JP2001209093A - Stroboscope controller of camera - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain the stroboscope controller of a camera which can shorten the interval between synchronous light-emitting photographing using a stroboscope light-emitting device by using alternately a built-in stroboscope light- emitting device and external stroboscope light-emitting device. SOLUTION: The camera has a built-in stroboscope light-emitting device 25, and an external stroboscope light-emitting device 8 can be attached to the camera. When performing photographing using the stroboscope light-emitting device continuously, the built-in stroboscope light-emitting device 25 and external stroboscope light-emitting device 8 are used alternately. While using one of the built-in stroboscope light-emitting device 25 and external stroboscope light- emitting device 8 for photographing, the other is charged. When photographing by using the external stroboscope light-emitting device 8, the external stroboscope light-emitting device 8 is made to emit light for photographing several times, and the built-in stroboscope light-emitting device 25 and the external stroboscope light-emitting device 8 are used alternately.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a strobe control device for a camera having a built-in strobe light emitting device and to which an external strobe light emitting device can be connected. The present invention relates to a digital still camera and a camera using a silver halide film. The present invention is applicable, and is characterized in that it is possible to shorten a photographing interval using a strobe light emitting device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Some cameras and digital still cameras using a silver halide film have a built-in strobe light emitting device for supplementing the light quantity when the luminance of the subject is low. However, the strobe light emitting device built into the camera is limited in the amount of light emission due to various restrictions such as the limited internal space, and the subject distance at the time of shooting must be too long. There is a drawback that you can not.

In order to compensate for the insufficient light quantity of the built-in strobe light emitting device, a camera has been commercialized which can be equipped with an external strobe light emitting device having a large guide number, that is, a large light emitting amount. In this type of camera, an external strobe light emitting device emits light in response to a light emission trigger signal from a camera body synchronized with the opening operation of a shutter of the camera, and thereby, it is possible to shoot with a sufficiently large light amount.

[0004]

However, according to the camera to which the conventional external strobe light emitting device as described above can be attached, once shooting with flashing,
Until the charging of the main capacitor of the strobe light device is completed, the next synchronous flash shooting using the strobe light device cannot be performed, and the shooting interval becomes longer,
There was a problem that a shooting opportunity was missed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art. By alternately using a built-in strobe light emitting device and an external strobe light emitting device, synchronous light emission using the strobe light emitting device is achieved. An object of the present invention is to provide a strobe control device for a camera, which can shorten a photographing interval.

The present invention is also directed to a case where one of the built-in strobe light-emitting device and the external strobe light-emitting device is used for photographing when synchronous light-emitting photographing is to be performed a plurality of times in a relatively short time. It is an object of the present invention to provide a flash control device of a camera which can continuously shoot at a short shooting interval by using a strobe light emitting device. The present invention further provides a camera which uses an external strobe light emitting device preferentially when a plurality of synchronous flash shootings are to be performed in a short period of time, thereby minimizing a load on a power supply of the camera body side. It is intended to provide a strobe control device.

[0007]

According to the first aspect of the present invention,
In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, in a camera having a built-in strobe light emitting device and having an external strobe light emitting device attached thereto, when performing continuous photographing using the strobe light emitting device, the built-in strobe light emitting device and the external strobe light are used. Light emitting devices are used alternately. In the first shooting, shooting is performed using either the built-in strobe light emitting device or the external strobe lighting device, and in the second shooting, shooting is performed using the other strobe light emitting device. Flash photography can be performed continuously without waiting for the time required for charging the capacitor.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, while one of the built-in strobe light emitting device and the external strobe light emitting device is used for photographing, the other is charged, and An external strobe light emitting device is used alternately. In the first shooting, shooting is performed using either the built-in strobe light emitting device or the external strobe lighting device, and in the second shooting, shooting is performed using the other strobe lighting device. The flash device used for shooting was charged, and the third shooting was performed using the flash device used for the first shooting, and the flash used for the second shooting in parallel with this Charge the device. Therefore, it is possible to shorten the photographing interval due to the synchronous emission of the strobe, and it is possible to continuously perform the strobe photographing.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect of the present invention, at the time of photographing using the external strobe light emitting device, the external strobe light emitting device emits light for a plurality of times of photographing,
It is characterized in that the built-in strobe and the external strobe are used alternately. Usually, the external strobe light device is used to compensate for the insufficient light amount of the built-in strobe light device as described above. In many cases, the charged electric power still remains sufficiently due to the light emission amount control. Therefore, when an external strobe light emitting device is used, a plurality of shootings are performed without charging the main condenser every time the shooting is performed. By doing so, you can eliminate the waiting time required for charging the strobe light emitting device,
Strobe synchronous flash photography can be performed continuously.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, when the external strobe light-emitting device and the built-in strobe light-emitting device are alternately used, an external strobe light-emitting device is used for the first photographing, and the second photographing is performed. When using the built-in strobe light device, the external strobe light device is charged at the same time as the built-in strobe light device. It is characterized in that it is not supplied simultaneously from the first power supply. Claim 4
According to the invention described above, power for driving the camera and charging power for the built-in strobe light-emitting device are not simultaneously applied to the power supply on the camera side, so that an overload can be avoided. As a result, the reliability of various controls on the camera body side can be improved, the waiting time required for charging the strobe light emitting device can be shortened, and synchronous flash photography using the strobe can be performed continuously.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, when the external strobe light emitting device and the built-in strobe light emitting device are alternately used, the external strobe light emitting device is used for a plurality of first photographing operations. Use the built-in flash unit to charge the external flash unit at the same time as shooting, and then use the external flash unit to drive the camera and the built-in flash unit for multiple shots. Are not simultaneously supplied from the first power supply. As described above, since the external strobe light emitting device is usually used to compensate for the shortage of light amount of the built-in strobe light emitting device, the charged electric power is often still left even after the synchronous light emission is performed once. Therefore, even in the second and subsequent shootings, shooting is performed using the external strobe light emitting device as it is without being charged each time light emission is performed. For subsequent shootings, use the built-in flash unit to shoot, and in parallel, charge the external flash unit, and for the next shooting, use the external strobe unit multiple times as in the first case Perform In this way, the power supply for the camera does not receive the power for driving the camera and the charging power for the built-in strobe light emitting device at the same time, avoiding overload, and waiting for charging the strobe light emitting device. The time can be shortened, and synchronous flash photography using a strobe can be performed continuously.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a camera having a built-in strobe light emitting device and to which an external strobe light emitting device can be attached, a trigger signal transmitting means for transmitting a trigger signal for causing the external strobe light emitting device to emit light. Charge completion signal transmission means for transmitting the end of charge of the external strobe light emitting device to the camera body,
When performing continuous shooting using strobe light, shoot using the built-in strobe light emitting device or the external strobe light emitting device that has been fully charged, and charge the other strobe light emitting device during this shooting. It is characterized by the following. Check whether the built-in flash unit and the external flash unit have finished charging, and use the one that has been fully charged to take a picture. Then, the previously used strobe light emitting device is charged. In this way, the waiting time required for charging the strobe light emitting device can be shortened, and photographing by synchronous light emission of the strobe light emitting device can be performed continuously.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, when the charging of both the built-in strobe light emitting device and the external strobe light emitting device is completed, the external strobe light emitting device is preferentially used. Features. Check that the built-in flash unit and the external flash unit have finished charging, take a picture using the one that has been charged, and then use the other flash unit to take a picture for the next shot. The flash device used earlier is charged. It checks whether the built-in strobe light emitting device and the external strobe light emitting device have been charged, and if both have been charged, gives priority to the external strobe light emitting device. By doing so, the power consumption of the camera can be reduced,
It is possible to reduce the chances of lowering control reliability and other troubles due to power consumption.

[0014]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a strobe control device for a camera according to the present invention. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of the present invention, and shows an example of a system configuration of a camera having a built-in strobe light emitting device and having an external strobe light emitting device attached thereto.

In FIG. 1, a built-in strobe light emitting device 25 is accommodated in the camera body 1. The built-in strobe light-emitting device 25 includes a light-emitting unit 5 composed of a light-emitting discharge tube, a light-emitting control circuit 4, a boosting circuit 3, a charge end detecting circuit 6, and the like. The light emitting section 5 is connected to a light emission control circuit 4 for controlling the light emission. The light emission control circuit 4 is connected to a booster circuit 3 for generating a high voltage for application to the light emitting unit 5, and the booster circuit 3 is connected to the camera power supply 2. The booster circuit 3 has a DC-DC converter that boosts the voltage of the camera power supply 2 that is a DC power supply to a predetermined voltage, and has a main capacitor that accumulates electric charge with the boosted voltage. The camera power supply 2 is used not only as a power supply for charging the main capacitor of the built-in strobe light emitting device 25 but also as a power supply for driving the system control circuit 7 in the camera body 1 and other systems. Here, the camera power supply 2 is used as a first power supply.

The boosting circuit 3 is connected to a charge end detecting circuit 6. The charge end detection circuit 6 detects when the charge voltage of the main capacitor included in the booster circuit 3 reaches a predetermined voltage, and inputs a charge end signal to the system control circuit 7. System control circuit 7
Outputs a trigger signal in synchronization with the operation of the shutter.
This trigger signal is transmitted to the light emission control circuit 4 via the trigger signal transmitting means 20. The trigger signal is output in synchronization with the opening operation of the shutter if the camera has a mechanical shutter, and is synchronized with the release signal if the camera has electronic release means such as a digital still camera. And output.

The camera body 1 has an external strobe light emitting device 8
Can be attached. In the external strobe light emitting device 8, in addition to the light emitting unit 12, a strobe power supply 9 and a booster circuit 1
0, a light emission control circuit 11, and a charge end detection circuit 13 are built in. The light emitting section 12 is connected to a light emission control circuit 11 for controlling the light emission, and the light emission control circuit 11 is connected to a booster circuit 10 for generating a high voltage applied to the light emitting section 12. It is connected to the.
The booster circuit 10 has the same configuration as the booster circuit 3 of the built-in strobe light emitting device 25, and boosts the voltage of the strobe power supply 9 as a DC power supply to a predetermined voltage.
In addition to having a converter, it has a main capacitor that accumulates electric charge with a boosted voltage. Here, the strobe power supply 9 is a second power supply.

The system control circuit 7 of the camera body 1 has the trigger signal generating means as described above, and transmits the trigger signal generated by the trigger signal generating means to the light emission control circuit 11 of the external strobe light emitting device 8. Signal transmission means 14 is provided. Camera body 1
The light emission control circuit 4 on the side and the light emission control circuit 11 on the side of the external strobe light emitting device 8 apply a high voltage to the trigger electrode of the light emitting portion 12 of the strobe light emitting device composed of, for example, a discharge tube by inputting a trigger signal. 12 is excited, and the electric charge stored in the main capacitor is discharged between the main electrodes to emit light. The trigger signal transmitting means 14 connects the system control circuit 7 of the camera body 1 and the light emission control circuit 11 of the external strobe light emitting device 8 by mounting the external strobe light emitting device 8 on the shoe of the camera body 1. A direct connection method may be used, or a code method for connecting a sync cord to a predetermined connector may be used.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be specifically described. When the main switch of the camera body 1 is turned on and the flash photography mode is set, the camera power supply 2
And the boosting and charging of the main capacitor are started. Then, when the terminal voltage of the main capacitor reaches a prescribed voltage, the charge end detection circuit 6 transmits a charge end signal to the system control circuit 7, and the built-in strobe light emitting device 5 enters a state in which synchronous flash photography is possible.

When the power switch of the external strobe light emitting device 8 is turned on, the strobe power source 9 is supplied to the booster circuit 10, and the booster circuit 10 starts boosting and charging the main capacitor. Then, when the terminal voltage of the main capacitor reaches a prescribed voltage, the external strobe light emitting device 8 is also in a state in which synchronous flash shooting is possible. When the terminal voltage of the main capacitor reaches the specified voltage as described above, the charge completion detection circuit 13 indicates that the charging of the external strobe light emitting device 8 has been completed by a visual display such as lighting of a lamp, or by a sound. Audible display by
Inform camera users by appropriate means.

Here, when the photographer is released to perform photographing, first, only the light emitting section 12 of the external strobe light emitting device 8 emits light in synchronization with the above-mentioned release to perform strobe photographing. When the release is performed to perform the flash photography, only the light emitting unit 5 of the built-in flash light emitting device 25 emits light to perform the flash photography. By doing so, it is possible to continuously perform synchronous flash photography using the strobe without waiting for the time required for charging the main capacitor of the strobe light emitting device.

Further, since the external strobe light emitting device 8 has the strobe power source 9 as the second power source with respect to the camera power source 2 of the camera body 1 as the first power source, the built-in strobe light emitting device 25 is While the used flash photography is being performed, the main condenser on the side of the external flash light emitting device 8 is charged. Similarly, when flash photography using the external flash emission device 8 is performed in order to perform flash synchronization photography after the synchronous flash photography using the built-in flash emission device 25, the built-in flash emission is performed during that time. The main capacitor of the device 25 is charged. By doing so, the external strobe light emitting device 8 can be used for the next shooting, and strobe shooting can be performed continuously.

In this embodiment, an example is described in which the external strobe light emitting device 8 is used first, but the built-in strobe light emitting device 25 may be used first. Further, since the external strobe light emitting device 8 is usually used to compensate for the shortage of the light amount of the built-in strobe light emitting device 25, the light amount is larger than that of the built-in strobe light emitting device 25. Therefore, in order to obtain the amount of light required for proper exposure, it is often sufficient to consume only a part of the accumulated charge in the main capacitor. There are many. Therefore, in the flash photography using the external flash light emitting device 8, a plurality of flash photography is performed without charging for each photography. This eliminates the waiting time required for charging the strobe light-emitting device, and enables continuous shooting. Further, power for driving the camera and charging power for the built-in strobe light-emitting device 25 are not simultaneously applied to the power supply 2 on the camera side, so that an overload can be avoided. As a result, the reliability of various controls on the camera body 1 side can be improved, the waiting time required for charging the strobe light emitting device can be shortened, and synchronous flash photography using the strobe can be performed continuously. .

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 2 will be described. This embodiment is different from the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 in that the output of the charge end detection circuit 13 of the external strobe light emitting device 8 is output from the system control circuit 7 of the camera body 1.
Is different in that a charge end signal transmitting means 15 for transmitting the signal to the terminal is added. The other configuration is the same as that of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, and therefore, the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description will be avoided as much as possible.

With the configuration as shown in the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the system control circuit 7 of the camera body 1 can grasp the charging state of both the built-in strobe light emitting device 25 and the external strobe light emitting device 8, When the camera is released for flash photography, the built-in flash emission device 25
Then, the charge completion detection signal of the external strobe light emitting device 8 is fetched, and the synchronous light emission photographing can be performed by using the charged one. When performing subsequent continuous strobe shooting, as in the first embodiment, shooting is performed using a strobe light emitting device different from the previously used strobe light emitting device. Charge the strobe light-emitting device used in the above.

As described above, according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, it is possible to continuously perform photographing by the synchronous light emission of the strobe light-emitting device, and also to use the built-in strobe light-emitting device
5 and the external strobe light emitting device 8 can be used after confirming which one has been charged.
Synchronous flash photography without failure can be performed.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, it is checked whether the built-in strobe light-emitting device 25 and the external strobe light-emitting device 8 have been charged. If both of the charged devices have been charged, the external strobe light-emitting device 8 is given priority. To use. By doing so, it is possible to suppress the consumption of the power supply 2 on the camera body 1 side, and it is possible to reduce the chances of lowering the reliability of the camera control due to the consumption of the power supply 2 and other troubles.

[0028]

As described above, according to the present invention,
The following effects can be obtained in photographing using a strobe light emitting device of a camera having a built-in strobe light emitting device and capable of attaching an external strobe light emitting device.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the photographing is performed by using the built-in strobe light emitting device and the external strobe light emitting device alternately, continuous strobe photographing can be performed without waiting time due to strobe charging. Can be.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the photographing is performed by using the built-in strobe light emitting device and the external strobe light emitting device alternately, and the previously used strobe light emitting device is charged during the flash photographing. Therefore, continuous strobe photography can be performed without the waiting time required for charging the strobe light emitting device.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the photographing is performed using the built-in strobe light emitting device and the external strobe light emitting device alternately, and the photographing is performed a plurality of times when photographing using the external strobe light emitting device. In addition, since the previously used strobe light emitting device is charged during the strobe shooting, continuous strobe shooting can be performed without the waiting time required for charging the strobe light emitting device.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, an external strobe light emitting device is used for the first strobe photographing, a built-in strobe light emitting device is used for the second strobe photographing, and the external strobe light emitting device is charged at the same time. In addition, by using an external flash light emitting device, shooting can be performed continuously without any excessive load on the camera power supply and without the waiting time required for charging the flash light emitting device. .

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, an external strobe light emitting device is used in the first plurality of flash shootings, and a built-in strobe light emitting device is used in the next strobe shooting.
At the same time, the external strobe light was charged, and in the subsequent multiple flash shootings, shooting was performed using the external strobe light, so that the strobe could be charged without imposing an excessive load on the camera power supply. Continuous strobe photography can be performed without the necessary waiting time.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, since the charging states of the built-in strobe light-emitting device and the external strobe light-emitting device can be detected, it is possible to use the one whose charging has been completed when using flash photography. Thus, synchronous flash photography can be performed more reliably. Also, by using the built-in strobe light emitting device and the external strobe light emitting device alternately to shoot, and by charging the previously used strobe light emitting device during flash shooting, it is necessary to charge the strobe Continuous flash photography can be performed without a long waiting time.

According to the invention of claim 7, in the invention of claim 6, when both the built-in strobe light emitting device and the external strobe light emitting device have been charged, the external strobe light emitting device is preferentially used. As a result, the power consumption of the camera can be suppressed, and the reliability of control due to the consumption of the power and the chance of occurrence of other troubles can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a flash control device for a camera according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 illustrates a camera strobe control device according to the present invention.
It is a block diagram showing another embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Camera main body 2 First power supply 3 Boost circuit 4 Light emission control circuit 5 Light emitting unit 6 Charge completion detection circuit 7 System control circuit 8 External strobe light emitting device 9 Second power supply 10 Boost circuit 11 Light emission control circuit 12 Light emitting unit 13 Charge end Detection circuit 14 trigger signal transmission means 25 built-in strobe light emitting device

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A camera body having a built-in strobe light emitting device, a first power supply provided in the camera body for driving the built-in strobe light emitting device and electrical components of the camera body, and a first power supply attached to the camera body. A possible external strobe light emitting device, a second power supply for driving the external strobe light emitting device, connecting the camera body to the external strobe light emitting device, and transmitting a trigger signal for causing the external strobe light emitting device to emit light. When a trigger signal transmitting means is provided and continuous photographing using a strobe light emitting device is performed,
A flash control device for a camera, wherein a built-in flash device and an external flash device are used alternately. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein one of the built-in strobe light emitting device and the external strobe light emitting device is used for photographing while the other is charged, and the built-in strobe light emitting device and the external strobe light emitting device are used alternately. 2. A flash control device for a camera according to claim 1. 3. The photographing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the external strobe light emitting device emits light for a plurality of times of photographing using the external strobe light emitting device, and the built-in strobe light emitting device and the external strobe light emitting device are used alternately. Camera strobe control device. 4. When an external strobe light emitting device and a built-in strobe light emitting device are alternately used, an external strobe light emitting device is used for the first photographing, and the external strobe light emitting device is used for the second photographing. In the third shooting, an external strobe light emitting device is used so that the power for driving the camera and the power for charging the built-in strobe light emitting device are not simultaneously supplied from the first power supply. 2. The flash control device for a camera according to claim 1, wherein: 5. When an external strobe light emitting device and a built-in strobe light emitting device are alternately used, an external strobe light emitting device is used for a plurality of first photographing operations, and the built-in strobe light emitting device is used for subsequent photographing, and at the same time, an external strobe light emitting device is used. Charge the device and use the external strobe light device for multiple subsequent shootings so that the power for driving the camera and the power for charging the built-in strobe light device are not supplied simultaneously from the first power supply. 2. The flash control device for a camera according to claim 1, wherein: 6. A camera main body in which a built-in strobe light emitting device is housed, a first power supply provided in the camera main body for driving the built-in strobe light emitting device and the camera main body, and attachable to the camera main body. An external strobe light emitting device, a second power supply for driving the external strobe light emitting device, and connecting the camera body to the external strobe light emitting device to transmit a trigger signal for causing the external strobe light emitting device to emit light. A trigger signal transmitting unit; and a charging end signal transmitting unit for transmitting the end of charging of the external strobe light emitting device to the camera body. When continuously performing photographing using strobe light emission, the built-in strobe light emitting device and the external strobe light are used. Photographing is performed by using the charged one of the light emitting devices, and the other strobe light emitting device is charged during the photographing. Camera strobe control device. 7. The strobe control device for a camera according to claim 6, wherein when both the built-in strobe light emitting device and the external strobe light emitting device have been charged, the external strobe light emitting device is used preferentially.