JPH06138525A - Camera system, camera freely equipped with adapter and its control method - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent overexposure from being caused at the time of superposing stroboscopic light from a camera and stroboscopic light from a stroboscope adapter. CONSTITUTION:In the case of executing photographing by using a stroboscope incorporated in the camera, a guide number GNo. is decided based on a distance to an object. When the stroboscope adapter is attached to the camera and the stroboscope switch of the stroboscope adapter is turned on (steps 151 and 161), the guide number GNo. is corrected to decrease the light of the stroboscope of the camera so that the overexposure caused by superposing the light from the stroboscope of the camera and the light from the stroboscope of the stroboscope adapter may be prevented.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a camera having a strobe photographing function, a control method thereof, and a camera system including a camera and a strobe adapter detachably attached to the camera.

[0002]

[Background Art] When a subject is dark, flash photography is performed. The strobe device provided in the camera is generally set to irradiate a position of about 2 m where an object is often present. For this reason, in the case of shooting at a close-up distance, if a flash device provided in the camera is used for shooting, a subject existing at a close-up distance may not be illuminated with an appropriate amount of light, resulting in insufficient exposure. Therefore, in some cases, a detachable strobe device is attached to the camera as an adapter strobe to prevent underexposure.

However, when a strobe device is attached to a camera and stroboscopic photography is performed at a close range, a part of the strobe light of the strobe device provided in the adapter and the strobe light of the strobe device provided in the camera are taken as an object. Is irradiated. For this reason, overexposure may occur, and proper photography may not be possible.

[0004]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to prevent an overexposure when an adapter equipped with a strobe device is attached to a camera to take a picture.

The camera system according to the present invention includes a camera having a camera strobe which emits a strobe light in response to depression of a shutter release button under a strobe light emission condition, and a shutter release button of the camera under the strobe light emission setting. It is composed of a strobe adapter having an strobe that emits strobe light in response to the depression of.

The above-mentioned camera is a strobe detecting device for detecting whether or not the strobe adapter is attached to the camera.
Adapter mounting detection means, strobe lighting setting status detection means for detecting whether or not the adapter strobe is set to strobe lighting, and detection of strobe adapter mounting by the strobe / adapter mounting detection means and strobe lighting setting In response to the detection of the strobe light emission setting of the adapter strobe by the situation detection means, the amount of light emitted from the camera strobe is changed to the flash light emission amount of the camera strobe not attached or the strobe light emission of the adapter strobe under the strobe light emission condition. Strobe control means for controlling the camera strobe is provided so that the light is dimmed as compared to when the setting is not set.

According to the present invention, it is detected whether or not the strobe adapter is attached to the camera and whether or not the adapter strobe is set to emit the strobe light. When the camera is equipped with a strobe adapter and the adapter strobe is set to flash off, and the camera does not have a strobe adapter attached or the adapter strobe is not set to strobe light emission. Compared to, the amount of light emitted from the camera / flash is dimmed.

When the adapter strobe emits light in addition to the camera strobe, the emitted light amount of the camera strobe is dimmed as compared to when the adapter strobe does not emit light. Therefore, it is possible to prevent overexposure even when the strobe light of the camera strobe and the strobe light of the adapter strobe illuminate the subject.

The present invention also provides a camera constituting the above camera system and a method for controlling such a camera.

[0010]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 shows the appearance of a camera and a strobe adapter attached to the camera. 2 to 4 show a strobe adapter, FIG. 2 is a plan view,
3 is a front view and FIG. 4 is a side view.

The camera 1 is of any type, for example, a normal camera for photochemically exposing a film to fix an object image on the film, a solid-state electronic image pickup device (for example, CC).
A still video camera using D) for magnetically or electronically fixing (recording on a floppy disk or storing in memory) a video signal representing a subject image output from this solid-state electronic image pickup device. Good. In this embodiment, a digital still camera is shown in which a video signal representing a subject image is converted into digital image data, data is compressed, and then stored in a semiconductor memory (built-in memory or removable card-shaped memory).

Mainly referring to FIG. 1, the camera 1 is provided with a shutter release button 11. The shutter release button 11 is of a two-step stroke type and has two switches SW1 and SW2. When the button 11 is pressed in the first stage, the switch SW1 is turned on, and in response to the ON signal of the switch SW1, various operations for preparing for photographing which will be described in detail later are started. When the button 11 is further pressed and the second stage is reached, the switch SW2 is turned on,
The photographing operation is started in response to the ON signal of the switch SW2.

The camera 1 also includes various buttons of the setting section 13 including the tele, wide setting buttons 12A and 12B, the flash forced shooting setting button, the time setting button, the reproduction mode setting button, the compression rate setting button, and the like. A display unit 14 is provided for displaying the state set by using.

The camera 1 is provided with an image pickup lens system 17, a finder 18 (see FIG. 2) and a distance measuring window 15 on the front surface thereof.
In the distance measuring window 15, a light emitting diode (LED) that emits light for distance measurement, a light receiving element that receives reflected light from the subject (the LED and the light receiving element constitute a distance measuring sensor), etc. are provided. There is. The camera 10 can perform automatic focusing control operation according to the distance information obtained by the distance measuring sensor.

The camera 1 further has a strobe circuit and its light emitting section 16. The strobe circuit of the camera is called the built-in strobe circuit (see FIGS. 5 and 7), in contrast to the strobe circuit of the strobe adapter. The stroboscopic light emitting section 16 can be raised and lowered, and when not in use, it falls down so as to cover the imaging lens 17 and the finder 18, and serves as its cover.

Referring mainly to FIG. 2 to FIG.
The adapter 30 has a first portion 30A and a second portion 30B which are L-shaped when viewed from above. These parts
30A and 30B are foldably connected, and the second portion 30
B can be folded along the first portion 30A.

The strobe adapter 30 is provided with a mounting screw 23. By turning the knob 23A of the screw 23, the tip end of the screw 23 is formed on the side surface of the camera 10, so that the screw 19 is screwed and the adapter 30 is attached and fixed to the camera 10.

The first portion 30A of the strobe adapter 30 is also provided with a protrusion 21B forming an X contact 21 and a protrusion 22B forming a ground contact (hereinafter referred to as a G contact) 22. These protrusions 21B and 22B can move back and forth, and are normally urged outward by springs.
Corresponding to these protrusions 21B and 22B, recesses or holes 21A and 22A are formed on the side surface of the camera 10. Adapter 30
When is attached to the camera 10, the protrusion 21B enters the hole 21A and the protrusion 22B enters the hole 22A. Both the protrusions 21B and 22B are made of a conductive material, and the conductive material is also provided on the inner surfaces of the holes 21A and 22A. Therefore, the electrical connection of the X-contact 21 is prevented by the contact between the protrusions 21B and the hole 21A. 22B and hole 22A
The electrical connection of the G contacts 22 is achieved by contact with the respective contacts.

In this embodiment, the strobe adapter 30 has a function of stroboscopic light emission and close-up photography (close-up photography).
Has a lens function for. Therefore, this adapter 30 can also be called a lens adapter. As described above, when the adapter 30 is not attached, the camera 10 performs focusing control based on the distance information obtained from the distance measuring sensor. However, in close-up photography of about 50 cm or less, the parallax between the optical axis of the distance measuring sensor and the optical axis of the imaging lens system 17 (and finder 18) becomes large, and the distance information of the distance measuring sensor indicates the distance to the subject. It does not always represent correctly.

Therefore, the adapter 30 has a distance setting switch.
32 are provided. In this embodiment, the following two steps of distances are set within the range of the closest distance by using the setting switch 32. Relatively short distance (eg 25 to 35 cm) switch SWA Relatively long distance (eg 35 to 45 cm) Switch SWB switch 32 is operated by the user and the switch (or contact) SWA is turned on when the relatively short distance is set. When a relatively long distance is set, the switch (or contact) SWB is turned on.

The amount of strobe light emitted by the strobe adapter 30 and the direction of strobe light irradiation are adjusted according to the distance set by the distance setting switch 32. Further, the distance information set by the distance setting switch 32 is transmitted to the camera 10 through the X contact as will be described later, and the camera 10 performs focusing control based on this distance information. However, focusing control may be performed based on the distance data obtained by the distance measuring sensor.

The first portion 30A of the adapter 30 further includes
A strobe switch 31 for setting whether or not to emit a strobe, and a charging completion indicator lamp 33 that lights up when strobe charging is completed are provided. However,
The strobe switch 31 is not always necessary in the case of an adapter that always emits strobe light when attached to a camera.

The second portion 30B of the adapter 30 has a photographing window in which a light emitting portion 36 of an adapter strobe and a lens 37 are built.
37A and finder 38 are provided. strobe·
When the adapter 30 is attached to the camera 10, the optical axis of the lens 17 of the camera 10 and the optical axis of the lens 37 of the adapter 30 become the optical axis of the viewfinder 18 of the camera 10 and the viewfinder 38 of the adapter 30.
The optical axes of are the same.

As described in detail below, the X contacts 21 and G
The following information is transmitted through the contact 22. From camera 10 to adapter 30: Strobe light emission signal X _{ON From} adapter 30 to camera 10: With or without adapter installed. Strobe switch 31 on / off status. Distance information set by distance setting switch 32. With / without charging.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the electrical construction of the camera. FIG. 6 shows the electrical configuration of the built-in flash of the camera.

The imaging optical system includes a diaphragm 2, an imaging lens 17,
And a CCD 3 as a solid-state electronic image sensor (image sensor). A mechanical shutter is provided if necessary, but generally, the shutter function is achieved by an electronic shutter realized by the control of the CCD 3. The imaging lens 17 forms a subject image on the CCD 3,
It is moved by the imaging lens driving device 25 controlled by the CPU 40 and positioned at the in-focus position.

Signals indicating the settings of the shutter release button 11, the tele, wide setting buttons 12A and 12B, and the setting unit 13 are input to the CPU 40, respectively.

The digital still camera is provided with a photometric sensor 26 for preliminary photometry, and photometric data is given to the CPU 40. The CPU 40 controls at least one of the aperture value and the shutter speed on the basis of the photometric data obtained from the photometric sensor 26 so that the exposure amount to the CCD 3 falls within a substantially appropriate range.

After the rough exposure amount adjustment based on such preliminary photometry, preliminary photographing is performed. By this pre-shooting, the photometric value is calculated and precise exposure control is performed using the video signal obtained from the CCD 3. These high precision exposure controls will be described in detail later.

The digital still camera includes a distance measuring sensor 27 including the above-mentioned light emitting diode and light receiving element.
Is provided, and distance measurement data representing the distance to the subject is given to the CPU 40. CPU40 is also a distance measuring sensor
Image pickup lens drive device 25 based on distance measurement data from 27
The imaging lens 17 is positioned at the in-focus position via the. CP
U40 further determines the light emission amount of the built-in flash 50 based on the distance to the subject and the aperture value.

The strobe light emitting portion 36 of the strobe adapter 30
Even when the distance to the subject is the same when the flash fires and when the flash firing unit 36 does not fire, the built-in flash
The luminescence of 50 is different. Strobe adapter 30 for camera 1
The flash output of the built-in flash 50 when the flash is attached to the flash 1 and the flash of the flash unit 36 is set by the flash switch 31.
The CPU 40 controls the emission amount of the strobe 50 to be smaller than that when the emission of the strobe 36 is not set by the strobe switch 31 or when the strobe switch 31 is not attached.

An AND gate 43 and a transistor TR1 are connected for controlling light emission of the built-in strobe 50. The CPU 40 outputs the light emission control signal X _on of the built-in flash 50 and the light emission preparation completion signal X _EN , and supplies it to the AND gate 43. When the emission control signal X _on is output while the emission preparation completion signal X _EN is being output, the AND gate 43
Output becomes H level, the transistor TR1 becomes conductive, and a light emission control signal is given to the built-in strobe 50. It goes without saying that the built-in strobe 50 needs to be charged in its charging circuit in order to operate.

Referring to FIG. 6, the strobe device of the camera 1 includes a light emitting unit (discharge tube) 16, a charging circuit 60 for charging electric charges given to the light emitting unit 16, and a light emission for controlling the amount of strobe light emission. A light amount control circuit 51 and a stop circuit 66 for stopping the light emission of the light emitting unit 16 are provided.

The voltage of the power supply 61 is boosted by the booster circuit 62 and the main capacitor 63 is charged. The charging voltage of the main capacitor 63 is sent to the CP via an appropriate voltage reducing circuit or voltage detecting circuit.
It is detected by being applied to the A / D port of U40. This allows the CPU 40 to know that charging of the main capacitor 63 has been completed.

Since the CPU 40 can detect the charging voltage of the main capacitor 63, the charging voltage of the main capacitor 63 before the light emitting section 16 emits light and the main capacitor 63 after the light emitting section 16 emits light.
It is also possible to detect the charging voltage and the charging voltage and to calculate the amount of light emitted from the light emitting unit 16 from the voltage difference.

Strobe light emission is performed by applying a strobe control signal to the trigger circuit 64. Trigger circuit
When the strobe light emission command X ON from the CPU 40 is given to 64, the trigger circuit 64 is driven, the electric charge accumulated in the main capacitor 63 is discharged through the light emitting portion 16, and the strobe light emission starts.

The amount of stroboscopic light emission is determined according to the distance to the subject. The CPU 40 creates the emission light amount data so that the flash emission amount is determined according to the distance to the subject. The emitted light amount control circuit 51 has a D /
An electronic volume circuit (EVR) 52 including an A converter 52A is included, and the light emission amount data output from the CPU 40 is given to the EVR 52, converted into a voltage, and output. Also, a differential amplifier circuit 57 for giving a stop signal to the stop circuit 60.
It is included.

Further, the emitted light quantity control circuit 51 includes a reference power source 53.
And a capacitor 55 is included. The output voltage of the EVR 52 is given to the capacitor 55 via the resistor 54. A switch 56 for discharging the charge of the capacitor 55 is also provided. A reference power supply circuit is provided at the negative input terminal of the differential amplifier circuit 57.
The reference voltage output from 53 is applied to the differential amplifier circuit 57
The terminal voltage of the capacitor 55 is applied to the positive input terminal of the.

The switch 56 is normally turned on, and CP
It is turned off when the strobe light emission control signal of U40 is given. By turning off the switch 56, the EVR
Charging of the capacitor 55 is started based on the voltage output from 52.

A voltage is output from the EVR 52 and the switch 56
When is turned on, a predetermined charge is accumulated in the capacitor 55. When the terminal voltage of the capacitor 55 becomes equal to the reference voltage output from the reference power source 53, a stop signal is output from the differential amplifier circuit 57 and is given to the stop circuit 66 to stop the light emission of the light emitting unit 16.

In the CCD 3, interlace photographing is performed by the substrate extraction pulse, the A field vertical transfer pulse, the B field vertical transfer pulse and the horizontal transfer pulse, and the video signals (GRG) of the A field and the B field are obtained.
B color sequential signals) are alternately generated for each field period and sequentially read. The driving of the CCD 3 (imaging and reading of a video signal) is performed at least at the time of photographing, and for precision photometric processing and distance measuring processing prior thereto.

The video signals of the A field and the B field representing the subject image output from the CCD 3 are passed through the correlated double sampling circuit (CDS) 4 to the color separation circuit 5
Given to three primary colors, G (green), R (red) and B
It is separated into (blue) color signals.

The color signals G, R and B are applied to a variable gain amplifier circuit (hereinafter referred to as GCA) 6. In Figure 1, GC
Although one block is shown as A6, GCA is actually provided for each of the R, G, and B signals. The GCA 6 corrects the variation in light transmittance between the colors of the color filters provided in the CCD 3 (hereinafter, referred to as “color filter variation correction”) and adjusts the white balance, and then supplies it to the gamma correction circuit 7. To be

The output color signals R, G, B of the GCA 6 are gradation-corrected by the gamma correction circuit 7 and input to the clamp and resampling circuit 8.

The clamp and resampling circuit 8 is
The three color signals R, G, B are clamped, and are re-converted into color sequential signals of GRGB ... Which match the color filter arrangement in the CCD 3 by resampling. This color sequential signal is input to the gain control and blanking circuit 9. The gain control and blanking circuit 9 amplifies the color sequential signal to an appropriate level for recording and adds a blanking signal to it. The output signal of the gain control and blanking circuit 9 is applied to the A / D converter 10 to be digitally converted.

Before the main photographing, the precise photometric processing (exposure control) is performed as described above. The photometric processing is performed by utilizing the low frequency component of the video signal obtained from the CCD 3 by the preliminary photographing.

In order to take out the low frequency component of the video signal representing the image in the photometric area (described later) provided in the photographing area of the CCD 3 for the photometric processing, the Y _L synthesizing circuit 81,
A gate circuit 82, an integrating circuit 83, an amplifying circuit 84 and an A / D converter 85 are provided. The output data of the A / D converter 85 is given to the CPU 40.

The main photographing is performed after the photometric processing, the exposure control (control of the diaphragm and the shutter) based thereon, and the focusing control (positioning of the imaging lens 17). CC by actual shooting
The video signals obtained from D3 are the above-mentioned circuits 4, 5, 6,
Input to A / D converter 10 via 7, 8 and 9
It is converted into digital image data by the D / D converter 10, processed by an image data processing circuit (not shown) such as Y / C separation and data compression, and then recorded on a recording medium such as a memory card. become.

The photometric processing (and exposure control based on it) prior to the main photographing will be described.

The photometric processing is performed by the Y _L combining circuit 81, as described above.
This is performed using the gate circuit 82, the integrating circuit 83, and the amplifying circuit 84. The Y _L synthesizing circuit 81 is supplied with the output color signals R, G, B of the GCA 6.

The CPU 40 outputs a window signal WIND1 for controlling the gate circuit 82 and a reset signal HLRST1 for resetting the integrating circuit 83. These signals WI
The timing of ND and HLRST will be described later.

The color signals R, G and B output from the GCA 6 are added by the Y _L synthesizing circuit 81 to generate a relatively low frequency luminance signal Y _L (hereinafter simply referred to as luminance signal Y _L ). The luminance signal Y _L passes through the gate circuit 82 during the period in which the window signal WIND1 is applied in the required horizontal scanning period. The integrating circuit 83 uses the reset signal HLRS
It is reset when T1 is given, and then the luminance signal Y _L input from the gate circuit 82 is integrated. Integrating circuit 83
The integrated signal of is amplified by the amplifier circuit 84 and then A / D converter
It is input to 85 and is converted to digital integrated data for photometry by this A / D converter 85. The digital integrated data for photometry is given to the CPU 40, and exposure control is performed.

FIG. 7 shows an example of an electrical configuration suitable for transmitting information between the camera 1 and the strobe adapter 30. In FIG. 7, only circuits necessary for transmitting information are shown, and general circuits necessary for photographing as shown in FIG. 5 are omitted.

The CPU 40 of the camera 1 is
An A / D converter is built in, and a divided voltage (input voltage) V _{in of} a resistor voltage divider circuit described later is converted into digital data by the A / D converter and taken into the CPU 40. CPU40
Determines the state of the strobe adapter 30 (including presence or absence of attachment) based on the digital data of the input voltage V _in ,
Various controls for photographing are performed based on the determination result. It goes without saying that the A / D conversion circuit may be connected to the outside of the CPU 40. A clock signal is input to the CPU 40 from the clock 46 every one second.

The resistance voltage dividing circuit is composed of a resistance circuit on the camera side and a resistance circuit on the adapter side. For the resistance circuit on the camera side and the resistance circuit on the adapter side, the adapter 30 is the camera 1
They are connected to each other by an X contact (protrusion 21B and hole 21A) and a G contact (protrusion 22B and hole 22A) when mounted on the.

[0056] In the camera, in order to apply a predetermined standard voltage V _o (eg 5V) to a resistor divider, stabilized power supply circuit 41 is provided. This stabilized power supply circuit 41
Output of the shutter release button 11 is the switch SW1 of the first stage (or a contact interlocking with this switch SW1 or a semiconductor switching element controlled to perform the same operation as the switch SW1), and the first resistor R1. And a second resistor R2 connected in series to the ground. The connection point between the resistors R1 and R2 (hereinafter referred to as the input point) is connected to the input of the A / D conversion unit of the CPU 40. This input point is connected to the X contact 21 via the third resistor R3.

The switching element FET1 is further connected between the input point and the ground. This FET1
Are controlled to be turned on by the output of the AND circuit 43.

In the adapter 30, the adapter side resistance circuit includes a fourth resistance R4, a distance setting information generating resistance circuit 73, and a strobe on / off information generating resistance circuit 71,
The resistor R4 and the circuits 73 and 71 are connected in series. The resistor R4 is connected to the X contact and the circuit 71 is connected to the ground. A voltage stabilizing capacitor C1 and a protective Zener diode ZD are connected between both ends of the resistor R4 and the ground.

The resistor circuit 73 comprises a fifth resistor R5 and a sixth resistor R6 connected in parallel.
R6 is switched by the distance setting switch 32. Switch (contact) SWA when a relatively short distance is set
Turns on, and the resistor R5 is connected to the resistor circuit. Switch (contact) SWB when a relatively long distance is set
Is turned on, and the resistor R6 is connected to the resistor circuit. These switches SWA and SWB may be contacts that interlock with the sliding of the knob of the distance setting switch 32, or may be realized by semiconductor switching elements.

The circuit 71 further includes a charging completion information generating resistance circuit 72. A changeover switch 31B (referred to as SWS) interlocked with the strobe switch 31 or controlled by the strobe switch 31 is provided. The switch SWS directly connects the circuit 73 to the ground when the strobe switch 31 is off. When the strobe switch 31 is turned on, a series circuit of a seventh resistor R7 and an eighth resistor R8 is connected between the circuit 73 and the ground.
The circuit 72 is composed of an eighth resistor R8 and a switching transistor TR2 which shorts the resistor R8. The transistor TR2 is normally off, and is turned on when the H level charge completion signal is input from the strobe adapter circuit 70. The switch SWS may be composed of a transistor and connected so as to short-circuit the resistors R7 and R8 when turned on.

The strobe adapter 30 is a battery
77 (output voltage is 3V, for example). When the strobe switch 31 is turned on, a switch 31A (or a contact or a semiconductor switching element) (also referred to as SWS) interlocking with the strobe switch 31 is turned on, and the voltage of the battery 77 is supplied to the regulator 76. The output voltage of the regulator 76 is applied to the adapter strobe circuit 70, and charging of the charging circuit included in this circuit 70 is started. When the charging is completed, the charging completion signal is output as described above and the transistor TR2 is turned on.

The strobe activation circuit 74 includes a comparator 75. The output voltage of the regulator 76 is divided by the resistance circuit, and this voltage dividing circuit E1 is applied to the negative input terminal of the comparator 75. The output voltage of the regulator 76 is also divided by another resistance circuit, and the divided voltage E2 is given to the positive input terminal of the comparator 75. E1> E
Since it is set to 2, the output of the comparator 75 (output of the starting circuit 74) is normally at L level. Also, the voltage E
Diode D1 between the voltage dividing point where 1 appears and resistor R4.
However, it is connected in a direction that prevents current from flowing from the resistor R4 to the voltage dividing point. When the strobe switch 31 is on, the cathode-side potential of the diode D1 (divided potential of the resistance voltage dividing circuit) is higher than the voltage E1 (for example, E1 = 2V). However, due to the presence of the diode D1, the resistance voltage divider circuit is not connected to the comparator.
No current flows into the negative input terminal of 75.

As will be shown later, when the CPU 40 of the camera 1 gives a light emission signal X _ON , the FET 1 is turned on, so that the potential of the X contact becomes close to the ground level. Therefore, the potential (E1) on the anode side of the diode D1 becomes higher than that on the cathode side, the diode D1 conducts, and the input voltage of the negative input terminal of the comparator 75 decreases. As a result, the output of the comparator 75 is inverted to the H level. The H level output of the comparator 75 is given to the strobe circuit 70 as a light emission start signal, and the strobe circuit 70
70 causes the light emitting unit 36 to emit a strobe light.

Light emission signal X _ON from camera 1 to adapter 30
And the transmission of various information from the adapter 30 to the camera 1 will be described with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 7, an example of concrete voltage and resistance values is as follows. Output voltage of stabilized power supply circuit 41 V _o = 5V E1 = 2V R1 = 51kΩ R2 = 200 kΩ R3 = 1kΩ R4 = 1kΩ R5 = 10kΩ R6 = 33kΩ R7 = 39kΩ R8 = 68kΩ

The state of the adapter 30 is reflected as the value of the input voltage V _in of the A / D converter through the voltage dividing resistor circuit. It is possible to determine the status of the adapter 30 by checking the input voltage V _in. A / D conversion error of the A / D converter,
A zone for state determination is set as shown in FIG. 8 in consideration of variations in resistance, variations in voltage, and the like. Since the resistor divider output standard voltage V _o of the stabilized power supply circuit 41 of the camera 1 is applied, of the adapter 30 battery
Regardless of the output fluctuation of 77 and the output voltage drop, as long as the output voltage V _o of the power supply circuit 41 is stable, an accurate state determination can always be performed.

Zone A (V _in = 3.8 V or higher) It is determined that the adapter is not attached to the camera.

The input voltage V _in is given by the following equation.

[0069]

[Equation 1]

Zone B (2.83 to 3.30V) It is determined that the strobe switch 31 (SWS) is on and the strobe is charging (charging incomplete) (distance setting switch 32 (SWA, SWB) does not matter) .

In this case, the voltage dividing resistor circuit has a resistor R
1, R2, is constituted by R3, R4, R5 or R6, R7, R8, input voltage V _in is given by the following equation.

[0072]

[Equation 2]

Zone C (2.43 to 2.72V) The strobe switch 31 (SWS) is turned on, the distance setting switch 32 sets a relatively long distance (SWB on), and it is determined that strobe charging is completed.

The voltage dividing resistor circuit includes resistors R1, R2, R3.
It is composed of R4, R6 and R7, and the input voltage V _in is represented by the following equation.

[0075]

[Equation 3]

Zone D (2.05 to 2.36V) The strobe switch 31 (SWS) is turned on, and the distance setting switch 32 sets a relatively short distance (SWA on), and it is determined that strobe charging is completed.

The voltage dividing resistor circuit includes resistors R1, R2, R3.
It is composed of R4, R5 and R7, and the input voltage V _in is expressed by the following equation.

[0078]

[Equation 4]

Zone E (1.7 to 2.0 V) The strobe switch 31 (SWS) is off, and the distance setting switch 32 sets a relatively long distance (SWB).
ON).

The voltage dividing resistor circuit includes resistors R1, R2, R3.
It is composed of R4 and R6, and the input voltage V _in is given by the following equation.

[0081]

[Equation 5]

Zone F (0.8 to 1.0 V) The strobe switch 31 (SWS) is off and the distance setting switch 32 sets a relatively short distance (SWA).
ON).

The voltage dividing resistor circuit includes resistors R1, R2, R3.
It is composed of R4 and R5, and the input voltage V _in is given by the following equation.

[0084]

[Equation 6]

Zone G (0.8 V or less) When the CPU 40 of the camera 1 outputs the light emission signal X _ON ,
Since the FET1 is turned on, the input voltage V _in is
The voltage is close to the level.

When the FET1 is turned on, the diode D1 becomes conductive on the adapter side and the comparator 75
As described above, the output signal of 1 becomes the H level (starting signal), the strobe circuit 70 is started, and strobe light is emitted.

9 and 10 show the processing procedure by the CPU 40 from the pressing of the shutter release button 11 to the end of photographing. FIG. 11 shows the relationship between the distance to the subject, the aperture value, and the guide number. (A) shows the relationship regardless of whether or not the strobe adapter 30 is attached to the camera 1, and (B) shows the relationship. The relationship is shown in which the strobe adapter 30 is attached to the camera 1 and the strobe switch 31 is turned on.

When the first stage switch SW1 of the shutter release button 11 is turned on (step 91), the distance to the object is measured by the distance measuring sensor 27 (step 92).
And preliminary shooting for the subject brightness value (step 93) is performed. Focusing control of the imaging lens 3 is performed based on the distance measurement result to the subject (step 94).

Further, it is detected whether or not the built-in strobe 50 emits light (step 95). This detection is whether or not flash forced flash is set by the setting unit 13, and when flash forced flash is not set, the built-in flash 50 automatically flashes because the subject brightness value obtained from preliminary shooting is dark (so-called auto flash). It depends on whether or not it is done.

When the light emitting unit 16 of the built-in flash 50 emits light, referring to FIG. 11A, a guide for controlling the aperture 2 and emitting light by the light emitting unit 16 based on the subject brightness value obtained from the preliminary photographing. -A number is determined (step 96). The guide number GNo. Will be described later.
When the strobe switch 31 of the strobe adapter 30 is set to emit a strobe light, the correction is performed so that the strobe light is dimmed.

When the light emitting unit 16 of the built-in flash 50 does not emit light, the aperture value and the shutter speed are determined from the subject brightness value obtained from the preliminary shooting (step 9).
7).

After that, the input voltage V _in is taken _in and converted into digital data (step 97). The CPU 40 determines in which of the zones A to F the digital data is located (steps 103 to 108).

When the input voltage V _in is in the A zone,
It is determined that the adapter is not attached (step 13
1). Therefore, in this case, if necessary, the lens is driven based on the switch input from the tele and wide buttons 12A and 12B, and the second shutter release button 11 is driven.
When the step switch SW2 is turned on, a video signal is taken in from the CCD3. This video signal is converted into digital image data, subjected to necessary data processing such as data compression, and then stored in the memory (step 132).

When the input voltage V _in is in the B zone,
Although the adapter 30 is attached and the strobe switch 31 is turned on, it is determined that the photographing process cannot be started yet because the strobe is charging (step 141). Shutter·
Depressing the release button 11 to the second stage is prohibited (step 142). This may be a mechanism that mechanically blocks the pressing of the button 11 to the second stage, or even if the switch SW2 is turned on, it is ignored and the processing after the switch SW2 is turned on is not proceeded. May be realized. Thereafter, it waits for the input clock signal from the clock 46 (step 143), a check of the input voltage V _in is performed again (step 97).

When the input voltage V _in is in the C zone,
It is determined that the adapter is attached, the flash is turned on, the flash is charged, and the set distance is relatively long (35 to 45 cm) (step 151). Further, when the input voltage V _in is in the D zone, the adapter mounting, flash on, flash charge completion, the set distance is determined relatively short-distance (25~35cm) (step 161).

When the shutter release button 11 is pressed in the second step (YES in step 152), it is determined whether or not the light emitting portion 16 of the built-in flash 50 of the camera 1 emits light (step 153). .

When the light emitting section 16 of the built-in strobe 50 of the camera 1 emits light, in addition to the strobe light, a strobe adapter
The strobe light from the light emitting unit 36 of 30 is superimposed. For this reason, if the photographing is performed with the aperture value and the guide number GNo. Determined in step 96, overexposure may occur. Therefore, the guide number GNo. Determined in step 96 is corrected (step 154). As shown in Fig. 11 (B), this correction
The light emission amount of the light emitting unit 16 of the camera 1 is smaller than that when the switch 31 is off.
As a result, it is possible to prevent overexposure due to superposition of the strobe light of the light emitting unit 16 of the camera 1 and the strobe light of the light emitting unit 36 of the strobe adapter 30.

When the guide number GNo. Is corrected, the photographing conditions are reset. That is, in the camera 10, since the close-up shooting is performed, the image pickup lens 17 is positioned in the tele range and at a position suitable for the shooting distance set by the adapter. Further, in the adapter 30, the orientation of the light emitting unit 36 is set to an angle suitable for the set shooting distance. After that, when the CPU 40 of the camera 10 outputs a light emission signal X _ON , the strobe circuit 50 is activated by the activation circuit 54, and the light emission unit 36 emits light. Input voltage V _in is
It becomes 0.8 V or less. In the camera 10, reading of video signals from CCD, digital conversion, image data processing,
The data is stored in the memory (step 155).

When the switch SW1 is turned on, it is determined to be in the B zone, after which it is determined that the strobe charging is completed and the zone is D, and a series of operations up to photographing under strobe emission and the input voltage V _in . An example of the change is shown in FIG.

When the input voltage V _in is in the E zone,
The adapter is attached, the flash switch 31 is turned off, and the set distance is determined to be relatively long (step 171). When the input voltage V _in is in the F zone, the adapter is installed,
The strobe switch 31 is turned off, and the set distance is determined to be relatively short (step 181). In these cases as well, after the switch SW2 is turned on (step 172), focusing control and exposure condition setting according to the above determination result are performed (step 173). The strobe of the adapter 30 does not emit light, but the strobe of the camera 1 emits light based on the set guide number GNo.

If the zone is neither the A zone nor the F zone, error processing, such as displaying an error, is performed (step 109).

In the above-described embodiment, when the built-in flash 50 of the camera 1 emits light, the guide number GNo. Is once set according to the distance to the subject (step 96), and the built-in flash 50 of the camera 1 is set. Is emitted,
The guide number GNo. That has been set is corrected when the light emitting portion 36 of the flash adapter 30 emits light (step 154), but the distance to the subject, whether or not the flash adapter 30 is attached, and the flash switch
The guide number GNo. May be uniformly determined according to the presence or absence of the setting of 31.

Further, focusing control may be performed according to the setting of the distance setting switch 32.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a camera to which a strobe adapter is attached.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a strobe adapter.

FIG. 3 is a front view of a strobe adapter.

FIG. 4 is a side view of a strobe adapter.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of a camera.

FIG. 6 shows an electrical configuration of a flash unit with a built-in camera.

FIG. 7 is a circuit diagram showing an electrical configuration of a camera and an adapter.

FIG. 8 shows zones of input voltage representing various states of the adapter.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a photographing processing procedure of the CPU of the camera.
It is a chart.

FIG. 10 is a flow chart showing a photographing processing procedure of the CPU of the camera.

FIG. 11 shows a relationship between a state of a flash switch, a distance to a subject, an aperture value and a guide number.

FIG. 12 is a graph showing how the input voltage changes in the shooting sequence.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Camera 11 Shutter Release Button 19 Female Thread 21 X Contact 21A, 22A Hole 21B, 22B Protrusion 22 G Contact 23 Mounting Screw 23A Knob 30 Strobe Adapter 31 Strobe Switch 32 Distance Setting Switch 36 Strobe Light Emitting Unit 40 CPU 41 Stable Power supply circuit 45 FET (switching element) 50 Adapter strobe circuit 51 Strobe on / off information generation resistance circuit 52 Charging completion information generation resistance circuit 53 Distance setting information generation resistance circuit 54 Strobe start circuit 55 Comparator TR1, TR2 Transistor (Switching element) R1, R2, R3, R4, R5, R6, R7, R8 Resistor SW1, SW2 Shutter release button SWA, SWB Distance setting switch

Front page continuation (72) Inventor Hiroshi Shimatani 3-11-46 Izumisui, Asaka-shi, Saitama Prefecture Fujisha Makoto Film Co., Ltd. (72) Izumi Izumi 3-11-46 Izumisui, Asaka-shi, Saitama Prefecture Within Film Co., Ltd.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A shutter under a flash emission condition.
From a camera that has a camera strobe that emits strobe light in response to pressing the release button, and a strobe adapter that has an adapter strobe that emits strobe light in response to pressing the shutter release button of the camera under strobe emission settings Configured, the above camera,
Strobe / adapter mounting detection means for detecting whether or not the strobe adapter is attached to the camera, strobe emission setting status detection means for detecting whether or not the adapter / strobe is under strobe emission setting, and the strobe adapter In response to the detection of the attachment of the strobe / adapter by the attachment detection means and the detection of the strobe emission setting of the adapter / strobe by the strobe emission setting status detection means, the light emission amount of the camera / strobe under the strobe emission condition. Is a strobe control means for controlling the camera strobe so as to reduce the light intensity as compared to when the strobe adapter is not attached or the strobe emission setting of the adapter strobe is not set,
Camera system with. 2. A shutter under a strobe lighting condition.
A camera strobe that emits a strobe light in response to the release button being pressed, and an adapter strobe adapter equipped with an adapter strobe that emits a strobe light in response to pressing the shutter release button of the camera under the strobe emission setting Whether or not there is a strobe / adapter attachment detecting means, a strobe emission status detecting means for detecting whether or not the adapter / strobe is under strobe emission setting, and a strobe / adapter attachment detecting means for attaching the strobe / adapter. The adapter by the detection and the strobe emission setting status detection means
In response to the detection of the strobe's strobe light emission setting, the amount of light emitted from the camera / strobe under the strobe light emission condition is compared with that when the strobe / adapter is not attached or the strobe light emission setting of the adapter / strobe is not set. A camera provided with a strobe control means for controlling the camera strobe so that the light is dimmed. 3. A shutter under a flash emission condition.
In a camera having a camera strobe that emits a strobe light in response to depression of a release button, a strobe adapter including an adapter strobe that emits strobe light in response to depression of the shutter release button of the camera under strobe emission settings To detect if the adapter strobe is set to strobe emission and respond to the detection of the strobe adapter attachment and the strobe firing setting of the adapter strobe. In order to reduce the amount of light emitted from the camera / strobe under strobe lighting conditions compared to when the strobe / adapter is not installed or the strobe lighting setting of the adapter / strobe is not set, How to control the camera.