JPH0774992A - Image recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] (Corrected) [Purpose] Checking the subject image during interval recording and self-timer recording Stop the power supply to the electronic viewfinder (EVF) so that the image is not displayed and the current is wasted. Get rid of things. [Structure] In the case of interval shooting, the system control CPU 110 detects that the interval switch 121 is ON, stops the energization of the EVF 117, and turns off the EV.
The subject image displayed on F117 is erased. The EVF display switch 123 is turned off in the initial state. When it is desired to check the subject image during the interval shooting, the EVF display switch 123, which is normally off, can be turned on. When the self-timer is ON, the system control CPU 110
When it is detected that the self-timer switch 122 is ON, power supply to the EVF 117 is stopped and the subject image displayed on the EVF 117 is erased. Then, after a predetermined time has elapsed, shooting is performed.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image recording apparatus such as an electronic camera configured to record image information electronically.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is known an electronic camera having a so-called interval recording function which automatically shoots images at regular intervals. There is also known an electronic camera having a self-timer function of performing a photographing operation after a predetermined time has elapsed since the release switch was pressed. Further, an electronic viewfinder is known as a finder of such a camera.

[0003]

Generally, when performing interval shooting or self-timer shooting in an image recording apparatus, the photographer rarely continues to look at the viewfinder after starting interval shooting or self-timer shooting. Is used to mount the camera on a tripod or on a stand. Although the photographer does not look at the viewfinder during this time,
Since the electronic viewfinder is energized and an image is displayed, the battery consumes the battery unnecessarily.

The present invention has been made in order to solve such a conventional problem, and provides an image recording apparatus in which a switch is turned off so that the battery is not wasted when the photographer is not looking at the electronic viewfinder. The purpose is to provide.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is configured so that the power supply to the electronic viewfinder is stopped after the start of interval shooting or the start of self-timer shooting. Further, when a tripod is attached, the power supply to the electronic viewfinder is stopped after the start of interval shooting or the start of self-timer shooting.

[0006]

According to the present invention, since the electronic viewfinder is not energized after the interval photographing or the self-timer photographing is started, the battery is not consumed wastefully.

[0007]

[First Embodiment] An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an electronic camera to which the present invention is applied. 101 is a photographing lens,
Reference numeral 102 denotes a light amount control member such as a diaphragm and shutter, 103
Is an image sensor that converts the reflected light from the subject into an electrical signal,
Reference numeral 104 denotes a CD for removing output noise of the image sensor 103
A preprocessing circuit including an S circuit and a non-linear amplification circuit for performing A / D conversion, 105 is an A / D converter, 106 is a mechanical drive circuit that drives an aperture or shutter, and 107 is an image sensor 103. Signal generation circuit (hereinafter referred to as TG) that generates a timing signal necessary for operating
08 is a buffer memory, 109 is memory read / write and D
A memory controller for controlling the refreshing operation of the RAM, 110 for a micro controller for controlling the system such as a photographing sequence, 111 for a display for assisting operation and an operation display section showing the state of the camera, and 112 for externally displaying the camera. An operation unit for operation, 113 is an interface with an expansion unit to be described later, 114 is a detachable expansion unit for connecting to the electronic camera body to perform various processes and operations, and 115 is a connection with a recording medium to be described later. Interface 116, a recording medium such as a memory card or a hard disk, 117 an electronic viewfinder (hereinafter referred to as EVF) for confirming a subject image, 1
Reference numeral 18 is a main switch for turning on the power to the system, 119 is a switch (hereinafter referred to as SW1) for performing a shooting standby operation such as AF and AE, and 120 is a shooting switch for shooting after operating the shooting standby switch 119. (Hereinafter referred to as SW2), 121 is an interval switch that sets the camera operation mode to the interval shooting mode, 122 is a self-timer switch that sets the camera operation mode to the self-timer mode, and 123 is an ON / OFF switching image for turning on and off the EVF. The EVF display changeover switch that switches ON / OFF of the display of, and 124 is a tripod attachment detection unit that detects that the tripod is attached.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing the operation of the first embodiment of the present invention. In the following flowchart, step is abbreviated as S. First, in S101, it is checked whether the main switch 118 is ON, and
If it is N, the process proceeds to S102. EVF in S102
117 is energized and an image is displayed. In S103, it is checked whether SW1 is ON, and if SW1 is ON, S106 is executed.
Otherwise go to S104. In S104, it is checked whether or not the main switch 118 is ON. If it is ON, the process returns to S103, and if not, the process proceeds to S105. In S105, the power supply to the EVF 117 is stopped and the process returns to S101. In S106, the recording medium 116
It is checked whether the remaining capacity of is 0, and if it is 0, the process proceeds to S107, and if not, the process proceeds to S108. In S107, a warning that the remaining capacity of the recording medium 116 is 0 is issued, and the process returns to S103. In S108, a shooting standby operation such as AF and AE is performed, and the process proceeds to S109. In S109, it is checked whether SW2 is ON. If it is ON, the process proceeds to S111, and if not, the process proceeds to S110. SW in S110
Check whether 1 is ON, and if it is ON, S1
09, otherwise, the process returns to S104. S111
Then, it is checked whether the self-timer switch 122 is ON. If it is ON, the process proceeds to S127, and if not, the process proceeds to S112. In S112, it is checked whether the interval switch 121 is ON. If it is ON, the process proceeds to S113, and if not, the process proceeds to S123. S
At 113, the power supply to the EVF 117 is stopped and the process proceeds to S114. In S114, a shooting operation is performed and the process proceeds to S115. The shooting operation here means to capture an object image by the image sensor 103, perform predetermined signal processing, and record the image on the recording medium 116. In S115, EVF display SW123
Check if is ON, and if it is ON, S11
6. If not, proceed to S117. In step S116, the EVF 117 is energized to display an image. In S117, the power supply to the EVF 117 is stopped and the process proceeds to S118. S11
At 8, it is checked whether the remaining capacity of the recording medium 116 is 0. If it is 0, the process proceeds to S119, and if not, the process proceeds to S120. In S119, a warning that the remaining capacity of the recording medium 116 is 0 is issued, and the photographing sequence ends. In S120, a predetermined amount is set in the counter and the process proceeds to S121. S121
Then, it is checked whether or not the value of the counter is 0. If it is 0, the process returns to S114, and if not, the process proceeds to S122. S1
At 22, the counter value is decremented by 1 and the process proceeds to S121.

In S123, the photographing operation is performed similarly to S114, and the process proceeds to S124. In S124, similarly to S118, it is checked whether the remaining capacity of the recording medium 116 is 0, and if it is 0, S
If not, the process proceeds to S125. S12
At 5, it is checked whether SW2 is ON, and if not, the process proceeds to S126. In S126, it is checked whether SW1 is ON. If it is ON, the process returns to S109, and if not, the process returns to S104.

In step S127, the energization of the EVF 117 is stopped and the process proceeds to step S128. In S128, a predetermined amount is set in the counter, and the process proceeds to S129. In S129, it is checked whether or not the value of the counter is 0. If it is 0, the process proceeds to S131, and if not, the process proceeds to S130. In S130, 1 is subtracted from the counter value and the process returns to S129. In S131, S114
Similarly to S123 and S123, the photographing operation is performed and the process proceeds to S124. The operation when configured as described above will be described. First, after the main switch 118 is turned ON, SW1ON
Press for shooting standby. After that, when SW2 is turned on, the operation is as follows.

(1) When the self-timer is ON: The system control CPU 110 detects that the self-timer switch 122 is ON, stops energizing the EVF 117, and erases the subject image displayed on the EVF 117. Then, after a predetermined time has elapsed, shooting is performed. After shooting, if the remaining capacity of the recording medium is 0, a warning is given.

(2) In the case of interval shooting The system control CPU 110 is the interval switch 1
When it is detected that 21 is ON, the power supply to the EVF 117 is stopped, and the subject image displayed on the EVF 117 is erased.
The EVF display switch 123 is turned off in the initial state. After that, the image is taken, and if the remaining capacity of the recording medium is not 0, the next image is taken after a predetermined time has elapsed.
If the remaining capacity of the recording medium is 0, a warning is given. When it is desired to check the subject image during the interval shooting, the EVF display switch 123, which is normally off, can be turned on. If it is desired to erase the subject image after confirmation, the EVF display switch 123 may be turned off.

In the above description, when the interval switch 121 or the self-timer switch 122 is detected to be ON during interval recording or self-timer recording, the power supply to the EVF 117 is stopped immediately and the subject image displayed on the EVF 117 is displayed. Although it is erased, it may be erased after a predetermined time.

[Second Embodiment] Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the second embodiment of the present invention. First, in S201, it is checked whether or not the main switch 118 is ON, and if it is ON, the process proceeds to S202. In step S102, the EVF 117 is energized to display an image. In S203, it is checked whether SW1 is ON. If it is ON, the process proceeds to S206, and if not, the process proceeds to S204. In S204, it is checked whether or not the main switch 118 is ON. If it is ON, the process returns to S203, and if not, the process proceeds to S205. In S205, the power supply to the EVF 117 is stopped and S2 is executed.
Return to 01. In step S206, the remaining capacity of the recording medium 116 is 0.
Whether or not it is 0, the process proceeds to S207, and if not, the process proceeds to S208. In S207, a warning that the remaining capacity of the recording medium 116 is 0 is issued, and the process returns to S203. S208
Then, the shooting standby operation such as AF and AE is performed, and S20
Proceed to 9. In S209, it is checked whether SW2 is ON. If it is ON, the process proceeds to S211, and if not, the process proceeds to S210. In S210, it is checked whether SW1 is ON. If it is ON, the process returns to S209, and if not, the process returns to S201. In step S211, it is checked whether the self-timer switch 122 is turned on and it is turned on.
If so, the process proceeds to S229, and if not, the process proceeds to S212. In S212, it is checked whether the interval switch 121 is ON. If it is ON, the process proceeds to S213, and if not, the process proceeds to S225. In S213, it is checked whether or not the tripod is attached by the tripod attachment detector,
If it is attached, the process proceeds to S215, and if not attached, the process proceeds to S214. In S214, the EVF display switch 123 is turned on and the process proceeds to S216. In S215, the EVF display switch 123 is turned off and the process proceeds to S216. In S216, a shooting operation is performed and the process proceeds to S217. The shooting operation here means to capture an object image by the image sensor 103, perform predetermined signal processing, and record the image on the recording medium 116. In S217, it is checked whether the remaining capacity of the recording medium 116 is 0. If it is 0, the process proceeds to S218, and if not, the process proceeds to S219. In S218, the recording medium 1
The warning that the remaining capacity of 16 is 0 is warned and the photographing sequence is ended. In S219, a predetermined amount is set in the counter and the process proceeds to S220. In S220, it is checked whether or not the counter value is 0. If it is 0, the process proceeds to S222, and if not, the process proceeds to S221. In S221, 1 is subtracted from the counter value and the process returns to S220. In S222, EVF display SW
It is checked whether 123 is ON. If it is ON, the process proceeds to S224, and if not, the process proceeds to S223. S2
At 23, the power supply to the EVF 117 is stopped and the process returns to S216. In step S224, the EVF 117 is energized to display an image.

In step S225, the photographing operation is performed as in step S216, and the flow advances to step S226. In S226, similarly to S217, it is checked whether the remaining capacity of the recording medium 116 is 0, and if 0, S
If not, the process proceeds to S227. S22
At 7, it is checked whether SW2 is ON, and if not, the process proceeds to S228. In S228, it is checked whether SW1 is ON. If it is ON, the process returns to S209, and if not, the process returns to S201.

In step S229, similarly to step S213, the tripod attachment detection unit checks whether or not the tripod is attached. If it is attached, the process proceeds to step S230, and if not, the process proceeds to step S231. In S230, the power supply to the EVF 117 is stopped and the process proceeds to S231. In S231, a predetermined amount is set in the counter and the process proceeds to S232. In S232, it is checked whether or not the value of the counter is 0. If it is 0, the process proceeds to S233, and if not, the process proceeds to S234. In S234, 1 is subtracted from the counter value and the process returns to S232. S in S233
The photographing operation is performed similarly to 216 and S225, and the process proceeds to S226.

The operation in the case of the above configuration will be described. First, after the main switch 118 is turned on, the shooting standby is performed by turning on SW1. Then S
When W2 is turned on, it operates as follows.

(1) When the self-timer is ON: The system control CPU 110 uses the self-timer switch 1
When it is detected that 22 is ON, the tripod attachment detection unit 124 next checks whether or not the tripod is attached. If the tripod is attached, the EVF 117 is deenergized and the subject image displayed on the EVF 117 is erased. . If the tripod is not attached, the EVF 117 is not erased and the photographing operation is started. The tripod attachment detection unit 124 may also be used as a tripod attachment screw, for example, and may be configured with a switch that is turned on when the tripod screw is attached thereto.

(2) When the interval switch is ON It is assumed that the EVF display switch 123 is OFF in the initial state as in the first embodiment. When the system control CPU 110 detects that the interval switch 121 is ON, the tripod attachment detector 124 next checks whether or not the tripod is attached. If the tripod is attached, the EVF 117 is deenergized and the EVF 11 is turned off.
The subject image displayed on 7 is erased. If the tripod is not attached, the EVF 117 is not erased and the photographing operation is started.
After that, photographing is performed as in the first embodiment, and the EVF 117 is turned off after a predetermined time. Here, unlike the first embodiment, the EVF 117 is turned off after the first image is photographed and a predetermined time has elapsed. By doing this, you can check whether it is working properly. The EVF is turned off for the second and subsequent sheets, and the same operation as in the first embodiment is performed. Display the desired number of shots here,
The EVF may be erased after the number of shots is taken.

[0020]

As described above, according to the present invention, when the interval recording and the self-timer recording are performed, the power supply to the EVF is stopped so that the image is not displayed. There is no need to waste the battery by displaying an image. Furthermore, by performing the above configuration when the tripod is attached,
It has the same effect when a tripod is attached.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a main part of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference numeral 101 shooting lens 102 light quantity control member 103 image sensor 104 preprocessing circuit 105 A / D converter 106 mechanical system drive circuit 107 timing signal generation circuit 108 buffer memory 109 memory controller 110 micro controller 111 operation display section 112 operation section 113 interface 114 Expansion unit 115 Interface 116 Recording medium 117 Electronic viewfinder 118 Main switch 119 Switch 120 Shooting switch 121 Interval switch 122 Self-timer switch 123 EVF display changeover switch 124 Tripod mounting detector

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code Internal reference number FI technical display location H04N 5/907 B 7734-5C

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. An image recording apparatus having an electronic viewfinder and control means for controlling the overall operation, wherein the control means controls the power supply to the electronic viewfinder and controls the image display of the electronic viewfinder. An image recording device characterized by the above. 2. The control means detects the state of an external switch, and controls the energization of the electronic viewfinder to control the image display of the electronic viewfinder according to the detected state. Image recording device. 3. Self-timer recording is possible, and at the time of self-timer recording, the control means controls energization to the electronic viewfinder to control image display of the electronic viewfinder. 1. The image recording device according to 1. 4. The interval recording is possible, and at the time of the interval recording, the control means controls energization to the electronic viewfinder to control the image display of the electronic viewfinder. Image recording device. 5. The control means controls energization to the electronic viewfinder to control image display on the electronic viewfinder after a predetermined time has passed after the self-timer recording operation is started. Image recording device. 6. The image according to claim 4, wherein the control means controls energization to the electronic viewfinder to control image display of the electronic viewfinder after a predetermined time has passed after the interval recording operation is started. Recording device. 7. The control means controls energization to the electronic viewfinder to control image display on the electronic viewfinder after a predetermined number of sheets have been recorded after the start of the interval recording operation. Image recording device. 8. An external holding means is attachable, the holding means detecting means for detecting the attachment of the holding means is provided, and the control means controls the electronic viewfinder in accordance with an output of the holding means detecting means. 5. The image recording apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the image display of the electronic viewfinder is controlled by controlling energization to the electronic viewfinder.