JPH02204732A - Camera with flashing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To properly prevent the generation of a red dye and to reduce useless power consumption by allowing a camera to automatically discriminate the necessity of preparatory flashing from the distance of an object, photographing magnification, the brightness of the object, etc. and to display the decided result, and only when red eye preventing operation is required, allowing the camera to execute the operation. CONSTITUTION:The camera 1 is constituted of a body 2 and a photographing lens 3 to be replaced and provided with a built-in flashing part 10, an attachable/detachable external flash fixing accessory shoe 12, etc., and a preparatory flashing setting button is fixed on the upper part of the rear face of a grip part. Even when an external flash is fixed to the shoe 12 and release operation is allowed, preparatory flashing is executed so that human's pupils execute closing operation prior to photographing flashing. A buil-in microcomputer decides whether the preparatory flashing is necessary or not based upon the distance of the object, photographing power, the brightness of the object, a focal distance, etc., and the decided result is displayed in a finder. Since the camera automatically discriminates the necessity of the preparatory flashing and displays the decided result, useless power consumption can be removed.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Industrial application field] The present invention relates to a camera equipped with a flash light emitting device.

[Conventional technology]

When taking a photograph using a flashlight emitting device, a so-called "red eye phenomenon" may occur in which the eyes of a human subject turn red. This red-eye phenomenon is thought to be caused by flash light entering the eyeball being reflected by the retina, passing through the pupil, reaching the camera, and being exposed onto film.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a method has been proposed for preventing the red-eye phenomenon by exposing the subject to film after closing the pupils of the subject by irradiating the subject with light. (Tokuko Showa 58-4
(No. 8088) [Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, the red-eye phenomenon is caused by various conditions, such as the brightness of the surroundings at the time of shooting, the distance from the camera to the subject, and the distance from the camera's shooting lens to the light emitting part of the flashlight emitting device. Depending on the distance, etc., there are cases in which red-eye phenomenon is likely to occur and cases in which it is difficult to occur, and even if the red-eye phenomenon is unlikely to occur, if the above-mentioned red-eye stop operation is performed, electricity will be wasted.

On the other hand, it is difficult for general users to perform the above-mentioned red-eye prevention operation as necessary in consideration of the likelihood of red-eye occurring.

The present invention has been made to solve this problem, and its purpose is to perform the red-eye prevention operation only when necessary, so that red-eye can be prevented as appropriate, and at the same time, unnecessary power can be saved. Our aim is to provide a camera that does not require consumption.

[Means to solve the problem]

The camera according to the present invention includes a flashlight emitting means that emits a flashlight for photographing during film exposure, and a preflash that performs a preflash so that the human pupil closes before emitting the flash for photographing (hereinafter, this preflash is referred to as a flash flash). a pre-flashing means); an operating means for selecting a mode for operating the pre-flashing means; a determining means for determining that pre-flashing is necessary under a predetermined condition; It also includes a preliminary light emission display means for displaying.

[For production]

According to the above configuration, the camera automatically determines and displays whether preliminary light emission is necessary. Furthermore, the preliminary light emission means can be operated to perform preliminary light emission through a user's operation.

〔Example〕

The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

1 and 2 show the appearance of a single-lens reflex camera to which the present invention is applied, and the camera l is composed of a camera body 2 and an exchangeable photographic lens 3. At the top of the camera body 2, there is a shutter release button 4.
, Up button 60/Down button 66, Auto 7 Orcus auxiliary light irradiation window 8, Built-in flash light emitting unit 1O1, detachable accessory shoe 12 for attaching an external flash, Flash light setting button 14, Exposure mode setting button 16, Drive mode A setting button 18 and an aperture setting button 20 are provided. An AF mode setting member 22 is provided on the side of the photographic lens 3, and this member 22 is connected to the shirt release button 4.
One-shot AF mode 122a for setting autofocus operation until focusing only once in response to an operation.

Continuous AF mode position 22b for setting to perform auto 7 focus operation again when the camera is out of focus after being in focus, and manual focus mode position 22c for setting to not drive the lens. It is configured to be movable. Furthermore, a pre-emission (pre-emission) setting button 26 is provided on the upper rear surface of the grip portion 24 .

FIG. 3 shows a schematic diagram of the overall circuit of the camera.

The CCPU is the main microcomputer and performs camera sequence control and exposure calculations. AFC is an autofocus section, which consists of a lens drive section and a microcomputer for distance measurement calculation.

LDC is a distance measuring sensor and is controlled by AFC. AFEN is an encoder unit for lens drive control, detects the amount of lens drive, and transmits it to AFC. A
FMO is a lens drive motor. AFLD is an auxiliary light LED for ranging, and the light of this LED is irradiated onto the subject through the auxiliary light irradiation window 8.

LEC is an in-lens memory and is connected to CCPTJ by a serial data bus SDB.

DX is a film sensitivity reading section, and the I
Reads the SO sensitivity and transmits it to the CCPU.

The DSP is a display driving section and drives the LEDs based on data from the CCPU. LLD, PRLD, CHL
D, INLD, and LCLD are display LEDs, and the details will be described later using FIG. 4. The SLD is an LED for indicating the operation of the self-timer, and the light of this LED can be observed from the subject through the auxiliary light irradiation window 8.

LMC is a natural light metering unit and transmits luminance information to the CCPU.
to communicate. Actually, this luminance information is a plurality of pieces of data obtained by multi-division SPC, but since this is a known technique, detailed explanation will be omitted here.

The FLMC is a photometry unit for flash light, and determines the flash dimming level based on film sensitivity information from the DX, and performs flash dimming control.

DEDR is a decoder/drive unit that decodes data transmitted from CCPU through DRDB and drives various actuators described below.

The FMO is a motor for charging mechanical systems such as the aperture and mirror, and for winding the film. RLM is a magnet that starts the release operation. APM is an aperture control magnet. ICM12CM are magnets for controlling the first shutter curtain and the second shutter curtain, respectively. BZ
is a buzzer.

APEN is an encoder for controlling the aperture, and transmits pulses corresponding to the amount of aperture to the CCPU.

S is a switch that is turned on when the shutter button A is pressed in the first step. MOS is an exposure mode setting switch that is turned on in response to the operation of the exposure mode setting button 16;
Each time it is turned on, the exposure mode is cyclically switched in the order of P→A-4M-5→P. DR5 is a drive mode setting switch that is turned on in response to the operation of the drive mode setting button 18, and each time it is turned on, the switch is cyclically switched in the order of single shooting, series shooting, and cell 7-single shooting. US, DOS
are turned on in response to the operation of the up button 6a and down button 6b, respectively. They are an up switch and a down switch, and are switches for changing the aperture setting value or shutter speed. FLS is built-in flash 0N1
This is a switch for switching between 0FF and AuLoloFF, and is turned on in response to the operation of the flash emission setting button 14.

The above six switches serve as inputs to an AND circuit, AN, and the output of AN is connected to CCPU. S is a switch that is turned on when the shutter button 4 is pressed to the second stage. S4 is turned ON when the shutter 2nd curtain travel is completed.
This is a switch that turns OFF when film winding is complete. F
MS is a focus mode switch, and depending on the setting position of the AF mode setting member 22, one-shot autofocus (AO) or continuous autofocus (
AC) Switch to manual 7 orcus (MP). P.F.
S is a pre-flash mode selection switch, and while the pre-flash setting button 26 is pressed and turned on, the pre-flash mode is set. APS is an aperture setting switch that is linked to the aperture setting button 20, and while APS is ON, the up button 5a,
When turned on via the down button 6b, the aperture setting value is changed, and the shutter speed setting value for turning on US and DOS while keeping APS off is changed.

DDC is a booster circuit for the built-in flash.

BXE is a xenon tube provided in the light emitting section 10 of the built-in flash. BFLC is a circuit for emitting and dimming the built-in flash. FLGC is a control unit for the built-in flash circuit and booster circuit, and based on signals from the CCPU,
Control the built-in flash.

Sx is a synchronized switch, which creates the timing for ONL and 7 flashes to be emitted when the first shutter curtain completes its travel.

OFL is an external flash part.

FIG. 4(a) shows the entire display of the display device observed in the viewfinder, and the green focus mark IN lights up when the auto 7 focus operation is completed and the focus state is reached.
LD, a red out-of-focus mark that lights up when autofocus is in operation or when focusing is not possible.LCD, flashes when the flash is not set and requires flash firing, and lights up while the flash's main capacitor is charging. The red charging mark LLD and the flash mark CHL that lights up when charging is complete and the flash is ready to fire.
D and a pre-emission mark PRLD that blinks when pre-emission is required and lights up when pre-emission is set.

Figure 4(f) shows an example in which the pre-flash mark PRLD in Figure 4(a) has been changed to an eye mark, which lights red when pre-flash is required and green when pre-flash is set. It may be configured so that it lights up.

FIG. 5 is a schematic flowchart of this embodiment, and the following description will be made along this flowchart.

First, S,,MOS,DR5,VS,DOS.

If you turn on any one of the six FLS startup switches,
The output of the AND circuit AN becomes LOW, and the IN of the CCPU becomes LOW.
It is input to the T terminal. The INT terminal is an interrupt terminal,
The edge from High to Low causes an interrupt to the CCPU, the CCPU is activated from the standby state, and software processing is started (WAK E Sutezu 5AI).

Next, proceed to step SA2 and enter the input board ■.

It is determined whether Sl is ON or not, and if Sl is OFF, the process advances to step SA3.

In step SA3, in order to stop distance measurement and lens driving, output port 0. (AFSTA) is set to High. With AFSTA's Low to High edge,
AFC stops operating.

Next, in step SA4, to stop photometry,
The photometry stop data is transmitted to the LMC through the SDR.

Next, in step SA5, the input port I determines whether or not any activation switch other than Sl is turned on.

Distinguish by Is, It, Is, I++, one is ON
If so, process it. Determining this startup switch
The processing will be described later based on FIG. ,and,
If no start switch is turned on, or after the process in step SA5, the process proceeds to step SA6,
The CCPU enters the standby state.

On the other hand, if the S engineer is ONI in step SA2, the process proceeds to step SA7, and lens data is input from the LEC through the SDB.

Next, in step SA8, data from the external flash is input through the SDR.

Then, the process proceeds to step SA9, and the input port Iiii+
I II+ I! It detects the state of the FMS and determines which AF mode is set among one-shot AF, continuous AF, and manual 7 orcus. These AF mode information, lens data, and external flash data including the presence/absence of an external flash are transmitted to the AFC.

Next, proceed to step 5AIO, and output port 011 (A
FSTA) to Low and give a start signal to AFC. AFC is AFSTA's High Karari.

Depending on the change in W, distance measurement, calculation, and lens drive are started.

Next, in step 5AII, photometry start data is transmitted to the LMC via the SDB to start the photometry operation.

If the photometry and distance measurement have not been completed at all, the process waits in step 5A12 until the photometry data and distance measurement data are available. These are determined based on the time from the start of distance measurement and photometry in step 5AIO and step 5AII.

Next, when the preparation of the photometry data and distance measurement data is completed, in step 5A13, 2M each is sent through the SDR.
Input the above data from C, AFC. AFC is AFE
Since the lens position information is obtained by N, the CCPU
can obtain distance information to the subject.

Next, in step 5A14, automatic exposure (AE) calculation is performed. This involves calculating the control aperture value (AV) and shutter speed (TV) based on the lens data, photometric brightness data, and whether or not the flash is used. This will be explained later.

Next, proceed to step SA]5, where it is determined whether or not the flash is fully charged, whether the AF operation (lens drive) is completed or not, whether ON10 F F in S2 is determined, and whether or not the release operation should be started. Make judgments. If the release is not permitted in the above judgment, the process returns to step SA2, and as long as SI is turned on, steps SA2 to step 5A15 are repeatedly executed. Step 5 AI
5 includes display control, data transmission from the camera to an external flash, and a pre-flash routine, and since it is the core of the present invention, it will be described in detail later based on FIGS. 8.9, to, and 11.

If the release is permitted in step 5A15, the process proceeds to step 5A16 after necessary processes such as display and flash flashing, and it is determined whether the main flash is necessary. If flash non-emission is selected in AE calculation step 5A14, step 5
Proceed to A17, output port Os' (M A I N )
High level. , :h causes the FLGC to prohibit the main flash of the built-in flash.

If flash emission is selected, step 5A
At step 18, the output port o (MAIN) is set to LOW to permit the main flash of the built-in flash.

Next, the process proceeds to step 5A19, where exposure control is performed.

This is the start of the release by turning on the RLM, and the AP
This includes aperture control using M, shutter speed control using IcM/2CM, etc., but since they are well known, they will not be described in detail.

To explain only about the flash, the first curtain starts running when the lCM is "OFF", and when the first curtain finishes running, the synchronization switch Sx is turned ON.

As a result, FLSTA goes from High to Low,
A trigger signal for light emission is input to the external flash OFL and the built-in flash FLGC. However, in the case of an external flash, whether or not it emits light must be determined by CC through SDB in advance.
It is determined by the light emission enable/disable data from the PU, and in the case of a built-in flash, it is determined by the above-mentioned MAIN signal.

FLGC only when this MAIN is Low,
In synchronization with FLSTA, the built-in flash light emission trigger signal (BTRG) is output to the BFLC, causing it to fire. or,
FLMC by changing FLSTA from High to Low.
starts metering for flash dimming. When the flash light intensity reaches the appropriate level through this photometry, the FLM
C is the flash emission stop signal (FLSTP).
, to the FLGC. FLGC is the above-mentioned MAIN
Only when is Low, a built-in flash light emission stop signal (FSTP) is output to the BFLC in synchronization with FLSTP to stop light emission.

Further, in step 5A19, S is detected by the input ports I, , and waits until it becomes "Low".

This is to wait until the second act has completed running and the film can be wound.

Next, in step 5A20, a film winding operation is performed. Here too, S is detected and the process waits until film winding is completed, that is, S becomes High.

Next, in step 5A21, the drive mode is determined. In the case of quick photography, the process returns to step SA2 and the above-described routine is repeated.

If it is a single shot or a self shot, the process proceeds to step 5A22, where sl is determined. If Sl is turned on, it waits until it is turned off. S.

If it is OFF, the process returns to step SA2, and after determining Sl again, if it is OFF, the process proceeds to step SA3, and finally goes to standby in step SA6.

The above-mentioned startup switch determination/processing routine (step 5)
A5) will be explained in detail based on FIG.

First, upon entering the process of (step 5A5), the US is determined (step 5BI). If the US has been switched from OFF to ON, the process proceeds to (Step 5B2); otherwise, that is, if it has been switched from ON to OFF while remaining OFF or ON, the process proceeds to (Step 5B8).

In (Step 5B2), the AE mode is determined, and if it is the aperture priority mode (A mode), the process proceeds to (Step 5B5) and the aperture setting value (AVSET) is increased by 0°5EV.

If it is not the A mode in (Step 5B2), proceed to (Step 5B3), and in (Step 5B3) again
Determine E mode. Here, select manual exposure mode (M
mode), proceed to (step 5B4) and
If the PS is determined and is ON, A is selected in (step 5B5).
Increase VSET by 0°5EV.

If the M mode is not selected in (Step S'B3), or if APS is set to "OFF" in (Step 5B4), proceed to (Step 5B6) and re-enter the AE mode.
Determine the mode. Therefore, in the case of M mode or shutter speed priority mode (S mode), proceed to (step 5B7) and shutter speed setting value (TVS
ET) by 0.5EV.

In (step 5B6), if the program mode (P mode) is selected, (step 5B7) is skipped, and the process as (step 5A5) is ended in the same way as when (step 5B5) and (step 5B7) are executed. Then, proceed to the next step (Step 5A5).

Above, the routine that passes through (step 5B2) is VS
This is a case where it accepts that the is turned ON, and the M mode is A.
When PS is ON or in A mode
Push ET by 0.5EV7 and turn off APS in M mode.
When in F or S mode, set TVSET to 0.5E.
When V77 is pressed and P% - is pressed, nothing is changed.

Next, if VS is not turned from OFF to ON in (step 5BI), the process proceeds to (step 5B8) and determination of DO3 is made. Here, if DO5 has been switched from OFF to ON, the process proceeds to (step 5B9); otherwise, the process proceeds to (step 5B15).

(Step 5B9) determines the AE mode, and if it is A mode, proceeds to (Step SB12) and selects the AVSE mode.
Decrease T by 0.5EV.

If it is not the A mode in (Step 5B9), the process proceeds to (Step SB10) and the AE mode is determined again.

Here, if it is M mode, proceed to (step 5 BII) to determine the APS, and if "OH2" (step S B
12) Reduce AVSET by 0.5EV. (
If it is not M mode in step S B 10), or if APS is “OFF” in (step 5BII)
If so, the process advances to (step 5813) and the AE mode is determined again. Therefore, M mode or S
mode, proceed to (step 5B14) and set TVSET.
decrease by 0.5EV.

If the P mode is selected in (Step S B 13), skip (Step S B 14) and proceed to Step 5B12.
) and (step S B 14), the process of (step 5A5) is ended and the process proceeds to the next (step 5A6).

The routine that passes through the above steps (step 5B9) is the case where it is accepted that DO8 has been turned on, and the AP is in M mode.
When S is ON or in A mode, set AVSET to 0.
5EV When the V is down and APS is OFF in M%- mode,
Alternatively, in S mode, lower TVSET by 0.5E V, and in P mode, do not change anything.

Next, in (step 5B8), DO3 is turned "OFF"'
"If it is not OH2, proceed to (Step 5B15) and determine the FLS. If FLS has been switched from OFF to ON, proceed to (Step 5B16); otherwise, proceed to (Step 5B15). Proceed to 5BI9).

In (Step S B 16), the AE mode is determined, and if it is P mode, the process proceeds to (Step S B 17) and the built-in flash mode is changed. In other words, if the automatic flash mode (Auto) is selected, the flash prohibition mode (
OFF), and conversely, if it is OFF, it is set as “Auto”.

If it is not the P mode in (step 5B16), proceed to (step S B 18) (step S B 17)
Similarly, change the mode of the built-in flash. However, since the automatic flash mode is only available in P mode, here, in the case of "OFF", the forced flash mode (ON
), and when it is “ON”, it is “OFF”.

When (Step SB 17) or (Step SB 18) is executed above, the built-in flash mode is changed, the process of (Step 5A5) is completed, and the next (Step SB 18) is executed.
Proceed to step 5A6).

Next, (step 5B15) -C'FLS is "OF
” to “ON”, (Step 5B
19) Proceed to determine the MOS. Here the MOS is “OF”
When switching from “F” to “OH2” (step 5)
B20), otherwise proceed to (Step 5B22)
).

In (step 5B20), the AE mode is changed.

That is, if the mode is P, it is changed to A mode, if it is A mode, it is changed to M mode, if it is M mode, it is changed to S mode, or if it is S mode, it is changed to P mode.

Next, the process proceeds to (step 5B21) and the built-in flash mode is corrected. In other words, since "AuLo" exists only in P mode, if the result of changing the AE mode described above is P mode and the built-in flash mode is turned on, the built-in flash mode cannot be turned on. As a result of changing the AE mode mentioned above,
If the mode is other than P mode and the built-in flash mode is turned off.

If it is, change the built-in flash mode to ON. By executing this (step 5B21), the process of (step 5A5) is completed, and the next (step 5A6)
Proceed to.

Next, in (step S B 19), if the MOS has not changed from OFF to ON, proceed to (step 5B22),
Performs DR5 determination. Here, DR5 turns from OFF to ON.
If the drive mode has been switched to (step 5823), the drive mode is changed. That is, in the case of single shooting, it is changed to quick shooting, in the case of continuous shooting, it is changed to self shooting, and in the case of self shooting, it is changed to single shooting.

If this (step 5B23) is executed or (step S B22) fD RS fails to turn from OFF to ON, the process of (step 5A5) is ended and the process proceeds to the next (step 5A6).

The above is the startup switch determination and processing routine, and A
This is used to change settings for VSET, TVSET, built-in flash mode, AE mode, and drive mode.

Regarding the mode of the external flash, the FLS of the camera is irrelevant, and the switch on the external flash side (not shown)
It is set in However, the same process as the correction in the built-in flash mode described above is also performed in the external flash. That is, the camera transmits the camera's AE mode to the external flash, and the external flash performs processing so that "Auto" exists only in the P mode.

The aforementioned AE calculation routine (step S A 14) will be explained in detail based on FIG. 7.

First, when entering the process (step 5A14), an EV value is calculated from the photometric brightness data, lens data, and film sensitivity data from DX (step sc 1).
). Details are omitted. Next, in step 5c2, the flash mode is determined.

If the forced light emission mode (ON) is selected from either the built-in flash or the external flash, the process proceeds to (step 5C3); otherwise, the process proceeds to (step 5C4).

(Step 5C3), the AV and TV for controlling flash photography are determined in accordance with the AE mode. That is, in the A mode, AVSET is set to AV as it is, and flash shooting maximum synchronization speed (TVX) is set to TV. In S mode, TV and AV are calculated from the EV value using a flash P diagram. M mode-t'l; 1AVsET is set to AV, and TVSET is set to TV. However, when shooting with flash, it is necessary to hold down the TV to TVX, so TVS
If ET exceeds TVX, TVX is set to TV, and the value of TVSET is also replaced by TVX. This is TVS
This is because if ET exceeds TVX and only TV is held down by TVX, even if TVSET is brought down at DO5, the TV will not change unless DO3 is operated many times.

Next (step 5C2), the 7 lash mode is turned on.
If not, it is determined in (step 5C4) whether or not a flash is necessary for taking pictures.The cases where a flash is necessary are when the camera is easily shaken due to low brightness, or
This is when reverse winding is determined by multi-segment photometry. (Details are omitted as this is a known technique.) If a flash is required, the process proceeds to (step 5C5) and the flash mode is determined. Here, if either the built-in flash or the external flash is "Auto", the process advances to (step 5c6). (Step 5C5)
Now, using the flash P diagram, we can calculate TV and A from the EV value.
Calculate V.

Next, if it is determined in (Step 5C4) that the flash is not necessary, or if in (Step 5C5) the built-in flash is in the flash prohibition mode (OFF) and the external flash is not attached or is OFF. If it is determined, proceed to (step 5c7).

(Step 5C7) is the AV of natural light photography.

Calculate TV according to AE mode. That is, in the P mode, AV and TV are calculated from the EV value using the P diagram. In A mode, AVSET is AV and (EV-AV
) is a TV. In S mode, TVSET is set to TV and (EV-TV) is set to AV. In M mode, AVS
Set ET to AV and TVSET to TV.

Above, (Step 5C3) or (Step 5c6)
Alternatively, if (step 5C7) is executed, the process of AE calculation processing (step SA 1 4) is completed, and the process proceeds to the next (step SA 1 5).

FIG. 8 is a main flowchart of the display and red-eye prevention system. Hereinafter, explanation will be given along this 70-chart.

In step SDI, it is determined whether or not flashing is necessary, and if flashing is necessary, the process proceeds to step SD2. In step SD2, it is determined whether the built-in flash is set to emit light (ON). If it is ON, it is determined in step SD3 whether the built-in flash is fully charged. If it is not charged, it is charged in step SD4. A hail display inside, the charging mark LLD lights up, and a hail display flash mark CHLD indicating charging completion turns off.

Turning on, turning off, or blinking the display is performed by the following control. Data for turning on, turning off, and blinking each display is sent from the microcomputer CCPU to the DSP via the data bus SDB. The DSP turns on, off, and blinks LLD, PRLD, CHLD, INLD, and LCLD, respectively, according to this data.

In step SD5, the boosting operation of the booster circuit of the built-in flash is started, and the process returns to step SD3. As a result, steps SD3 to SD5 are repeated until charging is completed. Built-in flash is turned off in step SD2
In the case of F or when the built-in flash reaches a fully charged state, the process proceeds to step SD6, and charging of the built-in flash is stopped.

In step SD7, it is determined whether the external flash is attached and the power is ON. If it is ON, it is determined in step SD8 whether the external flash is fully charged. If charging is completed, in step SD9, the charging mark LLD is turned off to display charging, and the flash mark CHLD indicating charging is lit is turned on.

In Sten and Bu5DIO, a charging completion flag is set.

If it is determined in step SD8 that the external flash is not charged, the charging indicator LLD is turned on in step 5D14,
Turn off the charging completion display CHLD, and proceed to step 5D15.
to reset the charging completion flag. If the external flash is not attached or OF in step step SD7
If it is determined that F is selected, the process advances to step 5Dil. In step 5DII, it is determined whether the built-in flash is ON. If the built-in flannel is ON, it is always in a fully charged state due to the operations in steps SD3 to SD5 described above, so the process proceeds to step SD9 and step 5DIO, where LLD is turned off, CHLD is turned on, and a full charge flag is set. If the built-in flash is OFF, proceed to step 5D12, flash the LLD, and
Turn off the HLD. In other words, when LLD flashes,
It is determined that a flash is required, the built-in flash is OFF, and no external flash is attached.
It also has the meaning of recommending flash photography.

In this embodiment, the charging display and the recommendation display are both used, but they may be displayed separately.

If it is determined in step SDI that the flash is unnecessary, step 5DI6LLD and CHLD are turned off and step 5D
The charging completion flag is reset at I7.

In step 5D18, it is determined whether the focus adjustment mode (lens drive mode) of the camera is automatic (hereinafter referred to as AF) or manual (hereinafter referred to as MF). If AF, step 5D
In step 19, it is determined whether the AF operation has been completed, and if it has been completed, the process advances to step 5D20. M in step 5D12
When the determination is F, step 5Di9 is skipped and the process proceeds to step 5D20.

In step 5D20, it is determined whether the camera's release button 4 is pressed down to the second step and S2 is turned on. If it is pressed down and S2 is turned on, it is determined that the release has occurred, and the pre-flash in step 5D23 is performed. Proceed to the subroutine for determination, and if it is not pressed down, proceed to the subroutine for determination of flash light emission in step 5D21, step 5D22
Step SD inputs the data to the external flash, and returns to step SA2 in FIG. The data sent to the external flash includes a flag indicating whether a flash is necessary, a camera mode, light data for flash flashing (to be described later), and a flag indicating whether the external flash fires flashlight.

In step 5D24, the same operation as step 22 (data output to the flash) is performed, and the process proceeds to step 5D25.

In step 5D25, it is determined whether the pre-emission button is pressed. If the pre-emission button is pressed, the process advances to step 5D26, where the drive mode of the camera is determined. If it is continuous shooting mode (continuous shooting mode), step 5D
The process advances to step 28, where it is determined whether or not this is the first shooting. If it is the first time, or if the drive mode is other than snapshot, the process advances to step 5D27, a subroutine for blurring light emission processing. If it is determined in step 5D28 that the snapshot is to be taken for the second time or later, the process advances to step 29. In other words, during continuous shooting, flash flashing to prevent red-eye is performed only once at the beginning of the release, and not at the second or subsequent times. If it is determined in step 25 that the pre-flash button is not pressed, the process proceeds to step 5D30, where it is determined whether the drive mode of the camera is self.

If it is a self-photograph, the process proceeds to step 31, which will be described later, to a self-processing subroutine, and then proceeds to step 29.

If it is other than self in step 5D30, step 5D31
Skip , and proceed to step 5D29. A in step 29
The F mode is stopped and the process proceeds to the exposure control routine described above.

FIG. 9 shows a subroutine for determining brilliance.

In step SEI, it is determined whether the automatic focus adjustment function (AF) is continuous, hereinafter referred to as continuous, or one-shot (hereinafter referred to as one-shot), in which the adjustment function stops when focusing. When the AF is contiguous in step SEL, it is assumed that the subject is a moving object. As described later, the interval between pre-flash and shooting is, for example, 0.7~
It takes about 1.2 seconds, and if it is a moving object, it is impossible to determine how the object moves or where it is during this time, so the possibility of red eye occurrence cannot be determined, so the process proceeds to step 5E25.

If it is not contiguous, the process advances to step SE2.

In step SE2, it is determined whether the external flash is ON, and if the flash is ON, it is determined in step SE3 whether or not the flash is within the interlocking range.

Here, the following calculations are performed.

DV (AF) > DV (FL) within the interlocking range DV (
AF) <DV (F L) Tett However, DV
(AF) is distance information DV (FL) held by AFC.
= IV + 5V - AV ■v: External flash light S■: Film sensitivity AV: Control If it is within the interlocking range of aperture value, the flash is judged to reach, and if it is outside the interlocking range, proceed to step SE4. Therefore, countermeasures against red eye are meaningless, so proceed to step 25. In step SE4, it is determined whether or not there is backlight, and if it is backlight, the process proceeds to step SE5.

In step SE5, it is determined whether or not flushing is necessary, and if necessary, the process proceeds to step SE6. Step S
At E6, the imaging magnification B is calculated by the following calculation, and if it is less than a certain amount, for example 1/85, the process proceeds to step SE7.

B-f/DV (AF) f is the focal length, which will be explained later,
Proceeding to step SE7 means that there is a possibility that red eye will occur.

In other words, in step SE6, if the photographing magnification is low, regardless of the possibility of red-eye occurring, it is considered that it will not be a problem when printing, so the routine proceeds to a routine that does not perform red-eye countermeasures (
Step SE25) In step SE7, it is determined whether the subject brightness is lower than the brightness at which red eye is likely to occur, such as red eye brightness, for example, BVI. This brightness information is
Absolute luminance information is obtained by subtracting the release error of information from the lens from the information of the photometric circuit LMC. If the brightness is below the red-eye brightness, the process advances to step SE8. In step SE8, it is determined whether the photographing distance DV (AF) is a certain distance or more.

When DV (AF) is larger than the distance FL between the flash optical axis and the lens optical axis divided by, for example, tan 2°, it is determined that there is a possibility that red eye will appear, and the process proceeds to step SE9. This is because red-eye is considered to occur more frequently when the angle at which the optical axes intersect between the lens and the flash is, for example, 2° or less when viewed from the subject. As a result of the above, step S
It can be seen that in steps E4 to SE8, it is determined whether there is a possibility of red eye occurring. In other words, when the flash is necessary, there is no backlight, the shooting magnification is low, the brightness is below a certain level, and the shooting distance is above, it is determined that red-eye occurs frequently and a countermeasure (pre-flash) is necessary. There is.

If the above conditions are not met, the process proceeds to step 5E25.

FIG. 20(a) is a graph of luminance, distance, and probability of red eye occurrence. The higher the luminance, the smaller the pupil of the eye, and the lower the probability of red eye occurrence. Also, as the distance increases, the angle between the flash and the lens optical axis as seen from the subject becomes smaller.
The probability of red eye occurrence increases.

FIG. 20(c) is a graph of photographic magnification to the extent that red eye is noticeable when printing. When considering the print size in terms of general size, the smaller the magnification, the smaller the red-eye, which becomes less noticeable when viewed from a clear vision distance. On the other hand, when the magnification is large, it feels unpleasant.

In step 5E25, it is determined whether the pre-flash amount is pressed, and if it is not pressed, the process proceeds to step 5E26, where the flag indicating whether or not to pre-flash the external flash is reset (the external flash is not pre-flashed). , In step 5E27, the 7 lag for determining whether or not to perform pre-emission is reset (pre-emission is not performed). Next, step 5
At E28, the display PRLD indicating that pre-light emission is required is turned off. If it is determined in step 5E25 that the pre-button is pressed, the process advances to step SE9. This is to cause the light to emit light even if the red-eye generation conditions are not met, in order to reflect the user's intention to turn on the pre-button.

In steps S and E 9, turn on/off the built-in flash.
Determine F. If the built-in flash is ON, proceed to step 5EIO. In steps SE10 to 5E12, it is determined whether or not the external flash fires pre-flash. External flash is set to ON (Step 5EIO
), with a flash capable of pre-flashing (step 5EII), when facing directly (step 5E12), step 5
Proceeding to E18, the external pre-emission flag is set, and in step S E19, the pre-emission flag is set. As mentioned above, this data is sent to the external flash to prepare for pre-flash.

If even one of the conditions in step 5EIO-12 is missing, the process proceeds to step 5E20, where the external pre-emission flag is reset, and the process proceeds to step SE]9.

In other words, if even one of the conditions for the external pre-flash in step 5EIO-12 is missing, the built-in flash will pre-flash.

If the built-in flash is OFF in step SEO, proceed to step 5EI4. Steps 5E14 to 5E16 are
This is the same routine as steps 5EIO to 12 above, and if the pre-flash conditions for the external flash are satisfied, the process proceeds to step 5E18. If even one of the conditions is off, the built-in flash will be turned off.
Since it is F, pre-flash cannot be performed, so step 5E26
Proceed to.

In step 5E21, data on brightness, magnification, and object distance are written to the addressed ROM.

Reading the pre-flash light amount data.

FIGS. 21(a), 21(b), and 21(c) are graphs showing the relationship between brightness, magnification, distance, and pre-emission amount.

As shown in FIG. 21(a), the brightness is high and printing becomes more unpleasant, so the amount of pre-light emission is increased to eliminate red eyes as much as possible. As shown in FIG. 21(c), when the distance is short, the probability of red-eye occurrence is small, so even if the amount of pre-light emission is small, there is an effect of preventing red-eye. The light amount data for the pre-emission is determined by -C in consideration of the above factors.

This data is sent to an external flash as described above,
The amount of flash light is determined. In Step 5E22, it is determined whether or not the Buri button is pressed. If it is pressed, in Step 5E24, the Buri luminous mark PRLD is lit to indicate that the Buri button is pressed (Fig. 4(e)). . Here, the display indicating that pre-flash is required, that is, the mark P
Although the same element is used for the blinking RLD (FIG. 4(d)), a constant element may be provided separately. The pre-flash mark PRLD in Fig. 4 Co is another example of the mark PRLD in Fig. 4(a), and when pre-flash is required, the eyeball is displayed in red, and the light is turned off by pressing the pre-flash amount. I have to. This display is direct and easy to understand for the red eye phenomenon.

Step 5E23.5E24.5E28 Return to the main routine after treatment.

FIG. 11(a) is a routine for controlling pre-light emission.

In step SFI, it is determined whether or not it is self-timer photography (hereinafter referred to as self-photography), and if it is self-timer photography, self-processing is performed in a self-processing subroutine in step SF2. If it is not self, this process is skipped and the process proceeds to step SF3. In step SF3, the aforementioned pre-emission flag is determined. When pre-emission is to be performed, the process advances to step SF4, and when pre-emission is not required, the process returns to the main routine. Step SF4
Now, data of the time T pre from pre-emission to exposure is read out from the ROM addressed with the data of brightness, magnification, and photographing distance.

Figure 22 (a), (b) and (C) show luminance, magnification,
The relationship between distance and time T pre from pre-emission to exposure operation is shown.

The higher the luminance, the smaller the pupil becomes, so as shown in FIG. 22(a), even if T pre is short, it is sufficiently effective.

The reason why T pre does not change even when the luminance drops below a certain level is because after a certain period of time, the pupils that were closed due to the pre-emission begin to open again, and the effect of the pre-emission disappears.

As shown in FIG. 22(b), if the magnification is small, it will not be noticeable during printing, so even if Tpre is short, the pre-emission effect will still be effective. The reason why Tpre does not become long when the magnification is above a certain level is due to the same reason as in the case of luminance.

As shown in FIG. 22(c), as the distance increases, the probability of red eye occurrence decreases, so even if T pre is shortened, there is an effect of preventing red eye due to pre-emission. The reason why T pre does not increase even if the distance increases beyond a certain level is due to the same reason as in the case of luminance.

In step SF5, the aforementioned external pre-school flag is determined. When it is determined that the external flash will emit light, the process proceeds to step SF7, where the terminal 05 is set to Low. F
Since the LGC is configured so that when 05 is Low, BTRG is not output even if 07 is High, the built-in flash does not light even if a pre-flash signal (pulse signal of 07), which will be described later, is output. In step SF6, terminal 0
5 to High to enable pre-flash of the built-in flash.

In steps SF8 to 5FIO, a pulse of a certain period of time is output to the terminal 07. This 07 is also connected to an external flash, and when this becomes High, the external flash fires a pre-flash, and if the internal flash fires a pre-flash, the built-in flash fires. During this time, the external flash is sent from the aforementioned camera to the external flash. It is configured to emit light according to the pre-light emission amount data. Built-in FLGC to emit light with a constant amount of light
is configured. In other words, when 07 goes high, B
TRG is set to High to start the built-in flash (which will not output if 05 is Low), and after a certain period of time, FSTP is set to High to stop the built-in flash from emitting light.

In step 5FII, it is determined whether the AF is continuous, and if it is not, it is determined in step 5F12 whether the external flash pre-flashes, and if the external flash does not pre-flash, the built-in flash pre-flashes. Therefore, in step 5F13, the built-in flash converter starts boosting the voltage in order to replenish the energy consumed in the pre-flash.

If it is determined in step 5FII that AF is conitinuous, in order to guarantee the voltage for driving the motor for AF, step SF13 is not started to boost the voltage by the flash converter, and the process proceeds to step SF14. Also, if it is determined in step 5F12 that the external flash will pre-flash, the energy of the built-in flash is not consumed, so step 5F13 is skipped, and step 5
Proceed to F14.

In step SF14, data indicating that the time is between pre-flash and photographing is sent to the AFC via the data bus SDB, and the AFC causes the APLED to blink. Step 5
In F15, the above-mentioned T pre time waiting step 5F1
Stop boosting at step 6, AFC APLE at step 5F17
Stop blinking D and return to the main routine.

@11 Figure (b) is a self-processing subroutine. Step SGI resets and starts the counter for self-time. In step SG2, it is determined whether this counter has exceeded a certain value, and if it has not reached a certain value, the process proceeds to step SG2. In other words, step SG2 is repeated until the self-second time is reached, and when the self-second time is reached, the process returns to the main routine. Note that while repeating step SG2,
QSLD flashes to indicate that the self-timer is operating.

FIG. 13 is a circuit diagram showing the inside of an external flash to which the present invention is applied. This external flash can be used by being attached to the camera shown in FIGS. 1 to 11. The FCPU is a microcomputer that controls the overall operation of the flash. SDB is a serial data bus for exchanging data with the microcomputer CCPU of the camera body, and this bus is made up of the following terminals. C5F is a chip select flash terminal, which becomes Low when the microcomputer CCPU of the camera body specifies an external flash as a communication partner. This terminal C3F is connected to the interrupt terminal INT of the microcomputer FCPU, and is activated by falling to LOW.

The R/W terminal is the microcomputer CC of the camera body.
This is a terminal that goes low when the PU reads data, and goes high when the microcomputer CCPU outputs data. SCK is a terminal that outputs a clock for synchronization when the microcomputer CCPU in the camera body communicates data in series with other circuits. 5
OUT is connected from the camera's microcomputer CCPU to other circuits (in Figure 3, external flash OFL, photometry circuit LMC, AF circuit AFC, circuit LE in the interchangeable lens)
C, a terminal for outputting data in series to a display circuit DSP, a reading circuit DX for a code indicating film sensitivity on a film container), and is connected to a serial data input terminal SIN of a microcomputer FCPU. SIN is a terminal for serially outputting data from other circuits to the microcomputer CCPU of the camera body, and is connected to the serial data output terminal 5OUT of the microcomputer FCPU.

MSW is the main switch for switching ON and OFF of the flash, and every time it is closed, the pulse bus is output from the pulse generator PG, and this signal is input to the interrupt terminal INTO of the microcomputer FCPU. and start it. DS has a detection switch that turns ON when an external flash is attached directly to the hot shoe of the camera body, and turns OFF when the external flash is not attached directly to the hot shoe.BS has a detection switch that turns ON when the flash unit is in a bounce state. This is a detection switch that turns OFF if there is front light. With these two detection switches,
If the DS is ON and the BS is OFF, this means that the flash is directly connected to the camera body and the light emitting part is directly facing the subject, so it is determined that one of the conditions that requires red-eye countermeasures is satisfied. On the other hand, if the DS is OFF, the flash is connected to the camera body via a cable connector or the like, so red-eye countermeasures are not required. Also,
Even if the DS is ON, if the switch BS is ON, the light emitting section is not directly facing the subject, so there is no need to take measures against red eye.

CHD is a light emitting diode that indicates when the flash is fully charged, ○ND is a light emitting diode that indicates that the flash is ON, and 0FFD is when the flash is OFF.
A light-emitting diode that indicates the status, AUD is a light-emitting diode that indicates the auto-emission status, PR
ED is a light emitting diode that indicates that preliminary light emission is to be performed as a measure against red eye, and B F o to BF are buffers for driving the light emitting diodes.

HVG is a power supply circuit for flash emission and is connected to terminal C.
When H5TA becomes High, the voltage boosting operation is performed, and when it becomes Low, the voltage boosting is stopped. CHDC converts the output voltage of the main capacitor in the power supply circuit GVG from analog to digital when the terminal DCL becomes Low, and transmits it to the microcomputer FCPU via the data bus CHLD. This data is used as the light emission amount data for the main light emission and the light emission amount data for the pre-flash that are transmitted to the camera body.

PRE, FLSTA%FLSTP are terminals into which light emission control signals from the camera body are input. PRE is a terminal that goes low at the timing of preliminary light emission, F L S T
A is the X that turns ON when the front curtain has finished running on the camera body.
A closing signal for contact Sx is input.

FLSTP receives a High signal from the light control circuit of the camera body when the amount of light reflected from the subject due to main light emission reaches a predetermined amount. FXE is a light emitting unit, and FFLC is a light emission control circuit of the light emitting unit FXE. When FTRG becomes High, light is emitted, and when FSTOP becomes High, light emission is stopped.

The terminal PON10FF is a terminal that becomes High when data indicating that preliminary light emission is to be performed is input from the camera body via the data bus SDB. When the terminal PRE becomes Low and the inverter IN becomes High, the AND circuit A N
The output of s becomes High and the pulse generator PG,
A high pulse is output from.

This pulse is sent to the light emission control circuit FF via the OR circuit OR.
The light is sent to the LC and undergoes pre-emission. Also, when the output of the pulse generator PG rises to High, the timer Tl
When the time count of l starts and, for example, 0-1 m5ec elapses, a high pulse is output from the timer TI and sent to the light emission control circuit via the OR circuit OR, and the pre-light emission is stopped. This situation is shown in the time chart of FIG.

Terminal MON10FF is set when the flash is in ON mode, the camera's exposure control mode is manual mode (M mode), and the flash is in forced firing mode, and
When the flash is in ON mode and the camera's exposure control mode is in automatic mode (P, A, S mode) and the flash is in automatic firing mode, it becomes High when a light emission signal is input from the camera, and becomes Low otherwise. Sx
When X contact Sx closes and FLSTA becomes Low, in7 (
- Tapa' The output of INo becomes High, and the input/output of the AND circuit AN becomes the old gh. As a result, a high pulse is output from the /< pulse generator PG, and is sent to the light emission control circuit FFLC via the OR circuit ORo, thereby starting the main light emission. On the other hand, pulse generator PG1 force)
With these pulses, 7 lip flops and 7 flop FFs are connected to the Q
The output becomes High and the timer TI. starts counting a fixed period of time (e.g. 2.5 m5ec).

When the predetermined time count ends, the timer T1.
outputs a pulse and the Q output of the flip is AND circuit AN
is connected to one input of , and while the Q output is High, it is output from the dimming circuit FLMC of the mechlar body and the terminal FLSTP
Only the pulses input via the AND circuit A N + are output. This pulse is applied to the light emission control circuit FFLC via the OR circuit ORI, and the main light emission of the flash is stopped.

This situation is shown in the time chart of FIG.

70 of the microcomputer shown in Figures 16 to 19 below.
- I will explain the operation according to the chart, but first I will explain the data sent from the camera body to the flash and from the flash to the camera body.

The table shows the data sent from the camera to the flash and flash color camera. The data sent from the camera to the flash is the exposure control mode data of the camera, and when the flash is ON, when the M mode is input, the forced flash mode is input, and when the automatic mode is input, the flash mode becomes the automatic flash mode. The presence/absence of main emission is
This signal indicates whether or not to fire the flash in automatic flash mode.If it is the main flash unit, MONloFF goes High and the main flash starts when the X contact Sx closes, and if it is the main flash unit, MONloFF goes Low. , the main light emission is not performed even if the X contact Sx is closed. The presence/absence of pre-flash is a signal indicating whether pre-flash is to be performed with an external flash.If it is a pre-flash unit, terminal PON10FF becomes Hehg, and pre-flash is started by a signal input from the camera body via terminal PRE.

On the other hand, if it is a pre-emission heat, the terminal PON10FF becomes Low and pre-emission is not performed.

Next, we will explain the data sent from the flash to the camera. The flash 0N10FF signal transmits whether the 7 flash is turned on or off by operating the main switch MSW. Regarding charging completion/incomplete, if the charging voltage of the main capacitor of the HVG in the power supply circuit reaches a predetermined value, a charging completion signal is not reached, and an incomplete signal is transmitted to the camera.

There are 7 flashes of pre-flash and 7 flashes of pre-flash that are not allowed, and this is to distinguish between them. Note that the flash shown in Figure 13 is capable of pre-emission, and is ON.
In mode, a pre-flash enable signal is always transmitted to the camera.

Examples of flashes in which pre-emission is possible and pre-emission is not possible will be explained based on FIGS. 12(A) and (B).

In FIG. 12(A), the light emitting part 101A of the external flash H101 is far from the optical axis of the photographic lens 3, and the probability of red eye occurring is very low, so the pre-flash function is not required, so the pre-flash function is not provided. data indicating that pre-flash is not possible is sent to the camera body.

On the other hand, in the case of the external flash 102 shown in FIG. 12(B), the distance between the light emitting part 102B and the optical axis of the photographic lens 3 is
It is not much different from internal flash, and there is a high probability that red eye will occur. In the case of this external flash 102, a pre-flash function is provided and data indicating that pre-flash is possible is sent to the camera body.

In addition, Fig. 12 (A), Fig. 12 (B) 101.102
Both of them have a pre-flash note, and both send data indicating that pre-flash is possible to the camera body, and also,
Data regarding the distance between the light emitting section and the optical axis of the photographing lens (or the attachment section for attaching the flash to the camera body) when the flash is attached to the attachment section may be sent to the camera body. In this way, by combining the focal length of the photographing lens, the shooting distance, and the distance between the red-eye emitting part of the external flash and the Recens optical axis, it is possible to determine whether there is a high probability that red-eye will occur, and then perform a pre-flash. A warning can be given whether or not. Note that the distance data may be simply whether the distance is longer or shorter than a certain value, or the distance may be multi-bit data having the same resolution as other data (focal length, photographing distance).

In addition, when neither of the external flashes 101 and 102 has a pre-flash function, the external flash 102 that requires pre-flash outputs a signal to the camera that the built-in flash requires pre-flash, and pre-flash is required. If the external flash 101 is configured to output a pre-flash support signal from the built-in flash to the camera and the external flash 102 is attached, a pre-flash necessity display will be displayed as necessary, and the external flash 101 will output a pre-flash support signal to the camera. When the light emitting device is attached, the pre-flash necessity display may not be displayed.

Note that the built-in flash of the camera may be configured so that it does not emit light during film exposure and only performs pre-flash.

The pre-flash amount is data on the pre-flash amount determined from the output of the charge amount detection circuit and the pre-flash time described above (for example, 0.1m5ec).This data determines the pre-flash conditions (subject distance, shooting magnification, subject You can change the brightness, focal length), and change the feeling of pre-flash and main flash. The main light emission amount is one of the parameters used to output the light emission amount data according to the output of the charge amount detection circuit CHDC, determine the aperture aperture in the camera body, and determine whether there is a high probability that red eye will occur. used as one. The light emitting head facing/not facing directly signal is sent when the flash is attached directly to the hot shoe of the camera body and the flash head is not bouncing, and the flash is not directly attached to the hot shoe.
Even if it is attached, if the light emitting part bounces, a signal will be sent without facing directly.

If the camera body is facing directly, it is determined whether pre-flashing by an external flash is necessary, and if it is determined that it is necessary, it sends a signal from the pre-flash unit to the 7-lash device. On the other hand, if a signal indicating that the flash is not facing directly is sent to the camera, it is determined that the optical axis of the light emitting unit and the optical axis of the photography system are not close to each other, and there is no possibility of red eye caused by firing the external flash. , the pre-flash signal is not sent from the camera to the 7th flash, and there is no pre-flash.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing the operation when the main switch MSW is operated. When the MSW is operated and an interrupt signal is input to the interrupt terminal INT, and the microcomputer FCPU is activated, first, it is determined whether the previous mode is the ON mode, and if it is the ON mode, the process proceeds to step S.
H20, if in OFF mode, move to step SHI (
Step 5HO).

In step SHI, the mode is changed from OFF to ON, and then it is determined whether the charging completion level is reached (step 5H3). If the charging completion level has not been reached, step-up operation of the power supply circuit HVG is performed (step 5l).
) Go to step 5f-110. On the other hand, if it is determined in step SH3 that charging has reached the completion level, the light emitting diode CHD for displaying charging completion is turned over (step 5H6), and the charging level is checked to see if it has reached the highest level (saturation level). If it is not at the highest level, boosting is performed (step 5H8), and if it is at the highest level, the boosting is stopped and the process moves to step 5HIO. Note that, as will be described later, in the OFF mode, the light emitting diode CHD is turned off to indicate completion of charging, so if charging is not completed, the light emitting diode CHD is left as is.

In step 5HIO, the light emitting diode OND indicating the ON mode is turned on, and then the light emitting diode 0FFD indicating the OFF mode, the light emitting diode AUD indicating the automatic emission mode, and the light emitting diode PRED indicating the pre-emission mode are turned off. (Step 5H11), prohibits pre-flash and enables main flash (Step 5H).
12, 5H13) Move to step 5H40. By the above-described operation, the OFF mode is switched to the ON mode, and the initial state in the ON mode is set.

If it is determined in step SHO that the mode up to that point is the ON mode, the process moves to step 5H20 and is switched from ON to OFF. Then, turn off the light-emitting diodes CHD, OND, AUD, and PRED that display charging completion, ON mode, automatic flash mode, and pre-flash (Step 5H22), and turn on the light-emitting diode 0FFD that displays OFF mode to switch to OFF mode. (Step 5H26), Prohibits pre-flash and main flash (Step SH2S, 30), Step 5
Moving on to H40. With the above operations, setting to OFF mode is completed.

In step 5H40, reception of interrupt signals to the terminals INT, , INT, is permitted, and the timer register TIR is reset (step 5H42). Then, the built-in timer is reset and starts counting (step 5H44), and interrupts by the timer are permitted (step 5H46), and the operation is stopped. Note that the operation of the interrupt by the timer will be described later based on the flowchart of FIG. 19.

Figures 17 and 18 show the chip select crash terminal C5F when communicating data between the camera body and the 7-rush unit.
12 is a flowchart showing the operation when the microcomputer FCPU is activated when the microcomputer FCPU becomes Low. First, in step SIO, it is determined whether the state in which data is transmitted from the camera body to the flash is the state in which data is transmitted from the flash to the camera body by determining the state of the R/W terminal. If the R/W terminal is High and the data is being sent from the camera body to the flash, step S in Figure 17
If the R/W terminal is low and data is being sent from the flash to the camera body, the operation shown in FIG. 18 is performed.

In step Sll, first, each data shown in the table sent serially from the camera body is input. Next step S1
2, it is determined whether the mode is ON or not. If the mode is ON, the process goes to step SI4, and if it is the OFF mode, the process goes to step S.
Steps 5129-3 without performing operations I4-5124.
1 interrupt, the operation is performed and the operation is stopped. In step SI4, it is determined whether the exposure control mode data input from the camera is M mode, and if it is M mode, it will be forced flash mode, so the light emitting diode AUD for displaying automatic flash mode is turned off (step 318) and step 511
Transition to 0. If it is not the M mode, the automatic light emission mode is set, so the display light emitting diode AUD is turned on (step SI 5), and it is determined whether or not main light emission is to be performed (step 316). If there is no main light emission, in step 5112, the terminal MON10FF is set to LOW to inhibit the main light emission, and the process moves to Stella 5I18.

If data indicating that main flash is present is input in forced flash mode and automatic flash mode, terminal M is input in step 5ilo.
ON10FF is set to High to enable light emission.

Next, in step 5I14, it is determined whether or not there is a flash light emission, and the terminal PON10FF from the pre-emission layer is set to High to permit pre-light emission, and the light emitting diode PRED for displaying the flash light emission mode is turned on (step SI15.
SE16) Proceed to step 5r21. On the other hand, if yellow light emission fever is determined in step 5I14, step 5r
At step 18, the terminal r'0N10FF is set to Low to prohibit flash light emission, and the light emitting diode PR for pre-light emission display is set to low.
Turn off the E D (step 5i19) and step 5I2
Move to 1.

Note that if no light is emitted in the automatic light emission mode, there is no pre-emission, so the process immediately moves from step 5I12 to step 5118.

In step 5121, it is determined whether the charging voltage of the main capacitor has reached the charging completion level. If it has reached the charging completion level, the light emitting diode CHD for indicating charging completion is turned on (step SI22), and then in step 5r23, the charging level is saturated. It is determined whether the level has been reached, and if the saturation level has been reached, the boosting is stopped (step 5124).
) Go to step 5I29. On the other hand, if the saturation level has not been reached, the process moves to step 5129 without doing anything to continue the boost or to continue the boost stop state. on the other hand,
If the charging completion level has not been reached in step 5I21, the voltage is increased and the charging completion display is turned off (step 512).
6, 27) Move to step 5t29. As explained above, this flash boosts the voltage up to the saturation level,
When the voltage drops below the charge completion level, boosting is resumed. Also,
The charge completion display CHD lights up if the level is higher than the charge completion level. In step 5I29, interrupts by the timer are enabled, the timer is reset and started, and the timer register TIR is reset (step 5t30), and in step 5131, the reception of interrupt signals to the terminals INT and INT is enabled and the operation is stopped. do.

If it is determined in step 510 that data is to be transmitted from the flash to the camera, the process moves to step 5150 in FIG. In step 5150, it is determined whether the mode is ON or not, and if it is the OFF mode, the flash is turned off.
FF transmission data is set, the light emitting diode for OFF mode display is turned on, and operations for interrupt in steps 5183 to 86 and transmission of OFF data (step 5I8) are performed.
5) and stop the operation.

When ON mode is determined in step 5I50, step S! 52 and below perform operations to prepare (set) various data for transmission. At step 5I52, the flash is turned on.
The ON mode display light emitting diode OND is turned on. Then step 5154
~58.5160~62 Step S 156.61
Steps 5121 to 24 in FIG. 17 except for steps
Similar to SI26.27, it determines and displays charge completion level and saturation level, and controls boosting. Step 5I56
Now set the data to notify charging completion and proceed to step 5.
At I61, data indicating that the battery is not charged is set.

In step 5165, whether or not a flash is directly attached to the camera body is determined based on the state of the switch DS. If it is not directly attached, data indicating that the light emitting section is not directly facing the subject is set (step S I
68), proceed to step 5I70. If it is determined that it is directly attached, then in step 5166 it is determined whether or not it is in the bounce state based on the state of the switch BS, and if it is in the bounce state, data indicating that it is not facing directly is set (step 5168). Step S[70
to move to. On the other hand, if the flash is not connected directly and is in a bounce state, data indicating that the flash light emitting section is facing the subject is set in step S.
T67) Go to step 5I70.

In step 5I70, the charge amount of the main capacitor is input, the pre-emission amount is calculated from this and the pre-emission time, and this pre-emission amount data is set. Next, in step 5I71, light emission amount data when full light is emitted during main light emission is calculated from the charging voltage of the main capacitor, and this data is set. Then, after setting data indicating that pre-flash is possible and performing the same operation as step 5I29-30 in Fig. 17 in step 3183.84, the data set in the previous steps is serially connected to the camera body. (step SI 85), and the terminal INT,
, INT, and stops its operation.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing operations performed by being activated by an interrupt signal output every time the timer counts a certain period of time after the timer interrupt is enabled in FIGS. 16, 17, and 18. When the timer starts counting and a certain period of time (for example, 250 m5ec) has elapsed, a timer interrupt is generated and the operation starts from step SJO.

In step SJO, the contents of timer register TIR are
is added, and it is determined in step SJJ whether the contents of the timer register TIR have reached K (for example, 16). If K has not been reached, it means that the operation in Figures 16, 17, and 18 has ended and a certain period of time (250 msec x !6 = 45 ec) has not elapsed, so the process moves to step SJ5 and turns ON.
mode. If it is ON mode, step SJ7-1O115, 16 is followed by step 51 in Fig. 17.
Perform the same operation as 21 to 24, 26, 27, and turn OFF.
mode, no boost-related operations are performed and step S
J Ill transition. Step S J 18.19
Now, perform the operation for the next timer interrupt, and connect the terminal INT.
, , INT, and the operation is stopped (step S J 30). On the other hand, when the contents of the register TIH reach K in step SJI, that is, when a certain period of time (for example, 45 ec) has elapsed since the end of the operation for data communication with the camera or the end of the operation due to the operation of the main switch MSW, step 5J25 is executed. Turn off all display light emitting diodes and connect terminals MON10FF and P.
ON10FF is set to Low to prohibit pre-light emission and main light emission, stop boosting, and allow interrupt signals to terminals INTO and INT to stop the operation.

FIGS. 23(a) and 23(b) show another embodiment. This embodiment is shown in FIG. 11(a).
This is a modified example of SP17. The difference from FIG. 11(a) is that in FIG. 23, the exposure control operation can be prohibited after pre-emission.

The explanation will be given below based on the 70-chart. step science fiction
Steps 1' to 14' are the same as steps 5FI to 5F14 in FIG.

In step S F15', a timer is started to count the time Tre between pre-emission and exposure control operation. This timer is designed to generate an interrupt output after a time period T pre has elapsed since the timer started. Further, in step SF15', this timer interrupt is enabled.

In step SF16', it is determined whether the pre-flash amount 6 is pressed (ON), and if it is pressed, the process goes to step S16.
'Repeat, if released (OFF) step S
Proceeding to F17', the state of the pre-emission light amount 6 is determined again in step S F17'', and if it is OFF, the process proceeds to step S
Repeat F 17″ 1. If ON, step S
Proceed to F18'.

In other words, when the blurring flash button 26 is released (step S F 16') and pressed again (step S F17') between the flash flashing and the exposure control operation, the process proceeds to step SF 18'. In step SF18', the voltage increase is stopped, and in step SF19', the AF auxiliary light is turned off.

In step S F 20', timer interrupts are disabled, and interrupts by the Tpra timer are prohibited. In step 5F21', the state of Sl is determined, and if it is released, the process advances to step SA2. If not released, repeat step 5F21'.

As a result of the above, the exposure control operation is not performed by pressing the button again.

Here, the flashlight button is used to prohibit the exposure control operation, but it may be prohibited using another button. After the pre-flash, if the pre-flash button is kept pressed or released, the program repeats steps SF16'' or 5F17°.

In this state, when an interrupt from the timer counting T pre occurs, the program proceeds to step SF21', disables the interrupt in step 5F21', stops boosting in step 5F22'', and turns off the AF auxiliary light in 5F23'. The camera then returns to the main routine and proceeds to exposure control operation.

Note that the present embodiment includes the following configuration.

A flashlight emitting means for emitting a photographic flashlight during film exposure; a preflash emitting means for emitting a preflash so that a human's pupil closes before emitting the photographic flash; A camera comprising a discriminating means for discriminating, and a control means for operating the preliminary light emitting means based on the discrimination result of the discriminating means.

The above-mentioned camera is provided with a pre-flash previous display means for displaying that a pre-flash is to be performed before the pre-flash is activated. Here, the preliminary pre-release display may include a blue display on a buzzer or the like, an audio display in the viewfinder, a supervisor display placed on the outside of the camera, and the like.

a flashlight emitting means for emitting a photographic flashlight when exposing the film; a preflash emitting means for emitting a preflash so that the human pupil closes before emitting the photographic flash; a measuring means for measuring subject brightness; 1. A camera comprising: determination means for determining that preliminary light emission is necessary when subject brightness is below a predetermined level based on a measurement result of the photometry means.

In the camera, the photometry means is configured to measure the light transmitted through the aperture of the photographic lens, and the discrimination means is configured to measure the measurement result of the photometry means and the aperture value of the aperture at the time of measurement by the photometry means. The device is configured to determine that preliminary light emission is necessary when the absolute brightness obtained based on is below a predetermined level.

a flashlight emitting means for emitting a photographic flashlight when exposing the film; a preflash emitting means for emitting a preliminary flash so that the human pupil closes before emitting the photographic flash; a magnification detection means for detecting a subject magnification; When the subject brightness is below a certain level,
The camera further comprises a determination means for determining that preliminary light emission is necessary when the photographing magnification is larger than a predetermined value.

The above-mentioned camera includes a distance detection means that detects the subject distance, and a focal length detection means that detects the focal length of the photographing lens, and the magnification detection means determines the photographing magnification based on the subject distance and the focal length. It is configured to ask for.

A flashlight emitting means for emitting a photographic flashlight during film exposure; a preflash emitting means for emitting a preflash so that a human's pupil closes before emitting the photographic flash; a photometering means for measuring subject brightness; and a subject distance. A camera comprising a distance detecting means for detecting the distance, and a determining means for determining that preliminary light emission is necessary when the subject brightness is below a predetermined level and the subject distance is greater than the predetermined distance.

In the camera, the determining means is configured not to determine that preliminary light emission is necessary when the distance to the subject is out of coordination with the flash light emitting means.

A flashlight emitting means for emitting a photographic flashlight when exposing the film; a preflash emitting means for emitting a preliminary flash so that the human pupil closes before emitting the photographic flash; a photometering means for measuring subject brightness; and backlighting. a backlight detection means for detecting a state; a flashlight control means for operating the flashlight when the subject brightness is below a predetermined level and in a backlit state; A camera equipped with a determining means for determining that preliminary light emission is necessary when operating a flash light emitting means.

A flashlight emitting means for emitting a photographic flashlight when exposing the film; a preflash emitting means for emitting a preliminary flash so that the human pupil closes before emitting the photographic flash; a continuous photographing means for performing continuous photographing; A flash light emission control means that activates the flash light emission means when photographing each frame of continuous photography; and a preliminary light emission control means that activates the above-mentioned preliminary light emission means when photographing the first frame of continuous photography, and stops it when photographing subsequent frames. A camera equipped with.

A flashlight emitting means for emitting a photographic flashlight during film exposure; a preliminary flashlight emitting means for emitting a preliminary flash wave so that the human pupil closes before emitting the photographic flash; and a photometry means for measuring subject brightness. and a control means for controlling the time from the preliminary flash emission operation to the photography flash emission operation according to the subject brightness.

A flashlight emitting means for emitting a photographic flashlight during film exposure; a preliminary flashlight emitting means for emitting a preliminary flash so that the human pupil closes before the photographic flashlight is emitted; and a magnification detection means for detecting a photographic magnification. and a control means for controlling the amount of light emitted in the preliminary light emission according to the photographing magnification.

A flashlight emitting means for emitting a photographic flashlight when the film is exposed; a preflash emitting means for emitting a preliminary flash so that a human's pupil closes before emitting the photographic flash; and a preflash means for emitting a preliminary flash so that the human pupil closes before emitting the photographic flash; and after emitting the preliminary flash, photographing is started. Displays that the camera will take a picture after the preliminary flash fires. A camera equipped with a display means after preliminary light emission. Here, the preliminary light emission means can be indicated by sound, audio, or light display.

The above-mentioned camera includes an automatic focusing means for operating a photographing lens to a focusing position, and an auxiliary light emitting means for illuminating a subject as necessary when the automatic focusing means is activated, and the above-mentioned pre-flash display means: A camera configured to cause the auxiliary light emitting means to emit light after emitting a preliminary flash until the start of photographing.

A flashlight emitting means for emitting a photographic flashlight during film exposure; a preflash emitting means for emitting a preliminary flash so that a human's pupil closes before the photographic flashlight is emitted; A camera comprising: a charge storage means for storing charge energy for performing the above; and an accumulation control means for storing charge in the charge storage means until a preliminary flash emitting means starts.

A camera that is detachable from the camera body and is equipped with a flash device that emits a flash for photographing during film exposure, and a preliminary flash that emits a preliminary flash so that the human eye closes before emitting the flash for photographing. Become.

In the flash photography system, the flash light emitting device has an instruction section that indicates information regarding preliminary light emission, and the camera determines whether preliminary light emission by the preliminary light emission means is necessary based on the information of the instruction section. Flash photography system with means.

In a flashlight emitting device that is detachable from the camera and emits flashlight for photography during film exposure, when the distance from the flashlight emitting part to the optical axis of the camera's photographing lens is longer than a predetermined distance, preliminary flashing by the camera is not necessary. A device that indicates

A flashlight emitting means for emitting a photographic flashlight during film exposure; a preflash means for emitting a preflash so that a human's pupil closes before emitting the photographic flash; The camera further comprises determining means for determining whether or not preliminary light emission by the preliminary light emission means is necessary.

A flashlight emitting device that is detachable from a camera and emits a flashlight for photographing when exposing a film, the flashlight emitting device having a preflash means for emitting a preliminary flash so that the human eye closes before emitting the flashlight for photographing, and a preliminary flashlight by the camera. A flashlight emitting device equipped with an indicator that indicates that flash is not required.

A flashlight emitting means for emitting a photographic flashlight during film exposure, a preflash emitting means for emitting a preflash so that the human pupil closes before emitting the photographic flashlight, and a mode for operating the preflash light means are selected. an automatic light emission control means for controlling whether or not the flashlight emitting means emits a flash for photographing; a mode for operating the preliminary light emission means by the operation means; A photographing device comprising a stop means for stopping preliminary light emission by the preliminary light emission means when the flash light emission means is controlled not to emit a flash for photographing.

〔Effect of the invention〕

According to the above configuration, 1. Since the camera automatically determines and displays whether or not preliminary light emission is necessary, general users can easily recognize the necessity of preliminary light emission.

In addition, since the preliminary light emission means is activated in response to the operation of the operating means, the preliminary light emission is performed only when preliminary light emission is necessary based on the display of the preliminary light emission display means, thereby making it possible to prevent the red-eye phenomenon. There is no need to waste electricity, and
Since the user knows when the preliminary flash is to be performed, for example, the user can inform the subject before photographing that the preliminary flash will be performed.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 to 11 show embodiments of a camera according to the present invention. FIG. 1 is a full perspective view, FIG. 2 is an oblique perspective view, and FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram. Figure fJ4 is a diagram showing the display form, and Figures 5 to 11 are 70-chats showing the operation of the microcomputer CCPU. 12 to 19 show embodiments of an external flash according to the present invention. Fig. 12 is a front view showing the external flash attached to the camera, Fig. 13 is a circuit diagram, Figs. 14 and 15 are timing charts showing the operation of the circuit, and Figs. 16 to 19 are Microcomputer FCP
It is a flowchart showing the operation of U. Figure 20 (a) is a diagram showing the relationship between the probability of red eye occurrence and subject brightness, Figure 20 (b) is a diagram showing the relationship between the probability of red eye occurrence and subject brightness, and Figure 20 (c) is a diagram showing the relationship between red eye occurrence probability and subject brightness. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the relationship between the degree of image formation and the imaging magnification. FIGS. 21 (aXb) and (c) show the amount of blurred light and subject brightness, the amount of pre-flash and the photographing magnification of the embodiment according to the present invention,
and FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the relationship between the pre-light emission amount and the subject distance, respectively. Figures 22 (aX6) and (C) show the time T pre and subject brightness from flash flash to film exposure, time T pre and photographing magnification, and time T
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the relationship between pre and subject distance. FIG. 23 is a flowchart showing a modified embodiment of the camera according to the present invention. (FLGC, BFLC, BXE)...flash light emitting means,
(FLGC, BFLC, BXE, CCPU, Step S
FI~5FI7)... Preliminary light emitting means, (26, P F
S)...Operating means, (PRLD, DSP, CCPU
, step 5E23. Step 5E24. Step 5E
28) Display means. j$7 Figure (α)

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A flashlight emitting device that emits a photographic flashlight during film exposure, a preflash device that performs a preflash so that the human pupil closes before emitting the photographic flashlight, and a mode for operating the preflash device. A camera comprising: an operating means for selecting a pre-flash, a discriminating means for discriminating that pre-flash is necessary under a predetermined condition, and a pre-flash required display means for displaying a display based on the determination result of the discriminating means. (2) The camera according to claim 1, further comprising pre-flash display means for displaying that preliminary light emission will be performed before the preliminary light emission means is activated in response to the operation of the operating means.