JP4135400B2 - Digital still camera - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a digital still camera having a monitor device such as a liquid crystal monitor and having a specific photometric range set on a part of a photographing screen.
[0002]
[Prior art]
As a camera metering mode, there is center-weighted metering that focuses on the center of the shooting screen. Conventionally, there is a digital still camera that can change the size of the center-weighted metering range in the center-weighted metering. The change is made in the custom setting of the camera, and a plurality of selectable photometry range sizes are displayed on the screen of the liquid crystal monitor, and one of them is selected and determined.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the configuration in which the size of the photometric range is displayed only as a numerical value, it is difficult to grasp the ratio of the center-weighted photometric range in the entire screen, and there is a problem that it is not always possible to set the optimal photometric range for the photographer.
[0004]
An object of the present invention is to provide a digital still camera in which the proportion of the important metering range in the photographing screen can be intuitively grasped.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The present invention is applicable to a digital still camera that can perform a metering method that focuses light on a priority metering range set in a photographing screen and can change the priority metering range.
Then, have a display screen, along with the choice of the size of the plurality of center-weighted metering range is listed, a first screen any options have been selected is indicated, one of the alternatives A monitor device capable of displaying on the display screen a second screen for displaying the center-weighted metering range as a graphic when the display screen is regarded as a shooting screen, and a change operation for instructing to change the center-weighted metering range, And an operation device capable of switching between the first and second screens, and when the change operation is performed by the operation member when the first screen is displayed on the display screen, the center portion is emphasized according to the operation. When the metering range is changed and the switching operation is performed by the operating member when the first screen is displayed, the display is switched to the second screen, and the changing operation is performed when the second screen is displayed. When And a control unit for changing the shapes on the second screen according to the change with changing the center-weighted metering range in response to the operation, thereby solving the above problems.
Here, “changing the photometric range” in the claims means changing the size (area) without changing the shape of the photometric range, and changing the shape itself (for example, changing from a circle to an ellipse). ) It is a concept that includes cases. The term “focused metering” includes both the case where the metering output of only the keying metering range is used and the case where the metering output of another region is used but the weighting of the metering output in that range is increased.
According to the second aspect of the present invention, an image can be displayed on the display screen, and a graphic indicating the weighted metering range is displayed superimposed on the image.
In the invention of claim 3, when the switching operation is performed by the operation member while the first screen is displayed, the center-weighted photometric range corresponding to the option selected on the first screen is displayed on the second screen. It is made to display with .
The invention according to claim 4 displays information indicating which of the above options corresponds to the figure corresponding to the center-weighted metering range displayed on the second screen. is there.
[0006]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 1 is a schematic rear view of a digital still camera according to the present embodiment. A liquid crystal monitor 2 and operation members 3, 4, and 5 are provided on the back surface of the camera body 1. The liquid crystal monitor 2 has a rectangular display screen 2A. On the screen 2A, a captured image is displayed, and various setting information of the camera is displayed. As will be described later, the liquid crystal monitor 2 is also used when performing custom settings. The operation member 3 is a menu button for displaying a menu screen (for example, FIG. 3) for various settings on the screen 2A or canceling the display. The operation member 4 is a monitor button for displaying a photographed image on the screen 2A and canceling the display.
[0007]
The operation member is a multi-selector 5 and has four pressing portions 5a to 5d on the top, bottom, left and right as shown in FIG. The upper and lower pressing portions 5a and 5b are used when selecting one of options (items and functions) arranged in the vertical direction on the menu screen. The selection items and functions are changed upward by the pressing operation of the pressing portion 5a, and are changed downward by the pressing operation of the pressing portion 5b. The right pressing portion 5c corresponds to a determination button, and when this is pressed, an item or function selected on the screen 2A is determined. The left pressing portion 5d is for selecting a numerical value and a function for the selected item. Further, as will be described later, the pressing portion 5d is also used when displaying a circle indicating the photometric range.
[0008]
The operation signals of the operation members 3 to 5 described above are input to the CPU 51 shown in FIG. 15, and the CPU 51 performs display control by the liquid crystal monitor 2 by the display drive circuit 52 in response to these operation signals.
[0009]
Next, the change of the photometric range in this embodiment will be described.
In the present embodiment, division photometry, center-weighted photometry, spot photometry, or the like can be set as the photometry mode of the camera. Of these, center-weighted metering measures the center-weighted metering range set in the center of the shooting screen and the surrounding area separately, and weights the metered output of the center-weighted metering range more heavily than the surroundings to calculate the exposure. Is to do. This metering method is also called, for example, center-weighted average metering, but in this embodiment is called center-weighted metering. The center-weighted photometric range is assumed to be circular, and its size (diameter) is variable. Although the center-weighted metering range itself can be changed by a conventional camera, the present embodiment is different from the prior art in that the center-weighted metering range can be displayed as a graphic on the screen 2A when the change is made. Hereinafter, this difference will be described in detail.
[0010]
When the change of the center-weighted photometry range is designated by the custom setting, a photometry range change screen as shown in FIG. 6 is displayed on the screen 2A of the liquid crystal monitor 2. By operating the pressing portions 5a and 5b of the multi-selector 5 in this state, the size of the center-weighted photometry range can be selected from φ6 mm, φ8 mm, φ10 mm, and φ13 mm. FIG. 6 shows an example in which φ8 mm is selected. Next, when the pressing portion 5d is operated, a graphic (circle) 60 indicating the selected photometric range is displayed on the screen 2A as shown in FIG. 7, and a numerical value (φ8) indicating the diameter is displayed. The mark below the numerical value is an indication that the selected photometric range is determined by operating the pressing portion 5c.
[0011]
Here, a circle 60 indicates the center-weighted metering range when the entire screen 2A of the liquid crystal monitor 2 is regarded as a shooting screen. Precisely, the inside of the circle 60 is the center-weighted metering range, and the circumference indicates the boundary between the center-weighted metering range and the surrounding area. The operator who has seen this can intuitively grasp the position of the center-weighted metering range on the shooting screen and the extent of the ratio.
[0012]
Furthermore, when the monitor button 4 is operated in the state of FIG. 7, the image is displayed on the screen 2A without changing the circle 60 (FIG. 8). An image here is image data imaged by an image sensor such as a CCD and subjected to predetermined processing. In this case, an image of a subject currently facing the photographing lens may be displayed in real time, or an image recorded on a memory card may be read and displayed.
[0013]
When the pressing portion 5a or 5b is pressed in the state of FIG. 8, the size (selection value) of the center-weighted metering range is changed, and for example, the size of the circle 60 on the screen 2A as shown in FIGS. Will be changed accordingly. Since the photometric range can be superimposed on the subject and displayed in this manner, the operator can accurately set the center-weighted photometric range for the subject. For example, when it is desired to perform photometry with priority on the face portion of the subject in person photography as shown in FIGS. 8 to 10, an optimum center-weighted photometry range can be set according to the face size. When the optimum photometric range can be displayed, by operating the pressing portion 5c, the photometric range displayed at that time is determined and reflected in the next photometry.
Further, the change and determination of the photometric range as described above can be performed in a state in which the photographed image is not displayed and only the circle 60 is displayed (FIGS. 7, 11, and 12).
[0014]
Flowcharts for realizing the above operation in software are shown in FIGS. This is intended to be executed by the C PU51, unrelated operations is omitted.
This program is activated in response to the operation of the menu button 3, and first, a menu screen as shown in FIG. 3 is displayed on the screen 2A of the liquid crystal monitor 2 (step S1). In this state, when the pressing portions 5a and 5b of the multi-selector 5 are appropriately operated, a custom menu screen as shown in FIG. 4 is obtained, and when the pressing portion 5c is further operated, the custom setting can be changed (steps S2 and S3).
[0015]
Next, when the pressing portions 5a and 5b are appropriately operated, the center-weighted photometry range change shown in FIG. 5 is selected, and the screen of FIG. 6 is obtained by further operating the pressing portion 5c (steps S4 and S5). When the screen of FIG. 6 is displayed, the process goes through a loop of steps S6 to S8 and waits for an operation of any of the pressing portions 5a to 5d of the multi-selector 5. At this time, when the operation unit 5a or 5b is operated, the selection of the center-weighted photometry range is changed (step S6 → S9), and the process returns to the loop again. When the pressing portion 5c is pressed, the selected center-weighted photometry range is determined (step S7 → S10), and the screen returns to the first menu screen (step S1).
[0016]
On the other hand, when the pressing portion 5d is operated while turning around the loop, the process proceeds from step S8 to step S11 of FIG. 14, and the selected center-weighted photometric range is displayed in a circle (for example, FIG. 7). ). Subsequently, the operation of the pressing portions 5a to 5c or the monitor button 4 is waited for in a loop of steps S12 to S14. When the pressing unit 5a or 5b is operated at this time, the selection of the photometric range is changed, and the size of the circle indicating the photometric range is changed in accordance with the change (step S12 → S15: FIG. 11 and FIG. 12). When the operation unit 5c is operated, the selected center-weighted photometry range is determined (step S13 → S16), and then the menu screen is displayed again (step S1).
[0017]
On the other hand, when the monitor button 4 is operated during the loop of steps S12 to S14, it is determined whether or not an image that has been shot is displayed (steps S14 to S17). If it is not displayed, an image is displayed (step S18), whereby the image and the photometric range are superimposed. If an image has already been displayed, the image display is canceled (step S19).
If the menu button 3 is operated during the processing of FIGS. 13 and 14, the menu display and custom setting are canceled and the normal display is restored.
[0018]
Note that the processes in FIGS. 13 and 14 show an example, and the photometric range changing procedure is not limited to the above. In the above, the center-weighted metering range has been taken as an example. For example, a method of performing exposure calculation using a metering output of only the center portion of the screen without measuring the peripheral area of the screen (sometimes referred to as partial metering). Good. Furthermore, the weighted metering range may be a shape other than a circle (for example, an ellipse). In the above-described embodiment, the shape of the weighted metering range itself is not changed and only the size can be changed. However, the shape itself may be changed. For example, the shape may be changed from a circle to an ellipse, or the shape of the ellipse may be changed. Further, the position of the important metering range is not limited to the center of the screen, and the number is not limited to one.
[0019]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, since the weighted metering range when the display screen is regarded as a shooting screen can be displayed as a graphic on the display screen of the monitor device, the center-weighted metering on the shooting screen is compared with the display of only the numerical value. The ratio of the range can be grasped intuitively and the optimum photometric range can be set.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic rear view of a digital still camera according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a multi-selector (operation member) of the camera.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a menu screen.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a custom menu screen.
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a screen in which a change of the center-weighted photometry range is selected.
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a screen for changing the center-weighted metering range.
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a screen displaying a center-weighted metering range in a circle.
FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a screen in which a center-weighted metering range is displayed superimposed on a captured image.
FIG. 9 is a view similar to FIG. 8, showing a state in which the middle-weighted metering range is enlarged.
FIG. 10 is a view similar to FIG. 8, showing a state where the center-weighted photometry range is further enlarged.
FIG. 11 is a view similar to FIG. 7 and shows a state in which the center-weighted photometry range is reduced.
12 is a view similar to FIG. 7 and shows a state where the center-weighted photometry range is enlarged. FIG.
FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure when changing the size of the center-weighted metering range.
FIG. 14 is a flowchart following FIG. 13;
FIG. 15 is a block diagram showing a control system of the camera.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 Camera body 2 LCD monitor 2A Display screen 3 Menu button 4 Monitor button 5 Multi selector 51 CPU
52 Display drive circuit 60 Circle indicating the photometric range

Claims (4)

In a digital still camera that is capable of metering that focuses on the center-weighted metering range set in the shooting screen and that can change the center-weighted metering range,
Have a display screen, for with choice in the size of the plurality of center-weighted metering range is listed, a first screen any options have been selected is indicated, one of the alternatives A monitor device capable of displaying on the display screen a second screen for displaying the center-weighted metering range as a graphic when the display screen is regarded as the photographing screen ;
A change operation for instructing to change the center-weighted metering range, and an operation device capable of at least a switching operation of the first and second screens ;
When the change operation is performed by the operation member while the first screen is displayed on the display screen, the center-weighted metering range is changed according to the operation, and the first screen is displayed. When the switching operation is performed by the operation member while the display is being performed, the display is switched to the second screen, and when the change operation is performed while the second screen is displayed, the center is changed according to the operation. A digital still camera comprising: a control device that changes a part-weighted metering range and changes the graphic on the second screen according to the change . 2. The digital still camera according to claim 1, wherein an image can be displayed on the display screen, and the control device displays a graphic indicating the weighted metering range in a superimposed manner on the image. When the switching operation is performed by the operation member while the first screen is displayed, the control device displays the center-weighted photometric range corresponding to the option selected on the first screen. 3. The digital camera according to claim 1 , wherein the graphic is displayed on two screens . The control device displays on the second screen information indicating which of the options corresponds to the graphic corresponding to the center-weighted metering range displayed on the second screen. The digital camera according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

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