JPH09146152A - Electronic flashing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To surely warn that irregular exposure is caused. SOLUTION: This device is provided with a flash light source 11 irradiating a camera subject with flash light in photographing by the camera, a reflector 13 arranged in a space between the emitting port of the light source 11 and the subject in a state it is inclined in a direction where the flash light is radiated by the light source 11 and reflecting the flash light, and an irradiation area varying means 15 setting the angle of the flash light beam radiated by the light source 11 based on the photographing condition given by the camera to a value suitable for the condition. In such a case, the device is provided with a warning means 17 obtaining the minimum value of an angle formed by a line linking the emitting port with the outer periphery of the reflector with the center line of the beam based on the shape and the dimension of the reflector 13 and the relative position of the reflector 13 to the beam, comparing the minimum value with the mesial magnitude of the angle of view given by the camera as the condition, and giving a warning when the former is below the latter.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electronic flash device that indirectly illuminates an object to be bounced.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In the field of photography where a photograph with a sense of nature is to be taken, the subject is not directly illuminated by the illumination light, and a white reflective shade is used outdoors and the ceiling is used indoors. By illuminating the subject with soft reflected light obtained by applying the illumination light to a wall or a wall surface, bounce photography is performed to form a natural shadow of the subject, and an electronic flash device is used to obtain such illumination light. Is often applied.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a conventional electronic flash device. In the figure, the housing 41 is composed of a bottomed rectangular tubular body having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape. A light emitting window 42 made of a Fresnel lens having a convex lens characteristic is locked in the opening of the housing 41, and a leg 43 made of a hollow rectangular parallelepiped slides outside the surface facing the opening. Possibly locked. The storage chamber 4 having a slit-shaped cross section on one side surface of the housing 41 adjacent to the above-described opening.
4 is formed, and a portion corresponding to the edge of the surface on which the light emitting window 42 is locked is chamfered to form a slope 45 in the periphery of the opening of the storage chamber.

In the storage chamber 44, a communication hole 4 communicating with the hollow portion of the housing 41 at a position separated from the bottom by a predetermined distance.
6 is formed, and a conductive spring material 47a forming a contact point of the leaf switch 47 is movably inserted in the communication hole. The spring material 47a and the electrode 47b that forms a pair of contacts with the spring material and constitutes the above-mentioned contact are supported in a state of being opposed to each other via a mechanism (not shown) arranged in the hollow portion of the housing 41. Further, in the storage chamber 44, a hinge 48 urged by a spring (not shown) is slidably provided along any inner wall of the storage chamber, and a mirror surface is formed on a surface near the hollow portion of the housing 41. One side (end) of the formed mirror 49 is axially fixed through the hinge. On the other side (end) of the mirror 49 opposed to the one side (end), a semi-transmissive diffuser plate 51 is pivotally attached to the back surface of the mirror via a hinge 50 so as to be foldable.

In the hollow portion of the housing 41, a light source (including a reflection shade) 52 whose optical axis coincides with a perpendicular line in the central portion of the above-mentioned opening is provided movably along the optical axis. Is mechanically coupled to the output of the drive 53. In the hollow portion of the leg portion 43, switches 54-1 and 54, whose contacts are mechanically interrupted according to the relative position between the leg portion and the housing 41.
-2, and the contacts of these switches and the leaf switch 47 described above are respectively connected to the first to third inputs of the control circuit 55. The output of the camera (not shown) is connected to the fourth input of the control circuit 55 via the interface circuit 56, and the first output and the second output of the control circuit are the above-mentioned drive unit 53 and display unit 57, respectively. Connected to input.

In the electronic flash device having such a structure, when the bounce photographing is not performed, the mirror 49 and the diffusing plate 51 are folded via the hinge 50 and the storage chamber 4 is held.
4 In such a state, since the hinge 48 is located at a predetermined position in the storage chamber 44 by the above-mentioned spring, the mirror 49 is provided between the spring material and the electrode 47b against the biasing force of the spring material 47a. Disconnect the electrical connection.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4, since the casing 41 is axially fixed to the leg portion 43 at various angles, the combination of the contact states of the switches 54-1 and 54-2 is as follows. It is set according to the angle. The control circuit 55 determines whether or not the bounce photographing is performed according to the contact state of the leaf switch 47, and also with respect to the leg portion 43 (camera) according to the contact state of the switches 54-1 and 54-2. The angle of the housing 41 is identified. Further, the control circuit 55, as shown in Table 1, based on the contact states of the leaf switch 47 and the switches 54-1 and 54-2, the optimum position of the light source 52 (close-up shooting, normal direct shooting). A position that is set in advance for shooting, side bounce shooting, vertical position direct shooting, and upward bounce shooting) is obtained, and the position of the light source 52 is set to that position via the drive unit 53.

[0008]

[Table 1] Further, the control circuit 55 sets the shooting conditions (lens aperture value, film sensitivity, exposure correction value, etc.) given from the camera via the interface circuit 56, the guide number unique to the flash device itself, and the setting. The light control mode and other information are output to the display unit 57.

When bounce shooting is performed,
The mirror 49 and the diffusing plate 51 are pulled out from the inside of the storage chamber 44, and as shown in FIG. 3, one side (end) of the mirror 49 is supported in a state of being in contact with the slope 45 near the mounting surface of the hinge 48. In such a state, the contact of the leaf switch 47 is closed, and the control circuit 55 recognizes that the bounce photographing is performed according to the state of the contact, and determines the driving mode of the light source 52 via the driving unit 53. Switch.

Further, the diffusing plate 51 is axially fixed to the reflecting surface of the mirror 49 via the hinge 50 at a predetermined angle (for example, 180 degrees as shown in FIG. 5). In such a state, most of the flash light emitted from the light source 52 is reflected by the mirror surface of the mirror 49, the wall surface, and the ceiling surface, and is radiated to the subject as indirect light, and a part of the flash light passes through the diffuser plate 51. The illuminating angle is enlarged through the illuminating light and illuminates the subject or its surroundings as direct light.

Therefore, even when the subject is a person or the like, photographing is performed in a state where a light spot (eye catch) is surely formed in the eye of the subject, and the subject is alive because there is no light spot. The facial expression is prevented from being impaired.

[0012]

However, in such a conventional example, when the bounce photographing is performed with the diffuser plate 51 folded on the back surface of the mirror 49, the light source 52 is moved from the light emitting window 42. The flash light directly emitted from the position apart from the predetermined distance to the outside of the end surface of the mirror is directly irradiated to the periphery of the subject as shown in FIG. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 7, there is a possibility that an uneven brightness (dark edge) may be imprinted around the subject due to an unnatural difference in brightness.

Further, such exposure unevenness may occur in any of the top, bottom, left and right of the subject depending on the angle of the light emitting window 42 with respect to the leg portion 43, as shown in FIG. It is an object of the present invention to provide an electronic flash device that can reliably warn the occurrence of exposure unevenness.

[0014]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the principle of the first and second aspects of the present invention.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a flash light source 11 for emitting a flash light to a subject of the camera at the time of photographing given by the camera, and the flash light source 11 in a state in which the flash light source 11 is inclined in a direction of emitting the flash light. The angle of the flash beam emitted by the flash light source 11 based on the reflector 13 that reflects the flash light provided in the space sandwiched between the exit port and the subject is set as the condition. In an electronic flash device equipped with an irradiation area changing means 15 for setting an adapted value, a line connecting the outer periphery of the emission port and the reflector and its beam based on the shape, size and relative position of the reflector 13 to the beam. And an alarm means 17 for determining the minimum value of the angle formed by the center line of the camera and comparing the minimum value with the half value of the angle of view given by the camera as a condition, and issuing an alarm when the former falls below the latter. And it features.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a flash light source 11 which irradiates a subject of the camera with a flash light at the time of photographing given by the camera, and the flash light source 11 in a state in which the flash light source 11 is inclined in a direction in which the flash light is emitted. The angle of the flash beam emitted by the flash light source 11 based on the reflector 13 that reflects the flash light provided in the space sandwiched between the exit port and the subject is set as the condition. In an electronic flash device equipped with an irradiation area changing means 15 for setting an adapted value, a line connecting the outer periphery of the emission port and the reflector and its beam based on the shape, size and relative position of the reflector 13 to the beam. And a minimum value of an angle formed by the center line of the camera. The minimum value is compared with a half value of the angle of view given by the camera as a condition, and an alarm means 21 for issuing an alarm when both are different is provided. To.

(Operation) In the electronic flash device according to the first aspect of the present invention, the flash light source 11 emits flash light at the time of photographing given by the camera, and the reflector 13 causes the flash light source 11 to emit light.
The flash light is reflected in a space sandwiched between the subject and the subject to indirectly illuminate the subject. Irradiation area changing means 15
Prior to such bounce shooting, the angle of the flash light beam to be emitted by the flash light source 11 is set to a value adapted to the shooting condition given by the camera described above. The alarm means 17 determines the minimum angle formed by the center line of the beam and the line connecting the emission port of the flash light source 11 and the outer periphery of the reflector, based on the shape and size of the reflector 13 and the relative position to the beam. Find the value. Further, the alarm means 17 compares the minimum value with the half value of the angle of view given by the camera as the above condition, and issues an alarm when the former falls below the latter.

That is, the exposure unevenness caused by the direct irradiation of the flash light from the flash light source 11 through the vicinity of the end of the reflector 13 on the region to be photographed in the subject and its background precedes the photographing. Then, the photographer is surely warned. In the electronic flash device according to the second aspect of the present invention, similarly to the electronic flash device according to the first aspect, prior to the bounce photographing, the irradiation area changing means 15 controls the flash light beam to be emitted by the flash light source 11. Set the angle to a value that suits the shooting conditions. The alarm means 21 is based on the shape and size of the reflector 13 and the relative position to the beam described above, and the minimum value of the angle formed by the center line of the beam and the line connecting the emission port of the flash light source 11 and the outer periphery of the reflector. Ask for. Further, the alarm unit 21 compares the minimum value with the half value of the angle of view given by the camera as the above condition, and issues an alarm when the two are different.

That is, similarly to the electronic flash device according to the first aspect, the occurrence of exposure unevenness is surely warned to the photographer prior to photographing, and the flash light emitted from the flash light source is taken as the object of photographing. Unnecessary diffusion outside the region is suppressed.

[0020]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an embodiment corresponding to the invention described in FIG. In the figure, parts having the same functions and configurations as those shown in FIG. 3 are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted here.

The difference between the present embodiment and the conventional example shown in FIG. 3 is that a control circuit 31 is provided instead of the control circuit 55, a display unit 32 is provided instead of the display unit 57, and an interface circuit 56 is provided. Of the alarm circuit 3 is connected to the first input of the discrimination circuit 33 together with the corresponding input of the control circuit 31, and its output is connected to the first input of the alarm circuit 34.
The corresponding output of the control circuit 31 is connected to the second input of the control circuit 31, the output of the alarm circuit 34 is connected to the corresponding input of the display unit 32, and the control circuit 3 is connected to the second input of the discrimination circuit 33.
The corresponding output of 1 is at the connected point.

Regarding the correspondence between this embodiment and the block diagram shown in FIG. 1, the housing 41, the light emitting window 42 and the light source 52 correspond to the flash light source 11, and the mirror 49 corresponds to the reflector 1.
3, the interface circuit 56, the leaf switch 47, the switches 54-1 and 54-2 and the drive unit 53 correspond to the irradiation area changing means 15, and the interface circuit 56, the alarm means 31, the determination circuit 33, and the alarm circuit 34. Corresponds to the alarm means 17 and 21.

The operation of this embodiment corresponding to the first and second aspects of the present invention will be described below. Control circuit 3
1, the position of the light source 52 is set via the drive unit 53 according to the state of the contacts of the leaf switch 47 and the switches 54-1 and 54-2 in the same manner as in the conventional example. Further, when the contact of the leaf switch 47 is closed, the control circuit 31 controls the shape, size and relative position of the light source 52, the light emitting window 42 and the mirror 49 at the position set as described above. Based on the geometrical relation in, the line segment (indicated by a solid line and a dotted line in FIG. 2) connecting the outer circumference of these light sources (or light emitting windows) and the end of the mirror is the optical axis of the light source. The minimum angle (hereinafter, simply referred to as "irradiation angle") is calculated.

On the other hand, the discrimination circuit 33 obtains the angle of view based on the photographing condition given from the camera through the interface circuit 56. Further, the determination circuit 33 compares the angle of view obtained in this way with the value of twice the irradiation angle obtained by the control circuit 31 as described above, and when the former exceeds the latter, An alarm circuit 34 gives an alarm to that effect.
Give to.

The alarm circuit 34 displays alarm information indicating that the exposure unevenness described above may occur when the alarm is given. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to prevent the exposure unevenness from occurring and perform the shooting operation efficiently. In the present embodiment, the control circuit 31 and the display unit 32 have the same functions as the control circuit 55 and the display unit 57 shown in FIG. 3, respectively, and realize these functions together with the series of operations described above. However, the operation relating to such a function is the same as that of the conventional example, and therefore its description is omitted here.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the discrimination circuit 3
No. 3 gives an alarm to the alarm circuit 34 when the angle of view exceeds twice the irradiation angle, but the present invention is not limited to such a configuration. For example, the same applies when the two do not match. It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which the occurrence of exposure unevenness is avoided by irradiating the subject with the illumination light efficiently regardless of whether the subject is far or near, by issuing the alarm.

Further, in the above embodiment, the light source 52
Is composed of an element that emits a flash of light and a reflecting mirror that reflects the flash of light, but the present invention is not limited to such a structure, and the above-described irradiation angle can be reliably obtained and a desired light amount can be obtained. Then, the light source 52 having any configuration can be applied.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the control circuit 3
1 determines whether or not the bounce photographing is performed according to the state of the contact of the leaf switch, but the present invention is not limited to such a configuration, and for example, an operation unit provided in the electronic flash device or The operation unit of the camera may be provided with information serving as a reference for the determination. Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the control circuit 31 determines the irradiation angle at the position of the light source 52 based on the geometrical relationship given by the shapes, dimensions and relative positions of the light source, the light emitting window 42 and the mirror 49. However, the present invention is not limited to such a configuration, and for example, the irradiation angle obtained in advance is set to the light source 52.
The irradiation angle may be obtained by referring to the memory that stores the position in correspondence with the position based on the position.

Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the mounting angle θ of the mirror 49 shown in FIG. 2 is constant.
If it can be varied, it is equipped with an operating part that is used for manual setting of such an attachment angle and a sensor that performs detection, and the relative position described above is based on the attachment angle obtained through the operating part and the sensor. May be set, and the irradiation angle adapted to the mounting angle may be obtained.

Further, in the above embodiment, the light source 52
It is premised that the optical axis of the optical axis coincides with or is parallel to the optical axis of the camera lens, but the present invention is not limited to such a case, and, for example, in the case where these optical axes intersect, Also, if the intersection angle between the two can be discriminated and the correction can be performed in the calculation for obtaining the irradiation angle and comparing the irradiation angle with the angle of view, the same can be applied.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the angle of view is given from the camera through the interface circuit 56, but the present invention is not limited to such a case, and for example,
If a physical quantity (for example, the relative distance of the subject, the shape of the object space to be photographed, etc.) serving as a reference for obtaining the angle of view is given, and the angle of view can be reliably obtained based on these physical quantities, the same applies. Can be applied.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the mirror 4
Although the specific value of the mounting angle θ of 9 is not shown, generally, the flash light emitted from the light source through the light emitting window 42 is reflected by the reflecting surface of the mirror 49 in the direction deviated by 2θ, and The attachment angle θ is given by the equation of θ = (180 ° −α) / 2 with respect to the bounce angle α of illumination light used for bounce shooting (a general value is 45 degrees to 120 degrees). Therefore, the inclination angle θ may be 30 degrees to 67.5 degrees.

Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the alarm circuit 3
Reference numeral 4 simply displays an alarm for warning the occurrence of exposure unevenness, but the present invention is not limited to such a configuration. For example, a configuration is such that an alarm sound is emitted in conjunction with the display, or an alarm sound is simply emitted. Good.

[0034]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the invention, the photographer is surely warned that exposure unevenness will occur prior to bounce photography.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, similarly, the occurrence of the exposure unevenness is surely warned, and the flash light emitted from the flash light source is suppressed from being unnecessarily diffused outside the region to be photographed. To be done. Therefore, in the bounce photographing to which the electronic flash device according to these inventions is applied, the occurrence of exposure unevenness is prevented in advance, the number of man-hours and the cost required for photographing are reduced, and various lens conditions are applied. Even in the bottom, a photograph of good image quality can be obtained with high accuracy.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the principle of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an embodiment corresponding to the first and second aspects of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a conventional electronic flash device.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an operating mode of the electronic flash device.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an electronic flash device attached to a camera.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing illumination light in bounce shooting.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a problem of a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11 Flash Light Source 13 Reflector 15 Irradiation Area Changing Means 17, 21 Warning Means 31, 55 Control Circuit 32, 57 Display 33 Discrimination Circuit 34 Warning Circuit 41 Case 42 Light Emitting Window 43 Leg 44 Storage Room 45 Slope 46 Communication Hole 47 Leaf switch 47a Spring material 47b Electrodes 48, 50 Hinge 49 Mirror 51 Diffuser 52 Light source 53 Driver 54 Switch 56 Interface circuit

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A flash light source 11 that irradiates a subject of the camera with flash light at the time of shooting given by a camera, and an emission port of the flash light source 11 in a state in which the flash light source 11 is inclined in a direction in which the flash light is irradiated. The flash light source 1 is provided on the basis of a reflector 13 which is provided in a space sandwiched between the subject and reflects the flash light, and the shooting condition given by the camera.
1. An electronic flash device comprising: an irradiation area changing means 15 for setting the angle of the flash light beam irradiated by 1 to a value adapted to the condition, based on the shape and size of the reflector 13 and the relative position to the beam. Then, the minimum value of the angle formed by the line connecting the outer periphery of the emission port and the reflector and the center line of the beam is obtained, and the minimum value is compared with the half value of the angle of view given by the camera as the condition. An electronic flash device comprising an alarm means 17 for issuing an alarm when the former falls below the latter. 2. A flash light source 11 that irradiates a subject of the camera with flash light at the time of photographing given by a camera, and an emission port of the flash light source 11 in a state in which the flash light source 11 is inclined in a direction of irradiating the flash light. The flash light source 1 is provided on the basis of a reflector 13 which is provided in a space sandwiched between the subject and reflects the flash light, and the shooting condition given by the camera.
1. An electronic flash device including an irradiation area changing means 15 for setting the angle of the beam of flash light emitted by 1 to a value adapted to the condition, based on the shape and size of the reflector 13 and the relative position with respect to the beam. Then, the minimum value of the angle formed by the line connecting the outer periphery of the emission port and the reflector and the center line of the beam is obtained, and the minimum value is compared with the half value of the angle of view given by the camera as the condition. An electronic flash device comprising an alarm means 21 for issuing an alarm when the two are different.