JP2001036788A - Electronic camera - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) Abstract: A flat rectangular parallelepiped camera body is provided with a simple configuration, with an imaging lens objective surface, which is disposed on one of the thickness surfaces along the longitudinal direction, facing a subject. Even when the longitudinal direction is set as the vertical direction, it can be firmly and reliably gripped. SOLUTION: An auxiliary grip member 20 extends along the longitudinal direction to a portion extending to an end of a thickness plane along a longitudinal direction of a camera body on a right side of a vertical position release button 13 in a horizontal position when viewed from a subject side. It is provided to be slidable within a predetermined range. When the auxiliary grip member 20 protrudes from the corner of the camera body, extends the thickness surface along the longitudinal direction of the camera body, and when the photographer holds the camera body in the vertical position and holds the camera body with the right hand, Increase the gripping surface. If the auxiliary grip member 20 is returned, it can be stored in the range of the rectangular parallelepiped shape of the camera body.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electronic camera that captures an optical image of a subject obtained through an imaging optical system by an image sensor and records the captured image as an image data on an electronic recording medium. The present invention relates to an electronic camera that can improve the holding performance of a camera when an imaging lens objective surface is arranged on one of the thickness surfaces along the longitudinal direction of the camera body and the longitudinal direction of the camera body is held as a vertical direction. .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a digital camera or the like is used, and a subject image is captured by a solid-state image sensor such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) image sensor, and a still image (still image) or a moving image (movie image) of the object is captured. 2. Description of the Related Art An electronic camera which obtains image data and digitally records the image data on an IC (integrated circuit) memory card or a magnetic disk is rapidly spreading. In the case of an electronic camera as an IC memory card, PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memo) was initially used.
ry Card International Association (PC Card) is a PC card that is an IC card that conforms to the standard. Recently, small and large-capacity smart media (trademark) and compact flash (trademark) have been generally used. It is being used. As a magnetic disk, there is a disk using a floppy disk, and a small magnetic disk device using an ultra-small hard disk comparable to an IC memory card developed in recent years has also attracted attention.

By the way, the frame of a camera is generally a horizontally long rectangular screen when the camera is held as it is.
A position in which the horizontal direction, that is, the longitudinal direction is the horizontal direction, while maintaining this horizontally long screen is referred to as a horizontal position, and is often used for shooting landscapes and group photos. The camera is tilted by 90 ° without changing the direction of the photographing optical axis, so that the position where the longitudinal direction is vertical is referred to as a vertical position, and a portrait of one to three persons and a vertically long building It is used for photography such as.
In the case of a so-called silver halide camera using a conventional silver halide film, in the case of a 35 mm full size, as described above, even if the camera is turned to take a picture in the horizontal position and the vertical position, the silver halide Since a long screen is always formed on the film in the transport direction, after developing the film and printing it on photographic paper, observe the object in an appropriate upright orientation.

On the other hand, in the case of an electronic camera, it is necessary to perform a rotation operation by image processing in order to make the direction different from the direction specified at the time of capturing image data. Generally, such image rotation processing is performed after transferring image data to a PC (personal computer) or the like.
This is performed by application software for image processing inside C or the like.

[0005]

The electronic camera has become a flat rectangular parallelepiped because of its easy portability and the like, and the miniaturization is progressing because the miniaturization is easy. In such a situation, when the imaging lens objective surface is arranged on one of the thickness surfaces along the longitudinal direction of the small flat rectangular parallelepiped camera body, when the longitudinal direction of the camera body is set as the vertical direction The holding property becomes a problem. That is, the camera body having a flattened rectangular parallelepiped shape reduced in size, the imaging lens objective surface arranged on one of the thickness surfaces along the longitudinal direction faces the subject,
When the longitudinal direction of the camera body is set to be vertical, the portion of the camera body below the imaging lens is narrow, and it is difficult to firmly hold the camera body.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and has a simple configuration, in which a flat rectangular parallelepiped camera body is disposed on one of the thickness surfaces along the longitudinal direction, and the object plane of the imaging lens is used as an object. Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an electronic camera that can firmly and reliably hold the camera body even when the longitudinal direction of the camera body is set as a vertical direction, and that can obtain good holding performance. An object of claim 1 of the present invention is to provide an electronic camera capable of reliably holding the camera body in a case where the longitudinal direction is set to a vertical direction without deteriorating the handling performance when carrying the portable camera. To provide.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an electronic camera capable of reliably holding the camera body in a case where the longitudinal direction of the camera body is set to a vertical direction, with a simple and easy-to-operate structure. Is to provide. An object of a third aspect of the present invention is to provide an electronic camera capable of reliably holding the camera body with a simple configuration when the longitudinal direction of the camera body is set to a vertical direction.

A fourth object of the present invention is to secure the grip when the longitudinal direction of the camera body is set to the vertical direction, and to achieve a good operation both in the horizontal position and in the vertical position. It is an object of the present invention to provide an electronic camera capable of obtaining the desired characteristics. An object of a fifth aspect of the present invention is to provide an electronic camera which can obtain good operability particularly in horizontal position shooting and vertical position shooting, and is less likely to be erroneously operated.

[0009]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electronic camera, comprising: an imaging optical system for forming an optical image of a subject; An image pickup device arranged on an image forming plane of a subject optical image by the image pickup device, and an image pickup processing means for performing predetermined processing on image data of the subject image picked up by the image pickup device and recording the image data on a recording medium And an imaging optical system, an imaging element, and a camera body having a substantially flat rectangular parallelepiped shape that accommodates imaging processing means, wherein one of the thickness surfaces along the longitudinal direction of the camera body includes the imaging optical system. The object surface is provided, and auxiliary grip means for extending / retracting the thickness surface is provided in one end direction in the longitudinal direction of the thickness surface.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the electronic camera according to the present invention, the auxiliary grip means includes a slide member slidable within a predetermined range along a thickness plane along a longitudinal direction of the camera body. I have. Claim 3
In the electronic camera according to the present invention, the auxiliary grip means may have a predetermined range from a housed state to an extended surface of the thickness surface around an end edge of the thickness surface along the longitudinal direction of the camera body. It is characterized by including a rotating member that can be opened and closed.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the electronic camera, wherein the first release button is disposed on a flat upper surface of the camera body, and the imaging optics is located on one of a thickness surface along a longitudinal direction of the camera body. And a second release button disposed near the system. An electronic camera according to the present invention described in claim 5 is:
The auxiliary grip means is configured to prevent operation of the second release button when the auxiliary grip means is in a stowed state.

[0012]

In the electronic camera according to the first aspect of the present invention, the object plane of the imaging optical system is arranged on one of the thickness planes along the longitudinal direction of the camera body having a substantially flat rectangular parallelepiped shape. Auxiliary grip means is provided so that the thickness surface can be extended / stored in one end direction. With such a configuration, using a simple configuration, a flat rectangular parallelepiped camera body is directed to an object with an imaging lens objective surface disposed on one of the thickness surfaces along the longitudinal direction, and the longitudinal direction of the camera body is changed. Even when it is set in the vertical direction, it can be firmly and reliably gripped, and in particular, it becomes possible to obtain good holding performance without deteriorating the handling performance when carrying the mobile phone.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the electronic camera, the auxiliary grip means includes a slide member which is slidable within a predetermined range along a thickness plane along a longitudinal direction of the camera body. With such a configuration, it is possible to secure gripping when the longitudinal direction of the camera body is set to the vertical direction, particularly with a simple and easy-to-operate configuration.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the electronic camera according to the third aspect, the auxiliary grip means extends from the housed state to an extended surface of the thick surface along the longitudinal direction of the camera body around one end edge of the thick surface. And a rotation member that can be opened and closed within a predetermined range. With such a configuration, it is possible to secure gripping with a simple configuration, particularly when the longitudinal direction of the camera body is set to the vertical direction.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the electronic camera, wherein the first release button is disposed on a flat upper surface of the camera body, and one of the thickness surfaces along the longitudinal direction of the camera body is in the vicinity of the imaging optical system. 2nd placed in
Is further provided. With such a configuration, it is possible to reliably hold the camera body, particularly when the longitudinal direction is set to the vertical direction, and to obtain good operability both in horizontal position shooting and vertical position shooting.

In the electronic camera according to a fifth aspect of the present invention, when the auxiliary grip means is in a stowed state,
Is configured to prevent the operation of the release button. With such a configuration, in particular, good operability can be obtained both in horizontal position shooting and in vertical position shooting,
There is little risk of erroneous operation.

[0017]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an electronic camera according to the present invention will be described in detail based on embodiments with reference to the drawings. FIG.
4 to 4 show the configuration of the electronic camera according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 illustrates a state in which a liquid crystal display monitor unit (hereinafter, referred to as an “LCD monitor unit”) is closed and a longitudinal direction of an electronic camera in a state in which an auxiliary grip unit according to the present invention is projected is vertically oriented (for example, a vertical position). FIG. 2 is a right side view of the electronic camera with the LCD monitor section closed and the auxiliary grip part protruded from the subject side, as in FIG. FIG. 3 is a front view of the electronic camera with the LCD monitor section closed and the auxiliary grip section housed, and the electronic camera in a state where the longitudinal direction is horizontal (for example, a horizontal position shooting state) is viewed from the subject side. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an electronic circuit system of the electronic camera.

The electronic camera 10 shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 has a flat rectangular parallelepiped body as a whole.
Horizontal release button 12, vertical release button 1
3, a photographing lens 14, a strobe light emitting unit 15, an optical finder 16, an LCD monitor unit 17, a main operation unit 18, a status display unit 19, and an auxiliary grip member 20. The shooting operation unit 11 includes operation buttons and the like for performing various operations related to shooting, and is also used when the flat rectangular parallelepiped camera body is held substantially horizontally with the longitudinal direction being horizontal and the thickness direction being up and down. , The longitudinal direction is the vertical direction,
At the center of the top of the horizontal position, so that it can be easily operated even in the vertical position where the thickness direction is horizontal and set up almost vertically,
That is, it is arranged on the left side when viewed from the photographer in the vertical position.

The horizontal position release button 12 is arranged near the photographing operation section 11 and slightly distant from the subject substantially at the center right of the upper surface of the camera body, and is provided so as to be operated by the photographer's right index finger. . When the photographer holds the camera body with his right hand while holding the camera body in the vertical position near the left side of the objective incident surface of the photographing lens 14 in the horizontal position described above when viewed from the photographer, the vertical position release button 13 is It is provided near the lower part so that it can be operated with the right index finger.

The photographing lens 14 is a zoom lens in this case, and exposes an object incident surface on one side surface (thick surface) along the longitudinal direction of the flat rectangular parallelepiped camera body, and moves the photographing optical axis in the lateral direction of the camera body. It is provided for. The strobe light emitting unit 15 is arranged near the objective incident surface of the photographing lens 14, in this case, at the horizontal position, at the upper right as viewed from the photographer side. The optical finder 16 exposes the objective incident surface (not shown) between the objective incident surface of the photographing lens 14 on one side surface along the longitudinal direction and the strobe light emitting portion 15 in this case, at a horizontal position, and upward. The eyepiece is exposed on the other side surface facing the surface.

The LCD monitor section 17 can be opened and closed to set a desired angular position by rotating about an object side edge of the upper surface in the horizontal position, and is in close contact with the camera body when closed. The display screen is provided so that the display screen can be hidden (FIG. 1 to FIG. 3 show a closed state). Although not shown, the LCD monitor unit 17 is provided rotatably about an axis perpendicular to the rotation axis of the opening and closing operation in a state where the screen is raised and the screen is exposed. Therefore, when the LCD monitor unit 17 is raised, the LCD monitor unit 17 is rotated and inverted about an axis perpendicular to the rotation axis of the opening and closing operation, so that the screen is displayed in a camera with the LCD monitor unit 17 closed. It can also be exposed on the top side of the body.

The main operation section 18 has a zoom lever, a mode dial, a main switch and the like arranged coaxially, and is arranged on the same side surface adjacent to the eyepiece section of the optical finder 16. The zoom lever for performing the zooming operation of the photographing lens 14 can be easily operated when the camera body is held in the horizontal direction corresponding to the horizontal position in the standard state or when the camera body is held in the vertical direction corresponding to the vertical position. And zooming is performed by a rotating operation. The mode dial is provided on the same side as the eyepiece of the optical viewfinder 16 so as to be rotatable about an axis perpendicular to the side (the same axis as the rotation axis of the zoom lever), and is operated by the rotation. Select a mode. The main switch is a push button switch provided at a position corresponding to the center position of the rotation axis at the center of the mode dial of the main operation unit 18. By repeatedly pressing the main switch, the main power is turned on / off in a toggle shape. Do.

The status display unit 19 is a liquid crystal display unit that displays segments / patterns more simply than the LCD monitor unit 17, for example, and displays the shooting mode state, the power supply state, whether or not the flash mode is used, and the shooting frame number. Display status. The status display unit 19 is located near the shooting operation unit 11,
In other words, it is arranged at a position near the subject, substantially at the center of the upper surface in the horizontal position, that is, on the left side of the photographer in the vertical position. As shown in FIG. 3, the auxiliary grip member 20 is located on a portion extending to the end of the thickness plane along the longitudinal direction of the camera body on the right side of the vertical position release button 13 in the horizontal position described above when viewed from the subject side. It is provided slidably in a predetermined range along the longitudinal direction.

When the auxiliary grip member 20 is slid to the right in FIG. 3, that is, downwardly in FIGS. 1 and 2, it protrudes from the corner of the camera body as shown in FIGS. The thickness surface along the longitudinal direction of the camera body is extended, and when the photographer holds the camera body in the vertical position and grips the camera body with the right hand, the gripping surface is enlarged to ensure camera holding. The auxiliary grip member 20 is shown in FIG.
3, that is, upwards of FIGS. 1 and 2, the front end is located exactly at the corner of the camera body as shown in FIG. 3 and falls within the range of the rectangular parallelepiped shape of the camera body. This state is suitable for horizontal shooting and carrying. At this time, the release button 13 for the vertical position is locked at the proximal end of the auxiliary grip member 20 to prevent the release button 13 for the vertical position from being erroneously operated.

The base end of the auxiliary grip member 20 may cover the front surface of the release button 13 for vertical position to prevent the operation, instead of locking the release button 13 for vertical position. In this state, the entire electronic camera 10 has a substantially flat rectangular parallelepiped camera body shape, has no unnatural projections, and is in a state suitable for carrying. The electronic circuit system of the electronic camera 10 described above is configured as shown in FIG. An electronic circuit system of the electronic camera 10 shown in FIG. 4 includes an operation unit 101, a horizontal position release 102, and a vertical position release 10.
3. imaging processing unit 104, AF (auto focus) / AE (auto exposure) control unit 105, strobe 106, recording control unit 10
7, a camera control unit 108, a display unit 109, and a transfer control unit 110.

The operation unit 101 supplies operation information obtained by operating the photographing operation unit 11 and the main operation unit 18 shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 to the imaging processing unit 104 and the camera control unit 108. The horizontal position release 102 supplies release information by operating the horizontal position release button 12 to the imaging processing unit 104, and causes the image processing unit 104 to perform imaging as horizontal position image data. The vertical release button 103 is a vertical release button 1
The release information obtained by the operation 3 is supplied to the imaging processing unit 104, and the imaging is performed as the vertical position image data.

The imaging processing unit 104 includes a horizontal position release 10.
The AF / AE control unit 105, the strobe 106, the recording control unit 107, and the camera control unit respond to release information corresponding to the operation of the horizontal position release button 12 and the vertical position release button 13 given from the vertical position release 103 and the vertical position release 103. 108 and the like are appropriately operated based on the shooting mode set at that time, and the AF and AE control, the emission control of the strobe 106, the recording control on the recording medium, and the control of other camera operations are appropriately performed as necessary. The imaging operation is performed by selectively performing the operation. This imaging processing unit 104
Indicates whether the release information is given from the horizontal position release 102 or the vertical position release 103, that is, the horizontal position release button 12 and the vertical position release button 1
In accordance with which one of 3 has been operated, the imaging data is taken in as the image data in the horizontal position and the image data in the vertical position, respectively.

The AF / AE control unit 105 includes the imaging processing unit 1
In conjunction with operation 04, for example, AF control based on distance measurement information by transmitting and receiving a distance measurement beam by an active method via an AF window (not shown) is performed. The AF / AE control unit 105 includes the imaging lens 14 and the optical viewfinder 1.
The light exposure information of the subject is obtained from the light receiving element provided separately or the image pickup element in the image pickup processing unit 104 inside the optical system such as the optical system 6, and appropriate exposure control is performed.

The strobe 106 is controlled by the imaging processing unit 104, and operates when necessary for AE control in the AF / AE control unit 105 or when instructed by manual operation via the operation unit 101, and Light emitting unit 15
To emit light. The recording control unit 107 includes the imaging processing unit 104
The image data captured by is written to the recording medium.
The camera control unit 108 controls the imaging processing unit 104 in accordance with the operation of the operation unit 101 to perform shooting,
The LCD monitor unit 09 displays a subject image before and during shooting, and reproduces and displays a shot subject image stored in a recording medium or the like. The display unit 109
Controlled by the camera control unit 108, a subject image before and during shooting obtained by the image sensor of the image processing unit 104 is displayed on the screen of the LCD monitor unit 17, or stored in a recording medium or the like by the recording control unit 107. The reproduced subject image is reproduced and displayed.

The display unit 109 is provided with the camera control unit 10.
8, based on the states of the imaging processing unit 104 and the camera control unit 108 on the screen of the status display unit 19.
Information on a shooting mode state, an operation mode of the strobe 106, and a voltage state of a power supply battery (not shown) is displayed. The transfer control unit 110 takes out the image data stored in the recording medium via the recording control unit 107 and selectively or collectively retrieves the image data stored in the recording medium based on the control of the camera control unit 108 according to the operation of the operation unit 101. Transfer to an external PC or the like.

Next, the operation of the electronic camera 10 will be described in detail. First, at the time of carrying, as shown in FIG. 3, the LCD monitor unit 17 is closed in a state where the screen is turned inward, and the auxiliary grip member 20 is stored to form a flat rectangular parallelepiped. In this state, since the electronic camera 10 is not bulky and has few irregularities, it is very easy to carry and the screen of the LCD monitor 17 is reliably protected. In the case of photographing only with the optical viewfinder 16 without using the electronic viewfinder by the LCD monitor section 17, in this state,
Photographing can be performed by operating the main operation unit 18 and turning on a main power supply by a main switch.

At the time of photographing in the horizontal position, as shown in FIG. 3, with the object incident surface of the photographing lens 14 facing the subject, the strobe light emitting unit 15 is located at the upper right of the object incident surface of the photographing lens 14 when viewed from the photographer side. The electronic camera 10 is held horizontally so that the LCD monitor unit 17 is at the top. In such a case, the horizontal position release button 12 is disposed at a position slightly closer to the front right in the center of the upper surface where the right index finger is naturally located, and the horizontal position shooting can be performed with a reasonable operation. At this time, since the photographing operation unit 11 is located at the center of the upper surface, it can be easily operated. Further, at this time, since the main operation section 18 is located on the left side of the eyepiece section of the optical viewfinder 16 on the front side, any of the main operation sections 18 can be easily operated. At this time, the vertical release button 13 is located on the left side of the photographing lens 14 as viewed from the photographer on the side surface of the subject, and the auxiliary grip member 20
Therefore, there is no possibility of erroneous operation.

At the time of photographing in the vertical position, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the auxiliary grip member 20 is pulled out to the side and protruded (see the arrow in FIG. 2), and the thickness surface on the subject side along the longitudinal direction of the camera body. The portion of the imaging lens 14 below the objective incident surface is extended. In this state, the strobe light emitting unit 1
The electronic camera 10 is held vertically so that 5 is located at the upper left of the objective incident surface of the photographing lens 14 when viewed from the photographer side, and the LCD monitor 17 is located on the left surface.

With this configuration, the lower part of the imaging lens 14 of the flat rectangular parallelepiped camera body below the objective incidence surface can be securely gripped with the right hand. In such a case, the vertical release button 13 is arranged at a position slightly lower right of the center of the front surface where the right index finger holding the camera body is naturally located, so that the vertical position shooting can be performed with a reasonable operation. Can do it. At this time, it is desirable that the left hand supports the upper surface of the electronic camera 10 and the left edge thereof. The photographing operation unit 11 is located at the center on the left side, and the main operation unit 18 is located below the eyepiece of the optical viewfinder 16 on the front side, so that both can be easily operated. Also at this time, since the horizontal position release button 12 is located on the left side when viewed from the photographer, there is almost no risk of erroneous operation.

When photographing in the horizontal position when the LCD monitor 17 is used as an electronic finder, the LCD monitor 17 is used.
To take a picture. At this time, the screen can be tilted to a position where the screen can be easily viewed in accordance with the shooting posture and the state of external light. Similarly to the above-described state in which the LCD monitor unit 17 is closed, the objective incident surface of the photographing lens 14 is directed toward the subject, and
The strobe light emitting unit 15 is used by the photographing lens 14 as viewed from the photographer side.
The electronic camera 10 is held horizontally so that the LCD monitor unit 17 is located at the upper right of the objective incident surface of the camera. Also in this case, the auxiliary grip member 20 is stored.

When the LCD monitor 17 is used as an electronic finder, the auxiliary grip 2
0 is pulled out and protruded, the LCD monitor unit 17 is raised, the object incident surface of the photographing lens 14 is directed toward the subject, and the strobe light emitting unit 15 is viewed from the photographer side at the upper left of the object incident surface of the photographing lens 14. , The electronic camera 10 is held. At this time, by rotating the screen of the LCD monitor unit 17 with respect to an axis orthogonal to the opening / closing rotation axis in accordance with the shooting posture and the state of external light, it is possible to tilt the screen to a position that is easy to see. When you do this,
The camera body can be securely gripped by using the auxiliary grip member 20.

Next, an electronic camera according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the auxiliary grip portion in a state where the auxiliary grip portion is projected, and FIG. 6 is a detailed view showing the auxiliary grip portion in a state where the auxiliary grip portion is stored. 5 and 6 also show a state in which the LCD monitor unit is closed and the longitudinal direction of the electronic camera is oriented vertically (for example, a vertical position photographing state).
The electronic camera 30 shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 has a flat rectangular parallelepiped body as a whole, and has a lower end edge on the subject side lower end edge in a vertical position shooting state in which the longitudinal direction of the camera body is oriented vertically. The auxiliary grip member 31 is provided so as to be rotatable approximately 180 ° with respect to an axis along the thickness direction of the sub-grip. In the stored state, the auxiliary grip member 31 is stored in the subject-side thickness plane as shown in FIG. When the auxiliary grip member 31 is rotated from the stored state as shown by an arrow in FIG. 5, the auxiliary grip member 31 extends the subject-side thickness surface downward as shown in FIG.

As with the above-described auxiliary grip member 20, the auxiliary grip member 31 also ensures the holding of the camera body in a vertical shooting state in which the longitudinal direction of the camera body is oriented vertically. Note that the auxiliary grip member 31 shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 may be configured to be sufficiently long, and in the stored state, the operation may be prevented by locking or covering the vertical position release button 13. Good.

Further, in the above description, the horizontal position shooting is performed with the longitudinal direction of the camera body oriented in the horizontal direction, and the vertical position shooting is performed with the longitudinal direction of the camera body oriented in the vertical direction. Alternatively, horizontal position shooting may be performed with the longitudinal direction of the camera body oriented vertically, and vertical position imaging may be performed with the longitudinal direction of the camera body oriented horizontally.
In addition, it goes without saying that the present invention can be implemented with various modifications without departing from the spirit of the embodiments described above and shown in the drawings.

[0040]

As described above, according to the present invention, the object plane of the imaging optical system is disposed on one of the thickness planes along the longitudinal direction of the camera body having a substantially flat rectangular parallelepiped shape, and An imaging lens objective in which a flat rectangular parallelepiped camera body is arranged on one of the thickness planes along the longitudinal direction using a simple configuration, by providing the auxiliary grip means so that the thickness plane can be extended / stored in one end direction of the camera body. With the surface facing the subject, the camera body can be firmly and securely gripped even when the longitudinal direction of the camera body is set as the vertical direction, and particularly, good holding performance without deteriorating the handling performance when carrying the camera. Can be provided.

According to the electronic camera of the second aspect of the present invention, the auxiliary grip means includes a slide member slidable in a predetermined range along a thickness plane along a longitudinal direction of the camera body. In particular, with a simple and easy-to-operate configuration, it is possible to reliably hold the camera body when the longitudinal direction is set to the vertical direction.

Further, according to the electronic camera of the third aspect of the present invention, the auxiliary grip means can be extended from the stored state with the vicinity of one end edge of the thickness surface along the longitudinal direction of the camera body as an axis. With the configuration including the rotating member that can be opened and closed within a predetermined range up to the formation of the camera, it is possible to reliably hold the camera body with the simple configuration, particularly when the longitudinal direction of the camera body is set to the vertical direction. . According to the electronic camera of the fourth aspect of the present invention, the first release button disposed on the flat upper surface of the camera body and the vicinity of the imaging optical system on one of the thickness surfaces along the longitudinal direction of the camera body. The configuration in which the arranged second release button is further provided ensures reliable gripping, particularly when the longitudinal direction of the camera body is set to be vertical, and provides good operation both in horizontal position shooting and vertical position shooting. Sex can be obtained.

According to the electronic camera of claim 5 of the present invention,
By providing the auxiliary grip means so as to prevent the operation of the second release button when in the stowed state, it is possible to obtain good operability particularly in both horizontal position shooting and vertical position shooting. And the risk of erroneous operation is small.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 shows a state in which a liquid crystal display monitor (LCD monitor) of an electronic camera according to a first embodiment of the present invention is closed, and a longitudinal direction is oriented vertically with an auxiliary grip part protruding. FIG. 5 is a right side view as viewed from the right side from the side.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the electronic camera of FIG. 1 in a state where an LCD monitor is closed, as viewed from a subject side.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the electronic camera of FIG. 1 in a state where an auxiliary grip portion is stored, as viewed from a subject side.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an electronic circuit system of the electronic camera in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an electronic camera according to a second embodiment of the present invention in a state where an auxiliary grip portion is projected, as viewed from an imaging optical system objective surface side.

6 is a perspective view of the electronic camera of FIG. 5 in a state in which an auxiliary grip portion is stored, as viewed from a subject side.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 10 electronic camera 11 shooting operation unit 12 horizontal position release button 13 vertical position release button 14 shooting lens 15 strobe light emitting unit 16 optical finder 17 LCD monitor unit 18 main operation unit 19 status display unit 20 auxiliary grip member 30 electronic camera 31 auxiliary grip member 101 operation unit 102 horizontal position release 103 vertical position release 104 imaging processing unit 105 AF (auto focus) / AE (auto exposure) control unit 106 strobe 107 recording control unit 108 camera control unit 109 display unit (LCD monitor / status display unit) 110 transfer control unit

Claims (5)

[Claims] An imaging optical system for forming an optical image of a subject, an imaging device arranged on an imaging surface of the optical image of the subject by the imaging optical system and capturing the optical image of the subject, An imaging processing unit that performs predetermined processing on image data of a captured subject image and records the processed data on a recording medium; and a substantially flat rectangular parallelepiped camera body that houses the imaging optical system, the imaging element, and the imaging processing unit. In the electronic camera, the objective surface of the imaging optical system is arranged on one of the thickness surfaces along the longitudinal direction of the camera body, and the thickness surface can be extended / stored in one end direction in the longitudinal direction of the thickness surface. An electronic camera comprising an auxiliary grip means. 2. The electronic camera according to claim 1, wherein the auxiliary grip means includes a slide member slidable in a predetermined range along a thickness plane along a longitudinal direction of the camera body. 3. The auxiliary grip means includes a pivotable opening and closing pivot for a predetermined range from a stored state to an extension of the thickness surface around an end edge of the thickness surface along the longitudinal direction of the camera body. The electronic camera according to claim 1, further comprising a moving member. 4. A first release button arranged on a flat upper surface of the camera body, and a second release button arranged near one of the imaging optical systems on one of a thickness surface along a longitudinal direction of the camera body. The electronic camera according to claim 1, further comprising: 5. The electronic camera according to claim 4, wherein the auxiliary grip means is configured to prevent operation of the second release button when the auxiliary grip means is in a stowed state.