JP2002152558A - Camera - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a camera for allowing a user to start photographing by instantaneously changing composition at the time of photographing, by viewing a plurality of pictures displayed on a finder and judging which composition is better while comparing them, and to enjoy the photographing without wasting film or memory and without missing shutter chance. SOLUTION: This camera having a finder is provided with LCD 5 and 6 for forming first and second pictures in the finder, and the pictures are displayed so that the present photographing composition can be indicated by the first picture, and that composition photographable according to a zoom operation or the change of ways of setting this camera can be indicated by the second picture.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a camera having an improved viewfinder, and more particularly to a camera capable of displaying a plurality of screens by dividing the screen.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open
Japanese Patent Publication No. 8 discloses a technique relating to a camera capable of observing a range wider than a photographing range by improving a finder to enhance visibility of a situation at the time of photographing.

Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-326992 discloses a technique relating to a finder which can enlarge a part of a finder screen.

[0004]

However, these prior arts cannot be said to be sufficient techniques for judging the composition in which the photographer performs photographing.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to allow a user to look at a plurality of screens displayed in a viewfinder and determine which composition is better while comparing the two. Enables you to instantly change the composition when shooting and start shooting, enabling you to enjoy photography without wasting film and memory, and without missing photo opportunities. It is to provide a camera.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, according to a first aspect of the present invention, in a camera having a finder, an image forming means for forming first and second images in the finder is provided. Image display is performed so that the first image indicates a current shooting composition and the second image indicates a composition that can be shot by a zoom operation or a change in the attitude of the camera. A camera is provided.

According to a second aspect, in a camera having a finder, an image forming means for forming first and second images in the finder is provided, wherein the first image indicates a current shooting composition. A camera is provided which performs image display so as to show a composition in which a second image is stored.

According to the first and second aspects, the following operation is achieved.

That is, in the first aspect of the present invention, the first image indicates the current shooting composition, and the second image indicates the composition that can be shot by a zoom operation or a change in the attitude of the camera. An image is displayed. In the second mode, image display is performed so that the first image indicates the current shooting composition and the second image indicates the composition in which the second image is stored.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1B, in a camera provided with a zoom lens 3 driven by a zoom switch 2b, a user 101 operates a release switch 2a and a zoom switch 2b to obtain a composition and a composition. Photographing is performed by adjusting the photo opportunity (see FIG. 4A).
At this time, auto focus (hereinafter, referred to as AF),
Focusing and exposure are automatically adjusted by the camera by a photometric (hereinafter referred to as AE) unit 28 and the like. On the other hand, the desired composition and shutter timing need to be determined by the user himself.

Here, when determining which of the zooming position (angle of view) and the vertical and horizontal composition of the zoom lens 3 is better, the composition of the camera is determined as shown in FIGS. 4 (a) and 4 (b). Since it is necessary to repeat operations such as switching and operating the zoom switch 2b, it takes a very long time.

That is, as shown in FIG.
Even when shooting 02, the range to be photographed changes depending on how the camera 100 is held and the zoom position, such as a range 103 (horizontal composition wide angle side), a range 104 (horizontal composition wide angle side), and a range 105 (vertical composition wide angle side). I do. Each time, the viewfinder screen changes as shown in FIGS. 6A to 6C, but it is not easy to determine which composition is better according to each situation.

That is, if the expression of a person is important, FIG.
The composition shown in (a) is good, and if the scenery at that time is important, a composition in which the background mountains and lakes are shown as shown in FIGS. 6B and 6C is preferable. However, since these cannot be confirmed at the same time, the user repeatedly performs operations such as zooming and changing the attitude.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a method for changing the zooming position, as shown in FIGS. 2 (a) and 2 (b), in addition to the composition 111 which becomes a picture when the current picture is taken in the viewfinder screen 110. This is characterized in that the composition 112 and the composition 113 when the camera is held vertically can be displayed at the same time, so that the user can easily select a desired composition from among them and determine a shooting method. Based on the above assumptions, embodiments of the present invention will be described below.

First, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 1A is a configuration diagram of a camera according to the first embodiment.

There are two means for monitoring a subject. That is, the objective system 20, the optical path shielding LCD 21, the prism 2
2, an eyepiece 4a, an electronic image pickup element 26 such as a CCD, and an objective lens 25 for guiding a subject image to these elements.

The prism 22 disposed on the front surface of the optical finder 4a reflects the light incident from the lens 24 and transmits the light from the objective lens 20, and observes both lights to the user 101. Leading to possible.

With only such a configuration, light from the two optical paths is mixed and a problem occurs.

In order to prevent such a situation, the light path blocking LCD 21 is configured to mask light from the front if necessary.

The light from the lens 24 is a color LCD.
5 is a backlight (hereinafter referred to as B.L) unit 23.
Is an image illuminated by.

If the irradiation of the light from the backlight unit 23 is eliminated, the light from the color LCD 5 will not be guided, so that the light path shielding LCD 21 is not particularly necessary.

The display image of the color LCD 5 is obtained by processing image data input from the electronic image pickup device 26 by a processing circuit.

This processing is mainly "trimming" and "enlargement", and forms the images 103 and 105 from the image in the range indicated by reference numeral 106 in FIG. 5, and is currently visible in the optical finder system. A composition different from the composition is displayed.

For this purpose, the current 200M state and the vertical / horizontal state are determined using the zoom detecting section and the vertical / horizontal detecting section 30, and a composition different from that is shown.

An arithmetic control means (hereinafter, referred to as a CPU) 1 comprising a one-chip microcomputer or the like controls such determination and sequence control of the entire camera. This CPU1
Controls the AF / AE unit 28 at the time of photographing, performs distance measurement and photometry, and determines the focus position, the presence / absence of light emission of the strobe 29, and the like.

FIG. 1B shows an external view of such a camera.

As shown in FIG. 1B, an electronic viewfinder lens 25 is provided in addition to the optical viewfinder 20 on the front surface of the camera.

Hereinafter, referring to the flowchart of FIG.
The main sequence of the camera according to the first embodiment will be described in detail.

When the user sets the composition candidate monitor mode by operating the zoom switch 2b, a part of the objective luminous flux of the optical finder is shielded, and an electronic image is displayed on that part (steps S1 and S2).

That is, the electronic image pickup device 26 such as a CCD
To capture an electronic image (step S3), determine the current zoom state and vertical / horizontal state (step S4), and process and display an image in a zoom state or vertical / horizontal composition state different from those states on the color LCD 5 (step S3) S5). Thereafter, the release operation is detected by the determination of the release switch 2a (step S6), and the photographing sequence is started. Before the release switch 2a is turned on, steps S1 to S1 are performed.
S6 is repeated in a predetermined sequence.

At the time of image processing and display, what to do with the image is displayed together. In other words, if the screen is wider than the current wide screen, a "T" is added on the sub-drawing to indicate that the reference numeral 112 is used at the time of telephoto.
In the case of the current horizontal composition, “vertical” is displayed near the bottom of the sub screen, and the screen in the vertical composition is displayed on the sub screen. Further, depending on the setting of the user, three screens including the current state may be arranged side by side and can be compared (see FIGS. 2A and 2B).

As described above, according to the first embodiment, it is possible to monitor the difference between the zooming and the vertical and horizontal composition in a manner that is easy for the user to understand. Can be assisted.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a configuration of a camera according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

Here, it is assumed that a single-lens reflex camera is used.

In FIG. 7, a subject image incident from a photographing lens (zoom lens) 3 is reflected upward by a quick return mirror (hereinafter, referred to as a main mirror) 8 and formed on a focusing screen 6.

Further, after being enlarged by the lens 4b,
The image direction is aligned by the pentaprism 4 and guided to the user's eye 20 via the eyepiece 4a.

The main mirror 8 has a half-mirror shape, and light not reflected in the direction of the pen prism 4 passes through a substantially central portion of the main mirror 8 and passes through a sub-mirror 9 disposed on the main mirror 8. Is reflected downwards through

In the second embodiment, the sub mirror 9 is characterized.

That is, due to the wavelength-selective reflection effect of the hologram, infrared light passes through the condenser lens 12 and the mirror 1.
3. The light is guided to the phase difference AF optical system including the separator lens 14 and the sensor array 15.

In this method, focusing is performed in accordance with a difference in image position due to light passing through different points of the photographing lens 3, that is, pupil-divided light, and is a method used in a general single-lens reflex camera. In accordance with the result of the AF, focusing is performed via the lens drive (LD) unit 3a.

On the other hand, the other reflected light of the hologram of the sub mirror 9, that is, the visible light component is
0 is led to the CCD 11.

The image based on the visible light component is determined by comparing the magnitude of the contrast at the time of AF.
In addition to being used as an F signal, it can also be used as an input image of an electronic viewfinder. In this embodiment, which function is used by the CPU 1, which is a processing circuit including a one-chip microcomputer, to process the image is determined.

At the time of the electronic viewfinder, the CPU 1
Controls the color LCD 5 via the LCD driver 5a based on the obtained image signal, and reproduces an electronic image.

This reproduced image is obtained by the lens 16 and the prism 1
The light is guided into the pentaprism 4 via 6a, and can be visually recognized by the photographer. If this reconstructed image and the light incident on the pentaprism 16a via the main mirror 8 are mixed, the visibility deteriorates.
Is configured by an LCD, and the CPU 1 controls the transmission / non-transmission of the LCD via the LCD driver 6a.

As a result, light from the side of the main mirror 8 is not transmitted to the portion where the electronic image is incident, so that crosstalk does not occur. Further, at the time of photographing, the main mirror 8 is retracted from the optical axis optical path of the photographing lens 3, the shutter 7 is opened, and a focused image is exposed at a position adjusted on the film 7a.

In the phase difference AF, when the subject image obtained by the pupil division separated by the separator lens 14 has a predetermined positional relationship on the sensor array 15, the film 7a
The positional relationship is stored in the EEPROM (storage unit) 1a during the manufacturing process so that the upper focus position becomes the optimum position.

At this time, a focus position difference between infrared light and visible light due to chromatic aberration of the lens is taken into consideration.

In contrast AF, the position is adjusted in the camera manufacturing process so that the image on the CCD is also optimum when the image on the film is at the optimum focus.

Therefore, when the image of the CCD 11 is checked on the monitor 5 while the focus position of the photographing lens is manually adjusted, the focus state can be clearly confirmed when the image is in focus. The electronic image can be enlarged, sharpened, and image-processed. Therefore, manual adjustment is easier while viewing the electronic image.

Of course, a person who is confident in his or her eyesight may focus while monitoring the optical image on the focusing screen 6. Further, the user who is left to the AF may set the AF mode by controlling the switch 2b.

At this time, when it is dark, the infrared light emitting diode 18 automatically emits light via the driver 18a, and if the light is condensed on the subject by the lens 17, the position difference AF is automatically performed by relying on the auxiliary light image. Focusing is possible. The switch 2a connected to the CPU 1 is a switch for a shutter.

The EVF function can be applied to display a composition candidate which is a feature of the camera according to this embodiment. At this time, in order to form an image on the CCD 11, light transmitted through the main mirror (half mirror) 8 and reflected by the sub mirror 9 is condensed by the lens 10, and
2 may be displayed on the sub-screens 112 and 113 as shown in FIG.

Hereinafter, referring to the flowchart of FIG.
The operation of the camera according to the second embodiment will be described in detail.

First, it is determined whether or not the manual focus mode has been set (step S11). If the manual focus mode has been set, L is set.
A part of the CD driver 6a is controlled to be non-transparent (step S
18) The CCD image is input and displayed by controlling the LCD driver 5a (step S19), and the processed image is displayed on the LCD 5 (step S20). If the release is off, the process returns to the step S11, and if the release is turned on. The process moves to step S17 (step S21).

In step S11, when the mode is not set to the MF mode, when the mode is set to the composition candidate display mode, it is determined whether or not to store the composition (step S22). A
F (step S23), the LCD driver 6a is driven to control a part of the LCD 6 to be non-transparent (step S23).
24), the CCD image is controlled by the LCD driver 5a to
An input is displayed on the CD 5 (step S25). If the release is off, the process returns to step S11, and if the release is on, the process moves to step S17 (step S21).

In step S12, when the composition candidate display mode is not set, when the release is turned on (step S13), the phase difference AF is performed (step S14). The process proceeds to step S17, and if there is no reliability, LD
The driving contrast AF is performed, and the process proceeds to step S17. In step S17, exposure is performed, and the process returns.

As described above, in the manual focus mode, a processed image at the center of the screen is provided to facilitate manual focusing. In the composition candidate display mode, the composition storage switch (for example, FIGS. 4A and 4B) ) Is focused at the timing when 2C) is operated (step S)
23) The composition image is stored and displayed on the sub screen.

When the mode is not the MF mode or the composition candidate display mode, when the release switch 2a is operated, the exposure is controlled by focusing using the phase difference AF (steps S14 to S16). At this time, referring to the displayed sub-screen (reference numeral 112 in FIGS. 2A and 2B),
You will be shooting.

As described above, according to the second embodiment, even a single-lens reflex camera uses a composition candidate display, which is a feature of the present invention, to carefully determine the composition and take a photograph without failure. Can be enjoyed.

That is, if the user finds a composition that is a candidate, each time the composition storage switch is operated, the stored image is displayed as a sub-screen and can be monitored simultaneously with the current main screen. You can shoot while examining the fact.

As described above, according to the present invention, in a situation in which the user is worried about determining the composition at the time of shooting, the user can easily understand the composition and simultaneously show the composition different from the current composition to prompt the user to immediately determine and operate the composition. It is possible to provide a camera with improved instantaneous shooting.

[0065]

According to the present invention, the user can look at a plurality of screens displayed in the viewfinder and compare and determine which composition is better. The camera can be enjoyed without taking up a photo opportunity without wasting film and memory.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a camera according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a finder screen of the camera according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a main sequence of the camera according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a shooting situation by the camera according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an imprinting range by the camera according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a view showing a finder screen corresponding to each range in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a camera according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an operation of the camera according to the second embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 CPU 1a Storage part (EEPROM) 2a Release switch 2b Zoom switch 3 Zoom lens 4 Pentaprism 5 LCD 5a LCD driver 6 Focusing screen 6a LCD driver 7 Shutter 7a Film 8 Quick return mirror (main mirror) 9 Submirror 10 Lens 11 CCD 12 Condenser lens 13 Mirror 14 Separator lens 15 Sensor array 16 Lens 17 Lens 18 Infrared light emitting diode 20 Objective lens 21 Optical path shielding LCD 22 Prism 23 B. L unit 24 Lens 25 Objective lens 26 CCD 27 Image processing unit 28 AF / AE unit 29 Strobe 30 Vertical and horizontal detector

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A camera having a finder, comprising: image forming means for forming first and second images in the finder, wherein the first image indicates a current shooting composition, and wherein the second image Wherein the camera displays an image so as to show a composition that can be photographed by a zoom operation or a change in the attitude of the camera. 2. A camera having a viewfinder, comprising: image forming means for forming first and second images in the viewfinder, wherein the first image indicates a current shooting composition, and wherein the second image A camera displaying an image so as to show a composition in which is stored.