JPH10191223A - Card-type video camera - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a card-type video camera which can maintain the precision of an optical system at high level. SOLUTION: An interface part 10 is arranged on one short side of a rectangular card face and the optical system 2 is arranged so that the optical axis becomes almost parallel to the other short side near it. The optical system 2 forms an object image on a CCD 5 and the CCD 5 outputs an electric signal corresponding to the object image. A signal processing part 8 converts the output signal of the CCD 5 into a digital signal, an information compression processing is executed and it is stored in the nonvolatile memory 9 with large capacity.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a card type video camera capable of electronically recording a subject image and having a card type shape.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A video camera having a card-like shape similar to a PC card standardized for a credit card or a notebook personal computer is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-125962. Have been. The video camera described in this publication is
A so-called collapsible optical system arranged perpendicular to the card surface (the widest surface of the card shape) is employed.

[0003]

However, the retractable optical system has a problem that the image quality is deteriorated because it has movable parts and it is difficult to maintain the precision of the optical system with high precision. Further, when the optical system is arranged perpendicular to the card surface and the collapsible lens configuration is not adopted, the optical path needs to be extremely short, which is difficult to realize.

The present invention has been made in view of this point, and an object of the present invention is to provide a card-type video camera capable of maintaining the accuracy of an optical system with high accuracy.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, there is provided an image pickup means for converting an optical image into an electric signal, an optical system for forming a subject image on the image pickup means, A signal processing unit that converts an output signal of the imaging unit into digital data and performs information compression processing, a storage unit that stores data after the information compression processing, and an interface for transmitting and receiving data to and from an external device Means, a card surface or a card-shaped video camera having a substantially rectangular card-shaped shape, wherein the interface means is arranged on one short side of the rectangle, and the optical system is located near the other short side of the rectangle. It is characterized by being arranged substantially parallel to the short side.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the card-type video camera according to the first aspect, an angle detecting means for detecting a rotation angle of the camera with respect to a predetermined reference state about an optical axis of the optical system. And an angle recording unit for storing the detected rotation angle in the storage unit together with the photographed image data.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the card-type video camera according to the second aspect, the angle recording means sets the rotation angle in the vicinity of 0 °, 90 °, 180 °, and 270 °. It is characterized by being recorded in four states. According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the card-type video camera according to the second aspect, the angle recording means records the rotation angle in two states of near 0 degrees and near 180 degrees. And

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the card-type video camera according to the third or fourth aspect, a shooting start switch is provided corresponding to the rotation angle state to be recorded. The invention according to claim 6 is the invention according to claim 1.
The card type video camera according to the above, further comprising an angle detecting means for detecting a rotation angle of the optical system with respect to a predetermined reference state around the optical axis of the optical system, the signal processing means according to the detected rotation angle And a rotation processing unit for rotating the photographed image, wherein the information compression processing is performed on the image data after the rotation processing.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the card-type video camera according to the sixth aspect, the signal processing means distinguishes the rotation angle between a state near 0 degrees and a state near 180 degrees, An upright or inverted image is stored in the storage means in accordance with the two states.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the card-type video camera according to the seventh aspect, a first shooting start switch located on an upper surface of the camera while the camera is held in the predetermined reference state; A second camera positioned on the lower surface of the camera while holding the camera in the predetermined reference state
A shooting start switch, wherein an upright image is recorded when the first shooting start switch is pressed, and an inverted image is recorded when the second shooting start switch is pressed.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the card-type video camera according to the first aspect, further comprising an optical viewfinder arranged substantially parallel to an optical axis of the optical system. The invention according to claim 10 is the invention according to claim 9
The card-type video camera according to the above, having a slide cover that covers the optical viewfinder, the camera is turned off in a state where the optical viewfinder is covered with the slide cover, the slide cover is slid to slide the slide cover The camera is powered on with the optical viewfinder exposed.

According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, in the card-type video camera according to the first aspect, a microphone is provided at substantially the center of a long side of the rectangle on the same side as the opening end of the optical system, and the microphone is provided by the microphone. Voice recording means for storing the obtained voice signal in the storage means.

According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image pickup means for converting an optical image into an electric signal, an optical system for forming a subject image on the image pickup means, and a digital signal for converting an output signal of the image pickup means into digital data. A card having a substantially rectangular card surface, comprising: signal processing means for performing information compression processing; storage means for storing data after the information compression processing; and interface means for transmitting and receiving data to and from an external device. In a card-type video camera having a mold shape, the interface means is arranged on one short side of the rectangle, and the optical system is disposed near the long side of the rectangle, almost parallel to the long side, and the opening end of the optical system is It is characterized by being arranged so as to be located on the other short side of the rectangle.

According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, in the card-type video camera according to the twelfth aspect, a light beam from a direction substantially perpendicular to the optical axis of the optical system is made incident on an opening end of the optical system. The adapter having the photographed image reflecting means is configured to be detachable.

According to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, in the card-type video camera according to the first or twelfth aspect, an electronic display means provided on an upper surface of the camera for confirming a subject image, and A display cover for covering the display means, the display cover having a display image reflecting means for reflecting an image displayed on the electronic display means, a first position covering the electronic display means, The first position is slid from the first position along the upper surface to expose the display means, and the first position is displayed so that the image displayed on the display means can be confirmed via the display image reflection means. The third angle rotated with respect to the position
, And can be fixed to the position.

According to a fifteenth aspect of the present invention, in the card-type video camera according to the fourteenth aspect, the user can select an object depending on whether the display cover is at the second or third position. The image processing apparatus further includes a display image conversion unit that converts an image displayed on the display unit so that the image can be normally viewed.

According to a sixteenth aspect of the present invention, in the card type video camera according to the first or twelfth aspect, a slide cover for covering an opening end of the optical system is provided, and the tip end is covered with the slide cover. In this state, the power of the camera is turned off, and the camera is turned on in a state where the slide cover is slid to expose the distal end.

According to the first or twelfth aspect of the present invention, the optical system is arranged substantially parallel to the short side or the long side of the rectangular card surface.

[0019]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. (First Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a card type video camera according to a first embodiment of the present invention. Card type video camera (hereinafter simply referred to as “camera”) 1
C is an image sensor that has a shape (thickness: 3.3 mm, long side: 86 mm, short side: 54 mm) substantially similar to the shape conforming to the PC card standard type I and converts an optical image into an electric signal
CD5 and light flux from the subject enter, and the subject image is converted to CC
An optical system 2 for forming an image on D5; an optical viewfinder 3 provided substantially parallel to the optical axis of the optical system 2 so that a user can confirm a subject image;
Slide cover 6 covering the object-side opening end of the optical viewfinder 3, a microphone 7 arranged substantially at the center of the long side of the rectangular card surface, and a signal processing unit for performing various signal processing 8 and a large-capacity nonvolatile memory 9 mainly for storing photographed image information and audio information
And an interface unit 10 for transmitting and receiving data to and from an external device such as a personal computer, and a battery 11 for supplying power to the signal processing unit 8 and the like.

The optical system 2 is arranged near one short side of the rectangular card surface so that the optical axis of the optical system 2 is substantially parallel to the short side.
It is composed of a PF (low-pass filter) and an infrared cut filter. For example, a CCD having a diagonal dimension of about 1/5 inch (5.1 mm) is used. The slide cover 6 also functions as a power switch of the camera 1. When the slide cover 6 is at a position covering the open ends of the optical system 2 and the optical viewfinder 3 as shown in FIG. When the optical viewfinder 3 is at a position where the opening end is exposed, the power is turned on. The interface unit 10 is arranged on a short side opposite to the optical system 2 and includes a predetermined connector suitable for an external device to be connected, and a communication processing unit for performing processing for transmitting and receiving data.

The memory 9 is a large-capacity nonvolatile memory, for example, a flash memory having a storage capacity of about 175 megabits. FIG. 2 is a block diagram for explaining signal processing by the signal processing circuit 8. The signal processing circuit 8 includes a correlated double sampling circuit (CDS) 21 to which the output signal of the CCD 5 is input, and a CDS
An A / D conversion circuit 22 for converting an output signal from the digital signal 21 into a digital signal; a DSP (digital signal processor) 23 for converting a digitized image signal into an image signal comprising an RGB signal or a luminance signal and two color difference signals; ,
An information compression process including a process such as DCT (discrete cosine transform) is performed on the image signal output from the DSP 23, and a compression processing circuit 24 that inputs the compressed image data to the memory 9, An amplifier 25 for amplifying an output signal, an A / D conversion circuit 26 for converting an output signal of the amplifier 25 into a digital signal, a DSP 27 for performing compression processing of digitized audio data, and a camera 1
A CPU 30 that performs overall control of the
7, CPU 30, memory 9, and interface unit 10
Is a main component. The system bus 31 includes a slide cover 6 also serving as a power switch described above, and a shooting start switch 41 described later.
An operation unit 40 including -44 and the like is connected, and an operation state of the operation unit 40 is detected by the CPU 30. CPU
30 has a ROM in which a processing program is stored and a RAM used for various calculations, and controls various operations of the camera 1 according to the operation state of the operation unit 40.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the arrangement of photographing start switches 41 to 44 for the user to instruct the start and end of photographing. The state shown in FIG. 4B, 4C, and 4D, the camera 1 is 180 degrees with respect to the reference state about the optical axis of the optical system 2.
It shows a state where the image is rotated 90 degrees and 270 degrees. In the present embodiment, the rotation angle of the camera 1 is 0 degree (reference state),
There are provided four shooting start switches 41 to 44 corresponding to the degrees, 180 degrees and 270 degrees, respectively, and as described later, depending on which of the shooting start switches 41 to 44 is operated, The state (rotation angle) of the camera 1 at the time of shooting is determined, and rotation angle information indicating the rotation angle at the time of shooting is stored in the memory 9 in association with the image data.

The operation unit 40 is provided with a mode switch (not shown) for switching between a moving image mode and a still image mode. In the still image mode, the camera 1 functions as a so-called electronic still camera. Next, camera 1
The operation in the moving image mode will be described.

When the slide cover 6 is slid rightward in FIG. 1 and the open ends of the optical viewfinder 3 and the optical system 2 are exposed, the power of the camera 1 is turned on. The camera 1 is set to the reference state shown in FIG.
When 1 is pressed, the CPU 30 recognizes that the camera 1 is in the reference state. Shooting start switch 41
Is pressed, recording of images and sounds is performed as follows.

The subject image formed on the CCD 5 via the optical system 2 is converted into an electric signal, and is converted into a CDS 21 and an A / D signal.
The conversion circuit 22 converts the digital image signal into a digital image signal. Then, the digital signal is converted into an RGB signal (or a luminance signal and two color difference signals) by the DSP 23, subjected to information compression processing by the compression processing circuit 24, and stored in the memory 9. At this time, rotation angle information indicating that the camera 1 is in the reference state (rotation angle 0 °) is recorded together with the corresponding image data.

The audio signal output from the microphone 7 is input to an A / D conversion circuit 26 via an amplifier 25,
It is converted to a digital audio signal. Next, information compression processing is performed by the DSP 27, and the processed audio data is stored in the memory 9 via the system bus 31.

The above-described photographing process ends when the photographing start switch 41 is returned or when the storage area of the memory 9 is full. Also, the CPU 30
When the shooting start switch 42, 43, or 44 is pressed, the state of the camera 1 is rotated 90 degrees (FIG. 3C), rotated 180 degrees (FIG. 3B), or rotated 270 degrees, respectively. It is determined that it is in the state ((d) in the figure), and the rotation angle information is stored in the memory 9 together with the corresponding image data.
To be stored. The recording of the rotation angle information may be performed continuously during photographing, or may be performed at predetermined time intervals or when the rotation angle changes.

On the other hand, in the still image mode, the image data at the time when the photographing start switches 41 to 44 are depressed is stored in the memory 9 as a still image. In this case, the audio information is configured to record a comment or the like for several seconds corresponding to each of the still images. The external devices connectable via the interface unit 10 include, for example, a personal computer, a storage device having a larger capacity such as a hard disk drive (HDD), and a dedicated reproducing device having a display and a speaker. When a personal computer is connected, a reproduction program is started on the personal computer, the image data and the audio data stored in the memory 9 are read out via the interface unit 10, and the decompression process corresponding to the compression process is performed. Go to display on the display.

When a large-capacity external storage device such as an HDD is connected, a process for immediately transferring image data and audio data once stored in the memory 9 to the external storage device via the interface unit 10 is performed. Do. When a dedicated playback device is connected, the dedicated playback device reads out the image data and the audio data stored in the memory 9 via the interface unit 10 and converts the read data into, for example, a standard television signal and outputs it. .

As described above, in the present embodiment, the interface section 10 is arranged on one short side of the rectangular card surface, and the optical system 2 is arranged near the other short side substantially in parallel with the short side. As a result, the precision of the optical system can be maintained at a higher precision than when a conventional collapsible optical system is employed. Further, since the card is arranged substantially parallel to the short side, the card is hardly deformed even when a force for bending the card surface is applied from the outside, and the influence on the optical system 2 can be reduced.

Also, a shooting start switch corresponding to the rotation angle of the camera 1 is provided, and the rotation angle information of the camera at the time of shooting is recorded together with the image data. By controlling the state, it is possible to always display an image in a normal state (an upright state that is not a horizontal or inverted state).

In the embodiment described above, the camera 4
Four shooting start switches 4 corresponding to one rotation angle state
1 to 44, but the shooting start switch is set to 1
Alternatively, a rotation angle sensor as shown in FIG. 4 may be provided to obtain rotation angle information. That is, an arc-shaped resistance element 61 having a uniform resistance value per unit length, and a resistance element 61 that is rotatable by gravity about the center position of the resistance element 61 and slidably contacts the resistance element 61 to generate electric power. The rotational angle of the camera 1 may be detected by connecting the electrically connected rod-shaped conductive member 62 to a power source as shown in the figure and detecting the potential VA of the rod-shaped conductive member 62.

The shooting start switch is set at 90 degrees and 27 degrees.
The switches 42 and 44 corresponding to 0 degrees are deleted, and 0 degrees and 1
The switches 41 and 43 for 80 degrees may be used alone, or the switches 41 and 42 for 0 degrees and 90 degrees may be used only. Further, instead of recording the rotation angle information of the camera 1, a process of rotating the captured image according to the detected rotation angle information is performed, and the image is always converted to image data in an upright state. The image data may be compressed and recorded. In that case, in the configuration of FIG. 2, a rotation processing circuit is inserted between the DSP 23 and the compression processing circuit 24, and rotation angle information is supplied from the CPU 30 to the rotation processing circuit.

(Second Embodiment) FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the configuration of a card-type video camera according to a second embodiment of the present invention, and has the same functions as those of the first embodiment shown in FIG. The components are denoted by the same reference numerals.

In FIG. 5, the optical system 2 is arranged near the long side of the rectangular card surface such that the optical axis of the optical system 2 is substantially parallel to the long side. Further, instead of the optical viewfinder, as shown in FIG.
1 is provided so as to open upward in the card surface. Further, a display cover 5 for covering the liquid crystal viewfinder 51 when the camera 1 is not used is provided on the upper surface of the card.
2 and a storage section 53 for storing the display cover 52 by sliding the display cover 52. The display cover 52 has a first position (FIG. 7A) for covering the liquid crystal viewfinder 51, and a storage section 53. So that it can be fixed to a second position (FIG. 8B) stored in the first position and a third position (FIG. 10C) rotated upward by about 45 degrees from the first position. Have been. Note that the rotation angle of the third position may be smaller or larger than 45 degrees.

When the display cover 52 is at the second position, the opening of the optical system 2 is directed to the subject in the direction of arrow B, and the user is displayed on the liquid crystal viewfinder 51 from the direction of arrow A. The subject image can be confirmed. The display cover 52 has a reflective surface 52a, and when in the third position, the liquid crystal viewfinder 5
1 is configured to be able to be viewed from the direction of arrow C. Reflection surface 52 from the direction of arrow C
When the subject image displayed on the liquid crystal view finder 51 is viewed through a, the vertical relationship is reversed. When the subject image is located at the third position, the liquid crystal view finder 51 displays the image with the vertical relationship reversed. To control.

By providing such a display cover 52, the degree of freedom of the camera position can be increased, and the liquid crystal viewfinder 51 can be protected when not in use. FIG. 6 is a block diagram for explaining the configuration of the signal processing unit 8 in the present embodiment. The display control unit 50 and the liquid crystal viewfinder 51 that perform display control of the liquid crystal viewfinder 51 are different from the configuration of FIG. Has been added. Further, a micro switch (not shown) for detecting that the display cover 52 is at the third position is added to the operation unit 40, and the on / off information of the micro switch is supplied to the display control unit 50. The display control unit 50 controls the display of the liquid crystal viewfinder 51 based on the output signal of the DSP 23, and also controls the display cover 5 as described above.
When the position 2 is in the third position, the liquid crystal viewfinder 5
The control for inverting the vertical relationship of the display image of No. 1 is performed.

The camera 1 according to the present embodiment has the slide cover 6 in the power-on position as shown in FIG.
An adapter 61 having a reflecting mirror 62 is configured to be detachable. When this adapter 62 is used, for example, in a state where the entire body of the camera 1 is stored in a card slot of a personal computer, not only the subject in the direction of arrow E comes out but also the direction of arrow D (with respect to the optical axis of the optical system 2). It is also possible to shoot a subject in a direction substantially perpendicular to the subject.

In this embodiment, the shooting start switch is only a switch corresponding to the reference state. The other points are the same as in the first embodiment. In this embodiment,
The interface unit 10 is disposed on one short side of the rectangular card surface, and the optical system 2 is positioned near the other short side, almost parallel to the short side, and the opening end of the optical system 2 is on the other short side of the card surface. Since it is arranged so that it is positioned, the accuracy of the optical system can be maintained with higher accuracy than when a conventional collapsible optical system is adopted, and the entire camera body is inserted into an external device such as a personal computer. Shooting is possible even in the state.

Further, by using the adapter 62, it is possible to photograph a subject substantially perpendicular to the optical axis of the optical system 2. (Other Embodiments) The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications are possible. For example, the optical viewfinder may be omitted from the configuration shown in FIG. 1 and a liquid crystal viewfinder may be provided.

The electronic display means is not limited to a liquid crystal viewfinder (display), but is a thin type such as a field emission display (FED).
May be used. Also, the thickness of the card type shape is
For example, the distance may be from about 1 mm to about 10.5 mm corresponding to the type III of the PC card standard. An optical system having a thickness of 1 mm can be realized by applying an optical system used for an endoscope, for example. When the thickness is about 10.5 mm,
It is also possible to incorporate a HDD, and the flash memory may be replaced with an HDD.

The camera 1 may be provided with a decompression circuit for the image data and the audio data compressed and stored in the memory 9.

[0043]

As described in detail above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the interface means is disposed on one short side of the rectangular card surface, and the optical system is disposed substantially parallel to the other short side. Therefore, the precision of the optical system can be maintained at a higher precision than in the case where a conventional collapsible optical system is employed. Further, since the card is arranged substantially parallel to the short side, it is hardly deformed even when a force for bending the card surface is applied from the outside, and the influence on the optical system can be reduced.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the rotation angle of the camera about the optical axis of the optical system is detected, and the rotation angle information indicating the detected rotation angle is recorded together with the captured image data. Therefore, it is possible to correct the display image according to the rotation angle information during reproduction.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the rotation angle information can be obtained without providing a rotation angle sensor by allowing the user to selectively use the photographing start switch provided according to the rotation angle state. . According to the invention described in claim 6, the rotation angle of the camera around the optical axis of the optical system is detected, and an image captured according to the detected rotation angle is subjected to rotation processing and recorded. An image in an upright state can be always recorded even when the camera is rotated.

According to the twelfth aspect of the present invention, the interface means is disposed on one of the short sides of the rectangular card surface, and the optical system is located near the long side, substantially parallel to the long side, and the opening end of the optical system. Are arranged so as to be located on the other short side of the rectangle, so that the accuracy of the optical system can be maintained with higher accuracy than when a conventional collapsible optical system is employed, and the entire camera body Can be photographed even when the camera is inserted into an external device such as a personal computer with the interface means inside.

According to the thirteenth aspect of the present invention, when the adapter is mounted, the entire camera body is inserted into an external device such as a personal computer with the interface means inside, and is substantially aligned with the optical axis of the optical system. It is also possible to shoot a subject in a vertical direction.

According to the fourteenth aspect of the present invention, the display cover can be fixed to any of the first to third positions, and the display cover is provided with a reflecting surface, so that the display cover is located above the camera. The display content of the electronic display means can be confirmed from either side or side, and the degree of freedom of the camera position can be increased.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a card-type video camera according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram for explaining a configuration of a signal processing unit in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a position of a shooting start switch and a shooting state.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration of a rotation angle sensor.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration of a card-type video camera according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a signal processing unit in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining a configuration of a liquid crystal viewfinder and a cover thereof.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a state in which an adapter is attached to the camera of FIG. 5;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Card type video camera 2 Optical system 3 Optical viewfinder 5 CCD 6 Slide cover 7 Microphone 8 Signal processing part 9 Memory 10 Interface part

Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Hideo Sato 3-12-12 Moriyacho, Kanagawa-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa Prefecture Inside Japan Victor Company of Japan (72) Inventor Hikaru Kondo 3--12 Moriyacho, Kanagawa-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa Japan Victor Co., Ltd.

Claims (16)

[Claims] 1. An image pickup means for converting an optical image into an electric signal, an optical system for forming a subject image on the image pickup means, and a signal for converting an output signal of the image pickup means into digital data and performing an information compression process. A card-type video comprising a processing means, a storage means for storing the data after the information compression processing, and an interface means for transmitting and receiving data to and from an external device, the card surface having a substantially rectangular card-like shape A card-type video camera, wherein the interface means is arranged on one short side of the rectangle, and the optical system is arranged near the other short side of the rectangle and almost parallel to the short side. 2. An angle detecting means for detecting a rotation angle of the camera with respect to a predetermined reference state around an optical axis of the optical system, and an angle for storing the detected rotation angle in the storage means together with photographed image data. The card-type video camera according to claim 1, further comprising a recording unit. 3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the angle recording unit sets the rotation angle to zero.
3. The information is recorded and recorded in four states of near-degree, near 90-degree, near 180-degree, and near 270-degree.
The card-type video camera described in 1. 4. The angle recording means sets the rotation angle to 0.
3. The card-type video camera according to claim 2, wherein the recording is performed by recording in two states of near-degree and near 180-degree. 5. According to the rotation angle state to be recorded,
5. The card-type video camera according to claim 3, further comprising a shooting start switch. 6. An apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an angle detector for detecting a rotation angle of the camera with respect to a predetermined reference state around an optical axis of the optical system, wherein the signal processing unit captures an image in accordance with the detected rotation angle. 2. The card-type video camera according to claim 1, further comprising a rotation processing unit for rotating an image, wherein the information compression processing is performed on the image data after the rotation processing. 7. The signal processing means sets the rotation angle to 0.
7. The card-type video according to claim 6, wherein a state close to 180 degrees and a state close to 180 degrees are distinguished, and an upright or inverted image is stored in the storage means in accordance with the two states. camera. 8. A first photographing start switch located on an upper surface of the camera when the camera is held in the predetermined reference state, and a first imaging start switch located on a lower surface of the camera while holding the camera in the predetermined reference state. A second photographing start switch, wherein an upright image is recorded when the first photographing start switch is pressed, and an inverted image is recorded when the second photographing start switch is pressed. A card-type video camera according to claim 7. 9. The card-type video camera according to claim 1, further comprising an optical viewfinder disposed substantially parallel to an optical axis of the optical system. 10. A slide cover that covers the optical viewfinder, the camera is turned off in a state where the optical viewfinder is covered with the slide cover, and the slide cover is slid to open the optical viewfinder. 10. The card-type video camera according to claim 9, wherein the camera is turned on in a state where the camera is exposed. 11. A system comprising: a microphone substantially at the center of a long side of the rectangle on the same side as an opening end of the optical system; and a sound recording means for storing a sound signal obtained by the microphone in the storage means. Claim 1.
The card-type video camera described in 1. 12. An imaging unit for converting an optical image into an electric signal, an optical system for forming a subject image on the imaging unit,
Converting the output signal of the imaging means into digital data,
Signal processing means for performing information compression processing, storage means for storing data after the information compression processing, and an interface means for transmitting and receiving data between external devices,
In a card-type video camera having a card-like shape having a substantially rectangular card surface, the interface means is disposed on one short side of the rectangle, and an optical system is provided near a long side of the rectangle and substantially parallel to the long side. A card-type video camera, wherein an opening end of the optical system is arranged on the other short side of the rectangle. 13. An adapter having photographed image reflecting means for causing a light beam from a direction substantially perpendicular to the optical axis of the optical system to enter the opening end of the optical system, is detachably configured. The card-type video camera according to claim 12. 14. An electronic display device provided on an upper surface of the camera for confirming an image of a subject, and a display cover covering the electronic display device, wherein the display cover is provided on the electronic display device. A second position having display image reflecting means for reflecting a displayed image, and a second position for exposing the display means by sliding along the upper surface from the first position to cover the electronic display means; And a third position rotated by a predetermined angle with respect to the first position so that an image displayed on the display means can be confirmed through the display image reflection means. 13. The card-type video camera according to claim 1, wherein: 15. The display cover according to claim 2, wherein:
And a display image conversion means for converting an image displayed on the display means so that a user can normally view the subject image depending on which of the third position and the third position are present. 15. The card-type video camera according to 14. 16. A camera comprising a slide cover for covering an open end of the optical system, the camera being turned off in a state where the front end is covered with the slide cover, and sliding the slide cover to move the front end. 13. The card-type video camera according to claim 1, wherein the camera is turned on in a state where the camera is exposed.