JP3427218B2 - Electronic still camera - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electronic still camera, and more particularly, to an electronic still camera that allows a user to write various kinds of setting information uniquely set in a storage medium that stores a shot image. It is about.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, an electronic still camera has been provided which converts an object image formed on a photoelectric conversion element by an image pickup mechanism into an electric signal and records the obtained image information on a magnetic recording medium or the like. In such an electronic still camera, in order to meet various demands of users, various shooting modes similar to those of a camera using a conventional silver salt film,
Due to the characteristic of an electronic camera that image information can be obtained as an electric signal, various modes relating to shooting operations are provided.

For example, there are a single shooting / continuous shooting mode, an AF mode, a sensitivity mode, a white balance mode, an image quality (compression ratio) mode, and the like, and the user selects a desired shooting mode from these. You can select and shoot.

Recently, a silver halide camera that detects the line of sight of the user and performs an AF (autofocus) operation according to the line of sight, and a voice for instructing a photographing operation are stored in advance and the photographing operation is performed by the voice. Although a silver salt camera and the like capable of performing the above have been developed, the operation accuracy of these cameras is improved by allowing the user to make his own adjustment.

That is, for example, the user's own corneal reflection data is input to accurately detect the user's line of sight, and the user's own instruction voice is input in advance before photographing. , The voice is analyzed, and the voice data unique to the user is held in the camera.

As described above, the silver salt camera and the electronic still camera of recent years have various functions relating to the photographing operation, and the user can photograph in a desired photographing mode.

[0007]

On the other hand, however, the conventional silver halide camera and electronic camera as described above have the following problems. That is, when there are multiple users of the camera, after one person uses the camera, when the next one shoots, the camera is in the setting mode of the person who used before, and the next user is It is troublesome to check various shooting modes such as the above, change the setting if necessary, and input data unique to the user.

In addition, even if there is only one user, there are cases where it is desired to change to various shooting modes according to the subject of shooting and the situation at the time of use, and at this time as well, various settings must be changed each time. It was

On the other hand, recently, a ROM card has been inserted in the camera, and in the camera disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-207679, some or all of the control data and programs are stored in the memory card. In addition, there has been proposed a device for changing the control of the camera by replacing the memory card.

However, since the information stored in the memory card is fixed, it is impossible to store the control information uniquely set by the user and transfer the user-specific control information between cameras. .

The present invention has been made in order to solve the problems in the conventional electronic camera, and an electronic still in which the user's unique setting and adjustment relating to the photographing operation of the camera can be immediately and easily performed. It is intended to provide a camera.

[0012]

[Means for Solving the Problems] To achieve the above object,
In the invention according to claim 1 of the present application, an imaging mechanism that forms a subject image, a solid-state imaging device that converts the subject image formed by the imaging mechanism into an electric signal, and an electric signal converted by the solid-state imaging device Recording means for recording image information on a recording medium, setting means for making settings relating to control of shooting operation, storage means for storing setting information set by the setting means, and control of shooting operation based on the setting information An electronic still camera having a control means for performing, comprising: setting information writing means for writing the setting information to the recording medium; and setting information reading means for reading the setting information recorded on the recording medium to the storage means. The present invention relates to an electronic still camera characterized in that

The invention according to claim 2 of the present application is provided with a detecting means for detecting that the recording medium is attached to the camera, and the setting information reading means is based on a detection signal of the detecting means. The electronic still camera according to claim 1, wherein reading of information is started.

In the invention according to claim 3 of the present application, when the recording medium is initialized, the setting information writing means,
The electronic still camera according to claim 1, wherein the setting information is recorded on the initialized recording medium.

[0015]

In the present invention configured as described above, a subject image is formed on the solid-state image pickup device by the image pickup mechanism, the subject image is converted into an electric signal by the solid-state image pickup device, and the converted image is converted. The image signal is recorded on the recording medium by the recording means.

On the other hand, various settings relating to the control of the photographing operation of the camera can be made by the setting means, but the setting information set by the setting means is stored in the storage means, and a series of information is set based on this setting information. The shooting operation is performed.

Further, the setting information can be written in the recording medium by the setting information writing means, and the setting information written in the recording medium is stored in the camera by the setting information reading means. Can be read. As the writing means, the recording means for recording an image signal on a recording medium may be used, or a writing means may be provided separately from the recording means.

As described above, in the present electronic still camera, the setting information unique to the user regarding the control of the photographing operation can be recorded in the recording medium together with the photographed image information, and the setting information can be recorded in the camera. Therefore, even if the user of the camera changes, the user can attach his or her own recording medium to the camera and read its own setting information stored in the recording medium into the camera. You can quickly and easily complete the preparation for shooting without checking, resetting, or adjusting the setting mode.

Further, in the invention of claim 2,
The detecting means detects that the recording medium is attached to the camera, and based on the detection signal from the detecting means, the setting information reading means stores the setting information recorded in the recording medium in the storage means. read out.

Therefore, according to this electronic still camera, the user can set the mode of the camera and the like only by mounting the recording medium on the camera without operating the setting information reading means.

Further, in the invention of claim 3,
When the recording medium is initialized, the setting information writing means records the setting information on the initialized recording medium. Therefore, the user can automatically record the setting information of the camera on the recording medium only by initializing the recording medium before photographing, and the setting information is recorded for recording the setting information each time the recording medium is initialized. It is not necessary to operate the information writing means.

[0022]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a main part of an electronic still camera according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an external configuration of the electronic still camera according to the embodiment. In addition, in these drawings, the same or corresponding components are designated by the same reference numerals.

As shown in FIG. 1, the electronic still camera according to the present embodiment converts an object light into an electric signal and performs signal processing such as γ correction on the electric signal to create an image signal. Section 1, an A / D conversion section 2 for converting the image signal from the image pickup processing section 1 into a digital signal, a buffer memory 3 for temporarily storing the digitized image signal, and a compression section for compressing the image signal. 4, a card I / F 5 for recording the compressed image signal in a memory card 6 as a recording medium, these devices and other photographic optical system (not shown), aperture, etc., to control a series of photographic sequences. And a control unit 7 for executing.

The control unit 7 is also connected to a setting switch 11 for making various known settings relating to the control of the photographing operation. For example, it is a switch for setting shutter speed, aperture value, etc., a setting switch for setting various shooting modes such as single shooting / continuous shooting mode, AF / manual mode, and the like.

In the electronic camera of this embodiment, the setting switch 11 is, as shown in FIG.
The data set by the switch 11 is displayed on the liquid crystal display device 12 and is stored and held in a storage unit (not shown) included in the control unit 7. In FIG. 2, 13 to 14 are release switches, and 15 is a finder.

Furthermore, a function of detecting the user's line of sight as described above and performing an AF (automatic focus) operation according to the line of sight, and analyzing and storing a voice unique to the user and photographing with the voice of the user When configuring a camera with a function to perform an operation, input means for previously inputting data concerning the retina reflection unique to the user and voice unique to the user, and an analyzing means for analyzing the input data are provided. Connect to the control unit,
The data set by these means is also stored in the storage means.

In the electronic still camera according to this embodiment, the memory card 6 stores the setting data set by the various setting switches 11 and the input means relating to the photographing operation.
A write switch 9 for writing to the memory card 6 and a read switch 10 for reading the setting data written in the memory card 6 into the storage means are provided. By operating these switches, the setting is performed. The camera settings set by the switch 11 or the input means can be saved in the memory card 6, and the camera setting data recorded together with the captured image data can be read into the camera in the memory card 6. .

That is, the user has the setting switch 11
For example, various settings of the photographing operation desired by the camera and optimum adjustment for the camera are performed by the camera or the like, and the set information is not transmitted via the card I / F by operating the write switch 9. It is written in the memory card 6 for recording the captured image data by the recording means shown in the figure.

Then, for example, even when another person uses the camera, if a new user inserts a memory card in which his / her setting data is recorded into the camera and operates the reading switch 10, Since the setting data of the user stored in the memory card is read and the control unit 7 performs the shooting operation based on the setting data, it is not necessary to check various settings of the camera, and the preparation for shooting is immediately performed. Can be completed.

If a memory card such as a landscape, a person, or a sports photograph is used for each shooting object and setting information corresponding to the shooting object is recorded, various settings (shooting preparation) according to the shooting object can be performed. It can be realized immediately.

Further, the present electronic camera has a memory card 6
And a switch 8 for setting a mode for automatically reading the setting information from the memory card 6 while having a detecting means (not shown) for detecting that the
If the switch 8 is set to the automatic mode, the control section 7 automatically sets the setting information recorded in the memory card 6 when the detection signal from the detecting means is detected. The camera is read and the camera is set based on the information.

Therefore, if this automatic mode is selected, it is possible to automatically set a predetermined photographing mode, etc., only by inserting a memory card without operating the setting data reading switch 10. Become.

The storage means and the writing means may have different configurations in the camera or may have both functions.

Further, in the electronic camera, when the recording medium is initialized, the setting information writing means may record the setting information on the initialized recording medium. That is, since the memory card 6 is provided with the initialization function, unnecessary information recorded in the memory card 6 can be easily erased, and the memory card 6 can be used efficiently.

In addition, when the memory card 6 in which unnecessary information is recorded is mounted and the initialization switch is turned on in the state where various shooting operations are set and the optimum adjustment is made for the user, the memory card 6 is turned on. It is possible to record the setting information of the camera just by initializing it, such as automatically recording the current camera setting state in the memory card 6 together with the initialization of the setting data writing switch 9. Since the operation is not complicated and the setting data is automatically transferred to the memory card 6 after the initialization, reliable recording of the setting data can be easily performed.

As described in detail above, according to the present invention,
It is possible to realize an electronic still camera in which the user's unique setting and adjustment relating to the shooting operation of the camera can be performed immediately and easily.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a main part of an electronic still camera according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an external configuration of an electronic still camera according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Image processing unit 2 A / D converter 3 buffer memory 4 Compressor 5 card I / F 6 memory card 7 control unit 8 Setting data automatic reading mode switch 9 Setting data writing switch 10 Setting data reading switch 11 electronic dial 12 Liquid crystal display 13 Release switch 14 Release switch 15 Finder In the drawings, the same reference numerals indicate the same or corresponding parts.

Continuation of front page (58) Fields surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H04N 5/222-5/232 H04N 5 / 907,5 / 91

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. An image pickup mechanism for forming a subject image, an image pickup device for converting the subject image formed by the image pickup mechanism into an electric signal, and image information converted into an electric signal by the image pickup device on a recording medium. Recording means, setting means for making settings relating to control of the photographing operation, storage means for storing the setting information set by the setting means, and control means for controlling the photographing operation based on the setting information. An electronic still camera, comprising: setting information writing means for writing the setting information to the recording medium; and setting information reading means for reading the setting information recorded on the recording medium to the storage means. Still camera. 2. A detection means for detecting that the recording medium is attached to a camera, wherein the setting information reading means starts reading the setting information based on a detection signal of the detecting means. The electronic still camera according to claim 1, which is characterized in that. 3. The electronic still camera according to claim 1, wherein, when the recording medium is initialized, the setting information writing unit records the setting information on the initialized recording medium.