JP2008205569A - Imaging apparatus and method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an imaging apparatus and a method thereof which can easily obtain a portrait photographing effect. <P>SOLUTION: A tilt mechanism 20 has a horizontal shaft 33 and a vertical shaft 24 for inclining the light receiving surface 27 of an imaging sensor relative to a lens optical axis 23, and holds the light receiving surface 27 at an initial position at which the center matches with the lens optical axis 23 and it is made vertical to the lens optical axis 23. A contrast AF detects object distance information for each area for which the entire screen is divided into a plurality of screens. A posture detection means detects the distribution of a close distance object on the basis of the object distance information of each area and judges the posture of the light receiving surface 27 on the basis of the spread direction of the distribution. The tilt mechanism 20 rotates the light receiving surface 27 around the vertical shaft 24 when the posture of the light receiving surface 27 is the posture of a horizontal position, and the tilt mechanism 29 rotates the light receiving surface 27 around the horizontal shaft 33 when the posture of the light receiving surface 27 is a vertical position inversely. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus and method including an imaging sensor that captures a subject image formed by a photographing lens, and a tilt mechanism that tilts one of a light receiving surface of the imaging sensor and a lens optical axis with respect to the other. Is.

  Portrait photography is known in which the main subject is in focus and the other subjects are out of focus. The amount of defocus varies depending on the focal length of the photographic lens, the aperture diameter of the photographic lens, the distance from the position where the focus is matched, etc. The longer the focal length of the photographic lens, the more the aperture of the photographic lens. As the diameter increases, the amount of blur increases as the distance from the focused position increases. For this reason, in the above-described photographing technique, it is important to use a photographing lens having a relatively long focal length and to open the aperture wide to reduce the focal depth (depth of field).

  The light receiving surface of an image sensor of an electronic camera is generally smaller in size than the exposure surface of a 135 type photographic film camera. For this reason, when trying to obtain the same angle of view as a photographic film camera, the focal length of the photographic lens of the electronic camera is shorter than the focal length of the photographic lens of the photographic film camera. The focal length is short. In addition, if a diaphragm having a large aperture diameter is provided in the photographic lens, the photographic lens becomes large and expensive, and a compact electronic camera often incorporates a diaphragm having a small aperture diameter. In addition, since the exposure area is small and a small image area is sufficient, the effective aperture of the photographic lens is designed to be small. As a result, a compact electronic camera often uses a photographic lens with a dark lens brightness. .

  As described above, in an electronic camera in which an imaging sensor has a small image plane, a short focal length, and a dark photographing lens with a small aperture diameter, the depth of focus becomes deep and the background blurring occurs. It cannot be expected so much, and the image tends to give a pan-focus impression. Therefore, this type of electronic camera has a problem that it is not suitable for portrait photography.

  In view of this, there are known electronic cameras and photographing apparatuses that obtain a portrait photographing effect by focusing on a main subject and blurring a subject other than the main subject by image processing (Patent Documents 1 and 2). . In these devices, since image processing is performed using a plurality of photographed images, it is necessary to photograph a plurality of times by one release operation. For this reason, there is a possibility that a release time lag may occur, and it takes time to create a final generated image by image processing.

  By the way, a camera for a photographic film provided with a tilt mechanism is conventionally known. The tilt mechanism is a mechanism that adjusts the position of the photographing optical axis and the center of the image plane. The adjustment includes shift (parallel tilt) adjustment and tilt adjustment. The shift adjustment shifts either the imaging plane or the imaging lens toward the target imaging position of the subject while keeping the imaging optical axis perpendicular to the imaging plane. By performing the shift adjustment, it is possible to obtain an image in which the image distortion such as the one side sag or the top / bottom sag is corrected without changing the magnification of the size of the subject image on the same screen. In the tilt adjustment, either the imaging surface and the photographing lens or one of the imaging surface and the photographing lens is tilted with respect to the other. By performing the tilt adjustment, it is possible to control a focusing range such as focusing on all the subjects located at different distances.

As the tilt mechanism provided in the electronic camera, since the image sensor is more compact than the photographing lens, a back tilt mechanism that shifts and tilts the image sensor with respect to the photographing lens is known (Patent Documents 3 to 5). Patent Document 3 describes a moving device for an individual image sensor that performs shift or tilt adjustment of an image sensor (image sensor) by manual operation. Patent Document 4 describes a television camera photoelectric conversion surface tilt device capable of continuously shifting and tilting an image sensor manually during shooting. Further, Patent Document 5 detects the tilt of the subject surface using subject distance information obtained by measuring a plurality of focus areas, and sets the image sensor to the photographing lens according to the detected tilt of the subject surface. A tilting device that automatically adjusts the tilt is described.
JP 2000-13665 A (paragraphs [0051] to [0059]) JP 2005-136480 A No. 1-15258 JP-A-1-91574 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-159377

  The tilt mechanism described in Patent Documents 3 to 5 described above changes the relationship in which the lens optical axis coincides with the center of the imaging surface and the relationship in which the lens optical axis is perpendicular to the imaging surface, thereby changing the depth of field. It is intended to focus from the front to the back of the image, to correct image distortion, or to distort the image in reverse, and is not used to produce portrait photography effects.

  In portrait photography, the camera posture is changed to a horizontal position or a vertical position when framing is performed. For this reason, the direction of the main subject imaged with respect to the light receiving surface changes depending on the posture of the camera. If the orientation of the main subject relative to the light receiving surface does not match the axis for rotating the light receiving surface, there is a possibility that only a part of the main subject is in focus.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an imaging apparatus and method capable of obtaining a portrait photographing effect of focusing on all the main subjects and blurring other than the main subjects.

  In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, any one of a lateral position where the longitudinal direction of the rectangular light receiving surface of the image sensor is substantially parallel to absolute horizontal and a longitudinal position where the longitudinal direction is substantially parallel to absolute vertical is selected. A posture detecting means for detecting the posture of one of the light receiving surfaces, and a vertical axis arranged in parallel with the short direction of the light receiving surface based on the posture of the light receiving surface detected by the posture detecting means and arranged in parallel with the longitudinal direction. A rotation axis determining means for determining one of the horizontal axis and the rotation axis determining means for rotating one of the light receiving surface and the photographing lens with respect to the other about the determined rotation axis. It is a thing.

  The rotation axis determination means determines the rotation axis to be rotated by the tilt mechanism as the vertical axis when the attitude detection means detects the horizontal position attitude, and determines the rotation axis to be rotated by the tilt mechanism when the vertical position attitude is detected. Determine the horizontal axis.

  As the posture detection means, a face image area may be extracted based on image data obtained from the imaging means, and the posture of the light receiving surface may be detected based on the feature points of the extracted face image area. Further, the posture detecting means may be constituted by an angle sensor that detects the rotational position of the light receiving surface and a posture specifying means that specifies the posture of the light receiving surface based on information obtained from the angle sensor.

  Furthermore, a multipoint ranging unit that detects subject distance information for each region based on contrast information of a plurality of predetermined regions among all regions of the image data obtained from the imaging means, and detection by the multipoint ranging unit Identifying means for identifying the subject located at the closest distance based on the subject distance information as the main subject, and examining the distribution of the area identified by the posture detection means as the main subject, and based on the spreading direction of the distribution You may detect the attitude | position of a light-receiving surface.

  When a plurality of subjects are arranged in an oblique line, if the light receiving surface or the photographic lens is rotated in a direction opposite to the arrangement direction of the plurality of subjects, all of the plurality of subjects are in focus. Therefore, based on the object distance information, the rotation direction and rotation for determining the rotation direction and rotation angle of the rotation axis determined by the rotation axis determination means so that the subject image other than the main subject is not focused within the focal depth of the photographing lens. It is preferable to provide an angle determining means.

  When the tilt mechanism rotates the light receiving surface with respect to the photographic lens, the photographic lens is focused so that the main subject specified by the specifying means is in focus after rotating the light receiving surface around the rotation axis determined by the rotation axis determining means. It is desirable to provide focusing means for focusing. This makes it possible to focus on the main subject without fail even in a composition where the main subject is not in the center of the screen.

  Also, the focal length of the taking lens is set so that the image or face image of the main subject received on the light receiving surface after rotation has the same image magnification as the image or face image of the main subject received on the light receiving surface before rotation. Image magnification correcting means for correcting the image may be provided.

  It is difficult to attach the imaging means so that the light receiving surface is arranged perpendicular to the lens optical axis because high accuracy is required. Therefore, the initial position of the light receiving surface may be adjusted in advance using a tilt mechanism. In this case, an operation unit that selectively selects a tilt adjustment mode and a shooting mode for adjusting the tilt of the light receiving surface or the photographing lens, and all of the image data obtained from the imaging means when the tilt adjustment mode is selected. The subject distance information for each region is obtained based on the contrast information of a plurality of predetermined regions of the region, and the other inclination with respect to any one of the light receiving surface and the photographing lens is determined based on the subject distance information of each region. An inclination detecting means for detecting, a storage means for storing the inclination detected by the inclination detecting means as an initial position, and a light receiving surface and a lens optical axis based on the initial position read from the storage means in response to the selection of the photographing mode. An initial position setting unit that controls the tilt mechanism to rotate the light receiving surface or the photographing lens so as to be in a vertical relationship may be provided.

  According to the present invention, based on the posture of the light receiving surface detected by the posture detecting means, any one of the vertical axis arranged in parallel with the short side direction of the light receiving surface and the horizontal axis arranged in parallel with the longitudinal direction. Since the rotation axis determination means determines one of them, the attitude of the light receiving surface is changed to the horizontal position or the vertical position by rotating either the light receiving surface or the photographing lens around the determined rotation axis with respect to the other. Even in the position and orientation, it is possible to surely obtain a portrait photographing effect of focusing on all the subjects and blurring other than the main subject.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the electronic camera 10 is a lens interchangeable camera, and is used with a lens unit 12 detachably attached to a camera body 11. The lens unit 12 includes a photographing lens 13, a diaphragm, a shutter, an image sensor, a tilt mechanism, and the like.

  On the upper surface of the camera body 11, an operation unit including a shutter button 14, a mode selection dial 15, and a power switch 16 is provided. The mode selection dial 15 selects one of a portrait shooting mode, a normal shooting mode, and a playback mode. The portrait photographing mode is a mode in which the light receiving surface is tilted by the operation of the tilt mechanism, the main subject located at the closest distance is focused, and the focus other than the main subject is blurred. Although not shown, on the back of the camera body 11, an LCD for displaying a through image and a reproduced image, a zoom operation unit, and the like are provided.

  A body mount 17 is provided at the rear end of the lens unit 12. The body mount 17 is detachably coupled to a lens mount 18 provided on the front surface of the camera body 11. The body mount 17 and the lens mount 18 are provided with contact portions, respectively, and electrical communication can be performed between the lens unit 12 and the camera body 11 by connecting the contact portions to each other. In addition, as a coupling | bonding of the mounts mentioned above, the bayonet mounting system with a some nail | claw, the well-known screw-type screw mount, etc. are employable.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the tilt mechanism 20 includes a horizontal axis tilt mechanism 21 and a vertical axis tilt mechanism 22. The vertical axis tilt mechanism 22 includes a vertical axis 24 orthogonal to the lens optical axis 23, an image sensor support member 25 fixed to the vertical axis 24, and a vertical axis drive mechanism that rotates the vertical axis 24. An imaging sensor is built in the imaging sensor support member 25. The imaging sensor is an image sensor such as a CCD or a CMOS, and has a horizontally long light receiving surface 27. The imaging sensor support member 25 has an opening 28 that exposes the light receiving surface 27, and tilts the light receiving surface 27 in the left-right direction by rotating about the vertical axis 24.

  The vertical axis drive mechanism includes a vertical shaft 24 orthogonal to the lens optical axis 23, a wheel gear 29 provided on the vertical shaft 24, a worm gear 30 meshing with the wheel gear 29, and a motor 31 provided with the worm gear 30 on the output shaft. The driving of the motor 31 is transmitted to the vertical shaft 24 via the worm gears 29 and 30.

  The horizontal axis tilt mechanism 21 includes a horizontal axis 33 that is orthogonal to the lens optical axis 23, a support plate 34 that is fixed to the horizontal axis 33, and a horizontal axis drive mechanism that rotates the horizontal axis 33. An imaging sensor support member 25 is attached to the support plate 34. The horizontal shaft drive mechanism is composed of a wheel gear 35 provided on the horizontal shaft 33, a worm gear 36 meshing with the wheel gear 35, and a motor 37 provided with the worm gear 36 on the output shaft, via the worm gears 35, 36. The drive of the motor 37 is transmitted to the horizontal shaft 33. The support plate 34 rotates the light receiving surface 27 in the vertical direction by rotating around the horizontal axis 33. Although two motors 31 and 37 are used, instead, a single motor may be used for driving by using a drive transmission switching mechanism such as a planetary gear.

  The initial positions of the vertical axis tilt mechanism 22 and the horizontal axis tilt mechanism 21 are determined such that the lens optical axis 23 coincides with the center of the light receiving surface 27 and the light receiving surface 27 is perpendicular to the lens optical axis 23. It has been. The initial position of the image sensor support member 25 is detected by a left-right initial position detection sensor 38 attached to the support plate 34. On the other hand, the initial position of the support plate 34 is recognized by the detection of the initial position detection sensor 39 in the vertical direction. The sensor 39 is fixed inside the lens unit 12. Signals obtained from these sensors 38 and 39 are taken into the lens side CPU 40 provided in the lens unit 12. The lens side CPU 40 controls the driving of the motors 31 and 37 via the drivers 41 and 42 while monitoring the signals obtained from the sensors 38 and 39. Each of the motors 31 and 37 is a pulse motor, and the lens side CPU 40 controls the amount of rotation and the direction of rotation by sending a pulse signal. Accordingly, the tilt mechanism 20 normally positions the image sensor at an initial position where the light receiving surface 27 is perpendicular to the lens optical axis 23 and the center of the light receiving surface 27 coincides with the lens optical axis 23. . The position of the light receiving surface 27 at the initial position coincides with the imaging surface of the photographing lens 13.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the lens unit 12 includes a photographing lens 13, a diaphragm mechanism 45, a mechanical shutter 46, an image sensor 47 having a light receiving surface 27, a diaphragm motor 48, a shutter motor 49, and a focusing motor 50. , Zooming motor 51, drivers 52, 53, 54, 55 of these motors 48 to 51, tilt mechanism 20, drivers 41, 42 for tilt mechanism, analog signal processing 57, A / D 58, digital signal processing 59, AF An AE integrating circuit 60, a compression circuit 61, a ROM 62, a RAM 63, a bus interface (I / F) driver 64, left and right and vertical initial position detection sensors 38 and 39, and a lens side CPU 40 are incorporated.

  Among these, the lens side CPU 40, ROM 62, RAM 63, compression circuit 61, bus I / F driver 64, AF / AE integration circuit 60, and digital signal processing 59 are connected by a transmission path (bus) 65. The analog signal processing 57, A / D 58, digital signal processing 59, and compression circuit 61 convert the image signal obtained from the image sensor 47 into a digital image signal and compress it into a predetermined compression format. Process until. The image data compressed by the compression circuit 61 is sent to the camera body 11 side as high-speed communication via the I / F driver 64 as recording image data. Of course, the lens side contact portion 66 and the body side contact portion 67 pass through this interval. Further, the image data for the through image obtained from the digital signal processing 59 is sent to the camera body 11 via the bus 65 and the I / F driver 64.

  The AF / AE integrating circuit 60 takes in a digital image signal obtained from the A / D 58 and performs contrast AF control and AE control. In the AE control, an appropriate exposure value and a white balance correction amount are calculated based on luminance information of an image signal captured at predetermined intervals. These pieces of information are sent to the lens side CPU 40, and the lens side CPU 40 continuously controls the image processing in the shutter 46, the diaphragm mechanism 45, and the digital signal processing 59 based on the obtained information.

  The AF control is a continuous auto focus (CAF) control that always focuses even without half-pressing the shutter button 14. This control extracts and extracts the image component of the focus evaluation area from the image signal based on one or more focus evaluation areas (AF areas) set in advance to evaluate the focus state of the image. The contrast value of the image is obtained based on the image component of each focus evaluation area. Based on the obtained contrast value, the in-focus state of the image is determined, the in-focus position of the focus lens is specified, and a control signal for driving the lens is sent to the lens-side CPU 40.

  Note that the lens side CPU 40 performs coarse contrast detection by setting the count number of the pulse-like signal supplied to the focusing motor 50 to a large count number in the shooting standby state for displaying a through image. Then, the lens side CPU 40 performs fine contrast detection by setting the count number supplied to the focusing motor 50 in response to the half-pressing operation of the shutter button 14, that is, the input of the shooting instruction, to a small count value. .

  The AE / AF integration circuit 60 and the lens-side CPU 40 constitute an attitude detection unit and a rotation axis determination unit. The posture detection means operates when the portrait photographing mode is selected. This means detects the posture of the light receiving surface 27 and determines which of the shaft that rotates the light receiving surface 27 according to the posture of the light receiving surface 27, that is, the vertical axis tilt mechanism 22 or the horizontal axis tilt mechanism 21 is operated. To decide.

  The AE / AF integration circuit 60 includes an extraction unit and a contrast calculation unit as circuits constituting a part of the posture detection unit. As shown in FIG. 5, the extraction unit extracts the image component of the area 70 obtained by dividing the entire area of the shooting screen from the image signal obtained in response to the half-pressing operation of the shutter button 14. The contrast calculation unit obtains the contrast value of the image based on the image component of each region and sends the information to the lens side CPU 40. The lens side CPU 40 has an attitude detection unit and a rotation axis determination unit. The posture detection unit obtains the subject distance from the contrast information of each region, identifies the region 70a regarded as the main subject located at the closest distance, and the distribution of the identified region 70a extends in the short direction of the shooting screen The light receiving surface 27 is determined to be in the “horizontal position” posture, and conversely, if the light receiving surface 27 extends in the longitudinal direction of the shooting screen, the light receiving surface 27 is determined to be in the “vertical position” posture.

  Instead of performing subject distance evaluation based on a plurality of areas obtained by dividing the entire area of the shooting screen, the subject is determined based on a plurality of predetermined areas (part of the shooting screen) in the shooting screen. A distance evaluation may be performed. In the portrait mode shooting mode, after the light receiving surface 27 is rotated, the main subject located at the closest distance is focused.

  The rotation axis determination unit determines which of the horizontal axis tilt mechanism 21 and the vertical axis tilt mechanism 22 is to be operated based on the attitude of the light receiving surface 27. For example, when it is determined that the light receiving surface 27 is in the “lateral position”, the axis to be rotated is determined as the vertical axis 24 and the vertical axis tilt mechanism 22 is operated. On the other hand, when it is determined that the light receiving surface 27 is in the “vertical position”, the horizontal axis 33 is determined as the axis to be rotated, and the horizontal axis tilt mechanism 21 is operated. In this embodiment, the rotation angle of the light receiving surface 27 in the vertical axis tilt mechanism 22 and the horizontal axis tilt mechanism 21 is set to be constant.

  The camera body 11 is provided with a body side CPU 71, an I / F driver 72, a ROM 73, a RAM 74, a decompression circuit 75, a card I / F 76, a frame memory 77, and the like, which exchange data between the circuits. Is connected to a transmission path (bus) 78. The recording image data sent from the lens unit 12 side at a high speed is sent from the I / F driver 72 to the card I / F 76 through the bus 78 and recorded on the memory card 79 connected to the card I / F 76. The The memory card 79 is detachably attached to the slot 80. Further, the image data for the through image sent from the lens unit 12 side is stored in the frame memory 77 and then sent to the LCD 82 via the LCD driver 81. As a result, a through image is displayed on the LCD 82. The operation unit 83 provided on the camera body 11 is connected to the lens side CPU 40 via contact units 66 and 67. The operation unit 83 includes the shutter button 14, the power switch 16, the mode selection dial 15, and the zoom operation unit described with reference to FIG.

  The mode information designated by the mode selection dial 15 is sent to the lens side CPU 40. When the normal shooting mode and the portrait shooting mode are designated, the lens-side CPU 40 performs overall control, executes each mode program stored in the ROM 62 provided on the lens unit 12 side, displays a through image, and Each unit is controlled so as to perform processing related to photographing. Shooting is performed in response to a release operation (full press operation) of the shutter button 14. The release signal obtained from the shutter button 14 is sent to the lens side CPU 40 and the body side CPU 71, respectively.

  When the reproduction mode is designated, control is transferred from the lens side CPU 40 to the body side CPU 71. The body side CPU 71 executes a reproduction program stored in advance in the ROM 73 on the camera body 11 side, reads out the image data stored in the memory card 79, decompresses it in the decompression circuit 75, stores it in the frame memory 77, and uses the driver 81. Each unit is controlled so as to read from the frame memory 77 and display the reproduced image on the LCD 82.

  A battery 85 is detachably attached to the camera body 11. The power from the battery 85 is supplied to the DC / DC circuit 87 via the power control unit 86, and the power is supplied to the camera body 11 and the lens unit 12 from here. The operation of the power control unit 86 is performed in response to an ON / OFF operation of the power switch 16.

  The electronic camera 10 is powered on by turning on the power switch 16 after the lens unit 12 is attached. Then, according to the designation of the mode selection dial 15, one of the mode programs for normal shooting, portrait shooting, and playback is executed.

  When the normal shooting mode is designated, the lens side CPU 40 adjusts the focus and aperture based on the image data captured by the image sensor 47, and displays the image data continuously obtained from the image sensor 47 on the LCD 82 as a through image. Control to do.

  When the portrait photographing mode is designated, the lens side CPU 40 performs image data obtained continuously from the image sensor 47 as a through image in addition to performing focus and aperture adjustment based on the image data captured by the image sensor 47. It controls to display on LCD82.

  Next, the portrait shooting mode will be described with reference to FIG. First, the lens side CPU 40 activates the continuous AF operation as in the normal photographing mode. In this operation, the contrast of the image data obtained from the image sensor 47 is evaluated while moving the focus lens that constitutes a part of the photographing lens 13, the focus position is determined based on the evaluation, and the determined focus position is determined. Continue to move the focus lens.

  A through image is displayed on the LCD 82. The framing is performed so that the target subject is substantially in the center of the screen while viewing the through image, and then the shutter button 14 is pressed halfway. In response to the half-pressing operation of the shutter button 14, the posture detection unit detects the posture of the light receiving surface 27, and the rotation axis determination unit determines the rotation axis of the light receiving surface 27 based on the detection by the posture detection unit.

  Specifically, based on a plurality of regions 70 set by dividing the entire shooting screen in advance, each image component of the region is extracted from the image data obtained at the time of half-pressing operation, and based on the image component of each region The contrast value of the image is obtained and the information is sent to the lens side CPU 40. The lens side CPU 40 obtains the subject distance from the contrast information of each region, and specifies the region 70a with a large distribution of main subjects located at the closest distance. If the distribution of the specified region 70a extends in the short side direction of the shooting screen, it is determined that the light receiving surface 27 is in the “lateral position” posture, and conversely extends in the long side direction of the shooting screen. In this case, it is determined that the light receiving surface 27 is in the “vertical posture” posture. In FIG. 5, since the distribution of the region 70 a regarded as the main subject located at the closest distance extends in the short side direction of the shooting screen, it is determined that the light receiving surface 27 is in the “lateral position” posture.

  When it is determined that the light receiving surface 27 is in the “lateral position”, the vertical axis tilt mechanism 22 is operated. Conversely, when it is determined that the light receiving surface 27 is in the “vertical position”, the horizontal axis tilt mechanism 21 is operated.

  The photographic lens 13 is moved to the in-focus position after the tilt mechanism 20 is activated. This in-focus movement is performed on the main subject located at the closest distance detected by the rotation axis determination means. Thereafter, when the shutter button 14 is fully pressed, shooting is performed, and the captured image data is recorded in the memory card 79. Note that the aperture in the portrait shooting mode is an open aperture.

  When the light receiving surface 27 is in the horizontal position, the vertical axis tilt mechanism 22 operates. Then, as shown in FIG. 7, the light receiving surface 27 rotates from the initial position 27 ′ toward the subject by a fixed angle θ <b> 1 about the vertical axis 24. Thereafter, the focusing means including the AE / AF integrating circuit 60 and the lens side CPU 40 moves the photographing lens 13 to a position where the main subject is in focus based on the image data captured from the light receiving surface 27 after rotation.

  When the light receiving surface 27 rotates, the point A where the lens optical axis 23 and the light receiving surface 27 intersect is the subject side in the direction of the lens optical axis 23 from the point B where the lens optical axis 23 intersects at the initial position 27 ′. Shifted by the length C toward The lens CPU 40 is provided with image magnification correction means for changing the magnification of the taking lens 13 so that the light receiving surface 27 has the same focal length as that at the initial position in accordance with the deviation length C of the imaging position. This zooming operation is preferably performed immediately after the light receiving surface 27 is rotated. Thereby, the image magnification can be made the same with respect to the main subject image formed on the light receiving surface 27 at the initial position. As for the length C, the rotation amount of the light receiving surface 27 is determined to be the angle θ1, and the length from the vertical axis 24 to the point B is predetermined to the length Z, so that “tan θ1 = C / Z”. It can be easily derived from the formula.

  Further, in the lens unit 12, an allowable confusion circle diameter ε is determined in advance. The depth of focus 2δ is determined by the allowable confusion circle diameter ε and the focal length and F value at this time. A range D corresponding to the depth of focus 2δ of the light receiving surface 27 is an apparently focused range. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 8, in the image picked up by the light receiving surface 27, a range D ′ corresponding to the focal depth is apparently in focus (range of depth of field), and other than this range D ′. The range (shown by hatching) is out of focus. An axis A ′ shown in FIG. 8 is an axis that passes through the point where the light receiving surface 27 and the lens optical axis 23 intersect and is parallel to the vertical axis, and the subject image on this axis is the best focus.

  When the horizontal axis tilt mechanism 21 is operated, as shown in FIG. 9, the light receiving surface 27 rotates from the initial position 27 'toward the subject by a fixed angle θ2 about the horizontal axis 33. Thereafter, the focusing means including the AE / AF integrating circuit 60 and the lens side CPU 40 moves the photographing lens 13 to a position where the main subject is in focus based on the image data captured from the light receiving surface 27 after rotation.

  Further, when the light receiving surface 27 rotates, the point E where the lens optical axis 23 and the light receiving surface 27 intersect with each other in the direction of the lens optical axis 23 from the point F where the lens optical axis 23 intersects at the initial position 27 ′. Shifted by the length G toward Therefore, the image magnification correction means changes the magnification of the photographing lens 13 so that the light receiving surface 27 has the same focal length as that at the initial position in accordance with the shift length G of the imaging position. Thereby, the image magnification can be made the same with respect to the main subject image formed on the light receiving surface 27 at the initial position. The length G can be derived from the equation “tan θ2 = (G−Y) / X” where the rotation angle of the light receiving surface 27 is “θ2” and the length from the horizontal axis 33 to the point F is “X”.

  Also in this case, the focal depth 2δ is determined by the allowable circle of confusion circle ε and the focal length and F value at this time. A range H of the light receiving surface 27 corresponding to the focal depth 2δ is an apparently focused range. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 10, the image picked up by the light receiving surface 27 is a range in which the length H ′ corresponding to the focal depth is apparently in focus, and a range other than this range H ′ (hatching). The range indicated by) is out of focus. An axis E ′ shown in FIG. 10 is an axis that passes through the point where the light receiving surface 27 and the lens optical axis 23 intersect and is parallel to the horizontal axis 33, and the subject image on this axis is the best focus.

  In the focusing means described above, when the photographing lens 13 is moved from the focusing position for focusing the image of the main subject to the light receiving surface at the initial position to the focusing position for focusing on the rotated light receiving surface, It takes time to move the lens in order to move the photographing lens 13 while searching for the in-focus position while reading the contrast information based on the image data obtained from the image sensor 47. Therefore, the focusing position correcting means is provided in the lens side CPU 40, and the photographing lens 13 is shifted in response to the rotation of the light receiving surface 27 by the focusing position correcting means while the light receiving surface 27 is rotating or immediately after the rotation. It is preferable that the correction movement is performed based on the length C, and then the photographing lens 13 is finely moved to the in-focus position based on the contrast information of the image data obtained on the rotated light receiving surface. .

  In the composition shown in FIG. 11, the subject in the range shown by hatching is in focus by the operation of the tilt mechanism 20 and the depth of field corresponding to the depth of focus. In this composition, a person 100, three trees 102, 103, 104 are located on the object side, and a mountain 105 is located in the background. The electronic camera 10 recognizes the person 100 located at the closest distance among the subjects 100 to 105 as the main subject, focuses the person 100 and activates the tilt mechanism 20 to tilt the light receiving surface 27.

  Here, for example, a 1 / 2.5 type CCD (light receiving surface size 5.7 × 4.3 mm) is used as the image sensor 47, the focal length f = 8, the F value = 4, and the allowable circle of confusion = 0.006 mm. When the subject distance is 1 m, the depth of field is about 0.74 m at the near point and about 1.52 m at the far point.

  The trees 102 and 103 on the left and right of the person 100 as the main subject are out of focus angle of view due to the operation of the tilt mechanism 20 and are thus out of focus. Moreover, the tree 104 behind the person is also out of the depth of field, so it becomes out of focus.

  In the above-described embodiment, the angle at which the tilt mechanism 20 rotates the light receiving surface 27 is set to be different, but may be set to the same angle.

  In addition, the apparent ranges D and H on the light receiving surface 27 become longer in proportion to the rotation angles θ1 and θ2. Accordingly, the apparent focus ranges D and H increase as the rotation angle is increased. However, since the range D is an apparent focus range when the light receiving surface 27 is in the horizontal position, the light receiving surface 27 In contrast, the range H is a range that is apparently focused when the light receiving surface 27 is in the vertical position, and therefore is widened along the short direction of the light receiving surface 27. Therefore, it is good to make the ranges D and H have the same length with respect to the sides of the light receiving surface 27. In the present embodiment, since the light receiving surface 27 is a horizontally long rectangle, it is preferable to set the relationship such that the inclination angle θ2 <the inclination angle θ1.

  Further, in the tilt mechanism 20 described in each of the above embodiments, the vertical shaft 24 and the horizontal shaft 33 are provided at positions away from the center of the light receiving surface 27. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The vertical axis and the horizontal axis may be provided so that the vertical axis and the horizontal axis pass through the center of the light receiving surface 27 using the mechanism shown in FIG. 2 of Japanese Patent No. 3-159377. In this way, the light receiving surface 27 can be rotated without the center of the light receiving surface 27 being offset from the lens optical axis 23. Further, in the vertical axis tilt mechanism 22 described with reference to FIG. 3, the end of the light receiving surface 27 opposite to the vertical axis 24 does not rotate in a direction protruding toward the opposite side of the subject side. By providing an opening in the plate 34, the plate 34 can be rotated toward the opposite side.

  By the way, depending on the rotation direction and rotation angle of the light receiving surface 27, there is a possibility that a subject image other than the main subject image enters the depth of focus. As such a composition, for example, as shown in FIG. 12, a tree 111 is located behind and next to a person 110 as a main subject, and the object field of the photographing lens 13 when the person 110 is focused is obtained. This is a case where the tree 111 enters the range of the depth J. In this case, if the light receiving surface 27 is tilted in the direction B shown in the figure, the image of the tree 111 falls within the depth of focus. Therefore, it is desirable to rotate the light receiving surface 27 in a direction where there is no focused image within the depth of focus, that is, in the A direction shown in FIG. The tilt mechanism shown in FIG. 12 is arranged at a position where the vertical axis and the horizontal axis pass through the center of the light receiving surface 27.

  In order to determine the rotation direction, subject distance distribution means, in-focus depth imaging subject detection means, position identification means, and rotation direction and rotation angle determination means are provided. The subject distance distribution means examines the subject distance distribution of each subject. This means can be composed of an AE / AF integrating circuit and a CPU. In the AE / AF integration circuit, image components are extracted from a plurality of areas obtained by dividing the entire photographing screen in advance based on image data obtained in response to a half-press operation, and the image contrast is determined based on the image components in each area. Values are obtained and the information is sent to the lens side CPU. The lens side CPU obtains the subject distance distribution of each subject from the contrast information of each region, and recognizes the subject located at the closest distance as the main subject. Here, as shown in FIG. 12, a rotation axis for determining which of the vertical axis and the horizontal axis is to be rotated is determined. In the example of composition shown in FIG. 12, the vertical axis is rotated.

  The in-focus-depth imaging subject detection means detects whether there are subjects other than the main subject within the depth of focus. This means calculates the depth of field, and within the depth of focus of the subject other than the main subject based on the calculated forward and rear depth of field and the subject distance of each subject other than the main subject. Check if there is a subject to enter. In the example of the composition shown in FIG. 12, it can be seen that the tree 111 is located closer to the rear depth of field in the range of the depth of field J.

In general, the depth of field depends on the focal length, aperture, and allowable circle of confusion. Specifically, it is calculated as follows. A distance (hyperfocal distance) is calculated such that infinity enters the back edge of the focal depth when the main subject is in focus. When the hyperfocal length is H, the focal length of the lens is f, the aperture value is N, and the allowable confusion circle diameter (diameter) is c, the relationship is expressed by the following equation (1). The permissible circle of confusion (c) is generally obtained from the formula of the diagonal length of the screen / the constant for permissible circle of confusion (1300).

  Next, the front end and the rear end of the depth of field when the main subject is focused are calculated. If the distance of the subject is s, and the front and rear of the depth of field are DN and DF, respectively, it can be obtained from the equations described in [Equation 2] and [Equation 3].

  The position specifying means specifies the position of the subject within the depth of focus with respect to the main subject. In the composition shown in FIG. 12, the image of the tree 111 that falls within the depth of focus on the light receiving surface is located on the right side of the human image 110. The rotation direction and rotation angle determination means determines the rotation direction and rotation angle of the light receiving surface 27 based on the position of the subject entering the depth of focus with respect to the main subject and the distance to the subject. The position of the subject within the depth of focus relative to the main subject includes depth information on the front or back within the depth of focus and position information in the horizontal direction with respect to the imaging position (position information when the camera is in the horizontal position) or It consists of two pieces of information, ie, position information in the vertical direction (position information when the camera is in the vertical position). On the light receiving surface 27 shown in the figure, the image of the tree 111 is located closer to the front within the depth of focus and on the right side of the main subject (imaging position). For this reason, the rotation direction and rotation angle determination means is such that the light receiving surface 27 is in the front side within the depth of focus and the light receiving surface 27 does not come to the right of the imaging position, that is, from the subject entering the depth of field. 27 is determined in the far direction. In the composition described with reference to FIG. 12, it is inclined in the direction of arrow A. Next, the depth of focus is obtained from the depth of field. Thereafter, a rotation angle at which the subject image does not fall within the depth of focus is obtained based on the position of the subject with respect to the main subject (the amount of deviation in the depth direction and in the horizontal and vertical directions). Thereby, an optimal portrait effect can be obtained. In FIG. 12, the allowable confusion circle diameter is represented by ε. FIG. 13 shows the operation procedure at this time.

  In each of the above embodiments, the rotation axis of the tilt mechanism, that is, either the vertical axis or the horizontal axis is determined in accordance with the distribution direction of the subject at the short distance. Configured to detect face image areas from extracted image data, extract feature points such as eyes, nose and mouth in the face image areas, and determine the rotation axis of the tilt mechanism based on the arrangement of the feature points May be. In this case, a face detection unit, a face direction detection unit, and a rotation axis determination unit are provided. As shown in FIG. 14, the face detection means is performed by a pattern matching method. This method facilitates multiple template images that include various human faces and faces in different directions and include pupils and nostrils in advance, and successively calculates the degree of similarity while moving these tape rate images over the entire image data. I will ask. At the local maximum point of similarity, an area higher than the set threshold is extracted as a face area.

  The face direction determining means detects a plurality of points such as eyes, nostrils, and mouth from the extracted face image region using a feature point detection method, and detects the face direction using these points. Then, the rotation axis determination means selects the vertical axis by determining that the light receiving surface 27 is in the horizontal position when the orientation of the face is a vertical orientation parallel to the lateral direction of the entire image, and If the horizontal direction is orthogonal to the short direction, the light receiving surface 27 is determined to be in the vertical position and the horizontal axis is selected. When a plurality of face image areas are detected, the detection is performed based on the face image (main subject) located at the closest distance. At this time, it is preferable to set the autofocus area at the time of half-press operation to the face image area. In addition, by detecting areas similar to facial brightness distribution and structure patterns from image data without extracting facial image areas, feature points of facial images such as eyes, nostrils, and mouth can be directly detected. Also good.

  Further, the rotation axis determination means of each of the above embodiments is determined based on the image data. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the rotation axis may be determined based on the posture of the camera. The posture of the camera can be detected by an angle sensor. The angle sensor is provided on either the lens unit 12 or the camera body 11, detects the rotation angle of the camera body 11 or the lens unit 12 with respect to absolute horizontal in response to a half-press operation, and detects the detected angle information. This is sent to the lens side CPU 40. As the angle sensor, a liquid-filled capacitance type tilt angle sensor that captures a change in electrostatic capacitance accompanying the tilt of the sealed liquid as an angle change can detect an absolute angle, and thus is preferable. When the lens side CPU 40 recognizes that the longitudinal direction of the rectangular light receiving surface 27 is substantially parallel to the absolute horizontal, the lens side CPU 40 determines that the light receiving surface 27 is in the “lateral position” and rotates the axis rotated by the tilt mechanism 20. Determine the vertical axis. Conversely, when it is recognized that the short side direction of the rectangular light receiving surface is substantially parallel to the absolute horizontal, it is determined that the light receiving surface 27 is in the “vertical position” and the axis rotated by the tilt mechanism 20 is set to the horizontal axis. decide.

  In addition, an AF target mark is provided in the approximate center of the LCD 82 for displaying a through image, and in the portrait shooting mode, the subject is positioned at the approximate center of the screen so that the subject at the center of the screen is always the main subject. You may comprise so that it may identify. In this case, the points A and E at which the lens optical axis 23 intersects the light receiving surface 27 are shifted from the center of the light receiving surface 27 as the rotation angles θ1 and θ2 of the light receiving surface 27 increase. Therefore, it is preferable that the display position of the target mark is shifted and displayed according to the above-described shift amount. In the embodiment described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 9, since the rotation angles θ1 and θ2 of the rotary shafts 24 and 33 are determined in advance, the shift amount of the target mark can also be determined in advance.

  If the subject at the center of the screen is always specified as the main subject, the main subject will be out of focus when the main subject is shifted from the center of the screen in the portrait shooting mode. Therefore, in the above embodiment, the display of the target mark or the like is omitted, and the main subject shifted from the center of the screen is automatically focused. As described above, this configuration includes posture detection means, rotation axis determination means, main subject specifying means, image magnification correction means, and focusing means. These are composed of a lens side CPU 40 and an AE / AF integration circuit 60. For example, as shown in FIG. 16, in the case where the target subject located at the closest distance has a composition shifted from the center of the light receiving surface, the lens is responded to the half-pressing operation of the shutter button 14 as described above. The side CPU 40 and the AE / AF integration circuit 60 detect subject distance information for each region obtained by dividing the light receiving surface into a plurality of areas, identify the subject located at the closest distance as the main subject, and expand the region identified as the main subject. A rotation axis is determined based on the direction, and the tilt mechanism 20 is controlled so that the light receiving surface 27 rotates around the determined rotation axis. In addition, the AE / AF integration circuit 60 sends subject distance information of the area specified as the main subject to the lens side CPU 40, and automatically focuses on the area specified as the main subject until the half-press operation of the shutter button is released. Put emphasis on.

  The rotation angle θ1 or θ2 with which the tilt mechanism 20 rotates the light receiving surface 27 is determined in advance. As shown in FIG. 18, the lens side CPU 40 controls the tilt mechanism 20 to rotate the light receiving surface 27 around the determined rotation axis. After the rotation, the AE / AF integrating circuit 60 and the lens side CPU 40 move the photographing lens 13 so that the specified main subject is in focus. For example, as shown in FIG. 17, assuming that the tilt mechanism 20 rotates the rotation axis θ1, the initial position of the light receiving surface 27 relative to the center of the light receiving surface 27, and the amount M of the main subject image shift to the light receiving position M, the position N is rotated. The photographic lens 13 is moved in focus so that the image of the main subject received by the light receiving surface 27 is positioned and the main subject received at the position N is in focus. Prior to the in-focus movement, the image magnification correction means changes the magnification of the photographing lens 13 so that the image magnification is the same as that of the main subject imaged on the light receiving surface 27 at the initial position. In this case, since the imaging position is shifted in front of the lens optical axis 23 by the length P, the magnification of the photographic lens 13 is changed according to the shift length P, so that the light reception at the initial position is performed. The image magnification of the main subject imaged on the surface 27 can be made the same. As described above, as the posture detection means, the main subject may be specified by extracting the face image region and the posture of the light receiving surface may be detected based on the orientation of the image.

  In each of the above embodiments, the light receiving surface 27 is rotated in response to the half-pressing operation of the shutter button 14, but instead, the light receiving surface 27 is rotated in response to the operation for selecting the portrait shooting mode. May be. In each of the above embodiments, the electronic camera that selectively selects the portrait shooting mode and the normal shooting mode has been described. However, an electronic camera dedicated to portrait shooting may be used.

  Further, in the tilt mechanism 20 of each of the above embodiments, only one of the horizontal axis and the vertical axis is selected and the light receiving surface 27 is rotated around the selected rotation axis. Both may be rotated. In this case, the composition is such that the camera body 11 and the lens unit 12 are inclined and the main subject (including the face image) exists in the diagonal direction of the light receiving surface. In this case, it is only necessary to select both the vertical axis and the horizontal axis so that the imaging positions coincide with the direction and rotate the light receiving surface 27 around these axes.

  In each of the above embodiments, the rotation axis is automatically determined in the portrait photographing mode, and the light receiving surface 27 is automatically rotated around the determined axis. The light receiving surface 27 may be manually rotated by an operation of the rotation operation unit. As the rotation operation unit, for example, a rotation axis selection unit that selects a rotation axis and a rotation angle input operation unit are preferable. As the rotation angle input unit, for example, a selection operation unit for selecting a rotation axis and a ring operation unit arranged on the outer periphery of the lens barrel are provided, and the rotation axis is selected by the selection operation unit. The amount of rotation may be detected by an encoder, and the light receiving surface 27 may be rotated around a selected axis based on a pulse signal obtained from the encoder. Also, instead of the ring operation unit or encoding, the up / down / left / right arrow buttons are displayed on the LCD on the back of the camera body, and in response to pressing any button, the light receiving surface 27 is moved in the direction or in the opposite direction. You may comprise so that it may rotate only the part | minute according to the frequency | count of pushing. Further, a screen for inputting the rotation angle may be displayed on the LCD, and the light receiving surface 27 may be inclined by directly inputting the rotation angle to the LCD.

  By the way, recent photographing sensors are miniaturized in addition to high image quality, and it is difficult to position the image sensor 47 so that the light receiving surface 27 is orthogonal to the lens optical axis 23. In addition, the light receiving surface 27 varies for each package of the image sensor 47. Therefore, conventionally, attachment adjustment has been performed for each imaging sensor. However, in this embodiment, a tilt mechanism is provided. For this reason, by correcting the initial position of the tilt mechanism, the light receiving surface 27 can be adjusted so as to be orthogonal to the lens optical axis 23 for each imaging sensor.

  In this case, the electronic camera 10 is provided with a tilt adjustment mode in the operation unit for mode selection. When selecting this mode, a predetermined chart is used. The chart is placed at a position where the chart is located with respect to the light receiving surface 27 and at a certain subject distance, and the chart is photographed. This chart has black and white stripes with different pitches at positions corresponding to the multi-point autofocus area. In this mode, the defocus amount is calculated for each position corresponding to the autofocus area by photographing the chart all over the screen, and the inclination of the light receiving surface 27 with respect to the lens optical axis 23 is inclined based on the defocus amount at each position. Detect with detection means. When the photographing mode is selected, the initial position setting means always operates the tilt mechanism 20 in accordance with the tilt, and tilts the light receiving surface 27 to a position orthogonal to the lens optical axis 23. The operating amount at the tilt mechanism 20 at this time may be stored in a storage means such as the RAM 63.

  In each of the above embodiments, the electronic camera 10 including the lens unit 12 provided with an image sensor and the camera body 11 provided with a shutter button and a memory for recording image data has been described. Needless to say, the present invention can also be applied to a well-known electronic camera in which an image sensor is provided in the camera body.

  In the above embodiments, the tilt mechanism 20 that rotates the image sensor is described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the image sensor is fixed, and the photographing lens 13 is centered on the rotation axis with respect to the image sensor. The same effect can be obtained even if it is configured so as to be rotated. Further, a tilt mechanism may be provided for each of the image sensor 47 and the photographic lens 13 to rotate both. Furthermore, the image magnification correction means described in each of the above embodiments may be omitted when the image magnification does not change much before and after the light receiving surface or the photographing lens rotates.

  The applicability of the present invention is not limited to use in an electronic camera, but can be applied to, for example, a video camera, a mobile phone with a camera, and a telescope with an electronic camera.

It is a perspective view which shows the external appearance of the electronic camera which employ | adopted this invention. It is a disassembled perspective view which shows a lens unit and a camera body. It is a disassembled perspective view which shows the outline of a tilt mechanism. It is a block diagram which shows the electric constitution of an electronic camera. It is explanatory drawing which shows the outline until it identifies object distance information for every area | region which divided | segmented the light-receiving surface into several, and pinpointed the area | region recognized as a near-distance object. It is a block diagram which shows the electric constitution of an electronic camera. It is explanatory drawing which shows operation | movement of a vertical-axis tilt mechanism. It is explanatory drawing which shows the image obtained by operating a vertical axis tilt mechanism. It is explanatory drawing which shows operation | movement of a horizontal axis tilt mechanism. It is explanatory drawing which shows the image obtained by operating a horizontal axis tilt mechanism. It is explanatory drawing which shows a composition with a main to-be-photographed object and another to-be-photographed object with respect to an electronic camera. It is explanatory drawing which shows embodiment which calculates | requires and rotates a rotation direction and a rotation angle so that subjects other than the main subject may fall within the depth of focus. It is a flowchart figure which shows the operation | movement procedure of embodiment described in FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the electrical outline of embodiment which detected the attitude | position of the light-receiving surface by face image detection. It is a flowchart figure which shows the operation | movement procedure of embodiment described in FIG. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an embodiment in which a main subject is focused even when the main subject is deviated from the center of the screen. It is a flowchart figure which shows the operation | movement procedure of embodiment described in FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the outline with the focusing operation | movement and image magnification correction operation | movement in embodiment described in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Electronic camera 11 Camera body 12 Lens unit 20 Tilt mechanism 21 Horizontal axis tilt mechanism 22 Vertical axis tilt mechanism 27 Light-receiving surface

Claims (14)

A photographing lens, an imaging sensor having a rectangular light-receiving surface, the light-receiving surface being aligned with the center of the lens optical axis and perpendicular to the lens optical axis, and parallel to a short direction of the light-receiving surface The light receiving surface or the lens optical axis is tilted with respect to the other by rotating the light receiving surface or the taking lens around a vertical axis or a horizontal axis arranged parallel to the longitudinal direction. In an imaging device comprising a tilt mechanism
Posture detecting means for detecting the posture of one of the light receiving surfaces of a horizontal position in which the longitudinal direction is substantially parallel to absolute horizontal and a vertical position in which the longitudinal direction is substantially parallel to absolute vertical;
A rotation axis determination means for determining one of the horizontal axis and the vertical axis as a rotation axis to be rotated by the tilt mechanism based on the attitude of the light receiving surface detected by the attitude detection means;
An imaging apparatus comprising:   The rotation axis determination means determines the rotation axis to be rotated by the tilt mechanism as the vertical axis when the attitude detection means detects a horizontal position attitude, and when the vertical position attitude is detected, the tilt mechanism The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a rotation axis to be rotated is determined as the horizontal axis.   The posture detecting means extracts a face image region based on image data obtained from the imaging means, and detects the posture of the light receiving surface based on a feature point of the extracted face image region. The imaging apparatus according to 1 or 2.   The posture detecting means includes an angle sensor that detects a rotational position of the light receiving surface, and a posture specifying unit that specifies the posture of the light receiving surface based on information obtained from the angle sensor. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1 or 2. A multi-point distance measuring unit that detects subject distance information for each area based on contrast information of a plurality of predetermined areas among all areas of image data obtained from the imaging means;
Identifying means for identifying a subject located at the closest distance based on the subject distance information detected by the multipoint distance measuring unit as a main subject,
The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the posture detection unit examines a distribution of a region specified as the main subject and detects the posture of the light receiving surface based on a spread direction of the distribution.   Based on the subject distance information, the rotation direction of the rotation axis and the rotation angle determined by the rotation axis determination means are determined so that the subject image other than the main subject is not in focus within the depth of focus of the photographing lens. The imaging apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising a rotation angle determination unit. The tilt mechanism rotates the light receiving surface with respect to the photographing lens, and
Focusing means for focusing the photographing lens so that the main subject specified by the specifying means is in focus after rotating the light receiving surface around the rotation axis determined by the rotation axis determining means. The imaging apparatus according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that The tilt mechanism rotates the light receiving surface with respect to the photographing lens, and
The photographic lens so that the image or face image of the main subject received on the light receiving surface after rotation has the same image magnification as the image or face image of the main subject received on the light receiving surface before rotation. The imaging apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising an image magnification correction unit that corrects a focal length of the image. An operation unit for selectively selecting a tilt adjustment mode and a shooting mode for adjusting the tilt of the light receiving surface or the photographing lens;
When the tilt adjustment mode is selected, subject distance information for each region is obtained based on contrast information of a plurality of predetermined regions among all regions of the image data obtained from the imaging means, and subjects in each region An inclination detecting means for detecting an inclination of the other of the light receiving surface and the lens optical axis based on the distance information;
Storage means for storing the inclination detected by the inclination detection means as an initial position;
Based on the initial position read from the storage means in response to the selection of the photographing mode, the light receiving surface or the photographing lens is rotated by controlling the tilt mechanism so that the light receiving surface and the lens optical axis are in a vertical relationship. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an initial position setting unit. By rotating the light receiving surface or the photographing lens around a vertical axis arranged parallel to the short side direction of the rectangular light receiving surface of the imaging sensor or a horizontal axis arranged parallel to the longitudinal direction, the light receiving surface and the imaging lens are rotated. In the imaging method for controlling the in-focus range by tilting one of the lens optical axes with respect to the other,
A first step in which the posture detecting means detects the posture of the light receiving surface that is either one of a horizontal position in which the longitudinal direction is substantially parallel to absolute horizontal and a longitudinal position in which the longitudinal direction is substantially parallel to absolute vertical; ,
A second step in which a rotation axis determination means determines one of the horizontal axis and the vertical axis based on the posture of the light receiving surface;
An imaging method comprising:   In the second step, the rotation axis determination means determines the vertical axis when the attitude detection means detects a horizontal position attitude, and determines the horizontal axis when the vertical position attitude is detected. The imaging method according to claim 10. The first step includes
A multi-point distance measuring unit detecting subject distance information for each area based on contrast information of a plurality of predetermined areas among all areas of image data obtained from the imaging means;
Identifying a subject located at the closest distance based on the subject distance information detected by the multipoint distance measuring unit as a main subject,
12. The imaging method according to claim 10, wherein the distribution of the area specified as the main subject is examined, and the posture of the light receiving surface is detected based on a spreading direction of the distribution.   In the first step, the posture detecting means extracts a face image area based on image data obtained from the imaging means, and detects the posture of the light receiving surface based on the feature points of the extracted face image area. The imaging method according to claim 10 or 11. An imaging method for rotating the light receiving surface with respect to the photographing lens,
After the light receiving surface is rotated about the rotation axis determined in the second step, the focusing unit focuses the photographing lens so that the image of the main subject or the face image specified by the specifying unit is in focus. The imaging method according to claim 12, further comprising a third step.

Images