JP5614487B2 - Electronic devices and programs for electronic devices - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an electronic device and a program for the electronic device .

  Cameras that operate in pairs have been proposed (see Patent Document 1), and it has been proposed to perform pairing using the flash light emission of the cameras.

JP 2009-33494 A

  In the prior art, strobe light must be emitted in order to perform a pair operation, and there is a problem that it is not suitable for use indoors where light emission is prohibited or outdoors during the daytime.

(1) A first communication unit capable of communicating with an external device having a display unit for displaying and a processing unit for storing image data captured by the imaging unit in a storage medium. When, in the external device of the power supply is off, and a starting means for starting the external device by contact or non-contact with the external device, after the activation means activates the said external device, said first While communication with the external device is established by one communication unit, image data captured by the imaging unit of the external device is received before communication between the first communication unit and the external device is established. A reproduction image by image data is displayed and copy processing is performed. When communication with the external device by the first communication unit is completed, reproduction image display by image data not subjected to the copy processing is performed on the display unit. No system And parts, the has.
(2) The electronic device program according to the invention described in claim 11 is in contact with the external device in a state where the power of the external device having the processing unit for storing the image data captured by the imaging unit in the storage medium is off. Alternatively, a process of starting the external device by a starting unit without contact, and after the starting unit starts the external device, the first communication unit communicates with the external device, and the first communication unit While the communication with the external device is established, the image data captured by the imaging unit of the external device before the communication between the first communication unit and the external device is established, and the reproduced image based on the image data to display the performs copy processing, the case where the first communication with the external apparatus by the communication unit is terminated competent and processing is not performed reproduced image display by the image data not subjected to the copy processing It is made to run over data.

  According to the electronic apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to appropriately perform pair operations regardless of whether indoors or outdoors.

1 is a block diagram of an electronic camera according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a rear view of an electronic camera. It is a figure which illustrates the operation menu screen. It is a figure which illustrates a pairing establishment condition setting screen. It is a figure which illustrates a pairing person setting screen. It is a flowchart explaining the flow of the process which establishes pairing. It is a figure which illustrates an upper judgment table. It is a figure which illustrates a pairing off timer setting screen. It is a figure which illustrates the display screen at the time of a registration imaging | photography process. It is a figure which illustrates the "folder display" screen of "master". It is a figure which illustrates the "folder display" screen of "child". It is a figure which shows the example of a thumbnail list display. It is a figure which illustrates the through image displayed on "master". It is a figure which illustrates the through image displayed on "child machine". It is a figure which illustrates the through image displayed on "master". It is a figure which illustrates the through image displayed on "child machine". It is a flowchart which illustrates the flow of the process performed when CPU performs the cooperation photography 1. FIG. It is a flowchart which illustrates the flow of the process performed when CPU performs cooperation photography 2. FIG. It is a flowchart which illustrates the flow of the process performed when CPU performs normal. It is a figure which illustrates the left side determination table.

Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of an electronic camera 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, an electronic camera 1 includes a photographing optical system 11, an image sensor 12, an AFE (Analog front end) circuit 13, an image processing circuit 14, a speaker drive circuit 15, a speaker 16, and an LCD monitor 17. RAM 18, flash memory 19, CPU 20, memory card interface (I / F) 21, communication control circuit 22, operation member 23, attitude sensor 24, sound processing circuit 25, stereo microphone 26, The lighting device 28 includes a power supply circuit 29 and a lens driving circuit 30.

  The CPU 20, RAM 18, flash memory 19, memory card interface 21, communication control circuit 22, audio processing circuit 25, lens driving circuit 30, image processing circuit 14, lighting device 28, speaker driving circuit 15 and LCD monitor 17 are each a bus. 27 is connected.

  The photographic optical system 11 includes a plurality of lens groups including a zoom lens and a focusing lens, and forms a subject image on the imaging surface of the image sensor 12. In order to simplify FIG. 1, the photographing optical system 11 is shown as a single lens.

  The imaging element 12 is configured by a CMOS image sensor or the like in which light receiving elements are two-dimensionally arranged on the imaging surface. The image sensor 12 photoelectrically converts the subject image formed by the photographing optical system 11 to generate an analog image signal. The analog image signal is input to the AFE circuit 13.

  The AFE circuit 13 performs analog processing such as correlated double sampling and gain adjustment on the analog image signal, and converts the image signal after the analog processing into digital image data. The digital image data is input to the image processing circuit 14. The image processing circuit 14 performs various types of image processing (color interpolation processing, gradation conversion processing, contour enhancement processing, white balance adjustment processing, image compression processing, image expansion processing, etc.) on the digital image data.

  The speaker drive circuit 15 generates a sound reproduction signal such as an operation sound, a caution sound, and a voice message based on the sound data sent from the CPU 20. The speaker 16 performs audio reproduction based on the audio reproduction signal.

  The LCD monitor 17 is composed of a liquid crystal panel, and displays an image, an operation menu screen, and the like according to an instruction from the CPU 20. The RAM 18 is used as a work memory for the CPU 20. The RAM 18 temporarily stores digital image data in the pre-process and post-process of image processing by the image processing circuit 14. The flash memory 19 stores reference data to be described later in addition to storing a program to be executed by the CPU 20.

The CPU 20 is a photographing control unit that controls operations performed by the electronic camera 1 by executing a program stored in the flash memory 19. The CPU 20 also performs AF (autofocus) operation control and automatic exposure (AE) calculation. The AF operation uses, for example, a contrast detection method for obtaining a focus position of a focusing lens (not shown) based on contrast information of a through image. The through image refers to a monitor image that is repeatedly acquired by the image sensor 12 at a predetermined time interval (for example, 30 frames / second) before a shooting instruction. CP
U20 also has a clocking function that clocks time based on the clock signal.

  The memory card interface 21 has a connector (not shown), and a storage medium 51 such as a memory card is connected to the connector. The memory card interface 21 writes data to the connected storage medium 51 and reads data from the storage medium 51. The storage medium 51 includes a memory card with a built-in semiconductor memory.

  The communication control circuit 22 controls communication with an external device according to an instruction from the CPU 20. The communication control circuit 22 includes a wireless communication circuit, and transmits and receives radio waves via the antenna 22a. In the present embodiment, an example in which wireless communication is performed with another electronic camera 1 having the same configuration as the electronic camera 1 will be described. Note that the wireless communication circuit preferably includes a circuit for measuring the intensity of a received signal and controlling a transmission range of the signal, for example, a received signal strength indicator (RSSI) circuit.

  The communication control circuit 22 further includes a human body communication function for performing communication via the human body in response to an instruction from the CPU 20. Specifically, the transmitting / receiving electrodes 22b to 22e are disposed so as to be exposed on the upper, lower, left and right surfaces of the casing of the electronic camera 1 (FIG. 2). The user of the electronic camera 1 and the user of the other electronic camera 1 hold the electronic camera 1 with one hand so that each user touches at least one transmission / reception electrode, and both users do not hold the electronic camera 1. By shaking hands with each other with the other hand, communication between the electronic cameras 1 is performed using both human bodies as antennas by a closed circuit formed by capacitive coupling between the human bodies (see Table 2006/054706). ). Note that the communication control unit 22 may have a wired communication function for performing communication via a cable in response to an instruction from the CPU 20. In this case, a wired LAN port (not shown) is provided.

  The operation member 23 includes a release button 23a, a zoom switch 23b 23c, a cross switch 23g, a menu switch 23e, and the like which will be described later (FIG. 2). The operation member 23 sends an operation signal corresponding to each operation, such as a mode switching operation or a menu selection operation, to the CPU 20.

  The posture sensor 24 detects the direction of gravity, for example, and sends a detection signal to the CPU 20. The CPU 20 determines the attitude of the electronic camera 1 based on the detection signal. Specifically, it is determined whether the electronic camera 1 is upside down as well as the vertical and horizontal positions.

  The audio processing circuit 25 amplifies the audio signal collected by the microphone 26 and converts the amplified signal into digital audio data by an A / D conversion circuit (not shown). The illumination device 28 is a device for illuminating a subject during night photography. The power supply circuit 29 supplies the voltage from the battery 52 to each part in the electronic camera 1 in accordance with an instruction from the CPU 20, detects the voltage of the battery 52, and sends a signal indicating the detected voltage to the CPU 20 as remaining battery capacity information. To do.

  The lens driving circuit 30 constitutes the photographing optical system 11 and a circuit that drives a focus adjustment motor (not shown) for adjusting the focus by moving the focus lens constituting the photographing optical system 11 forward and backward in the optical axis direction. And a circuit for driving a zoom adjustment motor (not shown) for adjusting the zoom ratio by moving the zoom lens back and forth in the optical axis direction. The lens driving circuit 30 drives the focus adjustment motor and the zoom adjustment motor, respectively, in accordance with instructions from the CPU 20.

The CPU 20 of the electronic camera 1 performs a predetermined cooperative process in a state where communication is established with another electronic camera 1 (both having the same configuration). Hereinafter, a state in which communication is established between the electronic camera 1 and another electronic camera 1 and a predetermined cooperative process can be executed is also referred to as pairing.
The state in which the predetermined cooperative process can be performed is a state in which commands relating to operations and the like can be transmitted and received between the electronic camera 1 and another electronic camera 1. In addition, the cooperative processing is not particularly limited, but for example, the same operation as that in the electronic camera 1 is executed by another electronic camera 1 or an operation different from the operation in the electronic camera 1 is performed. For example, it may be executed by the electronic camera 1 or information such as image data may be transmitted to another electronic camera 1. The pairing of the electronic camera 1 is usually performed by transmitting a command and data from one of the electronic camera 1 and the other electronic camera 1 to the other, and the electronic camera 1 that receives the command returns it to the electronic camera 1 that is the command transmission source. After establishing communication, it is established by satisfying a predetermined condition described later. Note that examples of the communication method between the electronic camera 1 and another electronic camera 1 include wired communication, wireless communication, and human body communication. Further, these communication methods may be appropriately combined, for example, human communication until the establishment of communication and wireless communication thereafter.

  The pairing mode in which the pairing is performed and the normal mode in which the pairing is not performed can be switched. This mode switching may be performed, for example, in accordance with the pressing operation of the mode switch 23d, or may be performed in an “operation menu” screen displayed in response to the pressing operation of the menu switch 23e. In this description, the processing performed by the CPU 20 when the mode is switched to the pairing mode will be mainly described.

<Pairing conditions>
The pairing establishment condition is configured to be selectable from four conditions. The operation for selecting the pairing establishment condition is performed in advance as follows before communication with another electronic camera 1 is performed.

  FIG. 2 is a rear view of the electronic camera 1. On the back of the electronic camera 1, there are an LCD monitor 17, a zoom switch 23b (T), a zoom switch 23c (W), a mode switch 23d, a menu switch 23e, a deletion switch 23f, a cross switch 23g, and an OK. A switch 23h is provided. The transmission / reception electrode 22b is provided on the upper surface of the casing of the electronic camera 1. The transmission / reception electrode 22c is provided on the lower surface of the housing. The transmission / reception electrode 22d is provided on the right side of the casing, and the transmission / reception electrode 22d is provided on the left side of the casing.

  When the menu switch 23 e is pressed, the CPU 20 displays an “operation menu” screen illustrated in FIG. 3 on the LCD monitor 17. The “operation menu” includes a plurality of selection items, for example, “registered photographing” item 171, “pairing establishment condition setting” item 172, “pairing off timer” item 173, and “pairing person setting” item. 174. When the cross switch 23g is pressed down while the “operation menu” screen is displayed, the CPU 20 changes the selection item up or down according to the operation signal. When the cross switch 23g is pressed in the determination direction (right determination) while the “pairing establishment condition setting” item 172 is selected, the CPU 20 displays the “pairing establishment condition setting” screen illustrated in FIG. 17 is displayed.

  In FIG. 4, four selection items, that is, a “normal” item 176, a “face identification” item 177, a “handshake” item 178, and a “camera touch” item 179 are displayed as the “pairing establishment condition”. . When the cross switch 23g is pressed down in the vertical direction while the screen illustrated in FIG. 4 is displayed, the CPU 20 changes the selection item up or down in accordance with the operation signal. When the cross switch 23g is pressed in the determination direction (right determination), the CPU 20 sets the item currently selected as a pairing establishment condition.

<Normal>
When the pairing establishment condition is set to “normal”, the CPU 20 establishes the pairing on the condition that communication with another electronic camera 1 is established. The communication control circuit 22 has transmission power set in advance so as to perform wireless communication within a predetermined range (for example, 10 m). The transmission power is configured to be switchable in advance by a menu operation so as to limit the communication range stepwise (for example, 3 m, 50 cm, 3 cm) according to an instruction from the CPU 20.

  The switching of the transmission power is performed by switching the threshold value for determining whether or not there is reception in the communication control circuit 22 while keeping the transmission power in the communication control circuit 22 constant, instead of switching the transmission power in the communication control circuit 22. You may do it. In this embodiment, there is no contact between both electronic cameras 1 in any case.

<Face identification>
The CPU 20 has a function of detecting a “face” included in the through image and identifying whether the “face” is a “face” of a predetermined person. In the present embodiment, since the “face” of the other party is photographed, there is no contact between the two electronic cameras 1 when identifying the “face”. Since the face detection process and the face identification process are well-known techniques, description thereof is omitted. When the pairing establishment condition is set to “face identification”, the CPU 20 establishes pairing on the condition of “face identification” after establishing communication with another electronic camera 1. The identification person setting operation for establishing the pairing is performed in advance as follows before communication with another electronic camera 1 is performed.

  When the cross switch 23g is pressed in the determination direction (right determination) while the “pairing person setting” item 174 is selected while the “operation menu” screen (FIG. 3) is displayed, the CPU 20 is illustrated in FIG. The “pairing person setting” screen is displayed on the LCD monitor 17. The CPU 20 reads the thumbnail image data of “face” from all the reference data recorded (registered) in the flash memory 19 and displays the thumbnail image. The reference data includes thumbnail image data of “face” and feature amount data generated based on the image data. The feature amount data is used for the “face identification”. The reference data used for “face identification” is recorded (registered) in the flash memory 19 in advance. The registration procedure will be described later.

  In FIG. 5, thumbnail images of “faces” for person A, person B, and person C are displayed. A check box is displayed on the left side of each thumbnail image. For example, a check box 172 is displayed on the left side of the thumbnail image 171.

  When the cross switch 23g is pressed in the selection direction (up and down direction) while the “pairing person setting” screen is displayed, the CPU 20 moves the display position of the cursor 173 up and down according to the operation signal. When the OK switch 23h is pressed, the CPU 20 displays a check mark in a check box surrounded by the cursor 173. When the OK switch 23h is pressed while the check mark is displayed in the check box, the CPU 20 deletes the check mark in the check box. The CPU 20 sets the “face” of the thumbnail image indicated by the check mark in the “pairing person setting” screen as an identification target.

<Handshake>
When the pairing establishment condition is set to “shake hands”, the CPU 20 establishes the pairing on the condition that the data reception by the human body communication is performed after establishing communication with the other electronic camera 1. For example, the electronic cameras 1 are connected to each other by a closed circuit formed when the users of both the electronic camera 1 and the other electronic camera 1 that have established communication as described above shake hands (simply touch each other's skin). Send and receive data to establish pairing. In the present embodiment, both electronic cameras 1 are not in contact with each other even when shaking hands.

<Camera touch>
When the pairing establishment condition is set to “camera touch”, the CPU 20 establishes pairing on the condition of direct contact between the two electronic cameras 1 after establishing communication with the other electronic cameras 1. As described above, the transmission / reception electrodes 22b to 22e are disposed so as to be exposed on the upper, lower, left and right surfaces of the casing of the electronic camera 1 (FIG. 2). When the electronic cameras 1 are in direct contact with any of these transmission / reception electrodes 22b to 22e, a large current flows because the impedance of the closed circuit is lower than that during human body communication via the human body. The CPU 20 determines the contact between the electronic cameras 1 by detecting the generation of this signal current through the communication control circuit 22. The communication control circuit 22 is configured to identify which electrode of the transmission / reception electrodes 22b to 22e is in contact and notify the CPU 20 of the contact.

  The flow of processing for establishing the pairing by the CPU 20 that has been switched to the pairing mode will be described with reference to the flowchart illustrated in FIG. It is an example which performs communication before communication establishment by wireless communication. When the CPU 20 of the electronic camera 1 and the CPUs of the other electronic cameras 1 are switched to the pairing mode, the programs for performing the processing shown in FIG. 6 are started up.

  In step S11 of FIG. 6, the CPU 20 makes a communication request and proceeds to step S12. For example, the CPU 20 sends an instruction to the communication control circuit 22 to cause the communication request command to be transmitted with transmission power reaching the other electronic camera 1 located in the 10 m range. In step S12, the CPU 20 determines whether or not there is a reply to the communication request. When the reply is received by the communication control circuit 22, the CPU 20 makes a positive determination in step S12 and proceeds to step S13. If no reply is received, the CPU 20 makes a negative determination in step S12 and proceeds to step S17.

  In step S13, the CPU 20 determines whether or not the pairing establishment condition is “normal”. If the pairing establishment condition is set to “normal”, the CPU 20 makes a positive determination in step S13 and proceeds to step S16. If the pairing establishment condition is not set to “normal”, the CPU 20 makes a negative determination in step S13 and proceeds to step S14.

  In step S16, the CPU 20 sends an instruction to the communication control circuit 22, causes a confirmation signal to be transmitted to another electronic camera 1, and a counter that counts the number of times that pairing has been established with the other electronic camera 1 that is the transmission destination. Increment by one and go to step S27. The confirmation signal is a signal transmitted from the “master unit” to the “slave unit” in pairing. Here, the identification information of the communication request side (for example, the ID of the electronic camera 1) is included in the communication request, and the identification information of the return side (the ID of the other electronic camera 1) is included in the reply. The establishment is managed for each ID.

In the present embodiment, “master unit” and “slave unit” are determined as follows. When the pairing establishment condition is set to “normal” (Yes in step S13), the electronic camera 1 that first transmitted the communication request (S11) is set as the “master” in the pairing, and the communication request In response, the electronic camera 1 that has responded (S18) is set as a “slave unit” in pairing. When the pairing establishment condition is set to “face recognition” (Yes in step S15), the electronic camera 1 that has performed “face identification” is set as the “master” in pairing, and “face identification” The electronic camera 1 that has been used is referred to as a “slave” in pairing. When the pairing establishment condition is set to “shake handshake” (Yes in step S23), the electronic camera 1 that first transmitted the command and data via the closed circuit by the human body communication is set to “ The electronic camera 1 that has received this is referred to as a “slave unit” in pairing. The determination of “master unit” and “slave unit” in the case of “camera touch” will be described later.

  In step S27, the CPU 20 adjusts the time and ends the process of FIG. The time adjustment is performed, for example, by adjusting the time of the “child device” to the time of the “parent device”. Specifically, the CPU 20 sends an instruction to the communication control circuit 22 to transmit time information to another electronic camera 1. Thereby, the time information of the “master unit” is transmitted to the “slave unit”, and the time of both can be aligned. By completing the processing in FIG. 6, pairing is established by the relationship between the “master unit” and the “slave unit”. Then, the “master unit” and “slave unit” whose time has been set start timing after the pairing is established. The CPU 20 performs a predetermined process while pairing is established. The process during pairing establishment will be described later.

  In step S <b> 14, the CPU 20 determines whether the pairing establishment condition is “face identification”. When the pairing establishment condition is set to “face identification”, the CPU 20 makes a positive determination in step S14 and proceeds to step S15. If the pairing establishment condition is not set to “face identification”, the CPU 20 makes a negative determination in step S14 and proceeds to step S22.

  In step S15, the CPU 20 determines whether or not “face identification” has been performed. If the registered face is identified, the CPU 20 makes an affirmative decision in step S15 and proceeds to step S16. If the registered face is not identified, the CPU 20 makes a negative decision in step S15 and proceeds to step S26. The CPU 20 reproduces and displays the through image used for “face identification” on the LCD monitor 17 in real time. When “face identification” is performed, the CPU 20 displays the “face” (for example, a frame surrounding the “face”). Etc.) overlaid on the through image. When the CPU 20 identifies a plurality of “faces”, for example, the CPU 20 selects the largest face (having the largest ratio in the through image).

  In step S <b> 22, the CPU 20 determines whether the pairing establishment condition is “shake hands”. If the pairing establishment condition is set to “shake hands”, the CPU 20 makes a positive determination in step S22 and proceeds to step S23. If the pairing establishment condition is not set to “shake hands”, the CPU 20 makes a negative determination in step S22 and proceeds to step S24.

  In step S23, when a signal indicating that predetermined data has been received by human body communication is transmitted from the communication control circuit 22, the CPU 20 makes a positive determination in step S23 and proceeds to step S16. If the signal indicating reception of predetermined data by human body communication is not transmitted from the communication control circuit 22, the CPU 20 makes a negative determination in step S23 and proceeds to step S26. In this embodiment, when a closed circuit for human body communication is formed, data indicating that pairing can be established is transmitted.

  In step S <b> 24, the CPU 20 determines whether a signal indicating contact between the electronic cameras 1 is received from the communication control circuit 22. When a signal indicating contact between the electronic cameras 1 is input from the communication control circuit 22, the CPU 20 makes a positive determination in step S24 and proceeds to step S25. If a signal indicating mutual contact is not input, the CPU 20 makes a negative determination in step S24 and proceeds to step S26.

  In step S25, the CPU 20 performs an upper side determination process. The upper determination is to determine which electronic camera 1 is located on the upper side when the electronic cameras 1 are in contact with each other, and in this embodiment, the one located in the antigravity direction is defined as the “upper” side. .

Based on the gravity direction based on the detection signal from the attitude sensor 24 and the contact electrode information based on the signal from the communication control circuit 22, the CPU 20 performs the upper determination with reference to the determination table illustrated in FIG. For example, a case where the electronic camera 1 is held in a vertical position (right side is downward) and the upper surface (normal position) of another electronic camera 1 is touched with the right side will be described as an example. The CPU 20 of the electronic camera 1 determines “up” because the gravity direction is on the transmission / reception electrode 22d side and the contact electrode is the transmission / reception electrode 22d. In the present embodiment, the one determined as “up” is the “parent device” in pairing, and the one determined as “down” is the “child device” in pairing. On the other hand, the CPU of another electronic camera 1 touched by the electronic camera 1 has a gravitational direction on the transmission / reception electrode 22c side (normal position) and a contact electrode on the upper surface (the transmission / reception electrode 22b). Make “down” judgment.

  If the CPU 20 makes the “up” determination, it makes a positive determination in step S25 and proceeds to step S16. The CPU 20 that has not made the “up” determination makes a negative determination in step S25 and proceeds to step S20. The reason for proceeding to step S20 is to wait for a confirmation signal from the “master unit” as the “slave unit”.

  In step S26, the CPU 20 determines whether or not a timeout has occurred. When a predetermined timeout time (for example, 1 minute) has elapsed, the CPU 20 makes a positive determination in step S26, returns to step S1, and repeats the above-described processing. If the timeout time has not elapsed, the CPU 20 makes a negative determination in step S26, returns to step S14, and repeats the above-described processing.

  In step S <b> 17 which proceeds after making a negative determination in step S <b> 12, the CPU 20 determines whether or not there is a communication request from another electronic camera 1. When the communication control circuit 22 receives a communication request command, the CPU 20 makes a positive determination in step S17 and proceeds to step S18. If the communication control circuit 22 does not receive a communication request command, the CPU 20 makes a negative determination in step S17 and returns to step S11.

  In step S18, the CPU 20 sends a reply and proceeds to step S19. For example, the CPU 20 sends an instruction to the communication control circuit 22 and makes a reply to another electronic camera 1. In step S19, the CPU 20 determines whether or not a signal indicating contact has been received. When a signal indicating contact between the electronic cameras 1 is input from the communication control circuit 22, the CPU 20 makes a positive determination in step S19 and proceeds to step S25. When a signal indicating mutual contact is not input, the CPU 20 determines negative in step S19. Then, the process proceeds to step S20.

  In step S <b> 20, the CPU 20 determines whether the communication control circuit 22 has received a confirmation signal from another electronic camera 1. When the confirmation signal is received, the CPU 20 makes an affirmative decision in step S20, establishes pairing, and proceeds to step S28. If the confirmation signal is not received, the CPU 20 makes a negative determination in step S20 and proceeds to step S21.

  In step S28, the CPU 20 adjusts the time and ends the process shown in FIG. The time adjustment is performed by adjusting the time to the time information transmitted from the “master unit”. By completing the processing in FIG. 6, pairing is established in the relationship between the “child device” and the “parent device”.

  In step S21, the CPU 20 determines whether or not a timeout has occurred. When a predetermined timeout time (for example, 1 second) has elapsed, the CPU 20 makes a positive determination in step S21, returns to step S11, and repeats the above-described processing. When the time-out period has not elapsed, the CPU 20 makes a negative determination in step S21, returns to step S20, and repeats the above-described processing.

Note that the transmission of the confirmation signal in step S16 may be performed by human body communication when the pairing establishment condition is “shake hands”.

  The pairing established as described above is terminated by a manual operation (for example, cancellation of the pairing mode by depressing the mode switch 23d) or automatically terminated by a preset off timer. Further, when the free space of the storage medium 51 is smaller than the predetermined free space, when information indicating that the free space of the storage medium 51 on the other electronic camera 1 side is smaller than the predetermined free space is acquired by communication, If the remaining capacity is less than the predetermined remaining capacity, the pair of the battery 52 on the other electronic camera 1 side corresponds to at least one of the cases where information indicating that the remaining capacity is less than the predetermined remaining capacity is obtained by communication. The ring may be automatically terminated, or depending on at least one information of the free capacity of the storage medium 51 of both the electronic cameras 1 and the remaining capacity of the battery 52, the staying time in the pairing mode and the pairing mode The number of still images to be shot, the image mode (the number of recorded pixels such as high image quality, standard, economy, etc.), and the shooting time and frame rate for moving image shooting may be set. Note that pairing is also terminated when the distance between the electronic camera 1 and another electronic camera 1 is outside the communication range. When the pairing is completed, the CPU 20 identifies the other party's identification information (for example, the ID of the electronic camera 1), the number of times the pairing is established with the other party's electronic camera 1, and the other party's electronic camera 1. Is stored in the flash memory 19 in association with each ID of the electronic camera 1.

  Here, the setting procedure of the pairing-off timer will be described with reference to FIG. When the cross switch 23g is pressed in the determination direction (right direction) while the “pairing off timer” item 173 is selected while the “operation menu” screen (FIG. 3) is displayed, the CPU 20 is illustrated in FIG. The “pairing off timer” setting screen is displayed on the LCD monitor 17. When the cross switch 23g is pressed in the selection direction (up and down direction) while the “pairing off timer” setting screen is displayed, the CPU 20 changes the selection item up or down according to the operation signal. When the cross switch 23g is pressed rightward, the CPU 20 determines the item selected at that time.

  When the “off” item 71 is determined, the CPU 20 ends the pairing by the above-described manual pairing cancellation operation. When the “30 minutes” item 72 is determined, the CPU 20 performs the end of the pairing by the pairing mode canceling operation and when 30 minutes have elapsed from the start of the pairing, whichever comes first. The start of pairing corresponds to the time adjustment time in step S27. In addition, the CPU 20 in the case where the “1 hour” item 73 is determined performs the end of the pairing by the pairing mode canceling operation and when one hour has elapsed from the start of the pairing, whichever comes first.

<Registered shooting process>
Processing for recording (registering) reference data used for “face identification” in the flash memory 19 will be described. When the cross switch 23g is pressed down in the right direction with the “Registered Shooting” item 171 selected on the “Operation Menu Screen” (FIG. 3) displayed on the LCD monitor 17, the CPU 20 performs registered shooting processing. Start the program.

  The CPU 20 that has activated the registered photographing program displays an assist frame G on the LCD monitor 17. FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining a display example of the LCD monitor 17. The CPU 20 displays an image based on the latest through image data stored in the RAM 18 on the LCD monitor 17 and displays the assist frame G so as to overlap the image being displayed. The photographer holds the electronic camera 1 so that the face of the subject person to be registered is within the assist frame G.

When the CPU 20 receives an operation signal (for example, an operation signal from the menu switch 23e) for ending the registered shooting process, the CPU 20 ends the display of the assist frame G and ends the registered shooting process. On the other hand, when the CPU 20 does not receive an operation signal (for example, an operation signal from the menu switch 23e) for ending the registered photographing process, the CPU 20 determines whether or not the release switch is turned on. The CPU 20 performs a photographing process when the release button 23a is fully pressed.

  Then, the CPU 20 determines whether the image data acquired by the shooting process can be used for face identification. The CPU 20 performs face detection processing based on data corresponding to the assist frame G in the image data, and when a face is detected, the CPU 20 determines whether the face is a registered face. Specifically, it is detected by performing face identification processing based on the image data of the detected face area and the reference data corresponding to the “face” of the thumbnail image registered in the flash memory 19. The person's face and the person's face included in the reference data are identified as belonging to the same person.

  If the face is already registered, the CPU 20 causes the LCD monitor 17 to display, for example, “already registered”. If it is not a registered face, the reference data is recorded (registered) in the flash memory 19 as the “face” of the new person. Specifically, thumbnail image data is generated based on image data corresponding to the assist frame G, and feature amount data is generated based on the image data. Then, reference data including thumbnail image data and feature amount data is recorded in the flash memory 19. Thereby, the reference data is registered like the person B in the pairing person setting screen (FIG. 5).

<Delete reference data>
The reference data recorded (registered) in the flash memory 19 can be deleted as follows. When the delete switch 23f is pressed while the pairing person setting screen (FIG. 5) is displayed on the LCD monitor 17, the CPU 20 sets the reference data related to the person indicated by the cursor 173 as a deletion target.

  For example, the CPU 20 displays a message “Would you like to delete the data of the person B?” On the LCD monitor 17 for the person B surrounded by the cursor 173. When the delete switch 23 f is pressed again, the CPU 20 deletes the currently displayed thumbnail image data and the reference data including the corresponding feature amount data from the flash memory 19. Thereby, the display about the person B is deleted from the pairing person setting screen (FIG. 5).

<Processing during pairing>
1. While viewing the pairing, the CPU 20 wirelessly communicates the contents of the file folder set in advance with the other electronic camera 1 (if the pairing establishment condition is set to “shake hands” It is possible to browse through communication or a human body (a closed circuit formed by the above-mentioned “handshake” or the like). In the present embodiment, browsing refers to reproducing and displaying a reproduction image based on image data received from the electronic camera 1 with which the pairing has been established on the LCD monitor 17, and the received image data is stored in a nonvolatile memory (flash memory) in the electronic camera 1. This is different from recording and saving in the memory 19 and the storage medium 51). For example, the sharing setting can be included in the setting items in the “operation menu” illustrated in FIG.

FIG. 10 is an example of a “folder display” screen displayed on the LCD monitor 17 of the electronic camera 1 of Mr. X who is the “master”. In FIG. 10, a folder in the camera of the user (Mr. X) is displayed. The “pair folder” on the “my camera” side is a folder that permits browsing to the pairing partner (in this example, Mr. B's electronic camera 1 which is the “slave device”). The image file recorded in the “Pair Folder” on the “My Camera” side is the established wireless communication (when the pairing establishment condition is set to “shake hands”, wireless communication or human body communication) Can be viewed from the electronic camera 1 of Mr. B who is a “slave device”.

  In FIG. 10, a folder in the electronic camera 1 of Mr. B who is a “slave” is also displayed. The “pair folder” on the “Mr. B's camera” side is a folder that allows browsing to the partner of pairing (in this example, Mr. X's electronic camera 1 which is “the parent”) during pairing establishment.

  FIG. 11 is an example of a “folder display” screen displayed on the LCD monitor of the electronic camera 1 of Mr. B who is the “child device”. In FIG. 11, a folder in the camera of the user (Mr. B) is displayed. The “pair folder” on the “your camera” side is a folder that permits browsing to the partner of pairing (in this example, Mr. X's electronic camera 1 which is the “master” in this example). The image file recorded in the “Pair Folder” on the “My Camera” side is the established wireless communication (when the pairing establishment condition is set to “shake hands”, wireless communication or human body communication) Can be viewed from the electronic camera 1 of Mr. X who is the “parent device”.

  In FIG. 11, a folder in the electronic camera 1 of Mr. X who is the “parent device” is also displayed. The “pair folder” on the “Mr. X's camera” side is a folder that permits browsing to the other party of pairing (in this example, Mr. B's electronic camera 1 which is “slave device”).

  The paired electronic camera 1 can browse all the folders on the “own camera” side and the “pair folder” on the “XX's camera” side that is the partner of the pairing. When a folder selection operation (selected by pressing the cross switch 23g and determined by pressing the OK switch 23h) is performed, the CPU 20 displays a thumbnail image of the image file recorded in the selected folder on the LCD monitor. 17 is displayed.

  FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a thumbnail list display example. A cursor 131 is displayed on one of the plurality of thumbnails. The cursor position can be moved up and down and left and right by a thumbnail selection operation (operation of pressing the cross switch 23g). When the OK switch 23h is pressed, the CPU 20 causes the LCD monitor 17 to display a reproduction image corresponding to the thumbnail image at which the cursor is positioned at the full screen.

2. Ranking of Pairing The CPU 20 ranks the information (identification information of the electronic camera 1) of the partner who has established the pairing. The rank is divided into three levels of rank 1 to rank 3, for example, from the lowest to the highest. The CPU 20 on the “parent device” side raises the rank in accordance with the number of pairing establishments with the partner who established the pairing (in this example, the electronic camera 1 indicated by the identification information) and the accumulated pairing time. The number of pairing establishments and the accumulated pairing time used for determining whether or not to raise the rank are set in advance for the electronic camera 1, and the setting contents are stored in the flash memory 19. The setting change of the pairing establishment count and the pairing accumulated time recorded and stored in the flash memory 19 can be included in the setting items in the “operation menu” illustrated in FIG. 3, for example.

  For example, when the pairing establishment count exceeds 20 times and the accumulated pairing time exceeds 8 hours, the CPU 20 on the “master unit” side changes the rank from rank 1 to rank 2, The change contents are stored in the flash memory 19 in association with the identification information of the pairing partner.

  Further, for example, when the CPU 20 achieves any of the pairing establishment count exceeding 50 times and the cumulative pairing time exceeding 20 hours, the CPU 20 on the “parent device” side ranks from rank 2 to rank 3 And the changed contents are stored in the flash memory 19 in association with the identification information of the pairing partner.

  In general, a partner who has a high frequency of pairing is often a reliable partner who knows each other well, a family member or a lover who is familiar and highly familiar. By dividing the rank according to the pairing results, the pairing partners can be automatically grouped according to the intimacy.

3. Processing according to the rank The CPU 20 determines the contents of the file folder that has been set in advance as described above while pairing is established with the other party of rank 1 (in this example, the electronic camera 1 indicated by the identification information). It is possible to browse from the electronic camera 1 on the other side via wireless communication (when the pairing establishment condition is set to “shake hands”, wireless communication or human body communication). In this case, it is possible to browse only the photographed image taken while the pairing is established, and the photographed image taken when the pairing is not established is not included in the viewing target from the partner.

  In addition, the CPU 20 can only use the photographed image taken during the pairing establishment included in the file folder that is set in advance while the pairing is established with the other party of rank 2 (in this example, the electronic camera 1 indicated by the identification information). In addition, a captured image taken when pairing is not established included in the file folder with the sharing setting is also included in the viewing target from the other party.

  Furthermore, the CPU 20 not only browses but also copies all the images included in the file folder that has been set in advance while pairing is established with the partner of rank 3 (in this example, the electronic camera 1 indicated by the identification information). Also allow. In the present embodiment, copying refers to copying a captured image included in the file folder on the electronic camera 1 side of the pairing establishment partner and recording and saving it in the file folder on the own electronic camera 1 side.

  The pairing establishment opponent ranking is configured to be able to be ranked up or down by manual operation. When an operation signal indicating rank up or rank down is input by the operation signal from the operation member 23, the CPU 20 changes the rank in the range of ranks 1 to 3 according to the operation signal. Also in this case, the contents of the change are stored in the flash memory 19 in association with the identification information of the pairing partner, and browsing restrictions and copy restrictions are performed according to the rank after the change. The rank information is transmitted from the “master unit” to the “slave unit” and managed by the “master unit”.

  If the automatic rank change according to the above-mentioned number of pairing establishments and the accumulated pairing time conflicts with the rank change by manual operation, priority is given to the change by manual operation. When an operation signal indicating rank up or rank down is input in response to an operation signal from the operation member 23, the CPU 20 sends a signal indicating a rank change request to the pairing partner, and a signal indicating change OK is returned. The rank is changed only when the rank is changed, and the rank is not changed when a signal indicating the change OK is not returned.

  On the other hand, the CPU 20 that has received a signal indicating a rank change request from the other party on which the pairing has been established causes the LCD monitor 17 to display a message “Rank change request has been received. The CPU 20 transmits a signal indicating rank change OK to the pairing establishment partner side only when an operation signal indicating change OK is received from the operation member 23.

4). Filter processing during browsing The CPU 20 changes the display resolution during browsing according to the rank level. When the “parent” that has been paired is reproduced and displayed on the LCD monitor of the “parent” side, the low-pass filter process that differs depending on the rank is performed. The display resolution is changed so that the lower the rank, the lower the resolution, and the higher the rank, the higher the resolution. Similarly, when the “Slave unit” that has been paired is reproduced and displayed on the LCD monitor of the “Slave unit”, the low-pass filter processing that differs depending on the rank is performed. Thus, the display resolution is changed so that the lower the rank, the lower the resolution, and the higher the rank, the higher the resolution.
In addition, regarding the filtering process at the time of browsing, a low-pass filter process is performed according to the communication state between the electronic cameras 1 detected by the wireless communication circuit. Examples of the communication state include the communication intensity between the electronic cameras 1 and the signal transmission amount per unit time. Taking the communication strength as an example, the display resolution is changed such that the lower the communication strength, the lower the resolution viewing, and the higher the communication strength, the higher the resolution. Similarly, when the “slave unit” that has been paired is reproduced and displayed on the LCD monitor of the “slave unit” on the “slave unit” side, the low-pass filter process varies depending on the communication strength. Thus, the display resolution is changed such that the lower the communication strength is, the lower the resolution is, and the higher the communication strength is, the higher the resolution is. If comprised in this way, according to the resolution of the image reproduced | regenerated and displayed on the LCD monitor, a user can judge easily whether the distance between both the electronic cameras 1 is near or far.

5. While the pairing has been established, the normal camera in which the electronic camera 1 on the “main device” side and the electronic camera 1 on the “slave device” side each independently perform an imaging process, and the electronic camera 1 on the “main device” side and the It is possible to perform linked shooting in which the electronic camera 1 on the “machine” side is linked to perform shooting processing on both sides. The setting of whether to perform normal shooting or cooperative shooting can be included in advance in the setting items in the “operation menu” illustrated in FIG.

-Normal shooting-
The CPU 20 performs shooting based on the operation of the release button 23a (FIG. 2). The CPU 20 generates an Exif format image file including the image data and the shooting information based on the information before the shooting process and the image data acquired in the shooting process. The Exif format image file is obtained by embedding data such as thumbnail images and shooting information in image data in the JPEG image format. The CPU 20 records the image file on the storage medium 51.

  The structure of an Exif format image file has a header area for recording image auxiliary information and an image data area for recording captured image data. CPU20 records the information which shows that it is the image image | photographed during pairing establishment in the header area | region (tag area | region) in an image file. The information indicating that the image is taken while pairing is established includes identification information of the other party of pairing and shooting time information based on time keeping after time adjustment.

  Information indicating that the image was captured while pairing was established may be recorded as a separate file associated with the image file, instead of being recorded in the header area of the image file.

  The normal photographing process is performed by the “master” or “slave” that has been operated for release. The image file generated during pairing is recorded in a file folder that has been set in advance.

-Collaborative shooting 1-
While pairing is being established, control is performed so that the electronic camera 1 on the “master” side and the electronic camera 1 on the “slave” side shoot under different shooting conditions. For example, the shutter speed of the “master unit” is controlled to be faster than the shutter speed of the “slave unit”. Settings for performing linked shooting 1 can be included in the setting items in the “operation menu” illustrated in FIG.

  FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating the flow of processing that is repeatedly executed when the CPU 20 that has established pairing performs cooperative shooting 1. The CPU 20 of each of the electronic camera 1 on the “parent device” side and the electronic camera 1 on the “child device” side executes. In step S101 in FIG. 17, the CPU 20 determines whether or not a release signal transmitted from the electronic camera 1 that is the other party of the pairing has been received. The release signal is a signal for instructing the other electronic camera 1 to take a picture when the release button 23a (FIG. 2) of the “master” and “slave” is pressed.

  When the release signal is received, the CPU 20 makes a positive determination in step S101 and proceeds to step S111. The processing in steps S111 to S115 corresponds to the processing performed by the CPU 20 of the electronic camera 1 in which the release button 23a (FIG. 2) is not pressed among “master” and “slave” during pairing establishment. To do.

  If the CPU 20 does not receive the release signal, the CPU 20 makes a negative determination in step S101 and proceeds to step S102. Until the release button 23a is operated by either “master” or “slave”, the CPUs 20 of both electronic cameras 1 repeat the processes of steps S101 to S104, respectively.

  In step S102, the CPU 20 determines whether or not the composition guide function is turned on. The composition guide is a function that guides the “master” and “slave” to photograph a common subject at different photographing angles while pairing is established. The composition guide ON / OFF setting can be included in advance in the setting items in the “operation menu” illustrated in FIG.

  If the composition guide function is set on, the CPU 20 makes an affirmative decision in step S102 and proceeds to step S103. If the composition guide function is not set on, the CPU 20 makes a negative decision in step S102 and proceeds to step S104.

  In step S103, the CPU 20 performs a composition guide. FIG. 13 and FIG. 15 are diagrams illustrating a through image displayed on the LCD monitor 17 of the electronic camera 1 of Mr. X who is the “parent device”. FIG. 14 and FIG. 16 are diagrams illustrating a through image displayed on the LCD monitor 17 of the electronic camera 1 of Mr. B who is a “slave device”.

  Each of the “master unit” and “slave unit” reproduces and displays the through image acquired by itself on the LCD monitor 17. Each CPU 20 performs a “face” detection process based on the through image, and when “face” is detected, a frame indicating the “face” is displayed so as to overlap the through image. The CPU 20 determines the shooting direction based on the positional relationship between the contour and the eyes and nose obtained from the data of the “face” region, and displays a guide on the LCD monitor 17 as to which direction to move.

  In the case of FIG. 13, in order to prompt Mr. X who is the “main device” to turn to the left of the subject person and hold the electronic camera 1, a face icon and an arrow as a guide are lit and displayed and an angle guide is in progress. “Angle guide” indicating is blinking. In the case of FIG. 14, in order to encourage Mr. B who is a “slave unit” to turn to the right of the subject person and hold the electronic camera 1, a face icon and an arrow which are used as a guide are lit and displayed and an angle guide is being used. “Angle guide” indicating is blinking.

  When the positional relationship between the face icon and the eyes and nose matches, the CPU 20 displays “OK” to prompt photographing (FIGS. 15 and 16). Shooting is possible even when “OK” is not displayed. Note that a face icon, “angle guide” display, and “OK” display are not included in the captured image.

  In step S104, the CPU 20 determines whether or not the release button 23a (FIG. 2) has been pressed. When an operation signal indicating that the release button 23a is pressed is input from the operation member 23, the CPU 20 makes a positive determination in step S104 and proceeds to step S105, and an operation signal indicating that the release button 23a is pressed is not input from the operation member 23. In this case, a negative determination is made in step S104, and the process returns to step S101. When returning to step S101, the above-described processing is repeated.

  The processes in steps S105 to S110 are processes performed by the CPU 20 of the electronic camera 1 in which the release button 23a of the “master” and “slave” is pressed while pairing is established.

  In step S105, the CPU 20 performs predetermined automatic exposure calculation (AE) and automatic focus adjustment processing (AF), and proceeds to step S106. In step S106, the CPU 20 sends an instruction to the communication control circuit 22, causes a release signal to be transmitted to the other electronic camera 1, and proceeds to step S107. The CPU 20 causes the other electronic camera 1 to transmit data indicating a shooting condition (for example, shutter speed, aperture value, sensitivity, focal length, white balance adjustment value, image quality adjustment information) including the exposure calculation result together with the release signal. .

  The image quality adjustment information is information indicating which image quality adjustment algorithm is applied. As an image quality adjustment algorithm, for example, “standard”, “neutral”, “vivid”, and “monochrome” are prepared in advance, and an algorithm applied in image processing (step S108) is shown.

  “Standard” is an image quality adjustment algorithm for finishing a standard image. “Neutral” is an image quality adjustment algorithm that finishes with emphasis on the natural color of the material. “Vivid” is an image quality adjustment algorithm that finishes a vivid image. Specifically, the saturation is increased and red and green are processed vividly, and the contrast is increased to obtain a sharp image. “Monochrome” is an image quality adjustment algorithm for finishing a monochrome image.

  In step S107, the CPU 20 performs an imaging process and proceeds to step S108. In step S108, the CPU 20 sends an instruction to the image processing circuit 14, performs predetermined image processing on the acquired image data, and proceeds to step S109. In step S109, the CPU 20 generates an image file including the image data after the image processing, and proceeds to step S110. In step S110, the CPU 20 sends an instruction to the memory card interface 21, causes the image file to be recorded in the storage medium 51, and ends the processing shown in FIG.

  When affirmative determination is made in step S101 described above, shooting processing is performed according to the release signal from the other electronic camera 1. In step S111, the CPU 20 performs predetermined automatic exposure calculation (AE) and automatic focus adjustment processing (AF), and proceeds to step S112. In the automatic exposure calculation (AE) in this case, the shutter speed of the “master unit” is set to “slave unit” based on the data indicating the shooting conditions transmitted from the electronic camera 1 on which the release button 23a is pressed. The exposure conditions are varied so as to be faster than the shutter speed. For example, the shutter speed of the “master unit” is 1/1000 seconds, and the shutter speed of the “slave unit” is 1/250 seconds. Therefore, the CPU 20 changes the aperture value or sensitivity so that proper exposure can be obtained.

In step S112, the CPU 20 performs an imaging process and proceeds to step S113. In step S113, the CPU 20 sends an instruction to the image processing circuit 14, performs predetermined image processing on the acquired image data, and proceeds to step S114. Based on the data indicating the shooting conditions transmitted from the electronic camera 1 to which the release button 23a is pressed, a common image quality adjustment algorithm and white balance adjustment value are used, or different image quality adjustment algorithms and white balance adjustment values are used. Can be used. Whether to use a common algorithm or adjustment value or a different algorithm or adjustment value can be included in advance in the setting items in the “operation menu” illustrated in FIG.

  In step S114, the CPU 20 generates an image file including the image data after the image processing, and proceeds to step S115. In step S115, the CPU 20 sends an instruction to the memory card interface 21, causes the image file to be recorded in the storage medium 51, and ends the processing shown in FIG.

-Collaborative shooting 2-
When one of the “main device” -side electronic camera 1 and the “slave device” -side electronic camera 1 is photographing while the pairing is being established, the other electronic camera 1 stands by and the electronic camera 1 being photographed When shooting is completed, control is performed so that the electronic camera 1 in standby can be shot. Settings for performing cooperative shooting 2 can be included in the setting items in the “operation menu” illustrated in FIG.

  FIG. 18 is a flowchart illustrating the flow of processing that is repeatedly executed when the CPU 20 that has established pairing performs cooperative shooting 2. The CPU 20 of each of the electronic camera 1 on the “parent device” side and the electronic camera 1 on the “child device” side executes. In step S201 in FIG. 18, the CPU 20 determines whether or not an imaging signal transmitted from the paired partner electronic camera 1 has been received. The in-imaging signal is a signal that informs the other electronic camera 1 that the electronic camera 1 that is imaging is taking an image in response to the pressing operation of the release button 23a (FIG. 2) of the “master unit” and “slave unit”. It is.

  When the CPU 20 receives the imaging signal, the CPU 20 makes a positive determination in step S201 and proceeds to step S211. The processing in step S211 and step S212 corresponds to the processing performed by the CPU 20 of the electronic camera 1 that is on standby among “master” and “slave” while pairing is established.

  If the CPU 20 does not receive the imaging signal, the CPU 20 makes a negative determination in step S201 and proceeds to step S202. Until the release button 23a is operated by either “master” or “slave”, the CPUs 20 of both electronic cameras 1 repeat the processes of steps S201 to S202, respectively.

  In step S202, the CPU 20 determines whether or not the release button 23a (FIG. 2) has been pressed. When the operation signal indicating that the release button 23a is pressed is input from the operation member 23, the CPU 20 makes a positive determination in step S202 and proceeds to step S203, and the operation signal indicating that the release button 23a is pressed is not input from the operation member 23. In this case, a negative determination is made in step S202, and the process returns to step S201. When returning to step S201, the above-described processing is repeated.

  The processes in steps S203 to S210 are processes performed by the CPU 20 of the electronic camera 1 in which the release button 23a of the “master” and “slave” is pressed while pairing is established.

In step S203, the CPU 20 sends an instruction to the communication control circuit 22, causes the other electronic camera 1 to transmit a signal indicating that imaging is in progress, and then proceeds to step S204. In step S204, the CPU 20 performs predetermined automatic exposure calculation (AE) and automatic focus adjustment processing (AF), and proceeds to step S205.

  In step S205, the CPU 20 performs an imaging process and proceeds to step S206. In step S206, the CPU 20 determines whether or not the release button 23a (FIG. 2) is pressed. When the operation signal indicating the depression of the release button 23a is continuously input from the operation member 23, the CPU 20 makes a positive determination in step S206, returns to step S204, and repeats the above-described processing (continuous shooting).

  When the operation signal indicating that the release button 23a is pressed is not input from the operation member 23, the CPU 20 makes a negative determination in step S206 and proceeds to step S207. In step S207, the CPU 20 sends an instruction to the communication control circuit 22, causes the other electronic camera 1 to transmit a signal indicating the end of imaging, and proceeds to step S208.

  In step S208, the CPU 20 sends an instruction to the image processing circuit 14, causes the acquired image data to be subjected to predetermined image processing in order, and proceeds to step S209. In step S209, the CPU 20 generates an image file including the image data after the image processing, and proceeds to step S210. In step S210, the CPU 20 sends an instruction to the memory card interface 21, causes the image file to be recorded in the storage medium 51, and ends the processing shown in FIG.

  When affirmative determination is made in step S201 described above, the imaging process is not performed until a signal indicating the end of imaging from the other electronic camera 1 is received. In step S <b> 211, the CPU 20 determines whether or not a signal indicating the end of imaging transmitted from the paired partner electronic camera 1 is received. When the CPU 20 receives the imaging end signal, the CPU 20 makes a positive determination in step S211 and proceeds to step S212. If the CPU 20 does not receive the imaging end signal, the CPU 20 makes a negative determination in step S211 and waits for the imaging end signal while repeating the determination process. While waiting for the imaging end signal, the CPU 20 displays, for example, a message “Waiting” on the LCD monitor 17.

  In step S212, the CPU 20 determines whether or not the release button 23a (FIG. 2) has been pressed. When an operation signal indicating depression of the release button 23a is input from the operation member 23, the CPU 20 makes a positive determination in step S212 and proceeds to step S203, and an operation signal indicating depression of the release button 23a is not input from the operation member 23. In this case, a negative determination is made in step S212, and the process returns to step S201. When returning to step S201, the above-described processing is repeated.

-Normal shooting-
While pairing is being established, the electronic camera 1 on the “master unit” side and the electronic camera 1 on the “slave unit” side are controlled so as to be capable of photographing independently. Settings for performing normal shooting can be included in the setting items in the “operation menu” illustrated in FIG.

  FIG. 19 is a flowchart illustrating the flow of processing that is repeatedly executed when the CPU 20 that has established pairing performs normal shooting. The CPU 20 of both the electronic camera 1 on the “parent device” side and the electronic camera 1 on the “child device” side executes each.

  In step S301 in FIG. 19, the CPU 20 determines whether or not the release button 23a (FIG. 2) has been pressed. When an operation signal indicating depression of the release button 23a is input from the operation member 23, the CPU 20 makes a positive determination in step S301 and proceeds to step S302, and an operation signal indicating depression of the release button 23a is not input from the operation member 23. In that case, a negative determination is made in step S301 and the process is repeated.

  In step S302, the CPU 20 performs predetermined automatic exposure calculation (AE) and automatic focus adjustment processing (AF), and proceeds to step S303. In step S303, the CPU 20 performs an imaging process and proceeds to step S304. In step S304, the CPU 20 sends an instruction to the image processing circuit 14, performs predetermined image processing on the acquired image data, and proceeds to step S305. In step S305, the CPU 20 generates an image file including image data after image processing, and proceeds to step S306. In step S306, the CPU 20 sends an instruction to the memory card interface 21, causes the image file to be recorded in the storage medium 51, and ends the processing shown in FIG.

6). Password sharing The password may be shared between the “base unit” and “slave unit” while pairing is established. For example, if a password is set on one of the “base unit” and “slave unit” while pairing is established, the password information is transmitted to the other electronic camera 1 and between the “base unit” and “slave unit” Share your password with. The password is set on the menu screen, for example.

  After setting the shared password, the setting change made by inputting the shared password in one of the “master unit” and “slave unit” during pairing is sent to the other electronic camera 1 This is reflected in the other electronic camera 1. For example, if the above-described setting of whether to perform normal shooting or linked shooting is performed on the “parent device” side, it is automatically applied to the “child device” side.

  The setting change item performed by inputting the shared password may include the above-described rank up or rank down operation. In this case, the electronic camera 1 on the side on which the operation member 23 is operated does not send a signal indicating the rank change request as described above to the electronic camera 1 on the other side of the pairing establishment, and after rank up or down Information indicating the rank is sent to the electronic camera 1 on the partnering partner side.

  The CPU 20 that has received the information indicating the changed rank from the partner who has completed pairing performs rank up or rank down based on the received information, and causes the LCD monitor 17 to display a message “Rank has been changed.” .

  As described above, by sharing the password, it is possible to change the setting from one side without performing the same setting on each of the “base unit” and the “slave unit”, so that the usability can be improved.

According to the embodiment described above, the following operational effects can be obtained.
(1) The electronic camera 1 is connected to an external electronic device via the communication control circuit 22 based on at least one of a capacity of the external electronic camera and its own capacity. Since the CPU 20 for instructing the camera is provided, the pair operation can be appropriately performed regardless of whether indoors or outdoors.

(2) The capacity of the external electronic camera includes at least one of the remaining capacity of the battery 52 and the free capacity of the storage medium 51, and the CPU 20 determines whether the remaining capacity of the battery 52 and the free capacity of the storage medium 51 are An instruction is given to an external electronic camera based on at least one of them. For example, by giving an instruction to end the pairing operation, an external electronic camera takes a picture during the pairing operation, but the external electronic camera cannot record a shot image on the storage medium 51, It is possible to avoid a situation where the battery 52 of the electronic camera is consumed and the external electronic camera becomes inoperable.

(3) The capacity of the electronic camera 1 includes at least one of the remaining capacity of the battery 52 and the free capacity of the storage medium 51, and the CPU 20 determines the remaining capacity of the battery 52 and the free capacity of the storage medium 51. An instruction is given to the external electronic camera 1 based on at least one of the above. For example, by giving an instruction to end the pairing operation, the self-photographed image during the pairing operation cannot be recorded on the storage medium 51, or the battery 52 is depleted during the pairing operation. It is possible to avoid a situation in which the electronic camera 1 becomes inoperable.

(4) Since the data sent from the external electronic camera is stored in the own storage medium 51, the sent data cannot be recorded in the own storage medium 51 even though the data is sent from the external electronic camera during the pairing operation. It can be avoided.

(5) Since the LCD monitor 17 for displaying the data sent from the external electronic camera is provided, a situation in which the sent data cannot be displayed on the own LCD monitor 17 although sent from the external electronic camera during the pair operation is avoided. You can also.

(6) The sent data of (5) is image data, and the image displayed on the LCD monitor 17 is filtered according to the reception level by the communication control circuit 22 when receiving the image data from the external electronic camera. To do. Since the filter processing state of the reproduced image reproduced and displayed on the LCD monitor 17 changes according to the reception level, the observer can grasp the reception state intuitively.

(7) Since the CPU 20 in (6) performs a filtering process in which the blur amount increases as the reception level decreases, the observer can intuitively grasp the reception state based on the size of the image blur. .

(8) The communication control circuit 22 is different from the communication control circuit 22a that communicates about the capacity of the external electronic camera, and the communication control circuit 22b that communicates data sent from the external electronic camera. To 22e, the pair operation can be appropriately performed regardless of the communication path.

(9) Communication control circuit 22 (non-contact) that performs pairing with an external electronic camera by short-distance communication or communication via a human body with an external electronic camera is different from communication control circuit 22 (non-contact). When the control circuit 22b to 22e (direct contact) and the communication control circuit 22 (non-contact) are paired with an external electronic camera, the communication control circuit 22b to 22e (direct contact) is connected to the external electronic camera. CPU 20 for giving instructions. After communication is established, an instruction to establish pairing is sent on condition that direct contact between both electronic cameras is made, so that the timing of pairing establishment is easy to understand.

(10) Since the CPU 20 that measures the time after pairing with an external electronic camera is provided, the pair operation time can be managed.

(11) Since the CPU 20 cancels the pairing when the measured time exceeds a predetermined time, the pairing operation can be automatically ended even if the user forgets the canceling operation.

(12) Since the parent-child relationship in the pair operation with the external electronic camera is determined based on the output of the attitude sensor, the user can automatically determine the parent-child relationship without instructing the parent-child relationship.

Hereinafter, other embodiments according to the present invention will be described as modified examples. The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment and the following modified example, and may be configured by combining the above-described embodiment and the following modified example, or a part of the above-described embodiment. Instead of the above, the following modifications may be adopted.
(Modification 1)
In the process of FIG. 6 described above, when an affirmative determination is made in step S13 (FIG. 6), it is checked whether or not the identification information of the electronic camera 1 returned (step S12) is stored in the flash memory 19. It may be configured. As described above, the CPU 20 stores, in the flash memory 19, the number of times that pairing has been established and the accumulated time of pairing for each piece of identification information (for example, the ID of the electronic camera 1) that indicates a pairing establishment partner when pairing is completed. doing. Therefore, by referring to the stored information, when the identification information of the electronic camera 1 that has returned is stored, it is determined that the partner has a pairing record and the process proceeds to step S16 to establish pairing.

  On the other hand, if the identification information of the electronic camera 1 that has returned is not stored in the flash memory 19, the pairing that is stored in the electronic camera 1 that is the reply source is established for the electronic camera 1 that is the reply source. Requests identification information indicating the other party. When the electronic camera 1 of the reply source that received the request returns the response including the identification information, the CPU 20 that has received the response collates the identification information stored in the flash memory 19 with the identification information included in the reply. Check if a common pairing partner is included.

  If there is a common pairing partner as a result of the collation, the CPU 20 determines that the partner is a “friend of a friend” and displays a message “There is a common pair partner. Do you want to perform a new pairing?” It is displayed on the monitor 17. When the operation signal indicating the “OK” operation is input from the operation member 23, the CPU 20 proceeds to step S16 to start pairing.

  When the operation signal indicating the “OK” operation is not input from the operation member 23 although the message is displayed on the LCD monitor 17, and when there is no common pairing partner as a result of the verification, the CPU 20 The process returns to step S11 without starting the ring. According to the modified example 1 described above, pairing with the electronic camera 1 owned by a partner who has a common friend can be promoted.

(Modification 2)
During pairing establishment, the rank at the time of pairing described above may be changed in real time according to the communication state (communication distance). The CPU 20 on the “master” side changes the rank according to the received signal level in the communication control circuit 22 because the received signal level changes according to the communication distance. In the case of pairing being established and rank 3 and rank 2, the main CPU 20 ranks down when the received signal level falls below the determination threshold value. In this case, the change contents are stored in the flash memory 19 in association with the identification information of the pairing partner, and browsing restrictions and copy restrictions are performed according to the rank after the change. The rank information is transmitted from the “master unit” to the “slave unit” and managed by the “master unit”.

  By changing the rank at the time of pairing in real time, the low-pass filter processing at the time of image browsing performed between the “master unit” and the “slave unit” during the pairing is changed in real time. For this reason, according to the second modification, when the captured image included in the file folder of the electronic camera 1 on the other side of the pairing establishment is reproduced and displayed on the electronic camera 1, the LCD of the electronic camera 1 is displayed. Since the degree of blurring of the reproduced image reproduced and displayed on the monitor 17 changes according to the communication state (communication distance), it is possible to intuitively grasp the distance to the pairing partner.

(Modification 3)
While pairing is in progress, images that are allowed to be viewed (published) to the other party of the pairing (images in a file folder that has been set in advance by the user) and images that have been permitted to be viewed by the other party (that is, the other party has been set in advance to share) The rank at the time of pairing may be changed according to the degree of similarity with the image in the file folder. The degree of similarity is determined using a known pattern matching method. The CPU 20 on the “parent device” side increases the rank as the similarity is higher, and lowers the rank as the similarity is lower. The content of the change is stored in the flash memory 19 in association with the identification information of the pairing partner, and the rank information is changed from “master unit” to “slave unit” in that browsing restriction and copy restriction are performed according to the changed rank. The point of transmission and management by the “base unit” is the same as in the case described above.

  In general, friends who are active in the same circle or friends who are acting together are likely to shoot similar subjects. By dividing the rank according to the degree of similarity of the captured images, it is possible to automatically group pairing partners with similar preferences regarding shooting.

(Modification 4)
While pairing has been established, images that are allowed to be viewed (disclosed) by the pairing partner (images in a file folder that has been set in advance by the user) and images that have been permitted to be viewed by the partner (partner side that has been set in advance) The image in the file folder) and the shooting position (GPS information) may be compared to change the rank during pairing. The CPU 20 on the “master” side increases the rank as the shooting position is closer, and lowers the rank as the shooting position is farther. The content of the change is stored in the flash memory 19 in association with the identification information of the pairing partner, and the rank information is changed from “master unit” to “slave unit” in that browsing restriction and copy restriction are performed according to the changed rank. The point of transmission and management by the “base unit” is the same as in the case described above.

  In general, friends who are active in the same circle or friends who are acting together are likely to shoot in the same place. By dividing the rank according to the degree to which the shooting positions match, pairing partners with similar preferences regarding shooting can be automatically grouped.

(Modification 5)
While pairing has been established, images that are allowed to be viewed (disclosed) by the pairing partner (images in a file folder that has been set in advance by the user) and images that have been permitted to be viewed by the partner (partner side that has been set in advance) The image in the file folder) and the shooting conditions may be compared to change the rank during pairing. The CPU 20 on the “parent device” side increases the rank as the shooting conditions are matched, and lowers the rank as the shooting conditions are different. The content of the change is stored in the flash memory 19 in association with the identification information of the pairing partner, and the rank information is changed from “master unit” to “slave unit” in that browsing restriction and copy restriction are performed according to the changed rank. The point of transmission and management by the “base unit” is the same as in the case described above.

  In general, a person who shoots under the same shooting conditions is likely to have a close preference for shooting. By dividing the rank according to the degree to which the shooting conditions match, pairing partners with similar preferences regarding shooting can be automatically grouped.

(Modification 6)
The rank may be changed according to the pairing establishment condition. When the pairing is established by the “handshake” described above, the CPU 20 on the “master unit” side is the normal rank (that is, the management information recorded in the flash memory 19, the number of pairing establishments and the pairing establishment number). Compared with the rank determined according to the ring accumulated time, the rank is increased by one level. When pairing is established by human body communication, it is assumed that the intimacy is high, so the rank is automatically raised to improve usability. Even in the case of ranking up in this way, the contents of the change are stored in the flash memory 19 in association with the identification information of the pairing partner, and the rank information is changed to “view restriction” or “copy restriction” according to the rank after the change. The point transmitted from the “master unit” to the “slave unit” and managed by the “master unit” is the same as described above. According to the modified example 6, pairing partners with high intimacy can be automatically grouped.

(Modification 7)
When the pairing establishment condition is “face identification”, the rank at the time of pairing may be changed according to the smile degree obtained from the through image used for “face identification”. When the smile level obtained from the through image used for “face identification” is higher than a predetermined value, the CPU 20 on the “master” side is the normal rank (that is, the management information recorded in the flash memory 19). , The rank is determined according to the number of times the pairing is established and the pairing accumulated time). When the degree of smile is high, it is assumed that the closeness is high. Therefore, the rank is automatically raised to improve usability.

  In the present embodiment, the smile level is determined when a smile is detected. CPU20 determines whether it is a smile based on the data corresponding to the area | region of the specified person's face among through image data. Since the smile determination process is a known technique, a description thereof will be omitted. Further, when the CPU 20 determines a smile, the CPU 20 determines a smile level for the smile. The smile level is divided into three levels, for example, 2 (big laughter), 1 (medium laughter), and 0 (smile). When the smile level is 2, the CPU 20 moves up one rank from the normal rank.

(Modification 8)
In the cooperative shooting 1 described above, the shooting conditions may be varied so that the focal length of the “master unit” is longer than the focal length of the “slave unit”. For example, when the focal length of the “master unit” is 85 mm, the focal length of the “slave unit” is 35 mm. It is possible to avoid the images taken by the electronic camera 1 on the “parent device” side and the electronic camera 1 on the “child device” side from being similar to each other. Then, the white balance adjustment value used in the electronic camera 1 of the image taken in “wide” (corresponding to 35 mm in this example) is used as the white balance adjustment value used in the other electronic camera 1.

  In general, shooting with "Wide" has more color information in the shooting screen than shooting with "Zoom", so a more appropriate white balance adjustment value can be obtained. By using this white balance adjustment value in common for both the “master unit” and the “slave unit”, it is possible to align the colors photographed by the two electronic cameras 1 as compared to the case of using different adjustment values. Such control is suitable when cooperative shooting of the same subject is performed at approximately the same time.

  Further, when controlling the focal length to be different between the “master unit” and the “slave unit”, the same shutter speed may be set between the “master unit” and the “slave unit”. Such a setting of the imaging condition is a preferable setting when cooperatively shooting the same moving subject at approximately the same time. For example, it is possible to simultaneously acquire either an image where the subject is stopped or an image where the subject is flowing. Further, when controlling the same focal length between the “master unit” and the “slave unit”, different aperture values may be controlled between the “master unit” and the “slave unit”. Such a setting is suitable when the same subject is linked and photographed at substantially the same time, and for example, images with different blurring feelings can be acquired simultaneously. Therefore, the user can select a favorite image after shooting. When controlling to the same focal length between the “master unit” and the “slave unit”, different shutter speeds may be set between the “master unit” and the “slave unit”. Such a setting is suitable when the same moving subject is photographed at approximately the same time. For example, it is possible to simultaneously acquire an image in which the subject is stopped and an image in which the subject is flowing. The above is an example, and various combinations may be arbitrarily performed between the “master unit” and the “slave unit” as imaging conditions. Examples of shooting conditions include the zoom ratio, shutter speed, aperture value, sensitivity, and color adjustment processing information of the shooting optical system as described above.

(Modification 9)
In the description of the cooperative shooting 2 described above, an example in which continuous shooting is performed while the pressing operation of the release button 23a is continued has been described. Alternatively, continuous shooting may be performed until a predetermined time (for example, 10 seconds) elapses after the release button 23a is pressed. In this case, the CPU 20 makes an affirmative determination in step 206 (FIG. 18) when the elapsed time after the affirmative determination in step S202 (or S212) reaches the predetermined time.

(Modification 10)
Alternatively, continuous shooting may be performed until the number of continuous shots after the release button 23a is pressed down reaches a predetermined frame (for example, 30 frames). In this case, the CPU 20 makes an affirmative determination in step 206 when the number of continuously shot frames after the affirmative determination in step S202 (or S212) reaches the predetermined frame.

(Modification 11)
Instead of recording the above-described continuous shot image as a still image, a moving image file may be generated and recorded. Alternatively, one electronic camera 1 may record as a still image and the other electronic camera 1 may record as a moving image.

(Modification 12)
While the other electronic camera 1 is on standby for shooting while shooting with one electronic camera 1, it may be configured to record while waiting for shooting. In this case, if the CPU 20 makes a positive determination in step S201, the CPU 20 causes the microphone 26 to start collecting sound for recording, and continues sound collection until it makes a positive determination in step S211.

  The CPU 20 sends an instruction to the sound processing circuit 25 to sequentially amplify the sound signal collected by the microphone 26 and convert it into digital sound data. The CPU 20 includes, in the header area (tag area) in the audio file, information indicating that the audio is recorded during pairing establishment. Then, an instruction is sent to the memory card interface 21 to record the audio file in the storage medium 51. The information indicating that the voice is recorded while pairing is established includes identification information of the other party of pairing, recording time information based on recording and time keeping after time adjustment.

  Note that the information indicating that the voice is recorded while pairing is established may be recorded as a separate file associated with the voice file instead of being recorded in the header area of the voice file.

(Modification 13)
In the above description, “master unit” and “slave unit” in the case of “camera touch” are determined based on the up / down determination, but “master unit” and “slave unit” are determined based on the left / right determination. May be determined. In this case, the CPU 20 performs, for example, left side determination processing in step S25 (FIG. 6). The left side determination is to determine which electronic camera 1 is located on the left side when the electronic cameras 1 are in contact with each other. In this modification, the left side direction is obtained when the electronic camera 1 is viewed from the back side. The one located is the “left” side.

Based on the gravity direction based on the detection signal from the attitude sensor 24 and the contact electrode information based on the signal from the communication control circuit 22, the CPU 20 performs left side determination with reference to the determination table illustrated in FIG. For example, a case will be described as an example where the electronic camera 1 is held in the vertical position (the right side surface is downward) and the left side surface (normal position) of another electronic camera 1 is touched with the surface having the release button 23a. The CPU 20 of the electronic camera 1 determines “left” because the gravitational direction is on the transmission / reception electrode 22d side and the contact electrode is the transmission / reception electrode 22b. In the modified example 13, the one determined “left” is the “parent device” in pairing, and the one determined “right” is the “child device” in pairing. On the other hand, the CPU of the other electronic camera 1 touched by the electronic camera 1 has the gravitational direction on the transmission / reception electrode 22c side (normal position) and the contact electrode on the left side (the transmission / reception electrode 22e). , "Right" judgment.

  If the CPU 20 makes the “left” determination, it makes a positive determination in step S25 and proceeds to step S16. The CPU 20 that has not determined “left” makes a negative determination in step S25 and proceeds to step S20.

(Modification 14)
Regarding the time adjustment in pairing (steps S27 and S28 in FIG. 6), an example in which the time of the “child device” is adjusted to the time of the “parent device” has been described. Instead, the time of the “master” and the “slave” may be set to the earlier time, or may be set to the one having the function of correcting the time based on the received standard radio wave.

(Modification 15)
In the above description, when the free space of the storage medium 51 is smaller than the predetermined free space, the CPU 20 acquires information that the free space of the storage medium 51 on the other electronic camera 1 side is smaller than the predetermined free space by communication. If the remaining capacity of the battery 52 is smaller than the predetermined remaining capacity, the information indicating that the remaining capacity of the battery 52 on the other electronic camera 1 side is smaller than the predetermined remaining capacity is obtained by communication. When applicable, the pairing is automatically terminated. In addition to this, the CPU 20 determines that the remaining capacity of the storage medium 51 is less than the predetermined remaining capacity at the time before starting the process of step S11 (FIG. 6), or the remaining capacity of the battery 52 is less than the predetermined remaining capacity. If the number is small, the processing shown in FIG.

  Further, the CPU 20 that has received the communication request (step S17) determines that the remaining capacity of the storage medium 51 is less than the predetermined remaining capacity at the time before the reply (step S18) or the remaining capacity of the battery 52 is the predetermined remaining capacity. If the number is smaller, the processing in FIG. 6 may be terminated without replying. According to the modified example 15, it is possible to avoid that recording to the storage medium 51 cannot be performed while the pairing is established, or that the battery 52 is consumed and cannot be operated while the pairing is established.

(Modification 16)
In the above embodiment, as an example of registering an external device that establishes pairing in advance, an example of registering a “face” of a person who uses the external device has been described. Instead, the name of the external device or the like may be registered. In this case, an “external device setting” screen is displayed on the LCD monitor 17 instead of the “pairing person setting” screen (FIG. 5). On the “external device setting” screen, an external device list replacing the thumbnail image of “face” is displayed. The external device list includes, for example, the name, model number, and ID of each external device.

  The CPU 20 sets an external device indicated by a check mark similar to that in FIG. 5 as an external device to be paired with. Then, the pair included on the condition that the ID included in the information returned in response to the communication request (step S11 (FIG. 6)) matches the ID of the external device set using the “External Device Setting” screen. Establish the ring.

In this modification, it is determined whether or not the ID included in the information returned in response to the communication request (step S11) matches the ID of the external device set using the “external device setting” screen. Although an example of performing is described, this step may be modified as necessary. For example, when the communication control circuit 22 is configured so that power is always supplied, and when a reply cannot be detected from the external device set in the “external device setting”, the CPU 20 It may be determined that the device is not started or the power is off, and a signal for starting the external device or turning on the power may be transmitted via the communication control circuit 22. Then, based on the information returned from the external device after activation, it is determined whether the external device is in an operable state, and if it is operable, pairing is established. Whether or not the external device is in an operable state is determined based on whether or not the user has detected contact with the housing by a contact sensor provided in the housing or the like of the external device. Information on whether or not an operation is detected is received from an external device. In addition, you may utilize the electrodes 22b-22e for transmission / reception provided in the external apparatus as a contact sensor.
Further, the modified example of the communication request (step S11) can be applied to the above-described embodiment that describes an example of registering a “face” of a person who uses an external device. Specifically, the CPU 20 recognizes the face on which the user is registered and photographed on the LCD monitor 17, and turns on the power of the partner electronic camera via the communication control circuit 22 when, for example, the OK switch 23 h is pressed. What should I do? Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the CPU 20 may activate the electronic camera 1 owned by the person whose check box is checked on the pairing person setting screen via the communication control circuit 22. In this case, since it may be unknown whether the person who checked the check box is nearby, the communication distance may be set within 10 to 100 m.
When the electronic camera 1 is provided with a finder for recognizing the object scene, the face may be identified by this finder instead of the face identification by the LCD monitor 17.
Starting the power supply of the partner electronic camera 1 in response to a pairing request is not limited to the above-described face identification, but can also be applied to human body communication or camera touch. In this case, an OK switch 23h may be used to identify a camera touch that is not a simple handshake or pairing request, or the handshake time may continue for a predetermined time, for example, 3 seconds or more. The power supply of the partner electronic camera 1 may be turned on via the communication control circuit 22 when it continues for a predetermined time, for example, 3 seconds or more. In this case, the electronic camera 1 may be turned on or off. If the electronic camera 1 and the other electronic camera 1 are configured to be supplied with power to the communication control circuit 22 even when the main power is off, the electronic camera 1 is connected to the human body communication by the communication control circuit 22. Or when a camera touch is detected, the main power supply can be turned on and each part which comprises the electronic camera 1 can be started.

(Modification 17)
In the above-described embodiment, an example in which pairing is established on the condition that the CPU 20 performs “face identification” after establishing communication with another electronic camera 1 has been described. Instead of this, at the time of setting the pairing mode, “face identification” may be performed before communication is established, and then communication with another electronic camera 1 may be started. In this case, as in the above-described embodiment, any one of the pairing establishment conditions may be set in advance before starting communication with the external device, The pairing establishment condition may not be set. As described above, the CPU 20 reproduces and displays the through image used for “face identification” on the LCD monitor 17 in real time. When “face identification” is performed, the CPU 20 superimposes a display of the frame indicating the “face” on the through image. To display. The CPU 20 may automatically start communication in this state to establish pairing, or start communication when the face is identified and the OK switch 23h is pressed. Pairing may be established.

  In addition, when a plurality of “faces” are identified, the CPU 20 displays a frame indicating each “face” and selects a frame corresponding to the largest face (the ratio of the display screen is largest). , Display in a different mode (brightness or color is different) from the other frames. When the cross switch 23g is operated, the selection frame is switched to a frame surrounding the “face” positioned in the operation direction. The CPU 20 starts communication with the external device that matches the ID associated with the “face” corresponding to the frame selected when the OK switch 23h is pressed, and establishes pairing.

(Modification 18)
In the above embodiment, an example is described in which any one pairing establishment condition is preset from among a plurality of pairing establishment conditions before starting communication with an external device. It does not have to be a configuration for setting the pairing establishment condition. For example, when the pairing mode is set by operating the mode switch 23d, the CPU 20 may be configured to perform at least one discrimination process of “face identification”, “shake handshake”, and “camera touch”. Good. When the CPU 20 detects “handshake” or “camera touch” via the communication control circuit 22, the CPU 20 automatically starts communication with another electronic camera 1 to establish pairing. .
Even if the pairing establishment condition is set to “normal”, for example, if the CPU 20 detects “shake handshake” or “camera touch”, it automatically communicates with other electronic cameras 1. May be started and pairing may be established.
In these cases, instead of automatically starting communication, if the CPU 20 detects “handshake” and “camera touch”, the CPU 20 may establish the pairing on the LCD monitor 17 or not. May be displayed, and communication may be started when the OK switch 23h is pressed. In this modification, preferably, the CPU 20 establishes wireless communication with an external device determined to have the highest received signal strength detected by the wireless communication circuit, and establishes pairing.

(Modification 19)
In the above-described embodiment, an example of ending the pairing mode according to the setting of the pairing off timer has been described. Instead of this, the staying time in the pairing mode may be set according to the time of “handshake”. As described above, the communication control circuit 22 has a human body communication function for performing communication via the human body in response to an instruction from the CPU 20. The CPU 20 measures the time of “handshake” via the communication control circuit 22 and sets the staying time in the pairing mode according to the measurement time. In this case, the CPU 20 ends the pairing at the earlier of the pairing mode release operation and the elapse of the pairing mode stay time determined by the “handshake” time, whichever comes first. Also good.
The staying time in the pairing mode may be set according to the time during which “camera touch” is performed. As described above, the CPU 20 detects whether or not both electronic cameras 1 are in direct contact via the transmission / reception electrodes 22 b to 22 e and the communication control circuit 22 provided in the casing of the electronic camera 1. The CPU 20 measures the direct contact time between the two electronic cameras 1 through the communication control circuit 22 and sets the staying time in the pairing mode according to the measurement time. In this case, the CPU 20 ends the pairing at the earlier of the pairing mode release operation and the elapse of the pairing mode stay time determined by the “camera touch” time. May be.
The staying time in the pairing mode may be set according to the time during which “camera touch” is performed.

(Modification 20)
Wireless communication may be performed by transmitting / receiving infrared light as well as transmitting / receiving radio waves. Although the electronic camera 1 has been described as an example, the electronic camera 1 may be a camera of a different model, and may be applied to electronic devices such as a camera-equipped mobile phone, a video camera, and a music player.

(Modification 21)
In the above description, an example has been described in which one “slave unit” is associated with one “master unit”. However, even if one “master unit” and a plurality of “slave units” are paired, Good.

  The above description is merely an example, and is not limited to the configuration of the above-described embodiment. The configuration of the embodiment and one or a plurality of modifications may be appropriately combined.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Electronic camera 11 ... Shooting optical system 12 ... Image pick-up element 14 ... Image processing circuit 17 ... LCD monitor 19 ... Flash memory 20 ... CPU
21 ... Memory card I / F
22 ... Communication control circuits 22b-22e ... Transmission / reception electrode 23 ... Operation member 24 ... Attitude sensor 25 ... Audio processing circuit 29 ... Power supply circuit 51 ... Storage medium 52 ... Battery

Claims (13)

A display unit for displaying, and
A first communication unit capable of communicating with an external device having a processing unit that stores image data captured by the imaging unit in a storage medium ;
Starting means for starting the external device by contact or non-contact with the external device in a state where the power of the external device is off,
After the starting means has started the external device, wherein before said the first communication unit communicating with an external device is established while the communication with the external apparatus by the first communication unit is established When the image data captured by the imaging unit of the external device is received and a reproduction image based on the image data is displayed to perform copy processing, and when communication with the external device by the first communication unit is completed, the display unit displays electronics that have a, and a control unit which does not perform the reproduction image display by the image data not subjected to the copy processing. The electronic device according to claim 1,
The control unit receives image data captured by the imaging unit of the external device while communication between the first communication unit and the external device is established, and displays a reproduced image based on the image data on the display unit. An electronic device that performs a copy process to display and does not display a reproduced image using image data that has not been subjected to the copy process on the display unit when communication with the external device by the first communication unit is completed. The electronic device according to claim 1 or 2,
The control unit is an electronic device that stores the image data in a nonvolatile memory while the first communication unit establishes communication with the external device as the copy process. The electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
Image data captured by the imaging unit of the external device before communication between the first communication unit and the external device is established is stored in the storage medium,
The control unit is an electronic device that receives image data stored in the storage medium. The electronic device according to claim 2,
The image data captured by the imaging unit of the external device while communication between the first communication unit and the external device is established is stored in the storage medium,
The control unit is an electronic device that receives image data stored in the storage medium. The electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 5 ,
The activation means is an electronic device that activates the external device by a communication control circuit. The electronic apparatus according to claim 6 .
An electronic device that detects contact with the external device using the communication control circuit. In the electronic device as described in any one of Claim 1 to 7 ,
The said starting means is an electronic device provided with the contact means which contacts the said external device and starts the said external device. The electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 8 ,
An electronic device provided with release means for releasing communication with the external device by the first communication unit. The electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 9,
An electronic device provided with release means for canceling communication with the external device by the first communication unit based on at least one of information on the capacity of the electronic device and information on the capacity of the external device. A process in which the external device is activated by an activation unit in contact or non-contact with the external device in a state where the power of the external device having a processing unit that stores the image data captured by the imaging unit in a storage medium is off;
After the activation unit activates the external device, the first communication unit communicates with the external device, and the first communication unit establishes communication with the external device while the first communication unit is established. Image data captured by the image capturing unit of the external device before communication between the external device and the external device is established, and a reproduction image by the image data is displayed and a copy process is performed, and the first communication unit performs the copy process. An electronic device program that causes a computer to execute processing that does not perform reproduction image display using image data that has not been subjected to the copy processing when communication with an external device ends . The electronic device program according to claim 11,
An electronic device program that stores the image data in a nonvolatile memory while the first communication unit establishes communication with the external device. The electronic device program according to claim 11 or 12,
The image data captured by the imaging unit of the external device before communication between the first communication unit and the external device is established is stored in the storage medium, and the image data stored in the storage medium Program for receiving electronic equipment.

Images