JP3463516B2 - Image stabilization camera - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a blur correction camera capable of correcting a blur caused by a camera blur of a subject light image projected on an exposure surface and taking a photograph with little blur.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, various blur correction cameras have been proposed, but these blur correction cameras are generally provided with a photographing lens whose optical axis is changeable, and a subject optical image on an exposure surface based on camera blur. A sensor for detecting the blur direction and the blur amount of the subject is provided, and the optical axis of the photographing lens is changed based on the blur direction and the blur amount of the subject optical image detected by the sensor to cancel the blur of the subject optical image on the exposure surface. Is configured. Specifically, the blur amount is predicted from the change rate of the blur amount detected by the sensor in a predetermined cycle, and the optical axis of the photographing lens is changed in a predetermined cycle so as to cancel the predicted blur amount. I have to.

In such a blur correction method, when a discontinuous and steep blur occurs, it is extremely difficult to predict the blur amount, and it is sufficient to perform the blur correction using the blur amount before the sudden blur occurs. It is not possible to obtain a good image stabilization effect. When taking a picture, an instruction for exposure is given by pressing the shutter button all the way down, but immediately after this shutter button is operated, a sharp blur often occurs due to this operation. Would significantly reduce the reliability.

Therefore, in the conventional shake correction camera, for example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-218970,
The exposure is prohibited for a predetermined time after the exposure is instructed until the sudden blurring due to the operation of the shutter button is eliminated, and after the exposure is instructed, the exposure operation is started with a delay of the predetermined time.

[0005]

In the conventional image stabilization camera, when the shutter release button is operated to instruct the release, the exposure is always delayed by a predetermined time and the exposure is started. It takes a long time to complete the exposure. Further, even if the photographer determines that it is a shutter chance and performs a shutter operation, the exposure timing deviates from the shutter chance, and the operability deteriorates.

[0006]

[0007]

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and takes a picture even when a sudden blur occurs due to a shutter operation without requiring a long time to complete the exposure or deteriorating the operability. The present invention provides a shake correction camera capable of performing suitable shake correction shooting without causing a failure.

[0009]

According to the present invention, in a blur correction camera capable of correcting blur of a subject light image on an exposure surface, blur detecting means for detecting information on the blur of the subject light image, and a release instruction. A storage unit that stores information related to the blur caused only by the operation of the shutter operating member, and the blur detection unit detects the information related to the blur before the release, and the detection result and the subject optical image stored in the storage unit. Calculation means for calculating the estimated value of the information regarding the blur of the subject light image immediately after the shutter operation member has instructed the release based on the information regarding the blur, and whether the estimated value exceeds a preset threshold value. A determination means for determining whether or not the release operation is prohibited and blur correction is performed when the estimated value exceeds the threshold value.
It is provided with a processing means for performing at least one of the warnings of improperness (Claim 1).

According to the above arrangement, the information regarding the blur on the exposure surface of the subject light image is detected before the release operation is performed, and the blur resulting from only the detection result and the operation of the shutter operating member stored in the storage means. The estimated value of the information regarding the blur immediately after the shutter operation member instructs the release is calculated based on the information regarding the release.

Then, whether or not the blur correction is possible is determined by comparing the estimated value of the blur-related information with a predetermined threshold value set in advance, and the estimated value of the blur-related information exceeds the predetermined threshold value, and the blur correction is impossible. when it is judged, the release operation
At least one of the prohibition and the warning that the image stabilization is impossible is performed.

In the blur correction camera, the information on the blur of the subject light image may be the amount of blur of the subject light image on the exposure surface (claim 2).

According to the above arrangement, the amount of blur on the exposure surface of the subject light image is detected before the release operation is performed,
An estimated value of the blur amount immediately after the shutter operation member gives a release instruction is calculated by adding the detected amount to the blur amount stored only in the shutter operation member stored in the storage means.

Then, the estimated value of the blurring amount is compared with a predetermined threshold value set in advance to determine whether or not the blurring correction is possible. The estimated value of the blurring amount exceeds the predetermined threshold value, and it is determined that the blurring correction is impossible. Release, prohibiting the release operation and
At least one of the Noh warnings is processed.

[0015]

[0016]

[0017]

1 is a front perspective view showing the external appearance of a blur correction camera according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a rear view of the blur correction camera.

The camera 1 has a blur correction function capable of correcting blur of a photographed image due to camera blur and photographing. The camera 1 has a taking lens 3 composed of a zoom lens in the front center of the camera body 2, and inside the taking lens 3, an optical system for blur correction described later is provided. A lens shutter formed by combining a plurality of shutter blades is provided in the lens system of the taking lens 3.

The taking lens 3 on the front of the camera body 2
A distance measuring window 5 is provided on the upper part of the, and a light measuring window 4 is provided on the left side of the distance measuring window 5. A finder objective window 6 is provided on the right side of the distance measuring window 5.

At the rear position of the photometric window 4 of the camera body 2,
A photometric circuit having a light receiving element made of SPC or the like is provided, and the light receiving element receives light from the subject to detect the brightness of the subject. Further, at the rear position of the distance measuring window 5 of the camera body 2, a phase difference detection type distance measuring circuit having a light receiving element composed of a pair of line image sensors is provided, and the light from the subject is received by the light receiving element. The distance to the subject is detected.

A finder optical system for guiding a subject light image to a finder eyepiece window 10 provided on the rear surface of the camera body 2 is provided behind the finder objective window 6 of the camera body 2. In the finder optical system,
CCD for detecting information (camera direction and camera shake amount information) regarding camera shake of the subject light image on the exposure surface
A sensor including an area sensor is provided. Also,
The viewfinder optical system is provided with a field of view frame and a display section for displaying information on blur correction of a blurred subject light image.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the display section in the finder. The display unit is provided on the lower portion of the field frame K and on both left and right side portions. Information regarding AF (automatic adjustment), AE (automatic exposure adjustment), flash emission, and the like is displayed in a display area A1 provided below the visual field frame K, and a display area A2 on the right side of the visual field frame K will be described later. Information on whether or not the shake correction mode is set and whether or not the shake correction is enabled is displayed. Further, in the display areas A3 and A4 provided in the lower left corner of the field frame K, the detected value of the blur state of the subject light image,
A predicted value of the blurring state when optical blur correction is performed, an estimated value of the blurring state immediately after the shutter button 8 performs the release operation, and the like are displayed. As the estimated value of the blurring state immediately after the release operation is performed, the data of the blurring amount of the subject light image (hereinafter referred to as S2 blurring data) generated due to the operation of the shutter button 8 is set in advance. The blur amount of the subject light image obtained by detecting the blur amount of the subject light image that is currently occurring and adding the S2 blur data to the detection result.

In the display area A2, LED displays P1 and P
2, P3 and a symbol mark display SP1 are provided. The LED display P1 is a display indicating that the shake correction mode is set. Further, the LED display P2 is a display indicating that image stabilization is not possible, and is a symbol mark display SP.
Reference numeral 1 is a display indicating that blur correction cannot be performed, that is, blur correction cannot be effectively performed due to an excessive blur amount. Therefore, when the LED display P2 and the symbol mark display SP1 are turned on, it means that the optical blur correction is not performed because the amount of blur is excessive.

Further, the LED display P3 is a display showing a possible state of a release operation (full press of the shutter button 8) in the S2 blur memory mode described later. The S2 blur memory mode is a mode for capturing S2 blur data unique to the photographer. In this mode, when the release operation by the shutter button 8 of the photographer can be accepted when capturing the S2 blur data, the LED display P3 is displayed. It is lit.

In the display areas A3 and A4, there are provided two level display portions each having a plurality of LEDs arranged in a line. The display area A3 is a level display of information about the blur in the horizontal direction (X direction) (the detected value of the blur state, the predicted value of the blur state after blur correction, the estimated value of the blur state immediately after the release operation, etc.). The detected value of the blurring state is displayed in a level on the upper level display portion, and the predicted value of the blurring state after the blurring correction and the estimated value of the blurring state immediately after the release operation are displayed in a level on the lower level display. The display area A4 is a level display of information about the blur in the vertical direction (Y direction), and the detected value of the blur state is displayed on the level display section on the right side, and the blur display after blur correction is displayed on the left level display. The predicted value of the state and the estimated value of the blur state immediately after the release operation are displayed as levels.

The information on the blurring is displayed based on the data on the blurring direction and the blurring amount detected by the blurring detection circuit described later. In the present embodiment, as will be described later, the CCD area sensor is used to detect the blur direction and the blur amount on the image pickup surface of the CCD area sensor of the subject light image. Therefore, the detection result is the display area A3. , A4 and the level is adjusted and displayed.

It is possible to use an angular velocity sensor, an angular acceleration sensor, or the like as the blur state detection sensor.
When these sensors are used, the detection result may be directly displayed as the information regarding the blur, but it is preferably converted into the blur amount of the subject light image and displayed in the display area A.
3 and A4 should be displayed as levels.

The level display section provided in the display areas A3 and A4 has three areas L1, L2 and L2 as shown in FIG.
The areas L1, L2, and L3 are divided into L3, and are displayed in yellow, green, and red, respectively.

The area L1 is an area in which the blurring state (including the predicted value and the estimated value) is so small that the blurring correction is not required. When the peak value of the displayed detected value of the blurring state or the peak value of the estimated blurring state is in the area L1, the influence of the blurring which is estimated to occur now or immediately after the release operation on the photography is not a problem. It is shown that the peak value of the predicted value of the displayed blurring state is small in the area L1.
In the case of, it indicates that the blurring of the subject light image is suppressed by the blurring correction to such an extent that it does not adversely affect the photography.

In the area L2, the blurring state requires blurring correction,
In addition, it is a medium area in which blur correction is possible. When the peak value of the detected value of the blurring state or the estimated value of the blurring state that is displayed is in the area L2, the influence of the blurring, which is estimated to occur now or immediately after the release operation, on the taking of the photograph becomes a problem. It indicates that the blurring state is large and that the blurring state can be suppressed to the region L1 by performing the blurring correction. When the peak value of the predicted value of the displayed blurring state is in the region L2, the blurring of the subject light is also performed. It is shown that the blurring of the image adversely affects the photography, and the camera blurring measures other than the blurring correction function are necessary.

The area L3 is an area indicating that the blurring state is too large to compensate for blurring. When the peak value of the detected value of the blurring state or the estimated value of the blurring state that is displayed is in the area L3, the blurring that is presently occurring or is estimated to occur immediately after the release operation is excessive, and the blurring correction cannot be normally performed. Shows. This display also serves as a warning display that the photographer needs to take measures against camera shake such as fixing the camera, changing the exposure control value, or flashing.

When the peak value of the detected detected values of the blurring state is in the area L3, the optical blurring correction is not performed in the exposure control, and therefore the predicted value of the blurring state after the blurring correction is calculated. And the display thereof is not performed. Therefore, normally, the displayed predicted value of the shake state after the shake correction is displayed in the region L.
It doesn't enter 3.

The information regarding blurring is displayed as a level by turning on a plurality of LED dots corresponding to the blurring amount, as shown in FIG. 5, for example. As shown in FIG. 6, the peak value may be displayed by turning on only one LED dot corresponding to the peak value of the blur amount. In FIGS. 5 and 6, the white LED dots indicate the off state, and the dotted LED dots indicate the on state.

In the present embodiment, the plurality of LED dots are linearly arranged to form the level display portion, but they may be arranged in a circular arrangement. On the circular level display portion, the detected value of the blurring state, the estimated value of the blurring state immediately after the release operation, and the predicted value of the blurring state after the blurring correction are displayed on the LE that is turned on.
The size is determined by the tip of the D dot group or the angular position of the LED dot displaying the peak value. This display method can be applied when there is no band-shaped display space.

Returning to FIG. 1, a grip portion 7 is provided on the left side of the camera body 2, and a shutter button 8 is provided on the upper surface of the camera body 2 and above the grip portion 7.
The shutter button 8 is an S1 switch that is turned on by half-pressing (see FIG. 7) and an S2 switch that is turned on by fully pressing (see FIG. 7).
(See) an operation member. The S1 switch is a switch for instructing shooting preparation. When the S1 switch is turned on, the photometric circuit detects the subject brightness and
An exposure control value (aperture value and shutter speed control value) is calculated based on the detection result. Also, the distance to the object is detected by the distance measuring circuit, and A is calculated based on the detection result.
F control is performed.

Further, a blur correction mode setting button 9 for setting the blur correction mode is provided on the right side of the upper surface of the camera body 2. The blurring correction mode is a mode in which blurring of a subject light image is suppressed and an image is taken when camera blurring occurs. The reason why the shake correction mode is selectively set by the photographer is that there is a case in which an image blurred intentionally may be shot aiming at the blur effect.

When the shake correction mode setting button 9 is operated, the shake correction switch S _B (see FIG. 7) is turned on,
The operation information is input to the control unit 20 (see FIG. 7) that centrally controls the shooting operation of the camera. The camera is activated when shake correction mode is initially set to "OFF", each time the ON signal of the shake correction switch S _B is input, the shake correction mode is switched alternately set and the "OFF" and "ON" It Then, when the shake correction mode is turned “ON”, the LED display P1 in the display area A2 in the finder is turned on.

A finder eyepiece window 10 is provided on the upper left side of the rear surface of the camera body 2, and a display section 11 made of an LCD is provided substantially in the center. The LCD display unit 11 displays various kinds of information (exposure control value, battery capacity, flash emission, shooting mode, film sensitivity, presence / absence of shake correction, etc.) regarding shooting by the camera. This LCD
An S2 blur memory mode setting button 12 for setting the S2 blur memory mode is provided below the display unit 11, and a main switch 13 is provided above the LCD display unit 11.
Is provided.

A zoom switch 14 is provided on the upper right side of the rear surface of the camera body 2.
Is operated to change the zoom ratio of the taking lens 3. Further, a battery storage chamber 15 is provided at the right end of the camera body 2, and a power supply battery is set in the battery storage chamber 15.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a blur correction camera according to the present invention. In the figure, the control unit 20 is
It is a microcomputer that centrally controls a series of shooting operations of the camera 1 such as F, AE, exposure control, and shake correction.
The control unit 20 includes a blur correction control value calculation unit 201 that calculates drive control values for the X direction blur correction lens 32 and the Y direction blur correction lens 33 for performing blur correction. Further, the control unit 20 calculates the S2 blur data in the S2 blur memory mode by the S2 blur data calculation unit 2 that calculates the S2 blur data.
02 and a memory 203 for storing data necessary for performing this operation and the operation result. Note that S2
A method of calculating S2 blur data in the blur memory mode will be described later.

Further, the control unit 20 is provided with an S2 blur estimated value calculation unit 204 and a blur correction determination unit 205. S2
The blur estimated value calculation unit 204 calculates an estimated value of the blur state of the subject light image immediately after the shutter button 8 release operation (estimated amount of blur; hereinafter referred to as S2 blur estimated value). The S2 blur estimated value calculation unit 204 stores the blur amount detected by the blur amount detection circuit 29 immediately before the shutter button 8 is released in the memory 203 as S2 stored in the memory 203.
The blur data is added to calculate the S2 blur estimated value. The blur correction determination unit 205 determines whether or not optical blur correction can be performed optically using the S2 blur estimated value calculated by the S2 blur estimated value calculation unit 204. Shake correction determination unit 20
In No. 5, the absolute value of the S2 blur estimated value (amplitude of blur) is compared with a predetermined threshold value d, and the amplitude of the S2 blur estimated value is determined by a predetermined threshold value d.
If it exceeds, it is determined that blur correction is impossible. The result of this determination is output to the display control circuit 34, and the LED display P2 and the symbol mark display SP1 in the display area A2 in the finder are turned on to display the blur correction not possible.

The control unit 20 is, for example, in preparation for photographing when the shutter button 8 is half pressed, and the blur amount detecting circuit 29 is used.
Each time the blur amounts ξ _x and ξ _y in the X and Y directions detected by are input, these detected values are output to the display control circuit 34 to display the current camera blur state.

The control unit 20 controls the exposure control
The shake correction control value calculation unit 201 performs shake correction every time the shake amounts ξ _x and ξ _y in the X and Y directions detected by the shake amount detection circuit 29 described later are input. Drive control values of the blur correction lenses 32 and 33 are calculated, and the drive control value in the X direction is output to the blur correction motor control circuit 30, and the drive control value in the Y direction is output to the blur correction motor control circuit 31. The blurring of the subject light image on the exposure surface is optically corrected.

The photometry circuit 21 is a circuit for detecting the subject brightness, and the distance measurement circuit 22 is a circuit for detecting the subject distance. The control unit 20 sets the exposure control value based on the detected subject brightness and also sets the AF control value of the taking lens 3 based on the detected subject distance.

The Z motor control circuit 23 is a circuit for controlling the drive of the zoom lens 24 in the taking lens 3. A drive signal generated by the control unit 20 based on the operation direction and operation amount of the zoom switch 14 is input to the Z motor control circuit 23, and the Z motor control circuit 23 controls the drive of the zoom lens 24 based on this drive signal. . The AF motor control circuit 25 is a circuit that controls driving of the focus lens 26 in the taking lens 3. The AF motor control circuit 25 controls the drive of the focus lens 26 based on the AF control value input from the control unit 20 and automatically adjusts the focus of the taking lens 3.

The diaphragm / shutter control circuit 27 is a circuit for controlling the aperture diameter and opening / closing drive of the lens shutter 28. The aperture / shutter control circuit 27 sets the maximum aperture diameter of the lens shutter 28 based on the exposure control value input from the control unit 20, and sets the lens shutter 2 at a predetermined timing.
Opening / closing operation 8 is performed.

The blur amount detection circuit 29 detects the blur direction and the blur amount of the subject light image on the exposure surface based on the camera blur. As will be described later, the blur correction lens is composed of a pair of lenses 32 and 33 (hereinafter, referred to as blur correction lens) that are respectively displaceable in the X direction and the Y direction which are orthogonal to each other. The blur amount of the light image is detected in each of the X direction and the Y direction.
The detected blur amount is input to the control unit 20, and the drive control values of the blur correction lenses 32 and 33 are calculated based on the blur amount.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of the blur amount detection circuit. The blur amount detection circuit 29 shown in FIG.
For example, it is the same as the circuit disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-192228. Therefore, detailed description is omitted here,
Give an overview.

The blur amount detection circuit 29 includes an image pickup section 29A having a CCD area sensor 291, a correlation value calculation section 29B for calculating contrast values Cx and Cy in the X and Y directions and a correlation value C from the picked-up image, and this correlation. Value calculator 29
It is configured by a blur amount calculation unit 29C that calculates the blur amount in the X direction and the Y direction based on the calculation result in B.

The image pickup section 29A is a CCD area sensor 29.
1, a signal processing circuit 292, an A / D converter 293, and an image memory 294. The CCD area sensor 291 is a sensor in the finder optical system described above, and is an image pickup device that converts a subject light image into an electrical signal and captures the electrical signal. The CCD area sensor 291 is a color sensor,
It may be either a monochrome sensor. The signal processing circuit 292 performs signal processing such as level correction and noise removal of the light reception signal of each pixel output from the CCD area sensor 291. The A / D converter 293 converts a light receiving signal (analog signal) of each pixel into a digital signal (hereinafter referred to as pixel data).

The image memory 294 is a memory for storing image data (a group of pixel data forming an image) captured by the CCD area sensor 291. Image memory 2
Reference numeral 94 denotes a standard part memory 294a having a storage capacity of one image data and a reference part memory 294b having the same storage capacity as the standard part memory 294a.
Stores image data of a reference image for blur amount detection (the image captured first in the blur amount detection processing), and a plurality of reference images (blurring amount) for comparison and reference with the reference image in the reference unit memory 294b. Image data of a plurality of picked-up images periodically picked up in the detection process) are sequentially stored in an updated manner.

The correlation value calculator 29B is composed of a calculation circuit 295 for calculating the contrast values Cx, Cy in the X and Y directions and the correlation value C, and a memory 296 for storing the calculation result of this calculation circuit 295. Correlation value calculator 29
In calculating the correlation value C, B divides the captured image G into a plurality of small block images G (1) to G (n) as shown in FIG. 6, and divides the divided images G (1) to G ( Contrast values Cx (I) and Cy (I) in the X direction (horizontal direction) and Y direction (vertical direction) for each n)
(I = 1, 2, ... N) is calculated. Then, a predetermined number m (<n) of divided images for calculating the correlation value C in the X direction and the Y direction from these contrast values Cx (I) and Cy (I) are extracted. For example, for each of the 48 divided images G (1) to G (48), four divided images for the blur amount calculation in the X direction and the Y direction are extracted. Extraction of such divided images
This is a process for extracting a high-contrast portion of the captured image and detecting the blur amount with high precision using the partial image.

The contrast value Cx (I) in the X direction
Compares the reference image stored in the reference unit memory 294a with the image obtained by shifting the reference image stored in the reference unit memory 294b by one pixel pitch in the X direction, and determines the density difference (absolute value) at each pixel position. It is the total. Since the contrast value Cx increases as the density change of the captured image in the X direction increases, the contrast value Cx (I) is calculated for the image G (I) of each block, and the contrast value Cx is calculated.
By extracting a block having a large (I), a partial image having a large contrast in the X direction is extracted.

The calculation of the contrast value Cx (I) is performed by using the image G _R captured first when the blur detection is started. That is, the image data captured at the beginning of the blur detection is the standard portion memory 294a and the reference portion memory 294b.
Since the pixel data g (i, j) of each pixel position (i, j) is read from the reference unit memory 294a, the pixel position (i, j) is read from the reference unit memory 294b.
The pixel data g (i, j + 1) at the position (i, j + 1) which is shifted by one pixel in the X direction is read out, and both pixel data g (i, j), g
absolute value of level difference Δgx of (i, j + 1) | Δgx | = | g (i,
j) −g (i, j + 1) |

As for the contrast value Cy in the Y direction, the contrast value Cy (I) is calculated for the image G (I) of each block in the same manner as the contrast value Cx (I) in the X direction, and the contrast value Cy (I By extracting a block having a large), a partial image having a large contrast in the Y direction is extracted.

The correlation value C is determined by how much the image G _S after a predetermined time t has deviated from the image G _{R at the} beginning of the blur amount, that is, the blur direction of the photographed image during the time t. And data for calculating the blur amount. Deviation of the image G _R of the image G _S is an image G _S X direction and Y
The image G _S ′, which is shifted in the direction by a predetermined amount (for example, one pixel pitch), is compared with the image G _R, and the image G in which the two images are the most consistent
It is calculated by finding _S '.

The correlation value C indicates the degree of coincidence between each image G _S ′ and the image G _R, and, like the calculation of the contrast values Cx and Cy, the integrated value of the density difference (absolute value) at each pixel position. Is defined by Note that, as described above, among the captured images, the m divided images G (r) (r
= 1, 2, ..., M), the correlation value C is calculated, so the correlation value calculated for each divided image is C
(r) (r = 1, 2, ... M), the correlation value C is C =
It is calculated by C (1) + C (2) + ... C (m).

The correlation value C for the image G _S ′ shifted by k pixel pitch in the X direction and h pixel pitch in the Y direction is C (k,
h) and k = h = 0, ± 1, ± 2, 25 correlation values C (k, h) are obtained. C (0,0) is a correlation value when the image G _R and the image G _S are compared. If the camera shake does not occur, the image G _S is the same as the image G _R , so C (0,0) ) = 0.

On the other hand, if C (k, h) = 0, assuming that the pixel pitch in the X direction is Px and the pixel pitch in the Y direction is Py, the image G _S is in the X direction by k pixel pitches and in the Y direction. Since the image G _S ′ shifted by the h pixel pitch is the same as the image G _R , the image G _S ′ is P (= √√) in the diagonal direction with respect to the image G _R.
It can be seen that the camera shake occurs only for (Px ² + Py ² ).

Therefore, 25 correlation values C (k, h) (k = h = 0, ± 1, ± 2) are calculated for the image G _S ,
By obtaining the shift position where the correlation value C (k, h) becomes the minimum, the blur direction and the blur amount of the subject light image are calculated. In this case, when the minimum value of the correlation value C (k, h) is estimated to be at the intermediate position between the pixels, the position is calculated by the interpolation calculation, and the accurate blur amount (ξ _x , ξ _y ) is calculated.

The arithmetic circuit 295 uses the contrast value C
Subtraction circuit 295a for calculating x (I), Cy (I) and correlation value C (k, h), absolute value circuit 295b, addition circuit 2
95c and a register 295d. Subtraction circuit 2
95a denotes the pixel data g (i, j) of the standard image and the pixel data g of the reference image in the calculation of the contrast value Cx (I).
The level difference Δgx = g (i, j) −g (i, j + 1) from (i, j + 1) is
In the calculation of the contrast value Cy (I), the pixel data g (i, j) of the standard image and the pixel data g (i + 1,
j) and the level difference Δgy = g (i + 1, j) −g (i, j). In the calculation of the correlation value C (k, h), the pixel data g (i, j) of the standard image G _R and the reference image G _S
From the pixel data g (i + k, j + h) of the image G _S ′ which is shifted by k pixel pitch and h pixel pitch in the X and Y directions, respectively, and Δg = g (i + k, j + h). ) -G (i, j) is calculated.

The absolute value circuit 295b calculates the absolute value of the level differences Δgx, Δgy, and Δg. The adder circuit 295c and the register 295d integrate the absolute values of Δgx, Δgy, and Δg at each pixel position to obtain contrast values Cx (I), Cy (I) and a correlation value C (k,
h) is calculated.

The memory 296 stores contrast values Cx (I) and Cy in the X and Y directions calculated by the calculation circuit 295.
(I) and the correlation value C (k, h) are stored.

The blur amount calculator 29C reads the contrast values Cx (I) and Cy (I) in the X and Y directions from the memory 296 and extracts the divided images for calculating the correlation value. Further, the correlation value C calculated for each of the extracted divided images
An interpolation calculation is performed on (k, h) to obtain a correlation value C (k,
The blur direction and the blur amount are calculated by obtaining the shift position (X coordinate ξ _x , Y coordinate ξ _y ) where h) is the minimum value. Information about the blur of the subject light image (blurring direction and blur amount) is input to the control unit 20.

Returning to FIG. 7, the shake correction lens 32 is a shake correction lens for correcting shake in the X direction, and the shake correction lens 33 is a shake correction lens for correcting shake in the Y direction. In addition, the shake correction motor control circuit 30
Is a circuit that controls the drive of the motor 301 that drives the shake correction lens 32, and is a shake correction motor control circuit 31
Is a circuit that controls the drive of the motor 311 that drives the shake correction lens 33.

FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view showing the structure of an optical system for blur correction. An optical system for blur correction is provided at the tip of the taking lens 3. An annular recess 37a is provided at the tip of the lens holder 37 of the taking lens 3.
In this recess 37a, the shake correction lens 32 in the X direction and the shake correction lens 33 in the Y direction are respectively in the X axis direction (lateral direction of the camera body 2) and the Y axis direction (camera body) in a plane orthogonal to the optical axis L. It is provided so as to be movable in the vertical direction (2).

The X-direction blur correction lens 32 is provided with a cylindrical pin hole 381 and a tooth 382 facing each other on the peripheral edge, and a light projecting position for detecting the lens position is provided in the vicinity of the pin hole 381. An annular holding frame 38 provided with an element 40
Held in. The Y-direction blur correction lens 33 is also held by a holding frame 39 having the same structure as the holding frame 38.

As shown in the figure, assuming the XY coordinates with the optical axis L as the origin, the recess 37a has + Y inside the recess 37a.
A pin 42 is provided at a proper position on the shaft, and the pin 42 is loosely fitted in the pin hole 381 of the holding frame 38 to mount the X-direction shake correction lens 32 in the recess 37a so as to be displaceable in the X-axis direction. ing. Further, a pin 43 is provided so as to project at a proper position on the + X axis in the recess 37a, and the pin 43 is loosely fitted in the pin hole 391 of the holding frame 39 to allow the shake correction lens 33 in the Y direction.
Are mounted in the recess 37a so as to be displaceable in the Y-axis direction.

In the lens holder 37, the drive gear 44 fixed to the drive shaft is projected at a proper position on the -Y axis in the concave portion 37a to dispose the motor 301, and the drive gear 44 is held by the holding frame 38. Is meshed with the tooth portion 382 of the. Further, the drive gear 45 fixed to the drive shaft is projected at a proper position on the −X axis in the recess 37 a to dispose the motor 311. The drive gear 45 is meshed with the tooth portion 392 of the holding frame 39. .
Further, a light receiving element 46 is provided on the bottom surface of the concave portion 37a at a position facing the light projecting element 40 of the blur correction lens 32, and a light receiving element 47 is provided at a position facing the light projecting element 41 of the blur correcting lens 33. .

Shake correction lens 32 and shake correction lens 3
The lens 3 is mounted in the recess 37 so that it can be displaced in the X direction and the Y direction with the blur correction lens 32 inside, and is fixed by a retainer ring 48 so as not to protrude from the recess 37.

In the above structure, when the motor 301 is driven to rotate in the forward or reverse direction, the blur correction lens 32 rotates about the pin 42 clockwise or counterclockwise by a small angle, whereby the blur correction lens 32 is rotated. The optical axis Lx is displaced in the ± X direction on the X axis with respect to the optical axis L, and shake correction in the X direction is performed. A light image having a striped pattern is projected from the light projecting element 40 toward the light receiving element 46, and position information (for example, from a reference position) of the shake correction lens 32 is determined by the light receiving position of the light image having the striped pattern on the light receiving element 46. The amount of displacement of the blur correction lens 32 is accurately controlled by feeding back this position information to the blur correction motor control circuit 30 of the motor 301.

Similarly, when the motor 311 is rotationally driven in the forward direction or the reverse direction, the blur correction lens 33 rotates about the pin 43 clockwise or counterclockwise by a minute angle.
As a result, the optical axis Ly of the blur correction lens 33 is displaced in the ± Y direction on the Y axis with respect to the optical axis L, and blur correction in the Y direction is performed. A light image having a striped pattern is projected from the light projecting element 41 toward the light receiving element 47, and position information of the blur correction lens 33 is detected by the light receiving position of the light image having the striped pattern on the light receiving element 47. By feeding back the position information to the shake correction motor control circuit 31 of the motor 311, the displacement amount of the shake correction lens 33 is accurately controlled.

Returning to FIG. 7, the display control circuit 34 is a circuit for controlling the display of the display section 35 (see FIG. 3) provided in the finder. The display control circuit 34 includes the control unit 20.
The display area A of the display unit 35 is based on the control signal input from
A predetermined display is displayed on 2. Further, the display control circuit 34 converts the shake amounts ξ _x and ξ _y input from the control unit 20 into display data and displays the levels in the display areas A3 and A4.

The switch S _A is a switch for detecting the operation of the S2 shake memory mode setting button 13, and the switch S _B is a switch for detecting the operation of the shake correction mode setting button 9. The S1 switch and the S2 switch are switches for detecting a half-pressed state and a full-pressed state of the shutter button 8, respectively. Switches S _A , S _B , S1 switch and S
The detection signals of the two switches are input to the control unit 20.

Next, the method of blur correction by the blur correction lenses 32 and 33 and the blur amount of the subject optical image after the blur correction will be described.

First, correction of blurring (hereinafter, this blurring is called normal blurring) caused by normal shaking of the hand holding the camera body 2 will be described. For the sake of convenience, blur correction in the X direction will be described.

FIG. 11 shows the X of the subject light image on the exposure surface.
It is a figure which shows the detected value of the amount of blurring of a direction. In the figure,
The horizontal axis represents the number of sampling times n, and the vertical axis represents the blur amount detection value D (n).

The basic principle for optically reducing the blur of the subject light image on the exposure surface is to detect the blur amount detection value D for the nth time.
(n) is the (n-2) th blurring amount detection value D (n-2) and (n-
1) Deviation ΔD (n-1) (= from the blur amount detection value D (n-1) at the first time
D (n-1) -D (n-2)) is assumed to be a value D (n) 'which is a deviation from the blur amount detection value D (n-1), and the (n-1) th blur amount detection is performed. Sometimes the image formation position of the subject light image on the exposure surface
By performing blur correction that shifts by ΔD (n-1), n
The deviation ΔD (n) between the blur amount detection value D (n) of the first time and the blur amount detection value D (n-1) of the (n−1) th time is reduced.

In FIG. 11, P1 is the n-th blurring amount detection value D (n) when there is no blurring correction, and P2 is
Is the blur amount detection value D (n) ′ assumed as the nth detection value at the time of detecting the (n−1) th blur amount. D (n) '= D
In the case of (n), if the shake correction of -ΔD (n-1) is performed in the (n-1) th time, the shake amount predicted as the detected value in the nth time (hereinafter, referred to as a shake amount predicted value) D. (n) ″ becomes D (n−1), and no error occurs, but normally the n-th blurring amount detection value D (n) does not match D (n) ′, and as shown in FIG. , For example, if D (n) ′> D (n), the blurring amount predicted value D (n) ″ at the nth time after blurring correction is P3, and the error is (D
(n) '-D (n)).

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of the blur amount predicted value when the blur correction is performed based on the above-mentioned blur correction principle.

In the figure, the curved line is the blurring waveform of the subject light image when the blurring correction is not performed, and the curved line is the blurring waveform of the subject light image estimated when the blurring correction is performed.

Since the blur amount detected by the blur amount detecting circuit 29 is detected by using the subject optical image on the image pickup surface of the CCD area sensor 291 which is not optically corrected for blur, the taking lens 3 is used. Even if the shake correction is performed, the amount of shake is the amount without the shake correction.
Therefore, the curve shows the blur amount detection value D (n) detected by the blur amount detecting circuit 29.

On the other hand, since the blur amount of the subject optical image after the blur correction cannot be measured, the curve calculates the blur amount estimated when the blur correction is performed based on the above-mentioned blur correction principle. It is a thing. The curve is 2
This is a case where the blur correction is performed from the time when the blur amount is detected for the first time, and the blur correction is applied so as to cancel the deviation ΔD (n-1) at the time when the blur amount is detected for the (n-1) th time.
This is the case where (n-1) is shake-corrected without loss.

As shown in the figure, the blurring waveform estimated when the blurring correction is performed is the waveform of the differential coefficient of the curve that fluctuates around the position where the blurring correction is started.

By the way, when the blur of the subject light image is optically corrected, a loss occurs due to the response characteristics of the correction lenses 32 and 33. Therefore, the deviation ΔD (n-1) is set to the blur correction control value F (n ) Is input to the blur correction motor control circuits 30 and 31 of the motors 301 and 311, the blur amount of the subject light image to be actually corrected (hereinafter, referred to as blur correction amount) F.
(n) 'is smaller than ΔD (n-1). Therefore, in reality, the shake waveform after shake correction does not show the curve shown in FIG.

The loss component E (n) is generally proportional to the square of the blur correction control value ΔD (n-1) that is input, so E (n) =
Assuming ΔD (n-1) ² / α (α; coefficient), the actual blur correction amount F (n) ′ is F (n) ′ = F (n) −E (n) = ΔD (n−1) ) -ΔD (n-1) ² / α. Therefore, in order to reduce the difference between the shake correction amount F (n) 'and the deviation ΔD (n-1), it is necessary to set the shake correction control value F (n) in consideration of the loss E (n). is there. Now, assuming that the deviation correction control value F (n) is set by adding k times the loss amount E (n) to the deviation ΔD (n-1), the shake correction amount F (n) ′ is given by (1) below. It becomes an expression.

[0087]

[Equation 1]

In the above equation (1), the second term is the loss component. Further, the coefficient α is a coefficient peculiar to the shake correction mechanism provided in the camera 1, and an appropriate value is set by an experiment or the like. The coefficient k is a coefficient that determines the feedback amount for compensating the mechanical loss,
In order to prevent the shake correction amount from becoming excessive when the shake amplitude suddenly decreases, it is usually set to 1 or less.

The shake correction control value F for each sampling
When (n) is calculated and the blur correction is performed with this blur correction control value F (n), the blur amount detection value D (n) ″ at the n-th time is the blur amount detection value D ( n) and the integrated value S (n) (= F (2) '+ F (3)' ... + F (n-
1) ′ + F (n) ′ = S (n−1) + F (n) ′), which can be calculated by the following equation (3).

[0090]

[Equation 2]

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a simulation result of the predicted value of the blur amount after the blur correction calculated by the above calculation method.

In the figure, the blur waveform of the subject light image due to camera blur is a sine wave, and the blur amount detection value D (n) without blur correction is D (n) = 100.sin (n ). Further, the simulation is performed with k = 0.8 and α = 50 and a sampling cycle of 1 °. Further, the curve indicated by the solid line indicates the blur amount detection value D (n) when there is no blur correction, the curve indicated by the alternate long and short dash line indicates the blur correction amount integrated value S (n), and the curve indicated by the dotted line indicates the blur correction. The following shake amount detection value (predicted value) D (n) ″ (hereinafter, the predicted shake amount detected value after shake correction is referred to as a shake correction predicted value) is shown. The shake waveform is referred to as a sine wave. The reason is that the blurring waveform in a minute exposure time can be approximated to a sine wave.

As shown in the figure, when the shake waveform can be approximated by a sine wave, it is understood that the optical shake correction can be relatively suitably performed. Therefore, in the case of the normal blur, it is understood that the blur of the subject light image can be effectively reduced by appropriately adjusting the coefficient k as long as the sudden blur does not occur.

Next, a description will be given of correction of blurring that occurs during the release operation when the shutter button 8 is fully pressed and the release is instructed.

Considering the camera shake that occurs within the time from when the shutter button 8 is fully pressed to when the exposure is completed, a sharp blur (having a high frequency waveform with a large amplitude is obtained at the moment when the shutter button 8 is fully pressed. Blur) occurs, and after that, it usually calms down. The blurring waveform of the blur generated immediately after the operation of the shutter button 8 is the blurring waveform of the normal blurring with the blurring waveform of the blurring caused only by the operation of the shutter button 8 (hereinafter, this blurring is referred to as S2 blurring). Therefore, it has a normal blur component and an S2 blur component.

In the normal blur, the blur waveform of the subject light image hardly changes greatly within a minute exposure time, and the variation between the photographings is small. Therefore, it is calculated by the above equation (2). By driving the blur correction lenses 32 and 33 based on the blur correction control value F (n), the blur correction can be performed relatively well.

However, the S2 blur has a larger amplitude than the normal blur waveform and its change is steep.
It is difficult to obtain a sufficient blur correction for the blur immediately after the operation of the shutter button 8 even if the blur correction is performed by the blur correction control value F (n) set for the normal blur.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a simulation result of a blur correction predicted value in S2 blur.

The shake waveform immediately after the operation of the shutter button 8 is the shake waveform of the normal shake and the shake waveform of the S2 shake. Therefore, in the same figure, the shake waveform of the normal shake is 1
00 · sin (n), S2 blurring waveform of 500 · sin (4n), and shifting the phase of n = 50 to sin (n) 500 · sin (4n
n) is superimposed to form the overall blur waveform.

Further, the curve shows the blur correction amount integrated value S calculated by the above equation (2) with k = 0.8 and α = 50.
(n), and the curve is the shake correction predicted value D calculated by the above equation (3) using the shake correction amount integrated value S (n).
(n) ″. Further, the curve has k = 1.5 and α = 50.
Is the blur correction amount integrated value S (n) calculated by the above equation (2), and the curve is the blur correction prediction calculated by the above equation (3) using this blur correction amount integrated value S (n). Value D
(n) ″.

As shown by the curve in the figure, 0 ≦ n ≦
In the range of 50, since the shake correction is for the normal shake, the shake correction prediction value D (n) ″ after the shake correction is within a minute amount of 2 or less, but in the case of 50 <n, the S2 shake is superimposed. Since the shake correction control value F (n) for this is insufficient, the shake correction predicted value D (n) ″ after shake correction is 10
It can be seen that the optical blur correction is difficult because it deteriorates to -40 (that is, several times to several tens of times).

The factor that makes optical blur correction difficult when S2 blur is superimposed is the correction addition amount H (n) = k.ΔD (n) for compensating the mechanical loss in the above equation (2). -1)
^{This is because 2} / α is relatively small with respect to the increase in the blur amount due to the S2 blur, and an effective blur correction response cannot be obtained. That is, the coefficient k that determines the correction addition amount H (n)
Is unsuitable for the shake waveform in which the S2 shake is superimposed on the normal shake, and the shake correction control value F (n) for this shake waveform becomes insufficient.

The coefficient k is set for the normal shake blur waveform, and a value of 1 or less is set so that overcorrection is not performed even when the shake is small. It is natural that the blur correction control value F (n) which does not consider the blur component of the S2 blur becomes insufficient when the steep S2 blur waveform having an amplitude several times larger than that of the S2 blur is superimposed.

In such a case, the blurring waveform of the S2 blur always has a larger amplitude than that of the blurring waveform of the normal blur. Therefore, when the S2 blurring occurs, as shown by the curve in FIG. It is advisable to change k to an appropriate value larger than the value for normal blurring to improve the blurring correction control value F (n). In FIG. 14, when the S2 blurring occurs, the coefficient k is increased from 0.8 to 1.5 to reduce the maximum value of the blurring correction predicted value D (n) ″ on the + side from approximately 40 to approximately 15. Has been done.

However, the method of increasing and changing the coefficient k when the S2 blur occurs is effective for the first rapidly increasing blur waveform immediately after the S2 blur (that is, the blur waveform of 50 <n <150). Although the shake amount can be suppressed, the shake correction predicted value D (n) ″ greatly increases to the − side for the shake waveform (that is, 150 <n) in which the shake amount decreases next,
There is a problem caused by increasing the coefficient k.

Therefore, in order to avoid such an adverse effect, S2
When blurring occurs, the blurring is the normal blurring component and S
Since the blur component is composed of two blur components, it is preferable to perform blur correction for each blur component. That is, the shake correction control value F1 for the shake waveform of the normal shake
(n) and the blur correction control value F2 for the blur waveform of S2 blur
It is preferable to calculate (n) and perform the shake correction by the total value of both the shake correction control values F1 (n) and F2 (n).

In this case, the calculation formula of the shake correction control value F2 (n) for the S2 shake waveform is also the above-described calculation formula (2) for the shake correction control value F (n) for the normal shake waveform.
Can be adopted. The coefficient k of the correction addition amount H (n) needs to be set to an appropriate value of 1 or more based on the blur waveform of the S2 blur.

Now, for the example of the blur waveform of the S2 blur shown in FIG. 14, the blur correction control value F1 (n) for the blur component of the normal blur and the blur correction control value F2 (n) for the blur component of the S2 blur are set. Calculated, and both blur correction control values F1 (n), F2
FIG. 12 shows a simulation in which blur correction is performed using the total value of (n).

The curve shown in the figure is the same blur waveform as the curve shown in FIG. Further, the curve calculates the blur correction control value F1 (n) for the blur component of normal blur and the blur correction control value F2 (n) for the blur component of S2 blur, and both blur correction control values F1 (n), F2 ( (b) is the blur correction amount integrated value S (n) when the blur correction is performed for each blur component by (n), and the curve is the blur correction predicted value D (n) calculated using this blur correction amount integrated value S (n). ″.

The blur correction control value F1 (n) and the blur correction amount F1 (n) 'for the blur component of normal blur are expressed by the following equations (4) and (5) from the above equations (1) and (2). It

[0111]

[Equation 3]

The blur correction control value F2 (n) and the blur correction amount F2 (n) 'for the blur component of S2 blur are expressed by the following equations (6) and (7).

[0113]

[Equation 4]

When the S2 blur is superimposed, the blur correction control value F (n) is added to the blur correction control value F1 (n) and the blur correction control value F2 (n) is added. G (n) = F1 ( blur correction amount F (n) ′ when blur correction is performed by changing the setting to (n) + F2 (n)
Is F (n) ′ = G (n) −G (n) ² / α (8) according to the equation (1), the predicted shake correction value D (n) ″ after shake correction is
It is calculated by the following equation (9) from the above equation (3).

[0115]

[Equation 5]

Comparing the curve of FIG. 14 with the curve of FIG. 14, the blur amount is suppressed more than the method of increasing only the coefficient k for the first rapidly increasing blur waveform immediately after the occurrence of the S2 blur. Although the effect is slightly reduced, the blur correction predicted value D (n) ″ does not significantly increase to the − side for the subsequent blur waveform, unlike the method of increasing and changing only the coefficient k.
A suitable blur correction effect is obtained as a whole.

As described above, appropriate coefficients k1 and k2 are determined on the basis of the characteristics of the shake waveforms of the normal shake and the S2 shake, and the calculation expressions for the shake correction calculation values F1 (n) and F2 (n) are set. In addition, the blur amount data of the blur component of the S2 blur (that is, the S2 blur data) is stored in memory, and when the blur occurs immediately after the shutter button 8 is operated, this blur waveform is used as the blur component of the normal blur and that of the S2 blur The blur component is separated into the blur components, and the blur correction calculation values F1 (n) and F2 (n) are calculated for each blur component.
Thus, by performing the shake correction, it is possible to immediately perform a suitable shake correction without waiting until the steep S2 shake is converged.

For the S2 blur data, a standard blur waveform is experimentally obtained in advance (for example, the blur components of a plurality of S2 blurs are averaged, or the blur components of a plurality of S2 blurs are approximated to a typical waveform. ) May be stored in the memory 203, but since the blur component of the S2 blur varies depending on the photographer, the S2 blur data obtained by actually operating the shutter button 8 is loaded into the blur correction camera. The shake correction camera may have a function of calculating the data of the shake correction control value F2 (n) based on the data. By doing so, since the data of the blur correction control value F2 (n) is set in correspondence with the blur waveform of the S2 blur unique to the photographer,
The blurring correction can be more suitably performed.

The blur correction camera 1 according to the present embodiment is
It has S2 blur memory mode, and in this mode S2
It is possible to import blur data.

Next, S2 in the S2 blur memory mode
A blur data capturing method will be described with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS.

FIGS. 16 and 17 are flow charts showing the S2 blur data import control. In the data acquisition control shown in the figure, the blur waveform of S2 blur is captured three times, and the average value of these is used as S2 blur data. Further, the blur amount detection value D (n) detected by the blur amount detection circuit 29 is the blur waveform of S2 blur superimposed on the blur waveform of normal blur. D1
(n) is detected, and after that, the data D (n) of the combined wave of the normal blur and the S2 blur immediately after the operation of the shutter button 8 is detected, and the data of the blur waveform of the normal blur is detected from this data D (n). Subtracting D1 (n) to obtain S2 blurring waveform data D2 (n)
I am trying to detect.

When the S2 blur memory mode is set, the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 16 and 17 are executed.
The count value I for counting the number of times of capturing the S2 shake waveform is set to "1"(# 2), and the number of times of capturing I is displayed on the LCD display unit 11 (# 4).

Then, a preset predetermined period Δt
The blur amount D is detected by the blur amount detection circuit 29 (for example, 1 ms).
Detection of 1 (n) is started (# 6). This blur amount D1 (n)
Since the shutter button 8 has not been operated yet, is the data of the blur amount that constitutes the blur waveform of the normal blur.

Subsequently, it is determined whether or not the shake waveform at the start of the shake amount D1 (n) can be regarded as a shake waveform of normal shake (that is, whether it can be approximated to a predetermined basic sine waveform). Then, (# 8), when it can be regarded as a normal shake blur waveform (YES in # 8), data acquisition of the shake amount D1 (n) forming the normal shake blur waveform is started (# 1).
0).

The blur amount D1 (n) detected from the beginning is not taken in as the blur waveform data of the normal blur because it is not known whether the blur waveform at the start of detection is the blur waveform of the normal blur. This is for confirmation. The shake waveform of the normal shake can be empirically approximated to a sine wave having an amplitude level within a certain range. Therefore, the peak value of the detected shake amount D1 (n), that is, the change rate δ of the shake waveform is
When the absolute value | D1 | of the blur amount D1 (n) when | dD1 / dt | becomes approximately 0 is equal to or higher than the predetermined level b, it is estimated that it is not the blur waveform of the normal blur, and its peak value |
When D1 | becomes smaller than the predetermined level b, the data acquisition of the blur amount D1 (n) that constitutes the blur waveform of the normal blur is started.

That is, FIG. 18 shows an example of the waveform of the blur amount detected in the S2 blur memory mode, where the horizontal axis shows the sampling number N and the vertical axis shows the detection level. If the detection of the shake amount D1 (n) in step # 6 is started at N = 0, the peak point Q1, of the shake waveform is detected using the shake amount D1 (n) sequentially detected in the determination process in step # 8. Q2 ... Is detected, it is determined whether or not the amplitude of the peak point is within the range of ± b, and the normal shake blur waveform is generated at the timing of the peak point Q5 having the peak value within the range of ± b. The data acquisition of the blur amount D1 (n) that constitutes

At step # 10, the count value of the sampling number n of data acquisition of the blur amount D1 (n) is set to "1", and thereafter, the blur amount D1 (n) is detected at a predetermined cycle Δt. (# 12 to # 20). In this blur amount detection, the peak value of the blur waveform is detected using the data of the blur amount D1 (n) that is sequentially detected (# 1
4) When the first peak value (see Q6 in FIG. 18) is detected (NO in # 16), the sampling number n at that time is stored as the phase θ1, and the shake amount D1 (n) is not normally shaken. Is stored as the amplitude A of the blur waveform of (# 1
8).

When the second peak value (see Q7 of FIG. 18) is detected (YES in # 16), the sampling number n at that time is stored as the phase θ2 (# 18),
Then, the phase θ (= 4 (θ2−θ1)) of the shake waveform of the normal shake is calculated from the data of the phase θ1 and the phase θ2 (# 24).

Subsequently, the shake waveform BS1 approximated to the sine wave of the normal shake is determined from the amplitude A and the phase θ (#
26). When the sampling number of the phase difference (θ2-θ1) is q, the blurring waveform BS1 is BS1 (q) = Asin (θ).
= D1 (θ1) · sin (4q).

Then, a display for instructing the full-press operation of the shutter button 8 is displayed on the LCD display section 11 (# 2).
8). Instead of the display on the LCD display unit 11, or in addition to the display, a buzzer or the like may be sounded to give an operation instruction.

After that, when the S2 switch is turned on by fully pressing the shutter button 8 (YES in # 30),
The count value of the sampling number m of the data acquisition of the blur amount D2 (m) is set to "1"(# 32), and step # 2
The shake amount BS1 (4m) at the count value m of the shake waveform BS (q) of the normal shake determined in 6 is calculated (# 34).
This blur amount BS1 (4m) is a predicted value of the blur component of normal blur (see the waveform indicated by the dotted line in FIG. 18) included in the blur waveform of S2 blur that is currently occurring.

Subsequently, the blur amount detection circuit 29 detects the blur amount D2 (m) (see the waveform shown by the solid line in FIG. 18) (# 36), and the blur amount detection value D2 (m) is detected.
The predicted value BS1 (4m + ψ) of the blur component of the normal blur is subtracted from S2, and the blur amount BS2 (m) of the blur component of S2 blur = D2 (m) −
BS1 (4m + ψ) (see the waveform indicated by the alternate long and short dash line in FIG. 18) is calculated (# 38). The phase ψ of the predicted value BS1 (4m + ψ) of the blur component of the normal blur is the blur waveform B at the count start point of the count value m in FIG.
It is the phase of S1.

Detection of the shake amount D2 (m) of the composite wave of the shake waveform of the normal shake and the shake waveform of the S2 shake and this shake amount D2
The calculation of the blur amount BS2 (m) of the blur component of S2 blur based on (m) and the predicted value BS1 (4m) of the blur component of normal blur is S
2 shake blur component | BS2 (m) |
It is carried out at a predetermined cycle Δt until it becomes below (# 34 to #
40 loop), when | BS2 (m) | ≦ c (# 40
YES), the blur amount BS of the blur component of the first S2 blur
Data of 2 (m, 1) (m = 1, 2, ...) Is stored (#
42). In addition, "1" in the parentheses of the blur amount BS2 (m, 1) indicates that it is the first calculated value.

Subsequently, it is determined whether or not the count value I has become "3"(# 44), and if I <3 (YES in # 44), the count value I is incremented by 1 (# 46). ), Returning to step # 4, the same processing as described above is repeated to calculate the data of the blur amount BS2 (m, I + 1) (m = 1, 2, ...) Of the blur component of the (I + 1) th S2 blur. Is performed. Since I = 1 this time, the process returns to step # 4 and the blur amount B of the blur component of the second and third S2 blurs.
The calculation processing of the data of S2 (m, 2) and BS2 (m, 3) is performed, and when this processing ends (NO in # 44), the blur amount BS2 (m, 1) of the blur component of the S2 blur for three times. ), BS2 (m,
2), BS2 (m, 3) average value BS (m) = {BS2 (m, 1) +
BS2 (m, 2) + BS2 (m, 3)} / 3 is calculated, the calculation result BS (m) is stored in the memory 203 as S2 blur data (# 46), and then the process ends.

In the above embodiment, the data of the blur amount BS2 (m, I) of the blur component of the S2 blur is captured a plurality of times, and the average value of these is used as the S2 blur data. The operator may be allowed to select whether the operation is performed once or only once. In this way, if the number of acquisitions is set to 1, the S2 blur data can be quickly obtained, and if the number of acquisitions is set to be multiple, highly accurate S2 blur data can be obtained, and the operator can obtain the purpose. Accordingly, it becomes possible to select the S2 blur data capturing method. Further, in the above embodiment, the coefficient k2 of the calculation formula (6) of the blur correction control value F2 (n) is set in advance, but it is based on the blur component data of the S2 blur captured in the S2 blur memory mode. Alternatively, the coefficient k2 may be determined.

Next, the control of the blur correction photographing of the blur correction camera according to the present invention will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS.

When the main switch 13 is pressed to turn on the power switch S _{M (not} shown) and the camera 1 is activated, it is determined whether or not the shake correction mode is set by the shake correction mode setting button 9 ( # 50).

If the shake correction mode is not set (NO in # 50), the processes of steps # 52 to # 62 described later are skipped and the process proceeds to step # 64 to determine whether the S1 switch is in the ON state. Is determined (# 6
4).

If the shake correction mode is set (# 5
(YES at 0), the amount of blur of the subject light image due to camera shake is detected, and the detected value D (n) is stored in the memory 20.
The estimated value of the blur amount immediately after the release operation is added by adding the S2 blur data BS (n) stored in 3 (hereinafter, this estimated value is referred to as the S2 blur estimated value) DS (n) (= D (n)).
+ BS (n)) (n = 1, 2, ...) Is calculated, and whether or not shake correction is possible is determined from this calculation result (# 52 to # 6).
0).

The amount of blurring D (n) of the subject light image is detected by the photometric circuit 21 by detecting the subject brightness (# 5
2) In consideration of the detection result, the blur amount detection circuit 29 performs the predetermined period (# 54). Further, the S2 blur estimated value DS (n) is calculated from the memory 203 by the sampling number n.
The S2 blur data BS (n) corresponding to is read out, and this S2 blur data BS (n) is detected as the blur amount D (n).
And is calculated (# 56).

Further, whether or not the blur correction is possible is determined by whether or not the absolute value of the calculated S2 blur estimated value DS (n) exceeds a predetermined threshold value d set in advance.
If (n) |> d, it is determined that blur correction is not possible (#
60).

If the S2 blur estimated value DS (n) is too large to correct the blur (NO in # 60), the interrupt of the S1 switch is prohibited (that is, the half-press operation of the shutter button 8 is not permitted). LED display P2 and symbol mark S in the display area A2 in the viewfinder
P1 is turned on and a warning to that effect is given (# 62). It should be noted that in this warning process, the blur amount detection value D (n) and S2
The blur estimation value DS (n) is also displayed in the display area A in the viewfinder.
3 and A4 are displayed as levels in the display form shown in FIG. 5 or 6. The shake amount detection value D (n) is displayed on the upper level display section in the display area A3 and is displayed on the left level display section in the display area A4. Further, the S2 blur estimated value DS (n) is displayed on the lower level display section of the display area A3, and is displayed on the right level display section of the display area A4.

The warning that the blurring correction is impossible is continued until the blurring correction becomes possible (loop of # 52 to # 62), and when the blurring correction becomes possible (YES in # 60), the interruption prohibition of the S1 switch is released. Then (that is, the half-press operation of the shutter button 8 is permitted), and it is determined whether or not the S1 switch is in the ON state (# 64).

If the S1 switch is in the off state (NO in # 64), the process returns to step # 50, and the blur amount D (n) is set in accordance with the set state of the blur correction mode until the S1 switch is turned on. Detection and S2 blur estimation value DS
The calculation of (n) and the display of the shake amount detection value D (n) and the S2 shake estimated value DS (n) are continued (loop of # 50 to # 62).

When the S1 switch is turned on (# 64
YES), the distance measuring circuit 22 detects the subject distance,
The AF control value of the taking lens 3 is calculated based on the subject distance, and the A of the taking lens 3 is calculated based on the AF control value.
F control is performed (# 66). Then, the photometric circuit 21
The subject brightness is detected by and the exposure control value is set based on the subject brightness (# 68).

Subsequently, it is judged whether or not the shake correction mode is set (# 70), and if the shake correction mode is set (YES in # 70), the shake correction for the normal shake is started (step 70). # 72). At this time, since the shutter button 8 has not been operated yet, the blur correction for the normal blur is performed without considering the blur component of the S2 blur.

That is, the blurring amount detection circuit 29 detects the blurring amount D1 (n), and the blurring correction control value computing unit 201 of the control unit 20 uses the blurring amount D1 (n) to represent the above equation (4). Shake correction control value F
1 (n) is calculated, and the blur correction lenses 32 and 33 are driven based on the blur correction control value F1 (n) to perform blur correction. That is, the shake correction control value F of the captured image in the X direction
The shake correction lens 32 is driven in the X direction based on 1 _x (n), and the shake correction control value F1 _y (n) of the captured image in the Y direction is also used.
Based on this, the blur correction lens 33 is driven in the Y direction to cancel the blur amounts ξ _x and ξ _y of the subject light image on the exposure surface.

On the other hand, if the shake correction mode is not set (NO in # 70), the above step # 72 is skipped and the shake correction process is not performed.

Subsequently, it is determined whether or not the S2 switch is turned on by the full-press operation of the shutter button 8 (# 74), and if the S2 switch is off (# 72).
NO), it is determined whether or not the S1 switch is still in the ON state (# 76). If the S1 switch is in the OFF state (NO in # 76), the process returns to step # 50 and the S1 switch is in the ON state. If continues (YE in # 76
S), returning to step # 74, the release standby state is continued until the S2 switch is turned on (# 74, #
Loop of 76).

When the S2 switch is turned on (YES in # 74), the shake correction for the normal shake is performed in S2.
The blur correction is switched to the blur correction, and the blur correction process is started (# 78).

That is, when the S2 switch is turned on,
After the sampling count value n is reset, the blur amount D (n) is detected. Since this blur amount D (n) is a combination of the normal blur component D1 (n) and the S2 blur component D2 (n), the memory 203 stores the S2 blur component D2 (n) in the memory 203.
Since the S2 blur data BS (n) is read out, and this S2 blur data BS (n) is subtracted from the blur amount D (n), the blur component D1 (n) of the normal blur is calculated.

Further, the blur correction control value F1 (n) for the blur component of the normal blur is calculated by the equation (4) using the blur component D1 (n), and the S2 blur data BS (n) is used to calculate the blur correction control value F1 (n). The blur correction control value F2 (n) for the blur component of the S2 blur is calculated by the equation (6), and the blur correction control value F1 (n) and the blur correction control value F2 (n) are added to generate the S2 blur. The blur correction control value G (n) at the time is calculated. In addition,
The blur correction control value F2 (n) may be calculated using the S2 blur data BS (n) in the S2 blur memory mode and stored in the memory 203.

Then, the blur correction lenses 32 and 33 are driven based on the blur correction control value G (n) to perform blur correction. That is, the blur correction lens 32 is driven in the X direction based on the blur correction control value G1 _x (n) of the captured image in the X direction, and the blur correction control value G1 of the captured image in the Y direction is set.
_The shake correction lens 33 is driven in the Y direction based on _y (n), and the shake amounts ξ _x and ξ _y of the subject light image on the exposure surface are canceled.

Also, the shake amount after shake correction D (n) ″ is calculated by the above equation (9) using the shake correction control values F1 (n) and F2 (n).
(S2 blurring predicted value when blurring is corrected) is calculated, and the calculated value D (n) ″ and the blurring amount detection value D (n) are calculated.
And are displayed as levels in the display areas A3 and A4 in the viewfinder in the display form shown in FIG. 5 or 6. The shake amount detection value D (n) is displayed on the upper level display section in the display area A3 and is displayed on the left level display section in the display area A4. In addition, the blur correction predicted value D of S2 blur
(N) ″ is displayed in the lower level display section of the display area A3, and is displayed in the right level display section of the display area A4 (# 80).

It should be noted that the blur correction predicted value D for S2 blur
(N) ″ is calculated immediately after the shutter button 8 is fully pressed, and approximates to the correction of the blurring that actually occurs with S2 blurring. Therefore, in this display,
The actual shake amount (predicted value) after shake correction is displayed.

Subsequently, when the blur correction for the S2 blur and the display of the blur correction predicted value are started, the lens shutter 28 is immediately driven to perform photographing (# 82). When the photographing is completed, the blur correcting operation is performed. Is stopped (# 84), the film is wound up by one frame (# 86), and the process returns to step # 50 to perform the next shooting.

In the above processing, the S2 blur estimated value DS
When the shake correction is determined by (n) and the shake correction cannot be performed, both the S1 switch interrupt prohibition and the warning are performed, but either one may be performed.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the determination as to whether or not the blur correction is to be performed based on the S2 blur estimated value is made before the shutter button 8 is operated. However, when the S1 switch is turned on and the preparation for photographing is made. It may be possible to judge whether or not the shake correction is possible based on the S2 shake estimated value, and to prohibit the release (when the S2 switch is not allowed) when the shake correction is impossible.

As described above, before the release operation, S2 blur data BS (n) is added to the detected value D (n) of the blur amount and S2 immediately after the release by the operation of the shutter button 8 is performed.
The blur estimation value DS (n) is calculated, and whether or not blur correction is possible is determined using the S2 blur estimation value DS (n).
When the image stabilization is not possible, a warning is issued to that effect. Therefore, when it is estimated that the camera shake is too large to perform the image stabilization immediately after the shutter release operation of the shutter button 8, it is possible to take a picture without the image stabilization by mistake. It is possible to prevent being exposed. Especially when blur correction is not possible, S1
Switch (or S2 switch) interrupt prohibition (ie,
Since the release operation is prohibited), it is possible to reliably prevent the shooting failure.

In the above embodiment, the blur correction lens capable of changing the image formation position of the subject light image on the exposure surface is provided to optically suppress the blur of the subject light image on the fixed image formation surface. The type of camera was explained, but the exposure surface is provided so that the position can be changed with respect to the optical axis of the taking lens, and the position of the exposure surface is displaced to suppress blurring of the imaging position of the subject light image on the exposure surface. The present invention is also applied to possible types of cameras (for example, in a digital camera using a solid-state image sensor such as CCD, a camera in which the image sensor is configured so that the position of the image plane can be changed with respect to the optical axis of the taking lens). can do. In addition, the digital camera is not limited to the type in which the image-forming position of the subject light image on the image pickup surface is relatively displaced to suppress the blur, and for example, an image pickup element having an image pickup area larger than the image pickup screen is provided to shoot an image. The present invention can also be applied to a type in which an image extraction range (a range corresponding to an image pickup screen) in an image pickup area to be captured as an image is changed to perform pseudo blur correction.

[0161]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Before release, information about blurring such as the amount of blurring on the exposed surface of the subject light image is detected, and the detected value and information about blurring such as the amount of blurring caused only by the operation of the shutter operating member stored in the storage means in advance. calculating an estimate of the information on blur immediately after the release is instructed by the shutter operating member based on, further with judges whether the blurring correction using the estimated value, when the shake correction impossible, Lelie
At least one of prohibition of zooming operation and uncorrectable image stabilization
Since the other process is performed, it is possible to prevent erroneous shooting (erroneous shooting of a photo that is not shake-corrected) when the camera shake is too large to be shake-corrected.

In particular, when the shake correction cannot be performed, the photographer is warned to that effect, so that the photographer can surely take appropriate measures against blur during photographing.

Further, since the release operation is prohibited when the shake correction is impossible, it is possible to surely prevent erroneous photographing.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view showing an appearance of a blur correction camera according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a rear view showing the outer appearance of the image stabilization camera according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a display unit in a finder.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration of a level display unit.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example in which a blur amount detection value and a blur correction predicted value are displayed in levels on a level display unit.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example in which a blur amount detection value and a blur correction predicted value are displayed at peak levels on a level display unit.

FIG. 7 is a block configuration diagram of a blur correction camera according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a block configuration diagram of a blur amount detection circuit.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a divided image of small blocks provided in a captured image.

FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view showing the structure of an optical system for blur correction.

FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining a basic principle of optically reducing blur of a subject light image on an exposure surface.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a blur amount correction prediction value when blur correction is performed based on a blur correction principle.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a simulation result of a blur correction predicted value in normal blur.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a simulation result of a blur correction predicted value in S2 blur.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a simulation result of a blur correction predicted value in S2 blur when blur correction is performed for each blur component of a blur waveform.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing data acquisition control of a blur waveform of S2 blur in the S2 blur memory mode.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing data acquisition control of a blur waveform of S2 blur in the S2 blur memory mode.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing an example of a waveform of a blur amount detected in an S2 blur memory mode.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing control of shake correction shooting of the shake correction camera according to the present invention.

FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing control of shake correction shooting of the shake correction camera according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 camera 2 camera body 3 taking lens 4 metering window 5 ranging window 6 viewfinder objective window 7 grip section 8 shutter button (shutter operation member) 9 image stabilization mode setting button 10 viewfinder eyepiece window 11 LCD display section 12 S2 blur memory mode setting Button 13 Main switch 14 Zoom switch 15 Battery compartment 20 Control unit (processing unit) 201 Shake correction control value calculation unit 202 S2 shake data calculation unit 203 Memory (storage unit) 204 S2 shake estimated value calculation unit (calculation unit) 205 Blur Correction determination unit (determination unit) 21 Photometric circuit 22 Distance measurement circuit 23 Z motor control circuit 24 Zoom lens 25 AF motor control circuit 26 Focus lens 27 Aperture / shutter control circuit 28 Lens shutter 29 Shake amount detection circuit (shake detection unit) 30 , 31 blur correction motor control times Roads 301, 311 Motors 32, 33 Shake correction lens 34 Display control circuit 35 Display unit 37 Lens holders 38, 39 Holding frames 40, 41 Light emitting elements 42, 43 Pins 44, 45 Drive gears 46, 47 Light receiving elements 48 Presser ring S _A , S _B , S1, S2 switches

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (56) References JP-A-7-20547 (JP, A) JP-A-7-28146 (JP, A) JP-A-8-256289 (JP, A) JP-A-5- 22649 (JP, A) JP-A-5-204019 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G03B 5/00

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A blur correction camera capable of correcting blur of a subject light image on an exposure surface, which is caused only by an operation of a blur detection means for detecting information on the blur of the subject light image and an operation of a shutter operating member for instructing a release. The blurring information is stored by the blurring detecting means before the release and the blurring information is detected by the blurring detecting means before the release. Based on the detection result and the blurring information of the subject light image stored in the storage means. Calculating means for calculating an estimated value of information on the blur of the subject light image immediately after the shutter operation member has instructed release, and discriminating means for discriminating whether or not the estimated value exceeds a preset threshold value. , When the estimated value exceeds the threshold,
At least warning of prohibition of release operation and failure of image stabilization
An image stabilization camera, comprising: a processing unit that performs one of the processes. 2. The blur correction camera according to claim 1, wherein the information on the blur of the subject light image is a blur amount of the subject light image on the exposure surface.