JPS60120684A - Electronic still camera - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable setting of the satisfactory white balance automatically even when a stroboscope is used by providing a stroboscope detection means which judges the presence or absence of the use of the stroboscope, and changing the amplification degree of a color component amplifier when the stroboscrope is used. CONSTITUTION:When a strobescope is not mounted on a storboscropic shoe, a switch 9 is on the B side. An image of the object to be photographed which is image-formed on an image pickup element 3 is converted to an electrical signal, and is added to an image signal processing circuit 4. However, since the switch 9 is on the B side, gains of red and blue component amplifiers 41 and 42 are set to the gains which correct the color temperature automatically by the control voltage from a color temperature measuring circuit 10. On the other hand, when the strobescope is not mounted on the stroboscopic shoe, the switch 9 is on the A side, and the DC voltage from a battery 13 is impressed on the red and blue component amplifiers 41 and 42 through a semi-fixed resistor 11 and a resistor 12. The white balance when the storboscope is emitted is also set satisfactorily by setting in the assembling stage so that the semi-fixed resistor 11 will have a balance for the stroboscope emission beforehand.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Application of the Invention] The present invention relates to 'tiGQ', a white balance extraction pressure for a child still camera, still camera, and still camera.

[Background of invention]

Recently, with the combination of video camera technology and high-density magnetic recording technology, so-called electronic Still cameras are known.

With ordinary film cameras, the color impression of the loaded film +
Although the f-characteristics are constant, it is impossible to correct the color temperature depending on the photographing light source. When shooting under a light source with a low color temperature, such as an incandescent lamp or the setting sun, the entire image has a reddish tinge, and the color temperature is high, such as in the evening sun or on a cloudy day.
e When shooting with 6Lllt mode, the entire image took on an Nish flavor. You can't beat J. This phenomenon is not so noticeable to the camera user because with ordinary film cameras, when creating prints, the operator of the print creation table 1 performs color correction manually or automatically. You can avoid causing big losses. However, with so-called instant cameras that can print one image at a time, this
[line] Since I can't do it, I want to print a photo with the correct Irotosuke characteristics! j c), il, dog dog 1. 'CM is lost.

On the other hand, since the video camera takes pictures at a temperature of 11 degrees Celsius, the color temperature correction operation can be performed automatically on the camera body. That is, for example, according to Japanese Patent Application No. 1983-11-737 filed by the present applicant, a color temperature measurement circuit with a built-in colorimeter diode is configured in the upper part of the lens of a video camera, and a control signal from this circuit is configured. By controlling the gains of the red signal component amplifier and the H signal component amplifier included in the camera's signal processing circuit so that they have a predetermined relationship, the optimum white color is automatically achieved under any light source. The function of obtaining balance is realized. Since the imaging principle of an electronic still camera is the same as that of a video camera, it is impossible to automatically obtain the optimum color balance using the same configuration during normal shooting. However, in this configuration,
When using a one-inch source light source such as a strobe, it is not possible to obtain sufficient automatic color balance performance for an electronic still camera. The reason for this is that the purpose of a video camera is to shoot temporally continuous moving pictures, so the light source that illuminates the subject is continuously illuminated at least from just before the start of shooting until the end of shooting. The color sensitivity measuring circuit described above was able to continuously measure the color temperature of the illumination light source. However, electronic still cameras record instantaneous phenomena as still images. Alternatively, instantaneous light emitted from a strobe or the like may be used. In this case, since the original light time of the light source is extremely short, it is almost impossible to measure its color temperature using a two-note measurement circuit. Or change the amplification setting of the blue component amplifier to strobe 9.
It is not possible to get bored at the same time as the B light.

[Purpose of the invention]

It is an object of the present invention to overcome the above-mentioned conventional drawbacks and to provide an automatic 11'J with a good white balance setting even when using a strobe.
Our goal is to provide an electronic camera with advanced functionality.

[Summary of the invention]

The present invention is provided with a strobe detection means that detects whether or not a strobe is being used, and when it is determined that a strobe is being used, the amplification degree of the color component amplifier is determined. This change (-) ensures good H balance even when using a strobe.

The determination of whether or not to use a strobe is based on strobe light emission [Embodiment of the Invention] A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of this embodiment. 1 is a lens, 2 is a shutter, 6 is an imaging device, 4 is an image signal processing circuit for processing an image signal, which includes a red component amplifier 41 and a blue component amplifier 42, 5 is a recording circuit, and 6 is a magnetic field. Head, 7 is a magnetic sheet, 8 is a drive device for rotating the magnetic sheet, 9 is a switch, 10 is a color temperature measurement circuit, 11 is a semi-fixed resistor, 12 is a resistor, 1 is a battery, 21 is a shutter 2 This is an EE circuit (a circuit that automatically adjusts the shutter speed, aperture, etc. using automatic photometry) to control the exposure so that the exposure is appropriate. First, the photographing operation of the electronic camera when no strobe is attached will be explained. In this case, the contact of the switch 9 is on the B side. lens 1
The image between the objects formed on the image sensor 6 is electrically read out and supplied to the image processing circuit 4. In this case, the shutter 2 is activated by the EEM path 210 command, It is automatically controlled to provide the correct path light for the subject image.

As mentioned above, the flaw processing circuit 4 amplifies the red component g=4i,
Although it has a built-in H component amplifier 42, the gain of these amplifiers is
Switch 9 is on B side and 7. Therefore, by controlling the control voltage generated in the color temperature measurement circuit 10, the gain is automatically set to correct the color temperature of the light source illuminating the subject image formed on the image sensor 6. be done. Video signal processing” 1-
The output signal of the first circuit 4 is sent to the recording circuit 5 where it is subjected to signal processing-2 modulation processing suitable for recording on the magnetic sheet 7 via the magnetic head 6 (+f & d on the magnetic sheet 7). Self-recorded.

The above is the normal recording operation of an electronic still camera, excluding the operation of the color temperature measurement circuit 100 related to the present invention (detailed operation is described in, for example, Japanese Patent Application No. 108446/1982).

Next, the operation of an electronic camera with a strobe attached will be explained in the same way (see Figure 1).Is the strobe 16 and the strobe shoe attached to the camera body a sub-bot? , these are usually used for still cameras (
・The same material as the one used is used. For example, a microswitch corresponding to the switch 9 is disposed in a part of the strobe shoe, and the control voltage of the color component amplifiers (41, 42) is switched in accordance with the horizontal ratio of whether or not a strobe is attached. When the strobe is not inserted into the strobe shoe, switch is on the 9 or B side.

When the strobe is inserted, the switch 9 is on the A side. The detailed mechanism is not shown because it can be easily constructed using common techniques. Now, when it is attached to a strobe or strobe camera, the first switch 9 is the first one.
According to the rule 12, the red component amplifier 41 and the blue component amplifier 42 built in the image processing circuit 4 are powered by the battery 16 instead of the control voltage generated by the color temperature control circuit 100.
A DC voltage obtained by dividing the DC voltage supplied by the semi-fixed resistor 11 and the resistor 12 (hereinafter, this DC voltage will be referred to as voltage Vs) is applied. Therefore, in this case, the gains of the red component amplifier 41 and the i component amplifier 42 are set to a gain determined by the voltage Vs.

That is, in this case, the semi-fixed constant resistor 11? Adjustments are made in advance during the assembly stage of the electronic camera, and 111. By setting the pressure Vs, the user of the electronic camera can simply attach the electronic camera to the strobe shoe and turn the switch 9 to the A side to automatically obtain the white balance according to the strobe light emission. This effect: Even if you use a dedicated 7-voltage cell for this purpose as the 1st cell, or you share a battery that supplies power to other circuits in the electronic camera, Alternatively, instead of a battery, the DC voltage obtained by flowing AC ωt, can also be obtained.Also, if a fixed resistor can be used instead of the semi-fixed resistor 11, if the desired VS can be obtained, do so. It's okay.

FIG. 2 shows a second embodiment of the electronic still camera according to the present invention. The configuration shown in FIG. 1 differs from the configuration shown in FIG. 1 only in that an electronic switch 91 is added and this electronic switch 91 is controlled by a control circuit 92. The function of the control circuit 92 is to set the electronic switch 91 to the D side when the EE circuit 21 drives the shutter 2 at a speed of 5 seconds or more, and to the D side when driving at a speed lower than that. C
Since the circuit can be easily designed by programming a threshold amplifier or a microcomputer according to the circuit configuration of the EE circuit 210, the details of the circuit configuration will be omitted.

First, when the control circuit 92 sets the electronic switch 91 to the C side, that is, when the EE circuit 21 instructs a slow shutter that is likely to cause camera shake, the voltage ■s suitable for strobe light emission is set. is supplied, and the same effect as shown in FIG. 1 is obtained.

However, when the EE circuit 21 instructs a shutter speed that does not cause camera shake, the electronic switch is set to the D side under the control of the control circuit 92, so the output voltage of the color temperature measurement circuit io is red instead of the voltage Vs. It is supplied to a component amplifier 41 and a 1ψ component amplification i'i1i i:φ42. In other words, if the subject is already well-lit so that you don't have to worry about camera shake, even if you use a strobe, the illumination already given to the subject will be stronger than the strobe. In this case, color temperature measurement circuit 1
It is better to set the white balance using the color temperature measured by o. Furthermore, the advantages of the configuration shown in FIG. 2 can be seen when the strobe light is emitted or not. In other words, when an electronic still camera is actually used, the strobe is attached to the camera body when it is used, and it is often removed when not in use, but the strobe can be left attached to the camera body. In many cases, it is necessary to make the strobe emit light to take a picture, and there are concerns about the power supply for the strobe.The embodiment shown in Fig. 1 can handle the first case, but it cannot handle the latter case. On the other hand, the embodiment shown in FIG. 2 is not compatible with both.

FIG. 3 shows a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

Components that are the same as those in the first embodiment are given the same numbers. 1
6 is a shutter button; 14 is a control circuit that operates the drive device 8 when the shutter button 16 is pressed; and operates the strobe 17 based on an instruction from an EE circuit 21 or a switch 18 that is switched when using the strobe; 15 is a control circuit 14 This is a light emission command signal detection circuit that detects a light emission command signal sent from the strobe light to the strobe 17. In an electronic still camera with a built-in strobe, the switch 18 is used to activate the control circuit 1 in conjunction with the shutter button 16 when the strobe is pulled out or the like.
4 is a switch for operating the strobe 17, which sends a strobe light emission command signal to the strobe 17.

In the case of a fully automatic electronic still camera, the switch 18 may be removed, and a strobe light command signal may be generated in accordance with an instruction from the EE circuit 21 to operate the strobe light 17.

When the shutter button 16 is pressed, the switch 18
Alternatively, when the control circuit 14 determines that the EE circuit 21 indicates that the strobe light is to be emitted, a strobe light command signal is sent to the strobe light 17. Light emission command signal detection circuit 15
When this flash command signal is generated, the electronic switch 96 is switched to the A side, and the battery 15 and resistors 11 and 12 apply the voltage set for when using the strobe to the red component amplifier 41 and blue component amplifier 42. This allows you to obtain a white balance suitable for flash use.

According to this embodiment, even in an electronic still camera with a built-in strobe, a good white balance can be obtained even when the strobe is used. Note that in this embodiment as well, '' in the second embodiment is
A secondary switch 91 and an open side J circuit 92 can be provided on the 1st side, and by combining these, even if it is an electronic still camera with a built-in strobe, it can be used even if the external lighting is brighter than the strobe light. Needless to say, it is possible to obtain a white balance based on the output from the color temperature measurement circuit 10 regardless of whether or not a strobe is used.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above in detail using the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1 to 6, the electronic still camera according to the present invention can automatically obtain the optimum white balance even when using a strobe.

In addition, in the first and second embodiments described above, the color temperature setting method when not using a strobe is automatic setting using a color temperature measuring circuit, or by using a variable resistor and an indicator or an indicator scale. It is also applicable to a method in which the white balance is manually set each time using a
It goes without saying that you can get the same effect. In this case, switch? B (1111, electronic switch 9
1) 114tl is not the output of the color temperature measurement circuit (
, it is sufficient to supply the output signal obtained by the above-mentioned manual operation. In Fig. 2, switch 9 and two electronic switches 91 are connected in series, but these can be combined into a single switch, and this switch can be used to detect the attachment of a strobe or to detect when the strobe power is turned on. It may also be controlled by commands from the EE circuit.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the configuration of an electronic still camera showing the first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the configuration of a child still camera showing the second embodiment of the invention, and FIG. FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an electronic still camera according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1...Lens, 2...Shutter, RO...Image sensor, 4...Signal processing circuit, 5-Recording circuit, 6...
-Magnetic head, 7...-Magnetic sheet, 8...Drive device, 9...Switch, 10...Color temperature 6111 constant circuit, 14...Control circuit, 15 -Light emission command No. 4g detection circuit, 16. ... Shutter button, 17... Strobe, 21... EE circuit, 91... City: f-switch,
92...Control circuit, 96...Electronic 7 innovation.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. An imaging unit that converts optical signals into electrical signals, a video signal processing circuit that performs processing to write video signals from the imaging unit onto a 4i erodible sheet, and a drive unit that drives the magnetic sheet. In an electronic still camera that has an electronic still camera in its housing, it detects whether or not a strobe is used.It detects whether or not a strobe is used.It detects whether or not a strobe is used. This is a still camera characterized by having a means for changing the tomoe component increase 111 "4 circuits increase 119X degree".゛(, F'lJ
8) The robot detecting means includes a strobe shoe provided on the front housing for fixing the strobe to the front housing, and a strobe device connected to the front Re strobe seat.
In claim 2, the strobe detection means comprises a light emitting device for detecting a light emitting command signal of a strobe. An electronic still camera, characterized in that it has a command signal generating means. 4. In addition to Clause 181 of Claim 181 to 6.1J of the special feature, the video signal processing circuit is a color temperature measuring circuit. ,
It has a signal source that generates a predetermined voltage, and the color temperature measurement circuit output and the output of the signal source are selectively applied to the color component amplification circuit by the switching stage, so that the color component J″dII is
'Electronic spool camera with a special feature of changing the amplification degree of the notification circuit.