JP2014176057A - Imaging apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an imaging apparatus capable of suppressing the generation of overexposure in stroboscopic light emission.SOLUTION: After setting an exposure condition (aperture diaphragm amount and the like) on the basis of photometric data for a half-depression operation, a red-eye reduction light emission is performed in response to a full-depression operation to determine whether it is necessary to change the aperture diaphragm amount depending on the photometric data for the red-eye reduction light emission. When the overexposure is anticipated, a pre-emission is performed after increasing the aperture diaphragm amount (e.g., narrowing down the aperture diaphragm). After setting the emission amount etc., for the main emission on the basis of the pre-emission photometric data, the main emission is performed for imaging the object.

Description

  The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus.

  When taking an image with strobe light emission, the captured image obtained may be overexposed due to a short distance between the subject and the imaging device. As a method of preventing overexposure during flash emission, the distance between the subject and the imaging device is calculated from the focus lens position information by autofocus before the flash emission. If the calculated distance is short, an aperture (an optical member for adjusting the incident light amount) ). However, in a dark place, the accuracy of distance measurement through autofocus is low, and the proper state of the aperture may not be estimated correctly. In general, auto-focusing is performed after half-pressing the shutter button, but if the subject moves after half-pressing and the distance between the subject and the imaging device changes, the distance calculated after half-pressing is the distance at which the flash fires. Because they are different, the exposure may be inappropriate.

  In consideration of this, in Patent Document 1 below, in an imaging apparatus that controls the main light emission amount based on photometry data obtained at the time of pre-emission, the aperture is narrowed when the photometry data at the time of pre-emission is higher than a predetermined level. The pre-flash is performed again. At this time, the pre-flash is repeatedly executed until the photometry data at the time of pre-flash does not exceed a predetermined level.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-21961

  However, the method of Patent Document 1 requires two or more pre-emissions only for narrowing down the aperture aiming at avoiding overexposure (only for optimizing the optical member for adjusting the amount of incident light). I can't say that.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an imaging apparatus capable of efficiently optimizing the state of an incident light amount adjusting optical member when photographing with light emission.

  An imaging apparatus according to the present invention includes an imaging element that outputs an image signal of a subject according to incident light, an imaging unit that has an optical member for adjusting the amount of incident light on the imaging element, and a subject. Photometry data acquired at the time of the sub-light emission by causing the light-emission unit to illuminate the subject, a light-emitting unit that irradiates the subject with light, and causing the light-emitting unit to perform main light emission following the sub-light emission. An imaging device comprising: a control unit that controls a light emission amount of the main light emission based on the first light emission to the light emitting unit before the sub light emission. The optical member is controlled before the sub-light emission based on the photometric data acquired at the time of the previous light emission.

  In the above configuration, before the sub-light emission for the light emission control of the main light emission, the preceding light emission having a light emission condition different from that of the sub-light emission is executed. For this reason, for example, the former stage light emission can be made light emission suitable for red-eye reduction. Then, since the above-mentioned optical member (aperture, etc.) can be controlled before the secondary light emission using the light emission that is essentially necessary for reducing red-eye, there is no wasteful light emission and the optical member is efficiently State optimization can be achieved, and as a result, overexposure and the like can be avoided. In addition, when the pre-stage light emission is used for the purpose of reducing red-eye, the time between the pre-stage light emission and the pre-light emission is appropriately increased in order to appropriately obtain the red-eye reduction effect (to ensure the pupil reduction period). Therefore, it is possible to sufficiently secure the control time of the optical member (stop driving time, etc.). In other words, it is efficient because the optical member is controlled (such as driving the diaphragm) using the time that must be waited to obtain the red-eye reduction effect.

  Another imaging apparatus according to the present invention includes an imaging element that outputs an image signal of a subject according to incident light, and an imaging unit that has an optical member for adjusting the amount of incident light with respect to the imaging element and performs imaging A photometric unit that acquires photometric data according to subject brightness, a light emitting unit that irradiates light to the subject, and a main unit that causes the light emitting unit to perform main light emission following the sub light emission. A control unit that controls a light emission amount of the main light emission based on photometric data, wherein the control unit causes the light emission unit to execute the sub-light emission only once and performs the sub-light emission. The optical member is controlled before the main light emission based on the photometric data acquired in step (b).

  According to the above configuration, since the sub-emission only needs to be performed once, it is possible to efficiently optimize the state of the optical member, and as a result, overexposure and the like can be avoided.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an imaging apparatus capable of efficiently optimizing the state of the incident light amount adjusting optical member when photographing with light emission.

1 is a configuration block diagram of a digital camera according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is an internal block diagram of the imaging part in the digital camera of FIG. 3 is an operation flowchart of the digital camera according to the first embodiment of the present invention. It is an operation | movement flowchart of the digital camera which concerns on 2nd Example of this invention.

  Hereinafter, an example of an embodiment of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings. In each of the drawings to be referred to, the same part is denoted by the same reference numeral, and redundant description regarding the same part is omitted in principle. In this specification, for simplification of description, a symbol or reference that refers to information, signal, physical quantity, state quantity, member, or the like is written to indicate information, signal, physical quantity, state quantity or Names of members and the like may be omitted or abbreviated.

  FIG. 1 is a configuration block diagram of a digital camera (imaging apparatus) 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. A digital camera (hereinafter may be abbreviated as “camera”) 1 includes respective parts referred to by reference numerals 11 to 18.

  FIG. 2 is an internal configuration diagram of the imaging unit 11. The imaging unit 11 includes an imaging element 33, a driver 34, and an optical system 35. The image sensor 33 is a solid-state image sensor composed of a charge coupled device (CCD) or a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor. The optical system 35 includes a plurality of lenses including a zoom lens 30 for adjusting the focal length and a focus lens 31 for focusing, and an optical member 32 for adjusting and limiting the amount of light incident on the image sensor 33. . The driver 34 is formed by a motor or the like, and moves the lenses 30 and 31 and controls the amount of light incident on the image sensor 33 through the control of the optical member 32 based on a drive control signal from the main control unit 13. Light from the imaging region (light from the subject) is incident on the image sensor 33 via the optical system 35. The image sensor 33 generates and outputs an image signal of a subject corresponding to incident light by photoelectric conversion. That is, the imaging unit 11 generates and outputs an image signal of a captured image by capturing a subject using the image sensor 33. The subject can include a person.

  The optical member 32 may be a mechanical diaphragm (iris diaphragm) inserted between the subject and the image sensor 33 as shown in FIG. However, the optical member 32 may be an ND filter (a neutral density filter) that can be inserted between the subject and the image sensor 33. When an ND filter is inserted between the subject and the image sensor 33, the amount of light incident on the image sensor 33 is reduced according to the light attenuation rate of the ND filter. Hereinafter, the term “aperture amount” is introduced with respect to the optical member 32. The amount of incident light on the image sensor 33 decreases as the aperture amount increases, and the amount of incident light on the image sensor 33 increases as the aperture amount decreases. When the optical member 32 is a stop, the F value of the optical system 35 corresponds to the stop amount.

  The main control unit 13 can adjust the aperture amount in a plurality of stages by driving and controlling the optical member 32 via the driver 34. When the optical member 32 is a stop, the stop amount is increased by narrowing the opening amount of the stop. The optical member 32 can be formed of one or more ND filters. In this case, the main control unit 13 inserts an ND filter between the subject and the image sensor 33 via the driver 34 for each ND filter. It is possible to control whether or not. When the optical member 32 is composed of one ND filter, the amount of aperture is increased by inserting an ND filter that has not been inserted between the subject and the image sensor 33 between the subject and the image sensor 33. When the optical member 32 is composed of a plurality of ND filters, the aperture amount is increased by increasing the number of ND filters inserted between the subject and the image sensor 33. In the following, inserting the ND filter between the subject and the image sensor 33 is simply expressed as inserting the ND filter.

  The signal processing unit 12 performs predetermined signal processing (A / D conversion, noise reduction processing, demosaicing processing, etc.) on the output signal of the imaging unit 11 (that is, the output signal of the imaging device 33), thereby taking a captured image. Image data (YUV data or compressed image data) is generated. The main control unit 13 is formed by a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), and the like, and follows various instructions and operations input to the operation unit 16, while in the camera 1. Centrally control the operation of each part. The display unit 14 includes a display screen composed of a liquid crystal display panel or the like, and displays a photographed image or the like under the control of the main control unit 13. The recording medium 15 is a non-volatile recording medium formed by a semiconductor memory, a magnetic disk, or the like, and records image data of a captured image under the control of the main control unit 13.

  The operation unit 16 is formed of a mechanical operation member such as a mechanical push button switch or a dial and / or a touch panel that can be provided on the display unit 14, and receives various instructions and operations from the photographer. The operation unit 16 is provided with a shutter button SB. The shutter button SB may be a button on a touch panel that can be provided on the display unit 14, but here, it is assumed that the shutter button SB is formed by a mechanical push button switch. The shutter button SB can accept a two-step pushing operation. Starting from a state in which the button SB is not pressed at all, an operation of pushing the button SB by a predetermined amount is called a half-press operation, and an operation of pushing the button SB by a predetermined amount after the half-press operation is called a full-press operation. An input of a full press operation on the operation unit 16 corresponds to a still image shooting instruction. A captured image as a still image acquired by the imaging unit 11 in response to an input of a full press operation is particularly referred to as a target image.

  The photometry unit 17 performs photometry processing at an arbitrary timing. Photometric processing refers to processing for measuring subject luminance indicating the brightness of a subject and obtaining photometric data corresponding to the subject luminance. The photometric unit 17 can perform photometric processing based on the output signal of the image sensor 33 or using a photometric sensor (not shown) that can measure subject luminance other than the image sensor 33.

  The light-emitting unit 18 is a light-emitting device that emits light to illuminate the subject (that is, a light-emitting device that irradiates the subject with strobe light), and includes an arbitrary light source such as a xenon lamp or an LED (Light Emitting Diode). In the light emitting unit 18, the amount of light emission (that is, the amount of light emitted from the light emitting unit 18) is variable. A light emission control unit (not shown) included in the main control unit 13 controls the light emission timing and the light emission amount of the light emitting unit 18.

<< First Example >>
A first embodiment relating to a photographing operation using the light emitting unit 18 will be described. In the first embodiment, it is assumed that a subject is included in the subject, and light emission for red-eye reduction (hereinafter referred to as red-eye reduction light emission) is used during shooting. A captured image based on an output signal of the image sensor 33 when main light emission described later is performed corresponds to a target image (the same applies to a second example described later).

  FIG. 3 is an operation flowchart of the camera 1 according to the first embodiment, which performs photographing with the light emission of the light emitting unit 18. First, in response to a half-press operation being input to the button SB, the process of step S11 is executed. In step S11, the photometry unit 17 performs photometry processing, and the main control unit 13 sets an exposure condition using a predetermined program diagram based on photometry data at the time of input of the half-press operation. Also, AF control for adjusting the position of the focus lens 31 so that the subject is in focus based on the output signal of the image sensor 33 (so that an image of the subject is formed on the image sensor 33) is also executed in step S11. Is done.

  The exposure conditions set in step S11 include the aperture amount, shutter speed, and shooting sensitivity. The shutter speed is the reciprocal of the exposure time. The exposure time refers to the exposure time of the image sensor 33 when an image signal of an arbitrary captured image is obtained. The photographing sensitivity may be ISO sensitivity (sensitivity defined by International Organization for Standardization) itself, or may be sensitivity according to ISO sensitivity. By adjusting the shooting sensitivity, the amplification factor of the image signal including the luminance signal is adjusted. That is, the signal processing unit 12 can amplify the output signal of the image sensor 33 in the process of generating the image data of the captured image from the output signal of the image sensor 33, and if the imaging sensitivity increases, the magnitude of the amplification also increases. The brightness of the captured image increases. After the process of step S11, unless the main control unit 13 changes the exposure condition (aperture amount, shutter speed, or shooting sensitivity), the exposure condition for each shooting follows the setting contents of step S11. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the shutter speed is fixed at a constant speed.

  In step S11, the main control unit 13 may estimate the distance between the subject and the camera 1 from the position of the focus lens 31 designated by the AF control, and set the aperture amount in consideration of the estimated distance. However, it is assumed that the aperture amount set in step S11 is lower than the maximum value of the variable range of aperture amount (ie, the aperture amount of the aperture is not minimum in step S11).

  Next, in response to the full-press operation being input to the button SB, in step S12, the main control unit 13 causes the light-emitting unit 18 to perform red-eye reduction light emission (pre-stage light emission), and in parallel with this, the photometry unit 17 Performs photometric processing. In subsequent step S13, the main control unit 13 determines whether or not the aperture amount needs to be changed based on the photometric data during red-eye reduction light emission. The subject brightness derived from the photometric data during red-eye reduction light emission is represented by symbol B1.

A variable range R _F is defined for the amount of light emitted by the light emission unit 18 to be described later, and a variable range is also defined for the photographing sensitivity R _S of the target image. The main control unit 13 minimizes the light emission amount and minimizes the photographing sensitivity (that is, sets the light emission amount of the main light emission to the minimum value of the predetermined variable range R _F and sets the photographing sensitivity of the target image to the predetermined variable range R). Whether or not the target image is overexposed, even if set to the minimum value of _S , is predicted based on the subject brightness B1.

  Then, the main control unit 13 determines that the aperture amount needs to be changed when it is predicted that the target image will be overexposed. If it is predicted that the target image will not be overexposed, it is not necessary to change the aperture amount. Judge that there is. That the target image is overexposed means that the brightness of the target image becomes brighter than necessary. A boundary between the state in which the target image is overexposed and the state in which the target image is not overexposed can be arbitrarily determined in advance in the camera 1. Simply, for example, when a pixel having the maximum value of the dynamic range of the luminance signal is predicted to exist in the target image (so-called whiteout occurs), the target image may be predicted to be overexposed.

As a specific process, for example, the main control unit 13 compares the subject brightness B1 with a predetermined reference level TH1. For example, when the subject brightness B1 is higher than the reference level TH1, the main control unit 13 predicts that the target image will be overexposed even if the light emission amount is minimized and the photographing sensitivity is minimized, and the aperture amount is changed. On the other hand, if the subject brightness B1 is equal to or lower than the reference level TH1, it is predicted that this is not the case and it is determined that it is not necessary to change the aperture amount. If it is determined that the aperture amount needs to be changed, the process proceeds to step S15 after executing the process of step S14. If it is determined that the aperture amount does not need to be changed, the process proceeds directly to step S15 without going through step S14. To do. In order to predict the occurrence / non-exposure of overexposure, the reference level TH1 may be determined in advance based on the minimum value of the light emission amount variable range R _{F and} the minimum value of the imaging sensitivity variable range R _S. However, since the subject brightness B1 depends on the light emission amount of red-eye reduction light emission, the reference level TH1 may be determined in consideration of the light emission amount of red-eye reduction light emission.

  In step S <b> 14, the main control unit 13 changes the aperture amount so that the amount of light incident on the image sensor 33 decreases, that is, controls the optical member 32 so that the aperture amount increases. The method for increasing the aperture amount is as described above, and the aperture amount is increased by reducing the aperture amount of the aperture or inserting an ND filter. At this time, in order to reliably avoid overexposure of the target image, the amount of increase in the aperture amount (in other words, the image sensor 33 is controlled by the optical member 32 in accordance with the amount that the subject brightness B1 exceeds the reference level TH1. It is preferable to change the amount of decrease in the amount of incident light. That is, when the subject brightness B1 exceeds the reference level TH1, it is better to increase the aperture amount in step S14 as the difference between the subject brightness B1 and the reference level TH1 increases.

  In step S15, the main control unit 13 causes the light emitting unit 18 to perform pre-emission (sub-emission), and in parallel with this, the photometric unit 17 performs photometric processing. In subsequent step S16, the main control unit 13 sets the light emission amount of the main light emission and the photographing sensitivity at the time of photographing the target image based on the photometric data at the time of the pre-light emission. The subject brightness derived from the photometric data at the time of pre-emission is represented by symbol B2. Based on the subject brightness B2, the main control unit 13 sets and controls the light emission amount of the main light emission and the shooting sensitivity at the time of shooting the target image so that the target image with appropriate brightness is shot.

  In subsequent steps S17 and S18, the main control unit 13 causes the light emitting unit 18 to perform main light emission (main light emission) with the set light emission amount, and captures the target image when the main light emission is being performed (main image). A target image is acquired from the output signal of the image sensor 33 when light is emitted). The photographing sensitivity at this time follows the setting content of step S16. The acquired image data of the target image is recorded on the recording medium 15.

  The pre-light emission is intended to optimize the setting of the light emission amount of the main light emission, while the red-eye reduction light emission is intended to narrow the pupil of the person included in the subject. Corresponding to these differences in purpose, the main control unit 13 changes the light emission condition for red-eye reduction light emission from the light emission condition for pre-light emission.

  The light emission conditions may include a light emission amount (light emission intensity), the number of flash emission times, or a light emission color. For example, in order to narrow the pupil of the subject firmly, the main control unit 13 increases the light emission amount of red-eye reduction light emission over the light emission amount of pre-light emission. Alternatively, for example, the main control unit 13 forms red-eye reduction light emission by a plurality of flashes, while forming the pre-light emission by a single flash. That is, for example, in step S12, a plurality of flashes may be emitted from the light emitting unit 18 as red-eye reduction light emission, while in step S15, one flash may be emitted from the light emitting unit 18 as pre-emission.

  In the first embodiment, since the optical member 32 can be controlled before the pre-light emission using the light emission originally necessary for reducing the red-eye, the optical member 32 is efficiently used without unnecessary light emission. The state can be optimized. As a result, it is possible to avoid overexposure and the like efficiently without wasteful light emission. Further, in order to appropriately obtain the red-eye reduction effect (to ensure the pupil reduction period), it is necessary to take a correspondingly long time between the red-eye reduction light emission and the pre-light emission. Therefore, it is possible to sufficiently secure the control time of the optical member 32 (stop driving time, etc.). In other words, the optical member 32 is driven by using the time that must be waited to obtain the red-eye reduction effect, which is efficient (the standby needs to be performed only for driving the optical member 32). Absent).

<< Second Example >>
A second embodiment relating to a photographing operation using the light emitting unit 18 will be described. The matters described in the first embodiment can be applied to the second embodiment as long as there is no contradiction.

  FIG. 4 is an operation flowchart of the camera 1 according to the second embodiment, which performs photographing with light emission of the light emitting unit 18. First, in response to a half-press operation being input to the button SB, the process of step S21 is executed. The process of step S21 is the same as the process of step S11 of FIG. Accordingly, in step S21, exposure conditions (aperture amount, shutter speed, and photographing sensitivity) are set based on photometric data at the time of half-press operation input, and AF control is also executed. After the process of step S21, unless the main control unit 13 changes the exposure condition (aperture amount, shutter speed, or shooting sensitivity), the exposure condition for each shooting follows the setting contents of step S21. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the shutter speed is fixed at a constant speed. In step S21, the main control unit 13 may estimate the distance between the subject and the camera 1 from the position of the focus lens 31 designated by the AF control, and set the aperture amount in consideration of the estimated distance. However, it is assumed that the aperture amount set in step S21 is lower than the maximum value of the variable range of aperture amount.

  Next, in response to the full-press operation being input to the button SB, in step S22, the main control unit 13 causes the light emitting unit 18 to perform pre-emission (sub-emission), and in parallel with this, the photometry unit 17 Perform photometric processing. In the subsequent step S23, the main control unit 13 determines whether or not the aperture amount needs to be changed based on the photometric data at the time of pre-emission in step S22. The subject brightness derived from the photometric data at the time of pre-emission in step S22 is represented by symbol BP. Determining whether or not to change the aperture amount based on the subject luminance BP is the same as determining whether or not to change the aperture amount based on the subject luminance B1 described in the first embodiment.

That is, the main control unit 13 minimizes the light emission amount and minimizes the photographing sensitivity (that is, sets the light emission amount of the main light emission to the minimum value of the predetermined variable range R _F and changes the photographing sensitivity of the target image by the predetermined variable). Whether or not the target image is overexposed (even if set to the minimum value of the range R _S ) is predicted based on the subject brightness BP. Then, the main control unit 13 determines that the aperture amount needs to be changed when it is predicted that the target image will be overexposed. If it is predicted that the target image will not be overexposed, it is not necessary to change the aperture amount. Judge that there is.

As a specific process, for example, the main control unit 13 compares the subject brightness BP with a predetermined reference level TH2. For example, when the subject brightness BP is higher than the reference level TH2, the main control unit 13 predicts that the target image will be overexposed even if the light emission amount is minimized and the photographing sensitivity is minimized, and the aperture amount is changed. On the other hand, if the subject brightness BP is equal to or lower than the reference level TH2, it is predicted that this is not the case, and it is determined that it is not necessary to change the aperture amount. If it is determined that the aperture amount needs to be changed, the process proceeds to step S25 after executing the process of step S24. If it is determined that the aperture amount does not need to be changed, the process proceeds directly to step S25 without going through step S24. To do. In order to predict whether overexposure occurs or not, the reference level TH2 may be determined in advance based on the minimum value of the light emission amount variable range R _{F and} the minimum value of the imaging sensitivity variable range R _S. However, since the subject brightness BP depends on the light emission amount of the pre-light emission, it is preferable to set the reference level TH2 in consideration of the light emission amount of the pre-light emission in step S22.

  In step S24, the main control unit 13 changes the aperture amount so that the amount of light incident on the image sensor 33 decreases, that is, controls the optical member 32 so that the aperture amount increases. The method for increasing the aperture amount is as described above, and the aperture amount is increased by reducing the aperture amount of the aperture or inserting an ND filter. At this time, in order to surely avoid overexposure of the target image, the amount of increase in the aperture amount by the control of the optical member 32 (in other words, to the image sensor 33 is controlled according to the amount that the subject brightness BP exceeds the reference level TH2. It is preferable to change the amount of decrease in the amount of incident light. That is, when the subject brightness BP exceeds the reference level TH2, it is better to increase the aperture amount in step S24 as the difference between the subject brightness BP and the reference level TH2 increases.

  In step S25, the main control unit 13 sets the light emission amount of the main light emission and the photographing sensitivity at the time of photographing the target image based on the subject luminance BP. That is, the main control unit 13 sets and controls the light emission amount of the main light emission and the photographing sensitivity at the time of photographing the target image so that the target image having appropriate brightness is photographed based on the subject brightness BP. . Note that the process of step S25 may be executed before step S24.

  In subsequent steps S26 and S27, the main control unit 13 causes the light emitting unit 18 to perform main light emission (main light emission) with the set light emission amount, and captures a target image when the main light emission is being performed (main book). A target image is acquired from the output signal of the image sensor 33 when light is emitted). The photographing sensitivity at this time follows the setting contents in step S25. The acquired image data of the target image is recorded on the recording medium 15.

  In the second embodiment, pre-emission is performed only once before the main emission. That is, since pre-emission is only required once, the optical member 32 can be efficiently optimized. As a result, it is possible to avoid overexposure and the like efficiently without wasteful light emission.

  The second embodiment is particularly suitable when the optical member 32 is formed of an ND filter. When the optical member 32 is formed of one ND filter, it is preferable to insert an ND filter that has not been inserted between the subject and the image sensor 33 in step S24. When the optical member 32 is formed by a plurality of ND filters, it is preferable to increase the number of ND filters inserted between the subject and the image sensor 33 in step S24.

  When the optical member 32 is a diaphragm, the diaphragm mechanically operates. Therefore, even if an attempt is made to set the aperture of the diaphragm to the designated aperture, the actual aperture is slightly different from the designated aperture every time the diaphragm is driven. Sometimes, the difference between them can change each time the diaphragm is driven. For this reason, when the aperture is driven, it is preferable to perform pre-emission again before the main emission. However, when the optical member 32 is formed of an ND filter, even if the optical member 32 is driven (even when the ND filter is inserted / removed), the amount of light incident on the image sensor 33 is accurately determined every time. . Therefore, even if the optical member 32 is driven, there is little need for pre-light emission again.

<< Deformation, etc. >>
The embodiment of the present invention can be appropriately modified in various ways within the scope of the technical idea shown in the claims. The above embodiment is merely an example of the embodiment of the present invention, and the meaning of the term of the present invention or each constituent element is not limited to that described in the above embodiment. The specific numerical values shown in the above description are merely examples, and as a matter of course, they can be changed to various numerical values.

  In the first and second embodiments described above, the shutter speed is fixed at a constant speed, but the shutter speed at the time of capturing the target image may be variably set based on the photometric data obtained at the time of sub-emission. .

  An arbitrary electronic device (such as a mobile phone, a portable information terminal, a personal computer, an electronic book reader, an electronic dictionary, a game device, or a navigation device) incorporating the digital camera 1 may be formed. The digital camera 1 is a kind of electronic device.

  The target device which is the camera 1 or the main control unit 13 can be configured by hardware such as an integrated circuit or a combination of hardware and software. Arbitrary specific functions that are all or part of the functions realized in the target device are described as a program, the program is stored in a flash memory that can be mounted on the target device, and the program is executed by the program execution device. The specific function may be realized by executing on a microcomputer (for example, a microcomputer that can be mounted on the target device). The program can be stored and fixed on an arbitrary recording medium. The recording medium for storing and fixing the program may be mounted or connected to a device (server device or the like) different from the target device.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Digital camera 11 Imaging part 13 Main control part 17 Photometry part 18 Light emission part 32 Optical member (Optical member for incident light quantity adjustment)
33 Image sensor

Claims (7)

An imaging device that outputs an image signal of a subject according to incident light, and an imaging unit that has an optical member for adjusting the amount of incident light on the imaging device, and
A metering unit that acquires metering data according to the subject brightness;
A light emitting unit for irradiating the subject with light;
A control unit that causes the light-emitting unit to perform main light emission subsequent to sub-light emission, and controls the light emission amount of the main light emission based on photometric data acquired at the time of the sub-light emission,
The control unit causes the light emitting unit to perform pre-stage light emission having a light emission condition different from that of the sub-light emission before the sub-light emission, and based on photometric data acquired at the time of the pre-stage light emission, before the sub light emission, An image pickup apparatus that controls an optical member. The control unit controls the optical member so that the incident light amount is decreased before the sub-emission when the subject luminance based on the photometric data acquired at the time of the previous emission is higher than a predetermined reference level. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1. The control unit is configured to change a decrease amount of the incident light amount by controlling the optical member according to an amount by which subject luminance based on photometric data acquired at the time of the previous stage light emission exceeds the reference level. The imaging device according to claim 2. An imaging device that outputs an image signal of a subject according to incident light, and an imaging unit that has an optical member for adjusting the amount of incident light on the imaging device, and
A metering unit that acquires metering data according to the subject brightness;
A light emitting unit for irradiating the subject with light;
A control unit that causes the light-emitting unit to perform main light emission subsequent to sub-light emission, and controls the light emission amount of the main light emission based on photometric data acquired at the time of the sub-light emission,
The control unit causes the light-emitting unit to execute the sub-light emission only once, and controls the optical member before the main light emission based on photometric data acquired at the time of the sub-light emission. Imaging device. The control unit controls the optical member so that the amount of incident light is reduced before the main light emission when subject luminance based on photometric data acquired at the time of the sub light emission is higher than a predetermined reference level. The imaging apparatus according to claim 4. The control unit is configured to change a decrease amount of the incident light amount by controlling the optical member according to an amount by which subject luminance based on photometric data acquired at the time of the previous stage light emission exceeds the reference level. The imaging device according to claim 5. The optical member comprises a neutral density filter,
The control unit controls whether or not to insert the neutral density filter between the subject and the imaging element based on photometric data acquired at the time of the sub-emission before the main emission, or The imaging apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the number of the neutral density filters inserted between the subject and the imaging element is controlled.

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