JPH11218837A - Camera - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent a glare from being given to a subject person even at a self-timer photographing time. SOLUTION: This camera is provided with a light emission device 12 emitting light for reducing a punk-eye phenomenon, AF auxiliary light for assisting a focus detecting action and self-timer display light showing that time is being counted for self-timer photographing. Besides, it is provided with an instruction means SW3 outputting a light emission inhibiting command in accordance with operation, an inhibition means MCU inhibiting the irradiation with all of the light for reducing a pink-eye phenomenon, the AF auxiliary light and the self- time display light executed by the light emission device 12.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a red-eye reduction light, AF
The present invention relates to a camera provided with a light emitting device that emits auxiliary light, self-timer display light, and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A technique for reducing the red-eye effect by irradiating a subject person with light prior to flash photography and irradiating a subject with light prior to focus detection enables accurate focusing even at low brightness. Techniques for enabling detection are already known. It is also common to display by flashing light that the self-timer shooting is being measured. In this specification, light for reducing red-eye is referred to as red-eye reduction light, light for enabling focus detection at low luminance is referred to as AF auxiliary light, and light for indicating that a self-timer shooting is being measured is self-timer display light. Respectively.

Conventionally, a camera that emits the red-eye reduction light and the AF auxiliary light from the same lamp has been known (Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 1-135135). In this type of camera, there is a camera in which when a pop-up strobe is not popped up due to an external force or the like, irradiation of red-eye reduction light is prohibited and only a self-timer display light is irradiated (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-69042). A camera that radiates the AF auxiliary light and the self-timer display light from the same lamp is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 63-44639. No. 2,847,739.

[0004]

The red-eye reduction light, the AF auxiliary light, and the self-timer display light have the above-mentioned advantages, but have the disadvantage that the subject closes his or her eyes at the time of photographing due to glare. In some cases, it may be desired to prohibit the irradiation of the light. Therefore, there are cameras that can prohibit the irradiation of red-eye reduction light, but even if this is prohibited, there is no effect if the self-timer display light is irradiated during the measurement of the self-timer shooting.
Cannot be completely prevented.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a camera which does not make a subject feel dazzled even during self-timer shooting.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a light emitting device for irradiating red-eye reduction light, AF auxiliary light for assisting focus detection, and self-timer display light indicating that self-timer photographing is being timed. Applies to cameras with. A command means for outputting a light emission prohibition command in accordance with an operation; and a prohibition for prohibiting irradiation of the red-eye reduction light, the AF auxiliary light, and the self-timer display light by the light emitting device when the light emission prohibition command is output. Means,
This solves the above problem. The invention of claim 2 is
When the light emission prohibition command is output, a control means for causing the light emitting device to emit light so as to display a self-completion upon completion of the self-timer shooting is further provided. The camera according to claim 3, further comprising a light emitting device for irradiating a red-eye reduction light, an AF auxiliary light for assisting focus detection, and a remote control notification light for notifying a signal reception from the remote control, and operating when a signal from the remote control is received. Command means for outputting a light emission prohibition command in accordance with an operation, and when the light emission prohibition command is output, red-eye reduction light by the light emitting device, A
Prohibiting means for prohibiting irradiation of both the F auxiliary light and the remote control notification light. The invention according to claim 4 further includes control means for causing the light emitting device to emit light so as to display a photographing completion in accordance with the photographing completion when the light emission prohibition command is output. The invention according to claim 5 is applied to a camera having a light emitting device that emits a red-eye reduction light and a self-timer display light indicating that the self-timer shooting is being measured, and a light emission inhibition command of the red-eye reduction light in accordance with an operation. And a prohibition unit for prohibiting the emission of the red-eye reduction light by the light emitting device and prohibiting the irradiation of the self-timer display light when the light emission prohibition command is output. The invention according to claim 6 is applied to a camera provided with a light-emitting device that emits AF auxiliary light for assisting focus detection and self-timer display light indicating that self-timer shooting is being measured. Command means for outputting a light emission prohibition command of the reduction light, and when the light emission prohibition command is output,
While prohibiting the irradiation of AF auxiliary light by the light emitting device,
Prohibiting means for prohibiting irradiation of the self-timer display light.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a control system of a camera, a lens, and a remote controller according to the present embodiment. A microcomputer (hereinafter, referred to as a microcomputer) of the camera 1 is connected to the following circuits and switches. I have. The lamp lighting circuit 11 includes a red-eye prevention light,
The lamp 12 is turned on to emit the AF auxiliary light and the self-timer display light. The AE element 13 is composed of a photoelectric conversion element such as a silicon photodiode or a CCD, and inputs an electric signal corresponding to the luminance of a subject to a photometric circuit 14, and the photometric circuit 14 performs A / D conversion of the luminance signal and performs a microcomputer MC.
Enter U. The AF element 15 is, for example, a photoelectric conversion element such as a CCD for receiving the light beam of the subject transmitted through the photographing lens and performing photoelectric conversion. The output of the AF element 15 is input to a focus detection circuit 16 where the subject is focused on the photographing lens. Is calculated. The strobe light emission control circuit 17 controls light of the strobe SB.

The photometric switch SW1 is turned on by the first stroke of the shutter button, and the release switch SW13 is turned on.
Is turned on by the second stroke of the shutter button. The remote control setting switch SW2 is a switch for setting a remote control shooting mode.
Allows camera operation. When the switch SW23 of the remote control 3 is turned on, a transmission signal is output from the remote control transmission unit 32 via the remote control transmission circuit 31, and when the transmission signal is received by the remote control reception unit 26 on the camera side, the remote control reception circuit 27 Is instructed to shoot.

The switch SW3 is a switch for inhibiting the lighting of the lamp 12. The microcomputer MCU outputs a signal to the lamp lighting circuit 11 in response to the switch SW3 to limit the lighting of the lamp 12. The switch SW4 is a self-mode selection switch for selecting a self-timer mode.

A display device 18 for displaying various information of the camera
Is constituted by an LCD, an LED, an EC, or the like, and is driven by the display drive circuit 19. The aperture control circuit 20 drives the aperture AP to have a predetermined aperture in response to a signal from the microcomputer MCU. The shutter control circuit 21
The shutter ST is controlled based on the shutter time outputted from the microcomputer MCU. Film winding, rewinding,
A sequence motor 22 for performing mirror-up and shutter charging is driven by a motor drive circuit 23, and an AF motor 24 for focus adjustment is driven by a motor drive circuit 25.

The driving force of the AF motor 24 is coupling C
The light is transmitted to the lens 2 via the UP 1 and UP 2 and contributes to driving the AF lens L1. Distance encoder 31 in lens
Detects the position of the AF lens L1 and detects the lens CPU 32
To enter. The lens CPU 32 is electrically connected to the microcomputer MCU on the camera side via a contact member, and can exchange signals with both.

The main operation of the camera will be described. When the subject luminance is less than the predetermined value, the camera according to the present embodiment determines that focus detection is not possible and that red-eye is likely to occur, and turns on the lamp 12 prior to photographing. Lamp 1
The light from 2 functions as AF auxiliary light and red-eye reduction light, and illuminates the subject to enable focus detection.
The pupil of the subject (person) is contracted to reduce the occurrence of red eyes. When the self-timer mode is set, the photographing is performed after a predetermined time has been measured. During the time measurement, the lamp 12 blinks to notify the subject that the self-timer photographing is being performed.

The above is the operation when the lighting prohibition switch SW3 is off. When the lighting prohibition switch SW3 is on, that is, when the photographer prohibits the lighting of the lamp 12, the subject brightness is low. The lighting of the lamp 12 is also prohibited (even under conditions where focus detection is not possible and red-eye is likely to occur), and the lamp 12 is kept off even during self-timer shooting. Therefore, the subject does not feel dazzling, and “blink” at the time of shooting can be prevented.

By the way, if the irradiation of the self-timer display light is prohibited, it is difficult for the person to be photographed to know when the self-timer photographing is completed. Therefore, in the present embodiment, when the self-timer shooting is performed while the lighting prohibition switch SW3 is on, the lamp 12 is turned on after the shooting ends to notify the subject of the completion of the self-timer shooting.

FIGS. 2 to 5 are flowcharts for realizing the above operation. This program is a microcomputer MC
When the photometry switch SW1 is determined to be on in step S1, the AF element 15 and the focus detection circuit 16 are operated to perform focus detection, and the lens is driven based on the focus detection result ( Step S2). Further, the focus detection AE element 13 and the photometric circuit 14
Is operated to measure the light of the object (step S3). If it is determined that the object has low brightness based on the result of the light measurement, an instruction is sent to the strobe light emission control circuit 17 to charge the strobe SB. (Step S4). Note that if the mode in which the flash SB always emits light is selected, strobe charging is performed regardless of the photometry result, and if the mode in which the flash SB is prohibited from flashing is selected, the flash is charged regardless of the photometry result. Do not charge.

In step S5, it is determined whether or not the subject brightness obtained by the photometry in step S3 is equal to or more than a predetermined value. As the predetermined value, the AF element 15 and the focus detection circuit 1
6, the minimum luminance at which the focus can be detected is set.
Considering the red-eye occurrence luminance at which red-eye is likely to occur, a luminance that is somewhat higher than the minimum luminance at which focus detection is possible may be set.

If it is determined that the subject brightness is lower than the predetermined value, the process proceeds to step S6, where the lamp lighting inhibition switch SW3
If OFF is detected, that is, if lamp lighting is not prohibited, the process proceeds to step S7, where an instruction is issued to the lamp lighting circuit 11 to prepare for lamp lighting. In step S8, the state of the self-mode selection switch SW4 is detected. If the self-timer mode is not selected, the lamp lighting circuit 11 is driven in step S9, and the lamp 12 is turned on.
Lights up. The light from the lamp 12 acts as AF auxiliary light and red-eye reduction light, enabling focus detection and also contributing to red-eye reduction. In step S10, focus detection is performed by the AF element 15 and the focus detection circuit 16, and a defocus amount is calculated.

In step S11, the motor drive circuit 25 is controlled based on the defocus amount obtained in step S10.
And the AF motor 24 is driven. By driving the AF motor 24, the lens L1 is driven via the camera-side coupling CUP1 and the lens-side coupling CUP2 to focus on the subject. When the release switch SW13 is detected to be on in step S13, the shooting sequence starts. That is, after the lamp 12 is turned off in step S14, the shutter control circuit 21 and the aperture control circuit 20 are operated in step S15 to drive the shutter ST and the aperture AP, respectively, and the exposure operation is started. The shutter speed and the aperture value are controlled based on the subject brightness obtained by the photometry in step S3. In step S16, the strobe light emission control circuit 17 is driven to emit the strobe light SB. When the exposure operation is completed in step S17, one frame of the film is fed in step S18, and the process is terminated.

If it is determined in step S8 that the self-timer mode has been set, the lamp 12 is flashed in step S19 to indicate that the mode is the self-timer mode. The blinking of the lamp may be distinguished from the red-eye reduction light or the AF auxiliary light by changing the cycle of turning on and off, or may be distinguished by changing the voltage applied to the lamp 12. In addition, red eye prevention light and AF
The same light emission pattern as the auxiliary light may be used.

If it is determined in step S20 that the self-timer time has expired, the lamp 12 is turned on in step S21 to assist AF and reduce red-eye. For example, if the lamp 12 is blinking as a self-timer display, this is switched to lighting. In steps S22 and S23, focus detection and lens driving are performed as in steps S10 and S11, and the flow advances to step S14.

On the other hand, if it is detected in step S6 that the lamp lighting prohibition switch SW3 has been turned on, that is, if the photographer has prohibited the light emission of the lamp 12, the process jumps to step S24 to determine whether the self-timer mode has been set. judge. If it is determined that the self-timer mode has not been set, the release switch SW13 is determined in step S31.
Is turned on, and when turned on, the exposure operation and the film feeding are performed in step S15. At this time, irradiation of the AF auxiliary light and the red-eye reduction light by the lamp 12 is prohibited.

If it is determined in step S24 that the self-timer mode has been set, timer counting is performed in step S25, and an exposure operation (steps S26 to S29) is performed after the timer ends. Also in this case, the irradiation of the AF auxiliary light and the red-eye reduction light is prohibited, and the irradiation of the self-timer display light during the clocking is also prohibited. When the exposure is completed, the lamp 12 is turned on to notify the subject that the photographing operation has been completed in step S30. In this display, any cycle and voltage can be used as long as the person on the object scene side can recognize it, as described in step S19.

If it is determined in step S5 that the subject brightness is equal to or greater than the predetermined value, the process proceeds to step S32, and if not in the self-timer mode, steps S33 and S34.
Performs focus detection (ranging) and lens driving. If the release switch SW13 is turned on in step S35, the photographing process from step S15 is performed. In this case, since the subject brightness is high, the lighting of the lamp 12, that is, AF
The irradiation of the auxiliary light and the red-eye reduction light is not performed, and the strobe light emission in step S16 is not performed.

If it is determined in step S32 that the self-timer mode has been set, the process proceeds to step S36, and the lamp 12 is turned on until the expiration of the self-timer time is determined in step S37 to display the self-timer. After that, focus detection and lens drive are performed in steps S38 and S39, and the process proceeds to step S15. Also in this case, irradiation of AF auxiliary light and red-eye reduction light and flash emission are not performed.

In the above embodiment, the lamp 12 constitutes the light emitting device, the lamp lighting inhibition switch SW3 constitutes the command means, and the microcomputer MCU constitutes the inhibition means and the control means. In the above description, the example in which the AF auxiliary light also serves as the red-eye reduction light has been described, but the AF auxiliary light and the red-eye reduction light may be separately irradiated.

Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7, another embodiment of the present invention will be described. The present embodiment relates to a remote control mode in which a camera is remotely controlled by a remote control 3.
When the camera receives an operation signal from the remote controller at the time of setting the remote control mode, the camera turns on the lamp 12 to notify the reception of the signal. However, when the lighting inhibition switch SW3 is turned on, the lamp 12 is not turned on even if a signal from the remote controller is received. Therefore, the subject does not feel dazzling, and “blink” at the time of shooting can be prevented. When the lighting inhibition switch SW3 is turned on, the lamp 12 is turned on in accordance with the completion of the photographing, and the completion of the photographing is notified.

FIGS. 6 and 7 are flowcharts for realizing the operation of the present embodiment.
When it is detected that the remote control setting switch SW2 is turned on,
It is determined that the remote control mode has been set, and step S
Proceed to 102. If the remote control setting switch SW2 is off, the process proceeds to step S1 in FIG.

When the remote control switch SW23 is turned on when the remote control mode is set, a signal is output from the remote control transmission section 32 via the remote control transmission circuit 31, and the signal is received by the remote control reception section 26 on the camera side. Then, the remote control receiving circuit 27 transmits the fact to the microcomputer MCU. As a result, the microcomputer MCU recognizes that the switch SW23 on the remote controller has been turned on, and proceeds from step S102 to step S103.

In step S103, lighting preparation of the lamp 12 is performed, and in step S104, the lighting inhibition switch SW3
Is detected, the lamp 12 is turned on through the lamp lighting circuit 11 in step S105 to notify the reception of the remote control signal. Thereafter, steps S106 to S108
Then, the same processing as in steps S2 to S4 is performed. If the subject brightness is determined to be less than the predetermined value in step S109,
In steps S110 to S112, steps S9 to S1 are performed.
1 is performed, and in step S113, the lamp 12
Turn off the light.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S104 that the lighting inhibition switch SW3 is turned on, the process proceeds to step S120 without turning on the lamp 12, and proceeds to steps S120 to S12.
In step 2, the same processing as in steps S106 to S108 is performed, and the process proceeds to step S114. Steps S114 to S116
Then, the same photographing processing as in steps S15 to S18 is performed.

In step S117, the lighting inhibition switch SW
When it is determined that the lamp 1 is on, the lamp 1 is determined in step S118.
2 is turned on to notify the subject of exposure completion. When the lighting inhibition switch SW3 is off, the lamp 12 is not turned on. Thereafter, in step S119, the film is fed, and the process ends. In the above description, an example in which shooting is performed immediately after receiving a signal from the remote controller has been described. However, the present invention can also be applied to a so-called remote controller self-timer in which a predetermined time is measured in accordance with the reception of the signal, and shooting is performed after the completion of the timing.

[0032]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the light emission prohibition command is output, the irradiation of the red-eye reduction light, the AF auxiliary light, and the self-timer display light by the light emitting device is prohibited. In addition, it is possible to completely prevent "blink" at the time of shooting without causing the subject to feel dazzling. In the case where the irradiation of the self-timer display light by the light emitting device is prohibited, if the self-completed display is performed by the light emitting device along with the completion of the self-timer shooting, the subject can recognize the completion of the self-timer shooting. According to the invention of claim 3, when the light emission prohibition command is output,
Since the emission of the red-eye reduction light, the AF auxiliary light, and the remote control notification light by the light emitting device are all prohibited, the subject does not feel dazzling as described above, and the "blink" at the time of shooting is completely completed. Can be prevented. When the irradiation of the remote control notification light is prohibited, the photographing completion display is performed in accordance with the completion of the photographing, so that the subject can confirm that the photographing using the remote control has been performed without any trouble. According to the invention of claim 5, when the emission prohibition command of the red-eye reduction light is output, the irradiation of the red-eye reduction light is prohibited, and the irradiation of the self-timer display light is also prohibited. Similarly, “blinking” during photographing can be prevented. According to the invention of claim 6, when the light emission prohibition command of the AF auxiliary light is output, the irradiation of the AF auxiliary light is prohibited and the irradiation of the self-timer display light is also prohibited. Similarly, “blinking” during photographing can be prevented.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a control system of a camera according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the camera.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart following FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart following FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart following FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a camera according to another embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart following FIG. 6;

[Description of Signs] 1 Camera 2 Photographing Lens 3 Remote Control 11 Lamp Lighting Circuit 12 Lamp 15 AF Element 16 Focus Detection Circuit SW1 Photometry Switch SW2 Remote Control Setting Switch SW3 Lamp Prohibition Switch SW4 Self Mode Selection Switch SW13 Release Switch MCU Microcomputer

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. AF for reducing red-eye and focus detection
In a camera equipped with a light emitting device that emits a self-timer indicating light indicating that the self-timer shooting is being measured by the auxiliary light, command means for outputting a light-emitting prohibition command in accordance with an operation; And a prohibiting unit for prohibiting the emission of the red-eye reduction light, the AF auxiliary light, and the self-timer display light by the light emitting device. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a control unit for causing the light emitting device to emit light so as to perform a self-completion display upon completion of the self-timer shooting when the light emission prohibition command is output. The described camera. 3. AF for assisting red-eye reduction light and focus detection
A camera that is provided with a light emitting device that emits a remote control notifying light for notifying reception of a signal from an auxiliary light and a remote control, and that operates when a signal from the remote control is received; A camera comprising: a prohibition unit that prohibits the emission of the red-eye reduction light, the AF auxiliary light, and the remote control notification light by the light emitting device when the light emission prohibition command is output. 4. The camera according to claim 3, further comprising control means for causing the light emitting device to emit light so as to display a completion of photographing upon completion of photographing when the light emission prohibition command is output. . 5. A command for outputting a red-eye reduction light emission prohibition command in response to an operation in a camera provided with a light-emitting device that emits a red-eye reduction light and a self-timer display light indicating that self-timer shooting is being measured. And a prohibiting means for prohibiting irradiation of the red-eye reduction light by the light emitting device when the light emission prohibition command is output, and prohibiting irradiation of the self-timer display light. . 6. A camera equipped with a light emitting device for irradiating AF auxiliary light for assisting focus detection and self-timer display light indicating that self-timer shooting is being timed, emits red-eye reduction light according to operation. Command means for outputting a prohibition command; and prohibition means for prohibiting irradiation of the AF auxiliary light by the light emitting device and prohibiting irradiation of the self-timer display light when the light emission prohibition command is output. A camera characterized in that: