JPH03192239A - Camera - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To easily photograph fireworks by judging a distance at the time of performing a release operation, opening a shutter by confirming that an obstacle does not exist and closing the shutter when a sound at a specified sound pressure level is inputted. CONSTITUTION:In a sound pressure release mode, a microcomputer 23 judges a sound pressure signal from a sound processing circuit 39 and outputs the signal. At the time of judging that the obstacle does not exist, that means, it is a long distance, a photographing lens is moved to the position of a long distance or infinity and the shutter is opened. Thereafter, the sound pressure is measured by the circuit 39 and the measured value is stored as an initial value. The sound pressure is measured continuously. When the measured value is much larger than the initial value, the shutter is closed by considering that the firework sound is detected out of ambient noises. The firework sound is thus detected by the camera and the shutter is automatically closed, thereby easily photographing the fireworks.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a camera that performs camera operations based on input sound.

(Prior Art) In recent years, cameras have become increasingly automated, and in consideration of this trend, the applicant has developed a system that responds to the sound pressure level of not only human voices but also laughter, applause, and all other input sounds input to the camera. He has proposed a camera that automatically releases the shutter (see Japanese Patent Application No. 63-329184 ``Auto-release camera'').

This camera detects the sound pressure level of input sounds such as human voices, laughter, or applause, and releases the camera when the detected sound pressure level exceeds a reference value for a predetermined period of time (sound pressure release). If you use a camera like this for a banquet or party, the camera will automatically capture the sound of the excitement, and the user will be able to enjoy the party completely free from camera operations. be able to.

The sound pressure release is a novel feature not found in conventional cameras, and has many useful uses.As one of these, the inventors have been studying a method of photographing fireworks, especially fireworks, using a sound pressure release. . Traditionally, when taking photos of fireworks, a person had to use a camera with a valve mechanism and either keep the release button pressed and close the shutter at an appropriate point, or use a timer to control the exposure time. As a result, the photographer must remain at the camera during the shooting process or perform cumbersome operations such as setting a timer.

Moreover, the exposure time was completely based on intuition, and a certain amount of experience was required to take beautiful photos of fireworks.

(Object and Structure of the Invention) The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to make it possible to easily and clearly take photographs of fireworks using a sound pressure release, and to achieve this object. ,
An input sound detection means, a detection means for detecting the sound pressure level of the sound detected by the input sound detection means, and a distance determination means for determining whether the measured distance by the distance measurement means is a long distance, The shutter is configured to open when the distance determining means determines that the distance is far based on the release operation, and to close the shutter in accordance with the sound pressure level detected by the detecting means.

In addition, in order to eliminate the need for the user to perform a release operation, a photometer is provided in addition to the input sound detection means, detection means, and distance judgment means described above. After confirming that, the distance determining means determines that the distance is far, the photometric means detects a change in brightness in the shooting direction, and when a predetermined change in brightness is detected, the shutter is opened and the sound detected by the detecting means is detected. The shutter was configured to close depending on the pressure level.

(Example) The present invention will be explained below based on the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the camera according to the present invention, and in the figure, 1 is a photographing lens, 2 is a finder, 3 is a framing monitor, and 4 is a release button. Further, 5 is a fireworks mode lever for selecting between a normal sound pressure release mode for a party camera and a fireworks mode. In the sound pressure release mode and the fireworks mode, a release operation is automatically performed when the sound pressure level of a human voice, laughter, applause, or other input sound remains at a reference value or higher for a predetermined period of time.

When the fireworks mode lever 5 is slid upward one step, the microphone hole 5a appears and the normal sound pressure release mode is activated.

A microphone serving as input sound detection means is installed below the microphone hole 5a. When using the fireworks mode, the camera is fixed to, for example, a tripod, set to face the direction in which the fireworks will be launched, and the fireworks mode lever 5 is slid one more step upward.

Furthermore, F is a switch button for selecting whether or not to use the self-timer, strobe light emission mode, etc. in the normal shooting mode. 9 is a lens barrier (lens cover) for protecting the photographic lens; 10 is a liquid crystal display panel that displays the number of film shots and other shooting-related information; 11 is a strobe;
2 is a light receiving lens for photometry. Although not shown, this camera is provided with an active type AF light projector and AF light receiver on the front surface of the camera.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the circuit configuration of the 1rM camera.

In the figure, 21 is a battery, 22 is a power supply circuit that supplies power to each part of the circuit, 23 is a microcomputer with a built-in A/D converter that controls the release operation and other shooting sequences, and 24 is a liquid crystal display. An LCD for the display panel 10 and its drive circuit, 25 a strobe circuit that causes the strobe 11 to emit light, and 26 a shutter motor driver 228 that drives the shutter drive motor 27.
29 is a sensor that detects the shutter blade position; 29 is a lens motor driver that controls the photographing lens drive motor 30;
1 is a lens position sensor that detects the moving position of the photographic lens; 32 is a film motor driver that drives a film feeding motor 33;

Also, to explain the switches, SO is the main switch that turns on when the lens barrier 9 is opened, Sl is the switch that turns on when the release button is pressed one step, S2 is the switch that turns on when you press the release button one more step, and MOS is the switch button 7. A switch that turns on when you press , PMS is a switch that turns on when fireworks mode is selected, SB is a switch that turns on when a back road is opened, and ssp is a switch that turns on when the film is fed.
This is a switch to

34 is an infrared LED for distance measurement that emits infrared light onto the subject;
35 is a light receiving element such as a PSD that receives reflected light from the subject; 36 is a distance measuring circuit that detects the subject distance from the light receiving position of the light receiving element 35; and 37 is a measuring circuit that receives the output from the light receiving element 38 and measures the brightness of the subject. Photometer circuit, 39 is microphone 40
This is an audio processing circuit that processes the audio signal outputted from the microcomputer 23 into a sound pressure signal.

FIG. 3 is a more detailed circuit diagram of the audio processing circuit 39,
The 0th-order operational amplifier 42 that amplifies the audio signal from the microphone 40 by the first-stage operational amplifier 41 constitutes a half-wave rectifier circuit that converts the amplified audio signal into a sound pressure signal representing the loudness of the sound.

Although not shown in the figure, a logarithmic compression circuit may be connected after the half-wave rectification circuit.

The sound pressure signal is output to the A/D converter in the microcomputer 23,
The microcomputer 23 side determines whether this sound pressure signal has reached a predetermined level.

Next, the operation of the example is explained in the 45th part! This will be explained using the flowchart of I.

First, after various initial settings (F-1), wait for the switch)
It enters the IALT state (F-2), and when there is a switch input of $1 or PMS, it enters WAKEυP, that is, a high-speed mode in which the CPU operates at high speed (F-3), and then makes a switch judgment (F-4). , If St is ON, it operates in normal shooting mode, and if PMS is ON, it operates in fireworks mode.In addition, when in sound pressure release mode, audio processing is used instead of release switches Sl and S2 in normal shooting mode. The operation is the same as in the normal shooting mode except for determining whether the sound pressure signal from the circuit is a microcomputer and outputting the signal, so the explanation will be omitted here.

To explain from the normal shooting mode, first step (F-5
) to perform distance measurement and primary photometry (F-6).
, when S2 turns ON (F-7), step (F-5
) Move the photographing lens l according to the distance measurement result (F-
8), then drive the shutter (F-9) to emit illumination,
Wind the film (F-10), step (F-2)
Go back and repeat the same action.

In fireworks mode, in step (F-11), S2
Check whether F-12 is turned on (whether release button 4 is pressed or not), and if it is turned on, distance measurement is performed (F-12
), it is difficult to judge whether the measured distance value is far away.
-13), if it is not far, measure the distance again (F-12)
, repeat this until the distance is reached, step (F-1
In 3), a long distance is determined when the distance value indicates infinity, or when the distance value is compared to a preset distance in the camera or a distance set by the photographer. This applies to either of the following cases:

During this loop, it is confirmed that there are no obstacles between the camera and the fireworks.

If it is determined that there are no obstacles, that is, the distance is far, then move the photographing lens l to a long distance or infinity position (F-1).
4), open the shutter (F-15), then measure the sound pressure using the sound pressure processing circuit 39 (F-18), store the value as the initial value (F-17), and then measure the sound pressure further. Measure it (F-18) and compare it with the memorized initial value (F-19). If the measured value is arithmetically larger than the initial value, it is assumed that the sound of fireworks has been detected from the surrounding noise. The judgment value in step (F-19), in which the sound pressure measurement is repeated until a loud sound is detected, closes the shutter (F-20). In addition to the difference, the user may be able to variably set the sound pressure level difference based on the loudness of fireworks, the noise situation at the shooting location, etc.

After closing the shutter, wind the film (F-21)
Finally, check the PMS (F-22), and if the PMS remains ON, return to step (F-11), and if it becomes OFF, return to step (F-2) and repeat the same operation.

If you use a camera like the one above, all you have to do is set the camera to fireworks mode and press the release button, and the camera will detect the sound of fireworks and automatically close the shutter, without any need for you to do anything else. So you can photograph fireworks very easily.

Also, the further away the camera is from the fireworks, the lower the brightness of the fireworks will be, but in the above fireworks mode, the shutter will be closed by the sound of the fireworks, so the farther the camera is from the fireworks, the longer it will take for the sound to reach you. Therefore, the exposure time becomes longer. Therefore, when shooting fireworks from a close position, the exposure time becomes shorter, so the light trails of the fireworks appear brighter and shorter. On the other hand, if you shoot from a far distance, the exposure time will be longer, so the light trails of the fireworks will appear darker and longer. As a result, the overall brightness distribution is well-balanced, making it easy to take beautiful photos of fireworks.

Next, other embodiments will be described.

In the previous embodiment, the shutter was opened when the user performed a release operation, but in this case, the camera can also open the shutter automatically. A part of the operation of the second embodiment is the same as that shown in FIG. 4, so the explanation of that part is omitted, and only the different part is shown in FIG.

First, when the fireworks mode is set in step (F-4), displaying the fireworks mode on the liquid crystal display panel 10 (s-i), for example, lighting up the fireworks mark and performing photometry at the 0th order (s-i). 2), Store the photometric value at that time as an initial value (S-3), then judge whether the initial value is a dark value 5-4), and if it is not dark, return to step (S-2) and become dark. In step (S-4), the same operation is repeated until the initial value is determined to be dark if the initial value is dark compared to the value preset in the camera or the value set by the photographer. This loop confirms that the camera is pointing toward the night sky.

Next, perform photometry again (S-S), and judge from the brightness difference whether the measured brightness value is much larger than the initial value stored in step (S-3). If so, it is determined that fireworks have been launched and the measured luminance value has increased, and the process moves to step (S-7). The judgment value at this time is set in advance by taking into consideration the difference between the brightness of the fireworks and the area around the camera. In step (S-7), measure the distance and confirm that the measured distance is far (S-8), that is, confirm that there are no obstacles between the camera and the fireworks, and then proceed as shown in Figure 4. Perform the same operations as the steps after (F-14).

The fireworks mode has been explained above, and its basic idea is to detect the sound pressure level of the input sound and control the shutter to close accordingly. Therefore, similar applications may be possible, such as detecting the sound of a golf impact or thunder and closing the shutter to take a photograph of a golf swing form or lightning.

(Effects of the Invention) As explained above, according to the present invention, when a release operation is performed, the distance is judged, the shutter is opened after confirming that there are no obstacles, and a predetermined sound pressure level is input. Since the shutter is configured to close when there is a sound, it is easy to photograph fireworks. Also, since the shutter is closed when the sound of fireworks reaches the camera, the exposure time is automatically adjusted according to the brightness of the fireworks (corresponding to the distance from the fireworks), resulting in beautiful photos with good exposure. can be photographed.

Furthermore, by detecting changes in brightness in the photographing direction and opening the shutter when a predetermined change in brightness is detected, it is possible to take good photographs of fireworks without any operation by the photographer.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of a camera according to the invention;
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the circuit configuration of the first embodiment;
FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram of the audio processing circuit, FIG. 4 is a flowchart explaining the operation of the first embodiment, and FIG. 5 is a flowchart explaining the operation of the second embodiment. 23... Microcomputer, 26-... Shutter motor driver, 27... Shutter drive motor, 3
6... Distance measurement circuit, 37-... Photometry circuit, 39... Audio processing circuit, 40... Microphone

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) An input sound detection means, a detection means for detecting the sound pressure level of the sound detected by the input sound detection means, and a distance determination means for determining whether the distance measured by the distance measurement means is a long distance or not. and shutter control means that opens the shutter when the distance determining means determines that the distance is far based on the release operation, and closes the shutter in accordance with the sound pressure level detected by the detecting means. camera. (2) an input sound detection means, a detection means for detecting the sound pressure level of the sound detected by the input sound detection means, and a distance determination means for determining whether the distance measured by the distance measurement means is a long distance or not; and a photometering means for detecting a change in brightness in the photographing direction, and when the distance determining means determines that the distance is far and a predetermined change in brightness is detected by the photometering means, the shutter is opened; 1. A camera comprising a shutter control means for closing a shutter according to a sound pressure level.