JPH04340527A - Camera capable of bounce flash photographing - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide the camera capable of bounce flash photographing in which the angle of a flash light emission part at the time of emitting flash light to a ceiling in the case of bounce flash photographing is automatically set based on information on a distance to a subject which is positioned above the camera or an object distance. CONSTITUTION:The distance to the object is measured by a range-finder circuit(1) 33, and the distance to the substance which is positioned above the camera is measured by a range-finder(2) 34. In the case of bounce flash photographing, a built-in flash 1 is driven to an appropriate position by a motor driver circuit(1) 36 based on the output of distance information from the circuits 33 and 34.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a camera that performs bounce flash photography by controlling the light irradiated onto an object by reflecting the flash light off an arbitrary object.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional camera that performs bounce flash photography of this type, a lighting device built into the camera is driven by a motor between a storage position, a regular light emission position, and a bounce flash photography position. There is a camera that allows the photographer to set the camera at an arbitrary position when taking a photo (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 195637/1983). In addition, when performing bounce flash photography, the distance to the ceiling and the reflectance of the flash light from the ceiling are measured using a distance sensor installed on the top of the camera, and the appropriate exposure at that time is determined. There are some (see Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 1-304434). Note that in the cameras disclosed in both of the above-mentioned publications, it is necessary for the photographer to set the angle of the light emitting section when the flash light is reflected onto the ceiling.

0003

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] When performing bounce flash photography, it is difficult for the photographer to arbitrarily set the angle of the flash emitting section when emitting the flash toward the ceiling, and as described above, With conventional cameras, it is necessary to reset the angle every time the subject distance changes, making operation cumbersome. The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems, and automatically adjusts the angle of the flash emitting part when emitting the flash toward the ceiling during bounce flash photography based on the distance to the object above the camera and the subject distance information. To provide a camera capable of bounce flash photography that can be set as desired.

0004

Means for Solving the Problems To achieve the above object, the invention of claim 1 provides a camera that reflects flash light on an arbitrary object and irradiates the object with the reflected light to perform bounce flash photography. A first distance measuring means for measuring the distance to the subject, a second distance measuring means for measuring the distance to the object above the camera, and a protruding position where bounce flash photography is possible and a storage position. a lighting device that is rotatably supported and illuminates the subject with flash light; and a lighting device that is rotatably supported and that is based on information about the distance to the subject and the distance to an object above the camera by the first distance measuring means and the second distance measuring means. and a control means for driving the lighting device vertically between the protruding position and the storage position using a motor. According to a second aspect of the invention, in the above, the lighting device includes means for narrowing down the light distribution of the flash light. The invention according to claim 3 further provides the above, wherein the control means includes calculation means for calculating the angle of the illumination device based on the distance to the subject and the distance to the object, and a warning for issuing a warning or a release lock when the angle is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. It is something that has the means. A fourth aspect of the present invention further provides a warning or a release lock when the distance to the object cannot be measured.

[0005]

According to the structure of claim 1, the distance to the subject is measured by the first distance measuring means, and the distance to the object located above the camera is measured by the second distance measuring means. When illuminating a subject with flash light using a lighting device during bounce flash photography, the lighting device is positioned at an appropriate position by a control device based on distance information output from the first distance measuring device and the second distance measuring device. drive According to the configuration described in claim 2, it is possible to narrow down the light distribution of the flash light from the lighting device. According to the configuration of claim 3, the angle of the illumination device is calculated based on the distance between the subject and the object by the calculation means in the control means, and when the angle is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the warning means in the control means causes the control means to take an image. warn the person or lock the release. According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, by issuing a warning or locking the release, it is indicated to the photographer that the distance to the object cannot be measured.

[0006]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A camera with a built-in flash (hereinafter referred to as a camera) capable of bounce flash photography according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a front view of the camera body A of the camera according to this embodiment, and FIG.
is a top view of the same camera body. In the figure, a camera body A has a built-in flash 1 on its upper surface and is rotatable by a motor. In addition, the camera body A has a release button 2 and a flash mode switching lever 3, and the flash mode switching lever 3 has two modes: a normal flash mode that irradiates the flash light directly onto the subject, and an indirect light that reflects it off the ceiling. This is for switching the bounce flash mode for irradiation. Further, a display section 4 is installed on the top surface of the camera body A, and displays the shutter speed, aperture value, number of shots, etc. on a liquid crystal display or the like. Further, a distance measuring section 20 is provided on the upper surface of the built-in flash 1. This distance measuring section 20
has a light emitting lens 21a and a light receiving lens 21b, and when shooting with bounce flash, the light emitting lens 21a
The spot light is emitted toward the ceiling, and the light receiving lens 2
1b measures the distance from the camera to the ceiling by receiving reflected light from the ceiling.

FIG. 3 shows the internal configuration of the built-in flash 1. As shown in FIG. In the figure, a built-in flash 1 includes a flash light emitting section 10, a drive mechanism, a distance measuring section 20, and the like. 10a is the storage position of the flash light emitting unit 10;
b indicates the position (horizontal direction) of the flash light emitting section 10 in the normal flash mode, and 10c indicates the position when the flash light emitting section 10 is driven to the maximum. Incidentally, in the bounce flash mode, it is set at an appropriate position between the above-mentioned 10b and 10c. A flash panel 11 is provided on the front surface of the flash light emitting unit 10, and the flash light emitting unit 10 is rotatably supported around a rotating shaft 12 between a storage position and a protruding position where bounce flash photography is possible. . The driving force for rotating the flash light emitting unit 10 can be obtained by a stepping motor 15, and the driving force is transmitted by a fan-shaped gear 13 and an adjustment gear 14 that are integrally formed with the flash light emitting unit 10. Furthermore, the built-in flash 1 has a flash light emitting section 10.
A switch 16 is provided to detect the initial position of the
It is designed to turn on when the flash light emitting unit 10 is in the stored state.

FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram of this camera. In the figure, a microcomputer (hereinafter referred to as a microcomputer) 30 causes external circuits to perform predetermined operations, and controls the entire camera. The photometry circuit (1) 31 is a block for measuring the brightness of a subject and outputting the brightness information of the subject to the microcomputer 30. The photometry circuit (2) 32 is a block that integrates the reflected light of the flash light from the subject during flash photography, and outputs a signal to the microcomputer 30 when the integrated value reaches a predetermined amount. The distance measuring circuit (1) 33 is a block for measuring the distance to the subject and outputting subject distance information to the microcomputer 30. The distance measuring circuit (2) 34 corresponds to the distance measuring section 20 provided on the top surface of the built-in flash 1, and is a block for measuring the distance from the camera to the ceiling and outputting the distance information to the microcomputer 30. . Further, the flash circuit 35 is a block for projecting flash light onto a subject, and the amount of light emitted is controlled by a signal from the microcomputer 30.

Furthermore, the motor driver circuit (1) 36 is a block for driving the stepping motor (M1) for driving the above-mentioned flash light emitting unit 10, and pulse-drives the motor M1 with a signal from the microcomputer 30. do. Further, a motor driver circuit (2) 37 is a block for driving a film feeding motor (M2) not shown. The shutter circuit 38 is a block for controlling exposure using a shutter and an aperture, and the microcomputer 3
Controlled by 0. Furthermore, the focusing circuit 39
is a block for driving the photographing lens, and is controlled by the microcomputer 30 based on object distance information from the distance measuring circuit (1) 33.

Next, the switch S1, switch S2, switch SFL, and switch SHO connected to the microcomputer 30 are connected to the microcomputer 30.
ME will be explained below. The switch S1 is a photometry switch, which is turned on by pressing the release button 2 one step to start photometry operation. The switch S2 is turned on by pressing the release button 2 one more step to perform a release operation. Further, the switch SFL is a flash mode changeover switch, and is turned on by operating the flash mode changeover lever 3. switch SHO
ME is an initial position detection switch that detects whether or not the flash light emitting unit 10 is completely retracted, and is turned ON when it is fully retracted. As a result, the microcomputer 30 continues to drive the stepping motor M1 until the switch SHOME is turned on. Furthermore, when the flash light emitting unit 10 is driven during bounce flash photography,
The microcomputer 30 outputs a predetermined number of pulses based on the initial position of the flash light emitting section 10 set by the switch SHOME, and the flash light emitting section 10 is driven to a desired angle.

Next, the principle of distance measurement to the ceiling by the distance measuring section 20 provided on the top surface of the built-in flash 1 will be explained with reference to FIG. In the figure, a distance measuring unit 20 having a light emitting lens 21a and a light receiving lens 21b includes a light emitting LED 23 for emitting spot light and a position sensor device (for receiving reflected light and measuring distance). PSD)24
It has inside. Furthermore, T1 and T2 are ceilings of different heights, and the distances from the top surface of the camera to T1 and T2 are r1 and r2, respectively. Spot light from the light projection LED 23 is projected onto the ceiling through the light projection lens 21a. The projected spot light is reflected by the ceiling, and the reflected light at this time passes through the light receiving lens 21b and is received by the PSD 24. Here, since the ceiling heights are different between T1 and T2, the center of gravity of the reflected light received by the PSD 20 is different. This measures the distance from the camera to the ceiling. Note that this distance measuring method is based on a known technique, so a detailed explanation will be omitted.

Next, the operation of this camera during photographing will be explained using the flowchart shown in FIG. In the figure, when the photometric switch S1 is turned on, the photometric circuit 31 first measures the subject brightness (#1), and then
The distance to the subject is measured by the distance measuring circuit (1) 33 (#2). The photographing lens is focused by the output of the focusing circuit 39 based on the distance measurement result obtained here (#3). Next, exposure calculation is performed using the subject brightness information and film sensitivity information obtained in #1 (#4), and the flash mode selection switch SFL is
ON/OFF determination is performed (#5). The switch SFL
When is turned on, the distance to the ceiling is measured by the distance measuring circuit (2) 34 to perform bounce flash photography (#6), and then the angle of the flash light emitting section is calculated (#7).

The calculation of the angle of the flash light emitting unit in the bounce flash mode described above will be explained with reference to FIG. In the same figure, the distance from the camera body to the ceiling is d
, when the distance from the camera body to the subject is D, the angle θ of the light emitting part of the camera body from the horizontal plane is θ=arc
It is calculated by tan(2d/D). Angle θ found by this calculation formula
By setting the flash light emitting part upward,
Flash light reflected from the ceiling efficiently reaches the subject.

Returning to FIG. 6, the flash light emitting section is driven based on the angle data of the flash light emitting section calculated in #7 (#8), and then the release switch S2 is turned on/off.
Performs OFF determination (#9). Switch SFL is O at #5
When using FF, proceed to #16 assuming that bounce flash photography will not be performed, check whether it is necessary to fire the flash due to low brightness etc. as a result of the exposure calculation in #4 (#16), and if necessary. drive the flash light emitting unit to the normal flash mode position (horizontal direction) (#
17) Proceed to #9 and turn release switch S2 ON/O
Perform FF discrimination (#9). Release switch S2 is OFF
When F, it is further determined whether the photometry switch S1 is ON or OFF (#10), and when it is ON, the process returns to #9 and this sequence is continued until the release switch S2 is turned ON. If the photometry switch S1 is OFF, the camera ends its operation.

If S2 is ON in #9, perform exposure (#
11) At this time, if the bounce flash mode is selected in #5 or if the normal flash mode is selected in #16, a flash is emitted. Here, the light reflected from the flash is integrated by the photometry circuit (2) 32, and when the proper exposure is achieved, the flash emission is stopped, and after the exposure is completed, the film is wound one frame (#12). Next, switch SHOME O
Performs N/OFF determination (#13), and if it is OFF,
The stepping motor M1 is driven in the direction of retracting the flash emitting section (#14), and when it is turned on, the flash emitting section is completely retracted, and the camera finishes its operation, assuming that the photographing is completed.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and can be modified in various ways. The light is PSD24
If the distance cannot be measured because no light is received, or the light is very weak, the cause may be that there is no ceiling, the ceiling is very high, or the reflectance of the ceiling is very low. Even if you use bounce flash photography, there is a high possibility that the result will be a failed photo. In addition, even if distance measurement is possible, if the flash angle θ exceeds a predetermined angle because the ceiling is very high or the subject distance is very close, or the obtained angle θ exceeds the flash angle variable range. The same is true when Therefore, in that case, a warning or a release lock may be issued. Furthermore, in a camera equipped with a flash capable of zooming the flash light during bounce flash photography, the light distribution of the flash light may be automatically narrowed down so that the light reaches a long distance. At this time, since the flash light is diffused by the ceiling, there is no problem even if the light distribution is narrower than in the normal flash mode.

[0017]

[Effect of the invention] As described above, according to the invention of claim 1,
When performing bounce flash photography by reflecting the flash light off an arbitrary object and irradiating the reflected light onto the subject, the angle of the flash emitting part is automatically adjusted based on the subject distance and distance information to the object above the camera. Therefore, compared to the case where the photographer arbitrarily sets the angle of the light emitting section, the subject can be illuminated more efficiently and bounce flash photography can be easily performed. Further, even if the distance to the subject and the distance to the object above the camera change, there is no need to reset the angle of the light emitting unit each time, and bounce flash photography can be performed without requiring special knowledge. According to the invention of claim 2, in addition to the above, when shooting with a bounce flash using a camera capable of flash zooming, the light distribution of the flash light is automatically narrowed down, so that the flash light can reach a long distance. Become. According to the third aspect of the invention, when automatically setting the angle of the flash unit based on the subject distance and the distance information to the object above the camera,
If the angle exceeds a predetermined value because there is a considerable distance to the object, there is no object above the camera, or the reflectance of the object is low, the camera will warn the photographer or lock the release. This allows the photographer to always know this and perform accurate bounce flash photography. According to the invention of claim 4, in addition to the above, if it is determined that the distance to an object above the camera cannot be measured, the distance to the object is considerable, or the object is above the camera. warns the photographer when the object is not present or the reflectance of the object is low.
Alternatively, since the release is locked, the photographer can always know this and can perform accurate bounce flash photography.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a camera with a built-in flash capable of bounce flash photography according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a top view of the camera.

FIG. 3 is an internal configuration diagram of the built-in flash of this camera.

FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram of the camera.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the principle of distance measurement to the ceiling in this camera.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the present camera during photographing.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the relationship between the subject, the flash light emitting unit, and the angle of the ceiling in the bounce flash mode.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Built-in flash 20 Ranging section 33 Distance measurement circuit (1) 34 Ranging circuit (2) 34 Photometry circuit (2) 36 Motor driver circuit (1)

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A camera that performs bounce flash photography by reflecting flash light on an arbitrary object and irradiating the reflected light onto the subject, comprising: a first distance measuring means for measuring the distance to the subject; a second distance measuring means for measuring a distance to an object located above; and an illumination device that is rotatably supported between a protruding position and a storage position where bounce flash photography is possible, and that illuminates the subject with flash light. , the illumination device is moved up and down between the protruding position and the storage position by a motor based on the distance to the subject and the distance to the object above the camera from the first distance measuring means and the second distance measuring means. A camera capable of bounce flash photography, characterized by being equipped with a control means for driving the camera in a direction. 2. The camera capable of bounce flash photography according to claim 1, wherein the illumination device includes means for narrowing down the distribution of flash light. 3. The control means includes a calculation means for calculating the angle of the illumination device based on the distance to the subject and the distance to the object, and a warning means for issuing a warning or locking the release when the angle is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. A camera capable of bounce flash photography according to claim 1. 4. The camera capable of bounce flash photography according to claim 1, wherein a warning or a release lock is issued when the distance to the object cannot be measured.