JPH11242290A - Photographic camera - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve the operability of a photographic camera equipped with a pseudo zooming function and to improve the quality of a photoprint by using the pseudo zooming function. SOLUTION: By operating a zoom lever 6, a zoom finder 22 is varied among one-power and four-power, and a finder image is observed in accordance with the variable power rate. A photographic lens 5 is varied between one-power and two power. In response to the operation of a shutter button 10, the luminance of an object and a distance from the object are measured. Based on the measurement data, the effect whether or not the strobe is used, and the finder variable power rate at this point of time, the optimum combination of the photographic system variable power rate and the pseudo zooming magnification is selected out of a zoom data memory 60 by a CPU 30. The pseudo zooming magnification for every photographic frame is written in an IC memory incorporated in a film cartridge 15 by a data recording device 58.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a photographic camera in which a zoom lens is used as a photographing lens and a pseudo zoom print service can be received by adjusting a trimming range and a pseudo zoom magnification at the time of photo printing. .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In ordinary photographic printing, printing is performed under a standard print magnification so that almost the entire range of a photographic image photographed on a film can be accommodated in photographic paper of a fixed size. In the trimming print known in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-27927 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 4-31735, a photographing screen on which the photographing screen on the film is trimmed from the left and right sides of the top and bottom with a predetermined width is designated, and the photographing screen is compared with the reference print magnification. Printing is performed on the photographic paper having the predetermined size under a large pseudo zoom magnification. According to this, even if the photographing lens of the camera does not have a zoom function, a print photograph in which a part of the subject image is enlarged can be obtained, and a so-called pseudo zoom effect can be obtained.

[0003] In such a trimming system, data indicating whether or not to perform trimming printing at the time of photograph printing, and when a plurality of types of trimming widths and pseudo zoom magnifications are prepared, data representing the types are required. Each of the above publications describes that these pseudo zoom print data are magnetically recorded corresponding to each frame position on the film.

In the trimming cameras described in the above publications, a zoom lens is used as a photographing lens.
The pseudo-zoom effect described above can be obtained in addition to the zoom function of the taking lens. Therefore, based on the print photo that the user ultimately obtains, the camera's zoom function will be further enhanced, which is not only effective for the user but also will not require a high magnification zoom of the shooting lens Can be made more compact and lower cost, and there are great advantages on the manufacturer side.

[0005]

However, in the trimming cameras proposed so far, the pseudo zoom function is merely used as an auxiliary function, and there is a difficulty in operability in consideration of general users. . For example, in the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-27927, after zooming up the photographing lens to the telephoto end, the user must select whether or not to use the pseudo zoom function. An additional operation is required in addition to the normal camera operation. Therefore, it is difficult to use for a general user who is not familiar with the trimming print system. Then, when a plurality of types of pseudo zoom magnifications at the time of trimming printing are set,
The number of options for the additional operation further increases, and it is hard to say that anyone can easily use the additional operation.

In the trimming camera described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 4-317,035, the pseudo-zoom magnification is automatically switched by a zoom operation of the photographing lens. However, the photographing lens is zoomed to the telephoto end. After that, only one step of zooming for pseudo-zoom is performed, so that only the same zooming effect as when a teleconverter having the same magnification as the pseudo-zoom is used is obtained. Therefore, coarse zooming by switching the pseudo zoom magnification is suddenly added after smooth zooming by the zooming operation of the photographing lens, and there is a problem in operability.

Further, as is well known in the panoramic print service, trimming printing on photographic papers having different aspect ratios is widely performed separately from the pseudo zoom print service. In this system, when photographing is performed with the viewfinder visual field range of the camera limited to, for example, a panorama format size, the information for switching the viewfinder visual field is optically or magnetically recorded on the film. At the time of printing, the information is read out, and the photographing screen on the film is trimmed by a certain width from the top and bottom directions, and the horizontally wide print target range is set to a panorama format size under a print magnification of about 1.7 times. Printing is performed on photographic paper. When such printing is performed, there is a restriction on the pseudo zoom print service, but this has not been considered at all in conventional cameras.

An object of the present invention is to solve the drawbacks of a conventional zoom lens photographic camera having a zoom lens as a photographing lens and having a pseudo zoom function.
The zoom function of the taking lens and the pseudo zoom function are integrated without discomfort to improve operability, and the subject distance, subject brightness,
It supports shooting conditions such as whether or not flash photography is used, and the fact that print photographs are created in a unique print format known as panoramic printing. An object of the present invention is to automatically select an appropriate combination of a magnification ratio of a photographing lens and a pseudo zoom magnification so that a print photograph with the highest image quality can be obtained as a result.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a zooming operation means operated by a photographer and a zoom for changing the size of a finder image in response to an operation signal from the zooming operation means. A finder, a photographic system magnification / magnification device that magnifies a photographic lens composed of a zoom lens within a range smaller than the magnification of the zoom finder, and a quasi-zoom magnification when performing photo printing are provided on a film or a film cartridge. Data recording means for writing to the storage medium, and storage means for associating a plurality of combinations of the magnification of the photographing lens and the pseudo-zoom magnification with each of the magnifications of at least a part of the zoom finder. The subject distance and subject determined in response to the zoom finder magnification and shutter release operation A specific one is selected from a combination of a zoom ratio and a pseudo-zoom magnification of the photographing lens stored in the storage unit based on a combination of photographing conditions including at least one of body brightness and use of a strobe. It is configured to determine the magnification of the photographing lens at the time of photographing and the pseudo zoom magnification to be written on the recording medium. When a unique print format is selected, the viewfinder field of view is limited accordingly. I can decide.

[0010]

FIG. 1 shows the appearance of a photographic camera using the present invention. A lens barrel 3 is provided on the front surface of the body 2, and when the main switch of the camera is turned on, the lens barrel 3 is extended from a retracted position to an illustrated photographing position (corresponding to a wide end position). A photographing lens 5 composed of a two-group type zoom lens is incorporated in the lens barrel 3, and a zoom lever 6 protruding from the back of the body is provided.
By operating the (zooming operation means), the zooming is performed, and the focal length is set to, for example, 24 mm to 48 mm.
mm. Therefore, the photographing lens 5 has a zoom magnification of 2 times, and an arbitrary magnification can be obtained from 1 to 2 times. The focal lengths at the wide-angle end and the telephoto end and the zoom magnification represented by the ratio thereof can be appropriately changed according to the lens design.

On the front surface of the body, there are further provided light emitting and receiving windows 7 and 8 for distance measurement, and a light emitting device and a light receiving device are incorporated in the back of each of them. Further, a photometric window 9 is provided on the front surface of the lens barrel 3, and a light receiving element is incorporated therein. When the shutter button 10 on the upper surface of the body is half-pressed, distance measuring light is projected from the light projecting window 7 toward the subject, and the reflected light is received by a light receiver at the back of the light receiving window 8 to measure the subject distance. The subject brightness is measured through the photometric window 9. Continue to fully press the shutter button 10,
Focusing of the photographing lens 5 is performed in accordance with the measured subject distance, and opening and closing of the shutter blades is controlled based on the measured subject brightness.

In conjunction with the lens barrel 3 being extended from the retracted position to the photographing position, the strobe light emitting section 12 projects to the upper surface of the body. When the subject brightness is lower than the predetermined level, the strobe light is emitted from the strobe light emitting unit 12 in synchronization with the opening and closing of the shutter blades. A loading lid 13 is attached to the bottom of the body so as to be openable and closable.
Is turned to the illustrated unlocked position, the loading lid 13 is opened. When the loading lid 13 is closed, the lid opening / closing lever 14 rotates to the lock position, and the loading lid 13 is locked at the closed position.

A film cartridge 15 used in this photographic camera is a plastic cartridge shell 16 in which a spool 17 around which the film is wound up to the tip is housed similarly to a film cartridge known as the IX240 type. is there. This is loaded into the cartridge loading chamber of the camera, the loading lid 13 is closed, the light shielding lid incorporated in the port opening of the cartridge shell 16 is opened by the mechanism on the camera side, and then the spool 17 is fed out of the film by the feeding mechanism on the camera side. By rotating the film in the direction, the film can be sent out from the cartridge shell 16.

The film cartridge 15 is characterized in that an IC memory 18 for writing / reading data is incorporated in a cartridge shell 16 and a terminal group 19 is exposed on an upper end surface of the cartridge shell 16. . As the IC memory 18, a memory such as an EEPROM or a flash memory which can store data without a power supply for backup and which can write / read data in an active state is used.

When the film cartridge 15 is loaded into the cartridge loading chamber of the camera, a connection terminal on the camera side is connected to these, and magnification data of a pseudo zoom described later can be written into the IC memory 18 together with photographing frame data. The film after photographing is stored again in a roll form in the original cartridge shell 16 after the film development, and is set in a photographic printer at the time of photographic printing. At this time, the connection terminals of the photo printer are connected to the respective terminals of the terminal group 19, and when performing the printing process, the magnification data of the pseudo zoom is read together with the photographed frame data. The format of the photographic film used with such a cartridge shell 16 may be other than the IX240 type.

At the back of the finder objective window 21, a zoom finder having a zoom magnification of 4 times is incorporated.
For example, as shown in FIG. 2, a real image type is used for the zoom finder 22, and the objective optical system on the object side of the Porro prism 23 is provided with a zooming function. The finder image by this objective optical system is
Is formed on the first incident surface of the lens, which can be observed as an erect image through the Porro prism and the eyepiece.
A liquid crystal plate 24 is provided close to the image plane of the finder image, and the display switching signal from the LCD driver 25 can switch the finder field of view to any of a high-vision format, a panorama format, and a conventional format. it can.

A switching knob 26, a flash mode setting button 27, and a liquid crystal display panel 28 are provided on the upper surface of the body. The switching knob 26 functions as a means for selecting a finder visual field range, and is operated when deciding whether to set the finder visual field to a high definition format, a panorama format, or a conventional format. The strobe mode setting button 27 is used to set the strobe light emission mode. Normally, the strobe light mode is an auto mode (low-brightness automatic light emission mode). On the liquid crystal display panel 28, setting information by the switching knob 26 and the strobe mode setting button 27, the number of film frames and other photographing information are displayed.

FIG. 2 schematically shows the electrical structure of the camera and the zoom mechanism. When the zoom lever 6 is operated, a zoom signal is input from the zoom operation signal generation circuit 29 to the CPU 30. Upon receiving the input of the zoom signal, the CPU 30 sends a drive signal to the motor driver 32, and the finder zoom motor 33 rotates forward and backward in accordance with the operation direction of the zoom lever 6, and the zoom ring incorporated in the zoom finder 22. Rotate 34. By the rotation of the zoom ring 34, the variable power lens in the objective optical system moves in the optical axis direction,
The magnification can be changed in 16 steps from the wide end (1 ×) to the tele end (4 ×).

The motor driver 32 includes a zoom motor 33
An encoder for detecting the rotational position of the zoom motor 33 is built in, and the rotational position information of the zoom motor 33 is fed back to the CPU 30. When the operation of the zoom lever 6 is stopped at an arbitrary time, the rotational position information of the zoom motor 33 at that time is written in the RAM area of the memory 35. The rotation position information of the zoom motor 33 corresponds to the magnification information of the zoom finder 22. The magnification information of the zoom finder 22 can also be obtained by detecting the rotational position of the zoom ring 34.

In accordance with the set position of the switching knob 26, a format switching signal for the finder visual field range is input to the CPU 30 from the selection signal generating circuit 26a. CPU 30
Drives the LCD driver 25 in response to this,
4, the finder field of view is switched to any one of a high-vision format, a panorama format, and a conventional format. This switching signal is
The magnetic head 55 records the film on the magnetic recording layer of the film while the film is being fed after photographing.

In response to the operation of the flash mode setting button 27, a flash mode signal is input from the flash device 36 to the CPU 30. The CPU 30 checks the strobe mode signal during the execution of the photographing sequence, and controls the operation of the strobe device 36 in any of the low-luminance automatic light emission, forced light emission, and forced off modes.

When a half-press signal is input from the release signal generation circuit 38 by half-pressing the shutter button 10,
The CPU 30 measures the luminance of the object through the light metering window 9, and the measurement data is written to the RAM area of the memory 40. The distance measuring device 41 is operated by the half-press signal to measure the subject distance.
Is written to the RAM area.

The measurement data of the subject brightness and the subject distance are read out at an appropriate timing when the shutter release button 10 is fully pressed to start the photographing sequence. The measurement data of the subject brightness is sent to the exposure calculation circuit 42, and is subjected to arithmetic processing together with the ISO sensitivity of the film, the use of the strobe, the F-number of the photographing lens 5, and the like, and is used for calculating the shutter time for obtaining the proper exposure. Can be
Then, the shutter driver 44 controls the opening and closing of the aperture / shutter type shutter blade 45 so that the shutter time calculated by the exposure calculation circuit 42 is obtained. The measurement data of the object distance is used when the photographing lens 5 is focused by the motor driver 46 and the focus motor 47. In addition, the photographing lens 5
It is also used when determining the magnification and the pseudo zoom magnification.

As described above, the zooming of the zoom finder 22 is performed in response to the operation of the zoom lever 6, but the final zooming of the photographing lens 5 is performed until the shutter button 10 is fully pressed. Absent. That is, when the shutter button 10 is fully pressed, the subject brightness, the subject distance,
Whether or not to use a strobe will be determined, but the CPU
30 determines the magnification of the photographing lens 5 after these photographing conditions are determined, and based on this, the operation of the motor driver 48 is controlled. The zoom motor 49 is driven by the operation of the motor driver 48, and the rotation of the zoom ring 50 incorporated in the lens barrel 3 causes the photographing lens 5 to change the magnification determined by the CPU 30 within the magnification range from 1 × to 2 ×. The magnification is changed so as to be the magnification.

The motor driver 48 has a built-in encoder for detecting the rotational position of the zoom motor 49 like the motor driver 32, and the rotational position information of the zoom motor 49 is fed back to the CPU 30. The CPU 30 controls the operation of the motor driver 48 while monitoring the rotational position information of the zoom motor 49. Of course, the rotation position information of the zoom ring 50 can be used instead of the rotation position information of the zoom motor 49.

As is well known, the film feed mechanism 52 drives the spool 17 of the film cartridge 15 or the film take-up spool on the camera side to drive the film 52.
The film 52 is sent out from the cartridge shell 16, the film 52 sent out is taken up on a take-up spool, and when all frames of the film 52 are photographed, the film 52 is rewound into the cartridge shell. When the film is fed, the movement of the film perforation is monitored by the reflection type photo sensor 53, and is used for the setting processing of the first frame and the control of the one-frame feed.

A transparent magnetic recording layer is provided on the back side of the film 52. By driving the magnetic head 55 during one frame advance after photographing, various photographing data are magnetically recorded for each photographing frame. can do. For this reason,
When the one-frame feed of the film is started, the CPU 30
The photographing data temporarily stored in the RAM area of the memory 35, such as the shutter speed, the use of a strobe, the subject distance data measured by the distance measuring device 43, the high-definition format selected by the switching lever 26, and the panorama The format data of the format or the conventional format is transmitted to the head driver 56.

The magnetically recorded photographing data is read out at the time of photo printing, and is used to make the printing process more appropriate. The format data is used for changing the size of a print photograph or changing the print magnification. For example, a photographic image taken in the HD format is printed on a photographic paper with a high-definition aspect ratio at a standard print magnification, and a photographic image taken in the conventional format has a fixed width on the left and right sides. The print area after the trimming is utilized, and the image is printed at a reference print magnification on a conventional photographic paper having an L size print size.

For a photographic image photographed in a panoramic format, the print range after trimming the top and bottom by a fixed width is utilized, and the short side length is the same as that of the photographic paper used in the other formats. However, it is printed on photographic paper having an aspect ratio of about 1: 3. The print magnification at this time is set to about 1.7 times, and the short side of the effective print range is matched with the short side of the photographic paper. Since the print service in the panorama format is already widely performed, it is advantageous to set one of the zoom magnifications used in the pseudo zoom print to 1.7 times.

The CPU 30 further controls the data recorder 58. The data recorder 58 has a group of connection terminals that come into contact with the group of terminals 19, and records data of the pseudo zoom magnification in the IC memory 18 for each photographing frame. The pseudo zoom magnification recorded here is also used to set a screen range to be printed in the photographing screen when performing the photo print processing. Further, as the data recorder 58, a device which can write data into the IC memory 18 in a non-contact manner, such as optical communication, may be used.

The zoom data memory 60 stores scaling data as conceptually shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, in this camera, as a pseudo zoom magnification,
Four types of 1.2 times, 1.4 times, 1.7 times, and 2.0 times are used, and the zoom finder 22 has 16 steps in the variable magnification range from 1 times to 4 times in 0.2 times steps. Is set. Then, when the finder magnification is between 1.2 times and 3.4 times, for the same finder magnification,
There are a plurality of combinations of the magnification of the taking lens 5 and the pseudo zoom magnification.

Since the magnification of the zoom finder 22 is equal to the product of the magnification of the photographing lens 5 and the pseudo-zoom magnification, the range of the subject observed through the zoom finder 22 corresponds to the range of a printed photograph. Therefore, as described above, when there are a plurality of combinations of the photographing system magnification and the pseudo zoom magnification with respect to the same finder magnification, the use of any of them in the same photographing range as that observed through the zoom finder 22 You can get a print photo. However, a combination having a low pseudo-zoom magnification is more advantageous in terms of image quality of a printed photograph, and a combination having a low imaging system variable magnification is advantageous in terms of depth of focus and prevention of camera shake by increasing the shutter speed. .

The zoom data memory 60 is referred to by the CPU 30 when the shutter button 10 is fully pressed, and based on the magnification of the zoom finder 22 written in the RAM area of the memory 40 at that time.
The combination of the photographing system magnification and the pseudo zoom magnification assigned to the finder magnification is sampled. If there are a plurality of such combinations, only one is selected by a scaling ratio determination process described later, whereby the final scaling ratio of the photographing lens 5 is determined, and at the same time, the pseudo zoom ratio is determined.

Since the finder magnification is variable in 16 steps as shown in FIG. 3, when the operation of the zoom lever 6 is interrupted, the magnification of the zoom finder 22 is changed to the finder magnification shown in FIG. If they do not match, the stop position of the zoom motor 33 is controlled so that the closest viewfinder magnification is obtained from the stop position. The zoom data shown in FIG. 3 is an example when the pseudo zoom magnification is set to four types of 1.2 times, 1.4 times, 1.7 times, and 2 times, and the value of the pseudo zoom magnification is changed. Alternatively, the number of types can be increased, and in this case, the contents of the viewfinder magnification and the photographing system magnification that can be used according to the respective pseudo zoom magnifications may be changed.

Next, the operation of the camera will be described with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS. When the taking lens 5 is extended from the retracted position to the wide end, and a mode other than the panorama format is selected by the switching lever 26, when the zoom lever 6 is operated to the telephoto side, the zoom finder 22 is changed in magnification, and the finder image is displayed. Is observed to be substantially continuously enlarged from the same magnification to four times. If the zoom lever 6 is operated to the wide side at any time, the zoom finder 22 is changed to the wide side.

As the zoom finder 22 changes the magnification, the finder magnification information fed back from the motor driver 32 is updated in a predetermined address area of the memory 40. When the shutter button 10 is half-pressed, photometry and distance measurement are performed, and measurement data of subject brightness and subject distance is stored in the memory 40. At this point, when the shutter button 10 is half-pressed, the measurement data once stored is cleared and the photometry and the distance measurement are again waited.

When the shutter button 10 is fully depressed, the viewfinder magnification stored in the memory 40 at that time is displayed.
The measurement data of the subject brightness and the subject distance is determined, and the photographing sequence processing shown in FIG. 5 is started. When the imaging sequence is started, the CPU 30 determines a combination of the imaging system magnification and the pseudo zoom magnification shown in FIG. 3 based on the determined finder magnification. As described above, for example, when the finder magnification is 2.2 times, the combination of “imaging system magnification and pseudo zoom magnification” is
"1.83 times -1.2 times", "1.57 times -1.4 times"
Times "," 1.29 times-1.7 times "," 1.1 times-2.0 times "
There are four types of "double".

In such a case, the most appropriate combination is selected based on shooting conditions such as subject brightness, subject distance, and whether or not a strobe is used, and is written to the RAM area of the memory 40. When the magnification of the photographing lens 5 is determined in this way, the CPU 30 accesses the ROM area of the memory 40 and associates the F number (corresponding to the brightness of the photographing lens) with the magnification of the photographing lens 5. The F number corresponding to the above magnification is read with reference to the table data. Then, the exposure calculation circuit 42 calculates the shutter time at which the proper exposure is obtained in consideration of the F number.

Subsequently, by driving the zoom motor 49, the photographing lens 5 is scaled to the position having the magnification determined as described above, and by driving the focus motor 47, focusing of the photographing lens 5 is performed. Thereafter, the shutter driver 44 operates based on the shutter time data from the exposure calculation circuit 42, and the shutter blades 45 open and close to perform photographing.

After the photographing is completed, the CPU 30 accesses the RAM area of the memory 35 and checks whether or not the data of the pseudo zoom magnification is written in a predetermined address area.
As described above, when the pseudo zoom magnification is written in the address area, this data is stored in the data recorder 58.
And writes it in the IC memory 18 of the film cartridge 15. When the data of the pseudo zoom magnification is not written in the address area, it is processed as the photographing without the pseudo zoom function, and the one-frame film feeding is started.

During the feeding of the film, the head driver 56 operates to drive the magnetic head 55, and the photographic information relating to the photographic frame is recorded on the magnetic recording layer on the back of the film. Receiving a signal from the photo sensor 53
U30 stops the film feeding mechanism 52, thereby completing one photographing sequence. After the photographing is performed for all the frames, the photographed film is taken out of the cartridge loading chamber of the camera in a state where all the photographed films are wrapped in the cartridge shell 16 and sent to the developing laboratory. At the developing station, the film developing process is performed while maintaining the correspondence between the cartridge shell 16 and the photographed film.
The developed film is rolled back into the original cartridge shell 16.

The above-described processing for determining the photographing system magnification is performed, for example, according to the flowchart shown in FIG. 6, and is performed in consideration of the photographing conditions such as the subject brightness B and the subject distance L, and whether or not a strobe is used. The determination of the level of the subject brightness B is performed based on the subject brightnesses B _S and B _H , as shown in FIG. The subject brightness B _S is
This is the upper limit brightness level at which flash photography is automatically performed when the flash auto mode is set, and the subject brightness B _H is a brightness level at which sufficient brightness can be ensured, for example, outdoors such as when it is slightly overcast. The area determination of the subject distance L, as shown in FIG. 7 (B), the distance as a distance L _S which flash light reaches sufficiently, the main subject is photographed fairly small size on the film L _D (For example, 7 ~
(About 8 m).

When the subject brightness B is so low that flash photography is required, and when flash photography is performed, the subject distance L measured by the distance measuring device 41 is compared with the distance L _S. If “L <L _S ”, then it is assumed that the flash photography will be performed normally. Therefore, the photographing system magnification is changed so that the pseudo-zoom magnification is suppressed and the image quality is prioritized. The photographing system magnification is determined in the priority mode.

In the photographing system magnification change priority mode, a photographing system having a large magnification change value is preferentially selected. For example, if the finder magnification is 2.2 times, the combination of “photographing system magnification-pseudo zoom magnification” becomes “1.83 times−
The combination is selected in order from the combination of “1.2 times” to the combination of “1.1 times−2.0 times”. However, at the time of this selection processing, the F-number of the photographing lens determined according to the magnification of the photographing system is read from the memory 40, and the F-number is too large, and the shutter time S is likely to cause camera shake. _{When V} is set later than (for example, (1/30) second), the selection target is “1.1 times−2.0 times”.
"Double" for one step.

FIG. 8 schematically shows the correlation among the photographing system variable magnification, the photographing lens F number, and the shutter speed. When the photographing system variable magnification is increased, the photographing lens 5 is proportionally increased.
The F-number increases, and the amount of transmitted light decreases.
Therefore, even if the subject brightness B is constant, the shutter speed S becomes slow when the magnification of the photographing system increases. In consideration of this, as described above, by shifting the magnification of the photographing system from a larger one to a smaller one within a range satisfying S ≧ S _V , the largest photographing system that does not cause camera shake during photographing is performed. It becomes possible to select a magnification. This allows
Since the photographing can be performed with the pseudo zoom magnification kept as small as possible, the image quality of the printed photograph can be improved as compared with the case where pseudo zoom printing is performed at a high magnification.

Conversely, when performing flash photography,
If the subject distance L is longer than the distance L _S , the amount of strobe light tends to be insufficient. In such a case, if the photographing system magnification is set in the photographing system magnification priority mode, the F-number of the photographing lens 5 can be further reduced to increase the amount of transmitted light.
The photographing system magnification may be set to a relatively large value. Therefore, in such a situation, it is advantageous to determine the imaging system magnification in the pseudo zoom priority mode.

In the pseudo zoom priority mode, among the combinations of “photographing system magnification ratio−pseudo zoom magnification” belonging to the same finder magnification ratio, the one with the largest pseudo zoom magnification, that is, the one with the smallest photographing system magnification ratio, is selected. You. As a result, even in a situation where the amount of strobe light tends to be insufficient, the one with the most advantageous transmitted light amount of the photographing lens 5 is selected, and the insufficient amount of strobe light can be improved.

[0048] Despite being a low intensity such that requires a flash photography (B <B _S), in the case of performing the forced shot while keeping off the flash, and the object distance L is a distance L _D are compared, the imaging system magnification photographing system magnification priority mode when the "L ≧ L _D" is determined. Under these circumstances, it was understood that flash photography was not originally planned, and it was naturally understood that underexposure would result in underexposure. It is preferable to take an image as large as possible to prevent the image quality from deteriorating due to the pseudo zoom. Also,
In the case of “L <L _D ”, the subject can be photographed with a certain size on the film even if the photographing system magnification is reduced. It is advantageous to improve the unders as much as possible.

Meanwhile, as high as not requiring a flash photography object brightness B, and the object distance L and the distance L _D is compared when to perform photographing while off the flash. Then, when the "L ≧ L _D" is a main object to maximize photographed on the film, it is preferable settings of the imaging system magnification is performed in the imaging system magnification priority mode. Also,
When the "L <L _D" is the subject luminance B is compared with the luminance B _H. When “B ≧ B _H ”, since the brightness is sufficient, the photographing system magnification is set in the photographing system magnification priority mode.

[0050] In contrast, "B <B _H" Setting imaging system magnification photographing system magnification priority mode when it is, the S shutter speed is slower than S _V when camera shake shutter seconds Even if it can be avoided, the shutter speed S is set on the low speed side, and the aperture opening becomes large. As described above, when the subject brightness is relatively low, even if the flash photography is not required, the focal depth of the photographing lens 5 can be increased. Therefore, it is better to set the photographing system magnification in the pseudo zoom priority mode. Often it is advantageous.

Further, when taking a picture by forcibly firing the flash in a situation where the subject brightness B is so high that flash photography is not required, such as when performing daytime synchro photography in backlight, the subject distance L Is compared with the distance L _S.
Then, for the same reason as the flash photography described above, “L
When <L _S ”, the imaging system magnification priority mode is determined, and when“ L ≧ L _S ”, the imaging system magnification ratio is determined in the pseudo zoom priority mode.

As described above, a plurality of combinations of the photographing system magnification and the pseudo zoom magnification are prepared for one finder magnification, and the most appropriate one that matches the photographing conditions is automatically selected from among them. In this case, it is possible to not only perform shooting using the pseudo zoom by simply performing the same operation as a normal zoom camera, but also to greatly improve the image quality of a printed photograph and the excess and deficiency of exposure. . In the pseudo zoom priority mode described above,
Although pseudo zoom magnification for a particular finder magnification are to choose a the largest, to the extent S shutter speed is not slower than S _V when hand Bureshatta seconds, who pseudo zoom magnification is reduced May be shifted one step at a time.

The above description is for the case where a mode other than the panoramic format is selected by the switching lever 26. When the panoramic format is selected, the print magnification is increased to 1.7 times for panoramic printing. Is required. Therefore, priority is given to the above-described combination selection process of the photographing system magnification and the pseudo zoom magnification, and only the combination without the pseudo zoom magnification is selected for each of the finder magnifications.

At the time of photo print processing, the film is printed on the photographic paper while the film is pulled out one by one from the cartridge shell 16. A data reader provided in the photo printer has an IC memory 18 incorporated in the film cartridge 15. , The pseudo zoom magnification is read for each print frame. When the pseudo zoom magnification is read, a range to be printed is specified in the photographing screen range in accordance with the read, and printing is performed at the pseudo zoom magnification.

The range shown in the print photograph thus created coincides with the range observed through the zoom finder 22 at the time of photographing. Therefore, the photographer only has to perform the zooming operation while checking the photographing range through the zoom finder 22 and operate the shutter button 10 after setting the appropriate zoom magnification in exactly the same way as when using a normal zoom camera. Anyone can easily perform shooting using the pseudo zoom function.

Although the present invention has been described based on the illustrated embodiment, the value of the pseudo zoom magnification and the number of types thereof can be appropriately increased or decreased. When the shutter button 10 is half-pressed, the finder magnification is determined, and photometry and distance measurement are performed to determine them. At that time, the photographing lens 5 is zoomed to a position where the final magnification is obtained. In this way, the shutter blades may be opened and closed at the timing when the shutter button 10 is fully pressed. Further, instead of the optical zoom finder 22, an electronic finder combining an image sensor and an electronic display such as a liquid crystal display panel or a plasma display panel can be used. In this case,
In addition to being able to respond to zooming of the viewfinder image by zooming the optical system arranged in front of the image sensor, the viewfinder image displayed on the liquid crystal display panel by electrically processing the imaging signal from the image sensor Can be handled by a so-called electronic zoom.

Further, the photographic camera of the present invention is equally applicable to a digital print processing system in which a photographic image recorded on a film is read by a scanner for each pixel and recorded on a photographic paper or a thermal recording paper by a laser or a thermal head. It is possible. Also, instead of writing the pseudo-zoom magnification into the IC memory built into the film cartridge, this can be recorded on the magnetic recording layer provided on the film, or the film itself can be optically recorded with data representing the pseudo-zoom magnification. It is.

[0058]

As described above, according to the photographic camera of the present invention, it is possible to obtain a pseudo-zoom function of obtaining a print photograph enlarged beyond the zoom range by the photographing lens. By simply performing a normal zooming operation while observing the viewfinder image, shooting with the pseudo zoom function can also be performed.This makes the operability significantly higher than with conventional cameras that support the pseudo zoom function. Be improved. Moreover,
In order to achieve the pseudo-zoom function, the optimal combination of the photographing system magnification and pseudo-zoom magnification is automatically determined, taking into account the shooting conditions such as subject brightness, subject distance, and whether or not a strobe is used, and the print format. It is possible to use the pseudo-zoom function, which is conventionally only used as a supplement, more aggressively, so that anyone can easily obtain high-quality print photos. Become.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external view of a camera using the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an electrical configuration of the camera shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram of a zoom data memory.

4 is a flowchart showing a basic operation procedure of the camera shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an outline of a photographing sequence.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a process of determining a photographing system magnification ratio.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing criteria for determining subject brightness and subject distance.

FIG. 8 is a graph schematically showing a correlation among a photographing system variable magnification, a photographing lens F number, and shutter time.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Camera Body 5 Shooting Lens 6 Zoom Lever 10 Shutter Button 15 Film Cartridge 18 IC Memory 22 Zoom Finder 30 CPU 55 Magnetic Head 58 Data Recorder 60 Zoom Data Memory

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A pseudo-zoom print in which a pseudo-zoom magnification is written for each photographed frame on a recording medium provided in a photo film or a film cartridge, and printing is performed under the pseudo-zoom magnification read from the recording medium at the time of photo printing. A photographic camera capable of receiving a service, comprising: a zooming operation unit; a zoom finder for changing the magnification of a finder image in response to an operation signal from the zooming operation unit; and a photographing lens comprising a zoom lens. A photographing system magnification changing device for changing the magnification within a range smaller than the magnification, a data recording means for recording a pseudo zoom magnification on the recording medium, and a photographing lens for at least a part of the magnification of the zoom finder. Multiple combinations of the zoom ratio and the pseudo zoom ratio A storage unit associated with the zoom finder, and based on a combination of a zoom finder magnification and shooting conditions including at least one of subject brightness, subject distance, and whether or not to use a strobe determined in response to a shutter release operation. A predetermined magnification is selected from a combination of the magnification of the photographing lens and the pseudo zoom magnification stored in the storage means, and the magnification of the photographing lens at the time of photographing and the pseudo zoom magnification written to the recording medium are determined. A photo camera characterized by the following. 2. A pseudo-zoom print in which a pseudo-zoom magnification is written for each photographing frame on a recording medium provided in a photographic film or a film cartridge, and printing is performed under the pseudo-zoom magnification read from the recording medium when printing a photograph. A photographic camera capable of receiving a service, comprising: a zooming operation unit; a zoom finder for changing the magnification of a finder image in response to an operation signal from the zooming operation unit; and a photographing lens comprising a zoom lens. A photographing system zooming device for zooming within a range smaller than the zooming ratio, data recording means for recording a pseudo zooming ratio on the recording medium, and a visual field range selection for selecting whether or not to restrict the visual field range of the finder. Means, for at least a portion of the zoom finder magnification,
Storage means for associating a plurality of combinations of the magnification of the photographing lens and the pseudo-zoom magnification with each other, based on a combination of a magnification of a zoom finder and a switching signal from the field-of-view range selection means, A predetermined magnification is selected from a combination of the magnification of the photographing lens and the pseudo zoom magnification stored in the storage means, and the magnification of the photographing lens at the time of photographing and the pseudo zoom magnification written to the recording medium are determined. A photo camera characterized by the following.