JP2005134656A - Photographing device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a photographing device which makes it possible to obtain the same photographs even if a photographing operation is carried out by rotating a camera body 90° around the optical axis of a photographic optical system. <P>SOLUTION: The photographing device is provided with a right-handed/left-handed mode changeover switch 14 for the purpose of instructing a right-handed attitude which is an ordinary attitude when a photographer carries out the photographing operation with a right hand and a left-handed attitude which is the ordinary attitude when the photographer carries out the photographing operation with a left hand and is the attitude rotated 90° around the photographing optical axis from the right-handed attitude to the photographing device. The photographing device is so constituted as to display the image of the same attitude and the same angle of view on a display screen on assumption that the photographing operation is carried out by the right hand when the right-handed mode is assigned by the changeover switch 14 and on assumption that the photographing operation is carried out by the left hand when the left-handed mode is assigned and to form the image data of the same attitude and the same angle of view and to record the image data on a recording medium when the photographing operation is carried out. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

    The present invention relates to a photographing apparatus that generates image data representing a subject image in accordance with a photographing operation and records the generated image data on a recording medium.

  Some photographing apparatuses, such as cameras, have a plurality of release buttons arranged so that photographing operations can be performed with either the right hand or the left hand (see, for example, Patent Document 1). With such a photographing device, both right-handed people and left-handed people can shoot in the same way with a single photographing device. Depending on the shooting scene, a right-handed person may perform a shooting operation with the finger of the left hand.

  However, when a plurality of release buttons are provided, not only the size necessary for arranging the release buttons is required, but the number of input signals to the control means, for example, the CPU increases, and the processing on the CPU side becomes complicated. There is a problem.

  In view of such a problem, it has been proposed that other operation buttons provided in advance in the photographing apparatus do not have a plurality of release buttons but can perform the function of the release button according to the mode. (For example, refer to Patent Document 2).

By the way, whether the release operation is performed with the right hand or the left hand, depending on the shooting scene, the shooting device is rotated by 90 ° around the optical axis of the shooting optical system provided in the shooting device. May be taken. When shooting is performed with 90 ° rotation in this way, the shooting angle of view changes from that before 90 ° rotation, and if the background is included, the photo will have a slightly different atmosphere.
JP 2001-318421 A JP 2001-257717 A

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a photographing apparatus that can obtain the same photograph even when a photographing operation is performed by rotating a photographing optical system by 90 ° about a photographing optical axis.

The imaging device of the present invention that achieves the above object is an imaging device that generates image data representing a subject image in accordance with a shooting operation and records it on a recording medium.
This photographing apparatus has a right-handed posture, which is a normal posture when performing a photographing operation with the right hand, and a right-handed posture, which is a normal posture when performing a photographing operation with the left hand. A left-handed posture, which is a rotated posture,
A mode switching unit that switches between a right-handed mode in which the shooting operation is scheduled to be performed in the right-handed posture and a left-handed mode in which the shooting operation is scheduled to be performed in the left-handed posture;
Recording image representing the same subject and the same angle of view when the same subject was photographed in the right-handed mode when in the right-handed mode and when the left-handed mode was photographed in the left-handed mode An image generation unit for generating data;
And an image recording unit that records the recording image data generated by the image generation unit on a recording medium.

  According to the photographing apparatus of the present invention, when the shooting is scheduled to be performed in the right-handed posture and when the shooting is scheduled to be performed in the left-handed posture is performed in advance by the mode switching unit. By switching, recording image data representing images having the same posture and the same angle of view are generated by the image generation unit before and after being rotated by 90 °. As described above, whether to shoot in the right hand posture or the left hand posture, the mode switching unit is switched to notify the image generating unit in the photographing device in which posture to shoot in advance. Thus, the above problem is achieved.

Furthermore, an image display panel having an image display panel for displaying an image on the image display panel is provided,
The image generating unit holds the photographing apparatus in the right-handed mode when in the right-handed mode and looks at the image display panel and places the photographing apparatus in the left-handed posture when in the left-handed mode. Generating display image data representing an image having the same posture and the same angle of view as when the image display panel is held.
The image display unit preferably displays an image based on the display image data generated by the image generation unit on the image display panel.

  As described above, the photographing apparatus is held in the right-handed posture when the right-handed mode is maintained, and the photographing apparatus is held in the left-handed posture when the image display panel is viewed and when the left-handed mode is selected. When the image display panel is used to generate display image data representing an image having the same posture and the same angle of view as when the image display panel is viewed, even if the photographing apparatus is held in the right-handed posture, the left-handed posture is used. Even if the image is held, shooting is performed while viewing an image of the same posture and the same angle of view displayed on the image display unit.

   As described above, a photographing apparatus capable of obtaining the same photograph even when a photographing operation is performed by rotating the photographing optical system by 90 ° is realized.

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

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an appearance of a digital camera corresponding to a photographing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 (a) shows a rear view, and FIG. 1 (b) shows a top view.

  As shown in FIG. 1A, the ridge corner of the camera body is chamfered and a release button 12 is provided on the slope. A display panel 15 is provided as an image display unit on the back side of the camera body 1a, and the display panel 15 is also used as a viewfinder. While viewing the subject displayed on the display panel 15, the release button 12 is pressed to take a picture. In this digital camera 1, even if the camera body 1a of the digital camera 1 is held by the right hand or the left hand, the photographing lens 11, the display panel 15 and the like are photographed at a position that is not disturbed by the held hand. The necessary parts are arranged respectively.

  In addition, a zoom button 13 is disposed in the vicinity of the release button 12 at a position where an operation can be performed with the thumb when the shooting operation is performed with the index finger. Further, below the zoom button 13, a changeover switch 14 for switching between the right hand mode and the left hand mode is provided. This changeover switch corresponds to the mode changeover section referred to in the present invention.

  The digital camera 1 has a right-handed posture as a normal posture when performing a photographing operation with the right hand and a right-handed posture as a normal posture when performing a photographing operation with the left hand. When a left-handed posture, which is a posture rotated 90 degrees, is assumed and a shooting operation is scheduled to be performed in a right-handed posture, the changeover switch 14 is switched to the right-handed mode side, and the left-handed posture is When the shooting operation is scheduled to be performed, the changeover switch 14 is switched to the left-handed mode side. As described above, when the changeover switch 14 is used to switch between right-handed posture and left-handed posture in advance, an image generation unit (described later) in the digital camera according to the switching position of the changeover switch 14. Image data having the same posture and the same angle of view is generated.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a right-handed posture and a left-handed posture.

  FIG. 2 (a) shows a diagram for explaining a right-handed posture, and FIG. 2 (b) shows a diagram for explaining a left-handed posture.

  In the right-handed posture shown in FIG. 2A, the mode change switch 14 is switched to the right-handed side, and the end of the camera body is held with the right hand so that the camera body 1a becomes vertically long. At this time, the subject image obtained through the photographing lens 11 is displayed on the horizontally long display panel 15. On the other hand, in the left-handed posture shown in FIG. 2B, the mode change switch 14 is switched to the left-handed side, and the camera body 1a end is held so that the camera body 1a is horizontally long, and photographing is performed. At this time, the display panel 15 is vertically long and the subject image obtained through the photographing lens 11 is displayed on the vertically long display panel 15.

  In either right-handed posture or left-handed posture, the same subject and the same photographed image are generated by an image generation unit (described later) inside the digital camera so that the same subject can be photographed with the same posture and the same shooting angle of view. Corner display image data is generated, and an image based on the display image data is displayed on the display panel 15 as shown in FIG. Note that a flashing light window 16 provided at a position where it is not obstructed by the hand regardless of the posture of shooting is shown above the photographing lens 11.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a case where an image taken in the right-handed posture shown in FIG. 2A is displayed on the display panel 15 of the image display unit, and also shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the example when the image at the time of image | photographing with a left-handed attitude | position is displayed on the display panel 15 of an image display part.

  When the changeover switch 14 is switched to the right-handed side and shooting is performed in a right-handed posture as shown in FIG. 3A, the left and right of the image data is cut off and the image data with the aspect ratio (a: b) is obtained. An image based on the image is displayed, and shooting information is displayed in the cut-out portion. In addition, when shooting is performed with a left-handed posture, the upper and lower portions of the image data are cut off to display an image based on the image data having the aspect ratio (a: b), and shooting information is displayed in the cut-out portion. Has been. Thus, the images displayed on the display panel together with the shooting information both have the same posture and the same shooting angle of view, and the camera is informed that the mode switch has been operated in advance, so that the same posture and Display image data having the same angle of view is generated by an image generation unit described later, and an image based on the display image data is displayed on the display panel 15.

  Here, the display image data having the same posture and the same angle of view is generated and displayed on the display panel 15, and the shooting information is displayed in the empty area of the display screen. However, the empty area is displayed with a black belt. You can make it happen.

  Here, when a shooting operation is performed by pressing the release button, predetermined processing such as compression processing is applied to image data representing an image of the same posture and the same angle of view displayed on the display screen. It is recorded on a memory card as image data for recording. When recording image data is recorded on the memory card, the shooting information displayed on the display panel 15 is added to the image data as header information and recorded as an image file on the memory card.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the digital camera 1.

  The digital camera 1 has a battery loading chamber (not shown). A battery 160 is loaded in the battery loading chamber, and power is supplied to each unit shown in FIG. When the power is supplied, the operation of the digital camera is comprehensively controlled by the system control circuit unit.

  Here, processing when an image is displayed as a through image on the display panel 15 used instead of the viewfinder will be described.

  Image data representing a subject image is generated by a photographing unit 101 including a photographing lens 11 and an image sensor (not shown), and the generated image data is supplied to the image generating unit 102. The image generation by the photographing unit is performed at predetermined intervals, and the image data generated at the predetermined intervals is supplied to the image generation unit 102 one after another.

  The image generation unit 102 receives image data supplied one after another, performs processing in order, and supplies the image data to the image display unit 150 in order from the image data supplied in advance. The image display unit 150 receives the image data supplied in order, sequentially switches the image data, and displays an image based on the image data on the display panel 15 provided in the image display unit 150. When the image generation unit 102 is in the right-handed mode as shown in FIG. 3A and holds the photographing apparatus in a right-handed posture and looks at the image display panel, the image generation unit 102 is shown in FIG. In this way, display image data representing an image with the same posture and the same angle of view as when the image display panel is viewed while holding the photographing device in a left-handed posture when in the left-handed mode is displayed. The unit 150 displays an image based on the display image data generated by the image generation unit 102 on the display panel 15. Therefore, when the system control circuit notifies the image processing unit 102 that the changeover switch 14 has been switched to the right-handed mode side, the image processing unit 102 captures an image as shown in FIG. Display image data including information is generated, and when the changeover switch 14 is switched to the left-handed mode side, display image data including shooting information is generated as shown in FIG. The

  In this way, when the release button 12 is pressed while the image captured by the photographing lens together with the photographing information is displayed as a through image on the display panel 15 with the same posture and the same photographing angle of view. Recording image data is generated, and shooting information is recorded as an image file on the memory card together with the recording image data.

  Hereinafter, the photographing process will be described.

  First, a signal corresponding to the switching position of the selector switch 14 is supplied into the system control circuit unit 100. In response to the signal, the system control circuit unit 100 notifies the image generation unit 102 of whether it is a right-handed mode or a left-handed mode. As shown in FIG. 3, when the release button 12 in the operation unit 110 is pressed while an image based on the display image data is being displayed on the display panel, the image is taken from the system control circuit unit 100 at the timing of the pressing. After the exposure start instruction is given to the unit 101 and a predetermined exposure time has passed, the image data generated by the photographing unit 101 is output to the image generation unit 102.

  Since the image generation unit 102 is instructed in advance to shoot in the right hand posture or the left hand posture according to the switch position of the right-handed / left-handed mode switching switch, When the mode is switched to the dominant mode and it is notified in advance that shooting is performed in the right hand posture, the image generation unit 102 cuts off the left and right of the image data output from the shooting unit 101, and the result is shown in FIG. Image data having the indicated aspect ratio (a: b) is generated.

  In addition, when the image generation unit is notified in advance that the left-handed mode is switched and shooting is performed in a left-handed posture, the upper and lower ends of the image data output from the shooting unit 101 are cut out by the image generation unit. Then, image data having the aspect ratio (a: b) shown in FIG. 3B is generated.

  This image data is high-resolution image data generated by the photographing unit 101, and is further compressed in the image generation unit 102 and recorded in the memory card 103. When the data is recorded on the memory card 103, the shooting information displayed on the left and right ends or the upper and lower ends is added as a header, and the image data is recorded as an image file on the memory card. The image data in this image file corresponds to the recording image data referred to in the present invention.

  In this way, even if shooting is performed in the right-handed mode by switching to the right-handed mode, or recording is performed in the left-handed mode by switching to the left-handed mode, recording image data having the same posture and the same angle of view can be obtained. Recorded on the memory card.

  Here, a process for reproducing the recording image data recorded on the memory card will be briefly described.

  This digital camera has a playback mode. When a mode lever (not shown) is switched to the playback mode side, an image based on the recording image data is displayed on the display screen. At this time, the image file is read from the memory card 103, and the shooting information in the header together with the image based on the image data in the image file is displayed in accordance with the switching position of the mode switch, as shown in FIGS. It is displayed as shown in (b).

  In this reproduction, an image based on the image data recorded in the left hand posture may be displayed in the right hand posture or an image based on the image data recorded in the right hand posture may be displayed in the left hand posture. In these cases, the image generation unit 102 rotates the shooting information, and an image based on the image data is displayed together with the shooting information as shown in FIGS.

  A processing procedure of the system control circuit unit 100 that performs the photographing process described above will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of photographing processing performed by the system control circuit unit 100.

  In step S501, it is determined whether the changeover switch 14 has been switched to the left-handed mode side. If the changeover switch 14 has been switched to the left-handed side, it is determined as Y in step 501 and the process proceeds to step S502 where the top and bottom of the image generated by the image sensor is cut out and is the same as the image data when captured in a left-handed posture. The image generation unit generates display image data so that the posture and the same shooting angle of view are obtained, and an image based on the display image data (see FIG. 3B) is displayed.

  If it is determined in step S504 that the changeover switch 14 has been switched to the right-handed side, the process moves to the N side, and the left and right ends of the image generated by the image sensor are cut out in S505 and the left hand posture is taken. In this case, the image generation unit generates display image data so as to have the same posture and the same shooting angle of view as the image data, and an image based on the display image data (see FIG. 3A) is displayed.

  The above steps are the processing procedure when the subject to which the photographic lens is directed is displayed as a through image on the display panel.

  As long as no shooting operation is performed by pressing the release button between Step S506 and Step S509, and unless a power-off operation is performed, the processing from Step S501 to Step S503 or Step S501 is repeated through Steps S504 to S505. .

  Next, the photographing process will be described.

  If a release operation is performed when a through image is displayed through steps S504 to S505 via steps S501 to S503 or S501, it is determined that the release button 12 has been pressed in the next step S506. Then, the process proceeds to the Y side to record a photographed image. At this time, the image generation unit 102 performs compression processing and the like, and the compressed image data is recorded in the memory card 103 as an image file together with a header.

  If the release button 12 is not pressed in step S506, the process proceeds to the N side. In step S508, it is determined whether a power-off switch (not shown) is pressed. In step S508, the power-off switch is not pressed. Then, in preparation for a shooting operation by pressing the next release button, the process returns to step S501, and the process from step S501 to step S503 or S501 is repeatedly performed to display a through image.

  The above is the procedure of the photographing process performed by the system control circuit unit 101.

  As described above, depending on the switching position of the changeover switch 14, image data of the same posture and the same angle of view is generated in the memory card regardless of whether shooting is performed in the right hand posture or in the left hand posture. To be recorded.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example in which the display panel 15A is square and images having the same posture and the same shooting angle of view are displayed.

  When the display panel 15A is square in this way, the image is displayed in the same manner together with the shooting information even in the right hand posture and the left hand posture, so that the photographer can be compared with the case where the display panel 15 is rectangular. It becomes easier to give a sense that the same subject is being photographed.

  FIG. 7 shows another example of a camera that can freely shoot with either the right hand posture or the left hand posture.

  If the camera body 1b is circular as shown in FIG. 7, a user-friendly camera can be realized without chamfering and providing a release button on the chamfered slope.

It is a figure which shows the external appearance of the digital camera which is the imaging device which is one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure explaining a right-handed posture and a left-handed posture. It is a figure which shows the example when the image at the time of image | photographing with a right-handed attitude | position and a left-handed attitude | position is displayed on the display panel 15 of an image display part, respectively. 2 is a configuration block diagram showing an internal configuration of the digital camera 1. FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure of imaging processing performed by the system control circuit unit 100. It is a figure which shows the example which made display panel 15A square and displayed the image of the same attitude | position and the same imaging | photography angle of view. This is another example of a camera that can freely shoot with either a right hand posture or a left hand posture.

Explanation of symbols

1 Digital camera (photographing device)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1a Camera body 11 Shooting lens 12 Release button 13 Zoom button 14 Right-handed mode / Left-handed mode changeover switch 15 Display panel 16 Flash light emission window 100 System control circuit part 101 Shooting part 102 Image processing part 103 Memory card 104 Memory card control part 110 Operation Part 150 Image display part (including display panel)
160 battery

Claims (2)

In a photographing apparatus for generating image data representing a subject image in accordance with a photographing operation and recording it on a recording medium,
This photographing apparatus has a right-handed posture, which is a normal posture when performing a photographing operation with the right hand, and a right-handed posture, which is a normal posture when performing a photographing operation with the left hand. A left-handed posture that is a rotated posture is assumed,
A mode switching unit that switches between a right-handed mode in which a shooting operation is scheduled to be performed in the right-handed posture and a left-handed mode in which a shooting operation is scheduled to be performed in the left-handed posture;
Recording image representing the same subject and the same angle of view when the same subject was photographed in the right-handed posture when in the right-handed mode and when photographed in the left-handed posture while in the left-handed mode An image generation unit for generating data;
An imaging apparatus comprising: an image recording unit that records the recording image data generated by the image generation unit on a recording medium. An image display unit having an image display panel and displaying an image on the image display panel;
The image generation unit holds the imaging device in the right-handed posture when in the right-handed mode and places the imaging device in the left-handed posture when viewed from the image display panel and when in the left-handed mode. Generating image data for display representing an image having the same posture and the same angle of view as when holding and viewing the image display panel,
The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image display unit displays an image based on the display image data generated by the image generation unit on the image display panel.

Images