JPH08201869A - camera - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Objective] To provide a camera capable of setting more shooting modes without increasing the positions for setting the shooting modes. In a camera having a mode setting means for performing a shooting operation in a set mode based on the mode setting information from the mode setting member, the mode setting means responds to a change in a switch different from that of the mode setting member. Change the setting mode of the mode setting member to another mode (# 1
11, # 112, # 113, # 114, # 114).

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a camera, and more particularly to a mode setting device for a camera having a switch for setting various shooting modes.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as an exposure control mode of a camera,
Program modes, shutter priority modes, aperture priority modes, manual modes, etc. are known, but in recent years, in addition to these basic modes, special modes for setting the optimum exposure value for each shooting application have been used. Examples of this special mode include a portrait mode suitable for portrait photography, a landscape mode suitable for landscape photography, a sports mode for moving subjects, and a slow sync mode suitable for portrait photography with a night scene in the background. is there. In this special mode, not only the exposure control method, but also the photometric method, autofocus mode, and film feeding mode are selected. Further, conventionally, one of the plurality of modes is selected according to the operation of a dial switch or the like to set the photographing mode. FIG. 14 shows a conventional camera control method in the special mode.

[0003]

However, since the conventional special mode is designed as a shooting mode for beginners, depending on the mode, operations such as strobe light emission and exposure correction are prohibited. FIG. 13 shows a program diagram when a conventional strobe is used. At this time, since the shutter speed is fixed at 1/60 seconds, the background is crushed in black when the brightness is below a certain level. In landscape mode, the program diagram is as shown in FIG.
At this time, the flash is prohibited from emitting light. Therefore, for example, when an image of a person is placed in a night view, the background is crushed darkly in the person mode, and the exposure time is long in the landscape mode, which causes camera shake.

Also, there is a problem that so-called silhouette photography in which the background is properly exposed and the subject in front is crushed in black may not be photographed in the conventional landscape mode.

In order to solve these problems, recent cameras having a silhouette mode and a slow sync mode have been put into practical use and are on sale.

However, now that the number of shooting modes is increasing, it is not easy for a beginner to understand by unnecessarily increasing the number of switch positions because of poor operability.
Furthermore, there is a problem in terms of cost at the level of so-called popular machines for beginners. An object of a first invention according to the present application is to provide a camera capable of setting a larger number of shooting modes without increasing the positions for setting the shooting modes.

A second object of the present invention is to provide a camera which makes it easy to understand the contents of the mode to be changed.

[0008]

A first configuration for achieving the object of the first invention according to the present application is based on the mode setting information from the mode setting member as described in claim 1. In a camera having a mode setting means for performing a shooting operation in the set mode, the mode setting means changes the setting mode of the mode setting member to another mode in response to a change in a switch different from the mode setting member. The camera is characterized by that.

With this configuration, when a specific mode set by, for example, a mode dial is selected, shooting is performed in the selected mode unless the switch is operated to change the mode. When the switch is turned on, shooting is performed in a mode different from the selected mode, and the mode can be set without providing a dedicated switch or the like for each mode.

A second configuration for achieving the object of the first invention according to the present application is, as described in claim 2, in claim 1, the switch is a switch for detecting an operable state of the flash light emitting means. The camera is characterized by

With this configuration, for example, by using a switch for detecting whether or not the built-in strobe pops up in the camera body, the mode can be changed without providing a new switch.

A third structure for realizing the object of the first invention according to the present application is, as described in claim 3, in claim 1, wherein the switch is a photometric value storage switch. It is in.

With this configuration, since a switch having a unique function is used like the photometric value storage switch provided in the camera body, it is not necessary to newly provide a switch for only changing the mode.

A structure for realizing the object of the second invention according to the present application is, as described in claim 4, in claim 2 or 3, the mode changed by the change of the switch is given to the switch. The camera is characterized in that the mode is set to be related to the function.

In this configuration, since the change mode is related to the original function given to the switch, the contents of the change mode can be easily understood and good operability can be obtained.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of an electric control block of a first embodiment of a camera according to the present invention. First, the configuration of each part will be described.

Reference numeral 1 denotes a microcomputer, which controls the movements of the following camera parts. Reference numeral 2 denotes a lens control circuit, which controls a range ring and a diaphragm of a taking lens (not shown).
The lens control circuit 2 performs serial communication via DBUS while receiving the LCOM signal from the microcomputer 1, and controls a motor (not shown) based on the contents of the communication to control the range ring and the diaphragm. The microcomputer 1 also receives lens focal length information, distance information, best focus correction information, and other various correction information.

Reference numeral 3 denotes a liquid crystal display circuit, which is a circuit for displaying various photographing information of the camera such as shutter speed / aperture control value, release time lag, and battery type. This liquid crystal display circuit 3 is a DPC from the microcomputer 1.
While receiving the OM signal, serial communication is performed via DBUS, and liquid crystal display is performed based on the communication content.

Reference numeral 4 denotes a switch sense circuit, which is always supplied with power together with the liquid crystal display circuit 3, and in a normal camera, sw1 and interlocking with the first stroke for starting preparation for photographing of the release button of the camera, Switches MAIN1, 2, 3, 4, 5 that determine the exposure mode, BVLK switch that stores the metering value and changes the part of the metering sensor that is stored according to the mode, and automatic focus adjustment of the camera
You can always read the switches that determine the mode in F). When the switch is switched, the switch sense circuit 4 performs serial communication via DBUS to communicate each switch information to the microcomputer 1.

Reference numeral 5 is a strobe light emission control circuit, that is, a circuit for controlling strobe light emission and dimming, which is a circuit for storing electric charge for light emission, a xenon tube as a light emitting portion, a trigger circuit, and a circuit for stopping light emission. , Consisting of existing circuits such as a film surface reflected light photometry circuit and an integrating circuit, and the X contact is turned on by the front curtain running of the shutter unit,
Start flash of strobe.

Reference numeral 6 denotes a focus detection unit which, upon receiving a sensor accumulation start signal from the microcomputer 1, starts sensor accumulation and accumulates until the sensor accumulation level becomes constant. When the accumulation level becomes constant, the accumulation of the sensor is terminated, and the termination of the accumulation of the sensor is serially communicated to the microcomputer 1 via DBUS. When the microcomputer 1 performs sensor signal reading and communication, the signal accumulated in the line sensor is read by the microcomputer 1, AD conversion is performed in synchronization with the sensor drive signal, and from the AD-converted image signal of the subject. An existing phase difference detection method is used to detect which position the subject is focused on by the photographing lens.

Reference numeral 7 denotes a photometric circuit, which divides the screen into a plurality of areas, performs TTL photometry on the brightness of the subject in each area, and sends the photometric information to the microcomputer 1. FIG. 10 shows a split view of the photometric sensor in the photometric circuit 7.

A shutter control circuit 8 controls a shutter unit (not shown) according to a control signal from the microcomputer 1.

A feeding circuit 9 controls a film feeding motor according to a control signal from the microcomputer 1 to wind and rewind the film.

Reference numeral 10 denotes a memory, which stores information necessary for the camera to operate, and other information such as the number of film shots and ISO sensitivity information.

Further, a sw2 for operating a shutter for photographing is connected to the microcomputer 1, and when sw2 is turned on in a state where a predetermined condition is satisfied, the shutter is controlled and exposure is started.

The exposure control mode and its setting in this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 11.
In this embodiment, the mode setting is a mode dial switch as shown in FIG. Conventional program mode, shutter priority AE mode, as exposure control mode,
It is possible to set three basic modes of valve mode, and six special modes of portrait mode, landscape mode, slow sync mode, silhouette mode, close-up mode, and sports mode shown in FIG. Has been done. The special mode is equipped with a program diagram for giving the optimum exposure value for portrait photography, landscape photography, close-up photography, and photography for moving subjects, as well as appropriate exposure compensation values and automatic focus detection (AF). Modes, film feeding modes, etc. are also prepared in advance. As is clear from FIG. 2, the above nine modes are independent modes, and it is impossible for two or more modes to be set at one time.

The operation of the camera mode setting apparatus of this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

When the camera enters the switch sense input state in step 101, the process proceeds to step 102, and it is determined whether the special mode or not. In the special mode, the process proceeds to step 103, and it is first determined whether or not the sport mode. At this time, if it is in the sports mode, the process proceeds to step 104 and it is determined whether or not the built-in flash is popped up. When the strobe is popped up and the strobe is operable, the process proceeds to step 105, and the strobe emission is prohibited.

When the sport mode is selected in step 106, the camera controls the program diagram as shown in FIG.

When it is determined in step 103 that the sport mode is not set, it is determined in step 107 whether it is the portrait mode. In the portrait mode, the process proceeds to step 108 and the camera performs the portrait mode control. A program diagram for portrait mode is shown in FIG.

When it is determined in step 107 that the mode is not the portrait mode, the process proceeds to step 109 and it is determined whether the mode is the close-up mode. When it is determined that the close-up mode is set, the routine proceeds to step 110, where the close-up mode control is performed. The program diagram for the close-up mode is shown in FIG. The close-up mode is a mode in which flowers and small objects are captured in close-up, and flash firing is allowed.

If it is determined in step 109 that the close-up mode is not in effect, the flow advances to step 111 to determine whether the built-in flash is up. When the flash is up, the routine proceeds to step 112, where slow sync mode control is performed. Here, the slow sync mode is a control in which the strobe emits light but the exposure control of the camera is performed only by natural light. A program diagram for the slow sync mode is shown in FIG.

If it is determined in step 111 that the strobe is not up, the process proceeds to step 113 and BVL is set.
Determine whether the K switch is ON. Here, the BVLK switch is a push button type not shown partial light metering / light metering value holding switch provided on the camera body, and when the camera is not in the special mode, it is shown in FIG. 10 while the switch is ON. Camera photometric sensor S0
Only the portion of is measured, and the camera stores the measured value while the button is pressed. If it is determined in step 113 that the BVLK switch is ON, step 114
Then, the camera performs silhouette mode control. The control of the camera in this silhouette mode performs photometry with priority on high brightness.

A photometric method with priority on high brightness will be described with reference to the divided view of the photometric sensor of the camera shown in FIG.

S0, S1, S2, S3, S4, and S5 are divided photometric sensors. When the camera is not in the silhouette mode, the microcomputer 1 of the camera uses the brightness of each sensor, distance measurement information from the distance measurement sensor, etc. The situation is judged and the exposure value is calculated to control the exposure. For example, in the case of center-weighted photometry, the exposure value is calculated by doubling the output value of S0 from the output value of each sensor and performing calculation. In the silhouette mode, among the photometric values of each sensor, the value of the sensor with the highest brightness is used as a reference and the values of the other sensors are ignored to calculate the exposure value. A flow chart for calculating the photometric value is shown in FIG.

In step 301, the photometric value of the photometric sensor is read. In step 302, it is determined whether or not the evaluation photometry is selected. In the case of evaluation photometry, the process proceeds to step 303 to perform evaluation photometry calculation. If it is not the evaluative metering, the process proceeds to step 304, and it is judged whether or not the central portion metering is performed. In the case of center-weighted photometry, the process proceeds to step 305, and the output of the portion S0 of the photometric sensor in FIG. 10 is doubled. Step 30
In step 6, the value obtained in step 305 and the average value of the remaining sensors are calculated.

If it is determined in step 307 that peripheral photometry is performed, the process proceeds to step 308 and S0 of the photometric sensor of FIG.
The value obtained by truncating the output of is the photometric value.

If it is determined in step 307 that the peripheral photometry is not performed, the high-luminance reference photometry is performed, and the flow advances to step 309.
In step 309, the maximum value is selected from the sensors. In step 310, if the maximum photometric value is Bv10 or less, the process proceeds to step 311, and the value is set as the photometric value. When the maximum photometric value is larger than Bv10, the process proceeds to step 312 and the photometric value is set to Bv10.

In step 113, the BVLK switch is turned off.
If it is determined to be F, the process proceeds to step 115 and landscape mode control is performed. The landscape mode is a mode in which landscape photographs and souvenir photographs can be easily taken, and its program diagram is shown in FIG.

If the special mode is not determined in step 102, the process proceeds to step 201 in FIG. Step 2
If it is determined in 01 that the program mode is set, the process proceeds to step 202 and program mode control is performed. If the program mode is not determined in step 201, the process proceeds to step 203, and it is determined whether or not the mode setting dial of the camera is at the lock position. Step 20
If the dial position is in the locked position in step 3, the process proceeds to step 204 and the power of the camera is turned off. Step 2
If it is determined at 03 that the valve is not in the lock position, the routine proceeds to step 205, where it is determined whether the valve mode is set. When it is determined in step 205 that the valve mode is set, the process proceeds to step 205 and valve mode control is performed. Step 2
If it is determined in 05 that the valve mode is not set, the process proceeds to step 207.

In step 207, it is determined whether the camera is in the self-timer mode. When the camera is in the self-timer mode, the process proceeds to step 208 to control the self-timer. When the camera is not in the self-timer mode, the process proceeds to step 209. In step 209, it is judged whether the camera is in the film rewind mode,
Step 2 if in film rewind mode
In step 10, the film rewinding control is performed. Step 20
If it is not determined in 9 that the film rewind mode is selected, the process proceeds to step 211. Further, in step 211, since the shutter speed priority mode is set, the shutter speed is set.

In the present embodiment, even when it is difficult to take a picture in the conventional landscape mode, the photographer can easily associate with the slow sync mode by popping up the strobe in the dark and the silhouette mode by turning on the BVLK switch in the dark. The shooting mode can be set by operation, and even beginners can easily take beautiful pictures.

[0044]

According to the invention described in claim 1, when a specific mode set by, for example, a mode dial is selected, the selected mode is selected especially when the switch is not operated for changing the mode. Shooting in mode is executed,
When the switch is turned on, shooting is performed in a mode different from the selected mode, and the mode can be set without providing a dedicated switch or the like for each mode.

According to the second aspect of the invention, for example, by using the switch for detecting whether or not the built-in strobe pops up in the camera body, the mode can be changed without providing a new switch.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since a switch having a unique function is used like the photometric value storage switch provided in the camera body, a new switch for only changing the mode is provided. No need.

According to the invention described in claim 4, since the change mode is related to the original function given to the switch, the contents of the change mode can be easily understood and good operability can be obtained. Will be done.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a specific configuration of an electric control block according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing an exposure mode setting device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the mode setting device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the mode setting device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a program diagram of a sports mode according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a program diagram of a portrait mode of the first embodiment according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a program diagram of a close-up mode of the first embodiment according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a program diagram of a slow sync mode of the first embodiment according to the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a program diagram of a landscape mode of the camera of the first embodiment according to the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a divided view of the photometric sensor of the camera of the first embodiment according to the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a chart showing a special mode control system of the camera of the first embodiment according to the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart for calculating a photometric value of the camera of the first embodiment according to the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a program diagram when a strobe is used in a program mode of a conventional camera.

FIG. 14 is a chart showing a control mode of a special mode of a conventional camera.

[Explanation of symbols]

1; Microcomputer 2; Lens control circuit 3; Liquid crystal display circuit 4; Switch sense circuit 5; Strobe light emission control circuit 6; Focus detection unit 7; Photometric circuit 8; Shutter control circuit 9; Feed circuit 10; Memory

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A camera having a mode setting means for performing a photographing operation in a set mode on the basis of mode setting information from the mode setting member, wherein the mode setting means changes a switch different from that of the mode setting member. A camera characterized by changing the setting mode of the mode setting member to another mode in accordance with the above. 2. The camera according to claim 1, wherein the switch is a switch for detecting an operable state of the flash light emitting means. 3. The camera according to claim 1, wherein the switch is a photometric value storage switch. 4. The camera according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the mode changed by changing the switch is a mode having relevance to a function given to the switch.