JP2013024945A - Stroboscopic device, stroboscopic system, imaging system, and multi-light control method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To realize multi-light control which can prevent collision of release control communication from a master device and information communication from slave stroboscopic devices.SOLUTION: In stroboscopic devices 100a to 100c which have wireless communication units capable of performing wireless two-way communication with an external device and can be applied to a multi-light system, each of stroboscope control units sets any of a plurality of operation modes, notifies the external device of charge completion via the wireless communication unit, emits light of the stroboscopic device according to a light emission instruction received from the external device via the wireless communication unit, and when a specific operation mode is set, inhibits notification of charge completion via the wireless communication unit.

Description

  The present invention relates to an operation of wireless multi-lamp control when performing lighting photography with a plurality of strobes.

  In a multi-lamp control system composed of a master strobe mounted on a camera and one or more slave strobes, one-way communication control from the master strobe to the slave strobe is generally adopted by optical pulse communication. . In such a one-way communication, slave information including information indicating completion of charging of the slave (hereinafter referred to as charging completion information) or the like cannot be acquired in the master strobe. The completion of charging of the slave strobe (hereinafter referred to as “full”) has been notified to the user by issuing a full lamp, which is a slave body member, or an auxiliary light signal.

  On the other hand, in recent years, communication devices using radio waves have become widespread, and a configuration has been proposed in which such communication devices are mounted on a strobe of a multi-lamp control system to enable bidirectional communication (Patent Document 1, Patent Document). 2). In this case, since the master strobe or the camera main body can acquire slave information from the slave strobe, the user can recognize the completion by the display member of the camera main body or the master strobe attached to the camera.

JP 2000-089307 A JP 2010-243579 A

  However, when radio wave communication is used, a communication collision may occur if release control communication from the master strobe and slave information communication from the slave strobe occur at the same time. When such a collision occurs, communication propagation is hindered, and there is a possibility that slave light emission cannot be controlled appropriately.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to make it possible to avoid a collision between communication for release control from a master side device and information communication from a slave strobe in multi-lamp control. .

In order to achieve the above object, a strobe device according to a position aspect of the present invention comprises the following arrangement. That is,
A strobe device having wireless communication means capable of wireless two-way communication with an external device,
Setting means for setting one of a plurality of operation modes;
Notification means for notifying the external device of the completion of charging via the wireless communication means;
Light emitting means for emitting a strobe in response to a light emission instruction received from the external device via the wireless communication means;
And a prohibiting unit that prohibits the notification unit from notifying the completion of charging while a specific operation mode is set by the setting unit.

  According to the present invention, in multi-lamp control, it is possible to more reliably avoid collision between communication for release control from the master side device and information communication from the slave strobe.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example of a strobe device and an imaging device. The figure which shows an example of the multi-lamp system comprised with an imaging device and several flash device. The flowchart which shows the multi-lamp control by embodiment. The flowchart which shows the multi-lamp control by embodiment. The flowchart which shows the multi-lamp control by embodiment.

  Hereinafter, an example of a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a strobe device 100 and an imaging device 200 as imaging device accessories according to the embodiment. In FIG. 1, an operation / display unit 101 constitutes a user interface in the strobe device 100. The user can issue an operation instruction to the strobe control unit 103 via the operation / display unit 101. The light emitting circuit 102 performs charging, light emission control, and the like of the strobe light emitting unit 105, and causes the strobe light emitting unit 105 to emit light when receiving a light emission command from the strobe control unit 103. In addition, the light emitting circuit 102 transmits information indicating completion of charging (charging information) to the strobe control unit 103. The strobe control unit 103 controls the strobe device 100 configured as described above. The strobe control unit 103 controls each unit of the strobe device 100 and communicates with the imaging device 200 that is an external device such as a camera via the interface 104. The strobe light emitting unit 105 includes a strobe light source, a charging unit, and the like.

  The strobe device 100 is equipped with a wireless communication unit 110. Examples of the form of the wireless communication unit 110 include a built-in type incorporated in the flash device 100 and a detachable type in which the wireless communication unit 110 is carded and attached to a card slot provided in the flash device 100. In the present embodiment, the built-in type in which the strobe device 100 includes the wireless communication unit 110 will be described as an example. The antenna 111 performs transmission / reception in wireless communication, transmits data received from the communication partner to the wireless control unit 112, and transmits data received from the wireless control unit 112 to the communication partner. The oscillation circuit 113 includes a crystal oscillator 114, shapes the waveform of the clock signal generated from the crystal oscillator 114, and outputs the shaped clock signal to each circuit in the wireless communication unit 110. Each circuit in the wireless communication unit 110 is synchronized by this clock signal. The wireless communication unit 110 realizes bidirectional wireless communication with a wireless communication unit or a wireless communication device of another strobe device.

  Further, in the imaging apparatus 200, the operation / display unit 201 includes a release switch 211 that receives a release operation, a mode setting switch 212 that is used for a setting operation for setting switching of a camera shooting mode, an LCD panel that performs various displays, and the like. The imaging unit 202 includes an optical system such as a lens and an imaging element, and outputs a signal based on the electric charge accumulated in the imaging element. The image processing unit 205 develops a signal obtained from the imaging unit 202 to generate an image signal (image data). The camera control unit 203 performs overall control of the imaging apparatus 200. The interface 204 is connected to the interface 104 of the strobe device 100 to realize communication between the imaging device 200 and the strobe device 100. Between the imaging device 200 and the flash device 100, a notification of charging completion (charging), a light emission instruction accompanying the operation of the release switch 211, and a notification of the operation mode set by the mode setting switch 212 are performed.

  FIG. 2 shows an imaging system in which a multi-lamp system is formed in which a multi-lamp control method is executed by wirelessly connecting a plurality of strobe devices 100 (100a, 100b, 100c) according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 2, the strobe device 100a is communicably connected to the imaging device 200 and functions as a master strobe. The strobe devices 100b and 100c function as slave strobes connected to the strobe device 100a, which is a master strobe, by wireless communication. Hereinafter, the strobe device 100a is referred to as a master strobe device 100a, and the strobe devices 100b and 100c are referred to as slave strobe devices 100b and 100c. The imaging device 200 and the master strobe device 100a are physically connected by the interfaces 104 and 204, and communication is performed via this connection. The master strobe device 100a and the slave strobe devices 100b and 100c form a strobe system as a multi-lamp system, and it can be said that this strobe system is connected to the imaging device 200 to form an imaging system.

  The operation / display units 101 (101a to 101c) of the master strobe device 100a and slave strobe devices 100b to 100c perform various settings and display related to light emission in each strobe device. In addition, the operation / display unit 201 of the imaging apparatus 200 performs release operation reception, camera shooting mode switching setting and display, slave flash information display, and the like. In this embodiment, two slave strobes are used, but three or more may be used.

  In the present embodiment, the master strobe device 100a and the slave strobe devices 100b and 100c have the same configuration as shown in FIG. 1, that is, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the slave strobe devices 100b and 100c may have a configuration in which the interface 104 for communicating with the imaging device 200 is omitted, and may be provided exclusively for the slave strobe. Also, when the master strobe device 100a and the slave strobe devices 100b and 100c have the same configuration, designation as to function as a master or as a slave may be made by operating the operation / display unit 101 or externally. This may be done by communication with the device. When the master / slave is set by communication with the external device, for example, the following may be performed. That is, the strobe device that detects the connection to the imaging device 200 sets itself as a master strobe, and the strobe device connected to the master strobe by wireless communication sets itself as a slave strobe. Further, the present invention can be applied to the imaging apparatus 200 regardless of whether it is a film camera or a digital camera.

  It can also be considered that the imaging device 200 and the master flash device 100a constitute a master side device (slave control device) that controls the slave flash devices 100b and 100c. In the master side device, all of the functions of the master strobe device 100a described later may be incorporated in the imaging device 200. Alternatively, the imaging device 200 may execute a function as a master side device excluding the strobe function of the master strobe device 100a, and all strobe devices of the multi-lamp system may function as slave strobes. Further, instead of the master flash, a wireless communication device that does not have a light emitting unit may be connected to the imaging device 200 to perform wireless communication with the slave flash.

1. Camera Side Control FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining strobe control executed in the imaging apparatus 200. In the camera control unit 203 of the imaging apparatus 200, for example, the following processing is realized when a computer executes a program stored in a memory. In the camera control unit 203, part or all of the processing described below may be realized by a dedicated hardware circuit.

  In step S <b> 101, the camera control unit 203 causes the user to set one of a plurality of settable operation modes using the mode setting switch 212 of the operation / display unit 201. In the camera control unit 203 of the present embodiment, the user can select either release priority as the first operation mode or completion priority as the second operation mode. Note that the release priority in the present embodiment refers to a camera shooting mode in which the camera can perform exposure control even when the strobe device 100 is not in a light emission enabled state. The charge priority is a camera shooting mode in which the camera can perform exposure control only when the flash device 100 is ready to emit light (charging is complete).

  If release priority is set, the process proceeds to step S102. In step S102, the camera control unit 203 notifies the master strobe device 100a via the interface 104 that the release priority has been set. On the other hand, if the full priority is set, the process proceeds to step S103. In step S103, the camera control unit 203 notifies the master strobe device 100a via the interface 104 that the completion priority has been set.

  The operation / display unit 201 of the imaging apparatus 200 includes a release switch 211 used for a shooting operation instructing start of shooting. In the following description, the signal SW1 is turned on by half-pressing the release switch 211, and all the release switches 211 are turned on. It is assumed that the signal SW2 is turned on by pressing. In step S104, the camera control unit 203 determines whether or not the signal SW1 from the release switch 211 is on. If the signal SW1 is on, the process proceeds to step S105. If the signal SW1 is not on, the process is performed. Return to step S101. In step S105, the camera control unit 203 checks the completion information of the slave strobe devices 100a, 100b, and 100c through communication with the master strobe device 100a. If all the strobe devices are full, the process is performed. The process proceeds to step S107. On the other hand, if there is at least one unsatisfied strobe device, the process proceeds to step S106, and the camera control unit 203 obtains completion information (including completion information on the master strobe device and slave strobe device) from the master strobe. For communication (see S202).

  In the present embodiment, in step S105, the imaging device 200 collects the full information of each of the strobe devices 100a, 100b, and 100c, and determines whether all the strobe devices are in a full state. Therefore, although not described in the flowchart of FIG. 3, the imaging device 200 acquires the number of strobe devices forming the multi-lamp system at the time of initialization. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, a multi-flash system is configured with one master strobe and two slave strobes, and the total number of strobes = 3 is stored in a RAM (not shown) of the imaging apparatus 200. As will be described later, the completion information of the slave strobe devices 100b and 100c can be acquired from the master strobe device 100a. Therefore, for example, the camera control unit 203 can determine whether or not the charging of all the strobe devices has been completed by counting the number of completion information received from the master strobe device 100a. Note that the master flash device 100a may transmit the charging completion to the imaging device 200 when the charging of the master flash device 100a is completed and the charging completion of all the connected slave flash devices is received. With such a configuration, the camera control unit 203 only needs to check the completion information from the master strobe device 100a in step S105, and it is not necessary to acquire the total number of strobes.

  In step S107, the camera control unit 203 determines whether or not the release switch of the operation / display unit 201 is fully pressed, that is, whether or not the signal SW2 is on. If the signal SW2 is off, the process returns to step S104 and the above-described process is repeated. If the signal SW2 is on, the process proceeds to step S108. In step S108, the camera control unit 203 determines whether the operation mode set in step S101 is release priority or charge priority. In the release priority mode, the process proceeds to step S110 in order to immediately start exposure control (that is, photographing) regardless of whether or not all the strobe devices are in a full state. On the other hand, if the set operation mode is the full mode, the process proceeds to step S109.

  When full priority is given, shooting is performed after confirming the completion of all of the master flash device 100a and slave flash devices 100b and 100c. Therefore, first, in step S109, the camera control unit 203 determines whether all the strobe devices are full. As described above, in the present embodiment, it is determined whether all of one master strobe and two slave strobes are complete. When it is confirmed that all the strobes are full, the camera control unit 203 proceeds to step S110 to start exposure control, that is, photographing. On the other hand, if there is at least one unsatisfied strobe, the process proceeds to step S111, and the camera control unit 203 performs communication for acquiring full information from the master strobe as in step S106 (see S202). Run and wait for all strobes to fill.

  In step S110, the camera control unit 203 starts exposure control (photographing by the imaging unit 202). In order to synchronize the light emission by the strobe devices 100a, 100b, and 100c and the photographing by the imaging unit 202, the camera control unit 203 sends an exposure control instruction (light emission instruction) to the master strobe device 100a via the interface 204 before the start of exposure control. Send. Next, the camera control unit 203 performs exposure for a predetermined shutter time. After the exposure is completed, the camera control unit 203 develops a signal based on the electric charge accumulated in the image pickup device in the image pickup unit 202. Then, the image data generated by the development process is recorded on the recording medium, and the photographing operation is completed. By transmitting the light emission instruction, the master flash device 100a and the slave flash devices 100b and 100c emit light at the start of the main exposure control.

  In the above processing, communication with the master strobe device 100a is performed during the period from when the signal SW1 is turned on until all the strobe devices are completed (S105) or until the signal SW2 is turned on (S107). (S106). However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, it may be periodically checked until the signal SW2 is turned on after the signal SW1 is turned on (S107). In this case, step S105 can be omitted. Further, when the priority setting is release priority, acquisition or determination of completion information (steps S105 and S106) may be omitted.

2. Control of Master Strobe Device 100a FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining processing by the strobe control unit 103 of the master strobe device 100a. For example, when the operation / display unit 101 designates the master side, the strobe device 100 operates as a master strobe. Alternatively, when it is detected that the flash device 100a is connected to the imaging device 200 via the interface 104, it may be automatically determined to be the master flash device. The strobe control unit 103 implements each control described in the present embodiment, for example, when a computer executes a program stored in a memory. Alternatively, some or all of the controls described in the present embodiment may be realized by dedicated hardware.

  In step S201, the strobe control unit 103 of the master strobe device 100a performs wireless communication using the wireless communication unit 110 with all slave strobe devices, and acquires completion information from each slave strobe device. In this embodiment, completion information is acquired from each of the two slave strobe devices 100b and 100c. The acquired completion information is stored in a RAM (not shown) in the master strobe device 100a. In step S <b> 202, the strobe control unit 103 performs communication processing with the imaging apparatus 200 via the interface 104. In communication with the imaging apparatus 200, for example, mode communication for operation mode information (release priority / charge priority), completion acquisition communication for charge information indicating completion of the flash device, and start of shooting (light emission) Exposure control communication for (instruction). In the completion acquisition communication, the completion information of the master strobe device 100a itself and the completion information of the slave strobe devices 100b and 100c are transmitted to the camera side.

  Data indicating whether release priority or charge completion priority by mode communication from the imaging apparatus 200 and exposure control instruction (light emission instruction) by exposure control communication are both stored in a RAM (not shown) in the master flash device 100a. In step S203, the flash control unit 103 compares the operation mode acquired by the mode communication of the camera communication process in step S202 with the priority setting so far, and determines whether there is a change. If there is a change, the process proceeds to step S204, and if not, the process proceeds to step S207. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the default value of the priority setting in the operation mode is release priority, and when the completion priority is received by mode communication, the process proceeds to step S204 because the priority setting is changed. The default value may be full priority. If the operation mode received through mode communication is release priority, the process proceeds from step S204 to step S205. If the operation mode received through mode communication is completion priority, the process proceeds from step S204 to step S206. Thereafter, the current priority setting is compared with the operation mode received this time, and if they are different, the process proceeds to step S204.

  If the operation mode designation from the camera is release priority in step S204, the process proceeds to step S205. In step S205, the flash control unit 103 notifies the slave flash devices 100b and 100c of the release priority setting. On the other hand, in step S206, the strobe control unit 103 notifies the slave strobe devices 100b and 100c of the setting for full priority. The notification of the priority setting in steps S205 and S206 is made when the wireless communication unit 110 that performs radio wave communication transmits operation mode information simultaneously. In step S207, it is determined whether or not an exposure control instruction (light emission instruction) has been issued from the imaging apparatus 200. If there is a light emission instruction, the process proceeds to step S208. If there is no light emission instruction, the process returns to step S201.

  In step S208, the strobe control unit 103 sends a release control notification and transmits a light emission instruction to the slave strobe devices 100b and 100c. In the release control notification, the wireless communication unit 110 that performs radio wave communication broadcasts a light emission instruction. In step S209, the strobe control unit 103 issues a light emission command to the light emitting circuit 102 in the apparatus, and drives the strobe light emitting unit 105 to start light emission.

3. Control of Slave Strobe Devices 100b and 100c FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining processing by the strobe controller 103 of the slave strobe devices 100b and 100c. For example, when the operation / display unit 101 designates the slave side, the strobe device 100 operates as a slave strobe. Alternatively, setting as a slave strobe may be performed by communication with the master strobe device 100a. Alternatively, it may be detected that the imaging apparatus 200 is not connected to the interface 104 and automatically set to the slave strobe.

  In step S301, the flash control unit 103 performs radio wave reception processing from the master flash device 100a. In the present embodiment, the wireless communication unit 110 receives information on an operation mode (release priority / charge priority) and a light emission instruction transmitted from the master flash device 100a. The operation mode information and the light emission instruction are stored in a RAM (not shown) in the slave strobe devices 100b and 100c. In step S302, if the operation mode based on the received information is in charge of completion, the strobe controller 103 proceeds to step S303 and waits for a full state. When the own flash unit 105 has completed charging, the process proceeds from step S303 to step S304, and the flash control unit 103 notifies the master flash device 100a of the completion of charging via the wireless communication unit 110. Complete information to send. If it is not fully charged, the process returns to step S302.

  On the other hand, if the operation mode based on the information received in step S301 is release priority, the completion notification to the master strobe device 100a is prohibited, and the above-described steps S303 and S304 are skipped. At this time, the wireless communication unit 110 that has been performing the bidirectional communication may be controlled so that the master side device performs the one-way communication led by the master side device, and the communication to the master strobe is not performed at all. In step S305, the flash controller 103 determines whether or not an exposure control instruction (flash instruction) has been received from the master flash device 100a. If it has been received, the process proceeds to step S306. The process returns to step S301.

  In step S <b> 306, the strobe control unit 103 issues a light emission command to the light emitting circuit 102 in the strobe device 100 to start light emission driving. When the light emission control is completed, conditional branching by priority setting is performed in step S307. If the priority setting is full priority, the process proceeds to step S308. In step S308, the strobe control unit 103 performs charging information on its strobe to the master strobe by radio communication. Since this step is immediately after light emission, it is often not fully charged. In this case, the estimated charging time may be transmitted by radio wave communication. When the estimated charging time is transmitted, the master strobe device 100a sets a timer, and when the estimated time elapses, sets the completion information of the corresponding slave strobe. Note that step S308 is immediately after light emission, and is generally a section in which the next exposure control is not performed from the imaging apparatus 200 side. In addition, in order to determine the time of this section, an exposure prohibition time is acquired from the imaging device 200 side via the master strobe device 100a at the time of initialization, and a full communication is performed to the master strobe device 100a within that time. Also good.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, in the multi-lamp control system capable of acquiring information from the slave strobe, until the completion notification from the slave strobe device to the master side device is completed, the master side device Release control communication is not performed. Therefore, it is possible to prevent a failure in the light emission control of the slave strobe without collision between the release control communication from the master side device and the communication from the slave strobe.

  Also, a plurality of operation modes are provided, and in the case of a specific operation mode, the slave strobe device does not perform release control communication until the completion notification from the slave strobe device to the master side device is completed. Is not allowed to notify the master device. Therefore, in an operation mode in which shooting with the release switch is prioritized, the slave flash unit is not affected by the collision between the release control communication from the master side device and the communication from the slave flash unit without waiting for the shooting until the completion notification is completed. It is possible to prevent light emission control failure.

  The charging completion in the above embodiment does not have to be in a charged state until the charging voltage of the strobe device reaches the upper limit value, but in a state in which a charging voltage sufficient to cause the strobe device to emit light is charged ( (A state capable of emitting light). In other words, the charging completion information may be transmitted when charging is performed to reach the light emission enabled state, and the charging may be continued until the charging voltage reaches the upper limit value even after the transmission of the charging completion information.

  As mentioned above, although preferable embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to these embodiment, A various deformation | transformation and change are possible within the range of the summary.

  The present invention can also be realized by executing the following processing. That is, software (program) that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or apparatus via a network or various storage media, and a computer (or CPU, MPU, or the like) of the system or apparatus reads the program. It is a process to be executed.

Claims (12)

A strobe device having wireless communication means capable of wireless two-way communication with an external device,
Setting means for setting one of a plurality of operation modes;
Notification means for notifying the external device of the completion of charging via the wireless communication means;
Light emitting means for emitting a strobe in response to a light emission instruction received from the external device via the wireless communication means;
A strobe device comprising: prohibiting means for prohibiting notification of charging completion by the notifying means while a specific operation mode is set by the setting means.   The strobe device according to claim 1, wherein the setting unit sets an operation mode according to a signal received from the external device via the wireless communication unit.   3. The strobe according to claim 1, wherein the prohibiting unit causes the wireless communication unit to perform one-way communication led by the external device while the specific operation mode is set. apparatus. A strobe system having a master strobe device capable of communicating with an imaging device and a slave strobe device capable of two-way wireless communication with the master strobe device,
The slave strobe device
Setting means for setting one of a plurality of operation modes;
Notification means for notifying the master strobe device of the completion of charging via the wireless communication;
Light emitting means for emitting a strobe in response to a light emission instruction received from the master strobe device via the wireless communication;
While the specific operation mode is set by the setting means, a prohibition means for prohibiting notification of the completion of charging by the notification means,
The master strobe device
Transmitting means for transmitting a signal indicating completion of charging of the strobe system to the imaging device based on the charging completion notified by the notification means from the slave strobe device and the state of charging of the master strobe device;
A strobe system comprising: a control unit that drives a strobe light source in accordance with an instruction from the imaging apparatus and transmits the light emission instruction to the slave strobe apparatus via the wireless communication.   When the plurality of slave strobe devices are connected to the master strobe device by the wireless communication, the transmission means is in a state of being charged, and the completion of charging is notified from all of the plurality of slave strobe devices. The strobe system according to claim 4, wherein a signal indicating completion of charging of the strobe system is transmitted to the imaging apparatus. An imaging system having a master side device including an imaging device, and a strobe device capable of bidirectional wireless communication with the master side device,
Setting means for setting any one of a plurality of operation modes including a first operation mode and a second operation mode in the master side device and the strobe device;
Notification means for notifying the master side device of completion of charging from the strobe device via the wireless communication;
In the strobe device, light emitting means for emitting a strobe in response to a light emission instruction received from the master side device via the wireless communication,
In the strobe device, while the first operation mode is set by the setting means, prohibiting means for prohibiting notification of completion of charging by the notification means;
In the master side device, when the first operation mode is set, regardless of whether or not the completion of charging is notified, the light emission instruction is transmitted by the wireless communication in accordance with a user's photographing operation and photographed. And a control means for executing transmission of the light emission instruction and photographing after confirming the notification of the completion of charging when the second operation mode is set. . The setting means includes
In the imaging apparatus, means for setting one of the plurality of operation modes according to a user setting operation;
The imaging system according to claim 6, further comprising: a unit that notifies the strobe device of an operation mode set according to the setting operation. The master side device has a master strobe device connected to the imaging device,
The imaging system according to claim 6, wherein the master strobe device performs the wireless communication with the strobe device. The control means includes
In the master strobe device, when it is in a state where charging is completed and when charging completion is notified from all of the strobe devices connected by the wireless communication, a signal indicating charging completion is transmitted to the imaging device,
In the imaging device, when the first operation mode is set, transmission of the light emission instruction and shooting are performed regardless of whether a signal indicating charging completion is received from the master strobe device, 9. When the operation mode of 2 is set, transmission of the light emission instruction and photographing are executed after confirming that a signal indicating completion of charging has been received from the master strobe device. The imaging system described. A control method of a strobe device having a wireless communication means capable of wireless two-way communication with an external device,
A step of setting one of a plurality of operation modes by the setting means;
A notification means notifying the external device of the completion of charging via the wireless communication means;
A step of causing the light emitting means to emit a strobe in response to a light emission instruction received from the external device via the wireless communication means;
And a step of prohibiting a charging completion notification by the notifying step while a specific operation mode is set by the setting step. A multi-flash control method for a strobe system having a master strobe device capable of communicating with an imaging device and a slave strobe device capable of bidirectional wireless communication with the master strobe device,
In the slave strobe device,
A step of setting one of a plurality of operation modes by the setting means;
A notification means notifying the master strobe device of the completion of charging via the wireless communication;
A step of emitting a strobe in response to a light emission instruction received from the master strobe device via the wireless communication;
A step of prohibiting the notification of the completion of charging by the step of notifying while the specific operation mode is set by the step of setting the prohibiting means;
In the master strobe device,
A step of transmitting a signal indicating completion of charging of the strobe system to the imaging device based on the charging completion notified by the notification unit from the slave strobe device and the charging state of the master strobe device;
And a step of driving a strobe light source in response to an instruction from the imaging device and transmitting the light emission instruction to the slave strobe device via the wireless communication. Method. A multi-light control method for an imaging system comprising: a master side device including an imaging device; and a strobe device capable of bidirectional wireless communication with the master side device,
A setting means for setting any one of a plurality of operation modes including a first operation mode and a second operation mode in the master side device and the strobe device;
The step of notifying the strobe device of the completion of charging to the master side device via the wireless communication,
A step of causing the light emitting means of the strobe device to emit a strobe in response to a light emission instruction received from the master side device via the wireless communication;
A step of prohibiting charging completion notification by the notifying step while the prohibiting means of the strobe device sets the first operation mode by the setting step;
When the first operation mode is set, the control unit of the master side device transmits the light emission instruction through the wireless communication according to the user's photographing operation regardless of whether the charging completion is notified or not. And, when the second operation mode is set, after confirming the notification of the completion of charging, performing the transmission of the light emission instruction and the photographing. Multi-light control method to do.

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