JP2006295243A - Digital camera - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a digital camera capable comfortably displaying a series of images obtained by consecutive photographings. <P>SOLUTION: The digital camera, including a consecutive shot mode in which a plurality of images can be acquired by a one-time instructional operation, in one embodiment disclosed herein includes a monitor unit 54 for displaying the images; and a control circuit 40 for continuously displaying a plurality of images, obtained by the one consecutive shot operation in the consecutive mode at a particular time interval, and the control circuit 40 adjusts the particular time interval depending on the number of images obtained by the one-time consecutive shots. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a digital camera capable of continuous shooting.

  Conventionally, in a single-lens reflex type camera (hereinafter abbreviated as a single-lens reflex camera), a quick return mirror built in one frame is moved to the optical path retreat position only once to perform shooting. In addition, a camera that performs continuous shooting of a plurality of frames while keeping the quick return mirror raised for one release operation is known. With regard to this type of technology, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses a camera that enables high-speed shooting of a plurality of frames with a single mirror drive while holding incident light of an optical system on the image sensor side. In addition, cameras that realize continuous shooting at about 8 frames / second in a so-called continuous shooting mode are also in practical use.

By the way, a recent digital camera is equipped with a liquid crystal monitor so that a photographed image can be confirmed. When confirming, the image selection button is operated to display the images one by one in order on the liquid crystal monitor. The method to make is generally taken. However, this method is very troublesome when the number of continuous shots is large. In view of this point, Patent Document 2 discloses a digital camera in which a plurality of images shot in the continuous shooting mode are continuously displayed at intervals corresponding to shooting time intervals.
JP-A-8-278541 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-224752

  However, when the display interval is set according to the shooting interval as in the above-described prior art, there is a problem that the display time becomes long when the number of continuous shots is large, and when the time interval during shooting is very short There is a problem that all display ends in an instant.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a digital camera that can comfortably display a series of images obtained by continuous shooting.

  In order to achieve the above object, in a first aspect of the present invention, in a digital camera having a continuous shooting mode capable of acquiring a plurality of images by a single shooting instruction operation, display means for displaying the image, Control means for continuously displaying a plurality of images obtained by one continuous shooting operation in the continuous shooting mode at a specific time interval on the display means. There is provided a digital camera characterized in that the specific time interval is adjusted according to the number of images obtained by continuous shooting operation.

  In a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the specific time interval is a time interval obtained by equally dividing a predetermined time by the number of images obtained by the single continuous shooting operation. A digital camera is provided.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a digital camera according to the second aspect, wherein the predetermined time can be changed.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a digital camera that can comfortably display a series of images obtained by continuous shooting.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a digital camera according to an embodiment of the present invention. More specifically, FIG. 1A is a front view of the digital camera, and FIG. 1B is a side view of the digital camera. FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of the digital camera of FIG. 1 viewed from the back side.

  As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the digital camera 1 includes a body unit 2 and a lens unit 3 that can be attached to the body unit 2.

 That is, the lens unit 3 is composed of a plurality of lenses, and has a photographing lens 4 for guiding a photographing light beam to an imaging element 14 (described later) in the body unit 2.

 On the other hand, in the body unit 2, a battery 10 that supplies power to each part in the body unit 2 is provided. A quick return mirror (reflection mirror) 5 that reflects the photographic light beam is disposed on the optical path of the photographic light beam that has passed through the photographic lens 4, and a finder screen is provided on the optical path of the reflected light of the quick return mirror 5. 6, a pentaprism 7 and an eyepiece optical system 8 are disposed. A photometric unit 9 is provided in the vicinity of the eyepiece optical system 8. Further, a distance measuring mirror 11 is provided behind the quick return mirror 5, and automatic distance measurement is performed on a plurality of points in the photographing screen on the optical path of the reflected light from the distance measuring mirror 11. The multi-ranging unit 12 is provided. The central portion of the quick return mirror 5 is a half mirror, and a part of the light beam is transmitted when the quick return mirror 5 is down (position shown; first position). When the quick return mirror 5 is up (second position), the distance measuring mirror 11 is folded. Further, behind the quick return mirror 5, on the optical path of the photographing light beam, a focal plane shutter 13, an image pickup device (imager) 14 such as a CCD for photoelectrically converting a subject image that has passed through the optical system, and this image pickup. A main circuit board 15 provided with the elements 14 and the like, and a monitor 16 for displaying a subject image captured by the imaging element 14 are provided.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a display unit 20, a shutter button 21, a sub dial 22, a shooting mode dial 23, a main switch 24, and a shooting number button 27 are provided on the upper surface of the body unit 2 of the digital camera 1. It has been. A finder eyepiece 26, a monitor 16, a main dial 25, a cross key 28, and a confirmation button 29 are provided on the back surface of the body unit 2. More specifically, the display unit 20 is for displaying shooting information and the like of the camera. The shutter button 21 is used to perform a shooting operation of the camera, and includes a two-stage release switch. The main dial 25 and the sub dial 22 are dials for selecting various modes and numerical values. The main switch 24 is a switch for switching on / off the power of the digital camera. The shooting mode dial 23 is a dial for selecting an exposure control method, for example, an exposure control method such as program AE, aperture priority AE, shutter speed priority AE, or manual. The number of shots button 27 is a button for setting the number of frames for continuous shooting. That is, for example, one frame shooting is performed in the initial state, three frame shooting is performed when the shot number button 27 is pressed once, five frame shooting is performed when the button is pressed twice, and the number of frames is returned to the initial state when the button is pressed three times. Is set. The cross key 28 is an instruction member for setting shooting conditions and reproducing a shot image. The confirm button 29 is a member operated to confirm various settings.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the system configuration of the electric system of the digital camera in one embodiment of the present invention. As described above, the digital camera 1 according to this embodiment includes the body unit 2 and the lens unit 3. Hereinafter, each part will be described in detail.

  That is, the lens unit 2 includes a lens motor unit 30, a lens driving circuit 31, an aperture motor unit 32, an aperture driving circuit 33, and an in-lens data memory 34. The lens motor unit 30 is a unit for moving the photographing lens 4 described above in the optical axis direction. The movement of the lens motor unit 30 in the optical axis direction is controlled via a lens driving circuit 31 from a control circuit 40 (described later) in the body unit 2. The aperture motor unit 32 is controlled from the control circuit 40 via the aperture drive circuit 33 and drives an aperture that limits the light beam incident on the image sensor 14. The in-lens data memory 34 stores various data used at the time of calculation, such as the F value and focal length of the photographing lens 4. Each part in the lens unit 3 is controlled in accordance with a command from the control circuit 40 in the body unit 2.

  On the other hand, the body unit 2 has a control circuit 40 that controls each part in the digital camera 1. The control circuit 40 includes an image sensor (imager) 14, a mirror drive circuit 41, a shutter drive circuit 43, a multi-range measurement circuit 45, a photometry circuit 46, a memory 47, a storage circuit 48, a switch input unit 50, and a display drive circuit 51. The image display circuit 53, the strobe drive circuit 57, the lens drive circuit 31 in the lens unit 3, the aperture drive circuit 33, and the in-lens data memory 34 are connected. The image sensor 14 is composed of an imager capable of high-speed readout with multiple channels. The mirror drive circuit 41 is for driving the motor unit 42, and when the motor unit 42 is driven, the quick return mirror 5 is rotationally moved to the up position and the down position. The shutter drive circuit 43 is a circuit for driving the shutter unit 44 constituting the focal plane shutter 13. By driving the shutter unit 44, the opening and closing of the focal plane shutter 13, that is, the shutter speed is controlled. The multi-ranging circuit 45 is for driving the multi-ranging unit 12, and the distance from the digital camera 1 to a subject (not shown) is measured by driving the multi-ranging unit 12. The photometry circuit 46 is a circuit for driving the photometry unit 9. The photometric circuit 46 performs photometric processing based on the light flux from the pentaprism 7. The memory 47 temporarily stores predetermined control parameters necessary for camera control and photographing data before writing to a recording medium, and is provided so as to be accessible from the control circuit 40. The recording circuit 48 is a circuit for recording an image picked up by the image pickup device 14 on a recording medium 49 as data. The switch input unit 50 includes a shutter button 21, a sub dial 22, a shooting mode dial 23, a main switch 24, a shooting number button 27, and the like. The display drive circuit 51 is a circuit for driving the display unit 52 including the display unit 20 provided on the upper surface of the camera. The image display circuit 53 is a circuit for driving a monitor unit 54 including the monitor 16 provided on the back side of the camera. The strobe drive circuit 57 is a circuit for driving and controlling the strobe light emitting unit 58.

  Hereinafter, a basic imaging operation by the digital camera according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the timing chart of FIG. In the figure, tA indicates the time lag from the second release, and tB indicates the image disappearance time of the finder.

  When the shutter button 21 is pressed and the second release is turned on, the control circuit 40 drives the aperture motor to rotate forward after a predetermined time to narrow the aperture (not shown), and further starts the quick return mirror 5 up. When the quick return mirror 5 is fully up, the control circuit 40 drives the focal plane shutter 13 included in the shutter unit 44 by the shutter drive circuit 43 to be in the open state, and after the second release is turned on, the time tA has elapsed. Imaging with the image sensor 14 is performed at the elapsed timing. Although the quick return mirror 5 is increased by the finder image disappearance time, the control circuit 40 lowers the quick return mirror 5, reversely drives the aperture motor to return the aperture to the initial state, and turns on the motor to release the shutter. The unit 44 is mechanically charged and all operations are completed.

  Next, with reference to a timing chart of FIG. 5, a shooting operation in the continuous shooting mode (three frames shooting) by the digital camera according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail.

  In the following description, the configuration diagrams of FIGS. 1 to 3 will be referred to as appropriate. In the figure, tB represents the image disappearance time of the finder, tI1 is the interval between the first frame and the second frame, tI2 is the interval between the second frame and the third frame (tI1 = tI2 = 3.3 msec), and t1 is 1. Release time lag until frame shooting, t2 means release time lag until 2 frames shooting (equivalent to standard release time lag), and t3 means release time lag until 3 frames shooting.

  When the shutter button 21 is pressed and the second release is turned on, the control circuit 40 drives the aperture motor in a forward direction to narrow the aperture (not shown) after a predetermined time, and further starts the quick return mirror 5 up. Then, when the quick return mirror 5 is completely raised, the control circuit 40 drives the focal plane shutter 13 included in the shutter unit 44 by the shutter driving circuit 43 to be in the open state, and the release time lags t1, t2, t3. The image sensor 14 performs three consecutive imaging operations.

  That is, in the continuous shooting mode, the control circuit 40 performs a total of three times at the shooting timing in the normal shooting mode, twice before and after the timing, and at a predetermined interval tI1, tI2 (= 3.3 msec). It will be controlled to perform the number of times of shooting.

  Although the quick return mirror 5 is increased by the finder image disappearance time, the control circuit 40 lowers the quick return mirror 5, reversely drives the aperture motor to return the aperture to the initial state, and turns on the motor to release the shutter. The unit 44 is mechanically charged, thus ending all operations. In order to realize the above photographing operation, this embodiment employs an imager with an element shutter capable of continuous shooting at about 300 frames / sec.

  Next, with reference to the timing chart of FIG. 6, the shooting operation in the continuous shooting mode (5-frame shooting) by the digital camera according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail.

  In the following description, the configuration diagrams of FIGS. 1 to 3 will be referred to as appropriate. In FIG. 6, tB indicates the finder image disappearance time, tI1 is the interval between the first frame and the second frame, tI2 is the interval between the second frame and the third frame, and tI3 is the third frame and the fourth frame. Interval, tI4 is the interval between frames 4 and 5 (tI1 = tI2 = tI3 = tI4 = 2.0 msec), t1 is the release time lag until 1 frame shooting, t2 is the release time lag until 2 frames shooting, t3 is 3 frames Release time lag until shooting (corresponding to a standard release time lag), t4 means release time lag until 4 frames shooting, and t5 means release time lag until 5 frames shooting.

  When the shutter button 21 is pressed and the second release is turned on, the control circuit 40 drives the aperture motor to rotate forward after a predetermined time to narrow the aperture (not shown), and further starts the quick return mirror 5 up. When the quick return mirror 5 is completely raised, the control circuit 40 drives the focal plane shutter 13 included in the shutter unit 44 by the shutter drive circuit 43 to be in the open state, and the release time lags t1, t2, t3, t4. , T5, the image sensor 14 performs five consecutive imaging operations. That is, in the continuous shooting mode, the control circuit 40 once at the basic timing in the normal shooting mode, before and after the basic timing, twice at the timings of the predetermined intervals tI2 and tI3, before and after the basic timing, and at the predetermined interval tI1 + tI2 , TI3 + tI4, and control is performed so that a total of five shootings are performed twice.

  Although the quick return mirror 5 is increased by the finder image disappearance time, the control circuit 40 lowers the quick return mirror 5, reversely drives the aperture motor to return the aperture to the initial state, and turns on the motor to release the shutter. The unit 44 is mechanically charged, thus ending all operations. In order to realize the above photographing operation, this embodiment employs an imager with an element shutter capable of continuous shooting at about 500 frames / sec.

  Hereinafter, with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 7, the photographing operation by the digital camera according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described in more detail. Here, FIGS. 1 to 3 are referred to as appropriate.

  When the shutter button 21 is half-pressed and the first release (hereinafter abbreviated as 1R) is turned on (step S1), the multi-ranging unit 12 measures a plurality of points in the shooting screen and is at the shortest distance. A multi-AF operation for focusing on the subject is performed, and photometry is performed by the photometry unit 9 (steps S2 and S3), and it is determined whether the subject brightness is sufficient (whether the subject brightness is equal to or lower than a predetermined threshold) (step S4) If it is not sufficient, the flash emission amount calculation is performed (step S5), the flag F for flash emission is set to 1 (step S6), the process proceeds to step S7, and the second by pressing the shutter button 21 fully. Steps S1 to S7 are repeated until the release (hereinafter abbreviated as 2R) is turned on.

  When 2R is turned on (step S7), the quick return mirror 5 is raised and the lens is narrowed down (step S8), and it is determined whether or not the continuous shooting mode (multiple frame shooting mode) is set (step S9). . Here, in the continuous shooting mode, the shutter front curtain magnet included in the shutter unit 44 is turned off (step S10), the image sensor 14 is reset (step S11), and the state of the flag F relating to the strobe emission is set. Is detected (step S12), and when F = 1, the strobe light emission unit 58 performs strobe light emission (step S13). On the other hand, when F = 0, the imaging data is read out and temporarily stored in the memory 47 (step S14), and the processing of the above steps S11 to S14 is repeated as many times as the number of exposure settings, and a plurality of frames are captured. (Step S15) When the process is completed for the set number of times, the shutter rear curtain magnet is turned off (Step S16), and the process proceeds to Step S23 and subsequent steps.

  On the other hand, if it is not the continuous shooting mode (step S9), the shutter front curtain magnet included in the shutter unit 44 is turned off (step S18), the image sensor 14 is reset (step S19), and the flag relating to the strobe light emission. The state of F is detected (step S20), and if F = 1, the strobe light is emitted by the strobe light emitting unit 58 (step S13). After this strobe light emission or when F = 0 in step S20, the imaging data is read out and temporarily stored in the memory 47 (step S21), and the shutter rear curtain magnet is turned off (step S22). Then, the process proceeds to step S23 and subsequent steps. In this way, the quick return mirror 5 is lowered and the lens aperture is opened (step S23), the mechanical charge is performed (step S24), the flag F relating to the flash emission is set to 0 (step S25), and the photographing temporarily stored in the memory 47 is performed. Data is stored in the recording medium 49, and this operation is terminated.

 Here, in the present embodiment, the number-of-shots button 27 is in the initial state, one-frame shooting, three-frame shooting when the shooting-number button 27 is pressed once, five-frame shooting when pressed twice, and three-time pressing. Then, the number of frames is set like returning to the initial state. Hereinafter, with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 8, a process related to setting the number of shots by the digital camera according to the present embodiment will be described in detail.

  When the control circuit 40 detects that the number of shots button 27 has been pressed (step S31), it sets the number of shots according to the number of times the number of shots button 27 has been pressed. That is, if the button is pressed once, the number of shots is set to three. If the button is pressed twice, the number of shots is set to five. If the button is pressed twice, the number of shots is set to one. Setting is performed (steps S32 to S36).

  Next, with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 9, the reproduction | regeneration operation | movement of the imaging | photography data preserve | saved at the recording medium 49 by the said exposure operation | movement is demonstrated in detail.

  When the cross key 28 is operated to select the latest image (that is, the last image taken) (step S40), the control circuit 40 determines whether or not the image is an image taken in the continuous shooting mode. Is determined (step S41). Here, if it is an image shot in the continuous shooting mode, a subroutine “continuous shooting image display” described later is executed (step S42).

  On the other hand, when the image is not taken under the continuous shooting mode, that is, when the image is taken under the normal mode, a single shot image is displayed (step S43).

  Subsequently, the control circuit 40 determines whether or not to end the reproduction mode (step S44).

  If it is determined that the playback mode is to be terminated, the display is turned off (step S45), and the process returns. On the other hand, if the control circuit 40 determines in step S44 that the reproduction mode is not terminated, it further determines whether or not the cross key 28 has been operated (step S46). If the operation of the cross key 28 is performed, an image corresponding to the operation is selected, and the process returns to step S31 (step S47). If the operation of the cross key 28 is not performed, the operation continues. Then, it is determined whether or not the main dial 25 has been operated (step S48). If the main dial 25 has been operated, the predetermined time Tt is changed according to the operation, and the process returns to step S44. Step S49).

  Here, with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 10, the operation of the subroutine “continuous shot image display” executed in step S42 will be described in detail. Here, an example in which the number of continuously shot images can be set to either 3 or 5 in the continuous shooting mode will be described.

  First, the control circuit 40 checks whether or not the number of shots is three (step S50). Here, when the number of shots is 3, the variable n is set to 3 (step S51), and when the number of shots is 5, the variable n is set to 5 (step S52). Subsequently, the control circuit 40 sets the time interval for scrolling the display of continuously shot images to Tt / n (step S53).

  In this way, the control circuit 40 resets and starts the timer for measuring Tt / n (step S54), displays the selected image on the monitor 16 (step S55), and until the set time interval (Tt / n) elapses. When waiting and the time interval (Tt / n) has passed (step S56), it is determined whether or not all n sheets have been displayed (step S57). Returning to S54, the above operation is repeated, and when the display of all n sheets is completed, the first continuous shot image is displayed again on the monitor 16 (step S58), and the process returns to step S44 and subsequent steps in FIG. According to the above processing, for example, as shown in FIG. 11, a plurality of images captured under the continuous shooting mode can be appropriately changed while appropriately changing the total time Tt displayed while automatically scrolling the continuous shooting images. The display can be sequentially switched at a time interval obtained by dividing the total time Tt by the number n of continuously shot images.

  As described above in detail, according to an embodiment of the present invention, in a digital camera having a continuous shooting mode capable of acquiring a plurality of images by a single shooting instruction operation, the display unit displays the images. A monitor 16 and a control circuit 40 as a control means for continuously displaying a plurality of images obtained by one continuous shooting operation in the continuous shooting mode on the display means at a specific time interval. The control circuit 40 provides a digital camera characterized in that the specific time interval is adjusted according to the number of images obtained by one continuous shooting operation. The specific time interval is a time interval obtained by equally dividing a predetermined time by the number of images obtained by the single continuous shooting operation, and the predetermined time can be changed.

  Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to this, and it is needless to say that various improvements and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, when the continuous view image rec view is being executed, if it is desired to change the display switching speed, it is of course possible to perform fast forward and slow feed by operating the cross key 28 or the like. is there.

(A) is a front view of the digital camera which concerns on one embodiment of this invention, (b) is a side view of a digital camera. It is the external appearance perspective view which looked at the digital camera of FIG. 1 from the back side. It is a block diagram which shows the system configuration | structure of the electric system of the digital camera in one embodiment of this invention. It is a time chart explaining in detail the basic imaging operation by the digital camera which concerns on one embodiment of this invention. It is a time chart explaining in detail the imaging operation in the continuous shooting mode (three frames shooting) by the digital camera according to the embodiment of the present invention. It is a time chart explaining in detail the imaging operation in the continuous shooting mode (5-frame shooting) by the digital camera according to the embodiment of the present invention. 6 is a flowchart for explaining in more detail a photographing operation by the digital camera according to the embodiment of the present invention. It is a flowchart explaining in detail the process which concerns on the imaging | photography number setting by the digital camera which concerns on one embodiment of this invention. 5 is a flowchart for explaining in detail an operation of reproducing captured data by the digital camera according to the embodiment of the present invention. 10 is a flowchart illustrating in detail an operation of a subroutine “continuous shot image display” executed in step S42 of FIG. 9. It is a conceptual diagram of a photography screen display.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Digital camera, 2 ... Body unit, 3 ... Lens unit, 4 ... Shooting lens, 5 ... Quick return mirror, 6 ... Finder screen, 7 ... Penta prism, 8 ... eyepiece optical system, 9 ... photometry unit, 10 ... battery, 11 ... mirror for distance measurement, 12 ... multi-range measurement unit, 13 ... focal plane shutter, 14 ... Image sensor, 15 ... main circuit board, 16 ... monitor.

Claims (3)

In a digital camera having a continuous shooting mode capable of acquiring a plurality of images in one shooting instruction operation,
Display means for displaying the image;
Control means for continuously displaying a plurality of images obtained by one continuous shooting operation in the continuous shooting mode at a specific time interval on the display means;
It has
The digital camera according to claim 1, wherein the control unit adjusts the specific time interval according to the number of images obtained by one continuous shooting operation.   The digital camera according to claim 1, wherein the specific time interval is a time interval obtained by equally dividing a predetermined time by the number of images obtained by the single continuous shooting operation.   The digital camera according to claim 2, wherein the predetermined time can be changed.

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