JP5274290B2 - IMAGING DEVICE AND IMAGING DEVICE CONTROL METHOD - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an imaging device and an imaging device control method, and more particularly, to an imaging device capable of changing a shooting screen to a different aspect ratio and an imaging device control method.

  Conventionally, various proposals have been made to switch the viewfinder frame in accordance with a change in the aspect ratio of a captured image. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an imaging apparatus that displays shooting information in a surplus space other than the display of a subject image on a live view display monitor. In this imaging apparatus, the vertical / horizontal switching is changed by cutting out image data from the imaging device.

  Also, in Patent Document 2, in order to solve the problem that camera shake occurs or the same composition cannot be made when the camera is rotated and moved to shoot in the vertical position, the vertical and horizontal positions are changed when rotated. A digital camera is disclosed. In this digital camera, vertical and horizontal switching is performed by rotating the imaging unit and the monitor together, and display of shooting information is not disclosed.

  Furthermore, Patent Document 3 discloses a digital camera in which an image to be reproduced is rotated and displayed according to the posture of the camera when shooting. In this digital camera, switching the vertical / horizontal position only changes the way the camera is held, and the vertical / horizontal position is switched during playback. Further, the shooting information is displayed in a surplus space other than the display of the subject image.

JP 2007-180931 A JP 2006-203732 A JP 2007-201539 A

  As described above, various imaging devices that change the vertical / horizontal position and aspect ratio have been disclosed. However, there is a relationship between the range that can be shot by changing the aspect ratio and the shooting range that is shot with the set aspect ratio. There is nothing hard to understand. In other words, the image pickup apparatus disclosed in the above-described patent document displays only a shooting range corresponding to the set aspect ratio. In addition, there has been no proposal for shooting information that is always displayed at the same position. That is, the display of shooting information is disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 3, but both of these are performed in the surplus space of the portion where the subject image is displayed. Since the surplus space changes depending on the displayed vertical / horizontal position and aspect ratio, the display position of the shooting information also changes. It is not easy for the user to change the display position of the shooting information every time the aspect ratio or the like is changed. As described above, it is difficult for the conventional imaging apparatus to confirm the shootable range in shooting. Also, the shooting information was not in an easy-to-see position.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide an imaging device and a method for controlling the imaging device, in which it is easy to confirm a shootable range. It is another object of the present invention to provide an image pickup apparatus and an image pickup apparatus control method that make it easy to view shooting information even when the vertical and horizontal positions and aspect ratio are changed.

In order to achieve the above object, an imaging apparatus according to a first invention includes an imaging unit that outputs a subject image as image data, and an aspect ratio and / or aspect ratio of an image corresponding to an image data output area included in the entire imaging unit. A live view that displays an image corresponding to the entire imaging unit including an image corresponding to the image data output area, and information related to the aspect ratio and / or aspect ratio of the image data output area. possess a display unit, and the image data output area is an area for outputting the image data of the area inscribed in the image circle, the live view display section, the image further corresponding to the image data output area Information related to shooting is displayed outside the display area .

In the imaging apparatus according to the second aspect of the invention, the live view display displays information relating to the imaging in an area of the image corresponding to the entire imaging unit and in an area outside the image circle .
In the imaging device according to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect, the live view display unit converts information related to the vertical / horizontal and / or aspect ratio of the image data output area to an image in an image circle. Superimposed display.
In the imaging device according to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the third aspect of the invention, the display of information related to the vertical and horizontal and / or aspect ratio of the image data output area is a frame line indicating the image data output area, or The outside of the image data output area and the inside of the image circle are displayed in different modes.

In the imaging apparatus according to a fifth aspect based on the first aspect, the live view display unit displays the photographing information at a fixed position regardless of the aspect and / or aspect ratio.
An image capture apparatus according to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the invention of the fifth, upper Symbol live view display is a the display unit, and outside the scope of the image corresponding to the image data output area, shooting information display Set the above constant position for.

Imaging apparatus according to the seventh invention, in the first aspect, the upper Symbol live view display unit also displays the upper Symbol image data output area outside of the image.
Imaging device according to an eighth aspect based on the seventh invention, the upper Symbol live view display section includes a display mode of the upper Symbol image data output area outside of the image display mode of the image of the image data output area change.

Control method for an image capture apparatus according to a ninth aspect of the present invention, the imaging unit, and outputting a subject image as image data, the imaging region controller, the image corresponding to the image data output area in the entire the image pickup unit The step of controlling the aspect ratio and / or aspect ratio and the image corresponding to the entire imaging section including the image corresponding to the image data output area and the aspect ratio and / or aspect of the image data output area by the live view display section. Displaying information related to the ratio, wherein the image data output area is an area for outputting image data of an area inscribed in the image circle, and the live view display unit further outputs the image data Information related to photographing is displayed outside the display area of the image corresponding to the area .

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an image pickup apparatus and an image pickup apparatus control method that make it easy to check a shootable range. In addition, it is possible to provide an imaging apparatus and an imaging apparatus control method that make it easy to view shooting information even if the vertical / horizontal position and aspect ratio are changed.
Further, according to the present invention, even if the aspect ratio is changed, since the shooting screen is inscribed in the image circle, the diagonal line of the shooting screen is the diameter of the image circle. For this reason, even if the aspect ratio is changed, the angle of view does not change and the image quality does not deteriorate. Also, because the image data of the area inscribed in the image circle is output, the center of the image is always the same position, and it is easy to place the shooting information at a fixed position even if the vertical / horizontal position or aspect ratio is changed The shooting information becomes easier to see .

It is the external appearance perspective view seen from the back side of the digital camera concerning one Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the electric circuit in the digital camera concerning one Embodiment of this invention. In the digital camera concerning one Embodiment of this invention, it is a figure which shows the relationship between an image pick-up element and an imaging | photography screen. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an operation for changing a setting in the digital camera according to the embodiment of the present invention. It is a modification of the flowchart which shows the operation | movement of a setting change in the digital camera in one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the mode of the live view display in a horizontally long image in the digital camera in one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the mode of the live view display in a vertically long image in the digital camera in one Embodiment of this invention. In the digital camera in one Embodiment of this invention, it is a figure which shows the mode of the live view display in a landscape image, and the place which showed the imaging | photography information other than the screen four corners.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments using a digital camera to which the present invention is applied will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a digital single-lens reflex camera according to an embodiment of the present invention viewed from the back side.

  A detachable lens barrel 100 is attached to the approximate center of the front surface of the camera body 200 shown in FIG. A release button (not shown) is arranged at the upper part of the grip part on the left side of the front surface of the camera body 200. The release button has a first release switch that is turned on when the photographer is half-pressed and a second release switch that is turned on when the photographer is fully pressed. When the first release switch (hereinafter referred to as 1R) is turned on, the camera performs photographing operations such as focus detection, focusing of the photographing lens, and photometry of subject brightness, and the second release switch (hereinafter referred to as 2R) is turned on. Based on the output of the image sensor 221 (see FIG. 2), an exposure operation for capturing image data of the subject image is executed.

  A front dial 22 (not shown in FIG. 1, refer to FIG. 2) is disposed on the front left grip portion of the camera body 200. The front dial 22 is rotatable in a clockwise direction and a counterclockwise direction, and its rotation direction and rotation amount are detected and output.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a rear dial 23 is disposed on the upper right side of the back surface of the camera body 200. Similarly to the front dial 22, the rear dial 23 is also rotatable in the clockwise direction and the counterclockwise direction, and the rotation direction and the rotation amount are detected and output. A rear operation member 24 including two operation buttons is disposed in the vicinity of the rear dial 23.

  A cross button 32 is arranged below the rear dial 23. The cross button 32 includes four buttons such as an upper cross button 32a and a lower cross button 32b, and is used to move the cursor when the cursor is displayed on the rear liquid crystal monitor 39. As will be described later, in the modification of the present embodiment, the aspect ratio can be changed by operating the up and down buttons of the cross button 32.

  An eyepiece unit 38 is provided at the upper portion of the center of the back surface of the camera body 200, and an eyepiece lens 209 is disposed therein. The camera body 200 is a single-lens reflex camera. A finder optical system (see FIG. 2) such as a movable mirror 201 and a pentaprism 207 is arranged inside, and a subject light flux that has passed through the finder optical system is used as an eyepiece. 209. The photographer can optically observe the subject image through the eyepiece lens 209.

  A rear liquid crystal monitor (hereinafter referred to as rear LCD) 39 is disposed below the eyepiece 38. The rear LCD 39 is a display device that performs live view display, reproduces and displays recorded subject images, and displays shooting information and menus. Any device capable of performing these displays is not limited to a liquid crystal display device. Further, in the present embodiment, the camera body 200 is disposed on the back surface, but is not limited to the back surface as long as the photographer can observe it. An information button 31 is disposed below the rear LCD 39. By operating the information button 31, shooting information is displayed.

  Next, an electric circuit of the digital single lens reflex camera according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to a block diagram shown in FIG. In this digital single-lens reflex camera, as described above, the interchangeable lens 100 and the camera body 200 are configured separately and are electrically connected by the communication contact 341. However, the interchangeable lens 100 and the camera body 200 are integrated. It is also possible to configure.

  Inside the interchangeable lens 100, a photographing optical system 101 for focus adjustment and focal length adjustment, and a diaphragm 103 for adjusting the aperture amount are arranged. The photographing optical system 101 is driven by an optical system driving mechanism 107, and the diaphragm 103 is driven by an aperture driving mechanism 109. The focus position (focus position) of the photographing optical system 101 driven by the optical system drive mechanism 107 is detected by the focus position detection mechanism 105, and the focal length of the optical system 101 is detected by the zoom position detection mechanism 106.

  The optical system drive mechanism 107, the aperture drive mechanism 109, the focus position detection mechanism 105, and the zoom position detection mechanism 106 are each connected to a lens CPU 111, and the lens CPU 111 is connected to the camera body 200 via a communication contact 341. ing.

  A lens ROM 113 and a lens RAM 115 are connected to the lens CPU 111. The lens ROM 113 is an electrically rewritable nonvolatile memory, and stores a program for causing the lens CPU 111 to execute, unique information of the interchangeable lens 100, and the like. The lens RAM 115 is an electrically rewritable volatile memory, and is a temporary storage area used for executing the above-described program.

  The lens CPU 111 controls the interchangeable lens 100. The lens CPU 111 controls the optical system driving mechanism 107 to perform focusing and zoom driving, and controls the diaphragm driving mechanism 109 to perform aperture value control. Further, the lens CPU 111 transmits the focal length and focal position information detected by the focus position detection mechanism 105 and the zoom position detection mechanism 106 to the camera body 200.

  In the camera body 200, a position tilted by 45 degrees with respect to the optical axis of the lens (the lowered position, the subject image observation position) in order to reflect the subject image to the observation optical system, and a subject image to be guided to the image sensor 221. A movable mirror 201 that can be rotated between the jumped up position (the raised position and the retracted position) is provided.

  Above the movable mirror 201, a focusing screen 204 for forming a subject image is disposed. Above the focusing screen 204, an entire liquid crystal plate (hereinafter referred to as an entire LCD) 205 is disposed. . The entire LCD 205 can partially control transmission and light shielding, and can guide the subject image to the finder optical system for any part of the subject image formed on the focusing screen 204.

  Above the entire LCD 205, a pentaprism 207 for horizontally inverting the subject image is arranged. An in-finder display device 206 is arranged along the front reflective surface of the pentaprism 207. The in-viewfinder display device 206 is composed of a liquid crystal display device or the like, and displays a field-of-view display, photographing information and the like superimposed on the optical viewfinder image, as will be described later. The in-finder display device 206 is connected to the in-finder display driving circuit 295, and is driven and controlled thereby.

  An eyepiece lens 209 for observing a subject image is disposed on the emission side (right side in FIG. 2) of the pentaprism 207, and a photometric sensor 211 is disposed on the side of the pentaprism 207 so as not to interfere with the observation of the subject image. The photometric sensor 211 is connected to a photometric processing circuit 212, and the output of the photometric sensor 211 is subjected to processing such as amplification and analog-digital conversion by the photometric processing circuit 212.

  Near the center of the movable mirror 201 described above is a half mirror, and on the back surface of the movable mirror 201, a sub mirror 203 for reflecting subject light transmitted through the half mirror portion to the lower part of the camera body 200 is provided. ing. The sub mirror 203 is rotatable with respect to the movable mirror 201. When the movable mirror 201 is flipped up (the position indicated by a broken line in FIG. 2), the sub mirror 203 is rotated to a position that covers the half mirror portion. When in the observation position (lowering position), it is in an open position with respect to the movable mirror 201 as shown.

  This movable mirror 201 is driven by a mirror drive mechanism 239. A phase difference AF sensor 241 is disposed below the sub mirror 203, and an output of the phase difference AF sensor 241 is connected to the phase difference AF processing circuit 243. The phase difference AF sensor 241 is a known phase difference that separates the peripheral luminous flux of the photographing optical system 101 into two luminous fluxes in order to measure the defocus amount of the subject image formed by the photographing optical system 101. It consists of an AF optical system and a pair of sensors. Further, the phase difference AF sensor 241 can detect the focus at each of a plurality of points in the photographing screen.

  A focal plane type shutter 213 for controlling the exposure time is disposed behind the movable mirror 201, and this shutter 213 is driven and controlled by a shutter drive mechanism 237. An imaging element 221 is disposed behind the shutter 213 and photoelectrically converts a subject image formed by the photographing optical system 101 into an electrical signal. Needless to say, a two-dimensional solid-state image sensor such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) or a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) can be used as the image sensor 221.

  The image sensor 221 is connected to the image sensor drive circuit 223, and the image sensor drive circuit 223 reads an image signal from the image sensor 221. The image sensor driving circuit 223 is connected to a preprocessing circuit 225. The preprocessing circuit 225 performs preprocessing for image processing such as pixel thinning processing for live view display and clipping processing for enlarged display. Do.

  A dust filter 215 and an infrared cut filter / low pass filter 217 are disposed between the shutter 213 and the image sensor 221. A piezoelectric element is fixed around the dustproof filter 215, and this piezoelectric element is vibrated with ultrasonic waves by a dustproof filter driving circuit 235. The dust adhering to the dust filter 215 is removed by the vibration wave generated in the piezoelectric element.

  The infrared cut filter / low pass filter 217 is an optical filter for removing the infrared light component and the high frequency component from the subject light flux. The dust-proof filter 215, the infrared cut filter / low-pass filter 217, and the image sensor 221 are integrally formed in an airtight manner so that dust and the like do not enter. The integrated image sensor 221 and the like can be moved by the shift mechanism 233 along the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction on the image pickup surface of the image sensor 221, respectively.

  The camera shake sensor 229 is an angular acceleration sensor or the like that detects vibration caused by camera shake or the like applied to the camera body 200, and this output is connected to the camera shake correction circuit 230. The camera shake correction circuit 230 generates a camera shake correction signal for removing vibrations such as camera shake, and the output of the camera shake correction circuit 230 is connected to the shift mechanism drive circuit 231.

  The shift mechanism drive circuit 231 inputs a camera shake correction signal, and drives the shift mechanism 233 based on this signal. By this shift mechanism 233, the image sensor 221 and the like are moved so as to cancel vibrations such as camera shake applied to the camera body 200, thereby performing vibration isolation.

  The tilt sensor 227 detects angular acceleration about three axes and outputs a value corresponding to the tilt of the camera body 200. The inclination detection circuit 228 is connected to the inclination sensor 227, and obtains the inclination state from the steady state value of the inclination sensor 227 and the acceleration from the change amount of the inclination sensor 227, and outputs these values.

  The light source sensor 244 is a sensor for detecting a light source of ambient light of a subject such as a fluorescent lamp or sunlight. The light source processing circuit 245 is connected to the light source sensor 244 and outputs light source data corresponding to the light source. The illuminance sensor 246 is a sensor for measuring the illuminance on the camera 200. The illuminance processing circuit 247 is connected to the illuminance sensor 246 and outputs illuminance data corresponding to the illuminance.

  The remote control reception sensor 248 is an infrared sensor for receiving a remote control command by infrared rays or the like from a remote control device (not shown). The remote control reception processing circuit 249 is connected to the remote control reception sensor 248, inputs a signal from this sensor, and outputs a remote control signal.

The pre-processing circuit 225 described above is an ASIC (Application Specific
Integrated Circuit is connected to a data bus 252 in an application-specific integrated circuit) 250, and is connected to each circuit in the ASIC 250 via the data bus 252. The preprocessing circuit 225 is also connected to the contrast AF circuit 253 and the AE circuit 255.

  The contrast AF circuit 253 extracts a high frequency component based on the image signal output from the preprocessing circuit 225, and outputs contrast information based on the high frequency component to the body CPU 251. Note that the contrast AF circuit 253 can extract the entire region in the screen when extracting the high-frequency component. The AE circuit 255 outputs photometric information corresponding to the subject brightness to the body CPU 251 based on the image signal output from the preprocessing circuit 225.

  The body CPU 251 connected to the data bus 252, the contrast AF circuit 253, and the AE circuit 255 controls the operation of the digital single-lens reflex camera according to the program stored in the flash memory 277.

  In addition to the body CPU 251, the data bus 252 includes an image processing circuit 257, a compression / decompression circuit 259, a video signal output circuit 261, a switch detection circuit 268, an input / output circuit 271, a communication circuit 273, a flash memory control circuit 275, and an SDRAM control circuit. 279, a recording medium control circuit 283, and a dial detection circuit 289 are connected.

  The image processing circuit 257 performs various types of image processing such as digital amplification (digital gain adjustment processing) of digital image data, color correction, gamma (γ) correction, contrast correction, and live view display image generation. The compression / decompression circuit 259 is a circuit for compressing the image data temporarily stored in the SDRAM 281 by a compression method such as JPEG or TIFF and decompressing the data for display. Note that image compression is not limited to JPEG or TIFF, and other compression methods can be applied.

  The video signal output circuit 261 is connected to the rear LCD 39 via the LCD driving circuit 263, and can be connected to the external display device 330 via the contact 330a. The video signal output circuit 261 is a circuit for converting image data stored in the SDRAM 281, the recording medium A 285, and the recording medium B 287 into a video signal for display on the rear LCD 39 or the like. Further, as will be described later, the video signal output circuit 261 displays the entire image based on the image data from the image sensor 221, the subject image in the photographing range based on the set aspect ratio, and photographing information at the four corner positions of the rear LCD 39. Signal processing for displaying at a predetermined position is also performed. As shown in FIG. 1, the rear LCD 39 is disposed on the rear surface of the camera body 200. However, the rear LCD 39 is not limited to the rear surface and may be another display device as long as the photographer can observe.

  1R switch that detects the first stroke (half press) of the shutter release button, 2R switch that detects the second stroke (full press), an information switch that is turned on by operating the information button 31, and the upper cross button of the cross button 32 Various switches 269 including an upper cross button switch and a lower cross button switch which are turned on by operating the 32a and lower cross buttons 32b are connected to the data bus 252 via a switch detection circuit 268. In addition, the various switches 269 include a live view display switch that is turned on by operating a live view (LV) display button, a menu switch that is linked to the menu button, a playback switch that is linked to the playback button, a power switch, and the like. Various switches linked to other operation members are included.

  The dust filter driving circuit 235, the shutter driving mechanism 237, the phase difference AF processing circuit 243, the mirror driving mechanism 239, the light source processing circuit 245, the illuminance processing circuit 247, the remote control reception processing circuit 249, the tilt detection circuit 228, and the shift mechanism driving circuit described above. The input / output circuit 271 connected to the photometric processing circuit 212 controls input / output of data to / from each circuit such as the body CPU 251 via the data bus 252. The input / output circuit 271 is also connected to an LCD orientation detection circuit 265, a charging circuit 301, and a flash light emission circuit 303, which will be described later.

  A communication circuit 273 connected to the lens CPU 111 via a communication contact 341 is connected to the data bus 252 and exchanges data and communicates control commands with the body CPU 251 and the like.

  The flash memory control circuit 275 is connected to a flash memory 277. The flash memory 277 stores a program for controlling the operation of the digital single-lens reflex camera. As described above, the body CPU 251 The digital single-lens reflex camera is controlled according to the program stored in the flash memory 277. Note that the flash memory 277 is an electrically rewritable nonvolatile memory.

  The SDRAM 281 is connected to the data bus 252 via the SDRAM control circuit 279, and the SDRAM 281 temporarily stores the image data processed by the image processing circuit 257 or the image data compressed by the compression / decompression circuit 259. This is a buffer memory.

  A recording medium control circuit 283 connected to the data bus 252 is connected to the recording medium A 285 and the recording medium B 287, and controls recording of image data and the like on these recording media A 285 and B 287 and reading of the image data and the like.

  Recording medium A285 and recording medium B287 are loaded with any of rewritable recording media such as xD picture card (registered trademark), compact flash (registered trademark), SD memory card (registered trademark) or memory stick (registered trademark). It is configured so that it can be attached to and detached from the camera body 200. In addition, the hard disk may be configured to be connectable via a communication contact. Note that the recording media A285 and B287 are the same type of recording media, and combinations such as combinations with different storage capacities and combinations of different types of recording media are free.

  The dial detection circuit 289 is connected to the front dial 22 and the rear dial 23, respectively, and detects the rotation direction and the rotation amount of each dial.

  In the camera main body 200, a power supply circuit 291 for supplying power to each circuit and each mechanism in the main body is provided. A built-in battery 292 and an external power supply 293 can be connected to the power supply circuit 291.

  The LCD orientation detection circuit 265 detects the orientation of the rear LCD 39. That is, the rear LCD 39 can change its orientation to a vertical position or a horizontal position, detects this orientation, and transmits it to the body CPU 251 via the input / output circuit 271.

  A control panel drive circuit 297 is connected to the control panel 40 disposed on the upper part of the camera body 200, and the control panel drive circuit 297 is connected to the body CPU 251. The body CPU 251 displays shooting information and the like on the control panel 40 via the control panel drive circuit 297.

  The built-in flash 50 disposed in the camera body 200 includes a charging circuit 301, a flash light emitting circuit 303, a light emitting tube 305, and the like. The charging circuit 301 receives power supply from the battery 292, the external power supply 293 or the like, boosts the voltage, and charges it. The flash light emission circuit 303 performs light emission control such as applying a voltage boosted by the charging circuit 301 to the light emission tube 305 at a predetermined timing.

  The external flash 310 is an external flash device, and is connected to the camera body 200 via the contacts 310a and 310b. In the external flash 310, a flash CPU 311, a charging circuit 313, a flash light emission circuit 315, an arc tube 317, a reflector 318, and a zoom drive circuit 319 are disposed.

  The flash CPU 311 controls the external flash 310, and communicates with the body CPU 251 via the contact 310b and the communication circuit 273. The charging circuit 313 boosts the voltage of the power supply battery loaded in the external flash 310 and charges it. The flash light emission circuit 315 emits light in response to a light emission command received via the body CPU 251 and the contact 310a. The zoom drive circuit 319 drives and controls the distance between the arc tube 317 and the reflection shade 318 according to the focal length of the photographing optical system 101, and controls the irradiation angle according to the focal length of the photographing optical system 101 and the like. .

  The external device 320 is a device such as a personal computer (PC), and communicates with the body CPU 251 via the contact 320a and the communication circuit 273. The external display device 330 is a display device such as a television and is connected to the video signal output circuit 261 through the contact 330a. A display device drive circuit 331 and a display device 333 are disposed inside the external display device 330. Based on the video signal from the video signal output circuit 261, the display device driving circuit 331 displays a recorded image or the like on the display device 333.

  Next, the relationship between the photographing screen of the image sensor 221 and the rear LCD 39 field frame will be described with reference to FIG. A subject image is formed by the photographing optical system 101 in the image circle 120 on the image sensor effective range 221 a of the image sensor 221, and a pixel signal is output from each pixel of the image sensor 221. At the time of shooting, the user can change the screen size to various aspect ratios such as 9:16 portrait image 122, 2: 3 portrait image 123, 1: 1 square image 124, 3: 2 landscape image 125, 16: 9 landscape image 126, and the like. The subject image can be observed by the rear LCD 39 before photographing.

  In the present embodiment, the aspect ratio can be changed steplessly. In this case, even if the aspect ratio is changed, the shooting screen is inscribed in the image circle, and the diagonal line of the shooting screen is the diameter of the image circle 120. For this reason, even if the aspect ratio is changed, the angle of view does not change and the image quality does not deteriorate. The image sensor effective range 221a of the image sensor 221 is not circumscribed by the image circle 120. However, since this is not practical for an extremely horizontal or vertical screen, the image sensor 221 can be downsized accordingly.

  Next, the operation in the present embodiment will be described with reference to the setting change flowchart shown in FIG. The body CPU 251 starts operation when a power-on reset is applied, and executes a setting change subroutine shown in FIG. 4 in the main routine. If the setting change subroutine is entered, it is first determined whether or not an aspect switching dial operation has been performed (# 101). Here, the dial detection circuit 289 determines whether or not the front dial 22 or the rear dial 23 is rotated.

  If the result of determination in step # 101 is that a dial operation has been performed, then the dial rotation direction and amount are detected (# 103). The rotation direction and the rotation amount are determined based on the detection result of the dial detection circuit 289. Subsequently, the aspect of the shooting range is changed according to the detected movement of the dial (# 105). Here, when the dial is rotated in one direction, the shooting range is changed to a rectangle so that the aspect ratio increases in the direction of the landscape screen (for example, 9:16 portrait → 2: 3 portrait → 1: 1 square). → 3: 2 landscape → 16: 9 landscape). Also, when the dial is rotated in the other direction, the shooting range is changed so that the aspect ratio increases in the portrait screen direction (for example, 16: 9 landscape → 3: 2 landscape → 1: 1 square → 2: 3 portrait) (9:16 portrait).

  The change in the aspect ratio mentioned here is for indicating the direction of change, and the aspect ratio is changed in small increments according to the amount of rotation. The image data output area to be recorded on the recording media 285 and 287 is set according to the shooting range set here. The image data output area is an image data output area corresponding to the pixel signal in the range of the photographing screen described with reference to FIG. When reading out the pixel signals from the image pickup device 221, the image pickup device driving circuit 223 may read out the pixel signals in the image data output area, or after reading out the pixel signals of all the pixels, the image processing circuit 257, etc. In this case, data corresponding to the image data output area may be extracted.

  If the aspect of the shooting range is changed, the boundary line indicating the shooting range of the monitor is then changed to be the same as the shooting range (# 107). In this step, when the live view display mode for observing the subject image on the rear LCD 39 is selected, the video signal output circuit 261 is controlled, and according to the aspect ratio set by the dial operation, FIG. A field frame boundary line 39a as shown in FIG.

  In FIG. 6, the display surface of the rear LCD 39 corresponds to the imaging device effective range 221 a of the imaging device 221 and has a square shape. The boundary line 39a indicates a shooting range corresponding to the aspect ratio set as described above, and the inside of the boundary line 39a is a subject image display area 39b. The display surface of the rear LCD 39 and the inside of the image circle 120 and outside the subject image display area 39b (boundary line 39a) is a shootable area 39c, and this area is a shootable area by changing the aspect ratio. Is shown.

  In the present embodiment, in the shootable area 39c, brightness and contrast are changed from the subject image display area 39b so that it can be distinguished from the set shooting range (subject image display area 39b). As a display method of the imageable area 39c, in addition to this, for example, the object image is displayed in the object image display area 39b while displaying the object image such as displaying in gray in black and white or reducing the saturation of color display. Any device that can be displayed separately from the subject image may be used.

  Also, photographing information 39d is displayed at the four corners of the display surface of the rear LCD 39. In this example, the remaining battery level is in the upper left, the shooting mode (here, program mode) in the upper right, the exposure control value (here, aperture F5.6, shutter speed 1/500 sec) in the lower right, and shooting in the lower left. The possible number of sheets (here, 303 frames) is shown. Since the display area of the photographing information 39 is outside the image circle 120, it does not overlap with the subject image display area 39b. Therefore, since the display position is constant and is always the same position for the user, there is no confusion when confirming the shooting information.

  In the horizontally long shooting range shown in FIG. 6, when the aspect ratio is changed to the vertically long shooting range in steps # 101 to # 105, a vertically long image is displayed on the rear LCD 39 as shown in FIG. In this case, the boundary line 39a is changed according to the changed imaging range, and the subject image is displayed inside the boundary line 39a. Even in this case, the photographing information 39d is displayed at the same positions as in the case of landscape orientation at the four corners of the display surface of the rear LCD 39.

  In addition, when the information button 31 is operated and the shooting information 39d is displayed in addition to the above-described four, it is displayed in the shootable area 39c as shown in FIG. In the example of FIG. 8, ISO sensitivity (here, 100) and white balance (here, automatic) are displayed as the shooting information 39e. In the shootable region 39c, the shooting information 39e can be displayed without being superimposed on the subject image, and there is no trouble in observing the subject image. Furthermore, when shooting information is displayed, it may be displayed in the subject image display area 39b.

  When the subject image or the shooting information is displayed on the rear LCD 39 in step # 107, or if the result of determination in step # 101 is that the aspect switching dial has not been operated, the setting change subroutine is terminated and the original Return to flow.

  Next, a modified example of the setting change in one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. In one embodiment of the present invention, the aspect ratio is changed by rotating the front dial 22 or the rear dial 23, but in this modification, the aspect ratio is changed by operating the cross button 32. Since the configuration of this modification only changes the flowchart of FIG. 4 in the embodiment of the present invention to the flowchart shown in FIG. 5, the differences will be mainly described.

  When the setting change subroutine is entered, it is first determined whether or not the upper button has been operated (# 111). In this step, the switch detection circuit 268 determines whether or not the upper cross button 32a has been operated. If the result of this determination is that the upper cross button 32a has been operated, the aspect ratio is then changed by a certain amount in the longitudinal direction (# 113). Here, the shooting range (image data output area) of the image sensor 221 and the boundary line 39a of the rear LCD 39 are changed according to the set aspect ratio. The vertical direction is, for example, 16: 9 horizontal length → 3: 2 horizontal length → 1: 1 square → 2: 3 vertical length → 9: 16 vertical direction, and a certain amount is appropriately determined as a design value.

  If the aspect ratio is changed in the vertical direction by a certain amount, it is next determined whether or not a certain time has passed with the upper cross button 32a being pressed (# 115). If the result of this determination is that the button has been pressed for a certain time, the aspect ratio is changed substantially continuously in the vertically long direction (# 117). That is, the aspect ratio of the imaging range (image data output area) of the image sensor 221 and the boundary line 39a of the rear LCD 39 is changed in the longitudinal direction at a constant rate. Subsequently, it is determined whether or not the upper cross button 32a is pressed (# 119). If the upper cross button 32a has been pressed, the process returns to step # 117, and the aspect ratio change is continued in the longitudinal direction.

  As described above, when the upper cross button 32a is operated in step # 111, the aspect ratio is changed by a certain amount (one step) in the vertical direction, and when the operation is continued for a certain time or longer, the aspect ratio is continuously changed. The In accordance with the changed aspect ratio, the shooting areas recorded on the recording media 285 and 287 are changed, and the boundary line 39a indicating the field frame displayed on the rear LCD 39 is changed.

  As a result of the determination in step # 119, the operation of the upper cross button 32a is stopped, or as a result of the determination in step # 115, if the predetermined time has not passed with the upper cross button 32a being pressed, or the determination in step # 111 As a result, if the upper cross button 32a has not been operated, it is next determined whether or not the lower cross button 32b has been operated (# 121). In this step, the switch detection circuit 268 determines whether or not the lower cross button 32b has been operated. If the result of this determination is that the lower cross button 32b has been operated, the aspect ratio is then changed in the landscape direction by a fixed amount (# 123). Here, the shooting range (image data output area) of the image sensor 221 and the boundary line 39a of the rear LCD 39 are changed according to the set aspect ratio. The horizontally long direction is, for example, 9:16 vertically long → 2: 3 vertically long → 1: 1 square → 3: 2 horizontally long → 16: 9 horizontally long, and the predetermined amount is appropriately determined as a design value.

  If the aspect ratio is changed in the landscape direction by a certain amount, it is next determined whether or not a certain time has passed with the lower cross button 32b being pressed (# 125). As a result of this determination, if the button is kept pressed for a certain time, the aspect ratio is changed substantially continuously in the horizontally long direction. That is, the aspect ratio is changed in the horizontal direction at a constant rate (# 127). Subsequently, it is determined whether or not the lower cross button 32b is held down (# 129). If the lower cross button 32b has been pressed, the process returns to step # 127, and the aspect ratio change is continued in the horizontally long direction.

  In this way, when the lower cross button 32b is operated in step # 121, the aspect ratio is changed by a certain amount (one step) in the horizontal direction, and the aspect ratio is continuously changed if the operation is continued for a certain time or more. Is done. In accordance with the changed aspect ratio, the shooting areas recorded on the recording media 285 and 287 are changed, and the boundary line 39a indicating the field frame displayed on the rear LCD 39 is changed.

  As a result of the determination in step # 129, the operation of the lower cross button 32b is stopped, or as a result of the determination in step # 125, when the predetermined time has not passed while the lower cross button 32b is pressed, or in step # 121 If the lower cross button 32b is not operated as a result of the determination in (2), the setting change subroutine is terminated and the original flow is returned to.

  In this modification as well, during live view display on the rear LCD 39, the display described with reference to FIGS. 6 to 8 is performed. In other words, the boundary line 39a is changed according to the set aspect ratio, and is displayed outside the boundary line 39a as an area in which the aspect ratio can be changed as a shootable area 39c in the image circle 120. . Also, shooting information 39d is displayed at the four corners of the rear LCD 39.

  In this modification, the operation state of the upper cross button 32a is determined in step # 111, and the operation state of the lower cross button 32b is determined in step # 121. In 111, the operation state of the upper cross button 32a or the lower cross button 32b may be determined, and in step # 121, the operation state of the left and right cross buttons 32 may be determined.

  As described above, in the embodiment of the present invention, the entire image data from the image sensor 221 is displayed and the shooting range based on the set aspect ratio or the like is displayed. For this reason, it is easy to confirm the shootable range for the entire image. Further, since the display mode is different in displaying the shooting range for the entire image, the currently set shooting range and the changeable range can be easily identified and observed. For this reason, it is possible to easily change the aspect ratio and the like.

  In the embodiment of the present invention, the subject image is displayed based on the image data from the image sensor 221 and the shooting information is always displayed at a fixed position. For this reason, even if the vertical / horizontal position and the aspect ratio are changed, there is an advantage that it is easy to view the shooting information. Further, since the shooting information is displayed outside the image circle, the shooting information is not overlapped with the subject image in the shooting range, and there is no possibility of being difficult to see.

  In the embodiment of the present invention, the shooting information 39d is displayed at each of the four corners of the rear LCD 39. However, it is not necessary to display the information at all four corners, and only the upper side or the lower side may be displayed. Further, as an operation member for setting the aspect ratio, a rotary dial such as the front dial 22 and the rear dial 23 and four push buttons such as a cross button 32 are employed. Any operation member that can be operated in stages may be used. For example, the operation member can be changed to various operation members such as a lever and a touch panel.

  In the embodiment of the present invention, the two display modes for observing the subject image, that is, the optical viewfinder and the live view display are provided. However, the optical viewfinder may be omitted. In addition to live view display using an optical viewfinder or rear LCD, the present invention can also be applied to a so-called electronic viewfinder that observes a subject image through an eyepiece.

  Furthermore, in the embodiment of the present invention, the digital camera is used as the photographing device. However, the camera may be a digital single-lens reflex camera or a compact digital camera, and a moving image such as a video camera or a movie camera. For example, a camera built in a mobile phone or a personal digital assistant (PDA) may be used.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments as they are, and can be embodied by modifying the constituent elements without departing from the scope of the invention in the implementation stage. In addition, various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining a plurality of components disclosed in the embodiment. For example, you may delete some components of all the components shown by embodiment. Furthermore, constituent elements over different embodiments may be appropriately combined.

22 ... front dial, 23 ... back dial, 31 ... information button, 32 ... cross button, 38 ... eyepiece, 39 ... back LCD, 39a ... border line, 39b ... Subject image display area, 39c ... shootable area, 39d ... shooting information, 39e ... shooting information, 40 ... control panel, 100 ... interchangeable lens, 101 ... shooting Optical system 103 ... Aperture 105 ... Focus position detection mechanism 106 ... Zoom position detection mechanism 107 ... Optical system drive mechanism 109 ... Aperture drive mechanism 111 ... Lens CPU 113 ... lens ROM, 115 ... lens RAM, 120 ... image circle, 122 ... 9:16 portrait image, 123 ... 2: 3 portrait image, 124 ... 1: 1 square Image, 1 5 ... 3: 2 landscape image, 126 ... 16: 9 landscape image, 200 ... camera body, 201 ... movable mirror, 203 ... submirror, 204 ... screen, 205 ... LCD on the entire surface, 206 ... finder display device, 207 ... pentaprism, 209 ... eyepiece, 211 ... photometry element, 212 ... photometry processing circuit, 213 ... shutter, 215 ... Dust-proof filter, 217 ... low-pass filter, 221 ... image sensor, 221a ... image sensor effective range, 223 ... image sensor drive circuit, 225 ... pre-processing circuit, 227 ... tilt sensor 228 ... Tilt detection circuit, 229 ... Shake sensor, 230 ... Shake correction circuit, 231 ... Shift mechanism drive circuit, 233 ... Shift mechanism, 235 ... Dust-proof filter drive circuit, 237 ... shutter drive mechanism, 239 ... mirror drive mechanism, 241 ... phase difference AF sensor, 243 ... phase difference AF processing circuit, 244 ... light source sensor, 245 ... Light source processing circuit, 246 ... Illuminance sensor, 247 ... Illuminance processing circuit, 248 ... Remote control reception sensor, 249 ... Remote control reception processing circuit, 250 ... ASIC, 251 ... Body CPU, 252 ... Bus, 253 ... Contrast AF circuit, 255 ... AE circuit, 257 ... Image processing circuit, 259 ... Compression / decompression circuit, 261 ... Video signal output circuit, 263 ... LCD drive circuit, 265... LCD orientation detection circuit, 268... Switch detection circuit, 269... Various switches, 271. Communication circuit, 275 ... Flash memory control circuit, 277 ... Flash memory, 279 ... SDRAM control circuit, 281 ... SDRAM, 283 ... Recording medium control circuit, 285 ... Recording medium A, 287 ... Recording medium B, 289 ... Dial detection circuit, 291 ... Power supply circuit, 292 ... Battery, 293 ... External power supply, 295 ... Display drive circuit in viewfinder, 297 ... Control panel drive circuit, 301 ... charge circuit, 303 ... flash light emission circuit, 305 ... light emission tube, 310 ... external flash, 310a ... contact, 310b ... contact, 311 ...・ Flash CPU, 313... Charging circuit, 315... Flash light emitting circuit, 317. Zoom drive circuit, 320 ... external device (PC), 320a ... contact, 321 ... device CPU, 330 ... external display device (TV), 330a ... contact, 331 ... display device Drive circuit, 333 ... display device, 341 ... communication contact

Claims (9)

An imaging unit that outputs a subject image as image data;
An imaging region control unit for controlling the aspect and / or aspect ratio of an image corresponding to an image data output region included in the entire imaging unit;
An image corresponding to the entire imaging unit including an image corresponding to the image data output region, a live view display unit for displaying information related to the vertical and horizontal and / or aspect ratio of the image data output region,
I have a,
The image data output area is an area for outputting image data of an area inscribed in the image circle, and the live view display unit further includes information related to shooting outside the image display area corresponding to the image data output area. An image pickup apparatus that displays The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the live view display displays information related to the shooting in an area of an image corresponding to the entire imaging unit and in an area outside the image circle . 3. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the live view display unit superimposes and displays information related to a vertical and horizontal and / or aspect ratio of the image data output area on an image in an image circle. . The display of the information related to the vertical / horizontal and / or aspect ratio of the image data output area is a frame indicating the image data output area, or is displayed in a different manner outside the image data output area and inside the image circle. The imaging device according to claim 3.   The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the live view display unit displays the photographing information at a fixed position regardless of the aspect and / or aspect ratio. Upper Symbol live view display unit according to claim even within the display unit, and outside the scope of the image corresponding to the image data output area, and sets the predetermined position for displaying photographing information 5 The imaging device described in 1. Upper Symbol live view display section, the image pickup apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that also displays the upper Symbol image data output area outside of the image. The live view display section includes a display mode of the upper Symbol image data output area outside of the image pickup apparatus according to claim 7, wherein changing the display mode of the image of the image data output area. The imaging unit, and outputting a subject image as image data,
A step of controlling an aspect ratio and / or an aspect ratio of an image corresponding to an image data output area included in the entire imaging unit by an imaging region control unit ;
The live view display unit, and displaying the image corresponding to the entire said imaging unit includes an image corresponding to the image data output area, information related to the aspect and / or aspect ratio of the image data output area,
Have
The image data output area is an area for outputting image data of an area inscribed in the image circle, and the live view display unit further includes information related to shooting outside the image display area corresponding to the image data output area. An imaging method characterized by displaying.