JP2010117630A - Electronic camera - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electronic camera with which a user easily checks the charging state of a main capacitor by sounds when making pickups using one or more stroboscopic devices. <P>SOLUTION: The electronic camera includes an image pickup element, a charge voltage detecting part, a charge voltage determining part, a storage part, an electric signal converting part, and a notification processing part. The image pickup element performs photoelectric conversion upon a subject image to produce image data. The charge voltage detecting part detects the charge voltage of the main capacitor for emitting flash. The charge voltage determining part determines whether the charge voltage has reached a flash emission permitting voltage at which flash is emitted, based on the detection result of the charge voltage detecting part. The storage part stores beforehand first notifying sound data and second notifying sound data. The electric signal converting part converts the first notifying sound data and the second notifying sound data into a first notifying signal and a second notifying signal, respectively, as electric signals. The notification processing part converts the first notifying signal or the second notifying signal into sounds for output according to the determination result of the charge voltage determining part. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic camera that performs flash photography.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when electronic flash photography using a discharge of a xenon tube or the like is performed with an electronic camera, a technology has been disclosed that informs the user of the state of charge of the main capacitor of the flash device (during charging or completion of charging) prior to flash photography. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-372741

  However, in the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, for example, when a photo opportunity comes before the main capacitor of the flash device is fully charged (full charge voltage), the user does not emit flash light even if the release operation is performed. There is room for improvement in that it cannot be judged by sound whether or not it is made.

  In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide an electronic camera that allows a user to easily check a flash-capable state with sound.

  An electronic camera according to a first invention includes an imaging device, a charging voltage detection unit, a charging voltage determination unit, a storage unit, an electric signal conversion unit, and a notification processing unit. The imaging device generates image data by photoelectrically converting the subject image. The charging voltage detector detects the charging voltage of the main capacitor for flash emission. The charging voltage determination unit determines whether or not the charging voltage has reached a flash emission permission voltage capable of flash emission based on the detection result of the charging voltage detection unit. The storage unit previously stores first notification sound data indicating that the main capacitor is being charged, and second notification sound data indicating that the main capacitor is being charged and has reached the flash emission permission voltage. Remember. The electrical signal conversion unit converts the first notification sound data and the second notification sound data into an first notification signal and a second notification signal, respectively, as an electrical signal. The notification processing unit converts the first notification signal or the second notification signal into sound according to the determination result of the charging voltage determination unit, and outputs the sound.

  An electronic camera according to a second invention includes an imaging device, a charging voltage detection unit, a charging voltage determination unit, a storage unit, an electric signal conversion unit, and a notification processing unit. The imaging device generates image data by photoelectrically converting the subject image. The charging voltage detection unit detects the charging voltage of each of the plurality of flash light emitting main capacitors. The charging voltage determination unit determines whether or not at least one of the main capacitors has reached a flash emission permission voltage capable of flash emission based on the detection result of the charging voltage detection unit. The storage unit includes first notification sound data indicating that all of the main capacitors are being charged, all of the main capacitors are being charged, and at least one of the charging voltages has reached the flashing permission voltage. The second notification sound data indicating that it is present is stored in advance. The electrical signal conversion unit converts the first notification sound data and the second notification sound data into an first notification signal and a second notification signal, respectively, as an electrical signal. The notification processing unit converts the first notification signal or the second notification signal into sound according to the determination result of the charging voltage determination unit, and outputs the sound.

  According to the electronic camera of the present invention, it is easy for the user to confirm with a sound whether flash photography is possible.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of the electronic camera 1 in the first embodiment. The electronic camera 1 includes a photographic lens 11, an image sensor 12, a timing generator (TG) 13, an analog front end unit (hereinafter referred to as “AFE”) 14, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 15, an image. Processing unit 16, recording interface (recording I / F) 17, recording medium 18, ROM (Read Only Memory) 19, liquid crystal monitor 20, operation unit 21, release button 22, first flash device 23 A notification signal processing unit 24, a speaker 25, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 26, and a bus 27.

  The photographing lens 11 is composed of a plurality of lens groups including a zoom lens and a focus lens. For simplicity, FIG. 1 shows the photographing lens 11 as a single lens. The imaging element 12 generates image data by photoelectrically converting incident light from the photographing lens 11. The timing generator (TG) 13 sends a drive signal to each of the image sensor 12 and the AFE 14 according to an instruction from the CPU 26, thereby controlling the drive timing of both.

  The AFE 14 is an analog front end circuit that performs analog signal processing on the output of the image sensor 12. The AFE 14 performs correlated double sampling, gain adjustment, A / D conversion, and the like on the image data. The image data output from the AFE 14 is temporarily stored in the RAM 15.

  The RAM 15 is a buffer memory that temporarily stores image data that the image processing unit 16 performs image processing. The image processing unit 16 reads image data for one frame stored in the RAM 15 and performs various image processing (gradation conversion processing, contour enhancement processing, white balance processing, etc.).

  A connector for connecting a recording medium 18 is formed in the recording interface (recording I / F) 17. The recording medium 18 is a non-volatile recording medium, and is composed of a memory card with a built-in semiconductor memory. The image data subjected to the image processing by the image processing unit 16 is recorded on the recording medium 18 via the recording interface (recording I / F) 17.

  The ROM 19 is a non-volatile memory that stores a program for controlling the electronic camera 1 in advance. The ROM 19 stores in advance first notification sound data and second notification sound data, which will be described later.

  The liquid crystal monitor 20 displays various images according to instructions from the CPU 26. Note that the liquid crystal monitor 20 in the present embodiment may be configured by any of an electronic viewfinder having an eyepiece and a liquid crystal display panel provided on the back of the electronic camera 1. On the liquid crystal monitor 20, a live view image is displayed as a moving image under the control of the CPU 26 during shooting standby in the still image shooting mode. The CPU 26 can also display a menu screen on which the various setting items can be input on the liquid crystal monitor 20. Further, the CPU 26 can also display a so-called indicator display on the liquid crystal monitor 20 of the charging state of the first flash device 23 (details will be described later).

  The operation unit 21 includes, for example, a command dial, a cross-shaped cursor key, a power button, and the like. The operation unit 21 receives various inputs to the electronic camera 1 from the user. For example, the operation unit 21 is used for an input operation on the menu screen, an operation mode switching operation of the electronic camera 1, and the like.

  The release button 22 receives from the user an instruction input for a half-press operation (instruction input for starting operation such as autofocus (AF) before photographing) and a full-press operation (starting imaging operation). The first flash device 23 is a device that emits a flash toward the subject (details will be described later).

  The notification signal processing unit 24 includes first notification sound data indicating that the main capacitor is being charged (meaning that the flash emission permission voltage has not yet been reached), the main capacitor is being charged, and Second notification sound data indicating that the flashing allowed voltage has been reached is read from the ROM 19. Here, the flash emission permission voltage refers to a charging voltage at which flash photography can be performed before charging is completed. Then, the notification signal processing unit 24 converts the first notification sound data into an electrical signal and generates a first notification signal. Similarly, the notification signal processing unit 24 converts the second notification sound data into an electrical signal and generates a second notification signal.

  The speaker 25 receives the first notification signal or the second notification signal from the notification signal processing unit 24 according to the determination result of the charging voltage determination unit 26a described later, and converts the first notification signal or the second notification signal into sound. And output. In this case, the first notification signal is converted into the first notification sound. The second notification signal is converted into a second notification sound. As an example, it is assumed that the first notification sound and the second notification sound have different timbres.

  The CPU 26 is a processor that performs overall control of the electronic camera 1. The charging voltage detection unit 26a detects the charging voltage of the flash light main capacitor from the start of charging to the completion of charging. The charging voltage determination unit 26b determines whether or not the charging voltage has reached a flash emission permission voltage capable of flashing based on the detection result of the charging voltage detection unit 26a.

  Next, the first flash device 23 will be described.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of the first flash device 23. The first flash device 23 includes a battery 23a, a step-up transformer 23b, a charge control IC (Integrated Circuit) 23c, a rectifier diode 23d, a discharge preventing diode 23e, a main capacitor 23f, a light emitting unit 23g, and a resistor 23h. And 23i.

  The step-up transformer 23b that boosts the voltage includes a primary coil 23b-1 and a secondary coil 23b-2. One end of the primary coil 23b-1 is connected to the plus terminal of the battery 23a. The other end of the primary coil 23b-1 is connected to the charge control IC 23c. The negative terminal of the battery 23a is connected to the ground 23k.

  The charging control IC 23c incorporates a switching element (not shown) that periodically turns on / off the primary current supplied to the primary coil 23b-1 of the step-up transformer 23b. As an example, this switching element is a transistor of a MOS type FET (Metal Oxide Field Effect Transistor) capable of high-speed on / off switching.

  In addition, although not shown, the charging control IC 23c includes a latch unit (not shown) that controls the start and end of charging of the main capacitor 23f, and a monitor unit that monitors the primary current and the rectified secondary current of the step-up transformer 23b. (Not shown). The latch unit has two operation modes of “L (off state)” and “H (on state)”. 'L (OFF state)' indicates that charging of the main capacitor 23f is stopped. Further, 'H (ON state)' represents the start of charging of the main capacitor 23f. The monitor unit monitors whether or not the primary current flowing through the primary coil 23b-1 reaches an upper limit value.

  The rectifier diode 23d rectifies the flyback pulse generated from the secondary coil of the transformer at the moment when the primary current flowing through the primary coil is turned off. Further, the discharge preventing diode 23e prevents discharge other than during flash emission.

  The main capacitor 23f performs boosting by storing the rectified secondary current as electric energy. The resistors 23h and 23i connected in series divide the charging voltage of the main capacitor 23f. The divided voltage is digitized by a not-shown A / D converter from the connection point 23j of the resistors 23h and 23i, and the digitized value is input to the CPU 26 on the electronic camera 1 side.

  The CPU 26 controls the operation of the first flash device 23. Note that a dedicated MPU (Micro Processing Unit) for controlling the operation of the first flash device 23 may be provided. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the CPU 26 has the same function as the MPU for controlling the flash device.

  The CPU 26 transmits a signal S1 indicating start of charging of the main capacitor 23f or a signal S2 indicating stop of charging to the charge control IC 23c. Further, the CPU 26 transmits a signal S3 representing the upper limit value of the primary current to the charging control IC 23c.

  The light emitting unit 23g is a circuit that converts electric energy charged in the capacitor into light energy. The light emitting unit 23g is provided with, for example, a xenon tube, and performs flash emission by discharging the xenon tube.

  Next, the flash photographing operation of the electronic camera 1 will be described.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the flash photographing operation of the electronic camera 1. This flowchart is started when the user selects the flash photography mode with the command dial or the like after the electronic camera 1 is turned on. Note that after the user switches from the still image playback mode to the still image shooting mode, this flowchart may be started by further selecting the flash shooting mode with a command dial or the like. Here, it is assumed that when the power of the electronic camera 1 is turned on, the default setting is to notify the state of charge with a notification sound.

  Step S101: After receiving an instruction input for the flash photography mode from the operation unit 21, the CPU 26 instructs the charging control IC 23c to start charging the main capacitor 23f. Hereinafter, the charging operation of the main capacitor 23f will be briefly described. When the charge control IC 23c receives the charge start control signal S1 from the CPU 26, the charge control IC 23c starts charging the main capacitor 23f. In this case, the latch unit of the charge control IC 23c changes from “L (off state)” to “H (on state)”. Then, the charging control IC 23c turns on the switching element. As a result, current starts to flow through the primary coil 23b-1.

  The charge control IC 23c turns off the switching element when the primary current reaches a preset upper limit value. Thereby, the secondary current starts to flow. When the secondary current flows, electric energy is accumulated in the main capacitor 23f. When detecting the end of charging of the secondary current to the main capacitor 23f, the CPU 26 does not transmit the charge stop control signal S2 to the charge control IC 23c when the main capacitor 23f is not fully charged. Therefore, the charge control IC 23c turns on the switching element again. Thus, as the switching element is repeatedly turned on / off, the main capacitor 23f is charged until it is fully charged.

  Step S102: The charging voltage detector 26a detects the charging voltage of the main capacitor 23f based on the voltage divided by the resistors 23h and 23i. The charging voltage detector 26a detects the charging voltage of the main capacitor 23f after that.

  Step S103: The charging voltage determination unit 26b determines whether or not the charging voltage has reached the flash emission permission voltage based on the detection result of the charging voltage detection unit 26a. If the charging voltage is equal to or higher than the flash emission permission voltage (step S103: Yes), the process proceeds to step S106. When the charging voltage is less than the flash emission permission voltage (step S103: No), the process proceeds to step S104.

  Step S104: The CPU 26 determines whether or not notification sound output is set. When the notification sound output setting is present (step S104: Yes), the process proceeds to a notification sound output process subroutine (step S105). If there is no notification sound output setting (step S104: No), the process proceeds to a sub-routine (step S109) of the display process of the liquid crystal monitor. These subroutines will be described later. After the notification sound output process subroutine or the liquid crystal monitor display process subroutine is executed, the process proceeds to step S106.

  Step S106: The CPU 26 determines whether or not there has been a photographing operation (half-press operation, full-press operation) from the user. If there is no shooting operation (step S106: No), the process of step S106 is repeated. If there is a shooting operation (step S106: Yes), the process proceeds to step S107.

  Step S107: When the CPU 26 transmits a trigger signal to the first flash device 23 side, the light emitting unit 23g emits flash light through the charge control IC 23c. At this time, the CPU 26 drives the image sensor 12 in synchronization with the flash emission. The AFE 14 performs image data gain adjustment, A / D conversion, and the like. The image data output from the AFE 14 is temporarily stored in the RAM 15. The image processing unit 16 reads image data for one frame stored in the RAM 15 and performs various image processing (gradation conversion processing, contour enhancement processing, white balance processing, etc.). The CPU 26 records the image data subjected to the image processing by the image processing unit 16 on the recording medium 18 via the recording interface (recording I / F) 17.

  Step S108: If the CPU 26 does not accept the shooting end command (step S108: No), the process returns to step S102. On the other hand, when the CPU 26 receives a shooting end command (step S108: Yes), the processing routine shown in FIG.

  Next, a sub-routine for notification sound output processing will be described.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a subroutine of notification sound output processing.

  Step S201: The CPU 26 issues an instruction to the notification signal processing unit 24, and the notification signal processing unit 24 first reads first notification sound data and second notification sound data from the ROM 19.

  Subsequently, the notification signal processing unit 24 converts the first notification sound data into an electrical signal and generates a first notification signal. The notification signal processing unit 24 transmits the first notification signal to the speaker 25. The speaker 25 receives the first notification signal from the notification signal processing unit 24, converts the first notification signal into sound (first notification sound), and outputs the sound.

  Step S202: The charging voltage determination unit 26b determines whether or not the charging voltage has reached the flash emission permission voltage based on the detection result of the charging voltage detection unit 26a. When the charging voltage has not reached the flash emission permission voltage (step S202: No), the process of step S202 is repeated. That is, the first notification sound is continuously notified from the speaker 25. If the charging voltage has reached the flash emission permission voltage (step S202: Yes), the process proceeds to step S203.

  Step S203: The CPU 26 issues an instruction to the notification signal processing unit 24, and the notification signal processing unit 24 converts the second notification sound data into an electrical signal to generate a second notification signal. The notification signal processing unit 24 stops the transmission of the first notification signal and transmits the second notification signal to the speaker 25. That is, the notification signal processing unit 24 switches from the first notification signal to the second notification signal. The speaker 25 receives the second notification signal from the notification signal processing unit 24, converts the second notification signal into sound (second notification sound), and outputs the sound.

  Step S204: The charging voltage determination unit 26b determines whether or not the charging voltage has reached the full charging voltage based on the detection result of the charging voltage detection unit 26a. When the charge voltage has not reached the full charge voltage (step S204: No), the process of step S204 is repeated. That is, the second notification sound is continuously notified from the speaker 25.

  Although not explicitly shown in FIG. 4, when the user performs a half-press operation in response to the change from the first notification sound to the second notification sound, the process proceeds to step S106 shown in FIG. To do. That is, the process shifts to a process in which flash photography is performed without waiting for completion of charging.

  When the charging voltage reaches the full charging voltage without performing the half-pressing operation by the user (step S204: Yes), the process proceeds to step S205.

  Step S205: The CPU 26 instructs the charging control IC 23c to stop the charging of the main capacitor 23f. In addition, the CPU 26 instructs the notification signal processing unit 24 to stop the output of the second notification sound from the speaker 25. Then, this subroutine is terminated, and the process returns to step S106 shown in FIG.

  Next, a display processing subroutine of the liquid crystal monitor will be described. This subroutine is processing for dealing with a situation where, for example, surroundings are noisy and sound is difficult to hear during flash photography.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a subroutine of display processing of the liquid crystal monitor.

  Step S301: The CPU 26 displays an indicator so that the charging status of the charging voltage can be visually recognized on the liquid crystal monitor 20.

  Step S302: The charging voltage determination unit 26b determines whether or not the charging voltage has reached the full charging voltage based on the detection result of the charging voltage detection unit 26a. When the charging voltage has not reached the full charging voltage (step S302: No), this step S302 is repeated. When the charge voltage reaches the full charge voltage (step S302: Yes), the process proceeds to step S303.

  Step S303: The CPU 26 ends the indicator display on the liquid crystal monitor 20, and issues an instruction to the charging control IC 23c to stop the charging of the main capacitor 23f. Then, this subroutine is terminated, and the process returns to step S106 shown in FIG.

  As described above, according to the electronic camera 1 of the first embodiment, by using the first notification sound and the second notification sound, the user can easily confirm the charged state of the main capacitor 23f with sound. That is, by notifying the second notification sound, the user can know that the charging voltage has not reached the full charge voltage, but has reached the flash emission permission voltage. As a result, the release operation can be performed at a photo opportunity that occurs before the full charge voltage is reached. Further, when the second notification sound is stopped, the user can know that the full charge voltage has been reached. For example, when performing continuous shooting of flash photography, it is desirable to perform a release operation after reaching the full charge voltage, so the user may wait until the second notification sound stops.

  The first notification sound and the second notification sound are distinguished from each other with different timbres, but are not particularly limited as long as they can be identified by the user. For example, you may distinguish with the sound by the high and low of a frequency. Moreover, you may distinguish with a sound effect etc. of about several seconds. Moreover, you may alert | report with pseudo | simulated audio | voice. In this case, for example, after switching from the first notification sound to the second notification sound, it may be possible to count down until the charging is completed.

  Further, in recent electronic cameras, a circuit using a winding transformer is generally used as a step-up transformer for charging a main capacitor. The beat sound cannot be confirmed. Therefore, for example, the roaring sound may be notified from the speaker 25 by switching from a low sound (first notification sound) to a high sound (second notification sound) in a pseudo manner.

(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, description of the same elements is omitted.

  FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of the electronic camera 1 in the second embodiment. In the second embodiment, flash photography is performed using the first flash device 23 and the second flash device 30. The electronic camera 1 is equipped with a second flash device 30 as an external flash device via a hot shoe 28 that is a connection terminal of the flash device. Thereby, the electronic camera 1 and the 2nd flash device 30 are electrically connected.

  FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of the second flash device 30. The second flash device 30 is different from the first flash device 23 in that it communicates with the CPU 26 via the hot shoe 28. Other than that, the internal configuration of the second flash device 30 is the same as that of the first flash device 23, and thus the description thereof is omitted. The ROM 19 shown in FIG. 6 includes first notification sound data indicating that the main capacitor 23f of the first flash device 23 and the main capacitor 30f of the second flash device 30 are being charged, and the main capacitors 23f. , 30f is being charged, and second notification sound data indicating that at least one of the charging voltages has reached the flash emission permission voltage is stored in advance.

  In the second embodiment, since the first flash device 23 and the second flash device 30 are used in combination, the processing of the charging voltage detection unit 26a and the charging voltage determination unit 26b is different from that of the first embodiment.

  The charging voltage detection unit 26a detects from the charging start of each charging voltage to the completion of charging for the main capacitors 23f and 30f.

  Based on the detection result of the charging voltage detector 26a, the charging voltage determiner 26b determines whether any of the main capacitors 23f and 30f has reached the flashing allowed voltage.

  Other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment. Hereinafter, an example of the flash photographing operation of the electronic camera 1 in the second embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the flash photographing operation of the electronic camera 1 in the second embodiment.

  Step S401: In the same manner as in the first embodiment, the CPU 26 instructs the charging control IC 23c to start charging the main capacitor 23f of the first flash device 23 after receiving an instruction input for the flash photography mode. Further, the CPU 26 instructs the charging control IC 23c to start charging the main capacitor 30f of the second flash device 30.

  Step S402: The charging voltage detector 26a detects the charging voltage of the main capacitor 23f and the main capacitor 30f. The charging voltage detector 26a detects the charging voltage of the main capacitor 23f and the main capacitor 30f after that.

  Step S403: The charging voltage determination unit 26b determines whether or not the charging voltage of the main capacitor 23f or the main capacitor 30f has reached the flash emission permission voltage based on the detection result of the charging voltage detection unit 26a. If any of the charging voltages is equal to or higher than the flash emission permission voltage (step S403: Yes), the process proceeds to step S406. If the charging voltage of both is less than the flash emission permission voltage (step S403: No), the process proceeds to step S404.

  Step S404: The CPU 26 determines whether or not notification sound output is set. If the notification sound output setting is present (step S404: Yes), the process proceeds to a notification sound output process subroutine (step S405). If there is no notification sound output setting (step S404: No), the process proceeds to a sub-routine (step S409) of the display process of the liquid crystal monitor. These subroutines will be described later. After the notification sound output process subroutine or the liquid crystal monitor display process subroutine is executed, the process proceeds to step S406. Since the following processing is the same as that of the first embodiment, description thereof is omitted. From the above, the processing routine shown in FIG. 8 ends.

  Next, a subroutine for notification sound output processing in the second embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a subroutine of notification sound output processing in the second embodiment.

  Step S501: The notification signal processing unit 24 transmits the first notification signal to the speaker 25 by performing the same processing as Step S201 shown in FIG. The speaker 25 receives the first notification signal from the notification signal processing unit 24, converts the first notification signal into sound (first notification sound), and outputs the sound.

  Step S502: The charging voltage determination unit 26b determines whether or not the charging voltage of the main capacitor 23f or 30f has reached the flashing permission voltage based on the detection result of the charging voltage detection unit 26a. If any of the charging voltages has not reached the flash emission permission voltage (step S502: No), the process of step S502 is repeated. That is, the first notification sound is continuously notified from the speaker 25. When the charging voltage of either the main capacitor 23f or 30f has reached the flash emission permission voltage (step S502: Yes), the process proceeds to step S503.

  Step S503: The notification signal processing unit 24 switches from the first notification signal to the second notification signal by performing the same processing as step S203 shown in FIG. The speaker 25 receives the second notification signal from the notification signal processing unit 24, converts the second notification signal into sound (second notification sound), and outputs the sound. When the user performs a half-press operation in response to switching from the first notification sound to the second notification sound, the process proceeds to step S406 shown in FIG.

  Step S504: The charging voltage determination unit 26b determines whether or not the charging voltages of the main capacitors 23f and 30f have reached the full charging voltage based on the detection result of the charging voltage detection unit 26a. When both charging voltages have not reached the full charging voltage (step S504: No), the processing of step S504 is repeated. When the charging voltage reaches the full charging voltage (step S504: Yes), the process proceeds to step S505.

  Step S505: The CPU 26 issues an instruction to the charging control IC 23c, and stops the charging of the main capacitors 23f and 30f that are fully charged. Here, it is assumed that the CPU 26 sequentially stops charging from the main capacitors 23f and 30f that are fully charged.

  In addition, the CPU 26 instructs the notification signal processing unit 24 to stop the output of the second notification sound from the speaker 25. Then, this subroutine is terminated, and the process returns to step S106 shown in FIG.

  Next, a display processing subroutine of the liquid crystal display monitor will be described. Already different from the display processing subroutine (FIG. 5) of the liquid crystal display monitor in the first embodiment described above, in step S301, the CPU 26 determines the charging status of the charging voltages of the main capacitors 23f and 30f on the liquid crystal monitor 20. In this case, the indicator display is performed. In step S302, the charging voltage determination unit 26b determines whether or not both charging voltages have reached the full charging voltage based on the detection result of the charging voltage detection unit 26a. Since the other processing flows are the same, description thereof is omitted.

  As described above, according to the electronic camera 1 of the second embodiment, when shooting using a plurality of flash devices, the user can perform flash shooting using any one flash device or flash shooting using a plurality of flash devices. It can be selected by a notification sound.

  Note that although two flash devices have been described as flash photography using a plurality of flash devices, three or more flash devices may be used.

The block diagram which shows the internal structure of the electronic camera 1 in 1st Embodiment. The block diagram which shows the internal structure of the 1st flash device 23 A flowchart showing the flash photographing operation of the electronic camera 1 Flowchart showing a subroutine of notification sound output processing Flowchart showing a subroutine for display processing of the liquid crystal monitor The block diagram which shows the internal structure of the electronic camera 1 in 2nd Embodiment. The block diagram which shows the internal structure of the 2nd flash device 30 The flowchart which shows the operation | movement of flash photography of the electronic camera 1 in 2nd Embodiment. The flowchart which shows the subroutine of the output process of the notification sound in 2nd Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 12 ... Imaging device, 26a ... Charge voltage detection part, 26b ... Charge voltage determination part, 24 ... Notification signal processing part, 25 ... Speaker

Claims (2)

An image sensor that photoelectrically converts a subject image to generate image data;
A charging voltage detector for detecting the charging voltage of the main capacitor for flashing;
Based on the detection result of the charging voltage detection unit, a charging voltage determination unit that determines whether or not the charging voltage has reached a flash emission permission voltage capable of flash emission; and
First notification sound data indicating that the main capacitor is being charged and second notification sound data indicating that the main capacitor is being charged and have reached the flash emission permission voltage are stored in advance. A storage unit to
An electrical signal converter that converts the first notification sound data and the second notification sound data into electrical signals, and converts the first notification sound data and the second notification sound data into a first notification signal and a second notification signal, respectively;
A notification processing unit that converts the first notification signal or the second notification signal into sound according to a determination result of the charging voltage determination unit, and outputs the sound,
An electronic camera comprising: An image sensor that photoelectrically converts a subject image to generate image data;
About a plurality of flash light emitting main capacitors, a charging voltage detection unit for detecting each charging voltage,
Based on the detection result of the charging voltage detection unit, a charging voltage determination unit that determines whether or not at least one of the main capacitors has reached a flash emission permission voltage capable of flash emission; and
First alarm sound data indicating that all of the main capacitors are being charged, all of the main capacitors are being charged, and at least one of the charging voltages has reached the flash emission permission voltage. A storage unit that preliminarily stores second notification sound data indicating that
An electrical signal converter that converts the first notification sound data and the second notification sound data into electrical signals, respectively, into first notification signals and second notification signals;
A notification processing unit that converts the first notification signal or the second notification signal into sound according to a determination result of the charging voltage determination unit, and outputs the sound,
An electronic camera comprising:

Images