JP2009278453A - Electronic camera - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electronic camera which suppresses power consumption of a battery loaded in the electronic camera when using an EVF. <P>SOLUTION: An electronic camera includes an imaging element, a display section, a photographing preparation operation detection section, and a display control section. The imaging element images a subject to produce an image. The display section displays the image. The photographing preparation operation detection section detects start of a photographing preparation operation prior to photographing. Upon receipt of start of the photographing preparation operation, the display control section changes a luminance of the display section. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic camera having a display function.

  Conventionally, as an electronic camera having a display function, an electronic camera with an electronic viewfinder (EVF: Electric View Finder (hereinafter referred to as “EVF”)) has been disclosed (for example, see Patent Documents 1 and 2).

  This EVF has a function corresponding to an optical viewfinder (OVF) of a conventional camera. The optical viewfinder displays an image to be photographed by using, for example, a pentaprism. On the other hand, the EVF captures incident light from the photographing lens with an image sensor and converts it into an image signal, and displays the image on a finder such as a liquid crystal screen by supplying power.

As an EVF used in an electronic camera, a type that uses a peep-type EVF or a liquid crystal display (LCD) provided on the back of the electronic camera as the EVF is employed.
Japanese Patent No. 3551123 JP 2001-251540 A

  By the way, EVF needs to continue displaying an image at the time of use, and depending on the power consumption of EVF, the problem that the lifetime of the battery mounted in the electronic camera becomes short arises.

  Therefore, in view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide an electronic camera that suppresses power consumption of a battery mounted on the electronic camera when the EVF is used.

  An electronic camera according to a first invention includes an imaging device, a display unit, a shooting preparation operation detection unit, and a display control unit. The imaging element images a subject and generates an image. The display unit displays an image. The shooting preparation operation detection unit detects the start of the shooting preparation operation prior to shooting. The display control unit changes the luminance of the display unit in response to the start of the shooting preparation operation.

  In a second aspect based on the first aspect, the display control unit changes the luminance according to the electric power supplied to the display unit.

  In a third aspect based on the first aspect, the display unit includes a liquid crystal display panel that displays an image, and a backlight that is disposed on the back side of the liquid crystal display panel and that continuously emits light or pulses. The display control unit controls the light emission state of the backlight by changing the duty ratio of the pulse light emission.

  According to a fourth invention, in any one of the first to third inventions, further comprising a focus detection means for detecting a focal point from within the distance measuring points by measuring a plurality of distance measuring points. The display control unit superimposes and displays a predetermined mark indicating the in-focus point detected by the focus detection unit on the screen of the display unit.

  In a fifth aspect based on the first aspect, the display unit is a peeping-type electronic viewfinder.

  According to the electronic camera of the present invention, the power consumption of the battery mounted on the electronic camera can be suppressed when the EVF is used.

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

  FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the electronic camera 1 according to the first embodiment as viewed from the side. As shown in FIG. 1, the electronic camera 1 includes a camera body 10 and a lens unit 10b that houses a photographing lens 10a.

  In the camera body 10, an image sensor 14, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 21, a first liquid crystal display unit 23, an eyepiece lens 3, and a second liquid crystal display unit 25 are arranged. The image sensor 14 is disposed along the optical axis of the photographing lens 10a. The first liquid crystal display unit 23 and the eyepiece lens 3 are arranged in an upper region in the camera body 10. The first liquid crystal display unit 23 includes a first liquid crystal display panel 23a and a first LED 23b that emits light continuously or pulsed. The second liquid crystal display unit 25 is disposed on the back surface of the electronic camera 1. The second liquid crystal display unit 25 includes a second liquid crystal display panel 25a and a second LED 25b that emits light continuously or pulsed. A release button 20 a is provided on the upper surface of the camera body 10.

  FIG. 2 is a rear view of the electronic camera 1 shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, on the back side of the electronic camera 1, a first liquid crystal display panel 23a, a second liquid crystal display panel 25a, a wide-angle zoom key 20b, and a telephoto zoom key 20c are connected via an eyepiece 3 (not shown). , A power button 20d, a menu switching / execution key 20e, and an EVF switching key 20f are provided.

  The first liquid crystal display panel 23a functions as a peeping type EVF. The second liquid crystal display panel 25a functions as an EVF that displays a still image, a through image for composition confirmation, an operation menu of the electronic camera 1, and the like. The wide-angle zoom key 20b is an operation button for changing the focal length to the wide-angle side. The telephoto zoom key 20c is an operation button for changing the focal length to the telephoto side. The power button 20d is a button for turning on / off the power of the electronic camera 1. The menu switching / execution key 21e is an operation button for freely switching menus used in the electronic camera 1 to select or execute setting conditions. The EVF switching key 20f is an operation button for selecting use of the first liquid crystal display unit 23 or the second liquid crystal display unit 25.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the electronic camera 1. As shown in FIG. 3, the electronic camera 1 includes a photographing lens 10 a, a lens unit 10 b, a photographing lens driving unit 11, a diaphragm 12, a diaphragm driving unit 13, an image sensor 14, and a timing generator (TG) 15. , An analog front end unit (hereinafter referred to as “AFE”) 16, an image processing unit 17, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 18, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 19, an operation unit 20, a CPU 21, 1 display driver 22, first liquid crystal display unit 23, second display driver 24, second liquid crystal display unit 25, recording interface (recording I / F) 26, recording medium 27, bus 28, power supply Part 29. Among these, the image processing unit 17, the RAM 18, the ROM 19, the CPU 21, the first display driver 22, the second display driver 24, and the recording interface (recording I / F) 26 are connected to each other via a bus 28. Further, the operation unit 20 and the power supply unit 29 are connected to the CPU 21.

  The taking lens 10a is composed of a plurality of lens groups including a zoom lens and a focus lens. For the sake of simplicity, in FIG. 3, the photographing lens 10a is illustrated as a single lens. Each lens constituting the photographing lens 10a is moved in the optical axis direction by the photographing lens driving unit 11. Note that the input / output of the photographic lens driving unit 11 is connected to the CPU 21.

  The diaphragm 12 adjusts the amount of incident light from the photographing lens 10a. The opening amount of the diaphragm 12 is adjusted by the diaphragm driving unit 13. The input / output of the aperture driving unit 13 is connected to the CPU 21.

  The imaging element 14 generates an image signal (analog signal) by photoelectrically converting incident light from the photographing lens 10a. Note that the image sensor 14 outputs an image for recording at the time of shooting. Further, at the time of shooting standby, the image sensor 14 outputs a through image.

  Further, the timing generator (TG) 15 sends a drive signal to each of the image sensor 14 and the AFE 16 according to an instruction from the CPU 21, thereby controlling the drive timing of both.

  The AFE 16 is an analog front-end circuit that performs signal processing on an image signal generated by the image sensor 14. The AFE 16 performs image signal gain adjustment, A / D conversion of the image signal, and the like. The image signal (digital signal) output from the AFE 16 is input to the image processing unit 17.

  The image processing unit 17 temporarily stores the RGB signal image data output from the AFE 16 in the frame memory of the RAM 18. The image processing unit 17 converts the RGB signal image data into YC signal image data represented by luminance (Y) and color (C).

  The image processing unit 17 performs image processing such as white balance correction processing on the image data stored in the frame memory of the RAM 18.

  As described above, the first liquid crystal display unit 23 includes the first liquid crystal display panel 23a and the first LEDs 23b. The first LED 23b is disposed on the back side of the first liquid crystal display panel 23a. The first display driver 22 controls the light emission state of the first LED 23b by changing the duty ratio of pulse light emission in response to an instruction from a backlight control unit 21a of the CPU 21 described later. The first LED 23b is composed of a plurality of LEDs.

  Moreover, the 2nd liquid crystal display part 25 has the 2nd liquid crystal display panel 25a and 2nd LED25b as above-mentioned. The second LED 25b is disposed on the back side of the second liquid crystal display panel 25a. Similar to the first display driver 22, the second display driver 24 controls the light emission state of the second LED 25b by changing the duty ratio of the pulse light emission in response to an instruction from the backlight control unit 21a. The second LED 25b is also composed of a plurality of LEDs. Note that the backlight is not limited to the LED, and any backlight capable of emitting pulses may be used.

  In the electronic camera 1 of the present embodiment, when the power is turned on, either the first liquid crystal display unit 23 or the second liquid crystal display unit 25 operates according to the setting of the EVF switching key 20f. For example, if the EVF switching key 20f is set to the second liquid crystal display unit 25 when the power is turned on, the second display driver 24 starts the light emission of the second LED 25b.

  In this state, when the user wants to take a picture using the first liquid crystal display unit 23, the setting of the EVF switching key 20f may be switched to the first liquid crystal display unit 23. Then, the second display driver 24 stops the light emission of the second LED 25b. On the other hand, the first display driver 22 starts light emission of the first LED 23b. As a result, when the electronic camera 1 is powered on, either the first liquid crystal display unit 23 or the second liquid crystal display unit 25 operates. The provision of two liquid crystal display units is merely an example, and the present invention is not limited to this.

  A connector for connecting a recording medium 27 is formed in the recording interface (recording I / F) 26. The recording interface (recording I / F) 26 accesses the recording medium 27 connected to the connector according to an instruction from the CPU 21 and performs image recording processing and the like.

  The operation unit 20 includes operation buttons (release button 20a, wide-angle zoom key 20b, telephoto zoom key 20c, power button 20d, menu switch / execute key 20e, and the like provided on the back and top surfaces of the electronic camera 1 already described in FIG. The operation of the EVF switching key 20f) is accepted and a processing instruction is issued to the CPU 21.

  The power supply unit 29 incorporates a battery (not shown), receives a power-on operation from the power button 20d, and supplies power to each block according to an instruction from the CPU 21.

  The CPU 21 is a processor that performs overall control of the electronic camera 1. The CPU 21 calculates a parameter for each process and controls each part of the electronic camera 1 by executing a sequence program stored in advance in the ROM 19. The CPU 21 of the present embodiment also functions as a backlight control unit 21a and a shooting preparation operation detection unit 21b.

  The backlight control unit 21a controls the light emission state of the first LED 23b or the second LED 25b by changing the duty ratio of pulse light emission.

  After the CPU 21 accepts a half-press operation from the user, the backlight control unit 21a refers to a table (not shown) in which the value of the duty ratio is stored in advance and changes the duty ratio to control the light emission state. . This table is stored in the ROM 19 in advance.

  The shooting preparation operation detector 21b detects the shooting preparation operation of the electronic camera 1 (details will be described later).

  Next, an example of the operation of the electronic camera 1 in the first embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation of the electronic camera 1. In the following description, it is assumed that the user takes a picture while looking at the first liquid crystal display panel 23a. Further, when the user turns on the electronic camera 1, the first LED 23b or the second LED 25b emits light according to the setting of the EVF switching key 20f. In the present embodiment, the EVF switching key 20f is set to the first liquid crystal display unit 23, and the first LED 23b emits light with a duty ratio of 20%.

  Step S101: The CPU 21 starts acquisition of a through image by driving the image sensor 14. This through image is displayed on the first liquid crystal display panel 23a.

  Step S102: The photographing preparation operation detector 21b of the CPU 21 monitors whether or not the release button 20a shown in FIG. When the release button 20a is half-pressed (step S102: Yes), the process proceeds to step S103. On the other hand, when the photographing preparation operation detection unit 21b of the CPU 21 does not detect half-press (step S102: No), step S102 is repeated until the release button 20a is half-pressed.

  Step S103: The CPU 21 turns on the half-press timer. Then, the CPU 21 starts counting time using a timer (not shown). As an example, the setting time of the half-press timer is 8 seconds. It should be noted that an arbitrary time can be set in advance as the set time of the half-press timer.

  Step S104: The CPU 21 refers to a duty ratio changing table (not shown) in the ROM 19. And CPU21 determines the duty ratio of the pulse light emission of 1st LED23b to 60%. The backlight control unit 21a of the CPU 21 sets the duty ratio of the pulse emission of the first LED 23b to 60% in conjunction with the half-press timer on, and issues a pulse emission instruction to the first display driver 22. The first display driver 22 emits light by setting the duty ratio of pulse light emission of the first LED 23b to 60%.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining an example of pulsed light emission when the duty ratio is changed. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a through image displayed on the first liquid crystal display panel 23a.

  FIG. 5A shows the relationship between the time in the case of continuous light emission and the power supplied to the first LED 23b as a comparative example. The same applies to the second LED 25b. As an example, the frame rate of the through image is 16.7 ms. In the case of continuous light emission, the power supplied to the first LED 23b is continuously constant. In the figure, only two frames are shown until the half-press timer is turned on, but in actuality, it is assumed that light is emitted from the power-on.

  FIG. 5B shows the relationship between the time in the case of pulsed light emission and the power input to the first LED 23b. In FIG. 5B, the duty ratio is changed from 20% to 60% before and after the half-press timer is turned on. This change corresponds to the processing in step S104. Note that FIG. 5C will be described later.

  Here, FIG. 6A shows a through image when the duty ratio is 20%. FIG. 6B shows a through image when the duty ratio is 60%. FIG. 6C shows a through image in the case of continuous light emission (duty ratio 100%) as a comparative example. 6A to 6C, the degree of shading processing represents the degree of luminance (hereinafter the same). Here, when the duty ratio is changed from 20% to 60%, the process proceeds to step S105.

  Step S105: The CPU 21 monitors whether or not a preset time (8 seconds) has elapsed. When the set time has elapsed (step S105: Yes), the process proceeds to step S111. The process of step S111 will be described later.

  On the other hand, when the set time has not elapsed (step S105: No), the process proceeds to step S106.

  Step S106: The CPU 21 monitors whether or not the release button 20a is fully pressed. When the release button 20a is fully pressed (step S106: Yes), the process proceeds to step S107. On the other hand, when the CPU 21 does not detect the full press (step S106: No), the process returns to step S105, and the processes of step S105 and step S106 are repeated until the release button 20a is fully pressed.

  Step S107: Upon receiving the full pressing operation from the operation unit 20, the CPU 21 drives the image sensor 14 via the timing generator (TG) 15 for acquiring the main image. The AFE 16 performs gain adjustment of the image signal and A / D conversion of the image signal. The image signal (digital signal) output from the AFE 16 is input to the image processing unit 17. The image processing unit 17 stores the data of the main image output from the AFE 16 in the frame memory of the RAM 18.

  Step S108: The image processing unit 17 performs image processing such as white balance correction processing.

  Step S109: The CPU 21 compresses the main image data and stores it in the recording medium 27.

  Step S110: The CPU 21 determines whether or not the power is turned off. When the power is not turned off (step S110: No), the process returns to step S102 again. On the other hand, when the power is turned off (step S110: Yes), this processing routine ends.

  Next, the process when the set time has elapsed in the determination in step S105 (step S105: Yes) will be described. In this case, the process proceeds to step S111.

  Step S111: The CPU 21 returns the pulse light emission duty ratio of the first LED 23b from 60% to 20%. Specifically, the backlight control unit 21a of the CPU 21 sets the duty ratio of pulse light emission of the first LED 23b to 20%, and issues a pulse light emission instruction to the first display driver 22. The first display driver 22 emits light by setting the duty ratio of pulse light emission of the first LED 23b to 20%. Then, the process returns to step S102. Since the process after step S102 is the same as the content mentioned above, description is abbreviate | omitted.

  As described above, according to the electronic camera 1 of the first embodiment, pulse emission with a duty ratio of 20% is performed from when the user turns on the power until the half-press timer is turned on. Further, after the half-press timer is turned on, pulse emission with a duty ratio of 60% is performed until the half-press timer is turned off. Further, when the half-press timer is turned off, pulse light emission with a duty ratio of 20% is performed again. With such an operation mode, it is possible to suppress the power consumption of the battery as compared with the conventional case of outputting an image with continuous light emission (duty ratio 100%).

  The pulse light emission with a duty ratio of 20% and the pulse light emission with a duty ratio of 60% are examples, and are not limited thereto. Further, in the flowchart of FIG. 4, when the half-press timer is turned off, the pulse emission with the duty ratio of 20% is returned again. Here, when a full-press operation is performed during the half-press timer period, the pulse emission with a duty ratio of 20% may be returned to that time.

  In the first embodiment, the first liquid crystal display unit 23 is operated, but the same applies when the second liquid crystal display unit 25 is operated.

  Next, a modification of the first embodiment will be described. In the first embodiment, pulse emission with a duty ratio of 60% is performed after the half-press timer is turned on until the half-press timer is turned off.

In the modification of the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5 (c), after the half-press timer is turned on until the half-press timer is turned off, continuous light emission (equivalent to pulse light emission with a duty ratio of 100%). ). In this case, as shown in FIG. 5C, after the half-press timer is turned on, the through image in the case of continuous light emission is displayed on the first liquid crystal display panel 23a until the half-press timer is turned off. The However, when a full-press operation is performed during the half-press timer, a still image is displayed on the first liquid crystal display panel 23a. Here, brightness is prioritized over power consumption compared to FIG. Nevertheless, it can be seen that the power consumption of the battery is suppressed as compared with FIG.
(Second Embodiment)
Next, a second embodiment will be described. In the first embodiment of the present invention and the second embodiment of the present invention, the same elements are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted.

  In the second embodiment, the first LED 23b or the second LED 25b emits light continuously, but the luminance is kept low. During the half-press timer period, the input power is increased to increase the brightness. Hereinafter, an example of the operation of the electronic camera 1 in the second embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation of the electronic camera 1. In the following description, it is assumed that the user takes a picture while looking at the first liquid crystal display panel 23a. Further, when the user turns on the electronic camera 1, for example, the luminance of the first LED 23b is continuous light emission with a brightness of 100 nits.

  Here, the processing of step S201 to step S203 is the same as the processing of step S101 to step S103 of the first embodiment, and therefore description thereof is omitted.

  Step S204: The CPU 21 determines the luminance of the first LED 23b to be 200 nits. The backlight control unit 21a of the CPU 21 sets the luminance of the first LED 23b to 200 nits in conjunction with the half-press timer on, and issues an instruction to increase the input power to the first display driver 22. The first display driver 22 causes the first LED 23b to emit light with a luminance of 200 nits by doubling the input power.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of continuous light emission when the input power is changed. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a through image displayed on the first liquid crystal display panel 23a. FIG. 8A shows a comparative example in which the backlight control unit 21a continuously emits light with the luminance of the first LED 23b set to 200 nits via the first display driver 22. On the other hand, FIG. 8B shows the case of this embodiment, and the backlight control unit 21a sets the luminance of the first LED 23b to 100 nits until the half-press timer is turned on via the first display driver 22. To emit light. When the half-press timer is turned on, the luminance of the first LED 23b is set to 200 nits to emit light. FIG. 9A is a diagram illustrating an example of a through image displayed on the first liquid crystal display panel 23a when the luminance of the first LED 23b is set to 100 nits. FIG. 9B is a diagram illustrating an example of a through image displayed on the first liquid crystal display panel 23a when the luminance of the first LED 23b is set to 200 nits. In this way, when the luminance of the first LED 23b is changed from 100 nits to 200 nits, the process proceeds to step S205.

  Step S205: The CPU 21 monitors whether or not a preset time (8 seconds) has elapsed. When the set time has elapsed (step S205: Yes), the process proceeds to step S211. In step S211, the CPU 21 returns the luminance of the first LED 23b from 200 nits to 100 nits. Then, the process returns to step S202.

  When the set time has not elapsed (step S205: No), the process proceeds to step S206. Since the processing after step S206 (step S206 to step S210) is the same as the processing of the flowchart (step S106 to step S110) of the first embodiment, description thereof will be omitted.

  As described above, according to the electronic camera 1 of the second embodiment, continuous light emission with a brightness of 100 nits is performed from when the user turns on the power until the half-press timer is turned on. Further, after the half-press timer is turned on, the light emission is continuous at 200 nits until the half-press timer is turned off. Further, when the half-press timer is turned off, continuous light emission with a brightness of 100 nits is again obtained. With such an operation mode, it is possible to suppress the power consumption of the battery as compared with the conventional case of outputting an image with continuous light emission.

  In the above description, the first liquid crystal display unit 23 is operated, but the same applies when the second liquid crystal display unit 25 is operated. In addition, the luminance of the first LED 23b is changed from 100 nits to 200 nits is an example, and the present invention is not limited to this.

  Next, a modification of the second embodiment will be described. In the modification of the second embodiment, the brightness of the EVF is changed at the time of focusing rather than when the half-press timer is turned on, and a mark indicating the focusing point is superimposed and displayed.

  The electronic camera 1 according to the modification of the second embodiment further includes a focus detection unit that detects a focal point from among the distance measuring points by measuring a plurality of distance measuring points. This focus detection means is realized by a known technique. Note that the shooting preparation operation detection unit 21b detects the shooting preparation operation, but in the modification of the second embodiment, the operation of the focus detection unit is detected as the shooting preparation operation.

  Hereinafter, an example of the operation of the electronic camera 1 in a modification of the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

  In FIG. 7, in this modified example, a process for detecting a focal point is newly added between step S203 and step S204. Specifically, after the process of step S203, the CPU 21 detects a focal point from among the distance measuring points by measuring a plurality of distance measuring points with a known focus detection unit. Then, the process proceeds to step S204. In step S204, the photographing preparation operation detection unit 21b of the CPU 21 receives the focus detection and determines the luminance of the first LED 23b to be 200 nits. The backlight control unit 21a of the CPU 21 causes the first LED 23b to emit light at 200 nits until the half-press timer is turned off.

  In FIG. 8B, in this modification, the backlight control unit 21a emits light by setting the luminance of the first LED 23b to 100 nits until the in-focus state after the half-press timer is turned on. At the time of focusing, the backlight control unit 21a emits light with the luminance of the first LED 23b set to 200 nits until the half-press timer is turned off. Therefore, the half-press timer on timing shown in FIG. 8B is replaced at the time of focusing, and the half-press timer on shown in FIG. 8B is executed at the previous timing.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a through image displayed on the first liquid crystal display panel 23a. FIG. 10A is a diagram illustrating an example of a through image displayed on the first liquid crystal display panel 23a when the luminance of the first LED 23b is set to 100 nits. Here, when the luminance of the first LED 23b is changed from 100 nits to 200 nits, the CPU 21 issues an instruction to the first display driver 22 to place the in-focus mark M at the in-focus position on the first liquid crystal display panel 23a. Display. FIG. 10B illustrates an example of a through image in which the luminance of the first LED 23b is set to 200 nits and the focus mark M is superimposed and displayed.

  Subsequently, the process proceeds to step S205, and if the set time has not elapsed (step S205: No), the process proceeds to step S206. The processing after step S206 is the same as in the second embodiment.

  On the other hand, when the set time has elapsed in the process of step S205 (step S205: Yes), the process proceeds to step S211 and the CPU 21 returns the luminance of the first LED 23b from 200 nits to 100 nits. Further, the CPU 21 instructs the first display driver 22 to delete the focus mark M from the through image. Then, the process returns to step S202. The processing after step S202 is as described above.

  As described above, according to the electronic camera 1 in the modification of the second embodiment, the display screen is brightened at the time of focusing, and the mark indicating the focal point is superimposed and displayed. With such an operation mode, it is possible to suppress the power consumption of the battery as compared with the conventional case of outputting an image with continuous light emission. Further, it is possible to newly obtain an effect that it becomes easier for the user to perform confirmation at the time of focusing and a full pressing operation of a photo opportunity.

The focus mark M is not limited to the mark M shown in FIG. 10, and may be an arbitrary mark such as a heart mark star mark, a finger mark, or an arrow mark.
<Supplementary items of the embodiment>
(1) In the above embodiment, the liquid crystal display panel is adopted as the EVF. However, for example, an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) display panel may be used. In this case, the same effect as described in the second embodiment can be obtained by changing the electric power supplied to the organic EL.

  (2) In the above-described embodiment, the half-pushing operation and the focusing operation are exemplified as the shooting preparation operation that triggers the luminance change. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, the shooting preparation operation may be a zoom operation. .

  (3) In the above embodiment, switching between the first liquid crystal display unit 23 and the second liquid crystal display unit 25 is performed using the EVF switching key 20f. As another switching means, for example, by performing an eyepiece detection process described in JP-A-2002-156675, it is detected whether or not the user's line of sight is directed to the first liquid crystal display panel 23a. It may be. And according to a detection result, you may make it switch and use the 1st liquid crystal display part 23 and the 2nd liquid crystal display part 25. FIG.

Schematic sectional view of the electronic camera 1 according to the first embodiment viewed from the side. Rear view of the electronic camera 1 shown in FIG. The block diagram which shows the structure of the electronic camera 1 A flowchart showing an example of the operation of the electronic camera 1 The figure explaining an example of pulse light emission at the time of changing a duty ratio The figure of an example of the through image currently displayed on the 1st liquid crystal display panel 23a A flowchart showing an example of the operation of the electronic camera 1 The figure explaining an example of the continuous light emission when input electric power is changed The figure of an example of the through image currently displayed on the 1st liquid crystal display panel 23a The figure of an example of the through image currently displayed on the 1st liquid crystal display panel 23a

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1, 2 ... Electronic camera, 21a ... Backlight control part, 21b ... Shooting preparation operation detection part, 22 ... 1st display driver, 23 ... 1st liquid crystal display part, 23a ... 1st liquid crystal display panel, 23b ... 1st LED, 24 ... 2nd display driver, 25 ... 2nd liquid crystal display part, 25a ... 2nd liquid crystal display panel, 25b ... 2nd LED

Claims (5)

An image sensor that images a subject and generates an image;
A display unit for displaying the image;
A shooting preparation operation detector that detects the start of a shooting preparation operation prior to shooting;
In response to the start of the shooting preparation operation, a display control unit that changes the brightness of the display unit;
An electronic camera comprising: The electronic camera according to claim 1,
The display controller is configured to change the luminance in accordance with electric power supplied to the display. The electronic camera according to claim 1,
The display unit
A liquid crystal display panel that displays the image, and a backlight that is arranged on the back side of the liquid crystal display panel and that continuously emits light or pulses,
The display control unit
An electronic camera characterized in that a light emission state of the backlight is controlled by changing a duty ratio of the pulsed light emission. The electronic camera according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
A focus detecting means for detecting a focal point from the distance measuring points by measuring a plurality of distance measuring points;
The display control unit superimposes and displays a predetermined mark indicating the in-focus point detected by the focus detection unit on a screen of the display unit. The electronic camera according to claim 1,
The electronic camera, wherein the display unit is a peep-type electronic viewfinder.

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