JP2008289053A - Imaging apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To facilitate the adjustment of a view finder in an imaging apparatus having an electronic view finder and a liquid crystal display monitor. <P>SOLUTION: A system controller 20 controls lighting/light-off of the liquid crystal display monitor 24 and the electronic view finder 22 according to whether a monitoring opening/closing detection switch 30 is in an opened state or a closed state, and whether a monitor inversion detection switch 32 is in an normal rotation position or an inverted position. Normally, when the liquid crystal display monitor 24 is turned to the photographer side, the electronic view finder 22 is lit off. However, when an adjustment menu of the electronic view finder is selected, the electronic view finder 22 is lit. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus having both a liquid crystal display monitor and an electronic viewfinder.

  Many small video cameras include a liquid crystal display monitor that can be opened and closed on the side of the main body. Many of the liquid crystal display monitors are accommodated in a space on the side surface of the casing with the screen facing the casing side when not in use. In a state where the liquid crystal display monitor is opened from the side of the housing, the display screen can be rotated between a position facing the photographer and a position facing the subject. Furthermore, the display screen can be exposed to the outside by storing the liquid crystal display monitor in the inverted state on the side surface of the housing.

  A video camera in which a touch panel is arranged on the screen of such a liquid crystal display monitor is known. A video camera having both a liquid crystal display monitor with a touch panel and an electronic viewfinder is also known.

When both a liquid crystal display monitor with a touch panel and an electronic viewfinder are provided, a video camera that can adjust the image quality and brightness of the electronic viewfinder by operating the touch panel on the liquid crystal display monitor is also known (see Patent Document 1). ).
JP 2001-326843 A

  In order to operate the touch panel on the liquid crystal display monitor, it is necessary to open the liquid crystal display monitor. Since the liquid crystal display monitor can be used to check the composition of the subject as with the electronic viewfinder, the electronic viewfinder is controlled to be in a power-saving off state or non-display state when the liquid crystal display monitor is open. There is a video camera. When the photographer looks into the electronic viewfinder or detects that the eye is close to the eyepiece of the electronic viewfinder, the electronic viewfinder is controlled so that the subject image is displayed (lighted or displayed). Some video cameras do this.

  In any case, when adjusting the image quality or brightness of the electronic viewfinder, the user needs to look into the electronic viewfinder in order to confirm the adjustment result. A video camera that does not turn on the electronic viewfinder when the liquid crystal display monitor is open must house the liquid crystal display monitor. This makes fine adjustment impossible.

  In a state where the liquid crystal display monitor is opened, or in a state where the liquid crystal display monitor is accommodated in the camera casing with the display screen facing outward, the user can operate the touch panel. At this time, if the image quality or the brightness of the electronic viewfinder is adjusted while looking into the electronic viewfinder, the touch panel is often blind-operated, and the operability is poor and an erroneous operation may occur.

  It is an object of the present invention to provide an imaging apparatus that eliminates such inconveniences and improves the operability of adjusting the image quality or brightness of an electronic viewfinder.

  An imaging apparatus according to the present invention includes an electronic viewfinder for confirming a display image of a subject in an eyepiece state, a liquid crystal display monitor supported by a hinge mechanism so that the display image can be opened and closed and rotated, and an open / closed state of the liquid crystal display monitor The electronic viewfinder is based on the detection output of the open / close detection means, the reverse detection means for detecting whether the display screen of the liquid crystal display monitor is the normal rotation position or the reverse rotation position, and the detection output of the open / close detection means and the reverse detection means. And control means for controlling on / off of the liquid crystal display monitor, when the liquid crystal display monitor is on and the electronic viewfinder is off, the adjustment to the adjustment setting screen of the electronic viewfinder is displayed. And a control unit that turns on the electronic viewfinder in accordance with the shift.

  According to the present invention, even when the electronic viewfinder is turned off, the electronic viewfinder is turned on when shifting to the electronic viewfinder adjustment setting screen. Accordingly, the electronic viewfinder can be adjusted while looking through the electronic viewfinder without performing the operation of inverting and storing the liquid crystal display monitor, and the operability is improved. In addition, since the operation buttons on the display screen of the liquid crystal display monitor can be easily confirmed with the left eye while looking through the electronic viewfinder with the right eye, the operability is also improved in this respect.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows a schematic block diagram of a video camera which is an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 shows an external perspective view of the present embodiment. In this embodiment, a DVD-R (Digital Versatile Disk Recordable), which is a write-once type writable optical disk, is used as a recording medium.

  The image sensor 10 converts an optical image of a subject into an electric image signal. The microphone 12 converts ambient sound into an electrical sound signal. The video / audio processing device 14 takes in an image signal from the image sensor 10, converts or processes it into a video signal of a certain format, supplies it to the recording / reproducing device 16 for recording, and supplies it to the system control device 20 for monitoring. . The video / audio processing device 14 also takes in an audio signal from the microphone 12, converts or processes the audio signal into a certain format, and supplies the recording / playback device 16 for recording.

  The recording / reproducing apparatus 16 processes the video signal and the audio signal from the audio / video processing apparatus 14 for recording and records them on the recording medium 18. The recording medium 18 is, for example, a DVD-R, and the recording / reproducing device 16 has a DVD-R drive for driving the DVD-R and a function for finalizing the DVD-R. The DVD-R drive has a built-in disk detaching mechanism, and the user can exchange the DVD-R as the recording medium 18.

  The system control device 20 supplies the video signal for monitoring and the reproduced video signal from the video / audio processing device 14 to the eyepiece-type electronic viewfinder 22 and / or the liquid crystal display monitor 24. As a result, the photographer can visually confirm the composition to be photographed and the reproduced image. The electronic viewfinder 22 is used for confirming the subject, shooting range, focus, composition, and the like in the eyepiece state.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the liquid crystal display monitor 24 is rotatably supported by a housing by a biaxial hinge mechanism 25. That is, as indicated by an arrow in FIG. 3, the liquid crystal display monitor 24 is taken out from the storage chamber at the position stored in the monitor storage chamber on the side surface of the housing around the first rotation axis of the hinge mechanism 25. The display position can be rotated. The liquid crystal display monitor 24 further has a second rotation axis perpendicular to the first rotation axis between a position where the display screen faces the photographer side (rear side) and a position where the display screen faces the subject side. It can be rotated around the center. The hinge mechanism 25 having such a function of the liquid crystal display monitor 24 is well known.

  A resistive film type touch panel 26 is disposed on the display surface of the liquid crystal display monitor 24. The liquid crystal display monitor 24 can be stored in the storage room with the display screen of the liquid crystal display monitor 24 facing the subject. At this time, since the display screen of the liquid crystal display monitor 24 faces outward, the user can check an image (captured image or reproduced image) at this position and can use the touch panel 26.

  The system control device 20 also controls the whole in accordance with the operation state, setting, and user operation using the operation device 28 and the touch panel 26. The operation device 28 includes a power switch for turning on / off the power, a mode switch for switching between the reproduction mode and the recording mode, a start / stop button for operating the start and end of recording, and the like. When the user turns on the power switch, the video camera of the present embodiment enters an operating state.

  The monitor open / close detection switch 30 detects the open / closed state of the liquid crystal display monitor 24, that is, whether the liquid crystal display monitor 24 is in the open position taken out of the housing or in the closed position accommodated in the housing. The monitor inversion detection switch 32 detects whether the liquid crystal display monitor 24 is in the normal rotation position or the reverse rotation position around the second rotation axis. The detection switches 30 and 32 output detection results to the system control device 20.

  The battery 34 supplies necessary power to each part.

  The basic operation of this embodiment will be described. At the time of shooting standby, the video / audio processing device 14 takes in an image signal from the image sensor 10, converts or processes it into a video signal of a certain format, and supplies it to the system control device 20 for monitoring. The system control device 20 supplies the video signal for monitoring from the video / audio processing device 14 to the electronic viewfinder 22 or the liquid crystal display monitor 24. Thereby, the user (photographer) can confirm the composition of the subject.

  In accordance with the recording instruction of the photographer using the operation device 28, the system control device 20 instructs the video / audio processing device 14 and the recording / reproducing device 16 to perform recording processing. In accordance with this instruction, the video / audio processing device 14 takes in the output signals of the image sensor 10 and the microphone 12 and supplies them to the recording / reproducing device 16 for recording. The recording / reproducing apparatus 16 processes the video signal and the audio signal from the audio / video processing apparatus 14 for recording and records them on the recording medium 18.

  In the playback mode, the operation is as follows. That is, the system control device 20 instructs the recording / playback device 16 to play back the video and audio instructed by the user via the operation device 28. The recording / reproducing apparatus 16 reads the instructed video / audio from the recording medium 18, reproduces it, and supplies it to the video / audio processing apparatus 14. The video / audio processing device 14 converts the playback video signal from the recording / playback device 16 for monitoring and supplies it to the system control device 20. The system control device 20 supplies the replayed video signal from the video / audio processing device 14 to the electronic viewfinder 22 or the liquid crystal display monitor 24. As a result, the user can check the reproduced image on the screen of the electronic viewfinder 22 or the liquid crystal display monitor 24. When the speaker is equipped, the reproduced sound is output from the speaker.

  In the present embodiment, lighting / extinguishing of the illumination light source of the liquid crystal display monitor 24 and the electronic viewfinder 22 is controlled according to the position of the liquid crystal display monitor 24. When the illumination light source of the liquid crystal display monitor 24 is turned on, a desired image can be displayed on the liquid crystal display monitor 24. When the illumination light source is turned off, the liquid crystal display monitor 24 is in a so-called stopped state or a non-powered state, and cannot display any image. The same applies to the electronic viewfinder 22.

  Specifically, the system control device 20 controls turning on / off of the liquid crystal display monitor 24 and the electronic viewfinder 22 according to the detection outputs of the monitor open / close detection switch 30 and the monitor inversion detection switch 32. In the forward rotation position, when the liquid crystal display monitor 24 is opened, the screen of the liquid crystal display monitor 24 faces the photographer. When the liquid crystal display monitor 24 is closed, the screen of the liquid crystal display monitor 24 is in the housing. Suitable for. At the reverse position, when the liquid crystal display monitor 24 is opened, the screen of the liquid crystal display monitor is directed toward the subject, and when the liquid crystal display monitor 24 is closed, the screen of the liquid crystal display monitor 24 is directed outward. .

  As shown in FIG. 4, there are four combinations of detection results of the monitor open / close detection switch 30 and the monitor inversion detection switch 32. The system control device 20 controls the turning on / off of the electronic viewfinder 22 and the liquid crystal display monitor 24 as shown in FIG. 4 according to the detection results of the monitor open / close detection switch 30 and the monitor inversion detection switch 32.

  In the combination shown as state 1, the liquid crystal display monitor 24 is taken out of the storage room and the screen is directed to the photographer. At this time, the system control device 20 turns on the liquid crystal display monitor 24 and turns off the electronic viewfinder 22. This is the most common shooting state, and the photographer takes a picture while viewing the subject image displayed on the liquid crystal display monitor 24.

  In the combination shown as state 2, the liquid crystal display monitor 24 is taken out of the storage room and its screen is directed to the subject side. At this time, the system control device 20 lights both the liquid crystal display monitor 24 and the electronic viewfinder 22. The photographer can check the subject using the electronic viewfinder 22, and the person who becomes the subject can check himself / herself on the display screen of the liquid crystal display monitor 24. The latter is a so-called face-to-face shooting mode.

  In the combination shown as state 3, the liquid crystal display monitor 24 is stored with its display screen facing the housing. At this time, the system control device 20 turns off the liquid crystal display monitor 24 and turns on the electronic viewfinder 22. Photographing is performed using only the electronic viewfinder 22.

  In the combination shown as state 4, the liquid crystal display monitor 24 is stored with the display screen facing outward. At this time, the system control device 20 turns on the liquid crystal display monitor 24 and also turns on the electronic viewfinder 22. The photographer can check the composition of the subject on either the liquid crystal display monitor 24 or the electronic viewfinder 22. A third party can also check the composition of the subject on the display screen of the liquid crystal display monitor 24.

  With reference to FIG. 5, the operation procedure at the time of image quality adjustment of the electronic viewfinder 22 will be described.

  In the operation procedure 1, the power switch of the operation device 28 is turned on to activate the video camera of this embodiment. At this time, the liquid crystal display monitor 24 is housed inward in the housing, and the detection results of the switches 30 and 32 are in a state corresponding to the state 3 in FIG. That is, only the electronic viewfinder 22 is lit.

  In operation procedure 2, the liquid crystal display monitor 24 is taken out of the storage chamber. As a result, the state shifts to the state 1 in FIG. 3, and the system control device 20 turns on the liquid crystal display monitor 24 and turns off the electronic viewfinder 22.

  In operation procedure 3, the touch panel 26 is operated to display a display setting screen on the liquid crystal display monitor 24. FIG. 6 shows an example of a display setting screen. On this screen, the user can adjust the brightness, chroma, and backlight of the liquid crystal display monitor 24 and the electronic viewfinder 22. “Brightness adjustment” is a function of changing the brightness value of the video signal and adjusting the brightness of the display image. “Chroma adjustment” is a function of changing the chroma gain value of the video signal to adjust the chroma of the display image. “Backlight adjustment” is a function of adjusting the luminance of the backlight LED provided in the liquid crystal display monitor 24 and the electronic viewfinder 22.

  In the operation procedure 4, an item to be adjusted on the electronic viewfinder 22 is selected from the menu of the display setting screen, and the touch panel 26 is operated and selected. For example, it is assumed that “VF brightness adjustment” for adjusting the brightness of the electronic viewfinder 22 is selected. At this time, the system control device 20 switches the display screen of the liquid crystal display monitor 24 to the “VF brightness adjustment” screen shown in FIG. 7 and simultaneously turns on the electronic viewfinder 22. This “VF brightness adjustment” screen corresponds to the adjustment setting screen in the claims.

  In the operation procedure 5, the “+” button and the “−” button on the “VF brightness adjustment” screen are operated on the touch panel 26 to adjust the brightness of the electronic viewfinder 22. At that time, by operating the touch panel 26 while looking through the electronic viewfinder 22, the brightness of the electronic viewfinder 22 can be adjusted while confirming a change due to the adjustment. It is also possible to view the operation button position on the display screen of the liquid crystal display monitor 24 with the left eye while looking through the electronic viewfinder 22 with the right eye.

  When the adjustment is completed, in operation procedure 6, the “OK” button on the display screen of the liquid crystal display monitor 24 is pressed. Then, the user exits the “VF brightness adjustment” screen and returns to the display setting screen. At this time, the system control device 20 turns off the electronic viewfinder 22. That is, the system control device 20 turns off the electronic viewfinder 22 in accordance with the end of the adjustment setting of the electronic viewfinder 22.

  As described above, in this embodiment, when the touch panel 26 on the screen of the liquid crystal display monitor 24 is operated to shift to the adjustment screen of the electronic viewfinder 22, the electronic viewfinder 22 is turned on. Thereby, the electronic viewfinder 22 can be adjusted while looking into the electronic viewfinder 22 without performing the operation of inverting or storing the liquid crystal display monitor 24.

  Further, since the operation buttons on the display screen of the liquid crystal display monitor 24 can be easily visually recognized with the left eye while looking through the electronic viewfinder 22 with the right eye, the touch panel 26 can be easily operated.

  The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and shown in the drawings, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

  For example, the image quality adjustment items are not limited to the items described above, and may be other adjustment items.

  Moreover, although the case where the touch panel 26 on the liquid crystal display monitor 24 is operated has been described, an operation button or an operation key may be used so that the operation cannot be performed when the liquid crystal display monitor 24 is housed in the normal rotation. Further, an operation button or an operation key on the video camera body side that is hidden and cannot be operated when the liquid crystal display monitor 24 is stored may be used for adjustment of the electronic viewfinder 22.

  Although the embodiment applied to a consumer video camera has been described, it goes without saying that the present invention can also be applied to a commercial video camera.

It is a schematic block diagram of one Example of this invention. It is an external appearance perspective view of a present Example. It is a figure which shows the opening / closing and normal rotation / inversion operation | movement of the liquid crystal display monitor 22 of a present Example. This is a combination example of detection results of the detection switches 30 and 32 and turning on / off of the electronic viewfinder 22 and the liquid crystal display monitor 24. It is an operation procedure example of image quality adjustment of the electronic viewfinder 22. It is an example of a display setting screen of the electronic viewfinder 22 and the liquid crystal display monitor 24. It is an example of the brightness adjustment screen of the electronic viewfinder 22.

Explanation of symbols

10: Image sensor 12: Microphone 14: Video / audio processing device 16: Recording / reproducing device 18: Recording medium 20: System control device 22: Electronic viewfinder 24: Liquid crystal display monitor 25: Hinge mechanism 26: Touch panel 28: Operating device 30: Monitor open / close detection switch 32: Monitor inversion detection switch 34: Battery

Claims (5)

An electronic viewfinder to check the display image of the subject in the eyepiece state;
A liquid crystal display monitor supported by a hinge mechanism so that it can be opened and closed and rotated with respect to the housing;
Open / close detecting means for detecting an open / closed state of the liquid crystal display monitor;
A reversal detection means for detecting whether the display screen of the liquid crystal display monitor is a normal rotation position or a reversal position;
Control means for controlling on / off of the electronic viewfinder and the liquid crystal display monitor based on detection outputs of the open / close detection means and the inversion detection means, the liquid crystal display monitor being turned on, and the electronic view An image pickup apparatus comprising: a control unit that turns on the electronic viewfinder in response to the transition to the adjustment setting screen of the electronic viewfinder when the viewfinder is turned off.   The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit switches the electronic viewfinder to the off state in response to completion of the adjustment setting of the electronic viewfinder. Furthermore, it comprises a touch panel disposed on the screen of the liquid crystal display monitor,
The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the liquid crystal display monitor displays an adjustment setting screen of the electronic viewfinder.   4. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an operation unit that is used for adjustment setting of the electronic viewfinder on a display screen side of the liquid crystal display monitor. 5.   4. An operation means used for adjustment setting of the electronic viewfinder is provided at a position where the liquid crystal display monitor is closed and cannot be operated with the housing closed. The imaging apparatus according to item 1.

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