JP2008129120A - Camera - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a camera capable of achieving the reduction of power consumption by projecting a projection image showing photographing information. <P>SOLUTION: The camera includes a photographing part 1 for photographing subjects 53a and 53b, and a projector part 2 for projecting the projection images 52a to 52c showing the photographing information of the photographing part 1 toward the subjects 53a and 53d. Furthermore, it includes an instruction input means 381 for instructing the position of the focus area of the photographing part 1 within the photographing range 55 of the photographing part 1. Any of marks 52a to 52c may be projected to a projection position based on the instruction from the instruction input means 381. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a camera having a projector function.

  Conventionally, a camera provided with a projector is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The projector is incorporated in the camera body, and an image is projected onto the screen using a projection optical system for the projector. When performing camera shooting, the composition is determined by observing the subject image displayed on the liquid crystal display monitor of the camera. In addition, an AF area mark displayed on the liquid crystal display monitor is used to focus on a desired subject.

JP 2005-250392 A

  However, it has not been possible to confirm information regarding photographing on an actual subject.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a camera comprising: a photographing unit that photographs a subject; and a projector unit that projects a projection image representing photographing information of the photographing unit toward the subject.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the camera according to the first aspect, further comprising a focus adjustment mechanism that adjusts a focal position of the projected image in conjunction with a focus adjustment state of the photographing unit.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the camera according to the first or second aspect, during the exposure operation by the photographing unit, the projection of the projection image by the projector unit is stopped.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the camera according to any one of the first to third aspects, the projected image representing the photographing information is a sign related to the focus of the photographing unit, and the sign becomes a focus target of the photographing unit. Is projected onto a certain subject.
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the camera according to the fourth aspect, the form of the sign is changed according to the focus state of the photographing unit.
According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the camera according to the fourth or fifth aspect of the present invention, the camera further includes instruction input means for instructing a position of the focus area of the photographing unit within the photographing range of the photographing unit, and projection based on an instruction from the instruction input means A sign is projected on the position.
According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the camera according to any one of the first to third aspects, a projected image representing photographing information is used as a sign indicating a photographing composition.
According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the camera according to any one of the first to third aspects, the projected image representing the photographing information is used as a mark indicating the photographing range of the photographing unit.
According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the camera according to any one of the first to eighth aspects, the projection position of the projection image according to the deviation between the optical axis of the photographing unit and the optical axis of the projector unit and the subject distance Is provided.

  According to the present invention, since the projection image representing the shooting information of the shooting unit is projected toward the subject, the shooting information can be recognized on the subject.

  Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of the present invention, and is a cross-sectional view illustrating a schematic configuration of a camera including a projector. In the body of the camera 6, a photographing unit 1 for photographing a subject, a projector unit 2 for projecting an image, a control board 3, a battery 4 and a display monitor 5 are provided.

  In the camera according to the present embodiment, the photographing unit 1 can perform photographing in the photographing mode, and an image before the release can be displayed on the display monitor 5 in real time as a through image. Furthermore, as will be described later, it is possible to project an index representing shooting information toward a subject. On the other hand, in the playback mode, an already captured image can be displayed on the display monitor 5, and the playback image can be projected and displayed on the screen by the projector unit 2.

  The photographing unit 1 includes an imaging element 11 and a photographing optical system 12 for forming an image of a subject on the imaging surface of the imaging element 11. As the image sensor 11, various image sensors such as a CCD type and a CMOS type are used. The projector unit 2 includes a transmissive display element 21 that displays a projection image, a light source 22 that illuminates the display element 21, and a projection optical system 23 that projects projection light emitted through the display element 21 onto a subject. It has. For example, a transmissive liquid crystal display panel is used as the display element 21. The photographing optical system 12 and the projection optical system 23 each constitute a zoom optical system. Circuit elements (CPU, memory, etc.) for controlling the photographing unit 1 and the projector unit 2 are mounted on the control board 3.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the camera shown in FIG. The CPU 10 performs a control operation for the entire camera. The photographing optical system 12 is provided with a zoom drive unit 32 that performs a zoom operation and a focus lens drive unit 33 that performs a focus adjustment operation. The imaging signal of the imaging device 11 is input to the signal processing circuit 31 and subjected to image processing. In the signal processing circuit 31, analog processing such as correlated double sampling processing is performed and then converted into a digital signal, and image processing such as contour enhancement, gamma correction, and white balance correction is performed.

  The buffer memory 41 is a frame memory that can store data for a plurality of frames imaged by the image sensor 11. The signal converted into digital data by the signal processing circuit 31 is temporarily stored in the buffer memory 41. Then, the data stored in the buffer memory 41 is read into the signal processing circuit 31 again, the above-described various image processing is performed, and the processed data is stored in the buffer memory 41 again. The processed image data stored in the buffer memory 41 is recorded on a recording medium 39 such as a removable memory card.

  The AF calculation unit 40 calculates the focus adjustment state of the photographing optical system 12 by a contrast detection method based on the image data in the AF area. The focus lens drive unit 33 drives a focus lens (not shown) of the photographing optical system 12 based on the calculation result of the AF calculation unit 40. When a zoom instruction is input from the input operation unit 38 connected to the CPU 10, the zoom drive unit 32 zooms the imaging optical system 12 based on the zoom instruction.

  Image display by the display element 21 of the projector unit 2 is controlled by the display control unit 34. When projection by the projector unit 2 is performed in the reproduction mode, the image recorded on the recording medium 39 is reproduced and displayed on the display element 21. Further, when a sign relating to photographing information is projected in the photographing mode, a display corresponding to the sign is displayed on the display element 21. A sign that can be displayed is set in advance, and any one is selected by the input operation unit 38. As described above, the projection optical system 23 has a zoom function, a zoom operation is performed by the zoom drive unit 35, and a focus adjustment operation is performed by the focus lens drive unit 36.

  A liquid crystal display monitor is used as the display monitor 5 and is controlled by the monitor control unit 37. The display monitor 5 displays a through image in the shooting mode, a playback image in the playback mode, a setting menu, and the like. When the release button 50 (see FIG. 4) of the camera is half-pressed, the half-press switch SW1 is turned on and the AF operation is performed. When the release button 50 is fully pressed, the release switch SW2 is turned on and an exposure operation (photographing operation) is performed.

  Hereinafter, a case where a sign representing shooting information is projected toward a subject during shooting will be described in detail. In the camera of the present embodiment, a sign representing shooting information is projected onto the subject using the projection light. When shooting in a dark situation, the projection light from the projector unit 2 may be used as AF auxiliary light.

  Here, a case where a mark indicating an AF position is projected as an indicator representing imaging information will be described as an example. Whether the display monitor 5 is turned on and off in the photographing mode and whether or not to project a sign using the projector unit 2 can be set by the input operation unit 38. FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the camera in the shooting mode. When the playback mode is set, a program for playback mode processing different from the processing shown in FIG. 3 is executed.

  In step S1, the on / off setting of the display monitor 5 is determined. If it is determined to be on, the process proceeds to step S2, and if it is determined to be off, the process skips step S2 and proceeds to step S3. In step S2, the display monitor 5 is activated. When the display monitor 5 is activated, the subject image captured by the image sensor 11 is displayed on the display monitor 5 as a through image, as shown in FIG. An AF target mark 51 indicating the AF area is displayed at the center of the screen of the display monitor 5 (that is, the center of the photographing range). In FIG. 4, 50 is a release button, 380 is a zoom switch, and 381 is an operation member for moving the AF target mark 51 vertically and horizontally on the monitor.

  In step S3, it is determined whether or not the projector is set to be used. If it is set not to be used, it is determined as no in step S3, and the process proceeds to step S5. On the other hand, if the projector is set to be used, the process proceeds from step S3 to step S4 to activate the projector unit 2 and project the shooting information (AF sign) 52 as shown in FIG. . Reference numeral 54 represents a projection range of the projection light, and an AF marker 52 is projected on the subject 53. Hereinafter, a case where the projector is set to be used will be described.

  As a projection form here, it is assumed that only the AF sign 52 is projected brightly, and projection light is hardly projected in other ranges and is dark. Of course, the projection range other than the AF marker 52 may be projected dimly so that the projection range 54 can be seen.

  Incidentally, as shown in FIG. 5, the optical axis of the photographing optical system 12 and the projection optical system 23 is shifted. Therefore, in order to project the AF marker 52 on the optical axis J1 of the photographing optical system 12, it is necessary to project the AF marker 52 in the angle θ direction with respect to the optical axis J2 of the projection optical system 23. The angle θ is determined by the optical axis deviation L1 and the distance L2 between the subject 53 and is calculated by the display control unit 34 in FIG.

  Since the camera according to the present embodiment calculates the focus adjustment state by the contrast detection method, the subject distance L2 cannot be obtained directly. Therefore, the subject distance L2 is estimated from the focus lens position of the photographing optical system 12 in a state where the subject 53 is in focus, and the angle θ is calculated. When displaying the display corresponding to the AF sign 52 on the display element 21 of the projector unit 2, the display is performed at a position shifted from the optical axis J2 by a distance corresponding to the angle θ. Further, the focus lens position of the projection optical system 23 is adjusted so that the projection image is focused on the position of the projection distance L2.

  In the initial state when the photographing mode is entered, for example, assuming that the subject is photographed, the angle θ is set assuming that the subject distance is about 3 m, and the projection image is adjusted in advance so that the position is in focus. Anyway.

  In step S5, it is determined whether or not the half-press switch SW1 is on. If it is determined that the half-press switch SW1 is on, the process proceeds to step S6, and the process proceeds to step S1 where it is determined that the half-press switch SW1 is off. Return. In step S6, an AF operation of the photographing optical system 12 is performed, and an AF operation of the projection optical system 23 is performed in conjunction therewith.

  That is, with respect to the photographing optical system 12, the focus lens is moved to the lens position where the contrast value reaches a peak based on the calculation result of the AF calculation unit 40. In this AF operation, projection light for displaying the AF sign 52 may be used as AF auxiliary light. The projector unit 2 also moves the focus lens of the projection optical system 23 to a lens position corresponding to the focus lens position of the photographing optical system 12. Further, regarding the projector unit 2, the angle θ is calculated based on the subject distance corresponding to the lens position of the focus lens, and the display position of the AF sign on the display element 21 is adjusted. As a result, a focused AF mark 52 is projected onto the AF position on the subject 53.

  When the photographing optical system 12 is focused on the subject in the AF area by the AF operation, the display color of the AF sign 52 may be changed before and after the focus, or the shape of the AF sign 52 may be changed. For example, the shape of the AF sign 52 is changed from the shape shown in FIG. As such, by changing the display form before and after focusing, it is possible to easily recognize whether or not the subject is in focus.

  In step S7, it is determined whether or not the release switch SW2 is on. If it determines with it being ON at step S7, it will progress to step S9 and the light source 22 of the projector part 2 will be light-extinguished. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S10 to perform a photographing process. When the photographing process is completed, the process proceeds to step S11, and the light source 22 is turned on again. In step S12, it is determined whether or not the camera is turned off. If it is turned off, the program is terminated, and if it is turned on, the process returns to step S1.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S7 that the switch is off, the process proceeds to step S8 to determine whether or not the half-press switch SW1 is off. If it is determined in step S8 that it is off, that is, if the release button 50 is not fully pressed and the half-press is released, the process returns to step S1. If it is determined to be on in step S8, that is, if the release button 50 is half-pressed, the process returns to step S7.

  There are various types of shooting information to be projected by the projector unit 2 in addition to the AF sign 52 described above. Here, as another example, when (a) a plurality of AF areas are set, (b) shooting is performed. A case where a composition frame, a face recognition frame, or the like is displayed as an assisting function, and (c) a shooting range frame is displayed will be described.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where one AF area is set in the shooting range has been described, but a plurality of AF areas may be set. For example, when three AF areas are set within the photographing range 55 as shown in FIG. 6, three AF signs 51a to 51c corresponding to them are projected and displayed. When the focusing operation is performed by half-pressing the release button, the display color of the AF sign corresponding to the focused AF area is changed.

  Further, when the setting is such that the user can arbitrarily select one of the three AF areas, the configuration is as follows. Generally, since the center AF area is selected in the initial state, the center AF index 52a is initially projected on the subject 53a. The photographer can change the AF area to be used by operating the operation member 381 provided on the back of the camera. When the arrow button 381a of the operation member 381 is operated, the selection state moves to the right AF area, and when the arrow button 381b is operated, the selection state moves to the left AF area. Then, an AF sign corresponding to the selected AF area is projected.

  For example, when the center AF area is selected, a display corresponding to the center AF sign 52a is displayed on the display element 21 of the projector unit 2, and the AF sign 52a is projected onto the subject 53a. When the arrow button 381a of the operation member 381 is operated from this state, the selected state moves to the right AF area, and a display corresponding to the AF index 52b is displayed on the display element 21 of the projector unit 2.

  That is, in the display control unit 34 of FIG. 2, based on the subject distance L2 estimated from the focus lens position of the photographing optical system 12 and the position information of the selected AF area in the photographing range 55, the AF sign 52b is displayed. The projection angle θ is calculated. Then, based on the calculated projection angle θ, the shift amount L1, and the subject distance L2, the display position of the sign display on the display element 21 is changed. As a result, the AF marker 52a on the subject 53a disappears, and the AF marker 52b is projected onto the right subject 53b.

  In the example shown in FIG. 6, the number of AF areas is three, but it may be two or four or more. Further, the present invention can be similarly applied to a configuration in which the AF area can be arbitrarily moved within the shooting range 55. In that case, by operating the arrow buttons 381a and 381b of the operation member 381, the AF marker 52 moves to the left and right within the projection range 54, and by operating the arrow buttons 381c and 381d, the AF marker 52 is moved to the projection range 54. Move up and down.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a case where a composition frame is projected. The example shown in FIG. 7 shows an example of a composition frame that assists in photographing a person. A composition frame 57 that is exactly the same as the conventional composition frame 56 displayed on the display monitor 5 is projected into the projection range 54. In the case of the composition frame 56 displayed on the display monitor 5 as in the past, only the photographer knows the relationship between the subject 53 and the composition frame 56, but by projecting the composition frame 57, A certain subject 53a, 53b side can also see the projection light being irradiated. As a result, it is possible to know one's position within the shooting range.

  Further, when the skin color correction function is activated, a frame is projected on the face of the person. The skin color correction function extracts a region recognized as a human face from a captured image and performs skin color adjustment on the region. In face recognition, for example, when a skin color area in a photographing screen is extracted and a pair of eye-like areas exist in the area, the area is determined as a face area. Then, a face frame 70 as shown in FIG. 12A is projected onto the face-recognized region, and skin color adjustment is performed on the image of the face frame 70. Note that, as shown in FIG. 12B, an AF marker 52 may be projected into the face frame 70 to focus on an area recognized as a face. Note that, when projecting the composition frame 56 and the face frame 70, the focus lens driving unit 36 of the projector unit 2 is controlled so that a focused projection image is projected as in the case of the AF sign 52.

  8-11 is a figure explaining the case where an imaging | photography range frame is displayed. Also in this case, since there is an optical axis shift (deviation L1) between the imaging optical system 12 of the imaging unit 1 and the projection optical system 23 of the projector unit 2, the projection frame is set according to the deviation L1 and the subject distance. It is necessary to correct the range. FIG. 8 shows a case where the subject 53a at the distance L3 is photographed and a case where the subject 53b at the distance L4 is photographed. Since the optical axes J1 and J2 of the photographing optical system 12 and the projection optical system 23 are shifted by the shift amount L1, if the distances L3 and L4 are different, the relationship between the projection range and the photographing range changes.

  FIG. 9A shows the relationship between the projection range 54 and the shooting range 55 when the distance is L4, and FIG. 9B shows the relationship between the projection range 54 and the shooting range 55 when the distance is L3. Yes. FIG. 9 shows the shooting range 55 at the distances L3 and L4, and thus the sizes are different. However, the subject in the shooting range 55 is shot as a shot image having the same size. The position of the shooting range 55 is biased to the left with respect to the projection range 54, and the bias ratio increases as the subject distance is shorter.

  Therefore, the display control unit 34 of the projector unit 2 displays a display corresponding to the shooting range frame 60 on the display element 21 according to the subject distance, that is, the focus lens position of the shooting optical system 12. Note that, when projecting the shooting range frame 60, the focus lens driving unit 36 of the projector unit 2 is controlled so that a focused projection image is projected as in the case of the AF index.

  When such a shooting range frame 60 is projected toward the subject, the shooting range frame 60 is projected onto an object (for example, a wall) behind the subject, and the photographer can recognize the shooting range. In addition, when taking a group photo of a plurality of persons, the shooting range frame 60 is projected onto the person when all of them do not fall within the shooting range, and the subject himself also protrudes from the shooting range. It is easy to see that

  Even if the subject distance is the same, if the zoom operation is performed, the shooting range changes. In this case, the projection position of the shooting range frame 60 is corrected according to the zoom state. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a case where zooming is performed on the subject 53b from the state illustrated in FIG. 8, and a broken line indicates a projection range and a photographing range when zooming is performed. FIGS. 11A and 11B show the projection range 54 and the photographing range 55 before and after zooming. In this case, the display position of the photographing range frame 60 is corrected according to the zooming state of the photographing optical system 12 so that the photographing range 55 is correctly indicated.

  As described above, in the camera according to the present embodiment, the index related to the shooting information is projected toward the subject using the projector unit 2 mounted on the camera. Therefore, the shooting information can be confirmed on the subject. Further, since it is possible to know the shooting information without turning on the display monitor 5 that consumes a large amount of power as in the prior art, it is possible to reduce the power consumption. For example, when the AF sign 52 is projected, the AF position can be known by the AF sign 52, and the subject is focused by changing the color or shape of the AF sign 52 during the AF operation. It is possible to easily recognize whether or not.

  Further, in the case of the AF sign 52 or the composition frame 57 (FIG. 7) projected on the subject, the projection light can be used as AF auxiliary light, and there is no need to provide a separate light source for AF auxiliary light. When projecting the composition frame 57 and the shooting range frame 60, there is an advantage that these frames can be recognized not only by the photographer but also by the subject. Therefore, it is possible to reliably prevent the subject to be photographed from going out of the photographing range. As described in the face clear function, a plurality of types of signs may be combined and projected.

  In the camera 6 shown in FIG. 1, the photographing unit 1 and the projector unit 2 are provided separately, but the present invention is also applied to a camera 80 in which the photographing unit and the projector unit are integrated as shown in FIG. Can be applied as well. In FIG. 13, the same components as those in FIG. In the camera 80, a half mirror 81 is disposed on the optical axis of the photographing unit. A part of the projection light transmitted through the display element 21 is reflected by the half mirror 81 and projected to the front of the camera. In the case of the camera 80, since there is no deviation between the optical axis of the projection light and the optical axis of the photographing unit, the above-described correction regarding the AF marker and the projection position of the photographing range frame is not necessary.

  In the above-described embodiment, the camera that adjusts the focus of the photographing optical system using the contrast AF method has been described as an example. However, for example, the present invention can be similarly applied to a camera that detects a subject distance using a distance measuring device. . In addition, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment as long as the characteristics of the present invention are not impaired.

It is a figure explaining embodiment of this invention and is sectional drawing of a camera. A block diagram of the camera is shown. It is a flowchart explaining operation | movement of the camera at the time of imaging | photography mode. It is a figure which shows the projection condition of AF label | marker 52. FIG. It is a figure explaining the optical axis offset between the imaging optical system 12 and the projection optical system 23. FIG. It is a figure explaining projection of AF marker 52 when a plurality of AF areas are set up. It is a figure explaining the projection of the composition frame 57. FIG. It is a figure which shows the relationship between a to-be-photographed object distance, an imaging | photography range, and a projection range. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the projection range 54 and the imaging | photography range 55, (a) shows the case of distance L4, (b) shows the case of distance L3. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the projection range 54 at the time of performing zooming, and the imaging | photography range 55. FIG. It is a figure which shows the projection range 54 before and behind zooming, and the imaging | photography range 55, (a) shows before zooming, (b) shows after zooming, respectively. It is a figure explaining the projection of the label | marker in a face clear function, (a) shows the case where only the face frame 70 is projected, (b) shows the case where the face frame 70 and the AF label | marker 52 are projected, respectively. It is sectional drawing which shows the camera 80 with which the imaging | photography unit and the projector part were united.

Explanation of symbols

  1: photographing unit, 2: projector unit, 5: display monitor, 6, 80: camera, 11: imaging device, 12: photographing optical system, 21: display device, 22: light source, 23 projection optical system, 52, 52a 52c: AF sign, 53, 53a, 53b: subject, 54: projection range, 55: shooting range, 56, 57: composition frame, 60: shooting range frame, 70: face frame, 81: half mirror

Claims (9)

A shooting section for shooting the subject;
A camera comprising: a projector unit that projects a projection image representing shooting information of the shooting unit toward the subject. The camera of claim 1,
2. The camera according to claim 1, wherein the projector unit includes a focus adjustment mechanism that adjusts a focus position of the projection image in conjunction with a focus adjustment state of the photographing unit. The camera according to claim 1 or 2,
During the exposure operation by the photographing unit, the projection of the projection image by the projector unit is stopped. The camera according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The projected image representing the photographing information is a sign relating to the focus of the photographing unit,
The projector is characterized in that the projector projects the sign onto a subject that is a focus target of the photographing unit. The camera according to claim 4, wherein
The projector characterized in that the projector unit changes the form of the sign according to the focus state of the photographing unit. The camera according to claim 4 or 5,
Further comprising instruction input means for instructing the position of the focus area of the imaging unit within the imaging range of the imaging unit;
The said projector part projects the said label | marker on the projection position based on the instruction | indication of the said instruction | indication input means. The camera according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The projection image representing the photographing information is a sign indicating a composition of photographing. The camera according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The projection image representing the photographing information is a sign indicating a photographing range of the photographing unit. In the camera according to any one of claims 1 to 8,
A camera comprising correction means for correcting a projection position of the projection image according to a deviation between an optical axis of the photographing unit and an optical axis of the projector unit and a subject distance.

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