JP2003195395A - Illuminator and camera - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve a problem that a photographer feels uneasy because it happens that the automatic light emission of a stroboscope is not performed even though it is dim on photographic surroundings when high-sensitivity film is used. <P>SOLUTION: This illuminator has a control means 22 judging the propriety of light emission by an illumination means 33 emitting illuminating light at the photographing time, and controlling the illumination means 33 to emit light at the photographing time in the case of judging that the light emission by the illumination means 33 is required, and controlling it to emit the light without exerting influence on photographing in the case of judging that the light emission by the illumination means 33 is not required. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a lighting device and a camera capable of automatically emitting light according to photographing conditions.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Among single-lens reflex cameras and lens shutter cameras, many cameras with a built-in strobe device have an automatic light emission mode in which a strobe automatically emits light according to a photometric value. With a camera that has such an automatic light emission mode, it is possible to perform daytime synchronized shooting, backlight shooting, etc. without special operations.
It is possible to shoot quickly without missing a photo opportunity. Further, even if the photographer does not perform a special operation, the camera automatically determines the photographing situation and emits a flash light, so that even a person who has little knowledge about the camera can photograph without failure.

As described below, the conventional strobe automatic light emission technology determines a strobe light emission criterion or control based on the type of light source, the remaining battery level, the ambient temperature, and the difference in the resolution for photographing with a digital camera. Have changed.

In the camera proposed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 6-308581, a light source detecting means for detecting the type of a light source for illuminating an object and a strobe automatic light emission according to the light source detected by the light source detecting means. A low-brightness determination value setting means for varying the low-brightness determination value in the means, and the low-brightness determination value in the strobe automatic light emitting means is varied according to the detected light source.

In the camera proposed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 8-271949, when the remaining battery level is detected and the remaining battery level is low, the normal brightness (strobe light emission level) that requires automatic flash emission is set to ( (When the battery level is not low)
It is set to a value lower than the automatic flash compatible brightness of, and the discharge of the battery is suppressed by not emitting light to the darkest photometric brightness as much as possible. This makes it possible to increase the number of shootable films.

Further, in the camera proposed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-109452, a CPU for controlling the camera, an ambient temperature measuring means for measuring the ambient temperature of the camera, and an automatic light emission according to the control of the CPU. Depending on the strobe means for performing, the photometric means for measuring the subject brightness, the film information detecting means for detecting the sensitivity information of the photographic film, the output of the photometric means, the output of the film information detecting means, the unique data of the photographic optical system, etc. A camera having automatic light emission setting means for determining whether or not a strobe emits light, wherein the light emission reference level of the automatic light emission setting means is changed according to the output of the ambient temperature measuring means.

Further, in the image pickup device proposed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-184875, the brightness of the subject is used as a condition for the auxiliary light emitting means to automatically emit light under exposure conditions in the middle to low range. In the high-resolution shooting mode, the light is automatically emitted on the high-luminance side in the resolution shooting mode. At the same time, the maximum exposure time when shooting with automatic light emission is set shorter in the high resolution shooting mode than in the standard resolution shooting mode. By setting the maximum exposure time to be short in this way, camera shake can be prevented.

[0008]

However, the conventional camera with a built-in strobe automatically determines whether or not strobe light emission is necessary at the time of shooting (automatic light emission determination) according to the shooting situation. For this reason, when a high-sensitivity film is used, even if the brightness around the image is perceived as dim, the light may not be emitted automatically.

Further, in the case of automatically determining the flash emission according to the change of the focal length of the photographing optical system, the strobe does not emit the light when the photographing is performed at the wide-angle side focal length which is hard to shake even if the brightness around the photographing is the same. However, when shooting at the focal length on the telephoto side, a strobe may be emitted, which may confuse the photographer.

If the stroboscopic light emission is performed or not performed when the brightness of the photographing surroundings is the same, the photographer may become uneasy and may wonder whether the automatic light emitting operation is operating properly. .

[0011]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An illumination device according to a first invention of the present application is an illumination device capable of communicating with a camera body, the illumination device emitting illumination light, and the illumination device at the time of photographing from the camera body. Control means for causing the illuminating means to emit light at the time of photographing when a light emission instruction signal for instructing the emission of light is input, and for causing the illumination means to emit light at a control method that does not affect photographing when the light emission instruction signal is not input. Characterize.

A camera according to a second aspect of the present invention determines whether or not the light emitting means for emitting the illumination light needs to emit light at the time of photographing, and when it determines that the light emitting means needs to emit light, the camera emits light at the time of photographing. And a control unit that causes the illumination unit to emit light by a control method that does not affect shooting when it is determined that the illumination unit does not emit light.

As described above, even when the illumination means does not need to emit light at the time of photographing, the illumination means is caused to emit light by a control method that does not affect the photographing, so that the camera (control means) automatically operates when the surroundings of the photographing are dim. Even when it is determined that the lighting unit does not need to emit light during shooting, light emission that does not affect shooting can eliminate the anxiety of the photographer because the lighting unit does not emit light.

Then, it is possible to prevent the waste of re-taking the image because the illumination means does not emit light during the image taking. Moreover, by causing the illumination means to emit light so as not to affect shooting, proper shooting can be performed without overexposure due to strobe light.

Here, based on the measurement result of the photometric means and the sensitivity information of the image pickup medium acquired by the sensitivity information acquisition means, a first judgment is made to judge whether or not the illumination means needs to emit light at the time of photographing, and Controlling the drive of the illuminating means according to the determination result, and determining whether or not the illuminating means needs to emit light based on the measurement result of the photometric means when it is determined that the illuminating means does not need to emit light in the first determination. If the second determination is made and it is determined that the illumination unit needs to emit light by the second determination, the illumination unit can be made to emit light by a control method that does not affect shooting.

In this way, by illuminating the illuminating means by a control method that does not affect photographing in accordance with only the photometric result of the photometric means, for example, the sensitivity of the image pickup medium can be improved under the same photometric result (same brightness). Accordingly, it is possible to eliminate the anxiety of the photographer due to the illumination device automatically emitting light or not emitting light during photographing.

Further, based on the measurement result of the photometric means, the sensitivity information of the image pickup medium acquired by the sensitivity information acquisition means, and the detection result of the focal length information detection means, it is determined whether or not the illumination means emits light during photographing. The first judgment is made, the drive of the illuminating means is controlled according to the result of the judgment, and when it is judged that the illuminating means does not need to emit light in the first judgment, the photometric result of the photometric means and the sensitivity information acquisition means Based on the acquired sensitivity information of the image pickup medium, a second judgment is made to judge whether or not the lighting means needs to emit light.
When it is determined that the lighting means needs to emit light, it is possible to cause the lighting means to emit light by a control method that does not affect shooting.

In this way, the illumination means is caused to emit light by a control method that does not affect the photographing in accordance with only the photometric result of the photometric means and the sensitivity information of the image pickup medium acquired by the sensitivity information acquisition means. When photographing is performed under the same sensitivity information, it is possible to eliminate the anxiety of the photographer due to the illumination means emitting or not emitting light depending on the change in the focal length.

In addition, in a camera capable of emitting red-eye reduction illuminating light to an object prior to photographing, red-eye reduction illuminating is performed when it is determined based on the second determination that the illuminating device is lit. Light emission can be prohibited. In this way, by prohibiting the red-eye reduction light emission, the photographer and the subject can shoot without feeling the stress due to the red-eye reduction light emission.

[0020]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS (First Embodiment) A camera according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5 and 7.

FIG. 1A is an external perspective view of the camera of this embodiment, and FIG. 1B is a partial perspective view of the camera.
FIG. 3 is a rear view of the camera.

In these figures, 1 is a camera body and 2 is a camera body.
Is an interchangeable lens that can be attached to and detached from the camera body 1, and 3 is a lens removal button that is pressed to detach the interchangeable lens from the camera body 1.

Reference numeral 4 denotes a built-in strobe attached to the camera body 1, which is housed in the camera body 1 when not in use and protrudes from the camera body 1 when in use (FIG. 1 (b)). The built-in strobe 4 emits auxiliary light for automatic focus detection and irradiates a subject with strobe light at the time of shooting. Reference numeral 5 denotes an accessory shoe provided on the upper surface of the built-in strobe 4, and a camera accessory such as an external strobe is attached to the accessory shoe 5. Reference numeral 6 is a finder for observing a subject image.

Reference numeral 7 is a main switch operated to switch the operation / non-operation of the camera, 8 is a mode dial rotated to switch various shooting modes of the camera, and 9 is a shutter speed or aperture value of the camera. It is an electronic dial that is rotated to input various values.

Reference numeral 10 denotes a release button which is pressed with a two-step stroke, and a half-press operation can start a photometry operation and a distance-measurement operation, and a full-press operation can start an exposure operation.

Reference numeral 12 denotes an AE lock switch which is operated to perform AE lock photographing (photographing in a state where the photometric value is locked to a predetermined value). Reference numeral 13 denotes a combination with the electronic dial 9 to operate exposure compensation. This is the exposure compensation switch. Reference numeral 14 is a built-in flash switch operated to use the built-in flash 4, 15 is a self-timer switch operated to use the self-timer built in the camera body 1, 16 is mounted in the camera body 1. It is a film rewind switch that is operated to rewind the film.

Reference numeral 17 denotes an automatic focus detection mode switch (AF
By operating this switch with the mode switch), the one-shot mode in which the automatic focus detection mode is fixed at the in-focus position, or the servo mode in which the focus of a moving subject is continuously detected and the in-focus position is always followed Can be switched to. Reference numeral 18 denotes an automatic exposure shift switch (AEB switch) that is operated to perform automatic exposure shift shooting.

An external liquid crystal display unit 20 displays various photographing information such as various setting states of the camera, the number of photographed images, and whether or not the built-in flash is used. Reference numeral 21 denotes a red-eye reduction lamp, which is turned on to reduce the red-eye phenomenon that occurs when strobe light is emitted.

FIG. 4 is an electrical control block diagram of the camera of this embodiment. In the figure, reference numeral 22 is a microcomputer (hereinafter, microcomputer) that controls the operation of the entire camera. 23 is a RAM externally attached to the microcomputer 22
Then, record various data. The RAM 23 may be built in the microcomputer 22.

Reference numeral 24 is an EEP externally attached to the microcomputer 22.
ROM (nonvolatile memory). This EEPROM2
4 may be built in the microcomputer 22. 25 is the microcomputer 2
2 is a photometric circuit connected to 2, and measures the subject brightness according to an instruction from the microcomputer 22 and sends the measurement result to the microcomputer 22.

Reference numeral 26 is a distance measuring circuit connected to the microcomputer 22, which detects the focus adjustment state in response to a command from the microcomputer 22 and sends the detection result to the microcomputer 22. Reference numeral 27 denotes a shutter drive circuit connected to the microcomputer 22, which opens and closes the shutter at the time of shooting in response to a command from the microcomputer 22. Reference numeral 28 denotes a diaphragm driving circuit, which narrows or returns the diaphragm device (not shown) installed in the interchangeable lens 2 in response to a command from the microcomputer 22.

Reference numeral 29 is a display portion which is a display element portion of the liquid crystal display portion 20 installed on the back surface of the camera body 1. Thirty
Is a built-in flash 4 in response to a control signal from the microcomputer 22.
A strobe control circuit for controlling the light emission of the strobe light, and a strobe light emission circuit 31 driven and controlled by the strobe control circuit 30.

Reference numeral 32 is a strobe pop-up circuit,
In response to a control signal from the microcomputer 22, the built-in flash 4 housed in the camera body 1 pops up.
This pop-up operation is controlled by a magnet (not shown). Reference numeral 33 denotes a strobe light emitting section provided in the built-in strobe 4. The strobe light emitting circuit 31 controls light emission, and the strobe pop-up circuit 32 controls pop-up operation.

Reference numeral 34 is a release first switch (hereinafter referred to as SW1) which is turned on when the release button 10 is half-pressed. The photometry operation and the distance measurement operation are started when the switch SW1 is on. Reference numeral 35 denotes a release second switch (SW2) which is turned on by fully pressing the release button 10.
The exposure operation is started in the ON state of W2.

Reference numeral 36 is a strobe switch for switching the use / non-use of the built-in strobe 4. Microcomputer 22
Detects the on / off state of the strobe switch 36 to switch use / non-use of the built-in strobe 4 during exposure. By this switching operation, the flash shooting mode and the non-flash shooting mode are switched.

Reference numeral 37 is an electrical detection section of the electronic dial 9, and the microcomputer 22 changes various information of the camera based on the output from the electrical detection section 37. A sensitivity input circuit 38 detects the sensitivity information of the film loaded in the camera body 1, and inputs the detected sensitivity information to the microcomputer 22.

A film detection circuit 39 detects the position of the film based on a control signal from the microcomputer 22 and outputs the detection result to the microcomputer 22. A photo sensor 40 is driven by the film detection circuit and detects the position of the film 38.

Reference numeral 41 is a film feeding circuit for winding and rewinding the film based on a control signal from the microcomputer 22. A film feeding motor 42 is driven by the film feeding circuit 41 to drive the film 3
It becomes a drive source for winding up and rewinding 8. 43
Is a red-eye lamp driving circuit (red-eye reduction illuminating means), which controls the lighting of the red-eye reduction lamp 21 by a control signal from the microcomputer 22.

Reference numeral 44 denotes a lens communication circuit, which is a microcomputer 2
By performing serial communication with 2 and controlling the motor in the taking lens according to the communication content from the microcomputer 22,
The lens barrel and the diaphragm of the interchangeable lens 2 are driven.
On the other hand, the microcomputer 22 receives from the lens communication circuit 4 focal length information of the lens, distance information, information for correcting the focus and other various correction information.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing details of the mode dial 8. Rotate the mode dial 8 to rotate the mode dial 8
By matching the pictograms displayed on the surface of the to the index, it is possible to set the shooting mode according to the pictograms.

Here, the function setting zone is a zone for setting various data for photographing. The creative zone has a program AE mode (P), a shutter priority AE mode (Tv), an aperture priority AE mode (Av),
This zone consists of a manual exposure mode (M) and a depth priority AE mode (DEP), and is a zone in which various exposure settings can be made according to the photographer's intention. Fully automatic mode (fully automatic)
Is a mode in which all shooting functions are set automatically. The image zone consists of portrait mode, landscape mode, macro mode, sports mode, and night view mode in order from the right in FIG. 7. Optimal shooting conditions are automatically set according to the mode that the photographer wants to shoot. Mode.

The creative zone mode among the above-mentioned modes is designed to reflect the photographer's intention of drawing.
The flash is in manual flash mode, which allows you to optionally set whether or not to use the built-in flash for shooting.
In addition, in the fully automatic mode and the mode in the image zone, depending on the mode setting state, the microcomputer 2
2 is in a strobe automatic light emission mode in which it is determined whether or not the strobe light is emitted at the time of shooting, and the strobe light is automatically emitted.

Next, a strobe light emission determination operation (operation of the microcomputer 22) in the camera of this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. This flow chart shows the outline of the strobe light emission determination operation. In this flow chart, it is assumed that the strobe automatic light emission mode is set.

First, the operation starts from step 201.
In step 202, the sensitivity input circuit 38 is operated to acquire the sensitivity information of the film. In the present embodiment, the present invention is applied to a silver salt camera using a film,
It can also be applied to a digital camera using a solid-state image sensor (CCD). Then, in the case of a digital camera, the sensitivity information of the solid-state image sensor is acquired.

Next, at step 203, the photometric circuit 25 is operated to obtain the photometric value which is the measurement result of the subject brightness. The microcomputer 22 obtains the optimal shutter speed and aperture value for photographing based on the film sensitivity information acquired in step 202 and the photometric value acquired in step 203. The calculated shutter speed and aperture value are displayed on the display unit 29 (external liquid crystal display unit 20).

In step 204, the first strobe light emission determination is performed. This first strobe light emission determination is based on the film sensitivity information acquired in step 202 and step 2
Based on the photometric value acquired in 03, it is determined whether or not stroboscopic light emission is necessary at the time of shooting.

Specifically, the exposure value (Ev = Bv + Sv) is calculated from the photometric value (Bv) and the film sensitivity (Sv), and if the calculated exposure value is lower than a predetermined threshold value (judgment threshold value), the strobe light is applied. It is determined that light emission is necessary. here,
Since the Ev value increases as the film sensitivity (Sv) increases, it may be determined that stroboscopic light emission is unnecessary when a high-sensitivity film is used, even when the shooting surroundings are dark.

If it is determined in step 204 that strobe light emission is necessary, the process proceeds to step 205, and if it is determined that strobe light emission is unnecessary, the process proceeds to step 206. In step 205, the strobe light emitting section 33 is caused to emit light so as to achieve proper exposure by performing predetermined control during exposure.

On the other hand, in step 206, the second strobe light emission determination is performed. In this second strobe light emission determination, it is determined whether or not the photometric value (Bv) acquired in step 203 is lower than a predetermined brightness, and if it is lower than the predetermined brightness, a strobe light emission (pseudo light emission described later) is performed. Is determined to be necessary.

In the second stroboscopic light emission judgment, the stroboscopic light emission is judged only on the basis of the photometric value acquired in step 203 without using the film sensitivity information acquired in step 202. Even if a high-sensitivity film is used, it is not judged that the stroboscopic light emission is unnecessary.

Therefore, even if it is determined in the first strobe light emission determination (step 204) that strobe light emission is not necessary, it is determined in the second strobe light emission determination (step 206) that strobe light emission is necessary. There is.

If it is determined in step 206 that strobe light emission is necessary, the process proceeds to step 207, and if it is determined that strobe light emission is unnecessary, the process proceeds to step 208. In step 207, pseudo light emission is performed. This pseudo light emission is
The purpose is that the person (subject) being photographed can check the light emission, and the light is emitted so as not to affect the exposure.

The light emission that does not affect the exposure is, specifically, light emission before and after the opening / closing operation of the shutter, that is, immediately before or immediately after the exposure, light emission in which the light emission amount is extremely reduced during the exposure, and the like. . Then, the process returns at step 208.

Next, the photographing operation (operation of the microcomputer 22) in the camera of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

The microcomputer 22 starts operation from step 101 when the main switch 7 of the camera body 1 is operated from L (lock) to A (auto). Here, it is assumed that the mode dial 8 is set to either a fully automatic mode or an image zone mode, and the strobe mode is set to a strobe automatic light emission mode.

In step 100, the initialization operation of various circuits such as the RAM 23 is performed. Specifically, it clears a strobe pseudo light emission permission flag or a strobe normal light emission permission flag, which will be described later, or initializes the operations of the photometry circuit 25 and the distance measurement circuit 26. Then, when this initialization operation ends, the routine proceeds to step 101.

In step 101, the sensitivity input circuit 38 is operated to acquire the sensitivity information of the film. Note that in a digital camera, sensitivity information of a solid-state image sensor (CCD) is acquired. In step 102, SW1 (34)
If the SW1 is turned on, the process proceeds to step 103, and if not turned on, the process waits until it is turned on.

In step 103, the photometric circuit 25 is operated to obtain the measured value (photometric value) of the subject brightness. The microcomputer 22 obtains the optimum shutter speed and aperture value for the photographing mode preset by the photographer based on the photometric value and the film sensitivity information acquired in step 101. Then, after the calculated shutter speed and aperture value are displayed on the display unit 29, the process proceeds to step 104.

In step 104, the distance measuring circuit 26 is operated to perform the distance measuring operation (focus adjustment state detecting operation) by the well-known focus detecting method of the TTL phase difference detecting method, and the process proceeds to step 111. In Step 111, Step 104
The focus drive amount for driving the focusing lens in the interchangeable lens 2 mounted on the camera body 1 to the in-focus position is calculated based on the distance measuring operation in step 1 and the process proceeds to step 112.

In step 112, the focusing lens of the interchangeable lens 2 is focused by driving a lens drive circuit (not shown) installed in the interchangeable lens 2 based on the focus drive amount calculated in step 111. After moving to the position, the process proceeds to step 113.

In step 113, the first strobe light emission determination is made based on the film sensitivity information obtained in step 101 and the photometric value obtained in step 103. In this first strobe light emission determination, it is determined whether or not strobe light emission is required at the time of shooting. Specifically, first, the Sv value indicating the apex value corresponding to the film sensitivity and the Bv value indicating the apex value corresponding to the photometric value are added,
The exposure value Ev (Ev = Bv + Sv) is calculated. Here, Table 1 shows shutter speed (exposure time: 1 / T), aperture value (A), film sensitivity (S), and apex value of brightness (B) (Tv, Av, Sv, Bv, respectively).

[0062]

[Table 1]

When the exposure value Ev is determined in this way, a combination of the shutter speed and the aperture value that gives the Ev value can be obtained from "Ev = Tv + Av". A method of determining a predetermined shutter speed and aperture value among a plurality of combinations of shutter speed and aperture value includes a determination method using an aperture priority method that places importance on the aperture value,
There is a program-based determination method in which both the shutter speed and the aperture value are determined by the camera.

When the shutter speed and the aperture value are determined by any one of these determination methods, the determined shutter speed and a predetermined reference value (determination threshold value) are compared. When the determined shutter speed is lower than the determination threshold, for example, Tv ≦ 6 (exposure time 1 / 60se
In the case of (c or less), it is determined that stroboscopic light emission is necessary.

As an example, in a camera using ISO400 film, when the subject brightness is 10.0, Sv = 7 and Bv = 5 from Table 1 above, and Ev =
7 + 5 = 12. Then, in the case of the program Tv = Av + 2, the combination of Tv and Av corresponding to the Ev value 12 is Tv = 7, Av = 5, that is, the exposure time is 1/12.
5 (sec), the aperture value becomes 5.6. Where Tv> 6
Therefore, in the first strobe emission determination, it is determined that strobe emission is unnecessary.

When it is determined in step 113 that strobe light emission is necessary, the process proceeds to step 115, and when it is determined that strobe light emission is unnecessary, step 1
Proceed to 14.

Since step 115 is a step which comes into effect when it is determined in step 113 that strobe light emission is necessary, in this step the strobe normal light emission permission flag is set and step 116 is proceeded to. Since the strobe normal light emission permission flag is cleared in the initialization operation of step 100, the strobe light emission is prohibited until the strobe normal light emission permission flag is set. Here, the built-in flash 4 is the camera body 1
When it is stored in, the built-in strobe 4 is popped up by driving the strobe pop-up circuit 32.

On the other hand, in step 114, step 10
The second strobe light emission determination is performed based on only the photometric value acquired in 3. In this second strobe light emission determination, it is determined whether or not the photometric value is lower than a predetermined brightness, and if it is lower than the predetermined brightness, it is determined that the flash light emission needs to be performed.

That is, in the second strobe light emission determination, it is determined whether or not the strobe light emission is performed based on the predetermined film sensitivity information and the photometric value without considering the sensitivity information of the film loaded in the camera body 1. . Therefore, when the filming environment is dark and a high-sensitivity film is used, even if it is determined in the first strobe light emission determination (step 113) that strobe light emission is not necessary, the second strobe light emission determination is performed. In (step 114), it may be determined that it is necessary to perform stroboscopic light emission.

In the second strobe light emission determination, specifically, similarly to the first strobe light emission determination, first, an Sv value indicating an apex value corresponding to a predetermined film sensitivity (fixed value) and an apex value corresponding to a photometric value. Is added to obtain an exposure value Ev (Ev = Bv + Sv). Then, a combination of the shutter speed and the aperture value is determined from this Ev value by a predetermined method, and when the determined shutter speed is lower than the determination threshold value, for example, Tv ≦ 6 (exposure time 1 /
In the case of 60 sec or less), it is determined that strobe light emission is necessary. An example of the second strobe light emission determination will be described below. The predetermined film speed used in the judgment calculation is IS
If the subject brightness is O100 (the film sensitivity used as standard, the film sensitivity actually used is ISO400) and the subject brightness is 10.0, S
v = 5, Bv = 5, and Ev = 5 + 5 = 10. And in the case of the program Tv = Av + 2, the Ev value is 1
The combination of Tv and Av corresponding to 0 is Tv = 6,
Av = 4, that is, the exposure time is 1/60 (sec) and the aperture value is 4.0. Here, since Tv ≦ 6, it is determined that strobe light emission is necessary in the second strobe light emission determination.

Conventionally, the film loaded in the camera has I
A film of SO100 is used as a standard, and strobe light is emitted under the photographing condition (subject luminance 10.0) shown in the above-described example. Here, when the film loaded in the camera is replaced with the film of ISO400, it is determined that the first strobe emission does not require the strobe emission, and thus the strobe emission is not performed at the time of shooting, and the photographer may be anxious. There is.

However, in the camera of this embodiment, the ISO
Even when the 400 film is used, as in the above-described example, since the second flash emission determination determines that the flash emission is necessary and the pseudo light emission is performed, the flash emission may or may not be performed under the same brightness condition. By doing so, it is possible to eliminate anxiety to the photographer. Also,
Since the strobe light was not emitted, the film is not wasted, such as re-taking.

If it is determined in step 114 that strobe light emission is necessary, the process proceeds to step 105, and if it is determined that strobe light emission is unnecessary, the process proceeds to step 116.

In step 105, the stroboscopic pseudo light emission permission flag is set in order to perform pseudo light emission, and then step 11
Go to 6. In the initializing operation of step 100, the flash pseudo light emission permission flag is cleared, and therefore, strobe light emission is prohibited until the strobe pseudo light emission permission flag is set. Here, when the built-in strobe 4 is housed in the camera body 1, the built-in strobe 4 is popped up by driving the strobe pop-up circuit 32.

At step 116, the on / off state of SW2 (35) is detected. If SW2 is on, the routine proceeds to step 106, and if not, it proceeds to step 117.

At step 117, the on / off state of SW1 (34) is detected. If SW1 is on, the process returns to step 116, and steps 116 and 117 flow until SW2 is turned on. On the other hand, if SW1 is off, it is determined that the shooting operation is not performed, and this flow ends.

In this embodiment, once the focusing lens is driven to the in-focus position, SW1 is on and SW2 is on.
Although the distance measurement operation is not performed while is turned off, the distance measurement operation is repeated in this state, and when the subject moves, the focusing lens is driven by following the movement of the subject and constantly adjusting. There is also a method of keeping the focal position (servo AF).

In step 106, it is judged whether or not the pseudo flash light emission permission flag is set, and if the strobe pseudo light emission permission flag is set, step 10 is executed.
7, the process proceeds to step 118 if not set.

In step 107, the flash control circuit 3
0 and the strobe light emitting circuit 31 are operated to cause the strobe light emitting portion 33 to emit light (pseudo light emission). This pseudo light emission is performed before the exposure operation (shutter opening / closing operation), and the exposure is not affected even if the strobe light emitting section 33 emits light. Then, after the pseudo light emission is performed, the process proceeds to step 108.

In step 108, the diaphragm drive circuit 28 is operated to narrow down the diaphragm to the diaphragm value determined on the basis of the photometric value acquired in step 103 or the diaphragm value set by the photographer, and the process proceeds to step 119. The stroboscopic pseudo light emission in step 107 and the narrowing-down control in step 108 may be performed in reverse order or simultaneously.

In step 119, the shutter drive circuit 2
7 is operated to open and close the shutter at the shutter speed determined based on the photometric value acquired in step 103 or the shutter speed set by the photographer. The film is exposed by the opening / closing operation of the shutter, and the process proceeds to step 120 after the exposure is completed. In step 120, the diaphragm drive circuit 28 is operated to return the diaphragm narrowed down in step 108 to the open state, and the present flow ends.

In this embodiment, the stroboscopic pseudo light emission is performed immediately before the exposure is started, but the pseudo light emission determination may be performed immediately after the exposure in step 119 to perform the pseudo light emission.

Next, the operation after step 118 which is executed when the flash pseudo light emission permission flag is not set will be described.

In step 118, the diaphragm drive circuit 28 is operated to narrow down the diaphragm to the diaphragm value determined on the basis of the photometric value acquired in step 103 or the diaphragm value set by the photographer, and the process proceeds to step 109. In step 109, it is determined whether or not the strobe normal light emission permission flag is set. If the strobe normal light emission permission flag is set, the process proceeds to step 121. If not, the process proceeds to step 119.

In step 121, the red-eye lamp driving circuit 43 is operated to turn on the red-eye reducing lamp 21 for a predetermined time. In the present embodiment, the camera body 1 is provided with the red-eye reduction lamp 21 which is a dedicated lamp for red-eye reduction, but the red-eye reduction may be performed by causing the strobe light emitting section 33 to intermittently emit light for a predetermined time. Then, after the red-eye reduction lamp 21 is turned on for a predetermined time, the process proceeds to step 110.

In step 110, the shutter drive circuit 2
7 is operated to open and close the shutter at the shutter speed determined based on the photometric value acquired in step 103 or the shutter speed set by the photographer. Here, since step 110 is a step that comes into play when it is necessary to perform strobe light emission, when the shutter is fully opened, the strobe light emission circuit 31 is operated to cause the strobe light emission unit 33 to emit a predetermined amount of light. Make it glow.

At this time, the flash emission unit 33 emits light.
It is performed based on the amount of light emission suitable for exposure. Then, after exposure is performed under flash light emission, the process proceeds to step 120, the diaphragm drive circuit 28 is operated, the diaphragm narrowed down in step 118 is returned to the open state, and this flow is ended.

On the other hand, step 1 that flows when the normal flash emission permission flag is not set in step 109
At 19, the exposure operation is performed by opening and closing the shutter as described above, and the process proceeds to step 120. In this exposure operation, strobe light emission is not performed. Step 120
Then, the aperture narrowed down in step 118 is returned to the open state, and the present flow ends.

As described above, in the camera according to the present embodiment, the first strobe light emission determination determines whether or not the strobe light is emitted at the time of photographing taking into consideration the sensitivity information of the film (the sensitivity information of the film to be photographed or the sensitivity information of the solid-state image sensor). Since it is determined whether or not to perform the shooting, it is possible to always perform shooting with an appropriate exposure. In the second strobe emission determination, it is determined whether or not the strobe emission is performed based only on the luminance information (photometric result). In this determination, the first strobe taking into consideration the film sensitivity information is used. Even if it is determined that the flash does not need to be fired, the flash fires regardless of the sensitivity information of the film when the surroundings of the shooting are dim, so the photographer uses the first flash firing determination to flash when the surroundings of the shooting are dim. You will no longer feel anxious about not being performed.

That is, in the second strobe light emission determination,
In order to determine whether to use the flash automatically or not, taking into consideration the sensitivity information (reference value) of the film used as standard, when a film with different sensitivity was inserted or the sensitivity setting of the image sensor was changed. Even when the flash fires, the flash fires according to a certain standard, giving the photographer a sense of security that the automatic flash firing is functioning normally. This is
Since the strobe does not emit light, it is possible to prevent wasteful consumption of the film such as taking a picture again.

Further, as described above, when strobe light emission (pseudo light emission) is performed based on the second strobe light emission determination, the strobe light emission is performed at a timing that does not affect the exposure of the film. It can be performed.

Further, as described above, when the red-eye reduction lamp 21 is turned on for a predetermined time before strobe emission for red-eye reduction, when the red-eye reduction lamp 21 is used for strobe emission based on the second strobe emission determination. By prohibiting the lighting of, it is possible to perform shooting without causing stress to the photographer and the subject.

Although the present embodiment has described a camera having a built-in strobe, the present invention can be applied to a camera system in which an external strobe is attached to the camera.

(Second Embodiment) Next, a camera according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. The camera of the present embodiment is configured to determine whether or not strobe light emission (main light emission) should be performed by considering the focal length of the photographing optical system. The configuration of the camera of this embodiment is the first
The configuration is the same as that of the camera in the embodiment, and the same members will be described using the same reference numerals.

A photographing operation (operation of the microcomputer 22) in the camera of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

The microcomputer 22 starts its operation when the main switch 7 of the camera body 1 is operated from L (lock) to A (auto). In step 800, the initialization operation of various circuits such as the RAM 23 is performed. Specifically, it clears a strobe light emission permission flag or a strobe light emission permission flag, which will be described later, or initializes the operations of the photometry circuit and the distance measurement circuit. Then, when this initialization operation is completed, the routine proceeds to step 801.

In step 801, the sensitivity input circuit 38 is operated to obtain the sensitivity information of the film. Step 8
In 02, communication is performed with the interchangeable lens 2 via the lens communication circuit 44, and focal length information of the interchangeable lens 2 is acquired.
In step 803, the on / off state of SW1 (34) is detected, and if SW1 is on, step 804
Proceed to and wait for it to turn on if it is not on.

In step 804, the photometric circuit 25 is operated to obtain the measured value (photometric value) of the subject brightness. The microcomputer 22 obtains the optimum shutter speed and aperture value for the photographing mode preset by the photographer based on the photometric value and the film sensitivity information acquired in step 801. Then, after displaying the calculated shutter speed and aperture value on the display unit 29, the process proceeds to step 805.

In step 805, the distance measuring circuit 26 is operated to perform the distance measuring operation (focus adjusting state detecting operation) by the well-known focus detecting method of the TTL phase difference detecting method, and the process proceeds to step 806. In step 806, the focus drive amount for driving the focus lens in the interchangeable lens 2 mounted on the camera body 1 to the in-focus position is calculated based on the distance measuring operation in step 805, and the process proceeds to step 807. .

In step 807, the focusing lens of the interchangeable lens 2 is focused by driving the lens drive circuit (not shown) installed in the interchangeable lens 2 based on the focus drive amount calculated in step 806. After moving to the position, the process proceeds to step 808.

In step 808, the first strobe emission determination is performed based on the film sensitivity information acquired in step 801, the photometric value acquired in step 804, and the focal length information acquired in step 802. This first flash emission determination is flash emission (main flash) during shooting.
Is necessary. Specifically, first, the Sv value indicating the apex value corresponding to the film sensitivity and the Bv value indicating the apex value corresponding to the photometric value are added to obtain the exposure value Ev (Ev = Bv + Sv).

Then, a combination of the shutter speed and the aperture value is obtained from the obtained exposure value Ev. The method of determining the combination of the shutter speed and the aperture value is the same as the method described in the first embodiment.

Generally, it is said that the shutter speed at which camera shake is likely to occur is longer than 1 / focal length, so this value is compared with the shutter speed, and exposure time (shutter speed)> 1 / focal length is satisfied. In this case, it is determined in the first flash emission determination that flash emission is necessary.
In such a case, by performing stroboscopic light emission, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of hand-shake photographs.

As an example, when the focal length is 50 mm and the shutter speed determined from the film sensitivity and the photometric value at this time is 1/60 (sec), strobe light emission is unnecessary. judge. On the other hand, under the same conditions as described above, the shutter speed is 1/45
In the case of (sec), it is determined that strobe light emission is necessary.

If it is determined in step 808 that strobe light emission is necessary, the process proceeds to step 809, and if it is determined that strobe light emission is unnecessary, the process proceeds to step 810.

Since step 809 is a step that comes into play when it is determined in the first flash emission determination that flash emission is required at the time of shooting, in this step the strobe emission permission flag is set and step 81 is set.
Go to 3. Since the strobe normal light emission permission flag is cleared in the initialization operation of step 800, the strobe light emission is prohibited until the strobe normal light emission permission flag is set. Here, when the built-in strobe 4 is housed in the camera body 1, the built-in strobe 4 is popped up by driving the strobe pop-up circuit 32.

On the other hand, in step 810, the second strobe light emission determination is performed. This second strobe light emission determination is based on whether or not the shutter speed obtained in step 808 is on the longer time side than the predetermined value, and a strobe light emission (pseudo light emission) is performed.
It is determined whether it is necessary to perform. That is, it is determined that the strobe light emission is necessary when the shutter speed is higher than the predetermined value, and it is determined that the strobe light emission is unnecessary when the shutter speed is lower than the predetermined value. Here, the predetermined value can be set to, for example, 1/100 (sec).

In the second strobe light emission judgment, whether or not strobe light emission is necessary is determined based on only the shutter speed value without using the focal length information. It is possible to avoid the phenomenon that light is emitted and strobe light is not emitted on the wide-angle side.

For example, when shooting with a zoom lens of 28-80 mm, the shutter speed at the time of shooting is 1/6.
In the case of 0 (sec), according to the first strobe light emission determination, strobe light emission is not performed when the focal length is 50 mm, but strobe light emission is performed when the focal length is changed to 70 mm.

As described above, if the stroboscopic light is emitted or not depending on the focal length of the photographing optical system, the photographer is concerned about whether or not the strobe is not emitted. Therefore, when the shutter speed exceeds a certain threshold value (predetermined value) regardless of the focal length as in the second strobe light emission determination in the present embodiment, strobe light emission (pseudo light emission) is performed.
By doing so, the photographer can be relieved. Also, because the flash did not fire,
It is also possible to eliminate the wasteful consumption of film such as re-taking.

If it is determined in step 810 that strobe light emission is necessary, the process proceeds to step 811, and if it is determined that strobe light emission is unnecessary, the process proceeds to step 813.

At step 811, the strobe light emission permission flag is set in order to perform strobe light emission, and then step 81
Go to 2. In step 812, a strobe microscopic light emission permission flag is set to perform pseudo light emission, and then in step 813
Proceed to.

In the normal strobe light emission mode, the light emission control of the strobe light emitting portion 33 is performed so as to obtain the proper exposure.
When the strobe light emission permission flag is set, the strobe light emitting section 33 is caused to emit a minimum amount of light so that the strobe light does not affect the exposure. Here, when the built-in strobe 4 is housed in the camera body 1, the built-in strobe 4 is popped up by driving the strobe pop-up circuit 32.

At step 813, the on / off state of SW2 (35) is detected. If SW2 is on, the process proceeds to step 815, and if not, the process proceeds to step 814. In step 814, it is determined whether SW1 (34) is turned on. If SW1 is turned on, the process returns to step 813, and steps 813 and 814 flow until SW2 is turned on. on the other hand,
If SW1 is off, it is determined that the shooting operation is not performed, and this flow ends.

In step 815, the aperture drive circuit 28 is operated to narrow down the aperture to the aperture value determined based on the photometric value acquired in step 804 or the aperture value set by the photographer, and the process proceeds to step 816. In step 816, it is determined whether or not the strobe light emission permission flag is set. If the strobe light emission permission flag is set, the process proceeds to step 817. If the strobe light emission permission flag is not set, the process proceeds to step 819.

In step 819, the shutter drive circuit 2
7 is operated to open and close the shutter at the shutter speed determined based on the photometric value acquired in step 804 or the shutter speed set by the photographer. The film is exposed by the opening / closing operation of the shutter, and the process proceeds to step 822 after the exposure is completed. In step 822, the diaphragm drive circuit 28 is operated to return the diaphragm narrowed down in step 815 to the open state, and the present flow ends.

On the other hand, in step 817, it is determined whether or not the strobe light emission permission flag is set. Here, if the strobe light emission permission flag is set, the process proceeds to step 818, and if the strobe pseudo light emission permission flag is not set, the process proceeds to step 820.

In step 818, the shutter drive circuit 2
7 is operated to open and close the shutter at the shutter speed determined based on the photometric value acquired in step 103 or the shutter speed set by the photographer. Here, since step 818 is a step that comes into play when it is necessary to perform strobe light emission, the strobe light emitting section 3 is controlled by driving the strobe light emitting circuit 31 during exposure.
3 is emitted with the minimum amount of light emission (strobe light emission). At this time, the light emitted from the strobe light emitting portion 33 does not affect the exposure.

When the exposure operation accompanied by strobe light emission is performed, the process proceeds to step 822, the diaphragm drive circuit 28 is operated, the diaphragm narrowed down in step 815 is returned to the open state, and this flow is ended.

On the other hand, in step 820, the red-eye lamp drive circuit 43 is operated to turn on the red-eye reduction lamp 21 for a predetermined time. In the present embodiment, the camera body 1 is provided with the red-eye reduction lamp 21 which is a dedicated lamp for red-eye reduction, but the red-eye reduction may be performed by causing the strobe light emitting section 33 to intermittently emit light for a predetermined time. And
After turning on the red-eye reduction lamp 21 for a predetermined time, the process proceeds to step 821.

In step 821, the shutter drive circuit 2
7 is operated to open and close the shutter at the shutter speed determined based on the photometric value acquired in step 804 or the shutter speed set by the photographer. Here, since step 821 is a step that comes into play when it is necessary to perform strobe light emission at the time of shooting, the strobe light emission circuit 31 is operated at the time when the shutter is fully opened to cause the strobe light emission unit 33 to emit a predetermined amount of light. To emit light.

At this time, the flash light emitting section 33 emits light.
It is performed based on the amount of light emission suitable for exposure. Then, after the exposure is performed under the flash emission, step 822 is performed.
Proceed to. In step 822, the diaphragm drive circuit 28 is operated to return the diaphragm narrowed down in step 815 to the open state, and the present flow ends.

As described above, in the first strobe light emission determination, since it is determined whether or not strobe light emission is performed at the time of image taking, taking into consideration the focal length information of the image taking optical system, the image is always taken with proper exposure. In addition, it is possible to prevent hand-shake photography from occurring by performing strobe light emission under predetermined conditions. In the second strobe light emission determination, it is determined whether or not the strobe light emission is performed based on a fixed reference regardless of the focal length information, and the first strobe light emission determination considering the focal length information is performed. Even when it is determined that the flash emission is not necessary, the second flash emission determination causes the flash emission (micro emission), so that it is possible to prevent the photographer from being anxious that the flash emission is not performed.

As a result, it is possible to take a picture with peace of mind without causing a mysterious phenomenon that the flash is emitted when shooting on the telephoto side, but the flash is not emitted when shooting on the wide-angle side. it can. This can prevent wasteful consumption of the film such as re-shooting because the strobe did not emit light.

Further, as described above, when strobe light emission (pseudo light emission) is performed based on the second strobe light emission determination, light emission (micro light emission) is performed with a light amount that does not affect the exposure, so that proper shooting is performed. be able to.

Further, as described above, when the red-eye interval lamp 21 is turned on for a predetermined time before strobe light emission for red-eye reduction, when the strobe light emission is performed based on the second strobe light emission determination, the red-eye reduction lamp 21 By prohibiting the lighting of, it is possible to perform shooting without causing stress to the photographer and the subject.

[0127]

According to the first and second aspects of the present invention, even when the light emission of the illumination means is unnecessary at the time of photographing, the illumination means is caused to emit light without affecting the photographing, so that, for example, when the surroundings of the photographing are dim. Even when the camera (control means) automatically determines that light emission is unnecessary when shooting with the lighting means,
By performing the light emission that does not affect the photographing, it is possible to eliminate the anxiety of the photographer due to the fact that the illumination unit does not emit the light.

Then, it is possible to prevent the film from being wasted, such as re-taking the picture because the illumination means did not emit light during the picture taking. Moreover, by causing the illumination means to emit light so as not to affect shooting, proper shooting can be performed without overexposure due to strobe light.

Here, based on the measurement result of the photometric means and the sensitivity information of the image pickup medium acquired by the sensitivity information acquisition means, the first judgment for judging the necessity of light emission at the time of photographing by the illumination means is performed, and this Controlling the drive of the illuminating means according to the determination result, and determining whether or not the illuminating means needs to emit light based on the measurement result of the photometric means when it is determined that the illuminating means does not need to emit light in the first determination. If the second judgment is made and it is judged by the second judgment that the illuminating means needs to emit light, the illuminating means can be made to emit light without affecting photographing.

In this way, by illuminating the illuminating means without affecting the photographing in accordance with only the photometric result of the photometric means, for example, the illuminating means can be operated at the time of photographing depending on the sensitivity of the image pickup medium under the same photometric result. It is possible to eliminate the anxiety of the photographer due to not emitting light.

Further, based on the measurement result of the photometric means, the sensitivity information of the image pickup medium acquired by the sensitivity information acquisition means, and the detection result of the focal length information detection means, it is judged whether or not the illumination means emits light during photographing. The first judgment is made, the drive of the illuminating means is controlled according to the result of the judgment, and when it is judged that the illuminating means does not need to emit light in the first judgment, the photometric result of the photometric means and the sensitivity information acquisition means are used. Based on the acquired sensitivity information of the image pickup medium, a second judgment is made to judge whether or not the lighting means needs to emit light.
When it is determined that the lighting means needs to emit light, it is possible to cause the lighting means to emit light without affecting photographing.

As described above, by illuminating the illuminating means so as not to affect photographing in accordance with only the sensitivity information of the imaging medium acquired by the light measuring result and the sensitivity information acquiring means of the light measuring means, for example, the light measuring result and the sensitivity are obtained. It is possible to eliminate the anxiety of the photographer due to the fact that the illumination means does not emit light during photographing according to the change of the focal length under the same information condition.

Further, in a camera capable of emitting red-eye reduction illuminating light to an object before photographing, red-eye reduction illuminating is performed when it is determined based on the second determination that the illuminating means is to emit light. Light emission can be prohibited. In this way, by prohibiting the red-eye reduction light emission, the photographer and the subject can shoot without feeling the stress due to the red-eye reduction light emission.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1A is an external perspective view of a camera according to a first embodiment. (B) The partial perspective view of the camera in 1st Embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a flash light emission determination operation in the camera of the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a rear view of the camera of the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a circuit block diagram of the camera of the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a shooting operation in the camera of the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a shooting operation in the camera of the second embodiment.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of a mode dial 8.

[Explanation of symbols]

1: Camera body 2: Interchangeable lens 3: Lens removal button 4: Built-in flash 5: Accessory shoe 6: Finder 7: Main switch 8: Mode dial 9: Electronic dial 10: Release button 12: AE lock switch 13: Exposure compensation switch 14: Built-in flash switch 15: Self-timer switch 16: Film rewind switch 17: AF mode switch 18: AEB switch 20: External liquid crystal display section 21: Red-eye reduction lamp 22: Microcomputer 23: RAM 24: EEPROM 25: Photometric circuit 26: Distance measuring circuit 27: Shutter drive circuit 28: Aperture drive circuit 29: Display 30: Strobe control circuit 31: Strobe light emission circuit 32: Strobe pop-up circuit 33: Strobe emission part 34: Release first switch (SW1) 35: Release second switch (SW2) 36: Strobe switch 37: Electrical detector 38: Sensitivity input circuit 39: Film detection circuit 40: Photo sensor 41: Film feeding circuit 42: Film feeding motor 43: Red-eye lamp drive circuit 44: Lens communication circuit

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) G03B 15/03 G03B 15/03 H X H04N 5/238 H04N 5/238 Z

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. An illuminating device capable of communicating with a camera body, wherein illuminating means for emitting illuminating light, and a light emission instruction signal for instructing light emission of the illuminating means at the time of photographing are inputted from the camera body. A lighting device, comprising: a lighting device that causes the lighting device to emit light at the time of shooting, and causes the lighting device to emit light by a control method that does not affect shooting when the light emission instruction signal is not input. 2. It is determined whether or not the lighting means that emits the illumination light needs to emit light at the time of shooting, and when it is determined that the lighting means needs to emit light, the lighting means emits light at the time of shooting, and the lighting means does not need to emit light. And a control means for causing the illumination means to emit light by a control method that does not affect shooting. 3. A photometric means for measuring subject brightness, and a sensitivity information acquisition means for acquiring sensitivity information of an imaging medium, wherein the control means has a measurement result of the photometric means and the sensitivity information. A first determining whether light emission is necessary at the time of photographing by the illumination unit based on the sensitivity information acquired by the acquisition unit
And controlling the drive of the illuminating means in accordance with the result of the determination, and when it is determined that light emission of the illuminating means is unnecessary in the first determination, A second judgment is made to judge whether or not the lighting means needs to emit light, and when it is judged from the second judgment that the lighting means needs to emit light, the lighting means is caused to emit light by a control method that does not affect photographing. The camera according to claim 2, wherein: 4. A photometric device for measuring subject brightness, a sensitivity information acquisition device for acquiring sensitivity information of an image pickup medium, and a focal length information detection device for detecting focal length information of a photographing optical system. However, the control means, based on the measurement result of the photometric means, the sensitivity information acquired by the sensitivity information acquisition means and the detection result of the focal length information detection means, whether or not light emission is necessary at the time of photographing by the illumination means. And the drive of the illuminating means is controlled in accordance with the result of the determination, and when it is determined that the illuminating means does not need to emit light in the first determination, the photometry of the photometric means is performed. Based on the result and the sensitivity information of the imaging medium acquired by the sensitivity information acquisition means, a second judgment is made to judge whether or not the light emission of the illumination means is necessary. When the emission means determines is necessary, camera according to claim 2, characterized in that for emitting the illumination means in a controlled manner that does not affect imaging. 5. The camera according to claim 3, wherein the sensitivity information acquisition unit acquires film sensitivity information. 6. The camera according to claim 3, wherein the sensitivity information acquisition unit acquires sensitivity information of the image pickup device. 7. The control means causes the illumination means to emit light at the time of shooting with a light emission amount that does not affect the shooting when it is determined by the second determination that the illumination means should emit light. The camera according to Item 3 or 4. 8. The control means causes the illumination means to emit light at a timing other than during the exposure when it is determined to cause the illumination means to emit light according to the second determination. The camera described in either one. 9. A red-eye reduction illuminator that emits red-eye reduction luminescence by causing an object to illuminate to reduce the red-eye effect before photographing is started, and the control means determines the illumination based on the second determination. 9. The red-eye mitigation light emission of the red-eye mitigation illumination means is prohibited when it is determined that the means should emit light.
The camera described in any of.