JP7146536B2 - Electronic device and its control method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an electronic device, its control method, program, and recording medium.

2. Description of the Related Art There is known an electronic device that displays what kind of operation is being performed on an operation member as auxiliary information for a user.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-200003 proposes displaying the force with which the user presses the touch panel, and displaying a message (such as "Please press harder") that prompts the user to keep the user's pressing pressure within an allowable range. . This allows the user to recognize whether the pressing pressure during his or her own input operation is strong or weak based on the appropriate value, or whether it is within the allowable range or outside the allowable range, and determines the pressing pressure during the next operation. It is stated that it will be adjusted.

Patent Document 2 describes a touch wheel button that can be pressed at any one of a plurality of positions, and shows the function currently assigned to each position and the location where the user is currently touching the touch wheel button. It is proposed to display

JP 2015-118504 A JP 2007-221721 A

Conventional techniques such as Patent Documents 1 and 2 can indicate what kind of operation is being performed on an operation member and what kind of function is assigned to the operation being performed. However, if a process that can be executed according to the current operation can also be executed by another operation, the user cannot be made aware of this fact.

Accordingly, the present invention provides an electronic device, a control method for an electronic device, and a method for controlling an electronic device that can make a user aware of the fact that a process that can be executed according to a current operation can also be executed by another operation. The purpose is to provide a program and a recording medium.

In order to solve the above problems, the electronic device of the present invention includes:
setting means for dividing an operation amount for a specific operation member into M stages, and assigning and setting processing contents for each stage of the operation amount;
When the specific operation member is operated, the N-th stage, which is the stage corresponding to the manipulated operation amount, is displayed so as to be identifiable from the stages to which other processing contents are assigned, and the N-th stage is displayed. and control means for performing control so that the identification display is also performed for the i-th stage when the same processing content as the N-th stage is assigned to the i-th stage different from the stage. do.

If a process that can be executed according to the current operation can also be executed by another operation, the user can be made aware of it.

1 is an external view of a digital camera 100; FIG. 2 is a configuration block diagram of the digital camera 100. FIG. 4 is a flowchart of shooting mode processing; 3A and 3B are display examples of a menu screen, a user setting confirmation screen, and a user setting editing screen on the display unit 28. FIG. 9 is a flowchart of zoom speed setting detail display processing. FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of display transition of an index and a speed bar according to pressing of a zoom key 104; 6 is a flowchart of zoom processing; 9 is a flowchart of user setting editing processing; 9 is a flowchart of zoom speed setting simplified display processing; (a1) to (a3) are display examples of a speed bar by zoom speed setting detail display processing. (b1) to (b3) are display examples of a speed bar by zoom speed setting simple display processing. This is the correspondence between the number of stages determined by the variable b and {V(i)-V(i-1)}. FIG. 10 is another display example in response to pressing of the zoom key 104. FIG. It is an example of a display according to pressing of an assign button.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an external view of a digital camera 100 (digital video camera) as an example of an electronic device (display control device) of the present invention. 1A is a view of the digital camera 100 viewed from one side, and FIG. 1B is a view of the digital camera 100 viewed from the other side. A digital camera 100 has a barrier 101 and a photographing lens 102 on the front side. The digital camera 100 also has a viewfinder as the display unit 28 on the back side. The digital camera 100 also includes a seesaw-type zoom key 104 (grip zoom key) as an operation device on the side of the main body. Assignment buttons 1 (1001), 2 (1002), 3 (1003), and 4 (1004) are customization keys that allow the user to assign one of a plurality of functions to each button.

FIG. 1C is an enlarged view of the zoom key 104. As shown in FIG. The zoom key 104 is operated by a user's pressing action. The digital camera 100 is assigned a zoom speed (function) corresponding to the pressing amount (operation amount, pressing amount) when the zoom key 104 is pressed from the reference position. The zoom key 104 has a first operating portion 105a and a second operating portion 105b. The first operation portion 105a is operated when the user performs an instruction operation for zooming to the telephoto side (telephoto side). The second operation portion 105b is a portion operated when the user performs an instruction operation for zooming to the wide angle side (wide side). When the user presses the first operation portion 105a, zooming in is performed at the zoom speed assigned to the pressing amount. On the other hand, when the user presses the second operation portion 105b, zooming out is performed at the zoom speed assigned to the pressing amount. Note that the zoom key 104 is configured to return to the reference position (initial position) when the user releases the depression of the first operation portion 105a or the second operation portion 105b.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the digital camera 100. As shown in FIG.

A photographing lens 102 is a lens group including a zoom lens and a focus lens. A zoom lens changes the zoom magnification by changing the focal length. A zoom lens is controlled by a zoom control unit 201 . A focus lens is a lens for focusing. The focus lens is controlled by the distance measurement control section 202 .

The imaging unit 203 is an imaging sensor configured by a CCD, a CMOS element, or the like that converts an optical image into an electrical signal. The A/D converter 204 converts the analog signal output from the imaging unit 203 into a digital signal. The barrier 101 covers the imaging system including the imaging lens 102 of the digital camera 100 to prevent dirt and damage to the imaging system.

The image processing unit 205 performs resizing processing such as predetermined pixel interpolation and reduction, and color conversion processing on the image data from the A/D converter 204 or the image data from the memory control unit 206 . Further, the image processing unit 205 performs predetermined arithmetic processing using captured image data, and the system control unit 50 performs exposure control and distance measurement control based on the obtained arithmetic result. As a result, TTL (through-the-lens) AF (autofocus) processing, AE (automatic exposure) processing, and EF (flash pre-emission) processing are performed. Further, the image processing unit 205 performs predetermined arithmetic processing using captured image data, and also performs TTL AWB (Auto White Balance) processing based on the obtained arithmetic results.

The image data from the A/D converter 204 is directly written into the memory 207 via the image processing section 205 and the memory control section 206 or via the memory control section 206 . The memory 207 stores image data obtained by the imaging unit 203 and converted into digital data by the A/D converter 204 and image data to be displayed on the display unit 28 . The memory 207 has a storage capacity sufficient to store a predetermined number of still images, moving images for a predetermined period of time, and audio. The memory 207 also serves as an image display memory (video memory) when displaying image data and OSD (On Screen Display) data read from the recording medium 200 on the display unit 28 .

The D/A converter 209 converts image data for image display stored in the memory 207 into an analog signal and supplies the analog signal to the display unit 28 . Therefore, the image data for display written in the memory 207 is displayed by the display section 28 via the D/A converter 209 . The display unit 28 performs display according to the analog signal from the D/A converter 209 on a display such as an LCD. A digital signal that has been A/D converted by the A/D converter 204 and stored in the memory 207 is converted to analog by the D/A converter 209, and is sequentially transferred to the display unit 28 for display. It works and the live view image is displayed. The display unit 28 of the present embodiment is a liquid crystal display, but may be another type of display such as an organic EL (Organic Electroluminescence) display. Further, the display unit 28 of the present embodiment is an electronic viewfinder, but it may be a small (for example, 3.5 inch) liquid crystal monitor, or an external output such as HDMI (registered trademark) or SDI. good. Further, the display section 28 may have a plurality of these display output systems.

The nonvolatile memory 56 is a memory as an electrically erasable/recordable recording medium, and for example, an EEPROM or the like is used. The nonvolatile memory 56 stores constants, programs, etc. for the operation of the system control unit 50 . This program is a program for executing various flowcharts of this embodiment, which will be described later.

The system controller 50 is at least one processor and/or at least one circuit that controls the entire digital camera 100 . By executing the program stored in the non-volatile memory 56 by the system control unit 50, each process described later in this embodiment is realized. The system control unit 50 also performs display control by controlling the memory 207, the D/A converter 209, the display unit 28, and the like.

A RAM, for example, is used as the system memory 52 . The system memory 52 stores constants and variables for operation of the system control unit 50, programs read from the nonvolatile memory 56, and the like. A system timer 212 is a timer that measures the time used for various controls and the time of a built-in clock.

The operation unit 70 is operation means for inputting various operation instructions to the system control unit 50 . The operation unit 70 has a menu button, a cancel button, cross keys (up direction key, down direction key, left direction key, right direction key), SET button, and AF/MF switching button. It also includes assign buttons 1 (1001), 2 (1002), 3 (1003), and 4 (1004) to which functions can be assigned by menu setting. For example, when the menu button is pressed, a menu screen on which various settings can be made is displayed on the display unit 28 . The user can intuitively perform various settings using the menu screen displayed on the display unit 28, the cross key, and the SET button.

A mode switch 214 switches the operation mode of the system control unit 50 to any mode such as a moving image recording mode, a reproduction mode, or the like.

The power switch 215 is a push button for switching between power on and power off.

The zoom key 104 is included in the operation unit 70, is a seesaw type operation member, and is operated by being pushed. The system control unit 50 detects the amount of depression of the first operation portion 105a or the second operation portion 105b of the zoom key 104, and controls the zoom control unit 201 so that the zoom speed assigned to the amount of depression is achieved. change the position of The voltage change amount of the zoom key 104 of the present embodiment increases as the depression amount increases. Therefore, the system control unit 50 detects the pressing amount by detecting the voltage output from the zoom key 104 .

The power supply control unit 216 includes a battery detection circuit, a DC-DC converter, a switch circuit for switching blocks to be energized, and the like, and detects whether or not a battery is installed, the type of battery, and the remaining battery level. Also, the power supply control unit 216 controls the DC-DC converter based on the detection results and instructions from the system control unit 50, and supplies necessary voltage to each unit including the recording medium 200 for a necessary period.

The power supply unit 217 includes a primary battery such as an alkaline battery or a lithium battery, a secondary battery such as a NiCd battery, a NiMH battery, or a Li battery, an AC adapter, or the like. A recording medium I/F 218 is an interface with a recording medium 200 such as a memory card or hard disk. A recording medium 200 is a recording medium for recording image files of captured images, and is composed of a semiconductor memory such as a memory card, a magnetic disk, or the like.

The zoom speed is an important factor as an image expression technique for moving images. For example, if you zoom in at a fast zoom speed, you can quickly magnify a distant subject and give the viewer a sense of speed, but on the other hand, it gives the impression that the camera work is restless and messy. may give If you zoom in at a very slow zoom speed, even if you are shooting a subject that is just talking and has little movement (such as an actor), you can reduce the impression of boredom on the viewer, and you can reduce the amount of zoom in. It can draw more attention to the subject in the center. However, it is not possible to magnify a distant subject to a sufficient size within a short period of time. In addition, there are cases where a zoom operation is required, such as zooming at a constant zoom speed, or zooming slowly at first and then zooming at a high speed. In this way, what kind of zoom speed is preferable depends on the situation of zooming and the intention of the video creator. Therefore, it is required that the zoom speed as intended by the photographer can be selectively used with good operability.

In the digital camera 100 of this embodiment, various zoom speeds can be selectively used with good operability in zooming performed by operating the zoom key 104 . In the digital camera 100 , at least one of three types of zoom, ie, fixed-speed zoom, variable-speed zoom, and user setting, can be selected and set as the type of zoom according to the operation of the zoom key 104 . The contents of each type will be described later. Also, at least three types of preset patterns of zoom speed for each pressing level of the zoom key 104 can be used. Furthermore, based on the preset pattern, the user can change the zoom speed for each pressing level to register and use a customized pattern. That is, from the state in which the preset patterns are assigned, the zoom speed assigned to each of the plurality of pressing levels can be adjusted based on the user's operation. The zoom control according to the operation of the zoom key 104 will be mainly described below.

In this embodiment, the system control unit 50 converts the voltage detected when the zoom key 104 is pressed to obtain a numerical value in the range of -127 to +127 indicating the amount of pressing (pressing amount). If the zoom key 104 is not pressed, a numerical value of 0 is acquired. When the first operation portion 105a is pressed (when the zoom key 104 is pressed in the clockwise direction around the fulcrum), a numerical value from 1 to 127 is acquired, and a zoom operation to the telephoto side (telephoto side) is performed. indicates that it is When the second operation portion 105b is pressed (when pressed counterclockwise about the fulcrum of the zoom key 104), a numerical value from -1 to -127 is obtained, and the zoom is performed to the wide side (closest side). Indicates that an operation is taking place. A larger absolute value indicates a stronger depression (a deeper depression), and a positive or negative sign indicates the zoom direction. In the digital camera 100, the numerical values obtained from 1 to 127 and from -1 to -127 are divided (classified) into five levels, and a zoom speed is assigned to each level for management. That is, the zoom speed is assigned and managed for each of five stages of the operation amount. In the present embodiment, an example in which the manipulated variable is divided into five stages will be described, but the number of stages may be two or more or three or more. In the five stages of the present embodiment, for example, when any numerical value from 1 to 25 is acquired, the system control unit 50 sets the depression level to the tele side as 1, and zooms at the zoom speed associated with the depression level 1. Control to zoom to the side. Further, when any numerical value of 26 to 50 is obtained, the depression level to the telephoto side is set to 2, and control is performed to zoom to the telephoto side at the zoom speed associated with the depression level 2. FIG. Similarly, 51 to 75, 76 to 100, and 101 to 127 are depression levels 3, 4, and 5, respectively. That is, the numerical range of each level of depression levels 1 to 4 is 25, and the numerical range of depression level 5, which is the maximum depression level, is 27. FIG. Pressing levels 1 to 4 can be increased to a higher pressing level by increasing the pressing force, but there is no pressing level 5 or higher. That is, except for pressing level 5, there is a proportional relationship such that every time the amount of pressing is increased by 25, the pressing level increases by one. Also, when any of the numerical values from -25 to -1 is acquired, the pressing level to the wide side is set to 1 (or pressing level -1), and the zoom speed associated with the pressing level 1 to the wide side is used. Control to zoom to the wide side. In addition, when any of the numerical values from -50 to -26 is acquired, the pressing level 2 to the wide side (or pressing level -2) is set, and the zoom speed associated with the pressing level 2 to the wide side is used. Control to zoom to the wide side. In the present embodiment, if the absolute values of the depression levels are the same (for example, depression levels 1 and -1), the absolute values of the zoom speed are the same on both the telephoto side and the wide side. may be assigned. Correspondences between voltages, numerical values, and depression levels are pre-stored in the non-volatile memory 56 in association with each other. It can also be customized by the user. Note that the relationship between the pressing amount and the pressing level in five stages on one side is not limited to the numerical range described above, and the numerical range width of each level may be equal, or may be weighted according to the stage. The case of weighting by stages means, for example, that the range of numerical values corresponding to press level 1 and press level 5 is made wider than the other press levels. Such a numerical range facilitates the use of the lowest press level (slowest zoom speed) and the highest press level (fastest zoom speed). In addition, although the pressing level has been described as an example of five steps on one side, it is not limited to this, and may be divided into more steps or fewer steps.

In the digital camera 100 of the present embodiment, one of 17 levels of zoom speed (control value or setting value of the zoom function) from 0 to 16 is assigned to each depression level of the zoom key 104 described above. Note that the zoom speed assigned to each pressing level may be other than 17 levels, and expressions such as "slow, normal, fast" may be used instead of numerical values. For example, when zoom speed 3 is assigned to pressing level 1, when the user presses the zoom key 104 at pressing level 1 (any of pressing amount 1 to 25), the zoom position is telephoto end (telephoto end). If it has not reached the zoom speed 3, it is zoomed to the telephoto side.

Note that the digital camera of this embodiment can set the overall zoom speed to any one of high, middle, and low, in addition to the user setting (user customization) of the zoom speed, which will be described later. That is, the zoom speed "0 to 16" set for each pressing level is changed according to the setting of high, middle, and low.

FIG. 3 shows a flowchart of shooting mode processing in the digital camera 100 . The processing of each flow chart including FIG. 3 described later is realized by developing a program recorded in the nonvolatile memory 56 into the system memory 52 and executing it by the system control unit 50 . When the digital camera 100 is activated in shooting mode, the process of FIG. 3 is started.

In S301, the system control unit 50 starts capturing an LV image with the image capturing unit 203, and displays a shooting standby screen including the LV image.

In S302, the system control unit 50 performs zoom speed setting simple display processing. The zoom speed setting simplified display processing will be described later with reference to FIG. By this processing, when the type of zoom speed is set to user setting (user customization), a zoom speed bar indicating the relative relationship of the zoom speed for each depression level of the zoom key 104 customized by the user is displayed on the LV image. It is superimposed and displayed.

In S303, the system control unit 50 determines whether or not the menu button included in the operation unit 70 has been pressed (whether or not a menu display instruction has been given). If the menu button has been pressed, the process proceeds to S311; otherwise, the process proceeds to S304.

In S304, the system control unit 50 determines whether or not the zoom key 104 has been pressed. If the zoom key 104 has been pressed, the process proceeds to S305; otherwise, the process proceeds to S306. In S305, zoom processing is performed at a zoom speed according to the amount of depression of the zoom key. The zoom processing will be described later with reference to FIG.

In S306, the system control unit 50 determines whether or not the REC button (shooting instruction key) included in the operation unit 70 has been pressed. If the REC button has been pressed, the process proceeds to S307; otherwise, the process proceeds to S310. In S307, the system control unit 50 determines whether or not moving images are being recorded. If the moving image is being recorded, the process proceeds to S309; otherwise (recording stopped, recording standby), the process proceeds to S308. In S308, recording processing (actual shooting processing, REC) for recording the moving image captured by the imaging unit 203 as a moving image file on the recording medium 200 is started. In S309, the system control unit 50 stops the moving image being recorded, and closes the recorded moving image file. As a result, the recording standby state is set. That is, the system control unit 50 starts recording when the REC button is pressed during standby (stopped, STBY) for moving image recording, and stops recording the moving image when the REC button is pressed during recording.

In S310, the system control unit 50 determines whether or not an end event of the shooting mode process has occurred. End events include turning off the power due to pressing of the power switch 215, turning off the power due to a drop in the power supply voltage, transitioning to the reproduction mode, and the like. If an end event occurs, the shooting mode process is ended. If not, the process returns to S303 and repeats the process.

In S<b>311 , the system control unit 50 displays a menu screen on the display unit 28 . The menu screen is a screen that displays a menu including a plurality of menu items for performing various settings related to the digital camera 100 . The menu screen can display some menu items out of a plurality of menu items that cannot fit on one screen by scrolling or switching tabs.

FIG. 4A shows a display example of the menu screen. FIG. 4A shows a display example of a portion of a menu related to camera settings that includes a menu item 403 for setting the type of zoom speed and a menu item 404 for selecting a user setting number for customizing the zoom speed. be. The menu screen is displayed superimposed on the shooting standby screen in which the recordable time 401a, the recording state 401b, and the recordable time 401c are superimposed on the LV image 400 and displayed. A menu item 403 (“grip zoom speed”) is an item for setting zoom drive based on what kind of zoom speed assignment pattern when the zoom key 104 is operated. Options include "user" (user setting, user customization), variable speed zoom, and fixed speed zoom, which can be set. "User" (user setting, user customization) is a type in which the zoom is driven at a zoom speed set by the user or at a preset zoom speed for each amount of depression of the zoom key 104 (depression amount, degree of depression, pressure, amount of depression). be. The user can set different zoom speeds depending on the amount of depression, or set the same zoom speed regardless of the amount of depression. Variable-speed zoom is a type of zoom drive that is assigned in advance to the amount of depression of the zoom key 104 and that zooms at different zoom speeds for each amount of depression. The fixed-speed zoom is a type in which zoom driving is performed at a constant zoom speed when the zoom key 104 is pressed, regardless of how much the zoom key 104 is pressed. That is, the fixed-speed zoom is a type in which the same zoom speed is assigned in advance to any amount of depression of the zoom key 104, and the zoom is driven at the same zoom speed regardless of the amount of depression. A menu item 404 (“user setting”) selects which of a plurality of setting patterns (a pattern set by the user or a preset pattern) is to be used when the type of zoom speed is “user”. This is an item to be set. In this embodiment, it is assumed that any one of three options (user setting numbers 1 to 3) of user 1, user 2, and user 3 can be set. That is, in this embodiment, the user can register three patterns of zoom speed for each pressing amount of the zoom key. A menu item 404 can be selected when the menu item 403 is set to “user”. In other cases (when variable speed zoom or fixed speed zoom is set), it is grayed out and cannot be selected.

In S312, the system control unit 50 determines whether or not there is an instruction to change the type of zoom speed. As described above, the type of zoom speed can be selected by selecting menu item 403 . Specifically, it can be changed by pressing the right key or left key (hereinafter collectively referred to as the left/right key) included in the operation unit 70 while the selection cursor is placed on the menu item 403 . If there is an instruction to change the type of zoom speed, the process proceeds to S313; otherwise, the process proceeds to S314. In S313, the system control unit 50 sets one of "user" (user setting, user customization), variable speed zoom, and fixed speed zoom based on the zoom speed type change instruction.

In S314, the system control unit 50 determines whether or not the current zoom speed type is set to the user setting (“user”). If the user setting is set, the process proceeds to S315; otherwise, the process proceeds to S316. In S315, the system control unit 50 determines whether or not the set button included in the operation unit 70 has been pressed while the "user setting" item (menu item 404) is selected (the selection cursor is placed thereon). judge. If the set button is pressed while the user setting item is selected, the process proceeds to S319; otherwise, the process proceeds to S316.

In S316, the system control unit 50 determines whether or not another operation has been performed. Other operations include operation of moving a selection cursor for selecting a menu item (up/down key operation included in the operation unit 70), and setting operation while other menu items are selected. In S317, the system control unit 50 performs processing according to other operations. For example, one operation of the down key moves the selection cursor so as to select the menu item one level below.

In S318, the system control unit 50 determines whether or not there is an instruction to end the menu screen (menu clear operation). If there is an instruction to end the menu screen, the menu screen is hidden, and the process returns to S301 to display the shooting waterfall screen. If there is no instruction to end the menu screen, the process returns to S312 and repeats the process.

In S<b>319 , the system control unit 50 retrieves from the nonvolatile memory 56 the zoom speed set value (registered setting pattern).

In S320, the system control unit 50 performs zoom speed setting detail display processing. The zoom speed setting details display process will be described later with reference to FIG.

In S<b>321 , the system control unit 50 displays a user setting confirmation screen on the display unit 28 . FIG. 4(c1), FIG. 4(d1), and FIG. 4(e1) show display examples of the user setting confirmation screen. FIGS. 4(c1), 4(d1), and 4(e1) are for each pressing level of the zoom key 104 registered in "user setting 1," "user setting 2," and "user setting 3," respectively. It is an example of a display of the confirmation screen of the setting pattern of zoom speed. In FIGS. 4(c1), 4(d1), and 4(e1), the user setting number 405 is the user setting number which is the identification number of the currently displayed setting pattern. An OK button 406 is a display item that is an option for changing the setting to the currently displayed setting pattern and ending the confirmation screen. The edit button 407 is a display item that is an option for transitioning to a screen for editing the currently displayed setting pattern (a screen for changing the setting of the zoom speed for each pressing level). The user can select any one of the user setting number 405, OK button 406, and edit button 407 by moving the selection cursor. In addition, an LV image 400, a recordable time 401a, a recording state 401b, and a recordable time 401c are displayed in the background. Also, a zoom bar 408 indicating the current zoom position is displayed in response to the start of operation of the zoom key 104, and is displayed until a predetermined time elapses after the end of the operation. The left end of the zoom bar 408 corresponds to the wide end and the right end corresponds to the tele end, and the position of the vertically long index indicates the current zoom position. When an optical zoom is performed by operating the zoom key 104, the position of the index moves according to the zoom position.

4(c1), 4(d1), and 4(e1), a zoom speed bar display area 410 displays the set values of the zoom speed when the zoom key 104 is pressed at each pressing level. A zoom speed bar is displayed, which is a display element with the height of a rectangle in . Each "zoom speed bar" is one of the display elements (display items), and hereinafter, the "zoom speed bar" may be simply referred to as "speed bar". Note that the dotted line in the drawing showing the zoom speed bar display area 410 is shown for convenience, and is not displayed on the display unit 28 . Further, hereinafter, the cases where the zoom key 104 is pressed to the wide side at pressing levels 1 to 5 are also referred to as pressing levels 1 to -5, respectively. Pressing levels 1 to -5 correspond to the same absolute values of pressing amounts (pressure, degree of pressing, degree of operation) as pressing levels 1 to 5 when the zoom key 104 is pressed to the telephoto side. Then, the instruction direction of the zoom drive becomes the wide side opposite to the telephoto side (the pressed position is not the first operation portion 105a but the second operation portion 105b).

4(c1), FIG. 4(d1), and FIG. 4(e1), in the zoom speed numerical value display area 430, the set value of the zoom speed when the zoom key 104 is pressed at each depression level is displayed numerically (0 to 16). 17 levels). Each numerical value displayed in the zoom speed numerical value display area 430 is associated with each zoom speed bar displayed in the zoom speed bar display area 410 and displayed below each zoom speed bar. It should be noted that the dotted line in the drawing showing the zoom speed numerical value display area 430 is shown for convenience and is not displayed on the display section 28. FIG.

With such a user setting confirmation screen, the user can confirm how much the zoom key 104 is pressed and at what zoom speed. Details of each display element in the zoom speed bar display area 410 and the zoom speed numerical value display area 430 will be described later with reference to FIG.

When the digital camera 100 is shipped from the factory, three preset patterns are stored in the non-volatile memory 56 in association with user setting numbers 1-3. A preset pattern can be called by setting each user setting number before editing the setting pattern of each user setting number, or by performing a reset operation when editing each user setting number. Therefore, if the editing (customization) operation has never been performed, or if each user setting number has been reset, the user setting confirmation screen displays the preset pattern stored in advance for each user setting number. . When edited, the setting pattern registered with the target user setting number is changed and no longer a preset pattern, but the memory of the preset pattern is retained in the non-volatile memory 56, and the preset pattern is registered again by resetting. be able to.

In S322, the system control unit 50 determines whether or not there is an instruction to switch the user setting number. An instruction to switch the user setting number can be performed by pressing the left and right keys while selecting the user setting number 405 with the selection cursor. If there is a switching operation of the user setting number, the process proceeds to S323; otherwise, the process proceeds to S324. In S323, the system control unit 50 switches the user setting number according to the switching operation performed in S322. For example, if user setting 1 is set and a switching operation is performed using the left key, the setting is switched to user setting 3, and if a switching operation is performed using the right key, the setting is switched to user setting 2. When the user setting number is switched, the process advances to S319 to read the setting pattern registered for the user setting number after switching, and the processing of S320 and S321 is performed based on the read setting pattern to update the user setting confirmation screen.

In S324, the system control unit 50 determines whether or not there is an instruction to edit the setting pattern. The edit instruction can be performed by pressing the set button included in the operation unit 70 while the edit button 407 is selected with the selection cursor. If there is an edit instruction, the process proceeds to S325, and if not, the process proceeds to S326. In S325, the system control unit 50 performs user setting editing processing (customization processing) based on the currently displayed setting pattern. User setting editing processing will be described later with reference to FIG.

In S326, the system control unit 50 determines whether or not the zoom key 104 has been pressed. If the zoom key 104 has been pressed, the process proceeds to S327; otherwise, the process proceeds to S328. In S327, zoom processing is performed at a zoom speed according to the amount of depression of the zoom key 104. FIG. The zoom processing will be described later with reference to FIG.

In S328, it is determined whether or not there is an instruction operation of the OK button 406 (an operation of pressing the set button included in the operation unit 70 with the selection cursor selected). If the OK button 406 has been instructed, the process proceeds to S329; otherwise, the process returns to S322 and repeats the process. In S<b>329 , the system control unit 50 confirms the user setting number last displayed on the user setting confirmation screen as the current setting, and records it in the nonvolatile memory 56 . Subsequently, the user setting confirmation screen is hidden and the screen returns to the menu screen (proceeds to S311). Although omitted in FIG. 3, on the user setting confirmation screen, the system control unit 50 displays the user setting number 405, the OK button 406, and the edit button according to the operation of the up key or the down key included in the operation unit 70. Move the selection cursor to any of 407 . Still images may also be captured.

Each preset pattern shown in FIG. 4(c1), FIG. 4(d1), and FIG. 4(e1) will be described in detail.

The preset pattern (preset pattern 1) shown in FIG. 4(c1) is a pattern that assigns zoom speeds of "1", "5", "9", "13", and "16" to press levels 1 to 5, respectively. is. Pressing levels -1 to -5 are patterns that zoom in the opposite direction at the same zoom speed as pressing levels 1 to 5. FIG. The lowest pressing level (pressing level 1) is assigned the lowest speed at which zooming can be performed (1), and the highest pressing level (pressing level 5) is assigned the highest speed at which zooming can be performed (16 ) is assigned. Other press levels are set so that the amount of press level increase and the amount of zoom speed increase are in a substantially proportional relationship (the difference in speed between adjacent levels is 4 or 3, preferably the same value). ). According to the preset pattern 1, if the zoom key 104 is pressed lightly, the zoom is performed at a slow speed, if the zoom key 104 is pressed strongly, the zoom is performed at a fast speed, and if the zoom key is pressed with a medium force, the zoom is performed at a medium speed. Since the amount of change in zoom speed is approximately proportional to the pressing force, the user can easily understand the relationship between zoom speed and pressing force. Therefore, this preset pattern is easy to use for users who want to frequently switch between low and high zoom speeds according to the scene.

The preset pattern (preset pattern 2) shown in FIG. 4(d1) is a pattern that assigns zoom speeds of "3", "3", "3", "3", and "16" to press levels 1 to 5, respectively. is. Pressing levels -1 to -5 are patterns that zoom in the opposite direction at the same zoom speed as pressing levels 1 to 5. FIG. The same relatively low zoom speed (3) is assigned to pressing levels 1 to 4, and the maximum speed (16) at which zoom driving is possible is assigned to the maximum pressing level (pressing level 5). According to such preset pattern 2, if the zoom key 104 is pressed all the way down, zooming is performed at the highest speed, and if the zoom key is pressed at a pressing level of 4 or less, at which the zoom key is not fully pressed, the Zoomed in speed. It is possible to easily zoom at a relatively low constant speed by pressing the button without pushing it all the way in, so it is possible to prevent the zoom speed from frequently changing and the image from becoming difficult to see. . Also, only when you want to zoom quickly, you can press the zoom key 104 all the way to perform high-speed zooming. This preset pattern is suitable for For example, during movie shooting (during recording), the camera zooms at a constant speed to maintain the quality of the recorded movie. Suitable for usage such as Although 3 has been described as an example of a relatively low speed, other values may be used as long as they are half (8) or less of the maximum value (16) that can be set.

The preset pattern (preset pattern 3) shown in FIG. 4(e1) is a pattern that assigns zoom speeds of "3", "7", "7", "7", and "16" to press levels 1 to 5, respectively. is. Pressing levels -1 to -5 are patterns that zoom in the opposite direction at the same zoom speed as pressing levels 1 to 5. FIG. At the lowest depression level 1, a relatively slow zoom speed (3) is assigned. Press levels 2-4 are assigned the same medium zoom speed (7). The maximum pressing level (pressing level 5) is assigned the maximum zoom driveable speed (16). According to such preset pattern 3, if the zoom key 104 is fully depressed, the zoom is performed at the highest speed, and if the zoom key is pressed very lightly, the zoom is performed at a relatively low speed. Since the zoom speed does not change when the button is pressed in a wide range of intermediate pressing levels, it is easy to zoom at a constant speed. Such preset pattern 3 is basically suitable for use in the same situations as preset pattern 2, but when it is desired to selectively use low speed (3) and slightly faster zoom speed (7). is particularly suitable for The zoom speed that is slightly faster than the low speed is less than half the zoom speed of 16, which is the highest allocatable speed, and the zoom speed is to the extent that the video does not become difficult to see even if the low speed and the slightly faster speed are used during video recording. It's speed. Although "3, 7, 7, 7, 16" is given as an example of the preset pattern 3, "1, 5, 5, 5, 16" or "0, 7, 7, 7, 16" may also be used. and In the case of "1, 7, 7, 7, 16", when the amount of pressing is the minimum, it operates at the lowest speed (minimum speed) that is not zero, and in the case of "0, 7, 7, 7, 16", , does not work when the amount of pressing is the minimum. By preparing settings such as "0, 7, 7, 7, 16", the first depression (the amount of depression 1 to 25) can be treated as a dead zone, and even if the zoom key 104 is lightly touched, It is possible to prevent the zoom from being performed at the same time.

Note that the user setting confirmation screen is not limited to the examples illustrated in FIGS. may be displayed as follows. Users 1 to 3 and a zoom speed bar indicating the setting status of each are displayed on the same screen, and one of the user settings is selected by moving the triangular cursor on the left up and down. Then, by pressing a set button included in the operation unit 70, an edit screen for the selected user setting is displayed.

FIG. 5 shows a detailed flowchart of the zoom speed setting detail display process in S320 of FIG. This process is a process of displaying each display element in the zoom speed bar display area 410 and the zoom speed numerical value display area 430 described above.

In S501, the system control unit 50 refers to the setting information stored in the nonvolatile memory 56 and determines whether or not the zoom speed type is set to user setting (“user”). If the type of zoom speed is user setting, the process proceeds to step S502; otherwise, the process ends. That is, the zoom speed bar display area 410 and the zoom speed numerical value display area 430 described above are not displayed when the type of zoom speed is not set by the user.

In S502, a variable i used as a counter for each pressing level is initialized to 1.

In S503, the system control unit 50 determines whether or not the speed V(i) assigned to the pressing level i is zero. If V(i) is 0, proceed to S504; otherwise, proceed to S506.

In S504, the system control unit 50 displays a speed value of 0 in the zoom speed value display area 430 at positions corresponding to the pressing level i and the pressing level -i.

In S505, the system control unit 50 displays a bar-shaped rectangle (speed bar) with a height of H0 at positions corresponding to the pressing level i and the pressing level -i in the zoom speed bar display area 410. FIG. H0 is, for example, 7 pixels.

In S506, the system control unit 50 displays the numerical value of V(i) in the zoom speed numerical value display area 430 at positions corresponding to the depression level i and the depression level -i.

In S507, the system control unit 50 displays bar-shaped rectangles with a height of V(i)*H2 at positions corresponding to the pressing level i and the pressing level -i in the zoom speed bar display area 410. do. H2 is greater than H0 above, for example 20 pixels. For example, if the zoom speed V(i) assigned to the pressing level i is 3, a bar-shaped rectangle with a height of 3*20=60 pixels is displayed.

In S508, the system control unit 50 determines whether or not the variable i has reached 5, which is the maximum value of the depression level. If it has not reached 5, the variable i is incremented by 1 in S509 and the processing from S503 is repeated. When the variable i reaches 5, the speed figures and speed bars for all the depression levels have been displayed, and the process ends. Thus, the speed bars of the zoom speed bar display area 410 and the speed numerical values of the zoom speed numerical value display area 430 are displayed as shown in FIGS. 4(c1), 4(d1), and 4(e1).

6(a) to 6(e), the transition between the display of the index indicating the pressing amount of the zoom key 104 and the display of the speed bar according to the pressing of the zoom key 104 will be described. 6A to 6E show only the zoom speed bar display area 410 and the zoom speed numerical value display area 430 described in FIG. is omitted. An icon 416 is a guide display indicating that the speed bars 411 to 415 and the numeric areas 431 to 435 on the right side correspond to operations to the telephoto side. An icon 426 is a guide display indicating that the left speed bars 421 to 425 and numerical areas 441 to 445 correspond to operations to the wide side. Speed bars 411 to 415 correspond to pressing levels 1 to 5 to the tele side, respectively. Speed bars 421 to 425 correspond to pressing levels -1 to -5, which are pressing to the wide side, respectively. Numerical areas 431 to 435 correspond to depression levels 1 to 5 to the tele side, respectively. Numerical areas 441 to 445 correspond to depression levels -1 to -5, which are depressions to the wide side, respectively. The indicator 420 indicates the pressing amount of the zoom key 104 at that point in units finer than the pressing level, depending on the position in the horizontal direction.

FIGS. 6A and 6B are examples in which pressing levels 1 to 5 are assigned zoom speeds 2, 4, 6, 12, and 16, respectively. In such an allocation situation, when the zoom key 104 is pressed with a pressing amount corresponding to pressing level 2 to the tele side (when the first operation portion 105a is pressed), a display as shown in FIG. 6A is displayed. In FIG. 6A, the index 420 is displayed inside the speed bar 412 corresponding to the depression level 2, and is displayed on the left side of the center of the speed bar 412 as well. As a result, it can be seen that the current pressing amount is pressing level 2 and that the pressing amount is relatively weak among pressing levels 2 (weaker than the median value at pressing level 2). As a result, if the pressing amount is further weakened, the zoom speed changes to pressing level 1 and the zoom speed slows down. . Also, since the display form of the speed bar 412 corresponding to the pressing level 2 is emphasized unlike the other speed bars, the user can recognize that the zoom speed is currently controlled by the speed bar 412. It is possible. For example, speed bar 412 is displayed in orange as a highlight and the other speed bars are displayed in white as a normal display.

When the zoom key 104 is pressed to the wide side with a depression level of −5 (when the second operation portion 105b is depressed), the display is as shown in FIG. 6B. An index 420 is displayed inside the speed bar 425 corresponding to the pressing level -5, and is displayed on the right side of the center of the speed bar 425 . From this, it can be seen that the current pressing amount is pressing level -5, and the pressing amount is relatively weak among the pressing levels of -5 (weaker than the median value at pressing level -5). It can be seen from this that if the pressing amount is further weakened, the pressing level changes to 4 and the zoom speed slows down. In addition, since the display form of the speed bar 425 corresponding to the pressing level -5 is highlighted unlike the other speed bars, the user can understand that the zoom speed corresponding to the speed bar 425 is currently being controlled. recognizable.

FIG. 6C shows an example in which pressing levels 1 to 5 are assigned zoom speeds 2, 6, 6, 12, and 16, respectively. That is, the same zoom speed is assigned to pressing level 2 and pressing level 3 . In such an allocation situation, when the zoom key 104 is pressed with a pressing amount corresponding to pressing level 2 to the telephoto side, a display as shown in FIG. 6C is displayed. In FIG. 6C, the index 420 is displayed inside the speed bar 412 corresponding to the depression level 2, and is displayed on the right side of the center of the speed bar 412 as well. From this, it can be seen that the current pressing amount is pressing level 2, and the pressing amount is stronger than pressing level 2 (stronger than the median value at pressing level 2). Also, the display form of the speed bar 412 corresponding to the depression level 2 is emphasized unlike the other speed bars. Furthermore, the display form of the speed bar 413 corresponding to the depression level 3 to which the same zoom speed as that of the depression level 2 is assigned also has the same display form as the speed bar 412, and is emphasized unlike the other speed bars. . In this way, not only the press level corresponding to the current press amount is highlighted, but also the speed bars corresponding to other press levels that are assigned the same zoom speed. Such a display allows the user to recognize which depression level corresponds to the current depression amount and other depression levels assigned the same zoom speed. As in this embodiment, when the zoom speeds are arranged in ascending order from the lowest pressing level to the highest pressing level (that is, in the order of the operation amount), the range (pressing speed) having the same set value (zoom speed) level 2 to 3) can be easily confirmed. Also, it is possible to easily identify the change points (the point at which the depression level changes from 1 to 2 and the point at which the depression level changes from 3 to 4) that result in different set values. If it is found that there are multiple pressing levels corresponding to the current pressing amount as shown in FIG. It can be recognized that there is no problem. For example, in the situation of FIG. 6(c), it is possible to recognize that the zoom speed does not change even if the pressing amount is increased to the next pressing level. I understand. More specifically, if you want to maintain the zoom speed, there is no problem even if you slightly increase the press amount to reach the next press level, so just be careful not to decrease the press amount. It is easy to perform operations such as maintaining the zoom speed. Conversely, if it is desired to increase the zoom speed, the pressing amount must be increased by two steps from the current pressing level. As shown in FIG. 6A, when it is found that there is only one pressing level corresponding to the current pressing amount, if zooming is performed at a constant speed while maintaining the current zoom speed, pressing amount need to be carefully kept at current levels.

FIG. 6D shows an example in which pressing levels 1 to 5 are assigned zoom speeds 0, 0, 6, 12, and 16, respectively. That is, the same zoom speed "0" is assigned to the pressing level 1 and the pressing level 2. FIG. In such an allocation situation, when the zoom key 104 is pressed with a pressing amount corresponding to pressing level 1 to the tele side, a display as shown in FIG. 6D is displayed. In FIG. 6D, an index 420 is displayed inside the speed bar 411 corresponding to the depression level 1. In FIG. As a result, it can be seen that the current pressing amount is pressing level 1, and that the operation of pressing the zoom key 104 is correctly accepted by the digital camera 100 although the zoom is not driven. However, the display form of the speed bar 411 corresponding to the depression level 1 is the same display form as the other speed bars, and is not highlighted. Furthermore, the display form of the speed bar 413 corresponding to the pressing level 2 to which the same zoom speed as the pressing level 1 is assigned is also not highlighted. This is because the assigned zoom speed is 0 and the zoom key 104 is pressed, but zoom drive is not performed. In this case, if the speed bar 411 is highlighted, the user should be able to zoom in at a speed corresponding to the height of the speed bar 411. There is a possibility of erroneously recognizing that it is. However, since the speed bar is not highlighted, it can be recognized that the zoom drive does not occur, not an abnormality, but a normal response. Also, the speed bars corresponding to the pressing levels 1 and 2 to which the speed 0 is assigned are not set to 0, thereby preventing the positions corresponding to the pressing levels 1 and 2 from becoming blank. , corresponding positions of the pressing levels 1 and 2 can be clearly shown. Further, since the display position of the indicator 420 changes according to the amount of pressing, the user can recognize that the pressing itself is normally detected by the device.

FIG. 6(e) shows a display example when the zoom key 104 is not pressed in the same allocation situation as in FIG. 6(d). Since the index 420 is displayed at the center position of the left and right, not inside any speed bar, it can be seen that the depression of the zoom key 104 is not detected at present (the amount of depression is 0).

FIG. 7 shows a detailed flowchart of zoom processing performed in S305 and S327 of FIG. 3 described above and S803 of FIG. 8 described later. When the zoom key 104 is pressed, this process drives the zoom at a zoom speed corresponding to the amount of pressing, and displays the detected amount of pressing and the corresponding pressing level on the display unit 28. response processing. By this processing, the display described with reference to FIGS. 6(a) to 6(e) is realized. Note that in the zoom processing by pressing the zoom key 104 at the timing of S305, the display of the speed bar and index, which will be described later, is performed with respect to the simplified display of the zoom speed bar, which will be described later. In S327, zoom processing by pressing the zoom key 104 at the timing of S803 in FIG. The display form described in 6(e) is obtained. A display example corresponding to each step in FIG. 7, which will be described later, is an example corresponding to detailed display. The processing in FIG. 7 is performed even when the moving image is being recorded or stopped (waiting).

In S701, the system control unit 50 displays an index indicating the current amount of depression (degree of depression) at the left and right positions corresponding to the detected amount of depression of the zoom key 104, at the same height as the speed bar corresponding to the amount of depression. (indicator) is displayed. As a result, the indicator 420 is displayed as described above with reference to FIGS. 6(a) to 6(d).

In S702, the system control unit 50 determines whether the set speed V(N) assigned to the depression level N corresponding to the detected depression amount of the zoom key 104 is zero. If V(N) is 0, the process proceeds to step S711 without performing zoom drive or emphasizing (identifying) the speed bar even if pressing of the zoom key 104 is detected. If V(N) is not 0, the process proceeds to S703.

In S703, the system control unit 50 controls the zoom control unit 201 to perform zoom drive at the zoom speed V(N). As for the direction of zooming, if the pressing level N corresponding to the detected pressing amount is +, the telephoto side (zoom in), and if it is -, the wide side (zoom out). When the zoom position has already reached the telephoto end (telephoto end), even if it is detected that the zoom key 104 has been operated to the telephoto side, the zoom drive is not performed. Further, when the telephoto end (telephoto end) is reached during zoom driving according to the operation of the zoom key 104 to the telephoto side, the zoom is stopped there. Further, when the zoom position has already reached the wide end (wide-angle end), even if it is detected that the zoom key 104 has been operated to the wide side, the zoom drive is not performed. Further, when the wide end (wide-angle end) is reached during zoom driving according to the operation of the zoom key 104 toward the wide side, the zooming is stopped there.

In S704, the system control unit 50 initializes the variable i, which is used as a counter for each pressing level, to -5.

In S705, the system control unit 50 assigns the zoom speed V(i) assigned to the depression level i (the i-th stage of the operation amount) to the currently detected depression level N (the N-th stage of the operation amount). is the same as the obtained zoom speed V(N). Whether or not the velocities are the same is determined in consideration of the signs of the velocities. That is, if the absolute values are the same but the zoom directions are different, i.e., the wide side and the telephoto side, the zoom speed is not determined to be the same in S705. If V(i) and V(N) are the same, proceed to S706; otherwise, proceed to S707.

In S706, the system control unit 50 identifies (emphasizes) the speed bar of the pressing level i. The identification display is, for example, a process of displaying a speed bar that is not to be identified and displayed in orange, which is a different color, when the speed bar is displayed in white. In addition, it is not limited to changing the color, and may be displayed with a thick frame (thick frame line), changed in shape, indicated by an arrow, or the like. The identification display is performed regardless of whether the pressing level i is the same pressing level as the currently detected pressing level N or a different pressing level. As a result, identification displays such as the speed bar 412 in FIG. 6(a), the speed bar 425 in FIG. 6(b), and the speed bars 412 and 413 in FIG. 6(c) are performed.

In S707, the system control unit 50 determines whether or not the variable i has reached -1. When i=-1 (when confirmation of all pressing levels on the wide side has been completed), the process advances to S708 to set variable i to 1 (i.e., skip 0 and check the pressing level on the tele side). ), and the processing from S705 is repeated. In S709, the system control unit 50 determines whether or not the variable i has reached 5. If the variable i is not 5, the process proceeds to S710, the variable i is incremented by one, and the processing from S705 is repeated. When the variable i reaches 5 (when confirmation of all depression levels on the telephoto side following the wide side has been completed), the process proceeds to S711.

In S711, it is determined whether or not the pressing of the zoom key 104 has been released (the pressing amount has become 0). If the zoom key 104 has not been released, the process advances to step S701 to repeat the process at a predetermined cycle. This is because the amount of pressing of the zoom key 104 may change while the pressing of the zoom key 104 continues. That is, the zoom drive and display by the processing of S701 to S710 dynamically change according to the variation in the pressing amount of the zoom key 104. FIG. When the zoom key 104 is released, the process advances to step S712.

In S712, the system control unit 50 stops zoom driving. If the telephoto end or the wide end has already been reached and the zoom drive has stopped, nothing is done.

In S713, the system control unit 50 restores each display state to the state in which the zoom key 104 is not pressed. Specifically, the display position of the index is displayed at the center position between the wide-side speed bar and the tele-side speed bar to indicate that the zoom key 104 is not pressed. Also, the identification display of the speed bar performed in S706 is cancelled. As a result, the display as shown in FIG. 6(e) is performed.

FIG. 8 shows a detailed flowchart of the user setting editing process performed in S325 of FIG. 3 described above. This process is a process of customizing the zoom speed assigned to each pressing level based on the user's operation. This process is realized by loading the program recorded in the nonvolatile memory 56 into the system memory 52 and executing it by the system control unit 50 .

In S<b>801 , an edit screen (user setting edit screen) is displayed on the display unit 28 . The edit screen is displayed based on the zoom speed assignment pattern for each depression level shown on the user setting confirmation screen displayed immediately before transitioning to the user setting editing process. That is, when the above-described FIG. 4(c1) is displayed as the user setting confirmation screen, FIG. 4(c2) is displayed as the edit screen. When the user setting confirmation screen shown in FIG. 4(d1) is displayed, the edit screen shown in FIG. 4(d2) is displayed. When the above-described FIG. 4(e1) is displayed as the user setting confirmation screen, FIG. 4(e2) is displayed as the edit screen. Each edit screen displays a zoom speed bar display area 410 including a speed bar corresponding to the wide side and a speed bar corresponding to the tele side. Note that the dotted line frame indicating the zoom speed bar display area 410 is shown for convenience and is not displayed. As for the numerical area of the zoom speed corresponding to each depression level, only the tele side portion (the portion corresponding to depression levels 1 to 5) is displayed. The reason why the wide side is not displayed is that, in this embodiment, when the tele side is set, the wide side is also symmetrical, so that the zoom speed with the same absolute value ( This is because the sign (that is, the zoom direction is opposite) is set. Numerical areas 451-455 correspond to depression levels 1-5, respectively. The reset button 450 is a display item that accepts an instruction to clear the user's customization and reset the zoom speed assigned to all press levels to the preset corresponding to the user setting number among presets 1 to 3 described above. The SET icon 456 is a display item for accepting an instruction to finalize and end the user setting editing process. Further, since the same reference numerals are assigned to the same items as those described in other display examples, the description thereof is omitted.

Any one of the reset button 450, the numeric areas 451 to 455, and the SET icon 456 can be selected by moving the cursor according to the operation of the left and right keys. 4(c2), FIG. 4(d2), and FIG. 4(e2) each show a state in which the numeric area 451 is selected. By pressing the up/down key included in the operation unit 70 while one of the numerical areas 451 to 455 is selected, the zoom speed assigned to the corresponding pressing level can be changed by increasing or decreasing.

In S802, the system control unit 50 determines whether or not the zoom key 104 has been pressed. If it is determined that the zoom key 104 has been pressed, the process advances to step S803 to perform the zoom processing described above with reference to FIG. That is, when the zoom key 104 is pressed even on the edit screen, zoom driving according to the amount of pressing, display of an index indicating the amount of pressing, as described in FIGS. 6 and 7, and corresponding zoom speed , is displayed to identify the speed bar of the pressing level assigned to . This processing is performed at the zoom speed of the numerical values displayed in the numerical areas 451 to 455 at that time even before the editing processing is finalized. This allows the user to customize the zoom speed while confirming what kind of zoom processing will be performed in the customization situation during editing.

In S804, the system control unit 50 determines whether or not the right and left keys included in the operation unit 70 have been pressed (that is, an instruction to move the cursor or an instruction to change the selection item). If the right/left key has been pressed, the process proceeds to S805; otherwise, the process proceeds to S806. In S805, the system control unit 50 moves the cursor according to the left/right key operation, and selects any one of the reset button 450, the numeric areas 451 to 455, and the SET icon 456. FIG.

In S806, the system control unit 50 determines whether or not the up key or the down key included in the operation unit 70 has been pressed (that is, an instruction to change the allocated speed). If the up/down key has been pressed, the process proceeds to S807; otherwise, the process proceeds to S808.

In S807, the numerical value of the currently selected numerical value area (where the cursor is currently located) is incremented or decremented according to the operation of the up key or down key. In this embodiment, any one of 0 to 16 can be set. As a result, the zoom speed assigned to the pressing level corresponding to the currently selected numeric area is changed. Note that this process is not performed when the numerical value area is not in a selected state (when the reset button 450 or the SET icon 456 is selected).

Note that the system control unit 50 controls the zoom speed assigned to each pressing level on the tele side to be equal to or higher than the value of the pressing level one level lower and not higher than the value of the pressing level one level higher. For example, the system control unit 50 controls the zoom speed assigned to pressing level 4 so as not to be less than the zoom speed assigned to pressing level 3 . More specifically, in a state where the zoom speed assigned to the depression level 3 is 7, it is assumed that an operation is performed to decrease the zoom speed assigned to the depression level 4 from 9 to 8. In response to this operation, the zoom speed assigned to depression level 4 is changed to 8 without changing the zoom speed assigned to depression level 3 . In addition, the zoom speed assigned to press level 4 is changed to 6 in accordance with the operation to change the zoom speed of press level 4 from 7 to 6 (less than the zoom speed assigned to press level 3). In addition, the zoom speed assigned to the pressing level 3 is also changed to 6, which is the same as the zoom speed assigned to the pressing level 4. FIG.

The timing of changing the zoom speed at depression level 3 to match depression level 4 may be linked to the zoom speed increase/decrease operation at depression level 4. It is more suitable. For example, at the timing when the cursor is moved from depression level 4 to another location according to the left and right keys, the processing described next may be performed. If the zoom speed assigned to the depression level 4 is lower than the zoom speed assigned to the depression level 3, the zoom speed of the depression level 3 is changed to the same zoom speed as that assigned to the depression level 4. - 特許庁At the same time, if the zoom speed of the pressed level 3 after the change is lower than the zoom speed of the pressed level 2, the zoom speed assigned to the pressed level 2 is also changed to the same zoom speed as the zoom speeds of the pressed levels 3 and 4.例文帳に追加Similarly, the zoom speed at depression level 1 is adjusted as necessary so as not to exceed the zoom speed at depression level 2 . Conversely, if the zoom speed at press level 4 exceeds the zoom speed assigned to press level 5, the zoom speed assigned to press level 5 is changed to the same zoom speed as the zoom speed assigned to press level 4. do.

In addition, instead of doing as described above, during adjustment of the assigned zoom speed, the zoom speed is restricted so that it does not fall below the zoom speed of the pressing level that is one level lower and does not exceed the zoom speed of the pressing level that is one level higher. can be For example, in a state where the zoom speed assigned to the pressing level 3 is 7, if there is an operation (pressing the down key) to decrease the zoom speed assigned to the pressing level 4, the zoom speed of the pressing level 4 is reduced to less than 7. is restricted so that it cannot be changed to

By doing so, the zoom speed assigned to the high pressing level is set to be greater than or equal to the zoom speed assigned to the low pressing level. That is, the zoom speed is prevented from decreasing when the force for pressing the zoom key 104 is increased.

In S808, the system control unit 50 determines whether or not the set button included in the operation unit 70 has been pressed (that is, a reset instruction has been issued) while the reset button 450 is selected. If there is a reset instruction, the process proceeds to S809; otherwise, the process proceeds to S810.

In S809, the system control unit 50 clears all user-customized zoom speeds for each pressing level, and resets to the preset pattern corresponding to the user setting number currently being edited. A preset pattern is stored in the nonvolatile memory 56 . That is, if user setting number 1 is being edited, preset pattern 1 is set, if user setting number 2 is being edited, preset pattern 2 is set, and if user setting number 3 is being edited, preset pattern 3 is set.

In S810, the system control unit 50 determines whether or not the SET button included in the operation unit 70 has been pressed (that is, a confirmation instruction has been issued) while the SET icon 456 is selected. If there is a confirmation instruction, the process ends and returns to the user setting confirmation screen, otherwise returns to S802 and repeats the process.

FIG. 9 shows a detailed flowchart of the simple zoom speed setting display process described in S302 of FIG. This processing is realized by loading the program recorded in the nonvolatile memory 56 into the system memory 52 and executing it by the system control unit 50 . In the shooting standby screen, you can shoot a movie while checking the subject. turn into. Therefore, in the zoom speed setting simple display process, each speed bar is displayed with a smaller display area than in the zoom speed setting detailed display process described with reference to FIG. 5 at least in the same setting situation. Also, the total area of all speed bars is smaller than in the zoom speed setting detail display process. However, if the speed bars described in the user setting confirmation screen and the user setting editing screen are simply reduced and displayed, each speed bar is small and visibility is poor. More specifically, since the height difference between the speed bars becomes small, it becomes difficult to determine the speed difference from the height of the speed bars. Therefore, in this embodiment, based on the number of pressing levels that have a difference in zoom speed assigned to the pressing level on one side, a simple zooming method that makes it easy to identify the relative speed difference of each speed bar is used. display.

In S901, the system control unit 50 determines whether or not the type of zoom speed is set by the user (“user”). If it is user setting, the process proceeds to S902, otherwise the process ends. That is, in the present embodiment, if the type of zoom speed is not set by the user, simple display of the zoom speed setting is not performed in the first place. However, it may be displayed regardless of the type of zoom speed.

In S902, the system control unit 50 retrieves from the non-volatile memory 56 a setting value (assigned to each pressing level) of the zoom speed for each pressing amount (for each pressing level) of the zoom key 104 registered with the currently set user setting number. zoom speed setting pattern).

In S903, the system control unit 50 sets a variable used as a counter for counting the number of pressing levels that have a difference between the zoom speed assigned to the pressing level on one side and the zoom speed assigned to the pressing level. Initialize b to 0. Also, a variable i used as a counter for each pressing level is initialized to 1.

In S904, the system control unit 50 determines that there is a difference between the velocity V(i) assigned to the depression level i and the velocity V(i+1) assigned to the depression level (i+1) which is the adjacent depression level. Determine whether or not there is More specifically, it is determined whether velocity V(i)-velocity V(i+1) is zero. If the velocity V(i)-velocity V(i+1) is not zero (if there is a difference), the process proceeds to S905, adds 1 to the variable b, and proceeds to S906. In this case, the pressing level i is set to a zoom speed different from that of the next pressing level on the upper side. If the velocity V(i)-velocity V(i+1) is zero (there is no difference), the process proceeds to S906 without adding the variable b. In this case, the pressing level i is set to the same zoom speed as the pressing level next to the upper pressing level.

In S906, the system control unit 50 determines whether or not the variable i has reached 4, which is one less than the maximum value of the depression level (the maximum value of the depression level at which there is the next depression level on the upper side). If it has not reached 4, the variable i is incremented by 1 in S907 and the processing from S904 is repeated. By repeating the processing of S904 to S907, the value of b is determined, and the number of different set values among the set values of the zoom speed assigned to each depression level (the zoom speed different from the zoom speed assigned to the depression level on one side) is determined. The number of press levels to which the zoom speed is assigned) can be seen. If the variable i has reached 4, it means that the confirmation of whether or not there is a difference between the set zoom speed and the adjacent pressing level has been completed, so the process proceeds to S908.

In S908, the system control unit 50 initializes to 1 a variable i that is used as a counter for each pressing level.

In S909, the system control unit 50 determines whether the velocity V(i) assigned to the pressing level i is zero. If it is zero, go to S910, otherwise go to S911.

In S910, the system control unit 50 displays a gray bar-shaped rectangle with a height of h0 (for example, 7 pixels) as the speed bar of the pressing level i, -i. It is assumed that h0 is a numerical value less than or equal to H0 described in S505 above. In this way, even in the simple display, the speed bar corresponding to the pressing level to which the speed 0 is assigned is displayed with the height h0 instead of the display height being set to 0, so that the speed 0 is assigned. It is possible to indicate the corresponding position of the pressing level that is present without leaving a blank. In addition, since it is displayed in gray, it is possible for the user to recognize that it is in an invalid state, that is, that zooming is not performed at this depression level (zoom speed 0 is assigned).

In S911, the system control unit 50 determines whether or not the variable i is 1. If the variable i is 1, that is, if the process is for pressing level 1, the process proceeds to S912; otherwise, the process proceeds to S913.

In S912, the system control unit 50 displays a white (normal display morphology) is displayed as a bar-shaped rectangle. It is assumed that h1 is a numerical value larger than h0 described in S910 and smaller than H2 described above. As mentioned above, the zoom speed assigned to the high press level is greater than or equal to the zoom speed assigned to the low press level. In other words, pressing level 1, which is the lowest pressing level, is assigned the lowest zoom speed among the other pressing levels. Also, since the determination in S909 is No, the assigned zoom speed is greater than zero. In the simple zoom speed setting display process, if the zoom speed assigned to the pressing level 1 is greater than 0, the speed bar of the pressing level 1 is displayed with a fixed height h1 regardless of its size. Then, the speed bar of the pressing level higher than the pressing level 1 is displayed so that the relative size relationship with the speed bar of the pressing level 1 can be understood. By doing this, even if the overall zoom speed assigned to each press level is large, the display area (height) of the speed bar can be kept small, and the hindrance to the visibility of the background LV is reduced. can do.

In S913, the system control unit 50 sets the speed bar of the pressing level (i−1) (the pressing level is 1 Display a rectangle that is (k*h2) higher than the height of the lower velocity bar). Here, h2 is a predetermined value, for example 4 pixels. Here, it is assumed that the magnitude relationship satisfies h2<h1<H2. k is the difference between the variable b counted in the processing of S904 to S907 described above and the zoom speed assigned to the pressing level currently being processed and the pressing level one level below {V(i)- V(i-1)}. FIG. 11 shows a table showing the correspondence between the number of stages determined by the variable b and {V(i)-V(i-1)}. The relationship shown in FIG. The stage number k is acquired based on the information indicating the relationship such as For example, if the zoom speeds assigned to pressing levels 1 to 5 are all different, then b=4. Then, when i=3 in S913, the zoom speed assigned to the pressing level 3 is 9, and the zoom speed assigned to the pressing level 2 is 6, {V(i)−V(i−1 )}={9−6}=3. Therefore, k=1 is obtained from FIG. In this case, the height of the speed bar at press level 3 is determined to be greater than the height of the speed bar at press level 2 by (k*h2)=h2, and the speed bar at press level 3 is displayed. . Further, for example, when the zoom speeds assigned to pressing levels 1 to 5 are 1, 2, 2, 2, and 16, respectively (the case shown in FIG. 10B2), and i=2, the variable b=2 and {V(i)-V(i-1)}=1. Therefore, k=1 is obtained from FIG. In this case, the height of the velocity bar for press level 2 is (k* h2)=h2 pixels more height. That is, the height of the speed bar at speed level 2 is h1+h2=14+4=18 pixels. Also, in the process of i=3 in the same allocation situation, the variable b=2 and {V(i)-V(i-1)}=0. Therefore, k=0 is obtained from FIG. In this case, the height is determined to be (k*h2)=0 pixels larger than the speed bar of depression level 2. FIG. That is, the speed bar for speed level 3 has a height of 18 pixels, which is the same as the speed bar for speed level 2. Furthermore, in the same allocation situation with i=5, the variable b=2 and {V(i)-V(i-1)}=14. Therefore, k=3 is obtained from FIG. In this case, the height of the velocity bar at press level 2 is the height of the velocity bar at press level 4 (V(4)=V(2), so the same height of 18 pixels as the velocity bar at press level 2) ) is determined to be (k*h2)=12 pixels larger than ). That is, the height of the speed bar at speed level 5 is 18+12=30 pixels. Since it is a simple display, the height of the speed bar for each press level does not uniquely correspond to the zoom speed assigned to each, so the exact speed assigned is known only from the height of the speed bar. It is not possible. However, by looking at the speed bar displayed in this way, the user is more likely to see the difference in zoom speed between speed levels 4 and 5 (=14) than the difference in zoom speed between speed levels 1 and 2 (=1). is found to be quite large.

In S914, the system control unit 50 determines whether or not the variable i has reached five. If the variable i has not reached 5, the process proceeds to S915, increments the variable i by 1, and proceeds to S909 in order to display the speed bar of the next depression level. If the variable i has reached 5, the processing for displaying all speed bars has ended, so the process proceeds to S916.

In S916, the system control unit 50 displays other display elements (for example, icons 476 and 486 to be described later) to be displayed in the zoom speed setting simplified display process, and ends the process. Note that in the zoom speed setting simple display processing of this embodiment, the zoom speed numerical value display area is not displayed (the numerical value of the zoom speed assigned to each speed level is not displayed), but it may be displayed.

10(a1) to (a3) and FIGS. 10(b1) to (b3), zoom speed setting detailed display processing (the processing described above with reference to FIG. 5) and zoom speed setting simplified display processing for the three allocation patterns. A display example when each of the processing (the processing described with reference to FIG. 9) is displayed will be described. FIGS. 10A1 to 10A3 are display examples when displayed by the zoom speed setting detail display process (the process described above with reference to FIG. 5). FIGS. 10B1 to 10B3 are display examples when displayed by the zoom speed setting simplified display process (the process described with reference to FIG. 9). FIGS. 10(a1) and 10(b1) are display examples in the same setting pattern (zoom speeds assigned to depression levels 1 to 5 are 1, 5, 9, 12, and 16, respectively). FIGS. 10(a2) and 10(b2) are display examples in the same setting pattern (zoom speeds assigned to depression levels 1 to 5 are 1, 2, 2, 2, and 16, respectively). FIGS. 10(a3) and 10(b3) are display examples in the same setting pattern (zoom speeds assigned to depression levels 1 to 5 are 0, 5, 9, 12, and 16, respectively). The same reference numerals are given to the same display elements as the display elements described above in FIG. Speed bars 471 to 475 in FIGS. 10(b1) to (b3) are speed bars corresponding to pressing levels 1 to 5 to the telephoto side, respectively. An icon 476 is a guide display indicating that the speed bars 471 to 475 on the right side correspond to operations to the tele side. Speed bars 481 to 485 are speed bars corresponding to depression levels -1 to -5, which are depressions to the wide side, respectively. An icon 486 is a guide display indicating that the speed bars 481 to 485 on the left side correspond to operations to the tele side. A display item 1010 is an audio level meter that indicates the recording level of the sound recorded in the moving image, and is a display item that is not displayed on the user setting confirmation screen and the user setting edit screen on which zoom speed setting detail display processing is performed. Like the display item 1010, it is necessary to display display elements related to shooting other than display elements related to zoom speed on the shooting standby screen. Since it is necessary to secure the display space for them, the speed bar, which is information related to the zoom speed, is not displayed on the shooting standby screen, compared to the user setting confirmation screen and user setting edit screen, where zoom speed setting details display processing is performed. Less display space available. In this sense as well, it is necessary to display the zoom speed setting in a simple manner on the shooting standby screen.

In the zoom speed setting detail display process, as shown in FIGS. 10A1 to 10A3, each of the zoom speeds 0 to 16 that can be assigned to each of five (M, M stages) pressing levels is uniquely displayed. Each velocity bar is displayed with a height of 17 steps (L steps greater than n) corresponding to . On the other hand, in the zoom speed setting simplified display process, as shown in FIGS. Display each velocity bar with a height of 5 steps (n steps less than L), which are not uniquely corresponding. This is to keep the maximum height of the speed bar lower than when displaying the details, and to display so that one-step difference in height can be recognized with certainty. If the step height difference is too small (e.g. 1 pixel), the user will not be able to perceive the speed bar height difference, even though there are different zoom speeds assigned to different press levels. If there is no difference, there is a possibility of erroneous recognition. In order to prevent such misrecognition, a one-step height difference is secured to some extent (in this embodiment, h2=4 pixels as described above is secured). Therefore, instead of simply shrinking the speed bar in the detailed display, the height of the maximum value is lowered and the total number of steps is reduced from 17 steps (N steps) to 5 steps (n steps).

Also, although the number of stages is reduced, the zoom speed setting values 0 to 3 are the first stage, 4 to 6 are the second stage, 7 to 9 are the third stage, 10 to 12 are the fourth stage, and 13 to It is not a simple rounding expression such as 16 being associated with the height of the fifth step. If the display is simply rounded like this, when zoom speed 1 is assigned to press level 1 and zoom speed 2 is assigned to press level 2, the height of the speed bar will be the same height, The speed difference between pressing levels 1 and 2 cannot be understood. In order to prevent this, as described above with reference to FIG. 9, the height of each speed bar is increased according to the number of pressing levels having a difference from the zoom speed assigned to the pressing level on one side (the variable b described above). is deciding That is, the height of each speed bar is determined not only by the speed corresponding to each speed bar, but also by considering the speeds corresponding to other speed bars. More specifically, the height of each velocity bar is determined based on the variable b, which, as explained in FIG. 9, is determined based on the number of times V(i)-V(i+1) was non-zero. That is, the variable b is a numerical value considering V(i)-V(i+1) for i=1 to 5. In other words, the height (representing step) of each speed bar differs according to the zoom speed of a plurality of depression levels other than the zoom speed corresponding to the speed bar among the plurality of depression levels. For example, when the zoom speeds assigned to pressing levels 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 are 1, 5, 9, 12, and 16, respectively (in the case of FIG. 10(b1)), the speed bar height of pressing level 3 is the aforementioned 22 pixels. On the other hand, if the zoom speeds assigned to pressing levels 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 are 1, 2, 9, 9, and 9, respectively, then b=2, and similarly "9" is assigned to pressing level 3. , the height of the velocity bar at press level 3 is 26 pixels. Also, if the zoom speeds assigned to pressing levels 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 are 1, 1, 9, 9, and 9, respectively, then b=1, and pressing level 3 is similarly assigned "9". , the height of the velocity bar at press level 3 is 26 pixels. Further, the reduction width is not determined based only on the maximum and minimum values of a plurality of speed bars, but is determined by considering values other than the maximum and minimum values. By doing so, the user can recognize the difference in height between the speed bar 471 and the speed bar 472, for example, as shown in FIG. 10B2, and there is a difference in the zoom speed assigned to each pressing level make it possible to recognize As described above, according to the zoom speed setting simple display processing of the present embodiment, the zoom speed assigned to each pressing level can be displayed in the number of steps (5), which is smaller than the number of steps (17) of the settable zoom speed setting values. It is possible to make the user recognize the difference in speed more accurately.

When the simple speed bar display as shown in FIGS. 10(b1) to (b3) is performed, if the user performs an instruction operation to switch to the detailed speed bar display, the speed bar shown in FIG. 10(a1) ) to (a3).

In addition, as a determinant of the height of a simple speed bar, each speed bar according to the number of pressing levels having a difference from the zoom speed assigned to the pressing level on one side in ascending or descending order (variable b) Although an example of determining the height of is described, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, even if the height of each speed bar is determined based on the number of groups (variable c) to which the same zoom speed is assigned among pressing levels 1 to 5, the same effect as described above can be obtained. For example, in the setting patterns of FIGS. 10(a1) and 10(b1) (the zoom speeds assigned to press levels 1 to 5 are 1, 5, 9, 12, and 16, respectively), the same zoom speed is assigned. The number of groups is c=5. The setting patterns of FIGS. 10(a2) and 10(b2) (zoom speeds assigned to press levels 1 to 5 are 1, 2, 2, 2, and 16, respectively) are groups to which the same zoom speed is assigned ( The number of groups of 1, groups of 2, groups of 16) is c=3. Possible values of variable c are 1 to 5 in the five pressing levels. Even if 0 to 5 of the variable b in FIG. 11 described above are replaced with 1 to 5 of the variable c, the same display result can be obtained.

As described in FIGS. 9 and 10 (b1) to (b3), for multiple values (values of pressing levels 1 to 5 in the above example), multi-level numerical values (17-level zoom speed) are The method of simplifying and displaying in steps (five steps) can be applied regardless of the zoom speed. For example, when displaying the remaining capacity of multiple recording media such as the main unit memory/memory card A/memory card B, or when displaying the remaining battery power of multiple batteries, the output volume of multiple audio output devices is displayed. This can be applied when displaying the output volume of multiple channels. In addition, although the example of expressing the height of each distance bar has been described as a display that expresses the steps, at least any of numbers, character strings, display area, height, width, brightness, and color may be used instead of height. The corresponding stage may be displayed depending on the state.

According to the present embodiment described above, it is possible to perform a zoom operation with better operability using an operation member that can be operated with a plurality of stages of operation amounts (pressing levels).

It should be noted that the processing described for the operation of the zoom key 104 in the above-described embodiment is applicable not only to the zoom key 104 but also to the operation of an operation member that can be operated with a plurality of stages of operation amounts. For example, pushbuttons that can detect multiple steps of pressing amounts, pressure-sensitive operation devices (pressure-sensitive touch panels, etc.), rotary operation members that can detect multiple steps of rotation amounts, joysticks that can detect multiple steps of tilt angles, etc. is also applicable.

Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, an example of the zoom speed was described as a setting value (processing content) registered in each operation level (pressing level) as a setting value. It can also be applied to values. This is not limited to camera functions. For example, the present invention can be applied to a case where the output level (volume) of sound such as notification sound and video sound is registered in each operation level (pressing level) of the operation member.

It should be noted that the display of the pressing level corresponding to the pressing amount of the zoom key 104 described with reference to FIGS. It does not have to be a display using bars. For example, as shown in FIG. 12, in the display in which each pressing level and the assigned zoom speed are represented by character strings, the pressing level corresponding to the pressing amount of the zoom key 104 may be displayed. In FIG. 12, an index 1201 corresponds to the index 420 described with reference to FIGS. Underlines 1202 and 1203 correspond to the highlighting described with reference to FIGS. 6(a) to 6(e). Even in such a display, as in the example described with reference to FIG. can be recognized. In the example of FIG. 12, the pressing level corresponding to the current pressing amount may be pressing amount 4 (that is, pressing level 4), and another pressing level assigned the same zoom speed may include pressing amount 3 (pressing level 3). Recognize.

In FIG. 6C, an example of highlighting the pressing level corresponding to the current pressing amount of a specific operation member (zoom key 104) and other speed levels to which the same zoom speed is assigned has been described. However, the display is not limited to the display of the assigned set value (zoom speed) for each operation amount (pressing level) for the same operation member. For example, when different setting values or functions can be assigned to a plurality of operating members, it is suitable for indicating to the user that the same setting values or functions are assigned to the plurality of operating members.

FIG. 13 shows a display example on the display unit 28 of a setting confirmation screen 1351 showing the setting status in which the user has assigned desired functions to each of the assign buttons 1 (1001) to 4 (1004). A function selected by the user from a plurality of functions can be assigned to each of assign button 1 (1001) to assign button 4 (1004), and when each assign button is pressed, the assigned function is executed. In FIG. 13, numbers 1352 to 1355 (1 to 4) indicate assign button numbers. Function names 1356-1359 display function names assigned to respective assign buttons in association with numbers 1352-1355. In the illustrated example, WB change (white balance change) is assigned to assign button 1 (1001), and AF/MF switching is assigned to assign button 2 (1002). Also, the function to open the menu is assigned to the assign button 3 (1003), and the WB change is assigned to the assign button 4 (1004). When one of the assign buttons 1 (1001) to 4 (1004) is pressed, the pressed assign button number among the numbers 1352 to 1355 (1 to 4) is highlighted (for example, displayed in bold black characters). , and other assign button numbers are grayed out. This allows the user to recognize what the pressed assign button is and what the function assigned to the pressed assign button is. In the illustrated example, the assign button 4 (1004) is pressed, the number 1355 (4) is highlighted, and the other numbers are grayed out. Also, the function assigned to the pressed assign button is underlined and the function name is emphasized. Furthermore, the function names of other assign buttons to which the same function as that assigned to the pressed assign button is assigned are also underlined and emphasized. In the illustrated example, an underline 1361 is displayed on the function name "WB change" corresponding to the pressed assign button 4, and the function name "WB change" corresponding to the assign button 1 different from the pressed assign button is displayed. is also underlined 1360. As a result, the user can recognize that if he/she wants to execute the function "WB change", it can be executed by pressing the assign button 1 instead of the assign button 4 that is currently being pressed. Therefore, when the user dares to assign the same function to two assign buttons, the user can recognize that the settings are correctly made as intended. In addition, even if the same function is assigned to two assign buttons by mistake, it can be recognized, and correction such as assigning a different function to one of the assign buttons can be performed as necessary. Similarly, it can be applied to operating members such as cross keys and joysticks, to which different functions can be assigned according to a plurality of operating positions or operating directions. That is, when such an operation member is operated, the operated position or direction of operation or the processing content assigned thereto is identified and displayed, and other operation positions or operations to which the same processing content is assigned are displayed. Directions may be identified. Generally speaking, it is possible to set the processing contents for each of a plurality of operation methods, and when an operation is performed by any of the operation methods, the operated operation method or the processing contents assigned to the operation method are identified and displayed. At the same time, another operation method capable of instructing the same processing content as the processing content assigned to the operated operation method or the processing content assigned to the other operation method is identified and displayed. The difference is displayed so as to be identifiable from the operation methods to which different processing contents are assigned.

Note that the various controls described above that are performed by the system control unit 50 may be performed by one piece of hardware, or a plurality of pieces of hardware (for example, a plurality of processors or circuits) may share the processing, so that the apparatus Overall control may be performed.

Moreover, although the present invention has been described in detail based on its preferred embodiments, the present invention is not limited to these specific embodiments, and various forms within the scope of the present invention can be applied to the present invention. included. Furthermore, each embodiment described above merely shows one embodiment of the present invention, and it is also possible to combine each embodiment as appropriate.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to the digital camera 100, which is an imaging device, has been described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this example. Any electronic device that can assign set values or functions to operation members according to user operations, or an electronic device that can be controlled with different parameters for each operation amount of an operation member can be applied. That is, the present invention can be applied to personal computers, PDAs, mobile phone terminals, portable image viewers, printers equipped with displays, digital photo frames, music players, game machines, e-book readers, home appliances, vehicle-mounted devices, and the like. .

(Other embodiments)
The present invention is also realized by executing the following processing. That is, the software (program) that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or device via a network or various storage media, and the computer (or CPU, MPU, etc.) of the system or device reads the program code. This is the process to be executed. In this case, the program and the storage medium storing the program constitute the present invention.

Claims (11)

setting means for dividing an operation amount for a specific operation member into M stages, and assigning and setting processing contents for each stage of the operation amount;
When the specific operation member is operated, the N-th stage, which is the stage corresponding to the manipulated operation amount, is displayed so as to be identifiable from the stages to which other processing contents are assigned, and the N-th stage is displayed. and control means for performing control to perform the identification display also for the i-th stage when the same processing content as the N-th stage is assigned to the i-th stage different from the stage. electronic equipment. 2. The process content set by the setting means is a control value of a specific function, and is set in ascending order or descending order with respect to the plurality of stages of the operation amount. electronics. 3. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the operation member is an operation member that can be pushed, and the amount of operation is the amount of pushing into the operation member. The operation member is a seesaw-type operation member having a first operation portion and a second operation portion, and a user can push either one of the first operation portion and the second operation portion. There is
4. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the operation amount is an amount of depression when the first operation section or the second operation section is pushed from a reference position by a user's operation. Electronics as described. further comprising zoom control means for controlling zooming;
The setting means is capable of setting a zoom speed for each of M steps of operation amounts for the specific operation member based on a user operation,
The zoom control means, in response to an operation performed on the specific operation member, performs control such that the amount of operation performed is zoomed at a zoom speed set by the setting means. The electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized by: 6. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the M stages are three or more stages. The control means arranges and displays a plurality of display elements corresponding to each of the M stages on the display means, and as the identification display, when the specific operation member is operated, one of the plurality of display elements 7. The display element corresponding to the stage to which the processing content assigned to the N-th stage is assigned is controlled so as to be identifiable from other display elements. 1. The electronic device according to 1. 8. The electronic device according to claim 7, wherein the display element is a bar-shaped rectangle having a height or width corresponding to the processing content assigned to the corresponding stage. a setting step of dividing an operation amount for a specific operation member into M stages, and assigning and setting processing contents for each stage of the operation amount;
When the specific operation member is operated, the N-th stage, which is the stage corresponding to the manipulated operation amount, is displayed so as to be identifiable from the stages to which other processing contents are assigned, and the N-th stage is displayed. and a control step of controlling to perform the identification display also for the i-th stage when the same processing content as the N-th stage is assigned to the i-th stage different from the stage. control method for electronic devices. A program for causing a computer to function as each means of the electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 8 . A computer-readable storage medium storing a program for causing a computer to function as each means of the electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 8 .

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