JP2006064945A - Flash apparatus and camera system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To effectively prevent a drive noise at photographing from being recorded without uselessly increasing the number of accessories, regarding a flash apparatus used for photographing and a camera system equipped with the flash apparatus. <P>SOLUTION: The flash apparatus is provided with a light emitting part for emitting light toward an object, and a microphone part for detecting a sound as an electric signal. Regarding the camera system equipped with the camera and the flash apparatus which is attachably/detachably loaded to the camera, the flash apparatus is provided with the light emitting part for emitting the light to the object, the microphone part whose sound collection angle is changeable, for detecting the sound as the electric signal, and a signal transmission part for transmitting/receiving the signal to/from the camera, and the sound collection angle is changed in accordance with the signal from the camera. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a flash device used for photographing and a camera system provided with the flash device.

Recently, with the enhancement of camera functions, cameras capable of shooting still images and moving images have been developed. In such a camera, voice recording is possible with a microphone when shooting a moving image.
Conventionally, as a flash device capable of changing the light emission angle, for example, one disclosed in JP-A-9-33992 is known.

Further, as microphones whose sound collection angles can be changed, for example, those disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 5-336588 and 2000-197180 are known.
JP-A-9-33992 JP-A-5-336588 JP 2000-197180 A

However, recently, due to the miniaturization of the camera, the distance between the microphone and the drive sound source such as the zoom mechanism and the focus mechanism has been reduced, and these drive sounds are likely to be mixed in the recording of the sound when shooting a moving image. ing. In addition, the level of driving sound has increased due to the higher speed of the driving unit.
Therefore, it is conceivable that an external microphone unit is attached to the camera body and the distance between the drive sound source and the microphone is increased. However, the microphone unit is unnecessary when shooting a still image, and the number of accessories increases wastefully. Will do.

  The present invention has been made to solve such a conventional problem, and can effectively prevent the drive sound during recording (recording) from being recorded without unnecessarily increasing the number of accessories. An object is to provide a flash device and a camera system.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a flash device includes a light emitting unit that emits light to a subject and a microphone unit that detects sound as an electrical signal.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the flash device according to the first aspect, wherein the microphone section is capable of changing a sound collection angle.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the flash device according to the first or second aspect, further comprising: a fixed portion fixed to the camera side; and a rotating portion disposed so as to be rotatable with respect to the fixed portion. The microphone part is arranged on the rotating part.

The flash device according to claim 4 is the flash device according to claim 3, wherein the light emitting portion and the microphone portion are arranged in the same direction on the rotating portion, and the light emitting portion faces the photographer side. It has a light emission prohibiting means for prohibiting light emission of the light emitting section.
The camera system according to claim 5 is a camera system comprising a camera and a flash device that is detachably attached to the camera, wherein the flash device is capable of changing a sound collection angle and a light collection angle for emitting light to a subject. And a signal transmission unit for transmitting a signal to and from the camera, and the sound collection angle is changed according to a signal from the camera.

A camera system according to a sixth aspect is the camera system according to the fifth aspect, wherein the light emitting section is capable of changing a light emission angle.
The camera system according to claim 7 is the camera system according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the signal from the camera is a zoom signal of a photographing lens, and the sound collection angle is increased as the photographing lens becomes a wide angle side. It is characterized by being enlarged.

The camera system according to claim 8 is the camera system according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the signal from the camera is a self-timer mode signal, and the sound collection angle is predetermined by this signal. It is characterized by a sound angle.
The camera system according to claim 9 is the camera system according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the signal from the camera is a macro shooting mode signal, and the sound collection angle is predetermined by this signal. It is characterized by a sound angle.

  The camera system according to claim 10 is the camera system according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the signal from the camera is a voice memo mode signal, and the sound collection angle is predetermined by this signal. It is characterized by a sound angle.

In the flash device of the present invention, since the microphone unit for detecting sound as an electrical signal is provided, it is possible to effectively prevent the recording of driving sound at the time of shooting without unnecessarily increasing the number of accessories. .
In the camera system of the present invention, since the microphone unit is provided in the flash device and the sound collection angle of the microphone unit is changed according to the signal from the camera, the necessary sound can be recorded in an optimal state.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of the flash device of the present invention.
The flash device includes a light emitting unit 13, a microphone unit 15, and a control circuit 17 inside the apparatus main body 11.

  The light emitting unit 13 emits light to the subject. The light emitting unit 13 can change the light emission angle by a known drive mechanism. That is, for example, by driving a drive mechanism using a motor and a gear by the light emission angle drive unit 19, the light emission angle is changed by changing the interval between the xenon tube 21 and the Fresnel lens 23. The emission angle increases as the distance between the xenon tube 21 and the Fresnel lens 23 decreases.

  The microphone unit 15 detects sound as an electrical signal. The microphone unit 15 can change the sound collection angle by known means. That is, the sound collecting angle is changed by mechanically driving or electrically controlling the microphone unit 15 by the sound collecting angle driving unit 25. As a microphone that mechanically changes the sound collection angle, for example, a microphone disclosed in JP-A-5-336588 is known. Further, as a microphone that electrically changes the sound collection angle, for example, one disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-197180 is known.

The control circuit 17 exchanges signals with the camera side described later. And the light emission control of the light emission part 13, control of the light emission angle drive part 19, the sound collection angle drive part 25, etc. are performed.
At the lower end of the apparatus main body 11, a camera connection unit 27 for mechanically connecting the flash device to the camera side is provided. At the lower end of the camera connection unit 27, a signal transmission unit 29 that performs signal transmission with the camera is provided.

FIG. 2 shows a first embodiment of the camera system of the present invention.
This camera system has a camera 31 and a flash device 33 shown in FIG.
On the upper surface of the camera 31, an attachment portion 35 to which the camera connection portion 27 of the flash device 33 is attached is provided. By attaching the camera connection portion 27 to the attachment portion 35, the flash device 33 and the camera 31 are integrated. And the signal transmission part 29 of the flash device 33 and the signal transmission part 37 of the camera 31 are connected, and various signals can be exchanged between them.

On the upper surface of the camera 31, a power switch 39 and a release switch 41 are provided. Further, on the rear surface of the camera 31, a zoom switch 43, an external display unit 44, a speaker 46, a mode setting switch 45, a self-timer setting switch 47, and a macro shooting setting switch 49 are provided.
When the power switch 39 is turned on, the camera 31 becomes ready for photographing, and a subject image is formed on the image sensor 53 by the photographing lens 51. The image formed on the image sensor 53 is processed by the camera-side control circuit 55 and displayed on the viewfinder 57 or the external display unit 44.

The drive motor 59 is driven by the operation of the zoom switch 43, and the angle of view of the photographing lens 51 is changed.
The external display unit 44 is composed of, for example, a liquid crystal display and reproduces an image recorded on the recording medium 61. Further, the speaker 46 reproduces the sound recorded on the recording medium 61.
The mode setting switch 45 sets the operation mode of the camera 31 to a still image shooting mode, a moving image shooting mode, or an image playback mode.

In the still image shooting mode, when the release switch 41 is pressed, an arbitrary number of frames are shot under preset conditions. In the moving image shooting mode, moving image shooting starts when the release switch 41 is pressed, and ends when the release switch 41 is pressed again. After the photographing is finished, the photographed image is processed by the camera side control circuit 55 and recorded on the recording medium 61.
In the still image shooting mode, the light emission start signal synchronized with the shooting is transmitted from the camera 31 to the control circuit 17 of the flash device 33 via the signal transmission units 37 and 29 under the shooting conditions such as the low brightness of the subject. Part 13 emits light. In conjunction with the operation of the zoom switch 43, the light emission angle drive unit 19 is driven, and the light emission angle of the light emission unit 13 is changed.

In the moving image shooting mode, the audio signal detected by the microphone unit 15 is transmitted to the camera 31 via the signal transmission units 29 and 37 and is recorded on the recording medium 61 together with the captured image of the moving image. Further, in conjunction with the operation of the zoom switch 43, the sound collection angle drive unit 25 is driven, and the sound collection angle of the microphone unit 15 is changed.
That is, as conceptually shown in FIG. 3, when the subject S1 is on the telephoto side (for example, a distance of 20 m from the camera 31), the sound collection angle θ1 of the microphone unit 15 is narrow corresponding to the angle of view of the camera 31 ( (Directivity is sharp) is set. When the subject S2 is on the wide angle side (for example, a distance of 2 m from the camera 31), the sound collection angle θ2 of the microphone unit 15 is set to be wide (directivity is dull) corresponding to the angle of view of the camera 31. Therefore, necessary sounds near the subjects S1 and S2 can be recorded in an optimal state.

In the image reproduction mode, the image recorded on the recording medium 61 is reproduced. When the image is a still image, the image is displayed on the viewfinder 57 or the external display unit 44. Further, when the image is a moving image, the image is displayed on the finder 57 or the external display unit 44, and at the same time, the sound recorded on the recording medium 61 is reproduced from the speaker 46.
The self timer setting switch 47 sets the photographing mode to the self timer mode.

  When the release switch 41 is pressed in the state set to the self-timer mode, in the still image shooting mode, an arbitrary number of frames is shot under a preset condition when a preset set time has elapsed. In the moving image shooting mode, when the release switch 41 is pressed, moving image shooting is started when a predetermined set time has elapsed, and is ended after a predetermined time has elapsed. After the photographing is finished, the photographed image is processed by the camera side control circuit 55 and recorded on the recording medium 61.

In the still image shooting mode in which the self-timer mode is set, the light emission start signal synchronized with the shooting from the camera 31 via the signal transmission units 37 and 29 is sent from the camera 31 according to the shooting conditions such as the low brightness of the subject. 17 and the light emitting unit 13 emits light.
In the moving image shooting mode in which the self-timer mode is set, the audio signal detected by the microphone unit 15 is transmitted to the camera 31 via the signal transmission units 29 and 37 and recorded on the recording medium 61 together with the captured image of the moving image. . In conjunction with the operation of the self-timer setting switch 47, the sound collection angle driving unit 25 of the flash device 33 is driven, and the sound collection angle of the microphone unit 15 is changed.

  That is, in the video shooting mode in which the self-timer mode is set, as conceptually shown in FIG. 4, the sound at the position where the subject S3 is located (for example, a position 3 m away from the camera 31) is recorded in the normal self-timer mode. The sound collection angle θ3 of the microphone unit 15 is automatically set corresponding to the angle of view of the camera 31 so as to be in an optimal state. Therefore, the necessary sound near the subject S3 can be recorded in an optimal state.

The macro shooting setting switch 49 sets the shooting mode to the macro shooting mode.
If the release switch 41 is pressed while the macro shooting mode is set, an arbitrary number of frames are shot under preset conditions in the still image shooting mode. In the moving image shooting mode, moving image shooting starts when the release switch 41 is pressed, and ends when the release switch 41 is pressed again. After the photographing is finished, the photographed image is processed by the camera side control circuit 55 and recorded on the recording medium 61.

  In the still image shooting mode in which the macro shooting mode is set, a light emission start signal synchronized with the shooting from the camera 31 via the signal transmission units 37 and 29 is sent from the camera 31 according to shooting conditions such as low luminance of the subject. 17 and the light emitting unit 13 emits light. Further, in conjunction with the operation of the macro shooting setting switch 49, the light emission angle driving unit 19 is driven, and the light emission angle of the light emitting unit 13 is changed.

When the macro shooting mode is set, the audio signal detected by the microphone unit 15 is transmitted to the camera 31 via the signal transmission units 29 and 37 and is recorded on the recording medium 61 together with the captured video image. . The sound collection angle drive unit 25 is driven in conjunction with the operation of the macro shooting setting switch 49, and the sound collection angle of the microphone unit 15 is changed.
That is, in the moving image shooting mode in which the macro shooting mode is set, as conceptually shown in FIG. 5, the sound at the position where the subject S4 is positioned (for example, a position 0.3 m away from the camera 31) in the normal macro shooting mode. The sound collection angle θ4 of the microphone unit 15 is automatically set corresponding to the angle of view of the camera 31 so as to be in an optimum state for recording. Therefore, it is possible to record a necessary sound near the subject S4, such as an insect feather sound, in an optimal state.

In this embodiment, the camera 31 is provided with a built-in flash device 63. When the flash device 33 is attached to the camera 31, the built-in flash device 63 is controlled by the camera-side control circuit 55 so that the flash device 33 emits light with priority and does not emit light.
In the flash device 33 of this embodiment, since the microphone unit 15 for detecting sound as an electrical signal is provided, it is effective to record the driving sound at the time of shooting a movie without unnecessarily increasing the number of accessories. Can be prevented.

In the camera system of this embodiment, the microphone unit 15 is provided in the flash device 33, and the sound collection angle of the microphone unit 15 is changed according to the signal from the camera 31, so that the necessary sound is in an optimum state. Can be recorded.
(Second Embodiment)
FIG. 6 shows a second embodiment of the flash device of the present invention.

In this embodiment, the same members as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.
The flash device of this embodiment has a fixed portion 65 fixed to the camera side, and a rotating portion 67 arranged to be rotatable with respect to the fixed portion 65. In the rotating part 67, the light emitting part 13 and the microphone part 15 are arranged facing the same direction. Further, the control circuit 17 is disposed in the fixed portion 65.

  A detection switch 69 that is turned on when the light emitting unit 13 faces the photographer is provided on the upper surface of the fixed unit 65. As shown in FIG. 7, the detection switch 69 is pressed and turned on by the rotation unit 67 when the rotation unit 67 is rotated so that the light emitting unit 13 faces the photographer. When the detection switch 69 is turned ON, a signal is output to the control circuit 17, and the light emission of the light emitting unit 13 is prohibited by the control circuit 17.

FIG. 8 shows a second embodiment of the camera system of the present invention.
This camera system has a camera 31A and a flash device 33A shown in FIG.
In this embodiment, the camera 31A is provided with a voice memo setting switch 71.
The voice memo setting switch 71 sets the recording mode to the voice memo mode. This voice memo mode is a mode for adding a memo to a shot still image by voice.

  That is, if a voice memo mode is set after shooting a still picture in the still picture shooting mode, a voice memo can be recorded from the microphone unit 15 corresponding to the still picture. In this voice memo mode, as shown in FIG. 8, the rotating unit 67 of the flash device 33A is rotated so that the light emitting unit 13 is directed to the photographer side, and the mouth of the photographer recording the voice memo is It is located near the front of the microphone unit 15 of the flash device 33A. Therefore, in this embodiment, in the voice memo mode, the sound collection angle of the microphone unit 15 is automatically set so as to be in an optimal state for recording sound near the front of the microphone unit 15. Therefore, the photographer's voice can be reliably recorded in an optimum state.

In this embodiment, the control circuit 17 automatically prohibits the light emission of the light emitting unit 13, so that it is possible to reliably prevent flash from directly entering the photographer's eyes due to erroneous light emission or the like.
(Supplementary items of the embodiment)
As mentioned above, although this invention has been demonstrated by said embodiment, the technical scope of this invention is not limited to said embodiment, For example, the following forms may be sufficient.

(1) In the above-described embodiment, the example in which the flash devices 33 and 33A stop emitting light in the moving image shooting mode has been described. However, the flash devices 33 and 33A continuously emit light in the moving image shooting mode and function as a so-called movie light. Also good.
(2) In the above-described embodiment, an example in which the light emission angle of the light emitting unit 13 and the sound collection angle of the microphone unit 15 are changed separately has been described. For example, the microphone unit 15 mechanically changes the sound collection angle. In the case of being configured, the two may be changed in conjunction with one drive unit. In this case, the light emission angle and the sound collection angle change simultaneously by operating the zoom switch 43 regardless of the shooting mode.

  (3) In the embodiment described above, the example in which the voice memo is configured to be performed in the still image shooting mode has been described. However, the voice memo may be configured to be performed in the moving image shooting mode.

It is explanatory drawing which shows 1st Embodiment of the flash device of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows 1st Embodiment of the camera system of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the sound collection angle of the microphone part at the time of zoom mode in the camera system of FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the sound collection angle of the microphone part at the time of the self-timer mode in the camera system of FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the sound collection angle of the microphone part at the time of macro imaging mode in the camera system of FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows 2nd Embodiment of the flash device of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state which rotated the rotation part of the flash device of FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows 2nd Embodiment of the camera system of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Apparatus main body 13 Light emission part 15 Microphone part 17 Control circuit 19 Light emission angle drive part 25 Sound collection angle drive part 29 Signal transmission part 31, 31A Camera 33, 33A Flash device 43 Zoom switch 45 Mode setting switch 47 Self-timer setting switch 49 Macro Shooting setting switch 51 Shooting lens 53 Image sensor 55 Camera-side control circuit 65 Fixed portion 67 Rotating portion 69 Detection switch 71 Voice memo setting switch

Claims (10)

A light emitting unit for emitting light to the subject;
A microphone part for detecting sound as an electrical signal;
A flash device characterized by comprising: The flash device according to claim 1,
The flash unit is characterized in that the microphone section can change a sound collection angle. The flash device according to claim 1 or 2,
A flash device comprising: a fixed portion fixed to the camera side; and a rotating portion arranged to be rotatable with respect to the fixed portion, wherein the microphone portion is arranged in the rotating portion. . The flash device according to claim 3,
The light emitting unit and the microphone unit are arranged in the same direction on the rotating unit, and the light emitting unit includes a light emission prohibiting unit that prohibits light emission of the light emitting unit when the light emitting unit faces the photographer. Flash device to do. In a camera system comprising a camera and a flash device detachably attached to the camera,
The flash device is
A light emitting unit for emitting light to the subject;
A microphone section that can change the sound collection angle and detects sound as an electrical signal;
A signal transmission unit that performs signal transmission with the camera;
A camera system, wherein the sound collection angle is changed in accordance with a signal from the camera. The camera system according to claim 5, wherein
The camera system according to claim 1, wherein the light emitting unit is capable of changing a light emission angle. The camera system according to claim 5 or 6,
A signal from the camera is a zoom signal of a photographic lens, and the sound collection angle is increased as the photographic lens becomes a wide angle side. The camera system according to claim 5 or 6,
The signal from the camera is a self-timer mode signal, and the sound collection angle is set to a predetermined sound collection angle determined in advance by this signal. The camera system according to claim 5 or 6,
The camera system is characterized in that the signal from the camera is a macro shooting mode signal, and the sound collection angle is set to a predetermined sound collection angle by this signal. The camera system according to claim 5 or 6,
The camera system is characterized in that the signal from the camera is a voice memo mode signal, and the sound collection angle is set to a predetermined sound collection angle by this signal.

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