JP2001264622A - Automatic focusing device, digital camera, portable information input device, focusing position detecting method and computer readable recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an automatic focusing device capable of accurately detecting a focusing position in a short time. SOLUTION: This automatic focusing device is equipped with a lens system 101 including a focus lens system 101a forming a subject image at a specified position, a CCD 103 picking up the subject image inputted through the lens system 101 and outputting image data, and a CPU 121 deciding a final focusing position based on the detected results by CCD-AF and external AF. The CCD-AF and the external AF nearly simultaneously act when a release key is operated.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to an automatic focusing device,
Regarding a digital camera, a portable information input device, a focus position detection method, and a computer-readable recording medium,
More specifically, the present invention relates to an automatic focusing device that detects a focusing position by an external AF and a CCD-AF, a digital camera, a portable information input device, a focusing position detection method, and a computer-readable recording medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional AF method of an electronic still camera, a CCD-AF method in which a focus peak is detected by a luminance signal accumulated in a CCD while driving a CCD or a focus lens in an optical axis direction, or a triangulation method. Was used alone.

[0003]

However, the above C
The CD-AF method drives a CCD or a focus lens from infinity to the closest as shown in FIG.
Since it is a method of finding a peak of focus, there is a problem that it takes time to detect a focus position. In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the CCD-AF method uses the configuration shown in FIG.
As shown in (a), rough sampling is performed from infinity to the closest distance to detect a rough focus position, and then, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 6 (b), a method has been proposed in which fine sampling is performed near the approximate focus position to detect the final focus position. According to this method, the time for detecting the in-focus position can be shortened slightly, but it is not sufficient.

In the CCD-AF system, a high-luminance object (light bulb, candle flame,
If there is a reflective signboard, etc.), there is a problem that the focus mountain cannot be found and the subject is in focus. Furthermore, there is a problem that even in a dark scene, there is a possibility that the image may be in-focus.
Further, in the above-described triangulation method, there is a problem that a parallax shift in the distance measurement on the closest distance side is likely to occur, and the performance on the telephoto side is low.

The present invention has been made in view of the above, and an object of the present invention is to provide an automatic focusing apparatus and a focusing position detecting method capable of accurately detecting a focusing position in a short time. I do.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a lens system including a focus lens for forming an image of a subject at a predetermined position, and an input system via the lens system. An imaging unit that captures a subject image to be output and outputs image data, a shooting operation member for instructing execution of shooting, and using the imaging unit to move the lens system near a reference position. First focus position detecting means for detecting a focus position, and second focus detecting means for detecting a distance to a subject to detect a focus position of the lens system by using a photoelectric conversion means different from the imaging means. And a focus position for determining a final focus position based on the focus positions detected by the first focus position detection device and the second focus position detection device. Determining means, wherein the photographing operation member is operated. If it is, but to substantially operate simultaneously with the first focus position detecting means and the second focus position detecting means.

According to the above invention, the lens system forms a subject image at a predetermined position, the imaging means captures the subject image input via the lens system, and outputs image data.
The in-focus position detecting means detects the in-focus position by moving the lens system near the reference position using the imaging means, and the second in-focus position detecting means uses a photoelectric conversion means different from the imaging means. Is used to detect the distance to the subject to detect the focus position of the lens system, and the focus position determination means is detected by the first focus position detection means and the second focus position detection means. A final in-focus position is determined based on the in-focus position, and the first in-focus position detecting means and the second
And the focusing position detecting means are operated substantially simultaneously.

[0008] The invention according to claim 2 is based on claim 1.
In the present invention, the reference position is a current position of the lens system. According to the above invention, the current position of the lens system is set as the reference position of the first focus position detecting means.

The invention according to claim 3 is based on claim 1.
In the invention according to the invention, a recording means is provided for recording a focus position at that time for each photographing, and the reference position is calculated based on a plurality of focus positions recorded in the recording means. According to the above invention, the in-focus position at that time is recorded for each photographing, and the in-focus position of the first in-focus position detecting means is calculated based on the plurality of recorded in-focus positions.

[0010] The invention according to claim 4 is the invention according to claim 1.
And a mode selection unit for selecting one mode from a plurality of modes according to the type of the subject, wherein the reference position is a position corresponding to the mode selected by the mode selection unit. And According to the above invention, a position corresponding to a mode selected from a plurality of modes according to the type of the subject is set as the reference position of the first focus position detecting means.

[0011] The invention according to claim 5 is based on claim 1.
In the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 4, the distance measurement result obtained by the second focus position detection means is obtained by determining a shooting distance corresponding to the reference position of the first focus position detection means and a predetermined value. In the case of the above difference, the first in-focus position detecting means interrupts the in-focus position detecting operation at that time, and sets the reference position to the in-focus position detected by the second in-focus position detecting means. After resetting, the focus position is detected again.

According to the invention, when the distance measurement result obtained by the second in-focus position detecting means is different from the photographing distance corresponding to the reference position of the first in-focus position detecting means by a predetermined value or more, At this time, the first focus position detecting means interrupts the focus position detecting operation, resets the reference position to the focus position detected by the second focus position detecting means, and Rerun discovery.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a lens system including a focus lens for forming a subject image at a predetermined position, and an image of the subject input through the lens system is taken to output image data. Using an imaging unit, a shooting operation member for instructing execution of shooting, and the imaging unit,
Using a first focus position detection unit that moves the lens system near the reference position to detect a focus position, and a photoelectric conversion unit different from the imaging unit to detect the distance to the subject A second focus position detecting means for detecting a focus position of the lens system; and a final focus position based on the focus positions detected by the first focus position detection means and the second focus position detection means. Focusing position determining means for determining an in-focus position, wherein the second focusing position detecting means measures the distance to the subject at predetermined time intervals prior to the operation of the imaging operation member. When the distance measuring process is performed and the photographing operation member is operated, the first in-focus position detecting means detects the second focus position.
And performing an operation of detecting the in-focus position using the in-focus position detected by the in-focus position detecting means as the reference position.

According to the above invention, the lens system forms the subject image at a predetermined position, the imaging means captures the subject image input via the lens system, outputs image data, and performs the first focusing. The position detection means uses the imaging means to move the lens system near the reference position to detect the focus position, and the second focus position detection means uses a photoelectric conversion means different from the imaging means. Detecting the distance to the subject to detect the in-focus position of the lens system, the in-focus position determining means detects the in-focus position detected by the first in-focus position detecting means and the second in-focus position detecting means The final in-focus position is determined based on the above, and prior to the operation of the photographing operation member, the second in-focus position detecting means executes a distance measuring process of measuring a distance to the subject at predetermined time intervals. When the photographing operation member is operated, the first in-focus position detecting means detects the second in-focus position. The detected in-focus position 置検 detecting means executes an operation of detecting the focus position as the reference position.

The invention according to claim 7 is based on claim 6.
In the present invention, the second in-focus position detecting means executes a distance measuring process of measuring a distance to a subject at predetermined time intervals when the power is turned on. According to the above invention, the second in-focus position detecting means uses the power supply of O
When N is determined, a distance measurement process for measuring the distance to the subject is performed at predetermined time intervals.

The invention according to claim 8 is the invention according to claim 6.
In the present invention, the second in-focus position detecting means executes a distance measuring process of measuring a distance to a subject at a predetermined time interval when detecting that the grip portion of the main body is gripped. Things. According to the above invention, the second in-focus position detecting means executes the distance measuring process of measuring the distance to the subject at a predetermined time interval when detecting that the grip of the main body is gripped. .

The invention according to claim 9 is the invention according to claim 6.
In the present invention, the reference position is calculated based on a plurality of latest distance measurement results detected by the second focus position detection unit before the photographing operation member is operated. . According to the above invention, the reference position of the first in-focus position detecting means is determined based on the results of a plurality of latest distance measurements detected by the second in-focus position detecting means before the photographing operation member is operated. calculate.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the sixth to ninth aspects, the second in-focus position detecting means performs a distance measurement process. When the photographing operation member is operated, the distance measurement process is stopped and the distance measurement process is executed again, and the focus position determination unit performs the distance measurement result obtained by performing the distance measurement process again. Is used to determine the final focus position.
According to the above invention, when the photographing operation member is operated while the second in-focus position detecting means is performing the distance measuring process, the distance measuring process is stopped and the distance measuring process is executed again. Then, the focus position determination means uses the distance measurement result obtained by performing the distance measurement process again to determine the final focus position.

According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the sixth to ninth aspects, the second in-focus position detecting means performs a distance measuring process. When the photographing operation member is operated, the distance measurement processing is continued, and the focus position determination unit uses the distance measurement result obtained in the distance measurement processing to determine a final focus position. To use. According to the invention, when the photographing operation member is operated while the second focus position detecting means is performing the distance measuring process, the distance measuring process is continued, and the focus position determining means is The distance measurement result obtained in the distance measurement processing is used for determining the final focus position.

According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the first to eleventh aspects, the in-focus position determining means determines a distance measurement result by the second in-focus position detecting means. If the shooting distance corresponding to the in-focus position detected by the first in-focus position detecting means is different by a predetermined value or more, the first in-focus operation is performed based on information on the reliability of the two in accordance with the subject. The focus result of the position detection means or the second focus position detection means is determined as a final focus position. According to the invention, the in-focus position determining means determines the distance measurement result by the second in-focus position detecting means and the photographing distance corresponding to the in-focus position detected by the first in-focus position detecting means. If the values differ by more than the value, the in-focus position detected by the first in-focus position detecting means or the second in-focus position detecting means based on the information on the reliability of the two is changed to the final in-focus position according to the subject. Is determined.

The invention according to claim 13 is the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 11,
The in-focus position detecting means is different from the distance measurement result by the second in-focus position detecting means and a shooting distance corresponding to the in-focus position detected by the first in-focus position detecting means by a predetermined value or more. In this case, the in-focus position detected by the first in-focus position detecting means is determined as a final in-focus position. According to the invention, the in-focus position detection means determines the distance measurement result by the second in-focus position detection means and the shooting distance corresponding to the in-focus position detected by the first in-focus position detection means. If they differ by more than the value, the in-focus position detected by the first in-focus position detecting means is determined as the final in-focus position.

The invention according to claim 14 is the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 13,
The second in-focus position detecting means detects the distance to the subject by a passive distance measuring sensor. According to the above invention, the second in-focus position detecting means detects the distance to the subject by the passive distance measuring sensor.

According to a fifteenth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to the fourteenth aspect, the passive distance measuring sensor includes a first detecting means for detecting a contrast difference in a horizontal direction with respect to the subject, And a second detecting means for detecting a contrast difference in the vertical direction with respect to. According to the above invention, in the passive distance measuring sensor, the first detecting means detects a contrast difference in the horizontal direction with respect to the subject, and the second detecting means detects a contrast difference in the vertical direction with respect to the subject. I do.

The invention according to claim 16 is an application of the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 15. According to the above invention, claims 1 to 15 are provided.
The automatic focusing device according to any one of the above was applied to a digital camera.

Further, the invention according to claim 17 is an application of the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 15. According to the above invention, claims 1 to 15 are provided.
The automatic focusing device according to any one of the above was applied to a portable information input device.

According to an eighteenth aspect of the present invention, in a focus position detecting method for detecting a focus position on a subject of a lens system including a focus lens system, photoelectric conversion means different from the imaging means is used. A first step of detecting a focus position of the lens system by detecting a distance from the lens system, and detecting the focus position by moving the lens system near a reference position using the imaging unit. A second step; and a third step of determining a final in-focus position based on the in-focus position detected in the first step and the second step. The first step and the second step are executed substantially simultaneously when a photographing operation member for performing the operation is operated.

According to the above invention, in the in-focus position detecting method for detecting the in-focus position of the lens system with respect to the subject, in the first step, the distance to the subject is determined by using photoelectric conversion means different from the imaging means. Is detected to detect the in-focus position of the lens system. In the second step, the in-focus position is detected by moving the lens system in the vicinity of the reference position using the imaging means. Then, based on the in-focus positions detected in the first step and the second step, a final in-focus position is determined, and when an imaging operation member for instructing imaging is operated, The first step and the second step are executed substantially simultaneously.

According to a nineteenth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to the eighteenth aspect, the reference position is a current position of the lens system. According to the invention, the current position of the lens system is set as the reference position.

According to a twentieth aspect of the present invention, in accordance with the eighteenth aspect of the present invention, the method further includes the step of recording a focus position at each time of photographing, wherein the reference position is determined by the plurality of recorded focus positions. It was decided to calculate based on the position. According to the above invention, the in-focus position at that time is recorded for each photographing, and the reference position is calculated based on the plurality of recorded in-focus positions.

The invention according to claim 21 is the invention according to claim 18, further comprising a step of selecting one mode from a plurality of modes according to the type of the subject,
The reference position is a position corresponding to the selected mode. According to the invention, a position corresponding to a mode selected from a plurality of modes corresponding to the type of the subject is set as the reference position.

According to a twenty-second aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the eighteenth to twenty-first aspects, in the second step, the result of the distance measurement in the first step is the reference position. If the focus distance differs from the shooting distance corresponding to the predetermined distance by a predetermined value or more, the focus position detection operation is interrupted at that time, and the reference position is reset to the focus position detected in the first step, and the focus position is detected. The focus position is detected again. According to the invention, in the second step, the distance measurement result in the first step is:
If the shooting distance differs from the shooting distance corresponding to the reference position by a predetermined value or more, the focus position detection operation is interrupted at that point, and the reference position is reset to the focus position detected in the first step. Re-detect the focus position.

According to a twenty-third aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the eighteenth to twenty-second aspects, in the third step, the result of the distance measurement in the first step and the second If the shooting distance corresponding to the in-focus position detected in step 2 is different from the shooting distance by a predetermined value or more,
The in-focus result of the first step or the second step is determined as a final in-focus position based on information on the reliability of both. According to the above invention, in the third step,
If the distance measurement result in the first step and the shooting distance corresponding to the in-focus position detected in the second step are different from each other by a predetermined value or more,
According to the subject, the focusing result of the first step or the second step is determined as the final focusing position based on the information on the reliability of both.

According to a twenty-fourth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the eighteenth to twenty-second aspects, in the third step, the result of the distance measurement in the first step and the second If the shooting distance corresponding to the focus position detected in the second step is different from the shooting distance by a predetermined value or more, the focus position detected in the second step is determined as the final focus position. According to the above invention, in the third step, if the distance measurement result in the first step and the shooting distance corresponding to the in-focus position detected in the second step are different by a predetermined value or more, the second step The in-focus position detected in the process is determined as a final in-focus position.

According to a twenty-fifth aspect of the present invention, in the in-focus position detecting method for detecting the in-focus position of the lens system with respect to the subject, a predetermined time is provided before the operation of the photographing operation member for instructing photographing. A first step of detecting the distance to the subject by using a photoelectric conversion unit different from the imaging unit at intervals; and, when the photographing operation member is operated, the distance measurement result of the first step is calculated. A second step of calculating a reference position using the imaging means, and using the imaging means to move the lens system near the reference position calculated in the second step to detect a focus position. A third step, a fourth step of detecting a distance to a subject by using the photoelectric conversion means to detect a focus position of the lens system, a third step, and the fourth step Based on the focus position detected at
And a fifth step of determining a final in-focus position, wherein the third step and the fourth step are executed substantially simultaneously.

According to the above invention, in the first step, prior to the operation of the photographing operation member for instructing the photographing, the photoelectric conversion means different from the imaging means is used at a predetermined time interval, and In the second step, when the photographing operation member is operated, a reference position is calculated using the distance measurement result of the first step, and in the third step, the image pickup operation is performed. Means for moving the lens system near the reference position calculated in the second step to detect a focus position,
In the fourth step, the distance to the subject is detected by using the photoelectric conversion means to detect the in-focus position of the lens system.
In the step, the final in-focus position is determined based on the in-focus positions detected in the third step and the fourth step.
And the fourth step are executed substantially simultaneously.

In the invention according to claim 26, in the invention according to claim 24, the first step is performed when the power is turned on. According to the invention, the first step is executed when the power is turned on.

According to a twenty-seventh aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to the twenty-fifth aspect, the first step is executed when it is detected that the grip of the main body is gripped. According to the above-described invention, the first step is executed when it is detected that the grip portion of the main body is gripped.

According to a twenty-eighth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the twenty-fifth to twenty-seventh aspects, in the second step, the reference position is set by operating the photographing operation member. The calculation is performed based on a plurality of recent distance measurement results detected in the first step before. According to the invention, in the second step, the reference position is calculated based on a plurality of latest distance measurement results detected in the first step before the photographing operation member is operated.

According to a twenty-ninth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the twenty-fifth to twenty-eighth aspects, in the first step, while performing the distance measuring process,
When the photographing operation member is operated, the distance measurement process is stopped. According to the invention, in the first step, if the photographing operation member is operated during the distance measurement processing, the distance measurement processing is stopped.

According to a thirtieth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the twenty-fifth to twenty-eighth aspects, in the first step, while performing the distance measuring process,
When the photographing operation member is operated, the distance measurement processing is continued, and in the fifth step, the distance measurement result obtained in the distance measurement processing is used to determine a final focus position. Is what you do. According to the invention, in the first step, when the photographing operation member is operated during the distance measurement processing, the distance measurement processing is continued, and in the fifth step, the distance measurement is performed. The distance measurement result obtained in the processing is used for determining the final focus position.

The invention according to claim 31 is the invention according to any one of claims 25 to 30, wherein in the fifth step, the distance measurement result of the fourth step and If the shooting distance corresponding to the in-focus position detected in step 3 is different from the shooting distance by a predetermined value or more,
The third step or the in-focus result of the third step is determined as a final in-focus position based on information on reliability of both. According to the invention, in the fifth step,
If the distance measurement result in the fourth step and the shooting distance corresponding to the in-focus position detected in the third step are different by a predetermined value or more,
According to the subject, the focusing result of the third step or the fourth step is determined as the final focusing position based on the information on the reliability of both.

The invention according to claim 32 is the invention according to claims 25 to 30, wherein in the fifth step, the distance measurement result of the fourth step and the detection of the distance measurement result in the third step are performed. If the photographing distance corresponding to the obtained focusing position differs by a predetermined value or more, the focusing position detected in the third step is determined as the final focusing position. According to the invention, in the fifth step, when the distance measurement result in the fourth step and the photographing distance corresponding to the in-focus position detected in the third step are different by a predetermined value or more, the third step The in-focus position detected in the process is determined as a final in-focus position.

According to a thirty-third aspect of the present invention, a program for causing a computer to execute each step of the invention according to any one of the eighteenth to thirty-second aspects is recorded. According to the above invention, each step of the invention according to any one of claims 18 to 32 is realized by executing a program recorded on a recording medium by a computer.

[0044]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS With reference to the accompanying drawings, preferred embodiments of an automatic focusing device, a digital camera, a portable information input device, a focusing position detecting method, and a computer-readable recording medium according to the present invention will be described below. Embodiments will be described in detail.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a digital camera to which an automatic focusing device and a focusing position detecting method according to the present invention are applied. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 100 denotes a digital camera. The digital camera 100 includes a lens system 101, a mechanical mechanism 102 including an aperture / filter unit, and a CCD 10.
3. CDS circuit 104, variable gain amplifier (AGC amplifier) 105, A / D converter 106, IPP 107, DC
T108, coder 109, MCC110, DRAM1
11, PC card interface 112, CPU12
1, display unit 122, operation unit 123, SG (control signal generation) unit 126, strobe device 127, battery 128,
It includes a DC-DC converter 129, an EEPROM 130, a focus driver 131, a pulse motor 132, a zoom driver 133, a pulse motor 134, a motor driver 135, and an external AF sensor 136. A removable PC card 150 is connected via the PC card interface 112.

The lens unit includes a mechanical system 102 including a lens system 101, a diaphragm and a filter unit, and the mechanical shutter of the mechanical system 102 performs simultaneous exposure of two fields. The lens system 101 is formed of, for example, a varifocal lens, and includes a focus lens system 101a and a zoom lens system 101b.

The focus driver 131 is connected to the CPU 12
1 according to the control signal supplied from the
2 to move the focus lens system 101a in the optical axis direction. The zoom driver 133 includes a CPU 121
Pulse motor 134 according to a control signal supplied from
To move the zoom lens system 101b in the optical axis direction. In addition, the motor driver 135 includes the CPU 121
The mechanical mechanism 102 is driven in accordance with a control signal supplied from the controller, and for example, an aperture value of the aperture is set.

The CCD (Charge Coupled Device) 103 converts an image input via the lens unit into an electric signal (analog image data). The CDS (correlated double sampling) circuit 104 is a circuit for reducing noise in the CCD type image pickup device.

The AGC amplifier 105 corrects the level of the signal correlated double-sampled by the CDS circuit 104. The gain of the AGC amplifier 105 is determined by the CPU 1
21 allows the setting data (control voltage) to be transferred to the AGC amplifier 1 via a D / A converter built in the CPU 121.
05 is set. A / D
The converter 106 converts analog image data input from the CCD 103 via the AGC amplifier 105 into digital image data. That is, the output signal of the CCD 103 is converted into a digital signal at the optimum sampling frequency (for example, an integer multiple of the subcarrier frequency of the NTSC signal) by the A / D converter 106 via the CDS circuit 104 and the AGC amplifier 105. Is done.

The digital signal processor IPP
(Image Pre-Processor) 107, DCT (Discrete Cos
ine Transform) 108 and coder (Huffman Enco
A der / Decoder) 109 performs various processes on the digital image data input from the A / D converter 106 into color difference (Cb, Cr) and luminance (Y), and performs data processing for correction and image compression / decompression. Apply. The DCT 108 and the coder 109 perform, for example, orthogonal transformation / inverse orthogonal transformation, which is a process of image compression / decompression conforming to JPEG, and JPEG
Huffman coding, which is a process of image compression and decompression based on
Perform decryption and the like.

Further, an MCC (Memory Card Controlle)
r) 110, temporarily stores the compressed image and stores the compressed image in the PC card 150 via the PC card interface 112.
Or read from the PC card 150.

The CPU 121 uses the RAM as a work area in accordance with a program stored in the ROM, and controls all operations inside the digital camera in accordance with an instruction from the operation unit 123 or an external operation instruction such as a remote controller (not shown). . Specifically, the CPU 121 performs an imaging operation, an automatic exposure (AE) operation, an automatic white balance (AWB)
It controls the adjustment operation and the AF operation. Operation unit 1 described above
Reference numeral 23 is provided with a release key for the operator to instruct shooting.

The camera power source is a battery 128, for example, a NiCd, nickel hydrogen, lithium battery, or the like.
It is input to the C-DC converter 129 and supplied to the inside of the digital camera.

The display unit 122 is implemented by an LCD, LED, EL, or the like, and displays photographed digital image data, decompressed recorded image data, and the like. Operation unit 1
Reference numeral 23 includes a release key for giving a shooting instruction, a button for performing function selection and other various settings from the outside, and the like. The CPU 121 executes an AF operation or the like when the release key is half-pressed and RL-1 is turned on, and executes a photographing operation when the release key is fully depressed and RL-2 is turned on. The EEPROM 130 has a CP
Adjustment data and the like used when the U121 controls the operation of the digital camera are written.

The above digital camera 100 (CPU 1
21) converts image data obtained by imaging a subject into a PC
Recording Mode for Recording on Card 150 and PC Card 15
The display mode includes a display mode for displaying image data recorded at 0, a monitoring mode for directly displaying captured image data on the display unit 122, and the like.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a specific configuration of the IPP 107. As shown in FIG. 2, the IPP 107 separates the digital image data input from the A / D converter 106 into R, G, and B color components.
A signal interpolation unit 1072 for interpolating the separated R, G, B image data, a pedestal adjustment unit 1073 for adjusting the black level of each of the R, G, B image data, and each of the R, B images A white balance adjustment unit 1074 for adjusting the white level of the data; a digital gain adjustment unit 1075 for correcting each of the R, G, and B image data with a gain set by the CPU 121; a gamma conversion unit 1076 for performing γ conversion, a matrix unit 1077 for separating RGB image data into color difference signals (Cb, Cr) and a luminance signal (Y), a color difference signal (Cb, Cr), and a luminance signal (Y) And generates a video signal based on the
And a video signal processing unit 1078 for outputting to the P.22.

Further, the IPP 107 includes a Y operation unit 1079 for detecting the luminance data (Y) of the image data after the pedestal adjustment by the pedestal adjustment unit 1073, and a Y operation unit 1
079, a BPF 1080 that passes only a predetermined frequency component of the luminance data (Y) detected, and an integrated value of the luminance data (Y) that has passed through the BPF 1080 is used as an AF evaluation value as C value.
An AF evaluation value circuit 1081 that outputs to the PU 121, an AE evaluation value circuit 1082 that outputs to the CPU 121 a digital count value corresponding to the luminance data (Y) detected by the Y operation unit 1079 as an AE evaluation value, and a white balance adjustment unit 1074 Calculation unit 1083 for detecting the luminance data (Y) of each of the R, G, and B image data after the adjustment, and the luminance data (Y) of each color detected by the Y calculation unit 1083 are counted, and AWB of each color is counted. CPU 12 as an evaluation value
AWB evaluation value circuit 1084 for outputting to CPU 1 and CPU 12
CPU I / F 1085 which is an interface with
And DC which is an interface with DCT 108
A TI / F 1086 and the like are provided.

The external AF sensor 136 shown in FIG. 1 is a passive type distance measuring sensor for measuring the distance to a subject. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of the external AF sensor. The external AF sensor 136 includes a lens 151, a photosensor array 152a (left sensor), 152b (right sensor), and an arithmetic circuit (not shown). The principle of distance measurement of the external AF sensor 136 will be described with reference to FIGS. In FIG. 3, the distance to the subject is d, the distance between the lens 151 and the photosensor array 152a (left sensor), 152b (right sensor) is f, the photosensor array 152a (left sensor), 1
The width of the light input to 52b (right sensor) is X
1, X2, photosensor array 152 on which light is incident
Assuming that the distance between a and 152b is B, the distance d from the front surface of the external AF sensor 136 to the subject can be calculated by triangulation as d = B · f / (X1 + X2). FIG.
Indicates the subject image of the left and right photo sensor arrays, and the arithmetic circuit calculates the distance d of the subject by integrating the amount of light of the subject image of each photo sensor array and calculating the shift between the left and right sensor data. , To the CPU 121.

In this specification, the external AF sensor 13
The operation of detecting the in-focus position using 6 is called external AF, and the operation of detecting the in-focus position using CCD 103 is called CCD-AF (internal AF). In CCD-AF,
By moving the focus lens system 101a, the CCD 103
An AF evaluation value indicating the contrast of the subject corresponding to the image signal output from the AF is sampled, and a hill-climbing servo method is used in which a peak position of the AF evaluation value is set as a focus position.
Performing AF using external AF and CCD-AF is called hybrid AF.

Next, the AF of the digital camera having the above configuration will be described.
An operation example (operation example 1 and operation example 2) relating to the above will be described. An operation example 1 shows an operation example when the CCD-AF and the external AF are executed substantially simultaneously, and an operation example 2 shows an operation example when the external AF is executed prior to the CCD-AF. (Operation Example 1) An operation example 1 relating to AF of a digital camera will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG.
9 is a flowchart for explaining an operation example 1 relating to AF of the digital camera executed by the control of FIG.

In FIG. 5, first, the CPU 121 determines whether or not the release key is half-pressed to turn on RL-1 (step S1). When the release key is half-pressed and RL-1 is turned on, the CPU 12
1 sets the focus lens system 101a to the CCD-AF start position (reference position) (step S2). CC
As the start position (reference position) of the D-AF, for example, the current position of the lens system 101 can be used.
This is because it is generally considered that the frequency of continuous shooting under the same conditions is high.

Then, the CPU 121 controls the external AF and the CC
The D-AF is started substantially simultaneously (step S3).
In the external AF, a distance measurement process is performed by the external AF sensor 136, a distance to a subject is measured, and a focus position is detected. Further, in the CCD-AF, the focus lens system 101a is moved near the reference position to
The F evaluation value is acquired, and the focus position is detected.

Thereafter, the CPU 121 determines whether or not the external AF has been completed (step S4). When the external AF has been completed, the distance measurement result of the external AF is transmitted to the CCD-A.
It is determined whether or not the photographing distance corresponding to the start position (reference position) of F is not less than a predetermined value (step S5). If it is determined that the distance measurement result of the external AF does not differ from the shooting distance corresponding to the CCD-AF start position (reference position) by a predetermined value or more, the process proceeds to step S8. On the other hand,
If the distance measurement result of the external AF differs from the shooting distance corresponding to the start position (reference position) of the CCD-AF by a predetermined value or more, the CPU 121 interrupts the CCD-AF and measures the external AF sensor 136. The position corresponding to the distance is set as a new reference position, and the focus lens system 101a is moved to the reference position (step S6). Then,
The CCD-AF is executed again near the reference position (step S7).

At step S8, the CPU 121
It is determined whether the D-AF has been completed or not. If the CCD-AF has been completed, the distance measurement result detected by the external AF and the CC
It is determined whether or not the shooting distance corresponding to the focus position detected by the D-AF differs by a predetermined value or more (step S).
9).

Here, the predetermined value in step S9 will be described. Even if the distance is measured at the same distance, the resolution of the external AF is reduced, and the result may be shifted accordingly. Strictly speaking, the “predetermined value” is a value obtained by accumulating the possible distance measurement errors. For example, the predetermined value is about 0.03 mm in 1 / L (photographing distance) (for example, 3 m and 2.75).
m (0.333 and 0.363 in 1 / L)). When the distance measurement results of the external AF and the CCD-AF are different from each other by more than the predetermined value, it is considered that either of the outputs is abnormal due to the distance measurement of another part or another reason. Therefore, in such a case, it is necessary to make a decision to select one of the results, and a part for comparing the reliability of the two is required in the decision. Generally, multi AF
In such cases, close subjects are often given priority. Also in hybrid AF, if both results are equally reliable, it is considered appropriate to select the one with a shorter shooting distance.

Next, at step S9, the CPU 121
When the distance measurement result detected by the external AF and the shooting distance corresponding to the focus position detected by the CCD-AF do not differ by a predetermined value or more, the focus position of the CCD-AF is set to the final focus position. The focus position is determined (step S10). On the other hand, external A
If the distance measurement result detected at F and the shooting distance corresponding to the in-focus position detected by the CCD-AF differ by a predetermined value or more, the CPU 121 determines whether the external AF and the C
Based on the information on the reliability of the CD-AF, one of the focus position of the external AF and the focus position of the CCD-AF is determined as the final focus position (step S11).

Here, when the distance measurement result detected by the external AF and the photographing distance corresponding to the in-focus position detected by the CCD-AF differ by a predetermined value or more, the external A
A specific method for determining one of the in-focus position of the external AF and the in-focus position of the CCD-AF as the final in-focus position based on F and information on the reliability of the CCD-AF will be described.

FIG. 6 shows a CCD-A in the hybrid AF.
This shows the superiority of F and external AF. In the figure,
Denotes a CCD-AF, denotes an external passive AF used in the present embodiment, and denotes an external active AF. Of the subject).

(1) In the case of a low-luminance subject: CCD-
Both AF and external passive AF are passive type,
Although weak in the dark, the external passive AF has a larger sensor and is more advantageous in sensitivity. Further, even if the light receiving time is lengthened, the influence on the AF time is small and the sensitivity UP can be performed. (2) In the case of a continuous pattern subject: In the case of external passive AF, in the case of a continuous pattern (vertical and horizontal stripes), there is a risk of pseudo-focusing. (3) In the case of a low-contrast subject: The passive method is not good at low contrast. However, if the auxiliary light is used, the external passive AF can be repaired to some extent (C
Relieving the CD-AF with the auxiliary light requires a long auxiliary light projection time, which is not preferable in terms of power consumption.) (4) In the case of the subject through the glass: In the case of the external active AF, the reflected light from the glass is picked up,
Focuses on glass. (5) In the case of a high-brightness subject: light bulb, candle flame,
In the case of a reflected object such as a signboard, the CCD-AF easily causes pseudo-focusing on the closest side. (6) In the case of a normal subject: If there is no problem in the condition of the subject, the CCD-AF is more advantageous in terms of accuracy. However, in the case of the Wide system, the accuracy of the external AF is sufficient.

Information regarding the superiority (reliability) of the CCD-AF and the external passive AF as shown in FIG. 6 is stored in a memory in advance, and the CPU 121 compares the distance measurement result detected by the external AF with the CCD-AF. If the shooting distance corresponding to the in-focus position detected by the AF is different from the shooting distance by a predetermined value or more, the state of the subject (a low-brightness subject, a continuous pattern subject, a low-contrast subject, an object through glass, a high-brightness subject, a normal ), The CCD-A stored in the memory
Based on F and information on the superiority (reliability) of the external passive AF, the in-focus position of the external AF and C
One of the in-focus positions of the CD-AF is determined as the final in-focus position. Here, the state of the subject can be determined by, for example, an AE evaluation value or the like. Specifically, the following processing is performed.

(A) External passive A as in this embodiment
When F is used (Hybrid AF of CCD-AF and external passive AF) When the brightness of the subject is lower than Lv = 7, the CCD-AF is used.
Contains many errors, so the external passive AF result is prioritized. If continuity is observed in the contrast data of the subject, pseudo-focusing is feared in the case of the external passive AF. Therefore, the CCD-AF result is prioritized. When the subject has low contrast, the external passive AF may be performed again using the auxiliary light, and the result may be prioritized (the auxiliary light is also effective at low luminance. CC).
Since the auxiliary light in the D-AF needs to always emit light during scanning, it greatly affects power consumption and is difficult to realize.
If it is determined that the subject contains high brightness (CCD
In the case where the CCD-AF result peaks on the closest side despite the fact that there is an external AF result within the sampling area),
Since the result of the CCD-AF cannot be trusted, the result of the external AF is given priority.

In this embodiment, the external passive A
Although F is used, external active AF may be used. The processing in that case is as follows.

(B) When External Active AF is Used Instead of External Passive AF (Hybrid AF of CCD-AF and External Active AF) In the case of CCD-AF and external active AF, the brightness of the subject is lower than Lv = 7. In this case, since the CCD-AF result includes many errors, the externally active AF result is prioritized. When the subject has low contrast, the CCD-
Since the AF result contains many errors, the result of the external active AF is given priority. In addition, when the subject is through the glass, the external AF active AF focuses through the glass. Therefore, the result of the CCD-AF is prioritized (however, it is relatively difficult to automatically determine whether or not through the glass). Although difficult, the results of CCD-AF are far away,
In the case where the amount of received light in the external active AF is stronger than the subject brightness information in (1) (= a subject having a high reflectance), it is determined that the subject is through glass.

The CPU 121 moves the focus lens system 101a to the focus position determined as described above (step S12). Thereafter, when the release key is fully depressed and RL-2 is turned on, a photographing operation is performed, image data of the subject is captured, and recorded on the PC card 150.

FIG. 7 shows the external AF and CC in the operation example 1.
4 shows a timing chart for explaining the execution timing of D-AF. FIG. 9A shows timing when the distance measurement result of the external AF differs from the shooting distance corresponding to the start position (reference position) of the CCD-AF by a predetermined value or more. FIG. 13B shows the distance measurement result of the external AF and the CCD-
The photographing distance corresponding to the AF start position (reference position) differs by a predetermined value or more, the CCD-AF is interrupted, the position corresponding to the distance measured by the external AF sensor 136 is set as a new reference position, and the CCD -When AF is executed ()
Is shown.

As described above, according to the operation example 1,
When the release key is half-pressed and RL-1 turns ON,
Since the CCD-AF and the external AF are executed at substantially the same time, the AF time can be reduced after executing the external AF as compared with a case where the CCD-AF is executed based on the result of the external AF. Becomes

According to the first operation example, when the CCD-AF is executed, the lens system is moved for sampling with the current position of the lens system as a reference position, so that the speed of the AF is further increased. Can be achieved. In addition, since the frequency of continuous shooting under the same condition is high, it is possible to speed up the AF more frequently by setting the reference to the “current position (= focus position immediately before)”. Become.

Note that the present position of the lens system is used as the start position when executing the CCD-AF. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and when the release key is fully pressed, That is, the in-focus position of the lens system at the time of shooting is stored in the memory, and the CCD-AF is executed based on the most recent in-focus positions of the lens system stored in the memory. In this case, the start position of the lens system may be calculated. Operation unit 1
23, a key for selecting a photographing mode is provided, and a human photographing mode, a landscape photographing mode, a close-up photographing mode, and the like are selected with the select keys. Since the shooting distance is often 2 to 3 m, the position of the lens system corresponding to the shooting distance of 2 to 3 m is set as the start position. When the landscape shooting mode is selected, the shooting distance is usually Is often infinite, so the position of the lens system corresponding to infinity is taken as the starting position,
When the close-up mode is selected, the shooting distance is 1 m.
The position of the lens system corresponding to less than may be set as the start position.

When the continuous shooting mode is selected, the same start position may be used without changing the start position for executing the CCD-AF for each photographing.

According to the first operation example, when the distance measurement result of the external AF differs from the photographing distance corresponding to the operation reference position of the CCD-AF by a predetermined value or more, the CCD-AF at that time is determined.
Was stopped, the reference position of the CCD-AF was changed to the position of the lens system corresponding to the distance measurement result of the external AF, and the CCD-AF was re-executed near the reference position. Even when the subject is largely displaced, high-speed AF can be realized. In addition, CCD
-AF is generally time consuming. Therefore, if the setting standard is shifted, wait until the setting ends,
When the D-AF is performed again, the CCD-AF takes a long time. Therefore, by immediately stopping when the standard is found to be off, and re-executing,
Even when the time to the subject changes frequently, it is possible to realize an AF speed without a sense of discomfort.

Further, according to the operation example 1, when the distance measurement result by the external AF and the photographing distance corresponding to the position of the lens system determined by the CCD-AF differ by a predetermined value or more, Based on both reliability information, one of the results of the CCD-AF and the external AF is selected to determine the final focusing position of the lens system, so that a more reliable focusing operation is performed. Becomes possible.
When the distance measurement result by the external AF differs from the shooting distance corresponding to the position of the lens system determined by the CCD-AF by a predetermined value or more, the CCD-AF is generally more suitable than the external AF. CCD-AF
May be used as the final focus position. This makes it possible to simplify the processing.

Further, the digital camera of the present embodiment
Since a passive distance measuring sensor is used as the external AF sensor 136, a general-purpose external AF module can be used, and miniaturization, cost reduction, and simplification of processing can be achieved.

(Operation Example 2) An operation example 2 relating to AF of a digital camera will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG.
9 is a flowchart for explaining an operation example 2 relating to AF of the digital camera executed under the control of the CPU 121.

In FIG. 6, when the power is turned on (step S21), the CPU 121 determines whether or not it is the external AF execution timing (step S22). If the result of this determination is that it is not the execution timing of the external AF, the flow shifts to step S24. On the other hand, if it is the external AF execution timing, the distance measurement processing by the external AF is executed (step S23), and the external AF sensor 136 measures the distance to the subject, and shifts to step S24.

In step S24, the CPU 121 determines whether or not the release key has been half-pressed and the RL-1 key has been turned on. If RL-1 is not ON, the process returns to step S22, and the external AF distance measurement process is performed at the external AF execution timing until RR-1 is turned ON. On the other hand, when RL-1 is turned on in step S24, the CPU 121 calculates a start position (reference position) of the CCD-AF based on the distance measurement result of the external AF (step S25).

Here, based on the distance measurement result of the external AF,
A method of calculating the start position (reference position) of the CCD-AF will be described. For example, a method of predicting the reference position from the distance measurement results of the past two points of the external AF can be used. According to this, it is possible to determine whether the subject is approaching, moving away, or stopping.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a case where the start position (reference position) of the CCD-AF is calculated from the distance measurement results of the two most recent past points of the external AF. In the figure, Lccd is the predicted object distance (CCD-AF reference position), L2 is the object distance by the external AF immediately before the release operation, L1 is the object distance by the external AF one more time before L2, and t1 is the continuity. The interval of the new external AF, t2, indicates the time from the external AF to the release immediately before the release operation. Estimated subject distance (CCD-AF
Is calculated by the following equation. Then, a position of the lens system corresponding to the calculated predicted subject distance Lccd is determined as a CCD-AF start position (reference position).

Lccd = L2 + t2 × (L2−L1) / t1 For example, when t1 = t2, the past two times are 2m, 3m
In the case of m, the next is 4m, while the previous two times are 4m, 3m
In the case of, the next is predicted to be 2 m. Therefore, at the positions of the lens system corresponding to around 4 m and around 2 m, respectively, the CCD
-AF will be performed.

In this case, the CCD-A
Although the reference position of F has been determined, time series data of the past three points or more may be used.
As a result, finer moving object prediction can be performed. For example, when determining the reference position of the CCD-AF from the past three points, whether the subject is approaching or moving away,
It is also possible to determine whether the vehicle is stopped or swinging back and forth. For example, by comparing the first and second subject distances and the second and third subject distances, the acceleration component of the subject movement can be detected. In this case, a method of approximating with a quadratic curve (such as a subject falling from above) or a method of approximating with a trigonometric function (such as a subject on a swing) can be used.

The CPU 121 calculates the calculated CCD.
-Focus lens system 1 at AF start position (reference position)
01a is moved (step S26). Then, C
After moving the focus lens system 101a to the reference position, the PU 121 simultaneously starts the external AF and the CCD-AF (Step S27). In external AF, external AF
The sensor 136 measures the distance to the subject, and detects the in-focus position. In the CCD-AF,
The focus lens system 101a is moved near the reference position to obtain an AF evaluation value, and the focus position is detected.

Next, the CPU 121 controls the external AF and C
It is determined whether the CD-AF has been completed (step S2).
8) When the external AF and the CCD-AF are completed, it is determined whether the distance measurement result detected by the external AF and the shooting distance corresponding to the in-focus position detected by the CCD-AF differ by a predetermined value or more. Is determined (step S29). As a result of this determination, if the distance measurement result detected by the external AF and the shooting distance corresponding to the in-focus position detected by the CCD-AF do not differ by a predetermined value or more, the CPU 121 determines that the CCD-AF is correct. The in-focus position is determined as the final in-focus position (Step S3)
0). On the other hand, the distance measurement result detected by the external AF and the CCD-
If the shooting distance corresponding to the in-focus position detected by the AF differs from the focus distance by a predetermined value or more, the CPU 121 determines the external AF based on the information on the reliability of the two in accordance with the subject.
And the result of the CCD-AF are determined as the final in-focus position (step S31). The method for determining the final focus position is the same as that in the first operation example, and a description thereof will be omitted.

Thereafter, the CPU 121 moves the focus lens system 101a to the determined in-focus position (step S32). After that, the release key is fully pressed and RL
When -2 is turned on, a photographing operation is performed, image data of the subject is captured, and the image data is recorded on the PC card 150.

The execution timing of the external AF and the CCD-AF in the operation example 2 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 10 is a timing chart for explaining execution timings of the external AF and the CCD-AF in the operation example 2. FIG. 11A shows a case where the release is pressed at the execution timing of the external AF, FIG. 12B shows a case where the release is pressed while the external AF is stopped, and FIG. Is pressed (No. 1), (d) shows the external AF
The timing when the release is pressed during the operation (part 2) is shown.

As shown in FIG. 9A, when the release is pressed at the execution timing of the external AF, the external AF and the CCD-AF are executed at the ON timing of the release. Also, as shown in FIG. 3B, when the release is pressed during the suspension of the external AF, the suspension of the external AF is terminated, and the external AF and the CCD-C are connected at the timing of the release ON.
Execute AF. When the release is pressed during the operation of the external AF, the timing shown in FIG.
The timings shown in (1) and (2) are conceivable, and any timing may be used.

When the release is pressed during the operation of the external AF, the external AF may be stopped at the time of the release and then driven again as shown in FIG. In this case, the final focus position is determined based on the data of the external AF and the result of the CCD-AF without acquiring the data of the external AF.

When the release is pressed during the operation of the external AF, the external AF is not interrupted even at the time of the release, as shown in FIG.
The final in-focus position is determined based on the result of D-AF. Normally, since the external AF operation time is 0.1 second or less, there is no practical problem in the method (d). However, when the subject has a low luminance or the like, since the external AF takes about 0.1 seconds, the method (c) is more reliable.

If the result of the distance measurement detected by the external AF and the photographing distance corresponding to the in-focus position detected by the CCD-AF differ from each other by a predetermined value or more in step S28, FIG. As described above, the start position (reference position) of the CCD-AF may be changed and the CCD-AF may be performed again.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the operation example 2 described above. In the figure, the vertical axis represents the contrast (AF
Evaluation value), and the horizontal axis indicates the lens position (closest to infinity). First, the focus position is detected by the external AF, and then,
In the vicinity of the detected in-focus position, fine sampling is performed by the CCD-AF to detect the in-focus position. Then, a final focus position is determined based on both focus positions.

As described above, according to the operation example 2,
When the power is turned on, before the release key is pressed, that is, even when the release key is not pressed, a distance measurement process is performed by the external AF at a predetermined interval, and when the release key is pressed, Calculating a reference position when performing CCD-AF based on the distance measurement result of the external AF,
Since the CCD-AF is performed in the vicinity of the lens reference position, the external AF is executed after the release key is pressed, and thereafter, the CCD-A is operated based on the result of the external AF.
The AF time can be reduced as compared with the case where F is executed.

In the operation example 2, the distance measurement processing by the external AF is performed at a predetermined interval after the power is turned on. However, after the power is turned on, the distance measurement processing by the external AF is performed at a predetermined interval. For example, a pressure sensor or an infrared sensor is provided on the grip of the body of the digital camera to detect that the operator has gripped the grip of the body of the digital camera. After the detection, the external AF is performed at predetermined time intervals. Distance measurement processing may be performed. As a result, there is an effect that power consumption can be reduced as compared with a configuration in which the distance measurement processing by the external AF is performed at predetermined intervals after the power is turned on.

According to the second operation example, the reference position of the lens system in the case of performing the CCD-AF is calculated by using a plurality of distance measurement results detected at predetermined time intervals by the external AF. Before the release, the movement of the subject (when approaching or moving away) can be detected,
Moving object prediction AF becomes possible, and it becomes possible to accurately focus on a moving subject.

The passive type distance measuring sensor (external AF sensor 136) shown in FIGS.
A photosensor array is arranged in the horizontal direction to detect a contrast difference in the horizontal direction with respect to the subject (for detecting vertical stripes). However, as shown in FIGS. In addition to the configuration for detecting the contrast difference (for vertical stripe detection), the configuration for detecting the contrast difference in the vertical direction (for horizontal stripe detection) is also added to detect the contrast difference in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction with respect to the subject. It is good also as composition. FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating another schematic configuration example of the external AF sensor. External A shown in FIG.
The F sensor 136 has a substantially cross shape, and includes a lens 151, photosensor arrays 152a (left sensor) and 152b (right sensor), a lens 153, a photosensor array 154a (upper sensor), and 154b (lower sensor). ) And an arithmetic circuit (not shown). The same parts as those in FIG. 3 are denoted by the same reference numerals. The photo sensor arrays 152a (left sensor) and 152b (right sensor) detect the contrast difference in the horizontal direction with respect to the subject, and the photo sensor arrays 154a (upper sensor) and 154b (lower sensor) detect the contrast in the vertical direction with respect to the subject. Detect the contrast difference.

The principle of distance measurement of the external AF sensor 136 will be described with reference to FIGS. In FIG. 3, the distance to the subject is input to d, the distance between the lens 151 and the photosensor arrays 152a (left sensor) and 152b (right sensor) is input to f, and the photosensor arrays 152a (left sensor) and 152b (right sensor) are input. Assuming that the width of the light to be emitted is X1 and X2 and the distance between the photosensor arrays 152a and 152b where the light is incident is B1, the external AF
The distance d from the front surface of the sensor 136 to the subject can be calculated by d = B1 · f / (X1 + X2) by triangulation. Also, the distance to the subject is d, the distance between the lens 153 and the photosensor array 154a (upper sensor), 154b (lower sensor) is f, and the photosensor array 154a.
Assuming that the widths of light input to the (upper sensor) and 154b (lower sensor) are X3 and X4, respectively, and the distance between the photosensor arrays 154a and 154b where light is incident is B2.
Distance d from the front of external AF sensor 136 to the subject
Can be calculated by d = B2 · f / (X3 + X4) by triangulation.

FIG. 14 shows subject images of the left and right photo sensor arrays and the upper and lower photo sensor arrays. The arithmetic circuit integrates the light amounts of the subject images of the left and right photo sensor arrays and calculates a shift in the data of the left and right photo sensor arrays, thereby detecting a contrast difference in the horizontal direction with respect to the subject and calculating a distance d of the subject. I do.
Further, the arithmetic circuit integrates the light amounts of the subject images of the upper and lower photo sensor arrays, and calculates a deviation of the data of the upper and lower photo sensor arrays, thereby detecting a difference in contrast in the vertical direction with respect to the subject to obtain a distance d to the subject. Is calculated. The arithmetic circuit outputs to the CPU 121 the distance measurement result with the higher accuracy of the distance measurement result (the one with the larger contrast difference).

For example, in FIG.
The output of each sensor in the case of (horizontal stripe object) is shown in FIG.
As shown in the figure, the contrast difference is small at the output of the left and right photosensor arrays, and distance measurement is difficult. However, the contrast difference is large at the output of the upper and lower photosensor arrays, and distance measurement can be easily performed. . As described above, in the case of a horizontally striped subject, the upper and lower photosensor arrays have higher ranging accuracy, while in the case of a vertically striped subject, the left and right photosensor arrays have higher ranging accuracy. Therefore, by using the left and right photo sensor arrays and the upper and lower photo sensor arrays, it is possible to reduce the number of subjects that are not good at measuring the distance, and it is possible to significantly improve the focusing probability. In addition, by using the left and right photo sensor arrays and the upper and lower photo sensor arrays, it is possible to measure the distance with high accuracy even when the camera position is in either the vertical position or the horizontal position. Although the external AF sensor 136 shown in FIG. 13 has a cross shape, it may have an L shape.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be carried out with appropriate modifications without departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, in the present embodiment, an example is described in which the automatic focusing device and the automatic focusing method according to the present invention are applied to a digital camera. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the present invention is not limited to this. It is also applicable to input devices and the like. In short, the present invention is applicable to all devices that perform AF when inputting an image.

[0107]

According to the automatic focusing apparatus of the first aspect, the lens system forms the subject image at a predetermined position, and the imaging means captures the subject image input via the lens system. The image data is output, the first focus position detection means detects the focus position by moving the lens system near the reference position using the imaging means, and the second focus position detection means The focus position of the lens system is detected by detecting the distance to the subject by using a photoelectric conversion unit different from the imaging unit, and the focus position determination unit includes the first focus position detection unit and the second focus position. A final in-focus position is determined based on the in-focus position detected by the in-focus position detecting means, and when the photographing operation member is operated, the first in-focus position is determined.
Since the in-focus position detecting means and the second in-focus position detecting means are operated substantially simultaneously, the AF time is shortened as compared with the case where CCD-AF is executed based on the result of external AF. In addition, it is possible to provide an automatic focusing device capable of detecting a focusing position with high accuracy.

Further, according to the automatic focusing apparatus of the second aspect, in the automatic focusing apparatus of the first aspect, the current position of the lens system is set as a reference position of the first focusing position detecting means. Therefore, in addition to the effect of the automatic focusing device according to the first aspect, it is possible to further increase the speed of AF.

According to the automatic focusing device of the third aspect, in the automatic focusing device of the first aspect, the focus position at that time is recorded for each photographing, and the plurality of recorded focal positions are recorded. Since the reference position of the first in-focus position detecting means is calculated based on the position, in addition to the effect of the automatic focusing device according to the first aspect, it is possible to further increase the speed of AF. .

According to the automatic focusing apparatus of the fourth aspect, in the automatic focusing apparatus of the first aspect, a position corresponding to a mode selected from a plurality of modes according to the type of the subject is set. Since the reference position is set as the reference position of the first focus position detecting means, it is possible to further increase the speed of AF in addition to the effect of the automatic focusing device according to the first aspect.

According to the automatic focusing apparatus of the fifth aspect, in the automatic focusing apparatus of any one of the first to fourth aspects, the distance measurement result by the second in-focus position detecting means is obtained. Is different from the shooting distance corresponding to the reference position of the first focus position detecting means by a predetermined value or more, the first focus position detecting means suspends the focus position detecting operation at that time,
The reference position is reset to the in-focus position detected by the second in-focus position detection means, and the detection of the in-focus position is performed again. In addition to the effects of the automatic focusing device described above, even when the subject is significantly deviated from the reference position, high-speed AF can be realized.

Further, according to the automatic focusing apparatus of the sixth aspect, the lens system forms the subject image at a predetermined position, and the image pickup means picks up the subject image input through the lens system to obtain image data. The first in-focus position detection means detects the in-focus position by moving the lens system near the reference position using the imaging means, and the second in-focus position detection means uses the imaging means. Uses different photoelectric conversion means to detect the distance to the subject to detect the in-focus position of the lens system, and the in-focus position determining means includes a first in-focus position detecting means and a second in-focus position The final in-focus position is determined based on the in-focus position detected by the detection means, and the second in-focus position detection means determines the distance to the subject at predetermined time intervals prior to the operation of the photographing operation member. When the photographing operation member is operated, the first focusing is performed. Since the position detection means performs the operation of detecting the focus position using the focus position detected by the second focus position detection means as the reference position, the external AF is performed after the release key is pressed. Run, then external A
Compared to the case where CCD-AF is executed based on the result of F, it is possible to shorten the AF time and to provide an automatic focusing device capable of detecting a focusing position with high accuracy. Becomes

Further, according to the automatic focusing apparatus of the seventh aspect, in the automatic focusing apparatus of the sixth aspect, the second focusing position detecting means is provided for a predetermined time when the power is turned on. Since the distance measurement processing for measuring the distance to the subject at intervals is performed, in addition to the effect of the automatic focusing device according to claim 1, the second focus position detection is performed immediately after the power is turned on. The means can be operated.

According to the automatic focusing apparatus of the eighth aspect, in the automatic focusing apparatus of the sixth aspect, the second focus position detecting means detects that the grip of the main body is gripped. In such a case, the distance measurement processing for measuring the distance to the subject is performed at predetermined time intervals. Therefore, in addition to the effect of the automatic focusing device according to claim 1, immediately after the power is turned on, The power consumption can be reduced as compared with the case where the second focus position detecting means is operated.

According to the automatic focusing apparatus of the ninth aspect, in the automatic focusing apparatus of any one of the sixth to eighth aspects, the second operation is performed before the photographing operation member is operated.
The reference position of the first in-focus position detecting means is calculated based on a plurality of most recent distance measurement results detected by the in-focus position detecting means. In addition to the effect of the focusing device, it can detect the movement of the subject before it is released (when approaching or moving away), and enables AF predicting moving objects, and accurately focuses on moving subjects. It becomes possible.

According to the automatic focusing apparatus of the tenth aspect, in the automatic focusing apparatus of any one of the sixth to ninth aspects, the second in-focus position detecting means performs the distance measuring process. If the shooting operation member is operated while performing the distance measurement, the distance measurement process is stopped and the distance measurement process is performed again.
The focus position determination means uses the distance measurement result obtained by performing the distance measurement process again to determine the final focus position, and thus any one of claims 6 to 9. In the automatic focusing device according to the first aspect, it is possible to detect the focusing position at high speed and with high accuracy even when the photographing operation member is operated while the second focusing position detecting means is performing the distance measuring process. Becomes

According to the automatic focusing apparatus of the eleventh aspect, in the automatic focusing apparatus according to any one of the sixth to ninth aspects, the second focus position detecting means may perform a distance measuring process. If the photographing operation member is operated while performing the distance measurement, the distance measurement processing is continued, and the focus position determination means determines the distance measurement result obtained in the distance measurement processing as the final focus position. Therefore, even if the photographing operation member is operated while the second focus position detecting means is performing the distance measurement process, the focus position can be determined at high speed and with high accuracy. Detection becomes possible.

According to the automatic focusing apparatus of the twelfth aspect, in the automatic focusing apparatus of any one of the first to eleventh aspects, the focus position determining means includes a second focus position detecting means. If the result of the distance measurement by the means and the shooting distance corresponding to the in-focus position detected by the first in-focus position detecting means are different from each other by a predetermined value or more, the distance is determined based on information on the reliability of both, depending on the subject. 12. The automatic focusing according to claim 1, wherein the focus result of the first focus position detecting means or the second focus position detecting means is determined as a final focus position. In addition to the effect of the apparatus, it is possible to detect the focus position with higher accuracy.

Further, according to the automatic focusing apparatus of the thirteenth aspect, in the automatic focusing apparatus of any one of the first to eleventh aspects, the focus position detecting means may include a second focus. If the distance measurement result by the position detecting means and the shooting distance corresponding to the in-focus position detected by the first in-focus position detecting means are different by a predetermined value or more, the distance is detected by the first in-focus position detecting means. Since the in-focus position is determined to be the final in-focus position, the processing can be simplified in addition to the effect of the automatic focusing device according to any one of claims 1 to 11. .

Further, according to the automatic focusing device of the present invention, in the automatic focusing device of any one of the first to thirteenth aspects, the second focus position detecting means may detect the position of the object and Is detected by a passive type distance measuring sensor, so that a general-purpose external AF module is used in addition to the effect of the automatic focusing device according to any one of claims 1 to 13. It is possible to reduce the size, cost, and simplification of the processing.

According to the automatic focusing device of the fifteenth aspect, in the automatic focusing device of the fourteenth aspect, in the passive type distance measuring sensor, the first detecting means is provided in the horizontal direction with respect to the subject. Since the contrast difference is detected and the second detecting means detects the contrast difference in the vertical direction with respect to the subject, in addition to the effect of the automatic focusing device according to claim 14, the type of the subject and the camera Accurate ranging can be performed regardless of the shooting angle (horizontal position or vertical position).

According to the digital camera of the present invention, the automatic focusing device according to any one of the first to fifteenth aspects is applied. In-focus position detection becomes possible.

Further, according to the portable information input device of the present invention, the automatic focusing device according to any one of claims 1 to 15 is applied. High-accuracy and high-speed focus position detection becomes possible.

According to the in-focus position detecting method of the eighteenth aspect, in the first step, the distance to the subject is detected by using a photoelectric conversion means different from the imaging means, and the focusing of the lens system is performed. In the second step, the focus position is detected by moving the lens system in the vicinity of the reference position using the imaging means. In the third step, the first step and the second step are performed. Based on the in-focus position detected in the second step, a final in-focus position is determined, and when a photographing operation member for instructing photographing is operated, the first step and the second step are performed. Since the steps and the steps are executed at substantially the same time, the AF time can be reduced as compared with the case where the CCD-AF is executed based on the result of the external AF, and highly accurate detection of the focus position can be performed. It is possible to provide a possible focus position detection method.

According to the in-focus position detecting method according to the nineteenth aspect, in the in-focus position detecting method according to the eighteenth aspect, the current position of the lens system is set as the reference position. In addition to the effect of the in-focus position detection method, it is possible to further increase the speed of AF.

Further, according to the in-focus position detecting method according to the twentieth aspect, in the in-focus position detecting method according to the eighteenth aspect, the in-focus position at that time is recorded for each photographing. Since the reference position is calculated based on the in-focus position, the AF speed can be further increased in addition to the effect of the automatic focusing device according to claim 18.

Further, according to the in-focus position detecting method according to the twenty-first aspect, in the in-focus position detecting method according to the eighteenth aspect, a mode selected from a plurality of modes according to a type of a subject is selected. Since the position is set as the reference position, in addition to the effect of the automatic focusing device according to the eighteenth aspect, it is possible to further increase the speed of AF.

According to the in-focus position detecting method of the twenty-second aspect, in the in-focus position detecting method of any one of the eighteenth to twenty-first aspects, the second step includes the steps of:
If the distance measurement result in the step (d) is different from the photographing distance corresponding to the reference position by a predetermined value or more, the focus position detection operation is interrupted at that point, and the focus position detected in the first step is determined. Since the focus position is reset and the focus position detection is executed again, in addition to the effect of the focus position detection method according to any one of claims 18 to 21, the object position can be determined from the reference position. Can be realized at a high speed even when the distance is greatly shifted.

Further, according to the in-focus position detecting method according to the twenty-third aspect, in the in-focus position detecting method according to any one of the eighteenth to twenty-second aspects, the third step includes the first step. If the distance measurement result and the shooting distance corresponding to the in-focus position detected in the second step are different from each other by a predetermined value or more, the first distance is determined based on information on the reliability of the two in accordance with the subject.
Since the in-focus result of the step or the second step is determined to be the final in-focus position, in addition to the effect of the in-focus position detecting method according to any one of claims 18 to 22, furthermore, It is possible to detect a focus position with high accuracy.

According to the in-focus position detecting method of the twenty-fourth aspect, in the in-focus position detecting method of any one of the eighteenth to twenty-second aspects, the third step includes the first step. If the distance measurement result and the shooting distance corresponding to the focus position detected in the second step are different from each other by a predetermined value or more, the focus position detected in the second step is set to the final focus position. Since it has been decided, any one of claims 18 to 22
In addition to the effect of the focus position detection method, the processing can be simplified.

Further, according to the in-focus position detecting method of the twenty-fifth aspect, in the first step, prior to the operation of the photographing operation member for instructing the photographing, the photographing means can be switched at a predetermined time interval. The distance to the subject is detected using different photoelectric conversion means. In the second step, when the photographing operation member is operated, the reference position is calculated using the distance measurement result in the first step. Then, in the third step, the in-focus position is detected by moving the lens system near the reference position calculated in the second step by using the imaging means, and in the fourth step, Using a photoelectric conversion unit, the distance to the subject is detected to detect the in-focus position of the lens system. In the fifth step, the in-focus position detected in the third step and the fourth step is set. The final focusing position is determined based on the information, and the third step and the fourth step are executed substantially simultaneously. Since the Rukoto, as compared with the case of executing the CCD-AF based on the result of an external AF, A
It is possible to provide an in-focus position detecting method capable of shortening the F time and detecting the in-focus position with high accuracy.

According to the in-focus position detecting method of the twenty-sixth aspect, in the in-focus position detecting method of the twenty-fifth aspect, the first step is executed when the power is turned on. did. According to the in-focus position detection method, the first step is performed when the power is turned on. In addition to the effect of the in-focus position detection method according to claim 25, after the power is turned on, Immediately, the first step can be performed.

Further, according to the in-focus position detecting method of the twenty-seventh aspect, in the in-focus position detecting method of the twenty-fifth aspect, the first step is performed when it is detected that the grip of the main body is gripped. Claim 25.
Power on in addition to the effect of the focus position detection method
Later, the first step can be performed immediately.

According to the in-focus position detecting method of the twenty-eighth aspect, in the in-focus position detecting method of the twenty-fifth to twenty-seventh aspects, the photographing operation member is operated in the second step. Since the reference position is calculated based on the latest plurality of distance measurement results detected in the first step before, in addition to the effects of the focus position detection method according to claims 25 to 27, To detect the movement of the subject before the release (approaching or moving away)
Moving object prediction AF becomes possible, and it becomes possible to accurately focus on a moving subject.

Further, according to the in-focus position detecting method according to the twenty-ninth aspect, in the in-focus position detecting method according to any one of the twenty-fifth to twenty-eighth aspects, the distance measuring process is performed in the first step. 28. When the photographing operation member is operated during the operation, the distance measurement process is stopped, so that the effect of the focus position detecting method according to any one of claims 24 to 27 is achieved. In addition to this, it is possible to detect the focus position at high speed and with high accuracy even when the photographing operation member is operated during the distance measurement process in the first step.

Further, according to the in-focus position detecting method according to the thirtieth aspect, in the in-focus position detecting method according to any one of the twenty-fifth to twenty-eighth aspects, the distance measuring process is performed in the first step. If the photographing operation member is operated during the operation, the distance measurement processing is continued. In a fifth step, the distance measurement result obtained in the distance measurement processing is used to determine the final in-focus position. Claim 25-Claim 2
In addition to the effect of the in-focus position detection method according to any one of the above-described items 8, even when the shooting operation member is operated during the distance measurement process in the first step, high-speed and high-accuracy focusing is performed. The focus position can be detected.

According to the in-focus position detecting method of the twenty-first aspect, in the in-focus position detecting method of any one of the twenty-fifth to thirty-fifth aspects, the fifth step includes the fourth step. If the distance measurement result and the photographing distance corresponding to the in-focus position detected in the third step are different from each other by a predetermined value or more, the third distance is determined based on information about the reliability of the two in accordance with the subject.
Since the in-focus result of the third step or the third step is determined as the final in-focus position, in addition to the effect of the in-focus position detecting method according to any one of claims 25 to 30, furthermore, It is possible to detect a focus position with high accuracy.

According to the in-focus position detecting method of the thirty-second aspect, in the in-focus position detecting method of the twenty-fifth to thirty-fifth aspects, in the fifth step, the distance measurement result of the fourth step and If the focusing distance detected in the third step differs from the shooting distance corresponding to the predetermined value by a predetermined value or more, the in-focus position detected in the third step is determined as the final in-focus position. Therefore, in addition to the effect of the focus position detecting method according to any one of claims 25 to 30, it is possible to simplify the processing.

Further, according to the computer-readable recording medium of claim 33, claims 18 to 32 are provided.
Since a program for causing a computer to execute each step of the invention described in any one of the above is recorded, by executing the program recorded on the recording medium by the computer, high-precision and high-speed focusing is performed. Position detection becomes possible.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a digital camera according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a specific configuration of the IPP of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an external AF sensor of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a principle of distance measurement of the external AF sensor of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an operation example 1 regarding AF of the digital camera.

FIG. 6: CCD-AF and external AF in hybrid AF
It is a figure which shows the comparison of the superiority of.

FIG. 7 is a timing chart for explaining execution timings of the external AF and the CCD-AF in the operation example 1.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an operation example 2 of AF of the digital camera.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a case where a start position (reference position) of the CCD-AF is calculated from a distance measurement result of the two most recent past points of the external AF.

FIG. 10 is a timing chart for explaining execution timings of an external AF and a CCD-AF in an operation example 2;

FIG. 11 is a timing chart for explaining execution timings of an external AF and a CCD-AF in an operation example 2;

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram for explaining an operation example 2;

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating another schematic configuration of the external AF sensor of FIG. 1;

FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a principle of distance measurement of the external AF sensor of FIG. 13;

FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a conventional CCD-AF method.

FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a conventional CCD-AF method.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 100 Digital camera 101 Lens system 101 a Focus lens system 101 b Zoom lens system 102 Mechanical mechanism including autofocus 103 CCD (charge coupled device) 104 CDS (correlated double sampling) circuit 105 Variable gain amplifier (AGC amplifier) 106 A / D Converter 107 IPP (Image Pre-Processor) 108 DCT (Discrete Cosine Transform) 109 Coder (Huffman Encoder / Decoder) 110 MCC (Memory Card Controller) 111 RAM (Internal Memory) 112 PC Card Interface 121 CPU 122 Display Unit 123 Operation Unit 125 Motor Driver 126 SG Unit 127 Strobe 128 Battery 129 DC-DC Converter 130 EEPROM 131 Focus Driver 132 Pulse Motor 133 Zoom Driver 134 Loose motor 135 Motor driver 136 External AF sensor 150 PC card 151 Lens 152 Photo sensor array 153 Lens 154 Photo sensor array 1071 Color separation unit 1072 Signal interpolation unit 1073 Pedestal adjustment unit 1074 White balance adjustment unit 1075 Digital gain adjustment unit 1076 γ conversion unit 1077 Matrix section 1078 Video signal processing section 1079 Y operation section 1080 BPF 1081 AF evaluation value circuit 1082 AE evaluation value circuit 1083 Y operation section 1084 AWB evaluation value circuit 1085 CPU I / F 1086 DCTI / F 1075r, 1075g, 1075b Multiplier

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) H04N 5/232 G02B 7/11 A // H04N 101: 00 G03B 3/00 A (72) Inventor Tatsu Kitajima Toshi 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Ricoh Company (72) Inventor Akihiro Yoshida 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Ricoh Company (72) Inventor Shigeru Irzawa Ota, Tokyo 1-3-6, Nakamagome, Ward F-term in Ricoh Co., Ltd. (Reference) 2H011 BA01 BA31 BB03 CA22 2H051 BA47 CE14 DA02 DA11 DA37 EA05 EA24 EA28 5C022 AA13 AB24 AB29 AC31 AC69

Claims (33)

[Claims] 1. A lens system including a focus lens system that forms a subject image at a predetermined position, an imaging unit that captures a subject image input via the lens system and outputs image data, and executes photographing. A first focus position detection unit that moves the lens system near a reference position to detect a focus position by using the imaging unit; A second focus position detecting means for detecting a distance to a subject by using different photoelectric conversion means to detect a focus position of the lens system; a first focus position detecting means; And a focus position determining means for determining a final focus position based on the focus position detected by the focus position detecting means. The first focus position detecting means and the second focus position Automatic focusing device according to claim substantially be operated simultaneously and means out. 2. The automatic focusing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the reference position is a current position of the lens system. 3. A recording device for recording an in-focus position at each time of photographing, wherein the reference position is calculated based on a plurality of in-focus positions recorded in the recording device. 2. The automatic focusing device according to claim 1, wherein 4. A mode selection unit for selecting one mode from a plurality of modes according to a type of a subject, wherein the reference position is a position corresponding to the mode selected by the mode selection unit. The automatic focusing device according to claim 1, wherein: 5. When the distance measurement result obtained by the second focus position detecting means is different from the photographing distance corresponding to the reference position of the first focus position detecting means by a predetermined value or more, the first focus position detecting means detects the first focus position. The in-focus position detecting means interrupts the in-focus position detecting operation at that time, resets the reference position to the in-focus position detected by the second in-focus position detecting means, and The automatic focusing device according to claim 1, wherein the detection is performed again. 6. A lens system including a focus lens that forms a subject image at a predetermined position, an imaging unit that captures a subject image input via the lens system, and outputs image data, and executes photographing. A photographing operation member for instructing, a first in-focus position detecting means for detecting the in-focus position by moving the lens system near a reference position using the imaging means; and A second focus position detecting means for detecting a distance to a subject by using different photoelectric conversion means to detect a focus position of the lens system; a first focus position detecting means; and a second focus position detecting means. Focusing position determining means for determining a final focusing position based on the focusing position detected by the focusing position detecting means, and a predetermined time interval prior to the operation of the photographing operation member. And the second focus position detecting means When a distance measuring process for measuring a distance is performed and the photographing operation member is operated, the first focus position detecting means detects the focus detected by the second focus position detecting means. An automatic focusing device for detecting an in-focus position using a position as the reference position. 7. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said second focus position detecting means executes a distance measuring process for measuring a distance to a subject at predetermined time intervals when the power is turned on. 6
3. The automatic focusing device according to claim 1. 8. The second focus position detecting means executes a distance measuring process for measuring a distance to a subject at predetermined time intervals when detecting that a grip portion of the main body is gripped. 7. The automatic focusing device according to claim 6, wherein: 9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the reference position is calculated based on a plurality of latest distance measurement results detected by the second focus position detection unit before the photographing operation member is operated. The automatic focusing device according to any one of claims 6 to 8, wherein 10. When the photographing operation member is operated while the second in-focus position detecting means is performing the distance measurement processing, the distance measurement processing is stopped and the distance measurement processing is performed again. 10. The method according to claim 6, wherein the in-focus position determining means executes the distance measurement processing again and uses a result of the distance measurement to determine a final in-focus position. The automatic focusing device according to any one of the above. 11. When the photographing operation member is operated while the second focus position detecting means is performing the distance measurement process, the distance measurement process is continued, and the focus position determination is performed. 7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the means uses the distance measurement result obtained by the distance measurement processing to determine a final focus position.
The automatic focusing device according to claim 9. 12. The in-focus position determining means includes: a distance measurement result by the second in-focus position detecting means; and a photographing distance corresponding to the in-focus position detected by the first in-focus position detecting means. Are different from each other by a predetermined value or more, the in-focus position detected by the first in-focus position detecting means or the second in-focus position detecting means is finally determined based on information on the reliability of the two depending on the subject. The automatic focusing device according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the automatic focusing device is determined to be a proper focusing position. 13. The in-focus position detecting means includes: a distance measurement result by the second in-focus position detecting means; and a photographing distance corresponding to the in-focus position detected by the first in-focus position detecting means. 12. The method according to claim 1, wherein when the distances are different from each other by a predetermined value or more, the in-focus position detected by the first in-focus position detecting means is determined as a final in-focus position. 5. The automatic focusing device according to any one of the above. 14. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said second in-focus position detecting means detects a distance from the object by a passive distance measuring sensor.
5. The automatic focusing device according to any one of the above. 15. The passive type distance measuring sensor,
15. The apparatus according to claim 14, further comprising: first detecting means for detecting a contrast difference in a horizontal direction with respect to the subject; and second detecting means for detecting a contrast difference in a vertical direction with respect to the subject. Automatic focusing device. 16. A digital camera to which the automatic focusing device according to claim 1 is applied. 17. A portable information input device to which the automatic focusing device according to claim 1 is applied. 18. A focus position detecting method for detecting a focus position of a lens system including a focus lens system with respect to a subject, wherein the distance to the subject is detected by using a photoelectric conversion unit different from the imaging unit. A first step of detecting a focus position of the lens system; a second step of moving the lens system near a reference position to detect a focus position using the imaging means; And a third step of determining a final in-focus position based on the in-focus position detected in the first step and the second step, wherein a photographing operation member for instructing photographing is provided. A focus position detecting method, wherein the first step and the second step are executed substantially simultaneously when operated. 19. The method according to claim 18, wherein the reference position is a current position of the lens system. 20. The method according to claim 18, further comprising the step of recording a focus position at each time of photographing, wherein the reference position is calculated based on the plurality of recorded focus positions. The focus position detection method described in the above. 21. The method according to claim 21, further comprising the step of selecting one mode from a plurality of modes according to the type of the subject, wherein the reference position is a position corresponding to the selected mode. 19. The focus position detection method according to item 18. 22. In the second step, when the distance measurement result in the first step is different from the photographing distance corresponding to the reference position by a predetermined value or more, the in-focus position detecting operation is performed at that time. The method according to any one of claims 18 to 21, wherein the processing is interrupted, the reference position is reset to the focus position detected in the first step, and the focus position is detected again. The focus position detection method described in the above. 23. In the third step, when the distance measurement result in the first step and the photographing distance corresponding to the focus position detected in the second step are different from each other by a predetermined value or more, Depending on the reliability of both, the first
The result of the focusing in the step (b) or the second step is determined as a final focusing position.
3. The focus position detection method according to any one of 2. 24. In the third step, when the distance measurement result in the first step and the photographing distance corresponding to the focus position detected in the second step are different from each other by a predetermined value or more, 23. The focusing device detecting method according to claim 18, wherein the in-focus position detected in the second step is determined as a final in-focus position. 25. A focus position detection method for detecting a focus position of a lens system including a focus lens system with respect to a subject, wherein prior to operation of a shooting operation member for instructing shooting,
A first step of detecting the distance to the subject at a predetermined time interval by using a photoelectric conversion unit different from the imaging unit; and measuring the first step when the imaging operation member is operated. A second step of calculating a reference position using the distance result; and using the imaging means, moving the lens system near the reference position calculated in the second step to determine a focus position. A third step of performing detection, a fourth step of detecting a distance to a subject using the photoelectric conversion unit to detect a focus position of the lens system, A fifth step of determining a final in-focus position based on the in-focus position detected in the fourth step, wherein the third step and the fourth step are performed substantially simultaneously. A focus position detection method characterized by the following. 26. The focus position detecting method according to claim 25, wherein the first step is performed when a power supply is turned on. 27. The in-focus position detecting method according to claim 25, wherein the first step is performed when it is detected that the grip of the main body is gripped. 28. The method according to claim 28, wherein in the second step, the reference position is calculated based on a plurality of latest distance measurement results detected in the first step before the photographing operation member is operated. The focus position detection method according to any one of claims 25 to 27, characterized in that: 29. In the first step, when the photographing operation member is operated during the distance measurement processing,
26. The distance measurement process is stopped.
29. The focus position detection method according to claim 28. 30. In the first step, when the photographing operation member is operated during the distance measurement process,
26. The distance measurement process is continued, and in the fifth step, a distance measurement result obtained by the distance measurement process is used for determining a final focus position. 28. The in-focus position detecting method according to any one of 28. 31. In the fifth step, when the distance measurement result in the fourth step and the photographing distance corresponding to the focus position detected in the third step are different from each other by a predetermined value or more, the subject In accordance with the information on the reliability of both parties,
4. The method according to claim 2, wherein the focusing result of the step (b) or the fourth step is determined as a final focusing position.
0. The focus position detection method according to any one of 0. 32. In the fifth step, when the distance measurement result in the fourth step and a shooting distance corresponding to the in-focus position detected in the third step are different from each other by a predetermined value or more, 31. The focus position detection method according to claim 25, wherein the focus position detected in the third step is determined as a final focus position. 33. Any one of claims 18 to 32
A computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a program for causing a computer to execute each step of the invention described in (1).