JP2002354305A - Electronic camera - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To start reproducing and displaying photography images, at an appropriate timing after shooting. SOLUTION: The electronic camera, comprising an imaging means 1 for electronically photographing a subject image, a storage means 5 for storing the subject image being photographed by the imaging means 1, and a display means 8 for reproducing and displaying images being stored in the storage means 5. In addition, the electronic camera comprises a detection means 10 for detecting whether or not a photographer is in a state for viewing the display means 8, and a control means 4 for starting to reproduce and display images by the display means 8, when it is detected that a photographer can view the display means 8 by the detection means 10, after shooting using the imaging means 1, thus preventing reproduced images being displayed on the display means, after shooting from being missed, and preventing wasteful image reproduction, in the case of continuous shooting after the shooting.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

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

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art There is known an electronic camera which includes a finder optical system and an LCD monitor, and reproduces and displays a photographed image on the LCD monitor (for example, JP-A-2000-115).
No. 595).

An electronic camera without a mechanical shutter and equipped with a finder optical system completely independent of a photographic optical system can take a picture while looking through the finder, and also can display a subject image (through image) displayed on an LCD monitor. ) Can be taken while watching, and an image taken after shooting can be reproduced and displayed on the LCD monitor.

On the other hand, in a single-lens reflex type electronic camera provided with a mechanical shutter, except for the time of exposure, a quick return mirror is lowered into a photographing optical path between a photographing optical system and an image pickup device, and passes through the photographing optical system. Since the luminous flux from the subject is guided to the finder, the subject image can be observed with the finder, but the subject image cannot be displayed on the LCD monitor. Therefore, with a single-lens reflex type electronic camera equipped with a mechanical shutter, the subject image (through image) displayed on the LCD monitor
You cannot shoot while watching.

In a conventional electronic camera, when a release button is released after photographing, a photographed image is automatically reproduced and displayed on an LCD monitor for a predetermined time.

[0006]

However, in the conventional electronic camera, the reproduced image of the photographed image is displayed on the LCD monitor immediately after the release is released. And
There is a problem that an operation for reproducing an image must be performed again. In addition, there is a problem in that the reproduction display of the photographed image is performed without permission even though there is an intention to perform the photographing after the photographing, and the reproduction display is useless.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an electronic camera which starts reproduction and display of a photographed image at an appropriate timing after photographing.

[0008]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an imaging unit for electronically photographing a subject image, a storage unit for storing the subject image photographed by the imaging unit, and a storage unit. Detecting means 1 applied to an electronic camera having a display means 8 for reproducing and displaying an image stored in the means 5, and detecting whether or not the photographer can view the display means 8
0, and a control means 4 for starting the reproduction and display of an image by the display means 8 when the detection means 10 detects that the photographer is in a state in which the display means 8 can be visually observed after the photographing by the imaging means 1. This achieves the above object. (2) In the electronic camera according to the second aspect, the detecting means is a switch 10 for detecting an operation of the shutter release button. When the shutter release button is not operated, the photographer can view the display means 8. I do. (3) The electronic camera according to claim 3, wherein the detecting means is a switch provided in the finder eyepiece window for detecting a photographer's eyepiece, and when the photographer's eyepiece to the finder eyepiece window is not detected, the photographer is displayed on the display means. 8 is in a visible state. (4) The electronic camera according to claim 4, wherein the detection means is a photographer's line of sight detecting device provided in the finder, and when the finder does not detect the photographer's line of sight, the photographer can view the display means 8. Suppose there is. (5) In the electronic camera according to the fifth aspect, the detecting means is a pressure sensor provided at a predetermined position of the grip portion of the camera. It is assumed that the display means 8 is in a visible state. (6) The electronic camera according to claim 6, when the detecting means detects that the photographer is in a state in which the display means 8 can be viewed after the image capturing means 1 has taken a plurality of continuous images. Then, a plurality of captured images are reproduced and displayed on the display means 8 at predetermined time intervals. (7) The invention according to claim 7 is an imaging means 1 for electronically capturing a subject image, a storage means 5 for storing the subject image captured by the imaging means 1, and an image stored in the storage means 5 A detecting means 10 applied to an electronic camera having a display means 8 for reproducing and displaying, and detecting whether or not the photographer intends to photograph;
And a control means 4 for starting the reproduction and display of an image by the display means 8 when the detection means 10 detects that the photographer does not intend to take a picture after the photographing by the imaging means 1, thereby achieving the above object. I do.

In the section of the means for solving the above-described problem, a diagram of one embodiment is used for easy understanding of the description, but the present invention is not limited to the embodiment. .

[0010]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment. The CCD image sensor 1 electronically captures a subject image. The A / D converter 2 converts an analog image signal output from the CCD image sensor 1 into a digital signal. AS
The IC 3 is a circuit dedicated to image processing for performing processing such as white balance on an image captured by the CCD image sensor 1 and compressing and expanding the image. The CPU 4 performs various calculations such as distance measurement and photometry of the digital still camera and performs sequence control.

The SDRAM 5 is a buffer memory for temporarily storing data of an image photographed by the CCD 1 and the memory card 6 is an external recording medium for recording a photographed image. The image recording on the memory card 6 is performed by compressing the image by the ASIC 3. The video encoder 7 converts an image signal decompressed by the ASIC 3 into a video signal when reproducing an image compressed and recorded on the memory card 6. The LCD monitor 8 displays a captured image. The switches 10 and 11 are switches that are turned on and off in conjunction with a shutter release button (not shown). The switch 10 is turned on when the release is half-pressed, and the switch 11 is turned on when the release is fully pressed.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a photographing operation according to one embodiment. In step 1, the half-press operation of the release button is confirmed by the switch 10. In step 2, the exposure at the time of photographing is calculated by measuring the luminance of the object scene by a photometric circuit (not shown), and the photographing optical system is measured by measuring the photographing distance or the focus adjustment state by a distance measuring circuit (not shown). Focus adjustment. In the following step 3, the full-press operation of the release button is confirmed by the switch 11, and when the release button is fully pressed, the process proceeds to step 4.

In step 4, an electric charge is stored by the CCD image pickup device 1, and a subject image is photographed.
Store it temporarily in AM5. In the following step 5,
It is checked whether there is a free space in the SDRAM 5 and the memory card 6, that is, whether shooting can be continuously performed. If there is no free space, the process proceeds to Step 7. If there is a free space and continuous shooting is possible, Step 6 is performed. Proceed to.

In step 6, the switch 11 is used to confirm that the release button has been fully pressed, and when the release button has been fully pressed, the flow returns to step 4 to repeat the above-described photographing and image temporary storage processing. On the other hand, if the release full-press operation has not been performed, the process proceeds to step 7, and the release half-press operation is confirmed.

If the release half-press operation is performed after the completion of the photographing and the temporary storage processing of the image, the photographer intends to continue photographing, and the photographer is ready for the next photographing or is in the standby state, and the LCD monitor 8 is not in a visible state, and the process proceeds to step 8. Then, after performing photometry and distance measurement in step 8, the process returns to step 5 and photography is continued as long as there is an empty area in the memory.

On the other hand, if the release half-press operation is not performed after the completion of the photographing and the temporary storage processing of the image, the photographer has no intention to perform photographing, and the photographer is not ready for the next photographing or is not in a standby state. When it is determined that the LCD monitor 8 is in a viewable state, the process proceeds to step 9, where the captured image temporarily stored in the SDRAM 5 is reproduced and displayed on the LCD monitor 8 for a predetermined time. At this time, when a plurality of images are taken in the continuous shooting mode, the images are reproduced and displayed at predetermined time intervals in the order of shooting.

When the reproduction of the image on the monitor 8 is completed, in step 10, the image stored in the SDRAM 5 is compressed by the ASIC 3 and the compressed image is recorded on the memory card 6.
The shooting operation ends.

As described above, according to the above-described embodiment, when the shutter release button is not operated after photographing, the photographer has no intention of photographing, and the photographer prepares for the next photographing or enters the standby state. It is determined that the LCD monitor 8 is in a visible state and the reproduction display of the photographed image temporarily stored in the SDRAM 5 is started. Therefore, after photographing, the reproduced image displayed on the LCD monitor 8 is overlooked. In addition, when shooting is performed continuously after shooting, useless image reproduction can be prevented. In addition, the photographer can arbitrarily change the start timing of the reproduction display of the captured image by adjusting the half-pressing time of the shutter release button.

Further, according to the above-described embodiment, when the shutter release button is not operated after the continuous photographing of a plurality of images, the photographer has no intention to perform the next photographing, and It is determined that the LCD monitor 8 is in a viewable state, and the reproduction display of a plurality of captured images temporarily stored in the SDRAM 5 is displayed at predetermined time intervals in the order of capturing, so that in addition to the above-described effects, special You can check all the images taken continuously without any complicated operations.

In the above-described embodiment, the shutter release half-press switch 10 is used to detect whether or not the photographer can view the LCD monitor 8 after photographing, and when the shutter release button is not operated. Shows an example in which the photographer has no intention of photographing and judges that the photographer is in a state where the LCD monitor 8 can be viewed.
The method of detecting whether or not the D monitor 8 is visible is not limited to the method of the above-described embodiment.

For example, a switch or a sensor for detecting the photographer's eyepiece state is provided in the viewfinder eyepiece window, and when the photographer's eyepiece to the viewfinder eyepiece window is not detected, the photographer has no intention of the next photographing. The photographer is LC
It may be determined that the D monitor 8 is in a visible state.

Further, in a camera of a type in which a sight line of a photographer is provided in a viewfinder to adjust the focus of a photographing optical system on a subject in the line of sight of the photographer, when the line of sight of the photographer is not detected by the line of sight detecting device. It may be determined that the photographer has no intention to perform the next photographing and the photographer is in a state where the LCD monitor 8 can be viewed.

Alternatively, a pressure sensor or a predetermined position is provided at a predetermined position of the grip portion of the camera, for example, at any one of a position where the thumb touches, a position where the middle finger touches, a position where the ring finger touches, and a position where the little finger touches. Provide a switch that operates with the pressure of, when the pressure holding the camera at the time of shooting at the predetermined position of the grip portion is not detected,
It may be determined that the photographer has no intention to perform the next photographing and that the photographer can view the LCD monitor 8.

In the above-described embodiment, an example suitable for an electronic camera having a mechanical shutter has been described. That is, in the electronic camera with the shutter, the subject light does not enter the imaging device (CCD) until the quick return mirror is retracted from the imaging optical path and the shutter is opened.
It is not always possible to display a through image on an LCD monitor and perform photographing. Therefore, it is important to reproduce and confirm a photographed image after photographing. On the other hand, an electronic camera without a mechanical shutter can always display a through image on an LCD monitor and shoot. In this case, the playback image can be confirmed even if the playback image is displayed immediately after the shooting, but the playback operation of the previous shot image is started even when there is an intention to perform the shooting continuously. May be. ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, when imaging | photography while watching a monitor with the electronic camera which is not equipped with a mechanical shutter, when imaging | photography is performed continuously, reproduction | regeneration of immediately preceding imaging | photography image is not performed but reproduction | regeneration can be performed after imaging | photography completion. Therefore, convenience is improved.

[0025]

(1) As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, when it is detected that the photographer is in a state where the photographer can view the display means after photographing, the reproduction display of the photographed image is started. This makes it possible to prevent a reproduced image displayed on the display unit from being overlooked after photographing, and to prevent unnecessary image reproduction when photographing is continuously performed after photographing. (2) According to the invention of claim 2, the switch for detecting the operation of the shutter release button is used, and when there is no operation of the shutter release button, it is determined that the photographer is in a state where the display means is visible. did. Most electronic cameras now have a switch that detects half-press operation and full-press operation of the shutter release button, perform photometry and distance measurement by half-pressing the release button, and shoot by pressing the release button fully. The shutter release and half-press switches are not operating because the metering and distance measurement are performed by pressing the release button halfway before exposure, and then exposure is performed by pressing the release button fully. At this time, it can be determined that the photographer has not taken a picture and that the photographer can view the display means. Therefore, it is possible to reliably detect whether or not the photographer can view the display means by using the operation detection switch of the shutter release button without providing a special detection member or operation member.
In addition, the start timing of reproduction display can be arbitrarily changed by the photographer adjusting the half-press timing of the shutter release button. (3) According to the invention of claim 3, a switch provided in the viewfinder eyepiece window for detecting the photographer's eyepiece is used, and when the photographer's eyepiece to the viewfinder eyepiece window is not detected, the photographer looks at the display means. It is now determined that it is possible. As described above, with a single-lens reflex type electronic camera, a through image is always displayed on the LCD monitor, and photographing cannot be performed while watching the through image, and only shooting through the viewfinder can be performed. When no eyepiece is detected, it can be determined that the photographer is in a state where the display means can be viewed, and the photographer can view the display means without providing a special detection member or operation member. Can be reliably detected. (4) According to the invention of claim 4, using the photographer's line of sight detecting device provided in the finder, when the photographer's line of sight is not detected by the finder, it is determined that the photographer is in a state where the display means can be viewed. Therefore, the electronic camera with the eye-gaze detecting device can reliably detect whether or not the photographer can view the display means without providing a special detection member or an operation member. it can. (5) According to the invention of claim 5, the pressure sensor provided at a predetermined position of the grip portion of the camera is used. Is determined to be in a visible state, it is possible to reliably detect whether the photographer is in a state in which the display means is visible. (6) According to the invention of claim 6, when it is detected that the photographer is in a state in which the display means can be viewed after continuous photographing of a plurality of images, the photographed plurality of images are obtained. Is reproduced and displayed at predetermined time intervals.
In addition to the above-described effects, it is possible to check all images continuously shot without any special operation. (7) According to the seventh aspect of the invention, when it is detected that the photographer has no intention to photograph after the photographing, the reproduction and display of the photographed image is started. The effect is obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a shooting operation according to an embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 CCD image sensor 2 A / D converter 3 ASIC 4 CPU 5 SDRAM 6 Memory card 7 Video encoder 8 LCD monitor 10 Release half-press switch 11 Release full-press switch

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. An image capturing means for electronically capturing a subject image, a storage means for storing the subject image captured by the image capturing means, and a display means for reproducing and displaying the image stored in the storage means. An electronic camera comprising: a detecting unit that detects whether a photographer is in a state in which the display unit is visible; and a state in which the photographer is able to view the display unit by the detecting unit after photographing by the imaging unit. The electronic camera further comprises: control means for starting the reproduction and display of an image by the display means when it is detected that the electronic camera is located in the electronic camera. 2. The electronic camera according to claim 1, wherein said detection means is a switch for detecting an operation of a shutter release button, and a photographer can view said display means when there is no operation of a shutter release button. An electronic camera, characterized in that the electronic camera is in a proper state. 3. The electronic camera according to claim 1, wherein said detecting means is a switch provided in a viewfinder eyepiece window for detecting a photographer's eyepiece, and when a photographer's eyepiece to the viewfinder eyepiece window is not detected. An electronic camera, wherein a photographer is in a state where the display means is visible. 4. The electronic camera according to claim 1, wherein said detection means is a photographer's line of sight detecting device provided in a finder, and when the photographer's line of sight is not detected by the finder, the photographer is displayed by said display means. An electronic camera characterized in that the electronic camera can be viewed. 5. The electronic camera according to claim 1, wherein said detecting means is a pressure sensor provided at a predetermined position of a grip portion of the camera, and a pressure for holding the camera at a predetermined position of the grip portion at the time of photographing. An electronic camera, characterized in that when not detected, the photographer is in a state where the display means can be viewed. 6. The electronic camera according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of continuous images are taken by said imaging means.
When the detecting means detects that the photographer is in a state in which the display means can be viewed, the photographed images are reproduced and displayed on the display means at predetermined time intervals. Electronic camera. 7. An image capturing means for electronically capturing a subject image, a storage means for storing the subject image captured by the image capturing means, and a display means for reproducing and displaying the image stored in the storage means. An electronic camera provided with: a detecting unit for detecting the presence or absence of a photographer's intention to photograph; and a detecting unit that detects no photographer's intention to photograph after the photographing by the imaging unit. An electronic camera, comprising: control means for starting reproduction display.