JP2003060962A - Digital camera system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a digital camera system that can be used normally as a camera with proper portability and proper image quality and to which an optimum unit among a plurality of units each, including a lens and an imaging means is loaded, so as to be used as an integrated camera, in the case of desiring image quality improvement and high magnification photographing. SOLUTION: The digital camera system comprises a digital camera body 10 and an imaging unit 20, attachable to/detachable from the body 10. The camera body 10 is provided with a first single focus imaging lens 1, a first imaging means 2 for imaging an object via the lens, a display means 9 for displaying a photographed image, a first communication means 4 for exchanging information with the outside of the main body 10 and a first attachable/ detachable mechanism 5 to be physically joined with the outside of the body 10. The imaging unit 20 is provided with a second attachable/detachable mechanism 15, that is joined via the first attachable/detachable mechanism 5, a second communication means 14 that can exchange information with the first communication means, a second imaging lens 11 that is placed in front of the optical path of the first imaging lens 2 to conceal it, and a 2nd imaging means 12 that images the object via the lens.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a camera system having a digital camera for electronic imaging.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Recent digital camera technologies have been developed in various forms corresponding to a wide range of applications. For example, in the interchangeable lens type digital camera taught by Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-184247, the digital camera body including the image pickup means receives the ID data of the interchangeable lens unit, and the ID data and the image data are received. It is suggested to record. This is because the distortion and shading correction information peculiar to the lens unit are all stored and stored in the camera body, so that it is not necessary to correct all the corrections on the camera body side, and the obtained image data and ID The data can be used to clean up the image information on a personal computer.

[0003]

However, in the lens interchangeable digital camera taught in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-184247, an image can be corrected for each interchanged lens to obtain a better image quality. The correction is made on the side of the interchangeable lens, and the image pickup means such as the CCD in the camera body itself cannot be changed due to the configuration. That is, although there are many sizes of image pickup means in recent years, the size cannot be increased in order to improve the image quality.

If the size of the image pickup means is different, the angle of view is different, so that the lens units used are not common. For this reason, when the large-sized image pickup means and the small-sized image pickup means are used separately, interchangeable lenses are required for each size. Also, conventionally, C
Since the compact size of the CD itself is difficult and further expensive, the CCD is generally provided only in the camera body, and a product having an expensive CCD on the interchangeable lens unit side composed of a plurality of products is not available. It was not realized.

The present invention has been made in view of such a situation as described above, and an object of the present invention is to use it as a camera having a normal image quality and good portability, and to improve the image quality and shoot at high magnification. Occasionally, an optimal one of a plurality of units including a lens and an image pickup unit is attached to provide a digital camera system that can be used as an integrated camera.

[0006]

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to solve the above problems and achieve the object, the present invention takes the following means. That is, according to one aspect thereof, there is provided a digital camera system including a digital camera main body and an imaging unit detachable from the main body, the digital camera main body including a first imaging lens and the lens via the lens. A first image pickup unit for picking up an image of a subject, a display unit for displaying a picked-up image, a first communication unit for exchanging information with the outside of the camera body, and a physical unit with the outside of the camera body are possible. A first attachment / detachment mechanism, wherein the imaging unit includes a second attachment / detachment mechanism that can be combined via the first attachment / detachment mechanism;
A second communication unit that enables information exchange with the first communication unit as a unit, a second image pickup lens disposed in front of the optical path of the first image pickup lens, and a subject through the lens. And a second image pickup means for picking up the image.

Then, when the image pickup unit and the digital camera body are integrally connected by the first and second attachment / detachment mechanisms, it is proposed to have the following features. That is, the image pickup unit is mounted so that the first image pickup lens of the digital camera body is hidden by the image pickup unit, and the image pickup unit of the digital camera body is used instead of the first image pickup unit. An image is taken by the second imaging means. Alternatively, the flash control of the digital camera body is controlled to be prohibited. Furthermore, a digital camera system is proposed in which an image captured by the image capturing unit is displayed on the display unit of the digital camera body.

[0008]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is a block diagram conceptually showing the structure of a digital camera system of the present invention. The basic configuration of this digital camera system is, for example, a digital camera body 10 integrally provided with a monofocal lens so that it can be used independently, and a multifocal lens and its lens that can be attached to and detached from the camera body as desired. The digital camera system is composed of an image pickup unit 20 having a dedicated image pickup unit and is capable of exchanging a lens with an image pickup unit.

The digital camera body 10 has a monofocal first image pickup lens 1, a first image pickup means 2 including a CCD for picking up an image of a subject through the lens, and an LCD for displaying the picked up image. Display means 9 consisting of
It is provided with a first communication means 4 for exchanging information with the outside of the camera body, and a first attaching / detaching mechanism 5 capable of being physically combined with the outside of the camera body.

On the other hand, the image pickup unit 20 can exchange information between the second attaching / detaching mechanism 15 which can be united through the first attaching / detaching mechanism 5 and the first communication means 4 by this uniting connection. And a second image pickup lens 11 which is arranged in front of the optical path of the first image pickup lens 1 and hides it, and is further dedicated to picking up an image of a subject through the image pickup lens 11. Second image pickup means 1 composed of a CCD or the like
Equipped with 2. Then, without using the first image pickup lens 1 and the first image pickup means 2 of the camera body, the image pickup unit 2
Second image pickup lens 11 and second image pickup means 1 which form 0
2 can be used to electronically capture an image of optimum size and image quality.

The features of each of the embodiments will be described in detail below. (First Embodiment) First, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 2, 3 and 5. FIG. 2 shows a partial cross-sectional configuration diagram of the combination of the digital camera system of the first embodiment, and FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of the appearance of only the digital camera body.

This digital camera system is composed of, for example, a digital camera main body 10a and a plurality of exchange units which are at least composed of an image pickup unit 20a which can be attached to and detached from the main body 10a.

In the digital camera body 10a, a release button 7a and a lens barrier 17 are attached to a compact casing (body) which is a thin rectangular parallelepiped, and a monofocal imaging lens 1a is provided inside the front opening. , 1b and a dedicated CCD 2 are coaxially arranged. Further, a bayonet type mount portion is provided at an edge portion of the opening, and a concave portion 15a capable of fitting with a convex portion 5a of the image pickup unit 20a described later is formed.

On the other hand, the image pickup unit 20a attached to the mount portion of the digital camera body 10a is constructed as follows. A concentric imaging lens 11a, 11b and a dedicated CCD 12 are coaxially arranged at the center of the inside of the cylindrical lens barrel 19, and a reflection mirror (concave mirror) 18 is coaxially arranged at the inside of the lens barrel. It is located in. Then, a folded optical path is formed as indicated by the alternate long and short dash line so that a subject image is formed on the surface of the CCD 12.

Further, the detachable mechanism 5 is used as an image pickup unit 20.
The convex portion 5a formed at the rear end of a is fitted into the concave portion 15a of the mount portion on the front surface of the digital camera body and rotated by a predetermined angle so that it can be locked by the bayonet method. A lock release button 5c is provided in the vicinity of the opening so that the lock release button 5c can be slid in order to release the bayonet type lock state and remove the imaging unit 20a.

Further, a communication electrode pattern 4a as a communication means having an electrical contact terminal is provided near the opening,
The communication connection pin 14a of the imaging unit 20a is electrically connected at a predetermined mounting position. The communication means may be, for example, a USB (IEEE 1394) specification, or may be connected to a personal computer and used independently.

In this embodiment, the photographing unit 20
It is designed such that the photographing unit 20a can be arranged so as to be positioned in front of the first image pickup lens 1a when a is attached (that is, combined) to the mount portion of the digital camera body 10a. By arranging as described above, the first image pickup lens 1 of the digital camera body is hidden, the image pickup function of the first image pickup means (CCD 2) is prohibited, and the second image pickup lens 11 constituting the image pickup unit 20 is provided. The digital camera system is configured to be operated by switching to an image capturing operation using the second image capturing means 12.

In the case of this embodiment, the first image pickup lens 1a and the second image pickup lens 11 of the image pickup unit 20 are used.
Although a is designed to be attached at a position where the optical axis O coincides, it does not necessarily have to coincide. Further, the positional relationship between the lens, the CCD, and the reflecting mirror can be variously arranged according to their types and functions, and the lens barrel can be shortened by appropriately folding the optical path. .

Here, the control relating to the operation of the digital camera system described above will be described in detail. Figure 7
The flowchart illustrated in Fig. 1 represents the control procedure of the operation of this digital camera system.
It is executed by a control program running on the CPU 3 as the overall control means in the digital camera body 10.

At this time, the CPU 3 appropriately controls as follows so that each unit can perform a predetermined operation while mutually communicating with the CPU 13 in the image pickup unit 20 through the second communication means 14. That is, first, it is determined whether or not the barrier 17 is opened and the main switch (not shown) in the main body which is interlocked with the barrier is turned on (S1).
When it is determined that the camera is not used, the lens barrel 19 is retracted from step S2 (S2), and the LCD as the display unit 9 is displayed.
Is turned off (S3), and the camera is stopped (S4).

On the other hand, when the main switch is ON,
From step S5, the lens barrel 19 is set (S
5) Then, the LCD display is turned on (S6) and, for example, the 4-minute timer starts counting (S7).

In step S8, it is determined whether or not the barrier 17 is opened and the main switch is turned on. If not, it is determined that the camera is not used, and similarly, the process returns to step S2 and the camera is stopped (S8). ). In step S9, operation of the release SW is determined (S9), and if operated, the process proceeds to step S30 described later. Step S1
At 0, the operation of the mode SW (not shown) is judged (S1
0) When operated, the mode is changed to the corresponding mode (S11), and the process proceeds to step S16.

In step S12, the operation of the image display SW (not shown) is determined (S12), and when operated, the image is displayed and output on the LCD (S13), and the process proceeds to step S16. In step S14, the operation of the up / down SW (not shown) of the image is determined (S1).
4) If this is not operated, the process proceeds to step S50, but if this is operated, from step S15,
The previous or next captured image is displayed on the LCD (S1
5). From step S16, the timer for 4 minutes is started (S16), and the timer for 10 seconds for image display is restarted (S17). Then, the process proceeds to step S50.

In step S30, it is determined whether the image pickup (lens) unit 20 is attached to the mount portion (S3
0), and if not, the process branches to step S41. If it is not attached, from step S31, it is considered that the digital camera body 10 is used alone, and the image pickup circuit in the digital camera body 10 is activated (S31), and the predetermined distance measurement (S32) and photometry (S33) are performed. ) And focus on the subject based on these measurement results (S3
4), and an image is taken (S35).

From step S36, the imaged image is processed (S36), and the count of the number of imaged frames is incremented by 1 (S37). After that, the processed image is displayed on the LCD.
Simultaneously with the above display (S38), the time measurement by the 4-minute timer is started (S39), and the time measurement by the 10-minute timer is started (S40). Then, step S50
Move to.

On the other hand, from step S41, since the image pickup (lens) unit 20 is attached to the digital camera body 10, a preparation request for image pickup operation is communicated to the image pickup unit (S41), and a predetermined measurement is performed. Distance (S42) and photometry (S43) are performed. Then, these measurement results are communicated to the digital camera body 10 (S44).

In step S45, first, it is determined whether or not the strobe means 8a built in the digital camera body is prohibited (S45). If prohibited, the process proceeds to step S48. Judgment of whether or not (S
If there is a request based on 46), strobe light is emitted according to the amount of light requested by the imaging unit (S47).

In step S48, the presence / absence of communication indicating that the imaging has been completed is detected (S48). If there is no communication, the process returns to step S45, but if completed, the image data from the imaging unit is received. (S49), and returns to step S36. In step S50, the image display is 10
Whether 10 seconds have elapsed is determined by a 10-minute timer (S5
0), if no, the process proceeds to step S53, but if it has elapsed, the image display is erased (S51), and the timer is stopped for 10 seconds for image display (S52).

In step S53, whether or not 4 minutes have elapsed is determined by a 4-minute timer (S53). If the timer has not yet elapsed, the process returns to step S8 described above. Collapse the lens barrel (S5
4) Turn off the LCD to turn off the display (S5
5) And stop the operation of this camera system.

As described above, in the digital camera system of the first embodiment, the image pickup unit 20a including the image pickup lens 11a and the image pickup means (CCD) 12 and the digital camera main body 10a are combined at the mount portion. It has an attachment / detachment mechanism and is configured to be detachable as desired. Therefore, when connected by this mount part, the first image pickup lens (1a) on the digital camera body side is hidden by this image pickup unit 20a, and the CPU 3 receives the first image pickup lens (1a, 1b) through the first image pickup lens (1a, 1b). Image pickup means (CCD2)
The image pickup operation is prohibited by the image pickup unit 2 instead.
The CPU 12 is instructed via the communication means (4, 14) to prioritize the image pickup operation by the second image pickup means (CCD 12) via the second image pickup lens (11a, 11b) on the 0a side, and The image pickup unit 20a picks up an image, sends the picked-up image to the main body of the digital camera through the communication means (4, 14), and outputs it to the display means 9 provided on the rear surface.

Therefore, the digital camera body in this digital camera system can be displayed on a large screen and is easy to see, no matter what imaging unit is mounted. The image pickup lens of the digital camera body may be, for example, a single-focus standard lens, or may be a small and thin digital camera that places importance on portability.

On the other hand, as the image pickup unit in this digital camera system, a desired image pickup lens and image pickup means can be freely combined to form a unit. Therefore, since the installation position of the image pickup means can be changed, it is possible to freely return the light passing through the image pickup lens, and it is easy to increase the magnification even with a relatively short lens barrel. As shown in the example, if the CCD is placed in front by one turn, or if an optical path for reflecting 90 ° light with a reflection mirror tilted at 45 ° is used, C for the lens
The positional relationship of the CDs can also be arranged directly beside or above. Further, for higher quality (high definition) image quality, the size of the image pickup means (CCD) of the image pickup unit may be increased.

Therefore, by mounting an optimum image pickup unit desired from a plurality of image pickup units constituting this digital camera system on the main body of the digital camera, it can be usually used as a camera having appropriate image quality and good portability. With a detachable imaging unit such as an interchangeable lens, it is possible to easily provide a digital camera system capable of improving image quality and supporting high-magnification photography.

(Second Embodiment) Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. FIG. 4 shows a partial cross-sectional configuration diagram of the combination of the digital camera system according to the second embodiment, and FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of the external appearance of the digital camera body constituting the digital camera system. The characteristic of this digital camera system is that it has a simpler structure and fewer parts than the first embodiment described above, and can achieve the same effect. Therefore, here, instead of the bayonet type of attachment / detachment mechanism, the "slide type" that can be attached / detached by sliding vertically is adopted.
That is, the imaging unit 20b is configured to slide along the rectilinear groove formed in the vertical direction of the camera body in the direction along the rectilinear groove so as to be integrally locked (described later in detail).

As shown in FIG. 4, the digital camera body 10
b is a thin casing similar to that of the first embodiment,
A release button 7a and a lens barrier 17 are arranged.
Then, when the lens barrier 17 of the digital camera body 10b is opened as shown in FIG. 5, there is a monofocal imaging lens 1a on the front surface, and another imaging lens 1b is located behind it.
A dedicated CCD 2 is coaxially arranged as the first image pickup means.

In the vicinity of both sides of the image pickup lens 1a, a straight groove made of plastic or the like which extends in the vertical direction is provided, and a recess 15b is formed.
Is provided, and the projection unit 5b of the image pickup unit 20b, which will be described later, is formed in such a size that the projection 5b, which is also made of plastic or the like, can enter and slide to fit. Since the image pickup unit has the image pickup means and is a complete unit, the positional accuracy of the image pickup unit and the digital camera body is not required, and an inexpensive material such as plastic may be used. Similarly, a communication electrode pattern 4a as a communication means having an electrical contact terminal is provided in the vicinity of the opening so as to conduct electricity at a predetermined mounting position.

On the other hand, the image pickup unit 20b attached to the digital camera body 10b is constructed as follows. The imaging lens 1 is provided at the front stage inside the lens barrel 19.
1c and 11d are coaxially arranged, and a dedicated CCD 12 as second image pickup means is coaxially arranged at the subsequent stage. Then, the optical path indicated by the alternate long and short dash line is formed, and the CCD 12
A subject image is formed on the surface of the.

Further, as the attaching / detaching mechanism 5, the image pickup unit 2 is used.
When the convex portion 5b formed at the rear end of 0b is fitted into the concave portion 15b of the mount portion on the front surface of the digital camera body and slid (slides) in the vertical direction, for example, when the optical axis O substantially coincides, A predetermined mounting position is reached in the vicinity of the opening where the communication electrode pattern 4a is provided, and conduction of these electrode contacts is also established. However, in the case of this example, the image pickup unit 20 is released by releasing the slide type locking state.
It is extremely easy to remove b and there is no lock release button etc. mentioned above, and the imaging unit 2
The imaging unit 20b can be separated from the camera body simply by sliding 0b.

As described above, according to the second embodiment of the present invention, in the locked state, the straight-moving groove (recess 15
No special fixing mechanism or lock release button is required because it is stably maintained by the characteristics of b) and the convex portion 5b, for example, plastic characteristics (elastic deformation and sliding friction resistance, etc.). . Therefore, it can be implemented in a structure that is simple and has a small number of parts. Then, the same effect can be obtained with a simpler structure and fewer parts than the above-described first embodiment.

Also in the case of this embodiment, the lenses 1a and 1b of the digital camera body 10b and the image pickup unit 2 are also provided.
The optical axes O of the lenses 11c and 11d of 0b are attached at the matched positions, but it is not always necessary to match them, and if the connection of the contact terminals (4a) is secured, some deviation in the vertical direction will occur. Can be acceptable. Therefore, since it is not necessary to strictly check the mounting position, it can be easily attached and detached. Further, the lens configuration, the positional relationship between the lens and the CCD, and the like can be variously configured depending on their types and functions, and it is of course possible to further shorten the lens barrel.

(Modification) The first and second embodiments described above may be modified as follows. For example, FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a usage example of the digital camera system of the present invention as a modified example, and as shown in the figure, a small digital camera body 10c is formed on the back surface of a large imaging unit 20. You may implement so that it may fit in a rectangular recess entirely. More specifically, a thin, small, and lightweight digital camera body 10c that can be used alone can be incorporated into the rear surface of an imaging unit 20 having a relatively large and desired high-magnification optical lens and a dedicated CCD. By fitting, the communication connectors 4 and 14 as communication means
Are mutually connected and used by being integrated by a well-known attachment / detachment mechanism (not shown).

An LCD may be used on the entire surface of the display means 9 provided on the back of the digital camera main body 10c. However, if an organic EL or the like is used, the display means 9 can be made thinner, and the display means 9 is large even when it is integrated with the image pickup unit 20. It can be used as a size display screen, and its quick display response speed and wide viewing angle make it easy to use. In addition to the display means, inorganic EL, liquid crystal having a backlight function, or the like may be appropriately used.

If, for example, high-magnification photography is desired,
If there is an image pickup unit 20 such as this example having a high-magnification optical lens in the lens barrel 19, the small, thin, and lightweight digital camera body 10c, which is normally used for carrying, is inserted in a collapsed state. Only then, the display means 9 can be effectively used on a large screen. Incidentally, the release button 7a of the image pickup unit 20 is structured so as to interlock with the release button 7a of the digital camera body 10c by a well-known mechanism after being combined.

As described above, according to this modification, the optimum one is selected from the plurality of image pickup units including the predetermined lens and the image pickup means when the image quality is improved or the desired image pickup mode is selected, and the size and weight are reduced. It can be used as a large digital camera by integrally incorporating the digital camera body 10c. In addition to normal snap photography, there are cases where you want to perform close-up photography (micro photography), fisheye (super-wide-angle photography), super-telephoto photography, or other special photography. The image pickup unit 20 provided with the functional module can be appropriately exchanged and used.

In particular, it is possible to provide a digital camera system including an image pickup unit capable of coping with improvement in image quality and high-magnification photography. It should be noted that by making the image pickup unit 20 into a housing larger than the camera body 10, it becomes easy to hold with both hands and is stable, which can also contribute to prevention of camera shake during high-magnification photography.

(Other Modifications) The following modifications may be made, and the same effect as that of the first embodiment can be expected. For example, as the communication means, a USB (IEEE 1394) may be separately provided so that the communication means can be easily connected to a personal computer or the like even in a combined state. Further, a battery or an electric mechanism may be provided on the side of the image pickup unit to enable zoom drive or the like. Besides this, various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

The above description is based on the embodiments, but the present invention includes the following inventions. (1) A digital camera body having a first image pickup lens, an image pickup section, a display section, a communication section, and an attachment / detachment section, and an image pickup unit having a second image pickup lens, an image pickup section, a communication section, and an attachment / detachment section,
It is possible to provide a digital camera system characterized by being mounted and used in such a positional relationship that the image pickup lens of the digital camera body is hidden by the image pickup unit when they are united and connected via the attaching / detaching part.

(2) When the image pickup unit is mounted, the image pickup switching control is performed so that the image pickup operation by the image pickup unit is executed instead of prohibiting the image pickup through the image pickup lens of the digital camera body. It is possible to provide the camera system described in (1). (3) It is possible to provide the camera system according to (1), characterized in that when the image pickup unit is attached, the digital camera body is controlled so as to prohibit strobe light emission. (4) The camera system according to (1) can be provided in which the image captured by the imaging unit is displayed on the display unit of the digital camera body.

(5) The digital camera including the first lens and the first CCD, and the image pickup unit including the second lens and the second CCD have an attaching / detaching mechanism for uniting and connecting them, and the attaching / detaching mechanism physically and physically When electrically connected, the first lens of the digital camera body is hidden by the image pickup unit, image pickup by the first CCD is prohibited, and the image taken by the second CCD of the image pickup unit is displayed on the digital camera body. It is possible to provide a digital camera system that is controlled so as to be displayed by a section.

[0050]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Normally, it can be used as a camera with appropriate image quality and good portability, and if you want to improve image quality or shoot high magnification, attach the optimal one from the unit including the lens and the image pickup means, and integrate it. It is possible to provide a digital camera system that can be used as a simple camera.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block configuration diagram showing a basic configuration of a digital camera system of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional configuration diagram showing a combination of digital camera systems according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a perspective view showing an appearance of a digital camera main body which constitutes the digital camera system of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional configuration diagram showing a combination of digital camera systems according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a perspective view showing an external appearance of a digital camera body which constitutes the digital camera system of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a usage pattern of a digital camera system according to a modified example of the invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing operation control of the digital camera system of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... the first imaging lens, 2 ... First imaging means (dedicated CCD), 3 ... First CPU (overall control means), 4 ... First communication means, 5 ... the first attachment / detachment mechanism, 6 ... the first memory, 7 ... Operating means (various SW buttons), 8 ... Strobe means, 9 ... Display means (shared display), 10 ... Digital camera body (including lens), 11 ... Second imaging lens (exchange imaging lens unit), 12 ... Second image pickup means (dedicated CCD), 13 ... second CPU, 14 ... Second communication means, 15 ... A second attaching / detaching mechanism, 16 ... second memory, 17 ... Barrier, 18 ... Reflective mirror, 19 ... Lens barrel, 20 ... Imaging unit. S1 to S55 ... Operation procedure of digital camera system.

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) G03B 17/48 G03B 17/48 // H04N 101: 00 H04N 101: 00 (72) Inventor Takahiro Doi Tokyo 2-43-2 Hatagaya, Shibuya Olympus Optical Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Shigeru Kato 2-43-2 Hatagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo Olympus Optical Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) 2H053 AA00 AB01 AC00 CA41 DA03 2H101 EE01 EE08 EE13 EE21 EE31 EE51 EE56 EE60 FF00 FF02 FF06 2H104 AA01 AA16 5C022 AA13 AC03 AC42 AC77 AC78 CA00

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A digital camera system comprising a digital camera main body and an image pickup unit detachable from the main body, wherein the digital camera main body picks up a subject through a first image pickup lens and the first image pickup lens. A first image pickup means for picking up an image, a display means for displaying the picked up image, a first communication means for exchanging information with the outside of the camera body, and a first unit capable of being physically united with the outside of the camera body. And a second attaching / detaching mechanism that can be combined via the first attaching / detaching mechanism, and an information exchange with the first communication unit is possible. A second image pickup lens arranged in front of the optical path of the first image pickup lens; and a second image pickup means for picking up an image of a subject through the second image pickup lens. Characterized by Digital camera system. 2. The image pickup unit so that the first image pickup lens of the digital camera body is hidden by the image pickup unit when the image pickup unit and the digital camera body are integrally connected by the first and second attachment / detachment mechanisms. The digital camera system according to claim 1, wherein the digital camera system is mounted. 3. When the image pickup unit and the digital camera are integrally connected by the first and second attachment / detachment mechanisms, the image pickup unit of the digital camera body is replaced with the image pickup unit of the image pickup unit instead of the first image pickup unit. The image pickup device is controlled so as to pick up an image by the second image pickup means.
The digital camera system described in. 4. When the image pickup unit and the digital camera main body are united and connected by the first and second attachment / detachment mechanisms, the digital camera main body is controlled so that strobe light emission is prohibited. The digital camera system according to claim 1. 5. When the image pickup unit and the digital camera body are united and connected by the first and second attachment / detachment mechanisms, the image picked up by the image pickup unit is displayed on the display means of the digital camera body. The digital camera system according to claim 1, wherein the digital camera system is controlled.