JPH10126654A - Digital still camera - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To realize photographing with low power consumption by means of using an optical system view finder without using a monitor part by constituting a digital still camera main body and the monitor part which is viewed at the time of photographing or reproduction to be freely attachable/detachable. SOLUTION: A rotary pedestal 104 which can freely be attached/detached by attachable/detachable parts 106a and 106b is provided for the back of the digital still camera main boy 101. A liquid crystal display monitor 105 which can rotate is provided on the rotary pedestal 104. The attachable/detachable parts 106a and 106b provided for a hinge part can be attached/detached by a one touch operation. Thus, the rotary pedestal 104 and the liquid crystal display monitor 105 can be attached/detached from the digital still camera main body 101. Since view finder 107 is provided and therefore photographing can be realized eve if the liquid crystal display monitor 105 is absent. Thus, photographing for reducing power consumption can be realized without using the liquid crystal display monitor 105 when inner power is consumed, for example.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a digital still camera provided with a monitor for displaying a moving image or a still image obtained by an image pickup means, and more particularly to a digital still camera body and a monitor visually recognized at the time of shooting or reproduction. The camera can be attached and detached to enable low power consumption imaging using an optical system viewfinder without using a monitor, and the operability is improved by increasing the degree of freedom of the installation structure when the monitor is installed. The present invention relates to a digital still camera that also pays attention to protection of a monitor display surface during use.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventional techniques related to digital still cameras include, for example, the following. First, in a "VTR integrated camera system" disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-84571, a liquid crystal display terminal is arranged inside a lid rotatably supported by a main body at a hinge portion, and the lid is opened to open an opening. It is proposed to simplify the configuration by inserting a liquid crystal display inside the lid when opening the LCD so that the signal connection between the liquid crystal display and the VCR is made.

In a "finder device" disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-83608, a liquid crystal finder is provided on a rotary base provided on the outer surface of a camera body so as to be openable and closable. There has been proposed a structure having a grip that rotates in conjunction with the rotation of the camera or a hood that opens in conjunction with the opening of the liquid crystal finder.

Further, in the "monitor device" disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 3-6371, there is proposed a device in which a monitor unit is connected via a movable mechanism to a battery unit having a mounting portion to an imaging device. .

In the "camera with a reproducing apparatus" disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 7-3735, a reproducing operation section and a reproducing screen are housed inside at the time of photographing, and an opening and closing means for exposing the reproducing operation section and the reproducing screen at the time of reproducing. Has been proposed.

Further, in the "finder of electronic camera" disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 4-100382, a rectangular plate-shaped display device is provided on the back of the electronic camera main body with a rotation axis close to and parallel to one side of the rectangle. Has been proposed to be rotatably mounted.

[0007]

However, in the technology related to the above-mentioned conventional digital still camera,
Because the digital still camera body and the monitor unit are not detachable, not only during playback and shooting when framing is performed on the monitor unit, but also when shooting using a viewfinder that does not originally need to be displayed on the monitor unit. Also consumes power,
There is a problem that power consumption, which is an essential issue in portable electronic devices, cannot be achieved.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, and has a structure in which a digital still camera body provided with an optical system viewfinder and a monitor portion which is visually recognized at the time of shooting or reproduction are detachably attached. It is an object of the present invention to provide a digital still camera that enables low-power-consumption photographing using an optical system viewfinder without using a section.

Another object of the present invention is to make the digital still camera main body and the monitor unit detachable, to improve the operability by increasing the degree of freedom of the installation structure when the monitor unit is mounted, and to further improve the operability of the monitor unit. An object of the present invention is to provide a digital still camera that also takes care of protection of a monitor display surface at the time.

[0010]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a digital still camera according to a first aspect of the present invention comprises:
Imaging means for capturing an image of a subject and outputting image information; an optical viewfinder; a rotating pedestal detachably mounted on the outer surface of the digital still camera main body; And a monitor for displaying the same.

A digital still camera according to a second aspect is the digital still camera according to the first aspect,
The rotary pedestal and the monitor can be attached to and detached from the attachment / detachment portion of the digital still camera body, and the attachment / detachment can be attached / removed in any of the two directions of the monitor display surface.

A digital still camera according to a third aspect of the present invention is the digital still camera according to the first or second aspect, wherein the rotary pedestal having the monitor is connected to the detachable portion with a rotatable hinge. is there.

The digital still camera according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is the digital still camera according to the first, second or third aspect, wherein the monitor provided on the rotary pedestal comprises:
It can be rotated clockwise or counterclockwise.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a digital still camera according to the first, second, third, or fourth aspect, wherein the monitor provided on the rotary base is rotated to form an optical system and a digital camera. The lens barrel unit of the main body of the digital still camera including the image pickup system is rotatable at an interlocking rotation angle about the optical axis.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an outline of a digital still camera of the present invention and an embodiment of the digital still camera of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[Outline of Digital Still Camera of the Present Invention]
In the digital still camera according to the first aspect of the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, imaging means 201 to 205 for imaging a subject and outputting image information, an optical viewfinder 107, and a digital still camera main body. 101 includes a detachable rotating base 104 and a monitor 105 attached to the rotating base 104 and displaying the captured image information or other information.

As described above, the digital still camera body 1
By making the monitor 105 detachable from 01, for example, when the internal power supply is exhausted, the photographing using the optical viewfinder 107 is performed to reduce the power consumption of the entire digital still camera. Is possible.

The monitor 105 and the digital still camera main body 101 are electrically connected to each other by a cable, wireless communication, infrared communication, or the like so that they can be operated.
Digital still camera body 1 provided with an optical system and an imaging system
01, it is possible to take a picture while confirming the subject on the monitor 105, and it is also possible to take a picture of a living thing such as a bird without being noticed from a distance.

Further, in the digital still camera according to the second aspect, the rotating base 104 and the monitor 105 can be attached to and detached from the attaching / detaching portions 106a and 106b of the digital still camera body 101, and the attaching direction of the attaching / detaching can be monitored by the monitor 1.
05 It is detachable in both directions of the front and back of the display surface.

In a conventional digital still camera, a monitor or a viewfinder is generally mounted so as to be displayed in a direction opposite to a subject (on the side of a photographer), so that the monitor or the viewfinder can be easily confirmed only by the photographer. According to the digital still camera of the present invention, the monitor 105 can be freely attached and detached in two opposite directions of the display surface, and can be viewed. Therefore, the display surface of the monitor 105 can be used on both the subject side and the photographer side. It is visible from. This gives
If necessary, it is easy to confirm from the subject side and the like, which is convenient for confirming, for example, when photographing oneself using a self-timer.

Further, since the display surface of the monitor 105 can be directed to the inner surface, the display surface of the monitor 105 is not exposed to the outer surface in order to protect the display surface except during shooting or reproduction. It is possible.

Further, in the digital still camera according to the third aspect, the rotary base 104 having the monitor 105 is connected to the detachable parts 106a and 106b by a rotatable hinge.

Most conventional digital still cameras generally have a structure in which the display surface of the monitor 105 is an external surface even when the photographing or reproduction is not visually recognized, and the surface is easily soiled. Originally, the surface of the monitor 105 is a part that must be particularly protected like the photographing optical system. In the digital still camera of the present invention, the monitor 105 is protected by rotating the rotating base 104 provided with the monitor 105 except when viewing.

Since the monitor 105 is connected to the digital still camera main body 101 by a rotatable hinge, the digital still camera main body 1 having a photographing optical system is provided.
It is possible to change the display surface of the monitor 105 to an easily visible direction while keeping the position of 01 fixed. In particular, it is possible to make the digital still camera body 101 easily visible even at a shooting position where the line of sight is at the height of the line of sight or the height of the waist.

Further, by combining with the digital still camera according to the second aspect of the present invention, the digital still camera can be attached to and detached from the front and rear directions, so that the digital still camera can be viewed from the subject side.
Furthermore, by giving a suitable frictional resistance to the hinge, which is a rotating part, it is possible to fix the hinge at a plurality of turning angles. In particular, by fixing the hinge at a turning angle that is considered to be frequently used by a click stop mechanism, etc. , It is possible to form a further stable structure.

In the digital still camera according to the fourth aspect, the monitor 105 provided on the rotary base 104 is
It can be rotated clockwise or counterclockwise.

In the conventional digital still camera, if the position of the line of sight of the observer at the time of shooting or reproduction is not always horizontal while the camera position is fixed horizontally, the line of sight is tilted for visual recognition on the monitor. Needed. In the digital still camera of the present invention, the monitor 105 can rotate clockwise and counterclockwise without interlocking with the angle of view of the image sensor provided in the digital still camera main body 101. Alternatively, during playback, the digital still camera main body 101 can be visually recognized at a different line of sight from the fixed position, and while the digital still camera main body 101 is fixed in position, the photographing is intentionally performed while the angle of view is set to a horizontal plane. Since the monitor 105 can be viewed with a horizontal line of sight regardless of the inclination of the angle of view for viewing or checking at the time of reproduction, it is possible to eliminate the trouble of tilting the neck and checking the subject.

Further, in the digital still camera according to the fifth aspect, by rotating the monitor 105 provided on the rotary pedestal 104, the lens barrel unit 102 of the digital still camera main body 101 including the optical system and the imaging system is rotated. ,
It is possible to rotate at a rotation angle linked with the optical axis center.

In a conventional digital still camera, the image pickup device is usually designed such that the image pickup device can take a picture on the basis of the horizontal direction in accordance with the aspect ratio thereof, and that the digital still camera itself is designed to be easily held and operated in the horizontal direction. It is. Therefore, when photographing a camera angle at the time of photographing in the vertical direction, it is necessary to rotate the whole digital still camera 90 ° to the right or left to photograph. In other words, if it is intended to take a vertical shooting direction, it is necessary to rotate the entire digital still camera 90 degrees either left or right, and at this time, the release button is normally pushed from top to bottom, and the release button is pushed in the horizontal direction. In addition, not only is the digital still camera unstable, but also the shooting operation is hindered, and problems such as camera shake are likely to occur.

The digital still camera of the present invention has a function of enabling the monitor 105 to rotate 90 ° left and right when performing portrait photography, and the entire barrel unit 102 to be rotated by a servomotor or the like in accordance with this movement. In addition, the above-mentioned problem is solved by eliminating any change in the photographing operation method from the reference landscape photographing method.

The monitor 105 and the lens barrel unit 102
A lens barrel unit including a lens system and an imaging system via a CPU 221 which is not only rotated by 90 degrees but also converted into an electric signal by a rotation angle sensor 227 and controlled by a program in advance. If the motor 102 can be turned at a plurality of angles by an electric servomotor, the lens barrel unit 102 can be turned in conjunction with the turning angle of the monitor 105, so that it is designed to be easy to operate mainly for horizontal shooting. Even with a digital still camera, by holding the fixed or fixed position in the horizontal shooting direction and rotating the monitor 105 left or right by 90 °, vertical shooting becomes possible. This eliminates the difficulty of holding the digital still camera during vertical shooting, and eliminates the trouble that the shooting operation is cumbersome because the release button is normally pushed from top to bottom in the horizontal direction. Problems such as camera shake can be solved.

Further, the control of the rotation angle is performed by the above-described horizontal shooting,
If it is possible to set and control not only 90 ° rotation such as vertical shooting but also a plurality of angles, shooting other than horizontal shooting or vertical shooting is also possible, such as when shooting at an intentional angle. Further, separately from the above method, if the rotation angle of the lens barrel unit 102 and the rotation angle of the monitor 105 are not linked, for example, if only the lens barrel unit 102 is rotated by an angle θ,
The digital still camera body 101 and the monitor 105 are capable of shooting a subject inclined at an angle θ while being horizontally fixed.

[Embodiment] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a digital still camera according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In the figure, the digital still camera of the present embodiment has a lens barrel unit 102 provided with a photographic lens and an image sensor on the front of a digital still camera main body 101, and a release button 103 on the top. Each is provided. The digital still camera body 1
01 is provided on the back surface of the rotating base 104 which can be detachably attached to the attaching / detaching sections 106a and 106b.
4 is a rotatable liquid crystal display monitor (LCD) 10
5 are provided.

When the rotating base 104 and the liquid crystal display monitor 105 are not connected to the digital still camera main body 101, or when the subject is confirmed without using the digital still camera 101, the optical viewfinder 107 can be used. Has become.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of the digital still camera of the present embodiment. In FIG. 1, a digital still camera according to the present embodiment includes a lens 201, a mechanical mechanism 202 including an autofocus, a CCD 203, and a CDS circuit 20.
4, A / D converter 205, digital signal processing unit 206,
Image compression / decompression unit 207, card interface 20
9, PC card interface 210, CPU 221,
LCD monitor 105, operation unit 223, motor driver 225, SG (control signal generation) unit 226, rotation angle sensor 227, battery 228, DC-DC converter 22
9 and a built-in memory 231.

The lens unit includes a lens 201, a mechanical mechanism 202 including an autofocus (AF), an aperture, and a filter section. The mechanical shutter of the mechanical mechanism 202 performs simultaneous exposure of two fields. CCD
The (charge-coupled device) 203 converts an image input through the lens unit into an electric signal (analog image data). The CDS (correlated double sampling) circuit 204
This is a circuit for reducing noise of a CD-type image sensor.
The A / D converter 205 converts analog image data from the CCD 203 input via the CDS circuit 204 into digital image data. That is, the output signal of the CCD 203 is sent to the A / D converter 205 through the CDS circuit 204.
Is converted into a digital signal at the optimum sampling frequency (for example, an integer multiple of the subcarrier frequency of the NTSC signal).

Further, the digital signal processing unit 206
The digital image data input from the D converter 205 is subjected to various processing, correction, and data processing for image compression / decompression separately for color difference (Cb, Cr) and luminance (Y). The image compression / decompression unit 207 performs, for example, orthogonal transformation, which is a process of image compression / decompression based on JPEG, and JP
It performs Huffman encoding / decoding, etc., which is a process of image compression / decompression based on EG.

The built-in memory 231 is connected to the CPU bus BUS, and is realized by, for example, a DRAM, an SRAM, or a flash memory. That is, the built-in memory 23
1 stores image data that has been captured and subjected to compression processing, image data received via a transmission unit (not shown), and the like. The compressed image data held in the built-in memory 231 is read out through the card interface 209 and recorded on a storage medium such as a PC card 250 connected via the PC card interface 210.

The CPU 221 controls all operations inside the digital still camera in accordance with an instruction from the operation unit 223 or an external operation instruction such as a remote controller (not shown). The operation unit 223 includes various switches for externally performing function selection, shooting instructions, and other various settings.

The camera power is supplied from a battery 228, for example, NiCd, nickel hydrogen, lithium battery, or the like.
It is input to the C-DC converter 229 and supplied to the inside of the digital still camera.

The liquid crystal display monitor 105 is an LCD, LE
D, EL, etc., on the liquid crystal display monitor 105, photographed digital image data and decompressed recorded image data are displayed, and the mode display portion shows the state of the digital still camera. Is displayed on the screen.

Incidentally, in the configuration shown in FIG.
01, mechanical mechanism 202, CCD 203, CDS circuit 20
The A / D converter 4 and the A / D converter 205 realize the image pickup means described in the claims.

Next, FIGS. 3 to 9 are perspective views of the digital camera of the present embodiment. Hereinafter, with reference to these drawings, a characteristic operation and a use form of the present embodiment will be described in detail.

First, in FIG. 1 shown above, the rotating base 10
4 shows a state where the liquid crystal display monitor 105 and the provided liquid crystal display monitor 105 are housed in the digital still camera body 101.
In this state, the display surface of the liquid crystal display monitor 105 is
It faces the inner surface sandwiched between the digital still camera body 101 and the rotating pedestal 104. As described above, by directing the display surface of the liquid crystal display monitor 105 toward the inner surface, it is possible to protect the liquid crystal display surface at the time of non-use other than shooting or reproduction.

Next, FIG. 3 shows a state in which the rotating base 104 and the liquid crystal display monitor 105 provided are slightly upward. FIG. 4 shows a state in which the rotation base 104 and the liquid crystal display monitor 105 provided are further rotated than the rotation angle shown in FIG. That is, the liquid crystal display monitor 105 is connected to the digital still camera main body 101 by a rotatable hinge, and the position of the digital still camera main body 101 having the photographing optical system is fixed so that the display surface of the liquid crystal display monitor 105 can be easily viewed. Can be changed to

Further, for example, an appropriate frictional resistance that can be fixed at a plurality of rotation angles is given to a hinge serving as a rotation axis, and
In particular, when the rotation angle is frequently used as shown in FIG. 4, it is possible to easily fix the lens with the click stop mechanism so that normal eye level recognition can be performed stably.

Next, FIG. 5 shows a state where the rotary base 104 and the provided liquid crystal display monitor 105 are detached from the digital still camera main body 101. this is,
The detachable parts 106a and 106b provided in the hinge part are detachable by one-touch operation. Further, in the state of the digital still camera main body 101, since the optical viewfinder 107 is provided, it is possible to take a picture without the liquid crystal display monitor 105. As a result, for example, when the internal power supply is exhausted,
Shooting with reduced power consumption can be performed without using the liquid crystal display monitor 105.

In the state shown in FIG. 4, the exchange of electric signals between the digital still camera main body 101 having the photographing optical system and the liquid crystal display monitor 105 for photographing an object is performed by using a cable or a known remote control technology (for example, (Infrared communication) or the like, and a switch button serving as a release button is provided on the rotating pedestal 104 or the liquid crystal display monitor 105, so that the digital still camera 101
It is also possible to allow the subject to be visually recognized and photographed from a farther position. Thereby, for example, it is possible to photograph an organism such as a bird from a distance without being noticed.

Next, FIG. 6 shows a detachable rotating base 104.
And the provided liquid crystal display monitor 105 with the detachable unit 1
12 shows a state in which the mounting of 06a and 106b is reversed. That is, the liquid crystal display monitor 105 is mounted upside down with respect to FIG.

As described above, in order to make the liquid crystal display monitor 105 detachable in the two opposite directions,
Two contact signals are provided for each of the signals a and b, and one contact is provided on the digital still camera body 101 side. In other words, the electrical connection due to the reversal of the mounting direction is not
Signals are avoided with a two-contact structure.

The liquid crystal display monitor 105 in the state shown in FIG.
4 and the liquid crystal display monitor 105 in the state of FIG. 4, even if the same subject is photographed, it is displayed upside down and left and right. In order to enable this to be displayed correctly or to reverse the display intentionally, two circuits for the liquid crystal display monitor 105 may be provided. Of course, since one signal is a two-contact type connection method, it is possible to avoid reversal of up, down, left, and right even by a difference in connection contacts.

Next, FIG. 7 shows the rotating base 104 and the liquid crystal display monitor 105 provided in the state shown in FIG.
It shows a state where it is rotated by about 90 °. This state is convenient when visually recognizing the digital still camera from above, such as when the viewpoint to the digital still camera itself is at the waist position.

Next, FIG. 8 shows the rotary base 104 and the liquid crystal display monitor 105 provided in the state shown in FIG.
It shows a state where it is rotated by about 180 °. In this state, the display surface of the liquid crystal display monitor 105 is directed toward the subject. In this state, the display on the liquid crystal display monitor 105 is turned upside down with respect to the display shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, but this is avoided by the above-described method of using two circuits for the liquid crystal display monitor 105. It is possible.

As shown in FIGS. 4 to 8, the liquid crystal display monitor 105 is detachable in two opposite directions and can be visually recognized, so that the display surface (LCD surface) of the liquid crystal display monitor 105 is It is visible from both sides and the photographer. In the state shown in FIG. 8, for example, when the self-timer is used to take a picture of itself, it is convenient to check from the subject side.

Next, FIG. 9 shows the liquid crystal display monitor 1 provided on the rotating pedestal 104 while the rotating pedestal 104 is attached to the digital still camera body 101 in the state shown in FIG.
05 is rotated 90 degrees.

At this time, the digital still camera body 101
The lens barrel unit 102 provided on the front of
It rotates in conjunction with 0 °. That is, the liquid crystal display monitor 1
05, the rotation base 104 and the liquid crystal display monitor 1
The CPU 22 converts the signal into an electric signal by a rotation angle sensor 227 provided during the operation of the CPU 22 in advance.
The lens barrel unit 102 including the lens system and the image pickup element can be rotated at a plurality of angles by driving the electric servomotor based on the control 1.

The rotation angle of the lens barrel unit 102 and the rotation angle of the liquid crystal display monitor 105 are 9 in the example of FIG.
Although it is 0 °, it is possible to rotate interlockingly in the range of 180 ° left and right. Alternatively, instead of intentionally interlocking the rotation angle, for example, the liquid crystal display monitor 105 may be fixed in the horizontally long direction, and only the lens barrel unit 102 may be rotated 90 ° either left or right.

Next, a characteristic use mode of the present embodiment when the liquid crystal display monitor 105 and the lens barrel unit 102 are rotated will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. FIGS. 10 to 13 are explanatory diagrams for explaining a comparison between an image captured by the mirror copper unit 102 and a display image on the liquid crystal display monitor 105.

First, FIG. 10 shows an image captured by the mirror copper unit 102 and a display image on the liquid crystal display monitor 105 when the liquid crystal display monitor 105 and the lens barrel unit 102 are not rotated together. In the figure, reference numeral 1001 denotes the angle of view of the mirror copper unit 102 with respect to the subject 1005.

Next, FIG. 11 shows the image picked up by the mirror copper unit 102 and the display on the liquid crystal display monitor 105 when the liquid crystal display monitor 105 is rotated without interlocking with the angle of view position of the mirror copper unit 102. An image is shown.

Thus, at the time of photographing or reproducing, the digital still camera body 101 can be visually recognized at a line-of-sight position different from the fixed position. For example, as a fixed position of the digital still camera, while intentionally photographing with the imaging angle of view 1001 being at an angle to the horizontal plane, it is necessary to check the viewing or reproduction at the horizontal direction regardless of the inclination of the imaging angle of view 1001. Since the liquid crystal display monitor can be seen with the line of sight, it is possible to eliminate the trouble of tilting the neck and checking the subject.

Next, FIG. 12 shows an image captured by the mirror copper unit 102 and a display image on the liquid crystal display monitor 105 when the liquid crystal display monitor 105 is rotated in conjunction with the angle of view of the mirror copper unit 102. Show.

By the interlocking rotation of the liquid crystal display monitor 105 and the mirror copper unit 102, even in a digital still camera designed to be easy to operate mainly for landscape photography, the liquid crystal is maintained with the holding or fixed position in the landscape direction. Rotating the display monitor 105 90 ° to the left or right enables vertical shooting.

Therefore, it is possible to eliminate the difficulty of holding the digital still camera at the time of vertical shooting, and it is troublesome that the photographing operation is troublesome because the release button is normally pushed from top to bottom in a horizontal direction. Is eliminated, and problems such as camera shake can be solved. Regarding the control of the rotation angle,
If it is possible to control a plurality of angles, not limited to 90 ° such as the above-mentioned horizontal shooting or vertical shooting, it is convenient when intentionally shooting at an angle.

FIG. 13 shows an image captured by the mirror copper unit 102 and a display image on the liquid crystal display monitor 105 when only the lens barrel unit 102 is rotated without rotating the liquid crystal display monitor 105. . In other words, the liquid crystal display monitor 105 is fixed horizontally long, and only the lens barrel unit 102 is rotated to allow visual recognition.

[0067]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention,
According to the digital still camera according to the above, since the monitor is detachable from the digital still camera main body, for example, when the internal power supply is depleted, the digital still camera is used to perform photographing using the optical viewfinder. A digital still camera capable of reducing power consumption of the entire camera can be provided.

According to the digital still camera of the second aspect, the rotary pedestal and the monitor can be attached to and detached from the attachment / detachment portion of the digital still camera body. Since it is detachable in any direction, it is possible to provide a digital still camera in which the display surface of the monitor can be viewed from both the subject side and the photographer side. In addition, since the display surface of the monitor can be directed to the inner surface, it is possible to provide a digital still camera capable of protecting the display surface of the monitor except during shooting or playback.

According to the digital still camera of the third aspect, the rotary pedestal provided with the monitor is connected to the detachable portion with the rotatable hinge, so that the digital still camera body provided with the photographing optical system is provided. It is possible to provide a digital still camera that can change the display surface of the monitor to a direction that allows easy viewing while keeping the position of the digital still camera fixed.

According to the digital still camera of the fourth aspect, the monitor provided on the rotating base can be rotated clockwise or counterclockwise, so that the digital still camera can be used during shooting or playback. It can be viewed at a different line-of-sight position from the fixed position of the main unit, and while the digital still camera main unit is fixed at the fixed position, the shooting is intentionally performed with the angle of view set to the horizontal plane, while viewing or checking at the time of playback Can provide a digital still camera that allows the user to view the monitor with a horizontal line of sight regardless of the tilt of the angle of view, and eliminates the hassle of checking the subject by tilting the neck.

Further, according to the digital still camera of the fifth aspect, by rotating the monitor provided on the rotary base, the lens barrel unit of the digital still camera main body including the optical system and the imaging system can be turned on and off. The monitor can be rotated with the holding or fixed position in the horizontal shooting direction even with a digital still camera that is designed to be easily operated mainly for horizontal shooting because it can be rotated at the rotation angle linked with the axis center. This makes it possible to shoot vertically, eliminating the difficulty of holding the digital still camera during vertical shooting, and also hassle-free shooting operations because pressing the release button in the horizontal direction normally pushes down from top to bottom. It is possible to provide a digital still camera which has no trouble and can also solve troubles such as camera shake.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a digital still camera according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a digital still camera according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the digital still camera according to the embodiment with a liquid crystal display monitor slightly upward;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a state in which a liquid crystal display monitor of the digital still camera according to the embodiment is further rotated.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a state in which a liquid crystal display monitor of the digital still camera according to the embodiment is detached from a digital still camera main body.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a state in which a liquid crystal display monitor of the digital still camera according to the embodiment is mounted in a reversed state.

FIG. 7 shows the digital still camera of the embodiment in FIG.
3 is a perspective view of the liquid crystal display monitor shown in FIG.

FIG. 8 shows the digital still camera of the embodiment in FIG.
3 is a perspective view of a state where the liquid crystal display monitor shown in FIG.

FIG. 9 shows the digital still camera according to the embodiment shown in FIG.
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a state in which the liquid crystal display monitor is rotated by 90 ° while attaching the rotating base in the state shown in FIG.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an image captured by the mirror copper unit and a display image on the liquid crystal display monitor when both the liquid crystal display monitor and the lens barrel unit are not rotated.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing an image captured by the mirror copper unit and a display image on the liquid crystal display monitor when the liquid crystal display monitor is rotated without interlocking with the angle of view position of the mirror copper unit.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an image captured by the mirror copper unit and a display image on the liquid crystal display monitor when the liquid crystal display monitor is rotated in conjunction with the angle of view position of the mirror copper unit.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing an image captured by the mirror copper unit and a display image on the liquid crystal display monitor when only the lens barrel unit is rotated together without rotating the liquid crystal display monitor.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 Digital still camera main body 102 Lens barrel unit 103 Release button 104 Rotating pedestal 105 Liquid crystal display monitor (monitor) 106a, 106b Attaching / detaching part 107 Optical viewfinder 201-205 Imaging means 201 Lens 202 Mechanical mechanism including auto-focus etc. 203 CCD 204 CDS circuit 205 A / D converter 206 Digital signal processing unit 207 Image compression / decompression unit 209 Card interface 210 PC card interface 221 CPU (control means) 223 Operation unit 225 Motor driver 226 SG (control signal generation) unit 227 Rotation angle sensor 228 Battery 229 DC-DC converter 231 Internal memory 250 PC card 1001 Image field of view 1005 Subject

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An image pickup means for picking up an image of a subject and outputting image information, an optical view finder, a rotating base detachably mounted on the outer surface of the digital still camera main body, and an image mounted on the rotating base, and And a monitor for displaying information or other information. 2. The digital camera according to claim 1, wherein the rotating pedestal and the monitor are detachable from a detachable portion of the digital still camera body, and detachable in any of two mounting directions of the monitor display surface. The digital still camera according to claim 1, wherein: 3. The rotating pedestal provided with the monitor,
The digital still camera according to claim 1, wherein the digital still camera is connected to the detachable unit by a rotatable hinge. 4. The digital still camera according to claim 1, wherein said monitor provided on said rotary pedestal is rotatable clockwise or counterclockwise. 5. By rotating the monitor provided on the rotary pedestal, a lens barrel unit of the digital still camera body including an optical system and an image pickup system is rotated at a rotation angle linked with the optical axis center. 5. The digital still camera according to claim 1, wherein the digital still camera is movable.