JP6231768B2 - Imaging apparatus and control method thereof - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an imaging device and a control method thereof, and more particularly to a technique for improving operability when changing the angle of view of a captured image in an imaging device having a zoom function.

Some imaging devices such as a digital camera have an optical scaling function by driving a zoom lens (optical zoom) and an electronic scaling function (electronic zoom) function for enlarging a part of an imaged area. is there. In recent years, with the improvement in performance of zoom lenses, the user can perform shooting at a desired angle of view from the super wide angle to the super telephoto with the same lens by the optical zoom function. Conventionally, as one function of driving the zoom lens, zoom driving is continuously performed from the wide-angle end to the telephoto end at the start timing of the zoom lever, and the zoom drive is stopped at the stop timing of the zoom lever. There is a function to obtain the angle of view (normal zoom). In the control by the normal zoom, the operation can be performed while always checking the angle of view, but it has been necessary to repeatedly perform zoom driving until the target angle of view is reached.

On the other hand, as one of the methods for checking the angle of view image in advance before zoom driving or before stopping zoom driving, a method for easily checking the shooting range by displaying a field angle frame corresponding to an arbitrary zoom lens position. There is. Patent Document 1 discloses an imaging apparatus that displays several angle-of-view frames so that the composition after zooming operation can be easily understood and a desired composition can be easily determined when photographing with an optical zoom. Patent Document 2 discloses an electronic still camera device that controls optical zoom so that a zoom frame instructed from a plurality of zoom frames by a touch panel matches an outer frame of a display surface.

Japanese Patent No. 4609315 Japanese Patent No. 3620534

In the imaging device disclosed in Patent Document 1, since the one-stage zoom frame specified based on the user's zoom operation and the multiple-stage zoom frames before and after that are displayed, the angle-of-view frame is displayed while zooming. The angle of view can be confirmed before the zoom position is reached. However, since the zoom movement has already been started with respect to the already specified one stage, the zoom may be repeated until the desired angle of view is reached, and the operation may become complicated. In the electronic still camera device disclosed in Patent Document 2, a plurality of zoom frames are displayed on the touch panel display, and zoom movement is performed by selecting the frames. However, the zoom lens with a higher magnification has a smaller zoom frame on the telephoto side, which makes it difficult for the user to discriminate or select. Further, neither Patent Document 1 nor Patent Document 2 discloses or suggests fine adjustment of the angle of view after driving to the zoom position once designated.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to appropriately update the display of the view angle frame according to the selection operation of the zoom stop position, and to zoom when the view angle frame corresponding to the zoom stop position cannot be substantially displayed on the display unit. An imaging apparatus that displays an angle-of-view frame after being driven, and a control method thereof.

In order to achieve the above object, the image pickup apparatus of the present invention has a zoom stop position after the zoom stop position of the target to be reached is determined by the operation member by arranging the zoom stop position between the wide angle end and the telephoto end. A first zoom control mode capable of changing. And angle frame display means for displaying the angle frame corresponding to the zoom stop position capable and angle frame selecting means for selecting the angle frame corresponding to the zoom stop position of the goals, prior Symbol zoom stop position comprising a determining field angle frame determination means for determining whether angle frame corresponding smaller than a predetermined size, the zoom driving means for driving's over arm to. When the angle-of-view frame determined to be smaller than the predetermined size by the angle-of-view frame determining unit is selected , the zoom driving unit causes the selected angle-of-view frame to be larger than the predetermined size. Thus, the zoom driving to the telephoto side is performed, and the angle-of-view frame display means displays the selected angle-of-view frame after the zoom driving to the telephoto side . In addition, another imaging apparatus of the present invention can arrange the zoom stop position between the wide-angle end and the telephoto end, and can change the zoom position after the target target zoom stop position is determined by the operation member. An imaging apparatus having a first zoom control mode, comprising: an angle-of-view frame display means for displaying an angle-of-view frame corresponding to the position where the zoom can be stopped; and an angle-of-view frame corresponding to the zoom stop position of the target to be reached. An angle-of-view frame selecting means to be selected, an angle-of-view frame determining means for determining whether or not to display an angle-of-view frame corresponding to the zoom stop position of the target to be reached, a zoom drive means for zoom driving, and the selected angle of view In an angle-of-view frame determination unit that changes the zoom position to a zoom stop position corresponding to the frame and a second zoom control mode in which the zoom stop position can be directly changed, an instruction to change the zoom stop position is input by a photographer. Having an operating member that, a. When the view angle frame determining means determines that display of the angle of view frame is impossible, after the zoom drive by the zoom drive means, the view angle frame display means displays the view angle frame, and In the zoom control mode 2, the zoom stop position is more disposed between the wide-angle end and the telephoto end than in the first zoom control mode, and in the second zoom control mode, The zoom speed is made slower than in the first zoom control mode, and the zoom speed in the second zoom control mode is further slowed down for a certain period after zoom driving in the first zoom control mode.

In order to achieve the above object, according to the control method of the imaging apparatus of the present invention, a zoom stop position is arranged between the wide-angle end and the telephoto end, and the target zoom stop position is set by the operation member. An image pickup apparatus having a zoom control mode capable of changing the zoom position after the determination is controlled. And angle frame display step of displaying the angle frame corresponding to the zoom stop position capable and angle frame selecting step of selecting the angle frame corresponding to the zoom stop position of the goals, prior Symbol zoom stop position angle frame corresponding to have the determining field angle frame determination step of determining is smaller than a predetermined size, a zoom driving step of driving's over arm. When the view angle frame determined to be smaller than the predetermined size in the view angle frame determination step is selected in the view angle frame selection step, the selected view angle frame is the predetermined size in the zoom driving step. After performing zoom driving to the telephoto side so as to have the above size , the selected view angle frame is displayed in the view angle frame display step. In another control method of the imaging apparatus of the present invention, a zoom stop position is arranged between the wide-angle end and the telephoto end, and the zoom position is determined after the target target zoom stop position is determined by the operation member. A control method for an imaging apparatus having a changeable first zoom control mode, comprising: an angle-of-view frame display step for displaying an angle-of-view frame corresponding to the position where the zoom can be stopped; An angle-of-view frame selection step for selecting a corresponding angle-of-view frame, an angle-of-view frame determination step for determining whether or not to display an angle-of-view frame corresponding to the zoom stop position of the target to be reached, a zoom drive step for zoom driving, An angle-of-view frame determination step for changing the zoom position to a zoom stop position corresponding to the selected view angle frame, and the position where the zoom can be stopped is between the wide-angle end and the telephoto end. It arranged more than the mode in the zoom stop position directly modifiable second zoom control mode, having the steps of changing an instruction of the zoom stop position is inputted by the photographer. If it is determined in the angle-of-view frame determination step that display of the angle-of-view frame is impossible, the angle-of-view frame is displayed in the angle-of-view frame display step after the zoom drive in the zoom drive step, In the step of inputting an instruction to change the zoom stop position by the photographer in the second zoom control mode, the zoom speed is made slower than in the first zoom control mode, and after zoom driving in the first zoom control mode. During the predetermined time, the zoom speed of the second zoom control mode is further decreased.

According to the present invention, the display of the angle of view frame is appropriately updated according to the zoom stop position selection operation, and when the angle of view frame corresponding to the zoom stop position cannot be displayed on the display unit, the zoom is driven. Display the angle frame. As a result, it is possible to perform zoom driving after confirming the image of which the angle of view is changed and to shoot at a desired angle of view.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a digital camera according to an embodiment of the present invention. The figure which illustrated the display of the angle-of-view frame and zoom drive when driving a zoom lens to the telephoto side. The figure which illustrated the display of the angle-of-view frame and zoom drive when driving a zoom lens to the wide angle side. 6 is a flowchart for explaining a processing example of angle-of-view frame selection zoom control according to the embodiment.

In the present invention, in the first zoom control mode in which the zoom position can be changed after the zoom stop position of the reaching target is determined, the view angle frame corresponding to the zoom stop position of the reaching target is selected. At this time, whether or not display of the angle-of-view frame is determined, and when it is determined that display is substantially impossible, the angle-of-view frame display means performs the angle-of-view frame display means after an appropriate drive amount and zoom drive. Is displayed. In determining whether or not the view angle frame can be displayed, for example, whether or not the view angle frame can be displayed in principle, or is the view angle frame smaller than a predetermined threshold even if the display can be performed in principle? It is determined whether or not display of the angle-of-view frame is impossible. The case where the display of the angle-of-view frame cannot be performed in principle is a case where the zoom stop position is selected from the current zoom position to the wide-angle side and the zoom drive needs to be performed to the wide-angle side. When the angle of view frame is smaller than a predetermined threshold, the zoom stop position is selected from the current zoom position to the telephoto side, and the view angle frame corresponding to the zoom stop position is too small to zoom to the telephoto side. If you need to do that. When zoom driving to the wide angle side by the zoom driving means, it is possible to display an angle of view frame corresponding to the zoom stop position before driving after zoom driving. When zoom driving to the telephoto side by the zoom driving means, it is possible to perform zoom driving to a zoom stop position corresponding to the angle of view frame displayed before driving.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Example 1
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a digital camera 100 as an example of an imaging apparatus according to the present embodiment. The lens barrel 101 drives a lens while holding a lens group therein. The zoom lens 102 optically changes the angle of view by adjusting the focal length, and the focus lens 103 adjusts the focus. The anti-vibration lens 104 is a correction lens that corrects camera shake, and the diaphragm and shutter 105 that adjust the amount of light are used for exposure control. The light passing through the lens barrel 101 is received by an image sensor 106 using a CCD (charge coupled device), a CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor), or the like, and converted from an optical signal to an electrical signal. The electrical signal is input to the image processing circuit 107, subjected to pixel interpolation processing, color conversion processing, and the like, and then sent to the image memory 108 as image data. The image memory 108 is configured by a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory), an SRAM (Static Random Access Memory), or the like.

The display unit 109 is configured by a TFT type LCD (Thin Film Transistor Driven Liquid Crystal Display) or the like, and displays specific information (for example, shooting information, an angle of view frame described later, etc.) along with the shot image data. By displaying information such as live view, an electronic viewfinder (EVF) function for the photographer to adjust the angle of view is realized. The aperture shutter drive unit 110 calculates an exposure control value (aperture value and shutter speed) based on luminance information obtained by image processing in the image processing circuit 107, and drives the aperture and shutter 105 based on the calculation result. . Thereby, AE (automatic exposure) control is performed. The anti-vibration lens driving unit 111 calculates a blur amount applied to the digital camera 100 based on information from an angular velocity sensor such as a gyro sensor, and drives the anti-vibration lens 104 so as to cancel the blur. The focus lens driving unit 112 drives the focus lens 103. For example, in contrast AF (autofocus) control, the focus lens 103 is focused on the subject based on focus adjustment information (contrast evaluation value) of the photographing optical system obtained by image processing of the image processing circuit 107. Driven. For the application of the present invention, the focus adjustment control method is not limited, and a phase difference AF method or a method combined with another method can be employed.

The zoom lens driving unit 113 drives the zoom lens 102 in accordance with a zoom operation instruction. The operation unit 117 is provided with a zoom lever or a zoom button as a zoom operation member for the photographer to instruct the camera to perform zooming. The zoom drive speed and drive direction are calculated based on the operation amount and operation direction of the zoom operation switch used for the zoom operation instruction, and the zoom lens 102 moves along the optical axis according to the calculation result. The zoom lens driving unit 113 also drives the zoom lens 102 in accordance with an operation instruction by an angle-of-view frame selection zoom control (first zoom control mode) described later.

The image data generated by the shooting operation is sent to the recording unit 116 via the interface (I / F) unit 115 and recorded. The image data is recorded in an external recording medium such as a memory card used by being mounted on the camera, a non-volatile memory 118 built in the digital camera 100, or both.

The operation unit 117 includes the following as well as a zoom lever or a zoom button as a zoom operation member. That is, an angle-of-view frame selection button (view-angle frame selection means) for selecting an angle-of-view frame corresponding to the zoom stop position of the target to be reached, and an angle-of-view frame determination button (view angle frame determination means) for zooming to the specified angle of view frame ), A release switch for instructing to start photographing, and other operation buttons. The operation signal is sent to the system control unit 114 described later. In addition to program data and image data, the memory 118 stores setting information of the digital camera 100, information on an angle of view frame at an arbitrary zoom stop position with respect to the current zoom position, the angle of view of the zoom position, and the like.

The mode selection unit 119 includes a mode dial (not shown), a mode selection menu displayed on the display unit 109, operation buttons of the operation unit 117, and the like, and selects a shooting mode and sets various menus. In addition to a portrait mode suitable for capturing a human bust, a sport mode suitable for capturing a fast-moving subject, a landscape mode suitable for capturing a landscape, etc. Set the menu.

The system control unit 114 is configured using an arithmetic device such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), and controls the entire camera by sending a control command to each unit in response to a user operation. The system control unit 114 performs various control programs stored in the memory 118, such as control of the image sensor 106, AE / AF control, image stabilization control, zoom control, field angle frame display control, timer control, and the like. Run the program.

Next, an outline of the view angle frame selection zoom control in the system control unit 114 will be described. The angle of view indicates the shooting range by an angle, and changes according to the change in the focal length of the zoom lens 102. Usually, when photographing with an imaging device, the composition is confirmed while viewing a live view displayed on the display unit 109. Here, the angle of view is changed by driving the zoom lens 102.

In normal zoom control (second zoom control mode) using the zoom lever of the operation unit 117, zoom positions are arranged in a first pattern (continuous or stepwise) from the wide-angle end to the telephoto end. The zoom lens driving unit 113 drives the zoom lens 102 in accordance with the zoom operation instruction. On the other hand, in the view angle frame selection zoom control which is the first zoom control mode, the view angle frame corresponding to the zoom position arranged in the second pattern which is coarser than the first pattern is displayed on the display unit 109. . Then, by operating the angle-of-view frame selection button of the operation unit 117, the angle-of-view frame corresponding to the target zoom stop position is selected. Finally, the zoom lens driving unit 113 drives the zoom lens 102 so as to coincide with the view angle frame designated by the operation of the view angle frame determination button of the operation unit 117. That is, in the angle-of-view frame selection zoom control, the zoom can be stopped with a pattern coarser than the position where it can be stopped by the normal zoom control, and the zoom lens 102 is driven after confirming the view angle change image in advance. As described above, the camera further includes an angle-of-view frame determining unit that changes the zoom position to the zoom stop position corresponding to the selected angle-of-view frame, and the angle-of-view frame selecting unit is operated by the first operation member to determine the angle-of-view frame. The means can be operated by the second operating member. Further, the second zoom control in which the zoom stop position can be directly changed by the third operation member by arranging more zoom stop positions from the wide-angle end to the telephoto end than in the first zoom control mode. A mode (normal zoom) can be further provided. Then, the first zoom control mode (view angle frame selection zoom) is switched in accordance with the operation of the first and second operation members, and the second zoom control mode (in accordance with the operation of the third operation member). It may be switched to (normal zoom).

For example, in a zoom lens having a high magnification from the wide-angle end to the telephoto end, both the driving amount of the zoom lens and the change amount of the angle of view become large. In addition to the normal zoom driving method, if the zoom driving can be performed after confirming the image of changing the angle of view in advance, the desired angle of view can be obtained more quickly. 2A to 2C are views exemplifying display of an angle-of-view frame when driving the zoom lens to the telephoto side, and accompanying zoom lens driving. FIG. 2A shows the view angle frames 201 to 203 indicating the view angle when the zoom lens is driven further to the telephoto side at the current view angle 200 at an arbitrary zoom position. When the view angle frame selection button of the operation unit 117 is operated to display the view angle frame on the telephoto side, every time the switch is operated, the angle of view frame 202 to the angle of view frame 202 and then the angle of view frame 203 are displayed. Then, the display of the angle frame on the telephoto side is updated. One view angle frame is displayed at a time. Here, when the view angle frame determination button of the operation unit 117 is operated in a state where an arbitrary view angle frame is displayed on the display unit 109, the zoom lens is driven so as to coincide with the designated view angle frame. . FIG. 2B shows the angle of view 204 after the zoom lens is driven when the angle of view frame 202 is designated.

FIG. 2A shows an example in which three field angle frames 201 to 203 are displayed. However, as described above, in a zoom lens having a high magnification from the wide angle end to the telephoto end, Both the driving amount and the amount of change in the angle of view increase. Assuming that the current angle of view 200 is the wide-angle angle of view and all the angle-of-view frames up to the telephoto end are to be displayed, the size of the angle-of-view frame becomes smaller so that the angle-of-view frame cannot be displayed. The user cannot easily see the angle-of-view frame and cannot discriminate. Therefore, when the angle of view frame becomes smaller than an arbitrary size and the angle of view frame cannot be displayed substantially, the angle of view frame is displayed again after driving an arbitrary driving amount and zoom lens. Here, the arbitrary size of the angle of view frame is, for example, a size that allows the user to compare the angle of view. Therefore, the arbitrary driving amount of the zoom lens is a driving amount that achieves such a comparable view angle frame size. The drive amount is calculated by the system control unit 114 each time based on the current view angle size and the selected view angle frame size.

For example, when the view angle frame selection button of the operation unit 117 is operated to display a view angle frame further on the telephoto side than the view angle frame 203 in FIG. 2A, the zoom lens is driven to the telephoto side. To do. FIG. 2C shows an angle of view 205 after driving the zoom lens. After driving the zoom lens, an angle of view frame 206 that cannot be displayed with the angle of view 200 of FIG. 2A is displayed. As before, when the view angle frame on the telephoto side is to be displayed by operating the view angle frame selection button of the operation unit 117, the angle of view frame 206 to the angle of view frame 207 are continuously displayed each time the switch is operated. Thus, the view angle frame 208 and the display of the view angle frame on the telephoto side are updated.

Also in the view angle 205, when the display of the telephoto side view angle frame is smaller than an arbitrary size, the view angle frame is displayed again after the zoom lens is driven to an arbitrary drive amount and the telephoto side. The operation is repeated until the zoom position reaches the telephoto end. Further, when the driving amount of the zoom lens from the angle of view 200 to the angle of view 205 is set to a driving amount such that the angle of view 205 coincides with the angle of view frame 203, it is possible to continuously check the angle of view change image.

On the other hand, FIGS. 3A to 3B are views exemplifying display of an angle-of-view frame when the zoom lens is driven to the wide angle side, and zoom driving associated therewith. FIG. 3A shows a current angle of view 300 at an arbitrary zoom position. When driving the zoom lens to the telephoto side, it is possible to sequentially display a field angle frame smaller than the current angle of view, but when driving the zoom lens to the wide angle side, Since the angle of view is wide, the angle of view frame cannot be displayed in principle. Therefore, similarly to the control to the telephoto side described above, when the view angle frame cannot be displayed, the view angle frame is displayed again after driving the zoom lens to an arbitrary drive amount and wide angle side.

As described above, when the view angle frame selection button of the operation unit 117 is operated to display the view angle frame on the wide angle side, the zoom lens is driven to the wide angle side. FIG. 3B shows the angle of view 301 after driving the zoom lens. After the zoom lens is driven, an angle of view frame 302 that cannot be displayed with the angle of view 300 of FIG. 3A is displayed. Each time the switch is operated, the display of the angle of view frame 302 to the angle of view frame 303, then the angle of view frame 304, and the angle of view frame on the wide angle side are updated. Similarly, when an arbitrary angle of view frame is designated by operating the view angle frame determination button of the operation unit 117, the zoom lens is driven so as to coincide with the designated angle of view frame. When displaying a field angle frame on the wide angle side further than the field angle 301, an operation of displaying the field angle frame again after driving the zoom lens to an arbitrary driving amount and wide angle side is performed. The point is repeated until the end is reached. In this case, if the angle of view frame 302 displayed first indicates the angle of view 300 of FIG. 3A before zooming to the angle of view 301 to the wide angle side, confirmation of the angle of view change image is continuously performed. Can do it.

Next, a processing example of the view angle frame selection zoom control will be described in detail with reference to FIG. In step S <b> 100, the system control unit 114 determines whether or not the view angle frame selection button of the operation unit 117 has been pressed in the shooting preparation state. When pressing of the angle-of-view frame selection button is detected, processing for angle-of-view frame selection zoom control is started. In step S <b> 101, the system control unit 114 determines whether the telephoto side is selected as the operation of the view angle frame selection button. If it is determined that the telescopic field angle frame has been selected, the process proceeds to S102. If it is determined that the wide angle field angle frame has been selected, the process proceeds to S103. In step S <b> 102, the system control unit 114 determines whether it is possible to display a field angle frame at the zoom position in the next telephoto direction with respect to the field angle at the current zoom position. When the angle of view is already displayed, the angle of view of the zoom position in the next telephoto direction can be displayed with respect to the zoom position of the currently displayed angle of view stored in the memory 118. It is determined whether it is. Information on the angle-of-view frame corresponding to the angle of view of the zoom position is stored in the memory 118 and is referred to as appropriate.

Here, even if there is a zoom position in the next telephoto direction, if the angle of view frame is smaller than an arbitrary size with respect to the angle of view of the current zoom position, the view angle frame cannot be displayed. And This is because, as described above, if the size of the angle of view frame is extremely small, it becomes difficult to see the angle of view frame and the angle of view cannot be determined. The arbitrary or predetermined size of the angle-of-view frame used for the determination is determined in advance, for example, as a size that allows the user to compare the angle of view. Or you may enable it to set the minimum magnitude | size of the view angle frame to display by user setting. If it is determined that the view frame can be displayed, the process proceeds to S106. If it is determined that the display cannot be performed, the process proceeds to S103.

In step S <b> 103, the system control unit 114 determines whether the zoom lens can be driven in the direction selected by the view angle frame selection button of the operation unit 117 with respect to the current zoom position. If the current zoom position is already at the wide-angle end or the telephoto end, the zoom lens cannot be driven any more, so this determination is performed. If it is determined that the zoom lens can be driven, the process proceeds to S104. If it is determined that the drive is impossible, the process returns to S100. When the zoom lens cannot be driven, since the view angle frame display cannot be updated, the display unit 109 may be used to notify the user that the view angle frame display is impossible.

In S104, the system control unit 114 controls the zoom lens driving unit 113 to move the zoom lens 102 to an arbitrary driving amount in the direction selected by the view angle frame selection button of the operation unit 117 with respect to the current zoom position. Drive. When driving to the telephoto side, it is possible to continuously check the angle-of-view change image by driving so that the angle of view frame displayed immediately before and the angle of view frame after the zoom drive coincide. In addition, the zoom drive amount may be arbitrarily set by user setting. In S105, the system control unit 114 determines whether it is possible to display the view angle frame of the zoom position in the operation direction of the view angle frame selection button determined in S101 with respect to the view angle of the zoom position after zoom driving. . The determination is made because when the telephoto end is reached by the zoom driving performed in S104, the field angle frame cannot be displayed any more.

If it is determined that the view frame can be displayed, the process returns to S106, and if it is determined that the display is impossible, the process returns to S100. Similarly to S103, when the view angle frame cannot be displayed, the display unit 109 may be used to notify the user that the view angle frame cannot be displayed. In S106, the system control unit 114 displays the angle-of-view frame determined in S102 or S105 on the display unit 109. At this time, the zoom position of the currently displayed angle frame is stored in the memory 118, and is used for display angle frame determination in S102. Further, when the zoom is driven to the wide-angle side in S104, if the angle-of-view frame indicating the angle of view before driving is displayed, the angle-of-view-change image can be continuously confirmed.

In step S <b> 107, the system control unit 114 determines whether or not an angle-of-view frame determination button that is an angle-of-view frame determination unit of the operation unit 117 has been pressed. If it is determined that the depression of the angle-of-view frame selection button is detected, the process proceeds to S108, and if the depression is not detected, the process returns to S100. In S <b> 108, the system control unit 114 controls the zoom lens driving unit 113 to drive the zoom lens 102 so that the designated view angle frame matches the zoom position. Thus, the zoom is driven to the view angle frame designated by the user, and the view angle frame selection zoom control process is terminated.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, when the angle of view frame selection zoom control cannot substantially display the angle of view frame with respect to the current angle of view, an arbitrary drive amount and zoom lens can be set. After driving, the angle of view frame is displayed again. Thereafter, when an arbitrary field angle frame is designated, the zoom lens is driven so as to coincide with the designated field angle frame. As a result, the user can drive the zoom lens so as to match the designated angle of view frame after confirming the view angle change image with the angle of view frame in a series of operations. It becomes possible to improve operability when changing the distance.

(Example 2)
In the first embodiment, the zoom speed may be switched according to different zoom control methods. The second embodiment relates to an example in which zoom speed switching is executed. The second embodiment includes the two zoom control modes of the above-described angle-of-view frame selection zoom control and normal zoom control. The system control unit 114 performs control to switch between the two zoom control modes and the zoom speed in accordance with operations of different operation members of the operation unit 117. That is, the zoom speed is changed between the first zoom control mode and the second zoom control mode.

In the case of normal zoom control by operating the zoom lever of the operation unit 117, the zoom drive speed is set to a medium speed when driving the zoom lens 102 in the direction of the target position. Further, in the case of the angle-of-view frame selection zoom control by operating the angle-of-view frame determination button of the operation unit 117, the zoom drive speed is set to a high speed when driving of the zoom lens 102 is started in the direction of the target position. In the angle-of-view frame selection zoom control, it is possible to quickly change to a desired angle of view determined by the angle-of-view frame by increasing the zoom speed. At the same time, it is possible to facilitate zoom driving while confirming the angle of view by slowing down the zoom speed in the normal zoom operation.

In addition to the above, the zoom drive speed by the normal zoom control by the operation of the zoom lever of the operation unit 117 is set to a lower speed than the normal zoom control for a certain time after the zoom drive by the angle-of-view frame selection zoom control. . The management of the fixed time is performed by the system control unit 114 performing timer control, and the zoom drive speed is further reduced when the zoom lever of the operation unit 117 is operated within the fixed time. As a result, after quickly changing to the angle of view of the angle of view frame designated by the angle of view frame selection zoom control, fine adjustment of the angle of view is performed accurately by further slowing down the zoom speed by the normal zoom operation for a certain period of time. It becomes possible. Further, the setting for the predetermined time may be changed by user setting. As described above, in the second zoom control mode, the zoom speed is made slower than in the first zoom control mode, and the second zoom is performed for a certain time after the zoom driving in the first zoom control mode. The zoom speed in the control mode may be further decreased.

The present invention has been described in detail based on the preferred embodiments thereof, but the present invention is not limited to these specific embodiments, and various forms within the scope of the present invention are also included in the present invention. included. A part of the above-described embodiments may be appropriately combined.

For example, in the zoom lens drive function, a control function for zoom driving to a designated focal length by designating a desired focal length out of focal lengths determined stepwise from the wide-angle end to the telephoto end (Hereinafter referred to as step zoom). This step zoom is convenient when shooting at an angle of view in consideration of the focal length, but it is difficult for a user unaccustomed to shooting to image the angle of view in advance. Therefore, an angle of view frame indicating the angle of view of the focal length assigned to the step zoom may be displayed, and the angle of view frame may be displayed when the focal length is selected.

The present invention is a method for controlling the imaging apparatus as described above, and can also be regarded as a method having the following steps. An angle-of-view frame display step for displaying an angle-of-view frame corresponding to a position where zooming can be stopped. An angle-of-view frame selection step of selecting an angle-of-view frame corresponding to the zoom stop position of the target to be reached. An angle-of-view frame determination step for determining whether or not to display an angle-of-view frame corresponding to the zoom stop position of the target to be reached. A zoom driving step that performs zoom driving if necessary based on the determination in the angle-of-view frame determination step. Here, in the control method of the imaging apparatus according to the present invention, when it is determined in the angle-of-view frame determination step that the display of the angle-of-view frame is impossible, the zoom angle is displayed in the angle-of-view frame display step after the zoom driving in the zoom driving step. Display the angle frame.

Accordingly, a software program that realizes the function of the control method of the present invention described above is supplied from a recording medium directly or using wired / wireless communication to a system or apparatus having a computer that can execute the program, and the program. Is also included in the present invention. Therefore, the program code itself supplied to and installed in the computer in order to realize the functional processing of the present invention (function executed by the above-described system control unit which is a control means) by the computer also realizes the present invention. is there. That is, the present invention includes a computer program for realizing the functional processing of the present invention. In that case, as long as it has the function of the program, the form of the program such as an object code, a program executed by an interpreter, and script data supplied to the OS is not limited. As a recording medium for supplying the program, for example, a magnetic recording medium such as a hard disk or a magnetic tape, an optical / magneto-optical storage medium, a nonvolatile semiconductor memory, or the like can be used. As a program supply method, a computer program constituting the present invention may be stored in a server on a computer network, and a connected client computer may download and program the computer program.

100 ··· Digital camera (imaging device), 102 · · Zoom lens, 109 · · Display unit (field angle frame display unit), 113 · · Zoom lens drive unit (zoom drive unit), 114 · · System control unit (image) (Angle frame determination means), 117 ··· operation unit (view angle frame selection means), 118 ··· memory, 200, 204, 205, 300, 301 ··· angles of view, 201 to 203, 206 to 208, 302 to 304 ·・ Angle of view

Claims (11)

An image pickup apparatus having a first zoom control mode in which a zoom stop position is arranged from the wide-angle end to the telephoto end, and the zoom position can be changed after the target target zoom stop position is determined by the operation member. There,
An angle-of-view frame display means for displaying an angle-of-view frame corresponding to the position where the zoom can be stopped;
An angle-of-view frame selection means for selecting an angle-of-view frame corresponding to the zoom stop position of the reaching target ;
Angle frame corresponding to the previous SL zoom stop position and determines angle of view frame determining means for determining is smaller than a predetermined size,
And the zoom driving means for driving's over-time,
Have
When the view angle frame determined to be smaller than a predetermined size by the view angle frame determination unit is selected ,
The zoom driving means performs zoom driving to the telephoto side so that the selected view angle frame is larger than the predetermined size , and the view angle frame display means zooms to the telephoto side. An image pickup apparatus that displays the selected angle-of-view frame after driving . The angle of view frame determining means, the display is the angle of view frame be able in principle is determined whether less than a predetermined threshold, even if possible or display of the view angle frame undecidable The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: If you zoom driving to the telephoto side by the front Stories zoom drive means, according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the zoom driving to the zoom stop position corresponding to the angle of view frame that has been displayed before driving Imaging device. An angle-of-view frame determining unit that changes a zoom position to a zoom stop position corresponding to the selected angle-of-view frame is further provided, and the angle-of-view frame selecting unit is operated by a first operation member, and the angle-of-view frame determining unit the imaging apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that to operate the second operating member. A second zoom in which the zoom stop position can be directly changed by a third operating member by disposing more zoom stop positions from the wide-angle end to the telephoto end than in the first zoom control mode. A control mode,
The first zoom control mode is switched according to an operation of the first and second operation members, and the second zoom control mode is switched according to an operation of the third operation member. Item 5. The imaging device according to Item 4 . The imaging apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein a zoom speed is changed between the first zoom control mode and the second zoom control mode. In the second zoom control mode, the zoom speed is made slower than in the first zoom control mode,
Said first predetermined period of time after the zoom drive by the zoom control mode, the imaging apparatus according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that further slow the zoom speed of the second zoom control mode. An image pickup apparatus having a first zoom control mode in which a zoom stop position is arranged from the wide-angle end to the telephoto end, and the zoom position can be changed after the target target zoom stop position is determined by the operation member. There,
An angle-of-view frame display means for displaying an angle-of-view frame corresponding to the position where the zoom can be stopped;
An angle-of-view frame selection means for selecting an angle-of-view frame corresponding to the zoom stop position of the reaching target;
An angle-of-view frame determination means for determining whether or not to display an angle-of-view frame corresponding to the zoom stop position of the target to be reached;
Zoom driving means for zoom driving;
An angle-of-view frame determining means for changing the zoom position to a zoom stop position corresponding to the selected angle-of-view frame;
In a second zoom control mode in which the zoom stop position can be directly changed, an operation member to which an instruction to change the zoom stop position is input by a photographer;
Have
If it is determined by the angle-of-view frame determination means that display of the angle-of-view frame is impossible, after the zoom drive by the zoom drive means, the angle-of-view frame display means displays the angle-of-view frame;
In the second zoom control mode, the zoom stoppable positions are arranged more from the wide angle end to the telephoto end than in the first zoom control mode,
In the second zoom control mode, the zoom speed is made slower than in the first zoom control mode,
An image pickup apparatus, wherein the zoom speed in the second zoom control mode is further slowed down for a certain period of time after zoom driving in the first zoom control mode. An image pickup apparatus control method having a zoom control mode in which a zoom stop position can be changed after determining a final target zoom stop position with an operation member by arranging a zoom stop position from a wide-angle end to a telephoto end. There,
An angle-of-view frame display step for displaying an angle-of-view frame corresponding to the position where the zoom can be stopped;
An angle-of-view frame selection step of selecting an angle-of-view frame corresponding to the zoom stop position of the reaching target ;
And determining angle of view frame determination step of determining is smaller than the angle of view frame a predetermined size corresponding to the previous SL zoom stop position,
And the zoom driving step of driving's over-time,
Have
When the view angle frame determined to be smaller than a predetermined size in the view angle frame determination step is selected in the view angle frame selection step, the selected view angle frame in the zoom drive step is the predetermined view angle frame. A method for controlling an imaging apparatus, comprising: displaying the selected field angle frame in the field angle frame display step after performing zoom driving to a telephoto side so as to be greater than or equal to. An image pickup apparatus having a first zoom control mode in which a zoom stop position is arranged between a wide-angle end and a telephoto end, and the zoom position can be changed after the target target zoom stop position is determined by an operation member. A control method,
An angle-of-view frame display step for displaying an angle-of-view frame corresponding to the position where the zoom can be stopped;
An angle-of-view frame selection step of selecting an angle-of-view frame corresponding to the zoom stop position of the reaching target;
An angle-of-view frame determination step for determining whether or not to display an angle-of-view frame corresponding to the zoom stop position of the reaching target;
A zoom driving step for zoom driving;
An angle-of-view frame determination step of changing the zoom position to a zoom stop position corresponding to the selected angle-of-view frame;
In the second zoom control mode in which the zoom stop position is arranged more than the first zoom control mode between the wide-angle end and the telephoto end, and the zoom stop position can be directly changed by the photographer. A step of inputting an instruction to change the zoom stop position;
Have
When it is determined in the angle-of-view frame determination step that display of the angle-of-view frame is impossible, after the zoom driving in the zoom driving step, the angle-of-view frame is displayed in the angle-of-view frame display step,
In the step of inputting an instruction to change the zoom stop position by the photographer in the second zoom control mode, the zoom speed is made slower than in the first zoom control mode,
A method for controlling an imaging apparatus, wherein the zoom speed in the second zoom control mode is further slowed down for a certain period of time after zoom driving in the first zoom control mode. The program for making a computer perform the control method of the imaging device of Claim 9 or 10 .