JPH0362023A - Auto focus camera - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a satisfactory printed photograph by providing plural spot light sources on a range-finding, light projecting part and an image area sensor on a light receiving part, automatically detecting the position of a main object in photographing operation and recording the position in a recording medium. CONSTITUTION:A camera is provided with means 15 and 16 detecting the position of a main object on a screen which is measured by a range finder, and a means 24 recording information on the position on the screen in the recording medium 13. The position of the main object and the screen are specified by coordinates X and Y and area codes segmented like a matrix, respectively, and a bar code, etc., are used for positional information. The light projecting part 15 is equipped with plural, five spot light sources 15a to 15d, for instance, and the light receiving part 16 is composed of a lens 22 and the image area sensor 23, detects the position of the main object in the screen at the time of range finding and records the information on the position in the recording medium 13. Since the position of the main object is recorded, a photograph can be printed by paying special attention to the density of the main object, and a satisfactory high-quality printed photograph can thereby be obtained.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an autofocus camera that records the position of a main subject on a screen.

[Conventional technology]

In conventional photographic printing, the image recorded on the photographic film is photometered and the printing exposure is determined so that the integrated three-color density results in a gray finish, resulting in printed photographs that are unsatisfactory to the photographer. Sometimes I put it away.

Therefore, in order to create print photographs that match the photographer's intentions, there is a known camera that records various information on photographic film, such as information on the type of photographic lighting and bright light, at the time of photographing (Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 1983-1992). -117632, 52-133
No. 3, No. 5230429, etc.). Furthermore, there are also known cameras that record trimming information at the time of photographing (Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Nos. 63-298233, 64-21432, etc.). Furthermore, there are also known cameras that imprint characters indicating the type of subject, etc.
No. 5-101932.

No. 54-2115, etc.).

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

One frame contains various other subjects in addition to the main subject, but if the main subject is finished with the appropriate density and color balance, even if the finish of the other images is somewhat inappropriate, It is known from experience that this method satisfies the photographer. Therefore, in order to identify the main subject, a statistical method assumes that most of the main subject exists in the center of the screen.

Proposals include a method of extracting skin tones based on the experience that most of the main subjects are human faces, and a method of displaying frame images on a monitor screen, finding the main subject on the monitor screen, and pointing it out with a light pen, etc. has been done.

However, in the first method, the position of the main subject is estimated based on empirical rules, so there is a problem in that there are many errors. Furthermore, in the second method, parts that have a similar skin color, such as walls, may be mistaken for people. The third method involves manually specifying the main subject, which has problems in that it takes time to process and the device becomes expensive.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an autofocus camera that automatically detects the position of a main subject and records it on a recording medium when taking a photograph.

[Means to solve the problem]

In order to achieve the above object, the autofocus camera of the present invention includes means for detecting the position of the main subject on the screen measured by a distance measuring device, and means for recording information representing the position on the screen on a recording medium. It has been established.

The position of the main subject is specified by a code or number of an area obtained by dividing nine XY coordinate screens into a matrix, a mark recorded on an extension of the main subject, or the like.

As the position information, a bar code, two numbers, a mark, etc. are used.

[Operation] When taking a photograph, the main subject is detected by the distance measuring device, and the focus of the photographic lens is adjusted according to the photographing distance of the main subject. During distance measurement of the main subject, the position of the main subject on the screen is detected, and information representing this position is recorded on a recording medium, such as photographic film.

〔Example〕

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

In FIG. 1, a photographing lens 10 is composed of an optical system 10a and a lens barrel 10b that holds the optical system 10a.

The photographing lens 10 is set at a position corresponding to the photographing distance by a lens setting mechanism 11 immediately before photographing. As is well known, this photographic lens 10 captures a photographic scene 12 onto a photographic film 13 when a shutter (not shown) is opened.
, and record it as one frame 13a.

A light projecting section 15 and a light receiving section 16 are arranged so as to sandwich the optical axis of the photographic lens 10 above and below. The light projecting unit 15 includes a plurality of, for example, five spot light sources 15.
It is equipped with a to 15d.

These spot light sources 15a to 15d are composed of an LED and a lens that generate near-infrared light, as is well known, and emit four spot lights 17 to 2 toward the shooting scene 12.
Irradiate 0. In addition, the photographing lens 10 and the photographing scene 12
Since the distance between the light projecting unit 15 and the photographing lens 10 is considerably larger than the distance between the light projecting unit 15 and the photographing lens 10, it can be assumed that the spot lights 17 to 20 are projected onto the photographing scene 12 from the center of the photographing lens 10. In addition, four spot light sources 15a to 15
d is sequentially driven to sequentially spot-scan the center of the photographic scene 12 in the horizontal direction at a constant angle.

The light receiving section 16 includes a lens 22 and an image area sensor 2.
3, and detects the reflected light from the subject of the photographic scene 12. The photographing distance is detected by optical triangulation based on the relationship between the incident position of this reflected light and the spot light source. Then, the photographing lens 10 is positioned according to this photographing distance, and the main subject reflecting the spot light is focused. Also, the position of the focused main subject on the photographed scene 12, that is, the frame (screen) 13a
The above recording position is detected from the incident position of the reflected light incident on the image area sensor 23. Information on the recorded position of the detected main subject is, for example, photographic film 1
With the barcode recording head 24 placed behind 3,
Recorded in the form of a barcode.

FIG. 2 shows a barcode recording device.

When the release button 27 is pressed halfway, the switch 28 is turned on.
L, the generated signal is sent to the AF control circuit 29. The AF control circuit 29 sequentially causes the spot light sources 15a to 15d to emit light via the driver 30, and irradiates the photographic scene 12 with the spot light. The spot light reflected by the main subject enters the image area sensor 23 as shown by hatching. The object distance can be determined from the row number of the pixel of the image area sensor 23 on which the reflected light has entered, and the position in the horizontal direction of the screen can be determined from the column number. Here, "near" represents a short distance, and "far" represents a long distance. Further, "left" indicates that the main subject is on the left side of the screen, and "right" indicates that the main subject is on the right side.

The image area sensor 23 is driven by a driver 31 at a predetermined cycle to read out a video signal and sends it to the AF control circuit 29 . Note that the spot light sources 15a to 15d sequentially emit light in synchronization with this reading. AF control circuit 2
Reference numeral 9 detects a pixel into which the reflected light is incident from the output side of the video signal. Even if the reflected light enters the same pixel, the distance to the subject differs depending on the position of the spot light source that projected the spot light. Therefore, data as shown in FIG. 3 is stored in the AF control circuit 29,
The object distance is determined from the spot light source that is projecting light and the row number of the pixel. Note that the curve 33 corresponds to the spot light source 1.
5a, and the curve 36 represents the distance measurement by the spot light source 1.
5d distance measurement.

The AF control circuit 29 determines the lens set position according to the detected subject distance, and determines the lens set position according to the detected subject distance, and uses the lens centering mechanism 11
send to Further, position information obtained from the column number of the pixel into which the reflected light has entered is sent to the barcode data generation circuit 40.

When the release button 27 is fully pressed, the switch 41
is turned on, and the lens setting mechanism 11 operates to set the photographing lens at the in-focus position. When the setting of the photographic lens 10 is completed, a shutter (not shown) is operated as is well known, and the photographic scene is recorded on the photographic film 13. Simultaneously with or immediately after this photographing, the driver 42 operates, drives the barcode recording head 24, and records the positional information of the main subject on the photographic film 13.

When multiple objects are present, multiple reflected lights are simultaneously incident on different pixels, and the distances of each are detected. In this case, as proposed in the conventional multi-beam ranging method, short distance priority is given to the center of the 9 screen, intermediate distance selection, etc. are performed. Then, in the case of short distance priority 2 screen center priority, the prioritized subject is taken as the main subject, and this screen position is recorded on the photographic film. In addition, in the case of intermediate distance selection, it is determined that all of the plurality of detected objects are main objects, and their positional information is recorded on the photographic film.

Further, when the main subject is not present, such as in a long-distance photographed scene, the position information of the main subject is naturally not recorded. Although the main subject exists, if the shooting distance is relatively long, the size of the main subject on the screen will be quite small. In this case, there is no problem in determining the printing exposure amount from the average photometric value of the screen, as in the case where there is no main subject. Therefore, it is convenient to record the distance to the main subject in addition to the position information of the main subject.

Although four spot light sources are used in the embodiment, one spot light source may be used instead and oscillated to scan the photographic scene in a line. In addition, as shown in FIG.
5 to 49 may be irradiated sequentially. In addition, in order to detect the position not only in the horizontal direction but also in the vertical direction of the screen, a light projector in which spot light sources are arranged in a matrix is used, and as shown in FIG. Scan to. Of course, three spot light sources may be used and swung in the lateral direction of the photographic scene 12.

FIGS. 6 to 10 show examples of recording position information. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, the lower left corner of the screen is set as the origin, and the distances X and Y from this origin to the main subject 53 are used as positional information, which is recorded with a barcode 54. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 7, the center of the screen is set as the origin, and the distance x, y from this origin to the main subject is determined by the barcode 5.
It is recorded as 5. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 8, marks 56 and 57 are recorded on two sides of the margin of the screen, and the position of the main part is defined as the intersection of two straight lines passing through these marks 56 and 57 and perpendicular to each other. In the embodiments shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the screen is divided into a plurality of areas, and the position of the area where the main subject exists is recorded on the photographic film. That is, in FIG. 9, codes r2-24. '3-34 was recorded on photographic film. In FIG. 10, marks 58 and 59 are recorded beside the area where the main subject exists, and the intersection of the extension lines of these marks 58 and 59 is taken as the position of the main subject.

The photographic film 22 on which the positional information has been recorded is developed and then set in a photographic printer. A sensor reads the positional information recorded on each frame when the photo is printed, and the position of the main subject on the screen is determined. As is well known, each point on the screen is subjected to three-color separation photometry, and the three-color density obtained at each measurement point is used to calculate the printing exposure amount. At this time, the three-color density values of the main subject are given a large weight, and the printing exposure amounts for each of the three colors are determined so that the main subject is finished with appropriate density and color balance.

In addition to the position information of the main subject, the type of lighting source,
Data such as lighting conditions (front light 2 backlight), presence or absence of strobe photography, and intensity ratio of the trichromatic light of the photographic light are also recorded on the photographic film, and by using this data in conjunction with this data, the quality of the finished product can be further improved. be able to.

Although the above-mentioned embodiment is an active type that measures the distance by irradiating the object with spot light, it is also possible to use a passive type or ultrasonic type distance measuring device that has already been implemented as a TCL type, for example. Furthermore, although the position information is recorded on the photographic film, it may instead be recorded on a magnetic recording section formed on the outer periphery of an IC card or cartridge. Furthermore, the present invention can also be used for electronic still cameras. In this electronic still camera, position information is written to a magnetic floppy along with image data.

[Effects of the Invention] The present invention having the above configuration detects the recording position of the main subject on the screen when the main subject is measured at 4 degrees.
The position of the main subject can be recorded on a recording medium without requiring any special operations. In addition, since the position of the main subject is recorded, it is possible to print photos with emphasis on the density of this main subject, which allows the main subject to be properly printed and exposed, resulting in a finished product that satisfies the photographer. Printed photographs can be created.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an optical system of an autofocus camera according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a graph showing the relationship between the incident position and the object distance. FIGS. 4 and 5 are explanatory views showing other embodiments of spot light irradiation, respectively. FIGS. 6 to 10 are explanatory diagrams showing examples of recording position information, respectively. 10...Photographing lens 12...Photographing scene 15...Light emitter 16...Light receiving section 23...Image area sensor 45-49.50...Spot light 53... ...Main subject 54.55...Barcode 56-59...Mark. Figure 4 Figure 6 Figure 4 1, -x-1 Figure 5 0 Figure 7 5

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) In an autofocus camera that measures the photographing distance of the main subject using a distance measuring device and adjusts the focus of the photographic lens according to this photographing distance, detecting the position of the main subject on the screen measured by the distance measuring device. 1. An autofocus camera characterized by comprising means for recording information representing the position on the screen on a recording medium.