JP4243844B2 - Image capturing apparatus and image capturing method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image capturing apparatus and an image capturing method thereof, and more particularly to an image capturing apparatus and an image capturing method capable of simultaneously performing image capturing with different image capturing conditions and image capturing modes.

Conventionally, in digital cameras, the method of shooting by changing the shooting conditions such as shutter speed and aperture to affect the shooting of the subject is the same as the old silver halide camera, but in digital cameras, The captured image can be seen immediately on the spot, and it is possible to retake it by changing the shooting conditions.
It is also possible to set a shooting mode such as still image, moving image, continuous shooting, etc.

  Further, the following patent publication discloses an invention in which a plurality of programs corresponding to shooting modes are set and shooting is performed according to the program control. Specifically, shooting is performed not only with the aperture and shutter speed, but also with program control that adds digital processing such as hue and sensitivity.

Published Patent Publication JP 2000-196946 (see paragraph “0039” and paragraph “0046”)

However, the conventional digital camera (single digital camera) has the following problems because it performs shooting by setting one shooting condition and shooting mode in advance.
(A) Since one shooting condition (for example, shutter speed, etc.) is set in advance, in the case of a shutter chance that cannot be retaken such as a decisive moment, the shooting fails due to a setting error of the shooting condition, etc. there were.
(B) Since only one shooting condition and shooting mode can be set, the same object cannot be simultaneously shot under a plurality of different shooting conditions and shooting modes. In addition, when it is desired to change the shooting conditions again, it is necessary to change settings such as the shooting conditions at the time of shooting, which is troublesome, time consuming and troublesome.
(C) Even when continuous shooting is performed using a digital camera, the speed of continuous shooting is limited due to problems such as the function of the digital camera.
(D) In the case of simultaneously performing moving image shooting and still image shooting of the same object using a digital camera, moving image shooting must be temporarily interrupted to perform still image shooting.
(E) The above (a) to (c) are for shooting with one camera. If you want to shoot a subject at the same time by changing shooting conditions and shooting modes, prepare two separate digital cameras in advance. I had to take two digital cameras with different shooting conditions and shooting modes by myself to shoot the subject, which was troublesome and cumbersome.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of such conventional problems, and a single digital camera can simultaneously shoot a plurality of images with different shooting conditions and shooting modes, and is accompanied by interruption of movie shooting. It is an object of the present invention to provide a photographing apparatus capable of easily performing still image photographing and a photographing method thereof.

For the above purpose achieve, the imaging apparatus according to the first aspect of the invention, the photography mode is set to perform the two photographing means for photographing a subject, and a one shot instruction in the first-curtain synchronization capturing and rear curtain sync If the shooting instruction is given in a state where the shooting mode is set by the setting unit, the first-curtain sync shooting is executed by one shooting unit, and the shooting start timing is set by the other shooting unit. Is different from the shooting start timing of the first-curtain sync shooting, and control means for controlling the two shooting means so that the second-curtain sync shooting is executed so that the exposure period partially overlaps the exposure period of the first-curtain sync shooting It is characterized by providing.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the photographing apparatus according to the first aspect, wherein after the flash emission related to the first-curtain sync shooting is completed, the control means is an exposure period related to the first-curtain sync shooting. Until the end of the exposure, exposure related to the trailing curtain sync photographing is started.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the photographing apparatus according to the second aspect, the length of the exposure period related to the front curtain sync shooting is less than the length of the exposure period related to the rear curtain sync shooting. It is characterized by being.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a photographing method of a photographing apparatus comprising two photographing means for photographing a subject, wherein first-curtain sync shooting and rear-curtain sync shooting with one shooting instruction. A setting step for setting a shooting mode for performing the shooting, and when a shooting instruction is given in a state where the shooting mode is set by the setting step, leading curtain sync shooting is executed by one shooting means, and the other shooting mode is set. The two shootings are performed so that shooting start timing is different from shooting start timing of the first-curtain sync shooting and rear-curtain sync shooting is performed with an exposure period partially overlapping with the exposure period of the first-curtain sync shooting. And a control step for controlling the means.

According to the first and fourth aspects of the present invention, the first-curtain sync shooting and the second-curtain sync shooting are executed by one shooting instruction, and therefore the first-curtain sync shooting image and the second-curtain sync shooting image of the same subject. Can be obtained almost simultaneously.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to avoid the influence on the exposure of the rear curtain sync photographing due to the flash emission related to the front curtain sync photographing.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, even if the shutter speeds of the image pickup units are different, it is possible to avoid the influence on the exposure of the rear curtain sync photographing due to the flash emission related to the front curtain sync photographing.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings as an example applied to a single digital camera.

[Embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the digital camera 1. 1 includes a CCD 2, a CCD 3, a TG (timing generator) 4, a unit circuit 5, a CPU 6, a DRAM 7, a ROM 8, a RAM 9, an image display unit 10, a key input unit 11, a card I / F 12, a lens 14, and a lens. 15, an aperture / shutter 16, an aperture / shutter 17, a motor drive block 18, and a motor drive block 19, and a memory card that is detachably mounted in a card slot of a camera body (not shown) on the card I / F 12. 13 is connected.

The lenses 14 and 15 are composed of a focus lens and a zoom lens (not shown). The drive blocks 18 and 19 include a focus lens and a zoom motor that drive the focus lens and the zoom lens in the optical axis direction, and motor drivers that respectively drive the focus motor and the zoom motor according to control signals sent from the CPU 6. (Not shown).
The diaphragm / shutter 16 and the diaphragm / shutter 17 include a driving circuit (not shown), and the driving circuit operates the diaphragm / shutter in accordance with a control signal sent from the CPU 6. The diaphragm / shutter 16 is installed between the CCD 2 and the lens 14, and the diaphragm / shutter 17 is installed between the CCD 3 and the lens 15.

The CCD 2 photoelectrically converts the subject projected through the lens 14 and outputs it to the unit circuit 5 as an imaging signal. The CCD 3 photoelectrically converts the subject projected through the lens 15 and outputs it to the unit circuit 5 as an imaging signal. The CCDs 2 and 3 are set so that their optical axes are parallel to each other toward the same subject.
The CCD2 and CCD3 are driven by a timing signal having a predetermined frequency generated by the TG4. A unit circuit is connected to TG4. The unit circuit 5 includes a CDS (Correlated Double Sampling) circuit that holds the imaging signals output from the CCD 2 and the CCD 3 by correlated double sampling, a gain adjustment amplifier (AGC) that amplifies the imaging signals, and the amplified imaging signals. It is composed of an A / D converter (AD) for converting it into a digital signal, and the output signals of the CCD 2 and CCD 3 are sent to the CPU 6 as a digital signal through the unit circuit 5.

  The image display unit 10 includes a color LCD and its driving circuit, displays the subject image captured by the CCD 2 and the CCD 3 as a through image when in the shooting standby state, and reads it from the storage memory card 13 when reproducing the recorded image. The extracted recorded image (still image or moving image) is displayed. The key input unit 11 includes a plurality of operation keys such as a shutter button, an execution key, a cancel key, a power key, and a MENU key, and outputs a key input signal corresponding to the key operation by the user to the CPU 6.

The DRAM 7 is used as a buffer memory for temporarily storing digitized subject image data after being imaged by the CCD 2 and the CCD 3, and also as a working memory for the CPU 6.
The ROM 8 and RAM 9 store control programs and necessary data necessary for the control of each unit by the CPU 6. In particular, programs and data for shooting conditions (shutter speed, aperture, zoom, emphasis color, sensitivity, etc.) and shooting modes (still image / movie mode, high-speed continuous shooting mode, front curtain / rear curtain sync, etc.) are recorded. .

Here, the still image / moving image mode is a shooting mode in which a still image is captured by one of the CCDs and a moving image is captured by the other CCD.
Further, the high-speed continuous shooting mode is that the CCD 2 and the CCD 3 continuously image a subject at a constant interval, and the opening / closing cycle of the aperture / shutter 16 and the opening / closing cycle of the aperture / shutter 17 are the same cycle. Is a shooting mode in which the phases are shifted by a half cycle, and each of the CCDs 2 and 3 continuously images the subject. Note that the delay of the cycle is not limited to a half cycle, and can be arbitrarily set.

The first-curtain sync / second-curtain sync mode is a shooting mode in which one of the CCDs captures the subject with the first-curtain sync and the other CCD captures the subject with the second-curtain sync. First-curtain sync is to capture a subject by firing a strobe (not shown) at the same time that the aperture shutter is opened. is there.

At this time, for example, when imaging with the CCD 2 as the first-curtain sync and with the CCD 3 as the second-curtain sync, first, the aperture / shutter 16 is opened and at the same time, the strobe is emitted, and the CCD 2 starts capturing the first-curtain sync image. At this time, the aperture / shutter 17 remains closed. Then, after the strobe light is sufficiently exhausted, the aperture / shutter 17 is opened, and the CCD 3 starts to capture the rear curtain sync image. Then, after the first-curtain sync imaging is completed (after the aperture / shutter 16 is closed), the strobe is emitted, and the rear-curtain sync imaging is terminated (the aperture / shutter 17 is closed).
Accordingly, the ROM 8 and RAM 9 store programs for controlling the diaphragm shutters 16 and 17 and controlling the timing at which the strobe light is emitted by the front curtain / rear curtain.

  When the shooting condition and shooting mode are selected by the user operating the key input unit 11, the CPU 6 reads the selected program and data from the RAM and ROM, and according to the selected program and data. Further, the lens 14 and the lens 15, the diaphragm / shutter 16 and the diaphragm / shutter 17 are controlled, and still images or moving images are photographed according to the selected photographing mode.

That is, the CCD 2, lens 14, aperture / shutter 16, TG 4, unit circuit 5, and CPU 6 constitute the imaging means of the present invention, and the CCD 3, lens 15, aperture / shutter 17, TG 4, unit circuit 5, and CPU 6 are also present. The imaging means of the invention is configured. One digital camera 1 according to the present embodiment has two imaging units.
The CPU 6, ROM 8, and RAM 9 constitute setting means and control means of the present invention.

Next, the operation will be described.
2 to 5 are flowcharts for explaining the operation of the digital camera in this embodiment.
FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of an image displayed on the image display unit.
FIG. 6A is a diagram illustrating an example of an image when a landscape to be photographed is displayed on the image display unit 10 through a through image. The image 100 includes a house 110, a mountain 130, and a boundary line 120 between the mountain and the earth.
Next, a description will be given according to the flowcharts of FIGS.
In FIG. 2, in step S <b> 1, the user selects the shooting conditions and shooting modes of the light receiving units A and B, respectively. Here, the light receiving unit A is composed of the CCD 2, the lens 14, the diaphragm / shutter 16, the motor driving block 18, the TG 4, the unit circuit 5 and the CPU 6, and the light receiving unit B is the CCD 3, the lens 15, the diaphragm / shutter 17, and the motor. The driving block 19, TG4, unit circuit 5 and CPU 6 are included. Further, by selecting only one of the light receiving units, it is possible to capture an image with only the selected light receiving unit. For convenience, the description will be made using one digital camera 1 having two light receiving units. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a digital camera including three or more light receiving units may be used.

Next, the shooting conditions include shutter speed, aperture, highlight color, zoom, sensitivity, and the like, and the shooting conditions are recorded on the ROM 8 and RAM 9. Zoom refers to the telephoto side and the wide-angle side. The shooting mode is a still image / moving image mode in which one of the light receiving units is used for still image shooting, and the other light receiving unit is used for moving image shooting, a high-speed continuous shooting mode for continuously shooting subjects, front curtain sync / rear curtain sync. There is a mode. Further, by selecting a still image / moving image mode and capturing an image with only one light receiving unit, it is possible to perform only normal moving image shooting. Further, a moving image shooting mode may be provided in the shooting mode.
If the shooting mode is not selected, shooting is performed by a predetermined method. Here, an example in which still image shooting is performed will be described below as an example.
If the user selects a shooting mode or if a predetermined shooting is performed without making a selection, the process proceeds to step S2 to determine whether or not the user has selected a shooting mode. If there is a shooting mode selection, the process branches to YES. The selection of the shooting mode will be described in detail later.

First, a case where only a shooting condition is selected by the user will be described.
If no shooting mode is selected, the process proceeds to step S3, and the light receiving unit A and the light receiving unit B are set according to the selected shooting condition. As a result, the shutter speed, aperture, zoom, etc. of the light receiving unit A and the shutter speed, aperture, zoom, etc. of the light receiving unit B have different values, values, etc. Even when the same subject is photographed, the light receiving unit A and the light receiving unit The photographed image gives a different impression with the unit B. If there is no selection of shooting conditions, the shooting conditions may be set automatically, or the shooting conditions shot last time may be set.

Next, the process proceeds to step S4, where imaging by the light receiving unit A and the light receiving unit B is started, and a through image of the subject is displayed on the image display unit 10. At this time, the image captured by the light receiving unit A and the image captured by the light receiving unit B are divided into left and right parts and displayed on the image display unit 10. Alternatively, the image captured by one light receiving unit may be displayed on the full screen, and the image captured by the other light receiving unit may be displayed in a form such as a sub-screen. In addition, when a shooting condition or the like is selected, an image captured by one of the light receiving units may be displayed as a through image. When one of the light receiving units is set to the wide-angle side and the other light receiving unit is set to the telephoto side, it is desirable that the images picked up by the CCD 2 and the CCD 3 are divided and displayed on the left and right.

Next, the process proceeds to step S5, where it is determined whether or not the shutter button has been operated. If there has been an operation, the process proceeds to step S6 to perform still image shooting processing. Here, the even-numbered pixel signals and odd-numbered pixel signals in one screen are sequentially output to the CCD 2 and CCD 3 at a relatively long output imaging timing, and the data for the entire surface is taken into the buffer memory (DRAM 7). Here, when the shutter button is operated, the light receiving unit A and the light receiving unit B are simultaneously photographed. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the light receiving unit A and the light receiving unit B are photographed separately. You may do it. That is, it is possible to make the photographing time different between the light receiving unit A and the light receiving unit B.
On the other hand, if there is no shutter button operation in step S5, the process stays in step S5, and the through image display is continued until there is an operation.

Next, the process proceeds to step S7, and the captured still image is displayed on the image display unit 10. As a method of displaying the image captured at this time, the image captured by the light receiving unit A and the light receiving unit B is divided into left and right parts and displayed on the image display unit 10. Alternatively, an image captured by one of the light receiving units is displayed on the image display unit 10, and an image captured by the other light receiving unit is displayed on the image display unit 10 by the user operating the key input unit 11. You may let them. In this case, the displayed image is switched by operating the key input unit 11. Note that the image may be switched at a predetermined time interval instead of the operation of the key input unit 11.

FIG. 6B shows an image 140 when the light receiving unit A is on the wide angle side and the image of FIG. 6A is taken. FIG. 6C shows the light receiving unit B on the telephoto side. The image 150 when (a) is imaged is shown.
When displaying the images taken by the light receiving unit A and the light receiving unit B on the image display unit 10, as shown in FIG. 6D, the image 140 taken by the light receiving unit A is mainly displayed, and the light receiving unit is displayed. The image 150 captured in B may be displayed smaller in the upper right. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5E, the image 150 captured by the light receiving unit B may be mainly displayed, and the image 140 captured by the light receiving unit B may be displayed small in the upper right.
That is, an image captured by the light receiving unit A and the light receiving unit B may be displayed by PinP (Picture in Picture).

Next, the process proceeds to step 8 where it is determined whether or not to record the images taken by the light receiving unit A and the light receiving unit B. If it is determined to record, the image data taken into the DRAM 7 is compressed and a still image file ( JPEG format file) is generated and recorded in the memory card 13. Also at this time, an image photographed by the light receiving unit A and an image photographed by the light receiving unit B may be recorded by PinP. Further, by operating the key input unit 11, for example, only an image photographed by the light receiving unit A may be recorded, and an image photographed by the light receiving unit B may not be recorded. Return when recording is complete.
If it is determined not to record in step S8, the process returns.
When returning, for example, if the user does not operate the key input unit 11, it may be possible to take a picture again under the set photographing conditions.

Next, a case where the user has selected a shooting mode will be described.
First, the operation of the digital camera 1 when the still image / moving image mode is first selected will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
If it is determined in step S2 that the user has selected a shooting mode, the process proceeds to step 11 in FIG. 3 to determine whether the still image / moving image mode is set. If the still image / moving image mode is selected, the process proceeds to step S12, and the light receiving unit A and the light receiving unit B are set according to the selected shooting condition and still image / moving image mode. Here, it is assumed that the light receiving unit A is set to the still image shooting mode and the light receiving unit B is set to the moving image shooting mode.
Next, the process proceeds to step S13, and the through image is displayed on the image display unit 10. Also at this time, the images picked up by the light receiving unit A and the light receiving unit B are divided and displayed on the left and right. In addition, when a shooting condition or the like is selected, an image captured by one of the light receiving units may be displayed as a through image.
Next, the process proceeds to step S14.

In step S14, it is determined whether or not the shutter button has been operated. If it is determined that the operation has been performed, the process proceeds to step S15 and step S17. Steps S15 and S17 represent the operations of the light receiving units A and B separately, and are actually executed in parallel processing within one digital camera 1. It is. On the other hand, if the shutter button is not operated, the process stays at step S14 until the operation is performed, and the through image display is continued.
First, still image shooting will be described.
In step S15, the light receiving unit A starts a still image shooting process. That is, even-numbered pixel signals and odd-numbered pixel signals in one screen are sequentially output to the CCD 2 at a relatively long output imaging timing, and the data of the entire area is taken into the buffer memory (DRAM 7).
In step S16, the image data captured in the DRAM 7 is compressed to generate a still image file (file in JPEG format or the like) and recorded in the memory card 13.

Next, movie shooting will be described.
In step S17, the light receiving unit B starts moving image shooting processing. That is, the moving image shooting process for capturing and storing images (moving image frames) at a predetermined frame rate (a fixed period such as 1/30 seconds) is started. Next, the process proceeds to step S18, where it is determined whether or not the shutter button has been operated. If the shutter button has been pressed, the process proceeds to step S19, where the moving image shooting process is stopped. Instead of stopping the moving image by pressing the shutter button, the moving image shooting may be automatically ended when a predetermined time has elapsed after starting the moving image shooting.
Next, the process proceeds to step S20, where a moving image file is generated using the moving image data that has been developed on the buffer memory (DRAM 7) so far, and is recorded on the memory card 13.
When a still image and a moving image are recorded on the memory card 13, the process returns. At this time, if there is no operation of the key input unit 11 by the user, it may be possible to shoot again with the set shooting conditions and still image / moving image mode.

  Note that the still image recorded at this time may be recorded in association with the recorded moving image thumbnail image. Further, the photographing start times of the light receiving unit A and the light receiving unit B may be different. Thus, by photographing the image that the user likes most as a still image, this image can also be used as a thumbnail image of a moving image.

Next, the operation of the digital camera 1 when the high-speed continuous shooting mode is selected will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
If it is determined in step S11 that the shooting mode is not the still image / moving image mode, the process proceeds to step S31 in FIG.
In step S31, it is determined whether or not the shooting mode is a high-speed continuous shooting mode. If it is in the high-speed continuous shooting mode, the process proceeds to step S32. In step S32, the light receiving unit A and the light receiving unit B are set according to the selected photographing condition and high-speed continuous shooting mode. In the high-speed continuous shooting mode, each of the light receiving unit A and the light receiving unit B is continuous shooting, and for example, the subject is continuously photographed at intervals of 0.2 seconds. The period of continuous shooting for the light receiving unit A and the light receiving unit B is the same, but the phase is shifted by a half period.

Therefore, in this case, the light receiving unit A and the light receiving unit B each continuously shoots the subject at intervals of 0.2 seconds, but the light receiving unit A and the light receiving unit B shoot with a half cycle delay. Continuous shooting can be performed at twice the continuous shooting mode of a single light receiving unit, that is, at intervals of 0.1 seconds. Further, if there are a plurality of light receiving units, for example, if there are four, continuous shooting can be performed four times, that is, at intervals of 0.05 seconds. In this case, each of the light receiving units captures the subject with a quarter period, that is, with a delay of 0.05 seconds.
Although the phase delay is T / 2, it may be T / N (T: period, N: natural number, or number of light receiving units).

Next, the process proceeds to step S33, and a through image is displayed on the image display unit 10. Also at this time, the images picked up by the light receiving unit A and the light receiving unit B are divided into left and right parts and displayed on the image display unit 10. In addition, when a shooting condition or the like is selected, an image captured by one of the light receiving units may be displayed as a through image.
Next, in step S34, it is determined whether or not there is a shutter button operation. If it is determined in step S34 that the shutter button is operated, the process proceeds to step S35, and the light receiving unit A starts the photographing process. The image taken at this time is denoted by a1. Next, the process proceeds to step S36, and the light receiving unit B also starts imaging processing with a half cycle delay. The photographed image at this time is denoted by b1.

Next, the process proceeds to step S27, and it is determined whether or not the number of photographed images has reached a predetermined number. For example, when the predetermined number is set to 5, since only one of the light receiving units A and B is still photographing, it is determined that the predetermined number has not been reached, and the process returns to step S25 to perform high-speed continuous shooting. Continue shooting. Then, an image a5 and an image b5 are photographed, such as an image a2 photographed by the light receiving unit A and an image b2 photographed by the light receiving unit B.
Here, the predetermined number is set in step S27, but high-speed continuous shooting may be performed until the free space of the DRAM 7 is exhausted.
The predetermined number may be set in advance or may be arbitrarily set by the user.

If it is determined in step S27 that the predetermined number has been reached, the process proceeds to step S28, and the captured image is displayed on the image display unit 10.
At this time, images taken in the high-speed continuous shooting mode are displayed in order of the shooting time. That is, the image a1 captured first by the light receiving unit A, the image b1 captured by the light receiving unit B, the image a2, the image b2,..., The image a5, and the image b5 are captured by the light receiving unit A. Images and images taken by the light receiving unit B are displayed alternately. The image switching at this time may be performed by the user operating the key input unit 11 or may be performed automatically at predetermined time intervals.
Further, all the images photographed by the light receiving units A and B may be arranged in order from the earliest photographing time so as to be reduced and displayed on the image display unit 10 or may be displayed on the image display unit 10 by dividing them into several images. May be. Alternatively, the image captured by the light receiving unit A and the image captured by the light receiving unit B may be displayed separately.

Next, the process proceeds to step S39, where it is determined whether or not the captured image is to be recorded. If it is determined that the captured image is to be recorded, the process proceeds to step S40 where the image data taken into the DRAM 7 is compressed and a still image file (JPEG format etc. ) Is generated and recorded in the memory card 13, the process returns.
Next, even if it is determined in step S39 that the photographed image is not recorded, the process returns. In this case as well, when the user does not operate the key input unit 11, it may be possible to perform the shooting again with the set shooting conditions and the high-speed continuous shooting mode.

Next, the case where the user selects the first curtain / second curtain synchronization mode will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the digital camera 1 when the first-curtain sync / second-curtain sync mode is selected.
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the relationship between the opening / closing of the shutter and the strobe light emission and the time of the front curtain sync and the rear curtain sync. t represents a time axis.
If it is determined in step S31 that the mode is not the high-speed continuous shooting mode, the process proceeds to step S51, where it is determined that the front curtain sync / rear curtain sync mode is set. Then, the process proceeds to step S52.
In step S52, the light receiving unit A and the light receiving unit B are set according to the selected photographing condition and the first curtain sync / second curtain sync mode. Here, it is assumed that the light receiving unit A is set as the leading curtain sync and the light receiving unit B is set as the trailing curtain sync.

First-curtain synchronization refers to shooting a still image by flashing as soon as the shutter is opened, and second-curtain synchronization refers to shooting a still image by flashing immediately before closing the shutter.
Next, the process proceeds to step S53, and a through image is displayed on the image display unit 10. At this time, as described above, the images captured by the light receiving units A and B may be divided and displayed on the left and right, or the images captured by either one of the light receiving units may be displayed. Good.
Then, the process proceeds to step S54 to determine whether or not there is a shutter button operation. If there is a shutter button operation, the process proceeds to step S55. If there is no shutter button operation, the process stays at step 54 until there is an operation. .
In step S55, the first-curtain sync still image shooting process of the light receiving unit A is started. Here, as soon as the shutter of the light receiving unit A is opened, the strobe is emitted (see FIG. 7).

Next, the process proceeds to step S56, and as shown in FIG. 7, the still image capturing process of the light receiving unit B is started after x hours from the start of the still image capturing process of the light receiving unit A. The x time needs to be a time until the light emitted from the light-receiving unit A is opened and at the same time the emitted light is sufficiently eliminated. This is because if the shutter of the light receiving unit B is opened while the light is still imaged, the image captured by the light receiving unit B will not be synchronized with the rear curtain.
Since the shutter time of the light receiving unit A elapses and the shutter of the light receiving unit A is closed, the shutter time of the light receiving unit B elapses after x hours, so that the strobe is emitted immediately before the shutter time elapses. Close the B shutter. Here, the case where the light receiving unit A and the light receiving unit B have the same shutter speed has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the light receiving unit A and the light receiving unit B may have different shutter speeds. The second curtain sync / first curtain sync can be taken. Here, when different shutter speeds are used, shooting with the shorter shutter speed is performed as first-curtain sync.

In short, when there is not enough light emitted for the first-curtain sync, open the shutter of the light receiving unit for shooting with the second-curtain sync, and when you fire the strobe for the second-curtain sync, It must be over (shutter closed).
With the above operation, the image captured by the light receiving unit A is the front curtain sync, and the image captured by the light receiving unit B is the rear curtain sync.

Next, the process proceeds to step S57, and the captured still image is displayed on the image display unit 10. As a method of displaying the image captured at this time, the image captured by the light receiving unit A and the light receiving unit B is divided into left and right parts and displayed on the image display unit 10. Alternatively, an image captured by one of the light receiving units is displayed on the image display unit 10, and an image captured by the other light receiving unit is displayed on the image display unit 10 by the user operating the key input unit 11. You may let them. In this case, the displayed image is switched by operating the key input unit 11. Note that, instead of operating the key input unit 11, images may be alternately switched at predetermined time intervals.

Next, the process proceeds to step S58, where it is determined whether or not to record images taken by the light receiving unit A and the light receiving unit B. If it is determined to record, the image data taken into the DRAM 7 is compressed and a still image file ( JPEG format file) is generated and recorded in the memory card 13. At this time, for example, an image captured by the light receiving unit A may be recorded, and an image captured by the light receiving unit B may not be recorded.
Return when recording is complete.
If it is determined not to record in step 58, the process returns.
When returning, if there is no operation of the key input unit 11 by the user, it may be possible to take a picture again with the set photographing condition.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, even when it is desired to simultaneously photograph a plurality of images with different photographing conditions and photographing modes with a single digital camera, a plurality of light receiving units are provided, which is troublesome. It is easy to shoot without messing around.
In addition, a plurality of images that give different impressions can be easily taken simultaneously, and the image that the user likes most can be selected later.
Furthermore, even when it is difficult to reshoot such as a photo opportunity, since the shooting is performed under a plurality of shooting conditions, the best shot that the user likes most can be selected later.

In addition, the shutter speed and aperture can be set differently for each light-receiving unit with a single digital camera, so even people without camera shooting skills can select images taken with the appropriate shutter speed and aperture later. be able to.
It is also possible to take various images easily by intentionally changing the shutter speed and aperture.

Also, since the zoom setting can be made different for each light receiving unit, for example, by setting one to the wide angle side and the other to the telephoto side, a PinP image can be easily taken.
In addition, since continuous shooting is alternately performed for each light receiving unit, not only can it be shot several times faster than a conventional digital camera, but also by changing the shooting conditions for each light receiving unit, Various continuous shooting that can not be seen becomes possible.
In addition, it is possible to easily shoot the same subject almost identically with the front curtain sync and the rear curtain sync, and by using different shooting conditions, the images shot with the front curtain sync and the rear curtain sync can be taken. It is possible to give a completely different impression from the selected image.

Furthermore, since it is possible to set whether to shoot with still images or moving images for each of the plurality of light receiving units, it is possible to easily shoot moving images and still images simultaneously. In addition, by taking separate video and still image shooting, you can shoot still images without interrupting movie shooting, and you can shoot the most impressive and impressive scenes as still images. be able to.
In addition, the captured still image can be used as a thumbnail image of a moving image. Furthermore, by making the most impressive and impressive image a thumbnail image, the user can easily identify “this moving image is the moving image at that time” simply by looking at the thumbnail image.

As a modification, moving image shooting may be performed with the light receiving unit A, and front curtain synchronization or rear curtain synchronization may be performed with the light receiving unit B, or continuous shooting may be performed.
Alternatively, the light receiving unit A may perform shooting as a front curtain or rear curtain sync, and the light receiving unit B may perform continuous shooting.
Further, the light receiving unit A may set the front curtain sync and the light receiving unit B may set the rear curtain sync, and the light receiving unit A and the light receiving unit B may continuously photograph the subject. In other words, by performing continuous shooting with the front curtain sync and the rear curtain sync, it is possible to easily perform a variety of continuous shooting at a high speed that has not been seen in the past.
That is, the digital camera in the present embodiment includes a plurality of light receiving units, and each light receiving unit can independently capture an image.
As a result, various shootings can be easily performed, and image shooting errors due to setting errors such as shooting conditions can be prevented. In addition, since the user can select the image he / she likes most after the shooting is completed, even a person who does not have a shooting technique can take a good image.

  The autofocus device in the above embodiment is not limited to the above embodiment, and may be a mobile phone having a photographing function, a clock, a PDA, a movie camera with a still image capturing function, a personal computer with a camera, etc. Any device may be used as long as it has a device for photographing a subject.

1 is a block diagram of a digital camera according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of a digital camera. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of a digital camera. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of a digital camera. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of a digital camera. It is a figure which shows the image represented on the image display part. It is a figure which shows the relationship between shutter opening / closing and strobe light emission in front curtain sync / rear curtain sync mode.

Explanation of symbols

1 Digital camera 2 CCD
3 CCD
4 TG
5 Unit circuit 6 CPU
7 DRAM
8 ROM
9 RAM
10 Image display section 11 Key input section 12 Card I / F
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 13 Memory card 14 Lens which comprises 1st light reception unit A 15 Lens which comprises 2nd light reception unit B 16 Diaphragm | combined shutter which comprises 1st light reception unit A 17 Diaphragm which comprises 2nd light reception unit B Combined shutter 18 Motor drive block constituting first light receiving unit A 19 Motor drive block constituting second light receiving unit B

Claims (4)

Two photographing means for photographing a subject,
Setting means for setting a shooting mode for performing first-curtain sync shooting and rear-curtain sync shooting with one shooting instruction ;
When a shooting instruction is given in a state where the shooting mode is set by the setting unit, the first-curtain sync shooting is executed by one of the shooting units, and the shooting start timing of the other shooting unit is set to the first-curtain sync. Control means for controlling the two photographing means so as to execute rear curtain sync photographing that is different from the photographing start timing of photographing and whose exposure period partially overlaps the exposure period of the first curtain sync photographing ;
An imaging apparatus comprising: The control means starts the exposure related to the rear curtain sync shooting after the end of the strobe emission related to the front curtain sync shooting until the end of the exposure period related to the front curtain sync shooting. The imaging device according to claim 1. 3. The photographing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a length of an exposure period related to the front curtain sync photography is equal to or less than a length of an exposure period related to the rear curtain sync photography. An imaging method for an imaging apparatus comprising two imaging means for imaging a subject,
A setting step for setting a shooting mode for performing first-curtain sync shooting and rear-curtain sync shooting with one shooting instruction;
When a shooting instruction is made in the state where the shooting mode is set by the setting step, the first curtain sync shooting is executed by one shooting means, and the shooting start timing is set by the first shooting means at the first curtain sync timing. A control step for controlling the two photographing means so that rear curtain sync photographing that is different from the photographing start timing of photographing and an exposure period partially overlaps with the exposure period of the front curtain sync photographing is executed;
A photographing method characterized by comprising:

Images