JP6492694B2 - Imaging device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus capable of automatically performing intermittent shooting based on preset conditions.

  Conventionally, there are digital cameras that perform intermittent shooting such as interval shooting. With such a digital camera, intermittent shooting can be automatically performed according to preset conditions (a predetermined parameter set such as time and number of sheets). However, since the intermittent shooting control method itself cannot be changed only by changing the parameter value, the user cannot select the intermittent shooting control method, and the user cannot perform intermittent shooting suitable for the shooting purpose. . On the other hand, a first continuous shooting mode for executing a continuous shooting for a predetermined number of frames and a second continuous shooting mode for executing a continuous shooting for a predetermined time are provided so that the user can perform the first and second continuous shooting according to the shooting purpose. A configuration for selecting one of the copy modes has also been proposed (Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent No. 3174299

  In the configuration of Patent Document 1, the user can select a continuous shooting mode from two continuous shooting modes according to the purpose of shooting, and the continuous shooting end condition and resumption condition can be changed by a predetermined parameter set. However, the intermittent shooting control method for different shooting purposes, for example, the “Execute shooting at regular intervals” control method to align the shooting start timing for fixed-point shooting applications, and the “Long time shooting” for shooting composite images for astronomical shooting. The user cannot arbitrarily select a control for repeatedly executing photographing corresponding to exposure.

  An object of the present invention is to give an imaging apparatus a plurality of intermittent shooting modes controlled by different shooting sequences according to shooting purposes.

  The image pickup apparatus of the present invention includes an image pickup element and intermittent shooting means for driving the image pickup element to intermittently shoot a predetermined number of images. The intermittent shooting means starts from the completion of shooting one image in the intermittent shooting to the next image. And a second intermittent shooting mode in which the start of shooting of each image is performed at a fixed time interval.

  The imaging apparatus includes, for example, setting means for setting the above-mentioned fixed time, and the value ranges for setting the fixed time differ between the first intermittent shooting mode and the second intermittent shooting mode. In the second intermittent shooting mode, the exposure time of each image is shorter than the shooting interval of each image. In the second intermittent shooting mode, the exposure time corresponding to the fixed time may be automatically set. In the second intermittent shooting mode, manual setting means may be provided that displays a settable range of the exposure time corresponding to a certain time and sets the exposure time within the same range.

  According to the present invention, the imaging apparatus can have a plurality of intermittent shooting modes controlled by different shooting sequences depending on the shooting purpose.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an imaging apparatus that is an embodiment of the present invention. It is a timing chart of intermittent photography in the 2nd intermittent photography mode. It is a timing chart of intermittent photography in the 1st intermittent photography mode. It is a flowchart of the process for setting an intermittent imaging | photography parameter. It is a flowchart which shows the sequence of the intermittent imaging | photography in 2nd intermittent imaging | photography mode. It is a flowchart which shows the sequence of the intermittent imaging | photography in 1st intermittent imaging | photography mode.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an imaging apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  The imaging apparatus of the present embodiment is, for example, an interchangeable lens digital camera 10 and includes an interchangeable lens 200 and a camera body 100. The camera body 100 includes an operation member 102 including, for example, a power switch (not shown), a mode dial (not shown), a shutter button, an electronic dial, a cross key, and an OK button. When the user presses the power switch, power is supplied from a battery (not shown) to various circuits of the digital camera 10 through a power line. A control unit (CPU: Central Processing Unit) 101 supplies power (not shown), accesses a ROM (Read Only Memory), reads a control program, loads it into a work area (not shown), and loads the loaded control. The entire digital camera 10 is controlled by executing the program.

  The control unit 101 passes through the aperture / shutter driving unit 104 so that proper exposure can be obtained based on a photometric value measured by a TTL (Through The Lens) exposure meter (not shown) built in the digital camera 10. The diaphragm 202 and the shutter 105 are driven and controlled. More specifically, drive control of the aperture 202 and the shutter 105 is performed based on an AE function designated by a mode dial, such as a program AE (Automatic Exposure), shutter speed priority AE, aperture priority AE, and the like. The control unit 101 performs AF (Autofocus) control of the photographing lens 201 via the lens driving unit 103 together with AE control. An active method, a phase difference detection method, a contrast detection method, or the like is applied to the AF control. Since the configuration and control of this type of AE and AF are well known, detailed description thereof is omitted here.

  The light beam from the subject passes through the photographing lens 201, the diaphragm 202, and the shutter 105 and is received by the image sensor 106. The image sensor 106 is, for example, a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) image sensor or a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) image sensor. The image sensor 106 accumulates an optical image formed by each pixel on the imaging surface as an electric charge corresponding to the amount of light, and is electrically The signal is converted into a signal and output to the signal processing unit 107. The signal processing unit 107 performs predetermined signal processing on the electrical signal (photographed data) input from the image sensor 106 and outputs the result to the image processing unit (image processing engine) 108.

  The image processing engine 108 performs predetermined signal processing such as color interpolation, matrix calculation, and Y / C separation on the signal input from the signal processing unit 107 to generate a luminance signal Y and color difference signals Cb and Cr. The image is compressed in a predetermined format such as JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group). The buffer memory 109 is used as a temporary storage location for processing data when the image processing engine 108 executes processing.

  A memory card 111 is detachably inserted into a card slot of the card interface (I / F) 110. The image processing engine 108 can communicate with the memory card 111 via the card interface 110. The image processing engine 108 stores the generated compressed image signal (photographed image data) in the memory card 111 (or a built-in memory (not shown) provided in the digital camera 10). The image processing engine 108 may convert the captured image data into an image signal of a predetermined format and output it to the image display monitor control unit 112 together with the captured image data storage process. The image display monitor control unit 112 causes the image display monitor 113 to display a confirmation image after photographing based on the image signal input from the image processing engine 108 for a predetermined time. The image display monitor 113 is, for example, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display).

  When a live view display operation is performed by the user, the image processing engine 108 performs predetermined signal processing on the signal after Y / C separation, and buffers the frame memory (not shown) in units of frames. The image processing engine 108 sweeps the buffered signal from each frame memory at a predetermined timing, converts it into a video signal of a predetermined format, and outputs the video signal to the image display monitor control unit 112. The image display monitor control unit 112 displays the captured image of the subject on the image display monitor 113 as a real-time through image (live view) based on the image signal input from the image processing engine 108.

  When the user performs a playback operation of the captured image, the image processing engine 108 reads the captured image data specified by the operation from the memory card 111 or the built-in memory, converts the image data into a predetermined format image signal, and controls image display monitor Output to the unit 112. The image display monitor control unit 112 displays the captured image of the subject on the image display monitor 113 based on the image signal input from the image processing engine 108.

  Further, the digital camera 10 of the present embodiment includes an intermittent shooting mode in addition to the normal shooting mode. There may be a plurality of intermittent shooting modes. In the present embodiment, two intermittent shooting modes, which are different from the first intermittent shooting mode and the second intermittent shooting mode, are provided. Hereinafter, the shooting operation in the first intermittent shooting mode and the second intermittent shooting mode of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 is a timing chart of shooting in the second intermittent shooting mode, and FIG. 3 is a timing chart of shooting in the first intermittent shooting mode. In addition, intermittent shooting is started in response to a shooting start trigger operation such as a release operation.

In the intermittent shooting mode, intermittent shooting is performed based on intermittent shooting parameters set in advance by the user. In this embodiment, the time t ₁ and the number of shots m (m = 5 in FIGS. 2 and 3) are used as the intermittent shooting parameters, but the method of using the intermittent shooting parameters in the shooting control in each of the first and second intermittent shooting modes. Is different. The intermittent shooting parameters are recorded in a memory (not shown) of the control unit 101, for example.

First, the second intermittent shooting mode shown in FIG. 2 will be described. The second intermittent shooting mode is an intermittent shooting mode that assumes intermittent shooting in fixed point observation or the like. In fixed point observation, it is expected to take a picture once every predetermined time and take a necessary number of pictures. Accordingly, in the second intermittent shooting mode, the intermittent shooting parameter t ₁ is set to a predetermined time that defines the shooting start interval of each image, that is, the time from the exposure start time of the previous shot image to the exposure start time of the next shot image. The interval is defined, and the intermittent shooting parameter m defines the number of shots.

However, since the exposure time generally varies depending on the shooting conditions, the time t ₂ required for the shooting processing of one image (= exposure time t ₃ + time required for image processing or the like (period during which the next exposure cannot be started) t ₄ ) Is not necessarily shorter than the intermittent shooting parameter t ₁ that defines the exposure start interval. The exposure time t ₃ can be directly controlled (exposure time can be handled as a set value), but the time t ₄ required for image processing or the like is directly controlled because it varies depending on the processing contents depending on various shooting settings. (It can be shortened by a combination of shooting settings, but it is difficult to treat the processing time as a set value). For these reasons, in the second intermittent shooting mode, by limiting the exposure time t ₃ so that t ₁ ≧ t ₂ , as shown in FIG. The fixed point observation photography which a person intends is enabled. Note that in the case of t ₁ <t ₂ , as shown in FIG. 2B, since the exposure of the next image must be started before the shooting process of the previous image is completed, The photographer intended can not be achieved.

2 and 3, a time t ₀ is a time required to complete a predetermined photographing preparation process such as an AF process or an AE process before starting exposure. Since the shooting preparation process needs to be completed within the time (t ₁ -t ₂ ) from the end of the previous image shooting process to the start of the next shooting (exposure), in the second intermittent shooting mode, It is desirable to limit the value range of the intermittent imaging parameter t ₁ so as to satisfy t ₁ −t ₂ ≧ t ₀ , that is, t ₁ ≧ t ₀ + t ₂ > 0.

Next, the first intermittent shooting mode of this embodiment shown in FIG. 3 will be described. The first intermittent shooting mode of the present embodiment is an intermittent shooting mode that assumes intermittent shooting in astronomical shooting, for example. In astronomical photography, it is generally known to shoot with a long exposure. Thus, it is known to use a composite method of combining a plurality of obtained images by image processing. When employing such a method, when the whole to the end from the intermittent shooting start, the imaging control of the minimum shorter exposure interruption time as possible t ₁ is preferred.

For this reason, in the first intermittent shooting mode of the present embodiment, a sequence in which a predetermined time is counted from the time when the immediately preceding shooting process is completed and the next exposure can be started, and the next shooting is started. Apply. Therefore, the intermittent shooting parameter t ₁ is defined as a predetermined time from the completion of shooting to the start of the next shooting. At this time, since it is possible in principle to set t ₁ = 0, it is possible to shoot for a time t ₃ × m corresponding to the long-time exposure T _Bulb that is the desired shooting. In addition, the shooting preparation process (AF, AE, etc.) controls the shooting so that the shooting preparation processing time t ₀ is minimized by maintaining the setting values used in the first shooting and performing subsequent shooting. It is desirable to do.

Next, with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 4, the process for setting the intermittent shooting parameters t ₁ and m in the present embodiment will be described. This process is executed by the control unit 101 by performing a predetermined switch operation on the operation member 102 while the user looks at the image display LCD 113 (see FIG. 1), for example, and the intermittent shooting parameters t ₁ and m are , Preset by the user.

In step S100, the control mode of the intermittent shooting function is selected through a menu or the like. In the present embodiment, either the first intermittent shooting mode (Mode 1) or the second intermittent shooting mode (Mode 2) is selected. In step S101, it is determined whether or not the selected control mode is the first intermittent shooting mode, and if the selected control mode is the first intermittent shooting mode in which shooting corresponding to long exposure is repeated, step S102, In 103, the number m of shots and the time t1 are set as the intermittent shooting parameters in the first intermittent shooting mode, and this process ends. On the other hand, when the selected control mode is the second intermittent shooting mode in which the control for aligning the exposure start timing is performed, in steps S104 and S105, the number m of shots and the time t1 as the intermittent shooting parameters of the second intermittent shooting mode. Is set, and the process ends. At this time, the range of intermittent shooting parameters to be set (range of values that can be set) differs depending on the selected control mode. That is, in the setting of time t ₁ (S103, S105), t ₁ can be set in the range of t ₁ ≧ 0 in the first intermittent shooting mode, and t ₁ ≧ t ₀ + t _{4 in} the second intermittent shooting mode. It can be set in a range of> 0.

  Next, a shooting sequence in the second intermittent shooting mode will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The sequence is started when the second intermittent shooting mode is selected.

In the shooting sequence of the second intermittent shooting mode (Mode 2) in which the control for aligning the exposure start is performed, as described above, the Tv value (shutter speed = exposure time) set by the intermittent shooting parameters in order to achieve the control purpose. It is necessary to limit the time so as not to be longer than t ₁ (photographing interval: interval between the start of exposure and the next exposure start). More precisely, the control is performed by limiting the Tv value so that the time Tv + t ₀ + t ₄ including the imaging preparation time t ₀ and the processing waiting time (time required for image processing) t ₄ does not become longer than t _1. Achieve the goal. t ₀ and t ₄ are values that vary depending on the photographing conditions, but may be given as fixed values including a variation range.

First, in the shooting sequence of the second intermittent shooting mode, it is determined in step S200 whether or not the current exposure mode is a mode for manually setting the Tv value. In the exposure mode, for example, a mode in which the photographer manually sets the Tv value (Tv mode, TAv mode, M mode) and a mode in which the digital camera 10 automatically sets the Tv value based on the photometric result (P mode, Sv mode, Av mode). In the mode for manually setting the Tv value, in step S201, the Tv value can be manually set in the range of Tv ≦ t ₁ −t ₀ −t ₄ , and the same range is displayed on the image display monitor 113. The photographer manually sets a desired Tv value within the same range. On the other hand, when the current exposure mode is a mode in which the Tv value is automatically set, in step S202, the digital camera 10 automatically sets the Tv value in a range of Tv ≦ t ₁ −t ₀ −t ₄ . The setting of the Tv value in the manual setting is performed, for example, by operating an electronic dial or a predetermined key (operation member 102) while looking at the image display monitor 113.

  In step S203, it is determined whether or not there is an intermittent shooting start trigger operation. If the trigger operation is not detected, the processing from step S200 is repeated and the shooting standby state is maintained. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S203 that there has been an intermittent shooting start trigger operation, the shooting sequence in the second intermittent shooting mode in step S204 and thereafter is executed.

In step S204, preparation for shooting is performed. Here, for example, AF processing, AE processing, and the like are executed in accordance with camera settings. In the mode in which the Tv value is automatically set, the Tv value may be recalculated, but the Tv value is selected so as to satisfy Tv ≦ t ₁ −t ₀ −t ₄ as in step S202. Next, in step S205, When equipped with the exposure start preparations, for controlling the intermittent imaging sequence, the time counter (timer count value C _time) and number counter (count value C _shot) is initialized (C _time, C _shot = 0). In step S206, the count of the time counter is started together with the start of exposure. The count of the time counter is continued until it is reset in step S215 described later.

In step S207, it is determined whether or not the count value C _time has reached the Tv value. This determination is repeated until the count value C _time reaches the Tv value, and exposure is continued during that time. That is, exposure continues for a time corresponding to the set Tv value. When the count value C _time reaches the Tv value and the applied exposure time has elapsed, the exposure is terminated, and 1 is added to the count value C _shot of the number counter in step S208.

Thereafter, in step S209, the processing such as image processing is performed during the required time t ₄ for the photographed image can not be performed the next exposure start during this time. In the next step S210, it is determined whether or not the number of times of shooting (count value C _shot ) has reached the number m (C _shot = m) set as the intermittent shooting parameter. When the set number m is reached, the shooting sequence in the second intermittent shooting mode ends. On the other hand, if the number of times of photographing (count value C _shot ) has not reached the set number m, the CPU enters a sleep state in preparation for the next photographing in step S211.

In step S212, it is determined whether or not the count value C _time has reached (t ₁ −t ₀ ). That is, when the count value C _time reaches the time (t ₁ −t ₀ ) when it is necessary to start preparation for the next shooting, the sleep state is canceled, and the time t ₀ is multiplied in step S213 to prepare for the next shooting. Done. When the count value C _time has not reached (t ₁ −t ₀ ) and it is not necessary to prepare for photographing yet, the sleep state is continued.

In step S213, the next photographing preparation is completed, at step S214, the count value C _time whether reached the time t ₁ set as an intermittent photographing parameters are determined. When the count value C _time = t ₁ , in step S215, the next exposure is started and the count value C _time of the time counter is returned to 0 to start re-counting. Then, the process returns to step S207 for continuing the exposure for the set Tv value. The above processing is repeated until C _shot = m and intermittent shooting is completed.

When the shooting sequence in the second intermittent shooting mode as described above is executed, a predetermined number m of images in which the exposure start timing is aligned at intervals of the predetermined time t ₁ are shot.

  Next, a shooting sequence in the first intermittent shooting mode will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The sequence is started when the first intermittent shooting mode is selected.

In the shooting sequence of the first intermittent shooting mode (Mode 1) in which control is performed to repeat a plurality of shootings corresponding to long exposure, as described above, from the end of the current exposure to the start of the next exposure in order to achieve the control purpose. The time t ₁ is controlled to be shorter. More precisely, the time t ₁ from the time when the processing waiting time (time required for image processing or the like) t ₄ has elapsed since the end of the exposure time Tv (shutter speed) to the time when the next shooting preparation is started becomes zero. It is desirable to control so that it becomes. t ₀ and t ₄ are values that vary depending on the photographing conditions, but may be given as fixed values including a variation range. Also, by applying the settings (AF, AE, WB, etc.) in the shooting preparation before the first exposure start to the second and subsequent shooting, the time t ₀ after the second exposure (after the first exposure start) can be reduced. It is desirable to make it as short as possible.

First, in step S300, it is determined whether or not there is an intermittent shooting start trigger operation. When there is a trigger operation, the following intermittent shooting sequence in the first intermittent shooting mode is executed. When it is determined that there is no intermittent shooting start trigger operation, the same determination is repeated, and a shooting standby state is set. When the execution of the intermittent shooting sequence is started, shooting preparation is performed for a time t ₀ in step S301. Here, AF processing, AE processing, and the like are performed according to camera settings. When the exposure start preparation is completed in step S301, in step S302, a time counter (timer count value _Ctime ) and a number counter ( _Cshot ) are initialized ( _Ctime , _Cshot = 0) in order to control the intermittent shooting sequence. To do. Then, the time counter starts counting with the start of exposure (S303).

In step S304, the count value C _time whether reaches the Tv value is determined. This determination is repeated until the count value C _time reaches the Tv value, and exposure is continued during that time. That is, exposure continues for a time corresponding to the set Tv value. When the count value C _time reaches the Tv value and the applied exposure time has elapsed, the exposure is terminated, and 1 is added to the count value C _shot of the number counter in step S305.

Thereafter, in step S306, the processing such as image processing is performed during the required time t ₄ for the photographed image can not be performed the next exposure start during this time. In the next step S307, it is determined whether or not the number of times of shooting (count value C _shot ) has reached the number m (C _shot = m) set as the intermittent shooting parameter. When the set number m is reached, the shooting sequence in the first intermittent shooting mode ends. On the other hand, if the number of times of shooting (count value C _shot ) has not reached the set number m, it is determined in step S308 whether or not the set time t ₁ = 0.

The determination in step S308 is to check whether or not the next shooting preparation needs to be started immediately (whether the standby time is 0). If the preparation for immediate shooting is necessary at t ₁ = 0, the determination is made in step S309. Then, preparation for the next shooting is performed by multiplying the required time t ₀ . On the other hand, if it is necessary to wait for shooting preparation at t ₁ > 0, in step S310, the state shifts to the sleep state, the count value C _time of the time counter is returned to 0, and re-counting is started. It is determined whether or not the count value C _{time of the} counter has reached the set time t ₁ . If the count value C _time has not reached the set time t ₁ , the same determination is repeated and the sleep state is maintained. On the other hand, if the count value C _time of the time counter reaches the set time t _1, at step S312, the sleep state is released, over a required time t _0, the next photographing preparation is performed.

Also, the next photographing preparation is completed in step S309,312, in step S313, immediately count value C _time of the time counter with the following exposure begins is returned to 0, recount starts. Then, the process returns to step S304 for continuing the exposure during the set Tv value. The above processing is repeated until C _shot = m and intermittent shooting is completed.

As described above, when the shooting sequence in the first intermittent shooting mode is executed, it is possible to control to minimize the waiting time t ₁ between shootings, which corresponds to dividing the long second exposure T _Bulb into m times with the exposure time Tv. The obtained image is obtained.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the imaging apparatus can have a plurality of intermittent shooting modes controlled by different shooting sequences depending on the shooting purpose, and can handle intermittent shooting for various purposes. it can. Further, when setting the intermittent shooting parameters t ₁ and m, it is possible to display a range of the exposure time Tv that can be automatically set or to manually set the exposure time Tv. When the exposure time Tv is manually set, a change in the other value range (a settable range) corresponding to a change in one value of t ₁ and Tv may be displayed. Also, when one of the intermittent shooting modes is selected, if it is difficult to perform intermittent shooting in the same mode due to shooting conditions such as exposure, it will automatically switch to the other intermittent shooting mode, or will notify you to switch It is also possible to do.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Digital camera 101 Control part 102 Operation member 103 Lens drive part 104 Aperture / shutter drive part 105 Shutter 106 Image sensor (image sensor)
107 Signal Processing Unit 108 Image Processing Unit (Image Processing Engine)
109 Buffer memory 113 Image display LCD (image display monitor)
201 Photography lens 202 Aperture

Claims (4)

An image sensor;
Intermittent shooting means for driving the image sensor and intermittently shooting a predetermined number of images;
A first intermittent shooting mode in which the intermittent shooting unit waits for a fixed time from the completion of shooting of one image to the start of shooting of the next image in the intermittent shooting; A second intermittent shooting mode to be performed ,
The control mode of the intermittent shooting means can be selected between the first intermittent shooting mode and the second intermittent shooting mode,
In the second intermittent shooting mode, the imaging apparatus is characterized in that an exposure time of each image is shorter than a shooting interval of each image .   The setting unit for setting the fixed time is provided, and a range of values for setting the fixed time is different between the first intermittent shooting mode and the second intermittent shooting mode. Imaging device.   The imaging apparatus according to claim 2, wherein an exposure time corresponding to the predetermined time is automatically set in the second intermittent shooting mode. The imaging according to claim 2, further comprising manual setting means for displaying a settable range of an exposure time corresponding to the fixed time in the second intermittent shooting mode and setting the exposure time in the same range. apparatus.

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