JP2003069945A - Camera with electronic imaging function - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a camera with an electronic imaging function that records a large quantity of electronic image data by effectively utilizing the memory space of a single memory. SOLUTION: The camera has; an electronic imaging apparatus and a silver salt imaging apparatus; a photographing mode setting function that sets camera photographing modes including a hybrid photographing mode where the electronic imaging apparatus photographs an object nearly synchronously with the silver salt imaging apparatus, and a digital photographing mode where only the photographing by the electronic imaging apparatus is conducted; and the electronic imaging function that varies the compression rate of electronically picked up image data in accordance with the photographing mode set by the photographing mode setting function and stores the data to the memory.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention has functions of both an electronic image pickup device having an electronic image pickup element for converting a subject image into an electric signal and a silver salt photographing device for photographing the subject image on a silver salt film. The present invention relates to an improvement of a camera for both silver salt photography and electronic imaging.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a camera having functions of both an electronic image pickup device having an electronic image pickup device for converting a subject image into an electric signal and a silver salt photographing device for photographing the subject image on a silver salt film has been developed. Has been done.

This electronic / silver-salt combined camera is disclosed, for example, in JP-A-1-114169 and JP-A-10-114169.
It is disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 108054. The cameras having both the electronic image pickup function and the silver salt image pickup function disclosed in these publications perform electronic image pickup in synchronism with the silver salt image pickup and display the picked-up electronic image on a monitor screen. You can check the subject image that is almost the same as the subject image projected on the salt film on the monitor screen. Therefore, there is an advantage that the photographer can quickly confirm whether or not the subject having the desired composition can be photographed.

[0004]

A conventional camera having both functions of electronic imaging and silver salt photography exposes a semiconductor memory for recording an electronically captured electronic subject image and a subject image captured by silver salt photography. It is necessary to provide a silver salt film and a different recording medium.

The silver salt film of this recording medium can be taken out from the rewinding camera body after photographing exposure and a new unexposed silver salt film can be loaded.

The semiconductor memory is also replaceable like the silver salt film, and the camera body is also provided with a slot for loading the semiconductor memory.

However, the provision of such a semiconductor memory loading slot in the camera body poses the problems of increasing the size of the camera and forcing the photographer to replace the semiconductor memory in addition to the silver halide film.

In view of the above problems, the present invention makes it possible to record as much electronic image data as possible by effectively utilizing the memory space of the semiconductor memory built in the camera without impairing the usability of the photographer. It is an object to provide a camera having an electronic image pickup function.

[0009]

A camera having an electronic image pickup function of the present invention comprises an electronic image pickup means for picking up a subject image to generate electronic image data, and a silver salt photographing means for recording the subject image on a silver salt film. Monitor means for displaying the electronic image captured by the electronic image capturing means, compression means for compressing the electronic image data captured and generated by the electronic image capturing means, and electronic data compressed by the compressing means. There are a storage means for storing image data, a hybrid photographing mode in which the electronic image pickup means performs image pickup substantially in synchronization with the silver salt photographing means, and a digital image pickup mode in which only the electronic image pickup means performs image pickup. And a shooting mode setting means for setting a shooting mode of the camera including the compression mode of the compression means according to the shooting mode set by the shooting mode setting means. By changing the shrinkage ratio, the electronic image data captured by the electronic imaging means is characterized in that stored in the storage means.

In the camera having the electronic image pickup function of the present invention, the pressure probability when compressing the electronic image data imaged by the electronic image pickup means in the state where the digital image pickup mode is set by the image pickup mode selection means is The compression rate is lower than the compression rate when the electronic image data captured in the hybrid shooting mode is compressed.

The camera having the electronic image pickup function of the present invention includes an electronic image pickup means for picking up a subject image to generate electronic image data, and a compression for compressing the electronic image data picked up and generated by the electronic image pickup apparatus. Means, a storage means for storing the electronic image data compressed by the compression means, and a shooting mode setting means for setting a plurality of shooting modes including a portrait shooting mode. The compression rate at the time of compressing the electronic image data captured and generated in the state set to the portrait photographing mode by the setting means is the compression rate when compressing the electronic image data captured and generated in the state set to another photographing mode. It is characterized by a lower compression rate.

A camera having an electronic image pickup function of the present invention is
By changing the compression ratio of the electronic image data when the electronic image data generated by the electronic imaging unit is stored in the storage unit according to the shooting mode, it is possible to increase the number of frames of the electronic imaging stored in the storage unit. became.

[0013]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a camera having an electronic image pickup function according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a front perspective view showing an appearance of a camera having an electronic image pickup function according to the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a rear perspective view showing the outer appearance of a camera having an electronic image pickup function according to the present invention, FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining a main sequence operation of the camera of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a description of a photographing sequence operation of the camera of the present invention. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the image capturing sequence operation of the camera of the present invention.

First, the external structure of a camera having an electronic image pickup function according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

At a substantially central portion on the front side of the camera body 10, a taking lens 11 for forming an image of a subject on a silver salt film (not shown) is held and attached to a lens barrel 12. Above the lens barrel 12 in the figure, a lens 13 (corresponding to a concave lens 72 described later) for forming an image of a subject on a CMOS imager (not shown), an objective lens 14 of a finder optical system, and a focus of the photographing lens 11. An autofocus module 15 (corresponding to an autofocus module 64 to be described later) for measuring the distance to the subject during adjustment is arranged.

On the right side of the autofocus module 15 in the figure, there is provided a panel 16 attached to a light emitting window of a strobe 98 described later. Further, a barrier 17 for protecting the photographing lens is slidably provided on the left side of the front side of the camera body 10 in the figure. In conjunction with the opening and closing of the barrier 17, a power switch (not shown) is turned on / off. Then, when the barrier 17 is changed from the closed state to the open state, the lens barrel 12 is set up from the retracted state to the wide end (the photographing position where the shortest focus is obtained).

A two-step release button 20 and a manual zoom button (zoom button) are provided on the upper surface of the camera body 10.
21, an LCD panel 22 (corresponding to an LCD panel 66 described later), and various mode buttons 23 to 26 are provided. The manual zoom button 21 is a button for changing the focal length of the taking lens 11. The manual zoom button 21 is also used as an image scroll button for browsing electronic images captured in the past.

The LCD panel 22 is a small display panel for displaying photographing information such as the number of frames photographed on the film, various modes, date information.

The mode button 23 is a self / remote control mode button for setting a self timer mode / remote control mode. Each time the self / remote control mode button 23 is pressed, the mode can be switched in the order of mode release → self timer mode → remote control mode → mode release.

The mode button 24 is a strobe mode button for setting a strobe mode. Each time the strobe mode button 24 is pressed, the low-luminance automatic light emission mode → red-eye light emission mode → light emission off mode → forced light emission mode → night scene mode → low-luminance automatic light emission mode are sequentially switched.

The mode button 25 is a display (DSP)
There is a DSP mode button for setting the mode. This D
When the SP mode button 25 is pressed, electronic images captured in the past are displayed on the monitor device 34 described later and can be browsed. When the DSP mode button 25 is pressed again from this state, the DSP mode is released.

The mode button 26 is a shooting mode button for selecting a shooting mode. Each time the shooting mode button 26 is pressed, the shooting mode is sequentially switched to hybrid shooting mode → digital shooting mode → film mode → hybrid shooting mode.

The hybrid mode is a mode in which electronic image pickup and silver salt image pickup are performed at substantially the same timing, and the electronic image thus picked up is displayed on the monitor device 34. The digital shooting mode is a mode in which only electronic imaging is performed.
The film mode is a mode in which circuits related to electronic imaging are turned off and only silver halide photography is performed. In this film mode, the circuits related to electronic imaging are turned off, so it is possible to save the energy of the power supply battery that drives the camera compared to the hybrid mode and digital shooting mode. This has the effect of increasing the number of possible lines.

On the rear side of the camera body 10, an eyepiece window 28 of an optical viewfinder, date information setting buttons 29 and 30, and a panoramic photographing mode switching lever 31 are provided in the upper part of the drawing.
Is provided. A back cover 33 is attached to the back surface of the camera body 10, and a monitor device 34 (corresponding to an LCD display unit 90 described later) for displaying an electronic image or a composition line is provided on the back cover 33. , Film confirmation window 35
Is provided. The back cover 33 is attached to the camera body 10 by a hinge 36 so as to be openable and closable.

The internal structure of the camera having such an appearance will be described with reference to FIG.

First, a portion related to the silver salt photographing apparatus will be described. Photographing lens 1 for forming a subject image
Reference numeral 1 is composed of a positive lens 46 and a negative lens 48, and a sector 47 is arranged in the taking lens 11.
The sector 47 is drive-controlled by the plunger 53 via the shutter drive mechanism 52. When the sector 47 is opened, a subject image that has passed through the taking lens 11 is formed and exposed on the silver salt film 49.

Positive lens 4 constituting the taking lens 11
The focus positions of the 6 and the negative lens 48 are changed by a motor (M2) 51 via a focus drive mechanism 50. Further, the positive lens 46, the negative lens 48, the sector 47, and the silver salt film 49 are driven by the motor (M3) 55 via the zoom / feed drive mechanism 54.

The motors 51 and 55 and the plunger 53 are drive-controlled by a driver circuit 56 via an IFIC 57 based on a control signal from the main CPU 62.

The main CPU 62 is a microprocessor that controls the entire camera, and is the IFIC 57.
Is a driver circuit 56, a focus driving mechanism 50, a shutter driving mechanism 52, a zoom feeding mechanism 54, a photometric sensor 58,
And a remote control light receiving sensor 59 are connected to the main C
Various signals are exchanged with the PU 62.

That is, the IFIC 57 mainly includes a photometric sensor (SPD) 58, a remote control light receiving sensor 59, a triber circuit 56, and an encoder (not shown) and a main CP.
It controls the interface function with U62.

The main CPU 62 has the IFIC.
In addition to 57, a date imprinting device 63, an autofocus module 64, an EEPROM 65, an LCD panel 6
6, an image processing LSI 67, a switch group 68, and a flash circuit 69 are connected.

The zoom / feed mechanism 54 includes a mechanism system switching unit (not shown), and the driving force of the motor 55 can be switched between zoom driving of the photographing lens 11 and feeding of the silver salt film 49. It is like this. The zoom / feed drive mechanism 54 has an encoder for detecting the film feed amount, an encoder for detecting the drive amount of the motor 55, and an encoder for detecting the focal point distance of the taking lens 11. is doing. The signals output from these encoders are sent to the main CPU 6 via the IFIC 57.
Entered in 2.

Further, when the subject image is exposed on the silver salt film 49, the winding operation for one exposed frame is performed according to the output of the encoder which detects the feeding amount of the film. During the film feeding, the date imprinting device 63 imprints the date information on the silver salt film 49 according to the output of the encoder that detects the drive amount of the motor 55.

The main CPU 62 has the photometric sensor 58.
The shutter speed is calculated from the subject brightness value output from the camera and the film sensitivity detected by the film sensitivity detection circuit (not shown) based on a program diagram (not shown). Based on the shutter speed calculated by the main CPU 62, the shutter drive mechanism 52 is drive-controlled via the IFIC 57 and the driver circuit 56, and the sector 47 is operated.
Is driven at the calculated shutter speed.

The autofocus module 64 is
It is composed of a separator optical system for separating two images and a line sensor arranged at an image forming position of a subject image, and focus detection is performed by a known phase difference method.

The main CPU 62 obtains the distance between the two images based on the signal output from the autofocus module 64, and calculates the drive amount data of the taking lens 11 for driving to the in-focus position. Based on the calculated drive amount data of the photographing lens 11, the main CPU 62
To drive the motor 51 via the IFIC 57 and the driver circuit 56 to change the focus position of the photographing lens 11 via the focus drive mechanism 50. Focus drive mechanism 5
0 includes an encoder for detecting the position of the lens, and the signal output from the encoder is IFI.
It is input to the main CPU 62 via C57.

The EEPROM 65 is a non-volatile memory for measuring the variation of each camera in the factory and storing the adjustment value set for each camera in order to suppress the variation.

Further, the switch group 68 includes a release button 20.
, A second release switch that is turned on in response to a half-press operation of the release button 20, a second release switch that is turned on in response to a deep-press operation of the release button 20, a power switch interlocked with the barrier 17, and date information setting buttons 29 and 30, A plurality of switches such as operation switches such as a self / remote control mode button 23, a flash mode button 24, a DSP mode button 25, a shooting mode button 26, a panoramic shooting mode switching lever 31, and a mechanism system operation switch (not shown). Composed of.

Next, a part related to the electronic image pickup device will be described.

The electronic image pickup section 71 has positive lenses 73 and 75, which are image pickup lenses for forming a subject image on a CMOS imager 78 formed on an IC chip, and negative lenses 72 and 76. Fixed aperture 7 in the lens
4, the ND filter 77 is arranged.

The subject image formed on the CMOS imager 78 is converted into an analog video signal, further converted into digital image data by a control circuit formed on an IC chip (not shown), and output to the image processing LSI 67. It

The image processing LSI 67 has an RIS inside.
The C processor and various hardware macros are built in, and the RISC processor controls the hardware macros according to the program written in the flash memory 85. The hardware macro includes an external memory controller (flash memory 8 as external memory).
5, there is SDRAM86), internal cache memory,
JPEG compression / expansion controller, various image processing functions (gain adjustment, γ correction, pixel interpolation, RGB / YC conversion,
Contour enhancement, saturation correction, color tone adjustment, etc.), OSD (on-screen display) function, external interface circuit (USB87, JTAG88), LCD display unit 9
A circuit for forming a display signal output to the LCD driver 91 in 0 is included.

The flash memory 85 is a non-volatile memory for storing the program executed by the RISC processor and for storing the finally determined electronic image, and the stored contents are retained even when the power of the camera is turned off. It has been saved. The SDRAM 86 is a memory that temporarily stores an image before image processing and an image during image processing. Further, the OSD function is a function of superposing and displaying image data (frame number and calendar information) existing in the SDRAM 86.

The ND filter 77 includes the ND drive mechanism 8
Driven by a stepping motor (M1) 81 via 0, and having a different transmittance depending on the light amount of the subject.
The D filter 77 can be switched. The stepping motor 81 is the image processing LSI 6
It is controlled by the driver circuit 82 which operates according to the output signal from the driver 7.

The display signal output from the image processing LSI 67 is transmitted through the LCD driver 91 to a reflection type LC.
A display segment (not shown) formed on the LCD monitor 92 is driven by the input to the D monitor 92 to visualize an electronic image.

The front light turn-on signal output from the image processing LSI 67 is input to the LED driver 94 to turn on the white LED 95. This white LED
The light emitted from 95 functions as auxiliary illumination through the light guide plate 93. The brightness of the white LED 95 is controlled to be constant by the constant current circuit of the LED driver 94. Note that the image pickup angle of view of the image pickup lens of the electronic image pickup unit 71 is the shortest focal point of the image pickup lens 11 (so-called wide end).
When the focal length of the photographing lens 11 is changed by the zoom / feed drive mechanism 54, the electronic image is enlarged / reduced (electronic zoom) by the image processing LSI 67. By doing so, the angle of view of the electronic image displayed on the LCD monitor 92 and the angle of view of the latent image recorded on the silver salt film 49 are substantially matched.

Next, the strobe light emitting device will be described.

When the trigger signal is output from the trigger circuit 97 to the stroboscopic light emitting device 98, the xenon gas sealed in the arc tube 99 is excited to emit light, and the light is reflected by the reflector 100 to be reflected on the panel. The object passes through 101 and is irradiated onto the subject.

The emission angle of view of this strobe light emitting device 98 is
It is substantially the same as the imaging field angle at the shortest focus (so-called wide end) of the taking lens 11.

The strobe circuit 69 is responsive to a control signal from the main CPU 62 to charge a strobe main capacitor (not shown) and instruct the trigger circuit 97 to emit light.

The LCD panel 66 is a small display device for displaying information of the camera. Further, the image processing LSI 67 and the main CPU 62 are connected to each other by a data bus 70, and exchange necessary data with each other, image pickup by the CMOS imager 78, and the silver salt film 4.
The exposure timing for 9 is adjusted.

The operation of the camera having the electronic image pickup function having such a configuration will be described with reference to FIGS.

First, the operation of the main sequence of the camera of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. When the driving power source (battery) of the camera is loaded, the operation of the main CPU 62 is started and the subroutine "main sequence" is called. Then, first, in step S1, it is determined whether or not the power switch of the camera is turned on.
If it is determined in step S1 that the power switch is turned on, steps S4 and thereafter are executed, and if it is determined that the power switch is off, steps S2 and thereafter are executed.

In step S2, the LCD panel 66 is turned off, and the image processing LSI 67 is instructed to turn off the display of the LCD monitor 92. Next, in step S3, the standby process 1 is performed. The standby process 1 is for setting the condition for the main CPU 62 to restart the operation after the stop before the operation of the so-called main CPU 62 is stopped. In the standby process 1, the operation is set to start when the power switch is turned on. Then, the operation of the main CPU 62 is stopped. When the standby is released, the subroutine "main sequence" is executed from the beginning.

In step S4, a power-on process is executed in which the taking lens 11 constituted by the positive lens 46 and the negative lens 48 is extended from the retracted position (not shown) to the wide position.

When the taking lens 11 which is the power-on process in step S4 is extended to the wide position, the LCD panel 66 is turned on in step S5, and then in step S6, the flash circuit 69 includes the drawing. No main capacitor is charged.

When the flash charging in step S6 is completed, the timer 1 (not shown) incorporated in the main CPU 62 starts counting in step S7. The timer is a counter that counts up every predetermined time, and the counter value is set to a predetermined initial value to start counting.

Next, in step S8, the release button 20
Is determined. Here, the state of the first release switch (first release button) corresponding to the half-press operation of the release button 20 is determined. If the first release switch is off, the process proceeds to step S9, and if it is on, the process proceeds to step S17.

In step S9, the state of the zoom button 21 is determined. Here, when the zoom button 21 is turned on, in step S10, the motor 55 is driven via the IFIC 57 and the driver circuit 56 in accordance with the operation of the zoom button 21, and the zoom / feed mechanism 54 is driven. Changes the focal length of the taking lens 11. The zoom value (shooting angle of view) at this time is transferred to and stored in the image processing LSI 67.

When it is determined in step S9 that the zoom button 21 is off, or when the change of the photographing focal length in step S10 is completed, in step S11, other mode buttons than the release button 20 and the zoom button 21 described above. It is determined whether or not is turned on. Here, if the other mode button is turned on, the switching process is executed in step S12 to the mode of the turned-on other mode button. Specifically, shooting mode switching processing (hybrid mode, digital mode, film mode), strobe mode switching processing (low-brightness automatic flash mode, red-eye flash mode, flash off mode, forced flash mode, night view mode),
Date information setting processing and DSP mode processing are performed.

If the other mode button is not turned on in step S11, or if the processing is switched to the mode of the other mode button in step S12, it is determined in step S13 whether or not the power switch of the camera is turned on. To be done.
If the power switch is turned on, step S14
If it is off, the process proceeds to step S2.

Timer 1 started in step S7
The count of overflows after a predetermined time elapses. Therefore, in step S14, it is determined whether the timer 1 has overflowed. If the timer 1 overflows, the process proceeds to step S15. On the other hand, if the timer 1 has not overflowed, the process proceeds to step S8, and step S8 and subsequent steps are executed again.

This is because when the operation switch such as the power switch is not operated even after the lapse of a predetermined time, the main CPU 62 is put in the standby state for energy saving.

In step S15, the LCD panel 66 is turned off, and the image processing LSI 67 is instructed to turn off the LCD monitor 66. Next, in step S16,
Standby processing 2 is performed. This standby processing 2
In the same manner as the standby process 1 executed in step S3, before the main CPU 62 stops its operation, the condition setting for the main CPU 62 to restart the operation after the stop is performed.

In the standby process 2, the operation is set to start by the change of the switch interlocking with the operation button. Then, the operation of the main CPU 62 is stopped. When the standby is released, the above step S5
Executed from.

When it is determined in step S8 that the first release switch is turned on, the image processing LSI 67 is turned on in step S17. Then, step S1
At 8, the subject brightness value is captured from the photometric sensor 58.

Next, in step S19, the distance between the two images is determined based on the signal input from the autofocus module 64, and the drive amount data of the photographing lens 11 for driving to the in-focus position is calculated. . The motor 55 is driven according to the drive amount obtained here, and the zoom / feed drive mechanism 54 causes the lenses 4 of the photographing lens 11 to move.
The focal positions of 6 and 48 are changed.

In step S20, the above step S18 is performed.
Based on the subject brightness value obtained in step 1, the program diagram corresponding to the shooting mode, and the film sensitivity detected by the film sensitivity detection circuit (not shown), the shutter opening time for obtaining proper exposure by a known technique Is calculated. Next, in step S21, the subroutine "photographing sequence" is called, and the CMOS imager 78 is called.
And the silver salt film 49 is exposed.

The operation of the subroutine "photographing sequence" of step S21 will be described with reference to FIG.

"Photographing sequence" in step S21
First, in step S31, the image processing LSI 6
7 is instructed to turn off the LCD monitor 92. Then, in step S32, the state of the second release switch (second release button) corresponding to the deep pressing operation of the release button 20 is determined. If the second release switch is turned on, step S34 and subsequent steps are executed, and if the second release switch is turned off, it is determined in step S33 whether the first release switch is turned on. Here, if the first release switch is not turned on, the process proceeds to step S41, and if it is turned on, the above step S41 is performed.
At 32, the determination of the state of the second release switch is repeated again.

If it is determined in step S32 that the second release switch is on, step S34
Then, the image processing LS167 is instructed to pick up the image, and the CMOS
The imager 78 is driven to perform predetermined electronic image processing, and compressed electronic image data is generated. Then
In step S35, the shutter drive mechanism 52 drives the sector 47 based on the shutter opening time calculated in step S20 to control the calculated opening time sector 47 to open.

Then, in step S36, it is determined whether or not the image pickup instructed in step S34 is completed. Here, if it is determined that the image capturing is completed, the process proceeds to step S37, and if it is not completed, the process proceeds to step S37.
The judgment of 36 is repeated.

In step S37, the zoom / feed drive mechanism 54 winds the silver salt film 49 by one frame. When one frame is wound up, the date imprinting device 63 optically records predetermined date information at a predetermined position on the silver salt film 49. Since this optical recording is a known technique per se, detailed description thereof is omitted here.

Then, in step S38, the focal position of the taking lens 11 (positive lens 46, negative lens 48) changed in step S19 in the main sequence of FIG. 4 is returned to the original position. Then, in step S39, the image processing LSI 67 is instructed to perform the OSD processing.

In the OSD process, the compressed electronic image data of the subject image captured and generated by the image processing LSI 67 is expanded to generate a display signal in response to the image capturing instruction in step S34, and the LCD driver 91 outputs the display signal. The image is input to the LCD monitor 92 via the, and the electronic image is visually displayed on the LCD monitor 92.

The electronic image displayed on the LCD monitor 92 confirms the angle of view of the photographic subject.

Next, the digital image data compressed in step S40 is stored in the flash memory 85. Then, in step S41, the image processing LSI 67 is turned off, and the process returns to the "photographing sequence" main routine.

The "shooting sequence" described with reference to FIG. 5 is an operation when the camera is set to the hybrid shooting mode. When the camera is set to the digital shooting mode, the film winding in step S37 is omitted. It
When the camera is set to the film mode, the image capturing instruction in step S34, the image capturing end determination in step S36, the OSD processing instruction in step S39, and step S40.
The storage instruction to the flash memory is omitted.

Next, the "imaging instruction" in step S34 described above.
In response to the RI, which is built in the image processing LSI 67.
The imaging operation performed by the SC pro sensor will be described with reference to FIG.

When the image pickup instruction of step S34 is entered,
In step S50, the CMOS imager 78 is instructed to perform the image capturing operation at the electronic shutter speed obtained from the photometric result of step S18 of the "main sequence".

When the image pickup operation in step S50 is completed, the image pickup operation end signal is sent to the main CP in step S51.
U62 is issued. Next, in step S52, the CMO
Electronic image data photoelectrically converted by the S imager 78 is captured.

In step S53, it is determined whether the electronic image data captured in step S52 was imaged in the hybrid mode or the digital mode. In the case of electronic image data captured in the digital mode, the process proceeds to step S54, and in the case of electronic image data captured in the hybrid mode, the process proceeds to step S55.

In step S54, the scale factor A is set, and in step S55, the scale factor B is set. Depending on the setting of this scale factor, the contents of the quantization table created in the subsequent step S56 will change. That is, the scale factor A is set so that the compression rate is smaller than that of the scale factor B. That is, the image quality of the image captured in the digital mode is set to be higher than that of the image captured in the hybrid mode.

Depending on the scale factor set in step S54 or S55, step S56
Creates a quantization table. Next, step S57.
Then, when the image data is compressed, an estimation operation is performed to determine whether or not the code size is within a desired code size.

If the estimation operation in step S57 determines that the code size does not fit in the desired code size, or if the code is over-compressed, the content of the quantization table is adjusted in step S58.

Next, in step S59, the image processing LSI 6
The JPEG compression / expansion controller built in 7 performs the compression operation. Note that the above compression operation is performed by a known JP
This is performed by the EG compression method, and the image data is subjected to processing of block division → discrete cosine transform → quantization → Huffman coding.

When this compression operation is completed, step S35 and subsequent steps are executed and the process returns to the main sequence.

By changing the compression rate of the electronic image data depending on the digital mode and the hybrid mode of the electronic image pickup, the electronic image to be stored is stored in the flash memory 85 as compared with the case where the compression rate is the same. The data can be increased, and in particular, the space of the memory can be filled with electronic image data having a high compression rate, which enables effective use of the memory.

In the above description of the embodiments of the present invention, the camera for both silver salt photographing and electronic image pickup has been described as an example, but it is obvious that the present invention can also be applied to a camera dedicated to electronic image pickup. Furthermore, in shooting modes that require image quality, such as portrait mode (a shooting mode in which the aperture is automatically set to a maximum when shooting and shooting can be done in a shallow depth of field), there is a low-voltage probability and standard shooting mode. Then, it is possible to set a high compression rate.

[0090]

Since the camera having the electronic image pickup function of the present invention is provided with the photographing modes in which the pressure probabilities of the electronic images are different, the compression rate can be automatically set according to the photographing mode selected by the photographer himself. By effectively using the memory space, the electronic image data of many electronic imaging frames can be recorded.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a camera having an electronic imaging function according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front perspective view showing the external appearance of a camera according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a rear perspective view showing the external appearance of a camera according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a main sequence operation of the camera of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a shooting sequence operation of the camera of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an imaging sequence operation of the camera of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

11 ... Shooting lens 49 ... Silver salt film 50 ... Focus drive mechanism 53 ... Shutter drive mechanism 54 ... Zoom / feed mechanism 56 ... Driver circuit 57 ... IFIC 58 ... Photometric sensor 59 ... Remote control sensor 62 ... Main CPU 64 ... Auto focus module 67 ... Image processing LSI 71 ... Electronic imaging unit 78 ... CMOS imager 85 ... Flash memory 86 ... SDRAM 91 ... LCD driver 92 ... LCD monitor

Front page continued (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) H04N 5/92 H04N 5/91 J // H04N 101: 00 5/92 HF term (reference) 2H054 AA01 BB05 BB07 5C022 AA13 AC03 AC42 AC69 5C052 DD02 GA02 GB06 GC05 GE06 GE08 5C053 FA08 GB28 GB36 KA04 KA24 LA02

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An electronic image pickup means for picking up a subject image to generate electronic image data, a silver salt photographing means for recording the subject image on a silver salt film, and an electronic image picked up by the electronic image pickup means. Monitoring means, a compression means for compressing the electronic image data captured and generated by the electronic image capturing means, a storage means for storing the electronic image data compressed by the compression means, and the silver salt photography. Shooting mode setting means for setting a shooting mode of the camera including a hybrid shooting mode in which the electronic image pickup means performs image pickup substantially in synchronism with the means, and a digital image pickup mode in which only the electronic image pickup means performs image pickup. , And changing the compression ratio of the compression means according to the photographing mode set by the photographing mode setting means, and the electronic image picked up by the electronic image pickup means. A camera having an electronic imaging function, characterized by storing image data in the storage means. 2. The pressure probability at the time of compressing the electronic image data imaged by the electronic image pickup means in the state set in the digital image pickup mode by the image pickup mode selection means is as high as that in the state set in the hybrid image pickup mode. The camera having an electronic image pickup function according to claim 1, wherein the image pickup device has a compression rate lower than a compression rate when the imaged electronic image data is compressed. 3. An electronic image pickup means for picking up a subject image to generate electronic image data, a compression means for compressing the electronic image data picked up and generated by the electronic image pickup device, and an electronic device compressed by the compression means. A storage unit for storing the image data; and a shooting mode setting unit for setting a plurality of shooting modes including a portrait shooting mode, wherein the shooting mode setting unit sets the portrait shooting mode. The compression rate when compressing the electronic image data that is imaged and generated in a state is lower than the compression rate when compressing the electronic image data that is imaged and generated in a state in which another photographing mode is set. A camera with an electronic imaging function.