JP2009141765A - Imaging apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an imaging apparatus having a manual mode in which even a beginner can easily set a shutter speed value or a stop value. <P>SOLUTION: The imaging apparatus including an imaging element 22 for imaging subject light based on a set photographing condition, includes: a photographing condition display section 10 for displaying thereon a phrase or an image representing a photographing condition of any one of a shutter speed value and a stop value; a selection section 18 for selecting one phrase or image from among phrases or images displayed on the photographing condition display section 10; and a setting section 30 for setting the photographing condition of any one of the shutter speed value and the stop value corresponding to the phrase or the image selected by the selection section 18. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus including an imaging element that images subject light.

Conventionally, in a camera, when manual mode is selected when shooting a subject, shooting conditions such as a shutter speed value and an aperture value can be freely determined by the user himself. Accordingly, it is possible to set appropriate shooting conditions according to the shooting scene. However, it is difficult for beginners to determine how the shutter speed value and the aperture value affect the captured image, and the manual mode is difficult to use. Therefore, in order to provide an imaging device with a manual mode that is easy for beginners to use, the types of main subjects such as people, landscapes, and night scenes are analyzed by performing image analysis on the image data acquired by pre-shooting and estimating the shooting scene. In addition, there has been proposed an imaging device that recommends a shooting mode corresponding to a shooting environment and allows a user to select a shooting mode. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).
JP 2007-184733 A

  However, in such a manual mode, the user does not directly set shooting conditions such as a shutter speed value and an aperture value, but sets a shutter speed value and an aperture value that are set in advance according to the type of the main subject and the shooting environment. This is just a selection, so the shooting intentions are sufficient compared to when using the manual mode where the shooting conditions such as shutter speed and aperture value can be set in steps of several or a dozen. Sometimes it was not reflected.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an imaging apparatus having a manual mode in which even a beginner can easily set shooting conditions such as a shutter speed value and an aperture value.

  The configuration of the present invention will be described below with reference to the embodiment, but the present invention is not limited to this embodiment.

  The imaging device (2) of the present invention is an imaging device (2) including an imaging device (22) that images subject light based on a set shooting condition, and is either a shutter speed value or an aperture value. A shooting condition display unit (10) for displaying words or images indicating shooting conditions, and a selection for selecting one of the words or images from the words or images displayed on the shooting condition display unit (10) Unit (18), and a setting unit (30) for setting one of the shutter speed value and the aperture value corresponding to the word or the image selected by the selection unit (18). It is characterized by that.

  In the present invention, “a phrase or image indicating one of the shooting conditions of the shutter speed value or the aperture value” is a concept that does not include a numerical value (number) of the shutter speed value or the aperture value itself. Indicates words, figures, symbols, etc.

  According to the imaging apparatus of the present invention, the shutter speed value or the aperture value is not a numerical value itself, but a phrase or image that can be used to image what a beginner conceptually easily takes. Is displayed. For this reason, it is possible to provide a manual mode that is easy to understand and easy to handle even for beginners who do not fully understand the influence on the captured image by changing the shutter speed value and the aperture value.

  Hereinafter, an imaging apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of the back surface of the camera according to the embodiment. The camera (imaging device) 2 includes a photographing lens (not shown) and a camera body 4. Here, the photographing lens may be fixed to the camera body 4 or may be an interchangeable photographing lens. A shutter button 6 for instructing a release operation is provided on the upper part of the camera body 4, and a finder eyepiece window 8 for observing a finder image on the back of the camera body 4, display of a captured image, reproduction and photographing. A display unit 10 constituted by an LCD for displaying conditions and the like, a multi-selector 12 for selecting shooting conditions displayed on the display unit 10, and a decision button 14 for determining the selected shooting conditions and the like are provided.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the system configuration of the camera according to the embodiment. The camera 2 is provided with a CPU 16. The CPU 16 includes an operation unit 18 including a shutter button 6, a multi-selector 12, a determination button 14, a display control unit 20 that controls display on the display unit 10, and a photographing lens. An image sensor 22 composed of a CCD, a CMOS, or the like that images the captured subject light and generates an image signal (analog signal as accumulated charge), and an image signal output from the image sensor 22 is not shown. A / D conversion is performed to generate image data, and the image data storage unit 24 that temporarily stores the image data, image data based on the imaging signal output from the imaging element 22, white balance adjustment, contour compensation, An image processing unit 26 that performs image processing such as gamma correction, a memory card 28 that stores image data, and a camera that stores set shooting conditions. Image of the storage unit 32 for storing the image of the photographing image when photographed by photographing conditions condition storage unit 30, and is set is connected.

  The image diagram storage unit 32 stores image diagrams corresponding to “shutter speed priority selection mode” and “aperture priority selection mode”, which will be described later. The image diagram is read from the image diagram storage unit 32 and displayed in the image diagram display area 36 of the display unit 10 at the time of setting photographing conditions described later. Here, the image diagram corresponding to the “shutter speed priority selection mode” is an image when the same subject is photographed while changing the shutter speed value, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. In the present embodiment, five phrases “pretty fast”, “fast”, “normal”, “slow”, and “pretty slow” are used as the phrases indicating the shutter speed value, and FIG. 3 (b) is “fast”, FIG. 3 (c) is “normal”, FIG. 4 (a) is “slow”, and FIG. 4 (b) is “very slow”. It is an image figure corresponding respectively. In the image diagrams shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the state in which the blurring of the subject increases as the shutter speed decreases is represented (illustrated) by partially displaying the subject. Further, the image diagram corresponding to the “aperture priority selection mode” is an image when the same subject is photographed while changing the aperture value, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. In the present embodiment, five phrases “throttle a lot”, “squeeze”, “normal”, “open aperture”, and “open aperture” are used as the phrases indicating the aperture value. 5 (a) is “squeezed a lot”, FIG. 5 (b) is “squeezed”, FIG. 5 (c) is “normal”, FIG. 6 (a) is “open aperture”, and FIG. Is an image diagram corresponding to “open a lot of apertures”. In the image diagrams shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, as the aperture value increases, that is, as the aperture is reduced, the depth of field increases, and a subject that is far away from the camera is clearly imaged. Is expressed (shown) by the thickness of the line and the proper use of the solid line / dotted line.

  As for the relationship between the phrase indicating the shutter speed value or aperture value and the actual value, for example, “Normal” is 1/250 seconds as the shutter speed value, “Fast” is 1/500 seconds, “ 1/1000 seconds are associated with “very fast”, 1/125 seconds are associated with “slow”, and 1/60 seconds are associated with “very slow”. As for the aperture value, for example, “normal” is set to f5.6 as an aperture value, “squeezed” is set to f8, “squeezed a lot” is set to f11, and “open aperture” is set to f4. And “2.8 wide apertures” correspond to f2.8.

  Next, with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 7, a process for setting shooting conditions in the manual mode will be described. In the camera 2, a power button (not shown) is operated to turn on the power (step S 11), and when the simple manual mode is selected by operating the multi selector 12, the determination button 14, etc. (step S 12) A screen for selecting “shutter speed priority selection mode” for setting the shutter speed value or “aperture priority selection mode” for setting the aperture value first is displayed (see FIG. 8). In this state, the user operates the multi-selector 12, moves the selection pointer 40, and operates the enter button 14 to select "shutter speed priority selection mode" or "aperture priority selection mode" (step S13). . Here, the simple manual mode refers to a manual mode in which a shutter speed value and an aperture value, which are photographing conditions, can be set by selecting a phrase or an image indicating a shutter speed value or an aperture value.

  When “shutter speed priority selection mode” is selected in step S13, a screen for selecting a word indicating a shutter speed value is displayed on the display unit 10, as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 9, the display unit 10 displays a shutter speed value using a word and a shooting condition selection area for selecting a shutter speed value by selecting one of the words using a selection pointer 40. 34, an image diagram display area 36 for reading and displaying an image diagram stored in the image diagram storage unit 32, and a warning display area 38 for displaying a warning such as camera shake and a memory card capacity shortage.

  Here, in the photographing condition selection area 34, five phrases “pretty fast”, “fast”, “normal”, “slow”, and “very slow” are displayed as phrases indicating the shutter speed value. In this state, when the user operates the multi-selector 12 to move the selection pointer 40 up and down to select one word (step S14), it corresponds to the shutter speed indicated by the word selected from the image diagram storage unit 32. The image diagram is read and displayed in the image diagram display area 36 (step S15). That is, one of the image diagrams shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 corresponding to the selected word / phrase is displayed in the image diagram display area 36. Next, when the user operates the determination button 14 to determine a word / phrase indicating the shutter speed value (step S16), the shutter speed value corresponding to the determined word / phrase is stored in the photographing condition storage unit 30, and the shutter speed is set. A value is set (step S17). If there is a possibility that camera shake or the like may occur when shooting is performed at the shutter speed to be set, this is displayed in the warning display area 38.

  Next, the camera 2 displays a screen (not shown) for selecting whether or not to set an aperture value on the display unit 10 (step S18). If the user selects to perform shooting using the aperture value automatically set by the camera 2 corresponding to the set shutter speed value, the camera is set in step S17 in step S34. The aperture value calculated based on the shutter speed value and the photometric result is automatically determined, and the setting of the photographing condition is ended. That is, in this case, the shutter speed value is set manually, and the aperture value is automatically determined by the camera to obtain an appropriate exposure based on the manually set shutter speed value. I will shoot at. Then, by operating the shutter button 6, shooting is performed with the shutter speed value set in step S17 and the aperture value determined in step S34 (step S23).

  When the user selects manual aperture value setting, shooting is performed in a so-called manual exposure mode in which the user sets the shutter speed value and the aperture value to arbitrary values. In this case, as shown in FIG. 10, five words “throttle aperture”, “squeeze”, “normal”, “open aperture”, and “open aperture” as the terms indicating the aperture value are the shooting conditions. It is displayed in the selection area 34. In the image diagram display area 36, any one of the image diagrams shown in FIGS. 11 and 12 corresponding to the aperture value set in step S17 is displayed.

FIGS. 11 and 12 show image diagrams displayed in the image diagram display area 36 when the shutter speed value corresponding to “pretty fast” is set in step S17 and the aperture value is set manually. . First, an image diagram corresponding to “normal” is displayed as a word indicating the aperture value (see FIG. 11C). This has intermediate brightness in the image diagrams shown in FIGS. When the user operates the multi-selector 12 and the selection pointer 40 moves up and down (step S19), when the selection pointer 40 points to “squeeze a lot”, the image diagram shown in FIG. When “squeezing” is pointed out, the image diagram shown in FIG. 11B indicates that “opens the aperture”, and when it indicates “opening the aperture”, the image diagram shown in FIG. When pointing, the image diagram shown in FIG. 12B is displayed in the image diagram display area 36 (step S20). The image diagrams shown in FIGS. 11 and 12 are image diagrams when the same subject is photographed at the same shutter speed, and the display brightness changes depending on the selected aperture value. (For example, as the aperture value decreases, that is, as the aperture is opened, the brightness of the image diagram increases.)
When the user selects an image diagram having a desired brightness with reference to the image diagram displayed in the image diagram display area 36 and operates the determination button 14 to determine a word indicating an aperture value (step S21), the shooting condition is set. The aperture value is stored in the storage unit 30, and the aperture value is set (step S22). Then, when the shutter button 6 is operated, shooting is performed under the shooting conditions of the shutter speed value and the aperture value set in the above-described steps S17 and S22 (step S23).

  On the other hand, when “diaphragm priority selection mode” is selected in step S13, a screen for selecting a word indicating an aperture value is displayed on the display unit 10, as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 10, a phrase indicating an aperture value is displayed on the display unit 10, and a shooting condition selection area 34 for selecting an aperture value by selecting one of the phrases using a selection pointer 40, an image diagram A display area 36 and a warning part display area 38 are displayed.

  Here, in the photographing condition selection area 34, five words and phrases that indicate the aperture value are displayed as “a lot of aperture”, “aperture”, “normal”, “open aperture”, and “open aperture”. . In this state, when the user operates the multi-selector 12 to move the selection pointer 40 up and down to select one word (step S24), it corresponds to the aperture value indicated by the word selected from the image diagram storage unit 32. The image diagram is read and displayed in the image diagram display area 36 (step S25). That is, one of the image diagrams shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 corresponding to the selected word / phrase is displayed in the image diagram display area 36. Next, when the user operates the determination button 14 to determine a word / phrase indicating the aperture value (step S26), the aperture value corresponding to the determined word / phrase is stored in the photographing condition storage unit 30 and the aperture value is set. (Step S27).

  Next, the camera 2 displays a screen (not shown) for selecting whether or not to set the shutter speed on the display unit 10 (step S28). When the user selects to perform shooting using the shutter speed automatically set by the camera 2 in accordance with the set aperture value, the camera 2 is set in step S35 in step S27. The shutter speed value calculated based on the aperture value and the photometric result is automatically determined, and the setting of the shooting conditions is ended. Then, by operating the shutter button 6, shooting is performed with the aperture value set in step S27 and the shutter speed value determined in step S35 (step S33). That is, in this case, shooting is performed in a so-called aperture value priority exposure mode (the aperture value is determined by the user, and the shutter speed value is automatically determined by the camera according to the aperture value).

  In the above-described step S28, when the user selects manual shutter speed setting, shooting is performed in a so-called manual exposure mode in which the user sets both the shutter speed value and the aperture value to arbitrary values. In this case, as shown in FIG. 9, five phrases “pretty fast”, “fast”, “normal”, “slow”, and “pretty slow” are the shooting condition selection area 34 as the phrases indicating the shutter speed value. Is displayed. In the image diagram display area 36, as shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, any one of the image diagrams corresponding to the aperture value set in step S27 is displayed.

FIGS. 13 and 14 show an image diagram displayed in the image diagram display area 36 when the aperture value corresponding to “normal” is set in step S27 and the shutter speed value is set manually. First, an image diagram corresponding to “normal” is displayed as a phrase indicating the shutter speed (see FIG. 13C). This has intermediate brightness in the image diagrams shown in FIGS. 13 and 14. Then, when the user operates the multi-selector 12 and the selection pointer 40 moves up and down (step S29), when the selection pointer 40 indicates “pretty fast”, the image diagram shown in FIG. When “fast” is indicated, the image shown in FIG. 13B indicates “slow”, and when “slow” is indicated, the image shown in FIG. 14A indicates “pretty slow”. 14B is displayed in the image diagram display area 36 (step S30). The image diagrams shown in FIGS. 13 and 14 are image diagrams when the same subject is photographed with the same aperture value, and the display brightness changes depending on the selected shutter speed. (For example, the image becomes brighter as the shutter speed becomes slower.)
When the user selects an image diagram having a desired brightness with reference to the image diagram displayed in the image diagram display area 36 and operates the enter button 14 to determine a word indicating the shutter speed value (step S31), the photographing condition storage is performed. The shutter speed value is stored in the unit 30, and the shutter speed value is set (step S32). Then, when the shutter button 6 is operated, shooting is performed with the aperture value and shutter speed value set in the above-described steps S27 and S35 (step S33). If there is a risk of camera shake or the like when shooting is performed under the shooting conditions to be set, this is displayed in the warning display area 38.

  According to the imaging apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, the shutter speed value and the aperture value can be set by selecting a word indicating the shutter speed value and the aperture value instead of a numerical value. The mode is easy to understand and handle. Further, since an image diagram is displayed in setting the shutter speed value and the aperture value, it is possible to set shooting conditions that sufficiently reflect the shooting intention.

  In addition to the image diagrams shown in FIGS. 4 to 7, when an image diagram of an image obtained by shooting another subject is stored in the image diagram storage unit 32, the user moves the multi selector 12 left and right in step S <b> 14 or step S <b> 24. By operating the above, an image diagram of an image obtained by photographing another subject can be selected and displayed in the image diagram display area 36.

  Further, the phrases indicating the shutter speed value and the aperture value are examples, and other phrases such as “bright” and “dark” may be used.

  In the above-described embodiment, five words / phrases each indicating a shutter speed value or an aperture value are used. However, the number of words / phrases used is not limited to five.

  In the embodiment, the word indicating the shutter speed value and the aperture value has been described as an example. However, the method for indicating these values is not limited to the word, and may be a figure or an image. FIG. 15 shows a state in which the shutter speed value and the aperture value are displayed using graphics. That is, on the display unit 10 of the camera 2, in addition to the image diagram display area 36 and the warning display area 38, a selection frame 42, a shutter speed selection area 44, and an aperture value selection area 46 are displayed. Therefore, the user moves the selection frame 42 in the shutter speed selection area 44 or the aperture value selection area 46 by operating the multi selector 12 up and down. When the selection frame 42 is positioned in the shutter speed selection area 44, the multi-selector 12 is operated left and right to move the shutter speed value indication pointer 48 displayed in the shutter speed selection area 44 to set the shutter speed. To do. When the selection frame 42 is positioned in the aperture value selection area 46, the multi selector 12 is operated to the left and right to move the aperture value instruction pointer 50, thereby setting the aperture value. Here, when the shutter speed value is set first, the above-described “shutter speed priority selection mode” is set, and the imaging condition is set by the same processing as steps S14 to S22 of the flowchart shown in FIG. On the other hand, when the aperture value is set first, the above-described “aperture priority selection mode” is set, and shooting conditions are set by the same processing as steps S24 to S32 in the flowchart shown in FIG.

  The user may operate the multi-selector 12 up and down so that the selection frame 42 can be positioned in the image diagram display area 36. When the selection frame 42 is positioned in the image diagram display area 36, By operating the multi selector 12 to the left and right, the image may be changed to a different subject image. If there is a risk of camera shake or the like when shooting is performed under the shooting conditions to be set, this is displayed in the warning display area 38. In this case, by using an image showing the shutter speed value or the aperture value, the shutter speed value and the aperture value can be simultaneously displayed on the display unit, and a user-friendly manual mode can be provided.

  In the above-described embodiment, the shutter corresponding to the words “fast”, “normal”, “slow” and the like indicating the shutter speed value is provided by providing a shooting mode corresponding to the type of the main subject and the shooting environment. Aperture value and aperture value range that corresponds to the speed value, range of values, or the words that indicate the aperture value, such as “throttle”, “normal”, “open”, etc., suitable for the main subject type and shooting environment You may change to For example, if the correspondence example between the shutter speed value and the phrase described above is a setting when the main subject is a stationary object outdoors during the day, “normal” is set as the shutter speed value when taking a sports photograph. 1/500 second, 1/1000 second for "fast", 1/2000 second for "very fast", 1/250 second for "slow", 1 for "very slow" / 125 seconds correspond to each other.

  In addition to the “simple manual mode” in which shooting conditions are set by words indicating shutter speed values or aperture values, shutter speed values and aperture values can also be set by numerical values.

  In the above-described embodiment, when setting the shutter speed value or the aperture value, the brightness of the external light and the ISO sensitivity may be reflected in the image diagram displayed in the image diagram display area 36. In addition, for the warning displayed in the warning display area 38, the conditions for displaying the warning may be changed as appropriate by reflecting the brightness of external light and ISO sensitivity.

  The shooting conditions that can be set by words or images are not limited to the shutter speed value and the aperture value, and other shooting conditions may be set by words or images.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the back surface of the camera which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a block block diagram which shows the system configuration | structure of the camera which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is an image figure corresponding to the phrase which shows the shutter speed value memorize | stored in the camera which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is an image figure corresponding to the phrase which shows the shutter speed value memorize | stored in the camera which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is an image figure corresponding to the phrase which shows the aperture value memorize | stored in the camera which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is an image figure corresponding to the phrase which shows the aperture value memorize | stored in the camera which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the setting process of the imaging condition in the manual mode of the camera which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the display in a display part in the case of setting "shutter speed priority selection mode" and "aperture priority selection mode" of the camera which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the display in a display part in the case of setting the shutter speed value which concerns on embodiment of this invention with a phrase. It is a figure which shows the display in a display part when the aperture value which concerns on embodiment of this invention is set with a phrase. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an image diagram displayed on the image diagram display unit when an aperture value is set in the “shutter speed priority selection mode” according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an image diagram displayed on the image diagram display unit when an aperture value is set in the “shutter speed priority selection mode” according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an image diagram displayed on the image diagram display unit when setting a shutter speed value in the “aperture priority selection mode” according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an image diagram displayed on the image diagram display unit when setting a shutter speed value in the “aperture priority selection mode” according to the embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the display state in the case of setting the shutter speed value or aperture value by the image which concerns on embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 2 ... Camera, 10 ... Display part, 12 ... Multi selector, 14 ... Decision button, 16 ... CPU, 22 ... Imaging element, 30 ... Shooting condition setting part, 32 ... Image diagram storage unit, 34 ... Shooting condition selection unit, 36 ... Image diagram display unit.

Claims (4)

An imaging device including an imaging device that images subject light based on set shooting conditions,
A shooting condition display unit that displays words or images indicating shooting conditions of either the shutter speed value or the aperture value;
A selection unit for selecting one of the words or the image from the words or the image displayed on the photographing condition display unit;
An imaging apparatus comprising: a setting unit configured to set one of the shutter speed value and the aperture value corresponding to the word or the image selected by the selection unit. In the imaging device, an image diagram storage unit that stores an image diagram corresponding to each of the word or the image when the image is captured by the shutter speed value or the aperture value indicated by the word or the image;
An image diagram display unit that reads out and displays the image diagram corresponding to the selected word or image from the image diagram storage unit when the selection unit selects the word or the image. Item 2. The imaging device according to Item 1. When any one of the shooting conditions is the shutter speed value,
When setting an aperture value as the shooting condition, an aperture display unit for displaying the word or the image indicating the aperture value;
An aperture selection unit that selects one of the words or the image from the words or the image displayed on the aperture display unit;
When the phrase or the image is selected by the aperture selection unit, the aperture indicated by the phrase or the image selected by the aperture selection unit is the brightness of the image diagram displayed on the image diagram display unit. The imaging apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the brightness is changed to a brightness corresponding to the value. When any one of the shooting conditions is the aperture value,
A shutter speed display unit for displaying the word or the image indicating the shutter speed value when setting a shutter speed value as the photographing condition;
A shutter speed selection unit that selects one of the words or the image from the words or the image displayed on the shutter speed display;
When the phrase or the image is selected by the shutter speed selection unit, the brightness of the image diagram displayed on the image diagram display unit is indicated by the word or the image selected by the shutter speed selection unit. The imaging apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the brightness is changed to a brightness corresponding to the shutter speed value.

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