JP2008148359A - Digital camera - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a digital camera which allows an imaging condition to be easily confirmed, even if a power source has been turned off, while reducing the power consumption of the power source. <P>SOLUTION: The digital camera is provided with: a display means having a display plate 44 having a plurality of imaging conditions 58, 59, 60, and 61 and a plurality of imaging conditions "R", "T", "H", and "N" written thereon, an indicator 53, and an indicator 54; a driving means which drives the indicators 53 and 54 in accordance with a user's input to indicate some imaging condition by the indicators 53 and 54; and an imaging means which converts an optical image formed by an optical system to a digital image on the basis of the imaging condition indicated by the indicators 53 and 54. While the power source is turned off, the imaging condition immediately before the turning-off is shown by the indicators 53 and 54. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a digital camera.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a digital camera that indicates a display mode of an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) with a pointer is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The arm-mounted electronic camera (digital camera) described in Patent Document 1 has a clock function, and in the mode (camera mode) in which the arm-mounted electronic camera functions as a digital camera, the long hand has the clock function. The display mode of the LCD is indicated by at least one of the short hand or the second hand. The wrist-worn electronic camera described in Patent Document 1 has three modes of “shooting mode”, “playback mode”, and “erase mode” as LCD display modes, and indicates any mode set by the user. .

  Further, a general digital camera displays various imaging conditions such as white balance and compression ratio, and the number of remaining images that can be additionally stored in the storage unit on the LCD. This allows the user to check the imaging conditions and the number of remaining images.

JP 2000-152060 A

Since the pointer of the digital camera described in Patent Document 1 indicates only the display mode of the LCD, the user cannot confirm various imaging conditions.
Further, in a conventional general digital camera, the LCD must be turned on in order to check the imaging conditions and the number of remaining images, so it takes time to turn on the LCD when checking. In addition, power consumption is increased because power is consumed by the LCD. In addition, when the display mode immediately after turning on the LCD is not a mode for displaying the imaging conditions, an operation for switching to the mode for displaying the imaging conditions is required, which further takes time.

The present invention has been created in view of such problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a digital camera that can easily check imaging conditions while reducing power consumption.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a digital camera that can easily check the number of remaining images while reducing power consumption.

  In order to achieve the above object, a digital camera according to the present invention drives a display unit having a display board on which a plurality of imaging conditions are written and a pointer, and the pointer in accordance with an input from a user. Drive means for indicating an imaging condition by the pointer, and an imaging means for converting an optical image formed by an optical system into a digital image based on the imaging condition indicated by the pointer. . According to this digital camera, the imaging condition can be confirmed by a guideline. Since the display with the pointer does not consume power except when the pointer is driven, the power consumption can be reduced. Further, since the user is not required to perform a special operation at the time of confirmation, confirmation is easy. Therefore, it is possible to easily confirm the imaging conditions while reducing the power consumption.

Furthermore, in the digital camera according to the present invention, the display board is characterized in that white balance is described as an imaging condition. If white balance is written, the white balance can be easily confirmed.
Furthermore, in the digital camera according to the present invention, the display board is characterized in that a compression rate is written as an imaging condition. When the compression rate is written, the compression rate can be easily confirmed.

Further, in the digital camera according to the present invention, the driving means drives the pointer so as to point to a predetermined position when the power is turned off. According to this digital camera, it is easy to know whether the power is on or off.
Further, the digital camera according to the present invention is characterized in that the imaging condition immediately before being turned off is indicated by the pointer while the power is turned off. According to this digital camera, even when the power is turned off, the pointer indicates the imaging condition immediately before the power is turned off, so that the imaging condition can be easily confirmed even when the power is turned off.

  In order to achieve the above object, a digital camera according to the present invention includes an imaging unit that converts an optical image formed by an optical system into a digital image having a data amount corresponding to a set imaging condition, and the imaging unit. The pointer based on the storage means for storing the converted digital image, the display means having a display plate and a pointer indicating the number of images, the remaining capacity of the storage means and the set imaging conditions Driving means for indicating the number of remaining digital images that can be stored in the storage means by the pointer. According to this digital camera, the number of remaining images can be confirmed by a pointer. Since the display with the pointer does not consume power except when the pointer is driven, the power consumption can be reduced. Further, since the user is not required to perform a special operation at the time of confirmation, confirmation is easy. Therefore, the number of remaining images can be easily confirmed while reducing power consumption.

Further, in the digital camera according to the present invention, the scale is described so that the number of images represented by the unit width increases from the start end to the end. According to this digital camera, the number of remaining images can be appropriately communicated to the user while the area where the scale can be displayed is limited.
Further, in the digital camera according to the present invention, the driving means drives the pointer so as to point to a predetermined position when the power is turned off. According to this digital camera, it is easy to know whether the power is on or off.

  Further, the digital camera according to the present invention is characterized in that the number of remaining images immediately before being turned off is indicated by the pointer while the power is turned off. According to this digital camera, even when the power is turned off, the pointer indicates the number of remaining images immediately before being turned off, so that the number of remaining images can be easily confirmed even when the power is turned off.

Further, the digital camera according to the present invention further includes an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) for displaying the digital image converted by the imaging means. According to this digital camera, the converted digital image can be confirmed on the LCD.
The functions of the plurality of means provided in the present invention are realized by hardware resources whose functions are specified by the configuration itself, hardware resources whose functions are specified by a program, or a combination thereof. The functions of the plurality of means are not limited to those realized by hardware resources that are physically independent of each other.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described based on a plurality of examples.

(First Example)
The first embodiment is an example of a digital camera that drives a pointer so that a predetermined position is indicated when the power is turned off.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of the digital still camera 1 as a digital camera according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  The control unit 27 includes a CPU 27a, a flash memory 27b, and a work memory 27c. The CPU 27a controls the entire digital still camera 1 by executing a computer program stored in the flash memory 27b. The CPU 27a also functions as a display unit, a driving unit, and an imaging unit by executing a program stored in the flash memory 27b. The flash memory 27b is a memory that stores various programs and data. Various programs and data stored in the flash memory 27b may be downloaded and stored from a predetermined server via a network, or may be read from a computer-readable storage medium such as the removable memory 31 and stored. The work memory 27c is a memory for temporarily storing programs and data.

The optical system 20 includes a lens, a diaphragm, and the like. The optical system 20 forms an optical image of the subject on the light receiving surface of the image sensor 21.
The image sensor 21 as an imaging means is an area image sensor including pixels discretely arranged in a two-dimensional space and charge transfer elements such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device). The image sensor 21 is driven by a sensor controller 25. The image sensor 21 accumulates charges obtained by photoelectrically converting an optical image formed by the optical system 20 for each pixel for a certain period of time, and outputs an electrical signal corresponding to the amount of light received for each pixel. Provide C (Cyan), M (Magenta), Y (Yellow), and G (Green) complementary color filters, or R (Red), G (Green), and B (Blue) primary color filters on the light-receiving surface. Thus, a color image can be formed.

An A / D converter (ADC) 22 as an imaging unit quantizes the electrical signal output from the image sensor 21 and converts it into a digital signal. Specifically, for example, the ADC 22 performs noise reduction processing included in the electrical signal, electrical signal level adjustment processing by gain adjustment, quantization processing, and the like.
A digital image processing unit 23 as an imaging unit performs image formation processing, white balance correction, γ correction, color space conversion, and the like on the digital signal output from the ADC 22, and R, G, and B gradations for each pixel. A digital image representing a value and gradation values of Y, Cb, Cr, etc. is created. Here, the image forming process means that a digital image having three gradation values of RGB or YCbCr for each pixel is obtained by interpolating luminance information for one color output from a pixel with luminance information of a different color of a neighboring pixel. The process to output. White balance correction is a process of correcting a white subject so that it looks white regardless of the type of light source. In general, with a digital camera, a white subject appears white when imaged under sunlight, but appears reddish when imaged with an indoor incandescent lamp. For this reason, the white balance is corrected so that the white subject appears white on the digital image. Since how to correct the white balance differs depending on the light source, the digital still camera 1 causes the user to set the type of the light source as the white balance and performs correction according to the set light source.

The compression / expansion unit 24 as an imaging unit compresses the created digital image or expands the compressed digital image. Specifically, the compression / decompression unit 24 compresses, for example, in the JPEG format that is lossy compression with data truncation or the Raw format that is lossless compression without data truncation. The compression / decompression unit 24 is also configured to be able to convert it into a TIFF format digital image that is not compressed. In the case of the TIFF format, the compression rate is “no compression”.
Raw format lossless compression, but neither for the TIFF format is a non-compressed high in quality, amount of data from the Raw format for TIFF format is uncompressed large. The JPEG format has a variable compression rate. When the compression rate is high, a large amount of data is truncated to reduce the amount of data. For this reason, when the compression ratio is high, the image quality of the digital image is lowered. On the other hand, since the amount of data to be cut off is small when the compression rate is low, the amount of data of the compressed digital image is larger than that when the compression rate is high, but the deterioration in image quality can be reduced.

  The storage unit 30 as storage means includes a card slot for connecting the removable memory 31, a memory controller, and the like. The storage unit 30 is controlled by the control unit 27, and writes the digital image compressed by the compression / expansion unit 24 into the removable memory 31 and reads the digital image stored in the removable memory 31.

  The drive unit 35 as drive means is a stepping motor for driving the pointer 55 (see FIG. 1), a stepping motor for driving the pointer 54 (see FIG. 1), and a pointer 53 (see FIG. 1). Stepping motor, a stepping motor for driving the pointer 52 (see FIG. 1), a drive circuit, and the like. The drive unit 35 is controlled by the control unit 27, drives the pointer 53 and the pointer 54 in accordance with an input from the user, and indicates any imaging condition by the pointer 53 or the pointer 54. Further, the pointer 55 is driven based on the remaining capacity of the removable memory 31 connected to the storage unit 30 and the set imaging condition, and the remaining number of digital images that can be additionally stored in the removable memory 31 is determined by the pointer 55. Point to. Furthermore, the pointer 52 is driven based on the remaining battery level of a battery (not shown), and the remaining battery level is indicated by the pointer 52.

An LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) 34 is controlled by the display controller 33 and displays a digital image, various setting menus, and the like.
The display controller 33 includes a frame buffer for storing data for one screen of the LCD 34 and a display circuit for driving the LCD 34 based on the data stored in the frame buffer.

1A is a top view of the digital still camera 1, and FIG. 1B is an enlarged view of a broken line portion A shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1, the display unit 32 (see FIG. 2) as display means includes a disk-shaped display plate 44, a display plate 49 formed as an annular frame, and hands 52, 53, 54, and 55. .

On the display board 44, a plurality of white balances and a plurality of compression rates are written as a plurality of imaging conditions. In addition to the white balance and compression rate, the display board 44 also has a scale indicating the remaining battery level of the digital still camera 1.
White balance refers to the type of light source in the first embodiment, and a plurality of symbols representing the auto mode in which the type of light source or the type of light source is determined on the digital still camera 1 side is described on the display board 44. . Here, symbol 58 in the figure represents “auto mode”, symbol 59 represents “daylight (sunlight)”, symbol 60 represents “cloudy weather”, and symbol 61 represents “incandescent light”. The user operates the operation unit 19 to rotate the pointer 54 to point to a target symbol. For example, when an operation is performed to indicate the symbol 61, white balance correction corresponding to the “incandescent lamp” is performed on the digital image. The compression rate is represented as “R”, “T”, “H”, “N” in the figure. Here, the symbol “R” means the Raw format, and “T” means the TIFF format. “N” (Normal) and “H” (High) are JPEG formats, “N” means high compression rate, and “H” means low compression rate. How to set the compression rate of “N” or “H” is a design item that can be selected as appropriate. The scales marked with “E” (Empty) and “F” (FULL) on the display board 44 are scales representing the remaining battery level.

In the first embodiment, the white balance and the compression ratio have been described as an example of the imaging condition. However, when the optical image is converted into a digital image according to the imaging mode such as normal, portrait, landscape, and macro, the imaging mode is selected. It is good also as imaging conditions.
The display plate 49 includes an annular frame and a side wall portion (not shown) that extends in an annular shape from the outer periphery of the frame, and is arranged so that the center thereof coincides with the center of the display plate 44. The inner diameter of the display plate 49 is formed so as to substantially match the diameter of the display plate 44, and the opening is sealed with a transparent member such as glass. On the display board 49, an image number scale representing the number of images is written such that the number of images represented by the unit width increases from the start end toward the end. In the illustrated example, the image number scale is from 0 to 500, where 0 is the start edge and 500 is the rear edge. For example, the scale of the number of images is different in width from 0 to 10 and from 10 to 20. When the width from 10 to 20 is used as the unit width, the unit width represents 10 images in the range from 10 to 20, but the number of images represented by the same width in the range from 0 to 10 is approximately 1 to 2. About the image. That is, the number of images represented by the unit width is larger in the section from 10 to 20 than in the section from 0 to 10. Similarly, the number of images represented by the unit width of the section from 100 to 500 is larger than the number of images represented by the unit width of the section from 10 to 100. Therefore, the image number scale is written so that the number of images represented by the unit width increases from the start end to the end. In general, when the number of remaining images is 100 or more, it is sufficient for the user to obtain information in units of 100 images such as 200 images and 300 images, and accurate information in units of one image is not required. Therefore, when the number of remaining images is 100 or more, it can be said that it is appropriate to provide information of about 100 image units. On the other hand, when the remaining 10 images or less, the user needs to take an image while conscious of the number of remaining images per image, and needs to know the number of remaining images accurately in units of one image. Therefore, it can be said that it is appropriate to provide information in units of one image when the remaining 10 images or less. In the middle, it can be said that it is appropriate to provide information in units of 10 images. If the image number scale is described so that the number of images represented by the unit width increases from the start end toward the end, the interval corresponding to one image is narrowed on the end side of the scale, so the area required for the scale display can be reduced. . If the interval corresponding to one image becomes narrow, it is difficult to obtain information in units of one image, but it is easy to obtain information that is rough as in units of 100 images. Therefore, even if the interval corresponding to one image is narrowed on the end side, provision of appropriate information is not hindered. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the area required for the scale notation while maintaining the provision of appropriate information. On the other hand, information on the basis of one image can be provided on the start side. Therefore, when the image number scale is described so that the number of images represented by the unit width increases from the start end toward the end, it is possible to appropriately convey the number of remaining images to the user in a limited area where the scale can be expressed. .

  The operation unit 19 includes a dial switch 47 as drive means according to claim 1, a dial switch 41 as drive means according to claim 1, and a shutter button 46 for instructing photographing. The dial switch 47 is a switch for selecting the shutter speed, the type of imaging conditions, and the like. The dial switch 41 is a switch for setting a target imaging condition among selected types of imaging conditions. In addition, the operation unit 19 includes a dial switch 43, a changeover switch 42, a winding lever 45, and the like. The dial switch 43 is a switch for setting the sensitivity of the pixel, and the changeover switch 42 is a switch for switching the angle of view. The winding lever 45 is provided to inherit the operability of the silver halide camera, and is configured such that the shutter button 46 can be pressed by performing the winding operation with the winding lever 45. The operation unit 19 further includes an operation switch (not shown) for displaying a stored digital image and various setting menus on the LCD 34 and operating the displayed setting menu.

The hardware configuration of the digital still camera 1 has been described above. Next, the operation of the digital still camera 1 will be described.
When imaging, the user first turns on the digital still camera 1 with a power switch (not shown).
When the power is turned on, the control unit 27 drives the hands 53 and 54 that have pointed to a predetermined position so as to indicate the set imaging condition. Note that how the imaging conditions are set will be described later. The pointer 55 is driven so that the number of remaining images is obtained immediately after the power is turned on, and the remaining number of images obtained by the pointer 55 indicating a predetermined position is indicated. The predetermined position will be described later. The reason why the number of remaining images is obtained after being turned on is that there is a possibility that the remaining capacity may be different from that immediately before the remaining capacity is turned off by replacing the removable memory 31 while being turned off. The control unit 27 controls the storage unit 30 to acquire the remaining capacity of the removable memory 31, and based on the acquired remaining capacity and the currently set compression rate, the number of images that can be additionally stored in the removable memory 31 (remaining The number of images) is obtained, and the pointer 55 is rotated to an angle corresponding to the obtained number of remaining images by controlling the drive unit 35.
Specifically, the number of remaining images may be obtained by, for example, storing an average data amount in advance for each compression rate and dividing the remaining capacity by the data amount corresponding to the currently set compression rate. Then, the relationship between the remaining capacity and the number of remaining images may be stored in advance in a table format for each compression rate, and the number of remaining images may be specified from the acquired remaining capacity and the currently set compression rate.

  Next, the user operates the operation unit 19 as necessary to set imaging conditions such as white balance and compression rate. When setting the imaging condition, the user first turns the dial switch 47 to match the symbol 56 or 57 indicating the type of imaging condition written on the dial switch 47 with the triangle mark 51. Here, symbol 56 is a compression rate as a type of imaging condition, and symbol 57 is a symbol representing white balance. As a result, the type of imaging condition to be set is determined. Next, the user rotates the dial switch 41. When the dial switch 41 is rotated, the control unit 27 drives the pointer according to the input from the user. Specifically, for example, the drive unit 35 is controlled to rotate the pointer corresponding to the selected type of imaging condition to an angle corresponding to the rotation angle of the dial switch 41. The control unit 27 determines the imaging condition indicated by the pointer after the rotation, and stores the determined imaging condition in, for example, the flash memory 27b. Thereby, imaging conditions are set. In the first embodiment, the pointer 53 or 54 is electrically driven by the drive unit 35. For example, the user is provided with a gear that transmits a force for rotating the dial switch 41 to the pointer 53 or 54, and is mechanically driven. You may make it do. The user checks whether or not the rotated pointer indicates the target imaging condition. If the pointer is different, the operation of the dial switch 41 is repeated until the pointer indicates the target imaging condition. It should be noted that the setting here is not necessary if the currently set imaging conditions are acceptable.

In the first embodiment, the user performs an input by rotating the dial switches 47 and 41. For example, a menu for setting imaging conditions is displayed on the LCD 34, and the user selects an imaging condition from the menu. The input may be performed, and the control unit 27 may drive the driving unit 35 in accordance with the selected imaging condition.
When the user presses the shutter button 46, the control unit 27 controls each unit and converts the optical image formed by the optical system 20 into a digital image based on the set imaging conditions. That is, the conversion is performed based on the indicated imaging condition. For example, if “daylight” is set as the white balance, the control unit 27 controls the digital image processing unit 23 to execute white balance correction according to “daylight”. Similarly, the compression / decompression unit 24 is controlled to perform compression at a set compression rate. By compressing at the set compression rate, the optical image is converted into a digital image having a data amount corresponding to the set imaging condition. In the first embodiment, the compression rate has been described as an example of the set imaging condition. However, the imaging condition may be the number of vertical and horizontal pixels of the digital image, that is, the image size. You may make it convert into the digital image of the data amount according to it.

Next, the control unit 27 controls the storage unit 30 to store the converted digital image in the removable memory 31.
Next, the remaining capacity of the removable memory 31 is acquired from the storage unit 30, and the angle of the pointer 55 is updated.
When imaging is finished and a power switch (not shown) is turned off by the user, the control unit 27 controls the drive unit 35 to control all the pointers before controlling the power source to turn off the digital still camera 1. To drive the predetermined position shown in FIG. Here, in the first embodiment, the predetermined position of the pointer 53 is “N”, the predetermined position of the pointer 54 is “A”, the predetermined position of the pointer 52 is “E”, and the predetermined position of the pointer 55 is Means “0”. The predetermined position can be set as appropriate. If all the hands point to a predetermined position all at once, the user can grasp from the position of the hand that the digital still camera 1 is powered off. On the other hand, since all the hands are driven as described above when turned on, the user can visually confirm that the power of the digital still camera 1 is turned on by moving the hands. Therefore, it becomes easy to grasp the power on / off.

  According to the digital still camera 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention described above, imaging conditions unique to the digital still camera such as white balance and compression rate can be confirmed by a guideline. In the case of display by the pointer, power other than that for driving the pointer is not consumed, so that the amount of power consumed for display is smaller than that in the case of display by the LCD 34. In addition, since the user is not required to perform a special operation for confirmation, confirmation is easy. Therefore, according to the digital still camera 1, it is possible to easily check the imaging conditions while reducing the power consumption.

Furthermore, according to the digital still camera 1, the number of remaining images can be confirmed with a guideline, so that the number of remaining images can be easily confirmed while reducing power consumption.
Furthermore, according to the digital still camera 1, since the display plate 44 is disposed so as to be exposed from the opening of the display plate 49, a plurality of scales are concentrated in one place, and the listability is good. Note that the display plate 44 may be disposed outside the display plate 49.
In the first embodiment, the digital still camera 1 has been described as an example, but the present invention may be applied to a digital video camera.

(Second embodiment)
The second embodiment is an example of a digital camera in which the remaining number of images immediately before being turned off is indicated by the pointer while the power is turned off.
In the stepping motor of the digital still camera according to the second embodiment, for example, the frictional force between the drive shaft and the bearing is caused by the force that the rotational moment generated in the pointer according to the attitude of the digital still camera tries to rotate the drive shaft. The position indicated by the hands 52, 53, 54 and 55 is not changed while the digital still camera is turned off.

  The digital still camera of the second embodiment does not change the angles of the hands 52 to 55 by controlling the drive unit 35 when the power is turned off by the user. As a result, each pointer maintains the angle immediately before the power is turned off. Accordingly, each pointer remains in the state indicating the imaging condition immediately before being turned off and the number of remaining images even while the power is turned off.

  With the digital still camera according to the second embodiment of the present invention described above, it is possible to confirm the imaging condition immediately before being turned off even while the power is turned off. For example, after taking an image and turning off the power, when it is necessary to reconfirm whether the imaging condition at the time of imaging was different from the intended imaging condition, according to the digital still camera of the second embodiment It is not necessary to turn on the power to perform the confirmation. Therefore, the imaging conditions can be easily confirmed even when the power is turned off.

  Further, according to the digital still camera of the second embodiment, the number of remaining images immediately before being turned off can be confirmed even while the power is turned off. The timing for checking the number of remaining images is determined according to the needs of the user regardless of whether the power is on or not. Therefore, the user may want to check the number of remaining images when the power is off. In such a case, according to the digital still camera of the second embodiment, it is not necessary to turn on the power supply in order to perform the confirmation. Therefore, the number of remaining images can be easily confirmed even when the power is turned off.

(A) is a top view of a digital camera according to an embodiment of the present invention, and (B) is an enlarged view of a broken line portion A shown in (A). 1 is a block diagram of a digital camera according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a top view of a digital camera according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Digital still camera (digital camera), 20 ... Optical system, 21 ... Image sensor (imaging means), 22 ... A / D conversion part (imaging means), 23 ... Digital image processing part (imaging means), 24 ... Compression Extension unit (imaging unit) 25 ... sensor controller (imaging unit) 27 ... control unit (driving unit, imaging unit, display unit) 30 ... storage unit (storage unit) 32 ... display unit (display unit) 35... Drive unit (drive means), 41... Dial switch (drive means), 47.

Claims (10)

Display means having a display board on which a plurality of imaging conditions are written and pointers;
Driving means for driving the pointer in accordance with an input from a user, and indicating any imaging condition by the pointer;
An image pickup means for converting an optical image formed by an optical system into a digital image based on an image pickup condition indicated by the pointer.   The digital camera according to claim 1, wherein white balance is described as an imaging condition on the display board.   The digital camera according to claim 1, wherein a compression rate is written on the display board as an imaging condition.   4. The digital camera according to claim 1, wherein the driving unit drives the pointer so as to point to a predetermined position when the power is turned off.   The digital camera according to claim 1, wherein an imaging condition immediately before being turned off is indicated by the pointer while the power is turned off. An imaging means for converting an optical image formed by the optical system into a digital image having a data amount corresponding to a set imaging condition;
Storage means for storing a digital image converted by the imaging means;
Display means having a display board on which a scale indicating the number of images is written and a pointer;
Drive means for driving the pointer based on the remaining capacity of the storage means and set imaging conditions, and indicating the number of remaining digital images that can be stored in the storage means by the pointer. A digital camera.   The digital camera according to claim 6, wherein the scale is expressed such that the number of images represented by the unit width increases from the start end toward the end.   The digital camera according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the driving means drives the pointer so as to point to a predetermined position when the power is turned off.   8. The digital camera according to claim 6, wherein the number of remaining images immediately before being turned off is indicated by the pointer while the power is turned off. Digital camera.   The digital camera according to claim 1, further comprising an LCD that displays a digital image converted by the imaging unit.

Images