JP2001136435A - Electronic camera - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electronic camera that can easily set a proper exposure condition in a manual mode. SOLUTION: The electronic camera is provided with a display means 30 that displays 1st information denoting a first photographing condition and 2nd information denoting it when the photographing condition is not proper and with a revision means 53d that revises the photographing condition according to the 2nd information.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] The present invention relates to an electronic camera.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In photographing with an electronic camera, in addition to an auto mode in which all exposure conditions are set by a predetermined program in the electronic camera, a mode in which the photographer can photograph under desired exposure conditions (hereinafter, this mode) Is referred to as “manual mode”). The shooting modes in the manual mode include an aperture priority mode, a shutter priority mode, and a manual shooting mode. In this manual mode, the photographer sets the photographing conditions. However, in the manual mode, the exposure conditions are inappropriate (overexposure or underexposure)
In such a case, setting the exposure conditions appropriately may not be easy for a beginner. In addition, electronic cameras include:
Since various operation buttons are provided, it takes time to find a corresponding operation button if the user is not used to the operation.

[0003]

As described above, although the need for photographing in the manual mode has been increasing in the past, there is a problem that it is not easy for a beginner to properly set the exposure conditions.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and has as its object to provide an electronic camera capable of easily setting appropriate exposure conditions in a manual mode.

[0005]

According to the present invention, the following means have been taken in order to solve the above-mentioned problems.

The electronic camera according to the present invention has a display means for displaying first information indicating the set photographing condition, and second information indicating that the photographing condition is not appropriate when the photographing condition is not appropriate; Changing means for changing the photographing condition according to the information. If the shooting conditions are not appropriate, information indicating that fact is displayed, and the shooting conditions are changed according to this information, so that shooting under appropriate shooting conditions in the manual mode is facilitated.

A preferred embodiment of the above electronic camera is as follows.

(1) The change means includes at least one pair of operation keys, and the display means displays one of the pair of operation keys as the second information. As the second information, the operation key of the change means is displayed, so that the change means may be operated in the indicated direction, and attention is paid only to the display means on which the image is displayed, and the operation is performed while looking at the display means. Therefore, an operation for setting appropriate photographing conditions is easy.

(2) The first information is information indicating a set value of at least one of an aperture and a shutter,
The second information is information for instructing an operation for setting a proper exposure condition when the shooting condition is not a proper exposure condition. For exposure conditions as shooting conditions,
Since only the shutter speed and aperture are changed,
Operation is easy.

(3) The display means displays an image based on photographed image data in addition to the first information and the second information. Since the image is also displayed together, it can be more easily visually determined whether the condition is appropriate.

(4) The display means is provided on the back of the electronic camera, and the change means is arranged near the display means. Since the change means is provided near the display means, it is easy to understand the relationship between the second information and the operation of the change means when the photographing condition is inappropriate.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. A schematic configuration of an electronic camera 10 according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

The zoom lens 11a and the focus lens 1
The image of the subject that has passed through the lens unit 11 having the lens 1b and the aperture 11c is converted into an electric signal by the image sensor 12.
The electric signal converted by the image pickup device 12 is converted into an analog image signal by the image pickup circuit 13 and then converted to an A / D converter 14.
Is converted into a digital image signal. Then, the digital image signal is subjected to predetermined processing and recorded via an interface (I / F) 21 in, for example, a detachable detachable memory 20 which is an external memory attached to a card slot (not shown). . Furthermore, A /
The digital image signal from the D converter 14 is input to an AE (automatic exposure) circuit 57 and an AF (automatic focus) circuit 58. The system controller 50, which will be described in detail later, determines whether the exposure and focus are appropriate. Is output to the lens controller 56. The lens unit controller 56 controls the focus lens 11b so that an appropriate image is obtained based on the control signal.
And the aperture 11c.

The electronic camera has a high-speed internal memory 2.
5 (for example, a random access memory (RAM) or the like), which is used as a working memory in image compression / expansion or as a high-speed buffer as a temporary image storage unit.

An electronic camera has a normal image display LC.
A D30 (liquid crystal display device) is mounted, and the image display LCD 30 checks an image recorded in the detachable memory 20 and displays an image to be shot. An image to be displayed is stored in an image display memory (VRA, not shown).
M), and the image display LCD 30 is controlled by the LCD control circuit 31 to display an image. The video signal controlled by the LCD control circuit 31 is also output to a video output terminal (not shown) so that an image can be output to a video display device (not shown) connected to the video output terminal. ing.

The external interface (I / F) 40 is
It sends and receives data to and from an external device (not shown).
It is connected to an external device via an external input / output terminal 41.

The system controller 50 controls the entire electronic camera and includes an image processing circuit 51 and a compression / expansion circuit 52. The image processing circuit 51 performs predetermined image processing of the captured image. The compression / expansion circuit 52 is for compressing the digital image signal and for expanding (expanding) the compressed image signal.

Further, the system controller 50 receives an input from, for example, a release (not shown) of the operation unit 53 and performs imaging. Note that the settings and the like by the operation unit 53 are
A predetermined display is displayed on the D display 54. Further, the system controller 50 controls the strobe 55 to be turned on when the light quantity at the time of imaging the subject is insufficient.

FIG. 2 is an external top view of the electronic camera configured as described above. An operation switch (operation unit 53) and the like are arranged on the back of the electronic camera, and their functions are as follows.

The liquid crystal monitor (image display LCD 30) displays images at the time of reproduction and photographing, as well as image information and photographing information. The control panel (LCD display 54) displays control information such as a shooting mode.

In the vicinity of the liquid crystal monitor 30, various operation switches 53 and a finder 60 are arranged so that various displays or operations can be performed. A card access lamp 61 is provided near a card slot for the removable memory 20.
Is lit when the removable memory 20 is being accessed (when writing to or reading from the removable memory). The viewfinder 60 is used to confirm the image of the subject at the time of photographing or to confirm the auto focus.

The operation switches 53 will be briefly described below. The mode dial 53a is a switch for selecting / switching between power-off, shooting (still image, moving image), and playback modes. The shutter button 53b is a switch for executing photographing. Zoom lever 53
c is a switch for continuously switching between telephoto shooting and wide-angle shooting. The cross button 53d is a switch for selecting a function in a menu mode and changing a shutter speed and an aperture, as described later in detail. The OK button 54e is a switch for saving the function set in the menu mode. The liquid crystal monitor ON / OFF button 54f is a switch for switching ON / OFF of the liquid crystal monitor 30. The menu button 53g is
A switch for displaying a menu screen and performing desired settings. Flash mode switch button / Erase button 5
Reference numeral 3h denotes a switch for switching the flash mode in the case of photographing and for erasing the displayed image in the case of reproduction. The spot / macro switching button / information display button 53i is a switch for switching the photometric method in the case of photographing and displaying image information in the case of reproduction. In the above configuration, the cross key 53d
Is, for example, as shown in FIG. 3, a key having up, down, left, and right arrows. In a menu mode, for a setting item displayed by operating an up / down operation key,
When the cursor moves up and down, or when a left and right key is operated, the cursor moves right and left and details of setting items are displayed.

The operation of the electronic camera according to the present invention configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS. The present invention is characterized in that a display is made such that the photographing condition becomes an appropriate value. In the following description, it is assumed that the aperture adjustment operation is assigned to the left and right keys of the cross key, and the shutter speed adjustment operation is assigned to the up and down keys of the cross key. Also, it is assumed that the shutter speed is increased by operating the up and down keys upward, the shutter speed is decreased by operating the downward keys, the aperture is opened by operating the right and left keys, and the aperture is decreased by operating the left direction. It will be described as an example.

First, the case where the photographing mode is set to the shutter priority mode will be described. In the shutter priority mode, the aperture is fixed at the open position, and only adjustment of the shutter speed is possible. In this case, if the exposure is underexposed when the shutter speed is set to the highest speed (1/800), a display that lowers the shutter speed is displayed as shown in FIG. In (a) of
A downward arrow) is made. The aperture value (F20) is displayed in green, and the shutter speed is displayed in red. Therefore,
Operate the down key of the four-way controller to decrease the shutter speed. In FIG. 4B, since the exposure is still under, the display is performed in which the shutter speed is further reduced from 1/650. Then, if the shutter speed is reduced to 1/250, for example, by the same operation, the exposure becomes appropriate, and the key operation instruction display disappears as shown in FIG. 4C. At the same time, the display of the shutter speed changes from red to green.

Next, when the aperture priority mode is set, for example, the shutter speed is fixed to the highest speed (1/800), and only the aperture adjustment is possible. In this case,
If the exposure is over when the aperture is set to F5.6, a display in which the aperture is reduced as shown in FIG. 5A (in FIG. Arrow)
Is made. Here, the display of the aperture value is red in this case. Therefore, the aperture is reduced by operating the left direction key of the cross key. Then, for example, when the aperture is set to F11, the exposure becomes appropriate, and the key operation instruction display disappears as shown in FIG. 5B. At the same time, the display of the aperture value changes from red to green.

In the manual photographing mode, both the shutter speed and the aperture can be changed. In this case, the aperture is F2.0 and the shutter speed is 1/15.
In the case of, if the exposure is over, the aperture may be stopped down as shown in FIG. 6A (leftward arrow in FIG. 6A) or the shutter speed may be reduced. Since the display (the upward arrow in FIG. 6A) is made, the aperture is stopped down or the shutter speed is reduced. So, if you want to slow down the shutter speed,
As shown in FIGS. 6 (b) and 6 (c), the shutter speed is decreased according to the instruction of the arrow, and for example, the proper exposure is performed at 1/60, so that as shown in FIG. The operation instruction display for changing the aperture and shutter speed disappears. When the aperture is to be reduced, the aperture is reduced according to the instruction of the arrow as shown in (d) of FIG. 6 and (e) of FIG.
For example, since the proper exposure is performed at F4, the operation instruction display for changing the aperture and the shutter speed disappears as shown in FIG.

As described above, in the present invention, when the exposure is not appropriate in the manual mode, the operation direction of the cross key for adjusting the exposure is indicated and displayed, so that the exposure can be easily adjusted. It is possible.

In the above embodiment, only the case where the exposure is under or over in each mode of the manual mode has been described. In such a case, the display is performed by operating the arrow key in the reverse direction. Is performed, exposure adjustment can be performed in the same manner as described above.

Although FIGS. 4 to 6 show only a change instruction display, a shutter speed and an aperture for the sake of explanation, it is needless to say that an image is preferably displayed together.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment of the invention, and the following modifications are possible. Although an arrow indicating the direction of the cross key is displayed on the screen as a key operation instruction display for exposure adjustment, the suitability of exposure may be blinked or a warning may be given by a change in color. Further, for example, when the exposure is underexposed in the shutter priority mode, a message such as "Please reduce the shutter speed" may be displayed. The present invention can be applied to a case where the LCD is not a color display. The present invention can be applied to not only a key operation instruction display similar to the above-described embodiment but also a blink display, a gradation display, and the like.

Further, the operation keys may be clearly indicated by the LED display. In this case, the LED can be attached to the back of the electronic camera, or the LED can be arranged on the cross key so that the LED on the key of the cross key that requires operation is turned on. good.

Further, in the above embodiment, the instruction is displayed on the image display LCD, but the instruction may be displayed on the LCD display 54 which is a control panel. In this case, since the LCD display 54 is not normally a color display, it is a matter of course that the operation instruction is displayed by the blink display or the like as described above.

In the above-described embodiment, the over-exposure and the under-exposure are instructed only by the display, but the warning or instruction may be performed not only by the display but also by voice.
For example, in the case of overexposure shown in FIG. 6A, a warning / instruction such as “Overexposure. Increase the shutter speed or reduce the aperture” may be given.

Of course, various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

[0035]

According to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained.

If the photographing conditions are not appropriate, information to that effect is displayed, and the photographing conditions are changed in accordance with this information. Therefore, photographing under appropriate photographing conditions in the manual mode is facilitated.

Since the operation key of the change means (cross key) is displayed on the assumption that the photographing conditions are not appropriate, the change means may be operated in the indicated direction, and attention is paid only to the display means on which the image is displayed. Since the operation can be performed while watching this, it is easy to perform an operation for setting appropriate photographing conditions.

Further, since only the shutter speed and the aperture are changed for the exposure conditions as the photographing conditions, the operation is easy.

Since the image is also displayed together, it can be more easily visually determined whether the condition is appropriate.

Since the changing means is provided in the vicinity of the display means (display LCD), it is easy to understand the relationship between the information on improper shooting conditions and the operation of the changing means when the shooting conditions are inappropriate.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an electronic camera 10 according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a top and back external view of an electronic camera.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a cross key.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the electronic camera according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the electronic camera according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the electronic camera according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Electronic camera 11 ... Lens part, 11a ... Zoom lens, 11b ... Focus lens, 11c ... Aperture, 12 ... Image sensor, 13 ... Imaging circuit, 14 ... A / D converter, 20 ... Detachable memory, 21 ... Interface ( I / F), 25: Built-in memory, 30: Image display LCD (liquid crystal display), 31: LCD control circuit, 40: External interface (I / F), 41: External input / output terminal, 50: Syscon, 51 ... Image processing circuit, 52: compression / expansion circuit, 53: operation unit, 54: LCD display, 55: strobe, 56: lens unit control unit 57: AE (auto exposure) circuit, 58: AF (auto focus) circuit

──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI theme coat ゛ (Reference) H04N 5/225 H04N 5/225 A FF term (Reference) 2H002 FB02 FB23 FB24 FB52 FB53 FB55 FB81 HA11 JA07 2H054 AA01 2H100 AA11 BB05 CC07 2H102 AA02 AA03 AA22 AA25 5C022 AA13 AB12 AC00 AC03 AC14 AC18 AC31 AC52

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A first information indicating a set photographing condition, and a second information indicating that the photographing condition is not appropriate when the photographing condition is not appropriate.
An electronic camera, comprising: display means for displaying the above information; and changing means for changing the shooting conditions in accordance with the second information. 2. The electronic camera according to claim 1, wherein the change unit includes at least one pair of operation keys, and the display unit displays one of the pair of operation keys as the second information. An electronic camera, characterized in that: 3. The electronic camera according to claim 1, wherein the first information is information indicating a set value of at least one of an aperture and a shutter, and wherein the second information is the photographing. An electronic camera, which is information for instructing an operation for setting an appropriate exposure condition when the condition is not an appropriate exposure condition. 4. The electronic camera according to claim 1, wherein the display unit displays an image based on photographed image data in addition to the first information and the second information. An electronic camera, characterized in that: 5. The electronic camera according to claim 1, wherein the display means is provided on a back surface of the electronic camera, and the changing means is arranged near the display means. Electronic camera featuring.