JP2010171564A - Imaging apparatus, and control method of imaging apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an imaging apparatus which does not require a complicated index when performing a switchover of a height and width and an aspect ratio, and to provide a control method of the imaging apparatus. <P>SOLUTION: The imaging apparatus has an imaging element 221 outputting a subject image as image data, and a visual line detection circuit 210 detecting a visual line of a person observing the subject image through a finder. Visual line ranges 501a, 501b, 503a and 503b are provided around a finder eyesight, and when the visual line detection circuit 210 detects a visual line in the visual line range, a height and width and/or aspect ratio of an image data output range is controlled. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus and an imaging apparatus control method, and more particularly, to an imaging apparatus and an imaging apparatus control method that can change the aspect and the aspect ratio.

  2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, imaging devices such as digital cameras have been proposed that can change the aspect ratio and aspect ratio. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an electrophotographic apparatus that can change the aspect ratio of an imaging screen without changing the orientation of the main body. In this electrophotographic apparatus, the effective imaging range in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction is changed from the square image sensor by operating the vertical direction enlargement button or the horizontal direction enlargement button.

  Moreover, although it is a film camera, in patent document 2, when it detects having gaze position detection means and gazing at the parameter | index in a finder, it will switch between a normal size screen and a panorama size screen. A camera is disclosed. In this camera, switching is performed depending on whether a normal size mark or a panorama size mark in the viewfinder is watched.

JP 2002-176581 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-146431

  The above-described electrophotographic apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 can obtain images with various aspect ratios by cutting out image data from a square image pickup device. However, when the aspect ratio and aspect ratio are switched, the image is manually switched. The button switching operation has to be performed, which is troublesome. Therefore, it is conceivable to use the line-of-sight position detection means disclosed in Patent Document 2. However, in this camera, it is necessary to provide marks as many as the screen size. In an image pickup apparatus that can be switched to a large number of vertical and horizontal and aspect ratios, marks must be provided as many as the number of screen sizes, and the viewfinder is complicated. At the same time, a switching error may occur.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an imaging apparatus and an imaging apparatus control method that do not require a complicated index when switching the aspect ratio and aspect ratio.

  In order to achieve the above object, an image pickup apparatus according to a first invention includes an image pickup unit that outputs a subject image as image data, a viewfinder that observes the subject image, and a line-of-sight detection that detects the line of sight of a person observing the viewfinder. And an imaging region control unit that controls the aspect ratio and / or aspect ratio of the image data output region of the imaging unit according to the line of sight.

The imaging apparatus according to a second invention is the imaging apparatus according to the first invention, wherein when the imaging area control unit detects a line of sight to the peripheral area of the finder, the imaging data output area of the imaging unit is Or the aspect ratio is controlled.
In the imaging apparatus according to a third aspect, in the second aspect, the imaging area control unit detects the line of sight to the upper side or the lower side of the finder, and moves up and down the image data output area of the imaging unit. When the line of sight is directed to the left side or the right side of the finder, the left and right sides of the image data output area of the imaging unit are controlled to widen and / or to the left and right.

  In the imaging device according to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect, when the imaging area control unit detects a line of sight outside the display area of the upper side or the lower side of the finder, image data output from the imaging unit is output. When the line of sight is entered into the display area of the upper side or the lower side of the finder, the vertical direction of the image data output area of the imaging unit is reduced and / or When the line of sight to the left or right side of the viewfinder is detected outside the display area, the left and right sides of the finder are controlled to widen the left and right sides of the image data output area and / or to shorten the top and bottom. When a line of sight into the display area of the left side or right side of the finder is detected, control is performed so that the left and right sides of the image data output area of the imaging unit are shortened and / or the top and bottom are widened.

  In the imaging apparatus according to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect, when the imaging area control unit detects a line of sight outside the display area of the upper side or the lower side of the finder, the finder of the detected line of sight is detected. In accordance with the distance from the center, the image data output area of the imaging unit is controlled to be expanded vertically and / or the left and right are contracted, and a line of sight outside the display area of the left side or right side of the finder is detected. The left and right sides of the image data output area of the imaging unit are controlled to be widened and / or shrunk vertically in accordance with the distance of the detected line of sight from the center of the finder.

In the imaging device according to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the fifth aspect, the imaging area control unit is configured to control the image data output area of the imaging unit as the distance of the detected line of sight from the center of the finder increases. Control to increase the aspect ratio.
In the imaging device according to a seventh aspect based on the second aspect, the imaging area control unit detects the moving speed of the line of sight, and the higher the speed, the higher the aspect ratio of the image data output area of the imaging unit. Is controlled to be large.

  The imaging apparatus according to an eighth invention is the imaging apparatus according to the first invention, wherein the line-of-sight detection unit provides a line-of-sight area around the field of view of the finder and detects the photographer's line of sight in the line-of-sight area. The aspect ratio and / or the aspect ratio of the image data output area of the copy is controlled.

An image pickup apparatus according to a ninth invention is the image pickup apparatus according to the eighth invention, wherein the image pickup area control unit detects the line of sight in the line of sight area, and the aspect ratio and / or aspect ratio of the image data output area of the image pickup unit is Change one step at a time in a predetermined order.
According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the eighth aspect, the line-of-sight detection unit provides line-of-sight regions on the outside and inside of the periphery of the field of view of the finder, and the imaging region control unit When the line-of-sight area and the inside line-of-sight area are detected, the order of changing the vertical / horizontal and / or aspect ratio of the image data output area of the imaging unit is changed.

In the imaging device according to an eleventh aspect, in the eighth aspect, the line-of-sight detection unit provides a plurality of line-of-sight regions around the field of view of the finder. Control is performed so that the aspect ratio of the image data output area of the imaging unit increases as the distance from the field angle center of the field of view increases.
In the imaging device according to a twelfth aspect according to the eighth aspect, the line-of-sight detection unit can detect a movement speed of the line of sight, and the imaging region control unit has a high movement speed of the detected line of sight. The control is performed so that the aspect ratio of the image data output area of the imaging unit increases.

  According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for controlling an imaging apparatus, comprising: outputting a subject image as image data; detecting a line of sight of a person observing the subject image; Or the aspect ratio is controlled.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an imaging apparatus and an imaging apparatus control method that do not require a complicated index when switching the aspect ratio and aspect ratio.

1 is an external perspective view of a digital camera according to a first embodiment of the present invention as viewed from the front side. It is the external appearance perspective view seen from the back side of the digital camera which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows an electric circuit in the digital camera concerning 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the image circle of an image pick-up element, a vertical / horizontal position, and an aspect ratio in the digital camera concerning 1st Embodiment of this invention. 4 is a flowchart showing a power-on reset operation in the digital camera according to the first embodiment of the present invention. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a photographing operation in the digital camera according to the first embodiment of the present invention. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an operation for changing a setting in the digital camera according to the first embodiment of the present invention. 4A and 4B are diagrams for explaining an operation of live view display in the digital camera according to the first embodiment of the present invention, where FIG. 5A is a flowchart of live view display, and FIG. 5B is a live view display at a horizontal position 4: 3. (C) shows live view display at the horizontal position 1: 9, (d) shows live view display at the vertical position 2: 3, and (e) shows live view display at the vertical position 9:16. Show the display. 3 is a flowchart showing a reproduction operation in the digital camera according to the first embodiment of the present invention. 4 is a flowchart showing a liquid crystal monitor operation in the digital camera according to the first embodiment of the present invention. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an aspect switching operation in the digital camera according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In the digital camera in 1st Embodiment of this invention, it is a figure which shows the relationship between an image data output area | region and a display, (A) is a figure which shows the relationship between an image circle and an image sensor, (B) is in a finder. It is a figure which shows a direction, (C) is a figure which shows the gaze area | region in a finder. In the digital camera according to the first embodiment of the present invention, a table used for aspect switching is shown, (A) shows a table 1, and (B) shows a table 2. 2A and 2B are diagrams illustrating how aspect ratios are switched in the digital camera according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3A illustrates a case where the aspect ratio changes from a vertical position to a horizontal position, and FIG. The case where the position changes is shown. It is a flowchart which shows an aspect switching operation | movement in the digital camera in 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the eyes | visual_axis area | region in a finder in the digital camera in 2nd Embodiment of this invention. In the digital camera according to the second embodiment of the present invention, a table used at the time of aspect switching is shown, (A) shows a table 3, and (B) shows a table 4. In the digital camera in 2nd Embodiment of this invention, it is a figure which shows a mode that an aspect-ratio is switched, (A) shows the case where it changes from a vertical position to a horizontal position, (B) is a vertical from a horizontal position. The case where the position changes is shown. It is a flowchart which shows an aspect switching operation | movement in the digital camera in 3rd Embodiment of this invention. In the digital camera in 3rd Embodiment of this invention, it is a figure which shows the display area in a finder display, (A) shows the display area in a horizontal position, (B) shows the display area in a vertical position. In the digital camera according to the third embodiment of the present invention, a table used for aspect switching is shown, (A) shows a table 5, and (B) shows a table 6. In the digital camera in 3rd Embodiment of this invention, it is a figure which shows a mode that an aspect-ratio is switched, (A) shows the case where it changes from a vertical position to a horizontal position, (B) is a vertical from a horizontal position. The case where the position changes is shown. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement of a setting change in the digital camera in 4th Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows an aspect switching operation | movement in the digital camera in 4th Embodiment of this invention. In the digital camera in 3rd Embodiment of this invention, it is a figure which shows a mode that an aspect-ratio is switched, (A) shows the case where it changes from a vertical position to a horizontal position, (B) is a vertical from a horizontal position. The case where the position changes is shown. In the digital camera according to the third embodiment of the present invention, a table used for aspect switching is shown, (A) shows a table 7, and (B) shows a table 8.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments using a digital camera to which the present invention is applied will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an external view of a digital single-lens reflex camera according to the first embodiment of the present invention viewed from the front, and FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of the digital single-lens reflex camera viewed from the back side.

  A body mount 24 for mounting the interchangeable lens 100 is provided in the approximate center of the front surface of the camera body 200 shown in FIG. A communication contact 341 for connecting to the interchangeable lens 100 and performing communication is disposed at a position slightly behind the body mount 24. Further, the inside of the camera body 200 from the body mount 24 is a mirror box, and a movable mirror 201 and the like are arranged in the mirror box.

  In addition, a release button 21 is disposed on the upper part of the left-side grip portion of the camera body 200. The release button 21 has a first release switch that is turned on when the photographer is half-pressed and a second release switch that is turned on when the photographer is fully pressed. When the first release switch (hereinafter referred to as 1R) is turned on, the camera performs photographing operations such as focus detection, focusing of the photographing lens, and photometry of the subject brightness, and the second release switch (hereinafter referred to as 2R) is turned on. Based on the output of the image sensor 221 (see FIG. 3), an exposure operation for capturing image data of the subject image is executed.

  A front dial 22 is disposed on the front left grip portion of the camera body 200. The front dial 22 is rotatable in a clockwise direction and a counterclockwise direction, and its rotation direction and rotation amount are detected and output.

  A built-in flash 50 for irradiating the subject with auxiliary light is housed in the upper part of the camera body 200. When the built-in flash 50 is in a pop-up state, the built-in flash 50 is in a use state, and the light emitting unit is positioned toward the subject.

  A control panel 40 is disposed on the upper surface of the camera body 200. The control panel 40 is a display device such as a liquid crystal display, and displays shooting information such as an aperture value and a shutter speed value for shooting.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a rear dial 23 is arranged on the upper right side of the back surface of the camera body 200. Similarly to the front dial 22, the rear dial 23 is also rotatable in the clockwise direction and the counterclockwise direction, and the rotation direction and the rotation amount are detected and output.

  A live view display button (hereinafter referred to as LV display button) 31 is disposed below the rear dial 23. Live view display refers to displaying a subject image on a display device such as a liquid crystal monitor for subject image observation based on image data acquired by an image sensor. By operating this LV display button 31, the live view display mode is set, and when it is operated again, the live view display mode is canceled.

  A cross button 32 is disposed below the LV display button 31. This cross button 32 is composed of four buttons, an upper cross button, a lower cross button, a right cross button, and a left cross button. . An OK button 33 is disposed substantially at the center of the four cross buttons 32. The OK button 33 is an operation member for determining the item selected by the cross button 32.

  A power switch 34 is disposed below the cross button 32. The power switch 34 is an operation member for controlling execution of the camera operation of the camera. That is, the camera according to the present embodiment performs various operations when the power switch 34 is on, and does not perform camera operations when the power switch 34 is off.

  An eyepiece unit 38 is provided at the upper portion of the center of the back surface of the camera body 200, and an eyepiece lens 209 is disposed therein. The camera body 200 is a single-lens reflex camera. A finder optical system (see FIG. 3) such as a movable mirror 201 and a pentaprism 207 is arranged inside, and a subject light flux that has passed through the finder optical system is used as an eyepiece. 209. The photographer can optically observe the subject image through the eyepiece lens 209.

  A rear liquid crystal monitor (hereinafter referred to as rear LCD) 39 is disposed below the eyepiece 38. The rear LCD 39 is a display device for performing live view display, reproducing and displaying recorded subject images, and displaying shooting information and menus. Any liquid crystal display can be used as long as it can perform these displays. Further, in the present embodiment, the camera body 200 is disposed on the back surface, but is not limited to the back surface as long as the photographer can observe it.

  A menu button 35 is disposed below the rear LCD 39 and on the left side of the power switch 34. The menu button 35 is an operation member for setting and canceling the menu mode. The menu mode is a mode for performing various modes and other settings of the camera. When the menu mode is set, a menu is displayed on the rear LCD 39. The photographer selects a desired mode or the like from the menu display with the cross button 32 and confirms with the OK button 33.

  A playback button 36 is arranged on the left side of the menu button 35. The playback button 36 is an operation member that reads out image data recorded on a recording medium or the like and instructs a playback mode in which a subject image is played back and displayed on the rear LCD 39 based on the image data.

  On the left side of the playback button 36, a vertical / horizontal button 37 is arranged. The vertical / horizontal button 37 is an operation member for manually selecting either a vertical image or a horizontal image in the live view display mode. As will be described later, the image pickup device 221 of the camera according to the present embodiment has a substantially square shape, and image data of a vertically long image or a horizontally long image is selected and displayed from image data output by the image pickup device. And recording on a recording medium. In the present embodiment, selection of a vertically long image or a horizontally long image is automatically performed using gaze detection in the case of the optical fine mode. May be.

  Next, an electric circuit of the digital single-lens reflex camera according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to a block diagram shown in FIG. This digital single-lens reflex camera includes an interchangeable lens 100 and a camera body 200. In the present embodiment, the interchangeable lens 100 and the camera body 200 are configured separately and are electrically connected by the communication contact 341. However, the interchangeable lens 100 and the camera body 200 can be configured integrally. .

  Inside the interchangeable lens 100, a photographing optical system 101 for focus adjustment and focal length adjustment, and a diaphragm 103 for adjusting the aperture amount are arranged. The photographing optical system 101 is driven by an optical system driving mechanism 107, and the diaphragm 103 is driven by an aperture driving mechanism 109. The focus position (focus position) of the photographing optical system 101 driven by the optical system drive mechanism 107 is detected by the focus position detection mechanism 105, and the focal length of the optical system 101 is detected by the zoom position detection mechanism 106.

  The optical system drive mechanism 107, the aperture drive mechanism 109, the focus position detection mechanism 105, and the zoom position detection mechanism 106 are each connected to a lens CPU 111, and the lens CPU 111 is connected to the camera body 200 via a communication contact 341. ing.

  A lens ROM 113 and a lens RAM 115 are connected to the lens CPU 111. The lens ROM 113 is an electrically rewritable nonvolatile memory, and stores a program for causing the lens CPU 111 to execute, unique information of the interchangeable lens 100, and the like. The lens RAM 115 is an electrically rewritable volatile memory, and is a temporary storage area used for executing the above-described program.

  The lens CPU 111 controls the interchangeable lens 100. The lens CPU 111 controls the optical system driving mechanism 107 to perform focusing and zoom driving, and controls the diaphragm driving mechanism 109 to perform aperture value control. Further, the lens CPU 111 transmits the focal length and focal position information detected by the focus position detection mechanism 105 and the zoom position detection mechanism 106 to the camera body 200.

  In the camera body 200, a position tilted by 45 degrees with respect to the optical axis of the lens (the lowered position, the subject image observation position) in order to reflect the subject image to the observation optical system, and a subject image to be guided to the image sensor 221. A movable mirror 201 that can be rotated between the jumped up position (the raised position and the retracted position) is provided.

  Above the movable mirror 201, a focusing screen 204 for forming a subject image is disposed. Above the focusing screen 204, an entire liquid crystal plate (hereinafter referred to as an entire LCD) 205 is disposed. . The entire LCD 205 can partially control transmission and light shielding, and can guide the subject image to the finder optical system for any part of the subject image formed on the focusing screen 204.

  Above the entire LCD 205, a pentaprism 207 for horizontally inverting the subject image is arranged. An in-finder display device 206 is arranged along the front reflective surface of the pentaprism 207. The in-viewfinder display device 206 is composed of a liquid crystal display device or the like, and displays a field-of-view display, photographing information and the like superimposed on the optical viewfinder image, as will be described later. The in-finder display device 206 is connected to the in-finder display driving circuit 295, and is driven and controlled thereby.

  An eyepiece lens 209 for observing a subject image is disposed on the emission side (right side in FIG. 3) of the pentaprism 207, and a photometric sensor 211 is disposed on the side of the pentaprism 207 so as not to interfere with the observation of the subject image. The photometric sensor 211 is connected to a photometric processing circuit 212, and the output of the photometric sensor 211 is subjected to processing such as amplification and analog-digital conversion by the photometric processing circuit 212.

  Further, a line-of-sight detection sensor of the line-of-sight detection circuit 210 is arranged in the finder. Based on the detection output of the line-of-sight detection circuit 210, a vertically long image, a horizontally long image, and an aspect ratio are switched as will be described later. As shown in FIG. 12C, a line-of-sight area for switching the vertical / horizontal position and the aspect ratio is provided around the visual field in the viewfinder. That is, a horizontal switching line-of-sight area 501a around the left side of the visual field, a horizontal direction switching visual line area 501b around the right side of the visual field, a vertical direction switching area 503a around the upper side of the visual field, and a vertical direction switching around the lower side of the visual field. Each region 503b is provided. The line-of-sight detection circuit 210 can detect which area the photographer's line of sight is looking at.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 12B, the horizontal direction with respect to the viewfinder field may be referred to as the H direction and the vertical direction may be referred to as the V direction. Although details will be described with reference to FIG. 4, the viewfinder field corresponds to the image data output area in the image circle 120 on the image sensor 221 as shown in FIG. Since the subject image is horizontally and vertically reversed by the photographing optical system 101, the x and y directions on the image sensor 221 are horizontally and vertically reversed from the viewfinder field.

  Near the center of the movable mirror 201 described above is a half mirror, and on the back surface of the movable mirror 201, a sub mirror 203 for reflecting subject light transmitted through the half mirror portion to the lower part of the camera body 200 is provided. ing. The sub mirror 203 is rotatable with respect to the movable mirror 201. When the movable mirror 201 is flipped up (the position indicated by a broken line in FIG. 3), the sub mirror 203 is rotated to a position that covers the half mirror portion. When in the observation position (lowering position), it is in an open position with respect to the movable mirror 201 as shown.

  This movable mirror 201 is driven by a mirror drive mechanism 239. A phase difference AF sensor 241 is disposed below the sub mirror 203, and an output of the phase difference AF sensor 241 is connected to the phase difference AF processing circuit 243. The phase difference AF sensor 241 is a known phase difference that separates the peripheral luminous flux of the photographing optical system 101 into two luminous fluxes in order to measure the defocus amount of the subject image formed by the photographing optical system 101. It consists of an AF optical system and a pair of sensors. Further, the phase difference AF sensor 241 can detect the focus at each of a plurality of points in the photographing screen.

  A focal plane type shutter 213 for controlling the exposure time is disposed behind the movable mirror 201, and this shutter 213 is driven and controlled by a shutter drive mechanism 237. An imaging element 221 is disposed behind the shutter 213 and photoelectrically converts a subject image formed by the photographing optical system 101 into an electrical signal. Needless to say, a two-dimensional solid-state image sensor such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) or a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) can be used as the image sensor 221.

  The image sensor 221 is connected to the image sensor drive circuit 223, and the image sensor drive circuit 223 reads an image signal from the image sensor 221. The image sensor driving circuit 223 is connected to a preprocessing circuit 225. The preprocessing circuit 225 performs preprocessing for image processing such as pixel thinning processing for live view display and clipping processing for enlarged display. Do.

  A dust filter 215 and an infrared cut filter / low pass filter 217 are disposed between the shutter 213 and the image sensor 221. A piezoelectric element is fixed around the dustproof filter 215, and this piezoelectric element is vibrated with ultrasonic waves by a dustproof filter driving circuit 235. The dust adhering to the dust filter 215 is removed by the vibration wave generated in the piezoelectric element.

  The infrared cut filter / low pass filter 217 is an optical filter for removing the infrared light component and the high frequency component from the subject light flux. The dust-proof filter 215, the infrared cut filter / low-pass filter 217, and the image sensor 221 are integrally formed in an airtight manner so that dust and the like do not enter. The integrated image sensor 221 and the like can be moved by the shift mechanism 233 along the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction on the image pickup surface of the image sensor 221, respectively.

  The camera shake sensor 229 is an angular acceleration sensor or the like that detects vibration caused by camera shake or the like applied to the camera body 200, and this output is connected to the camera shake correction circuit 230. The camera shake correction circuit 230 generates a camera shake correction signal for removing vibrations such as camera shake, and the output of the camera shake correction circuit 230 is connected to the shift mechanism drive circuit 231.

  The shift mechanism drive circuit 231 inputs a camera shake correction signal, and drives the shift mechanism 233 based on this signal. By this shift mechanism 233, the image sensor 221 and the like are moved so as to cancel vibrations such as camera shake applied to the camera body 200, thereby performing vibration isolation.

  The tilt sensor 227 detects angular acceleration about three axes and outputs a value corresponding to the tilt of the camera body 200. The inclination detection circuit 228 is connected to the inclination sensor 227, and obtains the inclination state from the steady state value of the inclination sensor 227 and the acceleration from the change amount of the inclination sensor 227, and outputs these values.

  The light source sensor 244 is a sensor for detecting a light source of ambient light of a subject such as a fluorescent lamp or sunlight. The light source processing circuit 245 is connected to the light source sensor 244 and outputs light source data corresponding to the light source. The illuminance sensor 246 is a sensor for measuring the illuminance on the camera 200. The illuminance processing circuit 247 is connected to the illuminance sensor 246 and outputs illuminance data corresponding to the illuminance.

  The remote control reception sensor 248 is an infrared sensor for receiving a remote control command by infrared rays or the like from a remote control device (not shown). The remote control reception processing circuit 249 is connected to the remote control reception sensor 248, inputs a signal from this sensor, and outputs a remote control signal.

The pre-processing circuit 225 described above is an ASIC (Application Specific
Integrated Circuit is connected to a data bus 252 in an application-specific integrated circuit) 250, and is connected to each circuit in the ASIC 250 via the data bus 252. The preprocessing circuit 225 is also connected to the contrast AF circuit 253 and the AE circuit 255.

  The contrast AF circuit 253 extracts a high frequency component based on the image signal output from the preprocessing circuit 225, and outputs contrast information based on the high frequency component to the body CPU 251. Note that the contrast AF circuit 253 can extract the entire region in the screen when extracting the high-frequency component. The AE circuit 255 outputs photometric information corresponding to the subject brightness to the body CPU 251 based on the image signal output from the preprocessing circuit 225.

  The body CPU 251 connected to the data bus 252, the contrast AF circuit 253, and the AE circuit 255 controls the operation of the digital single-lens reflex camera according to the program stored in the flash memory 277.

  In addition to the body CPU 251, the data bus 252 includes an image processing circuit 257, a compression / decompression circuit 259, a video signal output circuit 261, a switch detection circuit 268, an input / output circuit 271, a communication circuit 273, a flash memory control circuit 275, and an SDRAM control circuit. 279, a recording medium control circuit 283, and a dial detection circuit 289 are connected.

  The image processing circuit 257 performs various types of image processing such as digital amplification (digital gain adjustment processing) of digital image data, color correction, gamma (γ) correction, contrast correction, and live view display image generation. The compression / decompression circuit 259 is a circuit for compressing the image data temporarily stored in the SDRAM 281 by a compression method such as JPEG or TIFF and decompressing the data for display. Note that image compression is not limited to JPEG or TIFF, and other compression methods can be applied.

  The video signal output circuit 261 is connected to the rear LCD 39 via the LCD driving circuit 263, and can be connected to the external display device 330 via the contact 330a. The video signal output circuit 261 is a circuit for converting image data stored in the SDRAM 281, the recording medium A 285, and the recording medium B 287 into a video signal for display on the rear LCD 39 or the like. As shown in FIG. 2, the rear LCD 39 is disposed on the rear surface of the camera body 200. However, the rear LCD 39 is not limited to the rear surface and may be another display device as long as the photographer can observe.

  Various switches including a 1R switch for detecting the first stroke (half press) of the shutter release button 21, a 2R switch for detecting the second stroke (full press), and a live view display switch that is turned on by operating the live view display button 31. 269 is connected to the data bus 252 via the switch detection circuit 268. Other various switches 269 include a menu switch linked to the menu button 35, a playback switch linked to the playback button 36, a vertical / horizontal switch linked to the vertical / horizontal button 37, and a power switch 34. Various interlocking switches are included.

  The dust filter driving circuit 235, the shutter driving mechanism 237, the phase difference AF processing circuit 243, the mirror driving mechanism 239, the light source processing circuit 245, the illuminance processing circuit 247, the remote control reception processing circuit 249, the tilt detection circuit 228, and the shift mechanism driving circuit described above. The input / output circuit 271 connected to the photometry processing circuit 212 and the line-of-sight detection circuit 210 controls input / output of data to / from each circuit such as the body CPU 251 via the data bus 252. The input / output circuit 271 is also connected to an LCD orientation detection circuit 265, a charging circuit 301, and a flash light emission circuit 303, which will be described later.

  A communication circuit 273 connected to the lens CPU 111 via a communication contact 341 is connected to the data bus 252 and exchanges data and communicates control commands with the body CPU 251 and the like.

  The flash memory control circuit 275 is connected to a flash memory 277. The flash memory 277 stores a program for controlling the operation of the digital single-lens reflex camera. As described above, the body CPU 251 The digital single-lens reflex camera is controlled according to the program stored in the flash memory 277. Note that the flash memory 277 is an electrically rewritable nonvolatile memory.

  The SDRAM 281 is connected to the data bus 252 via the SDRAM control circuit 279, and the SDRAM 281 temporarily stores the image data processed by the image processing circuit 257 or the image data compressed by the compression / decompression circuit 259. This is a buffer memory.

  A recording medium control circuit 283 connected to the data bus 252 is connected to the recording medium A 285 and the recording medium B 287, and controls recording of image data and the like on these recording media A 285 and B 287 and reading of the image data and the like.

  Recording medium A285 and recording medium B287 are loaded with any of rewritable recording media such as xD Picture Card (registered trademark), CompactFlash (registered trademark), SD Memory Card (registered trademark) or Memory Stick (registered trademark). It is configured so that it can be attached to and detached from the camera body 200. In addition, the hard disk may be configured to be connectable via a communication contact. Note that the recording media A285 and B287 are the same type of recording media, and combinations such as combinations with different storage capacities and combinations of different types of recording media are free.

  The dial detection circuit 289 is connected to the front dial 22 and the rear dial 23, respectively, and detects the rotation direction and the rotation amount of each dial.

  In the camera main body 200, a power supply circuit 291 for supplying power to each circuit and each mechanism in the main body is provided. A built-in battery 292 and an external power supply 293 can be connected to the power supply circuit 291.

  The LCD orientation detection circuit 265 detects the orientation of the rear LCD 39. That is, the rear LCD 39 can change its orientation to a vertical position or a horizontal position, detects this orientation, and transmits it to the body CPU 251 via the input / output circuit 271.

  A control panel drive circuit 297 is connected to the control panel 40 described above, and the control panel drive circuit 297 is connected to the body CPU 251. The body CPU 251 displays shooting information and the like on the control panel 40 via the control panel drive circuit 297.

  The built-in flash 50 disposed in the camera body 200 includes a charging circuit 301, a flash light emitting circuit 303, a light emitting tube 305, and the like. The charging circuit 301 receives power supply from the battery 292, the external power supply 293 or the like, boosts the voltage, and charges it. The flash light emission circuit 303 performs light emission control such as applying a voltage boosted by the charging circuit 301 to the light emission tube 305 at a predetermined timing.

  The external flash 310 is an external flash device, and is connected to the camera body 200 via the contacts 310a and 310b. In the external flash 310, a flash CPU 311, a charging circuit 313, a flash light emission circuit 315, an arc tube 317, a reflector 318, and a zoom drive circuit 319 are disposed.

  The flash CPU 311 controls the external flash 310, and communicates with the body CPU 251 via the contact 310b and the communication circuit 273. The charging circuit 313 boosts the voltage of the power supply battery loaded in the external flash 310 and charges it. The flash light emission circuit 315 emits light in response to a light emission command received via the body CPU 251 and the contact 310a. The zoom drive circuit 319 drives and controls the distance between the arc tube 317 and the reflection shade 318 according to the focal length of the photographing optical system 101, and controls the irradiation angle according to the focal length of the photographing optical system 101 and the like. .

  The external device 320 is a device such as a personal computer (PC), and communicates with the body CPU 251 via the contact 320a and the communication circuit 273. The external display device 330 is a display device such as a television and is connected to the video signal output circuit 261 through the contact 330a. A display device drive circuit 331 and a display device 333 are disposed inside the external display device 330. Based on the video signal from the video signal output circuit 261, the display device driving circuit 331 displays a recorded image or the like on the display device 333.

  Next, the aspect and aspect ratio in this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The imaging surface of the image sensor 221 has a substantially square shape, and an image is obtained in the image sensor 221 and in the image circle 120. The aspect ratio at this time is called the aspect ratio. In the present embodiment, four aspect ratios of 4: 3 landscape, 4: 3 portrait, 16: 9 landscape, and 16: 9 portrait are employed. Of course, a different aspect ratio may be adopted. The aspect ratio described here can be changed by a setting change subroutine in FIG. Based on the set aspect ratio, valid image data (image data output area) is selected by the preprocessing circuit 225 and the image processing circuit 257 from the image data output from the image sensor driving circuit 223. The

  Next, the operation in this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS.

  FIG. 5 shows a power-on reset operation by the body CPU 251 on the camera body 200 side. When the battery 292 is loaded in the camera body 200 or the external power source 293 is connected, this flow starts. First, it is determined whether the power switch 34 of the camera body 200 is on (# 1). If the result of determination is that the power switch 34 is off, the sleep state, which is a low power consumption state, is entered (# 3).

  In this sleep state, interrupt processing is performed only when the power switch 34 is turned on, and processing for power-on is performed in step # 5 and subsequent steps. Until the power switch 34 is turned on, operations other than the power switch interrupt processing are stopped to prevent the power battery from being consumed.

  In step # 1, when the power switch 34 is turned on, or when the sleep state is canceled in step # 3, power supply is started (# 5). Next, a dust removing operation is performed in the dust filter 215 (# 7). In this step, a driving voltage is applied from the dust filter driving circuit 235 to the piezoelectric element fixed to the dust filter 215, and dust and the like are removed by ultrasonic vibration waves.

  Next, if there is information such as the shooting mode set by the front dial 22 or the rear dial 23, ISO sensitivity, manually set shutter speed or aperture value, the shooting mode and shooting conditions are read (#). 9). At this time, the lens CPU 111 also reads lens information such as the aperture stop and focal length information of the interchangeable lens 100 via the communication circuit 273.

  Once the shooting mode or the like has been read, it is next determined whether or not live view is being performed (# 11). The live view display of the digital single lens reflex camera according to this embodiment is set to the live view display mode when the LV display button 31 is operated once, and the live view display mode is canceled when the LV display button 31 is operated again.

  If the result of determination in step # 11 is not live view display mode, that is, in the case of optical viewfinder display mode, finder photometry (F metering) and exposure amount calculation are performed (# 13). When not in the live view display mode, the movable mirror 201 is in the lowered state, and reflects the subject light flux that has passed through the photographing optical system 101 to the finder optical system such as the pentaprism 207. Therefore, the subject luminous flux enters the photometric element 211, and photometry can be performed.

  When metering is performed by finder metering, an exposure value such as an aperture value and a shutter speed for obtaining proper exposure is calculated based on the subject luminance obtained at this time. The exposure amount is calculated according to the shooting mode and shooting conditions set in step # 9.

  Once the exposure amount is calculated, the finder display is then performed (# 15). The viewfinder display is performed by the in-finder display device 206, and the shooting range according to the set aspect ratio and aspect ratio, and the shooting conditions such as the aperture value and the shutter speed, which are calculated or set manually, are displayed. The setting of the aspect ratio and aspect ratio is performed by a setting change subroutine in step # 43. The aperture value and shutter speed value based on the calculated exposure amount, or these manually set values are also displayed on the control panel 40.

  Subsequently, the live view display is turned off (# 17). When the live view display mode is switched to the optical viewfinder display mode, the live view display is turned off here. If the live view display mode is canceled and the optical viewfinder display is repeated, the live view display is turned off, and this step is skipped.

  If the result of determination in step 11 is that live view display mode has been set, the movable mirror 201 is retracted (# 31), and the shutter 213 is opened (# 33). In the live view display mode, the subject image is displayed on the rear LCD 39 based on the image data from the image sensor 221, so the movable mirror 201 is retracted and the shutter 213 so that the subject image is formed on the image sensor 221. Is released. Note that steps # 31 and # 33 are skipped after the live view display is started.

  Subsequently, imager photometry (I photometry) and exposure amount calculation are performed (# 35). When the live view display mode is entered, the movable mirror 201 is retracted from the optical path of the photographing optical system 101, and the subject luminous flux does not enter the photometric element 211. Therefore, the subject brightness is measured by the AE circuit 255 based on the image data from the image sensor 221.

  Based on the measured subject brightness, an exposure amount such as an aperture value and a shutter speed for obtaining proper exposure is calculated. Note that the exposure amount is calculated according to the shooting mode and shooting conditions set in step # 9, as in step # 13. Further, the aperture value and shutter speed value based on the exposure amount calculated here, or these manually set values are displayed on the rear LCD 39 and the control panel 40.

  Subsequently, live view display is performed (# 37). In the live view display, image processing such as thinning out the number of pixels is performed by the pre-processing circuit 225 and the image processing circuit 257 based on the image data from the image sensor 221, and the subject image is displayed on the rear LCD 39 as a moving image. Every time image data is read from the image sensor 221, the subject image is updated.

  Once live view display is performed, the viewfinder display is turned off (# 39). When the optical viewfinder display mode is switched to the live view display mode, the viewfinder display is turned off here. Note that when the mode is switched to the live view display mode and the live view display is repeatedly performed, the finder display is turned off, and this step is skipped.

  When the live view display in step # 17 is turned off or the viewfinder display in step # 39 is turned off, it is determined whether or not an operation with the operation member has been performed (# 19). In this step, it is determined by the switch detection circuit 268 whether any one of the 1R switch, the setting switch (menu switch), the reproduction switch, and the power switch has been operated.

  If the result of determination in step # 19 is that there has been no operation, processing returns to step # 11 and the aforementioned operation is executed. On the other hand, if the result of determination is that operation has been performed, it is next determined whether or not the release button 21 has been half-pressed, that is, whether or not the 1R switch is on (# 21).

  If the result of determination in step # 21 is that the 1R switch is on, a shooting operation subroutine for shooting preparation and shooting is executed (# 41). Details of this subroutine will be described later with reference to FIG.

  If the result of determination in step # 21 is that the 1R switch is not on, or if a shooting operation has been executed in step # 41, it is next determined whether or not the setting switch is on. In this step, it is determined whether or not the menu button (setting button) 35 or the like is operated and the menu mode (setting mode) is set.

  If the result of determination in step # 23 is menu mode (setting mode), the setting is changed (# 43). In this setting change subroutine, various modes such as the aspect change mode can be set, and various processes are performed according to the set menu. In the present embodiment, the aspect change mode is selected, and the photographer's line of sight is detected in the horizontal or vertical switching line-of-sight area while the release button 21 is half-pressed or the operation member such as the OK button 33 is operated. In this case, the vertical / horizontal position and aspect ratio can be selected. Details of this subroutine will be described later with reference to FIG.

  If the result of determination in step # 23 is that the setting switch is not on, or if the setting change subroutine in step # 43 is executed, it is next determined whether or not the regeneration switch is on (# 25). If the result of this determination is that the regeneration switch is on, regeneration operation is executed (# 45). In the reproduction operation, the image data recorded on the recording medium A285 or the recording medium B287 is read and reproduced and displayed on the rear LCD 39 or the external display device 330. Details of the subroutine of the reproduction operation will be described later with reference to FIG.

  If the result of determination in step # 25 is that the regeneration switch is not on, or if the regeneration operation subroutine in step # 45 is executed, it is next determined whether or not the power switch 34 is on (# 27). . If the result of this determination is that the power switch 34 is on, processing returns to step # 11 and the aforementioned operation is executed.

  On the other hand, if the result of determination in step # 27 is that the power switch is not on, power supply is stopped (# 29), processing returns to step # 3, and the aforementioned sleep state is entered.

  Next, the shooting operation subroutine in step # 41 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  When the shooting operation subroutine is entered, it is first determined whether or not the live view display mode is set as in step # 11 (# 51). If the result of this determination is not live view display mode, a phase difference AF subroutine is executed (# 53). In this phase difference AF subroutine, the focal shift direction and the focal shift amount of the photographic optical system 101 are detected based on a known phase difference method using two light beams that have passed through the periphery of the photographic optical system 101. Then, the photographing optical system 101 is driven to the in-focus position using the detected defocus direction and defocus amount.

  When phase difference AF is completed, finder photometry and exposure amount calculation are then performed in the same manner as in step # 13 (# 55). The aperture value and shutter speed value based on the exposure amount calculated here, or these manually set values are displayed on the in-finder display device 206 and the control panel 40.

  If the result of determination in step # 51 is live view display mode, the imager AF subroutine is executed (# 57). In the live view display mode, the movable mirror 201 is in the retracted position from the optical path of the photographing optical system 101, and distance measurement by phase difference AF cannot be performed. Therefore, imager AF is performed based on the image data from the image sensor 221. In this imager AF subroutine, drive control of the imaging optical system 101 is performed so that the high-frequency component of the image data output from the contrast AF circuit 253 has a peak value.

  Once imager AF has been carried out, imager photometry and exposure amount calculation are carried out in the same manner as in step # 35 (# 59). The aperture value and shutter speed value based on the calculated exposure amount, or these manually set values are displayed on the rear LCD 39 and the control panel 40.

  After performing finder photometry and exposure calculation in step # 55 or imager photometry in step # 59, it is next determined whether or not the release button 21 has been fully pressed, that is, whether or not the 2R switch is on (#). 61). If the result of this determination is that the 2R switch is not on, it is determined whether or not the 1R switch is on (# 63).

  If the result of determination in step # 63 is that the 1R switch is not on, the photographer's finger has been released from the release button 21, so the shooting operation subroutine is terminated, and the flow returns to the original flow. On the other hand, if the result of determination in step # 63 is that the 1R switch is on, since at least the photographer's finger is on the release button 21, the process returns to step # 61, and this step and step # 63 are performed. It will be in the standby state judged alternately.

  If the result of determination in step # 61 is that the 2R switch is on, the release button 21 is fully pressed and the operation proceeds to exposure. First, as in steps # 11 and # 51, it is determined whether or not the live view display mode is set (# 65). If the result of this determination is not live view display mode, the movable mirror 201 is retracted (# 67). In the live view display mode, that is, in the optical viewfinder display mode, the movable mirror 201 is in the lowered position, and therefore the movable mirror 201 is retracted to guide the subject light flux to the image sensor 221.

  On the other hand, if the result of determination in step # 65 is live view display mode, the shutter 213 is closed (# 91). In the live view display mode, the movable mirror 201 is in the retracted position, and the shutter 213 remains open. Since the shutter 213 needs to be charged when performing the exposure operation, the shutter 213 is temporarily closed.

  If the movable mirror is retracted in step # 67 or the shutter is closed in step # 91, the diaphragm 103 is then moved down (# 69). In this step, a stop instruction is given to the lens CPU 111 so that the aperture value obtained based on the exposure amount calculation or the manually set aperture value is obtained.

  Subsequently, an exposure operation is performed (# 71). In this step, the front curtain of the shutter 213 is driven and charge accumulation is started in the image sensor 221. When a predetermined time elapses, the rear curtain of the shutter 213 is caused to travel and the charge accumulation in the image sensor 221 is terminated.

  When the exposure operation is completed, the aperture 103 is then opened (# 73). That is, the body CPU 251 transmits an instruction to the lens CPU 111 so that the aperture 103 becomes the full aperture value.

  When the aperture is opened, it is next determined whether or not the live view display mode is set (# 75), as in steps # 11, # 51, and # 65. If the result of this determination is not live view display mode, the movable mirror 201 is returned (# 77). That is, since the movable mirror 201 has been retracted from the optical path of the photographing optical system 101 in step # 67, it is lowered so as to be inserted into the optical path.

  On the other hand, if the result of determination in step # 75 is live view display mode, the shutter 213 is opened (# 93). That is, in order to restart the live view display, the front curtain of the shutter 213 is run and the shutter is opened in order to guide the subject light flux from the photographing optical system 101 to the image sensor 221.

  When the movable mirror is returned at step # 77 or the shutter is opened at step # 93, the image is read out (# 79). In this step, an image signal is read from the image sensor 221 by the image sensor drive circuit 223.

  Subsequently, image processing is performed (# 81). That is, the image signal read from the image sensor 221 is subjected to various image processing by the preprocessing circuit 225, the image processing circuit 257, the compression / decompression circuit 259, and the like. Note that the image data in the image data output area based on the set vertical / horizontal position and aspect ratio is selected by the pre-processing circuit 225, the image processing circuit 257, and the like by the setting change subroutine (see FIG. 7), and image processing is performed. .

  Once image processing has been performed, image recording is next performed (# 83). In the image recording, the image data in the image data output area subjected to the image processing is recorded on the recording medium A 285 or the recording medium B 287 by the recording medium control circuit 283. When this image recording is completed, the original flow is restored.

  Next, the setting change subroutine in step # 43 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. Various settings can be changed in the menu mode, but the flowchart shown in FIG. 7 shows only a part thereof.

  When the setting change subroutine is entered, a timer is first started (# 101). This timer is used for a time measuring operation for determining whether or not one place has been viewed for a predetermined time when detecting the line of sight. Subsequently, the line-of-sight coordinates are detected (# 102). Here, based on the output of the line-of-sight detection circuit 210, the position of the line of sight seen by the photographer is detected. Subsequently, the line-of-sight coordinate information detected in step # 102 is stored (# 103). Next, the count value C of the counter that counts the number of times of detection is reset to 0 (# 104).

  When the count value C is reset to 0, it is next determined whether or not the timer has expired (# 105). Here, it is determined whether or not the timer started in step # 101 or step # 107 described later has reached a predetermined time. If the time is not up as a result of this determination, it is determined whether or not an aspect change operation has been performed (# 106). As described above, the operation of changing the vertical / horizontal position and aspect ratio by detecting the line of sight is performed while the release button 21 is being pressed halfway or while the OK button 33 is being operated. In step # 106, these operations are being continued. It is determined whether or not. If the result of this determination is that a change operation is in progress, the flow returns to step # 105. On the other hand, if the change operation is stopped, the setting change subroutine is terminated and the flow returns to the original flow.

  If the time is up as a result of the determination in step # 105, the timer is restarted (# 107), and the line-of-sight coordinates are detected as in step # 102 (# 108). That is, in this flow, the line-of-sight coordinates are repeatedly detected at predetermined time intervals. Once the line-of-sight coordinates are detected, it is then determined whether the line-of-sight coordinates are aspect switching coordinates (# 109). Here, it is determined whether or not the line-of-sight coordinates detected in step # 108 are within the same switching coordinates (line-of-sight area) as in the previous time. That is, the previous line-of-sight coordinate information stored (see step # 103 or # 111) and the line-of-sight coordinate detected in step # 108 are in the same region, and the horizontal direction as shown in FIG. It is determined whether or not it is in one of the switching line-of-sight areas 501a and 501b or the vertical direction switching line-of-sight areas 503a and 503b.

  If the result of determination in step # 109 is that the line-of-sight coordinates are not switching coordinates, the line-of-sight coordinate information is updated (# 111), and the count value C of the counter is reset to 0 (# 112). These steps are executed when the photographer is not looking at the line-of-sight area, has just entered the line-of-sight area from the outside of the line-of-sight area, or is looking at the outside of the line-of-sight area. When the count value C is reset, the process returns to step # 105.

  If the result of determination in step # 109 is that the line-of-sight coordinates are aspect switching coordinates (line-of-sight area), then 1 is added to the counter (# 115), and the count value C has exceeded a predetermined value N It is determined whether or not (# 115). As a result of the determination, if the count value C does not exceed the predetermined value N, the process returns to step # 105. In this case, since the photographer has not looked at the line-of-sight area for a predetermined time, the line-of-sight detection is continued without changing the vertical / horizontal position or aspect ratio.

  If the result of determination in step # 115 is that count value C exceeds predetermined value N, aspect switching is performed (# 117). In this step, the aspect ratio is switched according to the detected line-of-sight area. That is, when the photographer is looking at the horizontal direction switching line-of-sight areas 501a and 501b, the aspect ratio is switched so that a horizontally long image is obtained. Also, when viewing the vertical direction switching line-of-sight areas 503a and 503b, the aspect ratio is switched so that a vertically long image is obtained. When the aspect switching subroutine is executed, the flow returns to the original flow.

  Next, the aspect switching subroutine of step # 117 will be described with reference to FIG. When the aspect switching subroutine is entered, it is first determined whether or not the line-of-sight coordinate information stored in step # 103 or step # 111 is in the H direction (# 701). Here, it is determined whether or not the line-of-sight coordinate information is in the H direction (see FIG. 12B), that is, in the horizontal direction switching areas 501a and 501b.

  If the line-of-sight coordinate information is in the H direction as a result of the determination in step # 701, the changed aspect is determined from the line-of-sight coordinates with reference to Table 1 (# 703). As shown in FIG. 13A, the table 1 is designed to have a horizontally long aspect ratio with respect to the currently set aspect. That is, when the line-of-sight coordinate is in the H direction in the state where the 9:16 vertically long aspect is set, the aspect ratio is determined to be 2: 3 vertically long. As shown in FIG. 14A, this determination is changed to the aspect on the right side in FIG. 14A every time a line-of-sight area in the H direction is detected. Even if a line-of-sight area in the H direction is detected after the 16: 9 landscape aspect is set, the aspect is not changed to the landscape aspect.

  As a result of the determination in step # 701, when the line-of-sight coordinate information is not in the H direction, that is, when the line-of-sight coordinate information is in the V direction, the changed aspect is determined from the line-of-sight coordinates with reference to Table 2 (# 703). ). As shown in FIG. 13B, the table 2 is designed to have a vertically long aspect ratio with respect to the currently set aspect. That is, when a 16: 9 landscape aspect is currently set and the line-of-sight coordinates are in the V direction, the aspect ratio is determined to be 3: 2 landscape. As shown in FIG. 14B, this determination is changed to the left aspect in FIG. 14B every time a line-of-sight area in the V direction is detected. After the aspect ratio of 9:16 is determined, even if a line-of-sight area in the V direction is detected, the aspect ratio is not changed to a longer aspect.

  When the aspect is determined in step # 703 or step # 705, a new aspect is set according to the determined aspect (# 707). In accordance with the newly set aspect, the aspect of the field of view is determined, and in this state, when the release button 21 is fully pressed and the subject image is recorded, the subject image is recorded with the set aspect. . When the new aspect setting is performed, the original flow is restored.

  As described above, in the setting change and aspect switching subroutine in this embodiment, the gaze of the photographer is detected on each of the left and right and top and bottom of the viewfinder field screen, and the aspect is changed according to the direction in which the gaze of the photographer is facing. Like to do. For this reason, even in an imaging apparatus that can be changed to a large number of aspects, the aspect can be sequentially switched by merely looking at the line-of-sight area in the viewfinder without manually operating the operation member. In addition, since the aspect ratio is changed every time a line of sight is detected in the line-of-sight area, a complicated index is not required when switching the aspect ratio and aspect ratio. If the index is provided, the photographer may watch the index unrelated to the object scene, and the composition may be blurred. In the present embodiment, since the composition intention and the index are not associated with each other, a natural change is possible.

  Next, the live view display subroutine in step # 37 will be described with reference to FIG. As described above, this subroutine displays a subject image on the rear LCD 39 based on the image data from the image sensor 221. The vertical / horizontal position and aspect ratio in the live view display are displayed according to the vertical / horizontal button 37, the cross button 32, and other manual operation members, in addition to displaying the optical viewfinder according to the vertical / horizontal position and aspect ratio set during observation.

  When the live view display flow shown in FIG. 8A is entered, first, the selected aspect display coordinates are set (# 131). In this step, coordinates indicating a range to be displayed as a subject image are set based on the set vertical / horizontal position and aspect ratio information.

  Subsequently, the outside of the image area is painted black (# 133). In this step, based on the display coordinates set in step # 131, as shown in FIGS. 8B to 8E, the outside of the image area is painted black, that is, outside the image display area. 8B is a 4: 3 landscape image, FIG. 8C is a 16: 9 landscape image, FIG. 8D is a 2: 3 portrait image, and FIG. 8E is 9:16. This is an area showing a vertically long image.

  If the area outside the image area is black, information display coordinates are set (# 135). In this step, when the image is in the horizontally long position, as shown in FIGS. 8B and 8C, coordinates for displaying the shooting information in a horizontal row below the image area are set. In the case of the vertically long position, as shown in FIGS. 8D and 8E, coordinates for displaying shooting information in a single vertical column on the right side of the image area are set.

  Once the information display area coordinates are set, next, information display is started (# 136). In this step, the shooting information is displayed below or on the right side of the image area. Subsequently, live view image display is started (# 137). In this step, a subject image is displayed as a moving image for observation based on the image data from the image sensor 221 in the image area of the rear LCD 39. Subsequently, the liquid crystal backlight is turned on (# 139). Thereby, the live view display and the shooting information on the rear LCD 39 can be visually recognized. The photographer can determine the composition while observing the subject image and perform photographing.

  In this way, in the live view display subroutine, when performing live view display on the rear LCD 39, the subject image is displayed in consideration of the set vertical and horizontal positions and aspect ratio. In addition, the display position of the shooting information is changed according to the vertical and horizontal positions of the image. For this reason, even if the vertical position, the horizontal position, and the aspect ratio are changed, the shooting range and necessary shooting information can be confirmed by the live view display, which is very convenient.

  In the present embodiment, the outside of the image area is painted black so that the image is not displayed at all. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Of course, it does not matter even if the display is made transparent. When displaying with ruled lines or semi-transparent, the image data for live view display is not limited to the image data output area, but is output to the rear LCD 39 including the surrounding image data.

  Next, the reproduction subroutine in step # 45 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. As described above, this subroutine reads out the image data recorded on the recording medium A 285 or the recording medium B 287 and reproduces and displays it on the rear LCD 39 or the like. When the playback button 36 is operated, a subroutine for the playback operation starts.

  When the playback operation subroutine is entered, a playback image is first designated (# 141). In this step, the images recorded on the recording medium A 285 and the like are displayed as thumbnails on the rear LCD 39, and the user designates an image that the user desires to reproduce and display with the cursor.

  When the reproduction image is designated, it is next determined whether or not an external output connection is made (# 143). Here, it is determined whether or not an external display device 330 such as a television is connected. If the result of this determination is that the external display device 330 is connected, external playback is performed (# 145). In this step, the image signal from the video signal output circuit 261 is transmitted to the external display device 330, and the image read from the recording medium A285 or the like is reproduced and displayed on the external display device 330.

  On the other hand, if the result of determination in step # 143 is that the external display device 330 is not connected, liquid crystal monitor playback is performed (# 147). In this step, the image read from the recording medium A285 or the like is reproduced and displayed on the rear LCD 39. This liquid crystal monitor reproduction subroutine will be described later with reference to FIG.

  When external reproduction in step # 145 or liquid crystal monitor reproduction in step # 147 is performed, it is determined whether or not the reproduction is completed (# 149). The camera body 200 in the present embodiment enters the playback display mode by operating the playback button 36, and the playback display mode ends by operating the playback button 36 again. Therefore, in this step, it is determined again whether or not the playback button 36 has been operated.

  If the result of determination in step # 149 is that playback has not ended, processing returns to step # 143 and the above-described operation is executed. On the other hand, if the result of determination is that playback has ended, the playback operation ends and the flow returns to the original flow.

  Next, the liquid crystal monitor reproduction subroutine in step # 147 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. In this subroutine, the image data recorded on the recording medium A258 or the like is read and reproduced and displayed on the rear LCD 39.

  When the liquid crystal monitor reproduction subroutine is entered, first, a designated image is read (# 151). That is, image data is read from the recording medium A285 for the image designated in step # 141. Subsequently, the blank portion is painted black (# 153). As described above, since the images in the present embodiment have different vertical and horizontal positions and aspect ratios, according to the vertical and horizontal positions and aspect ratios of the read image data, as in FIGS. 8B to 8E, Make the margins black.

  Once the blank area has been painted black, monitor reproduction display is then started (# 155). That is, the image is reproduced and displayed on the rear LCD 39 based on the image data read in step # 151.

  When the monitor reproduction display is started, it is next determined whether or not an image selection operation has been performed (# 157). The camera according to the present embodiment can change to the previous or next image by operating the left and right cross buttons 32, and can display the thumbnail image again and select an image from these images. Therefore, in this step, it is determined whether or not these operations have been performed.

  If the result of determination in step # 157 is that an image selection operation has been performed, the designated image is changed (# 161). That is, the image is changed to the image selected by the image selection operation. Thereafter, the process returns to step # 151, where the changed image is read out and reproduced and displayed.

  On the other hand, if the result of determination in step # 157 is that no image has been selected, it is determined whether or not playback has ended (# 159). As described above, when the reproduction button 36 is operated again, the reproduction is completed. Therefore, in this step, it is determined whether or not the reproduction button 36 is operated again.

  If the result of determination in step # 159 is that playback has not ended, processing returns to step # 157 and the above-described operation is executed. On the other hand, if the reproduction is completed, the liquid crystal monitor reproduction subroutine is terminated and the process returns to the original flow.

  As described above, in the liquid crystal monitor reproduction subroutine, when image data is read from the recording medium A285 or the like and reproduction display is performed, the reproduction display is selectively displayed on the rear LCD disposed in the external display device 330 or the camera body 200. Can be done. In addition, when reproducing and displaying on the rear LCD 39, the margin portion is painted black according to the vertical / horizontal position and aspect ratio. Therefore, it is possible to display the recorded image recorded according to the setting of the vertical / horizontal position and the aspect ratio.

  As described above, in the first embodiment of the present invention, the vertical / horizontal position and aspect ratio of the image data output area are controlled when the line of sight of a person observing the viewfinder is detected. Further, the vertical / horizontal position and the aspect ratio are changed one step at a time in a predetermined order. For this reason, even when the vertical / horizontal position and aspect ratio are changed in multiple stages, there is no need to place an index, and the vertical / horizontal and aspect ratio can be easily switched.

  Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In the first embodiment, when the gaze areas are respectively provided in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction of the horizontal direction switching gaze areas 501a and 501b and the vertical direction switching gaze areas 503a and 503b, and the gaze is detected in the horizontal direction, When the image is expanded in the horizontal direction and the image is contracted in the vertical direction, and the line of sight is detected in the vertical direction, the image is contracted in the horizontal direction and the vertical image is expanded. In the second embodiment, when the line of sight is detected inside the image, the image is shrunk, and when the line of sight is detected outside the image, the image is widened.

  The configuration of the second embodiment is substantially the same as that of the first embodiment, and the line-of-sight area in the line-of-sight detection circuit 210 can be detected outside and inside the screen in the horizontal direction of the viewfinder field as shown in FIG. It has become. That is, the screen outside line-of-sight region 505a is provided on the left side outside the viewfinder field, and the screen outside line-of-sight region 505b is provided outside and on the right side. The screen line-of-sight region 507a is provided inside the viewfinder field on the left side. A screen internal line-of-sight area 507b is provided on the right side on the inner side. Further, the aspect switching subroutine shown in FIG. 11 in the first embodiment is changed to a subroutine shown in FIG. Since other parts are the same as those in the first embodiment, the second embodiment will be described focusing on the differences.

  When the subroutine for aspect switching shown in FIG. 15 is entered, it is determined whether the line-of-sight coordinate information is outside the screen (# 711). Here, it is determined whether or not the line-of-sight coordinate information detected in the setting change subroutine shown in FIG. 7 is in the off-screen line-of-sight areas 505a and 505b.

  As a result of the determination in step # 711, if the line-of-sight coordinate information is outside the screen (out-of-screen line-of-sight areas 505a and 505b), the changed aspect is determined from the line-of-sight coordinates with reference to Table 3 (# 713). As shown in FIG. 17A, the table 3 is designed to have a horizontally long aspect ratio with respect to the currently set aspect. That is, when a 9:16 portrait aspect is currently set and the line-of-sight coordinates are outside the screen, the aspect ratio is determined to be 2: 3 portrait. As shown in FIG. 17A, this determination is changed to the aspect on the right side in FIG. 17A every time a line-of-sight area outside the screen is detected. Even if a line-of-sight area outside the screen is detected after the 16: 9 landscape aspect is set, the aspect is not changed to the landscape aspect.

  As a result of the determination in step # 711, when the line-of-sight coordinate information is not outside the screen, that is, when the line-of-sight coordinate information is within the screen (screen line-of-sight areas 507a and 507b), the line-of-sight coordinates are referred to by referring to Table 4. To determine the changed aspect (# 713). As shown in FIG. 17B, the table 4 is designed to have a vertically long aspect ratio with respect to the currently set aspect. That is, when a 16: 9 landscape aspect is currently set and the line-of-sight coordinates are within the screen, the aspect ratio is determined to be 3: 2 landscape. As shown in FIG. 17B, this determination is changed to the left aspect in FIG. 17B every time a line-of-sight region in the screen is detected. After the aspect ratio of 9:16 is determined, even if a line-of-sight area in the screen is detected, the aspect ratio is not changed any more.

  If an aspect is determined in step # 713 or step # 715, next, a new aspect setting is performed according to the determined aspect (# 717). According to the newly set aspect, the aspect of the screen field of view is determined, and in this state, when the release button 21 is fully pressed and the subject image is recorded, the subject image is recorded in the set aspect. The When the new aspect setting is performed, the original flow is restored.

  As described above, in the aspect switching subroutine according to the second embodiment of the present invention, it is detected whether the photographer's line of sight is inside or outside the field of view, and depending on the direction in which the photographer's line of sight is facing. The aspect is changed. For this reason, even in an imaging device that can be changed to a large number of aspects, the aspect can be sequentially switched by simply looking at the line-of-sight area in the finder without manually operating the operation member. Even when the aspect ratio can be switched, there is no need to arrange a large number of indices. Further, since the direction of changing the aspect can be changed depending on whether the inner side or the outer side is viewed, it is possible to easily change to the desired aspect. In the present embodiment, it is determined whether the field of view is on the outer side or the inner side of the field of view. However, the present invention is not limited to this. But of course it does n’t matter.

  Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In the first and second embodiments, when the photographer's line of sight is detected in the line-of-sight area around the viewfinder field, the field-of-view area is expanded or contracted step by step. In the third embodiment, a plurality of line-of-sight areas are provided around the visual field area so that the visual field area (aspect ratio) can be set according to which line-of-sight area the photographer's line of sight is detected.

The configuration of the third embodiment is substantially the same as that of the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 20, a plurality of areas are provided outside the screen in the horizontal direction of the viewfinder field as the line-of-sight area in the line-of-sight detection circuit 210. A plurality of areas are provided outside the screen in the vertical direction of the visual field. That is, the region _H 0 to H ₅ outside the horizontal direction of the screen of the viewfinder, is provided with a region _V 0 ~V ₅ outside the screen in the vertical direction. Further, the aspect switching subroutine shown in FIG. 11 in the first embodiment is changed to a subroutine shown in FIG. Since other parts are the same as those in the first embodiment, the third embodiment will be described focusing on the differences.

When the aspect switching subroutine shown in FIG. 19 is entered, it is first determined whether or not the line-of-sight coordinate information stored in step # 103 or step # 111 in the setting change subroutine (see FIG. 7) is in the H direction. (# 721). Here, it is determined whether or not the line-of-sight coordinate information is in the H direction (see FIG. 12B), that is, in the regions H _{0 to} H ₅ .

If the result of determination in step # 721 is that the line-of-sight coordinate information is in the H direction, the changed aspect is determined from the line-of-sight coordinates with reference to Table 5 (# 723). As shown in FIG. 21A, the table 5 is designed to have a horizontally long aspect ratio by an arbitrary number of steps with respect to the currently set aspect. For example, when a 9:16 aspect ratio is currently set, the aspect is determined to be 2: 3 horizontally long if the line-of-sight coordinates is the area H ₀ , and 16: 9 horizontally long if the line-of-sight coordinates is the area H _5. can do. In FIG. 22, the field of view of each aspect ratio is sequentially arranged on the drawing, but the aspect ratio selected at once without passing through the intermediate aspect ratio according to the region H _{0 to} H ₅ selected by the photographer. Changed to Note that when the 16: 9 landscape aspect is set, the line-of-sight area is not set outside the screen, so that the landscape aspect is not changed any more.

If the result of determination in step # 721 is that the line-of-sight coordinate information is not in the H direction, that is, the line-of-sight coordinate information is in the V direction, the table 6 is referenced to determine the changed aspect from the line-of-sight coordinates (# 725). . As shown in FIG. 21B, the table 6 is designed to have an aspect ratio that is longer than the currently set aspect by an arbitrary number of steps. For example, when a 16: 9 landscape aspect is currently set, the aspect is determined to be 3: 2 portrait when the line-of-sight coordinate is the region V ₀ , and 9:16 portrait when the line-of-sight coordinate is the region V _5. can do. In FIG. 22, the field of view of each aspect ratio is sequentially arranged on the drawing. However, the aspect ratio selected at a stretch without depending on the intermediate aspect ratio according to the region V _{0 to} V ₅ selected by the photographer. Changed to Note that when the 19: 6 portrait aspect is set, the line-of-sight area is not set outside the screen, so that the portrait aspect is not changed any more.

  If an aspect is determined in step # 723 or step # 725, next, a new aspect setting is performed according to the determined aspect (# 727). In accordance with the newly set aspect, the aspect of the screen field of view is determined, and from this state, the shooting mode is entered, and when the release button 21 is fully pressed to record the subject image, the subject is set in the set aspect. An image is recorded. When the new aspect setting is performed, the original flow is restored.

  As described above, in the aspect switching subroutine according to this embodiment, a plurality of line-of-sight areas are arranged around the visual field, and depending on which of the multiple visual field screens the line-of-sight is detected, an intermediate aspect is not passed. The aspect ratio desired by the photographer is changed at a stroke. For this reason, even in an imaging apparatus that can be changed to a large number of aspects, the aspect can be switched only by looking at the line-of-sight area in the finder without manually operating the operation member. Moreover, it is not necessary to change step by step, and it can be easily changed to a desired aspect ratio, which is convenient. Further, since the aspect ratio that spreads in the direction as the detected line of sight moves away from the center of the angle of view is set, the aspect ratio can be changed in accordance with the sense of the photographer. In the present embodiment, the line-of-sight areas are provided on the top, bottom, left and right sides of the visual field screen. However, the present invention is not limited to this.

  Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In the first to third embodiments, the position where the photographer's line of sight is detected is detected, and the vertical / horizontal position and aspect ratio are set according to this position. In the fourth embodiment, the moving direction and moving speed of the photographer's line of sight are detected, and the vertical / horizontal position and the aspect ratio are changed based on this detection.

  The configuration of the fourth embodiment is substantially the same as that of the first embodiment, and the line-of-sight area in the line-of-sight detection circuit 210 is the horizontal direction switching line-of-sight areas 501a and 501b and the vertical direction switching line-of-sight area, as in FIG. 503a and 503b are provided. In the present embodiment, it is possible to detect the moving direction and moving speed of the line of sight in this region. In the first embodiment, the setting change subroutine shown in FIG. 7 is changed to a subroutine shown in FIG. 23, and the aspect switching subroutine shown in FIG. 11 is changed to a subroutine shown in FIG. Since other parts are the same as those in the first embodiment, the fourth embodiment will be described focusing on the differences.

  When the setting change subroutine is entered, first, the line-of-sight coordinates are detected as in step # 102 (# 731). The line-of-sight coordinates in this embodiment are detected by the line-of-sight detection circuit 210, but are detected with the accuracy required for detecting the movement direction and movement speed. Subsequently, the line-of-sight coordinate information detected in step # 731 is stored (# 733). Next, a timer is started (# 735). This timer is used for timing to calculate the movement speed of the line of sight.

  When the timer is started, the line-of-sight coordinates are subsequently detected (# 737), and it is determined whether the detected line-of-sight coordinates are substantially equal to the previously detected line-of-sight coordinates (# 739). If the result of this determination is that they are not approximately equal, then a timer is read (# 741), and the eye movement speed is calculated (# 743). Here, the moving distance is calculated from the current and previous line-of-sight coordinates, and the moving speed is calculated by dividing the moving distance by the time between the current time and the previous time determined from the timer. In addition, the moving direction is obtained from the previous and current line-of-sight coordinates.

  Once the movement speed is calculated, it is next determined whether or not the line-of-sight movement is in the aspect switching direction (# 745). The aspect switching direction is a horizontal direction to the right or left side (see the left end diagram of FIG. 25A) or a vertical direction to the upper side or the lower side (see the left end diagram of FIG. 25B) on the visual field screen. In this step, it is determined whether or not the line-of-sight movement direction obtained in step # 743 is substantially the same as the aspect switching direction.

  If the result of determination in step # 745 is that the eye movement direction is the aspect switching direction, it is next determined whether or not the eye movement speed is the aspect switching speed (# 747). In an aspect switching subroutine, which will be described later, the movement speed is classified within a range from v0 to v7, and it is determined whether or not it is within this range.

  If the line-of-sight coordinates are equal as a result of the determination in step # 737, or the line-of-sight movement is not in the aspect switching direction as a result of the determination in step # 745, or the line-of-sight movement is the aspect switching speed as a result of the determination in step # 747. If not, it is determined whether an aspect change operation is in progress (# 751). Here, as in step # 106 (see FIG. 7), it is determined whether or not the aspect change operation member is being operated, such as when the release button 21 is half-pressed or the OK button 33 is being operated. If the result of this determination is that a change operation is in progress, processing returns to step # 735.

  If the result of determination in step # 747 is that the line-of-sight movement speed is the aspect switching speed, an aspect switching subroutine is executed (# 749). In this aspect switching, the vertical / horizontal position and the aspect ratio are changed based on the line-of-sight movement direction and the line-of-sight movement speed. When aspect switching is performed or when the result of determination in step # 751 is that an aspect change operation is watched, the setting change flow is stopped and the original flow is restored.

  As described above, in the aspect switching subroutine of the present embodiment, the line-of-sight area is arranged around the field of view, and the detected image line-of-sight area is separated from the field of view by the aspect ratio of the image data output area of the imaging unit. Is getting bigger. For this reason, even in an imaging device that can be changed to a large number of aspects, the aspect can be switched by simply changing the line-of-sight area in the finder without manually operating the operation member. Moreover, it is not necessary to change step by step, and the aspect ratio can be easily changed to a desired aspect ratio simply by changing the movement speed of the line of sight when viewing the line-of-sight region. In the present embodiment, the line-of-sight areas are provided on the top, bottom, left and right sides of the visual field screen. However, the present invention is not limited to this.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the line of sight of the person observing the viewfinder is detected, and the aspect ratio and / or aspect ratio of the image data output area is controlled according to the detected line of sight. . For this reason, a complicated index is not required when switching the aspect ratio and aspect ratio.

  Further, the conventional imaging apparatus has a problem that the angle of view differs depending on the aspect ratio and the diagonal length differs. That is, there is a problem that the angle of view changes. However, according to the embodiment of the present invention, the diagonal line of the image circle 120 of the image sensor 221 is always constant, and the angle of view does not change.

  In each embodiment of the present invention, in the optical fine display mode, a subject image by a subject light beam reflected by the movable mirror 201 is observed. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and, for example, an electronic viewfinder (EVF) may be arranged and observed through an eyepiece.

  In each embodiment of the present invention, the image data in the image data output area determined by the vertical / horizontal position and the aspect ratio is the image data output from the image sensor driving circuit 223 by the preprocessing circuit 225 and the image processing circuit 257. I chose from the inside. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, when reading from the image sensor 221, image data may be read only in a range determined by the vertical and horizontal positions and the aspect ratio.

  In each embodiment of the present invention, a digital camera has been described as an apparatus for photographing. However, the camera may be a digital single lens reflex camera or a compact digital camera, such as a video camera or a movie camera. It may be a camera for moving images, or may be a camera built in a mobile phone or a personal digital assistant (PDA).

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments as they are, and can be embodied by modifying the constituent elements without departing from the scope of the invention in the implementation stage. In addition, various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining a plurality of components disclosed in the embodiment. For example, you may delete some components of all the components shown by embodiment. Furthermore, constituent elements over different embodiments may be appropriately combined.

21 ... Release button, 22 ... Front dial, 23 ... Rear dial, 24 ... Body mount, 31 ... LV display button, 32 ... Cross button, 33 ... OK button, 34 ... Power switch, 35 ... Menu button, 36 ... Play button, 37 ... Vertical / horizontal button, 38 ... Eyepiece, 39 ... Rear LCD, 40 ... Control panel, DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 50 ... Built-in flash, 100 ... Interchangeable lens, 101 ... Imaging optical system, 103 ... Aperture, 105 ... Focus position detection mechanism, 106 ... Zoom position detection mechanism, 107 ... Optical system drive mechanism, 109 ... diaphragm drive mechanism, 110 ... flare diaphragm drive mechanism, 111 ... lens CPU, 113 ... lens ROM, 115 ... lens RAM, 120 ... image circle, 200 ... Mela body, 201 ... movable mirror, 203 ... sub mirror, 204 ... screen, 205 ... full-screen LCD, 206 ... display device in viewfinder, 207 ... penta prism, 209 ... eyepiece Lens, 210 ... Gaze detection circuit, 211 ... Photometry element, 212 ... Photometry processing circuit, 213 ... Shutter, 215 ... Dustproof filter, 217 ... Low pass filter, 221 ... Imaging Element 223 ... Image sensor drive circuit 225 ... Pre-processing circuit 227 ... Tilt sensor 228 ... Tilt detection circuit 229 ... Shake sensor 230 ... Shake correction circuit 231 ... Shift mechanism drive circuit, 233 ... Shift mechanism, 235 ... Dustproof filter drive circuit, 237 ... Shutter drive mechanism, 239 ... Mirror drive Mechanism, 241 ... Phase difference AF sensor, 243 ... Phase difference AF processing circuit, 244 ... Light source sensor, 245 ... Light source processing circuit, 246 ... Illuminance sensor, 247 ... Illuminance processing circuit 248 ... Remote control reception sensor, 249 ... Remote control reception processing circuit, 250 ... ASIC, 251 ... Body CPU, 252 ... Bus, 253 ... Contrast AF circuit, 255 ... AE Circuit, 257... Image processing circuit, 259... Compression / decompression circuit, 261... Video signal output circuit, 263... LCD drive circuit, 265. Circuits, 269, various switches, 271, input / output circuits, 273, communication circuits, 275, flash memory control circuits, 277, flash memos 279 ... SDRAM control circuit 281 ... SDRAM 283 ... recording medium control circuit 285 ... recording medium A 287 ... recording medium B 289 ... dial detection circuit 291 ... Power supply circuit, 292 ... Battery, 293 ... External power supply, 295 ... Finder display drive circuit, 297 ... Control panel drive circuit, 301 ... Charge circuit, 303 ... Flash light emitting circuit, 305 ... arc tube, 310 ... external flash, 310a ... contact, 310b ... contact, 311 ... flash CPU, 313 ... charging circuit, 315 ... flash light emission Circuits, 317 ... arc tube, 318 ... reflection shade, 319 ... zoom drive circuit, 320 ... external device (PC), 320a ... contact, 321 ..Device CPU, 330 ... External display device (TV), 330a ... Contact, 331 ... Display device drive circuit, 333 ... Display device, 341 ... Communication contact, 501a ... Horizontal Direction switching line-of-sight area, 501b ... Horizontal direction switching line-of-sight area, 503a ... Vertical direction switching line-of-sight area, 503b ... Vertical direction switching line-of-sight area, 505a ... Screen outside line-of-sight area, 505b ... Outside screen Line-of-sight area, 507a ... In-screen line-of-sight area, 507b ... In-screen line-of-sight area

Claims (13)

An imaging unit that outputs a subject image as image data;
A viewfinder for observing the subject image,
A line-of-sight detector that detects the line of sight of the person observing the viewfinder;
In accordance with the line of sight, an imaging region control unit that controls the aspect ratio and / or aspect ratio of the image data output region of the imaging unit;
An imaging device comprising:   The image pickup area control unit controls vertical / horizontal and / or aspect ratio of an image data output area of the image pickup unit when detecting a line of sight to a peripheral area of the finder. Imaging device. The imaging area control unit
When the line of sight to the upper side or the lower side of the finder is detected, the image data output area of the imaging unit is controlled to widen up and down and / or to shrink the left and right,
The imaging apparatus according to claim 2, wherein when the line of sight to the left side or the right side of the finder is detected, control is performed so that the left and right sides of the image data output area of the imaging unit are expanded and / or the left and right are reduced. . The imaging area control unit
When a line of sight outside the display area of the upper side or the lower side of the finder is detected, control is performed so that the upper and lower sides of the image data output area of the imaging unit are expanded and / or the left and right sides are reduced.
When detecting the line of sight into the display area of the upper side or the lower side of the finder, the image data output area of the imaging unit is controlled to be shrunk vertically and / or left and right,
When a line of sight outside the display area of the left side or right side of the finder is detected, control is performed so that the left and right sides of the image data output area of the imaging unit are expanded and / or the top and bottom are contracted.
3. The control according to claim 2, wherein when a line of sight into the display area of the left side or right side of the finder is detected, the left and right sides of the image data output area of the imaging unit are reduced and / or the top and bottom are widened. The imaging device described. The imaging area control unit
When a line of sight outside the display area of the upper side or the lower side of the finder is detected, the upper and lower sides of the image data output area of the imaging unit are expanded according to the distance from the center of the finder of the detected line of sight and / or Control to shrink the left and right,
When a line of sight outside the display area of the left side or right side of the finder is detected, the left and right sides of the image data output area of the imaging unit are expanded according to the distance from the center of the finder of the detected line of sight and / or The imaging apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the imaging apparatus is controlled so as to be shrunk vertically.   The imaging region control unit controls the aspect ratio of the image data output region of the imaging unit to increase as the distance from the center of the finder of the detected line of sight increases. The imaging device described in 1.   The imaging region control unit detects the moving speed of the line of sight, and controls so that the aspect ratio of the image data output region of the imaging unit increases as the speed increases. Imaging device.   The line-of-sight detection unit provides a line-of-sight area around the field of view of the finder, and controls the aspect ratio and / or aspect ratio of the image data output area of the imaging unit when the line-of-sight of the photographer is detected in the line-of-sight region. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1.   The imaging area control unit, when detecting a line of sight in the line-of-sight area, changes the vertical and horizontal and / or aspect ratio of the image data output area of the imaging unit one step at a time in a predetermined order. The imaging device according to claim 8. The line-of-sight detection unit provides line-of-sight regions on the outside and inside of the periphery of the field of view of the finder,
The imaging area control unit may change the vertical / horizontal and / or aspect ratio change order of the image data output area of the imaging unit when the outer gaze area and the inner gaze area are detected. The imaging apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the imaging apparatus is characterized. The line-of-sight detection unit provides a plurality of line-of-sight regions around the field of view of the finder,
The imaging region control unit controls the aspect ratio of the image data output region of the imaging unit to increase as the distance of the detected line-of-sight region from the field angle center of the visual field increases. Item 9. The imaging device according to Item 8. The line-of-sight detection unit can detect the movement speed of the line of sight,
The imaging apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the imaging area control unit controls the aspect ratio of the image data output area of the imaging unit to increase as the moving speed of the detected line of sight increases. . Output the subject image as image data,
Detecting the line of sight of the person observing the subject image,
Depending on the line of sight, the aspect ratio and / or aspect ratio of the image data output area is controlled.
And a method of controlling the imaging apparatus.