is in panning shooting and for invalidating a blurring state detection signal in the panning direction.