JP2007221670A - Digital camera - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve holding property of a thin digital camera by solving the problem, wherein there is a risk of malfunction occuring or holding property of the camera being impaired, since a hand touches an operating member, when a photographer holds the camera. <P>SOLUTION: The digital camera comprises a camera body 1, including a front face facing an object during photographing, a rear face which is formed from an approximately flat face approximately parallel with at least a portion of the front face and includes a display monitor 15 for displaying an image, an upper face and a side face connecting the front face and the rear face. On the rear face of the camera body 1, in the vicinity of the upper face and the side face, a holding area AR is formed for holding the camera body 1, and a zoom lever 10 and a release button 9 are arranged on the upper face of the camera body 1. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a thin digital camera excellent in portability.

  As this type of digital camera, for example, the one described in Patent Document 1 is known. In the camera described in Patent Document 1, a zoom button is provided on the back of the camera body so that a photographer can operate the zoom button while holding the camera.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-241819

  However, in the camera described in Patent Document 1, since the photographer touches the operation member when holding the camera, there is a possibility that malfunction occurs or the holdability of the camera is impaired.

The present invention includes a front surface facing a subject at the time of shooting, a rear surface having a display monitor for displaying an image, and a front surface and a rear surface formed by a substantially flat surface substantially parallel to at least a part of the front surface. In a digital camera having a camera body having an upper surface and a side surface, a holding area for holding the camera body is formed on the upper surface of the rear surface of the camera body and in the vicinity of the side surface. One operation member and a second operation member for imaging start command are provided.
A third operation member for inputting other commands related to photographing can be disposed below the holding area on the rear surface of the camera body.
The third operating member may be a rotatable substantially circular operating member.
It is preferable to provide a recess for defining the finger position in the holding area.
Further, a fourth operating member is disposed on the rear surface of the camera body between the holding area and the third operating member, and between the holding area and the display monitor, the fourth operating member is more photographed than the fourth operating member. A fifth operation member having a high operation frequency can also be provided.
The digital camera according to the present invention is characterized in that a holding region is formed on the rear surface of the camera body near the upper surface and the side surface, and an operation member is disposed below the holding region.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to improve camera holdability while preventing malfunction of the camera.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of a digital camera according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the digital camera according to the present embodiment as viewed from the front (front side), and FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the digital camera as viewed from the back (rear side). In the following, the vertical and horizontal directions and the front and rear direction of the camera are defined as shown in the figure, and the arrangement of each part will be described according to this definition.

  This camera is a horizontally long thin camera whose width direction (left-right direction) is longer than its height direction (vertical direction), and its front and rear surfaces are formed by substantially flat surfaces parallel to each other, and has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape as a whole. There is no. Since this type of camera is formed thin with emphasis on portability, a relatively thick grip portion for holding the camera cannot be provided at the side edge of the camera, and sufficient holdability is provided. Difficult to get. In the present embodiment, the following configuration makes it possible to improve the holdability while maintaining the thin shape of the camera.

  The camera body 1 includes a pair of front and rear front covers 2 and 3 having a substantially rectangular shape, and a pair of left and right side covers 4 and 5. A strobe light emitting unit 6, a photographing lens unit 7, and a light emitting unit 8 for AF auxiliary light are provided side by side in the left-right direction on the upper left front of the camera body 1. On the upper right side of the camera body 1, a release button 9, a zoom lever 10, and a power button 11 are provided side by side in the left-right direction, and a function button 12 is provided on the upper left side. The zoom lever 10 is a lever that can be tilted in the left-right direction. When the lever 10 is tilted to the right, the zoom lens 10 is instructed to zoom up, and when the lever 10 is tilted to the left, the zoom down is instructed.

  An LCD monitor 15 of a predetermined size is disposed on the rear surface of the camera body 1 over almost the entire vertical direction and toward the left side. Various images such as a photographed image, a reproduced image, and a menu image are displayed on the LCD monitor 15. In order to enlarge the LCD monitor 15 as much as possible, no finder is provided on the rear surface, and the photographer takes a picture while looking at the LCD monitor 15.

  On the rear flat portion 3a of the camera body 1 on the right side of the LCD monitor 15, a play button 16, a mode button 17, and a menu button 18 are arranged side by side in the vertical direction, and an erase button 19 is arranged on the right side of the menu button 18. ing. The photographer reproduces the photographed image at the time of photographing by operating the playback button 16 and switches the photographing mode by operating the mode button 17 to select an arbitrary photographing mode. Further, shooting conditions and the like are set by operating the menu button 18, and the reproduced image is deleted by operating the delete button 19. The erase button 19 is mainly used at the time of reproduction, and is less frequently used at the time of photographing than the buttons 16 to 18 arranged on the left side.

  A multi-selector 20 is disposed below the menu button 18 and the erasing button 19 on the rear flat portion 3a. The multi-selector 20 includes a substantially circular rotating member 21 and a pressing member 22 disposed at the center of the rotating member 21. When shooting, the rotating member 21 is rotated to select a shooting scene mode or the like and press it. It is determined by operating the member 22. In order to facilitate the operation of the multi-selector 20, the multi-selector 20 is provided so as to slightly protrude from the rear flat portion 3a (see FIG. 3). The right cover 5 is provided with a strap attachment portion 23.

  A holding area AR (two-dot chain line) for the photographer to hold the camera body 1 with the right thumb is located at the upper right of the rear flat portion 3a, that is, above the erase button 19 and to the right of the playback button 16 and the mode button 17. The holding area AR is formed with a recess 30 that is recessed from the rear flat portion 3a. The concave portion 30 includes a bottom surface portion 31 substantially parallel to the flat portion 3a and a side wall portion 32 provided continuously from the bottom surface portion 31 to the flat portion 3a. The bottom surface portion 31 prevents a photographer's finger from slipping. In order to do so, a protrusion 31a is provided. As shown in FIG. 3, the side wall 32 is formed in a curved shape so that when the photographer holds the camera body 1, the belly of the thumb is in close contact. When the side wall portion 32 is formed in a curved surface, a space is left at the lower left of the side wall portion 32, and an LED 33 for notifying the charging state of the strobe is disposed in this space.

  When shooting with the camera configured as described above, the photographer places the right thumb on the back side of the camera body 1, the index finger on the top side, and the middle finger on the front side as shown in FIG. Hold the right end of the camera body 1. Then, with the thumb belly in contact with the recess 30, the zoom lever 10 and the release button 9 are operated with the index finger to take a picture. Therefore, it is not necessary to shift the position of the thumb at the time of photographing, and the thumb can be firmly fixed to the camera body 1, so that the holdability can be improved.

  In this case, when the recess 30 is supported by the thumb, the base of the thumb contacts the bottom of the camera body 1 as shown in FIG. 3A, and a gap SP is left between the multi-selector 20 and the thumb. For this reason, the thumb does not touch the multi-selector 20 during shooting, and it is possible to prevent the multi-selector 20 from being operated erroneously. If the thumb position is shifted downward with the camera body 1 held, the multi-selector 20 can be operated and the shooting scene mode can be easily selected.

According to the above embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) A holding area AR for a photographer to hold with the thumb is formed in the upper right corner of the rear surface of the camera body 1, a recess 30 is provided in the holding area AR, and the zoom lever 10 is provided on the upper surface of the camera body 1. A release button 9 is provided. Thereby, it is possible to take a picture with the thumb fixed to the recess 30 without touching the operation member, and it is possible to improve the holdability of the thin camera while preventing the operation member from malfunctioning.
(2) Since the curved side wall portion 32 is provided in the concave portion 30, the belly of the thumb is in close contact with the concave portion 30, and the camera can be held at an appropriate finger position.
(3) Since the playback button 16 and the mode button 17 that are frequently operated at the time of shooting are arranged on the left side of the recess 30 and the delete button 19 that is less frequently operated is arranged below the recess 30, the space on the right side of the LCD monitor 15 In addition, the operation members can be efficiently arranged, and the LCD monitor 15 can be enlarged without impairing the operability during photographing.

(4) Since the multi-selector 20 is provided below the recess 30, the multi-selector 20 is positioned in the gap SP inside the thumb when the photographer is holding the camera, thereby preventing an erroneous operation of the multi-selector 20. be able to.
(5) Since the multi-selector 20 is a large operation member that can be rotated, the multi-selector 20 can be easily operated by shifting the position of the thumb downward, and the selection of the shooting scene mode is easy. .
(6) A multi-selector 20 that is a rotation operation member is provided below the button-like operation members 16 to 19. That is, since different types of operation members are respectively arranged on the upper right side and lower right side of the LCD monitor 15, when assembling a camera by separately manufacturing different types of operation members, assembly work is easy.

  In the above embodiment, the holding area AR is formed in the vicinity of the upper corner of the rear surface of the camera body 1 and the concave portion 30 is provided in the holding area AR. If the photographer can hold the camera while fixing the thumb, other than the recess may be provided. For example, the holding area AR may be a flat surface, and in that case, a slip stopper for defining the position of the thumb may be provided. Although the zoom lever 10 as the first operation member and the release button 9 as the second operation member are disposed on the upper surface of the camera body 1, the operation members may have any shape.

  Although the multi-selector 20 as the third operation member is disposed below the concave portion 30, a cross key having contacts arranged in, for example, four directions may be provided instead of the multi-selector 20. An erasing button 19 as a fourth operation member is disposed between the recess 30 and the multi-selector 20, and a reproduction button 16 and a mode button as a fifth operation member are provided between the recess 30 and the LCD monitor 15. However, the arrangement of the operation members is not limited to this. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, a menu button 18 and an erase button 19 may be provided below the multi-selector 20, and various operation members other than those described above may be arranged.

  The taking lens unit 7 may be a retractable type. The above description applies to a horizontally long thin digital camera, but a display monitor for displaying an image, which is formed of a front surface facing a subject at the time of shooting and a substantially flat surface substantially parallel to at least a part of the front surface. The present invention can be similarly applied to any thin digital camera including a camera body having a rear surface having a top surface and a side surface connecting the front surface and the rear surface. That is, the present invention is not limited to the digital camera of the embodiment as long as the features and functions of the present invention can be realized. The above description is merely an example, and when interpreting the invention, there is no limitation or restriction on the correspondence between the items described in the embodiment and the items described in the claims.

The perspective view which looked at the digital camera which concerns on embodiment of this invention from the front. The perspective view which looked at the digital camera concerning an embodiment of the invention from the back. The figure which shows the state holding the digital camera which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the modification of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Camera body 7 Shooting lens part 9 Release button 10 Zoom lever 15 LCD monitor 16 Playback button 17 Mode button 18 Menu button 19 Erase button 20 Multi selector 30 Recessed AR Holding area

Claims (6)

The front facing the subject when shooting,
A rear surface formed of a substantially flat surface substantially parallel to at least a part of the front surface and having a display monitor for displaying an image;
In a digital camera comprising a camera body having an upper surface and a side surface connecting the front surface and the rear surface,
Forming a holding region for holding the camera body in the vicinity of the upper surface and the side surface of the rear surface of the camera body;
A digital camera, wherein a first operation member for zoom instruction and a second operation member for imaging start instruction are disposed on an upper surface of the camera body. The digital camera according to claim 1, wherein
3. A digital camera comprising a third operation member for inputting another command related to photographing, below the holding area on the rear surface of the camera body. The digital camera according to claim 2,
The digital camera according to claim 3, wherein the third operation member is a rotatable substantially circular operation member. The digital camera according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The digital camera according to claim 1, wherein the holding area is provided with a recess for defining a finger position. The digital camera according to any one of claims 2 to 4,
Further, on the rear surface of the camera body, a fourth operation member is disposed between the holding region and the third operation member, and the fourth operation member is disposed between the holding region and the display monitor. A digital camera, wherein a fifth operation member having a higher operation frequency at the time of photographing than the operation member is provided. The front facing the subject when shooting,
A rear surface formed of a substantially flat surface substantially parallel to at least a part of the front surface and having a display monitor for displaying an image;
In a digital camera comprising a camera body having an upper surface and a side surface connecting the front surface and the rear surface,
A digital camera, wherein a holding region is formed on the rear surface of the camera body near the upper surface and the side surface, and an operation member is disposed below the holding region.

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