JP3405037B2 - Camera display device and camera equipped with the same - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a display device for a camera, and more particularly to a camera having a manual focus mode in which manual focus adjustment is always accepted and a manual focus mode in which manual focus adjustment is accepted after automatic focus adjustment is performed. The present invention relates to a display device for a camera.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a camera having both an FA (focus aid) mode and a DMF (direct manual focus) mode has been known.

Both the FA mode and the DMF mode are modes in which the user manually performs a focus operation to adjust the focus. However, in the FA mode, the focus operation from the user is always accepted, whereas in the DMF mode, the manual focus operation from the user is not accepted until the automatic focus adjustment operation is completed after the release button is pressed.

Which of the two focus modes is selected is shown to the user by being separately displayed on the display unit of the camera.

[0005]

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, the above 2
Since the display in each of the manual focus modes is performed by a separate display unit, the range occupied by the display unit in the conventional camera is wide and the cost of the camera is increased.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and its object is to improve the display method in the manual focus mode, thereby reducing the space of the display unit, It is to reduce the cost of the display device for use.

In order to achieve the object, the purpose of this invention is
That according to one aspect, a camera display, manually only the first manual focus that can perform focus adjustment
Mode and focus adjustment by auto focus
A second manual focus mode capable of manually adjusting the focus after a user-selectable camera, and a display unit for displaying that the manual focus mode is selected. , when the first manual focus mode is selected by the user, a first activation means for activating the display means when the mode is selected, when the second manual focus mode is selected by the user Is Oh
And a second activation unit that activates the display unit after the focus adjustment by the tofocus is performed. Preferably,
The second activation means is the focus adjustment by autofocus.
Manual focus operation was performed after
At times, the display means is activated. From this
According to another aspect of the light, the camera display is manually focused.
The first manual focuser that can perform point adjustment
Mode and focus adjustment by auto focus
The second marker that can be manually adjusted after
Used for cameras with a dual focus mode
A display device for a camera, which has a manual focus mode.
Display means for displaying that the selected mode is selected,
If manual focus mode is selected, the
First activation for activating the display means when a mode is selected
Means and the second manual focus mode is selected
If the manual focus operation is performed,
Second activating means for activating the display means. This
According to still another aspect of the invention, there is provided a camera as described above.
The camera display device according to any one of the above is provided.

[0008] According to this invention, in each of the first and second manual focus mode, different display timing in the display unit. As a result, the user is informed which manual focus mode is selected even with the common display unit, so that it is possible to reduce the space and cost of the display unit.

[0009]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Next, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the same reference numerals indicate the same or corresponding parts.

FIG. 1 shows one embodiment of the present invention.
It is the figure which showed the state which looked down at the single lens reflex camera provided with the zoom lens which can change a focus position with a motor from the front.

Referring to the drawing, the camera is roughly composed of a camera body BD and a detachable lens LE.

The camera body BD has a main switch S.
A slider 11 for turning M on / off, a release button 12, a body display unit (LCD) 6 for displaying a shutter speed, an aperture value, and the like, and a DMF permission / prohibition switch for permitting / prohibiting a DMF operation described later. Prohibition switch SD
With.

By operating the slider 11, when the main switch SM is ON, the camera body BD is in an operable state, and when it is OFF, it is in an inoperable state.

When the release button 12 is pressed in the first step, the photographing preparation switch S1 is turned on, and each operation such as photometry / exposure calculation and autofocus operation is started. Further, the release switch S2 is turned on by pushing the second step, and the exposure control operation is started.

Although not shown, the camera body BD
Further, the switch SC is provided for setting the continuous AF mode.

The continuous AF mode is a mode in which when the focus shifts due to the movement of the object, the focus is chased to continuously focus.

A finder LCD 7 shown in FIG. 8 is provided in the finder provided on the camera body BD.

Referring to FIG. 8, the finder LCD 7 is
A flash mode display unit 21, a manual focus (MF) display unit 22, a focus mark display unit 23, a shutter speed display unit 24, an exposure correction display unit 25, and an aperture value display unit 26 are included.

The focus mark display portion 23 has a central portion 23b.
And a peripheral portion 23a.

Referring to FIG. 1, the lens LE has an AF mode and a manual focus mode (hereinafter referred to as "MF mode").
AF / MF selector switch FA
And an operation ring 15 for focus operation.

The focusing lens is driven by a motor according to the rotation of the operation ring 15 and the rotation direction thereof.

Although not shown, the operating ring 15 is provided with a switch PF which is turned on when the operating ring 15 is operated.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the control unit of the single-lens reflex camera shown in FIG.

Referring to the drawing, the control section is roughly composed of a body section CPU (BCPU) 1 for controlling the camera body,
Lens unit CPU (LCPU) 8 for controlling the lens unit
Composed of and.

The body CPU 1 has a display controller 5 for performing various displays for the user, a focus detector 2 for detecting the focus state based on the output of the CCD, and the intensity of light incident through the lens. The photometric unit 3 for measurement, the exposure control unit 4 for controlling the exposure of the camera, and the switch S described above.
M, S1, S2, SD and SC are connected.

A body display section 6 and a finder LCD 7 are connected to the display control section 5.

On the other hand, the lens unit CPU 8 includes a lens driving unit 9 for driving the focusing lens by the motor M,
Encoder 10 for detecting the position of the focusing lens
And the above-mentioned switches PF and FA are connected.

The body CPU1 and the lens CPU8 are connected to each other. Next, features of the single-lens reflex camera according to the present embodiment will be described.

In the single-lens reflex camera according to the present embodiment, it is possible to set the auto focus mode and the manual focus mode.

Further, as the manual focus mode, the user can select two modes described in (1) and (2) below.

(1) FA (Focus Aid) Mode Although the focus operation is performed by a person, the in-focus state is automatically detected and displayed.

(2) DMF (Direct Manual Focus) Mode This is a mode in which a manual focus operation from the user is accepted after the camera is brought into focus by the auto focus function.

That is, in the FA mode, the user can always perform the focus operation. On the other hand, in the DMF mode, the user presses the release button to perform the AF operation, and the manual focus operation from the user is not accepted until the AF operation is completed. In the DMF mode, it is possible to finely adjust the focus manually after focusing by the AF operation. Therefore, the user can easily perform the focus operation after the AF operation without switching the setting from the AF mode to the manual focus mode.

Further, the user can set the continuous AF mode by turning on the switch SC. The single-lens reflex camera in the present embodiment does not accept a manual focus operation from the user when the continuous AF mode is selected in the DMF mode. As a result, when the continuous AF mode is selected in the DMF mode, it is possible to continue focusing on a subject whose distance can be measured.

In order to control the camera, the CPU of the single-lens reflex camera in this embodiment executes the processing shown in the flowcharts of FIGS. 3 to 7.

Referring to FIG. 3, the main switch SM is turned on.
When it becomes N, the following flow is executed.

In step S101, the switch S1
Is turned on or not is detected.

While the switch S1 is off, the operation of the DMF is prohibited at step S103, and all the displays on the body display section 6 and the finder LCD 7 are turned off at step S105. Step S10
After the processing in 5, the processing from step S101 is repeated.

If it is detected in step S101 that the switch S1 is turned on, step S101 is executed.
At 107, the charge accumulated in the CCD for the AF operation is integrated and dumped.

In step S109, step S1
Based on the data obtained in 07, AF calculation for calculating the distance for driving the focusing lens and the like is performed.

In step S111, a determination process as to whether or not the AF operation is performed is performed. In step S113, it is determined whether or not the AF flag is set.

If the AF flag is set (YES in S113), A in step S115.
The F process is performed, and the processes from step S101 are repeated.

On the other hand, if it is determined that the AF flag is not set (NO in S113), step S1
AF and DMF processing is performed at 17, and step S101
The process from is repeated.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing the specific processing contents of the AF determination processing (S111) of FIG.

Referring to the drawing, the in-AF flag is cleared in step S201. In step S203, the AF / MF selector switch F provided on the lens LE
It is determined whether A is ON. Switch FA is O
When the value is N, the mode is a mode in which manual focus is always accepted, and therefore the AF flag is cleared and the processing here is terminated.

On the other hand, if NO at step S203,
In step S205, it is determined whether or not the switch PF that is turned on when the focusing operation ring is operated is turned on.

If YES in step S205, it is determined in step S207 whether DMF is permitted.

If YES in step S207, it is determined in step S209 whether the DMF permission / prohibition switch SD is ON.

If NO in step S209, the DMF flag is set in step S211, and the process here is terminated.

If NO in step S205, it is determined in step S213 whether the DMF flag is set. If NO in step S213, the AF flag is set in step S215, and the process here ends.

Further, in step S207, NO or S2
If YES in 09, the processing from step S215 is performed.

If YES in step S213, the process here ends. This is to prevent the AF operation from being performed when the DMF flag is set.

5 and 6 show the AF process (S11 in FIG. 3).
5 is a flowchart showing a specific process in 5).

Referring to the drawing, it is determined in step S301 whether or not the AF lock flag is set. Here, the AF lock flag is a flag for fixing the focus position. When it is determined that the AF lock flag is set (YES in S301)
Ends the processing here.

If NO in step S301, it is determined in step S303 whether the CCD input is low contrast (low contrast). In the low contrast state, the AF operation is not performed.

If YES at step S303,
In step S305, DMF permission is issued, and in step S3
At 07, the central portion 23b of the focus mark display portion 23 is displayed in a blinking manner as shown in FIG. 9 to show the user the low contrast state. After the processing in step S307, the processing here ends.

If NO in step S303, in step S309 the continuous mode selection switch S
C determines whether or not the continuous mode is set.

If YES at step S309,
DMF is prohibited in step S311, and step S31
At 3, it is determined whether or not it is in focus.

If YES in step S313, in step S315, both the central portion 23a and the peripheral portion 23b of the focus mark display portion 23 are lit as shown in FIG. 13 to indicate the focus state to the user. . After the processing in step S315, the processing here ends.

If NO in step S313, it is determined in step S317 whether the distance between the object to be photographed and the camera is within the shortest photographing distance.

If NO in step S317, only the peripheral portion 23b of the focus mark display portion 23 is lit in step S319, indicating to the user that the AF operation in the continuous mode is being performed.

In step S321, the focusing lens is driven, and the process here ends.

On the other hand, if NO in step S309, it is determined in step S323 whether or not the subject is in focus.

If YES at step S323, DMF permission is issued at step S325, and step S327.
Then, as shown in FIG. 11, only the central portion 23a of the focus mark display portion 23 is turned on, and the focus state is shown to the user.
After that, in step S329, the AF lock flag is set, and the process here ends.

If NO in step S323, it is determined in step S331 whether the distance between the object to be imaged and the camera is within the shortest shooting distance.

If NO at step S331, DMF is prohibited at step S333, and at step S335, all the focus mark display portions 23 are turned off.

Thereafter, the lens is driven in step S337, and the processing here is terminated.

When YES is obtained in either step S317 or S331, the processing from step S305 is performed, and it is shown to the user that the object is not within the photographable range.

FIG. 7 shows the FA and DMF processing (S11 in FIG. 3).
7 is a flowchart showing a specific process in 7).

Referring to the figure, in step S401, manual focus display unit 22 is turned on as shown in FIG. This indicates to the user that the focus operation can be performed by operating the operation ring.

In step S403, it is determined whether the incident light is low contrast.

If NO in step S403, it is determined in step S405 whether the distance between the object to be imaged and the camera is within the shortest shooting distance.

If NO in step S405, it is determined in step S407 whether or not it is in focus.

If YES in step S407, only the central portion 23a of the focus mark display portion 23 is turned on as shown in FIG. 11 in step S409, indicating that the user is in focus.

In step S411, it is determined whether or not the switch PF interlocking with the focusing operation ring is ON.

If YES in step S411, it is determined in step S413 whether or not the lens is at the end (a position where it cannot be driven any further).

If YES in step S413, the manual focus display section 22 blinks in step S415 as shown in FIG. 12, and the user is informed that the lens is at the end.

After the processing in step S415, the processing here ends. Note that step S403 or S40
If YES in S5 or NO in S407, the lighting display in step S409 is not performed, and step S4 is performed.
Processing from 11 is performed. This is to indicate to the user that the subject is not in focus or that shooting is not possible.

If NO in step S411, the process here ends. If NO in step S413,
Based on the operation of the focusing operation ring, step S41
In 6 the lens is driven, and the processing here ends.

That is, the control shown in the following (1) to (4) is executed in the single-lens reflex camera according to the present embodiment by the processing in the flowcharts shown in FIG. 3 to FIG. 7.

(1) Display of FA Mode and DMF Mode When the FA mode is selected, the manual focus display section 22 lights up when the FA mode is selected. On the other hand, in the DMF mode, the switch S1 turns off.
When the manual focus operation is performed after the AF operation is performed and the AF operation is performed, the manual focus display unit 2
2 lights up.

By turning on the manual focus display section 22 at the above timing, it is possible to indicate to the user whether the FA mode or the DMF mode is selected on the common display section. it can. Accordingly, in the single-lens reflex camera according to the present embodiment, it is possible to reduce both the space of the display unit and the cost of the camera.

(2) Setting of continuous AF mode While the continuous AF mode is set, the manual focus operation from the user cannot be accepted.
As a result, in the single-lens reflex camera of the present embodiment,
It is possible to keep focusing on a subject that can be used for distance measurement.

Further, when the low contrast state is set in the continuous AF mode, the manual focus operation by the user is released. As a result, the user can easily perform the manual focus operation in the low contrast state, which improves the usability of the camera.

(3) Display of Low Condition State or Short Distance Warning in DMF Mode or FA Mode In the single-lens reflex camera of this embodiment, the DM
When the F mode or the FA mode is selected, only the manual focus display section 22 is turned on even if the low contrast state or the state in which the short distance warning should be issued.
The focus mark indicator does not blink. This gives D
In MF mode or FA mode, if the subject is located in the middle of the in-focus range and out-of-focus range with respect to the camera, even if the focus mark display section blinks It is possible to improve the usability of the device by not erroneously recognizing that it is in the low contrast state or the state where the short distance warning is given.

(4) DMF Mode Inhibit / Allow Switch In the single-lens reflex camera of this embodiment, the user can select whether or not to accept the manual focus operation after the AF operation is completed by the switch. Is. As a result, the user can select whether or not to shift the focus after the AF operation according to his preference, and the usability of the apparatus is improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a single lens reflex camera according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a control unit of the single-lens reflex camera in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a focus operation performed by the camera of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the specific content of AF determination (S111) in FIG.

5 is a flowchart showing the specific contents of AF processing (S115) in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart following on from FIG.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the specific contents of AF and DMF processing (S117) in FIG.

FIG. 8 is a plan view of a finder LCD.

FIG. 9: Viewfinder LC in low contrast state
It is the figure which showed the display content of D.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a display content of the finder LCD 7 in a state where a manual focus operation is possible.

FIG. 11 is a viewfinder L when in a focused state when the manual focus mode is selected.
It is the figure which showed the display content of CD7.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing the display content of the focus LCD 7 when the lens is at the end when the manual focus mode is selected.

FIG. 13 is a viewfinder LCD in a focused state when a continuous AF mode is selected.
It is a figure showing the display contents of No. 7.

[Explanation of symbols]

2 Focus detection section 5 Display controller 6 Body display 7 Finder LCD 15 Focusing operation ring 22 Manual focus (MF) display 23 Focus mark display section

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Reiji Seki 2-3-3 Azuchi-cho, Chuo-ku, Osaka City Osaka International Building Minolta Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Akio Nakamaru 2-3-3 Azuchi-cho, Chuo-ku, Osaka No. 13 Osaka International Building Minolta Co., Ltd. (56) Reference JP-A-63-301927 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G03B 17/18-17/20 G02B 7/28-7/40

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. A first manual focus mode in which the focus can be adjusted only manually, and an auto focus
Manually adjust the focus after the dust is adjusted.
A camera display device used in a user-selectable camera second manual focus mode that can be performed, and display means for displaying that the manual focus mode is selected, the user by the first when the manual focus mode is selected, a first activation means for activating said display means when the mode is selected, when the second manual focus mode is selected by the user, autofocus A display device for a camera, comprising: second activation means for activating the display means after the focus adjustment by the camera is performed. 2. The second starting means is an autofocuser.
Manual focus after the focus adjustment by
When the display operation is performed, the display means can be activated.
The display device for a camera according to claim 1, wherein: 3. A first focus control device capable of manual focus adjustment.
1 manual focus mode and auto focus
After adjusting the focus with the
Has a second manual focus mode
It is a display device for a camera that is used for a camera that displays the manual focus mode.
If the a Shimesuru display means, the first manual focus mode is selected
If the mode is selected, start the display means
And the second manual focus mode is selected.
If the manual focus operation is performed,
A second activating means for activating the display means,
Display device for camera. 4. A mosquito according to any one of claims 1 to 3.
A camera equipped with a display device for camera.