JP2010169846A - Camera - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a camera configured to enable an object to have interactions and interests in the camera, and not to make the object feel dazzling. <P>SOLUTION: The camera 1 equipped with a strobe device 5 includes an auxiliary light emitting means 7 for irradiating the object with auxiliary light the luminance of which is set lower than that of the strobe light of the strobe device 1. The output level of the auxiliary light by the auxiliary light emitting means 7 is increased stepwise with lapse of time, and the output level is maintained for a prescribed time. The auxiliary light is continuously emitted before starting the emission of the strobe light until it finishes. Further, the auxiliary light emitting means 7 is disposed in a part other than the setting position of the strobe device 5 (for example, around a part of the photographing lens 4 in a housing 2). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a camera provided with a strobe device.

  Many digital cameras and other cameras have a built-in strobe device, but this strobe device can shoot within the specified effective shooting range even in dark environments such as at night or in the rain. If you set the flash mode to automatic flash mode, the flash will automatically fire when the surrounding conditions are judged and the brightness is insufficient .

  By the way, in Patent Document 1, in a camera equipped with a strobe device, shooting is performed after a shutter switch is pressed in order to attract a person's interest as a subject and photograph a rich expression of the subject. Proposals have been made to change the appearance of the camera by moving the light emitting unit of the strobe device from the housed position to the protruding position until the operation is performed.

JP 2004-157287 A

  FIG. 9 shows the light emission waveform of the strobe light emitted from the strobe device. As shown in FIG. 9, the light intensity of the strobe light changes from 0% to 100% in a short light emission time. Feel dazzling. In general, the light emission time t of the strobe light is defined as the time during which the light emission intensity indicates the half width of the light amount of one flash (a value between 50% and 50% of the light emission waveform).

  Further, the camera proposed in Patent Document 1 can recognize a change in form of the appearance in a bright place, but cannot recognize the change in form in a dark place that requires light emission of strobe light. There is a problem that the interest of the subject cannot be attracted. In addition, the light emitting part of the strobe device is selected as the location where the form is changed, and the appearance of the light emitting part is changed by changing the appearance of the light emitting part, but the visual attention of the subject goes to the strobe device, If strobe light is emitted, there is also a problem that it becomes easier to feel glare.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a camera that does not give glare to the subject while making the subject interested in interaction.

  In order to achieve the above object, according to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an auxiliary light emitting means for irradiating a subject with auxiliary light having a lower luminance than the strobe light of the strobe device in a camera equipped with the strobe device. Is provided.

  A second aspect of the invention is characterized in that, in the first aspect of the invention, the output level of the auxiliary light by the auxiliary light emitting means is increased stepwise over time.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect of the present invention, each output level of the auxiliary light is held for a predetermined time.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the first to third aspects, the auxiliary light is emitted before the strobe light is emitted until the light emission is completed.

  The invention according to claim 5 is the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the auxiliary light emitting means is arranged at a place other than the place where the strobe device is installed.

  A sixth aspect of the invention is characterized in that, in the fifth aspect of the invention, the auxiliary light emitting means is disposed so as to surround a lens portion of a housing.

  The invention according to claim 7 is the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the auxiliary light is diffused light having no directivity.

  The invention according to claim 8 is the invention according to claim 7, wherein a filter for diffusing the light emitted from the light source of the auxiliary light emitting means is provided.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, before the strobe light having a high luminance is emitted from the strobe device, the auxiliary light having a luminance lower than that of the strobe light is irradiated toward the subject, so that the background luminance is reduced. Since the contrast difference is kept small and the person who is the subject adapts to the bright environment by the auxiliary light, the dazzle felt by the person is reduced even if the strobe light with high brightness is subsequently emitted. Also, because the auxiliary light is emitted before the strobe light is emitted, the person who is the subject pays visual attention to the auxiliary light, so that the person may be interested in the interaction of "Take a picture!" it can.

  According to the second aspect of the invention, by increasing the output level of the auxiliary light step by step with time, it is possible to surely give the person who is the subject “take a picture!”

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, it is possible to notify the subject of the timing at which the shutter is released by holding each output level of the auxiliary light for a predetermined time. By the way, if the output level of the auxiliary light changes instantaneously or if the auxiliary light only flashes, it is difficult for the person who is the subject to determine when the shutter is released, and the interaction “Take a picture!” Hard to get.

  According to the fourth aspect of the invention, since the auxiliary light is also emitted at the same time when the strobe light is emitted, the line of sight of the person who is the subject moves to a place other than the auxiliary light, for example, the direction of the strobe light. The degree to which the strobe light is dazzled can be kept low. If the auxiliary light is extinguished before the strobe light is emitted, the line of sight of the person who is the subject shifts to the strobe light other than the auxiliary light, and the strobe light feels dazzling.

  According to the fifth and sixth aspects of the present invention, since the auxiliary light emitting means is disposed at a place other than the place where the strobe device is installed (for example, around the lens portion of the housing), the auxiliary light emitting means is a subject that has visually recognized the auxiliary light. The time until the person's line of sight moves toward the strobe light (reaction time) is lengthened, and the time for directly viewing the strobe light is shortened accordingly, so the degree of feeling dazzling can be kept low.

  According to the inventions of claims 7 and 8, since the auxiliary light is diffused light having no directivity, the difference in contrast with the background luminance before the strobe light emission is more effectively suppressed by this diffused light, The person who is the subject adapts to the bright environment by the auxiliary light, and the degree of glare felt after the strobe light is suppressed to a low level.

It is a front view of the camera concerning the present invention. It is a flowchart which shows the imaging | photography operation | movement procedure of the camera which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which shows the change of the luminance level with respect to the light emission time of auxiliary light. It is a conceptual diagram explaining the visual attention of a to-be-photographed object. (A)-(D) are the figures which show the test object of the glare of strobe light, and auxiliary light presentation conditions. It is a figure which shows the result of the glare experiment of strobe light. It is a front view which shows the other form of the camera which concerns on this invention. It is a front view which shows the other form of the camera which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which shows the light emission waveform of strobe light.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a front view of a camera according to the present invention. The illustrated camera 1 is a digital camera, and a lens barrel 3 is provided on the front surface of a housing 2. Is provided. Further, a strobe device 5 is disposed on the upper side of the front surface of the housing 2 of the camera 1, and a shutter switch 6 for performing a photographing operation is disposed on the upper surface of the housing 2.

  By the way, in this embodiment, four auxiliary light emitting means 7 in the form of brackets are arranged around the lens barrel 3 (the photographing lens 4). The auxiliary light emitting means 7 is for irradiating the subject with auxiliary light having a lower luminance than that of the strobe light of the strobe device 5, and the diffused light has no directivity as the auxiliary light. Is used. Although not shown, the auxiliary light emitting means 7 is provided with a filter for diffusing light emitted from a light source such as an LED, and diffuse light having no directivity is emitted from the auxiliary light emitting means 7 as will be described later. Irradiated toward the subject as auxiliary light.

  Next, the photographing operation of the camera 1 configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the photographing operation procedure of the camera, and FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a change in luminance level with respect to the emission time of the auxiliary light.

  In the camera 1 according to the present embodiment, the glare control mode can be set, and when shooting is started (step S1 in FIG. 2), it is first determined whether or not the glare control mode has been set. (Step S2). When the glare control mode is not set (when the determination result in Step S2 is No), the shutter switch 6 is pressed (Step S3), and it is determined whether or not strobe light emission is necessary. (Step S4).

  When the surroundings are bright and no strobe light emission is required (when the determination result in step S4 is No), shooting is performed as it is (step S5), and a series of shooting operations is completed (step S6).

  On the other hand, when the surroundings are dark and the amount of light necessary for photographing is insufficient, and the strobe light emission is necessary (when the determination result in step S4 is Yes), the light emission preparation is made (step S7), and thereafter The strobe light is emitted by the strobe device 5 (step S8), photographing is performed in that state (step S9), and a series of photographing operations is completed (step S6).

  When the glare control mode is set (when the determination result in step S2 is Yes), when the shutter switch 6 is pressed (step S10), the auxiliary light emitting means 7 is ready for light emission. This is done (step S11).

  Thus, the auxiliary light emitting means 7 irradiates the subject with auxiliary light whose luminance is set lower than the strobe light of the strobe device 5 as described above. As shown in FIG. 3, the output level of the auxiliary light is 10%, 20%, 30% (ratio when the maximum brightness of the strobe light is 100%) over 0.3 seconds as time passes. Raised in three steps, each output level is held for 0.5 seconds. Note that the output level of the auxiliary light, the number of steps thereof, and the holding time of each output level are arbitrary.

  Accordingly, the auxiliary light emitting means 7 first emits auxiliary light having an output level of 10% (step S12), and after the output level is held for 0.5 seconds, the output level of 20% is output for 0.3 seconds. The auxiliary light is emitted (step S13), and the output level is held for 0.5 seconds. Next, auxiliary light with an output level of 30% is emitted within 0.3 seconds (step S14), and the output level is maintained until the subsequent strobe light emission by the strobe device 5 ends (steps S15 and S16). And FIG. 3). That is, in this embodiment, auxiliary light with an output level of 30% is emitted simultaneously even when strobe light is emitted.

  Then, as described above, shooting is performed with the strobe light and auxiliary light with an output level of 30% being emitted simultaneously (step S17), and a series of shooting operations is completed (step S6).

  As described above, in the present embodiment, before the strobe light having a high brightness is emitted from the strobe device 5, the auxiliary light having a lower brightness than the strobe light is emitted toward the subject. The difference in contrast with the brightness is kept small, and the subject person adapts to the bright environment by the auxiliary light. For this reason, even if strobe light with high luminance is emitted after that, the glare felt by a person is reduced. Also, because the auxiliary light is emitted before the strobe light is emitted, the person who is the subject pays visual attention to the auxiliary light, so that the person may be interested in the interaction of "Take a picture!" it can.

  In the present embodiment, the output level of the auxiliary light is increased step by step to 10%, 20%, and 30% over time, so that the person who is the subject “takes a picture!” Can be given reliably. In addition, since each output level of the auxiliary light is held for a predetermined time (in this embodiment, 0.5 second), it is possible to notify the person who is the subject of the timing when the shutter is released. By the way, if the auxiliary light output level changes instantaneously or the auxiliary light only flashes, it is difficult for the person who is the subject to determine when the shutter is released, and the interaction “Take a picture!” Hard to get.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, since the auxiliary light is also emitted at the same time when the strobe light is emitted, the line of sight of the person who is the subject is shifted to a place other than the auxiliary light, for example, the direction of the strobe light. There is no, and the degree to which the strobe light is dazzled can be kept low. If the auxiliary light is extinguished before the strobe light is emitted, the line of sight of the person who is the subject shifts to the strobe light other than the auxiliary light, and the strobe light feels dazzling.

  Here, visual attention will be described with reference to a conceptual diagram shown in FIG.

  When the preceding cue (auxiliary light) for notifying the presentation position of the target stimulus is presented prior to the target stimulus (strobe light emission), the preceding cue (auxiliary light) accurately indicates the target position (valid condition) ) Has a shorter reaction time than when no preceding clue is presented (neutral condition) or when the target stimulus is not accurately shown (invalid condition). That is, the line of sight will turn faster than the neutral condition or the invalid condition, and the user will feel more dazzling.

  Actually, the auxiliary light was presented for the forms shown in FIGS. 5A to 5D to evaluate the glare.

  Here, as experimental conditions, FIG. 5A shows the case where the auxiliary light emitting means 7 is not provided, and FIG. 5B shows the case where the auxiliary light emitting means 7 is arranged at the position where the strobe device 5 is provided. C) shows that the auxiliary light emitting means 7 is arranged on one side opposite to the strobe device 5, and FIG. 5D shows the auxiliary light emitting means 7 in the form of a bracket in the same manner as shown in FIG. Each case is shown around.

  Thus, auxiliary light was presented as the four conditions shown in FIGS. 5A to 5D, and subjective evaluation of glare in each case was performed. The result is shown in FIG. 6, and when the auxiliary light emitting means 7 is provided in a place other than the place where the strobe device 5 is installed as shown in FIGS. 5C and 5D (in the invalid condition of FIG. 4). Equivalent), a decrease in glare was observed as indicated by C and D in FIG.

  However, when the auxiliary light emitting means 7 is not provided as shown in FIG. 5A and when the auxiliary light emitting means 7 is arranged at the position where the strobe device 5 is provided as shown in FIG. 5B (FIG. 4). (Corresponding to neutral conditions and effective conditions), no decrease in glare was observed as indicated by A and B in FIG. In particular, in the case shown in FIG. 5 (B), the auxiliary light emitting means 7 and the strobe device 5 are installed at the same position, so that more attention is drawn so that it is easy to feel dazzling. .

  When the auxiliary light emitting means 7 is arranged around the photographing lens as shown in FIG. 5D, a subjective contour is obtained by the auxiliary light, so that the person who is the subject is more careful with the auxiliary light. As it is pulled, the glare of the strobe light decreases.

  Thus, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the auxiliary light emitting means 7 in the form of a bracket is placed at a place other than the place where the strobe device 5 is installed, specifically, the lens barrel 3 (photographing of the casing 2). Since it is placed around the lens 4), it takes longer time (reaction time) for the line of sight of the person who was viewing the auxiliary light to go to the strobe light. Therefore, the degree of feeling dazzling can be kept low.

  Accordingly, the auxiliary light emitting means 7 should be installed at a place other than the place where the strobe device 5 is installed. For example, as shown in FIG. The auxiliary light emitting means 7 may be arranged, or as shown in FIG. 8, the auxiliary light emitting means 7 may be arranged on the upper one side of the housing 2 opposite to the side where the strobe device 5 is provided.

  In the present embodiment, since the auxiliary light is diffused light having no directivity, the diffused light can more effectively suppress the contrast difference with the background luminance before the strobe light emission, and the person who is the subject. Adapts to the bright environment by the auxiliary light, and the degree of glare felt for the subsequent strobe light is kept low.

  Although the present invention has been described with respect to a mode in which the present invention is applied to a digital camera, the present invention is naturally applicable to film cameras and video cameras other than digital cameras. .

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Camera 2 Camera housing 3 Lens barrel 4 Shooting lens 5 Strobe device 6 Shutter switch 7 Auxiliary light emission means

Claims (8)

In cameras equipped with strobe devices,
A camera, comprising: an auxiliary light emitting means for irradiating an object with auxiliary light having a luminance lower than that of the strobe light of the strobe device.   2. The camera according to claim 1, wherein the output level of the auxiliary light by the auxiliary light emitting means is increased step by step with time.   3. The camera according to claim 2, wherein each output level of the auxiliary light is held for a predetermined time.   The camera according to claim 1, wherein the auxiliary light is emitted before the strobe light is emitted until the light emission is completed.   The camera according to claim 1, wherein the auxiliary light emitting unit is disposed at a place other than a place where the strobe device is installed.   6. The camera according to claim 5, wherein the auxiliary light emitting means is disposed so as to surround a lens portion of the housing.   The camera according to claim 1, wherein the auxiliary light is diffused light having no directivity.   8. The camera according to claim 7, further comprising a filter that diffuses light emitted from the light source of the auxiliary light emitting means.

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