JPH07199267A - Photographic controller - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a photographic controller by which even a beginner can surely take the photograph of fireworks. CONSTITUTION:A photographer sets launch number of times for fireworks by a setting means 1. Count means 2 and 5 count the number of times of the launched fireworks. A shutter controlling means 4 controls a shutter to be closed based on comparison between the value of the set number of times by the setting means and a count value by the count means by means of a comparing means 3 when the count number of times is equal to or more than set number of times or when exposure time reaches the specified time.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a photographing control device effective for photographing fireworks, for example.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when shooting fireworks, a camera having a long-time exposure function is used to set the exposure to a valve, and the photographer uses the aperture value (F value) of the camera and the film ISO value. I decided the exposure time and was shooting.

[0003]

However, such a photographing method is quite complicated and requires skill. For example, when fireworks are launched many times in a short time, unless the shutter is closed immediately, overexposure will occur. As described above, there is a problem in that, especially when a beginner shoots fireworks, it often fails.

The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and an object thereof is to provide a photographing control device which enables even a beginner to photograph a firework without fail.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, the photographing control apparatus of the present invention calculates the number of times the state of the subject should change based on the photographing information set as shown in FIG. Computing means 1 and counting means 2, 5 for detecting a change in the state of the subject and counting the number of times of the change.
And comparing the number of times of detection with the number of times of calculation, and when the number of times of detection and the number of times of calculation match, a comparing means 3 for outputting a number control signal, and a shutter closing operation in response to the output of the control signal. And a shutter control means 4 for performing a forming operation.

[0006]

Since the photographing control apparatus according to the present invention is configured as described above, the setting means 1 sets, for example, the number of times fireworks are launched. Then, the number of fireworks actually launched is counted by the counting means 2 and 5. The comparing means 3 compares the number of times set by the setting means 1 with the count value by the counting means 2, 5, and when the count value exceeds the set number of times, the control means closes the shutter.

Therefore, the fireworks can be photographed without fail without overexposure.

[0008]

1 is a diagram showing a circuit block of a first embodiment of the present invention. The CPU 103 controls the photographing control device according to the present invention. The CPU 103 corresponds to the number counting means 2 and the comparing means 3 in FIG. C
The PU 103 controls the shooting operation according to the program stored in the ROM 113. The RAM 114 is configured to store various data necessary for shooting as needed.

The firework mode switch 109 is a switch for setting a firework mode set when shooting fireworks. This switch is a momentary switch that switches between the fireworks mode and the normal shooting mode each time an operation is applied. The half-push switch 110 is a switch that is turned on when a release button (not shown) is half-pushed. The release switch 111 is a switch that is turned on when the release button is fully pressed.

The display device 105 is composed of, for example, an LCD, and displays a message or a warning to the user. The message is displayed by numbers or symbols as described later. The photometric device 102 executes a photometric operation at a predetermined timing and outputs the photometric result to the CPU 103. The distance measuring device 106 also executes a distance measuring operation at a predetermined timing and outputs it to the CPU 103.

The CPU 103 controls the lens and shutter drive device 104 to drive the lens so that the subject is normally in focus and drive the shutter. The film information reading device 107 reads the ISO information and the like of the film and outputs it to the CPU 103. The lens information reading device 108 reads the focal length and aperture value of the lens,
Output to the CPU 103.

The fireworks number setting device 101 is operated by the user when setting the number of times of fireworks to be shot. The exposure time setting device 112 is also operated by the user when setting the exposure time of the fireworks to be photographed. The voice determination device 115 detects a firework sound when a firework is launched and outputs it to the CPU 103.

FIG. 3 shows a fireworks number setting dial 101 (see FIG. 2).
3 shows a top view of a fireworks number setting device 101 in FIG. 2) and an exposure time setting dial 112 (corresponding to the exposure time setting device 112 in FIG. 2). The fireworks number setting dial 101 and the exposure time setting dial 112 are provided on the upper surface of the camera.

As shown in FIG. 3, both setting dials are dial type setting devices for setting the number of times or the exposure time by adjusting an index provided on the dial to an external numerical value. When the indexes of the dials 101 and 112 are set to AUTO as shown in the figure, a predetermined number of fireworks and a predetermined exposure time are set based on at least one of film information and lens information as described later. When the dial index is set to the position where other numerical values are written, the fireworks number setting device sets the number of fireworks to that value, and the exposure time setting device sets it to the second time of that value.

First, the fireworks number setting dial 101 is set to AUT
The case of setting to O will be described. For example, the film ISO
8 times for 100, 2 for film ISO 400
Set to times. That is, when the sensitivity is doubled, the number of times is reduced to 1/2. It is also set based on the lens information. In this case, the number of fireworks changes depending on the lens F value. For example, when the lens F value is F2.8, twice when the lens F value is F5.
When it is 6, it is 8 times. That is, the number of times is doubled when the aperture is stopped by one step. Accordingly, the number of times when the film ISO information and the lens information are combined is, for example, the film ISO.
When the lens F value is 100 and the lens F value is F2.8, the number of times is 4, and when the film F value is 2.8, the number is twice.
8 when the lens F value is 5.6 with film ISO200
Let's do it.

The focal length of the lens may also be used as a parameter. For example, when the taking lens is a zoom lens, the number of times is proportional to the focal length set so that the wide-angle side is large and the telephoto side is small. For example, in a so-called 3x zoom lens in which the focal length on the most telephoto side is three times the focal length on the widest angle side, it may be 6 times at the widest angle side and twice at the most telephoto side. As a result, even a single firework of the same size is photographed small on the wide-angle side and photographed large on the telephoto side, so that it is possible to correct the magnitude of the influence on the exposure.

Next, set the exposure time setting dial 112 to AU.
The case of setting to TO will be described. For example, film IS
It is set to 8 seconds for O100 and 2 seconds for film ISO400. That is, when the sensitivity is doubled, the exposure time is halved. It is also set based on the lens information. In this case, the exposure time changes depending on the lens F value. For example, when the lens F value is F2.8, it is 2 seconds and F5.
When it is 6, it is 8 seconds. That is, when the aperture is stopped by one step, the exposure time is doubled. Accordingly, the exposure time due to the combination of the film ISO information and the lens information is, for example, 4 when the F value of the lens is F2.8 in the film ISO100.
Seconds, the film F value of ISO100 is F100.
It is 16 seconds when 5.6, and 8 seconds when the F value of the lens is 5.6 in the film ISO200.

Further, when the zoom lens is used by using the focal length of the lens as a parameter as well as the number of times, it may be 6 seconds at the widest angle side and 2 seconds at the maximum telephoto side, depending on the focal length. When the number of fireworks setting dial 101 and the exposure time setting 112 are set to AUTO, the number of fireworks and the exposure time are set to the wide-angle side of the zoom lens, and in the case of ISO100 and F2.8, the number of fireworks is set to four. Then, set the exposure time to 4 seconds. As described above, this set value becomes 1/2 when the film sensitivity is doubled, and doubled when the diaphragm is stopped by one step.

When the information of the previous shooting is stored in the RAM or the like and the dials 101 and 112 are set to AUTO, the number of fireworks in the past three times and the exposure time are averaged, and the average value is taken as the number of fireworks. It can also be set as an exposure time. It is desirable to update this set value every time fireworks are photographed. Next, FIGS.
The flow of the control operation of the CPU will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. This flowchart shows the switch 10
When the fireworks mode is set by operating 9 or when the switch 110 is turned on by pressing the release button halfway, the processing is started.

First, in step S1, it is determined whether or not the firework mode switch 109 has been turned on. When the switch 109 is turned on, the process proceeds to step S2, and it is determined whether or not the firework mode is currently set. Whether or not the fireworks mode is currently set is determined by the RAM 11
It is determined by the flag stored in No. 4. If it is determined in step S2 that the firework mode is currently set, the fact that the firework mode switch 109 has been operated is an operation for canceling the firework mode, and therefore the process proceeds to step S4. Is reset and the fireworks display (display indicating that it is in fireworks mode) is turned off. That is, when the photographer operates the fireworks mode switch 109 when the fireworks mode is set,
Reset the set fireworks mode, RAM114
The flag is cleared, and the fireworks display displayed on the display device 105 is turned off.

On the other hand, when it is determined in step S2 that the firework mode is not currently set, the fireworks mode switch 109 is operated to set the operation mode to the fireworks mode in step S3. Then, the flag of the RAM 114 is set. Further, the display device 105 lights up a firework display indicating that the firework mode is newly set. If it is determined in step S1 that the firework mode switch 109 is not turned on, or if the processes of steps S3 and S4 are completed, the process proceeds to step S5, and it is determined whether or not the release button is half pressed, that is, , It is determined whether the switch 110 is turned on. When the switch 110 is in the off state, the process ends. If it is determined that the switch 110 is on, the process proceeds to step S6, and the film information output from the film information reading device, that is,
The film ISO is read, and further the lens information output from the lens information reading device 108, that is, the focal length and aperture value of the lens of the camera are read.

Next, in step S7, it is determined whether or not the current mode is set to the fireworks mode by the RAM 114.
Judgment is made from the flag stored in. If it is determined that the firework mode is set, the process proceeds to step S8, and the distance information is set to the farthest step, for example, infinity of the steps of driving the taking lens so that the fireworks are in focus. If it is determined that the firework mode is not set, the process proceeds to step S25.

In step S9, the number of fireworks is currently AU.
If it is set to TO, the predetermined number of fireworks (N) is set according to the information stored in either the RAM or the ROM. If the number of fireworks is not set to AUTO, the number of fireworks setting device is set. At 101, the number of fireworks (N) set by the photographer is set. Furthermore, if the exposure time setting device 112 is currently set to AUTO, R
If the maximum exposure time is set according to the information stored in either AM or ROM, and the exposure time is not set to AUTO, the photographer sets the maximum exposure time using the exposure time setting device 112. I do. The maximum exposure time is the longest exposure time limit. That is, the exposure is ended when the exposure is started and the predetermined number of fireworks is counted, but the exposure is ended when this time elapses even before reaching the predetermined number of times. Then, the set number of fireworks and the set maximum exposure time value are displayed on the display device 105, and the process proceeds to step S10.

In step S25, which is performed after it is determined that the firework mode is not set in step S7, a normal distance measuring operation and a normal photometric operation are performed, and the process proceeds to step S10. In step S10, it is determined whether or not the release button is fully pressed, that is, whether or not the switch 111 is turned on. If the switch 111 is on, the process proceeds to step S12, and if the switch 111 is off, the process proceeds to step S11. In step S11, it is determined whether the release button is half pressed. Switch 1
When 10 is off, the process is terminated. If it is determined that the switch 110 is on, the process returns to step S10. In step S10, it is determined that the button has been fully pressed, and in step S12, the procedure proceeds to step S12 to determine whether or not the current mode is set to the firework mode. If it is determined that the fireworks mode is set, step S1
When it is determined that the firework mode is not set, the process proceeds to step S26. In step S26,
Lens control and exposure control are performed based on the distance measurement information and photometry information obtained in step S25.

In step S13, it is determined whether the half-pushed state of the release button has been released. If the half-pushed state is not released, the release is waited for, and if it is released, the process proceeds to step S14. For long exposures, which is often the case when shooting fireworks, holding down the release button is a pain for the photographer,
Also, it may cause the camera to vibrate, so release the release button before starting exposure. As a result, it is possible to prevent vibration caused by operation on the release button and vibration caused by the photographer pressing the release button continuously during exposure. In step S14, a predetermined time (for example, 0.5 seconds) is waited. This is to wait until the vibration of the camera caused by the release operation of the release button by the photographer is completely stopped. In step S15, control is performed to drive the lens to the farthest step set in step S8,
Open the shutter to start exposure.

In step S16, the count value (K) of the number of fireworks is reset to 0 (K = 0), and the display device 105
Indicates that the count value of the number of fireworks is 0. Further, a timer A that measures the exposure time is started. The time measured by the timer A is the maximum exposure time set in step S8. In step S17, the photometric device 1
02 is driven to perform photometry. The photometric value obtained at this time is used as the reference photometric value. Next, the process proceeds to step S18, and it is determined whether or not the time counting of the timer A started in step S16 has ended. If the time measurement is completed, step S24
If not, the process proceeds to step S19.
In step S19, photometry is performed again. Step S
20 compares the photometric value obtained in the immediately preceding step S19 with the reference photometric value obtained in step S17, or compares the photometric value obtained in the previous step S19 with step S2.
In 1, it is determined whether or not there is a change. If the fireworks were launched, the photometric value this time should be larger (brighter) than the reference photometric value. If there is a change, the process proceeds to step S201. Step S2
In 01, a timer is started and it progresses to S202. This timer B sets the maximum time to continue the loop for judging whether the changed light is really fireworks or not based on the change of the sound, and sounds at the distance from the place where the fireworks are lit to the shooting place. The maximum time it will reach is.

In step S202, the voice judgment device 115 is controlled in order to recognize the explosion sound of the fireworks (the loudness of the sound obtained by amplifying only the explosion sound through the predetermined filter by the microphone is measured by the CPU.
(Enter in 103) and proceed to S203. In S203, S20
It is determined whether or not the timer B started at 1 counts a preset predetermined time. If it is determined in S203 that the preset fixed time has not elapsed yet, the process proceeds to S204, in which the voice determination device 115 is controlled to recognize the explosion sound of fireworks (through a predetermined filter with a microphone. The loudness of only the explosion sound is amplified by C
Input to PU103) and proceed to S205. In S205,
The loudness of the sound obtained based on the processing of the voice determination device executed in S204 is compared with the previous loudness (for example, in this case, the result of the loudness in S202). Next, when it is determined in S206 that the change in sound in S205 is equal to or greater than the predetermined value, the process proceeds to step S22, where the count value (K) of the number of fireworks is doubled and 1 is added (2K + 1), and the result is 1 Set to / 2. If K obtained here is not an integer, the number after the decimal point is rounded up to obtain an integer. If the photometric value has not changed in step S21, steps S201 to S22 are skipped and step S21 is skipped.
Proceed to 23. In step S33, it is determined whether or not the count value (K) of the number of fireworks is greater than the number (N) of fireworks set in step S9. If it is larger, the process proceeds to step S24, and if it is not larger, Step S1
Returning to step 8, steps S18-23 are repeated until K ≧ N. In step S24, the shutter is closed to end the exposure, and the present flowchart is ended.

In this embodiment, the firework mode switch is provided exclusively, but it may also be used as another mode switch, for example, an exposure mode changeover switch. Further, in the present embodiment, the fireworks setting means and the exposure time setting means are dial type, but the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, an up / down switch provided with a separate display unit or a command dial switch may be used.

Needless to say, the present invention can be applied to both a lens-shutter camera and a single-lens reflex camera.

[0030]

As described above, according to the present invention, exposure is a relatively difficult setting when a subject whose state changes, such as fireworks, is photographed. Since the time setting and the like are automatically set based on the set photographing information, the photographer can easily and properly photograph without worrying about these setting operations.

Even when a long exposure is required, the exposure time is automatically set according to the set shooting information, so that the photographer can set the exposure time automatically without worrying about it. You can shoot with the exposure time limited to a long time. Further, by using the number of times automatically set by the shooting information and the automatically set exposure time together, more suitable shooting can be surely performed.

Further, when the photometric value changes, the sound arriving with a delay is judged and it is confirmed that the desired subject change, that is, fireworks, can be taken more reliably.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a fireworks number setting means and an exposure time setting means of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of the first embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Setting Means 2 Counting Means 3 Comparing Means 4 Shutter Control Means 101 Fireworks Number Setting Dial 102 Photometer 103 CPU 104 Shutter Drive 109 Fireworks Mode Switch 110 Half Press Switch 111 Release Switch 112 Exposure Time Setting Dial

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A calculation means for calculating the number of times that the state of a subject should change based on set shooting information, a counting means for detecting a change in the state of the subject and counting the number of times of the change, And comparing the number of times with the number of times of calculation, and outputting a number-of-times control signal when the number of times of detection and the number of times of calculation match, and a shutter for closing the shutter in response to the output of the control signal. An image pickup control apparatus comprising: a control unit. 2. The counting means detects a first state change of a subject and a second state change different from the first state after the first detection means operates. The photographing control apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a second detection unit, which counts a change in the second state.