JPH07175127A - Camera - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent camera-shaking by surely holding a camera. CONSTITUTION:A grip part 4 held by the right hand is provided on the side of the main body 3 of a camera 2. The top surface 4b of the grip part 4 is formed so that it is protruded from the top surface 3a of the main body part 3 and further, the side of an edge 4c is made higher than the side of the main body part 3, to catch the second joint of a forefinger and a shutter button 14 and zoom buttons 15 and 16 are arranged on the top surface 4b in order to improve operability.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to the shape of a grip provided on the body of a camera, still video camera or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, the trend for fully automatic compact cameras has become smaller and lighter, while the number of mounted lenses has been diversified. As for this lens, the type having a long focal length is increasing from the double focus to the zoom and further increasing the magnification. In such a compact camera equipped with a lens having a long focal length, the holding property is more important than ever before in order to prevent camera shake that is likely to occur during shooting when the lens has a high magnification.

Conventionally, a standard shape of a camera is such that a grip portion for holding with a right hand is integrated with a horizontally long rectangular camera body. This grip part projects forward from the camera body, the middle finger, the ring finger, and the little finger are arranged on the front side, and the thumb is arranged on the back side for holding, and the side surface of the grip part is in close contact with the palm. Is formed in a curved shape. Further, a shutter button is provided on the upper surface of the grip portion, and the upper surface of the grip portion is formed to be the same as the upper surface of the camera main body or a surface inclined downward to the front so that the shutter release operation can be easily performed with the index finger.

[0004]

Of course, when gripping an object with one hand, it is naturally possible to certainly use all five fingers and the palm. However, in the above-described shape of the grip part, the fingers involved in holding are four thumbs, the middle finger, the ring finger, and the little finger, and the index finger is placed on the grip part but not involved in holding. This is because the shutter button is linked with the focus lock mechanism, the photometric mechanism, and the shutter mechanism, and the shutter button is pressed to operate these mechanisms. When performing this pushing operation with the index finger, it is natural to perform it with the fingertip where the force is applied. When the fingertip of the index finger is pressed on the shutter button, it is difficult to operate unless the index finger is bent from the root to the “<” shape. When the index finger is bent into a V shape from the root in this way, the top surface of the grip part is either the same as the top surface of the camera body or is formed with a low slope forward, so that the index finger is totally separated from the top surface of the grip. It was necessary and had the drawback that the index finger could not be used for holding.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a camera provided with a grip portion which can be used as a holding jig for the index finger only for the purpose of operation.

[0006]

Therefore, in the present invention, the upper surface of the grip portion provided at the side of the camera body is made to project more than the upper surface of the camera body, and the projected upper surface is located at the end side rather than the camera body side. It is tilted to be higher. Further, in another invention, a shutter button or a lens magnification conversion operation unit is arranged on the upper surface of the grip unit. According to this, the front surface, the side surface, and the back surface of the grip portion are gripped by four thumbs, the middle finger, the ring finger, and the little finger, and the upper surface of the grip portion is projected from the upper surface of the camera body. Is tilted so that the end side is higher than the camera body side, so if the second joint of the index finger comes to the highest end of this upper surface, the part from the base of the index finger to the second joint is used for holding. You can hold the camera firmly with five fingers. Further, since the shutter button or the lens magnification conversion operation unit is arranged on the upper surface of the grip unit, the operation can be performed in the holding state by moving the portion beyond the second joint of the index finger.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A camera of the present invention is shown in FIGS. This camera 2 has a focal length of 3 to 105 mm, for example.
This is a fully automatic compact camera that is equipped with a zoom lens that can be changed up to 2 times the size, and the focus lock mechanism and photometric mechanism are activated by pressing the shutter button halfway, and the shutter mechanism is activated by fully pressing the shutter button.

The camera 2 is composed of a body portion 3 and a grip portion 4 which is integrally provided on the side of the body portion 3 which is gripped when holding with the right hand. On the front surface of the main body 3, a lens barrel 5 arranged in the center, a light projecting window 6 and a light receiving window 7 for the active autofocus mechanism arranged above the lens barrel 5, and a viewfinder objective window 8 arranged between them. , And a stroboscopic light emission window 9 arranged at the front right corner. Further, on the upper surface of the main body portion 3, there is provided a liquid crystal display portion 10 for displaying the number of photographable films, the film sensitivity and the like. On the back side, there are provided a back cover 11 that is opened and closed when the film is loaded, and a finder eyepiece window 12 arranged above the back cover 11.

The grip portion 4 has a side surface 4a formed in a curved line curved in an arc shape with the main body portion 3 as a center when viewed from the front, and has rounded corners so that the middle finger, ring finger, and little finger of the right hand can hold it. It is tinged. The upper surface 4b of the grip portion 4 is formed so as to project from the upper surface 3a of the main body portion 3 so that the right index finger can easily hold it.
It is formed to be inclined toward the main body 3. As a result, the highest portion of the camera 2, that is, the grip portion 4
The second joint of the index finger of the right hand is caught on the end portion 4c of the upper surface 4b of the. On the upper surface 4b of the grip portion 4, a shutter button 14 is arranged at a position where the fingertip of the index finger naturally rests.

Around the shutter button 14, two substantially fan-shaped zoom buttons 15 and 16 are arranged on both sides sandwiching the shutter button 14, respectively. These zoom buttons 15,
16 is arranged along the direction of the index finger,
One zoom button 14 sets the focal length of the taking lens 5a to the tele side, and the other zoom button 15 moves the taking lens 5a.
The focal length of a is changed to the wide side. Also,
A power switch 17 is arranged on the back side of the camera 2. The power switch 17 is provided at a position where the gripped thumb of the right hand naturally rests, and is a slide type switch so as not to operate even if it is simply touched.
These shutter button 14, zoom button 15,
16 is activated when the pushing operation pushes in a direction perpendicular to the upper surface 4b.

The operation of the above configuration will be described. Grip part 4
A lever 14 is arranged on the side surface of the main body portion 3 on the opposite side to. When the lever 14 is operated, the back cover 11 is opened, and a photo film with a cartridge is loaded into the exposed loading chamber. After that, when the back cover 11 is closed, the photographic film is automatically sent out and the first frame is set in the aperture.

When holding the camera 2 with the right hand,
As shown in FIG. 2, the thumb is on the back side of the grip portion 4, and the middle finger, the ring finger, and the little finger are on the front surface 4c of the grip portion 4,
Further, the index finger is placed on the upper surface 4b of the grip portion 4. When taking a picture, the power switch 17 is slid with the thumb. At this time, since the held thumb is naturally placed near the power switch 17, it can be easily operated without changing the holding.

When the power switch is turned on, the liquid crystal display unit 1
The film sensitivity and the number of films that can be photographed are displayed at 0, and the lens barrel 5b is extended to a wide position slightly protruding forward from the lens barrel 5. And eyepiece window 12
Looking from the bottom, framing is performed while operating the zoom buttons 15 and 16 to determine the composition. This zoom button 1
Since 5 and 16 are arranged on the upper surface 4b of the grip portion 4, they can be easily operated with the fingertip of the forefinger while the second joint of the forefinger is hooked on the end 4c of the upper surface 4b.

When the composition is determined, the shutter button 14 is half pressed with the tip of the index finger. As a result, the focus lock that measures the distance to the subject, locks the photographic lens 5a in focus at this distance is activated, and the photometric value of the photometric mechanism is stored. Then, when the shutter button 14 is fully pressed as it is, the shutter speed and the aperture are controlled so that the exposure is performed according to the photometric value, and the photographic film is exposed.

At the time of this shutter release, the thumb of the right hand is on the back side of the grip portion 4, the middle finger, the ring finger and the little finger are on the front surface 4c of the grip portion 4, and the second joint of the index finger is the end portion 4c. It can be held firmly by being caught in. In particular, when the taking lens 5a is set to the telephoto end, the lens barrel 5b projects long forward as shown by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. 1, the center of gravity of the camera 2 itself shifts to the front side, and camera shake in the front-back direction easily occurs. According to this embodiment, since the shutter button 14 can be pressed with the fingertips of the index finger while holding the grip portion 4 with all the fingers of the right hand, the camera 2 can be prevented from moving back and forth, and the curved grip portion 4 can be prevented. Since the palm of the right hand is along the side surface 4a, rotation of the camera 2 around the optical axis can be prevented, stable holding can be performed, and camera shake can be reliably prevented.

Further, the upper surface 4b of the grip portion 4 is the main body portion 3
Since it is tilted toward, if you move the fingertip from the second joint of the index finger to the center, the second joint to the fingertip moves vertically with respect to the upper surface 4b, so you do not exert much force. It has the advantage that it can be pushed smoothly.

After the photographing is completed, the photographic film is sent for one frame, and the preparation for the next photographing is completed. After repeating such operations to continue shooting and shooting all frames, the entire photo film is rewound into the patrone.
The photo film with a patrone that has been taken is lever 14
To open and remove the back cover 11.

In the above embodiment, the shutter button 14 and the zoom buttons 15 and 16 are flush with the upper surface 4b of the grip portion 4. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and it is easy to feel with the tip of the index finger. It may be provided so as to protrude from the upper surface 4b of the grip portion 4. In addition, depressions may be provided on the front surface of the grip portion 4 so that the fingertips of the middle finger, the ring finger, and the little finger, and the back surface of the grip portion 4, respectively, can bite into the thumb. Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the zoom camera is used, but in the case of a bifocal camera, the zoom buttons 15 and 1 are used.
Instead of 6, a tele / wide switching button is provided on the upper surface 4b.

[0019]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Make the top surface of the grip part project more than the top surface of the camera body,
Since the protruding upper surface is inclined so that the end side is higher than the camera body side, the second joint of the index finger is caught at the highest end of the upper surface, and the second finger from the base of the index finger
The joint part can be used for holding. With this, the camera can be firmly held by the five fingers, and thus camera shake can be reliably prevented.
In another invention, since the shutter button or the lens magnification conversion operation unit is arranged on the upper surface of the grip unit,
By moving the portion of the index finger beyond the second joint, the shutter operation and the magnification conversion operation can be performed with the five fingers firmly holding the finger.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a camera of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view of the camera.

[Explanation of symbols]

 4c Edge 5 Lens barrel 5a Photographing lens 10 Liquid crystal display 14 Shutter button 15, 16 Zoom button

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. In a camera having a grip portion to be held by the right hand beside the camera body, an upper surface of the grip portion is made to project more than an upper surface of the camera body, and the projected upper surface is an end portion rather than the camera body side. A camera characterized by being tilted so that the side becomes higher. 2. The camera according to claim 1, wherein a shutter button is arranged on an upper surface of the grip portion. 3. The camera according to claim 2, wherein a lens magnification conversion operation unit is arranged on the upper surface of the grip unit.