JP2009044277A - Imaging apparatus, and control method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the possibility of imaging a remote controller when photographing oneself as an object. <P>SOLUTION: When receiving a command for starting recording oneself from the remote controller (30), a controller (26) starts recording on a recording medium (22) with a lapse of fixed time (recording start delay time) Ts from the reception of the command for starting recording oneself. When receiving a command for stopping recording oneself from the remote controller (30), the controller (26) finishes recording on the recording medium with a lapse of fixed time (recording end retroaction time) Te after a recording stop operation. For example, recording on the recording medium (22) by a recording processor (20) is completed according to the reception of the command for stopping recording oneself, and a portion corresponding to Te is deleted from a portion already recorded on the recording medium (22). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus and a control method thereof, and more specifically to an imaging apparatus that can be operated remotely and a control method thereof.

Conventionally, video cameras that capture an image of a subject and record a video signal on a recording medium have been widely commercialized. Some of such video cameras can be remotely operated wirelessly using a remote control device (for example, Patent Document 1). A photographer can take an image of himself / herself as a subject by holding an infrared remote control device in his / her hand and transmitting a photographing instruction to the video camera body.
JP 59-83472 A

  When the photographer takes a picture of himself / herself as a subject, he directs the infrared transmission port of the infrared remote control device to the video camera body and operates the shooting button of the remote control device to instruct start and stop recording.

  However, with this method, the remote control device is recorded as an image when shooting is started or when shooting is stopped. Since such a video portion is originally unnecessary, it is deleted by editing.

  The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and presents an imaging apparatus and a control method thereof that can reduce the possibility that a remote control device is recorded as an image at the start of recording and / or at the end of recording. Objective.

  In order to solve such a problem, an imaging apparatus according to the present invention includes an imaging unit that images a subject and converts it into an image signal, a recording unit that records the image signal from the imaging unit on a recording medium, Receiving means for receiving a recording start command and a recording stop command from an operating device; and control means for controlling recording on the recording medium by the recording means in response to the recording start command and the recording stop command. The control means causes the recording means to start recording after a recording start delay time from reception of the recording start command.

  An image pickup apparatus according to the present invention includes an image pickup means for picking up an image of a subject and converting the image signal into an image signal, a recording means for recording the image signal from the image pickup means on a recording medium, a recording start command and a video recording from a remote control device. Receiving means for receiving a stop command; and control means for controlling recording on the recording medium by the recording means in response to the recording start command and the recording stop command. In response to the reception of the command, the recording on the recording medium is ended when the recording is retroactively traced back.

  An image pickup apparatus control method according to the present invention includes an image pickup means for picking up an image of a subject and converting the image signal into an image signal, a recording means for recording the image signal from the image pickup means on a recording medium, and a recording start from a remote operation device. And a receiving means for receiving a recording stop command, wherein the recording medium includes a recording start command and a recording start delay time after receiving the recording start command. A recording start step for starting recording on the recording medium, and a recording end step for ending recording on the recording medium in response to reception of the recording stop command.

  An image pickup apparatus control method according to the present invention includes an image pickup means for picking up an image of a subject and converting the image signal into an image signal, a recording means for recording the image signal from the image pickup means on a recording medium, and a recording start from a remote operation device. A recording start step for controlling an imaging apparatus comprising a receiving means for receiving a command and a recording stop command, wherein the recording means starts recording on the recording medium in response to reception of the recording start command. And a recording end step of ending recording on the recording medium when the recording stop command is traced back in response to reception of the recording stop command.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the possibility that the remote control device is recorded at the start of shooting and / or at the end of shooting. That is, the necessity to delete the portion in which the remote control device is shown by subsequent editing is reduced.

  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 is a front view of the video camera body 10, and FIG. 3 is a plan view of the remote control device (remote control device) 30.

  The internal configuration and basic operation of the video camera body 10 will be described with reference to FIG. An image sensor 12 composed of a CCD image sensor or a CMOS image sensor photoelectrically converts an optical image of a subject imaged by an optical system (not shown) and outputs an analog image signal. The camera signal processing device 14 performs well-known processes such as gamma correction and color adjustment on the analog image signal output from the image sensor 12, converts the image data into a predetermined format, and outputs the image data.

  The frame memory 16 temporarily stores the image data output from the camera signal processing device 14. The encoder 18 is a compression unit that compresses image data stored in the frame memory 16 using a predetermined moving image compression method. The recording processing device 20 processes the compressed image data from the encoder 18 for recording and records it on the recording medium 22. The recording medium 22 is a medium capable of recording digital data, such as an optical disk, a hard disk, or a semiconductor memory.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a receiving unit 24 that receives a radio signal from the remote control device 30 and a light emitting unit 28 are disposed on the front surface of the casing of the video camera body 10. The receiving unit 24 includes an infrared light receiving element or a radio wave receiving element. The light emitting means 28 is composed of an LED (light emitting diode) or the like.

  The control device 26 controls the image sensor 12, the frame memory 16, the encoder 18, and the recording processing device 20 according to the control signal from the remote control device 30 received by the receiving unit 24 and the set operation mode, and emits the light emitting means 28. Or blink.

  In FIG. 1, a photographing lens that forms an optical image of a subject on the imaging surface of the image sensor 12 and various operation buttons mounted on the camera body 10 are omitted, but are mounted on an actual product. Obviously.

  With reference to FIG. 3, the configuration of remote control device 30 will be briefly described. The remote control device 30 includes a recording start button 32 that is used when a photographer normally photographs a subject other than herself, and a recording stop button 34 for stopping recording. The video camera body 10 starts normal recording without a time lag according to the operation of the recording start button 32 of the remote control device 30 and immediately stops recording according to the operation of the recording stop button 34.

  The remote control device 30 further includes a self-recording start button 36 and a self-recording stop button 38 for photographing the subject as a subject. Although details will be described later, the video camera body 10 starts recording after a certain time lag in accordance with the operation of the self-recording start button 36 of the remote control device 30, and records retroactively for a certain time according to the operation of the self-recording stop button 38. To stop.

  The remote control device 30 further includes a playback start button 40 for instructing playback of recorded video, a playback stop button 42 for instructing stop of playback, and a zoom change button 44 for instructing zoom change during recording. However, the operations for these operations are characteristic of the present embodiment, and the description thereof is omitted.

  FIG. 4 shows an operation flowchart of the present embodiment in the case of self-recording. When the user is positioned in front of the camera body 10 and presses the self-recording start button 36 of the remote control device 30 (S1), the remote control device 30 transmits a self-recording start command to the camera body 10. The receiving unit 24 of the camera body 10 receives the self-recording start command from the remote control device 30 and supplies it to the control device 26 (S2). The control device 26 blinks the light emitting means 28 in accordance with the self-recording start command (S3), waits for a predetermined time (recording start delay time) Ts from the reception of the self-recording start command, and starts recording (S4). . After the start of recording (S4), the output image signal from the image sensor 12 is processed by the camera signal processing device 14, the frame memory 16, the encoder 18, and the recording processing device 20 and recorded on the recording medium 22.

  Thus, in this embodiment, the camera body 10 starts recording after a certain time Ts from the time when the user presses the self-recording start button 36 of the remote control device 30. During this fixed time Ts, the user hides the remote control device 30 behind so that it is not projected by the camera body 10.

  Due to such delayed recording start, it is possible to prevent the remote control device 30 from appearing at the beginning of the recording. In addition, by flashing the light emitting means 28, the user can start recording and inform the user that the recording is in progress.

  The user presses the self-recording stop button 38 of the remote control device 30 at the point when he / she wants to end the self-recording (S5). Following this, the remote control device 30 transmits a self-recording stop command to the camera body 10. The receiving unit 24 of the camera body 10 receives the self-recording stop command from the remote control device 30 and supplies it to the control device 26 (S6). In accordance with the own recording stop command, the control device 26 causes the recording processing device 20 to stop the recording process (S7), and erases the recorded portion that has been traced by a predetermined time (recording end retroactive time) Te from the recording stop operation (S8). . The control device 26 also turns off the light emitting means 28 (S9).

  As a result of such processing when recording is stopped, the recorded image on the recording medium ends at a time point that is a predetermined time (recording end retroactive time) Te from when the user presses the self-recording stop button 38 of the remote control device 30. That is, if the time from when the user puts the remote control device 30 to the position reflected on the camera body 10 until the self-recording stop button 38 is operated is shorter than the predetermined time Te, the remote control device 30 is at the end of the recording. It does not remain as a recorded image.

  If the delay by the frame memory 16 and / or the encoder 18 is longer than the necessary retroactive time for recording end, the recording processing apparatus 20 may immediately stop recording on the recording medium 22 in accordance with the own recording stop command. Further, since the encoder 18 discards the compressed image data that has not been output to the recording processing device 20, if the recording end retroactive time Te can be satisfied, the compression processing of the encoder 18 is immediately performed in response to reception of the own recording stop command. It is sufficient to stop the recording operation. Any of these operations corresponds to deleting the recording end portion for a time equivalent to Te.

  Although remote operation by infrared communication such as infrared rays or radio waves has been described, wired communication may be used. In addition to the normal radio wave system, Bluetooth (trademark) developed for near field communication can be used for wireless communication.

  Instead of blinking the light emitting means 28, the light emission color may be changed. Further, the display color of the screen of the image display device (not shown) may be changed to another color, or may be changed from blue to yellow, red, etc. over time.

  In order to facilitate understanding, a self-recording start button 36 and a self-recording stop button 38 are illustrated on the remote control device 30. However, for example, the operation of the recording stop button 34 after starting the self-recording according to the operation of the self-recording start button 36 can be regarded as the operation of the self-recording stop button 38. That is, the self-recording stop button 38 can be replaced with another operation button.

  The long press of the recording start button 32 is regarded as the operation of the self recording start button 36, and the long press of the recording stop button 34 is regarded as the operation of the self recording stop button 38. The self recording stop button 38 can be omitted.

  In addition to the normal recording mode in which recording is started / stopped in response to the recording start / stop operation, a self-recording mode characteristic to this embodiment may be provided. In this case, the operation of the recording start button 32 in the self-recording mode can be regarded as the operation of the self-recording start button 36, and the operation of the recording stop button 34 can be regarded as the operation of the self-recording stop button 38. In other words, by providing a separate mode selection button, the recording start button 36 and the recording stop button 38 can be replaced with the recording start button 32 and the recording stop button 34, respectively.

  It is obvious that both the recording start delay time Ts and the recording end retroactive time Te may be changed to arbitrary values.

  It goes without saying that the object of the present invention can also be achieved by supplying a storage medium storing software program codes for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or apparatus. At this time, the computer (or CPU or MPU) of the supplied system or apparatus reads and executes the program code stored in the storage medium.

  In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments, and the program code itself and the storage medium storing the program code constitute the present invention.

  As a storage medium for supplying the program code, for example, a flexible disk, a hard disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a CD-ROM, a CD-R, a magnetic tape, a nonvolatile memory card, a ROM, or the like can be used.

  Further, the OS (basic system or operating system) running on the computer performs part or all of the processing based on the program code instructions described above, and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing. Needless to say, cases are also included.

  Further, the program code read from the storage medium may be written in a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, and the functions of the above-described embodiments may be realized. Needless to say, it is included. At this time, based on the instruction of the program code, the CPU or the like provided in the function expansion board or function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing.

It is a schematic block diagram of one Example of this invention. 1 is a front view of a video camera body 10. FIG. 3 is a plan view of a remote control device 30. FIG. It is an operation | movement flowchart of a present Example.

Explanation of symbols

10: video camera body 12: imaging device 14: camera signal processing device 16: frame memory 18: encoder 20: recording processing device 22: recording medium 24: receiving unit 26: control device 28: light emitting means 30: remote control device 32: recording Start button 34: Recording stop button 36: Self recording start button 38: Self recording stop button 40: Playback start button 42: Playback stop button 44: Zoom change button

Claims (14)

Imaging means for imaging a subject and converting it into an image signal;
Recording means for recording the image signal from the imaging means on a recording medium;
Receiving means for receiving a recording start command and a recording stop command from the remote control device;
Control means for controlling recording on the recording medium by the recording means in response to the recording start command and the recording stop command,
The image pickup apparatus, wherein the control means causes the recording means to start recording after a recording start delay time from reception of the recording start command.   The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit terminates recording on the recording medium at a time point back by a recording end retroactive time in response to reception of the recording stop command.   The control means ends recording on the recording medium by the recording means in response to reception of the recording stop command, and thereafter deletes from the recorded medium an amount corresponding to the recording end retroactive time from the recorded portion. The imaging apparatus according to claim 2, wherein: The recording means includes compression means for compressing an image signal from the imaging means,
The imaging apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the control unit controls the recording unit to stop the compression process of the compression unit and end the recording in response to reception of the recording stop command. Imaging means for imaging a subject and converting it into an image signal;
Recording means for recording the image signal from the imaging means on a recording medium;
Receiving means for receiving a recording start command and a recording stop command from the remote control device;
Control means for controlling recording on the recording medium by the recording means in response to the recording start command and the recording stop command,
The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control means ends recording on the recording medium in response to reception of the recording stop command at a time point that is retroactive by a recording end retroactive time.   The control means ends recording on the recording medium by the recording means in response to reception of the recording stop command, and thereafter deletes from the recorded medium an amount corresponding to the recording end retroactive time from the recorded portion. The imaging apparatus according to claim 5, wherein: The recording means includes compression means for compressing an image signal from the imaging means,
6. The imaging apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the control unit controls the recording unit to stop the compression process of the compression unit and end the recording in response to the reception of the recording stop command. Imaging means for imaging a subject and converting it into an image signal;
Recording means for recording the image signal from the imaging means on a recording medium;
A method for controlling an imaging device comprising a receiving means for receiving a recording start command and a recording stop command from a remote control device,
In response to receiving the recording start command, a recording start step for starting recording on the recording medium after a recording start delay time from reception of the recording start command;
And a recording end step of ending recording on the recording medium in response to reception of the recording stop command.   9. The method of controlling an image pickup apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the recording end step ends recording on the recording medium at a time point back by a recording end retroactive time in response to reception of the recording stop command. .   In the recording end step, in response to receiving the recording stop command, the step of ending the recording on the recording medium by the recording means, and then deleting the portion corresponding to the recording end retroactive time from the recorded portion The method for controlling an imaging apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising: The recording means comprises compression means for compressing the image signal from the imaging means,
10. The recording end step of claim 9, wherein, in response to the reception of the recording stop command, the compression unit stops the compression processing and causes the recording unit to end recording on the recording medium. Control method of imaging apparatus. Imaging means for imaging a subject and converting it into an image signal;
Recording means for recording the image signal from the imaging means on a recording medium;
A method for controlling an imaging device comprising a receiving means for receiving a recording start command and a recording stop command from a remote control device,
A recording start step for causing the recording means to start recording on the recording medium in response to reception of the recording start command;
A method for controlling an image pickup apparatus, comprising: a recording end step of ending recording on the recording medium at a point in time of a recording end retroactive time in response to reception of the recording stop command.   The recording end step corresponds to the step of ending the recording on the recording medium by the recording means in response to the reception of the recording stop command, and thereafter the recording end retroactive time from the recorded portion of the recording medium. The method for controlling an imaging apparatus according to claim 12, further comprising a step of deleting a portion to be processed. The recording means comprises compression means for compressing the image signal from the imaging means,
13. The method according to claim 12, wherein in the recording end step, the compression process of the compression unit is stopped in response to reception of the recording stop command, and the recording unit ends the recording. .

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