JP2011027978A - Image capturing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image capturing apparatus capable of achieving facilitation of setting of light emission control of a built-in stroboscope and an external stroboscope when the external stroboscope is attached. <P>SOLUTION: The image capturing apparatus includes a first illuminator (3) which illuminates a subject by emitting flash light when photographing, a setting means which performs setting on the light emission control of the first illuminator, and an attaching means (5) to which a second illuminator (100) which illuminates the subject by emitting flash light when photographing is attached. When the second illuminator (100) is attached to the attaching means (5), light emission control information on the second illuminator (100) is set by the setting means. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image pickup apparatus that incorporates a device that emits a flash to illuminate a subject (hereinafter referred to as “strobe”) and that can be equipped with an external strobe. The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus that can easily set emission control at the time.

  2. Description of the Related Art An imaging device with a built-in strobe that can be equipped with an external strobe is known. The external flash can emit a larger flash than the built-in flash, but both the built-in flash and the external flash can emit light, the lens aperture and the image sensor to ensure proper exposure of the shot image. Control related to light emission (hereinafter referred to as “light emission control”) such as sensitivity (or film sensitivity) is required. The means for performing the light emission control (hereinafter referred to as “light emission control means”) is provided in both the imaging apparatus and the external strobe. Controlling the light emission amount of the strobe by the light emission control means is called light control.

  A plurality of light control methods can be set in a conventional imaging apparatus, and light emission is controlled according to the set light control method. The dimming method that can be set includes a flashmatic method, an external light auto method, a TTL direct dimming method, and a pre-light emission method.

  The flashmatic method is a dimming method that sets the amount of light emitted by a numerical value called a guide number (GN) that is obtained by multiplying the amount of light that can be properly exposed by the flash of the strobe and the F value of the photographic lens and the distance L to the subject. is there. The guide number represents a numerical value when the ISO sensitivity of the film or the ISO equivalent sensitivity of the image sensor is 100, and the exposure control value is corrected according to the sensitivity of the image sensor or the like.

  In the external light auto method, the strobe light reflected from the subject is measured by the photometric sensor provided on the image pickup device body or an external strobe attached to the image pickup device, and the measurement result reaches a predetermined value (appropriate exposure) This is a dimming method that stops the flash emission when the

  In the TTL direct light control method, strobe light reflected from a subject is guided to an imaging surface or a surface equivalent to the imaging surface via a photographing lens, and the reflected light is measured by a photometric sensor provided in the imaging device. This is a dimming method that stops the flash emission when the result reaches a predetermined value (appropriate exposure).

  The pre-flash method emits a strobe with a small amount of light (pre-flash) at the timing prior to the shooting operation, and measures the reflected light from the subject using a photometric sensor provided on the imaging device itself or an external strobe attached to the imaging device. In this dimming method, the flash emission is stopped when the measurement result reaches a predetermined value (appropriate exposure).

  Even in compact type imaging devices that have become popular in recent years, the user can arbitrarily set not only the light control methods listed above, but also the light emission level and light control level (overexposure / underexposure levels). There are also things.

  In the case of the compact type, the size of the flash unit and the size of the capacitor that stores the energy of the flash are limited by the size of the housing, so the guide number will be small, and if the distance to the subject is too long, the amount of light will be insufficient. Underexposed. To compensate for this lack of light, an external strobe is attached. When the external strobe is attached, information necessary for light emission control is communicated with the imaging device, and appropriate light emission control is performed.

A conventional imaging apparatus has setting means for performing settings related to light emission control of the built-in strobe, and the external strobe includes means for performing settings related to light emission control of the external strobe.
Therefore, when an external strobe is attached to a conventional image pickup device, the built-in strobe cannot be used. Therefore, the setting of the external strobe is performed not by the setting means of the image pickup apparatus but by the setting means of the external strobe. .

  Also, the external strobe has a large amount of light emission and can prevent underexposure when shooting a subject at a long distance, but the amount of light emission is large when shooting a subject at a short distance, especially when taking a macro shot. It is too inappropriate. For example, when performing macro photography, if an external strobe is attached, the exposure will be overexposed even if the amount of light emission is reduced. Therefore, when shooting a short-distance subject, it is necessary to remove the external flash and set the built-in flash to take a picture.

  As described above, when the external strobe is attached, the built-in strobe does not operate. Therefore, it is necessary to attach and detach the external strobe depending on the distance to the subject, which is inconvenient. Further, since the setting means for the external strobe and the setting means for the built-in strobe are different, the operation becomes complicated and inconvenient. In view of this, there is known an imaging apparatus capable of displaying a setting screen corresponding to an external strobe mounted on a display unit included in the imaging apparatus and performing light emission control setting of the external strobe on the imaging apparatus side (for example, “Patent” Reference 1 ”).

  The imaging apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 displays information that can be set according to the external strobe to be mounted. Therefore, if the external strobe is different, the setting screen is different, and which setting is the optimal setting. It is difficult to make a judgment unless the user is familiar with the information of the external strobe that is installed, it is difficult for the user to determine the optimum setting, and the setting operation cannot be easily performed.

  As described above, the setting operation differs depending on whether or not an external strobe is attached and what kind of external strobe is attached. Is inconvenient because it tends to be triggered.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an imaging apparatus that can easily perform optimal strobe light emission control setting even when an external strobe is attached.

  The present invention provides a first illumination device that emits a flash to illuminate a subject, setting means for setting light emission control information used for controlling the light emission operation of the first illumination device, and a first light emitting control information display. An imaging device having a display unit and a mounting unit that mounts a second illumination device that emits a flash to illuminate a subject, and is set when the second illumination device is mounted via the mounting unit The main feature is that the light emission control information of the second lighting device can be set by the means.

  According to the present invention, in the imaging apparatus, the second illumination device includes a second display unit that displays the light emission control information. When the second illumination device is mounted via the mounting unit, the display unit In addition, the light emission control information is displayed.

  In the present invention, when the second lighting device is mounted via the mounting means, the combined maximum light emission amount obtained by adding the maximum light emission amount of the first lighting device and the maximum light emission amount of the second lighting device is: It is displayed on at least one of the first display means and the second display means.

  According to the present invention, in the imaging device, the light emission amounts of the first illumination device and the second illumination device can be set with respect to the combined maximum light emission amount.

  Further, the present invention provides the imaging apparatus, wherein the imaging apparatus includes a first control unit that performs light emission control of the first and second lighting devices according to the light emission control information, and the second lighting device includes: It has a second control means for performing light emission control of the first and second lighting devices according to the light emission control information, and when the second lighting device is mounted via the mounting means, If the light system is a dimming system, the first control means stops the light emission operation of the first lighting device and the second lighting device, and the second lighting device is mounted via the mounting means. When the light control method set is another light control method, the light emission operation of the first lighting device and the second lighting device is stopped by the second control means. .

  According to the present invention, in the imaging apparatus, one light control method is a pre-light emission method, and the other light control method is an external light auto method.

  According to the present invention, in the imaging apparatus, when the second lighting device is mounted via the mounting means, only the second lighting device is caused to emit light according to the light emission control information.

  According to the present invention, in the imaging apparatus, the light emission control information includes any one of a light emission method, a light emission amount, and a light adjustment correction amount.

  According to the present invention, in an image pickup apparatus equipped with an external strobe, it is possible to easily perform optimal dimming setting by a setting operation similar to that of a built-in strobe.

It is a front view which shows the example of the external appearance of the imaging device which concerns on this invention. It is a top view which shows the example of the external appearance of the said imaging device. It is a rear view which shows the example of the external appearance of the said imaging device. It is a functional block diagram which shows the Example of the said imaging device. It is a front view which shows the example which mounted | wore the said imaging device with the external strobe. It is a rear view which shows the example which mounted | wore the said imaging device with the external strobe. It is a top view which shows the example of the external strobe mounting means with which the said imaging device is provided. It is a top view which shows the example of the strobe mode setting screen in the said imaging device. It is a top view which shows the example of the imaging condition setting screen in the said imaging device. It is a figure which shows the example of the strobe mode setting screen in the external strobe attached to the imaging device which concerns on this invention. It is a functional block diagram which shows another Example of the imaging device which concerns on this invention. It is a flowchart which shows another of the flow of the light emission control processing in the said imaging device.

Hereinafter, embodiments of an imaging apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 to 3 are views showing an external configuration of a digital camera which is an example of an imaging apparatus according to the present invention. 1 is a front view, FIG. 2 is a top view, and FIG. 3 is a rear view.
In FIG. 1, an imaging apparatus 100 has a built-in flash 3, which is a first illumination device, a self-LED 4 and a lens barrel unit 7 including an imaging lens on the front surface of a housing. Further, a memory card loading chamber and a battery loading chamber lid 2 are provided on one side surface of the casing.
In FIG. 2, an imaging apparatus 100 fixes a release (switch) SW1, a mode dial SW2 for setting a dimming mode and a shooting mode, and an external strobe as a second illumination device on the upper surface of the casing. A hot shoe 5 is provided as a mounting means serving as a communication interface.

  In FIG. 3, an imaging apparatus 100 includes an AF LED 8, a strobe LED 9, a first display means LCD monitor 10, a power switch SW13, a switch SW3 used for a wide angle direction zoom operation, and a switch used for a telephoto direction zoom operation. SW4, switch SW5 used for setting and canceling the self-timer, switch SW6 used for menu display, switch SW7 used for upward movement and strobe setting, switch SW8 used for right movement, switch SW9 used for display switching of the display (LCD monitor), A switch SW10 used for downward movement and macro photography, a switch SW11 used for leftward movement and image confirmation, and an OK switch SW12 used for executing a predetermined operation and setting a selected parameter are arranged.

  Next, an example of functional blocks of the imaging apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. Various operations (processing) of the imaging apparatus according to the present invention are controlled by a digital still camera CPU 104 (hereinafter simply referred to as “CPU 104”) configured as a digital signal processing IC (integrated circuit) or the like. The CPU 104 includes a first CCD (charge coupled device) signal processing block 104-1, a second CCD signal processing block 104-2, a CPU (central processing unit) block 104-3, a local SRAM (SRAM: static random access memory). ) 104-4, USB (Universal Serial Bus) block 104-5, serial block 104-6, JPEG codec (CODEC) block 104-7, resize (RESIZE) block 104-8, TV signal display block 104-9 and memory It has a card controller block 104-10. These blocks are connected to each other via a bus line.

  Outside the CPU 104, an SDRAM (Synchronous Random Access Memory) 103 for storing RAW-RGB image data, YUV image data, and JPEG image data, and a RAM 107 that temporarily stores data related to operation control of the imaging apparatus 100. In addition, a built-in memory 120 and a ROM 108 storing a control program are arranged, and are connected to the CPU 104 via a bus line.

  The lens barrel unit 7 includes a zoom optical system 7-1 having a zoom lens 7-1a, a focus optical system 7-2 having a focus lens 7-2a, an aperture unit 7-3 having an aperture 7-3a, and a mechanical shutter 7-. A mechanical shutter unit 7-4 having 4a. The zoom optical system 7-1, the focus optical system 7-2, the aperture unit 7-3, and the mechanical shutter unit 7-4 are respectively a ZOOM motor 7-1b, a FOCUS motor 7-2b, an aperture motor 7-3b, and a mechanical shutter motor 7. Driven by -4b. The operations of the ZOOM motor 7-1b, FOCUS motor 7-2b, aperture motor 7-3b, and mechanical shutter motor 7-4b are controlled by a motor driver 7-5 controlled by the CPU block 104-3 of the CPU 104. Is done.

The zoom lens 7-1a and the focus lens 7-2a of the lens barrel unit 7 constitute an imaging lens for forming a subject optical image on the imaging surface of the CCD 101 as an imaging element.
The CCD 101 converts a subject optical image into an electrical image signal and inputs it to an F / E-IC (front end IC) 102.
The F / E-IC 102 includes a CDS (correlated double sampling unit) 102-1, an AGC (automatic gain control unit) 102-2, and an A / D (analog-digital) conversion unit 102-3. Each of these is subjected to predetermined processing, converted into a digital signal, and input to the first CCD signal processing block 104-1 of the CPU 104.
These signal processing operations are controlled via a TG (timing generator) 102-4 by a VD / HD (vertical drive / horizontal drive) signal output from the first CCD signal processing block 104-1.

  The first CCD signal processing block 104-1 performs signal processing such as white balance adjustment and γ adjustment on the digital image data input from the CCD solid-state imaging device 101 via the F / E-IC 102. VD signal and HD signal are output.

  The strobe circuit 114 includes a charging circuit unit and a light emission control unit. The charging circuit unit boosts the battery voltage to about 300 V and charges a capacitor having a capacity of about 100 to 200 μF. The light emission control unit controls the light emission amount by supplying and stopping the energy of the charged capacitor to the xenon tube included in the built-in strobe light 3.

  In this embodiment, the dimming mode of the built-in strobe 3 is a pre-flash mode and a manual flash mode. In the manual flash method, it is assumed that the flash output can be set at 0.5 EV intervals, and it is equipped with a dimming correction function, so it can be set within a range of ± 2.0 EV at 0.5 EV intervals. It is.

Further, the CPU block 104-3 is also coupled to a sub CPU 109 disposed outside the CPU 104. The sub CPU 109 performs light emission control of the AF LED 8, the strobe LED 9, and the self LED 11.
The AF LED 8 is an LED that displays an in-focus state during a photographing operation. The strobe LED is an LED that indicates the charging state of the strobe. The AF LED 8 and the strobe LED 9 may be used for displaying an access status to the memory card.
The self LED 11 is an LED that indicates that the self timer is operating when the self timer function is executed.

  The USB block 104-5 is coupled to the USB connector 122. The serial block 104-6 is coupled to the RS-232C connector via the serial driver circuit 123-1. The television signal display block 104-9 is coupled to the LCD monitor 10 via the LCD driver 117. The TV signal display block 104-9 is also coupled to the video jack 119 via the video amplifier 118. The memory card controller block 104-10 is coupled to the card contact of the memory card slot 121, and when the memory card is loaded into the memory card slot 121, the memory card controller block 104-10 comes into contact with and electrically connects to the memory card contact.

The ROM 108 stores program codes readable by the CPU block 104-3, and stores control programs and various parameters used by the control programs. When the power of the imaging apparatus 100 is turned on, the program code stored in the ROM is loaded into the RAM 107, and the CPU block 104-3 controls the operation of each unit included in the imaging apparatus 100 according to the loaded program code. At the same time, data necessary for operation control is temporarily stored in the RAM 107 and the local SRAM 104-4.
By using a rewritable flash ROM for the ROM 108, the control program and the parameters used for the control can be changed, whereby the functions of the imaging apparatus 1 can be expanded.

  Next, an example of the operation for setting the flash emission control in the imaging apparatus according to the present invention will be described. 5 and 6 are a front view (FIG. 5) and a rear view (FIG. 6) showing an example of a state in which an external strobe as a second illumination device is attached to the imaging apparatus 1 according to the present invention.

In FIG. 5, an external strobe 200 is a light emitting unit 201 that emits a flash to illuminate a subject on the front surface, a second detection means, and a dimming sensor 202 for external light AUTO that operates when the dimming method is the external light auto method. , AF auxiliary light 203 for AF is provided.
The light control sensor 202 is a sensor that receives reflected light that is reflected when the flash light emitted from the light emitting unit 201 hits a subject and generates a current by photoelectric conversion. The current generated by the light control sensor 202 is integrated by the integrating capacitor, and the light emission operation of the external strobe 200 is stopped when the charge amount reaches a predetermined value.

  Further, the external strobe 200 is equipped with a CPU and a memory constituting second control means (not shown). By this second control means, the light emission of the built-in strobe 3 of the image pickup apparatus 1 can also be controlled via the hot shoe 5 which is a mounting means.

In FIG. 6, the external strobe 200 has a charging completion lamp 204 for notifying that the light emitting unit 201 is ready for light emission on the back, a power switch 205, a test light emitting switch 206, an LCD display unit 207 as a second display means, and a mode selection. A switch 208 and a setting selection switch 209 are provided. The mode selection switch 208 and the setting selection switch 209 constitute second setting means.
The external strobe 200 starts charging the main capacitor when the power switch 205 is turned on, and the charging completion lamp 204 is lit when the voltage reaches a predetermined voltage. When the test light emission switch 206 is pressed in this state, the light emission operation can be confirmed.

  The external strobe 200 has a plurality of light control modes as described above. From these dimming modes, the user operates the mode selection switch 208 and the setting selection switch 209 to set a desired dimming mode. Light emission control is performed based on the set light control mode. For example, when the manual light emission method is selected, the light emission amount can be set at intervals of 0.5 EV.

  Further, the external strobe 200 has a dimming correction function. With this function, dimming can be set at intervals of 0.5 EV within a range of ± 2.0 EV, for example. When the dimming mode of the external strobe 200 is set to the external light auto method, the F value can be set in four stages of F2.8, F4, F5.6, and F8.

  The light emitting unit 201 can change the irradiation angle of the strobe light by an angle changing mechanism (not shown). Accordingly, the subject can be effectively illuminated even when shooting using a zoom lens.

  The external strobe 200 sets the parameters relating to the light control mode and the light emission control by operating the mode selection switch 208 and the setting selection switch 209, which are the second setting means, and displays these setting states on the second display. The information can be displayed on the LCD display unit 207 as a means for confirmation.

The external strobe 200 is attached to the imaging apparatus 100 via the hot shoe 5. FIG. 7 shows an enlarged view of the hot shoe 5. In FIG. 7, the hot shoe 5 has an X contact 51 for outputting a synchronous light emission signal or the like from the imaging device 100 to the strobe 200 in the center, and a communication terminal 52 between the imaging device 100 and the strobe 200. There are several.
When the external strobe 200 is attached to the hot shoe 5, the imaging device 100 and the external strobe 200 are electrically connected, and a light emission signal emitted from the imaging device 100 is sent to the external strobe 200 via the X contact 51. Thus, a predetermined light emission operation, that is, a light emission operation synchronized with the shutter operation is performed.
In addition, communication of information regarding dimming setting is performed via the communication signal terminal 52, and thereby predetermined light emission operation control is performed.

  Next, an example of light emission control setting by the imaging apparatus 100 will be described. First, an example in which the light emission control setting is performed in a state where the external strobe 200 is not attached will be described with reference to FIG. When the switch SW7 (FIG. 3) is pressed in the shooting standby state, an operation menu is displayed on the LCD monitor 10 (FIG. 3). When the switch SW7, switch SW8, switch SW10, switch SW11 and switch SW12 are operated to select “strobe mode setting”, a strobe mode setting screen as shown in FIG. 8A is displayed on the LCD monitor 10.

  As shown in FIG. 8A, in the strobe mode setting screen, “AUTO mode” that automatically controls strobe light emission, “forced light emission mode” that emits light during all shooting operations, and light emission during all shooting operations It is possible to select and set a desired mode from a “light emission inhibition mode” in which no light emission is performed and a “manual light emission mode” in which the user can set the light emission amount. The information set here is stored as light emission control information and used for predetermined light emission control.

  The light emission control setting can be performed by moving the cursor 80 displayed on the strobe mode setting screen by operating the switches SW7 and SW10 and pressing the switch SW12. For example, when the switch SW12 is pressed in the state shown in FIG. 8A, the imaging apparatus 100 is set to “AUTO mode”. When AUTO mode is set, the dimming mode is the pre-flash mode, and the pre-flash is emitted when the release shutter SW1 is pressed halfway before the shooting operation, and the brightness of the subject image is measured by this pre-flash. Then, the light emission amount in the main light emission is determined.

  When the cursor is moved to the “manual light emission” mode in the state of FIG. 8A and the switch SW12 is pressed (FIG. 8B), a manual light emission amount setting screen is displayed. As shown in FIG. 8C, on the manual light emission amount setting screen, the minimum light emission amount (GN = 1) and the maximum light emission amount (GN = 10) of the built-in flash 3 are displayed as “GN = 1-10”. .

In the “Manual flash output setting screen”, the switch SW7 and SW10 are operated to move the cursor to the position indicating the predetermined flash output, and when the switch SW12 is pressed, the strobe mode is set to “Manual flash” and selected. The amount of emitted light is set.
After the switch SW12 is pressed, a through image of the subject is displayed on the LCD monitor 12, and a shooting standby state is entered.

Next, an example of the light emission control setting when the external strobe 200 is attached to the imaging apparatus 100 will be described. The light emission amount displayed on the “manual light emission amount setting screen” when the external flash is attached is the combined light emission amount of the built-in flash 3 and the external flash 200. When the light emission amount GN (guide number) of the built-in strobe 3 is A and the light emission amount GN of the external strobe 100 is B, the combined light emission amount is the square root of the sum of the square of A and the square of B. That is, the combined light emission amount is obtained by √ (A ² + B ² ). For example, if the maximum light emission amount of the built-in strobe 3 is GN = 10 and the maximum light emission amount of the external strobe 200 is GN = 20, the combined maximum light emission amount is 22.36.

  When the external flash 200 is attached and the switch SW7 (FIG. 3) is pressed in the shooting standby state, an operation menu is displayed on the LCD monitor 10 (FIG. 3). FIG. 8 (a) is similar to the example of the screen displayed when the external flash 200 is not attached when the switch SW7, the switch SW8, the switch SW10, the switch SW11 and the switch SW12 are operated to select “strobe mode setting”. The strobe mode setting screen as shown in FIG.

  When the cursor is moved to the “manual light emission” mode and the switch SW12 is pressed, a manual light emission amount setting screen is displayed. When the external strobe 200 is attached, as shown in FIG. 8D, the combined minimum emission amount (GN = 3) and the combined maximum emission amount (GN = 22) of the built-in flash 3 and the external strobe 200 are It is displayed as “GN = 3-22”.

  As described above, according to the imaging apparatus according to the present invention, when the manual light emission amount is set, the minimum light emission amount and the maximum light emission amount can be displayed in an identifiable manner. It is possible to easily set the optimum light emission amount.

  In this embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 8C and FIG. 8D, the settable values are “FULL, −0.5 EV, −1.0 EV, −1.5 EV,. Instead of displaying, “FULL, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8...” May be used. Alternatively, the set value may be expressed as a guide number and displayed as “GN22, GN20, GN18, GN16...”. Further, the correction amount and the guide number may be directly input as numerical values.

  Next, an example of shooting condition setting by the imaging apparatus 100 will be described. First, an example in which the light emission correction amount is set without the external strobe 200 being mounted will be described with reference to FIG. When the switch SW7 (FIG. 3) is pressed in the shooting standby state, an operation menu is displayed on the LCD monitor 10 (FIG. 3). When “shooting condition setting” is selected by operating the switch SW7, switch SW8, switch SW10, switch SW11 and switch SW12, a shooting condition setting screen as shown in FIG. 9A is displayed on the LCD monitor 10.

  As shown in FIG. 9A, in the shooting condition setting screen, “light adjustment correction” can be selected together with various shooting conditions such as “number of recorded pixels” and “ISO sensitivity”. Dimming correction can be performed by moving the cursor 80 displayed on the shooting condition setting screen by operating the switches SW7 and SW10 and pressing the switch SW12.

  When the cursor is moved to “dimming correction” and the switch SW12 is pressed in the state of FIG. 9A, a dimming correction amount setting screen is displayed. As shown in FIG. 8B, the minimum light emission amount (GN = 1) and the maximum light emission amount (GN = 10) of the built-in flash 3 are displayed as “GN = 1-10” on the dimming correction amount setting screen. The

  In the “manual light emission amount setting screen”, the switch SW7 and the switch SW10 are operated to move the cursor to a position indicating a predetermined light adjustment amount, and when the switch SW12 is pressed, the selected light adjustment amount is set. . After the switch SW12 is pressed, a through image of the subject is displayed on the LCD monitor 12, and a shooting standby state is entered.

  Next, an example of dimming correction amount setting when the external strobe 200 is attached to the imaging apparatus 100 will be described. When the switch SW7 (FIG. 3) is pressed in the shooting standby state, an operation menu is displayed on the LCD monitor 10 (FIG. 3). When “shooting condition setting” is selected by operating the switch SW7, switch SW8, switch SW10, switch SW11 and switch SW12, FIG. 9A is similar to the example of the screen displayed when the external strobe 200 is not attached. ) Is displayed on the LCD monitor 10 as shown in FIG.

  When the cursor is moved to “dimming correction” and the switch SW12 is pressed, a dimming correction amount setting screen is displayed. When the external strobe 200 is attached, as shown in FIG. 9C, the combined minimum emission amount (GN = 3) and maximum combined emission amount (GN = 22) of the built-in flash 3 and the external strobe 200 are It is displayed as “GN = 3-22”.

  As described above, according to the imaging apparatus according to the present invention, the minimum light emission amount and the maximum light emission amount can be displayed in a distinguishable manner even when the light adjustment is performed. It is possible to easily set the optimum light emission amount.

  Further, according to the imaging apparatus of the present invention, only when the external strobe is attached, the combined maximum flash amount calculated from the GN of the built-in flash and the external flash can be selected on the manual flash amount setting screen. By displaying the amount simultaneously, the dimming setting can be set via the same screen display as the manual flash amount setting screen that is displayed when an external strobe is not attached. Settings can be made.

When manual exposure is set in the imaging apparatus 1 to which the external strobe 100 is attached, an aperture value can be set by a user's arbitrary operation according to the set GN and imaging distance (distance to the subject). May be. Further, by combining the upper limit setting per light emission of the external light auto method and the TTL dimming method, it may be possible to compensate for the number of repetitive shootings with strobe irradiation.
The number of repetitions of light emission is determined by the xenon tube and the light emission method, and is affected by the minimum light emission voltage of the capacitor. Therefore, a control table corresponding to the characteristics of the built-in strobe 3 and the external strobe 100 may be stored in the built-in memory 120 in advance so that the number of times of light emission can be set based on this control table.

  When the amount of light emitted by the external strobe 100 is sufficiently larger than that of the built-in strobe 3, the amount of light emitted by the external strobe 100 becomes dominant. Therefore, when such an external strobe 100 is attached, the operation of the built-in strobe 3 The light emission may be controlled so as to stop.

  As is apparent from the external views of FIGS. 3 and 5, the image pickup apparatus according to the present invention cannot use the built-in flash 3 when the external flash 100 is attached. In the conventional imaging device, when an external strobe is attached and the power is turned on, when the imaging device is used in, for example, the TTL mode, the LCD display unit 107 as the second display device has a display shown in FIG. As shown in a), the display related to the “TTL” mode is performed. When the dimming mode is changed to manual, the mode is changed to “M” by operating the SW 108, and then the SW 109 is operated to perform predetermined light emission as shown in FIGS. 10 (b) and 10 (c). It was necessary to search for a predetermined light emission amount while repeatedly changing the display of the amount, and to select the light emission amount.

  However, the imaging apparatus according to the present invention can set the light emission amount and the like for the external strobe 100 by operating the switches SW7, SW8, SW10, SW11, and SW12 included in the imaging apparatus 1 as described above. Therefore, when the manual light emission amount is set via the manual light emission amount setting screen (FIG. 8A), for example, FIG. 10 (FIG. 10) regardless of the display on the LCD display unit 107 of the external strobe 100 so far. The light emission amount set as shown in c) is displayed.

  When the dimming method set by a predetermined operation is the TTL dimming method, the image pickup apparatus according to the present invention uses the CPU block 104-3 as the first control means to mount the external strobe attached to the built-in strobe 3. 100 light emitting operations can be stopped.

  In addition, when the light control method set by a predetermined operation is the external light auto method, the image pickup apparatus according to the present invention has a built-in strobe 3 and an external strobe by the CPU provided in the external strobe 100 as the second control means. 100 light emitting operations can be stopped.

  Next, still another embodiment of the imaging apparatus according to the present invention will be described. FIG. 11 is a functional block diagram showing an example when the external strobe 200 as the second illumination unit is attached to the imaging apparatus 1 according to the present invention. In FIG. 11, the built-in flash 3 includes a light emitting unit 31, a first control unit 32, a first photometric sensor 33, and a connection unit 34. The external strobe 200 includes a light emitting unit 201, a second control unit 210, a second photometric sensor 202, and a connection unit 211.

  Based on the light emission control of the first control means 32, the light emitting unit 31 performs light emission by a predetermined light emission amount and light emission stop. The first control unit 32 is controlled in operation by the CPU 104 included in the imaging apparatus 1, and thereby controls the operation of the light emitting unit 31 according to the light emission control information. The first photometric sensor 33 is a light amount detection sensor used for dimming by a pre-emission method, and may be provided on the front surface of the imaging apparatus 1. Further, the reflected light from the subject due to the pre-flash of the built-in flash 3 may be converted into image data by the image sensor, and the light quantity may be detected from this image data. In this case, the first photometric sensor is constituted by an image sensor. The connection unit 34 and the connection unit 211 are units that face each other and connect the first control unit 32 and the second control unit 210 so that they can communicate with each other.

  The second control unit 210 is controlled by the CPU 104 via the connection units 34 and 211, and thereby controls the light emission operation of the light emitting unit 201 according to the light emission control information. The second photometric sensor is a light amount detection sensor used for dimming by the external light auto method. The light emitting unit 201 performs light emission by a predetermined light emission amount and stops light emission by the light emission control of the second control unit 210.

  The second control unit 210 includes a compensation circuit that compensates for overexposure due to stop control delay after detection of the reflected light amount. The compensation circuit is a circuit that generates a stop signal earlier according to the integration speed of the reflected light amount, and generates the stop signal earlier as the integration speed is higher.

  Next, an example of a light emission control method in the imaging apparatus according to the present invention will be described. FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the flow of the light emission control process according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 12, each processing step is shown as S1, S2,.

  When the release SW1 is operated (Y in S1), the set light emission control mode is determined (S2), and if the pre-light emission method is set, the CPU 104 performs the first control means 32 and the second control means. 210 is set to the pre-flash mode (S3), and if the external light auto light emission method is set, the CPU 104 sets the first control means 32 and the second control means 210 to the external light auto (S11).

  When the first control means 32 and the second control means 210 are set to the pre-flash mode (S3), the first control means causes the built-in strobe 3 as the first illumination device to pre-light with a predetermined light amount (S3). S4). Next, the first control means detects the amount of light received by the first photometric sensor 33 (S5). In accordance with the amount of received light detected by the first photometric sensor 33, the CPU determines the light emission amounts of the first lighting device and the second lighting device (S6). Next, an exposure operation is started (S7), and the exposure operation (S7) is continued until a light emission start signal is issued from the CPU 104 (N in S8). If a light emission start signal is issued (Y in S8), light emission is controlled by the first control means 32 and the second control means 210 so that the light emission amount determined in S6 is obtained, and the determined light emission amount is obtained. If not, the light emission is stopped (S9), and the light emission control is terminated (S10).

  When the first control unit 32 and the second control unit 210 are set to the outside light auto mode (S11), the second control unit 210 determines the amount of light received by the second photometric sensor 202 (S12). Next, an exposure operation is started (S13). Next, the exposure operation (S13) is continued until a light emission start signal is issued from the CPU 104 (N in S14). If a light emission start signal is issued (Y in S14), the first control means 32 and the second control are performed. The light emission of the light emitting unit 31 and the light emitting unit 201 is started by the means 210 (S15). Next, the second control means 210 detects the amount of light received by the second photometric sensor 202 (S16). If the amount of light received by the second photometric sensor 202 has not reached the amount of light received determined in S12 (N in S17), it is determined whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed since the light emission operation (S15) was started. If the predetermined time has elapsed (Y in S18), the light emission control is terminated (S10). If the predetermined time has not elapsed (N in S18), the received light amount detection (S16) is continued.

  If the amount of light received by the second photometric sensor 202 has reached the amount of light received determined in S12 (Y in S17), the second control unit 210 issues a light emission stop signal, and in the second illumination device. The light emission of the light emitting unit 201 is stopped (S19). Next, the 1st control means 32 receives the light emission stop signal which the 2nd control means 210 emitted via the connection means 211 and 34, and stops light emission of the light emission part 31 of a 1st illuminating device (S20). ).

As described above, according to the imaging apparatus according to the present embodiment, the light emission control of the first lighting device and the second lighting device can be changed according to the set light emission control mode. In the third embodiment, the built-in strobe 3 that is the first lighting device is controlled by the pre-flash method, and the external strobe 200 that is the second lighting device is controlled by the external light auto method. The built-in strobe 3 may be an external light auto method, and the external strobe 200 may be a pre-flash method.
In this case, the first control unit may generate a light emission stop signal, and the second control unit may detect the light emission stop signal without going through the CPU 104.

  In the imaging apparatus according to the third embodiment, the built-in strobe 3 may be a TTL direct light control method and the external strobe 200 may be an external light auto method. In this case, since the first control means and the second control means may each generate a light emission stop signal, it is possible to detect the light emission stop signal bidirectionally via the connection means 34 and 211 without going through the CPU 104. You can do it.

As described above, according to the image pickup apparatus of the present invention, when the external strobe is attached, the combined light emission amount with the built-in strobe can be displayed on the setting screen, so that setting using the setting means provided in the image pickup apparatus is easy. To be able to do that.
Further, according to the set light emission control mode, optimal light emission control can be performed by the control means provided in the built-in strobe and the control means provided in the external strobe.

3 Internal strobe 10 LCD monitor 100 Imaging device 200 External strobe

JP 2008-116748 A

Claims (8)

A first illuminating device that emits a flash to illuminate a subject; a setting unit that sets light emission control information used to control a light emission operation of the first illumination device; and a first display unit that displays the light emission control information. Mounting means for mounting a second illumination device that emits a flash to illuminate a subject,
An imaging apparatus capable of setting light emission control information of the second illumination device by the setting means when the second illumination device is attached via the attachment means. The second illumination device has second display means for displaying the light emission control information,
The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the light emission control information is displayed on the display unit when the second lighting device is mounted via the mounting unit. When the second lighting device is mounted via the mounting means,
The combined maximum light emission amount obtained by adding the maximum light emission amount of the first lighting device and the maximum light emission amount of the second lighting device is displayed on at least one of the first display means and the second display means. The imaging apparatus according to claim 2, wherein:   The imaging apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the light emission amounts of the first illumination device and the second illumination device can be set with respect to the combined maximum light emission amount. The imaging apparatus includes first control means for performing light emission control of the first and second illumination devices according to the light emission control information,
The second lighting device has second control means for performing light emission control of the first and second lighting devices according to the light emission control information,
When the second lighting device is mounted via the mounting means, if the set dimming method is one dimming method, the first control unit and the first lighting device are Stop the light emitting operation of the second lighting device,
When the second lighting device is mounted via the mounting means, if the dimming method set is another dimming method, the second control unit and the first lighting device are connected. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the light emitting operation of the second illumination device is stopped.   6. The imaging apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the first light control method is a pre-light emission method, and the other light control method is an external light auto method.   2. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the second illumination device is attached via the attachment means, only the second illumination device is caused to emit light according to the light emission control information.   8. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the light emission control information includes any one of a light emission method, a light emission amount, and a light adjustment correction amount.

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