JP4367955B2 - Imaging apparatus and control method thereof - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an imaging device capable of recording moving images and still images, and more particularly to an imaging device capable of capturing still images during moving image shooting.

  In recent years, products having both a still image shooting function and a moving image shooting function have been developed for imaging devices such as electronic cameras. Among these electronic cameras, there are cameras that can perform still image shooting during moving image shooting. In general, the autofocus control during moving image shooting is rougher than the autofocus control during still image shooting. Therefore, in order to improve the quality of still images during still image shooting during moving image shooting, it is necessary to perform shooting by performing autofocus control for still image shooting.

  For example, Patent Document 1 discloses that in a video camera capable of capturing and recording both a moving image and a still image, exposure control is performed using the distance information of the subject at the time of moving image shooting immediately before the still image shooting. Is described. However, as described above, since autofocus control for still image shooting requires higher accuracy than during moving image shooting, a configuration using distance information during moving image shooting cannot be employed.

In still image shooting, a configuration is known in which autofocus control is performed selectively using one of the positions of a plurality of AF frames. Further, Patent Document 1 describes a configuration in which the user can focus on a location intended by the user by setting the position of the AF frame to a desired position using the touch panel. According to this configuration, the user can set a desired AF frame position in still image shooting. On the other hand, the position of the AF frame at the time of moving image shooting is often fixed at the center of the shooting range.
JP-A-10-285455 JP 2004-205884 A

  As described above, it is well known that the user can select and specify the position of the AF frame in still image shooting, and in the moving image shooting, the AF frame position is fixed at the center of the shooting range. well known. In addition, when trying to execute still image shooting during moving image shooting, it is preferable to execute normal still image shooting processing including autofocus control in order to simplify the configuration. However, when autofocus control for still image shooting is performed during movie shooting, if the position of the AF frame is set to a position other than the center of the screen during still image shooting, the user is focused on an unintended location during movie shooting. There is a possibility that. In still image shooting during moving image shooting, moving image shooting continues even while focus control for still image shooting is performed by half-pressing a so-called shutter button. Therefore, when focusing in an area not intended by the user, there is a problem that the focus of moving image shooting is shifted.

  Such a problem may be dealt with by allowing the user to arbitrarily select the position of the AF frame using, for example, the configuration described in Patent Document 2 when shooting a still image. However, it is often unexpected that a user generally wants to take a still image during a moving image. Therefore, if these settings are made every time such a still image is taken, a precious photo opportunity is missed. It is also troublesome to change the position of the AF frame each time the subject changes.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an imaging technique that can easily focus on a subject intended by a user when still image shooting is performed during moving image shooting. .

In order to achieve the above object, an imaging apparatus according to the present invention comprises the following arrangement. That is,
An imaging device capable of taking still images during movie shooting in movie mode,
A first focus unit for setting a first AF area to be focused from among areas corresponding to a shooting angle of view when shooting a still image in the still image mode;
When the still image shooting in the moving image mode is instructed and focus control is performed, the first AF area is located at the position of the AF area set for moving image shooting in the moving image mode separately from the first AF area. And an AF area setting means for setting a second AF area larger than that.

  As described above, according to the imaging apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to easily focus on a region intended by the user when taking a still image during moving image shooting.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
In the following embodiments, the case where the present invention is applied to a digital camera will be described. However, the present invention can shoot moving images and still images including a mobile phone, a PDA, and a video camera, and has an autofocus function. The present invention can be applied to any device that uses an imaging device.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the electronic camera according to the present embodiment. The electronic camera 100 is configured to capture a subject image via an optical system (imaging lens) 10. An optical zoom function can be provided by configuring the optical system 10 with a zoom lens (a lens capable of changing the shooting angle of view). Further, the electronic camera 100 can be further configured to have an electronic zoom function by electronically cutting an image captured by the image sensor 14. The electronic camera 100 may be configured to have only one of the functions of optical zoom and electronic zoom. The optical system 10 may be replaceable. In this case, the zooming drive mechanism of the optical system 10 may be provided in the optical system 10 or on the main body side of the electronic camera 100. When the drive mechanism is provided in the optical system 10, the zoom function is achieved by the drive mechanism in the optical system 10 driving the zoom lens according to the electric signal sent from the main body side of the electronic camera 100 to the optical system 10. Is provided. Further, a drive mechanism that mechanically drives the zoom lens in the optical system 10 may be provided on the main body side of the electronic camera 100.

  A light beam from a subject (light beam entering from within the optical angle of view) passing through the optical system (photographing lens) 10 passes through an aperture of a shutter 12 having a diaphragm function, and the image sensor (for example, a CCD sensor or a CMOS sensor) 14. An optical image of the subject is formed on the imaging surface. The image sensor 14 converts this optical image into an electrical analog image signal and outputs it. The A / D converter 16 converts the analog image signal provided from the image sensor 14 into a digital image signal. The image sensor 14 and the A / D converter 16 are controlled by a clock signal and a control signal provided from the timing generation circuit 18. The timing generation circuit 18 is controlled by the memory control circuit 22 and the system control circuit 50.

  The image processing circuit 20 performs image processing such as pixel interpolation processing and color conversion processing on the image data (digital image signal) provided from the A / D converter 16 or the image data provided from the memory control circuit 22. . The image processing circuit 20 also uses a TTL (through-the-lens) AF (autofocus) process, an AE (automatic exposure) process, and an EF (flash pre-flash) based on image data captured by the image sensor 14. The data for the automatic dimming process is calculated, and the calculation result is provided to the system control circuit 50. The system control circuit 50 controls the exposure control unit 40 and the AF control unit 42 based on the calculation result to realize an automatic exposure and autofocus function. Further, the image processing circuit 20 also executes TTL AWB (auto white balance) processing based on the image data captured by the image sensor 14. The memory 52 stores constants, variables, programs, etc. for operating the system control circuit 50.

  The memory control circuit 22 controls the A / D converter 16, the timing generation circuit 18, the image processing circuit 20, the image display memory 24, the D / A converter 26, the memory 30, and the compression / decompression circuit 32. The image data output from the A / D converter 16 is sent via the image processing circuit 20 and the memory control circuit 22, or via the memory control circuit 22 without going through the image processing circuit 20. It is written in the memory 30.

  The display image data written in the image display memory 24 is converted into a display analog image signal by the D / A converter 26 and provided to the image display unit 28. As a result, the captured image is displayed on the image display unit 28. By continuously displaying captured images on the image display unit 28, an electronic viewfinder (EVF) function is realized. The display of the image display unit 28 can be arbitrarily turned ON / OFF by a command from the system control circuit 50. Display ON / OFF is instructed by an image display ON / OFF switch 66. By using the display of the image display unit 28 with the display turned off, the power consumption of the electronic camera 100 can be significantly reduced.

  The memory 30 is used to store still images and moving images that have been shot (taken as images to be recorded on a recording medium). The capacity of the memory 30 and the access speed (write speed, read speed) can be arbitrarily determined. However, in order to enable continuous shooting and panoramic shooting in which a plurality of still images are continuously shot, the capacity according to the capacity. Or give access speed. The memory 30 is also used as a work area for the system control circuit 50.

  The compression / decompression circuit 32 is a circuit that compresses / decompresses image data by, for example, adaptive discrete cosine transform (ADCT) or the like, and reads the image data stored in the memory 30 and performs compression processing or decompression processing. The processed image data is written from the compression / decompression circuit 32 to the memory 30.

  The exposure control unit 40 controls the shutter 12 having an aperture function based on information provided from the system control circuit 50. The exposure control unit 40 also has a flash light control function in cooperation with a flash (light emitting device) 48. The flash 48 has a flash light control function and an AF auxiliary light projecting function. The AF control unit 42 controls the focusing lens of the optical system 10 based on information provided from the system control circuit 50. The zoom control unit 44 controls zooming of the optical system 10. The barrier control unit 46 controls the operation of the barrier 102 that protects the optical system 10.

  The display unit 54 includes an LCD and an LED display, performs various displays under the control of the system control circuit 50, and notifies the user of the operating state of the camera. A part of the display unit 54 is provided in the optical viewfinder 104.

  Among the information displayed on the display unit 54, the information displayed on the LCD or the like includes, for example, single shot / continuous shooting display, self-timer display, compression rate display, recording pixel number display, recording number display, and remaining shooting. Possible number display, shutter speed display, aperture value display, exposure compensation display, flash display, red-eye reduction display, macro shooting display, buzzer setting display, clock battery level display, battery level display, error display, multi-digit number Information display, recording medium 200 and 210 attachment / detachment status display, communication I / F operation display, date / time display, and the like. Of the information displayed on the display unit 54, information displayed in the optical viewfinder 104 includes, for example, in-focus display, camera shake warning display, flash charge display, shutter speed display, aperture value display, and exposure correction display. , Etc.

  The nonvolatile memory 56 is an electrically erasable / recordable memory such as an EEPROM.

  The first shutter switch (SW1) 62 is turned ON while the shutter button 310 (FIG. 2) is being operated (half-pressed state), and AF (autofocus) processing, AE (automatic exposure) processing, and AWB (auto white balance) processing. The system control circuit 50 is instructed to start EF (flash pre-emission) processing. The second shutter switch (SW2) 64 is turned on when the operation of the shutter button 310 (FIG. 2) is completed (fully pressed), and instructs the system control circuit 50 to start a series of still image shooting processing. In this series of still image shooting processing, (1) an image signal is read out from the image sensor 14 and converted into digital image data by the A / D converter 16, and this is processed by the image processing circuit 20, and the memory control circuit 22 is processed. And (2) a process of reading image data from the memory 30 and compressing it by the compression / decompression circuit 32, and writing the compressed image data to the recording medium 200 or 210.

  The movie switch 68 is turned on and off by operating the movie button 312 (FIG. 2). The movie switch 68 is a toggle operation switch for moving image recording start and recording standby. When the start of moving image recording is instructed, the captured moving image is written to the recording medium 200 or 210 in the same manner as the still image. As with the shutter switches 62 and 64, the movie switch 68 may be half-pressed. That is, when the movie button 312 is half-pressed, the system control circuit 50 is instructed to start AF (autofocus) processing, AE (automatic exposure) processing, AWB (auto white balance) processing, EF (flash preflash) processing, and the like. . When the movie button 312 is fully pressed, the system control circuit 50 is instructed to start a series of moving image shooting processes. A series of moving image shooting processes are as follows: (1) An image signal is read out from the image sensor 14 and converted into digital image data by the A / D converter 16, which is then processed by the image processing circuit 20 and passed through the memory control circuit 22. The processing includes writing to the memory 30, and (2) processing to read out the image data from the memory 30, compress the image data by the compression / decompression circuit 32, and write the compressed image data to the recording medium 200 or 210. The system control circuit 50 determines whether to shoot a moving image or a still image according to the state of the mode switch 60, and controls each shooting control unit and recording unit.

  The zoom switch 65 is an operation unit that is operated by a photographer to change a shooting angle of view (zoom magnification or shooting magnification). For example, it is constituted by a slide type operating member or lever type operating member and a switch or sensor for detecting the operation thereof.

  The operation unit 70 includes buttons or switches 301 to 310 shown in FIG. 2, and turns on / off the power, sets or changes shooting conditions, checks shooting conditions, and checks the state of the electronic camera 100. It is used when checking captured images.

  The power supply control unit 80 includes, for example, a power supply detection circuit, a DC-DC converter, a switch circuit that switches blocks to be energized, and the like. The power supply control unit 80 detects the presence / absence of a power supply, the type of power supply, the remaining battery level, etc., controls the DC-DC converter according to the detection result and a command from the system control circuit 50, and supplies a necessary voltage for a necessary period. To each block. The main body of the electronic camera 100 and the power source 86 have connectors 82 and 84, respectively, and are connected to each other. The power source 86 is, for example, a primary battery such as an alkaline battery or a lithium battery, a secondary battery such as a NiCd battery, a NiMH battery, or a Li battery, or an AC adapter.

  The recording media 200 and 210 are connected to connectors 92 and 96 of the main body of the electronic camera 100 by connectors 206 and 216, respectively. The recording media 200 and 210 include, for example, recording units 202 and 212 such as a semiconductor memory or a hard disk, and interfaces 204 and 214. The recording media 200 and 210 are connected to a bus in the electronic camera 100 via interfaces 90 and 94 on the main body side of the electronic camera 100. The recording medium attachment / detachment detection unit 98 detects whether or not the recording mediums 200 and 210 are connected to the connectors 92 and 96. In this example, the interface and the connector for attaching the recording medium are described as having two systems, but these may be one system or three systems or more. When a plurality of interfaces and connectors are provided, they may have different specifications. As the interface and the connector, for example, those compliant with a standard such as a PCMCIA card or a CF (Compact Flash (registered trademark)) card can be adopted.

  As the interfaces 90 and 94 and the connectors 92 and 96, those compliant with a standard such as a PCMCIA card or a CF (Compact Flash (registered trademark)) card can be adopted. In this case, by connecting various communication cards such as a LAN card, modem card, USB card, IEEE 1394 card, P1284 card, SCSI card, PHS card, etc., image data can be exchanged with other computers, peripheral devices such as printers, etc. And management information attached to image data can be transferred to each other.

  The optical viewfinder 104 enables photographing without using the electronic viewfinder function of the image display unit 28. As described above, in the optical viewfinder 104, display elements constituting a part of the display unit 54, for example, focus display, camera shake warning display, flash charge display, shutter speed display, aperture value display, and exposure correction display are performed. A display element may be disposed.

  The communication circuit 110 provides various communication functions such as USB, IEEE 1394, P1284, SCSI, modem, LAN, RS232C, and wireless communication. The communication circuit 110 is connected to a connector 112 for connecting the electronic camera 100 to another device or an antenna when providing a wireless communication function.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of an external configuration of the electronic camera 100. In FIG. 2, components unnecessary for the description of the present embodiment are omitted.

  The power button 301 is a button for starting and stopping the electronic camera 100 or for turning on / off the main power of the electronic camera 100. The menu button 302 is a button for displaying on the image display 28 a menu for setting various imaging conditions and displaying the state of the electronic camera 100. The menu includes a plurality of settable modes and items and / or a plurality of items whose values can be changed. Here, the settable modes or items include, for example, a shooting mode (for example, a program mode, an aperture priority mode, a shutter speed priority mode, etc. regarding exposure determination), a panorama shooting mode, a playback mode, a multi-screen playback / Erase mode, PC connection mode (PC is a computer such as a personal computer), exposure compensation, flash setting, single / continuous switching, self-timer setting, recording image quality setting, date / time setting, recorded image protection, etc. included. When the menu button 302 is pressed, the system control circuit 50 causes the image display unit 28 to display a menu. The menu may be synthesized and displayed on the image being captured, or may be displayed alone (for example, displayed on a predetermined background color). When the menu button 302 is pressed again while the menu is displayed, the system control circuit 50 ends the display of the menu on the image display unit 28.

  A determination (SET) button 303 is pressed when determining or selecting a mode or an item. When the determination button 303 is pressed, the system control circuit 50 reflects the mode or item selected at that time in the operation of the electronic camera 100.

  The left button 305, the right button 306, the upper button 307, and the lower button 308 constitute a cross key. The cross key is, for example, (1) in order to change an option (for example, an item or an image) selected from a plurality of options, such as a cursor or a highlight portion. (3) is used to increase or decrease a numerical value (for example, a numerical value indicating a correction value or a date). Here, the left button 305, the right button 306, the upper button 307, and the lower button 308 allow the user interface to select not only one item but also two or more items from a plurality of items. Is preferably configured. For example, when the left button 305, the right button 306, the up button 307, and the down button 308 are operated while the enter button 303 is pressed, the system control circuit 50 has two or more items specified by the operation. Configured to recognize as selected.

  As described above, the buttons indicated by the reference numbers 301 to 303 and 305 to 308 constitute the operation unit 70.

  A display (DISPLAY) button 304 is used to select display / non-display of shooting information about a captured image, and to switch whether the image display unit 28 functions as an electronic viewfinder. The display button 304 has a function of an image display ON / OFF switch 66.

  A shutter button 310 is a button for instructing a photographing operation. As described above, the system control circuit starts the AF (auto focus) process, the AE (auto exposure) process, the AWB (auto white balance) process, the EF (flash pre-emission) process, etc. when the shutter button 310 is half-pressed. 50. The system control circuit 50 is instructed to shoot when the shutter button 310 is fully pressed.

  The mode switch 311 is used to switch the mode to one of a playback mode (PLAY), a moving image mode (MOVIE), and a still image mode (PHOTO). Although a slide type switch is shown as the mode changeover switch 311, a dial switch or other operation system can be adopted. As described above, the mode switch 311 functions as the mode switch 60. A movie (MOVIE) button 312 functions as a movie switch 68 and captures a moving image when pressed in the moving image mode or during still image shooting. As with the shutter button 310, the movie button 312 may be provided with two states of half-press and full-press, or may be provided with only the full-press state. The zoom lever 309 functions as the zoom switch 65.

  Next, autofocus control in the electronic camera 100 configured as described above will be described.

  First, focus control when capturing a still image in the still image mode will be described. FIG. 3A shows a screen when the shutter button 310 is half-pressed during the still image mode. As described above, the autofocus control is started by half-pressing the shutter button 310, but the AF frame 401 indicating the AF area where the focused subject in the autofocus control is present or the focused subject is present is the image display unit. It is displayed on 28 EVFs. Note that the AF frame 401 for still image shooting in the still image mode can be moved to an arbitrary position on the EVF by operating the cross key while the shutter button 310 is half pressed. Alternatively, it can be moved to an arbitrary position by a predetermined operation (for example, indicating a desired position on the EVF of the image display unit 28) at an arbitrary timing in the still image mode. FIG. 3A shows a state where the AF frame 401 is moved from the center position of the shooting range to the upper right. Autofocus control is performed based on image information in the AF frame 401.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining autofocus control by the system control circuit 50 when the shutter button 310 is half-pressed during still image shooting in the still image mode.

  If half-press of the shutter button 310 is detected in the still image mode in step S501, the system control circuit 50 determines whether the position of the AF area is fixed / manual in step S502. The AF area position is fixed / manually set using an operation menu of the image display unit 28, for example. If the position of the AF area is fixed, the process proceeds from step S502 to step S503, and the system control circuit 50 reads the set value of the position of the AF area stored in the memory 30, and sets the position of the AF frame.

  On the other hand, in the case of a manual, the process proceeds from step S502 to step S504, and the system control circuit 50 waits for a setting input of the position of the AF area from the user. It should be noted that any operation input method for setting the position of the AF area may be used as long as it has means for moving the AF frame. For example, the position of the AF area may be set by using the buttons (305 to 308) of the cross key or by touching the display unit 28 with a touch panel provided on the display unit 28. Further, the position of the AF area may be set for the subject the user is looking at using the line-of-sight detection function. Further, the AF frame may be moved manually by selecting one of a plurality of AF frames prepared in advance as shown in FIG. When the setting input of the position of the AF area from the user ends, the system control circuit 50 stores the setting value of the position of the AF area in the memory 30 in step S505. Therefore, when “fixed” is set in the next shooting, the position of the AF frame determined by the last manual operation is referred to in step S503. In FIG. 6, the focus area is set to the position of three AF frames, or an AF area in focus is set. However, the number of AF area positions is three points such as five points and nine points. It is not limited to.

  When the position control of the AF area is completed as described above, the process proceeds to step S506, and the system control circuit 50 determines ON / OFF of the AF frame display setting. If the AF frame display setting is ON, the process proceeds to step S507, and the AF frame 401 is displayed on the display unit 28 based on the set value of the position of the AF area. In this example, it is assumed that an AF frame 401 centering on the set value of the position of the AF area is displayed. If the AF frame display setting is OFF, step S507 is skipped and the AF frame 401 is not displayed. In step S508, the AF control unit 42 performs an AF operation based on the image data in the AF frame 401 (for example, using contrast). The above is the method for controlling the AF area in the still image mode.

  In the above operation, the AF frame 401 can be moved when the shutter button 310 is half-pressed. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, in the still image mode, the AF frame 401 is always displayed regardless of the pressing of the shutter button 310, and the AF frame 401 (corresponding to the position of the AF area) can be moved and set at any time by a predetermined operation. The mode may be executed. In this case, the position of the AF area in the memory in step S503 is the position set in the manual focus mode.

  Next, the focus control operation in the moving image capturing mode during the moving image mode will be described. FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining processing by the system control circuit 50 in the moving image mode according to the present embodiment.

  When the moving image mode (MOVIE) is designated by the mode switch 311, the process proceeds from step S 601 to step S 602, and the system control circuit 50 transfers the set value of the position of the AF area set in the still image mode to a predetermined area in the memory 30. evacuate. This is to restore the previously set position of the AF area when the still image mode is entered again.

  Next, in step S <b> 603, the setting value of the position of the AF area in the moving image mode stored in the memory 30 is set in the AF control unit 42. Thereafter, in step S604, the moving image recording standby is performed until the movie button 312 is pressed. In the moving image mode, the position of the AF area is generally fixed at the center of the shooting range. However, the position of the AF area set in the moving image mode may be movable to a desired position as in the still image mode. In this case, the setting value of the position of the AF area in the moving image mode is stored or overwritten in the memory 30. Further, during the moving image mode, the AF frame may be hidden as shown in FIG. Alternatively, display / non-display of the AF frame in the moving image mode may be set.

  When the movie button 312 is pressed, the process proceeds from step S604 to step S605, and an autofocus operation is performed according to the set value of the position of the AF area in the moving image mode. In step S606, moving image recording is started. If the movie button 312 is pressed again during the moving image recording, the process proceeds from step S612 to step S613, and the system control circuit 50 ends the moving image recording. Note that the position of the AF area in the moving image mode used in step S605 is the position of the AF area used for still image shooting during moving image shooting in the memory area after the data is saved in step S602. Stored.

  Now, by operating the shutter button 310 during moving image recording, it is possible to perform interrupt shooting of a still image during moving image shooting. If the shutter button 310 is pressed halfway during moving image shooting, the process advances from step S607 to step S608, and steps S503 and S506 to S508 in FIG. 4 are executed. In this case, in step S503, the position of the AF area in the moving image mode set in step S605 is acquired from the memory 30. If the AF frame display setting is ON, the process advances from step S506 to step S507, and an AF frame 801 indicating the still image AF area set at the position of this AF area is displayed as shown in FIG. Is displayed. In step S508, autofocus control for still image shooting is performed using the AF area. In still image shooting during moving image shooting, the AF frame 801 as shown in FIG. 3C may be displayed without fail. Further, in order to clearly indicate that still image shooting is performed during moving image shooting, a sound may be played simultaneously with the AF frame 801 being displayed. When the shutter button 310 is shifted from the half-pressed state to the fully-pressed state, the process advances from step S609 to step S610 to execute a still image shooting operation. In step S610, the system control circuit 50 temporarily stops moving image recording, and records a still image in step S611. When the recording of the still image is completed, the process returns to step S606, and the recording of the moving image is started again. At this time, the system control circuit 50 is preferably configured to return the AF frame 801 to non-display. That is, the AF frame 801 is preferably displayed only during still image shooting during moving image shooting (from halfway pressing of the shutter button to completion of shooting).

  Note that, after the moving image recording is ended in step S613, when the mode changeover switch 311 is used to switch again to the still image mode, the system control circuit 50 causes the AF control unit 42 to take a still image shooting set in the moving image mode. The setting value of the position of the AF area is released. Then, the set value of the position of the AF area saved in step S602 is restored.

  In the case where a plurality of AF areas for still image shooting are provided as shown in FIG. 6, in step S608, these AF frames (corresponding to the AF areas) are set in the moving image mode. It is displayed at the position. In this case, information indicating which AF frame has been designated in the still image mode is saved in step S602, but in the moving image mode, the saved information is not used, and one of these AF frames is used. Automatically select and perform autofocus control. That is, even when one of the plurality of AF frames is manually selected in the still image mode, the AF frame is automatically selected in the moving image mode. The AF frame selection method includes selecting an AF frame so as to focus on the closest position, or selecting an AF frame that provides the highest contrast.

  In the above embodiment, the still image shooting AF area is set according to the position of the moving image shooting AF area. For example, the AF area is set around the position of the subject to be focused or the position of the subject image to be focused. In addition, when a plurality of AF areas are provided as shown in FIG. 6, for example, the centers (centers of gravity) of the plurality of AF areas match the position of the subject to be focused or the subject image to be focused. Should be set.

  In the above description, the AF area in the still image mode is used as the AF area in still image shooting in the moving image mode. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the size of the AF area is determined in each of the still image mode and the moving image mode. Generally, the AF area in the still image mode (AF area for the still image) is larger than the AF area in the moving image mode (the AF area for the moving image). Is smaller. Therefore, as described with reference to FIG. 3C, when the AF frame having the same size as the AF frame in FIG. 3A is displayed, the AF area is set in the moving image mode (FIGS. 3B and 3C). )) Larger than in still image mode. This is because the AF area is enlarged during the moving image mode in order to suppress the entry and exit of the subject in the AF area. This is because if the AF area is small, the number of objects entering and exiting is likely to increase, and as a result, the focus fluctuates, resulting in poor appearance. In other words, in the moving image mode, the focus tracking process may be recorded, and the appearance is given priority. Further, in still image shooting in the moving image mode, the AF area is made larger than that in normal still image shooting (for example, the same as the AF area in moving image mode). This is because it is desired to focus on the same thing in the moving image mode and the still image in the moving image mode.

  The above points may be shown in FIG. 7, for example. FIG. 7 is a drawing corresponding to FIG. 3 described above. FIG. 7A shows a screen when the shutter button 310 is half-pressed during the still image mode. FIG. 7B shows a screen in the moving image mode. FIG. 7C shows a screen when the shutter button 310 is pressed during the moving image mode. Here, as shown in FIG. 7B, the AF frame 7800 is displayed even in the moving image mode, and the size of the AF frame 7800 is displayed larger than that shown in the AF frame 7401 of FIG. ing. The AF frame 7801 for still image shooting in the moving image mode is also larger than the AF frame 7401 in the still image mode.

  Further, it may be as shown in FIG. (A) and (C) in FIG. 8 correspond to (A) and (C) in FIG. 8B in FIG. 8 is an example in which the AF area is enlarged without displaying the AF frame 7800 in the moving image mode in FIG. 7B described above. The AF frame 8801 for still image shooting in the moving image mode is also larger than the AF frame 8401 in the still image mode.

  In the above embodiment, the AF frame indicating the AF area is displayed on the image display unit 28. However, the AF frame indicating the AF area may be displayed on the optical viewfinder 104. Further, as a method of showing the AF area to the user, not only the frame display but also the AF area may be displayed as a point. With this display, when shooting a still image, the user is informed of which AF area is focused, while the display is not performed during moving image recording. The visibility of 104 can be improved.

  As described above, according to the above embodiment, in still image shooting during moving image shooting in the moving image mode, AF set in the moving image mode regardless of the position of the AF area set in the still image shooting in the still image mode. Autofocus is performed by setting an AF area for still image shooting at the position of the area. In other words, in an imaging device that can arbitrarily set the position of the AF area during still image shooting in the still image mode, when shooting a still image during moving image shooting, the position of the AF area for moving image shooting Added auto focus control. For this reason, in still image shooting during moving image shooting, an intended focus state can be easily obtained, and operability is improved.

  For example, in general, when shooting a moving image, the main subject is often in the center of the range of the video, so it is desirable that the position of the AF area be set in the vicinity of the center. That is, it is considered that the position of the main subject does not change even when a still image is shot during moving image shooting. In this embodiment, the AF area position is set in the area near the center as in moving image shooting, and the focus is focused only on the narrow area targeted as in still image shooting. The desired focus state can be obtained with high accuracy.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, in still image shooting during moving image shooting, the AF area becomes an AF area for a still image while maintaining the position of the subject to be focused or the position of the subject image to be focused. Therefore, it is possible to realize high-precision focus control required for still image shooting. In addition, since the AF area is clearly indicated in still image shooting during moving image shooting, the user can easily focus on a desired subject as in normal still image shooting. Furthermore, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to cope with multi-point AF as shown in FIG.

It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of the electronic camera of this embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of an external appearance structure of the electronic camera shown in FIG. (A) Diagram showing an example of an EVF screen during AF area position control in still image mode, (B) Diagram showing an EVF screen example during AF region position control during movie image shooting mode, (C) Movie It is a figure which shows the EVF screen example at the time of AF control in the case of performing the still image photography in mode. 6 is a flowchart illustrating autofocus control during a still image mode according to an embodiment. It is a flowchart explaining imaging | photography operation | movement of the moving image mode by embodiment. It is the figure which showed the example of a display of AF frame by multipoint AF. (A) Diagram showing an example of a screen during AF area position control during still image mode, (B) Diagram showing an example of a screen during AF area position control during movie image shooting mode, (C) During movie mode It is a figure which shows the example of a screen at the time of AF control in the case of performing still image photography. (A) Diagram showing an example of a screen during AF area position control during still image mode, (B) Diagram showing an example of a screen during AF area position control during movie image shooting mode, (C) During movie mode It is a figure which shows the example of a screen at the time of AF control in the case of performing still image photography.

Claims (8)

An imaging device capable of taking still images during movie shooting in movie mode,
A first focus means for setting a first AF area to be focused from among areas corresponding to a shooting angle of view and controlling the focus during still image shooting in the still image mode;
When the still image shooting in the moving image mode is instructed and focus control is performed, the first AF area is located at the position of the AF area set for moving image shooting in the moving image mode separately from the first AF area. An imaging apparatus comprising: an AF area setting unit that sets a second AF area that is larger than the first AF area.   After switching from the still image mode to the moving image mode, when returning to the still image mode, the focus is controlled using the first AF area set by the first focus means. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1.   The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a second focus unit that controls focus based on image information of the second AF area.   The imaging apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the second focus unit displays an AF frame indicating the first AF area on a finder while performing focus control.   The imaging apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the second focus unit performs focus control based on image information of the entire second AF area. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a display indicating the second AF area is larger than a display indicating the first AF area.   The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display indicating the second AF area is the same size as the display indicating the first AF area. A method for controlling an imaging apparatus capable of taking a still image during movie shooting in movie mode,
A first focus step for setting a first AF area to be focused from among areas corresponding to the shooting angle of view and controlling the focus during still image shooting in the still image mode;
When the still image shooting in the moving image mode is instructed and focus control is performed, the first AF area is located at the position of the AF area set for moving image shooting in the moving image mode separately from the first AF area. And an AF area setting step for setting a second AF area that is larger than the first AF area.

Images