JP5931480B2 - camera - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a camera capable of live view display on an image display device.

  A camera such as a digital camera or a digital video camera is generally provided with an image display device and is capable of a live view display operation for displaying a through image of a subject on the image display device. With a camera capable of live view display, for example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2011-109695, a part of the field of view can be enlarged and displayed for confirmation of the in-focus state.

JP2011-109695A

  The live view display of the camera changes in brightness and white balance according to the exposure conditions used for shooting. However, under the exposure conditions intended by the user, the subject that the user wants to focus on is not always displayed with a brightness that is easily visible in the live view display. For example, if the main subject is white and you want to shoot this main subject under overexposed exposure conditions, the main subject will be displayed in a whiteout state in the live view display. Become. If the exposure condition is changed to check the in-focus state, it is easy to check the in-focus state. However, when taking a picture, an operation for returning the exposure condition has to be performed, and the picture cannot be taken quickly.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a camera that allows easy confirmation of an in-focus state in live view display and enables quick shooting.

The camera according to the present invention includes an image sensor and an image display device, and an image captured by the image sensor can be displayed on the image display device as a live view display, and the first image is displayed during the live view display. A camera that can record an image captured under the first exposure condition, and enlarges a part of the live view display during the live view display to the image display device. An enlarged display exposure control unit that displays and changes the brightness by a predetermined operation during the enlarged display of the live view, and the brightness change of the live view that is being enlarged is being executed. And a control unit that performs shooting under the first exposure condition when a shooting instruction is issued .

  According to the present invention, it is possible to realize a camera that allows easy confirmation of an in-focus state in live view display and quick shooting.

It is the perspective view which looked at the camera from the back side. It is a block block diagram of a camera. It is a flowchart of operation | movement of the camera of 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart of operation | movement of the camera of 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of a live view display. It is a figure which shows an example of the enlarged display of a live view display. It is a figure which shows an example at the time of performing an enlarged display image quality change process. It is a figure which shows an example of a REC view. It is a figure which shows an example of the enlarged display in a REC view. It is a flowchart of operation | movement of the camera of 2nd Embodiment. It is a flowchart of operation | movement of the camera of 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the enlarged display of the live view display of 2nd Embodiment. It is a flowchart of operation | movement of the camera of 3rd Embodiment. It is a flowchart of operation | movement of the camera of 3rd Embodiment.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In each drawing used for the following description, the scale is different for each component in order to make each component large enough to be recognized on the drawing. It is not limited only to the quantity of the component described in the figure, the shape of the component, the ratio of the size of the component, and the relative positional relationship of each component.

(First embodiment)
The camera 1 of the present embodiment is an application of the present invention to an imaging apparatus generally called an electronic camera, a digital camera, or the like. A camera 1 of the present embodiment shown in FIG. 1 includes an image sensor 11 disposed on an imaging surface of an imaging lens 2 that forms an optical image of a subject, and an electric signal obtained by the image sensor 11 is converted into a still image or It is configured so that it can be converted into digital image data representing a moving image and recorded. The image sensor 11 is an image sensor such as a CCD or CMOS sensor.

  In the present embodiment, as an example, the camera 1 is a so-called interchangeable lens camera, and the imaging lens 2 and the camera body 10 are configured to be separable. The camera 1 may have a configuration in which the imaging lens 2 and the camera body 10 are integrated.

  As shown in FIG. 1, an image display device 14 including a liquid crystal display device or an organic EL display device that can display an image is disposed on the back surface of the camera body 10. A touch panel 15 is disposed on the display screen of the image display device 14. The camera 1 can recognize the coordinates touched by the user on the display screen of the image display device 14 by the touch panel 15.

  Further, the camera 1 of the present embodiment includes an electronic viewfinder 16 in addition to the image display device 14 provided on the back surface. The electronic viewfinder 16 includes a small image display device and an eyepiece that allows the user to view the image display device by looking into it. The electronic viewfinder 16 is provided with a proximity sensor 17 that can determine whether or not the user is looking into the electronic viewfinder 16. For example, when the user is looking into the electronic viewfinder 16, the camera 1 stops the operation of the image display device 14 and displays an image on the electronic viewfinder 16. When the user stops looking into the electronic viewfinder 16, the camera 1 stops the operation of the electronic viewfinder 16 and displays an image on the image display device 14.

  The camera body 10 is provided with a release switch 12 and an operation member 13. The operation member 13 includes a button switch, a dial switch, and the like, and is configured such that a user can input operation instructions such as a change in exposure and a change in operation mode to the camera 1.

  Although not shown, the photographic lens 2 is also provided with a lever switch or a ring-shaped operation member. The operation member provided in the photographic lens 2 is configured to be able to input an operation instruction such as a change in focus distance or a change in zoom magnification. Note that the operation member for operating the photographing lens 2 may be provided in the camera body 10. Further, the photographing lens 2 may have a form that does not have these operation members.

  Although not shown, the camera body 10 has a battery storage chamber for storing a primary battery or a secondary battery for supplying power to the camera 1, and a flash memory for recording still images and moving images taken by the camera 1. A recording medium storage chamber for storing a recording medium such as the above is provided. The secondary battery and the recording medium may be built in the camera body 10.

  When the camera 1 of the present embodiment as described above is in the shooting operation mode, the image display device 14 displays a through image of the image formed on the image sensor 11 and a graphical user interface. . The operation of displaying a through image when the camera 1 is in the shooting operation mode is referred to as live view display. The user can determine shooting conditions such as the composition of the shooting, the focusing distance, and the exposure by using the touch panel 15 and the operation member 13 while watching the live view display.

  When the camera 1 is in the shooting operation mode and a still image is shot and recorded, the image display device 14 displays an image recorded for a predetermined time so that the user can check the shooting result. The The operation of displaying the photographing result after photographing the still image is referred to as “rec view display”.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an outline of the internal configuration of the camera 1 of the present embodiment. As described above, the imaging lens 2 is provided with the imaging optical system member 21 that forms an optical image of the subject. The imaging optical system member 21 includes a variable stop 21a in addition to the lens. In this embodiment, as an example, the imaging lens 2 is configured to be able to perform an electric focusing operation and an electric zoom operation, and the imaging optical system member 21 includes a focusing lens 21b and a zooming lens 21c that can be operated by an electric actuator. It is configured. The operations of the variable aperture 21a, the focusing lens 21b, and the zooming lens 21c are controlled by the lens / aperture drive control unit 22.

  As described above, the imaging lens 2 is provided with the operation member 23 formed of a lever switch or a ring-shaped switch. The lens / aperture drive control unit 22 is configured to be able to communicate with the control unit 31 of the camera body 10 via the communication unit 24, and controls the operation of the imaging lens 2 in cooperation with the control unit 31 of the camera body 10. .

  A control unit 31 is disposed in the camera body 10. The control unit 31 includes an arithmetic device, a storage device, an input / output device, a power control device, and the like, and controls the operation of each unit of the camera 1 based on a predetermined program. The control unit 31 is configured to be able to detect operation states of the release switch 12, the operation member 13, and the touch panel 15.

  The control unit 31 is provided with an image processing unit 32 for performing image processing. Note that the image processing unit 32 may be mounted on the control unit 31 in a hardware form in which arithmetic processing hardware for image processing is installed, or the arithmetic device of the control unit 31 may store a predetermined image processing program. It may be in the form of software that performs image processing based on it. The control unit 31 is provided with a display control unit 33 that controls the operations of the image display device 14 and the electronic viewfinder 16.

  The control unit 31 is provided with an enlarged display exposure control unit 36. The enlarged display exposure control unit 36 is configured to perform predetermined image processing on enlarged display of a live view display described later.

  Next, the operation of the camera 1 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS. The operation of the camera 1 described below is performed by the control unit 31. After the camera 1 is turned on, the control unit 31 performs the operations shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 after performing the initialization operation of each component constituting the camera 1.

  First, in step S01, it is determined whether or not a power-off instruction input for turning off the power of the camera 1 has been made. If it is determined in step S01 that an instruction to turn off the power has been input, the process proceeds to step S40, and an end process for turning off the power of the camera 1 is executed.

  If it is determined in step S01 that no power-off instruction is input, the process proceeds to step S02. The camera 1 repeats the process described below until it is determined in step S01 that a power-off instruction is input.

  In step S02, it is determined whether or not an instruction for designating the shooting operation mode is input as the operation mode of the camera 1. If it is determined in step S02 that the shooting operation mode is not designated, the process proceeds to step S41, and a reproduction operation for displaying the recorded still image and moving image on the image display device 14 is executed.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S02 that the shooting operation mode is designated as the operation mode of the camera 1, the process proceeds to step S03. In step S03, communication between the camera body 10 and the imaging lens 2 is performed, and information such as the focal length of the imaging lens 2 is acquired.

  Next, in step S04, the live view display operation is started. In step S05, first exposure conditions such as shutter speed, aperture value, sensitivity, and white balance are calculated based on an image signal from the image sensor, information on the imaging lens 2, and the like. In addition, the live view display displayed on the image display device 14 is changed to an appropriate exposure according to the calculation result of the first exposure condition by executing step S05. FIG. 5 shows an example of a state in which a live view display is displayed on the image display device 14.

  Next, in step S06, it is determined whether or not an instruction for designating the manual focus operation mode (MF mode) is input as the focusing operation mode of the camera 1. If it is determined in step S06 that the manual focus operation mode is not designated, the process proceeds to step S07, and an autofocus operation (AF) is performed. If it is determined after the execution of step S07 that the release switch 12 has been pressed (YES in step S30), shooting is performed under the first exposure condition to record an image, and the process returns to step S01. If it is determined after step S07 that the release switch 12 has not been pressed (NO in step S30), the process returns to step S01.

  It should be noted that the determination of whether or not a shooting instruction input from the user has been made in step S30 is not limited to a mode in which the determination is made based only on whether or not the release switch 12 has been pressed. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, even when the control unit 31 recognizes that the “shoot” icon 51 displayed on the image display device 14 is pressed based on an input from the touch panel 15, It may be determined that an instruction input has been made.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S06 that the manual focus operation mode is designated, the process proceeds to step S10. In step S10, it is determined whether or not an instruction to reduce the live view display is input.

  Here, the reduced display of the live view display is an operation paired with the enlarged display of the live view display described later. The enlarged display of the live view display is an operation of increasing the magnification of the live view display displayed on the image display device 14 and displaying the enlarged display area 54 in the field of view of the camera 1 in an enlarged manner. The reduced display of the live view display is an operation for displaying the entire field of view of the camera 1 with the minimum magnification of the live view display displayed on the image display device 14. The instruction input for the enlarged display and the reduced display in the live view display is performed through the operation member 13 or the touch panel 15, for example. In the present embodiment, as an example, as shown in FIG. 5, when the user presses the “enlarge” icon 52 and the “reduced” icon 53 displayed on the image display device 14, the live view display is enlarged and reduced. The instruction input is made.

  If it is determined in step S10 that an instruction to reduce the live view display is input, the process proceeds to step S11, and the field of view of the camera 1 is minimized with the magnification of the live view display displayed on the image display device 14 being minimized. To display the whole. If the display is already reduced, the display on the image display device 14 does not change even if step S11 is executed. After execution of step S11, in step S12, a manual focus operation by the operation member 23 of the imaging lens 2 is executed. If it is determined after the execution of step S12 that the release switch 12 has been pressed (YES in step S30), shooting is performed under the first exposure condition, the image is recorded on the recording medium 34, and the process returns to step S01. . If it is determined that the release switch 12 has not been pressed after step S12 (NO in step S30), the process returns to step S01.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S10 that the instruction to reduce the live view display is not input, the process proceeds to step S20, and an instruction to enlarge the live view display displayed on the image display device 14 is issued. It is determined whether or not it has been input.

  If it is determined in step S20 that an instruction for enlarging the live view display is input, the process proceeds to step S21, the magnification of the live view display displayed on the image display device 14 is increased, and the field of view of the camera 1 is increased. A specific enlarged display area 54 is enlarged and displayed. The enlarged display is performed by the image processing unit 32 and the display control unit 33. FIG. 6 shows a state in which step S21 is executed and the display of the image display device 14 is an enlarged display of the live view display. Note that the area to be enlarged may be a predetermined area, or may be an area where the user touches the touch panel 15, for example. If the enlarged display of the live view display has already been executed, the enlargement magnification is further increased by the execution of step S21, or the display magnification remains unchanged.

  In the present embodiment, along with the enlarged display of the live view display by the execution of step S21, an “enlarged display image quality change” icon 55 is displayed on the image display device 14, as shown in FIG. The “enlarged display image quality change” icon 55 is used to input an instruction to perform an enlarged display image quality change process described later. In the present embodiment, the enlarged display image quality changing process is a process of changing the brightness of the enlarged display of the live view display. The enlarged display image quality changing process is performed by the enlarged display exposure control unit 36, the image processing unit 32, and the display control unit 33.

  After execution of step S21, it is determined in step S22 whether or not an input for instructing a change in the enlarged display image quality has been made. If it is determined in step S22 that an instruction to change the enlarged display image quality has been made, in step S23, the image quality is changed according to the instruction for the enlarged display of the live view display being displayed on the image display device 14. carry out.

  Here, in the present embodiment, the determination in step S22 is performed based on whether or not the “enlarged display image quality change” icon 55 is pressed. For example, when “bright” of the “enlarged display image quality change” icon 55 is pressed, the brightness of the enlarged display of the live view display being displayed on the image display device 14 is increased. When “dark” of the “enlarged display image quality change” icon 55 is pressed, the brightness of the enlarged display of the live view display being displayed on the image display device 14 is lowered. For example, when “dark” of the “enlarged display image quality change” icon 55 is pressed, the display of the image display device 14 becomes dark as shown in FIG. The user can arbitrarily change the brightness of the enlarged display in the live view display by touching the “enlarged display image quality change” icon 55. This change in brightness may be performed by image processing that amplifies or attenuates brightness by changing the tone curve of the captured image, and the aperture value or shutter speed at the time of shooting may be changed. It may be done by changing. After execution of step S23, the process proceeds to step S12.

  If it is determined in step S20 that an instruction for enlarging the live view display is not input, or if it is determined in step S22 that an instruction for changing the enlarged display image quality is not input, the process proceeds to step S12.

  In step S12, a manual focus operation by the operation member 23 of the imaging lens 2 is executed. If it is determined after the execution of step S12 that the release switch 12 or the “shooting” icon 51 is pressed (YES in step S30), shooting is performed under the first exposure condition in step S31, and an image is recorded on the recording medium. 34, and the process returns to step S01. If it is determined that the release switch 12 and the “shoot” icon 51 are not pressed after step S12 (NO in step S30), the process returns to step S01.

  When shooting is performed by executing step S31, a REC view display operation for displaying the shooting result on the image display device 14 for a predetermined period is performed. If the image taken in step S31 is taken through the enlarged display image quality changing process in step S23, as shown in FIG. 8, the recorded image is enlarged in step S23 together with the recorded image during the rec view display operation. The image of the displayed area is displayed with the image quality changed. As a result, it is possible to determine whether or not the portion of the actually captured image that was desired to be focused can be captured in the actual focused state. An image whose image quality has been changed in this REC view may be obtained by adjusting the tone curve of the recorded image, or a result of shooting under conditions where the image quality has actually changed following the recorded image. It may be obtained as Further, when the user touches the image of the area enlarged and displayed in step S23 during the REC view display operation shown in FIG. 8, as shown in FIG. 9, the area enlarged and displayed in step S23. Display the image in full screen. In the state of FIG. 9, the image is displayed as an image taken under the first exposure condition. This is for the purpose of preventing the user from confusing the state of the image actually captured and recorded with the state in which the image quality has been changed.

  In the camera 1 of the present embodiment described above, the live view display displayed on the image display device 14 can be enlarged and displayed (step S21). Further, the image quality of the live view display during the enlarged display can be changed according to the user's instruction (step S23). Even if the image quality of the live view display during the enlarged display is changed, the exposure is performed without changing the first exposure condition (step S31).

  That is, in the present embodiment, the display image quality (brightness in the present embodiment) when the live view display is enlarged and the manual focus operation is performed is different from the first exposure condition actually used for photographing. Can be displayed as Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the enlarged display of the live view display can be easily changed to an image quality that makes it easy to check the in-focus state, and the change in the image quality does not affect the shooting result. It becomes possible to perform shooting quickly after focusing. As described above, in the present embodiment, when checking the subject in the live view display, the exposure control for checking the hue including the composition of the entire image to be taken, and in particular, for checking the subject to be focused on is particularly important. I was able to satisfy both of them. In particular, when focusing, there is a strong demand for enlarging and displaying the target subject in order to confirm the focus in detail, and it is possible to determine that this user wants to focus in detail by the enlargement operation. I can do it. With this ingenuity, the user can perform an operation that balances the overall composition and color tone with a focus on a portion.

  In this embodiment, in the enlarged display image quality changing process in step S23, only the brightness of the live view display during the enlarged display is changed. However, the enlarged display image quality changing process is not limited to this form. . For example, the enlarged display image quality changing process may include a change in contrast, hue, and saturation, an edge enhancement process, and the like in addition to the brightness.

(Second Embodiment)
The second embodiment of the present invention will be described below. The present embodiment is partially different from the first embodiment in the operation of the camera 1. Therefore, only the differences from the first embodiment will be described below, and the same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted as appropriate.

  Flow charts of the operation of the camera 1 of this embodiment are shown in FIGS. The camera 1 of the present embodiment differs from the first embodiment only in the processing after step S23. In the camera 1 of the present embodiment, along with the enlarged display of the live view display by the execution of step S21, the “exposure correction” is displayed on the image display device 14 in addition to the “enlarged display image quality change” icon 55 as shown in FIG. "Icon 56 is displayed. The “exposure correction” icon 56 is for defining the second exposure condition. The user can change the exposure condition of the live view display during the enlarged display by pressing the “exposure correction” icon 56. This changed exposure condition is referred to as a second exposure condition.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in step S24, it is determined whether or not an “exposure correction” icon 56 has been pressed and an instruction to change the exposure condition has been input. If the “exposure correction” icon 56 is pressed, the second exposure condition is calculated in step S25.

  In step S26, it is determined whether or not the “shoot” icon 51 has been pressed. If it is determined in step S26 that the “shoot” icon 51 has been pressed, shooting is performed under the second exposure condition in step S27, and only a part of the enlarged display area is cut out and recorded on the recording medium 34. . At this time, a form in which all the photographed areas are simultaneously recorded on the recording medium 34 may be employed.

  In the present embodiment as described above, when it is desired to shoot the enlarged display area when viewing the enlarged display of the live view display, the exposure condition for the enlarged area is quickly optimized for shooting. I can do things. Other effects are the same as those of the first embodiment.

  This is an effective specification when photographing with particular attention to the hue of a predetermined subject, and is effective when it is desired to record both hues, such as green in the background and butterflies therein. After enlarging in this way, for example, shooting with colors and exposures that reproduce even the butterfly pattern, it is also suitable for applications such as combining with a background image to create a composite image. With such a device, it is possible to adjust the hue for each part of the screen and finally create a composite image reflecting them. Specifically, the second exposure condition is recorded, and a plurality of shootings are performed under the first exposure condition and the second exposure condition during the release operation, and a technique called high dynamic range (HDR) composition is used. What is necessary is just to synthesize | combine two images. Naturally, it is possible to apply to the composition of three or more images by finely adjusting the exposure while enlarging not only two images but also a plurality of points, recording the result, and continuously shooting according to the result. Specifically, the step of S31 in FIG. 10 may be changed to a flow in which continuous shooting is performed under the first and second exposure conditions. At that time, synthesis is performed so that the exposure of the enlarged portion is applied. That is, a green image in the background reflects the first exposure condition, and a butterfly that has been confirmed to be enlarged may create a composite image that reflects the second exposure condition. In order to make the switching point between the first and second exposure conditions inconspicuous, the joint portion is depicted as a blend of both results. In such a case, since the camera 1 recognizes the enlarged part, it is easier to detect where the boundary is between the two images when the continuous shooting is performed and the two images are not displaced. Therefore, there is an advantage that it is easy to execute such blend adjustment.

  Of course, it is not necessary for the enlarged image to have a specification for photographing only the range, and if the image data other than the part that can be confirmed by enlargement is used, the above-mentioned problem at the boundary can be solved. It should be noted that here, the specification may be able to focus by enlargement. This is because there are cases where the subject whose exposure is to be matched and the subject whose focus is to be focused are different. If priority is given to the focused subject and the images are combined, an HDR image that focuses on the focus can be created.

(Third embodiment)
The third embodiment of the present invention will be described below. The present embodiment is partially different from the first embodiment in the operation of the camera 1. Therefore, only the differences from the first embodiment will be described below, and the same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted as appropriate.

  The camera 1 of the present embodiment is configured to be able to capture a moving image. A flowchart of the operation of the camera 1 of the present embodiment is shown in FIGS.

  First, in step S101, it is determined whether or not a power-off instruction input for turning off the power of the camera 1 has been made. If it is determined in step S101 that a power-off instruction is input, the process proceeds to step S140, and an end process for turning off the camera 1 is executed.

  If it is determined in step S101 that no power-off instruction is input, the process proceeds to step S102. The camera 1 repeats the process described below until it is determined in step S101 that a power-off instruction is input.

  In step S102, it is determined whether or not an instruction for designating the moving image shooting operation mode is input as the operation mode of the camera 1. If it is determined in step S102 that the moving image shooting operation mode is not designated, the process proceeds to step S141, and a reproduction operation for displaying the recorded still image and moving image on the image display device 14 is executed.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S102 that the moving image shooting operation mode is designated as the operation mode of the camera 1, the process proceeds to step S103. In step S103, communication between the camera body 10 and the imaging lens 2 is performed, and information such as the focal length of the imaging lens 2 is acquired.

  Next, in step S104, a live view display operation is started. In step S105, first exposure conditions such as shutter speed, aperture value, sensitivity, and white balance are calculated based on an image signal from the image sensor, information on the imaging lens 2, and the like. In addition, the live view display displayed on the image display device 14 is changed to an appropriate exposure according to the calculation result of the first exposure condition by executing step S105.

  Next, in step S110, it is determined whether an instruction to reduce the live view display is input. If it is determined in step S10 that an instruction to reduce the live view display has been input, the process proceeds to step S111, where the magnification of the live view display displayed on the image display device 14 is minimized and the field of view of the camera 1 is displayed. To display the whole. If the display is already reduced, the display on the image display device 14 does not change even if step S111 is executed.

  Next, in step S130, it is determined whether a moving image is being shot. If a moving image is being shot, steps S131 and S132 are skipped. If a moving image is not being shot, it is determined in step S131 whether a moving image shooting start instruction has been input. If it is determined in step S131 that a moving image shooting start instruction has not been input, the process returns to step S101. If it is determined in step S131 that a moving image shooting start instruction has been input, the process proceeds to step S132, and moving image shooting is started under the first exposure condition.

  The moving image shooting operation is continued until a shooting stop instruction is input. When an instruction to stop moving image shooting is input (YES in step S133), the moving image shooting operation is stopped and the moving image is recorded on the recording medium 34.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S110 that an instruction to reduce live view display is not input, the process proceeds to step S120, and an instruction to enlarge live view display displayed on the image display device 14 is issued. It is determined whether or not it has been input.

  If it is determined in step S120 that an instruction for enlarging the live view display is input, the process proceeds to step S121, the magnification of the live view display displayed on the image display device 14 is increased, and the field of view of the camera 1 is increased. A specific enlarged display area 54 is enlarged and displayed. In addition, when there exists what can be recognized by the pattern matching process of the image processing unit 32 such as a human or animal face in the enlarged display area 54, the enlarged display area 54 moves by tracking it. .

  After execution of step S121, it is determined in step S122 whether or not an input to change the enlarged display image quality has been made based on whether or not the “enlarged display image quality change” icon 55 has been pressed.

  If it is determined in step S122 that the “enlarged display image quality change” icon 55 has been pressed and an input to change the enlarged display image quality has been made, in step S123, the live view display being displayed on the image display device 14 is displayed. For the enlarged display, the image quality is changed according to the instruction. In the present embodiment, the brightness of the enlarged image is changed. The enlarged image exposure condition after the enlarged display image quality changing process is referred to as a second exposure condition. After execution of step S123, the process proceeds to step S124.

  If it is determined in step S120 that an instruction for enlarging the live view display is not input, or if it is determined in step S122 that an instruction for changing the enlarged display image quality is not input, the process proceeds to step S124.

  In step S124, it is determined whether or not the “shoot” icon 51 has been pressed. If it is determined in step S124 that the “shoot” icon 51 has been pressed, a screen transition process is executed in step S125. Here, the screen transition process uses the optical zoom for moving the zooming lens 21c and / or the digital zoom that cuts out a partial area of the field of view to enlarge the field of view of the camera 1 from the previous state in step S121. Change gradually to the area. In the screen transition process, the exposure condition is also gradually changed from the first exposure condition until then to the second exposure condition.

  Thus, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to provide a camera that can easily perform moving image shooting while switching the screen, which has been difficult for general users. A moving image that captures an image portion that has been enlarged and confirmed in this manner is called a partial moving image. At this time, the user does not need to be involved in the smooth exposure control and the change in the angle of view, and the camera 1 gradually changes the exposure condition and the screen cutout range. You should focus on the adjustment. At this time, it may or may not be possible to check and adjust the focus on the enlarged screen, but if you change the focus, the entire image will be affected. You may devise.

  In the present embodiment as described above, when the enlarged view of the live view display is viewed during movie shooting and the user wants to shoot the enlarged display region, the field of view of the movie shooting is equivalent to the enlarged display region. The zoom operation is automatically performed so that Further, since the exposure condition is changed to that at the time of the enlarged display with the zoom operation, it is possible to prevent the exposure from greatly deviating after the zoom operation. As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to easily execute moving image shooting using an effective effect using zoom.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be appropriately changed without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention that can be read from the claims and the entire specification. Is also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

  The camera according to the present invention is not limited to the camera described in the above-described embodiment, and a shooting function is realized in electronic devices such as a recording device, a portable communication terminal, a game machine, a digital media player, a clock, and a navigation device. Needless to say, it may be a device having a function of taking an image mounted as a configuration.

  As described above, the present invention is suitable for a camera capable of live view display on an image display device.

1 camera,
2 imaging lens,
10 Camera body,
11 Image sensor,
12 Release switch,
13 operation members,
14 image display device,
15 touch panel,
16 Electronic viewfinder,
17 Proximity sensor,
21 imaging optical system members,
21a Variable aperture,
21b Focusing lens,
21c Zooming lens,
22 Lens / aperture drive controller,
23 operation members,
24 communication department,
31 control unit,
32 Image processing unit,
33 Display control unit,
34 recording media,
36 An enlargement display exposure control unit,
51 shooting icon,
52 Enlarge icon,
53 Zoom out icon,
54 Enlarged display area,
55 Enlarged display image quality change icon,
56 Exposure compensation icon.

Claims (4)

An image sensor and an image display device, the image captured by the image sensor can be displayed as a live view display on the image display device, and a first exposure condition is calculated during the live view display; A camera capable of recording an image captured under the first exposure condition;
During the live view display, a part of the live view display is enlarged and displayed on the image display device, and a brightness change is performed by a predetermined operation during the enlarged display of the live view. When,
A control unit that performs shooting under the first exposure condition when a shooting instruction is issued when the brightness change of the live view during the enlarged display is being executed;
A camera characterized by comprising: The change of the brightness by the enlarged display exposure control unit applies a second exposure condition set independently of the calculation of the first exposure condition of an image recorded by the camera. The camera according to claim 1. When the shooting instruction is issued while the enlarged display of the live view is displayed by applying the second exposure condition , the control unit displays the enlarged image according to the second exposure condition. photographed, claims, characterized the TURMERIC line capturing of said generating a composite image by combining the images captured by said second exposure conditions to an image captured by the first exposure condition, or the partial moving picture 2. The camera according to 2.   The camera according to claim 2, wherein the enlarged display of the live view can be executed during a manual focus operation of the camera.

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