JP2005094465A - Photographing device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a photographing device that prevents the image quality of a moving image from deteriorating. <P>SOLUTION: This photographing device is provided with a still picture photographing part 100b comprising a still picture photographing optical system 111b, a still picture CCD 112b and a still picture recording part 1190b, and with a moving picture photographing part 100a comprising a moving picture photographing optical system 111a, a moving picture CCD and a moving picture recording part 1190a. The still picture photographing part 100a performs still picture photographing in parallel with moving picture photographing even during moving picture photographing independently of moving picture photographing performed by the moving picture photographing part 100a. Since moving picture photographing and still picture photographing are independently performed, the image quality of a moving image is improved because there is no need to thin out a still picture to obtain the moving image. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a photographing apparatus that captures subject light, generates image data, and records the image data on a recording medium.

  In the old days, camera systems began to change dramatically with the passage of time, such as silver halide cameras, recent video cameras, and even modern digital cameras. In the present age when these cameras are available, there are people who carry around these cameras at the same time and use them appropriately to take advantage of the characteristics of these cameras. Among such cameras, the silver salt camera has the advantage that a high-quality photograph can be obtained even if it is stretched, but has the disadvantage that only a still image can be taken. In addition, the video camera can shoot moving images, and even in relatively dark places, you can shoot and zoom in during shooting, for example to enlarge your child's facial expression and save it on tape etc. However, there is a drawback that the number of pixels is small and it is not suitable for printing because an imaging unit mainly composed of moving images is configured.

  In addition, the digital camera can switch between moving images and still images, or can play back the recorded images and enjoy the images on the display screen. Since the zoom ratio is low and the high zoom ratio is realized by electronic zoom, there is a drawback that shooting at a high zoom ratio cannot be performed as clearly as expected.

  For this reason, the user has carried three kinds of cameras and photographed using one of these cameras depending on the subject. However, it is troublesome to carry three cameras like this.

  Therefore, digital cameras that have the characteristics of high image quality, which is an advantage of the silver salt camera, and the characteristics of video cameras have appeared. Such a digital camera is equipped with a solid-state image sensor with a high pixel count, and it is also possible to obtain a high-quality photo similar to that taken with a silver salt camera, as well as a video camera. Shooting can be performed, and still images can be shot during moving image shooting (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  However, in the digital camera disclosed in Patent Document 1, it is possible to capture high-definition image data by capturing all pixels of a solid-state imaging device having a high pixel number when capturing a still image. Sometimes video data is generated with thinned pixels without using all pixels, that is, thinning processing is performed, so that not only the resolution is lowered, but also distortion that leads to a large image quality defect called aliasing distortion occurs and the image quality is remarkably high. There is a problem of deterioration.

In addition, when processing is performed to increase sensitivity by performing pixel mixing, there is a problem that the influence of aliasing distortion becomes even stronger, and the image quality of moving images further deteriorates. This problem becomes more prominent as the number of pixels of the solid-state image sensor becomes higher.
JP 2000-352759 A

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems and to provide a photographing apparatus that does not deteriorate the quality of moving images even when moving images are photographed.

An imaging device of the present invention that achieves the above-described object is an imaging device that captures subject light, generates image data, and records the image data on a recording medium,
A moving image taking optical system configured for moving image taking and a moving image pickup device are provided,
A moving image recording unit for recording moving image data on the loaded recording medium is provided, moving image data is generated by capturing subject light by the moving image pickup device, and the moving image data is recorded on the recording medium loaded in the moving image recording unit. A video shooting unit to
A still image shooting optical system configured for still image shooting and a still image pickup device are provided, and a still image recording unit that records still image data on a loaded recording medium is provided, and the subject is captured by the still image pickup device. Captures light and generates still image data, and records the still image data on a recording medium loaded in the still image recording unit. And a still image capturing unit that performs still image capturing in parallel.

  According to the photographing apparatus of the present invention, since the still image photographing unit and the moving image photographing unit can independently photograph, it is necessary to generate moving image data by thinning out image data obtained by the still image sensor. Therefore, a clear moving image can be taken using the image data generated by the moving image pickup device. As a result, since it is not necessary to perform the thinning process, the image quality of the moving image does not deteriorate due to the influence of aliasing distortion.

  Here, instead of both the moving image recording unit and the still image recording unit, an image recording unit that records both moving image data and still image data on a loaded recording medium is provided.

  Then, moving image data and still image data can be recorded in common on the recording medium. In this case, the recording media included in both the moving image capturing unit and the still image capturing unit are not integrated into one recording medium, and both the recording media are left and the image recording unit is used for either one of the images. A configuration for recording data is also conceivable. According to this configuration, it is possible to record both moving image data and still image data on the other recording medium using either one of the recording media as a backup, and when one of the other recording media is full, the other recording medium is recorded. Image data can be recorded on a medium. In this way, even if the other recording medium is full, it is possible to take a picture without missing the photo opportunity.

  In addition, it is preferable to include at least one of a power source, an image display screen, and an operation unit that are commonly used by both the moving image recording unit and the still image recording unit.

  Thus, by sharing at least one of the power source, the image display screen, and the operation means, the number of parts can be reduced and the cost can be reduced. In addition, the power supply, the image display screen, and the operation means can all be shared to reduce the size and weight of the digital camera.

  Moreover, it is preferable that a system controller that controls both the moving image recording unit and the still image recording unit is provided.

  Then, even if still image shooting is performed during movie shooting, the system controller controls both the movie shooting unit and the still image shooting unit, and the movie data generated by the movie shooting unit and the still image shooting unit Both the generated still image data can be recorded on the recording medium by the image recording unit.

Furthermore, instead of both the moving image recording unit and the still image recording unit, an image recording unit that records both moving image data and still image data on a loaded recording medium,
A video bus through which the video data passes for processing the video data;
A still image bus through which the still image data passes for processing the still image data;
It is preferable to include a recording bus that receives moving image data and still image data from the moving image bus and the still image bus, and passes both the moving image data and the still image data for recording on a recording medium. .

  As described above, the image data that has passed through either the moving image bus or the still image bus is received by the recording bus, and the received moving image data or still image data is transferred to the recording medium. Recording can be performed by the image recording unit.

In addition, an image display screen that is commonly used by both the moving image recording unit and the still image recording unit is provided,
A video bus through which the video data passes for processing the video data;
A still image bus through which the still image data passes for processing the still image data;
A display bus that receives moving image data and still image data from the moving image bus and the still image bus, and passes both the moving image data and the still image data for image display on the image display screen; It is characterized by.

  In this way, image data that has passed through either the moving image bus or the still image bus is received by the display bus, and the received moving image data or still image data is displayed on the image display screen. Can be displayed.

Here, the moving image shooting unit includes an image display screen that displays a moving image based on the moving image data obtained by the moving image shooting unit and is used in common with the still image shooting unit or used alone in the moving image shooting unit. ,
It is preferable that the moving image capturing unit starts an operation except for recording moving image data on a recording medium and displays a moving image on the display screen when the power is turned on.

  If it does so, the moving image image | photographed by the said video imaging part can be displayed on the image display screen as a through image. If the image display screen is used alone in the moving image photographing unit, the image display screen can act as a preview screen, and the image display screen can be used as a viewfinder. If the moving image shooting unit and the still image shooting unit are used in common, the image display screen can be used as a finder, and an image captured by the still image shooting unit can be displayed as the image. It is also possible to display on the screen and allow the photographer to check the photographed subject.

In addition, the moving image photographing unit includes a distance measuring unit that measures the distance to the subject and a photometric unit that measures the subject luminance.
Preferably, the still image capturing unit performs still image capturing that reflects distance information and luminance information obtained by the distance measuring unit and the photometry unit of the moving image capturing unit.

  Then, even if the still image capturing unit does not have a distance measuring unit and a photometric unit, the still image is captured based on distance information and luminance information obtained when generating moving image data representing a moving image displayed as a through image. You can take pictures. However, the still image capturing unit may include a distance measuring unit and a photometric unit.In this case, the distance measuring unit and the photometric unit provided in the still image capturing unit include distance information and luminance information on the moving image capturing unit side. Accordingly, ranging and photometry can be performed in a short time. As a result, high-speed processing is realized in still image shooting.

  Furthermore, the still image shooting unit is configured to perform still image shooting with the same point as the subject center in moving image shooting being performed on the moving image shooting unit in consideration of the subject distance.

  For example, if the still image shooting optical system is pointed at the same point as the subject center in movie shooting, and the still image shooting unit takes into account the subject distance in movie shooting, it will be displayed during movie shooting. It is possible to shoot a scene of a moving image as a still image. Then, in addition to high-speed processing, it is possible to shoot a still image as it is on the moving image displayed on the display screen by matching the framing of the moving image and the still image.

  Here, for example, when the shooting size of the still image pickup device is larger than the shooting size of the moving image pickup device, the difference between the shooting sizes is used to calculate the image data generated by the moving image pickup device. A configuration in which a feature is extracted and a portion that matches the feature is extracted from the image data generated by the still image pickup device may be employed.

  Further, both the moving image shooting optical system and the still image shooting optical system are shooting optical systems having a zoom function, and the focal length of the moving image shooting optical system and the focal length of the still image shooting optical system are independently set. And a mode for adjusting both the focal length of the moving image photographing optical system and the focal length of the still image photographing optical system.

  Then, when moving image shooting and still image shooting are performed independently, a mode for independently adjusting both the focal length of the moving image shooting optical system and the focal length of the still image shooting optical system is designated. The shooting unit and the still image shooting unit can shoot at different zoom magnifications. When shooting a still image during movie shooting, the focal length of the movie shooting optical system and the focus of the still image shooting optical system are as follows. It is possible to shoot with the still image shooting optical system at the zoom magnification when the mode for adjusting both the distance and the zoom is specified by specifying the mode for adjusting the distance.

  According to the photographing apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to provide a photographing apparatus that does not deteriorate the quality of moving images even when moving images are photographed.

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

  FIG. 1 is a view showing an appearance of a digital camera as an example of a photographing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1A is a perspective view of a horizontally long digital camera as viewed from the front and obliquely above, and FIG. 1B illustrates the horizontally long digital camera of FIG. A perspective view is shown. Further, as the external appearance of the digital camera of the present invention, a vertically long type is also conceivable. FIG. 1 (c) shows a perspective view of the vertically long type digital camera as viewed from the front obliquely above, and FIG. The perspective view seen from back diagonally upward is each shown.

  Since either type is different only in the shape of the camera body, the configuration of the horizontally long digital camera shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B will be described.

  In the center of the front of the camera body 101a of the digital camera 10a shown in FIG. 1A, a still image shooting lens 11a and a moving image shooting lens 11b are arranged side by side. On the upper surface of the camera body 101a, a still image shutter button 12a and a moving image shutter button 12b are individually provided so that a subject captured by these lenses can be individually photographed. In addition, power switches 13a and 13b for operating the digital camera 10a are also provided for still images and moving images, respectively. The still image power switch 13a can be turned on to perform only still image shooting. The moving image power switch 13b can be turned on to perform only moving image shooting, or both the power switches 13a and 13b can be turned on to perform still image shooting during moving image shooting.

  In this way, at least one of the power switches 13a and 13b is turned on, and still image shooting can be performed using the still image shutter button 12a and moving image shooting can be performed using the moving image shutter button 12b. An operation LCD 14a for still image shooting and an operation LCD 14b for moving image shooting are also provided separately for showing separately to the photographer.

  Further, an LCD panel 150a for still image shooting and an LCD panel 150b for moving image shooting are provided on the back side of the camera body 101a shown in FIG. The still image shooting zoom button 16a and the moving image shooting zoom button 16b are also provided separately.

  As described above, both the still image shooting and the moving image shooting can be independently performed by this single digital camera.

  The configuration of the digital camera 10b shown in FIGS. 1 (c) and 1 (d) is the same as that shown in FIGS. 1 (a) and 1 (b) except that the camera body 101b is vertically long. .

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an internal configuration of the horizontally long digital camera 10a shown in FIGS. 1 (a) and 1 (b). The internal configuration of the vertically long digital camera 10a shown in FIGS. 1C and 1D is also the same.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the moving image shooting power source 130b and the still image shooting unit 100b and the still image shooting unit 100a can be operated by turning on the still image power switch 13a and the moving image power switch 13b, respectively. Two power supplies 130a for photographing are provided separately.

  First, the configuration of the moving image photographing unit 100b that operates when the moving image power switch 130b is turned on will be described in detail.

  When the moving image power switch 13b is turned on, power is supplied from the power supply 130b to each unit constituting the moving image capturing unit 100b, and the moving image capturing unit 100b becomes operable.

  The moving image photographing unit 100b is controlled centrally by the first main CPU 110b, and operation signals such as a moving image shutter button 12b and a power switch 13b are supplied to the first main CPU 110b. In response to the supply of these operation signals, the first main CPU 110b controls the operation of the moving image photographing unit 100b and the display operation of the operation LCD 14b and the image display LCD 15b. The main CPU 100b is provided with an EEPROM 111b for storing a program, and the operation of the moving image photographing unit 100b is controlled in accordance with a program in the EEPROM 111b.

  The operation of the moving image photographing unit 100b controlled by the first main CPU 100b will be described.

  The moving image shooting unit 100b includes a moving image shooting optical system 111b composed of a plurality of lenses including a focus lens 1110b that greatly contributes to focus and a zoom lens 1111b having a variable focal length, and a CCD 112b (hereinafter referred to as moving image CCD). ), And the moving subject photographing optical system 111b forms an image of a focused subject on the moving image CCD 112b. When focusing the subject on the moving image CCD 112b, the digital camera of the present embodiment performs distance measurement and photometry through the moving image taking optical system 111b while moving the focus lens 1110b from the closest point to the infinity point. It has been broken. The main CPU 110b receives the results of distance measurement and photometry through the moving image photographing optical system 111b, and gives the results to the photometry / range measurement CPU 120b by communication from the main CPU 110b receiving the results, and the focus lens is supplied to the photometry distance measurement CPU 120b. 1110b is moved or the aperture 1112b is switched.

  The focused subject image is formed on the moving image CCD 112b in this way, and image data representing the subject is generated by the moving image CCD 112b. The generated image data is supplied from a timing generator (hereinafter referred to as TG) 1121b. The A / D unit 113b outputs the signal every predetermined time (for example, every 33 ms) according to the timing signal. The output image data is converted into digital signal image data by the A / D unit 113b, and the subsequent white balance / γ correction unit (hereinafter referred to as WB / γ unit) 114b and the YC processing unit 116b convert the digital signal. The image data is processed and image data consisting of YC signals is supplied to the image display LCD side. On the image display LCD side, first, image data composed of the YC signal is received and converted into an RGB signal by the YC-RGB unit 151b. The converted image data is supplied to the driver 152b, and the driver 152b The image display LCD 15b is driven. When the image display LCD 15b is driven in this way, an image based on the image data is displayed as a through image on the LCD panel 150b. The buffer memory in the subsequent stage of the WB / γ unit is provided to adjust the timing at which the image data processed by the WB / γ unit 114b passes through the bus 121b and is supplied to the YC processing unit 116b. .

  Here, when the moving image shutter button 12b is pressed while viewing the through image, the main CPU 110b issues a moving image shooting start instruction to each unit in the moving image shooting unit 100b, and shooting starts.

  The moving image shutter button 12b performs a toggle operation. Once pressed, image data generated by the moving image CCD is transferred by the WB / γ unit 114b and the YC processing unit 116b until the moving image shutter button is pressed again. The processed image data is further compressed by the compression / decompression unit 117b and sequentially recorded on the memory card 119b.

  The above is the operation of the moving image shooting unit.

  Here, a brief description will be given of the operation of each unit that processes the image data before the image data is recorded from the moving image CCD 112b to the memory card 119b in the image recording unit 1190b.

  In the WB / γ section 114b, first, the R, G, and B amplitudes are adjusted on the white balance side to perform processing for obtaining a reference white color. By adjusting the white color, a gradation in the middle of the color from black to white, that is, a gradation of intermediate color is correctly expressed. Since the gradation of the color from white to black in the middle of the process changes depending on the characteristics of the image display LCD 15b, the γ correction side also performs processing to image data that matches the characteristics of the image display LCD 15b. . The image data processed in this way passes through the bus 121b and is supplied to the YC processing unit 116b.

  Next, the YC processing unit 116b processes the image data made up of RGB into image data made up of YC signals so that it can be displayed on another display device.

  Further, the image data composed of the YC signal passes through the bus 121b and is supplied to the compression / expansion unit 117b. The compression / expansion unit 117b compresses the image data as much as possible on the memory card. Here, when the image data is compressed, compression based on the MPEG1, 2, 4 standard is performed. The compressed image data is recorded on the memory card 119b through the interface 118b.

  In addition, sound recorded through the microphone 122 during moving image shooting is also converted into a digital signal by the A / D unit 123 and recorded in the memory card 119b. Also at this time, the audio data is temporarily stored in the buffer memory 124 and the timing is adjusted, then the audio data is supplied to the compression / expansion unit 117b, and the audio data compressed by the compression / expansion unit 117b is recorded on the memory card 119b. Is done.

  The digital camera 1 can also reproduce moving image data and audio data recorded on the memory card 119b. When performing this reproduction, the image data compressed by the compression / decompression unit 117b is expanded based on the compression information. The expanded image data passes through the bus 121b and is supplied to the image display LCD 15b, and an image based on the image data is displayed on the display screen 150b. On the image display LCD 15b side, a driver 152b for driving the image display LCD 15b and a YC-RGB conversion unit 151b for supplying RGB signals to the driver 152b are provided. The YC signal is recorded on the memory card 119b. The image data composed of the YC signal is converted into RGB image data, and the reproduced image is displayed on the display screen of the image display LCD 15b.

  When this reproduced image is displayed, the audio data recorded together with the image data is further supplied to the speaker 155 via the buffer memory 153 via the D / A unit 154, and sound is produced from the speaker 155.

  Next, the configuration and operation of the still image capturing unit 100a will be described. The still image capturing unit 100a has the same configuration as the moving image capturing unit 110b except that it does not include an audio processing unit including a microphone 122 and a speaker 155 and a flash light emitting device 16a is added. The flash light emitting device 16a causes the flash light emitting device 16 including the light emitting tube 160a and the charge light emission control unit 16a to emit a flash light when the main CPU 110b determines that the flash light emission is necessary in response to the photometry result of the photometry unit. However, when the main CPU 110a instructs the photometry / ranging CPU 120a to emit flash, the flash tube 160a emits flash for the emission time controlled by the charge / emission control unit 16a according to the emission command from the photometry / ranging CPU. Is done. Note that the still image CCD 112a has a higher number of pixels than the moving image CCD 112b, and a higher definition image than a moving image can be obtained.

  As described above, the digital camera of the present embodiment includes the moving image recording optical system 111b configured for moving image shooting and the moving image CCD 112b, and also includes the moving image recording unit 1190b that records moving image data in the loaded memory card 119b. The moving image photographing unit 100b that captures subject light by the moving image CCD 112b to generate moving image data and records the moving image data in the memory card 119b loaded in the moving image recording unit 1190b, and a still image photographing configuration. A still image capturing optical system 111a and a still image CCD 112a are provided, and still image data is recorded in the loaded memory card 119a. And a still image recording unit 1190a for taking a still image. In both the imaging crisp still and clear shooting video and performed independently, further still image shooting also clearly allows in movie shooting. That is, since it is not necessary to generate moving image data by thinning out the image data generated by the moving image CCD 112b in moving image shooting by the moving image shooting unit, the moving image that has been a problem is not deteriorated in image quality, and a clear moving image is obtained. Is obtained.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example in which the operation LCDs 14 a and 14 b and the image display LCDs 15 a and 15 b included in the digital camera illustrated in FIG. 1 are integrated and integrated into one power switch 13 and one operation LCD 14. . FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an internal configuration of the digital camera shown in FIG. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the power switch 13, the operation LCD 14, the image display LCD 15, the power supply 130, the main CPU 110, and the image recording unit 1190 </ b> A are shared and integrated into one. Buffer memories 1191A and 1500A having a capacity capable of storing the processed moving image data or still image data and controllers 119A and 1500 for controlling the buffer memories are connected to the image recording unit 1190A and the image display LCD 15. It has been added to the driving part.

  The controllers 119A and 1500 are controlled by the main CPU 110 serving as a system controller, and moving image data or still image data is recorded on the memory card 119 by the controllers 119A and 1500, or still images based on moving images or still image data based on moving image data. An image is displayed on the LCD panel 150 of the image display LCD 15.

  In this way, although the controllers 119A and 150 and the buffer memories 1191A and 150A are added, only one main CPU 110, one memory card 119, and one image display LCD 15 are required, and overall low power consumption can be achieved. .

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example in which the configuration of FIG. 4 is further improved so that high-speed processing can be performed.

  As shown in FIG. 5, in addition to the moving image bus 121B and the still image bus 121A, both moving image data and still image data passing through these buses 121A and 121B are received, and recording in which one of these image data passes. The bus 121C for display and the bus 121D for display are configured separately. Further, bus controllers 122A to 122D for controlling the separated buses 121A to 121D are added by the number of buses (four).

  The bus controllers 122A to 122D are controlled by the main CPU 110 serving as a system controller, and the bus controllers 122A to 122D controlled by the main CPU 110 respectively control the passage of image data through the bus. In addition, as many work memories 123A to 123D as the number of buses are provided in order to cause each bus controller to efficiently control the passage of these buses based on an instruction from the main CPU.

  In this way, the passage of image data is controlled independently by each of the buses 121A to 121D. Therefore, both moving image data and still image data can be processed at the same time, and the processed data can be appropriately received by the recording bus 121C and recorded on the memory card 119. It is also possible to display the image on the LCD panel of the image display LCD by appropriately receiving and passing it. That is, by controlling the passage of image data by the main CPU 110 and the bus controllers 122A to 122D in a time-sharing manner, both image data can be efficiently processed even when still image shooting and moving image shooting are performed simultaneously. .

  When processing is performed efficiently in this way, moving image shooting and still image shooting can be performed while displaying an image based on moving image data on the LCD panel.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining processing when still image shooting is performed during moving image shooting with the digital camera having the configuration shown in FIG. 5.

  FIG. 6 shows a moving image recording flag 1111 that the main CPU 110 writes to an internal register. The contents of the flag are written in the work memories 123A to 123D, and the control of the buses 121A to 121D is controlled by the bus controller 122A. To 122D. Each of the bus controllers 122A to 122D controls the timing of image data that passes through each of the buses 121A to 121D based on the contents of the flags written in the work memories 123A to 123D. Note that the still image shutter button 12A provided in the digital camera of FIG. 6 is replaced with a button having two operation modes of half-press and full-press.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a procedure of processing performed by the main CPU 110 when the flag shown in FIG. 6 is used.

  When the power is turned on in step S701, the moving image recording unit 100a is activated by clearing the moving image recording flag in the next step S702. At this time, the image display LCD 15 is also turned on.

  In step S703, it is determined whether the moving image shutter 12b is on. If the moving image shutter 12b is on, the process proceeds to the Y side. In step S704, the moving image recording flag is set, and the moving image shooting unit 100b performs shooting to start recording moving image data in the memory card 119. In the next step S705, it is determined whether or not the still image shutter 12A is half-pressed. If it is half-pressed, the still image capturing unit 100a is activated in the next step S706. Further, in the next step S707, it is determined whether or not the still image shutter 12A is fully pressed, and if it is fully pressed, the process proceeds to the Y side. In step S708, still image shooting is started and still image data is recorded on the memory card 119. To do. The process proceeds to the next step S709 to determine whether or not the moving image shutter 12b has been pressed again. If the moving image shutter 12b has not been pressed, the process proceeds to the N side and the processing from step S705 to step S709 is repeated.

  If the moving image shutter has been pressed again in this step S709, the process proceeds to the Y side. In the next step S710, it is determined whether or not the moving image is being recorded. If the moving image is being recorded, the process proceeds to the Y side and in step S711. End movie shooting and clear movie shooting flag. In the next step S712, it is determined whether or not the power switch is turned off. If it is not turned off, the process proceeds to the N side, and the processing from step S703 to step S712 is repeated. If the power switch is off, the process proceeds to the Y side and the power is turned off.

  If it is determined in step S710 that the moving image recording is not in progress, the moving image shutter in step S710 is turned on for the first time, and the process returns to step S704 until the moving image shutter button 12b is turned on again. The process of step S710 is repeated.

  If the still image shutter button is not half-pressed in step S705, only moving image shooting is performed. Therefore, whether step S706, step S707, or step S708 is skipped and the moving image shutter button is pressed in step S709. And still image shooting processing is not performed.

  If the full-press is not easily performed after the still image shutter button is half-pressed in step S706, the process returns to step S705 via step S709 until the full-press is performed, and is fully pressed in step S707. If it has been fully pressed and proceeds to the Y side, still image shooting processing is performed in the next step S708, and moving image shooting processing is started.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram specifically showing a distance measuring unit that measures the object distance through the photographing lens and a photometric unit that measures the field luminance with this digital camera.

  In this digital camera, an automatic distance measuring device (hereinafter referred to as AF) that automatically measures a subject distance based on image data obtained through a photographing lens, and a photometric device (hereinafter referred to as AF) that also automatically measures the field luminance. AE). FIG. 8 shows an example in which distance measurement and photometry are performed by one AE / AF integrating unit.

  As shown in FIG. 8, both the still image capturing unit 100a and the moving image capturing unit 100b are provided with AE / AF integrating units 1141A and 1141B, and distance information and photometric information measured by these AE / AF integrating units 1141A and 1141B are provided. This is given to the main CPU 110. Therefore, the main CPU 110 communicates the contents to both photometry / ranging CPUs 120A and 120B by communication, and causes each photometry / ranging CPU 120a to control the focus lenses 1110a and 1110b and the apertures 1112a and 1112b, respectively. In the digital camera of the present embodiment, since the moving image data is displayed as it is on the image display LCD 15, when the still image shutter button 12A is half-pressed, the focus lens 1110a is moved to the in-focus point quickly. The parameter calculated by the AE / AF integrating unit 1141B of the moving image capturing unit 110b is reflected in the AE / AF integrating unit 1141A included in the still image capturing unit 110A, and the moving to the in-focus point is performed quickly.

  In this case, in order to reduce the number of parts, there may be an AE / AF integration unit only on the moving image shooting unit side. In that case, the parameters calculated by the AE / AF integration unit of the moving image shooting unit are used as they are. It is also possible to cause the photometric / ranging CPU of the optical system to move the focus lens and switch the aperture.

  In any configuration, the time for moving the focus lens 1110a of the still image photographing unit 110a to the in-focus point is shortened, and high-speed processing can be performed.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a procedure of processing performed by the main CPU 110 when performing the high-speed processing.

  In step S901, it is determined whether the power switch is turned on. If the power switch has been turned on, the process proceeds to the Y side and proceeds to step S902. In step S902, the moving image recording flag is cleared and the moving image capturing unit 100b is activated. In this step S903, after the power is turned on, if the subject distance is measured on the AF side of the AE / AF integration unit 1141B of the moving image photographing unit 100b and the focal point is detected, the focus lens 1110b to the focal point is detected. The movement is performed by the photometry / ranging CPU 120b, and the AE side is further metered to cause the photometry / ranging CPU 120b to switch the aperture 1112b. In the next step S903, it is determined whether or not the moving image shutter button 12b has been pressed. If it has been pressed, the process proceeds to the Y side, and in the next step S904, a moving image recording flag is set in the register and moving image shooting is started. It should be noted that the distance measurement parameter and the photometry parameter are rewritten whenever the moving direction of the lens is changed after the moving image shooting is started.

  In the next step S905, it is determined whether or not the still image shutter button 12A is half-pressed. If it is half-pressed, the process proceeds to the Y side, and the process proceeds to the next step S906. When the still image shooting is performed, the parameters accumulated by the AE / AF integration unit 1141B of the moving image shooting unit 110b are acquired for still image shooting.

  In the next step S907, the acquired parameters are set in the AE / AF integrating unit 1141A of the still image capturing unit 100a. At this time, after performing a new in-focus search in the vicinity of the set value, the process may proceed to the next step S908 or may be performed without performing the in-focus search.

  In the next step S908, it is determined whether or not the still image shutter button 12A has been fully pressed, and if it has been fully pressed, it is determined that still image shooting is to be performed, and the flow proceeds to step S909 to record still image data on the recording medium.

  The processing after the next step S910 is the same as the processing in FIG. Further, the processing in the case where the still image shooting is not performed, the case where the still image shutter button 12A is kept half pressed, and the like are the same as those in FIG.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example in which the shooting angle of view of a moving image is reflected in still image shooting.

  As shown in FIG. 10, in order to obtain the center position of the image based on the moving image data, an AF position detection unit 1142B is further provided for improvement. Since the AE / AF integration unit 1141B of the moving image shooting unit 110b detects contrast based on pixel data near the center of the subject, the AF position detection unit 1142B can immediately detect the center position of the subject. Therefore, when the AF position detection unit 1142B detects the subject center in moving image shooting, the data indicating the subject center is transmitted to the center detection correction angle control unit 121A, and the entire shooting optical system 111a is tilted. Taking the distance information measured by the AF integration unit 1141B into consideration, the photometry / ranging CPU 120a of the still image shooting unit 100a moves the focus lens 1110a, and shooting with the same point as the subject center in moving image shooting being performed. Is performed by the still image taking optical system. As described above, the still image shooting unit 110a performs still image shooting with the same point as the subject center in moving image shooting by the moving image shooting unit 100b in consideration of the subject distance, thereby moving images viewed on the image display LCD. One scene is taken as a still image.

  Further, the still image CCD 112a has a high pixel count and the still image shooting size is larger than the moving image shooting size, so that the still image CCD 112a does not tilt the entire shooting optical system 111a. A portion that is the same image as the image generated by the moving image CCD 112B can be extracted from the generated image data and cut out. In this way, the center detection correction angle control unit 121A becomes unnecessary.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a procedure of processing performed by the main CPU 110 when still image shooting is performed with the same point as the subject center in moving image shooting performed in consideration of the subject distance measured by the moving image shooting unit 100b.

  In step S1101, it is determined whether the power switch is turned on. If the power switch is turned on, the process proceeds to the Y side and the process proceeds to step S1102. In step S1102, the moving image recording flag is cleared and the moving image capturing unit 100b is activated. In step S1102, after the power is turned on, the subject distance is measured by the AE / AF integrating unit 1141B of the moving image photographing unit 100b, and when the focal point is detected, the movement of the focus lens 1110b to the focal point is measured. The distance measuring CPU 120b performs the photometry, and the AE side performs the light metering so that the photometry / ranging CPU 120b switches the aperture 1112b. In the next step S1103, it is determined whether or not the moving image shutter button 12b has been pressed. If it has been pressed, the process proceeds to the Y side, and in the next step S1104, a moving image recording flag is set in the register, and moving image shooting is started. It should be noted that the distance measurement parameter and the photometry parameter are rewritten each time the moving direction of the photographing lens is changed after the moving image photographing is started.

  In the next step S1105, it is determined whether or not the still image shutter button 12A has been pressed halfway. If the still image shutter button 12A has been pressed halfway, the process proceeds to the Y side, and the process proceeds to the next step S1106. In step S1106, the parameters detected by the AF position detection unit 1142B of the moving image shooting unit 100b when the still image shutter button is pressed halfway are acquired for still image shooting.

  In the next step S1107, the acquired parameters are set in the center detection correction angle control unit 121A. In step S1108, the center detection correction angle control unit 121A drives the photographing optical system so that the optical axis of the still image photographing optical system substantially coincides with the optical axis of the moving image photographing optical system in accordance with the set value. When the still image shutter button 12A is fully pressed in the next step S1109, the process proceeds to the Y side to take a still image and record still image data on a recording medium.

  The processes after step S1110 are the same as those in FIGS.

  An example in which the zoom lens 1111b in the moving image shooting optical system 111b and the zoom lens 1111a in the still image shooting optical system are linked when the zoom operation is performed last will be described.

  FIG. 12 shows that the zoom lenses 1112a and 1112b of the still image shooting optical system and the moving image shooting optical system are moved in the same manner by linking the moving image zoom button 16b and the still image zoom button 16a, respectively, or acting individually. It is a figure which shows the structure which made it possible to select whether to move both zoom lenses 1112a and 1112b separately. For ease of explanation, the flag set in the register in the CPU is extracted and shown as the zoom common flag 1102 as in FIG.

  This selection is performed by designating the menu displayed on the operation LCD 14 with the cross key 1, for example.

  For example, when the cross key 1 is used to specify a mode in which the moving image zoom button 16b and the still image zoom button 16a are linked, the main CPU 110 sets a zoom common flag. Then, in response to the operation of one zoom button 16a, 16b, the main CPU 110 informs both photometry / ranging CPUs 120a, 120b of the operation content. Both photometry / ranging CPUs 120a and 120b move the zoom lenses 1111a and 1111b in response to the operation.

  Then, even if still image shooting is performed after a zoom operation is performed during moving image shooting, shooting can be performed with the same shooting angle of view, so that an image to be shot can be reliably shot as a still image. In addition, after the still image shooting is performed, the displayed moving image is displayed immediately at an enlargement ratio corresponding to the zoom operation on the still image.

  FIG. 13 shows the processing performed by the main CPU when selecting the operation mode of the zoom button and selecting whether to operate both the moving image zoom button and the still image zoom button in conjunction with each other or to operate both independently. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of.

  In step S1301, the operation mode of the zoom button is selected. In the next step S1302, a zoom button operation mode selection menu is displayed on the operation LCD. Here, the cross key 1 or the like is used to specify whether the still image zoom button and the moving image zoom button are operated independently (hereinafter referred to as the independent mode) or the mode in which both are interlocked (hereinafter referred to as the interlock mode). The process proceeds to the next step S1303 to determine whether the independent mode is specified or the interlock mode is specified. If the interlocking mode is designated, the process proceeds to step S1304. In step S1304, the zoom common flag is set to 1, and the process proceeds to the next step S1305. In step S1305, it is determined whether the moving image zoom button is turned on. If it is turned on, the process proceeds to the Y side. In step S1306, it is determined whether the moving image zoom button is the TELE side or the WIDE side. If it is determined in step S1306 that the TELE side is designated, in step S1307, the zoom lenses of both the still image capturing optical system and the moving image capturing optical system are simultaneously driven to the TELE side. If it is determined that the WIDE side is designated, step S1308 is performed. Then, both zoom lenses are simultaneously driven to the WIDE side. Note that, regardless of which of the moving image zoom button and the still image zoom button is operated, both zoom lenses are driven in an interlocked manner. Therefore, if the moving image zoom button is not turned on in step S1305, N In step S1309, it is determined whether or not the still image zoom button is on, and processing similar to that in steps S1306 to S1308 is performed. To do.

 If the independent mode is selected in step S1303, the process proceeds to step S1313, and the zoom common flag is set to 0. If the moving image zoom button is on in step S1314, the process proceeds to the Y side, and in step S1315, it is determined whether it is the TELE side or the WIDE side. If it is determined in step S1315 that the TELE side has been designated, the zoom lens of the moving image taking optical system is driven to the TELE side in step S1316, and if it is determined in step S1315 that the WIDE side has been designated, the moving image taking optical system is determined in step S1317. The zoom lens is driven to the WIDE side.

  If the moving image zoom button is not turned on in step S1314, the process proceeds to the N side, and it is determined in step S1318 whether the still image zoom button is turned on. If it is determined in step S1318 that the switch is on, the process proceeds to the Y side. In step S1319, it is determined whether it is TELE or WIDE. If it is determined in step S1319 that it is the TELE side, the zoom lens in the still image shooting optical system is driven to the TELE side. If it is determined that it is in the WIDE side, the zoom lens in the still image shooting optical system is determined in step S1321. Is driven to the WIDE side.

  In this way, when one of the zoom buttons is operated in the interlock mode, the zoom lenses of both photographing optical systems are simultaneously driven. In the independent mode, when the movie zoom button is operated, When the zoom lens in the photographing optical system is driven and the zoom button for still images is operated, the zoom lens in the still image photographing optical system is driven.

  As described above, according to the camera of this embodiment, a digital camera capable of shooting a moving image without degrading the image quality of a moving image is realized. In addition, a digital camera is realized in which the number of parts is reduced in the digital camera, which is reduced in size and weight and further reduced in power consumption. Furthermore, a digital camera capable of performing high-speed processing is realized by separating and configuring the bus.

  In the present embodiment, a digital camera is taken as an example of a photographing device, but the present invention can also be applied to a photographing device such as a camera-equipped mobile phone.

It is a figure which shows the external appearance of the digital camera which shows embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the internal structure of the digital camera of FIG. It is a figure which shows the example at the time of integrating the operation LCD14a, 14b, image display LCD15a, 15b etc. which the digital camera shown in FIG. 1 has in common. It is a figure which shows the internal structure of the digital camera of FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example in which the configuration of FIG. 4 is further improved to perform high-speed processing. It is a figure explaining the process in the case of performing a still image photography during video recording. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the process which main CPU110 (system controller) performs when a flag is used. FIG. 2 is a diagram specifically showing an AE / AF integrating unit that performs photometry / ranging through a photographing lens with the digital camera. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the process which main CPU (system controller) performs when performing the high-speed process. It is a figure which shows the example which reflected the imaging | photography field angle of the moving image on still image photography. It is a figure which shows the procedure of the process which main CPU (system controller) performs when making the imaging | photography angle of view of a moving image and a still image substantially correspond. Select whether to move the zoom lens for the still image shooting system and the moving image shooting optical system at the same time by moving the zoom button for moving image and the zoom button for still image together, or to move both lenses separately. It is a figure which shows the structure which enabled. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the process which main CPU (system controller) performs, when selecting the operation mode of a zoom button, selecting it to make it interlock | cooperate, or to operate independently.

Explanation of symbols

10a 10p 10A 10P Digital camera 101a 101p 101A 101P Camera body 11a Still image shooting lens 11b Movie shooting lens 12a Still image shutter button 12b Movie shutter button 13a Still image power switch 13b Movie power switch 14a Still image operation LCD
14b LCD for video operation
15a LCD for still image display
150a LCD panel for still image 15b LCD for moving image display
150b moving image LCD panel 16a still image zoom button 16b moving image zoom button 100a still image capturing unit 100b moving image capturing unit 110 main CPU (system controller)
110a CPU
110b CPU
111a Still shooting optical system 112a Still image CCD
111b Movie optical system 112a Movie CCD
1190a Still image recording unit 1190b Moving image recording unit

Claims (10)

In a photographing apparatus that captures subject light, generates image data, and records the image data on a recording medium,
A moving image taking optical system configured for moving image taking and a moving image pickup device are provided,
A moving image recording unit for recording moving image data on the loaded recording medium; capturing moving image data by capturing subject light with the moving image pickup device; and recording the moving image data on a recording medium loaded in the moving image recording unit A video shooting unit to
A still image shooting optical system configured for still image shooting and a still image pickup device are provided, and a still image recording unit for recording still image data on a loaded recording medium is provided, and the subject is captured by the still image pickup device. Captures light, generates still image data, and records the still image data on a recording medium loaded in the still image recording unit. An imaging apparatus comprising: a still image capturing unit that performs parallel still image capturing. 2. An image recording unit that records both moving image data and still image data on a loaded recording medium instead of both the moving image recording unit and the still image recording unit. Shooting device. The photographing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising at least one of a power source, an image display screen, and an operation unit that are commonly used by both the moving image recording unit and the still image recording unit. . The photographing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a system controller that controls both the moving image recording unit and the still image recording unit. In place of both the moving image recording unit and the still image recording unit, an image recording unit that records both moving image data and still image data on a loaded recording medium,
A video bus through which the video data passes for processing the video data;
A still image bus through which the still image data passes for processing of the still image data;
A recording bus that receives moving image data and still image data from the moving image bus and the still image bus, and passes both the moving image data and the still image data for recording on a recording medium; The photographing apparatus according to claim 1. An image display screen commonly used in both the moving image recording unit and the still image recording unit,
A video bus through which the video data passes for processing the video data;
A still image bus through which the still image data passes for processing the still image data;
A display bus that receives moving image data and still image data from the moving image bus and the still image bus and passes both the moving image data and the still image data for image display on the image display screen. The imaging device according to claim 1. The moving image capturing unit records an image based on moving image data obtained by the moving image capturing unit, and includes an image display screen that is used in common with the still image capturing unit or used alone in the moving image capturing unit,
2. The photographing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the power is turned on, the moving image photographing unit starts an operation except recording moving image data on a recording medium and displays a moving image on the display screen. . The moving image photographing unit includes a distance measuring unit that measures the distance to the subject and a photometric unit that measures the subject luminance,
2. The photographing according to claim 1, wherein the still image photographing unit performs still image photographing reflecting distance information and luminance information obtained by the distance measuring unit and the photometric unit of the moving image photographing unit. apparatus. 2. The photographing according to claim 1, wherein the still image photographing unit performs still image photographing with the same point as the subject center in moving image photographing by the moving image photographing unit in consideration of a subject distance. apparatus. Each of the moving image shooting optical system and the still image shooting optical system is a shooting optical system having a zoom function, and the focal length of the moving image shooting optical system and the focal length of the still image shooting optical system are independently adjusted. The photographing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a mode for performing adjustment, and a mode for adjusting both a focal length of the moving image photographing optical system and a focal length of the still image photographing optical system.

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