JP2007065331A - Camera - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To switch an AF mode to a high-speed mode or an ordinary mode in consideration of a respect that a shutter opportunity is missed because AF speed is decreased with the increase of the number of pixels in a camera in which hill-climbing AF is mounted. <P>SOLUTION: When the luminance of a photographic image plane is equal to or above a predetermined value in the ordinary AF mode, the interval of an AF scanner is set larger than ordinary, and the number of scanning times is reduced, whereby high-speed AF operation is attained. Since focusing is unsharp when the scanning interval is set large, exposure control is performed to take the depth of field deep. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a camera having an autofocus mechanism.

  Conventionally, cameras that automatically perform focusing operation and exposure control and record still images and moving images are already on the market.

  According to these cameras, it is possible for the user to take an image without manually focusing or adjusting the exposure.

For example, Patent Document 1 can be cited as a conventional example.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 03-68280

  However, in such a conventional camera, the autofocus operation may take time, and there is a possibility of missing a photo opportunity. In recent years, with the increase in the number of pixels of an electronic camera, there has been a problem that the speed of autofocus becomes slow due to an increase in the amount of information.

  In the camera according to the present invention, the autofocus mode can be switched between the high speed mode and the normal mode, and the autofocus mode is automatically set when the output of the luminance detecting means is a predetermined value or more and the screen is sufficiently bright. By changing to the high speed mode and greatly changing the focus evaluation value extraction interval during autofocus operation, the focus evaluation value extraction frequency is reduced, the autofocus operation is performed at high speed, and depth-priority automatic exposure control is performed. By giving priority to depth, it is possible to prevent the focus from becoming sweet.

  By the above means, it is possible to provide a camera that can take a focused image without taking time in the autofocus operation without being conscious of the user and that makes it difficult to miss a photo opportunity. .

  As can be easily understood from the above description, according to the present invention, it is possible to switch the autofocus between the high speed mode and the normal mode, and when the output of the brightness detecting means in the shooting screen is sufficiently bright above a predetermined value, By automatically changing the autofocus mode to the high-speed mode and changing the focus evaluation value extraction interval greatly during autofocus operation, the focus evaluation value extraction frequency is reduced, the autofocus operation is performed at high speed, and depth priority Perform automatic exposure control. By giving priority to depth, it is possible to prevent the focus from becoming sweet.

  By the above means, it is possible to provide a camera that can shoot a focused image without taking time in the autofocus operation without being conscious of the user, and that makes it difficult to miss a photo opportunity. Become.

(First embodiment)
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.

  In FIG. 1, reference numeral 100 denotes an image processing apparatus.

  Reference numeral 10 denotes a photographing lens, 12 denotes a shutter having a diaphragm function, 14 denotes an image sensor that converts an optical image into an electrical signal, and 16 denotes an A / D converter that converts an analog signal output from the image sensor 14 into a digital signal.

  A timing generation circuit 18 supplies a clock signal and a control signal to the image sensor 14, the A / D converter 16, and the D / A converter 26, and is controlled by the memory control circuit 22 and the system control circuit 50.

  An image processing circuit 20 performs predetermined pixel interpolation processing and color conversion processing on the data from the A / D converter 16 or the data from the memory control circuit 22.

  Further, the image processing circuit 20 performs predetermined calculation processing using the captured image data, and the system control circuit 50 controls the exposure control means 40 and the distance measurement control means 42 based on the obtained calculation result. TTl (through-the-lens) AF (autofocus) processing, AE (automatic exposure) processing, and EF (flash pre-emission) processing are performed.

  Further, the image processing circuit 20 performs predetermined arithmetic processing using captured image data, and also performs TTL AWB (auto white balance) processing based on the obtained arithmetic result.

  A memory control circuit 22 controls the A / D converter 16, the timing generation circuit 18, the image processing circuit 20, the image display memory 24, the D / A converter 26, the memory 30, and the compression / decompression circuit 32.

  The data of the A / D converter 16 is written into the image display memory 24 or the memory 30 via the image processing circuit 20 and the memory control circuit 22 or the data of the A / D converter 16 is directly passed through the memory control circuit 22. It is.

  Reference numeral 24 denotes an image display memory, 26 denotes a D / A converter, 28 denotes an image display unit including a TFT LCD, and the image data for display written in the image display memory 24 passes through the D / A converter 26. Displayed by the image display unit 28.

  If the image data captured using the image display unit 28 is sequentially displayed, the electronic viewfinder function can be realized.

  The image display unit 28 can turn on / off the display according to an instruction from the system control circuit 50. When the display is turned off, the power consumption of the image processing apparatus 100 can be greatly reduced. .

  Reference numeral 30 denotes a memory for storing captured still images and moving images, and has a sufficient storage capacity to store a predetermined number of still images and a predetermined time of moving images.

  Thereby, even in the case of continuous shooting or panoramic shooting in which a plurality of still images are continuously shot, it is possible to write a large amount of images to the memory 30 at high speed.

  The memory 30 can also be used as a work area for the system control circuit 50.

  Reference numeral 32 denotes a compression / decompression circuit that compresses and decompresses image data by adaptive discrete cosine transform (ADCT) or the like, reads an image stored in the memory 30, performs compression processing or decompression processing, and stores the processed data in the memory 30. Write to.

  Reference numeral 40 denotes exposure control means for controlling the shutter 12 having a diaphragm function, and has a flash light control function in cooperation with the flash 48.

  Reference numeral 42 denotes a distance measuring control means for controlling the focusing of the photographing lens 10, reference numeral 44 denotes a zoom control means for controlling zooming of the photographing lens 10, and reference numeral 46 denotes a barrier control means for controlling the operation of the protection means 102 as a barrier.

  A flash 48 has an AF auxiliary light projecting function and a flash light control function.

  The exposure control means 40 and the distance measurement control means 42 are controlled using the TTL method. Based on the calculation result obtained by calculating the captured image data by the image processing circuit 20, the system control circuit 50 performs the exposure control means 40 and the distance measurement. Control is performed on the control means 42.

  Reference numeral 50 denotes a system control circuit that controls the entire image processing apparatus 100, and reference numeral 52 denotes a memory that stores constants, variables, programs, and the like for operation of the system control circuit 50.

  Reference numeral 54 denotes a display unit such as a liquid crystal display device or a speaker that displays an operation state or a message using characters, images, sounds, or the like in accordance with execution of a program in the system control circuit 50. One or a plurality of places are provided near the portion where they are easily visible, and are configured by a combination of, for example, an LCD, an LED, a sound generation element, and the like.

  In addition, the display unit 54 is partially installed in the optical viewfinder 104.

  Among the display contents of the display unit 54, what is displayed on the LCD or the like includes single shot / continuous shooting display, self-timer display, compression rate display, number of recorded pixels, number of recorded pixels, number of remaining images that can be captured, shutter Speed display, Aperture value display, Exposure compensation display, Flash display, Red-eye reduction display, Macro shooting display, Buzzer setting display, Clock battery level display, Battery level display, Error display, Multi-digit number information display and recording There are a display state of the media 200 and 210, a communication I / F operation display, a date / time display, and the like.

  Further, among the display contents of the display unit 54, what is displayed in the optical viewfinder 104 includes in-focus display, camera shake warning display, flash charge display, shutter speed display, aperture value display, exposure correction display, and the like.

  Reference numeral 56 denotes an electrically erasable / recordable nonvolatile memory such as an EEPROM.

  Reference numerals 60, 62, 64, 66, 68 and 70 are operation means for inputting various operation instructions of the system control circuit 50, and may be a single unit such as a switch, a dial, a touch panel, pointing by eye-gaze detection, a voice recognition device, or the like. Consists of multiple combinations.

  Here, a specific description of these operating means will be given.

  Reference numeral 60 denotes a mode dial switch, which can switch and set various function modes such as power-off, automatic shooting mode, shooting mode, panoramic shooting mode, playback mode, multi-screen playback / erase mode, and PC connection mode.

  Reference numeral 62 denotes a shutter switch SW1, which is turned ON during the operation of a shutter button (not shown), and performs AF (auto focus) processing, AE (auto exposure) processing, AWB (auto white balance) processing, EF (flash pre-flash) processing, and the like. Instruct to start operation.

  Reference numeral 64 denotes a shutter switch SW2, which is turned on when the operation of a shutter button (not shown) is completed, and an exposure process for writing a signal read from the image sensor 12 to the memory 30 via the A / D converter 16 and the memory control circuit 22. Development processing using operations in the image processing circuit 20 and the memory control circuit 22, recording processing for reading image data from the memory 30, compression in the compression / decompression circuit 32, and writing the image data to the recording medium 200 or 210. Instructs the start of a series of processing operations.

  Reference numeral 66 denotes an image display ON / OFF switch that can set ON / OFF of the image display unit 28. With this function, when photographing is performed using the optical viewfinder 104, it is possible to save power by cutting off the current supply to the image display unit including a TFT LCD or the like.

  Reference numeral 68 denotes a quick review ON / OFF switch, which sets a quick review function for automatically reproducing image data taken immediately after photographing. In this embodiment, it is assumed that a function for setting the quick review function when the image display unit 28 is turned off is provided.

  Reference numeral 70 denotes an operation unit composed of various buttons, a touch panel, and the like. A menu button, a set button, a macro button, a multi-screen playback page break button, a flash setting button, a single shooting / continuous shooting / self-timer switching button, menu movement + (plus) Button, menu shift- (minus) button, playback image shift + (plus) button, playback image- (minus) button, shooting image quality selection button, exposure correction button, date / time setting button, and the like.

  Reference numeral 80 denotes a power supply control means, which includes a battery detection circuit, a DC-DC converter, a switch circuit for switching a block to be energized, etc., and detects the presence / absence of a battery, the type of battery, the remaining battery level, and the detection result In addition, the DC-DC converter is controlled based on an instruction from the system control circuit 50, and a necessary voltage is supplied to each unit including the recording medium for a necessary period.

  Reference numeral 82 denotes a connector, 84 denotes a connector, and 86 denotes a primary battery such as an alkaline battery or a lithium battery, a secondary battery such as a NiCd battery, a NiMH battery, or a Li battery, an AC adapter, or the like.

  90 and 94 are interfaces with a recording medium such as a memory card or a hard disk, 92 and 96 are connectors for connecting to a recording medium such as a memory card or a hard disk, and 98 is a recording medium 200 or 210 attached to the connector 92 or 96. Recording medium attachment / detachment detecting means for detecting whether or not the recording medium is present.

  In this embodiment, it is assumed that there are two interfaces and connectors for attaching the recording medium. Of course, the interface and the connector for attaching the recording medium may have a single or a plurality of systems and any number of systems. Moreover, it is good also as a structure provided with combining the interface and connector of a different standard.

  The interface and connector may be configured using a PCMCIA card, a CF (Compact Flash (registered trademark)) card, or the like that conforms to a standard.

  Further, when the interfaces 90 and 94 and the connectors 92 and 96 are configured using a PCMCIA card, a CF (Compact Flash (registered trademark)) card, or the like, a LAN card, a modem card, a USB card, IEEE1394. Image data and management information attached to image data are transferred to and from peripheral devices such as other computers and printers by connecting various communication cards such as cards, P1284 cards, SCSI cards, and PHS communication cards. I can meet each other.

  Reference numeral 102 denotes protection means that is a barrier that prevents the imaging unit from being soiled or damaged by covering the imaging unit including the lens 10 of the image processing apparatus 100.

  Reference numeral 104 denotes an optical viewfinder, which can perform photographing using only the optical viewfinder without using the electronic viewfinder function of the image display unit 28. In the optical viewfinder 104, some functions of the display unit 54, for example, a focus display, a camera shake warning display, a flash charge display, a shutter speed display, an aperture value display, an exposure correction display, and the like are installed.

  A communication unit 110 has various communication functions such as RS232C, USB, IEEE1394, P1284, SCSI, modem, LAN, and wireless communication.

  Reference numeral 112 denotes a connector for connecting the image processing apparatus 100 to another device by the communication unit 110 or an antenna in the case of wireless communication.

  Reference numeral 200 denotes a recording medium such as a memory card or a hard disk.

  The recording medium 200 includes a recording unit 202 composed of a semiconductor memory, a magnetic disk, or the like, an interface 204 with the image processing apparatus 100, and a connector 206 for connecting to the image processing apparatus 100.

  Reference numeral 210 denotes a recording medium such as a memory card or a hard disk.

  The recording medium 210 includes a recording unit 212 composed of a semiconductor memory, a magnetic disk, or the like, an interface 214 with the image processing apparatus 100, and a connector 216 that connects to the image processing apparatus 100.

  The operation of the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

  2 and 3 show a flowchart of the main routine of the image processing apparatus 100 of the present embodiment.

  The operation of the image processing apparatus 100 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  Upon power-on such as battery replacement, the system control circuit 50 initializes flags, control variables, and the like (S101), and initializes the image display on the image display unit 28 to an OFF state (S102).

  The system control circuit 50 determines the setting position of the mode dial 60, and if the mode dial 60 is set to power OFF (S103), the display of each display unit is changed to the end state, and the barrier of the protection unit 102 is changed. Is closed to protect the imaging unit, and necessary parameters, setting values, and setting modes including flags and control variables are recorded in the nonvolatile memory 56, and each part of the image processing apparatus 100 including the image display unit 28 by the power control unit 80 is recorded. After performing a predetermined end process such as shutting off unnecessary power (S105), the process returns to S103.

  If the mode dial 60 is set to the shooting mode (S103), the process proceeds to S106.

  If the mode dial 60 has been set to another mode (S103), the system control circuit 50 executes processing according to the selected mode (S104), and returns to S103 when the processing is completed.

  The system control circuit 50 determines whether or not there is a problem in the operation of the image processing apparatus 100 with respect to the remaining capacity and operation status of the power source 86 constituted by a battery or the like by the power control means 80 (S106). For example, after a predetermined warning is displayed by image or sound using the display unit 54 (S108), the process returns to S103.

  If there is no problem with the power supply 86 (S106), the system control circuit 50 determines whether the operation state of the recording medium 200 or 210 has a problem with the operation of the image processing apparatus 100, particularly with respect to the recording / reproducing operation of image data on the recording medium. (S107), and if there is a problem, a predetermined warning display is performed by an image or sound using the display unit 54 (S108), and the process returns to S103.

  If there is no problem in the operation state of the recording medium 200 or 210 (S107), the display unit 54 is used to display various setting states of the image processing apparatus 100 using images and sounds (S109). If the image display of the image display unit 28 is ON, the image display unit 28 is also used to display various setting states of the image processing apparatus 100 using images and sounds.

  The system control circuit 50 checks the setting state of the quick view ON / OFF switch 68 (S110), sets the quick view flag if it is set to quick review ON (S111), and is set to quick review OFF. If so, the quick review flag is canceled (S112).

  The state of the quick review flag is stored in the internal memory of the system control circuit 50 or the memory 52.

  Subsequently, the system control circuit 50 checks the setting state of the image display ON / OFF switch 66 (S113). If the image display ON is set, the system control circuit 50 sets the image display flag (S114) and the image display unit. The 28 image display is set to the ON state (S115), and the captured image data is set to the through display state for sequentially displaying (S116), and the process proceeds to S119.

  In the through display state, the data sequentially written in the image display memory 24 via the imaging display 12, the A / D converter 16, the image processing circuit 20, and the memory control circuit 22 are transferred to the memory control circuit 22, D The electronic finder function is realized by sequentially displaying images on the image display unit 28 via the / A converter 26.

  If the image display ON / OFF switch 66 is set to image display OFF (S113), the image display flag is canceled (S117), and the image display on the image display unit 28 is set to the OFF state (S118). The process proceeds to S119.

  When the image display is OFF, shooting is performed using the optical viewfinder 104 without using the electronic viewfinder function of the image display unit 28. In this case, it is possible to reduce power consumption of the image display unit 28, the D / A converter 26, and the like that consume a large amount of power.

  The state of the image display flag is stored in the internal memory of the system control circuit 50 or the memory 52.

  If the shutter switch SW1 has not been pressed (S119), the process returns to S103.

  If the shutter switch SW1 is pressed (S119), the system control circuit 50 determines the state of the image display flag stored in the internal memory of the system control circuit 50 or the memory 52 (S120), and the image display flag is set. If so, the display state of the image display unit 28 is set to the freeze display state (S121), and the process proceeds to S122.

  In the freeze display state, rewriting of the image data in the image display memory 24 via the image sensor 12, the A / D converter 16, the image processing circuit 20, and the memory control circuit 22 is prohibited, and the last written image data Is displayed by the image display unit 28 via the memory control circuit 22 and the D / A converter 26, thereby displaying the frozen video on the electronic viewfinder.

  If the image display flag has been canceled (S120), the process proceeds to S122.

  The system control circuit 50 performs a distance measurement process according to the autofocus mode, focuses the photographing lens 10 on the subject, performs a photometry process, and determines an aperture value and a shutter time (S122).

  In the photometric process, the flash is set if necessary.

  Details of the distance measurement / photometry processing S122 will be described later with reference to FIG.

  After completing the distance measurement / photometry process S122, the system control circuit 50 determines the state of the image display flag stored in the internal memory of the system control circuit 50 or the memory 52 (S123), and the image display flag is set. If so, the display state of the image display unit 28 is set to the through display state (S124), and the process proceeds to S125. Note that the through display state in S124 is the same operation state as the through state in S116.

  If the shutter switch SW2 is not pressed (S125) and the shutter switch SW1 is also released (S126), the process returns to S103.

  If the shutter switch SW2 is pressed (S125), the system control circuit 50 determines the state of the image display flag stored in the internal memory of the system control circuit 50 or the memory 52 (S127), and the image display flag is set. If so, the display state of the image display unit 28 is set to the fixed color display state (S128), and the process proceeds to S129.

  In the fixed color display state, instead of the imaging data written in the image display memory 24 via the image sensor 12, the A / D converter 16, the image processing circuit 20, and the memory control circuit 22, the fixed color replaced. The image data is displayed by the image display unit 28 via the memory control circuit 22 and the D / A converter 26, whereby a fixed color video is displayed on the electronic viewfinder.

  If the image display flag has been canceled (S127), the process proceeds to S129.

  The system control circuit 50 captures an image in the memory 30 via the imaging device 12, the A / D converter 16, the image processing circuit 20, the memory control circuit 22, or directly from the A / D converter via the memory control circuit 22. Using the exposure process for writing the image data and the development process for reading out the image data written in the memory 30 and performing various processes using the memory control circuit 22 and the image processing circuit 20 as necessary. (S129).

  Details of the photographing process S129 will be described later with reference to FIG.

  The system control circuit 50 determines the state of the image display flag stored in the internal memory of the system control circuit 50 or the memory 52 (S130), and if the image display flag is set, performs a quick review display (S133). . In this case, the image display unit 28 is always displayed as an electronic viewfinder even during shooting, and quick review display immediately after shooting is also performed.

  If the image display flag has been canceled (S130), the state of the quick review flag stored in the internal memory of the system control circuit 50 or the memory 52 is determined (S131), and if the quick review flag has been set. Then, the image display of the image display unit 28 is set to the ON state (S132), and the quick review display is performed (S133).

  As described above, according to the present invention, the image display of the image display unit 28 is set to OFF because the electronic viewfinder function is unnecessary because power is taken or shooting is performed using the optical viewfinder 104. However, if the quick review function is set by the quick review switch, the captured image can be automatically reproduced on the image display unit 28 immediately after shooting, which is convenient for power saving and confirmation of the captured image. A function can be provided.

  If the image display flag is released (S130) and the quick review flag is also released (S131), the process proceeds to S134 while the image display unit 28 is in an OFF state. In this case, the image display unit 28 remains off even after shooting, and no quick review display is performed. This is a usage method in which it is not necessary to check a photographed image immediately after photographing as in the case of continuing photographing using the optical viewfinder 104, and the power saving is emphasized without using the electronic finder function of the image display unit 28. .

  The system control circuit 50 reads the captured image data written in the memory 30, performs various image processing using the memory control circuit 22 and the image processing circuit 20 as necessary, and uses the compression / decompression circuit 32. After performing an image compression process according to the set mode, a recording process for writing image data to the recording medium 200 or 210 is executed (S134).

  Details of the recording process S134 will be described later with reference to FIG.

  If the shutter switch SW2 has been pressed when the recording process S134 is completed (S135), the system control circuit 50 indicates the state of the continuous shooting flag stored in the internal memory of the system control circuit 50 or the memory 52. (S136), and if the continuous shooting flag is set, the flow returns to S129 to perform continuous shooting, and the next shooting is performed.

  If the continuous shooting flag is not set (S136), the current process is repeated until the shutter switch SW2 is released (S135).

  Thus, according to the present invention, in the operation setting state in which the quick review display is performed immediately after shooting, if the shutter switch SW2 is pressed when the recording process S134 is completed, the shutter switch SW2 is used. The quick review display on the image display unit 28 can be continued until the photographed image is released, so that the photographed image can be checked carefully.

  The shutter switch SW2 was released when the recording process S134 was completed, or the shutter switch SW2 was released after the quick review display was confirmed by continuing to hold down the shutter switch SW2 to confirm the captured image. If it is in a state (S135), the process proceeds to S138 after a predetermined minimum review time has elapsed (S137).

  As described above, according to the present invention, the quick review display on the image display unit 28 is continued for a predetermined time, thereby making it possible to surely check the captured image and unnecessarily the quick review display for a long time. Can be prevented from losing the next shooting opportunity.

  The minimum review time can be a fixed value, can be arbitrarily set by the user, or can be arbitrarily set or selected by the user within a predetermined range. You may set by the method.

  If the image display flag has been set (S138), the system control circuit 50 sets the display state of the image display unit 28 to the through display state (S139), and proceeds to S141.

  In this case, after confirming the captured image by the quick review display on the image display unit 28, it is possible to enter a through display state in which image data captured for the next imaging is sequentially displayed.

  If the image display flag has been canceled (S138), the image display of the image display unit 28 is set to the OFF state (S140), and the process proceeds to S141.

  In this case, after confirming the photographed image by the quick review display on the image display unit 28, the function of the image display unit 28 is stopped for power saving, and the image display unit 28 or D / A conversion with large power consumption is stopped. It is possible to reduce the power consumption of the device 26 and the like.

  If the shutter switch SW1 has been pressed (S141), the system control circuit 50 returns to S125 to prepare for the next shooting.

  If the shutter switch SW1 has been released (S141), the system control circuit 50 ends the series of shooting operations and returns to S103.

  FIG. 4 shows a detailed flowchart of the distance measurement / photometry process in S122 of FIG.

  The system control circuit 50 reads the charge signal from the image sensor 14 and sequentially reads the captured image data into the image processing circuit 20 via the A / D converter 16 (S201). Using the sequentially read image data, the image processing circuit 20 is a predetermined used for TTL (through-the-lens) AE (automatic exposure) processing, EF (flash pre-flash) processing, and AF (autofocus) processing. The operation is performed.

  In each processing here, a specific portion of the total number of photographed pixels is extracted by extracting a necessary portion according to necessity and used for calculation. This makes it possible to perform optimum calculations for different modes such as the center-weighted mode, the average mode, and the evaluation mode in each of the TTL method AE, EF, AWB, and AF processes.

  The system control circuit 50 detects the luminance of the photographed image read into the image processing circuit 20, and automatically sets the high-speed autofocus mode when the luminance of the photographed image is equal to or higher than a predetermined level and takes out the focus evaluation value. Is set larger than normal (S203), and the exposure mode depth priority mode is set (S213). If the brightness of the captured image is below a predetermined level, the focus evaluation value extraction interval is set as usual (S202), and the exposure mode is set to the normal mode (S212).

  The system control circuit 50 takes out the focus evaluation value in a predetermined focus area using the distance measurement control means 42 in accordance with the focus evaluation value extraction interval set in advance (S202), and finds the point where the focus evaluation value becomes maximum. Then, the photographing lens 10 is driven to the maximum position (S203), and the measurement data and / or the setting parameters are stored in the internal memory or the memory 52 of the system control circuit 50.

  As described above, according to the present invention, if the brightness of the captured image is equal to or higher than a predetermined level, the focus evaluation value extraction interval is increased (S203), and the number of focus evaluation value extractions is reduced, so that the autofocus operation is performed at high speed. In addition, since depth-priority exposure control is performed, it is possible to prevent the focus from becoming sweet. This allows the user to perform the autofocus operation at high speed when the brightness of the photographed image is high, so that the user can shoot at a time closer to the desired moment without missing a photo opportunity.

  If the photographing lens 10 is driven to the in-focus position, the system control circuit 50 sets the exposure mode according to the autofocus mode. When the autofocus mode is the high-speed mode, the exposure control pattern is set such that the depth of field is deeper than that in the standard mode (S204). The system control circuit 50 uses the calculation result in the image processing circuit 20, and the system control circuit 50 performs AE control using the exposure control means 40 until it is determined that the exposure (AE) is appropriate (S206) (S207). ).

  Using the measurement data obtained by the AE control, the system control circuit 50 determines whether or not the flash is necessary (S208). If the flash is necessary, the flash flag is set and the flash 48 is charged (S209).

  If it is determined that the exposure (AE) is appropriate (S206), the measurement data and / or setting parameters are stored in the internal memory or the memory 52 of the system control circuit 50.

  Using the calculation result in the image processing circuit 20 and the measurement data obtained by the AE control, the system control circuit 50 uses the image processing circuit 20 until the white balance (AWB) is determined to be appropriate (S210). AWB control is performed by adjusting processing parameters (S211).

  If it is determined that the white balance (AWB) is appropriate (S210), the measurement data and / or setting parameters are stored in the internal memory or the memory 52 of the system control circuit 50, and the distance measurement / photometry processing routine S122 is terminated.

  FIG. 5 shows a detailed flowchart of the photographing process in S129 of FIG.

  The system control circuit 50 exposes the image sensor 10 by opening the shutter 12 having an aperture function according to the aperture value by the exposure control means 40 in accordance with the photometric data stored in the internal memory of the system control circuit 50 or the memory 52. (S301, S302).

  It is determined whether or not the flash 48 is necessary based on the flash flag (S303), and if necessary, the flash is emitted (S304).

  The system control circuit 50 waits for the exposure of the image sensor 12 to end in accordance with the photometric data (S305), closes the shutter 12 (S306), reads the charge signal from the image sensor 14, reads the A / D converter 16, and the image processing circuit 20. Then, the photographed image data is written into the memory 30 via the memory control circuit 22 or directly from the A / D converter 16 via the memory control circuit 22 (S307).

  If it is necessary to perform frame processing according to the set shooting mode (S308), the system control circuit 50 writes the data into the memory 30 using the memory control circuit 22 and, if necessary, the image processing circuit 20. After the image data is read and the vertical addition process (S309) and the color process (S310) are sequentially performed, the processed image data is written in the memory 30.

  The system control circuit 50 reads the image data from the memory 30 and transfers the display image data to the image display memory 24 via the memory control circuit 22 (S311).

  When the series of processing is finished, the photographing processing routine S129 is finished.

  FIG. 6 shows a detailed flowchart of the recording process in S134 of FIG.

  The system control circuit 50 uses the memory control circuit 22 and, if necessary, the image processing circuit 20 to read out the captured image data written in the memory 30 and to interpolate the image sensor in a vertical / horizontal pixel ratio of 1: 1. After performing the conversion process (S401), the processed image data is written in the memory 30.

  After the image data written in the memory 30 is read out and image compression processing according to the set mode is performed by the compression / decompression circuit 32 (S402), the interface 90 or 94 and the connector 92 or 96 are used. The compressed image data is written to the recording medium 200 or 210 such as a memory card or a compact flash (registered trademark) card (S403).

  When the writing to the recording medium is finished, the recording processing routine S134 is ended.

  The embodiment of the present invention has been described with reference to FIG.

  In the description of the embodiment, the number of autofocus modes is limited to two. However, there is of course no problem if another mode such as a detailed autofocus mode for performing autofocus more finely than usual is added. These focus evaluation value extraction intervals can be fixed values set in the camera from the beginning, can be changed according to shooting conditions, or can be arbitrarily set by the user. Of course, there is no problem even if the user can arbitrarily set or select, or even if the camera learns.

  In addition, the high-speed mode is automatically switched when the brightness of the photographed image is equal to or higher than a predetermined value, but the predetermined distance may be a fixed value set in the camera from the beginning or may be changed depending on the photographing condition. Of course, there is no problem even if the user can arbitrarily set, the user can arbitrarily set or select within a predetermined range, or the camera can learn.

It is a block diagram of a configuration of an embodiment of the present invention. It is a part of flowchart of the main routine of a present Example. It is a part of flowchart of the main routine of a present Example. It is a flowchart of the distance measurement and photometry routine of a present Example. It is a flowchart of the imaging | photography routine of a present Example. It is a flowchart of the recording routine of a present Example.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Shooting lens 12 Shutter 14 Image pick-up element 16 A / D converter 18 Timing generation circuit 20 Image processing circuit 22 Memory control circuit 24 Image display memory 26 D / A converter 28 Image display part 30 Memory 32 Image compression / decompression circuit 40 Exposure Control unit 42 Distance control unit 44 Zoom control unit 46 Barrier control unit 48 Flash 50 System control circuit 52 Memory 54 Display unit 56 Non-volatile memory 60 Mode dial switch 62 Shutter switch SW1
64 Shutter switch SW2
66 Image display ON / OFF switch 68 Quick review ON / OFF switch 70 Operation unit 80 Power supply control means 82, 84, 92, 96, 206, 216 Connector 86 Power supply means 90, 94, 204, 214 Interface 98 Recording medium attachment / detachment detection means DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Image processing apparatus 102 Protection means 104 Optical finder 110 Communication means 112 Connector (or antenna)
200, 210 Recording medium 202, 212 Recording unit

Claims (1)

The amount of the high frequency component of the luminance signal in the area set in the screen is taken out as the focus evaluation value, the focus evaluation value of the predetermined focus area is taken at regular intervals, the position where the focus evaluation value becomes maximum is found, and the maximum An autofocus device that performs a focusing operation by driving an imaging system to a position, a lens focal length detection device, a focus evaluation value extraction interval changing device that can change a focus evaluation value extraction interval of the focusing operation, and an in-screen A camera having a brightness detection means for detecting brightness and an automatic exposure control device;
If the output of the luminance detection means is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the automatic exposure control device performs automatic exposure control so that the depth of field is deep, and the focus evaluation value extraction interval is changed by the focus evaluation value extraction interval changing means. A camera having control means for setting a large value.

Images