JPH02210426A - Electronically controlled camera - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a desired picture by intended exposure by providing a shutter speed automatic changing means which automatically changes the shutter speed in the direction which offsets change of open F number in zoom mode in response to the standard shutter speed. CONSTITUTION:The camera is provided with the shutter speed automatic changing means which automatically changes the shutter speed in the direction which offsets change of the open F number in the zoom mode in response to the standard shutter speed selected in manual exposure mode. Therefore, even when a focal distance is changed by zoom operation after selecting the standard shutter speed in the manual exposure mode and the desired exposure value is set, the shutter speed automatic changing means automatically changes the shutter speed in the direction which offsets change of the open F number. Thus, the same picture by the desired exposure is always obtained.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) This invention has a zoom function that changes the focal length of the photographic lens and a manual function that allows the shutter speed to be selected manually in manual mode. Concerning improvements to electronically controlled cameras.

(Prior art) Recently, cameras have a mode button to change the mode.
Electronically controlled cameras display a mode mark on the display that indicates the mode set by the mode button, and various modes are added to the exposure method and shooting method. It is becoming possible to take pictures in this mode. From the customer's perspective, this is truly a positive thing.

(Problem to be Solved by the Invention) By the way, some electronically controlled cameras are equipped with a zoom function and a manual function. If you change it, the aperture f-number will change according to the change in focal length, so the exposure value corresponding to the standard shutter speed will change. Therefore, if you select a certain standard shutter speed manually at a certain focal length, Even if the exposure value is determined, if the focal length is changed by a zoom operation, the exposure value corresponding to the reference shutter speed will change, causing the inconvenience that a photograph with the intended brightness cannot be obtained.

In particular, when shooting by changing the focal length frequently, it is necessary to change the shutter speed each time the focal length is changed in order to obtain the desired brightness, but this is not possible with a manual shutter. Considering the combination of speed and photographic lens, it is almost impossible.

An object of the present invention is to enable the exposure value to correspond to the reference shutter speed selected in the manual mode even if the focal length is changed later by zoom operation after selecting the manual shutter speed in the manual mode. An object of the present invention is to provide an electronically controlled camera that can automatically change the shutter speed in a direction that offsets changes in the open F-number in zoom mode, and can obtain photographs with desired and intended brightness.

(Means for Solving the Problem) This invention provides a zoom function that changes the focal length of the photographic lens and a manual function that allows the shutter speed to be selected manually in manual mode in order to achieve the above-mentioned goal. In electronically controlled cameras equipped with this function, the shutter speed is automatically changed in a direction that offsets the change in aperture F number in zoom mode so that the exposure value corresponds to the standard shutter speed selected in manual mode. It is equipped with automatic shutter speed changing means.

(Function) According to the present invention, even if the focal length is changed later by zoom operation after selecting the reference shutter speed in manual mode and setting the intended exposure value, the automatic shutter speed changing means remains in zoom mode. Since the shutter speed is automatically changed in a direction that offsets changes in the aperture f-number, it is possible to obtain photographs with the intended brightness in manual mode.

[Example] The present invention will be explained below based on the drawings.

1 to 39 show an embodiment of the present invention.

First, the external appearance of the electronically controlled camera according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.

In FIG. 1, 1 indicates a camera body, and 2.3 indicates a zoom lens barrel. On the front side of the camera body 1, there is a second
As shown in the figure, a distance measuring section 4, a finder window 5, a strobe 6, a CdS as a light receiving element, and a self-timer lamp 7.
are provided, and on the back side of the camera body 1 are a back cover 8, an LC
D display 9, mode button A, mode button B, clear button C, zoom lever 10, green lamp D, red lamp E,
A back cover opening/closing lever 11 is provided, and when the back cover opening/closing lever 11 is operated in the direction of the arrow from its upward stop position toward its downward stop position, the cover 8 is opened. When the back cover 8 is open, the back cover opening/closing lever 11 is at the lowering stop position, and when the back W1-8 is closed, the back cover opening/closing lever 11 moves upward.

The back cover 8 is provided with a date display section 12 and a date switching button 13. Note that a rewind button (not shown) is provided at the bottom of the camera body 1.

As shown in FIG. 1, the top of the camera body 1 includes a main switch 14, a shutter button 15, and a macro button 1.
6 is provided. The main switch 14 is slid between an ON position and an OFF position.

The zoom lever 10 is moved between the wide side and the telephoto side as indicated by the arrow r1.
．． It is operated in the r2 direction. This zoom lever 10 is also used to change the manual shutter time or interval time, which will be described later, but this will be explained all at once when explaining the functions of mode button A, mode button B, and clear button C. shall be.

Next, the circuit configuration of the above-mentioned camera will be explained based on FIG. 4.

The core of this control circuit is the main CPU, and a sub-CPU that performs shutter-related processing in parallel.
are connected via the drive IC.

The main CPU performs the following controls based on input from information input means such as switches.

(1) Control the zoom motor and film motor via each motor drive circuit.

(2) Controls lighting and blinking of the green lamp for distance measurement related displays, the red lamp for flash related displays, and the self-timer lamp 7 for self-timer related displays.

(3) Control the display on the LCD display 9.

(4) Control charging of the strobe circuit.

Information input means for the main CP[] include the following.

(1) Lock switch LOCK0 (2) that turns on when the slide lever of the main switch 14 is set to the lock position
δ++1 optical switch SWS that is turned on by pressing the shutter button 15 one step.

(3) Release switch SWR that is turned on by pressing the shutter button 15 in two steps.

(4) A self-back macro switch MCRO0 that is turned on when the macro button 16 is pressed. (5) A zoom tele switch T E LE that is turned on by tilting the zoom lever lO to the telephoto side r2.

(6) Zoom wide switch WI DE, which is turned on by tilting the zoom lever 10 to the wide side r1.

(7) GND when the tilt angle of the zoom lever 10 is small.
, a speed selector switch ZM)TL that turns OFF when the speed is too high.

(8) Self-back mode A switch N that is turned on by pressing each mode button A, B, or clear button C
DA, mode B switch MDB, clear switch MDC
.

(9) DX contact that reads the DX code printed on the film cartridge.

(10) Zoom code input means ZCOZCI, which will be described later.
ZC2゜(11) When pushing down the M opening/closing lever 11, O
FF L, utility switch B A CK that turns ON when the back cover 8 is closed and the lever is raised to the lock position.

(12) Self-back rewind switch REW that is turned on by pressing the rewind button.

Three zoom-related switches LE, WIDE, ZM)
The IL is configured to perform 0N10FF with one zoom lever, and the arrangement of its contacts is as shown in FIG. These combinations allow the main CPU to control five different states.
The data can be used in zoom operations or in mode settings.

For example, when performing a zoom operation, information regarding forward/reverse rotation of the zoom motor and switching between high speed and low speed for each rotation is input to the main CPU as shown in the figure.

On the other hand, the sub CPU controls the distance measuring unit I, which is composed of an infrared LED and a PSD, via the autofocus IC, and also uses distance measurement data based on the output of the autofocus 1c and photometry based on the output of the CdS. data to the main CPU.

The drive IC controls the shutter circuit and outputs a trigger signal to the strobe circuit based on instructions from the sub CPU.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of zoom-related parts in the block diagram.

From the main CPU, four signal lines MPI, MP2 . Forward rotation and reverse rotation commands are output via MHI and MN2.

In addition, the motor power control circuit that supplies drive power to this motor drive circuit is connected to the main CPU via a signal line MCNT.
Based on the speed command input from the controller, the supply voltage is switched between high and low. When MCNT is OFF, the battery voltage is directly supplied to the zoom motor drive circuit, and when MCNT is ON, the voltage is stepped down to a predetermined voltage and then supplied.

The contents of these commands are as shown in Table 1 below.

During forward rotation, the zoom motor connects the mirror t3j through the cam cylinder.
3 is driven in the projecting direction to change the focal length of the photographing lens to the telephoto side, and when the lens barrel 3 is reversed, the lens barrel 3 is driven in the retracting direction to change the focal length of the photographing lens to the wide side.

In addition, with this camera, changes in the focal length of the photographic lens, changes in the aperture f-number associated with this change, and changes in the lens' wide-angle (
It automatically detects information such as whether the camera is at the wide end, telephoto end, macro photography position, or storage (lock) position, and performs various controls based on this information. ing.

Therefore, a code plate is attached to the circumferential surface of the cam cylinder that drives the lens, and four brushes are installed on the body side that slide into contact with the code plate.
A book (terminal names: ZCO, ZCI, ZC2, GND) is provided.

Among the four brushes, GND is a common terminal, and the other three are terminals for code detection.

FIG. 7 shows the correspondence between a developed view of the code plate 13 and each code. When the terminals ZCO, ZCI, and ZC2 are in contact with the conductive lands of the code board indicated by diagonal lines in the figure,
0", and when there is no contact, a signal of "1" is taken out. In this specification, 3-bit information detected from the conduction relationship between these terminals is defined as a zoom code ZCODE.

Further, in this camera, a position code PO8 and a division code DIV are determined based on the above-mentioned zoom code for zooming control.

Position code PO8 indicates that the shooting lens is at the lock position from the wide end, at the wide end or telephoto end of the zoom range, in the zoom range between the wide end and the telephoto end, or at the macro position from the telephoto end. The division code DIV is used to distinguish between the five states of being on the side.
is used to divide the zoom range into 14 parts and indicate the lens position. DIV in the figure is a hexadecimal representation.

Note that in FIG. 7, the portions PO2-4 and PO2-3 are also expressed as having a constant width, but this portion actually has no width. In other words, PO2-4 occurs when the lens is set at the wide end, that is, when the ZCI
Only at the moment when changes from 1 to 0 (from ON to OFF),
If the camera does not stop at the wide end, POS switches from 0 to 2.

By the way, in this device, the areas between the lock position and the zoom range and between the zoom area and the macro position are prohibited areas.

However, if the above-mentioned boundary is detected by the change of the terminal from ON to OFF, if the terminal that is originally ON is detected as OFF due to brush lifting,
There is a risk that the zoom motor may stop in the prohibited area.

Therefore, in this device, the code board and software are configured to use the change of a predetermined terminal from OFF to ON to detect these boundaries.

With such a configuration, O in the area where the terminal is OFF
Since N is never detected, even if the brush is lifted, stopping at the stop prohibited position can be avoided.

On the other hand, in the zoom range, as described above, there are 14 classifications corresponding to the focal length of the photographic lens.

Moreover, the terminal ZC2 is used only for detecting the telephoto end within the zoom range.

Therefore, 13 stages must be divided by 2 bits. Therefore, in this example, a relative code structure is adopted in which ZC=4.5 and 6.7 are repeatedly made to correspond to DIV=1 to E.

When such a configuration is adopted, it is not possible to specify a division code corresponding to the focal length of the lens only from the statically detected zoom code ZCODE, so changes in the zoom code from the end point cannot be determined. It is configured to dynamically detect and sequentially rewrite the division code stored in the memory to grasp the current division code.

Next, the functions of mode button A and mode button B will be explained.

Mode button A is used to set the exposure method.
Six types of exposure methods are available: auto (automatic flash mode), strobe ON (forced flash mode), strobe 0FF (no flash mode), exposure compensation, bulb, and bulb & strobe ON. has been done.

FIG. 8 shows display marks corresponding to each exposure method. Note that in the case of auto, there is no display. In addition, one MODEA is prepared corresponding to the exposure method, MODEArOJ is auto, and "1" is strobe ON.
, "2" is strobe 0, FF, "3" is exposure compensation, "
4" corresponds to the valve, and "5" corresponds to the valve & strobe ON.

When mode button A is operated, MODEA is changed.

The mode button B has a function of setting a shooting method, and six types of shooting methods are prepared here: single-frame shooting, continuous shooting, self-timer, double self-timer, multiple shooting, and interval shooting. Display marks corresponding to each photographing method are also shown in FIG. 8, but are not displayed when single-frame photographing is performed. In addition, MODE is available depending on the shooting method.
B is prepared, and this A0DEBrOJ is for single-frame shooting, "1" is for continuous shooting, "2" is for self-timer, and "3" is for continuous shooting.
” corresponds to double selfie, “4” corresponds to multiple shooting, and “5” corresponds to interval.

When mode button B is operated, MODEB is changed. Display is performed on the LCD based on MODEA and MODEB, and control during photographing is also performed based on these.

If the exposure method is bulb or bulb and strobe ON,
Manual setting times shown in Table 2 are prepared. Here, 8 types of manual shutter times are prepared, one MODBLB is prepared for these 8 types of manual shutter times, and this MODBLBr is prepared.
OJ corresponds to the bulb, and "1" to "7" correspond to each manual shutter time of 1 to 60 seconds. This MOD
BLB is changed by operating the zoom lever 10 while pressing the mode button A when the mode button A is pressed to change to the bulb or bulb & strobe ON mode in the mode setting flow described later. Note that the change can also be made by pressing the mode button A again and operating the Zumreper 10 when the manual shutter time is not displayed in the bulb or bulb & strobe ON mode.

The interval times shown in Table 3 are prepared for the intervals of the imaging method. Here, 16 types of interval times are prepared, and one MODINT is prepared for each of these 16 types of interval times.
Each content of this MODINT "OJ" to "15" corresponds to each interval time of 10 seconds to 60 minutes. M.O.D.I.
NT is changed by operating the zoom lever 10 while pressing the mode button B when changing to the interval mode by pressing the mode button B. Note that the interval time can also be changed by pressing the mode button B and operating the zoom lever 10 when the interval time is not displayed in the interval mode. Note that the initial value of the manual shutter time is bulb, and the initial value of the interval time is 60 seconds, which are automatically set when the mode initialize or clear button is turned on.

Next, the display contents of the LCD display 9 will be explained with reference to FIG. Mode marks created by mode buttons A and H are displayed in each display area according to each mode.
Since the meaning of each mark has already been described, the remaining marks will be explained.

In this Figure 9, 17 is the shutter button mark;
18 is the macro mark, 19 is the zoom lever mark, 20
is the battery mark, 21 is the 7-segment display, and 'I
I1mJ is the unit mark that lights up when the focal length is displayed.
"MS" is a unit mark when displaying manual shutter time or interval time, and rEXJ is a number mark indicating a shooting unit.

The shutter button mark 17 is displayed when the shutter button 15 is operable, and the macro mark 18 is lit when the macro button 16 is pushed and the photographing lens is extended to the macro position and macro photography is possible, and macro photography is performed as a result of distance measurement. Flashes when switching to is required. The zoom lever mark 19 lights up or blinks when the zoom lever 10 is usable, and the battery mark 20 lights up when the battery is exhausted. The 7-segment display section 21 displays numerical values corresponding to the number of shots, focal length, manual shutter time, or interval time. In addition, in the time unit mark rMS, "Mj means minutes, "S" means seconds,
Either "rH" or "rJ" is displayed corresponding to the set time of the manual shutter time or the interval time.

Next, a series of programs stored in the main CPU will be explained along with the operation of the camera according to the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 10 to 24.

(Main Processing) First, the reset processing and main processing shown in FIGS. 10 to 15 will be explained. The main process defines the basic operation of the camera, and other processes are branched off from or called from the main process depending on various conditions.

When the power is turned on, the reset of the main CPU is canceled and the reset process shown in FIG. 10 is started. Main CPU
Steps (hereinafter referred to as S) perform memory initialization and switch data input in R3I and R32, mode initialization processing in S and R83, and zoom initialization processing shown in FIG. 16 in S and R84. After that, enter the main process. Note that the mode initialization process is a process for returning the settings of the various modes described above to their initial values, and setting the mode to automatic strobe light emission and single-frame photography.

In the main processing, a 1 second timer used for display hold is cleared and started in S and Mll.

S, 12 to MI4 include a photometry switch SWS, a release switch S*, a wide switch WIDE, a teleswitch position E, a mode A switch MDA, and a modero switch MDB.

Is there a switch judgment flag when clear switch MDC and macro switch MCRO are all OFF? 5WO
1 is set in FF, and 0 is set if any of them is ON. In the following description, flag names are distinguished from other symbols by adding a "?" to the beginning of the word.

For S, MI5 to MI8, all four switches, metering switch SWS, release switch SWR, wide switch WIDE, and tele switch position H, are OFF, and a mode combination in which shooting is prohibited is selected in the mode settings. Is the metering switch enabled flag if not? 5
WSEH is set to 1 and O is set when any switch is turned on or when the mode combination = 19- for which photographing is prohibited is set.

In S and old 9, the status of each switch described above is input, and subsequent processing is performed based on this input switch data.

First, in S, MIIO, rewind switch REW
If it is determined that ONI is ONI, the mode is initialized in S, old 11, and then the first mode is initialized in S, old 12.
The loop extraction process shown in FIG. 2 is performed. This process consists of two steps: S, LO1, which stops charging the strobe circuit, and S, LO2, which turns off the red lamp for charging indication, and is always called before branching from the main process to other processes. .

After the loop extraction process, the process branches to the rewind process.

(No details regarding the rewind process), but is there a rewind end flag when the film finishes rewinding? REWE
ND is set to 1, and the process jumps to the beginning of the main process.

If the back cover is closed and the back cover switch BACK is ON, the loading end flag is set in S and M114. Determine whether loading has finished from the state of LDEND, and if it has not finished (?LDEND=0
), the process branches to the loading process through the mode initialization process of S, M115, 8116 and the loop extraction process. If completed, S, Mll7. Mll
8 is skipped and the process proceeds.

Furthermore, what happens when the loading process is finished? LDEl[
1 is set in l, and the process jumps to the beginning of the main process.

If the back cover is open, S, old 17. In M118? Both LDEND and ``?REWEND are cleared.

S and M119 to M124 in FIG. 13 show processing when the lock switch LOCK is on, that is, when the main switch is turned off. Lock position flag? If it is determined that the photographing lens is not in the lock position based on LOCK, the film number display on the LCD display is switched to the focal length display, and then an extraction process is performed.
The process branches to zoom reversal processing, which will be described later, and returns the lens to the lock position. If the lens is already in the lock position and the rewind is not finished, the process branches to the lock process, which will be described later, via the loop extraction process. If the rewind is completed, the process jumps to the rMIDJ position of the main process shown in FIG. 15 and proceeds.

The lock switch LOCK is OFF, and S, M
When the lens is closer to the lock position than the wide end at r25 (pos=o), S, Mr26. In addition to displaying the focal length on the old 27, the display hold flag?
Set WAITD to 1 and hold the display for 1 second.

This hold processing will be explained at the end of the main processing.

After that, in S, 128, macro request flag? lllQMC
O is set in RO, the extraction process is executed with S and M129, the process branches to the zoom normal rotation process described later, and the lens is moved to the wide angle.

S, old 30 to old 36, macro switch MCRO is O.
When N is selected, the focal length is displayed and the display hold flag is set. Set WAITD to 1. and,
Macro position flag? Determine whether the photographing lens is in the macro position from the state of MCRO, and if it is in the macro position, clear the display hold timer, start, jump to rMIc in Figure 15, and proceed with the process.・Macro If it is not in the position, is it a macro request flag? RQMCRO is set to 1, the process branches to normal zoom processing after loop extraction processing, and the lens is moved to the macro position.

Next, in S and MI37 to M143 shown in Fig. 14,
When the tele switch position E is ON, switch to focal length display and set the display hold flag, and if it is not at the tele end (pos≠3), it will be on the macro side from the tele end after extraction processing (poss≠3). PO2-4) or on the wide side (PO
3≠4). If the zoom range is on the wide side from the telephoto end, it branches to the telephoto movement process described later to move the lens to the telephoto side, and if it is at the macro position, it branches to zoom reversal processing to move the lens to the telephoto end. Pull back to.

If the lens is already at the telephoto end (PO2-4), the display timer is cleared and one second is counted again from this point.

S, MI44~Mr50te is wide switch WIDE
is ON, switches to focal length display and sets a display hold flag, and if the lens is at the wide end, clears and starts the timer with S, t4I48, and proceeds with the main processing. If it is not at the wide end, it is determined whether the lens is on the wide side or macro side from the telephoto end through loop extraction processing.

If it is on the wide side, the process branches to wide movement processing to be described later and moves the lens to the wide side. If it is on the macro side, the process branches to zoom reversal processing and pulls the lens back to the telephoto end, and if the wide switch DH continues to be pressed even after reaching the telephoto end, the zoom reversal processing switches to wide movement processing. It branches out and moves the lens continuously to the wide side.

Therefore, the photographing lens is set to the macro position by turning on the macro switch, and in order to return the lens set to the macro position to zoom j, the zoom lever can be operated in either direction.

S in Fig. 14, old 51 to Ml 54, macro tele shift flag? If it is determined that a shift is requested from the MTSIFT state, focal length display processing is performed and the display hold flag? WAITD is set to 1, and after loop extraction processing, the process branches to zoom reversal processing and returns the lens to the telephoto end.

The long distance limit for macro photography is approximately 1 meter, so if the lens is in the macro position and the distance measurement result is 1 meter or more, you will not be able to obtain a focused photo even if you release the shutter.

Therefore, in this camera, the release lock is applied in the above case, and the lens is controlled to be shifted from the macro position to the telephoto end. flag? HTSrFT is set in the LL calculation process in the AEAF control process, which will be described later.

Next, S, MI55, rewind end flag? R.E.
The state of WEND is determined, and if the rewind is completed, S and old 56 are used to display roo EXJ on the LCD display. If this flag is 0, mode setting processing is called at S, old 57.

In the mode setting process, the switch judgment flag set in S, MI2 to MI4? Checking 5WOFF, the setting process is entered only if all the switches were OFF in the previous input, and if any switch was ON, the process returns to the main process without performing any settings.

If there is a mode change during this mode setting process, the mode change flag? MDC)IG is set to 1, and set to 0 if there is no change.

When returning from the mode setting process, S determines the state of the flag set in old 58, and if there is a change in mode, S sets the display hold flag to 1 in MI59.14160 and exits the loop. Jump to the beginning of main processing after processing.

If there is no mode change, S, HIO2, Mr.
At 62, the photometry switch SWS and the photometry switch enable flag? AEAF control that determines the status with 5WSEN, displays the focal length with S and MI63 to old 65, clears the display hold flag, and performs shutter-related control after loop extraction processing if predetermined conditions are met. Branch to processing.

Branching to AEAF control processing occurs when the photometry switch is turned on.
SWS, SWR, E, and SWS, SWR, E,
This is a case where all of the WIDE switch data are OFF and the mode setting is such that photography is possible. Sunawa 2
6. First, the process branches to the AEAF control process only when the SWS changes from OFF to ON, and if the zoom lever is being operated, etc., the main process continues without branching.

At S and A166, charging control processing for the strobe circuit is executed, and at S and MI67 to MI71, display switching processing is executed.

If display hold is requested, for example, in the main process after zoom processing, which will be described later, it is determined whether one second has passed since the display timer was cleared.

Before the timer elapses for 1 second, the currently displayed display is held.

If display hold is not requested, or when the timer elapses for 1 second, if a display other than the number of sheets is being displayed, the number of sheets is displayed, and the display hold flag is set? W.A.
Clear ITD.

In this way, the film number display is displayed preferentially over other displays, except when switched from time to time.

Then, after stopping the 125m5 processing with S and Mr72,
S, MI73 calls the time processing for charge prohibition 1, and after returning, jumps to main processing S, old 2, and continues the processing.

(AEAF control processing) Next, based on FIG. 16UA to FIG.
, the shutter control-related AEAF control processing branching from the old 65 will be explained. In this process, as mentioned above, a1
1. The optical switch SWS changes from OFF to ON, and
This is entered when the combination of modes is appropriate, but in addition, f) of AEAF control 2 and AEAF control 3 is entered after once branching to charging processing during this process, or after winding during continuous shooting, respectively. Start this process from iija.

First, in S, AF1 to AF3, depending on which process this flow is entered from, the photometry distance measurement jump flag? AEA
Set F. If the AEAF control process branches to the charging process and returns to the FLIP process, as will be described later, the detection of photometry, distance measurement, etc. has already been completed, so in order to jump these processes, One hundred and forty one? AEAF is set to 1, otherwise it is set to O. When branching from the main process, S, AF4. Auto release flag in AF5? According to the state of AUTOREL, if this is 0, the focal hole ^ (C display is performed. This flag is set to 1 when taking the second picture in interval mode or double self mode, as described later. is set, and in these cases the photometry switch SW
S. To automatically execute photographing even if the release switch SWR is OFF.

The voltage check process of S, AF6 is a process that measures the charging voltage of the strobe capacitor, and if the voltage is 270V or higher, the 270v charging flag is set. The FCH270 is set to 1, and the voltage is divided into three levels with 315V and 285V as the boundaries, and the DGV is set. The strobe capacitor is fully charged at a voltage of 330V, and the guide number is determined by the amount of light emitted at this time. On the other hand, with this camera, even if the capacitor is not fully charged,
It is controlled to emit light if the voltage is 70V or higher.

Therefore, if the voltage does not reach 315V, the guide number must be aware of the drop in voltage as the voltage drops, otherwise the exposure will be underexposed. DGV is a parameter that indicates the decrease in the guide number due to strobe charging voltage drop, and it ranges from 0/4.285V to 31.5 at 315V or higher.
In the case of v, the value is set to 274 when it is 174.285v or less.

In S and AF7, the charge request flag ? which is set in the FM calculation described later. Set CHGRQ to 0.

In S, AF8 to AFII, when this flow is entered from the main processing or wind processing and is not the second image of interval or double self, the distance measurement data is input from the sub CPυ and based on this, the 19th As shown in the figure [
, L (lens latch) calculation is performed. The LL calculation moves the focusing lens within the photographic lens based on the distance measurement results. Lens movement 1n for focusing
This is an operation to determine.

In cases other than the above, the previous LL data will be used as is, and therefore, during interval photography, etc., the focus will be the same as the first image. In the case of interval shooting, the photographer is generally far away from the camera, and it is necessary to prevent out-of-focus if the subject moves from the AF area in the center of the screen. be.

In S, AF12 to AF16, photometry-related processes are executed, except when the AEAF process is entered again from the charging process that was once branched. In other words, in S and AF13, input the DX code and use the film's 180 sensitivity for calculations.
In S and AP14, the correction amount α of the open F-number is determined from the division code DIV indicating the focal length of the lens according to the correspondence shown in FIG. Then, in these data and S, AF15, sub-CPIJ
Based on the photometric data inputted from the S, AF 16, the AE (automatic exposure) calculation process shown in FIG. 20 is called to obtain AE data.

In S, AF17, FM (Flashmatic) calculation processing shown in FIG. 21 is called and FM data is set. Note that when this process is entered again from the charging process that branched once, the AE calculation is skipped, but since the DGV may have changed due to charging, the FM calculation is executed again.

Next, check whether the release lock was applied during the LL calculation of S, AF11 or not with the release lock flag in S, AF18. Determine from the RLOCK state. Relay lock is applied when the lens is in the zoom range and the subject is too close, or when the lens is in the macro position and the subject is too fast. In these cases, a photograph in focus cannot be obtained, so a warning is issued by flashing the green lamp in S and AF19 to AF21, and the metering switch SW is turned on.
Wait until S is released, turn off the red and green lamps, and jump to the main process.

In S, AP22 to AP24, if the charging type n- of the strobe capacitor has not reached 1 at the predetermined time and there is a charging request, it means that the mode is not interval mode, or even if it is in interval mode, the first picture cannot be taken. The process branches to the charging process shown in FIG. 22 under certain conditions. That is, from the second interval onwards, even if the charging voltage has not reached the predetermined illumination level, only the charged amount of light is emitted, and the following release sequence is executed.

As shown in Fig. 25, in the interval, charging control is performed for each photograph taken, and if the predetermined value is not reached by this control, the voltage remains at -Iz even if the charging process is performed again.
′:j? This is because there is little fluency.

S, AP25 to AF27 output each set data to the sub CPU.

In the case of automatic shooting, the lamp display, metering, and release switch judgment are skipped and the rAFA shown in Figure 17 is used.
Jump to J. During normal photographing, which is not an automatic photographing mode, a red lamp is turned on when the strobe is emitted based on FM data in S, AP29, and AF30, and the process proceeds to r and AFBJ in FIG. 17.

In S, AF31 to AF33, the green lamp blinking flag is set inside the LL calculation. Turn on or blink the green lamp based on GLMPFL. Here, when the green lamp is lit, photography is permitted, and when it is blinking, it is a warning.

S, AF34. In AF35, the photometry switch SWS is set to O.
Release switch SWR on the condition that it continues to be N.
The camera waits until the shutter button is turned on, and when the shutter button is released, turns off the red and green lamps with S and AF34a, and jumps to the main process.

S, AF36 to AF43, starts a 3 second timer for the first shot in interval shooting, starts a 10 second timer for the first shot in self-timer mode or double self-time mode, and switches to double self-time mode. In the case of the second picture, start a 5 second timer. In the case of the second or subsequent interval, use the MODE mentioned above.
Since the timer is operating according to the contents of B, the process proceeds directly to S, the time count processing after AF44, and if it is neither interval nor self mode, the timer is activated.
Jump to rAFcJ in Figure 8.

S, AP44 to AF54 are loops that wait for the above-mentioned timer to time up, and when the timer reaches time up,
It can be exited by operating the mode button, in this case S, AF55. After turning off the red, green and self-timer lamps with AF56, clearing the automatic shooting flag and calling mode initialization processing, the process jumps to main processing.

After the second interval, the remaining time of the timer is displayed.

Furthermore, when the time remaining on the timer is less than 3 seconds, the self-timer lamp is blinked at 4 Hz.

When it comes to time up, S, AF57. Based on the judgment in AP5B, in the case of self-timer, leave it as is, in the case of double self, set S, auto-release flag in AF59? rA in Figure 18 after reversing AUTOREL
Proceed to FcJ. In the case of double selfie, the flag is changed from 0 to 1 when taking the first photo, and returned from 1 to 0 when taking the second photo to cancel automatic shooting.

In the case of interval, set the interval time set in S, AF60 to AF64 on the timer, set the maximum number of shots to 40 for the first shot, and automatically shoot the second and subsequent shots. The auto release flag is set to 1 in order to do so. When taking the second and subsequent photos, use the LC.
Set the remaining time display on the D display to "O8j," and set it to rA in Figure 18.
Proceed to FC. 3. The AF64 process is performed to prevent the display from returning to a number other than 0 due to time-up of the timer.

At S and AF65 to AF67 in FIG. 18, each lamp display is turned off when starting exposure, and a shutter start signal is output to the sub-CPO. S, AF68. In AF69, date 'y7 insertion is prohibited in case of multiple shooting.

If it is not the bulb mode, the process branches from S, AF 70, confirms that a shutter operation end signal is input from the sub CPU at S, AF 71, and proceeds to the winding process shown in FIG.

When in valve mode, S, sub-C with AF72
Check that the shutter release signal is input from the PU power,
S, in AF73, it is determined from the contents of MODBLB whether it is an original bulb or a manual shutter. For valves, S, AF74, AF7
Wait for your hand to release the shutter button at step 5, then press S.
AF75 outputs a shutter close signal. If it is a manual shutter, S, AF77 calls the manual shutter time counting process shown in FIG. 23, and after the count ends, a shutter close signal is output.

(LL performance process) FIG. 19 shows the LL performance 9 process called in S and AFll of the AEAF control process.

When this process begins, S and LLl first convert the distance data into distance measurement steps for zoom and macro data based on the correspondence in Table 4 on the next page. limit between.

Subsequently, the green lamp blinking flag 7GL is set at S and LL2.
MPFL, release lock flag? RL OCK, macro teleshift flag? Clear MTSIFT, S,
At LL3, the distance measurement step is assigned to the lens latch (LL).

When the distance measurement step is 1, the macro position is in the release lock area, so S, LL4°LL5
After passing through S, each of the flags described above is set to 1 in LL6 to LL8, and the process returns to the AEAF control process.

If the distance measurement step is other than 1, or even if it is 1, if the lens is in the zoom range, the distance measurement step is 19.
If it is smaller, return from S, LL9.

If it is 19 or higher, set the green lamp to blink with S, LLlo, and LLII, force the lens latch to reset to 18, and return if the lens is set to the macro position. . When the lens is in the zoom range, S, LLl3. If the distance measuring step is 19 in LL14, the process returns as is, and if it is 20, the release is locked and the process returns.

That is, in the zoom range, ranging steps 1 to 1
Normal photography is possible until 19.20, and a short-range warning signal is issued at 19.20. However, the release lock is applied only when the speed is 2o, and when the speed is 19, a warning is issued but the release lock is not applied.

At the macro position, if the distance measurement step is 1, a long distance warning is issued and the release lock is applied, but at the short distance side, only a warning is issued and the release lock is not applied.

At the short distance end of the zoom range, even if you lock the release, you can still take pictures by resetting to macro. However, on the close-range side of macro photography, locking the release makes it impossible to take a picture, which is inconvenient when you want to take a picture knowing that the subject will not be in focus. Therefore, the release lock is not applied on the short distance side of the macro position.

(AE calculation process) FIG. 20 shows the AE calculation process called and related to S, AF16 of the AEAF control process.

This process is a process of setting exposure data to be output to sub CP[I.

S, AE1 to AE4 determine the state of the exposure method shown in Figure 8, and if the setting includes a bulb, 5AE
Step 5 sets the valve in the AE data and returns to the AEAF control process.

S if the mode is other than valve.

Ag3. Ag7 limits the upper and lower limits of the photometric value, and
, AE8 to AEIO, if the photometric value Bv is equal to the lower limit value, the photometric value lower limit flag? Set BVMrN to 1, and set it to 0 if they are not equal.

For S, AEll, film sensitivity Sv and photometric data Bv
The exposure value Evs is calculated from the correction value α of the open F-number with the wide end as a reference.

S, Ag12. In Ag13, when the exposure correction mode is set, 1.5 is subtracted from the calculated exposure value Evs to correct it so that a bright exposure is obtained.

As mentioned above, interval shooting is generally done with the camera fixed on a tripod, etc., so it is recommended to use a slower shutter speed than the Tsutomi shooting mode.
There is no need to worry about camera shake even when the camera is working.

Therefore, for S, Ag14-Ag17, the lower limit of exposure E
Set vsmin to 6 if exposure type 11 is other than auto, or if exposure method is auto and shooting method is interval.
0, and 9.0 when the exposure method is auto and the shooting method is other than interval.

If the exposure method is auto, S.

If the exposure value Evs is smaller than the lower exposure limit value Evsmin in Ag18 to AE21, or if the photometry value is limited by the lower limit, the strobe automatic firing flag? AUT
Set O8TB to 1 and set the strobe to fire.

Therefore, when set to interval mode,
The lower limit of the shutter speed will be automatically lowered, and there will be fewer opportunities to fire the strobe.

In S and Ag22 to AE24, the upper and lower limits of the exposure value Evs are limited and returned to the AEAF control process as AE data.

(FM calculation process) Figure 21 shows S, AF1? of the AEAF control process. This shows the FM calculation process called in .

This process determines whether the strobe emits or does not emit light, and determines the aperture value Avs when the flash is emitted.

For S, FM1 to FM5, the exposure method is strobe OFF,
Exposure compensation, bulb, or auto and AE
If it is determined that no light is emitted during the arithmetic processing, the FM data is returned to the AEAF control process as non-emission.

In cases other than the above, find the aperture value Avs from the distance measurement data and the reference guide number with S, FH6, and use S, FM7.
The aperture value Avs is corrected by taking into account the charging voltage information DGV. This is because the guide number of the double layer is set based on the strobe capacitor being fully charged, so if you do not take into account the decrease in the guide number when the voltage is low, the exposure will be underexposed.

For S, FM8, film sensitivity Sv is added to the aperture value Avs, and S, FM9. In FH0, the amount of change Z in the guide number due to the strobe's own zooming when in the zoom range
Add DGV.

Furthermore, in S and FMll, the amount of change α in the open F-number based on the focal length of the lens is subtracted from the aperture value Avs.

For S, FM12 to F old 4, the upper and lower limits of the aperture value Avs are limited, and S, MI of AEAF control processing is
Based on the result of the voltage check process called in step 6, the charging request flag is set when the strobe capacitor voltage is less than 270V? Returns with CHGRQ set to 1.

(Charging Process) FIG. 22 shows S, MI23. of the AEAF control process. old 24
This figure shows the charging process branching from.

S, C) 11 to CH9 control charging of S, CH6 to 12
This is a loop that is repeatedly executed in 5m5 cycles, and the charge time up flag is set during this charging control process. FCHT11P and 280v charging 7 lag? FC)
If it is determined that the time is up from 1280 or the voltage is 280 or more, the voltage can be removed.

In addition, in the case of automatic shooting such as interval mode, by turning on any mode switch (mode button A, mode button B, clear button C), S, CH
It is possible to exit to lo, and in the case of non-automatic shooting, exit is possible when the shutter button S is released.

Even if the charging voltage does not reach 280V within a predetermined time and a time-up occurs, the charging process can be exited. In the case of extraction, the red and green lamps are turned off at S, CHlo-CH12, charging stop processing is performed, automatic photographing is canceled, and the process jumps to the main processing.

When the charging voltage reaches 280V before time-up occurs, S, CH1 goes through the charging stop process of S, CF113.
4-C) Proceed to 116, and if it is not in automatic shooting mode, turn on the red lamp to indicate that it is ready to fire, and display the charge request flag? Clear CI (GHQ and jump to AEAF control 2 in Fig. 16. When entering AEAF control from this process, photometry,
Distance measurement etc. are omitted and calculations are performed using the previous data.

The voltage check during charging is based on 280V, and the voltage check after charging is based on 270V.
This takes into consideration the voltage drop due to charging stop J1-, noise, etc.

(Manual shutter time counting process) FIG. 23 shows the manual shutter time counting process called at S, AF77 of the AEAF control process.

When the manual shutter is set, the shutter speed can be changed according to the correspondence shown in Table 2. At this time, the aperture is controlled to be open, so the exposure is determined by the shutter speed and the open F-number.

However, the shutter speed related to the above settings is determined based on the open F number when the shooting lens is set at the wide end, and if the focal length of the lens changes, the shutter speed will remain the same at the same shutter speed. can't get exposure.

Therefore, in this camera, the shutter speed, which is set based on the wide end, is controlled to be reset according to the focal length of the lens so that the same exposure can be obtained.

That is, the main CPU 34 has a function as an automatic shutter speed changing means for resetting the shutter speed.

The correspondence of resetting is as shown in Table 5.

In the table, α indicates the amount of change in the open F-number, and Dl
is the content n (1 to 7) of MODBLB, and D2 is the content displayed on the LCD.

The shutter speeds shown in Table 5 are determined by the following equation.

Shutter speed = 0.25x 2n-' x (4α
+3) The flowchart in FIG. 23 shows how this shutter speed is counted.

In Fig. 23, for S and MSl, 1 is substituted for A, and S
.

In Mg2, it is determined whether the content n of MOIIBLB is 1 or not. If yes, proceed to S, Mg5; if no, proceed to S, Mg3. For S, Mg3, double the value of A,
For S, Mg4, subtract 1 from n and return to S, Mg2. Then, it is determined whether n is 1 for S and Mg2. That is, the loop operation of S and MS2 to MS4 is repeated a number of times equal to the value of n.

For example, when n=4, the operation of the loop is repeated three times, and the value of A becomes 23-8.

For S and Mg5, set the value of A to Tn. S, M2
For S, Tα is calculated from the formula Tα=4α+3, and S, Mg7
Then, the value of the counter MTCNT is set to TnXTα. In other words, S, MSl-Mg5 is a process of finding 2j-1 and substituting it into Tn, and the obtained T
The product of n, S, and Tα obtained from Mg8 is 8. Find it with Mg7 and set this value in the counter MTCNT.S, Mg8 wait 250m5, S, Mg9 subtract 1 from the counter MTCNT's 1, and s.
, Mslo, it is determined whether the counter MTCNT is 0 or not, and if YES, the process returns, and if NO, the process returns to S and Mg2.

That is, S, MS8 to MSIO are counters MTCN
This is a loop that subtracts the value of T with a period of 250 m5, and M
By counting until TCNT=0, the shutter speed determined by the above equation is counted.

In this way, the shutter speed is reset so that the exposure value remains constant even if the focal length changes, so there is no need to reset the shutter speed every time the focal length changes.

(Winding Process) Bud: Figure 24 shows the winding process to which the process proceeds after the AEAF control process ends.

The winding process is a process for winding the film by one frame after shooting is completed.

When the winding process is started, the number of frames is displayed on the LCD display excluding the interval in S, WDl, and WO2, and in the case of multiple shooting, branches from S, WO3 to S, WO4, and the shooting method returns to single frame shooting. Jump to main processing.

In other words, multiple shooting is cleared every time.

In cases other than multiplex shooting, winding for one frame is performed in S and WO2, and if the winding is not completed within a predetermined time, the process branches from S and WO6 to S and WO7 to clear the automatic shooting flag. Then, the process proceeds to the rewind process described above.

When the second winding is completed, the sheet number counter is counted up at S, WO8, and a new sheet number count is displayed at S, WO9, and WDIO if there is no interval.

The reason why the number of shots is not displayed in the case of interval shooting is that during interval shooting, the remaining time until release is displayed subtracted, as will be described later.

In S and WD11 to WD15, the branch destination after the winding process is determined according to the set shooting method.

First, in the case of continuous shooting, if the shutter button is kept pressed, the process jumps to AEAF control 3 in FIG. 16 and the exposure sequence continues, and if the button is released, the process jumps to main processing.

Next, in the case of a double self, when the first image is completed, the process jumps back to the AEAF control, and when the second image is completed, the process jumps to the main process.

If it is in the interval, the process jumps to the interval control process shown in FIG. 25, and if it is not in any of the above modes, that is, in the case of single-frame photography or self-timer, it jumps to the main process.

(Interval control processing) Figure 9j25 shows -[S, WD15 of the winding process of
This figure shows the interval control process that starts from .

- Hajime Kaji This process is a process that waits while measuring the time until the second and subsequent shots are taken when the shooting method is set to interval mode. In cases other than interval shooting, processing is normally executed in a loop within the main processing, but
In the case of interval shooting, AE is used without going through the main processing.
The process is executed in a loop between the AF control process and the interval control process. When this process starts, the charge request flag is set in S and INl? C) IGRQ and charging request memory flag? CI(GRQ
Clear both M and M.

S, IN2. At IN3, the interval sheet number count is subtracted and it is determined whether or not it has become 0. The initial value of this count is 40 sheets set in S, AF62 of the AEAF control process. When 40 images have been photographed, charging is stopped at S, IN4 to IN6, the automatic photographing flag is cleared, mode initialization is called, and the process jumps to main processing.

If the number of sheets is not 0, S, IN
Steps 7 to 1N21 are looped at a cycle of 125 m5, and the process waits until the next photographing. During this time, if any mode switch is turned on, the mode is cleared and jumps to main processing.

During this loop, the timer subtraction is normally displayed, but when the photometry switch is turned on, the number of frames is displayed, and when the zoom telephoto and wide switches are turned on, the focal length is displayed.

When the remaining time is less than 16 seconds, S, IN13?
CHGRQ,? CHGRQM are both set to 1.

This timer is set and started at S, AF60 of the AEAF control process.

What about S, lN2O charging control? When CHGRQ is 1, charging is performed, and when CHGRQ is 0, it is passed as is, and when charging is completed, this flag is cleared.

Therefore, when going around the loop of S, lN17 to lN2O, -
Charging is forcibly performed in the second loop, and if charging is completed here, charging control is passed from the first loop.

When the remaining time is less than 4 seconds, it branches from S, IN19 and S, IN22. The charging is stopped and the remaining time on the timer is displayed at IN23, and the process jumps to the AEAF control process in FIG. 17, and waits until time-up occurs at S and AF44 to AF54 of this process.

Table 1 Table 2 Table 3 Table 4 [Effects] As described above, according to the present invention, after selecting the reference shutter speed in manual mode and setting the intended exposure 111, the focal length can be adjusted later by zoom operation. Even if you change the shutter speed, the automatic shutter speed changing means automatically changes the shutter speed in a direction that offsets the change in aperture f-number in zoom mode, so you can still obtain photos with the intended brightness in manual shutter mode. Can be done.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show an electronically controlled camera according to the present invention. 1 to 3 show the external appearance of the camera, with FIG. 1 being a plan view, FIG. 2 being a front view, and FIG. 3 being a rear view. Figure 4 is a block diagram of the control circuit, Figure 5 is an explanatory diagram of the contact configuration of the zoom switch, Figure 6 is a block diagram of the zoom motor control system, Figure 7 is a developed diagram of the code plate, and the code plate and each code. FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of mode setting, and FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of display segments of the LCD panel. 10 to 25 are flowcharts showing each process of this embodiment, in which FIG. 10 is a reset process, 11.
Figures 13, 14, and 15 are main processing, Figure 12 is loop extraction processing, Figures 16 to 18 are AEAF control processing,
Fig. 19 shows LL calculation processing, Fig. 20 shows AE calculation processing, Fig. 21 shows FM calculation processing, Fig. 22 shows charging processing, Fig. 23 shows manual shutter time counting processing, Fig. 24 shows wind processing, Fig. 25 shows The figure shows interval control processing. 31...Zoom lens (taking lens) 32...Zoom motor drive circuit 33...Zoom motor 34...Main CPU (shutter speed automatic change means) Fig. S, MI2 S, M13 Switch-off judgment 1. 511S, SWR, 111DF,
Placement E, 1ID11.1′IDl1. l'IDC,MCR
Are all O's OFF? When it's OFF? 5WOFF-
Set to 1. Use 1ζ when setting Todo. Sui, Tseng judgment 2. Are st+s, s song, 1llDE, and position E all OFF? Figure 20C] ♀1D Figure Coco S, AE21

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) In an electronically controlled camera that is equipped with a zoom function that changes the focal length of the photographic lens and a manual function that allows you to select the shutter speed manually in manual mode, the standard shutter speed selected in manual mode An electronically controlled camera characterized by being provided with an automatic shutter speed changing means for automatically changing the shutter speed in a direction that offsets a change in the open F-number in a zoom mode so as to obtain a corresponding exposure value.