JP2008096505A - Close-up photography unit and close-up photography device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a close-up photography unit and a close-up photography device where the erect image of an object is viewed through an optical finder, and a liquid crystal monitor and various menu buttons are observed and operated from the front in ordinary posture when a digital camera is used. <P>SOLUTION: The close-up photography unit is equipped with: a unit main body 5 having a mount surface 52 for the close-up photography device, an incident surface 54, and a camera attaching member mount surface 53; a camera attaching member 7 attached to the unit main body; and a reflection member 6 incorporated in the unit main body and guiding light made incident from an incident surface 61 to a photographic lens of a camera attached to the camera attaching member 7. The reflection member 6 reflects the light made incident from the incident surface of the unit main body 5 by even number of times and emits it obliquely upward, and the camera attaching member 7 has a camera attaching part 71 for attaching a camera in such a state that the optical axis of the photographic lens of the camera is aligned with the center axial line of the light reflected and emitted by the reflection member. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a close-up unit and a close-up device for photographing a specimen or other subject placed on a subject mounting table with a camera.

  There is an apparatus that includes a subject mounting table, a support column, a pan head supported by the support column, and the like, and photographs a specimen or other subject placed on the subject mounting table by a camera attached to the pan head. This apparatus is called by various names such as a close-up apparatus, a specimen photographing apparatus, a copy stand, and the like. The pan head can be moved up and down along the column while holding the camera, and framing according to the size of the subject can be performed by moving the camera up and down. An illuminator is attached above both the left and right sides of the object mounting table, and the object is illuminated by the diffused light emitted from the illuminator. When a subject is to be photographed without a shadow, a transmitted light illuminator is placed on the subject mounting table, and the subject is placed on the transmitted light illuminator and photographed. Examples of the subject include films such as a slide specimen and an X-ray film. In the case of such a subject, it is also possible to take an image only with transmitted light illumination.

  FIG. 6 shows an example of such a conventional close-up apparatus. In FIG. 6, a column-like subject mounting table 101 is provided with a support column 102 at the center in the left-right direction near the end on the back side. A slider 103 that can be slid vertically along the column 102 and can be fixed at an appropriate height position is attached to the column 102. The slider 103 is an L-shaped member composed of a horizontal side and a vertical side, and the vertical side hangs in parallel with the column 102 in front of the column 102. The vertical side is a pan head, and the camera head is mounted with its photographing optical axis oriented in the vertical direction by screwing the pan head fastening screw 131 into a tripod hole formed in the bottom of the camera 108. It has been. The taking lens 182 of the camera 108 faces downward, faces the subject on the subject placing table 101, and the eyepiece 181 of the viewfinder of the camera 108 faces upward. Such a close-up apparatus is described in Patent Document 1 as an example of the prior art. The invention described in Patent Document 1 aims to improve the workability of the camera setting by enabling the camera angle to be easily adjusted at the time of shooting in such a conventional close-up device. The problem to be solved and the means for solving the problem are different from the present invention.

JP 2001-154260 A

  Such a conventional close-up apparatus as shown in FIG. 6 has the following problems. As can be seen from FIG. 6, the camera 108 is mounted by screwing the pan head fastening screw 131 into the tripod hole formed in the bottom of the camera 108. Mounted downwards to look down. From the viewpoint of the user, this attachment mode is such that the bottom surface of the camera 108 is the back side and the head of the camera 108 is the front side. Therefore, when the subject is observed from the eyepiece 181 of the finder facing upward, the subject image reversed 180 degrees is seen. In addition, since the user frames and focuses the image while looking into the eyepiece 181 from above, the user has to bend the neck nearly 90 degrees and look into the viewfinder. Such a posture places a physical burden on the user and does not make sense from an ergonomic point of view. Some attempts to relieve some of the user's physical burden can be made by adjusting the camera's height to the most comfortable position, but it is still possible to look into the viewfinder from above. .

  In recent years, digital cameras have been widely used in place of silver-salt film cameras, and digital cameras are also frequently used for specimen copying. However, according to the conventional close-up apparatus described above, since the camera is a digital camera, a new problem arises in addition to the above-described problems. That is, the digital camera has a large number of menu buttons used for setting shooting conditions, and includes a liquid crystal monitor for checking an image at the time of shooting or after shooting. The menu buttons, the liquid crystal monitor, and the eyepiece of the optical viewfinder are concentrated on the back of the camera body. Therefore, when the digital camera is mounted on a conventional close-up apparatus as shown in FIG. 6, the menu button, the liquid crystal monitor, and the viewfinder are all viewed in the reverse direction and must be operated in the reverse direction. Deteriorates.

  When the camera is a digital camera, among the above-mentioned problems caused by conventional close-up devices, the problem of viewing the LCD monitor in the reverse direction is that the image signal output from the camera's image sensor is personal. The problem can be solved by inputting to a computer (hereinafter referred to as “personal computer”) and inverting the display on the personal computer by 180 degrees. However, there is a problem that the image deteriorates through such an image processing process on a personal computer.

The object of the present invention is to solve the problems of the prior art as described above. That is, according to the present invention, an erect image of a subject can be seen through an optical viewfinder by enabling a photographer to take a photograph with a posture that is not different from that of a normal camera, and a digital camera is used. An object of the present invention is to provide a close-up unit and a close-up device that allow a liquid crystal monitor to be observed from the front in a normal posture and that various menu buttons can be operated from the front when viewed from the front.
The present invention also eliminates the need for the process of inverting the image by 180 degrees even when the digital camera is used and the image signal output from the image sensor is input to the personal computer and displayed on the personal computer. Another object of the present invention is to provide a close-up unit and a close-up device capable of avoiding image deterioration due to processing of an image.

  A close-up unit according to the present invention includes a unit main body having an attachment surface to the close-up apparatus, an incident surface, and a camera attachment member attachment surface; a camera attachment member attached to the camera attachment member attachment surface of the unit main body; A close-up unit including a reflecting member that guides light incident from the incident surface to a photographing lens of a camera mounted on the camera mounting member, and the reflecting member is incident from the incident surface of the unit body The camera mounting member is configured to reflect light evenly and emit obliquely upward, and the camera mounting member mounts the camera with the optical axis of the photographing lens of the camera being coincident with the central axis of the light reflected and emitted by the reflecting member. The most important feature is having a camera mounting portion.

  The close-up unit according to the present invention also includes a unit main body having a mounting surface to the close-up apparatus, an incident surface, and a camera mounting member mounting surface, a camera mounting member mounted on the camera mounting member mounting surface of the unit main body, and the unit main body. A close-up unit including a reflection member that guides light incident from the incident surface to a photographing lens of a camera mounted on the camera mounting portion, and the unit body has the incident surface in a horizontal posture. The camera mounting member mounting surface is configured to face obliquely upward, and the reflection member reflects light incident from the incident surface of the unit body an even number of times to the camera mounting member mounting surface of the unit body. The camera mounting member is configured to emit light obliquely upward perpendicular to the camera, and the camera lens optical axis is placed on the exit surface of the reflecting member. To match the central axis of the emitted light and having a camera mounting unit for mounting the camera.

  A close-up device according to the present invention has a subject placement table, a support column, and a camera mounting member attached to the support column, and photographs a subject on the subject mounting table from above by a camera mounted on the camera mounting member. The close-up unit according to the present invention is mounted on the camera mounting member.

When the close-up unit or the close-up device according to the present invention is used, when the camera is mounted on the camera mounting portion with its photographing lens facing obliquely downward and the camera facing forward as viewed from the user, the camera is positioned below the close-up unit. An image of the placed subject can be taken with a camera. Therefore, the user can look into the viewfinder without sacrificing the visibility from the eyepiece on the back side of the camera in the same manner as in a normal use mode. In addition, since the subject image observed through the finder is an erect image, it can be observed without a sense of incongruity, and the user can observe the finder in a natural posture.
When the camera is a digital camera, various operation buttons are concentrated on the back and the liquid crystal monitor is also arranged on the back. However, by using the close-up unit or close-up device according to the present invention, the user can Since the operation button can be directly opposed to the liquid crystal monitor, the operation button can be operated without sacrificing operability, and the liquid crystal monitor can be visually recognized without sacrificing visibility.

Embodiments of a close-up unit and a close-up device according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.
In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a subject mounting table, and 2 denotes a support. The subject mounting table 1 is a flat member on which a subject, for example, a specimen or a film to be copied is placed. Near the lower end of the column 2, the center of the rear end (right end in FIG. 1) of the subject mounting table 1 is coupled. A slider 3 is attached to the column 2 so as to be movable up and down along the column 2. A rack 21 is formed on the front side of the support column 2 in the vertical direction, and a pinion (not shown) in the slider 3 is engaged with the rack 21. The pinion is rotated by a manual operation from the outside or by a motor built in the slider 3 and whose rotation is controlled from the outside, whereby the slider 3 moves up and down. A known close-up device is constituted by the subject mounting table 1, the column 2 and the slider 3, and a tripod on the bottom surface of the camera is provided on the front end surface of the slider 3 as in the example of the close-up device described with reference to FIG. The camera can be mounted downward using the hole. That is, the front end portion of the slider 3 forms a pan head, and a fastening screw 31 for mounting the camera by screwing it into a tripod hole of the camera is attached to the pan head.

  The close-up apparatus according to the present invention is characterized in that it includes a close-up unit 5 that is attached to a portion of the slider 3 that corresponds to the pan head. The close-up unit 5 is mainly composed of a unit main body 51, a prism 6 as a reflecting member built in the unit main body 51, and a camera mounting member 7 mounted on the unit main body 51. The unit main body 51 has a mounting surface 52 for a close-up apparatus that can be mounted by tightening the fastening screw 31 at a position corresponding to the pan head of the slider 3. The unit main body 51 is orthogonal to the attachment surface 52 for the close-up apparatus, and forms a horizontal plane in a state in which the unit main body 51 is mounted at a position corresponding to the pan head of the slider 3. Opposite entrance surface 54 is provided. Furthermore, the unit main body 51 has a camera mounting member mounting surface 53 that faces obliquely upward in the manner in which the unit main body 51 is mounted at a position corresponding to the pan head of the slider 3. In this way, the unit main body 51 is formed in a trapezoidal shape in which only the camera mounting member mounting surface 53 is inclined when viewed from the side.

  The prism 6 is disposed at the bottom of the unit main body 51 and is a roof-type prism having incident and second reflecting surfaces 61, a first reflecting surface 62, and an emitting surface 63 as shown in FIG. The prism 6 is attached to the unit main body 51 so that the incident and second reflecting surfaces 61 are parallel to the incident surface 54 of the unit main body 51. The incident of the prism 6 and the second reflecting surface 61 are not formed with any kind of reflecting film, and the reflected light from the subject placed on the subject placing table 1 is transmitted in a direction substantially orthogonal to the first reflecting surface. Light that is reflected by 62 and incident obliquely is reflected toward the exit surface 63. That is, the relative angle of each surface is set so that the incident angle of light reflected by the first reflecting surface 62 and incident on the second reflecting surface 61 is equal to or greater than the critical angle. The angle of the exit surface 63 of the prism 6 is set so that the incident light and the reflected light from the second reflecting surface 61 are emitted in the orthogonal direction. Thus, the prism 6 functions as a reflecting member that reflects the reflected light from the upper surface of the subject mounting table 1 twice and emits it obliquely upward.

  The camera mounting member 7 is made of, for example, a metal material bent in an L shape at a right angle, and one side of the L shape is a camera mounting portion 71 and the other side is a mounting portion 72 to the unit main body. The unit main body mounting portion 72 is slidably mounted on the camera mounting member mounting surface 53 of the unit main body 51 along the mounting surface 53. Therefore, the camera mounting member 7 is attached to the unit main body 51 in a posture inclined according to the inclination of the attachment surface 53. A rotation operation knob 73 is provided at the attachment portion 72 of the camera mounting member 7 to the unit main body, and a pinion (not shown) integrated with the knob 73 is formed on the attachment surface 53 of the unit main body 5 (not shown). Are engaged. Therefore, the camera mounting member 7 slides along the mounting surface 53 by rotating the rotation operation knob 73. The camera mounting member 7 is provided with fixing means so that it can be fixed at an appropriate sliding position.

  The camera mounting portion 71 of the camera mounting member 7 extends obliquely upward and toward the user side in parallel with the central axis of the light emitted from the emission surface 63 of the prism 62. The camera mounting portion 71 is provided with a pan head 76, and the bottom surface of the body 81 of the camera 8 can be placed on the pan head 76, and the camera mounting portion 71 and the pan head 76 are disposed through the fastening. The screw 75 is configured to be screwed into a tripod screw of the camera 8 and tightened. The camera platform 76 can be moved along the camera mounting portion 71, and the camera 8 can be fixed to the camera platform 76 by tightening the fastening screw 75 at an appropriate position. The camera 8 mounted on the camera mounting member 7 in this way is mounted in such a posture that the optical axis of the photographic lens 82 is parallel to the central axis of the light emitted from the exit surface 63 of the prism 62.

  By operating the rotation operation knob 73, the camera mounting member 7 on which the camera 8 is mounted is moved along the camera mounting member mounting surface 53 of the unit main body 51, and the photographing optical axis of the camera 8 is set to the emission surface 63 of the prism 62. It can be made to coincide with the central axis of the light emitted from. A window hole 74 for guiding light emitted from the prism 62 to the photographing lens 82 of the camera 8 is formed in the attachment portion 72 of the camera mounting member 7 to the unit main body.

  By using the close-up unit described above and mounting it on the part corresponding to the pan head of the slider 3 of the close-up device, as shown in FIG. The subject can be attached and in this posture, the subject on the subject placement table 1 that forms a horizontal plane can be photographed. Since the camera 8 takes the above-described posture, the back surface and the eyepiece 83 of the optical viewfinder face obliquely upward. Therefore, the user can look into the viewfinder from the eyepiece 83 in a natural posture. There is no need to take In addition, since the reflected light from the subject on the subject placing table 1 is reflected twice by the prism 6, that is, an even number of times and enters the photographing lens 82, the subject image that can be observed with the optical finder is a formed image, The user can observe the finder image without any discomfort.

  When the camera 8 is a digital camera, operation buttons are generally concentrated on the back of the camera body 81, and a liquid crystal monitor for displaying an image is also disposed on the back of the camera body 81. When the close-up unit or close-up device according to the present invention is used, the back of the camera body 81 faces obliquely upward, so that even if the camera 8 is a digital camera, the operation buttons on the back of the camera body 81 can be operated without any trouble. In addition, the liquid crystal monitor can be observed in a natural posture.

  Many cameras have a shutter button and other operation buttons arranged on the upper surface of the camera body 81 and a display for displaying an operation mode. When such a camera is used by being attached to the close-up unit or close-up device according to the present invention, the upper surface of the camera faces obliquely upward and rearward when viewed from the user, and the visibility of the operation buttons and display on the upper surface of the camera is improved. Damaged. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 1, it is convenient to prepare a mirror 9 that can be attached to an accessory shoe 85 provided on the upper surface of the camera 8. The mirror 9 has, for example, a rectangular shape that is long in the horizontal direction. One end of the angle member 91 is fixed to the lower back surface of the central portion in the longitudinal direction, and the other end of the angle member 91 is inserted into the accessory shoe 85. It is comprised so that it can mount | wear. Then, with the mirror 9 mounted on the camera 8, the reflected light from the upper surface of the camera 8 is reflected by the reflecting surface of the mirror 9, and the bending angle of the angle member 91 is set so as to face the user's eyes. Yes. Although the image of the upper surface of the camera 8 that can be observed by the user through the mirror 9 is an inverted image, the user can see the upper surface of the camera through the mirror 9 in a natural posture. It can be used to improve operability.

  In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, a roof-type prism 6 is used as a reflecting member for guiding reflected light from a subject to the camera. The role of the reflecting member in the present invention is to display the erect image of the subject on the viewfinder of the camera by reflecting the reflected light from the subject an even number of times and guiding it to the camera, and with a natural posture that the user is comfortable. It is to be able to observe the viewfinder of the camera. The reflecting member having such a role is not limited to a roof-type prism. A pentagonal prism 12 as shown in FIG. 3 may be used, or two mirrors as shown in FIG. 4 may be used.

  The pentagonal prism 12 shown in FIG. 3 includes an incident surface 121 that transmits reflected light from a subject below and a first reflecting surface 122 that reflects light incident from a direction orthogonal to the incident surface 121 obliquely downward and rearward. And a second reflection surface 123 that reflects light reflected by the first reflection surface 122 in a direction orthogonal to the incident light, and an emission surface 124 that emits light reflected by the second reflection surface 123. The angle formed by the incident surface 121 and the exit surface 124 is 90 degrees, and light is emitted from the exit surface 124 in the horizontal direction. Therefore, the camera mounted on the camera mounting member 7 described above operates the camera by observing the viewfinder of the camera with the photographing optical axis oriented in the horizontal direction and the user's line of sight in the horizontal direction. The angle of the first reflecting surface 122 or the second reflecting surface 123 may be changed so that the light is emitted obliquely upward.

  The reflecting member shown in FIG. 4 reflects the first mirror 14 that reflects the reflected light from the lower subject obliquely downward and rearward, and the light reflected by the first mirror 14 in a direction orthogonal to the incident light. A second mirror 15 for emitting light forward is provided. The angle formed by the incident light and the outgoing light is 90 degrees, and the camera mounted on the camera mounting member 7 described above has a photographing optical axis oriented in the horizontal direction and the user turns the line of sight in the horizontal direction. You will observe the viewfinder and operate the camera. The angle of the first mirror 14 or the second mirror 15 may be changed so that the light is emitted obliquely upward.

  In the roof type prism 6 used in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the incident and the angle θ formed by the second reflecting surface 61 and the first reflecting surface 62 are important. The incident and second reflecting surfaces 61 need to have an area enough to take in the reflected light from the subject and guide it to the first reflecting surface 62, and without leaving the light reflected by the first reflecting surface 62. Need to reflect. The first reflecting surface 62 is formed with a reflecting film, whereas the incident and second reflecting surfaces 61 are not formed with a reflecting film type for taking in reflected light from the subject as described above. . The light reflected by the first reflecting surface 62 is incident and totally incident on the second reflecting surface 61 by being incident on the second reflecting surface 61 at an angle greater than the critical angle. The reflected light from the subject reflected by the first reflecting surface 62 has different incident and incident angles on the second reflecting surface 61 at the central portion and the peripheral portion. If all of the incident light is not totally reflected, The image is lacking in the periphery. For example, the roof-type prism 6 shown in FIG. 5 has a relatively small angle θ, and light incident from a lower subject is reflected by the first reflecting surface 62 and enters the second reflecting surface 61. The angle (angle with respect to the normal) is small. In such a prism, the light reflected by the first reflecting surface 62 becomes an incident and second reflecting surface 61 at an angle less than the critical angle, and passes through the incident and second reflecting surface 61. Even if all the light does not pass through, the light in the peripheral part may pass through, and the image may lack the peripheral part. Therefore, the angle θ is set to an angle such that the reflected light from the subject reflected by the first reflecting surface 62 is incident on the incident and second reflecting surface 61 at an angle greater than the critical angle.

  The close-up unit according to the present invention can be manufactured and sold as an attachment added to an existing close-up device. Alternatively, it can be manufactured and sold as a close-up apparatus in which a close-up unit according to the present invention is combined with a so-called close-up stand.

It is a side view which shows the Example of the close-up unit and close-up apparatus concerning this invention. It is a side view which shows the roof-type prism which is a reflective member in the said Example. It is a side view which shows another example of the reflection member which can be used for this invention. It is a side view which shows another example of the reflection member which can be used for this invention. It is a side view for demonstrating the conditions requested | required of the roof-type prism used as a reflecting member in this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the example of the conventional close-up apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Subject mounting base 2 Support | pillar 3 Slider 5 Close-up unit 6 Prism as reflecting member 7 Camera mounting member 8 Camera 9 Observation mirror 12 Prism as reflecting member 14 Mirror 15 Mirror 51 Unit main body 52 Mounting surface to close-up device 53 Camera mounting member Attachment surface 54 Incident surface 61 Incident and second reflection surface 62 First reflection surface 63 Output surface 71 Camera mounting portion 72 Attachment portion to unit body 74 Window hole 82 Shooting lens

Claims (8)

A unit main body having a mounting surface for the close-up apparatus, an incident surface, and a camera mounting member mounting surface; a camera mounting member mounted on the camera mounting member mounting surface of the unit main body; A close-up unit comprising a reflecting member that guides light to a photographing lens of a camera mounted on the camera mounting member,
The reflection member is configured to reflect light incident from the incident surface of the unit body an even number of times and to emit obliquely upward,
The camera mounting member is a close-up unit having a camera mounting portion that mounts the camera with the optical axis of the photographing lens of the camera coincident with the central axis of the light reflected and emitted by the reflecting member. A unit main body having a mounting surface for the close-up apparatus, an incident surface, and a camera mounting member mounting surface; a camera mounting member mounted on the camera mounting member mounting surface of the unit main body; A close-up unit comprising a reflecting member for guiding light to a photographing lens of a camera mounted on the camera mounting unit,
The unit body is configured such that when the incident surface is in a horizontal posture, the camera mounting member mounting surface faces obliquely upward,
The reflecting member is configured to reflect light incident from the incident surface of the unit body an even number of times and to emit obliquely upward perpendicular to the camera mounting member mounting surface of the unit body,
The camera mounting member is a close-up unit having a camera mounting portion that mounts the camera with the optical axis of the photographing lens of the camera coincident with the central axis of the light emitted from the exit surface of the reflecting member.   The reflecting member reflects incident light parallel to the incident surface of the unit body and the second reflecting surface, and incident light from the incident and second reflecting surfaces, and makes the incident light enter the oblique direction with respect to the incident and second reflecting surfaces. 3. The close-up unit according to claim 1, further comprising: a prism having a first reflecting surface that is reflected by the incident and second reflecting surfaces and an exit surface that emits light reflected by the incident and second reflecting surfaces.   The reflecting member includes an incident surface, a first reflecting surface that obliquely reflects light incident from a direction orthogonal to the incident surface, a second reflecting surface that reflects light reflected by the first reflecting surface, and a second reflecting surface. The close-up unit according to claim 1, comprising a prism having an emission surface for emitting light reflected by the surface.   The reflection member includes a first mirror that reflects incident light obliquely and a second mirror that reflects and emits light reflected by the first mirror in a direction orthogonal to the incident light. The close-up unit described.   The close-up unit according to claim 2, wherein the camera mounting member is slidably mounted on the camera mounting member mounting surface of the unit main body.   The close-up unit according to claim 2 or 6, wherein a window hole for guiding light emitted from an exit surface of the reflecting member to the camera is formed in a mounting portion of the camera mounting member to the unit main body. A close-up device that has a subject mounting table, a support column, and a camera mounting member attached to the support column, and that captures an object on the subject mounting table from above with a camera mounted on the camera mounting member. 8. A close-up apparatus equipped with the close-up unit according to claim 1.

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