JPH0423573A - View finder for camera - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To observe a sharp video image of an object with low power consumption without adjustment of diopter by projecting the video image of the object displayed on a liquid crystal panel from a point light source directly onto a retina of an eye. CONSTITUTION:A view finder 10 is provided to a rear part of one side of a VTR main body 2 of a camcoder VTR 1. The video image of an object picked up by a camera part 3 of the camcoder VTR 1 and displayed on a liquid crystal panel 27 is viewed in this view finder 10 by projecting directly the video image onto a retina 31 of an eyeball 30 through the use of a point light source of a miniature bulb. Thus, a photographer views a sharp video image of the object with low power consumption without adjustment of diopter and convenience of use is improved.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a viewfinder for a camera such as a video camera or still camera using a panel-shaped liquid crystal display.

[Summary of the Invention] The present invention provides a viewfinder for a camera in which a liquid crystal panel built into the viewfinder body is viewed through an eyepiece. The device includes a liquid crystal panel and a short focus convex lens serving as an eyepiece disposed substantially integrally with the liquid crystal panel, so that an image of a subject projected on the liquid crystal panel by the point light source is directly projected onto the retina of the eyeball. This makes it possible to see clear images of the subject with low power consumption without having to adjust the diopter, and also allows the entire viewfinder to be made smaller, thinner, and lighter.

[Prior Art] For example, an electronic viewfinder (EVF) is attached to the main body of a video camera or a camera-integrated VTR for a photographer to monitor the shooting status. this,
To explain specifically with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9, reference numeral 50 indicates a camera-integrated VTR, and this camera-integrated VTR 50
An electronic viewfinder 51 is attached to the top surface of the main body.

The electronic viewfinder 51 includes a viewfinder main body 52 consisting of a pair of upper and lower cases, a cathode ray tube (CRT) 53 built into the viewfinder main body 52 and having a black and white screen, and a cathode ray tube (CRT) 53 of the viewfinder main body 52. It is composed of a cylindrical body 54 having an eyepiece (not shown) fitted on the tube surface side, and an eyecup 55 provided at the tip of this cylindrical body 54.

And when shooting with the camera-integrated V'r R50,
By looking into the eyecup 55 of the viewfinder 51, the photographer can confirm the shooting condition (subject).

“Problems to be Solved by the Invention” However, in the conventional viewfinder 51, a substantially cylindrical cathode ray tube 53 is used as a monitor (display).
etc., a large storage space is required, the viewfinder main body 52 becomes long and the viewfinder 51 becomes large, and power consumption increases, making it impossible to achieve power saving. There were disadvantages. Further, the diopter adjustment lever 5 provided on the cylindrical body 54
6 required diopter adjustment, which made it inconvenient to use.

In order to meet the demand for a smaller and lighter viewfinder 51, a viewfinder using a thin liquid crystal panel has been developed, but since it is necessary to increase the distance between the liquid crystal panel and the eyepiece to some extent, Compact viewfinder body.

It was not possible to achieve sufficient weight reduction, and because multiple fluorescent tubes were used as a backlight for the liquid crystal panel, it was not possible to achieve sufficient power savings.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, the present invention provides a viewfinder for a camera that has a large angle of view and can further reduce size and power consumption.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In a camera viewfinder in which a liquid crystal panel built into the viewfinder body is viewed through an eyepiece, the viewfinder body includes a point light source and a transmissive type that is illuminated by the point light source. The device includes a liquid crystal panel and a short focus convex lens disposed substantially integrally with the liquid crystal panel, and is configured to project an image on the liquid crystal panel directly onto the retina of the eyeball using a point light source.

[Operation] Since the image of the object projected on the liquid crystal panel by a point light source is directly projected onto the retina of the eyeball, a clear image of the object can be seen without adjusting the diopter.

Furthermore, since a point light source is used as the light source, power consumption can be reduced. Furthermore, since the liquid crystal panel and the short focus convex lens, which is an eyepiece, are arranged substantially integrally, the storage space for the liquid crystal panel, etc. inside the viewfinder body can be saved, and the viewfinder can be made smaller, thinner, and lighter.

[Example] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

In FIG. 1, ■ is a camera-integrated VTR. This camera-integrated VTRI has a viewfinder 10 at the rear of one side of the VTR main body 2. The viewfinder body 11 of this viewfinder 10 includes a protrusion 12 that is integrally formed on the rear part of one side of the VTR main body 2, and a circular opening 12H formed in the protrusion 12, which has a cylindrical shape. The housing 13 is rotatably supported in a downward direction by fitting a rotating shaft portion 13a thereinto. An optical system 20 for monitoring the photographing state (subject) of the camera section 3 is disposed from inside the protrusion 12 of the viewfinder main body 11 to inside the housing 13.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, this optical system 20 includes a miniature light bulb (point light source) 21 disposed below within the protrusion 12 of the viewfinder main body 11, and an upper portion within the protrusion 12. The light beam of the miniature light bulb 21 is reflected (refracted) from the opening 12a of the protrusion 12 of the viewfinder main body 11 in the direction of the rotation axis inside the housing 13 through the lens 22.
and a mirror 23 that allows the light rays of the miniature light bulb 21 reflected by the mirror 23 to be reflected by the eyecup 13b of the housing 13.
A mirror 24 that reflects to the side and a pair of convex lenses 25.2
A transmissive liquid crystal panel 27 is sandwiched between the two mirrors 24 and is illuminated by the reflected light from the two mirrors 24, and a short focal length lens, which is an eyepiece, is substantially integrated with the liquid crystal panel 27 through the convex lens 26. It is generally composed of a convex lens 28. Then, the camera section 3 and the liquid crystal panel 27 are photographed and recorded.
The image of the subject projected in
It is designed to be projected onto the screen.

In FIG. 3, numeral 32 is the crystalline lens of the eye, and 33 is the pupil. Further, in FIG. 1, 4 is a camera operation button, 5 is a VTR operation button, 6 is a microphone, and 7 is a grip belt.

According to the viewfinder 10 of the camera-integrated VTR of the second embodiment, the camera section 3 of the camera-integrated VTRI
The image of the subject that is taken and displayed on the liquid crystal panel 27 is transmitted to the retina 31 of the eyeball 30 using the miniature light bulb 210 point light source.
Since the camera is projected directly onto the screen, the photographer can see a clear image of the subject without having to adjust the diopter, making it very easy to use. In particular, it is very convenient for people with myopia or presbyopia to see a clear image of the object by looking through the eyecup 13b of the housing 13 of the viewfinder body 11 without wearing glasses.

Furthermore, since the miniature light bulb 21 is used as the light source, it is possible to further reduce power consumption compared to a conventional cathode ray tube type or one using a fluorescent lamp as a backlight.

Furthermore, since the liquid crystal panel 27 and the short focus convex lens 28, which is an eyepiece, are arranged substantially integrally, the angle of view obtained is much larger than that of conventional ones. Since it can be placed as close as possible to the short focus convex lens 28, the storage space for the liquid crystal panel 27, etc. in the viewfinder main body 11 can be saved. As a result, the viewfinder body 1
1 can be made more compact, and the viewfinder 10 can be further made smaller, thinner, and lighter. Furthermore, the degree of freedom in designing the viewfinder 10 increases.

Furthermore, since the housing 13 of the viewfinder main body 11 can be freely rotated with respect to the protrusion 2,
If the eyecup 13b of the housing 13 is directed toward one side, it is very easy to photograph a subject at a low position.

4-7 show other embodiments. In the embodiment described above, the light beam from the miniature light bulb 21 is reflected by two mirrors 23. ．． 24, but the camera-integrated V of other embodiments was used.
The viewfinder 10' of the TR1' has one movable mirror 16 that rotates around a fulcrum 15 provided within the viewfinder main body 11'. And the fifth,
As shown in FIG. 7, when the housing 13 of the viewfinder main body 11' is horizontal, the movable mirror 16 refracts the light rays of the miniature light bulb 21 of the optical system 20, as shown in FIGS. As shown, viewfinder body 1
When the housing 13 of 1' is placed vertically, the movable mirror 16 is made to stand up vertically and the light beam of the small light bulb 21 is directly projected straight onto the liquid crystal panel 27 side, similar to the previous embodiment. It has the following effects. In addition, the symbol 8 in the figure,
Reference numeral 9 indicates a release disposed below 1, and reference numeral 17 indicates an elongated hole.The same reference numerals are given to the same parts as in the other embodiments, and detailed explanation thereof will be omitted.

Although the above embodiments have been described with respect to the viewfinder of a camera-integrated VTR, the present invention can be applied to viewfinders of various cameras such as still cameras, television cameras, and video cameras.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, a point light source, a transmissive liquid crystal panel illuminated by the point light source, and a transmissive liquid crystal panel arranged substantially integrally with the liquid crystal panel are provided in the viewfinder main body. The lens is equipped with a short focus convex lens that serves as an eyepiece lens, and the image on the liquid crystal panel is projected directly onto the retina of the eyeball using the point light source, so it is possible to capture a clear image of the subject without adjusting the diopter. It's possible and easy to use.

Furthermore, since a point light source is used as the light source, power consumption can be reduced.

Furthermore, since the liquid crystal panel and the short-focus convex lens, which is the eyepiece, are substantially integrated, the viewfinder can be made smaller, thinner, and lighter than conventional viewfinders.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a camera-integrated VTR showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an optical system of a viewfinder used in the VTR, FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of the optical system, The figure is a perspective view of a camera-integrated VTR of another embodiment.
The figure is a sectional view showing the optical system of the viewfinder used in the same VTR in a folded state, FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing the same optical system in an extended state, and FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of the same optical system.
FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a conventional camera-integrated VTR, and FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view of a viewfinder used in the VTR. 1.1'...Camera, 10.10'...Viewfinder, 11.11'...Viewfinder body, 21...Small light bulb (point light source), 27...LCD panel, 28.・・Short focus convex lens (eyepiece), 3o・・
・Eyeball, 31... Retina. Figure 3/+3 Figure 4 Figure 8 Figure 8 Figure 7 Figure 7 of the same VTR? U door diagram 9

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) In a camera viewfinder in which a liquid crystal panel built into the viewfinder body is viewed through an eyepiece, the viewfinder body includes a point light source, a transmissive liquid crystal panel illuminated by the point light source, and the liquid crystal display. A viewfinder for a camera, comprising a short focus convex lens disposed substantially integrally with a panel, and configured to project an image on the liquid crystal panel directly onto the retina of an eyeball using the point light source.