JP2006220834A - Imaging apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a photographing apparatus which provides a taking lens barrel whose shape is not largely changed during panning or tilting shot, thereby being compact in size and easy to handle. <P>SOLUTION: A compact panning mechanism is provided by turning a bending optical system in an optical axis direction, and not only a reflection surface but also a lens are cooperatively driven for tilting in order to miniaturize a bending part. The apparatus is constituted so as to correct directional deviation in automatic panning caused by the tilt of a video, and also provided with a function to automatically restore to initial composition after manual panning, thereby providing stable and excellent panning shot. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a photographing apparatus such as a video camera, a control method thereof, and a control program for executing the control method.

  With current video cameras, all the important tasks for shooting such as determining exposure, focusing, and blurring correction are automated, and there is very little chance of shooting failure even for those who are not familiar with camera operation.

  Even when panning (moving the camera's shooting direction horizontally) or tilting (moving the camera's shooting direction vertically) while moving the camera intentionally, Some have been devised so that natural images can be obtained (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  However, the panning operation during shooting is not sufficiently automated, and the current situation is that many rely on the skill of the photographer. When panning is performed manually, there are problems that the panning speed cannot be made constant and image degradation due to camera shake occurs, and it is not easy for beginners to perform stable and high-quality recording.

  As a technique for correcting camera shake during a manual panning operation, for example, in Patent Document 2, a correction mirror that tilts at an angular velocity proportional to the angular velocity of the video camera is built into the camera, and the correction mirror is used to enter the photographing lens. There has been proposed a camera shake correction device that finely adjusts the optical axis of subject light.

  However, in this technology, the panner of the video camera is performed by the photographer himself, and as a method of improving the stability, the optical axis of the subject light incident on the photographing lens is set in the horizontal and vertical directions in proportion to the angular velocity of the video camera. Although it is intended to manually correct camera shake during panning operation by fine adjustment, it is not possible to bend the optical axis at a large angle of several tens of degrees because it is intended for fine adjustment, It cannot cope with a panning operation at a large angle such as tracking a subject.

  Further, as a technique for assisting a manual panning operation, for example, when a photographer performs a panning operation, there is known a method of correcting and controlling the photographing barrel in consideration of an output of an angular velocity sensor that detects a panning angular velocity. Yes.

  In this method, the panning operation of the video camera is performed by the photographer himself, and the panning correction is performed by slightly driving the photographing barrel as a method for improving the stability. However, the amount of drive correction of the lens barrel on the mechanism is limited. Therefore, it is difficult to sufficiently cope with panning operations of various speeds and amounts, and it is not sufficient as a system that a beginner can handle immediately because it is necessary to get used to the operation.

In order to perform stable recording regardless of the panning speed and amount, a method of automatically rotating the photographic lens barrel in accordance with the panning direction is suitable. As an imaging apparatus using this method, an apparatus that performs panning and tilting by placing an imaging unit body on a rotating pan head or a table is known for use as a surveillance camera (see, for example, Patent Document 3).
JP-A-11-275431 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 05-014801 JP 2002-369046 A

  However, the above-described apparatus for performing panning and tilting by placing the photographing unit main body on a rotating pan head or table is assumed to be originally installed on a table or a wall, so that it can be carried by the user. I did not have. In addition, in order to enable the camera body to rotate in both the horizontal and vertical directions, a large space such as a hemispherical shape is required around the camera portion, and the compact structure is not easy to use.

  Furthermore, in order to apply an apparatus for performing panning and tilting by placing the photographing unit main body on a rotating pan head to a consumer video camera, there are the following problems.

  FIG. 25 is a block diagram showing an example of a conventional consumer video camera equipped with a rotating pan head as a panning mechanism. FIG. 25 (a) is a front view, FIG. 25 (b) is a side view, and FIG. c) shows a top view.

  The video camera main body 511 is provided with a photographing barrel 512 and a viewfinder 513. A solid line 512d in the figure indicates a boundary portion between the video camera body 511 and the imaging barrel 512. The imaging lens barrel 512 can be used for panning and tilting imaging by being rotated in the directions of arrows 512b and 512h about the axes 512a and 512g by a pair of actuators 512e and 512f.

  Reference numeral 512 i in FIG. 4C shows a state in which the imaging barrel 512 is panned by 60 degrees. As can be seen from FIG. 7C, at the time of panning, the photographing lens barrel 512 has an unusual shape that protrudes greatly with respect to the video camera body 511. For this reason, it becomes difficult to hold the video camera, and the center of gravity moves greatly to make the photographing unstable. Further, dust or the like may enter from the vicinity of the boundary portion 512d.

  As described above, it is difficult to realize an easy-to-handle video camera that can freely perform panning and tilting with the shape of the conventional imaging barrel.

  In view of the above-described conventional problems, the present invention realizes a photographing barrel that does not change greatly in shape during panning or tilting photographing, and is a small and easy-to-handle photographing device, a method for controlling the photographing device, and control. An object of the present invention is to provide an easy-to-use photographing apparatus that can provide a program and is small in size, excellent in portability, and easily compatible with various photographing modes.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is an imaging apparatus comprising a barrel unit having a bending optical system for bending an imaging optical axis and an imaging means for imaging a light beam incident through the bending optical system. The lens barrel unit is structured to rotate with respect to a rotation axis.

  In addition, the present invention is a photographing apparatus having a photographing optical system composed of a plurality of lenses and a reflecting surface arranged therebetween, and is predetermined among the plurality of lenses in conjunction with the rotation of the reflecting surface. The photographing direction is changed by moving the lens or the predetermined lens group.

  The present invention also provides a photographing optical system, first and second scanning means for scanning the photographing optical system in different first and second directions on a plane orthogonal to the optical axis, and light of the photographing optical system. And an attitude detection means for detecting an attitude around the axis, and a drive control means for cooperatively operating the first and second scanning means based on an attitude detection signal of the attitude detection means.

  Further, the present invention is based on trajectory recording means for recording a trajectory in the photographing direction, photographing direction changing means for scanning the optical system to change the photographing direction, and trajectory recording information recorded in the trajectory recording means. And a photographing direction returning means for driving and controlling the photographing direction changing means to return the photographing direction to the initial position.

  The present invention also provides a main optical unit composed of a plurality of lenses arranged along the photographing optical axis, a bending optical unit having a reflecting surface for bending the photographing optical axis, and a light beam from the main optical unit. An imaging apparatus having an optical system configured with an imaging unit that forms an image, wherein the first rotation unit rotates the main optical unit and the bending optical unit integrally around a shooting optical axis; It has a 2nd rotation means to rotate an imaging part to the periphery of an imaging | photography optical axis, and a drive control means to drive-control by making the said 1st and 2nd rotation means interlock | cooperate.

  The present invention also provides a main optical unit composed of a plurality of lenses arranged along the photographing optical axis, a bending optical unit having a reflecting surface for bending the photographing optical axis, and a light beam from the main optical unit. A third rotation unit that rotates the bending optical unit relative to the main optical unit around a photographing optical axis; and an optical system including an imaging unit that forms an image. And a fourth rotation means for rotating the image pickup unit about the photographing optical axis, and a drive control means for driving and controlling the third and fourth rotation means in conjunction with each other.

  The present invention also includes a bending optical system that bends the photographing optical axis, a lens barrel that forms an image of a light beam incident through the bending optical system, and the first rotating shaft that is the cylindrical axis of the lens barrel. A first rotating means that rotates with reference to the above; a supporting means that rotatably supports at least a part of the lens barrel; and a lens barrel unit that includes the lens barrel and the supporting means. And a second rotating means that rotates with reference to a second rotating shaft that is perpendicular to the rotating shaft.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for controlling an imaging apparatus having an imaging optical system including a plurality of lenses and a reflecting surface disposed therebetween, and the plurality of lenses are coupled with the rotation of the reflecting surface. A predetermined lens or a predetermined lens group is moved to change the shooting direction.

  The present invention also provides first and second scanning means for scanning the imaging optical system in different first and second directions on a plane orthogonal to the optical axis, and detecting the attitude of the imaging optical system around the optical axis. In the control method of the photographing apparatus having the posture detecting means, the first and second scanning means are cooperatively operated based on the posture detection signal of the posture detecting means.

  Further, the present invention is a method of controlling a photographing apparatus having a locus recording means for recording a locus in a photographing direction and a photographing direction changing means for changing a photographing direction by scanning an optical system, and is recorded in the locus recording means. The photographing direction changing means is driven and controlled to return the photographing direction to the initial position based on the locus recording information.

  The present invention also provides a main optical unit composed of a plurality of lenses arranged along the photographing optical axis, a bending optical unit having a reflecting surface for bending the photographing optical axis, and a light beam from the main optical unit. In a control method of an imaging apparatus having an optical system composed of an imaging unit that forms an image, a first rotation unit that integrally rotates the main optical unit and the bending optical unit around an imaging optical axis; Drive control is performed in conjunction with second rotating means for rotating the image pickup unit about the photographing optical axis.

  The present invention also provides a main optical unit composed of a plurality of lenses arranged along the photographing optical axis, a bending optical unit having a reflecting surface for bending the photographing optical axis, and a light beam from the main optical unit. In a method for controlling an imaging apparatus having an optical system including an imaging unit that forms an image, a third rotating unit that rotates the bending optical unit relative to the main optical unit around a photographing optical axis. And drive control in conjunction with a fourth rotating means for rotating the imaging unit about the imaging optical axis.

  The present invention also provides a computer-readable control program for executing a control method of an image pickup apparatus having an image pickup optical system composed of a plurality of lenses and a reflecting surface disposed therebetween. A step of moving a predetermined lens or a predetermined lens group among the plurality of lenses in conjunction with the rotation of the surface to change the shooting direction is provided.

  The present invention also provides first and second scanning means for scanning the imaging optical system in different first and second directions on a plane orthogonal to the optical axis, and detecting the attitude of the imaging optical system around the optical axis. A computer-readable control program for executing a control method of an imaging apparatus having a posture detection means that performs the first and second scanning means based on a posture detection signal of the posture detection means It is characterized by cooperative operation.

  Further, the present invention is for executing a control method of a control method of an imaging apparatus having a trajectory recording means for recording a trajectory in an imaging direction and an imaging direction changing means for changing an imaging direction by scanning an optical system. A computer-readable control program, wherein the shooting direction changing unit is driven and controlled to return the shooting direction to an initial position based on track recording information recorded in the track recording unit. It is characterized by.

  The present invention also provides a main optical unit composed of a plurality of lenses arranged along the photographing optical axis, a bending optical unit having a reflecting surface for bending the photographing optical axis, and a light beam from the main optical unit. A computer-readable control program for executing a control method of a control method of an imaging apparatus having an optical system composed of an imaging unit that forms an image, the main optical unit and the bending optical unit being captured Drive control is performed in conjunction with a first rotation unit that rotates integrally around the optical axis and a second rotation unit that rotates the imaging unit around the photographing optical axis.

  The present invention also provides a main optical unit composed of a plurality of lenses arranged along the photographing optical axis, a bending optical unit having a reflecting surface for bending the photographing optical axis, and a light beam from the main optical unit. In a method for controlling an imaging apparatus having an optical system including an imaging unit that forms an image, a third rotating unit that rotates the bending optical unit relative to the main optical unit around a photographing optical axis. And drive control in conjunction with a fourth rotating means for rotating the imaging unit about the imaging optical axis.

  According to the present invention, the stability of panning photography and tilting photography can be improved, and the apparatus can be miniaturized. Furthermore, it is possible to easily cope with various shooting modes, and usability is improved.

  Embodiments of a photographing apparatus, a control method thereof, and a control program of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The imaging device of this embodiment is applied to a video camera, for example.

[First Embodiment]
<Overall schematic configuration>
FIG. 1 is an overall schematic diagram showing the configuration of the photographing apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in the figure, the video camera body 11 is provided with a bending optical system 14. The main optical axis 14a of the bending optical system 14 is provided so as to be aligned with the vertical direction of the video camera body 11 (axis substantially orthogonal to the horizontal plane). The main optical axis 14a is bent by a mirror (reflective surface) 14c that bends the main optical axis 14a by 90 deg at the initial position, and becomes the object optical axis 14b and faces the subject. The subject light is bent by the mirror 14c and forms an image on an image sensor 14i such as a CCD.

  When panning, the entire bending optical system 14 is rotated around the main optical axis 14a by the pan actuator 15f. As described above, the member that rotates during panning has a circular shape like a lens. Therefore, even if the panning angle is increased, the photographing lens barrel does not protrude from the video camera body 11.

  When tilting, the tilt actuator 15f rotates the mirror 14d and the objective lens (front lens) 14f about the axis 14d.

  It is common to change the reflection angle of the reflecting surface in order to change the direction of the optical axis. However, in the present invention, not only the angle of the mirror 14c, which is the reflecting surface, is changed, but the front ball 14f is rotated in accordance with the rotation. This will be described in detail below.

<Bending optical system>
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the bending optical system 14 in FIG.

  This bending optical system 14 forms a high-magnification zoom optical system of four groups as a whole. Here, the front group 14f, the mirror 14c, and the bonded lens group 14j constitute a first group. In addition to the first group, the second group 14k that moves along the main optical axis 14a for zooming, the third group 14l that is always fixed, and the main group 14a that moves along the main optical axis 14a for focus adjustment. The bending optical system 14 is constituted by the fourth group 14m.

  In order to tilt the object optical axis 14b, the mirror 14c and the front ball 14f are rotated around the axis 14d (arrow 14e).

  The reason why the front lens 14f is also provided on the subject side of the mirror 14c is that the front lens 14f reduces the inclination angle of the principal ray from the subject and leads it to the mirror 14c, so that the mirror can be kept small.

  In the present embodiment, the tilting is performed by rotating the mirror 14c. However, when the tilting (for example, up and down 10 degrees) is performed, if the mirror 14c that sufficiently covers the entire shooting angle of view is set. The mirror 14c becomes even larger. For this reason, a lens that reduces the tilt angle of the principal ray from the subject and guides it to the mirror 14c is extremely important.

  When the front lens 14f is provided on the objective side of the mirror 14c as described above, the object optical axis 14b when the mirror 14c is rotated does not pass through the center of the front lens 14f, and the image quality is greatly deteriorated. In order to solve this, the mirror 14c may be driven so that the center of the front lens 14f follows the change of the object optical axis 14b by the mirror 14c.

  Here, if the rotation angle of the mirror 14c is θ, the change in the angle of the object optical axis 14b is 2θ (because of the reflection system). Therefore, in order to correct this, the image quality can be prevented from deteriorating by rotating the front lens 14f by 2θ about the rotation axis of the mirror 14c.

  By the way, a bending optical system itself in which a lens is arranged on the objective side of a reflecting surface has been conventionally known (for example, JP-A-8-248318, JP-A-2000-75138, JP-A-2003-219236). ). In these documents, since tilting in the photographing direction is not assumed, a configuration in which the reflecting surface is rotated as in the present embodiment or the front lens is rotated in accordance therewith is not disclosed. Furthermore, in these patent documents, the reflecting surfaces are all composed of prisms. This is because the use of an optical block such as a prism has the advantage that the optical path can be shortened and compact.

  However, when the reflecting surface is rotated as in this embodiment, optical image quality management is difficult unless the mirror 14c is used. In other words, using a prism makes it extremely difficult to make it optically. This point will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram showing another example of the bending optical system, and shows an example in which a prism 14n is used instead of the mirror 14c of the bending optical system 14 of FIG. In the figure, the shape of the facing surface of the bonded lens group 14j and the prism 14n and the shape of the facing surface of the front lens 14f and the prism 14n change when the prism 14n is rotated about the axis 14d. This means that optical degradation occurs due to the rotation of the prism 14n.

  FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a method of solving the problem of FIG. Here, as shown in FIG. 4, for example, the opposite end surfaces of the opposing surfaces of the prism 14n and the front lens 14f and the opposite end surfaces of the opposing surface of the prism 14n and the bonded lens group 14j are curved surfaces with the axis 14d as the center. Since the shape of the opposing surfaces does not change with the rotation of the prism 14n, the image quality deterioration due to the rotation of the prism does not occur.

  However, if such a surface shape is defined, a lens surface or the like for correcting the surface shape is required, and it is difficult to optically establish a compact high-magnification zoom photographing system.

  For this reason, in the present embodiment, tilting is performed using the mirror 14c instead of the prism 14n.

<Telting drive interlock mechanism>
Next, the telling drive interlocking mechanism will be described.

  FIGS. 5A and 5B are mechanism diagrams showing the tilting drive interlocking mechanism in the first embodiment. This tilting drive interlocking mechanism is a mechanism for driving the mirror 14c and the front lens 14f. FIG. 4 (a) is a side view seen from the direction of the bending optical system shown in FIG. 2, and FIG. It is the top view.

  5A and 5B, the front lens holding frame 15a that holds the front ball 14f is pivotally supported by a shaft 14d, and can rotate in the direction of the arrow 14e around the shaft 14d together with the front ball 14f.

  A flat coil 15b is fixed to one side surface of the front lens holding frame 15a. Opposing to the flat coil 15b, a pair of permanent magnets 15c and a yoke 15d forming a magnetic path of the pair of permanent magnets 15c are provided, and the pair of magnets 15c and the yoke 15d are fixed in the tilting direction 14e. However, it is attached to a fixed part that rotates together with the bending optical system 14 in the panning direction 14g. Therefore, when an electric current is applied to the flat coil 15b, the front lens holding frame 15a is rotationally driven in the direction of the arrow 14e. That is, the tilting actuator 15f is composed of the flat coil 15b, the pair of permanent magnets 15c, and the pair of yokes 15d.

  The mirror 14c is attached to the attachment portion 16c of the mirror holding frame 16a, is supported by a shaft 14d like the front lens holding frame 15a, and can be rotated together with the mirror 14c in the direction of the arrow 14e around the shaft 14d.

  The transmission lever (interlocking mechanism) 17a is rotatably supported around the shaft 17b. A driving pin 15e extending from the front lens support frame 15a and a driven pin 16b extending from the mirror holding frame 16a are fitted together in a long hole 17c provided near the tip of the transmission lever 17a. Yes.

  The transmission lever 17a is rotated about the shaft 17b as the drive pin 15e rotates about the shaft 14d, and the elongated hole 17c presses the driven pin 16b accordingly, and the mirror holding frame 16a also rotates about the shaft 14d. Be made.

  Here, the ratio (lever ratio) of the distance between the shaft 17b and the driving pin 15e and the distance between the shaft 17b and the driven pin 16b, the distance between the shaft 14d and the driving pin 15e, and the distance between the shaft 14d and the driven pin 16b. For example, the distance ratio (radius ratio)

  When appropriately set as described above, the rotation of the mirror holding frame 16a can be reduced by half with respect to the rotation of the front lens holding frame 15a.

  As described above, when the rotation angle of the mirror 14c is θ, the angle change of the object optical axis 14b due to the reflection is 2θ. Therefore, in order to align the position of the front lens 14f with the object optical axis, it is necessary to rotate the front lens 2θ, so the rotation amount of the mirror 14c and the front lens 14f is adjusted by the lever ratio and the radius ratio.

  Here, the reason why a drive source (flat coil 15b) is provided on the front lens holding frame 15a having a large amount of rotation and the speed is reduced and transmitted to the mirror holding frame 16a will be described.

  For example, if the position of the drive source is controlled by a position detection sensor (not shown), the drive source can be precisely controlled and has high responsiveness. However, if a drive source is provided on the side of the mirror holding frame 16a with a small amount of rotation, the driving error increases due to the small amount of rotation, and the driving error of the front lens holding frame 15a is further increased by the transmission lever 17a. Will become bigger.

  As will be described later, the mirror 14c and the front lens 14f are also provided with a function of detecting a camera shake by a vibration detecting means such as an angular velocity sensor provided in the video camera body 11 and driving based on the output thereof. Therefore, image quality deterioration due to the influence of camera shake in the tilting direction is reduced.

  For this purpose, it is necessary to drive and control the front ball 14f and the mirror 14c with high precision and high response. The front ball holding frame 15a having a large driving amount is driven, and the speed is reduced and transmitted to the mirror holding frame 16a. ing.

<Panning drive interlock mechanism>
Next, the panning drive interlocking mechanism will be described.

  6 and 7 (a) and 7 (b) are mechanism diagrams showing the panning drive interlocking mechanism. This panning drive interlocking mechanism is a mechanism for driving the lens barrel 18 in which the bending optical system 14 is included. FIG. 6 is an external side view of the bending optical system 14 viewed from the same direction as FIG. (A) is AA sectional drawing of FIG. 6, FIG.7 (b) is a top view of Fig.7 (a).

  As is apparent from FIG. 6, the front lens holding frame 15a and the mirror holding frame 16a (not visible in FIG. 6) shown in FIGS. At the same time, the rotation holding portion 18a supports the transmission lever 17a about the shaft 17b.

  Further, since the permanent magnet 15c (not shown in FIG. 6) and the yoke 15d to which the permanent magnet 15c is attracted are attached to the rotation holding portion 18a, the flat coil 15b attached to the front lens holding frame 15a. The front lens holding frame 15a can be rotated around the shaft 14d due to the relationship between the

  A panning actuator 19 is provided at the bottom of the lens barrel 18. The panning actuator 19 has a base 19b held by a housing 19a, and a flat coil 19c is provided on the coil base 19b.

  FIGS. 8A and 8B are configuration diagrams of the panning actuator. FIG. 8A is a coil arrangement diagram when the coil base 19b is viewed from the upper surface, and FIG. 8B is a magnetization arrangement diagram thereof. is there. On the coil base 19b, four flat coils 19c are arranged along the circumference. A permanent magnet 19d is provided facing the flat coil 19c, and the permanent magnet 19d is magnetized as shown in FIG.

  Reference numerals 19e and 19f denote yokes for efficiently using the magnetic flux of the permanent magnet 19d. The yokes 19e and 19f form a closed magnetic path for the permanent magnet 19d, and the flat coil 19b is formed in the magnetic path. Will be placed. The shaft 19g is rotatably supported by bearings 19h and 19i of the housing and the coil base, and is fixed to the yokes 19e and 19f. Therefore, the yokes 19e and 19f and the permanent magnet 19d are rotatable around the shaft 19g with respect to the housing 19a.

  Here, when a current is passed through the flat coil 19c, it is driven to rotate about the axis 19g due to the relationship between the drive generation region 19c1 in which the coils are arranged radially of the flat coil 19c in FIG. 8A and the magnetization direction of the permanent magnet. Force is generated. However, in this state, the magnetization direction opposite to the drive generation region 19c changes as the permanent magnet 19d rotates, and eventually the rotation stops.

  As shown in FIG. 8A, the coil base 19b is provided with a magnetic detection element 19j such as a Hall element. When the shaft detection element 19j detects the rotation of the permanent magnet 19d, the flat coil 19c is also detected. Reverse the direction of the current flowing through As a result, the yokes 19e and 19f continue to rotate.

  In the panning actuator 19 having such a configuration, since the housing 19a is fixed to the video camera body 11 (not shown) and the yoke 19e is fixed to the lens barrel 18, a current is passed through the flat coil 19c to cause a mirror. The cylinder 18 performs panning drive.

  In the sectional view of FIG. 7A, the cemented lens group 14j in the first group is held by the first group barrel 18b. Similarly, the second group is held by the second group barrel 18c, the third group is held by the third group barrel 18d, and the fourth group is held by the fourth group barrel 18e. The low-pass filter 14o is attached to the filter frame 18f, and is fixed to the image sensor 14i to prevent the intrusion of dust by sealing the image sensor 14i.

  The image pickup device 14i is attached to the image pickup base 113, and the image pickup base 113 is supported by the correction actuator 114 having the same configuration as the panning actuator 19 so as to be rotatable around the main optical axis 14a in the lens barrel 18.

  Here, the correction actuator 114 is provided for the purpose of correcting the tilt of the screen, and detects the tilt of the video camera body (tilt with respect to the vertical direction) by the attitude sensor 120 described later, and operates based on the output. To correct screen tilt.

  The panning actuator 19 is provided for automatic panning, which is an object of the present invention. The panning actuator 19 detects a camera shake by a vibration detecting means such as an angular velocity sensor provided in the video camera body 11, and operates based on the output. This also reduces image quality degradation due to the effects of camera shake in the panning direction.

  Although the third group lens barrel 18d is fixed to the lens barrel 18, the second group lens barrel 18c and the fourth group lens barrel 18e are slidably supported on the guide shaft 110a. The guide shaft 110a is supported in the lens barrel 18 as shown in the figure, and the second group lens barrel 18c and the fourth group lens barrel 18e are arranged around the guide shaft 110a by a detent shaft 110b supported by the lens barrel 18. Rotation is regulated.

  The second group lens barrel 18c is engaged with the lead screw 111b, and moves for zooming along the main optical axis 14a as the lead screw 111b is rotated by the zoom actuator 111a. The zoom actuator 111a is, for example, a step motor or the like, and can precisely move and stop the second group lens barrel 18c to an arbitrary position by controlling an input drive pulse.

  The fourth group barrel 18e has a U-shaped yoke 112c (actually an annular shape) and a permanent magnet 112b adsorbed therein, and is formed by the yoke 112c and the permanent magnet 112b. A voice coil 112a is disposed in the magnetic path. The voice coil 112a is attached to the fixed third group lens barrel 18d, and the fourth group lens barrel 18e drives for focusing along the main optical axis 14a by passing a current through the voice coil 112a.

  Here, a magnetic detection element 112d such as a Hall element is provided in the third group barrel 18d, and the magnetism of the permanent magnet 112b provided in the fourth group barrel 18e is detected to detect the magnetism of the fourth group barrel 18e. The position is monitored. Then, the output of the magnetic detection element 112d is negatively fed back and given to the voice coil 112d, thereby controlling the drive of the fourth group barrel 18e.

<Appearance of video camera body>
FIG. 9 is an external view of the video camera body 11 having the bending optical system 14 described above. The bent optical part formed by the front lens 14f and the mirror 14c (not shown in FIG. 9) is protected by a transparent protective part 115, and the middle barrel 18 of the protective part 115 is panned around the main optical axis 14a. While performing the operation, the front ball 14f and the mirror 14c perform a tilting operation.

  When panning, the panning switches 116a and 116a are operated. These switches 116a and 116b also detect the operating force. For example, when the switch 116a is pressed weakly, the shooting direction slowly changes clockwise, and when the switch 116a is pressed hard, it changes clockwise. Similarly, when the switch 116b is pressed weakly, the shooting direction slowly changes counterclockwise, and when the switch 116b is pressed strongly, it changes counterclockwise at high speed.

  The same applies to the tilting switches 117a and 117b. When the switch 117a is pressed weakly, the shooting direction slowly changes upward, and when the switch 117a is pressed hard, the shooting direction changes rapidly. When the switch 117b is pressed weakly, the shooting direction slowly changes to the lower method, and when pressed strongly, the shooting method changes to the lower method at high speed.

  The greatest feature of the photographing apparatus of the present embodiment having such an appearance is that it can be stably held by panning, and the photographer holds the video camera body 11 in a certain direction and holds the panning switch 116a, By operating 116b, extremely smooth panning and tilting photography can be performed without moving the video camera body 11.

  In addition, since the panning actuator 19 and the tilting actuator 15f correct the camera shake when the hand is held, a stable screen can be obtained.

<Electrical system configuration according to the first embodiment>
FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing an electrical system configuration according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and elements not related to the present invention are omitted.

  The control microcomputer 118 controls the entire video camera body 11. The control microcomputer 118 receives signals from panning switches 116a and 116b and tilting switches 117a and 117b.

  Furthermore, the output of the pan gyro 118a, which is a vibration detection means composed of an angular velocity meter such as a vibration gyro that detects a blur in the panning direction applied to the video camera body 11, and an angular velocity such as a vibration gyro that detects a blur in the tilting direction. The output of the tilt gyro 118b, which is a vibration detecting means constituted by a meter, is also input to the control microcomputer 118 after appropriately performing analog arithmetic processing such as amplification and DC cut.

  Further, the output of the attitude sensor 120 configured by an inclination sensor that determines how much the video camera body 11 is inclined with respect to the direction of gravity is also input to the control microcomputer 118.

  Then, the control microcomputer 118 instructs the pan driver 119a to control the panning actuator 19 based on information from the input panning switches 116a and 116b, tilting switches 117a and 117b, pan gyro 118a, tilt gyro 118b, and the like. Similarly, the tilt driver 119b is instructed to drive the tilting actuator 15f. Further, based on the signal from the attitude sensor 120, the correction driver 190c is instructed to drive the correction actuator 114.

  As described above, the control microcomputer 118 not only performs panning shooting and tilting shooting based on the signals of the panning switches 116a and 116b and the tilting switches 117a and 117b, but also controls the panning actuator 19 based on the signal of the pan gyro 118a. It is driven to perform blur correction in the panning direction, and the tilting actuator 15f is driven based on the signal of the tilt gyro 118b to correct the blur in the tilting direction. The panning gyro 118a and the tilting gyro 118b are corrected. The role is not only to detect blur but also to add new functions. This new function will be described below with reference to FIG.

<Panning operation of the first embodiment>
FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the panning operation according to the first embodiment.

  At the start of shooting, the video camera body 11 has the shooting optical axis directed in the direction of 14a1, and then the photographer turns the video camera body 11 and moves the shooting optical axis to 14a2 as the subject follows. After that, even if it is desired to return to the original shooting position, for example, when the background of the shooting is small and the telephoto shooting is performed, it is very difficult to return to the initial position while looking at the video.

  As such a shooting scene, for example, there is a shooting scene in which baseball is recorded and the composition is returned to the home base immediately after tracking the runners sprinting from the home base. In such scenes, in many cases, the telephoto shooting is performed, the observation angle of view is narrow, and the background is plain, so it is very difficult to return to the home base.

  As a method for solving this, after the first recording is finished, the angle of view is once widened (zoomed wide), the home position is confirmed, and after panning again, the angle of view is restored. However, such a method requires time and effort to change the angle of view every time, and the reproduced image becomes unsightly.

  Therefore, in FIG. 11, when the photographer has performed the first panning (until chasing), the panning actuator 19 changes the shooting direction to the initial position (shooting) when a request is made to return it to the initial position. The optical axis 14a1) is restored.

  More specifically, the panning direction and the amount are measured by the pan gyro 118a and the tilt gyro 118b at the time of manual panning 121a of the photographer, and when the initial position is returned, the photographing optical axis is the same amount in the opposite direction. The panning actuator 19 is driven to return. Therefore, the shooting direction can be accurately and quickly returned to the initial position even under shooting conditions where the shooting angle of view is narrow (because of telephoto) and the initial position cannot be confirmed.

  FIG. 12 is a timing chart of the panning detection and panning return operation according to the first embodiment, and shows the state of each signal during the operation. The horizontal axis is the elapsed time, but the vertical axis is different for each item and will be described for each item.

  First, as for the gyro angular velocity, the vertical axis is the angular velocity, and the waveform 122 shows a state where the acceleration is accelerated at the start of manual panning, and then is decelerated along with the end of panning after reaching a constant speed.

  The next calculation angle is an integral value (pan angle) of the angular velocity, and the vertical axis is an angle. When the waveform 122 is integrated, the angle gradually changes as in the waveform 123, and finally the angle falls within a certain angle.

  The pan angle storage signal 124 is generated when the gyro angular velocity increases (accelerates) and then decelerates to become a predetermined value or less. When the pan storage signal 124 is generated, the value of the calculation angle 123 at that time is generated. Is remembered.

  In general, the signal of an angular velocity meter such as a gyro is subjected to DC cut for the purpose of facilitating panning or stabilizing the signal. Therefore, the waveform 123 decreases again with the subsequent elapsed time and becomes zero. Therefore, until the initial position return signal 125 is generated, the pan storage signal 124 is generated in order to hold the calculation angle obtained from the waveform 123, and the calculation angle is stored.

  When the initial position return signal is generated by the photographer's operation, the panning actuator 19 is operated with a signal corresponding to the stored calculation angle, thereby returning the photographing optical axis (waveform 126, vertical axis is the panning angle). When the photographing optical axis is returned by the stored calculation angle, a signal 127 for resetting the gyro calculation signal is output to reset the calculation value. This is to prevent a discrepancy from the calculated value of the gyro that has been calculated so far, since only the photographing optical axis has changed although the video camera body 11 is not actually moving.

  Actually, when the panning gyro 118a and the tilt gyro 118b perform the same processing and store the calculation angle for each direction, the photographing optical axis change such as the combination of panning and tilting is performed. In this case, the return to the initial position can be performed stably.

  The above operation will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the panning return operation according to the first embodiment, and this flow starts when the video camera body 11 is turned on.

  In step S101, the process waits until the start of panning, and proceeds to step S102 when the panning starts. Note that the start of panning is detected by the gyro, and it is determined that panning is started when the gyro angular velocity is equal to or higher than a predetermined value and the integrated value (angle) reaches a predetermined value.

  In step S102, the process waits until the panning is finished. When the panning is finished, the process proceeds to step S103. The end of panning is detected when the angular velocity of the gyro falls below a predetermined value.

  In step S103, a pan angle storage signal is generated, and the panning angle (integral value of angular velocity) is stored in the control microcomputer 118. In subsequent step S104, it is determined whether or not an initial position return operation has been performed. If the operation has been performed, the process proceeds to step S105, and if not, the process proceeds to step S108.

  In step S105, in response to the initial position return operation, the panning actuator 19 and the tilting actuator 15f are driven to start the return. In the next step S106, the process waits until the return is completed, and proceeds to step S107 when the return is completed. In step S107, the gyro calculation is reset and the process returns to step S101.

  On the other hand, if the initial position return operation has not been performed in step S104, the process proceeds to step S108. In step S108, it is determined whether or not panning has been started. If further panning has been started, the process returns to step S102 to wait until the end of panning, and if panning has not been started. It circulates through step S104 and waits until the initial position return operation.

  When further panning is started, when the panning angle is stored in step S103, the accumulated panning angle with respect to the previous stored value is stored.

  By adopting such a configuration, the initial position can be reliably returned at high speed.

<Panning correction>
Next, the reason why the attitude sensor 120 is provided in FIG. 10 will be described.

  When the user holds the video camera body 11 and shoots by hand, there may be cases where the video camera body 11 is not noticed even if it is slightly tilted with respect to the vertical direction. However, such a tilt is very worrisome when reproduced on a large monitor. With the downsizing of the video camera body 11, there is an increase in the number of shootings that do not notice the tilt as described above, which is a problem. At the same time, the correction actuator 114 is driven for correction around the main optical axis 14a to correct the inclination. Therefore, stable shooting can always be performed and a good reproduction screen can be obtained.

  Further, when the video camera body 11 is tilted with respect to the vertical direction, the following problem also appears.

  FIGS. 14A and 14B are explanatory diagrams for explaining normal panning. That is, when the panning photographing (automatic panning in which the panning actuator 19 is driven) of the present embodiment is performed in a state where the video camera body 11 is along the vertical direction, the photographing frame is extracted and represented. In the example shown in FIG. 14A, the frames 128a to 128d can be panned in the horizontal direction with respect to the background 142.

  However, for example, when panning shooting is performed with the video camera body 11 held slightly tilted from the vertical direction, as shown in FIG. 14 (b), the shooting frame shifts from the horizontal as panning, and the frame 129d. Then, it has shifted | deviated with respect to the background 142 largely.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, the screen is corrected even when panning shooting is performed in a state tilted with respect to the vertical direction. Since the attitude sensor 120 can detect how much the video camera body 11 is inclined with respect to the vertical direction, it can calculate how much each frame deviates from the horizontal according to the panning angle. Therefore, the tilting actuator 15f is corrected and driven according to the calculation result to correct the screen shift. Further, the tilt of the screen is corrected by driving the image sensor 18f around the main optical axis 14a by the correction actuator 114.

  14B, the frames 129a to 129d are moved in the directions of arrows 141b, 141c, and 141d using the tilting actuator 15f, and are rotationally corrected in the directions of arrows 130a to 130d using the correction actuator 114. Therefore, the same panning photographing as that in FIG. 14A can be performed like a screen indicated by a broken line.

  FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing a panning correction operation according to the first embodiment. This flow starts as soon as the video camera body 11 is turned on.

  First, in step S111, the process waits until the panning switches 116a and 116b are operated. In the next step S112, the control microcomputer 118 reads the signal from the attitude sensor 120 and determines how much it is inclined with respect to the vertical direction.

  In step S113, it is determined whether or not correction of the screen is necessary for the obtained tilt angle. If correction is necessary, the process proceeds to step S114, and if not, the process proceeds to step S116.

  In step S114, it is calculated how much the screen should be tilted (arrows 141b to 141d) and rolled (arrows 130a to 130d) for each panning frame with respect to the obtained inclination. Further, in step S115, panning drive, tilting drive, and rolling drive are performed on the imaging barrel 18 based on the calculation result.

  In step S117, the process waits until the panning switches 116a and 116b are turned off. That is, during this time, panning drive, tilting drive, and rolling drive are performed on the imaging barrel 18. When the panning switches 116a and 116b are turned off in step S117, the process proceeds to step S118.

  In step S118, panning shooting and its correction (tilting and rolling) are stopped. If it is not necessary to correct the screen with respect to the tilt angle obtained in step S113, the process proceeds to step S116. In step S116, normal panning photographing (photographing using only the panning actuator 19) is started, and the process proceeds to step S117.

  In this way, even when the video camera body 11 is tilted and held, panning shooting is performed to correct it, so that a stable screen can always be obtained.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, it is possible to prevent the photographing barrel 12 from protruding from the video camera body 11 even when panning is performed by using a bending optical system and aligning the photographing optical axis and the panning rotation axis. Focusing on tilting, the photographic lens barrel is downsized by cooperatively driving the reflecting surface for bending the optical axis and the photographic lens.

  More specifically, the photographing optical system includes a plurality of lenses (front lens 14f, bonded lens 14j, second group lens 14k, third group lens 14l, fourth group lens 14m) and a mirror 14c disposed therebetween. In a photographing apparatus having a system (bending optical system 14), a predetermined lens (front lens 14f) or a predetermined lens group (up to now, a single lens like the front lens 14f has been described among a plurality of lenses. (A plurality of lenses may be provided on the object side of the mirror) and the shooting direction is changed by rotating the mirror twice, and the interlocking mechanism interlocks the predetermined lens or the predetermined lens group with the mirror double rotation. (FIG. 5B, transmission lever 17a) is provided.

  The interlocking mechanism is configured to decelerate a member having a large movable amount (front lens holding frame 15a) out of the mirror and a predetermined lens or a predetermined lens group and to transmit the member to a member having a small movable amount (mirror holding frame 16a). For example, the driving of the predetermined lens or the predetermined lens group is decelerated in half and used for rotating the mirror.

  As a result, a small and high-performance tilting lens barrel was realized without increasing the size during panning.

  In addition, the photographing optical system (bending optical system 14) and the photographing optical system are scanned in first (panning direction) and second (tilting direction) directions having different planes orthogonal to the optical axis (object optical axis 14b). First (panning actuator 19) and second (tilting actuator 15f) scanning means, third (correction actuator 114) scanning means for rotating the imaging surface about the optical axis, and the optical axis of the imaging optical system And a posture control means 120 for detecting the attitude of the first and second driving means for cooperatively operating the first, second, and third scanning means based on the attitude detection means signal, thereby realizing stable panning.

  Also, trajectory recording means (pan gyro 118a, tilt gyro 118b) for recording the trajectory in the shooting direction, shooting direction changing means (panning actuator 19, tilting actuator 15f) for changing the shooting direction by scanning the optical system, A shooting direction returning means (control microcomputer 118) for returning the shooting direction to the initial position by driving and controlling the shooting direction changing means based on the signal of the locus recording means, and the shooting direction indicating the locus information recorded in the locus recording means. By providing an information reset means (control microcomputer 118) that resets in response to the operation of returning to the initial position in the imaging apparatus, it was possible to prevent panning imaging failure.

  In addition, a main optical unit composed of a plurality of lenses (bonding lens 14j, second group lens 14k, third group lens 14l, fourth group lens 14m) arranged along the photographing optical axis, and the photographing optical axis In an imaging device having an optical system composed of a bending optical part (front lens 14f, mirror 14c) having a reflecting surface that bends and an imaging part (imaging element 14i) on which a light beam from the main optical part forms an image, A first rotating means (panning actuator 19) for integrally rotating the main optical section and the bending optical section about the photographing optical axis, and a second rotating means for rotating the imaging section about the photographing optical axis ( The correction actuator 114) and the drive control means (control microcomputer 118) for controlling the drive in conjunction with the first and second rotating means are provided in the photographing apparatus, thereby reliably correcting panning and blurring. , Shadow optical axis of the tilt correction was also able to perform stable panning shot performed.

[Second Embodiment]
The second embodiment is different from the first embodiment only in the tilting drive interlocking mechanism and the panning drive interlocking mechanism.

<Tilting drive interlock mechanism>
FIGS. 16A and 16B are mechanism diagrams of the tilting drive interlocking mechanism of the photographing apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. This tilting drive interlocking mechanism is a mechanism for interlockingly driving the mirror 14c and the front lens 14f. FIG. 4 (a) is a side view seen from the direction of the bending optical system shown in FIG. 2, and FIG. It is the top view.

  16 (a) and 16 (b), the front lens holding frame 15a that holds the front lens 14f is pivotally supported by a shaft 14d, and the front lens retaining frame 15a is rotated around the shaft 14d in the direction of the arrow 14e along with the front lens 14f. It can be rotated.

  A front ball holding frame pulley 15g is fixed to one side surface of the front ball holding frame 15a and is connected to the motor pulley 21 directly connected to the motor 24 and the front ball holding frame belt 23 on a one-to-one basis. Therefore, the front lens holding frame 15a is rotated by an angle equal to the rotation angle of the motor.

  The mirror 14c is attached to the attachment portion 16c of the mirror holding frame 16a, is supported by a shaft 14d like the front lens holding frame 15a, and can be rotated together with the mirror 14c in the direction of the arrow 14e around the shaft 14d. A mirror holding frame pulley 16d is fixed to one side surface of the mirror holding frame 16a, and is connected to the motor pulley 21 directly connected to the motor 24 and the mirror holding frame belt 22 in a one-to-two manner. Therefore, the mirror holding frame 16a is rotated by an angle that is half the rotation angle of the motor. That is, the radius of the mirror holding frame pulley 16d is set to be twice the radius of the front lens holding frame pulley 15g.

  As described above, when the rotation angle of the mirror 14c is θ, the angle change of the object optical axis 14b due to the reflection is 2θ. Therefore, in order to align the position of the front lens 14f with the object optical axis, the front lens is rotated 2θ times. Since it is necessary to move, the amount of rotation of the mirror 14c and the front ball 14f is adjusted by the radius ratio.

  The motor 24 is driven in accordance with instructions from the control microcomputer 118, and tilting and camera shake correction are performed based on outputs from the tilting switches 116a and 116b and the tilt gyro 118b.

<Panning drive interlock mechanism>
FIG. 17 is a mechanism diagram of the panning drive interlocking mechanism according to the second embodiment. This panning drive interlocking mechanism is a mechanism for driving the lens barrel 18 in which the bending optical system 14 is contained, and the mechanism inside the lens barrel 18 is the same as the structure shown in FIG.

  Here, the lens barrel 18 of the present embodiment is different from the lens barrel 18 of FIG. 7A in that the lens barrel 18 is fixed and does not rotate during panning photography. Therefore, the panning actuator 19 is abolished.

  The lens barrel 18 is separated by a main optical part constituted by the bonded lens group 14j and the following, and a bending optical part constituted by the mirror 14c and the front lens 14f. The lens barrel 18 is supported so as to be rotatable around the main optical axis 14a. Since the pinion 27 of the panning motor 26 provided in the lens barrel 18 meshes with the internal gear 25a of the bending lens barrel 25, the bending lens barrel 25 and the mirror holding portion 16a inside thereof are rotated as the panning motor 26 rotates. The front lens holder 15a rotates.

  However, when only the bending optical unit is rotated, the image is only rotated around the main optical axis 14a with respect to the image sensor 14i. Therefore, the correction actuator 114 is synchronized with the rotation of the bending optical unit by the same amount. Rotate 14i. That is, panning is performed by simultaneously rotating the bending optical unit and the image sensor 14i. The advantage of this method is that it is not necessary to rotate the heavy lens barrel, and panning photography with faster response can be performed.

  With regard to camera shake correction as well, the effect is improved by simultaneously driving the bending optical unit and the image sensor 14i based on the signal of the pan gyro 118a, and only by the amount that the lens barrel is not rotated as compared with the first embodiment. High response image stabilization. For this reason, it has become possible to sufficiently compensate for high-frequency blur such as shooting on a car.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, a predetermined lens (front lens 14f) or a predetermined lens group among a plurality of lenses is configured to rotate the mirror to change the shooting direction. Interlocking mechanism that interlocks the lens group with the double rotation of the mirror (FIG. 16B, front lens holding frame pulley 15g, front lens holding frame belt 23, mirror holding frame pulley 16, mirror holding frame belt 22, motor pulley 21, motor 24). As a result, it is possible to prevent the photographic lens barrel 12 from protruding from the video camera main body 11 even when panning, and it is possible to reduce the size of the photographic lens barrel with respect to tilting.

  In addition, a main optical unit composed of a plurality of lenses (bonding lens 14j, second group lens 14k, third group lens 14l, fourth group lens 14m) arranged along the photographing optical axis, and the photographing optical axis Device having an optical system composed of a bending optical part (constituted by the front lens 14f and mirror 14c) having a reflecting surface that bends the light and an imaging part (imaging element 14i) on which a light beam from the main optical part forms an image , A third rotating means (panning motor 26) for rotating the bending optical part relative to the main optical part around the photographing optical axis, and a fourth rotating means for rotating the imaging part around the photographing optical axis. Stable panning imaging can be performed by providing a rotation unit (correction actuator 114) and a drive control unit (control microcomputer 118) for driving and controlling the third and fourth rotation units in conjunction with each other. If you can Miniaturization of the imaging apparatus, we were possible to achieve high-speed response.

[Third Embodiment]
The third embodiment differs from the first embodiment described above only in the tilting drive interlocking mechanism and the electrical system configuration.

<Tilting drive interlock mechanism>
18A, 18B, and 18C are mechanism diagrams showing the tilting drive interlocking mechanism according to the third embodiment. This tilting drive interlocking mechanism is a mechanism for interlockingly driving the mirror 14c and the front lens 14f. FIG. 18 (a) is a side view seen from the direction of the bending optical system shown in FIG. 2, and FIG. 18 (b). Is a top view and FIG. 18 (c) is a partial detail view.

  18 (a) and 18 (b) is different from the mechanism of FIGS. 5 (a) and 5 (b) in that the transmission lever 17a which is a mechanism for interlocking the front lens holding frame 15a and the mirror holding frame 16a is eliminated. Instead, a dedicated actuator is also provided on the mirror holding frame 16a.

  A flat coil 16e is fixed to one side surface of the mirror holding frame 16a (hidden by the front lens holding frame 15a in FIG. 18B and illustrated by a dotted line), and is opposed to the flat coil 16a. The permanent magnet 16f is provided.

  FIG. 18C is a front view of the tilting actuator according to the third embodiment, as viewed from the direction of the arrow 32 in FIG. The flat coil 16e provided on the mirror holding frame 16a is sandwiched between the yoke 15d and the permanent magnet 15c together with the flat coil 15b provided on the front lens holding frame 15a. The magnetization direction of the permanent magnet 15c is the direction indicated by N and S in FIG. 18C, and forms a closed magnetic path together with the yoke 15d.

  Since the flat coils 15b and 16e are both disposed in the magnetic path, a driving force can be generated independently by passing a current through each coil. That is, two actuators can be moved by one magnetic circuit, which contributes to downsizing.

  Here, an actuator composed of the flat coil 15b, the permanent magnet 15c and the yoke 15d is referred to as a front lens holding frame tilting actuator 15f, and an actuator composed of the flat coil 16e, the permanent magnet 15c and the yoke 15d is referred to as a mirror holding frame chill. It is distinguished by being referred to as a ting actuator 16g.

  The front lens holding frame tilting actuator 15f and the mirror holding frame tilting actuator 16g are subjected to position feedback control by a position detection sensor (not shown) provided for each of them (for example, attached to the yoke 15d). It can be precisely controlled and responsive.

<Electrical system configuration according to the third embodiment>
FIG. 19 is a block diagram showing an electrical system configuration according to the third embodiment.

  The electrical system configuration of the present embodiment is different from that shown in FIG. 10 in that the tilt driver is divided into a front lens tilt driver 33 and a mirror tilt driver 34, and each is controlled by the control microcomputer 118. It is.

  Here, the front lens tilt driver 33 controls driving of the front lens holding frame tilting actuator 15f, and the mirror tilt driver 34 controls driving of the mirror holding frame tilting actuator 16g.

  The control microcomputer 118 synchronously drives the front ball holding frame tilting actuator 15f and the mirror holding frame tilting actuator 16g in the same direction. The tilting actuator 16g drives and controls the front lens tilt driver 33 and the mirror tilt driver 34 so as to drive only a half angle. This is for maintaining a good optical relationship between the front lens 14f and the mirror 14c as described in the first embodiment.

  When the tilt switches 117a and 117b are operated, not only the above operation is performed, but also when the camera shake correction is performed based on the signal of the tilt gyro 118b, the front lens holding frame tilting actuator 15f is similarly held by the mirror. The frame tilting actuator 16g is driven by a half angle to perform highly accurate blur correction driving.

  Thus, by providing a dedicated actuator for the tilting drive of the front lens 14f and the mirror 14c, a mechanism for interlocking them becomes unnecessary, and the tilting drive accuracy and responsiveness deteriorate due to the influence of friction. And the positional adjustment of the relationship between the two can be performed electrically.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, a predetermined lens (front lens 14f) or a predetermined lens group among a plurality of lenses is configured to rotate the mirror to change the shooting direction. The driving means (front lens holding frame tilting actuator 15f, mirror holding frame tilting actuator 16g) provided in each of the lens group and the mirror and the driving means provided in each of the driving means are linked to a predetermined lens or a predetermined lens group. Drive control means (control microcomputer 118) for rotating the mirror twice is provided. As a result, it is possible to prevent the photographic lens barrel 12 from protruding from the video camera main body 11 even when panning, and it is possible to reduce the size of the photographic lens barrel with respect to tilting.

[Fourth Embodiment]
In the fourth embodiment, an entire photographing lens barrel having a bending optical system that folds subject light and forms an image on an image pickup device is configured to be rotatable about two rotation axes. A panning operation and a tilting operation are performed.

<Structure of photographing apparatus according to fourth embodiment>
20 (a) and 20 (b) are views showing the structure of a photographing apparatus according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 20 (a) is a perspective view showing the front side appearance in a normal photographing mode. FIG. 2B is a perspective view showing the internal structure of the barrel unit.

  As shown in FIG. 20A, the video camera according to the present embodiment includes a cylindrical photographing lens barrel 602 that is rotated about a rotation axis P1 by a motor (not shown) as indicated by an arrow R in the figure. A holder 602a for supporting a part of the photographing lens barrel 602 so as to be rotatable around the axis of the tube, and a video camera main body 601 are provided.

  Furthermore, the holder 602a is pivotally supported with respect to one side surface of the video camera body 601 so as to be rotatable about a rotation axis P2 in a direction perpendicular to the rotation axis P1. The entire lens barrel unit including the holder 602a that supports this is rotatable in the surface direction of one side surface of the video camera main body 601, that is, around the axis perpendicular to the rotation axis P1.

  The rotation of the imaging barrel 602 around the rotation axis P1 is responsible for the panning operation of the video camera of the present embodiment, and the rotation around the rotation axis P2 is responsible for the tilting operation. .

  In addition, on the upper side of the video camera main body 601, a U-shaped sliding barrier 603 is attached. This barrier 603 is supported so as to be slidable in the longitudinal direction (left-right direction) of the video camera body. In the state shown in FIG. 20A, the main switch (not shown) is turned on and the camera is in a mode capable of photographing. From the opening 603a on the upper surface of the barrier 603, a release shutter button 601a used for still image shooting is exposed. When the barrier 603 is slid from the state of FIG. 20A to the photographing lens barrel 602 side, the main switch is turned off and the power of the camera is cut off, and at the same time, the openings 602b and 602c of the photographing lens barrel 602 are covered. In addition, fingerprints and dust are less likely to adhere to the lens in the imaging barrel 602.

  A large liquid crystal panel (601b in FIG. 21B) is installed on the back side of the video camera main body 601, and is configured to monitor an object scene image from the entrance window 602b of the imaging barrel 602. ing. The liquid crystal panel 601b is configured so that the lens barrel unit and the video camera main body 601 can be rotated with respect to each other with respect to the rotation axis P2. Although not shown, an operation switch such as a function switch for setting various modes such as a remote control mode is provided on the surface of the video camera body 601.

  As shown in FIG. 20B, the lens barrel unit has a structure in which a photographing lens barrel 602 is rotatably supported in a holder 602a. In the imaging lens barrel 602, an objective lens (front lens) 602i, a reflecting prism 602f, a known variable magnification optical system 602d, and a CCD 602h as an imaging unit are sequentially arranged along the imaging optical axis. The reflecting prism 602f is disposed in the vicinity of the opening 602b for capturing the subject light beam at the tip of the photographing lens barrel 602, and the photographing lens barrel 602 passes through the opening 602b and the front lens 602i by the reflecting prism 602f. A bending optical system that bends the photographing optical axis by approximately 90 degrees is formed.

  Further, a flexible printed circuit board 2e is connected to the CCD 602h. The flexible printed circuit board 2e is provided with wiring for performing aperture driving, focus driving, and zoom driving by a known method, and the wiring is connected to a mounting portion in the video camera main body 601, and the imaging lens barrel 602 is 360 degrees left and right. Even if it rotates in the direction, it is configured so that the power supply and signal lines are not disconnected.

  Further, the photographing lens barrel 602 is provided with a strobe 602g facing the direction of incident light, and the opening 602c serves as a window for irradiating light emitted from the strobe 602g toward the subject.

  In this way, the photographing optical axis is bent at approximately 90 degrees at the tip of the photographing lens barrel 602 and rotated around the tube axis (rotation axis P1), so that a large space is not required. The lens barrel 602 can be rotated at a large angle.

  With the above configuration, not only a normal shooting mode in which a user holds a subject as shown in FIG. 20A but also, for example, FIGS. 21A, 21B, and 22A. ), (B) as shown in FIG.

  FIGS. 21A and 21B are perspective views showing the appearance of another photographing mode of the photographing apparatus according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 21A shows the appearance of the horizontal photographing mode. This is a photographing mode when photographing in the horizontal direction while looking at the liquid crystal panel 601b. FIG. 6B shows a rear-view shooting mode, for example, when shooting a user who is looking at the liquid crystal panel 601b. It should be noted that in the shooting mode in which the image is taken while looking at the liquid crystal panel 601b as shown in FIGS. 21A and 21B, the liquid crystal panel 601b can be tilted in the vertical direction.

  FIGS. 22A and 22B are perspective views showing the external appearance of another photographing mode of the photographing apparatus according to the present embodiment. FIG. 22A shows the tilting photographing mode, and the rotation. This is a photographing mode in which the entire barrel unit is rotated about the axis P2 to perform photographing in the vertical direction. FIG. 6B shows a photographing mode suitable for remote control. The photographing barrel 602 in this photographing mode can photograph a field of almost 360 degrees in the left-right direction.

<Configuration of circuit block>
FIG. 23 is a block diagram showing a circuit block of the photographing apparatus according to the present embodiment.

  The video camera according to the present embodiment includes a microcomputer 711, a communication unit 712, and an image generation unit 713 that control the sequence of the entire camera. The communication unit 712 includes an infrared receiving device and is configured to receive infrared communication from the camera remote controller 723. Here, the camera remote controller 723 is provided with various operation switches such as a panning switch used during a panning operation and a tilting switch used during a tilting operation.

  The image generation unit 713 converts the image pickup signal from the CCD 602h into a video signal, and outputs the video signal to the monitor system 714 (the monitor screen is the liquid crystal panel 601b described above), a memory 715 including a recording medium, and the like. . In addition, an IPV6 chipset 720 that transmits and receives IPV6 (Internet Protocol version 6) is connected to the communication unit 712 as an adapter, for example. This IPV6 chipset 720 is provided with an IP address that enables wireless connection to a known mobile phone site 721 on the Internet so that an image being captured by the video camera according to the present embodiment can be sent. It is configured. The photographer can connect to the mobile phone site 721 by using the mobile phone 722 that he / she owns, and can receive information including images from the mobile phone in real time to operate the video camera. ing.

  A first control unit 718, a left / right rotation stepping motor 718 a, a vertical rotation stepping motor 718 b, a position detection sensor unit 718 c, a strobe unit 716, and a second control unit 717 are provided in the unit portion 719 in the imaging lens barrel 602. Has been. The first control unit 718 controls the driving of the stepping motors 718a and 718b in accordance with the command of the microcomputer 711 during the panning operation and the tilting operation, and detects the rotational position of the stepping motors 718a and 718b by the position detection sensor unit 18C. The amount of rotation of the cylinder 602 in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction is controlled. The second control unit 717 is a unit that controls exposure, focus, and zoom of the imaging barrel 602.

  The strobe unit 716 includes a strobe 602g and its control circuit. As described above, since the flash unit 716 is provided in the photographing lens barrel 602, the flash 602g is always directed to an efficient illumination direction when flash photography is automatically performed under the condition that the subject is dark. It has a structure.

<Panning operation and tilting operation>
FIG. 24 is a flowchart showing a panning operation and a tilting operation of the photographing apparatus according to the present embodiment.

  For example, in a situation such as a home party, when the photographer slides the barrier 603 of the video camera of the present embodiment to expose the photographing lens barrel 602, the main switch is turned on in step S101. Subsequently, in step S102, when the photographer sets a function switch provided in the video camera main body 601 to the remote control mode, in step S103, the remote control shooting standby state in which shooting is performed using the remote control 723 is set.

  In this remote control photographing standby state, for example, a photographer places a video camera on a table in a rear-photographing manner as shown in FIG. 21B, and moves to the subject side with a camera remote control 723. At this time, the video camera is in an input waiting state for a remote control signal that is an instruction signal transmitted from the remote control 723 (step S104).

  When the photographer presses the panning switch or tilting switch of the remote controller 723 while looking at the monitor 601b to bring the photographing composition to an appropriate position, the video camera accepts the remote control signal in step S104 and proceeds to step S105. Then, it is determined whether or not a shooting signal is received. If it is determined in step S105 that the photographing signal has not yet arrived, the process proceeds to step S107, where the panning switch is first pressed to perform the left / right rotation of the photographing barrel 602, and a remote control signal for the left / right rotation instruction is input. It is judged whether it was done.

  If a left / right rotation instruction remote control signal is input, the process proceeds to step S112, where it is determined whether the remote control signal is a left rotation instruction, and if it is a left rotation instruction, the process proceeds to step S113; As it is, the process proceeds to step S114, and the left / right rotation stepping motor 718a is rotated left or right by the specified number of steps. As a result, when the camera is rotated counterclockwise, the photographing lens barrel 602 turns to the left by a specified amount, and when it rotates right, the camera barrel 602 turns to the right by a specified amount. When this is finished, the process returns to step S104 again to determine the presence or absence of a remote control signal.

  If the button pressed by the photographer is a tilting switch to rotate the photographing lens barrel 602 up and down (step S108), the process proceeds to step S109 to determine whether or not the input remote control signal is an upward rotation instruction. to decide. If it is an upward rotation instruction, the process proceeds to step S110, and the vertical rotation stepping motor 718b is rotated forward by a specified number of steps. As a result, the imaging lens barrel 602 faces upward by a specified amount. If it is a downward rotation instruction, the process proceeds to step S111, and the vertical rotation stepping motor 718b is reversely rotated by the specified number of steps. As a result, the imaging lens barrel 602 faces downward by a specified amount. When this is completed, the process returns to step S104 again to determine whether or not the remote control signal is further.

  After repeating such an operation, if it is determined in step S105 that a shooting signal from the remote controller 723 has been received, the process proceeds to step S115, where it is determined whether or not the shooting signal is shooting of a moving image. If it is a moving image, the process proceeds to step S106 and video recording is performed. If it is not a moving image, the process proceeds to step S116 because it is a still image, and it is determined whether or not the strobe 602g can be used, which includes determining whether or not the subject is dark. If a strobe is not required, a still image is shot in step S118. If necessary, a strobe 602g is charged in step S117, and then a still image is shot in step S118. At this time, a flash trigger signal is output at an appropriate timing during shooting by a known system, and flash shooting is performed.

  After the recording of the moving image in step S106 or the shooting of the still image in step S118 is completed, the processing after step S107 is performed.

<Advantages of this embodiment>
(1) In the photographing apparatus of the present embodiment, even if it is an automated panning / tilting structure, the space necessary for the rotation of the photographing lens barrel 602 is a thin cylindrical space, and a conventional hemispherical shape Thus, it is possible to realize a compact form having portability that is convenient to carry.

  (2) Under a relatively short distance shooting situation, the direction and magnification of the field of view of the imaging barrel 602 can be freely controlled by the dedicated remote controller 723. For example, in a situation such as a home party, a photographer has a camera remote controller 723 dedicated to the video camera of the present embodiment, and places the camera in an appropriate place in a shooting mode as shown in FIG. The video camera issues a panning / tilting instruction from the remote controller 723 while looking at the liquid crystal panel 601b, so that the video camera causes the left / right rotation stepping motor 718a or the vertical rotation stepping motor 718b to act via the communication unit 712, thereby taking the photographing lens barrel 602. Can be panned in the left-right direction or tilted in the up-down direction as instructed. As a result, it is possible to easily set a free shooting composition or a shooting composition following the movement of the photographer himself, so that the photographer himself can enter the scene without being bothered by the shooting operation. It becomes possible to realize a video camera that is easy to use such as participating in.

  (3) Under long-distance shooting conditions, the shooting composition and magnification of the subject including the photographer can be easily changed while confirming the shooting composition of the video camera through the screen of the mobile phone 722. It is possible to construct a comfortable camera system that is not bothered by operation. Furthermore, the video camera of the present embodiment is set in a shooting mode as shown in FIG. 22B and placed at an appropriate place, and the user is away from the house through the screen of the mobile phone 722 or the screen of the personal computer. It can be used to observe the inside of the room freely.

  (4) It is also possible to recognize the main subject by subject recognition technology or the like and pan / tilt the photographing optical axis of the photographing barrel 602 so that the subject is always at a specific position on the photographing screen.

  (5) For example, as shown in FIGS. 21 (a) and 21 (b), the liquid crystal panel 601b can be used while being tilted in the vertical direction in the shooting mode in which shooting is performed while looking at the liquid crystal panel 601b. Since the back of the video camera main body 601 is the screen of the display panel 601b, the same function is realized with a simpler configuration than a display panel that is pivotally supported by two rotational axes like a conventional video camera. This can greatly contribute to downsizing and cost reduction of the camera.

  In each of the above embodiments, a video camera has been described as an example. However, since the photographing apparatus of the present invention can be downsized, the present invention is not limited to a video camera, and a digital still camera can capture moving images and still images. The present invention can also be applied to photography, surveillance cameras, web cameras, mobile phones, and the like.

  The present invention is not limited to the apparatus of the above-described embodiment, and may be applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices or an apparatus composed of one device. A storage medium storing software program codes for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or apparatus, and a computer (or CPU or MPU) of the system or apparatus reads and executes the program codes stored in the storage medium. Needless to say, it will be completed by doing.

  In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention. Examples of the storage medium for supplying the program code include a floppy (registered trademark) disk, a hard disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a CD-ROM, a CD-R, a magnetic tape, a nonvolatile memory card, and a nonvolatile memory. Can be used. Further, by executing the program code read out by the computer, not only the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized, but also the OS operating on the computer based on the instruction of the program code performs the actual processing. It goes without saying that a case where the functions of the above-described embodiment are realized by performing part or all of the processing, is also included.

  Furthermore, after the program code read from the storage medium is written to the memory provided in the function expansion board inserted in the computer or the function expansion unit connected to the computer, the program code is expanded based on the instruction of the next program code. It goes without saying that the functions of the above-described embodiments may be realized by performing some or all of the actual processing by the CPU or the like provided on the expansion board or the expansion unit.

1 is an overall schematic diagram illustrating a configuration of a photographing apparatus according to a first embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the bending optical system in FIG. It is a block diagram which shows another example of a bending | flexion optical system. It is explanatory drawing explaining the method of solving the trouble of FIG. It is a mechanism figure which shows the tilting drive interlocking mechanism in 1st Embodiment. It is a mechanism figure which shows a panning drive interlocking mechanism. It is mechanism sectional drawing which shows a panning drive interlocking mechanism. It is a block diagram of a panning actuator. 1 is an external view of a video camera body according to a first embodiment. 1 is a block diagram showing an electrical system configuration according to a first embodiment. It is explanatory drawing explaining the panning operation | movement which concerns on 1st Embodiment. 4 is a timing chart of panning detection and panning return operations according to the first embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the panning return operation | movement which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing explaining normal panning. It is a flowchart which shows the panning correction | amendment operation | movement which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a mechanism figure of the tilting drive interlocking mechanism which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a mechanism figure of the panning drive interlocking mechanism which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a mechanism figure which shows the tilting drive interlocking mechanism which concerns on 3rd Embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the electrical system configuration | structure which concerns on 3rd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structure of the imaging device which concerns on 4th Embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows the external appearance in the other imaging | photography aspect of the imaging device which concerns on 4th Embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows the external appearance in the other imaging | photography aspect of the imaging device which concerns on 4th Embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the circuit block of the imaging device which concerns on 4th Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the panning operation | movement and tilting operation | movement of the imaging device which concerns on 4th Embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows an example of the conventional consumer video camera.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Shooting lens 12,602 Shooting lens barrel 13 Finder 14 Bending optical system 14c Mirror 14f, 602i Front ball 14i, 602h Image sensor 15a Front ball holding frame 15f Tilting actuator 16a Mirror holding frame 17a Interlocking lever 19 Panning actuator 114 Correction actuator 120 Attitude sensor 601 Video camera body 601b Liquid crystal panel 602a Holder 602d Variable magnification optical system 602f Reflective prism P1 First rotation axis P2 Second rotation axis

Claims (29)

An imaging apparatus comprising a barrel unit having a bending optical system for bending a photographic optical axis and an imaging means for imaging a light beam incident through the bending optical system,
The lens barrel unit is configured to rotate with respect to a rotation axis.   The photographing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an illuminating unit that illuminates a direction of subject light incident on the lens barrel. An imaging apparatus having an imaging optical system composed of a plurality of lenses and a reflecting surface disposed therebetween,
A photographing apparatus, wherein a photographing direction is changed by moving a predetermined lens or a predetermined lens group among the plurality of lenses in conjunction with rotation of the reflecting surface.   The imaging apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the reflecting surface is a mirror.   5. The photographing apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising an interlocking mechanism that interlocks the predetermined lens or the predetermined lens group with the rotation of the reflecting surface at a predetermined ratio. Driving means provided on each of the predetermined lens or the predetermined lens group and the reflecting surface;
6. The photographing apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising: a drive control unit that controls driving of each of the driving units provided in conjunction with each other.   The photographing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the predetermined lens or the predetermined lens group is disposed on an object side of the reflection surface and is rotated twice as much as a reflection surface rotation amount.   6. The interlocking mechanism according to claim 5, wherein a member having a large movable amount of the reflecting surface and the predetermined lens or the predetermined lens group is decelerated and transmitted to a member having a small movable amount. Shooting device. An imaging optical system, first and second scanning means for scanning the imaging optical system in different first and second directions orthogonal to the optical axis, and detecting the attitude of the imaging optical system around the optical axis Posture detecting means for
An imaging apparatus comprising: drive control means for cooperatively operating the first and second scanning means based on the attitude detection signal of the attitude detection means. A third scanning unit that rotates the imaging surface around the optical axis;
The photographing apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising: a drive control unit that cooperatively operates the first, second, and third scanning units based on a posture detection signal of the posture detection unit. Trajectory recording means for recording the trajectory in the shooting direction;
Photographing direction changing means for scanning the optical system to change the photographing direction;
And a photographing direction returning means for driving the photographing direction changing means to return the photographing direction to the initial position based on the locus recording information recorded in the locus recording means. Shooting device.   12. The photographing apparatus according to claim 11, further comprising information resetting means for resetting the trajectory information recorded in the trajectory recording means in accordance with an operation of returning the photographing direction to the initial position. A main optical unit composed of a plurality of lenses arranged along the imaging optical axis, a bending optical unit having a reflecting surface that bends the imaging optical axis, and an imaging unit on which a light beam from the main optical unit forms an image; An imaging device having an optical system comprising:
First rotating means for integrally rotating the main optical unit and the bending optical unit around a photographing optical axis;
Second rotating means for rotating the imaging unit around a photographing optical axis;
An imaging apparatus comprising: drive control means for controlling drive of the first and second rotating means in conjunction with each other. A main optical unit composed of a plurality of lenses arranged along a photographing optical axis, a bending optical unit having a reflecting surface that bends the photographing optical axis, and an imaging unit on which a light beam from the main optical unit forms an image; An imaging device having an optical system configured,
A third rotating means for rotating the bending optical part relative to the main optical part around a photographing optical axis;
A fourth rotating means for rotating the imaging unit around a photographing optical axis;
An imaging apparatus comprising: drive control means for controlling driving of the third and fourth rotating means in conjunction with each other. A lens barrel that has a bending optical system that bends the photographing optical axis and forms an image of a light beam incident through the bending optical system;
A first rotation means for rotating the lens barrel with reference to a first rotation axis which is a cylinder axis;
Support means for rotatably supporting at least a part of the lens barrel;
And a second rotation means for rotating the lens barrel unit comprising the lens barrel and the support means with reference to a second rotation axis perpendicular to the first rotation axis. An imaging device as a feature.   16. The photographing apparatus according to claim 15, further comprising illumination means for illuminating the direction of subject light incident on the lens barrel. The lens barrel unit and the imaging device main body are configured to be rotatable with respect to each other with respect to the second rotation axis.
17. A display means for displaying a shootable region is provided on one surface of the photographing apparatus main body which is inclined according to the rotation of the photographing apparatus main body with respect to the second rotation axis. The imaging device described in 1.   18. The photographing apparatus according to claim 15, further comprising receiving means for receiving a command from the outside, and changing the direction of the photographing optical axis according to the received command.   The photographing apparatus according to any one of claims 15 to 18, wherein a usage pattern can be changed according to a photographing mode. In a control method of a photographing apparatus having a photographing optical system composed of a plurality of lenses and a reflecting surface arranged therebetween,
A method for controlling an imaging apparatus, comprising: moving a predetermined lens or a predetermined lens group among the plurality of lenses in conjunction with rotation of the reflecting surface to change an imaging direction. First and second scanning means for scanning the photographing optical system in different first and second directions on a plane orthogonal to the optical axis, and posture detecting means for detecting the posture of the photographing optical system around the optical axis. In the control method of the photographing apparatus having,
A control method for an imaging apparatus, wherein the first and second scanning means are cooperatively operated based on an attitude detection signal of the attitude detection means. In a control method of an imaging apparatus having a trajectory recording means for recording a trajectory in an imaging direction and an imaging direction changing means for changing an imaging direction by scanning an optical system
An imaging apparatus control method characterized by driving the imaging direction changing means to return the imaging direction to an initial position based on locus recording information recorded in the locus recording means. A main optical unit composed of a plurality of lenses arranged along a photographing optical axis, a bending optical unit having a reflecting surface that bends the photographing optical axis, and an imaging unit on which a light beam from the main optical unit forms an image; In a method for controlling a photographing apparatus having an optical system configured,
A first rotation unit that integrally rotates the main optical unit and the bending optical unit about the photographing optical axis and a second rotation unit that rotates the imaging unit about the photographing optical axis are linked. And controlling the driving of the photographing apparatus. A main optical unit composed of a plurality of lenses arranged along a photographing optical axis, a bending optical unit having a reflecting surface that bends the photographing optical axis, and an imaging unit on which a light beam from the main optical unit forms an image; In a method for controlling a photographing apparatus having an optical system configured,
Third rotating means for rotating the bending optical part relative to the main optical part around the photographing optical axis; and fourth rotating means for rotating the imaging part around the photographing optical axis; A method for controlling a photographing apparatus, characterized in that drive control is performed in conjunction with each other. A computer-readable control program for executing a method of controlling an imaging apparatus having an imaging optical system composed of a plurality of lenses and a reflecting surface disposed between the lenses,
A control program comprising a step of changing a shooting direction by moving a predetermined lens or a predetermined lens group among the plurality of lenses in conjunction with rotation of the reflecting surface. First and second scanning means for scanning the photographing optical system in different first and second directions on a plane orthogonal to the optical axis, and posture detecting means for detecting the posture of the photographing optical system around the optical axis. A computer-readable control program for executing a method for controlling a photographing apparatus having:
A control program for operating the first and second scanning units in a coordinated manner based on a posture detection signal of the posture detection unit. Computer-readable control for executing a control method of a control method of a photographing apparatus having a locus recording means for recording a locus in a photographing direction and a photographing direction changing means for changing a photographing direction by scanning an optical system A program,
A control program characterized in that, based on locus recording information recorded in the locus recording means, the imaging direction changing means is driven to return the imaging direction to an initial position. A main optical unit composed of a plurality of lenses arranged along a photographing optical axis, a bending optical unit having a reflecting surface that bends the photographing optical axis, and an imaging unit on which a light beam from the main optical unit forms an image; A computer-readable control program for executing a control method of a control method of an imaging apparatus having an optical system,
A first rotation unit that integrally rotates the main optical unit and the bending optical unit about the photographing optical axis and a second rotation unit that rotates the imaging unit about the photographing optical axis are linked. A control program characterized in that drive control is performed. A main optical unit composed of a plurality of lenses arranged along a photographing optical axis, a bending optical unit having a reflecting surface that bends the photographing optical axis, and an imaging unit on which a light beam from the main optical unit forms an image; In a method for controlling a photographing apparatus having an optical system configured,
Third rotating means for rotating the bending optical part relative to the main optical part around the photographing optical axis; and fourth rotating means for rotating the imaging part around the photographing optical axis; A control program that controls driving in conjunction with each other.

Images