JPH0694968A - Automatic photographing camera - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide an automatic photographing camera capable of easily photographing an object in a desired size. CONSTITUTION:An object distance detecting means 1 detecting a distance to the object and a composition setting means 2 setting the desired size of the object are provided. An optimum photographing distance is found based on the size of the object set by the composition setting means 2 and the focal distance of a photographing lens by a photographing distance calculating means 3. When the object distance detected by the object distance detecting means 1 coincides with the photographing distance calculated by the photographing distance calculating means 3, photographing action is started by an automatic photographing means 5. The photographing lens is driven so that an object image is brought into focus at the photographing distance calculated by the photographing distance calculating means 3 by a photographing lens driving means 4.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a camera which automatically starts a photographing operation when a subject distance matches a predetermined photographing distance.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a camera of this type, a real camera is used
In the 095 publication, the photographer presets the subject distance,
It is disclosed that the photographing operation is automatically started when the subject is positioned at this set distance.

[0003]

In the camera described in the above publication, the photographer himself / herself must set a desired shooting distance. Therefore, when he / she wants to shoot a subject with a specific size, It is necessary to check the relative relationship with the subject distance with the finder to determine the subject distance when the subject in the shooting area has a desired size, and if this work is time-consuming, there is a risk of missing a photo opportunity. In particular, when a moving object is a subject, it is difficult to grasp the relationship between the size of the subject and the subject distance in advance, and thus there is a high risk of missing a photo opportunity.

An object of the present invention is to provide an automatic photographing camera capable of easily photographing a subject in a desired size.

[0005]

In order to explain with reference to FIG. 1, the automatic photographing camera of the present invention is configured such that an object distance detecting means 1 for detecting a distance to an object and a desired object size are set. The setting means 2 and the shooting distance calculation means 3 for calculating the shooting distance when the subject image formed on the film surface matches the size of the subject set by the composition setting means 2 based on the focal length of the shooting lens. And a taking lens driving means 4 for driving the taking lens so that the subject image is focused at the taking distance calculated by the taking distance calculating means 3.
And the automatic photographing means 5 for starting the photographing operation when the subject distance detected by the subject distance detecting means 1 matches the photographing distance calculated by the photographing distance calculating means 3, thereby achieving the above-mentioned object. I am trying to In the camera of claim 2, the taking lens is a multifocal lens, and a focal length detecting means 6 for detecting the focal length of the taking lens is provided.
The shooting distance calculation means 3 calculates the shooting distance based on the size of the subject set by the composition setting means 2 and the focal length of the shooting lens detected by the focal length detection means 6.

[0006]

When the subject is regarded as an average person, the size at which the subject is photographed is determined by the focal length of the photographing lens and the distance to the subject. Therefore, in the present invention, when the desired object size is set by the composition setting means 2 such as "upper body", the optimum distance is calculated from the desired object size and the focal length of the taking lens by the taking distance calculation means 3. Find the shooting distance. When the subject distance detected by the subject distance detecting means 1 matches the photographing distance, the automatic photographing means 5 starts photographing. The photographic lens driving means 4 drives the photographic lens so that the subject image is focused at the photographic distance calculated by the photographic distance calculating means 3. In the second aspect, the focal length of the photographing lens is detected by the focal length detecting means 6, and the photographing distance is calculated from the detected value and the size of the subject set by the composition setting means 2.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 shows the external appearance of the camera of this embodiment, and the reference numeral 10 denotes the camera body. Camera body 1
A lens barrel 1 that can be extended in the axial direction on the front surface of 0
1 is provided, and a taking lens 12 is attached to the center thereof. The taking lens 12 is a zoom lens whose focal length changes according to the amount of extension of the lens barrel 11. Lens barrel 1
A distance measuring device 13 is provided on the upper part of the unit 1. The distance measuring device 13 receives the reflected light of infrared light emitted from the light emitting unit 13a toward the subject at the light receiving unit 13b, calculates the subject distance from the light receiving position at this time, and outputs the result. It is a thing.

Reference numeral 14 is a release button, 15 is a wide button, 16
Is a tele button. The wide button 15 and the tele button 16 are for adjusting the focal length of the taking lens 12 by changing the amount of extension of the lens barrel 11, and the relationship between the operation and the operation of the lens barrel 11 will be described later. Reference numeral 17 is a composition setting button. The composition setting button 17 switches the size of a subject to be photographed between "upper body" and "whole body", and the setting is switched each time the button is pressed. Reference numeral 18 denotes a liquid crystal display section for displaying a composition setting result by the composition setting button 17, and when "upper body" is selected, an upper body image D1 is displayed as shown in FIG.
When "whole body" is selected, the whole body image D2 is displayed as shown in FIG. In FIG. 2, 19 is a mode selection button. Each time the mode selection button 19 is pressed, the shooting mode of the camera alternates between the normal shooting mode and the automatic shooting mode. The shooting operation in each mode will be described later.

FIG. 4 shows a circuit configuration of the camera of this embodiment. Reference numeral 20 denotes a control circuit for controlling the operation of the camera. The control circuit 20 includes a half-press switch SW1 which is turned on by half-pressing the release button 14, a release switch SW2 which is turned on by fully-pressing the release button 14, and a wide button. Wide switch SW3, which is turned on by pushing 15
Tele switch SW that is turned on by pressing the tele button 16
4. A composition switch SW5 that is turned on by pressing the composition setting button 17 and a mode switch SW6 that is turned on by pressing the mode selection button 19 are connected.

The control circuit 20 includes switches SW1 to SW.
6, the distance measuring device 13 described above is connected, and further, the focal length detecting device 21, the photographing lens driving circuit 22, the photographing device 23, the zoom lens driving circuit 24, and the display device 25.
Are connected. The focal length detection device 21 detects the amount of extension of the lens barrel 11, calculates the focal length of the taking lens 12, and outputs the calculation result to the control circuit 20. The photographic lens drive circuit 22 drives the focus motor 26 incorporated in the camera body 10 in response to a focus command issued from the control circuit 20 to adjust the focus of the photographic lens 12. In response to a shooting command from the control circuit 20, the shooting device 23 drives a shutter or a diaphragm (not shown) to perform shooting, and after shooting, the film is wound by one frame.

The zoom lens drive circuit 24 includes a control circuit 2
In response to a command from 0, the zoom motor 27 is driven,
The amount of extension of the lens barrel 11 is changed. While the wide button 15 of the camera body 10 is being pressed and the wide switch SW3 is on, the control circuit 20 issues a zooming command to the zoom lens drive circuit 23 to the wide-angle side, which causes the motor 27 to move to the wide-angle side. When driven, the focal length of the taking lens 12 gradually decreases. While the tele button 16 is pressed and the tele switch SW4 is turned on, the control circuit 20 issues a zooming command to the telephoto side to the zoom lens drive circuit 23, which drives the motor 27 to the telephoto side and shoots. The focal length of the lens 12 gradually increases.

The display device 25 switches the display of the liquid crystal display section 18 according to the size of the subject set by the composition setting button 17. When the composition setting button 17 is pressed and the composition switch SW5 is turned on, the control circuit 20 causes the display device 25 to operate.
A display change command is issued to the display device 25, and the display device 25 changes the display pattern of the liquid crystal display unit 18. The control circuit 20 determines which display pattern is selected on the display device 25.
Will be confirmed and stored in.

In the camera having the above structure, when the normal photographing mode is selected by the mode selection button 19,
When the half-press switch SW1 is turned on by pressing the release button 14, the distance measuring device 13 starts distance measurement, and when the full-press switch SW2 is turned on subsequently, a focus command is output from the control circuit 20 to the photographing lens drive circuit 22. A shooting command is issued to the shooting device 23. As a result, the photographing lens drive circuit 22 drives the motor 26 by an amount corresponding to the subject distance detected by the distance measuring device 13 to focus the subject image on the film surface in the camera body 10, and then the photographing device 23. Starts shooting operation. At this time, the shutter speed and the aperture value of the taking lens 12 are adjusted by an exposure control device (not shown).

When the mode selection button 19 is pressed and the mode switch SW6 is turned on in the normal photographing mode, the photographing mode is switched to the automatic photographing mode. At this time, the control circuit 20 controls the operation of the camera according to the procedure shown in FIG. Hereinafter, this procedure will be described. When the automatic shooting mode is selected, it is first determined in step S1 whether or not the composition switch SW5 is on. If it is determined that the composition switch SW5 is not on, the process proceeds to step S2. If it is determined to be on, the process proceeds to step S3, the display pattern of the liquid crystal display unit 18 is switched, and the process proceeds to step S2.

In step S2, it is confirmed which display pattern "upper body" or "whole body" is selected on the display device 25, and the confirmation result is stored. In the next step S4, it is determined whether or not the wide switch SW3 is turned on,
If it is determined that it is not turned on, the process proceeds to step S5 to stop zooming. When not zooming, the step S5 is skipped. In the next step S6, it is determined whether or not the teleswitch SW4 is turned on. If it is determined that the teleswitch SW4 is not turned on, the process proceeds to step S7 to stop zooming. If zooming is not in progress, then step S7 is skipped.

When it is determined in step S4 that the wide switch SW3 is on, the process proceeds to step S20. Step S
In step 20, a wide-angle-side zooming command is output to the zoom lens drive circuit 24, the amount of extension of the lens barrel 11 is reduced, and the focal length of the taking lens 12 is gradually reduced while step S8.
Proceed to. When it is determined in step S6 that the teleswitch SW4 is on, the process proceeds to step S21. In step S21, a zooming command on the telephoto side is output to the zoom lens driving circuit 24, the amount of extension of the lens barrel 11 is increased, and the focal length of the taking lens 12 is gradually increased while step S21.
The process proceeds to 8.

In step S8, the focal length detecting device 21
The position of the lens barrel 11 is detected to calculate the focal length of the taking lens 12, and the result is output to the control circuit 20. In the next step S9, the size of the desired subject stored in step S2 and the photographic lens 12 obtained in step S8.
The shooting distance La of the subject is calculated from the focal length of the subject. Here, the shooting distance La is the subject distance when the subject image formed on the film surface of the camera matches the subject size ("upper body" or "whole body") set by the composition setting button 17. .

When the photographing distance La is calculated, step S10
Then, the distance measuring device 13 detects the actual subject distance Lb. Then, in the next step S11, the shooting distance L
a is compared with the actual subject distance Lb, and when they match, the process proceeds to the next step S12. If the shooting distance La and the actual subject distance Lb do not match, the process returns to step S1. In step S12, a focusing command is output to the taking lens drive circuit 22, and the motor 26 is driven according to the subject distance Lb measured by the distance measuring device 13 to focus the subject image on the film surface. Then, in step S13, the photographing device 23
The shooting command is output to and the shooting operation is started. After the shooting operation is completed and the film is wound up by one frame, the process returns to the beginning, and the same processing is repeated unless the mode switch SW6 is turned on and the shooting mode of the camera is switched to the normal shooting mode.

According to the above procedure, if either "upper body" or "whole body" composition is selected by the composition setting button 17, the desired composition and photographing lens 1 are selected in step S9.
The optimum shooting distance La is calculated from the focal length of 2 and when the shooting distance La and the subject distance Lb actually match, the process proceeds to step S12 and thereafter to automatically take a photograph of a desired composition. It The actual subject distance Lb is
If it does not match the calculated shooting distance La, the process returns to step S1 without shooting, and the shooting standby state is set until the shooting distance La and the subject distance Lb actually match.

When the composition setting button 17 is pressed in the shooting standby state, the display pattern is changed in step S3 and a new composition is stored in step S2. Below, the shooting distance La is changed based on the newly selected composition. The calculated value is compared with the actual subject distance Lb. When the wide button 15 or the tele button 16 is operated during shooting standby, zooming is started in step S20 or step S21. When the pressing operation of the wide button 15 or the tele button 16 is stopped, zooming is stopped in step S5 or step S7, and thereafter, the shooting distance La is calculated based on the new focal length detected in step S8, and the actual subject distance is calculated. The comparison with Lb is performed.

The focal length is detected in step S8 by
This is also performed during zooming by continuously pressing the wide button 15 and the tele button 16. When the focal length is detected during zooming, the corresponding shooting distance La is set in step S.
9 and the actual subject distance Lb is calculated in step S11.
Compared with the size. If the shooting distance La and the actual subject distance Lb match, shooting is performed even during zooming.

As is apparent from the above, in the present embodiment, the optimum shooting distance is calculated only by previously designating the desired size of either "upper body" or "whole body", and the actual object distance becomes the shooting distance. Since the image is automatically taken when they match, the object can be easily taken in a desired size. Since the taking lens 12 is a zoom lens, the taking distance can be changed according to the actual position of the subject. For this reason, especially when shooting a moving object having a large moving range with a desired size, such as a soccer or skating player, the shutter chance increases. In this respect, when using a single-focus lens, if you specify the size of the subject, the shooting distance will be uniformly set according to this,
Shooting is not performed unless the subject distance matches the calculated shooting distance. In the present embodiment, the shooting distance is sequentially calculated even during zooming, and shooting is performed if the actual subject distance and the shooting distance match. Therefore, by simply zooming in accordance with the movement of the subject, the subject can be displayed in a desired size. You can shoot continuously.

In the present embodiment, a camera equipped with a zoom lens has been described as an example, but it is said that the photographing distance is calculated and the photograph of the desired composition is photographed only by setting the size of the desired subject. The effects of the present invention can be obtained regardless of whether the taking lens is monofocal or multifocal. In the case of a monofocal lens, since the focal length of the taking lens 12 is known in advance, the focal length detection device 21 can be omitted and stored in the control circuit 20 in advance. In the present embodiment, in particular, the focusing command is issued to the photographing lens drive circuit 24 after the photographing distance La and the actual subject distance Lb match. However, based on the photographing distance La when the photographing distance La is calculated. The focus of the taking lens 12 may be adjusted. The size of the desired subject is not limited to the example of switching to the two stages of "upper body" and "whole body", and it may be possible to adjust it in three or more stages or continuously, and the display pattern is not limited to the figure display and is a numerical value. It may be expressed as. The distance measuring device 13 is not limited to the device that emits infrared light described in the embodiments. For example, a parameter that changes according to the subject distance is detected, such as obtaining the subject distance based on the amount of deviation between the plane at the position equivalent to the film surface and the image plane of the subject and the focal length of the shooting lens at that time. Then, any method for calculating the subject distance may be used.

In the present embodiment, the distance measuring device 13 is the subject distance detecting means, the composition setting button 17 is the composition setting means, the focal length detecting device 21 is the focal length detecting means, and the taking lens drive circuit 22 and the motor 26 are The focusing device is the photographing device 23
Is an automatic photographing means, and the control circuit 20 is a photographing distance calculation means.

[0025]

As described above, according to the present invention, the optimum shooting distance is calculated only by previously designating the size of a desired subject, and when the shooting distance and the subject distance match, the optimum shooting distance is automatically calculated. Since the shooting operation is started, even a moving subject can be easily shot in a desired size, and there is little risk of missing a photo opportunity. In the camera according to the second aspect, since the shooting distance calculated by the shooting distance calculating means changes according to the change in the focal length of the shooting lens, the desired distance can be obtained regardless of whether the subject distance is far or near. Shooting becomes possible, and the chance of shuttering increases. By changing the focal length of the taking lens according to the movement of the subject, the subject can also be continuously shot in a fixed size.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram corresponding to a claim of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an external configuration of a camera according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a display pattern in the liquid crystal display unit of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a circuit configuration of the camera of FIG.

5 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of the control circuit of FIG. 4 during automatic image capturing.

[Explanation of symbols]

 12 shooting lens 13 distance measuring device 17 composition setting button 20 control circuit 22 shooting lens drive circuit 23 shooting device

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A subject distance detecting means for detecting a distance to a subject, a composition setting means for setting a desired size of the subject, and a subject image formed on a film surface by the composition setting means. The shooting distance when the size of
Shooting distance calculation means for calculating based on the focal length of the shooting lens; shooting lens drive means for driving the shooting lens so that the subject image is in focus at the shooting distance calculated by the shooting distance calculation means; An automatic photographing camera, comprising: automatic photographing means for starting a photographing operation when a subject distance detected by the subject distance detecting means matches the photographing distance calculated by the photographing distance calculating means. 2. The automatic photographing camera according to claim 1, wherein the photographing lens is a multifocal lens, focal length detection means for detecting a focal length of the photographing lens is provided, and the photographing distance calculation means is the An automatic photographing camera, wherein the photographing distance is calculated based on the size of the subject set by the composition setting means and the focal length of the photographing lens detected by the focal length detecting means.