JPH0545124A - Electronic still camera system enabling display of dimensions - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make photographing for display of dimension smoother by a construction wherein focusing on the position of a point to be measured can be confirmed by a luminescent spot and information for calculating the dimension of the point of focus can be stored in an electronic still camera system enabling display of the dimension. CONSTITUTION:When a dimension measuring position is selected by a element 45 for making the dimension measuring position variable, focusing is made on the selected position and also a luminescent spot is displayed. By pushing a second release button after two points to be measured are selected, data on the dimension between the points to be measured and on a scale showing a section between them are calculated and stored in a memory circuit. By pushing a first release button, focusing is made between the two points to be measured patterns of data on an image of a subject, the scale, etc., are recorded on a video floppy disk 24.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention is designed to measure the dimension between any two points of an object to be measured captured in the field of view of a viewfinder and the scale (hereinafter referred to as "scale") between them in the viewfinder. Medium) and electronic still camera system that can display the captured image on the playback screen at the same time,
More specifically, by changing the focal point on the subject screen, arbitrarily selecting a measured point to display a bright spot, and measuring the distance data of the measured point selected by the second release operation, etc. The present invention relates to an electronic still camera system adapted to obtain.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art The applicant of the present invention is able to add a scale and its length to an image of a subject in order to easily and accurately know the distance between any two points on an object to be measured. Is proposed. This proposal is to insert a scale and a dimension indicating the section between two points of the object to be measured on the viewfinder or the reproduction screen. The distance information to each subject is obtained by the AF operation, and the dimension between two points is calculated based on the distance information and the like.

[0003]

In the above proposal, when the two measured points are designated by the AF operation, the display section is not constructed so as to be easily designated. That is, when the AF operation is focused, the point to be measured is designated by visually confirming whether or not the portion is in focus. Further, once the two measured points are designated, data relating to the dimensions of the measured points are automatically calculated, and the data is recorded on the recording medium together with the subject image. Therefore, it cannot be said that the usability when selecting the measured point is sufficient for the photographing for displaying the dimensions. The object of the present invention is to make it possible to confirm the focus of the position of the measured point by the finder with the finder and to store the information for calculating the size of the focus point in advance so that the photographing for the size display can be performed more easily. An object of the present invention is to provide an electronic still camera system that can be smoothly operated.

[0004]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, an electronic still camera system capable of displaying dimensions according to the present invention has position information of two measured points of an object captured in the same field of view and focusing of the positions. The zoom information and the distance information at the time are obtained, and the information of the scale between the two measurement points and the scale indicating the section is calculated by substituting the information into a predetermined arithmetic expression to perform calculation. When data is sent to the scale pattern generator to output the numerical value, unit, and scale pattern indicating the dimension, and when the screen that is being shot or shot is reproduced, the numerical value, unit, and scale pattern indicating the dimension is displayed on the subject screen. It is an electronic still camera system that can display at the same time. When the dimension measurement position variable element is operated for the captured image, the measurement position is moved according to the operation amount and the focus adjustment lens is controlled so that the focal length matches the measurement position and the measurement point A bright spot is displayed on the display, and the measured point displayed as the bright spot is stored in a memory circuit to select the measured point.

[0005]

The present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings. Figure 1 shows the distance (dimension) between two DUTs.
It is a figure for demonstrating the principle of calculation. A state in which two DUTs 53 and 54 are captured within the field of view of the finder is shown. Considering that the object 53 to be measured is present at a coordinate position Q on a plane perpendicular to a straight line passing through substantially the center of the lens system, the center of the other object to be measured 54 is substantially the same as the center of the plane, and It is considered to exist at the coordinate position P of another plane parallel to the plane. Therefore, the coordinate positions Q and P are imaged at corresponding positions on the CCD image pickup device surface, and the coordinate positions Q and P can be detected on the CCD image pickup device surface. When the AF distance measuring frame is moved and brought onto the object to be measured 53, the object to be measured 53 is focused, and the distance information Lq to the object to be measured 53 is obtained from the information of the focus adjustment lens position at that time. Obtainable. The position Q on the screen where the object to be measured is present can be obtained from the position of the distance measuring frame. The AF distance measuring frame can be moved by controlling the gate circuit that drives the CCD. The distance information Lp is similarly applied to the DUT 54.
And the position information P on the screen can be obtained. Here, the distance (dimension) between the coordinate positions PQ is L, and the distance from the CCD image pickup device 50 to the coordinate positions P and Q is 1 ₂ respectively.
And 1 ₁ and the angles formed by the coordinate positions P and Q with respect to the optical axis are θ ₂ and θ ₁ , L is expressed by the following equation. L = {(1 ₁ sinθ ₁ +1 ₂ sinθ ₂ ) ² + (1 ₂ cosθ ₂ -1 ₁ cosθ ₁ ) ² } ^1/2 (1)

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the appearance of the camera of the electronic still camera system according to the present invention. On the right side of the upper surface of the camera body 42, a first release button 43 for photographing a subject (recording on a video floppy) is arranged. When shooting in the size display mode, data about the size is recorded on the video floppy together with the subject image. Further, a dimension measurement position changing element 45 and a second release button 44 are arranged on the left side of the upper surface. When the dimension measurement position variable element 45 is operated in the dimension display mode, the measurement position changes according to the operation amount, and the focus adjustment lens is controlled so that the focal length matches the designated measurement position. At this time, a bright spot 46 is displayed on the subject at the in-focus position in the viewfinder as shown in FIG. As a result, the photographer can determine the measurement position by observing the bright spots for any subject on the screen.

FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram showing an embodiment of the electronic still camera system according to the present invention. The image pickup system means 4 comprises a lens system 1, a diaphragm 2 and a CCD image pickup device 3. The lens system 1 is composed of a master lens, a focus adjustment lens, a variable power lens (zoom lens) and the like, and a diaphragm 2 is incorporated in the rear part thereof. The iris including the focus control means, the autofocus control circuit 18 is configured to include a drive unit for driving the focus adjustment lens and the variable power lens of the lens system 1, a drive unit for driving the diaphragm, and a control unit for controlling these. ing. The iris / autofocus control circuit 18 controls driving by a control signal sent from the CPU 14 including a control means.

The CPU 14 is the shutter control circuit 1
When the CCD driver 17 is activated via 6 to drive the CCD image pickup device 3, the subject image is taken into the circuit of the recording system through the image pickup system means and displayed on an electronic viewfinder (not shown). In addition to the above operation, the iris / autofocus control circuit 18 drives the focusing lens based on the high frequency signal extracted from the video signal to perform the focusing operation. Information (distance information) indicating the focus adjustment lens position and focus adjustment lens position is sent to the CPU 14. When a zoom operation is performed and a zoom signal is input from the CPU 14, the variable power lens is driven to enlarge or reduce the subject to a desired size. In addition to this, the iris and auto-focus control circuit 18 receives information on the brightness from the video signal and drives and controls the diaphragm 2 so that the subject is properly exposed. The dimension display mode switch 38 is for setting the camera to the dimension measurement display mode.

When the first release button 43 is operated and the signal is received, the CPU 14 sends a control signal to the CCD driver to cause the CCD image pickup device 3 to discharge the electric charge accumulated up to that point and start the transfer for a predetermined time ( Shutter time)
After the elapse, the transfer is ended. The CCD image pickup device 3 sends an electric signal of a subject image to a recording system circuit. In the circuit of the recording system, the electric signal of the CCD image pickup device 3 is input to the color matrix circuit 5 and the Y process circuit 9. The color matrix circuit 5 subtracts the Y (luminance) signal and the chroma signal and outputs a color difference signal. On the other hand, the Y process circuit 9 uses the timing pulse from the timing generator 21 to insert a synchronizing signal or the like to create a predetermined luminance signal. A part of the output of the Y process circuit 9 is sent to the contrast detection unit 20. The contrast detection unit 20 detects the brightness of the luminance signal at the timing of the pulse supplied from the timing generator 21, and sends the detection information to the CPU 14. The CPU 14 analyzes the detection information and sends a control signal to the iris / autofocus control circuit 18 for the above-mentioned exposure control.

The character and size insert circuit 6 is a circuit for inserting the specified color information from the character and size pattern generator 19 in order to make the size and scale the specified color. Also, the character and size insert circuit 10
Is a circuit for inserting a scale signal (a numerical value indicating a distance (dimension) between two measured points, a unit and a scale pattern signal) into the luminance signal. These character and size insert circuits 6 and 10 operate only when a scale signal is sent from the character and size pattern generator 19, and the color matrix circuit 5 and the Y process circuit 9 form a color difference signal and luminance which form an image of a subject. When signals are supplied, scale signals are not inserted in those signals. Therefore, the character and size insert circuits 6 and 10 output the image signal of the subject and the image signal into which only the scale signal is inserted at different timings.

The color difference signal and the luminance signal which have passed through the scale insert circuits 6 and 10 are sent to a recording processing circuit 7 which is composed of an emphasis circuit, a modulator and a synthesizer. The recording processing circuit 7 performs emphasis processing on the color difference signal and the luminance signal, FM-modulates them, and then synthesizes them. The combined signal is recorded on a predetermined track of the video floppy 24 by the magnetic head 25. Here, when the scale signal is also taken in, the video signal of only the scale signal is set and recorded on the even-numbered tracks, and the video signal of the subject is set and recorded on the odd-numbered tracks. Information in which the track number of the image of the subject and the track number of the image of only the scale signal are associated with each other is stored in the memory built in the CPU 14.

The VFD (video floppy driver) interface circuit 22 is controlled by the CPU 14 to control the VFD2.
The drive control of the spindle motor in 3 is performed, and the video floppy 24 is rotated at a predetermined speed and phase. Further, the head driving motor is driven to drive the magnetic head 25.
Is moved to the track of the video floppy 24 designated by the CPU 14. An LCD 15 is connected to the CPU 14 and various displays showing the state of the electronic still camera are performed.

The circuit portion on the right side of the alternate long and short dash line is a portion showing a reproducing system. The video signal of the subject of a predetermined odd numbered track recorded on the video floppy 24 is read out to a reproduction processing circuit 26 including a Y / C separation circuit, a demodulator and a de-emphasis circuit under the control of the CPU 14. The reproduction processing circuit 26 separates the read image signal of the subject into a luminance signal modulated wave and a color difference signal modulated wave, demodulates them, and restores the original characteristics. Demodulated R-
The Y and BY color difference signals are synchronized by the RY / BY synchronizing circuit 29, and the synchronized signal and the luminance signal of the reproduction processing circuit 26 are input to the NTSC encoder 30. To be done. The NTSC encoder 30 converts these signals into NTSC signals and sends the converted NTSC signals to the A / D converter 33.

The output of the A / D converter 33 is temporarily stored in the address space of the memory 34 indicated by the memory control circuit 37 instructed by the CPU 14. CPU1 here
In the case where the instruction to display the dimensions at the same time is received by key input, the reference numeral 4 reads the predetermined odd numbered track and the set even numbered track number information from the built-in memory,
The VFD interface circuit 22 is controlled to move the magnetic head 25 to the even-numbered track. When the magnetic head 25 is positioned on the even-numbered tracks, the video signal of only the scale signal is read. The read video signal of only the scale signal is processed in the same manner as the video signal of the subject, and is converted into a digital signal by the A / D converter 33. Memory control circuit 3
7 is a memory 34 in which the video signal of the subject is stored.
The video signal of only the scale signal is stored in an address space different from the address space of. After that, the image signals of only the subject and the scale signal in the memory 34 are simultaneously read out by the memory control circuit 37, combined, and converted into an analog signal by the D / A converter 35. The D / A converted analog signal is amplified by the video amplifier 36 and output from the video output terminal.

Next, the operation and the recording operation for setting the dimension display mode for photographing will be described with reference to FIGS. 2, 3 and 4. The camera is fixed to a tripod or the like. After pressing the size display mode switch 38, hold the camera against the subject whose size is to be measured, and press the second release button 44 halfway, the CPU 14 causes the iris to focus on the subject in the AF ranging frame. , Controls the autofocus control circuit 18. Next, when the dimension measurement position variable element 45 is operated, C is changed according to the operation amount.
The gate of CD3 is controlled and the distance measuring frame moves. At the same time, it controls the iris and the auto-focus control circuit 18 so as to focus on the subject in the distance measuring frame (measurement position) that has moved, and at the same time displays the bright spot display control signal to display the bright spot at the measurement position. And to the size pattern generator 19. In the character and size insert circuit 10, the bright spot signal is inserted into the portion corresponding to the measurement position of the luminance signal.

By the above operation, the photographer can arbitrarily select the position of the measured point while looking at the bright spot. The position of the selected measured point is stored by pressing the dimension measurement position variable element 45. Then, the next measurement position can be designated by the same operation. When the second release button 44 is pressed after designating the two measured points in this way, the CPU 14 determines from the distance, zoom information and position information on the screen for these two measured points,
The equation (1) is calculated to calculate the distance between the two measurement points and the scale data to be inserted between them. And
Store in internal memory.

Next, when the first release button 43 is pressed,
The CPU 14 controls the iris and auto focus control circuit 18 to focus near the middle of the two points to be measured, and record the video signal of the object on the odd-numbered tracks of the video floppy 24. Further, the scale data recorded in the built-in memory is read out and sent to the character and size pattern generator 19 to output the numerical value, unit, and scale pattern indicating the size between two measured points. The video signal of only this pattern is recorded on the even-numbered tracks of the video prop 24. When it is desired to display the dimensions and scale during reproduction, when the reproduction operation is performed after pressing the dimension display mode switch 38, the numerical value, unit, and scale indicating the dimensions are displayed on the image of the subject on the screen of the reproduction monitor. ..

FIG. 5 shows an example of a reproduction screen whose dimensions are displayed. A scale 49 is inserted between the subjects 47 and 48 of the tree, which is the measured point, and the subject 4 is placed to the left of the subject 47.
A unit 61 is displayed with a dimension 60 between 7, 48.
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing examples of scales, distances, and units simultaneously displayed in the viewfinder or in the playback screen. As the shape of the scale, various ones such as a scale having arrows at both ends can be used.

Since the above embodiment displays the dimension between two points to be measured, it is constructed so as to specify two measuring positions. It is also possible to specify measurement points and calculate and display mutual dimensions between these measured points. FIG. 7 shows each measurement position when a large number of measurement positions are designated. P surface, Q surface ... Position information in the X axis direction from the optical axis center of each designated measurement point on the Y surface, Y axis position, and distance information from the light receiving element are acquired, and the information is stored. Stored in memory. For example, at the point P on the P plane, the values of PX, PY and PL are stored. When the information on the measurement positions at a large number of points is obtained in this way and the second release button is pressed, the mutual dimensions between the measurement positions and the scale data indicating the section are calculated and stored in the internal memory. .. When the first release button is pressed, a plurality of subject images are recorded on the video floppy while focusing between the measurement positions. For example, if three measurement positions are designated, three images will be taken. At the same time, the data of the size and the scale indicating the section are recorded on the video floppy.

Although the example of the analog recording type electronic still camera has been described above, the present invention can also be applied to a digital recording type electronic still camera. In such a case, the video signal of the subject is D / A converted and then recorded in a semiconductor memory, for example, an IC memory. Since the data such as the scale is coded information, the consistency is good. When the size display is instructed at the time of photographing, the semiconductor memory stores the digital data of the object and the scale signal in the same address space or separate associated address spaces. In reproduction, if the images are stored in the same address space, the image of the subject on which the scale or the like is displayed is reproduced if read out as it is. Further, when the images are stored in different address spaces, it is possible to reproduce the image of the subject by selecting whether to insert a scale or the like.

It should be noted that the scale between two measured points in the present invention is inserted to indicate which subject is the dimension, and as long as it can be confirmed which subject is shown. Often it does not have to be inserted exactly between the two objects to be measured. In the above embodiments, the video signal of the subject is recorded on the odd-numbered tracks and the scale signal is recorded on the even-numbered tracks, but the scale signal may be stored in another recording area, for example, the user's area of ID information. The case of displaying the numerical values indicating the scale and the dimension and the unit has been described, but some of them can be deleted and displayed. The display position of the numerical value and the unit is the lower part of the scale, but it may be displayed at any of the upper, lower, left and right positions of the scale. Further, the color arrangement and density of the scale or the like can be selected according to the background color. The distance between two objects to be measured is calculated by assuming two parallel planes including these measurement points, but it is regarded as a spherical surface including these measurement points and is calculated in consideration of the solid angle. It is also possible. It is also possible to express it in a vector manner as a display method of the position information of the measurement point. Further, in the present invention, the distance to the point to be measured is obtained from the lens position information, but a distance measuring sensor may be separately provided to obtain the distance. It is also possible to display the dimensions in conjunction with the strobe.

[0022]

As described above, in the electronic still camera system capable of displaying dimensions according to the present invention, the variable dimension measurement position element is operated up, down, left and right to arbitrarily select the measurement position and focus on the selected position. By aligning and displaying bright spots, and pressing the second release button, the dimensions of the measurement positions and the scale data indicating the section are calculated and stored in the memory circuit. It is configured to record dimensional data or patterns. Therefore, the focus of the measurement position can be confirmed by the bright spot, which improves usability when selecting the measured point, and after confirming the measurement position by the bright spot, the information of the measurement position is recorded in the memory circuit before photographing. Therefore, the shooting for displaying the dimensions can be performed more smoothly.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining a principle of calculating a distance (dimension) between two measurement points captured in a field of view of a finder.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing an appearance of a camera for explaining an arrangement example of a variable dimension measurement position element and the like.

FIG. 3 is a view of a finder screen showing an example of bright spot display.

FIG. 4 is a circuit block diagram showing an embodiment of an electronic still camera system capable of displaying dimensions according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing examples of various scales.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a reproduction screen in which dimensions are displayed.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining measurement position information to be acquired when three or more measurement positions are designated.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Lens system 2 ... Aperture 3 ... CCD 4 ... Imaging system means 5 ... Color matrix 6,10 ... Character and size insert circuit 7, 11 ... Recording processing circuit 9 ... Y process circuit 14 ... CPU (control means) 16 ... Shutter Control circuit 17 ... CCD driver 18 ... Iris, autofocus control circuit 19 ... Character and size pattern generator 20 ... Contrast detector 21 ... Timing generator 26, 28 ... Reproduction processing circuit 33 ... A / D converter 34 ... Memory 35 ... D / A converter 36 ... Video amplifier 37 ... Memory control circuit 43 ... First release button 44 ... Second release button 45 ... Dimension measurement position variable element

Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁵ Identification number Office reference number FI technical display location // G03B 17/18 Z 7316-2K

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. Obtaining position information of two measured points of an object captured in the same field of view, zoom information and distance information when the positions are in focus, and substituting the information into a predetermined arithmetic expression for calculation. By calculating the data of the scale between the two measurement points and the section indicating the section, and sending the data of the size and scale to the scale pattern generator to output the numerical value, unit and scale pattern representing the size. According to the electronic still camera system capable of displaying a pattern of numerical values, units, and scales indicating the dimensions at the same time as the subject screen when shooting or reproducing the shot screen, a dimension measurement position variable element is provided, and an image pickup system is provided. When the dimension measurement position variable element is operated with respect to the captured image, the measurement position is moved according to the operation amount. Then, the focus adjustment lens is controlled so that the focal length matches the measurement position, and the bright point is displayed at the measurement point, and the measured point displayed by the bright point is stored in the memory circuit, and the measured point is stored. An electronic still camera system capable of displaying dimensions, characterized by being selected. 2. Obtaining position information of two measured points of an object captured in the same visual field, zoom information and distance information at the time of focusing of the positions, and substituting the information into a predetermined arithmetic expression for calculation. By calculating the data of the scale between the two measurement points and the section indicating the section, and sending the data of the size and scale to the scale pattern generator to output the numerical value, unit and scale pattern representing the size. An electronic still camera system capable of simultaneously displaying a pattern of numerical values, units, and scales representing the above-mentioned dimensions at the same time as a subject screen during photographing or when reproducing the photographed screen, including a dimension measurement position variable element and a second release button. Is provided, and the second release button is half-pressed to focus on the subject at the distance measuring position. When the second release button is pressed after the two measurement points are designated and focused by the operation of the dimension measurement position variable element,
Data of the scale between the two measurement points and the scale data indicating the section are calculated from the position information of the one measured point and stored in the memory circuit, and when the first release button is pressed in this state, Focusing on an intermediate position between two measured points and recording the data of the scale between the screen and the two measuring points and the scale indicating the section or the pattern thereof on a recording medium. Electronic still camera system. 3. The number of measured points designated by the dimension measuring position variable element is 3 or more, and the data between the measured points and the scale data indicating the section are calculated from the position information of each measured point. The electronic still camera system according to claim 2, wherein the electronic still camera system is stored in a memory circuit.