JP5901337B2 - Imaging device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a viewfinder of a photographing apparatus, and in particular, has two viewfinder functions, an optical viewfinder and an electronic viewfinder, and a photographer can view one or both of the optical viewfinder and the electronic viewfinder at the same time. It relates to a single-lens reflex camera.

  In recent years, even in a single-lens reflex camera type camera, it is possible to shoot still images by so-called live view display, and further to shoot moving images, in which continuous captured images of an image sensor are displayed on an external display unit (display). . At that time, the main mirror that guides the subject light to the optical viewfinder of the single-lens reflex camera is retracted out of the shooting optical path, so that the photographer of the camera cannot see the optical viewfinder image, and instead the external viewfinder placed on the back of the camera. You will see the scene image on the display.

  However, it is troublesome for the optical viewfinder and the external display section to change the position of looking into the camera, and shooting with a single-lens reflex camera while looking at the external display section makes it difficult to close the arm holding the camera, causing camera shake. It is a disadvantage that it becomes an unstable posture that is easy to do. In particular, hand-held telephoto lens photography without using a tripod was impractical.

  In order to solve this problem, a camera that can switch between an optical viewfinder and an electronic viewfinder has been proposed. If the optical viewfinder and the electronic viewfinder can be switched in the same optical path, the posture of the photographer looking into the camera's viewfinder in the live view display shooting using the electronic viewfinder and the movie shooting can be Therefore, the camera can be held in an ideal position and shooting can be performed.

  The most realistic means for allowing the camera photographer to observe both the optical viewfinder and the electronic viewfinder is a half mirror between the exit surface of the pentaprism, which is a member of the optical viewfinder, and the eyepiece. It is conceivable to arrange a half prism) and introduce the display optical path of the electronic viewfinder from the middle of the optical path of the optical viewfinder. In addition to the reflection of the half mirror surface, setting the total reflection surface to the prism that combines the two optical paths has the advantage that the light quantity of the finder optical system, that is, the brightness of the photographic subject image does not decrease.

  In Patent Document 1, display information of a display device (which can also be interpreted as a display of an electronic viewfinder) is reflected three times inside an optical member (prism) that synthesizes two optical paths and guided into the optical path of the optical finder, A finder optical system that can be observed in the same field of view has also been proposed.

JP 2007-264029 A

  However, providing an optical path combining member such as a prism in the optical path of the optical viewfinder as in Patent Document 1 causes the position of the eyepiece lens of the viewfinder optical system to move away from the object plane (in this case, the focus detection plate). The magnification tends to decrease. Therefore, in order to maintain the magnification as the optical finder, it is necessary to make the optical path combining member as thin as possible in the optical axis direction of the optical finder.

  On the other hand, if the optical path composition member is made thinner, the optical path of the electronic viewfinder becomes narrower. If the optical path is designed so that the entire photographing display range (the entire display screen) can be observed, the result of the electronic viewfinder is the result. The finder magnification must be reduced.

  In this case, if the viewfinder magnification is different between the optical viewfinder and the electronic viewfinder, the size of the subject image changes when each is switched, and the photographer feels uncomfortable.

  For example, when observing an optical viewfinder, the facial expression of the subject person can be recognized, but when switching to the electronic viewfinder, the subject becomes smaller because the viewfinder magnification is reduced, making it difficult to understand the facial expression of the person. As described above, inconvenience occurs in photographing.

  In other words, there is a problem that it is impossible for a photographer who is looking through the camera finder device to observe the subject comfortably.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a photographing apparatus capable of seeing an optimum subject image according to photographing conditions when the finder method is switched between an optical viewfinder and an electronic viewfinder. .

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an optical finder for observing a subject image formed by a photographing lens, an imaging means for capturing a subject image formed by the photographing lens, and the optical finder. An electronic viewfinder that is arranged on an optical path bent by an optical path changing unit arranged in an optical path of an eyepiece lens that constitutes the image and displays a captured image obtained by the imaging unit, and a person in the subject is determined And a person determination means , wherein the optical viewfinder has an optical magnification larger than that of the electronic viewfinder,
The first display mode for displaying the entire range of the photographed image obtained by the imaging means on the electronic viewfinder, and the photographed image obtained by the imaging means matches the optical magnification of the optical viewfinder by image processing. Having at least two display modes of a second display mode to be enlarged and displayed on the electronic viewfinder ,
The second display mode is selected when it is determined by the person determination means that a person is present in the subject .

  According to the present invention, when the optical viewfinder and the electronic viewfinder are switched, the photographer looking into the viewfinder can view the subject image or the field of view of the optimum size according to the shooting situation. It is possible to reduce shooting inconvenience and discomfort caused by the difference in optical magnification between the viewfinder and the electronic viewfinder.

It is explanatory drawing 1 of an EVF display flow. It is a structure schematic diagram of a camera It is explanatory drawing 1 of an example of EVF display. It is an electrical block diagram of a camera It is a photography sequence schematic diagram of a camera It is explanatory drawing 2 of the example of EVF display. It is explanatory drawing 3 of an example of EVF display. It is explanatory drawing of the operation member of a camera.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. In FIG. 1 to FIG. 8, the same number is assigned to the same component part.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a digital single-lens reflex camera as a photographing apparatus to which the present invention is applied. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 101 denotes a CPU (central processing unit), and the operation of the camera is controlled by the CPU 101. Reference numeral 105 denotes a photographic lens, which forms an image of subject light on a CCD 106 which is an image sensor (imaging means). Note that the photographing lens 105 shown in FIG. 2 is expressed by a single lens 105a for the sake of convenience, but actually includes a plurality of lenses.

  Reference numeral 120 denotes a focus detection plate (hereinafter referred to as a focus plate) placed on an image formation surface (primary image formation surface) equivalent to the CCD 106 image formation surface of the photographing lens 105, and the subject image is reflected by the main mirror 123. The primary image is formed on the focusing plate 120. The photographer has a so-called TTL type optical viewfinder configuration in which the subject image can be viewed through the pentaprism 128 and further through the eyepiece lens group 121. On the other hand, the main mirror 123 is a semi-transmission mirror, and a part of the light beam transmitted through the main mirror 123 is guided to the focus detection unit 119 which is a focus detection means through the sub mirror 122, and is of a known phase difference detection method. Performs focus detection. The focus detection means can detect the focus for a plurality of areas on the shooting screen.

  Reference numeral 130 denotes a photometric sensor composed of a CCD of 200 × 300 pixels vertically and horizontally, and it is possible to detect each luminance and color obtained by dividing the subject image formed on the focus plate 120 by the photometric lens 129 into a plurality of regions. ing. Further, using the output of the photometric sensor 130, the CPU 101 can determine whether or not the subject is a person from face recognition and color recognition. The photometric sensor 130 can also be said to be an imaging means.

  When the photographer presses release SW 114 (not shown), main mirror 126 is retracted out of the optical path of photographic lens 105. On the other hand, the light of the subject focused by the photographing lens 105 is controlled by a focal plane shutter 133, and is displayed as a subject image by a CCD (imaging device) 106, and then displayed on a recording medium as a photographed image. The recorded image is displayed on the external display unit 113 of the TFT display. This is normal still image shooting, but the camera can also perform live view shooting and movie shooting.

  In a general single-lens reflex camera equipped with an optical viewfinder (OVF), if the main mirror 123 is retracted out of the optical path of the photographing lens 105 during photographing as described above, the optical viewfinder becomes dark and the subject cannot be seen. On the other hand, in the photographing apparatus of this embodiment, an electronic viewfinder (EVF) is arranged in the middle of the optical viewfinder optical path, so that the subject image can be confirmed even when the main mirror 123 is retracted outside the photographing optical path. It has become. That is, the subject can be observed in the same viewfinder optical system as when looking through the optical viewfinder, enabling live view shooting.

  In live view shooting, the main mirror 123 is retracted from the shooting optical path, the shutter 133 is opened, and the CCD 106 continuously takes images, and the images are displayed on the external display unit 113 on the back of the camera or on the electronic viewfinder. An image is continuously displayed on either or both of the internal display unit (display means) 124, which is a small TFT display, and the photographer shoots a still image at an arbitrary timing while observing this display. .

  Furthermore, moving image shooting is performed by converting the live view shooting state into a moving image format and recording at an arbitrary timing.

  FIG. 8 shows a live view switch 140 and a moving image shooting switch 141 arranged on the exterior of the camera. The live view switch 140 is a rotary switch. When the protrusion of the switch is at the position of the icon 142 in the shooting mode, the live view switch 140 is a normal still image shooting mode using the optical viewfinder, and the protrusion is at the position of the icon 143. When is moved, the shooting mode of the camera is set to the live view shooting mode. When the moving image start / stop switch 141 is pressed in the live view shooting mode, moving image shooting / recording is started, and the moving image shooting is stopped again by pressing the button again.

  Next, an optical configuration related to the electronic viewfinder will be described below.

  In FIG. 2, 126 and 127 are the display prism 1 and the display prism 2, respectively. The display prism 1 and the display prism 2 are held with a thin air layer between them. One surface 126b of the display prism 1 is bonded to the pentaprism 128, and the bonded surface 126b is a half mirror. The image displayed on the internal display unit 124 is totally reflected by the surface 126 a of the display prism 1 facing the display prism 2, and part of the light is reflected by the half mirror surface 126 b bonded to the pentaprism 128. And enters the photographer's eyes.

  During live view shooting or moving image shooting, the main mirror 123 as the optical path changing means is retracted outside the shooting optical path, so that the subject light from the shooting lens 105 does not reach the photographer's eyes. The photographer can observe only the subject image displayed on 124. Further, a part of the light amount of the light from the subject is attenuated by the half mirror surface 126b, but much of the light is transmitted, and the total reflection surface 126a for display does not undergo total reflection, and the photographer does not change. Reach the eyes.

  Here, the half mirror surface 126b is intended to minimize the light amount reduction of the optical viewfinder, so that the transmittance is about 80%, and the light of the internal display unit 124 is about 20% reflection (80% attenuation). The amount of attenuation of the light amount of the electronic viewfinder is set to balance the light amount of the optical viewfinder and the electronic viewfinder by increasing the TFT backlight luminance which is the internal display unit 124.

  The optical viewfinder is for magnifying and viewing an object image projected on the focusing screen 120 by the photographing lens 105 with the eyepiece lens group 121. On the other hand, in the case of the electronic viewfinder, the eyepiece lens group 121 is shared with the optical viewfinder, and the diopter of the internal display unit 124 disposed at an optical path length position shorter than the optical path length from the eyepiece lens group 121 to the focus plate. The EVF lens 125 is disposed in order to match with the focus plate 120.

  With the above configuration, the photographer of this camera observes the subject with the normal optical viewfinder during normal still image shooting, but the same posture that was looking into the optical viewfinder during live view shooting or movie shooting The display by the internal display unit 124, that is, the subject observation using the so-called electronic viewfinder can be performed.

  Further, the camera automatically selects whether to display images continuously picked up by the CCD 106 on the internal display unit 124 or on the external display unit 113. A sensor (not shown) for detecting whether or not the photographer is looking into the camera finder is provided in the vicinity of the eyepiece lens 121, and if the photographer is looking into the camera finder according to the output, the image is taken. The image is displayed on the internal display unit 124, and when the photographer is not looking through the viewfinder of the camera, the image is displayed on the external display unit 113.

  Further, even when the main mirror 123 as the optical path changing means is located in the photographing optical path, that is, even when the optical finder is enabled in the still image photographing state, the internal display unit 124 has a focus detection region, If information such as the remaining battery level and ISO sensitivity value is displayed as characters or numbers, it is possible to superimpose the superimposed image on the optical image of the subject.

  As described above, the optical system in which the optical viewfinder and the electronic viewfinder are compatible has been described. However, when this configuration is adopted, there is a disadvantage in terms of performance as an optical viewfinder. The display prisms 1 and 2 are originally unnecessary for the optical finder, and when they are inserted into the finder optical path, the eyepiece 121 group is moved away from the focus plate 120, and the optical finder such as a viewing angle, a magnification, and a field ratio is displayed. This is because the performance is reduced. Therefore, in order to maintain the performance of the optical viewfinder having a high priority, it is desirable that the thicknesses of the display prisms 1 and 2 traversed by the optical path of the optical viewfinder be minimized.

  FIG. 4 is an electric block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the digital camera according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 4, reference numeral 101 denotes the CPU (central processing unit) described above, and an EEPROM 101a, which is a nonvolatile memory, is configured therein. Further, the CPU 101 is supplied with a ROM (Read Only Memory) 102, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 103, a data storage means 104, an image processing unit 108, a display control unit 111, a release SW 114, and a power source that store a control program. A DC / DC converter 117 is connected to each other, and a CCD control unit 107 and a CCD 106 are connected to the image processing unit 108. The CCD 106 has about 10 million effective pixels (3888 × 2592 pixels).

  The external display unit 113 and the internal display unit 124 provided in the exterior back surface of the camera and in the viewfinder are TFT color liquid crystals that can display images obtained by thinning the images captured by the CCD 106 vertically and horizontally. . The display control unit 111 drives display of still images and moving images captured by the CCD 106 on the external display unit 113 and the internal display unit 124. The motor control unit 125 starts mirror driving in response to an instruction from the CPU 101 and controls a plurality of motors inside the camera. Further, the DC / DC converter 117 is supplied with power from the battery 116.

  The CPU 101 performs various controls based on a control program in the ROM 102. Among these controls, the captured image signal output from the image processing unit 108 is read and transferred to the RAM 103. Similarly, the data is transferred from the RAM 103 to the LCD control unit 111. There is a process of JPEG compression and storing in the data storage means 104 in a file format. In the case of moving image data, the same processing is performed to compress it into a MOV format file and store it in the data storage means 104.

  Further, the CPU 101 instructs the CCD 106, the CCD control unit 107, the image processing unit 108, the LCD control unit 111, and the like to change the number of data fetching pixels and digital image processing.

  Reference numeral 119 denotes a focus detection control unit including the above-described pair of line CCD sensors for focus detection. The voltage obtained from the line sensor is A / D converted and sent to the CPU. Further, under the instruction of the CPU 101, the focus detection control unit 119 also controls the accumulation time of the line sensor and AGC (auto gain control).

  Various processing such as an instruction of a photographing operation accompanying the operation of the release SW 114 and output of a control signal for controlling power supply to each element to the DC / DC converter 117 are also based on the control of the CPU 101. Has been done.

  The RAM 103 includes an image development area 103a, a work area 103b, a VRAM 103c, and a temporary save area 103d. The image development area 103a is a temporary buffer for temporarily storing a captured image (YUV digital signal) sent from the image processing unit 108 or JPEG compressed image data read from the data storage unit 104, or an image. Used as an image-dedicated work area for compression processing and decompression processing.

  The work area 103b is a work area for various programs. The VRAM 103 c is used as a VRAM that stores display data to be displayed on the display unit 113. The temporary save area 103d is an area for temporarily saving various data.

  The data storage unit 104 is a flash memory for storing captured image data or MOV format moving image data compressed by JPEG by the CPU 101 in a file format. The CCD 106 can output thinned pixel data in the horizontal and vertical directions in accordance with the resolution conversion instruction from the CPU 101.

  The CCD control unit 107 is a timing generator for supplying a transfer clock signal and a shutter signal to the CCD 106, a circuit for performing noise removal and gain processing of the CCD output signal, and for converting an analog signal into a 10-bit digital signal. In order to perform a pixel thinning process in accordance with a resolution conversion instruction from the CPU 101 in order to perform live view display and moving image shooting on the external display unit 113 and the internal display unit 124. Circuit.

  Further, the image processing unit 108 performs image processing such as gamma conversion, color space conversion, white balance, AE, and flash correction on the 10-bit digital signal output from the CCD control unit 107, and YUV (4: 2: 2) An 8-bit digital signal is output in the format. The photographing lens 105, the CCD 106, the CCD control unit 107, and the image processing unit 108 constitute an imaging unit.

  The display control unit 111 receives the YUV digital image data transferred from the image processing unit 108 or the YUV digital image data obtained by performing JPEG decompression on the image file in the data storage unit 104, and converts it into an RGB digital signal. , Processing to output to the external display unit 113 or the internal display unit 124 is performed.

  The release SW 114 is for instructing the start of the photographing operation. This release SW 114 has a two-stage switch position by the pressing pressure of a release button, which is a camera operation member (not shown). Camera settings such as white balance and photometry are detected by detecting the first position (SW1 ON). When the second position (SW2 ON) is detected, the subject image signal capturing operation is performed.

  The photometry control unit 132 controls driving of the photometry sensor 130 formed of a CCD in accordance with an instruction from the CPU 101, takes in a subject luminance signal, and sends data to the CPU 101.

  As a basic photometric operation, the luminance signals generated in the pixels on the light receiving surface of the photometric sensor 130 are each A / D converted by the CPU 101 to become 8-bit digital signals. Fno. Indicating the brightness of the photographing lens. (Effective Fno.) Value correction, sensor output signal variation correction (level / gain adjustment), and photometric correction based on information sent from the photographic lens 105, etc., and finally the field luminance A signal value can be obtained.

  Based on these pieces of information, an optimal exposure calculation of the camera is performed, and an optimal exposure can be obtained by optimally controlling the shutter speed of the camera and the aperture of the photographing lens. In addition, as described above, the photometric sensor 130 is capable of not only exposure control but also subject detection, and thus photographing scene discrimination, by arithmetic processing of the CPU 101 based on a number of field luminance signals and color signals output from the photometric sensor 130. It is. Reference numeral 116 denotes a rechargeable secondary battery or a dry battery. A DC / DC converter 117 receives a power supply from the battery 116 to generate a plurality of power sources by performing boosting and regulation, and each element including the CPU 101. The power supply of the necessary voltage is supplied.

  The DC / DC converter 117 can control the start and stop of each voltage supply by a control signal from the CPU 101.

  Next, the shooting operation of the camera in the live view shooting mode will be described in detail with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 1 and 5 and FIG.

  The flowchart in FIG. 5 explains the shooting operation of the camera.

  When the camera is turned on in step S200, in step S201, the CPU 101 detects whether the switch operation member of the camera is set to the live view shooting mode. If the camera is not set to the live view shooting mode in step 201, the operation in the normal still image shooting mode using the optical viewfinder is performed in step S217. The operation of the still image shooting mode starts from release SW 114 ON (SW2 ON), and is a general sequence as a single-lens reflex still camera of still image shooting and recording, and is omitted because it is not directly related to the present invention. .

  On the other hand, when the camera is set to the live view shooting mode in step 201, in step S202, a moving image display mode (hereinafter referred to as EVF display mode) displayed on the internal display unit 124 which is a display unit of the electronic viewfinder is displayed. Is determined).

  Here, the EVF display mode will be described with reference to FIGS. 3A to 3C and FIG. FIG. 3A shows a subject image that can be seen by the photographer with the optical viewfinder in the photographing standby state in which the main mirror 123 of the camera is stationary in the photographing optical path. Here, a plurality of square frames inside the subject image indicate focus detection areas in which the photographing lens 105 is in focus with respect to the subject, and the square frame characters displayed on the internal display unit 124 are the optical viewfinder. It is seen superimposed on the subject image. The optical specification of this optical finder is that the finder magnification when the photographic lens 105 having a focal length of 50 mm is attached to the camera is 1.0 times, and the ratio between the photographic area and the subject area that can be visually recognized by the finder is determined. The so-called field of view means 100%.

  FIG. 3B shows a subject image that can be seen when the optical viewfinder is switched to the electronic viewfinder. The subject image obtained by subjecting the subject image captured by the CCD 106 to photoelectric conversion is subjected to image processing. Then, the electronic image displayed by the internal display unit 124 is obtained. The specifications of the electronic viewfinder at this time are such that the finder magnification is 0.8 times and the field of view is 100%.

  Here, the reason why the image magnification of the electronic viewfinder is lower than that of the optical viewfinder is that the optical display performance is prioritized as described above, and a small display (for example, in order to prevent the camera outer shape from being enlarged) This is due to the adoption of 0.5 inch panel size). When the internal display unit 124 is reduced in size, the eyepiece 121 group shared with the optical viewfinder has insufficient power (magnification rate) so that the entire display panel can be visually recognized (synonymous with 100% field of view). When the EVF finder optical system is designed, the finder magnification of the EVF must be reduced.

  The EVF display mode at this time is set to EVF display mode 1 (first display mode).

  On the other hand, FIG. 3C shows an electronic zoom image displayed on the same internal display unit 124 at the same magnification of 1.0 times as the optical viewfinder (1.25 times the image magnification of FIG. 3B). . In this case, the dotted line in the figure is the range of the subject image originally projected on the CCD 106 and is an area where shooting is performed but finder display is not possible. In this case, the field of view is 80% of 100 / 1.25.

  The display mode at this time is EVF display mode 2 (second display mode). In the EVF display mode 2, for example, if a 960 × 640 pixel TFT panel is used for the internal display unit 124, the CCD 106 has 3888 × 2592 pixels. You can see the viewfinder image.

  Further, the entire photographing composition can be confirmed by moving and displaying the EVF display range of FIG. 3C within the imaging pixel range.

  For example, FIG. 6 shows a display in which the EVF display range is moved to the upper left corner of the imaging pixel range. The broken line in FIG. 6 indicates the information range (that is, the imaged range) that can be displayed by EVF. The movement of the EVF display range can be performed by an operation using a direction switch on the camera external portion or a touch panel of the external display unit 113. While the operation member is moving (pressed with a finger, touching, etc.), the screen moved to the end in the direction of operation is displayed, but when the operation is stopped, it returns to the display position centered on the original shooting composition. .

  Also, in both the EVF display mode 1 in FIG. 3B and the EVF display mode 2 in FIG. 3C, the square frame indicating the focus detection area is superimposed on the EVF subject image displayed on the internal display unit 124. Is displayed. The display position and the frame size are changed in proportion to the finder magnification so that the relationship with the main subject is the same. Accordingly, when the finder magnification is large, the photographing lens 105 can be more accurately focused on a specific position of the subject. Furthermore, the frame thickness is displayed thin when the finder magnification is low, and thick when the magnification is high.

  Therefore, in the camera of the present embodiment, EVF display mode 1 (FIG. 3B) suitable for shooting that places importance on the shooting composition that can display the entire field of view although the finder magnification is small, and the display field is narrow but the magnification is low. Since it is the same as the optical image, it has two EVF display modes called EVF display mode 2 (FIG. 3C) suitable for photographing focusing on the main subject observation.

  Furthermore, the display mode of the electronic viewfinder is reduced by appropriately switching between the two display modes according to the shooting situation to compensate for the short viewing angle.

  Now, how the camera determines one mode from the two EVF display modes will be described with reference to a display mode selection flowchart (display mode selection means) in FIG.

  In step S300, the photographer can set the EVF display mode while viewing the screen of the external display unit 113 provided on the back surface of the camera (imaging device). First, at step 301, a selection is made as to whether or not the camera automatically performs the EVF display mode. If the user does not want to perform this automatically, the photographer can manually select and fix the EVF display mode 1 or the EVF display mode 2 in step S305.

  On the other hand, when the camera is set to automatically select the EVF display mode, in step S302, the camera determines whether or not a person of a predetermined size or larger exists in the shooting composition. As described above, in the actual person determination, the CPU 101 performs face recognition, that is, person presence determination, by performing edge processing, color information processing, and the like from the signal of the photometric sensor 130 formed of a CCD of 200 × 300 pixels vertically and horizontally. Can be performed (person determination means). Since various proposals have been made for face recognition and person detection processing, they are omitted here.

  If it is determined in step S302 that the photographed subject is a person image having a certain size, EVF display mode 2 (FIG. 3C) in which the magnification is emphasized is selected in step S303. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S302 that there is no person image of a certain size or less, or there is no shooting subject, in step S304, EVF display mode 1 (Fig. 3 (b) focusing on the shooting composition). )) Is selected.

  The EVF display mode determined by the above flow is set in the camera in step S202 (common to FIGS. 1 and 5). This is display mode selection means, and here, selection is made based on the result of the person determination means.

  Here, it returns to the flowchart of the imaging | photography operation | movement of the camera of FIG. 5 again.

  When the display method during EVF is determined in step S202, the CPU 101 retracts the main mirror 123 to the outside of the optical path of the photographing lens (mirror up), and a series of mechanical sequences in which the focal plane shutter 133 is kept open is a step. This is executed at 203.

  Next, the camera photoelectrically converts the subject image projected by the photographing lens 105 with the CCD 106 in step S204, and continuously displays the subject image on the internal display unit 124 in step S205 via the image processing unit 108. And do it.

  When the second position (SW2 ON) of the release SW 114 is detected in step S206, a normal still image shooting operation is performed in step S207, and the still image shooting is ended in step S208.

  On the other hand, if SW2 ON is not detected in step S206, it is detected in step S209 whether the moving image start / stop switch 141 is turned on. If the moving image start / stop switch 141 is turned on, the flow proceeds to step S210. If the moving image start / stop switch 141 is in the OFF state, the process returns to the detection of SW2 ON in step S206 again.

  When it is detected in step S211 that the moving image start / stop switch 141 is OFF, moving image shooting is terminated in step S212. If OFF of the moving image start / stop switch 141 is not detected, moving image shooting is continued. When the shooting of still images and moving images is completed in step S208 and step S212, it is detected in step S213 whether or not the live view shooting mode is set. Returning to S206, SW2 ON detection determination is performed. On the other hand, if it is detected that the mode has been changed to the still image shooting mode (live view switch 140 OFF) instead of the live view shooting mode, the CPU 101 stops the live view imaging operation of the CCD 106 in step S214. In S215, the display on the internal display unit 124 of the electronic viewfinder is also stopped.

  Subsequently, in step S216, the CPU 101 executes a series of mechanical sequences in which the main mirror 123 is returned to the optical path of the photographing lens (mirror down) and the focal plane shutter 133 is kept closed. That is, the live view shooting mode is completely stopped here, and the determination of whether or not the live view mode is in step S201 is awaited again.

  Further, in the determination of the EVF display mode in step S202 of FIG. 5, other means not based on the above-described flowchart of FIG. 2 may be used. For example, in photographing with a camera, the photographer can designate a photographing mode in advance (photographing mode switching means), so that an optimum EVF display mode may be selected according to the selected photographing mode. The shooting mode is set by rotating a dial (not shown) on the camera exterior to a designated position.

  The portrait mode, which is a representative shooting mode, is a shooting mode in which exposure control is performed so that the aperture value of the shooting lens 105 is opened as much as possible (Fno. Is brightened), and the depth of field of the shooting lens becomes shallow. An image in which a person is more emphasized is obtained.

  In this case, EVF display is performed in EVF display mode 2 (FIG. 3C). On the other hand, the landscape mode is a shooting mode in which the aperture of the taking lens 105 is reduced, the depth of field is increased, and the subject is in focus from near to far. Therefore, the display mode is automatically set to the EVF display mode 2 that emphasizes the shooting composition. Is done. Thus, the EVF display mode can also be determined by associating the shooting mode with the EVF display mode. That is, in this case, the display mode selection means is executed based on the signal of the shooting mode switching means.

  Furthermore, in the description of the EVF display mode set in step S202 of the flowchart of the photographing operation of the camera in FIG. 5, in the display mode selection flowchart in FIG. 1, the CPU 101 has a signal of the photometric sensor 130 formed of a CCD of 200 × 300 pixels vertically and horizontally. Then, edge recognition, color information, and other processing can be performed to perform face recognition, that is, determination of the presence of a person (person determination means). However, a CCD 106 for shooting and recording can be used instead.

  In this case, in sequence, the main mirror 123 is retracted out of the optical path of the photographing lens, the focal plane shutter 133 is opened, and imaging is started. For example, in the EVF display mode 1 in which the entire photographing field of view is displayed. Perform electronic viewfinder display. Next, the CPU 101 executes person determination of the subject to be photographed from the image pickup signal of the CCD 106, performs photographing scene analysis, and switches to an appropriate EVF display mode.

  If it is determined that the subject to be photographed is a person, since the EVF display mode 1 (FIG. 3B) is switched to the EVF display mode 2 (FIG. 3C), the photographer feels confused for a moment. However, unlike the above embodiment, the photometric sensor mounted on the camera is an effective means when it does not have a sufficient number of divisions and functions for performing person determination.

  As described above, EVF display mode 1 (FIG. 3 (b)) capable of displaying the entire field of view with a small finder magnification, and EVF display mode 2 (FIG. 3) in which the display field is narrow but the magnification is the same as the optical image. A description has been given of a camera that displays the two EVF display modes in (c)) by switching appropriately according to the shooting situation and the shooting mode.

  However, the present invention is not limited to the above two EVF display modes. For example, the EVF display mode shown in FIG. 7 is an example in which the vicinity of a person has the same magnification as that of the optical viewfinder and the vicinity of the captured image can be displayed on the electronic viewfinder.

  This display mode will be described below.

  As described above, in the camera of the present embodiment, the position of the main subject on the shooting screen and the size of the main subject can be measured by the person determination unit performed by the CPU 101 from the subject image signal of the photometric sensor 130. Therefore, in FIG. 7, a specific area 139 including the person who is the main subject is set, and electronic zoom display is performed so that the magnification in the area is the same as that of the optical viewfinder. Furthermore, by increasing the pixel thinning rate stepwise and continuously from the specific region 139 to the screen edge region, the entire image range and the entire field of view can be displayed as a result.

  That is, it includes person determination means 106 and 130 for determining a person in a subject, and when the person determination means determines that a person is present in the subject, the captured image obtained by the imaging means 105 is subjected to image processing. The specific area including the person is partially enlarged so as to coincide with the optical magnification of the optical viewfinder 121, and the area from the specific area including the person to the periphery of the display screen is gradually increased. A third display mode is provided in which the electronic viewfinder 124 displays the entire range of the photographed image obtained by the imaging unit 105 by displaying the image at a magnification lower than the optical magnification.

  Here, if the specific area is made too small, the effect of displaying the main subject large will be reduced, and conversely, if the size is set large, the background around the main subject may become an irregular image and feel unnatural Is expensive. Therefore, it is desirable to set an area slightly smaller than the size of the main subject. In addition, it is not always necessary to make the entire area of the specific area 139 uniform at the same level as the optical image. The magnification is gradually decreased from the center of the area within the area, and the method of reducing the magnification (thinning) becomes remarkable when the area is out of the area. By changing, it becomes possible to display a smoother subject image.

  The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, but the present invention is not limited to these embodiments. For example, in the description of the finder configuration so far, the display prisms 1 and 2 are used in order to make both the optical finder and the electronic viewfinder compatible. However, even a configuration in which one half mirror is simply arranged is applied to the present invention. The EVF display mode can be variously modified and changed within the scope of the gist of the EVF display mode other than the display form of the electronic viewfinder described in the present description.

101 CPU
105 Photo lens 106 CCD
120 focus plate (focus detection plate)
121 Eyepiece 123 Main mirror 124 Internal display (display panel)
126 Display prism 1
127 Display prism 2
128 Penta prism 130 Photometric sensor

Claims (2)

An optical finder for observing a subject image formed by the photographing lens, an image pickup means for picking up a subject image formed by the photographing lens, and an optical path disposed in an optical path of an eyepiece constituting the optical finder An electronic view finder arranged on the optical path bent by the changing means and displaying a captured image obtained by the imaging means; and a person determining means for determining a person in the subject, the optical finder An imaging device having an optical magnification larger than the optical magnification of the electronic viewfinder,
The first display mode for displaying the entire range of the photographed image obtained by the imaging means on the electronic viewfinder, and the photographed image obtained by the imaging means matches the optical magnification of the optical viewfinder by image processing. Having at least two display modes of a second display mode to be enlarged and displayed on the electronic viewfinder ,
The photographing apparatus , wherein the second display mode is selected when it is determined by the person determination means that a person exists in the subject . An optical finder for observing a subject image formed by the photographing lens, an image pickup means for picking up a subject image formed by the photographing lens, and an optical path disposed in an optical path of an eyepiece constituting the optical finder An electronic view finder arranged on the optical path bent by the changing means and displaying a captured image obtained by the imaging means; and a person determining means for determining a person in the subject, the optical finder An imaging device having an optical magnification larger than the optical magnification of the electronic viewfinder,
The first display mode for displaying the entire range of the photographed image obtained by the imaging means on the electronic viewfinder, and the photographed image obtained by the imaging means matches the optical magnification of the optical viewfinder by image processing. A second display mode in which the image is enlarged and displayed on the electronic viewfinder, and when the person determination unit determines that a person is present in the subject, the captured image obtained by the imaging unit is displayed as an image. The specific area including the person is partially enlarged so as to match the optical magnification of the optical viewfinder in the processing, and the optical area of the optical viewfinder is gradually increased from the specific area including the person to the periphery of the display screen. A third display for displaying the entire range of the photographed image obtained by the imaging means on the electronic viewfinder by displaying the magnification lower than the magnification. Photographing apparatus characterized by comprising at least three display modes over de.

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