US20040201767A1 - Digital camera having multiple displays - Google Patents
Digital camera having multiple displays Download PDFInfo
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- US20040201767A1 US20040201767A1 US09/735,569 US73556900A US2004201767A1 US 20040201767 A1 US20040201767 A1 US 20040201767A1 US 73556900 A US73556900 A US 73556900A US 2004201767 A1 US2004201767 A1 US 2004201767A1
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- display
- image
- area
- electronic camera
- displaying
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04N5/00—Details of television systems
- H04N5/222—Studio circuitry; Studio devices; Studio equipment
- H04N5/262—Studio circuits, e.g. for mixing, switching-over, change of character of image, other special effects ; Cameras specially adapted for the electronic generation of special effects
- H04N5/2628—Alteration of picture size, shape, position or orientation, e.g. zooming, rotation, rolling, perspective, translation
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04N23/00—Cameras or camera modules comprising electronic image sensors; Control thereof
- H04N23/60—Control of cameras or camera modules
- H04N23/63—Control of cameras or camera modules by using electronic viewfinders
- H04N23/633—Control of cameras or camera modules by using electronic viewfinders for displaying additional information relating to control or operation of the camera
- H04N23/635—Region indicators; Field of view indicators
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04N23/00—Cameras or camera modules comprising electronic image sensors; Control thereof
- H04N23/60—Control of cameras or camera modules
- H04N23/67—Focus control based on electronic image sensor signals
- H04N23/673—Focus control based on electronic image sensor signals based on contrast or high frequency components of image signals, e.g. hill climbing method
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04N23/00—Cameras or camera modules comprising electronic image sensors; Control thereof
- H04N23/50—Constructional details
- H04N23/53—Constructional details of electronic viewfinders, e.g. rotatable or detachable
Definitions
- the present invention relates to an electronic camera having a first display and a second display, and a display system having an electronic camera including displays and a display device capable of displaying an image captured by the electronic camera in a state where the display device is connected to the electronic camera for communications.
- the present invention is directed to provide an electronic camera.
- the electronic camera includes: a first display capable of displaying a captured image; a second display capable of displaying the captured image, having a display size smaller than that of the first display; a first display controller for displaying an image in a first area in the captured image on the first display; and a second display controller for displaying an image in a second area narrower than the first area in the captured image onto the second display.
- the first area in the electronic camera corresponds to a whole area of the captured image
- the second area corresponds to a central area in the captured image. Consequently, in the case of capturing an image in which the subject is positioned in the center, whether focus is accurately achieved on the subject or not can be confirmed.
- the second area in the electronic camera is variable. Consequently, the range to be displayed on the second display can be changed according to the intention of the user.
- the electronic camera further has a memory for storing information in the second area
- the second display controller displays an image in the second area based on information stored in the memory onto the second display when power is turned on. Consequently, when the power of the electronic camera is turned off and is again turned on, the user does not have to set the same area as that at the time of turn-off of the power. It facilitates the operation.
- the present invention also provides a display control method of an electronic camera having a first display capable of displaying a captured image and a second display capable of displaying a captured image having a display size smaller than that of the first display.
- the display control method has the steps of: capturing an image of a subject; displaying an image in a first area in a captured image on the first display; and displaying an image in a second area narrower than the first area in the captured image on the second display.
- the present invention also provides a display system having an electronic camera and an external display device capable of displaying an image captured by the electronic camera in a state where the display device is connected to the electronic camera.
- the display system has: a first display capable of displaying a captured image; a second display capable of displaying the captured image; a first display controller for displaying an image in a first area in the captured image onto the first display; and a second display controller for enlargedly displaying an image in a second area narrower than the first area in the captured image onto the second display.
- the image capturing range can be confirmed on the first display, and the focus can be accurately confirmed on the second display, so that the operability is excellent and an image can be efficiently captured.
- the invention intends to solve the problems in the conventional techniques and provides an electronic camera and a display system capable of confirming both an image capturing range and focus and efficiently capturing an image.
- FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the configuration of a digital camera 1 A according to a preferred embodiment of the invention
- FIG. 2 is a cross section taken along the line II-II of FIG. 1;
- FIG. 3 is a rear view showing the configuration of the digital camera 1 A according to the preferred embodiment of the invention.
- FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram of the digital camera 1 A
- FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the internal functions realized by the whole including an CPU and memories in an overall control unit 211 A;
- FIG. 6 is a diagram showing data arrangement of a memory card
- FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the procedure of an initial setting when power is turned on
- FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the procedure of a display mode switching control process
- FIGS. 9A and 9B illustrate a display screen on an LCD and a display screen on an EVF, respectively, in a third display mode
- FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the procedure of a display magnification setting process
- FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the procedure of an image capturing process
- FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the procedure of an ending process
- FIG. 13 is a configuration diagram of a display system according to a second preferred embodiment of the invention.
- FIG. 14 is a partial block diagram of a digital camera according to the second preferred embodiment.
- FIGS. 1 to 3 are diagrams each showing the configuration of a digital camera 1 A ( 1 B) according to a preferred embodiment of the invention.
- FIG. 1 is a plan view
- FIG. 2 is a cross section taken along the line II-II of FIG. 1
- FIG. 3 is a rear view.
- the drawings are not always according to triangular diagrams but mainly aim at conceptually showing the configuration of the digital camera 1 A as an example.
- the digital camera 1 A has a structure mainly divided into a camera body 2 having an almost rectangular parallelepiped shape and an image pickup unit 3 .
- the image pickup unit 3 is provided with an image pickup circuit 302 having a CCD color area sensor 303 in a proper position behind a lens group 30 having a macro function as image pickup lenses.
- the lens group 30 includes a zoom lens 300 and a focusing lens 301 .
- the camera body 2 has therein a motor M 1 for zooming which changes the zoom ratio of the zoom lens 300 and moves the zoom lens 300 between an enclosed position and an image pickup position and a motor M 2 for obtaining focus by driving the focusing lens 301 .
- a grip G is provided on the front face of the camera body 2 .
- a pop-up type built-in flash 5 is provided in a proper position at the upper end of the camera body 2 .
- a shutter button 9 is provided on the top face of the camera body 2 .
- a liquid crystal display (LCD) 10 and an electronic view finder (EVF) 20 for displaying a live view of a captured image, reproducing a recorded image, and the like in an almost center position are provided on the rear face of the camera body 2 .
- the LCD 10 has a width of 4 cm and a length of 3 cm.
- the EVF 20 enlargedly displays a liquid crystal display having a width of 1.2 cm and a length of 0.9 cm by an eyepiece. In the LCD 10 and the EVF 20 , an image is displayed in color.
- an image capturing/reproducing mode setting switch 14 for switching and setting “image capturing mode (REC mode)” and “reproducing mode (Play mode)” is provided.
- the image capturing mode is a mode of taking a picture
- the reproducing mode is a mode of reproducing and displaying the captured image recorded in a memory card 8 onto the LCD 10 .
- the image capturing/reproducing mode setting switch 14 is ridable in the vertical direction. When the switch 14 is positioned on the upper side, the image capturing mode is set. When the switch 14 is positioned on the lower side, the reproducing mode is set. When the switch 14 is positioned in the middle, the power can be turned off.
- a four-way switch 35 is provided on the right side of the rear face of the digital camera 1 A. By pressing the buttons L and R, the motor M 1 is driven for zooming. By pressing buttons U, D, L, and R, various operations which will be described hereinlater are performed.
- An LCD button 31 is a button to turn on/off the LCD display or the EVF display. Each time the LCD button 31 is depressed, the display mode is switched between the LCD display and the EVF display (which will be described in detail hereinlater).
- an external monitor terminal 222 is provided on a side face of the camera body 2 .
- the external monitor terminal 222 is a terminal for transferring image data from the digital camera 1 A to an external monitor 223 (refer to FIG. 4).
- the memory card 8 can be inserted to the digital camera 1 A.
- the digital camera 1 A uses a power supply battery E in which four AA cells E 1 to E 4 are connected in series as a drive source.
- FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram of the digital camera 1 A.
- a CCD 303 photoelectrically converts an optical image of a subject formed by the lens group 30 into an image signal (made by a signal train of pixel signals received by pixels) of color components of R (red), G (green), and B (blue) and outputs the image signal.
- a timing generator 314 generates various timing pulses for controlling the driving of the CCD 303 .
- An exposure control in the image pickup unit 3 is performed by adjusting the aperture size of the lens group 30 by an aperture control driver 306 and exposure of the CCD 303 by the timing generator 314 , that is, charge storing time of the CCD 303 corresponding to a shutter speed.
- the exposure control is performed by adjusting both the shutter speed and the gain adjustment.
- the level adjustment of the image signal is performed by adjusting the gain of an AGC circuit in a signal processing circuit 313 .
- the timing generator 314 generates a control signal for driving the CCD 303 on the basis of a reference clock transmitted from a timing control circuit 202 .
- the timing generator 314 generates, for example, a timing signal of start/end of integration (start/end of exposure), read control signals of photoreception signals of pixels (horizontal synchronizing signal, vertical synchronizing signal, transfer signal, and the like), and the like and outputs the generated signal to the CCD 303 .
- the signal processing circuit 313 performs a predetermined analog signal process on an image signal (analog signal) outputted from the CCD 303 .
- the signal processing circuit 313 has a CDS (correlation double sampling) circuit and an AGC (automatic gain control) circuit, reduces noises of the image signal by the CDS circuit, and adjusts the level of the image signal by adjusting the gain of the AGC circuit.
- CDS correlation double sampling
- AGC automatic gain control
- a light control circuit 304 controls a light emission amount of the built-in flash 5 in flash shooting to a predetermined light emission amount set by an overall control unit 211 A.
- a light control sensor 305 receives reflection light of flash light from the subject and receives reflection light of flash light from the subject.
- a light emission stop signal is outputted from the light control circuit 304 , and the light emission of the built-in flash 5 is forcedly stopped in response to the light emission stop signal, thereby controlling the light emission amount of the built-in flash 5 to the predetermined light emission amount.
- An A/D converter 205 converts each of pixel signals of the image signal to a 12-bit digital signal.
- the A/D converter 205 converts each pixel signal (analog signal) to a 12-bit digital signal on the basis of a clock for A/D conversion supplied from the timing control circuit 202 .
- the timing control circuit 202 is provided to generate clocks to the timing generator 314 and the A/D converter 205 .
- the timing control circuit 202 is controlled by a reference clock in the overall control unit 211 A.
- a black level correcting circuit 206 corrects the black level of the pixel signal which has been subjected to the A/D conversion to a reference black level.
- a WB (white balance) circuit 207 shifts the level of pixel data of color components of R, G, and B.
- the WB circuit 207 shifts the level of the pixel data of each of color components of R, G, and B by using a level shifting table supplied from the overall control unit 211 A.
- a shift coefficient (gradient of characteristic) of each color component (hereinbelow, called a “WB parameter”) in the level shifting table is automatically or manually set every captured image by the overall control unit 211 A.
- a ⁇ correction circuit 208 corrects the gradation of the pixel data.
- the ⁇ correction circuit 208 performs correction adapted to the ⁇ characteristics of a monitor for a general personal computer.
- An image memory 209 is a memory for storing the pixel data outputted from the ⁇ correction circuit 208 .
- the image memory 209 has a storage capacity of one frame. Specifically, the image memory 209 has a storage capacity of pixel data of 1600 ⁇ 1200 pixels corresponding to the number of pixels of the CCD 303 and each pixel data is stored in a corresponding pixel position.
- a VRAM 210 is a buffer memory of image data to be displayed on the LCD 10 .
- the VRAM 210 has a storage capacity of image data corresponding to the number of pixels (400 ⁇ 300) of the LCD 10 .
- a VRAM 220 is a buffer memory of image data to be displayed on the EVF 20 .
- the VRAM 220 has a storage capacity of image data corresponding to the number of pixels (640 ⁇ 480) of the EVF 20 .
- each of pixel data of an image captured every ⁇ fraction (1/30) ⁇ second by the image pickup unit 3 is subjected to predetermined signal processes by the A/D converter 205 , black level correcting circuit 206 , WB circuit 207 , and ⁇ correcting circuit 208 .
- resultant data is temporarily stored in the image memory 209 , also transferred to the VRAMs 210 and 220 via the overall control unit 211 A, and displayed on the LCD 10 and the EVF 20 (live view display).
- a card I/F 212 is an interface for writing and reading image data to/from the memory card 8 .
- An I/F 224 for communication is an interface conformed to, for example, the USB standard for connecting a personal computer 225 to the outside for communications. Control programs recorded on recording media such as the memory card 8 and a CD-ROM 226 can be loaded into the overall control unit 211 A via the card I/F 212 and the I/F 224 for communication.
- An RTC 219 is a clock circuit for managing date and time of image capturing and is driven by another power source (not shown).
- An operating unit 250 is constructed by the above-described various switches, buttons, and the like such as the shutter button 9 , LCD button 31 , and determination button 32 .
- the shutter button 9 is a switch of two levels capable of detecting a half-pressed state and a fully-pressed state, which is adopted in a camera for silver halide film.
- AF automatic focusing control
- AE automatic exposure
- WB white balance
- An NTSC converter 221 converts an image signal stored in the VRAM 220 into a signal of the NTSC system format and transfers a resultant signal to the EVF 20 and the external monitor 223 via the external monitor terminal 222 .
- the external monitor 223 is connected to the external monitor terminal 222 , the same image as that on the EVF 20 is displayed on the external monitor 223 .
- the overall control unit 211 A takes the form of a microcomputer having therein a work RAM 211 a made by a DRAM, a flash ROM 211 b and CPU, organically controls the driving of the above-described members of the digital camera 1 A, and has centralized control of image capturing operations of the digital camera 1 A.
- FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing internal functions realized by the whole including a CPU and memories in the overall control unit 211 A.
- the overall control unit 211 A has a display control unit 211 c .
- the display control unit 211 c performs a display control of the LCD 10 and the EVF 20 in accordance with each of the zeroth to fourth display modes on the basis of a mode set value which will be described hereinlater.
- the display control unit 211 c stores the mode set value s, an EVF display magnification m, and the like into the flash ROM 211 b .
- the display control unit 211 c reads the mode set value s, the EVF display magnification m, and the like at the time of turn-off of the power last time from the flash ROM 211 b and, in accordance with the read values, performs the display control of the LCD 10 and the EVF 20 in the display mode and the magnification at the time of turn-off of the power last time.
- the display control unit 211 c has a unit 211 c 1 for changing the number of pixels (hereinbelow, number of pixels changing unit), a frame display unit 211 c 2 , and an icon display unit 211 c 3 .
- the number of pixels changing unit 211 c 1 stores image data which has been subjected to a thinning (interpolating) process which will be described hereinlater into the work RAM 211 a and the VRAM 220 , thereby displaying an enlarged image obtained by enlarging the central area of an image by the EVF 20 .
- the frame display unit 211 c 2 superimposes a frame image on image data read from the image memory 209 and writes a resultant image into the VRAM 210 so as to display an image of a frame (which will be described hereinlater) indicative of a range of an image displayed on the EVF 20 in the third display mode onto the LCD 10 .
- the icon display unit 211 c 3 superimposes an enlarged display icon (which will be described hereinlater) indicating that the central area of the image is enlargedly displayed on the EVF 20 in the third display mode on the image data to be displayed on the LCD 10 and writes a resultant image onto the VRAM 210 .
- An AF control unit 211 d , an AE control unit 211 e , and a WB control unit 211 f are connected to the display control unit 211 c .
- the display control unit 211 c controls those control units so as to perform AF, AE, and WB, respectively, with reference to image data in the image memory 209 in the zeroth, first, second and fourth display modes which will be described hereinlater and with reference to the image data in the work RAM 211 a in the third display mode.
- the AF control unit 211 d achieves focus by reading out image data stored in the image memory 209 or the work RAM 211 a , and moving the lenses by driving the motors M 1 and M 2 so that the contrast of the image becomes the highest.
- a control method to make the contrast the highest a known technique such as hill-climbing or the like can be used.
- the AE control unit 211 e has therein a luminance determining unit 211 e 1 and an exposure amount setting unit 211 e 2 for setting exposure control values (shutter speed (SS) and aperture value).
- the luminance is obtained from image data stored in the image memory 209 or the work RAM 211 a by the luminance determining unit 211 e 1 .
- the exposure amount setting unit 211 e 2 adjusts the exposure by setting an aperture value and SS adapted to the aperture control driver 306 and the timing control circuit 202 .
- the WB control unit 211 f obtains WB parameters from the image data stored in the image memory 209 or the work RAM 211 a and sets the WB parameters in a WB circuit 207 . With the WB parameters, the WB circuit 207 performs a WB process on the image data obtained by the CCD 303 .
- the overall control unit 211 A has a filter unit 211 g for performing a filtering process and a recording image generating unit 211 h for generating a thumbnail image and a compressed image.
- the overall control unit 211 A has a reproduction image generating unit 211 i for generating a reproduction image.
- the filter unit 211 g is used to correct the picture quality regarding an edge of subject by correcting high frequency components of an image to be recorded by a digital filter.
- the recording image generating unit 211 h reads pixel data from the image memory 209 and generates a thumbnail image and a compressed image to be recorded in the memory card 8 .
- the recording image generating unit 211 h reads the pixel data every 8 pixels in both of the lateral and vertical directions from the image memory 209 and sequentially transfers the read pixel data to the memory card 8 , thereby recording the thumbnail image to the memory card 8 while generating the thumbnail image.
- the recording image generating unit 211 h reads all of pixel data from the image memory 209 , performs a predetermined compressing process according to the JPEG system such as two-dimensional DCT or Huffman coding on the pixel data to thereby generate image data of a compressed image, and records the compressed image data into a main image area in the memory card 8 .
- a predetermined compressing process according to the JPEG system such as two-dimensional DCT or Huffman coding
- the overall control unit 211 A When image capture is instructed by the shutter button 9 in the image capturing mode, the overall control unit 211 A generates a thumbnail image of an image captured in the image memory 209 after the instruction of the image capture and a compression image compressed according to the JPEG system at a set compression ratio, and stores both of the images with information such as tag information related to the captured image (frame number, exposure value, shutter speed, compression ratio, date of image capture, data related to on/off of a flash at the time of image capture, scene information, determination result of an image, and the like) into the memory card 8 .
- tag information related to the captured image frame number, exposure value, shutter speed, compression ratio, date of image capture, data related to on/off of a flash at the time of image capture, scene information, determination result of an image, and the like
- the tag portion In each of the frames of the image recorded by the digital camera 1 A, the tag portion, high-resolution image data (1600 ⁇ 1200 pixels) compressed in the JPEG system, and image data (80 ⁇ 60 pixels) for displaying a thumbnail image are recorded.
- image data of the largest frame number in the memory card 8 is read and decompressed by the reproduction image generating unit 211 i , and the resultant data is transferred to the VRAMs 210 and 220 , thereby displaying an image of the largest frame number, that is, an image most recently captured on the LCD 10 or EVF 20 .
- the button U By operating the button U, an image of a larger frame number is displayed.
- the button D By pressing the button D, an image of a smaller frame number is displayed.
- FIG. 6 is a diagram showing data arrangement of the memory card 8 .
- the memory card 8 can store images stored by the digital camera 1 A of 230 frames at a compression ratio of 1/20. In each of the frames, tag information, high resolution image signals (640 ⁇ 480 pixels) compressed in the JPEG system, and image signals (80 ⁇ 60 pixels) for displaying a thumbnail image are recorded.
- the signals can be dealt as an image file of, for example, an EXIF format on a frame unit basis.
- FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a procedure of the initial setting when the power is turned on. The process is performed by the display control unit 211 c.
- the mode set value (s) at the time of turn-off of the power last time is read from the flash ROM 211 b (step S 1 in FIG. 7).
- the mode set value is a value for designating the display mode of the EVF 20 and the LCD 10 in the image capturing mode.
- the mode set value (s) varies from “0” to “4”.
- the display modes designated by the mode set values (s) from “0” to “4” are called the zeroth to fourth display modes, respectively, hereinbelow.
- the display states of the EVF 20 and the LCD 10 are as shown in Table 1.
- the EVF display magnification (m) expresses a display magnification for an image displayed on the LCD 10 of the image displayed on the EVF 20 .
- step S 2 determines whether the mode set value (s) is “3” or not (step S 2 in FIG. 7).
- the program advances to step S 3 .
- NO the program advances to step S 4 .
- the EVF display magnification (m) at the time of turn-off of the power last time which is stored in the flash ROM 211 b (the data corresponds to area data at the time of turn-off) is read (step S 3 in FIG. 7).
- the digital camera 1 A in the preferred embodiment displays an image on the EVF 20 in the display mode and the EVF display magnification at the time of turn-off of the power last time, so that the area in the whole image displayed on the EVF 20 is the same as that at time of the turn-off of the power last time.
- FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the display mode switching process.
- each time the LCD button 31 is pressed “1” is added to the mode set value so as to switch the display mode.
- a control of returning the mode set value to “0” when the mode set value reaches “5” is performed by the display control unit 211 c.
- step S 11 in FIG. 8 First, whether the LCD button 31 is depressed or not is determined (step S 11 in FIG. 8). When NO, the display mode switching control process is finished. When YES, the program advances to the next step.
- step S 13 in FIG. 8 Whether the mode set value (s) is 5 or not is determined (step S 13 in FIG. 8). When the mode set value is not “5”, the display mode switching control process is finished. When YES, the program advances to the next step.
- the mode set value (s) is set to “0” (step S 14 in FIG. 8).
- the digital camera 1 A can perform various displays by the LCD 10 and the EVF 20 .
- the number of pixels of captured image data, the number of pixels in the LCD 10 , and the number of pixels in the EVF 20 are different from each other.
- the number of pixels changing unit 211 c 1 consequently reads out image data in the image memory 209 and perform the process of thinning (interpolating) the data.
- the process of thinning image data to be displayed on the EVF 20 or the LCD 10 will be described hereinbelow.
- the thinning (interpolating) process is performed by the number of pixels changing unit 211 c 1 in the display control unit 211 c.
- a thinning process to a quarter is performed on image data having pixels of 1600 ⁇ 1200 in the image memory 209 (by leaving only one pixel every four pixels and deleting the other pixels), and the resultant data is stored in the VRAM 210 as image data of 400 ⁇ 300 pixels, thereby displaying the image on the LCD 10 .
- a thinning process to 2/5 is performed on image data of 1600 ⁇ 1200 pixels in the image memory 209 and storing the resultant image data as image data of 640 ⁇ 480 pixels into the VRAM 220 , thereby displaying the image data on the EVF 20 .
- FIG. 9A shows a display screen of the LCD 10 in the third display mode.
- FIG. 9B shows a display screen of the EVF 20 displaying an image obtained by enlarging the central area of the display image on the LCD 10 by twice.
- the LCD 10 has 400 ⁇ 300 pixels and the EVF 20 has 640 ⁇ 480 pixels.
- the LCD 10 displays a whole image and superimposes the image in a frame F in the central area CA corresponding to the display range of the EVF 20 .
- Int(a) is a function indicative of an integer part of a numerical value (a).
- image data of the enlarged display icon is written in the area of the VRAM 210 corresponding to the right upper part in the image.
- the image data in the central area of only the Int(1600/m) ⁇ Int(1200/m) pixels in the image data of 1600 ⁇ 1200 pixels in the image memory 209 is developed to the work RAM 211 a .
- the data in the work RAM 211 a is subjected to a 2/5 m thinning (or interpolating) process and the resultant data is transferred to the VRAM 220 .
- the AF control unit 211 d , the AE control unit 211 e , and the WB control unit 211 f perform the AF control, AE control, and WB control, respectively, on the image data developed in the work RAM 211 a.
- the range of the central area is changed by a process as described above (to a central area CA 2 or the like), the size of the frame is also changed (to a frame F 2 or the like), and the display range on the EVF 20 is accordingly changed.
- a display magnification setting process will now be described.
- the user presses the buttons L and R, thereby enabling the display magnification on the EVF 20 to be changed.
- the display control unit 211 c decreases the value of m by one step (on the unit basis of 0.1) when the button L is pressed, and increases the value of m by one step (on the unit basis of 0.1) when the button R is pressed.
- (m) is set in a range from 1 to 10.
- the EVF display magnification (m) does not change to values out of the range. The procedure will be described hereinbelow.
- FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the display magnification setting process. The process is also performed by the display control unit 211 c unless otherwise mentioned.
- step S 21 in FIG. 10 First, whether the button L is pressed or not is determined (step S 21 in FIG. 10). When NO, the program advances to step S 24 . When YES, the program advances to the next step.
- step S 22 in FIG. 10 Whether the EVF display magnification (m) is 1 or not is determined (step S 22 in FIG. 10).
- step S 24 the program advances to step S 24 .
- step S 24 the program advances to the next step.
- step S 24 in FIG. 10 Whether the button R is pressed or not is determined (step S 24 in FIG. 10).
- the program advances to the next step.
- NO the program advances to step S 27 .
- step S 25 in FIG. 10 Whether the EVF display magnification (m) is “10” or not is determined (step S 25 in FIG. 10).
- step S 27 the program advances to step S 27 .
- step S 27 the program advances to the next step.
- the number of pixels changing unit 211 c 1 performs a 2/5 m thinning (interpolating) process on the data in the image memory 209 and transfers the resultant data to the VRAM 220 (step S 27 in FIG. 10).
- step S 28 in FIG. 10 Whether the EVF display magnification (m) is “1” or not is determined (step S 28 in FIG. 10).
- step S 28 in FIG. 10 the program advances to the next step.
- step S 29 the program advances to step S 29 .
- the frame display unit 211 c 2 writes the image data of the frame and the icon display unit 211 c 3 writes the image data of the enlarged display icon to the image data stored in the VRAM 210 (step S 29 in FIG. 10), and the display magnification setting process is finished.
- step S 28 when it is determined in step S 28 that the EVF display magnification (m) is “1”, whether the frame and the enlarged display icon are displayed or not is determined (step S 30 in FIG. 10).
- step S 30 the program advances to the next step.
- NO the display magnification setting process is finished.
- the number of pixels changing unit 211 c 1 performs the thinning of “1 ⁇ 4” on the image data in the image memory 209 , overwrites the resultant data on the VRAM 210 , and erases the frame and the enlarged display icon (step S 31 in FIG. 10).
- the WB process, the AF process, and the AE process are performed on the image in the area (central area) displayed on the EVF 20 .
- the procedure will be described hereinbelow.
- FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the procedure of an image capturing process. The process is also performed by the display control unit 211 c unless otherwise mentioned.
- step S 41 in FIG. 11 First, whether the shutter button 9 is half-pressed or not is determined (step S 41 in FIG. 11). When YES, the program advances to the next step. When NO, the image capturing process is finished.
- step S 42 Whether the mode set value (s) is “3” or not is determined (step S 42 in FIG. 11).
- the program advances to step S 44 .
- NO the program advances to step S 43 .
- the AE, AF, and WB processes are performed on the image data in the image memory 209 under the control of the AF control unit 211 d , AE control unit 211 e , and WB control unit 211 f , the lens position, aperture value, and shutter speed are set, and the WB parameters are obtained (step S 43 in FIG. 11). After that, the program advances to step S 46 .
- step S 42 when it is determined in step S 42 that the mode set value (s) is “3”, the data in the central area of Int(1600/m) ⁇ Int(1200/m) pixels in the image data in the image memory 209 is developed to the work RAM 211 a (step S 44 in FIG. 11).
- the AE, AF, and WB processes are performed on the image data in the work RAM 211 a under the control of the AF control unit 211 d , AE control unit 211 e , and WB control unit 211 f , the lens position, aperture value, and shutter speed are set, and the WB parameters are obtained (step S 45 in FIG. 11).
- step S 46 in FIG. 11 Whether the shutter button 9 is fully pressed or not is determined (step S 46 in FIG. 11). When YES, the program advances to the next step. When NO, the image capturing process is finished.
- the image data is obtained and temporarily stored in the image memory 209 (step S 47 in FIG. 11).
- the WB circuit 207 executes the WB process on the image data in the image memory 209 with the WB parameters obtained by the WB control unit 211 f (step S 48 in FIG. 11).
- the obtained image data is recorded in the memory card (step S 49 in FIG. 11) and the image capturing process is finished.
- FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing a procedure of the ending process. The process is also executed by the display control unit 211 c.
- the display control unit 211 c writes the current mode set value (s) to the flash ROM 211 b (step S 51 in FIG. 12).
- the display control unit 211 c writes the EVF display magnification (m) into the flash ROM 211 b (step S 52 in FIG. 12).
- the display control unit 211 c turns off the display on the LCD 10 and the EVF 20 (step S 53 in FIG. 12). This is the end of the description of the processes from the turn-on of the power of the digital camera 1 A to the turn-off of the power.
- the digital camera 1 A according to the first preferred embodiment corresponding to the electronic camera of the present invention has the third display mode in which the whole captured image is displayed on the LCD 10 as the first display and only the central area CA in the captured image is displayed on the EVF 20 as the second display. Consequently, the image capturing range can be confirmed by the LCD 10 and the focus can be confirmed by the EVF 20 . Thus, the operability is excellent and an image can be captured efficiently.
- the central area CA is in the center of the captured image, in the case of capturing an image in which the subject is positioned in the center, whether the focus is on the subject or not can be confirmed.
- the whole image is displayed on the LCD 10 having a large screen and the center image is displayed on the EVF 20 of high resolution.
- the displays are adapted to the confirmation of the image capturing range and the confirmation of the focus.
- the central area CA is an area which is referred to at the time of automatic focusing by an automatic focusing mechanism (automatic focusing means), accurate focus on the main subject can be confirmed also in an auto-focus camera.
- the central area CA is an area referred to upon adjustment of automatic exposure by an automatic exposure adjusting mechanism (automatic exposure adjusting means). Consequently, the result of the automatic exposure adjustment on the main subject can be confirmed also in an AE (automatic exposure) camera.
- the central area CA is an area referred to upon automatic white balance adjustment by a white balance adjusting mechanism (white balance adjusting means)
- the result of the automatic white balance adjustment on the main subject can be confirmed by a WB (automatic white balance adjusting) camera.
- the central area CA is variable, the range of an image displayed on the EVF 20 , that is, the ratio of the main subject to a whole image can be changed according to the intention of the user.
- the EVF 20 displays the same area as that displayed on the EVF 20 at the time of the turn-off of the power last time, that is, it is controlled so that an image is displayed in the same display mode at the same EVF display magnification. Consequently, when the power of the digital camera 1 A is turned off and is again turned on, it is unnecessary for the user to set the same area as that at the time of turn-off of the power, so that the operation is facilitated.
- the frame corresponding to the central area CA is displayed on the LCD 10 .
- the range of the main subject can be therefore easily recognized.
- the enlarged display icon as a notification image for notifying the user of the third display mode is displayed on at least one of the LCD 10 and the EVF 20 , it can be confirmed that the range of image capturing is not limited to the central portion, so that the user can be prevented from being confused.
- the mode is switched to the zeroth display mode, thereby finishing the image display on the LCD 10 .
- the EVF 20 finishes the display of an image of the central area CA and displays the whole image.
- a problem such that the image capturing range and the display range do not coincide with each other can be eliminated.
- FIG. 13 is a construction diagram of a display system 100 according to a second preferred embodiment of the invention.
- the display system 100 mainly has a digital camera 1 B and the external monitor 223 which are similar to those in the first preferred embodiment (refer to FIGS. 1 to 4 ).
- the external monitor terminal 222 of the digital camera 1 B and an input terminal 223 a of the external monitor 223 via a cable, the zeroth to fourth display modes in the first preferred embodiment can be realized by the LCD 10 of the digital camera 1 B and the external monitor 223 .
- an image displayed on the LCD in the digital camera according to the first preferred embodiment is displayed on the external monitor 223
- an image displayed on the EVF in the digital camera according to the first preferred embodiment is displayed on the LCD 10 .
- a display control unit 211 j of the digital camera 1 B according to the second preferred embodiment is slightly different from the display control unit 211 c of the digital camera according to the first preferred embodiment.
- FIG. 14 is a partial block diagram of the digital camera 1 B according to the second preferred embodiment.
- a display switching unit 211 j 1 is provided in the display control unit 211 j of the digital camera 1 B of the second preferred embodiment.
- the display switching unit 211 j 1 detects whether the external monitor 223 is connected to the external monitor terminal 222 or not. When it is determined that the external monitor 223 is connected to the external monitor terminal 222 , the display switching unit 211 j 1 turns off the EVF 20 and switches between image data outputted to the VRAM 210 and that outputted to the VRAM 220 .
- images can be displayed on the LCD 10 and the external monitor 223 in the zeroth to fourth display modes in a manner similar to those in the first preferred embodiment.
- the third display mode only an image in the central area CA in an image displayed on the external monitor 223 can be enlargedly displayed on the LCD 10 . The image can be seen at hand, so that the focus can be accurately confirmed.
- the display system 100 has the digital camera 1 B as an electronic camera having the LCD 10 and the external monitor 223 as a display device capable of displaying an image captured by the digital camera in a state where the external monitor 223 is connected to the digital camera 1 B for communications.
- the central area CA of an image displayed on the external monitor 223 is enlargedly displayed on the LCD 10 of the digital camera 1 B. Consequently, the image capturing range can be confirmed on the external monitor 223 and the accurate focus can be confirmed on the LCD 10 of the digital camera.
- the operability is excellent and an image can be efficiently captured.
- the enlarged display icon is displayed only on the LCD in the first preferred embodiment, it may be displayed only on the EVF or on both the LCD and the EVF.
- the position is not limited to the central area. It is also possible to provide a designating mechanism (designating means) for designating a display position and to display an arbitrary portion in a whole image in accordance with designation of the user.
- the LCD 10 may display a whole captured image and the external monitor 223 may enlargedly display the central area CA.
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Abstract
Description
- This application is based on application No. 11-355901 filed in Japan, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
- 1. Field of the Invention
- The present invention relates to an electronic camera having a first display and a second display, and a display system having an electronic camera including displays and a display device capable of displaying an image captured by the electronic camera in a state where the display device is connected to the electronic camera for communications.
- 2. Description of the Background Art
- In an electronic camera, to respond the demand for higher picture quality, the number of pixels is increasing. On the other hand, the size of the display (display means) of an electronic camera is limited due to the limitation of the size of the camera. The number of pixels for display is accordingly limited.
- Under such circumstances, it is becoming difficult to confirm focus in the display device. Even in the case of an auto-focus camera, it is indispensable to confirm focus to obtain an image as intended.
- Although there is a technique of facilitating confirmation of focus by enlargedly displaying an image on a display, such a technique has a problem that the image capturing range cannot be confirmed at the time of confirming focus.
- On the other hand, an electronic camera which displays an image by switching two kinds of displays of an EVF (Electronic View Finder) and an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) is being practically used.
- In an electronic camera having the EVF and the LCD, however, when one of the displays is used, the other display is in an OFF state. It is difficult to say that sufficient consideration has been given to proper use of the displays. Although there are a plurality of displays, the confirmation of focus and the confirmation of the image capturing range cannot be concurrently made, so that an image cannot be efficiently captured.
- The present invention is directed to provide an electronic camera.
- The electronic camera includes: a first display capable of displaying a captured image; a second display capable of displaying the captured image, having a display size smaller than that of the first display; a first display controller for displaying an image in a first area in the captured image on the first display; and a second display controller for displaying an image in a second area narrower than the first area in the captured image onto the second display.
- According to an aspect of the invention, the first area in the electronic camera corresponds to a whole area of the captured image, and the second area corresponds to a central area in the captured image. Consequently, in the case of capturing an image in which the subject is positioned in the center, whether focus is accurately achieved on the subject or not can be confirmed.
- According to another aspect of the invention, the second area in the electronic camera is variable. Consequently, the range to be displayed on the second display can be changed according to the intention of the user.
- According to further another aspect of the invention, the electronic camera further has a memory for storing information in the second area, and the second display controller displays an image in the second area based on information stored in the memory onto the second display when power is turned on. Consequently, when the power of the electronic camera is turned off and is again turned on, the user does not have to set the same area as that at the time of turn-off of the power. It facilitates the operation.
- The present invention also provides a display control method of an electronic camera having a first display capable of displaying a captured image and a second display capable of displaying a captured image having a display size smaller than that of the first display.
- The display control method has the steps of: capturing an image of a subject; displaying an image in a first area in a captured image on the first display; and displaying an image in a second area narrower than the first area in the captured image on the second display.
- Further, the present invention also provides a display system having an electronic camera and an external display device capable of displaying an image captured by the electronic camera in a state where the display device is connected to the electronic camera.
- The display system has: a first display capable of displaying a captured image; a second display capable of displaying the captured image; a first display controller for displaying an image in a first area in the captured image onto the first display; and a second display controller for enlargedly displaying an image in a second area narrower than the first area in the captured image onto the second display.
- Consequently, the image capturing range can be confirmed on the first display, and the focus can be accurately confirmed on the second display, so that the operability is excellent and an image can be efficiently captured.
- As described above, the invention intends to solve the problems in the conventional techniques and provides an electronic camera and a display system capable of confirming both an image capturing range and focus and efficiently capturing an image.
- These and other objects, features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the present invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
- FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the configuration of a
digital camera 1A according to a preferred embodiment of the invention; - FIG. 2 is a cross section taken along the line II-II of FIG. 1;
- FIG. 3 is a rear view showing the configuration of the
digital camera 1A according to the preferred embodiment of the invention; - FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram of the
digital camera 1A; - FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the internal functions realized by the whole including an CPU and memories in an
overall control unit 211A; - FIG. 6 is a diagram showing data arrangement of a memory card;
- FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the procedure of an initial setting when power is turned on;
- FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the procedure of a display mode switching control process;
- FIGS. 9A and 9B illustrate a display screen on an LCD and a display screen on an EVF, respectively, in a third display mode;
- FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the procedure of a display magnification setting process;
- FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the procedure of an image capturing process;
- FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the procedure of an ending process;
- FIG. 13 is a configuration diagram of a display system according to a second preferred embodiment of the invention; and
- FIG. 14 is a partial block diagram of a digital camera according to the second preferred embodiment.
- Preferred embodiments of the invention will be described hereinbelow with reference to the drawings.
- <Configuration of Digital Camera>
- FIGS.1 to 3 are diagrams each showing the configuration of a
digital camera 1A (1B) according to a preferred embodiment of the invention. FIG. 1 is a plan view, FIG. 2 is a cross section taken along the line II-II of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a rear view. The drawings are not always according to triangular diagrams but mainly aim at conceptually showing the configuration of thedigital camera 1A as an example. - As shown in the diagrams, the
digital camera 1A has a structure mainly divided into acamera body 2 having an almost rectangular parallelepiped shape and animage pickup unit 3. - The
image pickup unit 3 is provided with animage pickup circuit 302 having a CCDcolor area sensor 303 in a proper position behind alens group 30 having a macro function as image pickup lenses. Thelens group 30 includes azoom lens 300 and a focusinglens 301. - On the other hand, the
camera body 2 has therein a motor M1 for zooming which changes the zoom ratio of thezoom lens 300 and moves thezoom lens 300 between an enclosed position and an image pickup position and a motor M2 for obtaining focus by driving the focusinglens 301. - A grip G is provided on the front face of the
camera body 2. In a proper position at the upper end of thecamera body 2, a pop-up type built-inflash 5 is provided. A shutter button 9 is provided on the top face of thecamera body 2. - On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3, a liquid crystal display (LCD)10 and an electronic view finder (EVF) 20 for displaying a live view of a captured image, reproducing a recorded image, and the like in an almost center position are provided on the rear face of the
camera body 2. TheLCD 10 has a width of 4 cm and a length of 3 cm. TheEVF 20 enlargedly displays a liquid crystal display having a width of 1.2 cm and a length of 0.9 cm by an eyepiece. In theLCD 10 and theEVF 20, an image is displayed in color. On the rear face of thecamera body 2, an image capturing/reproducingmode setting switch 14 for switching and setting “image capturing mode (REC mode)” and “reproducing mode (Play mode)” is provided. The image capturing mode is a mode of taking a picture, and the reproducing mode is a mode of reproducing and displaying the captured image recorded in amemory card 8 onto theLCD 10. The image capturing/reproducingmode setting switch 14 is ridable in the vertical direction. When theswitch 14 is positioned on the upper side, the image capturing mode is set. When theswitch 14 is positioned on the lower side, the reproducing mode is set. When theswitch 14 is positioned in the middle, the power can be turned off. - A four-
way switch 35 is provided on the right side of the rear face of thedigital camera 1A. By pressing the buttons L and R, the motor M1 is driven for zooming. By pressing buttons U, D, L, and R, various operations which will be described hereinlater are performed. - An
LCD button 31, adetermination button 32, acancellation button 33, and amenu button 34 are provided on the rear face of thecamera body 2. TheLCD button 31 is a button to turn on/off the LCD display or the EVF display. Each time theLCD button 31 is depressed, the display mode is switched between the LCD display and the EVF display (which will be described in detail hereinlater). - On a side face of the
camera body 2, anexternal monitor terminal 222 is provided. Theexternal monitor terminal 222 is a terminal for transferring image data from thedigital camera 1A to an external monitor 223 (refer to FIG. 4). - As shown in FIG. 1, the
memory card 8 can be inserted to thedigital camera 1A. Thedigital camera 1A uses a power supply battery E in which four AA cells E1 to E4 are connected in series as a drive source. - <Functional Blocks of
Digital Camera 1A> - FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram of the
digital camera 1A. In FIG. 4, aCCD 303 photoelectrically converts an optical image of a subject formed by thelens group 30 into an image signal (made by a signal train of pixel signals received by pixels) of color components of R (red), G (green), and B (blue) and outputs the image signal. Atiming generator 314 generates various timing pulses for controlling the driving of theCCD 303. - An exposure control in the
image pickup unit 3 is performed by adjusting the aperture size of thelens group 30 by anaperture control driver 306 and exposure of theCCD 303 by thetiming generator 314, that is, charge storing time of theCCD 303 corresponding to a shutter speed. In the case where a proper shutter speed cannot be set when the luminance of the subject is low, by adjusting the level of the image signal outputted from theCCD 303, improper exposure due to insufficient exposure is corrected. In other words, at the time of low luminance, the exposure control is performed by adjusting both the shutter speed and the gain adjustment. The level adjustment of the image signal is performed by adjusting the gain of an AGC circuit in asignal processing circuit 313. - The
timing generator 314 generates a control signal for driving theCCD 303 on the basis of a reference clock transmitted from atiming control circuit 202. Thetiming generator 314 generates, for example, a timing signal of start/end of integration (start/end of exposure), read control signals of photoreception signals of pixels (horizontal synchronizing signal, vertical synchronizing signal, transfer signal, and the like), and the like and outputs the generated signal to theCCD 303. - The
signal processing circuit 313 performs a predetermined analog signal process on an image signal (analog signal) outputted from theCCD 303. Thesignal processing circuit 313 has a CDS (correlation double sampling) circuit and an AGC (automatic gain control) circuit, reduces noises of the image signal by the CDS circuit, and adjusts the level of the image signal by adjusting the gain of the AGC circuit. - A
light control circuit 304 controls a light emission amount of the built-inflash 5 in flash shooting to a predetermined light emission amount set by anoverall control unit 211A. In the flash shooting, simultaneously with start of exposure, reflection light of flash light from the subject is received by alight control sensor 305. When the light receiving amount reaches a predetermined light emission amount, a light emission stop signal is outputted from thelight control circuit 304, and the light emission of the built-inflash 5 is forcedly stopped in response to the light emission stop signal, thereby controlling the light emission amount of the built-inflash 5 to the predetermined light emission amount. - An A/
D converter 205 converts each of pixel signals of the image signal to a 12-bit digital signal. The A/D converter 205 converts each pixel signal (analog signal) to a 12-bit digital signal on the basis of a clock for A/D conversion supplied from thetiming control circuit 202. - The
timing control circuit 202 is provided to generate clocks to thetiming generator 314 and the A/D converter 205. Thetiming control circuit 202 is controlled by a reference clock in theoverall control unit 211A. - A black
level correcting circuit 206 corrects the black level of the pixel signal which has been subjected to the A/D conversion to a reference black level. A WB (white balance)circuit 207 shifts the level of pixel data of color components of R, G, and B. TheWB circuit 207 shifts the level of the pixel data of each of color components of R, G, and B by using a level shifting table supplied from theoverall control unit 211A. A shift coefficient (gradient of characteristic) of each color component (hereinbelow, called a “WB parameter”) in the level shifting table is automatically or manually set every captured image by theoverall control unit 211A. - A
γ correction circuit 208 corrects the gradation of the pixel data. Theγ correction circuit 208 performs correction adapted to the γ characteristics of a monitor for a general personal computer. - An
image memory 209 is a memory for storing the pixel data outputted from theγ correction circuit 208. Theimage memory 209 has a storage capacity of one frame. Specifically, theimage memory 209 has a storage capacity of pixel data of 1600×1200 pixels corresponding to the number of pixels of theCCD 303 and each pixel data is stored in a corresponding pixel position. - A
VRAM 210 is a buffer memory of image data to be displayed on theLCD 10. TheVRAM 210 has a storage capacity of image data corresponding to the number of pixels (400×300) of theLCD 10. - A
VRAM 220 is a buffer memory of image data to be displayed on theEVF 20. TheVRAM 220 has a storage capacity of image data corresponding to the number of pixels (640×480) of theEVF 20. - In an image capturing standby state, each of pixel data of an image captured every {fraction (1/30)} second by the
image pickup unit 3 is subjected to predetermined signal processes by the A/D converter 205, blacklevel correcting circuit 206,WB circuit 207, andγ correcting circuit 208. After that, resultant data is temporarily stored in theimage memory 209, also transferred to theVRAMs overall control unit 211A, and displayed on theLCD 10 and the EVF 20 (live view display). - Consequently, the user can visually recognize the image of the subject. In a reproduction mode, an image read from the
memory card 8 is subjected to a predetermined signal process by theoverall control unit 211A. After that, a resultant image is transferred to theVRAM 210 and is reproduced and displayed on theLCD 10. An image is similarly displayed also on theEVF 20. - A card I/
F 212 is an interface for writing and reading image data to/from thememory card 8. An I/F 224 for communication is an interface conformed to, for example, the USB standard for connecting apersonal computer 225 to the outside for communications. Control programs recorded on recording media such as thememory card 8 and a CD-ROM 226 can be loaded into theoverall control unit 211A via the card I/F 212 and the I/F 224 for communication. - An
RTC 219 is a clock circuit for managing date and time of image capturing and is driven by another power source (not shown). - An
operating unit 250 is constructed by the above-described various switches, buttons, and the like such as the shutter button 9,LCD button 31, anddetermination button 32. - The shutter button9 is a switch of two levels capable of detecting a half-pressed state and a fully-pressed state, which is adopted in a camera for silver halide film. When the shutter button 9 is half-pressed in a standby state, automatic focusing control (AF), automatic exposure (AE), and white balance (WB) adjustment are performed under the control of the
overall control unit 211A as will be described hereinlater. - An
NTSC converter 221 converts an image signal stored in theVRAM 220 into a signal of the NTSC system format and transfers a resultant signal to theEVF 20 and theexternal monitor 223 via theexternal monitor terminal 222. In a state where theexternal monitor 223 is connected to theexternal monitor terminal 222, the same image as that on theEVF 20 is displayed on theexternal monitor 223. - The
overall control unit 211A takes the form of a microcomputer having therein awork RAM 211 a made by a DRAM, aflash ROM 211 b and CPU, organically controls the driving of the above-described members of thedigital camera 1A, and has centralized control of image capturing operations of thedigital camera 1A. - FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing internal functions realized by the whole including a CPU and memories in the
overall control unit 211A. Theoverall control unit 211A has adisplay control unit 211 c. In an image capturing mode, thedisplay control unit 211 c performs a display control of theLCD 10 and theEVF 20 in accordance with each of the zeroth to fourth display modes on the basis of a mode set value which will be described hereinlater. When the power of thedigital camera 1A is OFF, thedisplay control unit 211 c stores the mode set value s, an EVF display magnification m, and the like into theflash ROM 211 b. On the contrary, when the power of thedigital camera 1A is ON, thedisplay control unit 211 c reads the mode set value s, the EVF display magnification m, and the like at the time of turn-off of the power last time from theflash ROM 211 b and, in accordance with the read values, performs the display control of theLCD 10 and theEVF 20 in the display mode and the magnification at the time of turn-off of the power last time. - The
display control unit 211 c has aunit 211 c 1 for changing the number of pixels (hereinbelow, number of pixels changing unit), aframe display unit 211 c 2, and anicon display unit 211c 3. - In the third display mode (which will be described hereinlater) for enlargedly displaying an image in the central area of the
LCD 10 onto theEVF 20, the number ofpixels changing unit 211 c 1 stores image data which has been subjected to a thinning (interpolating) process which will be described hereinlater into thework RAM 211 a and theVRAM 220, thereby displaying an enlarged image obtained by enlarging the central area of an image by theEVF 20. - The
frame display unit 211 c 2 superimposes a frame image on image data read from theimage memory 209 and writes a resultant image into theVRAM 210 so as to display an image of a frame (which will be described hereinlater) indicative of a range of an image displayed on theEVF 20 in the third display mode onto theLCD 10. - The
icon display unit 211 c 3 superimposes an enlarged display icon (which will be described hereinlater) indicating that the central area of the image is enlargedly displayed on theEVF 20 in the third display mode on the image data to be displayed on theLCD 10 and writes a resultant image onto theVRAM 210. - An
AF control unit 211 d, anAE control unit 211 e, and aWB control unit 211 f are connected to thedisplay control unit 211 c. When the shutter button 9 is half-pressed in the image capturing mode, thedisplay control unit 211 c controls those control units so as to perform AF, AE, and WB, respectively, with reference to image data in theimage memory 209 in the zeroth, first, second and fourth display modes which will be described hereinlater and with reference to the image data in thework RAM 211 a in the third display mode. - The
AF control unit 211 d achieves focus by reading out image data stored in theimage memory 209 or thework RAM 211 a, and moving the lenses by driving the motors M1 and M2 so that the contrast of the image becomes the highest. At this time, as a control method to make the contrast the highest, a known technique such as hill-climbing or the like can be used. - The
AE control unit 211 e has therein aluminance determining unit 211e 1 and an exposureamount setting unit 211e 2 for setting exposure control values (shutter speed (SS) and aperture value). The luminance is obtained from image data stored in theimage memory 209 or thework RAM 211 a by theluminance determining unit 211e 1. The exposureamount setting unit 211e 2 adjusts the exposure by setting an aperture value and SS adapted to theaperture control driver 306 and thetiming control circuit 202. - The
WB control unit 211 f obtains WB parameters from the image data stored in theimage memory 209 or thework RAM 211 a and sets the WB parameters in aWB circuit 207. With the WB parameters, theWB circuit 207 performs a WB process on the image data obtained by theCCD 303. - Further, in order to perform a process of recording the captured image, the
overall control unit 211A has afilter unit 211 g for performing a filtering process and a recordingimage generating unit 211 h for generating a thumbnail image and a compressed image. In order to reproduce the image recorded on thememory card 8 onto theLCD 10 andEVF 20, theoverall control unit 211A has a reproduction image generating unit 211 i for generating a reproduction image. - The
filter unit 211 g is used to correct the picture quality regarding an edge of subject by correcting high frequency components of an image to be recorded by a digital filter. - The recording
image generating unit 211 h reads pixel data from theimage memory 209 and generates a thumbnail image and a compressed image to be recorded in thememory card 8. The recordingimage generating unit 211 h reads the pixel data every 8 pixels in both of the lateral and vertical directions from theimage memory 209 and sequentially transfers the read pixel data to thememory card 8, thereby recording the thumbnail image to thememory card 8 while generating the thumbnail image. - The recording
image generating unit 211 h reads all of pixel data from theimage memory 209, performs a predetermined compressing process according to the JPEG system such as two-dimensional DCT or Huffman coding on the pixel data to thereby generate image data of a compressed image, and records the compressed image data into a main image area in thememory card 8. - When image capture is instructed by the shutter button9 in the image capturing mode, the
overall control unit 211A generates a thumbnail image of an image captured in theimage memory 209 after the instruction of the image capture and a compression image compressed according to the JPEG system at a set compression ratio, and stores both of the images with information such as tag information related to the captured image (frame number, exposure value, shutter speed, compression ratio, date of image capture, data related to on/off of a flash at the time of image capture, scene information, determination result of an image, and the like) into thememory card 8. - In each of the frames of the image recorded by the
digital camera 1A, the tag portion, high-resolution image data (1600×1200 pixels) compressed in the JPEG system, and image data (80×60 pixels) for displaying a thumbnail image are recorded. - When the image capturing/reproducing
mode setting switch 14 is set to the reproducing mode, image data of the largest frame number in thememory card 8 is read and decompressed by the reproduction image generating unit 211 i, and the resultant data is transferred to theVRAMs LCD 10 orEVF 20. By operating the button U, an image of a larger frame number is displayed. By pressing the button D, an image of a smaller frame number is displayed. - FIG. 6 is a diagram showing data arrangement of the
memory card 8. As shown in FIG. 6, thememory card 8 can store images stored by thedigital camera 1A of 230 frames at a compression ratio of 1/20. In each of the frames, tag information, high resolution image signals (640×480 pixels) compressed in the JPEG system, and image signals (80×60 pixels) for displaying a thumbnail image are recorded. The signals can be dealt as an image file of, for example, an EXIF format on a frame unit basis. - <Display Control in Image Capturing Mode>
- A display control in the image capturing mode of the
digital camera 1A according to the preferred embodiment will be described hereinbelow. - When the power is turned on in a state where the
digital camera 1A is set in the image capturing mode, first, a process of initial setting is performed. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a procedure of the initial setting when the power is turned on. The process is performed by thedisplay control unit 211 c. - First, the mode set value (s) at the time of turn-off of the power last time is read from the
flash ROM 211 b (step S1 in FIG. 7). The mode set value is a value for designating the display mode of theEVF 20 and theLCD 10 in the image capturing mode. In thedigital camera 1A, the mode set value (s) varies from “0” to “4”. The display modes designated by the mode set values (s) from “0” to “4” are called the zeroth to fourth display modes, respectively, hereinbelow. In the zeroth to fourth display modes, the display states of theEVF 20 and theLCD 10 are as shown in Table 1.TABLE 1 Mode set values (Display mode) EVF LCD 0 (zeroth display mode) Live view display m = 1 Off 1 (first display mode) Off Live view display 2 (second display mode) Live view display m = 1 Live view display 3 (third display mode) Live view display Live view display (central area enlargedly (frame and enlarged display) m: Set value display icon display) 4 (fourth display mode) Live view display m = 1 Camera status display - In Table 1, the EVF display magnification (m) expresses a display magnification for an image displayed on the
LCD 10 of the image displayed on theEVF 20. - The mode set value s=0 (zeroth display mode) is a display mode in which the
EVF 20 displays a live view (m=1) and theLCD 10 is OFF. - The mode set value s=1 (first display mode) is a display mode in which the
EVF 20 is OFF and theLCD 10 displays a live view. - The mode set value s=2 (second display mode) is a display mode in which the
EVF 20 displays a live view (m=1) and theLCD 10 displays a live view. - The mode set value s=3(third display mode) is a display mode in which the
EVF 20 displays a live view (by enlargedly displaying the central area and setting the EVF display magnification (m) to a set value) and theLCD 10 displays a live view (with a display area frame of the EVF 20). - The mode set value s=4 (fourth display mode) is a display mode in which the
EVF 20 displays a live view (m=1) and theLCD 10 displays a camera status as information regarding an image capturing mode setting state. - Subsequently, whether the mode set value (s) is “3” or not is determined (step S2 in FIG. 7). When YES, the program advances to step S3. When NO, the program advances to step S4.
- In the case where the mode set value (s) is 3, the EVF display magnification (m) at the time of turn-off of the power last time which is stored in the
flash ROM 211 b (the data corresponds to area data at the time of turn-off) is read (step S3 in FIG. 7). - Whether an image is displayed or not in the
LCD 10 and theEVF 20 is controlled in practice on the basis of the setting (step S4 in FIG. 7). - After that, the initial setting process upon turn-on of the power is finished. As described above, the
digital camera 1A in the preferred embodiment displays an image on theEVF 20 in the display mode and the EVF display magnification at the time of turn-off of the power last time, so that the area in the whole image displayed on theEVF 20 is the same as that at time of the turn-off of the power last time. - The display mode switching control will now be described. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the display mode switching process. In the
digital camera 1A, each time theLCD button 31 is pressed, “1” is added to the mode set value so as to switch the display mode. A control of returning the mode set value to “0” when the mode set value reaches “5” is performed by thedisplay control unit 211 c. - First, whether the
LCD button 31 is depressed or not is determined (step S11 in FIG. 8). When NO, the display mode switching control process is finished. When YES, the program advances to the next step. - Subsequently, “1” is added to the mode set value (s) (step S12 in FIG. 8).
- Whether the mode set value (s) is 5 or not is determined (step S13 in FIG. 8). When the mode set value is not “5”, the display mode switching control process is finished. When YES, the program advances to the next step.
- The mode set value (s) is set to “0” (step S14 in FIG. 8).
- After that, the display mode switching control process is finished.
- As described above, the
digital camera 1A can perform various displays by theLCD 10 and theEVF 20. The number of pixels of captured image data, the number of pixels in theLCD 10, and the number of pixels in theEVF 20 are different from each other. In order to display an image on theEVF 20 or theLCD 10, it is therefore necessary to perform a process of thinning or interpolating the image data. The number ofpixels changing unit 211 c 1 consequently reads out image data in theimage memory 209 and perform the process of thinning (interpolating) the data. The process of thinning image data to be displayed on theEVF 20 or theLCD 10 will be described hereinbelow. The thinning (interpolating) process is performed by the number ofpixels changing unit 211 c 1 in thedisplay control unit 211 c. - When the enlarged display in the
EVF 20 is not performed, a thinning process to a quarter is performed on image data having pixels of 1600×1200 in the image memory 209 (by leaving only one pixel every four pixels and deleting the other pixels), and the resultant data is stored in theVRAM 210 as image data of 400×300 pixels, thereby displaying the image on theLCD 10. A thinning process to 2/5 (by leaving only two pixels out of five pixels and deleting the other pixels) is performed on image data of 1600×1200 pixels in theimage memory 209 and storing the resultant image data as image data of 640×480 pixels into theVRAM 220, thereby displaying the image data on theEVF 20. - The interpolating or thinning process of image data executed in the mode set value (s) of 3 (third display mode), that is, at the time of enlargedly displaying the central area of a displayed image on the
LCD 10 by theEVF 20 will now be described. - FIG. 9A shows a display screen of the
LCD 10 in the third display mode. FIG. 9B shows a display screen of theEVF 20 displaying an image obtained by enlarging the central area of the display image on theLCD 10 by twice. In thedigital camera 1A according to the preferred embodiment, theLCD 10 has 400×300 pixels and theEVF 20 has 640×480 pixels. In the case of enlargedly displaying an image on theEVF 20, theLCD 10 displays a whole image and superimposes the image in a frame F in the central area CA corresponding to the display range of theEVF 20. Specifically, by writing image data in the frame F into an area of Int(400/m)×Int(300/m) pixels corresponding to the central area in theVRAM 210, the frame F is displayed. Int(a) is a function indicative of an integer part of a numerical value (a). - Further, the
LCD 10 displays an enlarged display icon L1 indicative of the enlarged display mode (mode set value s=3) on the upper right part in the screen. For this purpose, image data of the enlarged display icon is written in the area of theVRAM 210 corresponding to the right upper part in the image. - In order to display an enlarged image on the
EVF 20, the image data in the central area of only the Int(1600/m)×Int(1200/m) pixels in the image data of 1600×1200 pixels in theimage memory 209 is developed to thework RAM 211 a. The data in thework RAM 211 a is subjected to a 2/5 m thinning (or interpolating) process and the resultant data is transferred to theVRAM 220. As described above, theAF control unit 211 d, theAE control unit 211 e, and theWB control unit 211 f perform the AF control, AE control, and WB control, respectively, on the image data developed in thework RAM 211 a. - When the user changes the EVF display magnification (m), the range of the central area is changed by a process as described above (to a central area CA2 or the like), the size of the frame is also changed (to a frame F2 or the like), and the display range on the
EVF 20 is accordingly changed. - A display magnification setting process will now be described. In the case of changing the display magnification, the user presses the buttons L and R, thereby enabling the display magnification on the
EVF 20 to be changed. Thedisplay control unit 211 c decreases the value of m by one step (on the unit basis of 0.1) when the button L is pressed, and increases the value of m by one step (on the unit basis of 0.1) when the button R is pressed. (m) is set in a range from 1 to 10. The EVF display magnification (m) does not change to values out of the range. The procedure will be described hereinbelow. - FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the display magnification setting process. The process is also performed by the
display control unit 211 c unless otherwise mentioned. - First, whether the button L is pressed or not is determined (step S21 in FIG. 10). When NO, the program advances to step S24. When YES, the program advances to the next step.
- Whether the EVF display magnification (m) is 1 or not is determined (step S22 in FIG. 10). When YES, the program advances to step S24. When NO, the program advances to the next step.
- “0.1” is subtracted from the EVF display magnification (m) (step S23 in FIG. 10).
- Whether the button R is pressed or not is determined (step S24 in FIG. 10). When YES, the program advances to the next step. When NO, the program advances to step S27.
- Whether the EVF display magnification (m) is “10” or not is determined (step S25 in FIG. 10). When YES, the program advances to step S27. When NO, the program advances to the next step.
- “0.1” is added to the EVF display magnification (m) (step S26 in FIG. 10).
- The number of
pixels changing unit 211 c 1 performs a 2/5 m thinning (interpolating) process on the data in theimage memory 209 and transfers the resultant data to the VRAM 220 (step S27 in FIG. 10). - Whether the EVF display magnification (m) is “1” or not is determined (step S28 in FIG. 10). When YES, the program advances to the next step. When NO, the program advances to step S29.
- The
frame display unit 211 c 2 writes the image data of the frame and theicon display unit 211 c 3 writes the image data of the enlarged display icon to the image data stored in the VRAM 210 (step S29 in FIG. 10), and the display magnification setting process is finished. - On the contrary, when it is determined in step S28 that the EVF display magnification (m) is “1”, whether the frame and the enlarged display icon are displayed or not is determined (step S30 in FIG. 10). When YES, the program advances to the next step. When NO, the display magnification setting process is finished.
- The number of
pixels changing unit 211 c 1 performs the thinning of “¼” on the image data in theimage memory 209, overwrites the resultant data on theVRAM 210, and erases the frame and the enlarged display icon (step S31 in FIG. 10). - In the enlarged display mode (third display mode), the WB process, the AF process, and the AE process are performed on the image in the area (central area) displayed on the
EVF 20. The procedure will be described hereinbelow. - FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the procedure of an image capturing process. The process is also performed by the
display control unit 211 c unless otherwise mentioned. - First, whether the shutter button9 is half-pressed or not is determined (step S41 in FIG. 11). When YES, the program advances to the next step. When NO, the image capturing process is finished.
- Whether the mode set value (s) is “3” or not is determined (step S42 in FIG. 11). When YES, the program advances to step S44. When NO, the program advances to step S43.
- The AE, AF, and WB processes are performed on the image data in the
image memory 209 under the control of theAF control unit 211 d,AE control unit 211 e, andWB control unit 211 f, the lens position, aperture value, and shutter speed are set, and the WB parameters are obtained (step S43 in FIG. 11). After that, the program advances to step S46. - On the contrary, when it is determined in step S42 that the mode set value (s) is “3”, the data in the central area of Int(1600/m)×Int(1200/m) pixels in the image data in the
image memory 209 is developed to thework RAM 211 a (step S44 in FIG. 11). - Subsequently, the AE, AF, and WB processes are performed on the image data in the
work RAM 211 a under the control of theAF control unit 211 d,AE control unit 211 e, andWB control unit 211 f, the lens position, aperture value, and shutter speed are set, and the WB parameters are obtained (step S45 in FIG. 11). - Whether the shutter button9 is fully pressed or not is determined (step S46 in FIG. 11). When YES, the program advances to the next step. When NO, the image capturing process is finished.
- Subsequently, the image data is obtained and temporarily stored in the image memory209 (step S47 in FIG. 11).
- The
WB circuit 207 executes the WB process on the image data in theimage memory 209 with the WB parameters obtained by theWB control unit 211 f (step S48 in FIG. 11). - Finally, the obtained image data is recorded in the memory card (step S49 in FIG. 11) and the image capturing process is finished.
- An ending process when the power of the
digital camera 1A is turned off will now be described. - FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing a procedure of the ending process. The process is also executed by the
display control unit 211 c. - First, the
display control unit 211 c writes the current mode set value (s) to theflash ROM 211 b (step S51 in FIG. 12). - The
display control unit 211 c writes the EVF display magnification (m) into theflash ROM 211 b (step S52 in FIG. 12). - Finally, the
display control unit 211 c turns off the display on theLCD 10 and the EVF 20 (step S53 in FIG. 12). This is the end of the description of the processes from the turn-on of the power of thedigital camera 1A to the turn-off of the power. - As described above, the
digital camera 1A according to the first preferred embodiment corresponding to the electronic camera of the present invention has the third display mode in which the whole captured image is displayed on theLCD 10 as the first display and only the central area CA in the captured image is displayed on theEVF 20 as the second display. Consequently, the image capturing range can be confirmed by theLCD 10 and the focus can be confirmed by theEVF 20. Thus, the operability is excellent and an image can be captured efficiently. - Since the central area CA is in the center of the captured image, in the case of capturing an image in which the subject is positioned in the center, whether the focus is on the subject or not can be confirmed.
- In the third display mode, the whole image is displayed on the
LCD 10 having a large screen and the center image is displayed on theEVF 20 of high resolution. The displays are adapted to the confirmation of the image capturing range and the confirmation of the focus. - Since the central area CA is an area which is referred to at the time of automatic focusing by an automatic focusing mechanism (automatic focusing means), accurate focus on the main subject can be confirmed also in an auto-focus camera.
- The central area CA is an area referred to upon adjustment of automatic exposure by an automatic exposure adjusting mechanism (automatic exposure adjusting means). Consequently, the result of the automatic exposure adjustment on the main subject can be confirmed also in an AE (automatic exposure) camera.
- Since the central area CA is an area referred to upon automatic white balance adjustment by a white balance adjusting mechanism (white balance adjusting means), the result of the automatic white balance adjustment on the main subject can be confirmed by a WB (automatic white balance adjusting) camera.
- Since the central area CA is variable, the range of an image displayed on the
EVF 20, that is, the ratio of the main subject to a whole image can be changed according to the intention of the user. - At the time of turn-on of the power of the
digital camera 1A, theEVF 20 displays the same area as that displayed on theEVF 20 at the time of the turn-off of the power last time, that is, it is controlled so that an image is displayed in the same display mode at the same EVF display magnification. Consequently, when the power of thedigital camera 1A is turned off and is again turned on, it is unnecessary for the user to set the same area as that at the time of turn-off of the power, so that the operation is facilitated. - In the third display mode, the frame corresponding to the central area CA is displayed on the
LCD 10. The range of the main subject can be therefore easily recognized. - Since the enlarged display icon as a notification image for notifying the user of the third display mode is displayed on at least one of the
LCD 10 and theEVF 20, it can be confirmed that the range of image capturing is not limited to the central portion, so that the user can be prevented from being confused. - Further, by pressing the
LCD button 31 twice in the third display mode, the mode is switched to the zeroth display mode, thereby finishing the image display on theLCD 10. TheEVF 20 finishes the display of an image of the central area CA and displays the whole image. When only theEVF 20 is used, a problem such that the image capturing range and the display range do not coincide with each other can be eliminated. - FIG. 13 is a construction diagram of a
display system 100 according to a second preferred embodiment of the invention. Thedisplay system 100 mainly has adigital camera 1B and theexternal monitor 223 which are similar to those in the first preferred embodiment (refer to FIGS. 1 to 4). By connecting theexternal monitor terminal 222 of thedigital camera 1B and an input terminal 223 a of theexternal monitor 223 via a cable, the zeroth to fourth display modes in the first preferred embodiment can be realized by theLCD 10 of thedigital camera 1B and theexternal monitor 223. - In the second preferred embodiment, however, an image displayed on the LCD in the digital camera according to the first preferred embodiment is displayed on the
external monitor 223, and an image displayed on the EVF in the digital camera according to the first preferred embodiment is displayed on theLCD 10. For this reason, a display control unit 211 j of thedigital camera 1B according to the second preferred embodiment is slightly different from thedisplay control unit 211 c of the digital camera according to the first preferred embodiment. - FIG. 14 is a partial block diagram of the
digital camera 1B according to the second preferred embodiment. In the display control unit 211 j of thedigital camera 1B of the second preferred embodiment, a display switching unit 211j 1 is provided. The display switching unit 211j 1 detects whether theexternal monitor 223 is connected to theexternal monitor terminal 222 or not. When it is determined that theexternal monitor 223 is connected to theexternal monitor terminal 222, the display switching unit 211j 1 turns off theEVF 20 and switches between image data outputted to theVRAM 210 and that outputted to theVRAM 220. Since the image data written to theVRAMs LCD 10 and theexternal monitor 223 in the zeroth to fourth display modes in a manner similar to those in the first preferred embodiment. Especially, in the third display mode, only an image in the central area CA in an image displayed on theexternal monitor 223 can be enlargedly displayed on theLCD 10. The image can be seen at hand, so that the focus can be accurately confirmed. - At this time, it is sufficient to change the thinning rate at the time of transferring an image from the
image memory 209 to theVRAM 220 to 2/5 and to change the thinning rate at the time of transferring an image from theimage memory 209 to theVRM 210 to 1/4 m. Since the process of changing the magnification (m) when the button R or L is pressed is similar to that in the first preferred embodiment, the description is not repeated here. - The other construction in the
digital camera 1B according to the second preferred embodiment is similar to that in the first preferred embodiment. - As described above, according to the second preferred embodiment, the
display system 100 has thedigital camera 1B as an electronic camera having theLCD 10 and theexternal monitor 223 as a display device capable of displaying an image captured by the digital camera in a state where theexternal monitor 223 is connected to thedigital camera 1B for communications. In the third display mode, the central area CA of an image displayed on theexternal monitor 223 is enlargedly displayed on theLCD 10 of thedigital camera 1B. Consequently, the image capturing range can be confirmed on theexternal monitor 223 and the accurate focus can be confirmed on theLCD 10 of the digital camera. Thus, the operability is excellent and an image can be efficiently captured. - Although the examples of the electronic camera and the display system have been described in the foregoing preferred embodiments, the invention is not limited to the above.
- For example, although the enlarged display icon is displayed only on the LCD in the first preferred embodiment, it may be displayed only on the EVF or on both the LCD and the EVF.
- Although the central area of a whole image is displayed on the EVF in the third display mode in the foregoing preferred embodiments, the position is not limited to the central area. It is also possible to provide a designating mechanism (designating means) for designating a display position and to display an arbitrary portion in a whole image in accordance with designation of the user.
- Although an image is enlargedly displayed on the
LCD 10 of thedigital camera 1B in the second preferred embodiment, in a manner similar to the first preferred embodiment, theLCD 10 may display a whole captured image and theexternal monitor 223 may enlargedly display the central area CA. - Although the present invention has been fully described by way of examples with reference to the accompanying drawings, it is to be noted that various changes and modification will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Therefore, unless otherwise such changes and modifications depart from the scope of the present invention, they should be construed as being included therein.
Claims (21)
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JP35590199A JP2001177741A (en) | 1999-12-15 | 1999-12-15 | Electronic camera and display system |
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