JP2006058472A - Digital camera and camera system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily take a picture for stereoscopic vision and to easily reproduce it. <P>SOLUTION: A photographic lens 12 and an EVF 24 are provided on the front surface and the back surface of the digital camera 10 respectively, and are arranged on the center line in the up-and-down direction of the digital camera 10 so as to come near to the inside from a side surface 15 by the half of average scale spacing W. An output terminal 26 and an input terminal 27 are provided on the side surface 15 and arranged at positions linearly symmetric with respect to the center line in the up-and-down direction of the side surface 15. By using the digital camera 10 with a digital camera 10a having the same constitution as a pair and turning either upside down so that the output terminal 26 may be connected to an input terminal 27a and the input terminal 27 may be connected to an output terminal 26a, a distance between the photographic lenses 12 and 12a and a distance between the EVFs 24 and 24a are both held to be equal to the average scale spacing W, and the picture for the stereoscopic vision is taken and reproduced. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

    The present invention connects a digital camera in which an imaging lens is disposed on the front surface of the apparatus main body and an electronic viewfinder that displays a subject image and a reproduced image is disposed on the rear surface of the apparatus main body, and two digital cameras. The present invention relates to a camera system that captures and reproduces a stereoscopic image.

  In recent years, digital cameras have become widespread. The digital camera includes an imaging unit having an imaging lens and a solid-state imaging device such as a CCD or a CMOS, and the subject image is acquired as digital image data by the imaging unit. Then, this image data is stored in a recording medium such as a memory card. Some digital cameras include an electronic viewfinder including an eyepiece lens and a liquid crystal display device, and a so-called through image for framing is displayed on the electronic viewfinder, and a recorded image is reproduced and displayed.

  Among digital cameras, there are also two-lens digital cameras that include first and second imaging units and can capture stereoscopic images (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2 below). In a two-lens digital camera, the same subject is simultaneously photographed by each imaging unit, and a stereoscopic image composed of two types of images, a right-eye image and a left-eye image, is acquired. The image for the right eye is observed with the right eye, and the image for the left eye is observed with the left eye, thereby enabling stereoscopic viewing of the image.

  However, the twin-lens digital camera has a problem that the apparatus becomes large due to the provision of the two imaging units. For this reason, Patent Document 3 below describes an apparatus in which one imaging unit is detachable from the other. This device can capture a stereoscopic image by connecting two imaging units, and when the two imaging units are separated, each imaging unit functions as an independent digital camera. It has become. For this reason, when taking an image for planar view, it is sufficient to carry only one imaging unit, and portability can be improved.

Japanese Patent Publication No. 5-3199 JP-A-7-87365 JP-A-11-355624

  However, the apparatus described in Patent Document 3 has a problem in that the configuration for the two imaging units is different, and the cost for commercialization increases. In addition, conventionally, in order to stereoscopically view an image obtained by shooting, the polarization direction of the left eye image and the right eye image is changed in advance, and the image can be viewed with special glasses. Therefore, it was difficult to say that it was easy to enjoy stereoscopic viewing.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a digital camera and a camera system capable of reducing the cost and easily capturing a stereoscopic image and stereoscopically viewing the captured image.

  In order to achieve the above object, the digital camera of the present invention is a digital camera in which a photographing lens is disposed on the front surface of the camera body, and an electronic viewfinder that displays a subject image and a reproduced image is disposed on the back surface of the camera body. The photographing lens and the electronic viewfinder are arranged on a center line in the top-bottom direction of the camera body and at a position close to a half inner side of the average eye width from either one of the left and right sides of the camera body. An external input terminal for inputting a control signal for controlling photographing and reproduction from the outside of the camera body, and an external output terminal for outputting the control signal from the camera body to the outside, and the external output terminal The external input terminals are formed in shapes that can be connected to each other, and are arranged at positions that are line-symmetric with respect to the center line in the vertical direction of the side surface It is characterized in that was.

  Two digital cameras of the present invention are used as a pair, one is rotated in a plane parallel to the front surface, the top and bottom are reversed, the side surfaces of each other face each other, one output terminal and the other input terminal, And one input terminal and the other output terminal are connected, and the distance between the photographing lenses and the distance between the electronic viewfinders are made equal to the average eye width, so that an image for stereoscopic viewing is obtained. You may comprise the camera system which performs imaging | photography and reproduction | regeneration of.

  In addition, when a camera system is configured using two digital cameras of the present invention in pairs, if a shooting instruction is input from one of the above, the other camera is synchronized with the other shooting under the same shooting conditions as the other. The first and second types of images acquired from one and the other are stored in association with each other, and when a reproduction instruction is input from the one, the first electronic viewfinder is It is preferable to display one image and display the second image on the other electronic viewfinder.

  The digital camera of the present invention can capture a stereoscopic image by using two digital cameras having the same configuration as a pair, so that the cost for commercialization can be suppressed. In addition, when used as a pair, the distance between the electronic viewfinders of each digital camera is maintained in the same state as the average eye width, so that different images can be observed with the left and right eyes, Stereoscopic viewing can be easily performed when framing or reproducing a captured stereoscopic image. Further, when taking an image for planar view, the digital camera of the present invention may be used alone and the portability is good.

  1 and 2, the front surface of the digital camera 10 incorporates a lens barrel 14 that holds the photographing lens 12, and exposes a strobe light emitting unit and the like. The taking lens 12 is arranged such that its optical axis 13 is on the center line in the vertical direction of the digital camera 10 and inward from the side face 15 by half of the average eye width W (W / 2). . Since the average eye width W varies depending on ethnicity, gender, age, etc., the value of W / 2 can be appropriately changed according to the shipping destination of the product, etc., but W is approximately 54 to 74 mm. Since it is a range, it is preferable to make W / 2 into the range of 27-37 mm.

  A shutter button 16 is provided on the top surface of the digital camera 10, and a lid 20 (see FIG. 3) is provided on the bottom surface of the digital camera 10 to cover a memory card slot into which a memory card 18 (see FIG. 4) is detachably loaded. Is provided.

  The digital camera 10 has an AE function that automatically adjusts the exposure and an AF function that automatically adjusts the focus, and can perform full-auto shooting. The shutter button 16 is a two-step push switch. When the shutter button 16 is lightly pressed (half-pressed) during the shooting mode, shooting preparation processing such as strobe charging is performed according to the subject illuminance, When the shutter button 16 is further pressed hard (fully pressed), the actual photographing process is performed, and the image signal for one screen is converted into image data, and then various image processes and compression processes are performed. To be recorded.

  On the back surface of the digital camera 10, an operation unit 22 for performing various operations and an electronic viewfinder (EVF) 24 for performing various displays are provided. The EVF 24 is arranged such that its central axis 25 is on the vertical center line of the digital camera 10 and inward from the side surface 15 by half of the average eye width W (W / 2). The digital camera 10 includes a playback mode and a menu mode in addition to the above-described shooting modes, and can switch between modes by operating the operation unit 22. Further, by operating the operation unit 22, it is possible to send back a playback image in the playback mode and perform various settings in the menu mode. In the EVF 24, a so-called through image is displayed in the shooting mode, and an image recorded on the memory card 18 is displayed in the reproduction mode.

  An output terminal 26, an input terminal 27, a protrusion 28, and a recess 29 are provided on the side surface 15 of the digital camera 10. The output terminal 26 is a male connector, and the input terminal 27 is a female connector. The output terminal 26 and the input terminal 27 are manufactured according to a common standard and can be connected to each other. Further, the size of the protrusion 28 and the recess 29 is adjusted so that they can be engaged with each other. Further, the output terminal 26 and the input terminal 27, and the protrusion 28 and the depression 29 are arranged at positions that are line-symmetric with respect to the center line in the vertical direction of the side surface 15. When the digital camera 10 is connected to a digital camera 10a (see FIG. 3) having the same configuration, it is possible to take and reproduce a stereoscopic image. Function as.

  The connection between the digital camera 10 and the digital camera 10a will be described with reference to FIG. Since the digital camera 10a has the same configuration as the digital camera 10, the description thereof is omitted. Further, the members used in the digital camera 10a are distinguished by adding a to the end of the reference numerals of the members used in the digital camera 10.

  As shown in FIG. 3A, when connecting the digital camera 10 and the digital camera 10a, the upper and lower sides of one digital camera (in this example, the digital camera 10a) are placed so that the side surfaces 15 and 15a face each other. Invert. Then, as shown in FIG. 4B, the side surfaces 15 and 15a are brought into contact with each other, whereby the output terminal 26 and the input terminal 27a, and the input terminal 27 and the output terminal 26a are connected, respectively. Are electrically connected. At this time, the protrusion 28 and the recess 29a, and the recess 29 and the protrusion 28a are engaged, and the digital cameras 10 and 10a are held in a connected state.

  With this connection, the distance between the optical axes 13 and 13a of the photographing lenses 12 and 12a becomes equal to the average eye width W. If the digital cameras 10 and 10a are simultaneously photographed in this state, a stereoscopic image composed of two types of images with different viewpoints can be obtained. Further, by this connection, the distance between the central axes 25 and 25a of the EVFs 24 and 24a is also equal to the average eye width W as shown in FIG. In this state, stereoscopic images can be viewed by displaying stereoscopic images on the EVFs 24 and 24a.

  In FIG. 4 showing the electrical configuration of the digital camera 10, a CPU 30 that centrally controls the digital camera 10 is provided inside the digital camera 10, and is connected to each part of the digital camera 10. The CPU 30 performs drive control of each connected unit based on operation signals input from the shutter button 16 and the operation unit 22. As will be described in detail later, the CPU 30 also controls each part of the digital camera 10a when the digital camera 10a is connected.

  A CCD 32 is disposed behind the taking lens 12. As is well known, the CCD 32 includes a light receiving surface on which a plurality of light receiving elements that accumulate subject light as electric charges are arranged, and acquires the electric charges accumulated in the respective light receiving elements as imaging signals. When the digital camera 10 is set to the shooting mode, the CCD 32 acquires an imaging signal as a through image with a reduced number of pixels. When the shutter button 16 is fully pressed during the shooting mode and a main shooting instruction is given, the CCD 32 records. An imaging signal is acquired as a main image for use.

  The imaging signal acquired by the CCD 32 is transmitted to the analog signal processing circuit 34. The analog signal processing circuit 34 is provided with a correlated double sampling circuit (CDS), an amplifier (AMP), and an A / D converter (A / D) (not shown). After the signal is amplified, it is converted into digital image data and output to the frame memory 36.

  The frame memory 36 is a working memory used when the AE control unit 38, the AF control unit 40, and the digital signal processing circuit 42 provided in the CPU 30 perform various signal processing on the image data, and the image data is temporarily stored. Is remembered. The AE control unit 38 determines the exposure amount (electronic shutter speed) of the CCD 32 based on the gradation value of the image data stored in the frame memory 36 so as to obtain an optimum photographing condition. Based on the contrast of the image data stored in the frame memory 36, the AF control unit 40 adjusts the focus by moving the photographing lens 12 so that the optimum photographing condition is obtained. The digital signal processing circuit 42 performs various kinds of image processing such as gradation conversion, white balance correction, and γ correction processing on the image data stored in the frame memory 36.

  When the digital camera 10 is set in the shooting mode, the CPU 30 performs exposure and focus adjustment and various image processing, and then displays the image data acquired as a through image on the EVF 24 via the EVF driver 43. The image data acquired as the main image is subjected to image compression in a predetermined compression format (for example, JPEG format) and then recorded on the memory card 18 via the media controller 44. On the other hand, when the digital camera 10 is set to the playback mode, the CPU 30 reads the playback target image from the memory card 18 and displays it on the EVF 24.

  Further, when the CPU 30 detects the connection of the digital camera 10a via the output terminal 26 and the input terminal 27, the CPU 30 accesses the CPU of the digital camera 10a and controls the digital camera 10a. The two digital cameras 10 and 10a are controlled to capture and reproduce a stereoscopic image. Hereinafter, the operation of the CPU 30 when the connection of the digital camera 10a is detected will be described with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS.

  As shown in FIG. 5, when the digital camera 10 is set to the shooting mode, the CPU 30 sets the shooting conditions such as exposure and focus adjustment and various image processing equally between the digital cameras 10 and 10 a. Subsequently, acquisition of a through image is started by each digital camera 10, 10a. Then, the through image acquired by the digital camera 10 is displayed on the EVF 24, and the through image acquired by the digital camera 10a is displayed on the EVF 24a. When the shutter button 16 is fully pressed during the through image display, the digital images 10 and 10a simultaneously acquire the main image. Thereafter, the two types of image data acquired by the digital cameras 10 and 10a are stored in the memory card 18 in association with each other.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 6, when the digital camera 10 is set to the playback mode, the CPU 30 examines the recorded image on the memory card 18 and determines whether there is an image associated with the playback target image. Check for no. When there is an image associated with the image to be reproduced, the image to be reproduced is displayed on the EVF 24 and the image associated with this image is displayed on the EVF 24a. If there is no image associated with the image to be reproduced, the image to be reproduced is displayed on both EVFs 24 and 24a.

  Hereinafter, the operation of the present invention will be described. When photographing and reproducing an image for planar view, the digital camera 10 is used alone. If the digital camera 10 is set to the shooting mode, a through image is displayed on the EVF 24 and framing can be performed. After framing, shooting is performed by fully pressing the shutter button 16, and an image for one screen is recorded in the memory card 18. If the digital camera 10 is set to the playback mode, the image stored in the memory card 18 is played back and displayed on the EVF 24. By operating the operation unit 22, the playback image can be sent back.

  On the other hand, when taking and reproducing a stereoscopic image, the digital camera 10 is connected to a digital camera 10a having the same configuration. In connection of the digital cameras 10 and 10a, the side surfaces 15 and 15a are brought into contact with each other in a state where one of the upper and lower sides is inverted. Thereby, the output terminal 26 and the input terminal 27a, the input terminal 27 and the output terminal 26a are connected, and the digital cameras 10 and 10a are electrically connected. In addition, the projection 28 and the depression 29a, and the depression 29 and the projection 28a are engaged, and the digital cameras 10, 10a have a distance between the optical axes 13, 13a of the photographing lenses 12, 12a and a central axis of the EVFs 24, 24a. The distance between the distances 25 and 25a is kept equal to the average eye width W.

  In this state, if the digital camera 10 is set to the photographing mode, the through images acquired by the digital cameras 10 and 10a are displayed on the corresponding EVFs 24 and 24a, respectively. The user can perform framing while observing a stereoscopic image by looking into the EVFs 24 and 24a with the left and right eyes. After framing, shooting is performed by fully pressing the shutter button 16, the main image is acquired by the digital cameras 10, 10a, and the two types of acquired image data are associated with each other and the memory card 18 is associated. Is remembered.

  If the digital camera 10 is set to the playback mode, the image stored in the memory card 18 is played back and displayed on the EVFs 24 and 24a. At this time, if the image to be reproduced is a stereoscopic image and an image associated with this image exists in the memory card 18, the image to be reproduced is displayed on the EVF 24 and associated with this image. The displayed image is displayed on the EVF 24a. If the EVFs 24 and 24a are looked into with the left and right eyes, the reproduced image can be stereoscopically viewed. When the image to be reproduced is an image for planar view, the image to be reproduced is displayed on both EVFs 24 and 24a.

  As described above, the digital camera of the present invention can capture a stereoscopic image by using a pair of two digital cameras having the same configuration. For this reason, compared with the case where two different digital cameras are connected and a stereoscopic image is taken, the product development and manufacturing costs can be reduced. In addition, when shooting and playing back an image for planar view, it can be used as a single unit, so portability is good. In addition, when used in pairs, the interval between the EVFs of each digital camera is equal to the average eye width. By observing each EVF with the left and right eyes, a through image or a recorded stereoscopic view can be obtained. Since the image can be stereoscopically viewed, it can be easily enjoyed.

  When two digital cameras are connected, an overlapping area of images taken by each digital camera becomes a stereoscopically visible area. For this reason, for example, when the optical axes of the photographing lenses of two digital cameras are fixed in parallel, when photographing a relatively distant subject, the areas photographed by the respective digital cameras are almost equal, so that stereoscopic viewing is possible. However, in close-up shooting, there is a problem in that the area captured by each digital camera is different and the area that can be viewed stereoscopically becomes small. In order to prevent such problems, an optical axis adjustment mechanism that changes the connection angle of the two digital cameras and the angle of the photographing lens is provided, and the optical axes of the photographing lenses of the two digital cameras intersect in the vicinity of the subject. In this case, the angle of the optical axis may be adjusted. By doing so, the stereoscopically viewable area can be enlarged.

  In the above-described embodiment, the EVF is described as a fixed type. However, since the eye width differs depending on the person, for example, an eye width adjusting mechanism that holds the EVF slidably is provided, and the EVF is movable. Good. By doing so, when connecting two digital cameras and observing a stereoscopic image, the user can adjust the interval of the EVF according to his / her eye width, which is convenient.

  In the above-described embodiment, an example in which two types of images acquired by each digital camera are stored in one memory card when a stereoscopic image is taken has been described. It is not limited to. Two types of images may be stored in both memory cards. Moreover, you may memorize | store the image acquired with each digital camera one by one in a corresponding memory card. In this case, for example, DSC0001A. JPG, DSC0001B. An associated file name such as JPG is given and stored in each memory card. When two digital cameras are connected for playback, the images on both memory cards are examined and the associated images are displayed on the respective EVFs.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where a still image is taken has been described. However, the present invention can be similarly applied to a case where a moving image is taken.

It is an external view of the front side of a digital camera. It is an external view of the back side of a digital camera. It is explanatory drawing showing a mode that two digital cameras are connected. It is a block diagram of a digital camera. It is a flowchart showing the imaging | photography procedure of the image for stereoscopic vision. It is a flowchart showing the reproduction | regeneration procedure of the image for stereoscopic vision.

Explanation of symbols

10, 10a Digital camera 12, 12a Shooting lens 13, 13a Optical axis 24, 24a EVF
25, 25a Central axis 26, 26a Output terminal 27, 27a Input terminal 28, 28a Protrusion 29, 29a Depression 30 CPU
32 CCD

Claims (3)

In a digital camera in which a photographing lens is arranged on the front of the camera body and an electronic viewfinder that displays a subject image and a reproduced image on the back of the camera body,
The photographing lens and the electronic viewfinder are arranged on the center line in the vertical direction of the camera body, and at a position close to the inside of the average eye width from one of the left and right sides of the camera body,
On the side surface, an external input terminal for inputting a control signal for controlling shooting and reproduction from the outside of the camera body, and an external output terminal for outputting the control signal to the outside from the camera body,
The digital camera, wherein the external output terminal and the external input terminal are formed in a shape that can be connected to each other, and are arranged at positions that are axisymmetric with respect to the center line in the vertical direction of the side surface.   A pair of digital cameras according to claim 1, wherein one of the digital cameras is rotated in a plane parallel to the front surface to invert the top and bottom, and then the side surfaces of the digital cameras face each other, and one output terminal and the other input Connect the terminal and one input terminal to the other output terminal, and make the distance between the photographing lenses and the distance between the electronic viewfinders equal to the average eye width for stereoscopic viewing. A camera system for capturing and playing back images. When a shooting instruction is input from one of the above, the first and second types of images acquired from one and the other are shot in the other under the same shooting conditions as the other in synchronism with the one shooting. Are stored in association with each other,
3. The reproduction apparatus according to claim 2, wherein when the reproduction instruction is input from the one, the first image is displayed on one of the electronic viewfinders, and the second image is displayed on the other electronic viewfinder. The camera system described.

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