JPH06130447A - Self-timer camera with red eye reducing function - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To exert the red eye reducing effect in all light emission modes without increasing the number of operating members and without increasing the number of light emission modes. CONSTITUTION:A self-timer camera is provided with possibility of setting a plurality of flash device light emission modes and also possibility of such three modes as the red eye reducing mode which makes preliminary irradiation for reduction of red eye prior to the flash light photographing, the self-timer mode to perform self-timer photographing, and the normal photographing mode to perform normal photographing without preliminary irradiation, wherein the arrangement is composed of the first mode set operation member 101A, the first mode setting means 102A which selects and sets either of the flash light emission modes according to the position of the first member 101A, the second mode set operation member 101B, and the second mode setting means 102B which selects and sets either of the reddishness reducing mode, self-timer mode, and normal photographing mode in accordance with the position of the second member 101B.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a camera capable of preliminary irradiation for red-eye reduction and self-timer photographing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been known a camera which performs a preliminary irradiation for red-eye reduction prior to photographing in order to prevent a so-called red-eye phenomenon in which a subject's eyes appear red during flash photographing.
In this type of camera, when the release button is operated while the red-eye reduction mode is set, pre-irradiation is performed by the electronic flash device or a dedicated pre-irradiation device, and the electronic flash device is turned on with subsequent shutter release. The main light is emitted.
According to this, since the pupil of the person who is the subject is reduced by the preliminary irradiation, and the flash photography is performed in this state, the red eye becomes inconspicuous in the finished photograph. On the other hand, a camera capable of self-timer shooting starts shutter release after a predetermined time has elapsed from the release operation (shooting start operation) when the self-timer mode is set, but the first half of this time is for self-timer display. In addition to blinking the light-emitting element to indicate that the time is being measured, the light-emitting element is switched on to signal the subject immediately before the shutter release.

In conventional cameras, there are the following two methods for setting or canceling the red-eye reduction mode. (1) A method of setting / releasing the red-eye reduction mode by operating a dedicated operation member (for example, a red-eye reduction mode setting operation member is provided, and when this operation member is operated once, the red-eye reduction mode is set and is operated again. Will be released). (2) A method in which a red-eye reduction mode is provided in the electronic flash device emission mode (automatic emission mode, forced emission mode, slow sync mode, emission inhibition mode, etc.) and the red-eye reduction mode is set by operating the emission mode setting switch. In this case, the automatic light emission mode is provided with a mode for performing red-eye reduction and a mode for not performing red-eye reduction.

[0004]

However, the method (1) is disadvantageous in terms of operability, space, and cost because the number of operating members increases. Further, in the method (2), pre-irradiation for red-eye reduction cannot be performed in the forced light emission mode or the slow sync mode, so there is a possibility that a photograph with a conspicuous red eye may be taken when these modes are set. Therefore, it is possible to provide a mode for performing preliminary irradiation and a mode for not performing preliminary irradiation for the forced light emission mode and the slow sync mode, but in this case, the number of light emission modes increases and the operability deteriorates. .

An object of the present invention is to provide a self-timer camera having a red-eye reduction mechanism capable of pre-irradiating for red-eye reduction in all emission modes without increasing the number of operating members and the number of emission modes. Especially.

[0006]

With reference to FIG. 1, which is a diagram corresponding to the claims, the present invention allows a plurality of flash device emission modes to be set, and performs preliminary irradiation for red-eye reduction prior to flash photography. The present invention is applied to a camera in which a red-eye reduction mode to be performed, a self-timer mode for performing self-timer shooting, and a normal shooting mode for performing normal shooting without performing preliminary irradiation are set. The first mode setting operation member 101A and the first mode setting operation member 101A
Operation of the first mode setting operation member 102A, the second mode setting operation member 101B, and the second mode setting operation member 101B for selecting and setting any one of the plurality of light emission modes according to the operation of Depending on the red eye reduction mode,
Second mode setting means 102B for selecting and setting either the self-timer mode or the normal photographing mode is provided, thereby solving the above problems. Especially claim 2
Is a light emitting means 103 for irradiating the front of the camera with light having a red-eye reduction effect, and when the red-eye reduction mode is set, the light emitting means 103 is turned on until a first predetermined time elapses after a shooting start operation is performed. In fact, when the self-timer mode is set, the light emitting means 10 is operated until the second predetermined time elapses after the shooting start operation is performed.
3 is made to blink, and the light emission control means 104 for making the light emission means 103 light up after the second predetermined time elapses until the third predetermined time elapses, and when the red-eye reduction mode is set, the shooting start operation is performed. The first since it was done
When the self-timer mode is set, the shutter release is started after the lapse of a predetermined time, and the shutter release is started after the second predetermined time has elapsed after the shooting start operation and the third predetermined time has elapsed. The image capturing means 105 is provided. Claim 3
Provides a first self-timer mode without preliminary irradiation for red-eye reduction and a second self-timer mode with preliminary irradiation, and reduces red-eye reduction according to the operation of the second mode setting operation member 101B. Mode, first self-timer mode,
The second self-timer mode or the normal photographing mode is selected and set.

[0007]

In order to set / cancel the red-eye reduction mode, it is configured to select and set one of the normal photographing mode, the red-eye reduction mode and the self-timer mode according to the operation of the second mode setting operation member 101B. The operating member can also be used as the self-timer mode setting operating member. Also,
If the red-eye reduction mode is set, preliminary irradiation for red-eye reduction can be performed in any of the emission modes (automatic emission mode, forced emission mode, slow sync mode, etc.) without increasing the number of emission modes. In addition, especially claim 2
In the case where the self-timer mode is set, the light emitting means 103 blinks until the second predetermined time elapses after the shooting start operation is performed, and after the second predetermined time elapses, the third predetermined time elapses. Light emitting means 1 until the time passes
03 is turned on, and then shutter release is started. In this case, the light emitting means 103 serves the same function as the self-timer display as in the conventional case, and the red-eye reducing effect can be obtained by the lighting thereof. As described above, since the preliminary irradiation for red-eye reduction is always performed during the self-timer shooting, there is no possibility of taking a failure photograph in which the red-eye is conspicuous in the self-timer mode. Further, according to claim 3, in response to the operation of the second mode setting operation member 101B, a red-eye reduction mode, a first self-timer mode without preliminary irradiation for red-eye reduction, and a second self-timer with preliminary irradiation. Since either the timer mode or the normal shooting mode is selected and set, if the means for performing the preliminary irradiation for red-eye reduction and the means for performing the self-timer display are different, the red-eye is taken during the self-timer shooting. The photographer can select whether or not to perform the preliminary irradiation for reduction.

[0008]

【Example】

-First Embodiment- A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 2 is a plan view of a camera according to the present invention, in which a power switch 2 and a release switch 3 are provided on the upper surface of the camera body 1.
And a light emission mode switch 4 for switching and setting four electronic flash device light emission modes, which will be described later, and a shooting mode switch 5 for switching and setting three shooting modes. A liquid crystal display device 6 for performing mode setting display is connected.

FIG. 3 shows a control system of this camera.
A control circuit including a CPU, a ROM, a RAM (hereinafter,
Each of the above-mentioned switches 2 to
5, a photometry circuit 12 for detecting the brightness of the subject and a distance measurement circuit 13 for detecting the distance to the subject.
A focusing circuit 14 for focusing the photographing lens to focus on a subject; an exposure control circuit 15 for driving a diaphragm or a shutter for photographing; and a display driving circuit 16 for the liquid crystal display device 6. , And the electronic flash device 20 are connected. The electronic flash device 20 includes a light emitting unit 21 and a light emission control circuit 22 that controls light emission of the light emitting unit 21.

Reference numeral 31 is a lamp indicating that the self-timer photographing is being timed, and the lamp drive circuit 32 connected to the CPU 11 controls the lighting / blinking / extinguishing of the lamp 31. The lamp 31 is arranged on the front surface of the camera body 1, and its irradiation light is emitted toward the front of the camera. Further, the irradiation light of the lamp 31 has a sufficient amount of light to constrict the pupil of the person to the extent that red eyes are not conspicuous. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the lamp 31 is also used as a light source for preliminary irradiation for red-eye reduction. There is.

In this embodiment, as the electronic flash device light emission mode described above, an automatic light emission mode in which the light emitting portion 22 automatically emits light at a low brightness, and a photographing lens is forcibly driven to an infinite position and light is emitted. It is possible to set four modes: a forced infinity mode that prohibits light emission, a light emission prohibition mode that prohibits light emission regardless of subject brightness and shooting distance, and a forced light emission mode that always emits light regardless of subject brightness. Each time the changeover switch 4 is turned on, the CPU 11
The above-mentioned four emission modes are cyclically switched as shown in FIG. As the above-mentioned shooting modes, there are three shooting modes: a normal shooting mode, a red-eye reduction mode for performing preliminary irradiation for red-eye reduction, and a self-timer mode for performing self-timer shooting.
One of the three shooting modes can be set, and each time the shooting mode switch 5 is turned on, three shooting modes are cyclically switched in the CPU 11 as shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 shows each display section of the liquid crystal display device 6,
6a in the figure is a red-eye display section showing the setting of the red-eye reduction mode,
Reference numeral 6b is a self-timer display section showing the setting of the self-timer mode, and 6c is a forced infinity display section showing the setting of the forced infinity mode. Reference numerals 6d to 6f are display sections related to the light emission mode of the electronic flash device. When the display section 6d is displayed alone, the forced light emission mode is displayed. When both the display sections 6d and 6e are displayed, the automatic light emission mode is displayed. When both 6d and 6f are displayed, the light emission prohibition mode is indicated. 6g
Is a count display section showing a film count value. C
When one of the modes is set according to the operation of the switches 4 and 5, the PU 11 outputs a display signal to the display drive circuit 16 according to the set mode and displays a predetermined display section on the liquid crystal display device 6. . 7 (a) and 7 (b) show the display states when each mode is set.

Next, referring to the flow chart of FIG.
A procedure of flash photography control by 11 will be described. In the following description, the forced light emission mode is set as the light emission mode. This program is started when the release switch 3 is turned on (when a shooting start command is issued), and first, in step S1, the currently set shooting mode is determined. If it is the normal photographing mode, the process proceeds to step S2. If it is the red-eye reduction mode, the lighting of the lamp 31 is started via the lamp drive circuit 32 at step S3, and then the process proceeds to step S2. In the self-timer mode,
After the blinking of the lamp 31 is started, the process proceeds to step S2.
In step S2, the photometric circuit 12 is operated to input the subject brightness as its output, and in step S5, the distance measuring circuit 13 is operated to input the subject distance as its output. In step S6, the focusing lens 14 drives the focusing lens based on the input subject distance, and then the process proceeds to step S7.

In step S7, the photographing mode is determined again, and if it is the normal photographing mode, flash photographing is performed in step S8. That is, the shutter release is performed by driving the exposure control circuit 15 based on the aperture value calculated based on the subject brightness and the shutter time, and in synchronization with this, the light emitting unit 22 emits light via the light emission control circuit 21. Let

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S7 that the red-eye reduction mode is set, in step S9, the process waits until a first predetermined time (for example, 1 second) elapses from the start of lighting of the lamp 31, and if so, the lamp is started in step S10. 31 is turned off, and then flash photography is performed in step S8. If it is determined in step S7 that the self-timer mode is set, in step S11, the process waits until a second predetermined time (for example, 9 seconds) elapses from the start of blinking the lamp 31, and when it elapses, the lamp 31 blinks in step S12. Switch from to lighting. Next, in step S13, the process waits until the third predetermined time elapses, and when the third predetermined time elapses, flash photography is performed in step S8.

The operation of the camera according to the above procedure will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10. When the red-eye reduction mode is set, the lamp 31 is turned on as the release switch 3 is turned on at time t1 in FIG. 9, and then at time t2 when the first predetermined time (1 second) has elapsed. Lamp 31
Is turned off, and flash photography is started at time t3 thereafter. Here, the illumination light of the lamp 31 that has been turned on is emitted to the front of the camera, and the subject (person) who sees the illumination light.
Closes his pupil. After that, since flash photography is performed before the closed pupil opens, the red eye becomes inconspicuous in the finished photograph.

On the other hand, when the self-timer mode is set, the release switch 3 is released at time t11 in FIG.
The blinking of the lamp 31 is started as the lamp is turned on, and then the lamp 31 is switched from blinking to lighting at the time t12 when the second predetermined time has elapsed. Further, the lamp 31 is turned off at a time point t13 when the third predetermined time has elapsed from the time point t12, and the flash photography is started at a time point t14 thereafter.
It is desirable that the time from the start of blinking the lamp 31 to the start of shutter release is about 10 seconds as shown in the figure, and the lighting time is about 1 second. In this case, the blinking of the lamp 31 provides a display similar to the conventional one while the self-timer is being timed, and particularly when the lamp 31 is subsequently turned on, this serves both as a display just before photographing and as a preliminary irradiation for red-eye reduction. Fulfill Therefore, the power supply battery can be saved as compared with the case where the self-timer display and the red-eye reduction preliminary irradiation are separately performed during the self-timer photographing.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the normal photographing mode, the red-eye reduction mode and the self-timer mode are cyclically switched each time the photographing mode changeover switch 5 is operated, so that the operation for setting / releasing the red-eye reduction mode is performed. The member can also be used as the self-timer mode setting operation member. Furthermore, during self-timer shooting, which often takes pictures of people, pre-irradiation for red-eye reduction is always performed,
In the self-timer mode, there is no danger of forgetting to set the red-eye reduction mode and taking a failed photo with a noticeable red-eye.

In the above, only the operation when the forced light emission mode is set is shown, but the same control is performed in the automatic light emission mode when the luminance is low. Therefore, preliminary irradiation for red-eye reduction can be performed in either the automatic light emission mode or the forced light emission mode without increasing the number of light emission modes. Note that when the automatic light emission mode has high brightness, or when the light emission prohibition mode or the forced infinity mode is set, light emission of the electronic flash device is prohibited, so the lamp 31 is not turned on except when the self-timer mode is set.

In the configuration of the above embodiment, the light emission mode changeover switch 4 is the first mode setting operation member 101A.
The photographing mode selector switch 5 emits the second mode setting operation member 101B, the CPU 11 emits the first and second mode setting means 102A and 102B, the lamp 31 emits the light emitting means 103, and the CPU 11 and the lamp drive circuit 32 emit the light. The control means 104 includes the CPU 11 and the exposure control circuit 15.
Respectively constitute the photographing means 105.

In the above, the photographing mode selector switch 5
Although an example in which the three shooting modes are cyclically switched each time is turned on, instead of this, for example, as shown in FIG.
A slide type operation member 51 as shown in (b) may be used. This is to operate the operating member 51 to operate the index 51.
When a is aligned with the index 61, the normal shooting mode is set,
The red-eye reduction mode is set according to the index 62, and the self-timer mode is set according to the index 63. Here, in (a) and (b) of FIG. 11, the setting positions of the normal shooting mode and the red-eye reduction mode are different.
If mode switching is performed using such an operation member 51, it is not necessary to perform mode setting display on the liquid crystal display device.

-Second Embodiment- Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In the first embodiment, the example in which the pre-irradiation for red-eye reduction is always performed during the self-timer photographing has been described, but in the present embodiment, the first self-timer mode without the pre-irradiation and the second self-timer with the pre-irradiation are used. An example in which the self-timer mode can be set is shown below. In this embodiment, the lamp 31 shown in FIG. 3 does not have the red-eye reducing effect and only performs the self-timer display, and the red-eye reducing preliminary irradiation is performed by the electronic flash unit 20.

The CPU 11 switches and sets the photographing mode as shown in FIG. 12 according to the operation of the photographing mode changeover switch 5. That is, each time the switch 5 is operated, the red-eye reduction mode → the first self-timer mode without preliminary irradiation for red-eye reduction → the second self-timer mode with preliminary irradiation → normal shooting mode → red-eye reduction mode Change the mode settings cyclically in order. Further CPU 11
Displays the mode on the liquid crystal display device 6 as shown in FIG. 13 every time each mode is set. Then, when the release switch 3 is turned on when the second self-timer mode is set, the lamp 31 blinks / lights in the same manner as described above, and the electronic flash device 20 preliminarily emits light substantially in synchronization with the lighting of the lamp. After that, flash photography is performed.

With the above construction, the operation member for setting / releasing the red-eye reduction mode can also be used as the self-timer mode setting operation member, and in either the automatic light emission mode or the forced light emission mode without increasing the number of light emission modes. However, preliminary irradiation for red-eye reduction is possible. Further, particularly in the present embodiment, there is also an advantage that the photographer can select whether or not to perform the preliminary light emission for red-eye reduction during the self-timer photographing. Furthermore, there is a red-eye reduction mode among the modes that can be set by the above-mentioned shooting mode changeover switch 5, and according to the mode setting sequence of FIG. 12, the red-eye reduction mode must be set when the self-timer mode is set from the normal shooting mode. Since it passes, the photographer who sees the red-eye reduction display portion 6a that is turned on at that time always sets the self-timer mode in consideration of whether or not preliminary irradiation for red-eye reduction is performed during self-timer photographing. It will be. Therefore, there is no danger of taking a failing photograph with red eyes.

The mode may be changed by using a slide type operation member 71 as shown in FIG. 14, for example. This is the index 7 by operating the operating member 71.
When 1a is aligned with the index 81, the normal shooting mode is set, and when aligned with the index 82, the red-eye reduction mode is set,
The first self-timer mode is set according to the index 83, and the second self-timer mode is set according to the index 84. If mode switching is performed using such an operation member 71, it is not necessary to perform mode setting display on the liquid crystal display device. The order of setting the modes is not limited to that in the embodiment. Further, in the above, two modes, that is, an automatic light emission mode and a forced light emission mode, are provided as modes for emitting light from the electronic flash device, but in addition to this, the present invention is also applied to a camera having, for example, a slow sync mode or another light emission mode. it can. Even if the number of light emission modes is increased in this way, it is not necessary to divide each mode into two modes depending on whether or not red-eye reduction is performed, so an increase in the number of modes can be suppressed to a minimum.

[0026]

According to the invention of claim 1, any one of the red-eye reduction mode, the self-timer mode and the normal photographing mode is selected and set according to the operation of the mode setting operation member. The operation member for setting / releasing the mode can also be used as the self-timer mode setting operation member, so that the installation space of the operation member can be saved, the camera can be downsized and the cost can be reduced, and the operability can be improved. In addition, since the preliminary irradiation for red-eye reduction can be performed in any light-emitting mode without increasing the number of light-emitting modes of the electronic flash device, the red-eye can be made inconspicuous in each light-emitting mode without deteriorating the operability. Especially claim 2
According to the invention, since the preliminary light emission for reducing the red eye and the self-timer display are performed by the single light emitting means, the preliminary light emission is always performed during the self-timer photographing. There is no danger of taking a failing photo that stands out. Further, when the self-timer mode is set, the flashing of the light emitting means having a red-eye reduction function provides the same display as the conventional self-timer timekeeping. Since both of the functions of (1) and (2) are fulfilled, the power source battery can be saved as compared with the case where the self-timer display and the red-eye reduction preliminary irradiation are separately performed during self-timer shooting. Further, the invention of claim 3 is applied when the means for performing the preliminary irradiation for red-eye reduction and the means for performing the self-timer display are different,
Depending on the operation of the mode setting operation member, any one of the red-eye reduction mode, the first self-timer mode without preliminary irradiation for red-eye reduction, the second self-timer mode with the above preliminary light emission, and the normal shooting mode is selected. As described above, the self-timer mode setting operation member can also be used as the operation member for setting / releasing the red-eye reduction mode, which contributes to downsizing of the camera, cost reduction, and improvement of operability. In addition, it is possible to perform the preliminary irradiation for red-eye reduction in all light emission modes without increasing the number of light emission modes of the electronic flash device. Further, when the self-timer mode is set, the photographer can freely select whether or not to perform the preliminary irradiation for red-eye reduction.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram corresponding to a complaint.

FIG. 2 is a top view of the camera of the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a control system of the camera.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing switching of light emission modes.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing switching of shooting modes.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing each display unit of the liquid crystal display device.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a display example when each mode is set.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a time chart illustrating an operation when the red-eye reduction mode is set.

FIG. 10 is a time chart explaining the operation when the self-timer mode is set.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing two modifications of the mode setting operation member.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing switching of shooting modes in the second embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a display example when each mode is set.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a modification of the mode setting operation member.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Camera Main Body 2 Power Switch 3 Release Switch 4 Light Emission Mode Selector Switch 5 Shooting Mode Selector Switch 6 Liquid Crystal Display Device 11 CPU (Control Circuit) 12 Photometric Circuit 13 Distance Measuring Circuit 14 Focusing Circuit 15 Exposure Control Circuit 20 Electronic Flash Device 21 Light-emitting part 22 Light-emission control circuit 31 Red-eye reduction pre-irradiation and self-timer shooting display lamp 32 Lamp drive circuit

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of flash device emission modes can be set, and a red-eye reduction mode for performing preliminary irradiation for red-eye reduction prior to flash photography, a self-timer mode for performing self-timer photography, and the preliminary exposure. In a camera capable of setting a normal shooting mode in which normal shooting is performed without performing, a first mode setting operation member and any one of the plurality of light emission modes depending on an operation of the first mode setting operation member. A first mode setting operation member for selecting and setting, or a second mode setting operation member, and the red-eye reduction mode, the self-timer mode, and the normal photographing mode according to the operation of the second mode setting operation member. A self-timer camera having a red-eye reduction function, comprising a second mode setting means for selecting and setting any one of the above. 2. A light emitting means for irradiating the front of the camera with light having a red-eye reduction effect; and, when the red-eye reduction mode is set, the first predetermined time elapses after the photographing start operation is performed. When the self-timer mode is set by turning on the light emitting means, the light emitting means is made to blink until the second predetermined time elapses after the photographing start operation is performed, and after the second predetermined time elapses. From the third
Light emission control means for turning on the light emitting means until a predetermined time elapses, and when the red-eye reduction mode is set, shutter release is started after the first predetermined time elapses after the photographing start operation is performed. When the self-timer mode is set, a photographing means for starting shutter release after the second predetermined time has elapsed and the third predetermined time has elapsed since the photographing start operation was performed. The self-timer camera having a red-eye reduction function according to claim 1, which is provided. 3. The self-timer mode includes a first self-timer mode without preliminary irradiation for red-eye reduction and a second self-timer mode with preliminary irradiation, wherein the second self-timer mode includes: The mode setting means selects and sets any one of the red eye reduction mode, the first self-timer mode, the second self-timer mode, and the normal photographing mode according to the operation of the second mode setting operation member. A self-timer camera having a red-eye reduction function according to claim 1.