JP2007135156A - Digital camera - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a digital camera which restrains hand deflection in vertical position photography and is easy to check composition. <P>SOLUTION: The digital camera is constituted of a lens unit 12 and a camera main body 11. The lens unit 12 includes a shooting lens 13 and a CCD 14. The camera main body 11 holds the lens unit 12 so as to be freely attached and detached. The camera main body 11 has a mounting portion rotary drive mechanism 58 and rotates the equipped lens unit 12 around an optical axis of the shooting lens 13. As a result, since horizontal position photography and vertical position photography can be performed by holding the camera main body 11 into status of horizontal position photography, generation of hand deflection in vertical position photography is restrained. Moreover, an LCD 30 is inserted in a panel 34. The panel 34 is rotatably held by making direction which intersects perpendicularly a screen of the LCD 30 an axis. By the above constitution, since direction of the LCD 30 can be changed according to status of each photography, it is easy to check composition. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention has an image sensor on which a substantially rectangular imaging surface is formed, horizontal position shooting for acquiring a horizontally long image by holding the imaging surface horizontally, and acquiring a vertically long image by holding the imaging surface vertically. The present invention relates to a digital camera that performs vertical position shooting.

  2. Description of the Related Art Digital cameras that capture a subject image with an image sensor such as a CCD image sensor, convert the image into digital image data, and record the digital image data on a storage medium such as a built-in memory or a memory card are widely used. An image sensor used in a digital camera often has a rectangular imaging surface. Therefore, at the time of shooting, so-called horizontal position shooting in which the image pickup surface is held horizontally to acquire horizontally long image data, and so-called vertical position in which the image pickup surface is held vertically to acquire vertically long image data. Shooting is performed.

  Also, a general digital camera lays out each part based on horizontal position shooting. For this reason, there is a problem that the camera shake is more likely to occur in the vertical position shooting than in the horizontal position shooting because it is difficult to hold or the release button is difficult to press. As a solution to this problem, a method is known in which a grip for improving holdability during vertical position shooting is attached as an accessory (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The grip described in Patent Document 1 is provided with various operation switches including a release button, and the digital camera can be operated only by this grip.

By the way, the photographing lens and the image pickup device are unitized (hereinafter referred to as a lens unit), and this lens unit is detachably attached to the camera body so that the photographing lens can be replaced without exposing the image pickup device. For example, Patent Document 2 proposes a digital camera. In the digital camera configured in this way, if only the lens unit is rotated around the optical axis, it is possible to perform horizontal position shooting and vertical position shooting without changing the orientation of the camera body.
JP 2003-255462 A JP 2000-106640 A

  Many digital cameras are provided with a liquid crystal display (hereinafter referred to as an LCD), and a so-called through image is displayed on the LCD so that the subject is framed. For this reason, if the camera body is in the horizontal position shooting state as described above and only the lens unit is rotated to perform the vertical position shooting, a through image is displayed in a state rotated by 90 ° according to the orientation of the image sensor. As a result, there is a problem that it is difficult to confirm the composition because the through image is very difficult to see. Further, even if an attempt is made to confirm the composition using an optical finder or the like, it is difficult to confirm the composition because the orientation of the optical finder provided in the camera body and the image sensor do not match.

  On the other hand, in the method of attaching the grip for the vertical position, since the digital camera itself is rotated as before, the composition can be confirmed without any problem in the through image or the optical viewfinder, but the attachment of the grip is troublesome and inconvenient, There is a problem that the portability of the digital camera is impaired by the grip.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and is a digital camera that suppresses the occurrence of camera shake during vertical position shooting, prevents the loss of convenience and portability, and facilitates confirmation of the composition. The purpose is to provide.

  In order to achieve the above object, a digital camera according to the present invention includes a lens unit provided with an imaging element having a substantially rectangular imaging surface, a photographic lens that forms a subject image on the imaging element, and A display unit that includes a camera unit that holds a lens unit rotatably around the optical axis of the photographing lens, and that includes a display surface that displays an image obtained by the imaging device as a through image; and the display The camera body is provided with a rotation mechanism for rotatably holding the display means about a direction substantially orthogonal to the surface.

  The camera body rotationally drives the display unit so as to match the rotation angle of the lens unit based on the detection result of the angle detection unit and the detection result of the angle detection unit. It is preferable to have a drive control means.

  Further, the drive control means rotates the display means stepwise according to the interlock mode in which the display means is continuously rotated according to the detection result of the angle detection means, and the detection result of the angle detection means. It is preferable to have a step mode and a non-interlocking mode in which the rotation angle of the display means is fixed.

  Furthermore, the camera body may include an angle detection unit that detects a rotation angle of the lens unit and a notification unit that notifies a detection result of the angle detection unit.

  The digital camera according to the present invention includes a lens unit provided with an imaging element having a substantially rectangular imaging surface, a photographing lens for forming a subject image on the imaging element, and the lens unit for photographing the lens unit. A camera body that is rotatably held around the optical axis of the lens, a display unit on which a display surface for displaying an image obtained by the image sensor as a through image is formed, and a rotation angle of the lens unit. Based on the detection result of the angle detection means and the detection result of the angle detection means, the first aspect ratio corresponding to the landscape image and the second aspect ratio corresponding to the portrait image are displayed on the display surface. Display switching means for switching the aspect ratio of the through image may be provided in the camera body.

  The display surface has one aspect ratio of the first aspect ratio and the second aspect ratio, and the display switching unit displays the entire image having the other aspect ratio on the display surface. It is preferable to display a magnified image obtained by extracting and enlarging a part of the image in a margin area generated at the time.

  Further, the display surface may be formed in a substantially square shape. In this case, it is preferable that the display switching unit displays shooting information in a blank area generated when the horizontally long image or the vertically long image is displayed on the substantially square display surface. In addition, it is preferable that the photographing information includes an enlarged image obtained by extracting and enlarging a part of an image to be displayed, a detection result of the angle detection unit, and a histogram indicating characteristics of the image to be displayed. .

  The digital camera according to the present invention includes a lens unit provided with the imaging element having a substantially rectangular imaging surface and a photographing lens for forming a subject image on the imaging element, and the lens unit is detachable. A rotation unit provided with a first holding unit that holds the lens unit and a first rotation mechanism that rotates the held lens unit around the optical axis of the photographing lens, and a second holding unit that holds the rotation unit detachably. And a display means on which a display surface for displaying an image obtained by the image sensor as a through image is formed, and a second rotation mechanism for rotatably holding the display means about a direction substantially orthogonal to the display surface. It may be configured from a camera main body provided with.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a digital camera including a lens unit provided with the imaging element having a substantially rectangular imaging surface and a photographing lens for forming a subject image on the imaging element, and the lens unit is detachable. A rotation unit provided with a first holding unit that holds the lens unit, a rotation mechanism that rotates the held lens unit around the optical axis of the photographing lens, and an angle detection unit that detects a rotation angle of the lens unit; Based on the detection result of the second holding unit that detachably holds the unit, the display unit on which the display surface for displaying the image obtained by the imaging device is displayed, and the detection result of the angle detection unit, Display switching means for switching the aspect ratio of the through image displayed on the display screen with a corresponding first aspect ratio and a second aspect ratio corresponding to the portrait image is provided. Or those composed of a camera body which is.

  Furthermore, it is preferable that the second holding portion is configured so that the lens unit can be detachably attached, and one of the lens unit and the rotating unit is selectively attached.

  In the digital camera of the present invention, a lens unit in which an imaging element having a substantially rectangular imaging surface is formed, and a photographing lens for forming a subject image on the imaging element, and the lens unit are used as light of the photographing lens. A display unit that includes a camera body that is rotatably held about an axis, and that displays a through image display area on the display surface for displaying an image obtained by the image sensor as a through image, and a direction substantially orthogonal to the display surface A rotation mechanism for rotatably holding the display means about the axis is provided in the camera body. As a result, by rotating only the lens unit, horizontal position shooting and vertical position shooting can be performed without changing the orientation of the camera body, so the gripping and operability in each shooting state are uniform, The occurrence of camera shake due to the camera orientation can be suppressed. At this time, if the display means is rotated according to the orientation of the imaging surface in each shooting state, the through image does not become difficult to see. Furthermore, since there is no need to attach accessories such as grips, convenience and portability are not impaired.

  In the digital camera of the present invention, the angle detection means for detecting the rotation angle of the lens unit and the first aspect ratio corresponding to the horizontally long image and the first image corresponding to the vertically long image based on the detection result of the angle detection means. Even if the camera body is provided with a display switching means for switching the aspect ratio of the through image display area on the display surface with 2 aspect ratios, and the direction of the through image is changed on the display surface, the same effect as described above can be obtained. Obtainable.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing the configuration of the digital camera 10. The digital camera 10 includes a camera body 11 and a lens unit 12. The lens unit 12 includes a photographing lens 13 exposed on the front surface and a CCD (imaging device) 14 that photoelectrically converts a subject image formed by the photographing lens 13. The camera body 11 holds the lens unit 12 in a detachable manner, sends and receives various control signals, and drives the CCD 14 to acquire digital image data corresponding to the subject image. Note that the imaging surface of the CCD 14 is formed in a substantially rectangular shape, and image data having a size corresponding to the aspect ratio is acquired.

  Also, a plurality of types of lens units 12 are prepared in advance, for example, those with different focal lengths of the taking lens 13, those with different numbers of pixels of the CCD 14, those capable of monochrome photography, and those capable of infrared photography. The The digital camera 10 can easily obtain image data corresponding to the shooting situation by selectively mounting each lens unit 12 on the camera body 11.

  On the back surface of the lens unit 12, a mount portion 15 in which a bayonet claw 16 is formed is provided. On the other hand, a mount 18 having a bayonet groove 19 is provided on the front surface of the camera body 11 facing the mount 15. The mount portions 15 and 18 are fitted to each other by pushing the bayonet pawl 16 into alignment with the bayonet groove 19 and rotating it clockwise. Further, the bayonet claw 16 is provided with a plurality of contacts 16a. Each contact 16a comes into contact with a contact (not shown) provided in the bayonet groove 19 when the bayonet claw 16 and the bayonet groove 19 are fitted. Thereby, each mount part 15 and 18 mechanically connects the camera main body 11 and the lens unit 12 by the bayonet nail | claw 16 and the bayonet groove | channel 19, and electrically connects the camera main body 11 and the lens unit 12 by each contact. Also connect to.

  The mount portion 18 is housed in an outer cylinder portion 23 that protrudes in a substantially cylindrical shape from the front surface of the camera body 11, and is held by the camera body 11 so as to be rotatable around the optical axis. Inside the camera body 11, a mount rotation driving mechanism 58 (see FIG. 5) for rotating the mount 18 is provided. The digital camera 10 rotates the lens unit 12 mounted by rotating the mount unit 18 around the optical axis so that so-called horizontal position shooting and vertical position shooting can be performed without rotating the camera body 11. Yes. Note that the rotation of the mount portion 18 is to change the horizontal position and the vertical position, and therefore, it is sufficient to rotate at least 90 °. Hereinafter, in the present example, it is assumed that the mount 18 rotates 90 °, but the rotation angle of the mount 18 may be 90 ° or more, or may be configured to continuously rotate 360 °. .

  In addition, the mount portion 18 is provided with a lock pin 20, a mount lid 21, and an unlock button 22. When the lens unit 12 is mounted on the camera body 11, the lock pin 20 engages with a pin hole (not shown) formed in the mount portion 15 to restrict the rotation of the lens unit 12. Is prevented from falling off the camera body 11. The mount lid 21 is spring-biased toward the front surface, and closes the opening into which the bayonet claw 16 enters when the lens unit 12 is not attached, thereby preventing dust and the like from entering the camera body 11. . When the lock release button 22 is pressed, the lock pin 20 is retracted into the camera body 11 in conjunction with this operation, and the engagement between the lock pin 20 and the pin hole is released. Thereby, the rotation of the lens unit 12 is permitted again, and the lens unit 12 can be detached from the camera body 11.

  In addition to the above, a strobe light emitting unit 24 that irradiates a subject in accordance with execution of shooting is provided on the front surface of the camera body 11. Also, on the upper surface of the camera body 11, a release button 25 for instructing the digital camera 10 to perform shooting, and a mode for switching between a shooting mode for shooting a still image and a playback mode for playing back and displaying the shot image. A switching dial 26 is provided.

  The release button 25 is a two-stage push switch. When the release button 25 is lightly pressed (half-pressed), various shooting preparation processes such as automatic exposure adjustment (AE) and automatic focus adjustment (AF) are started. In this state, when the release button 25 is strongly pressed once again (fully pressed), the imaging signal for one screen subjected to the imaging preparation process is converted into image data.

  FIG. 2 is a plan view of the camera body 11 viewed from the back. On the back of the camera body 11, a power switch 28 that switches on / off the power of the digital camera 10, an LCD (display means) 30 that displays captured images, through images, various menu screens, and the like, and a digital camera An operation unit 32 for inputting various instructions to 10 is provided. The LCD 30 has a display surface having an aspect ratio substantially equal to the imaging surface (acquired image data) of the CCD 14 and is fitted into a panel 34 formed in a substantially disc shape.

  As shown in FIG. 3A, a protrusion 34 a protruding in a flange shape is formed on the side surface of the panel 34. The case 40 on the back side of the camera body 11 is provided with an opening for exposing the panel 34, and a recessed portion that is recessed by one step is formed in the inner periphery of the opening. The protrusion 34 a of the panel 34 is fitted into the recess of the case 40 and is sandwiched by the sandwiching plate 42. As a result, the panel 34 is rotatably held by the camera body 11 with the direction orthogonal to the display surface of the LCD 30 as an axis, and a horizontally long state corresponding to the horizontal position shooting as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2B, the LCD 30 is rotated between the vertically long state corresponding to the vertical position shooting. That is, the panel 34, the case 40, and the sandwiching plate 42 constitute the rotation mechanism described in the claims. FIG. 3A is a partial cross-sectional view of the camera body 11 as viewed from above.

  As shown in FIG. 3B, a gear portion 34b formed in a bevel gear shape is provided on the back surface of the panel 34 (the surface viewed from the inside of the camera body 11). The gear portion 34 b meshes with the bevel gear 44. The bevel gear 44 is connected to a rotation shaft 46 a of a drive motor 46 attached to the sandwiching plate 42. The drive motor 46 transmits the driving force to the panel 34 via the bevel gear 44 and the gear portion 34b, and rotationally drives the panel 34. Further, the end surface of the panel 34 slightly protrudes from the exterior surface of the case 40 so that the protruding portion can be gripped and turned manually.

  The operation unit 32 includes, for example, a zoom operation button 35, a menu button 36, a cross key 37, a mount unit rotation button 38, a panel rotation mode selection switch 39, and the like. The zoom operation button 35 changes the zoom of the photographing lens 13 to the wide side and the tele side. The menu button 36 is operated when displaying a menu screen on the LCD 30 or determining a selection content. The cross key 37 is operated when the cursor is moved in the menu screen.

  When the mount portion rotation button 38 is pressed, the mount portion 18 rotates clockwise and counterclockwise within a rotation range of 90 °. The panel 34 is rotated in accordance with the rotation of the mount unit 18. The digital camera 10 has an interlocking mode (see FIG. 4A) in which the panel 34 is continuously rotated in accordance with the rotation of the mount unit 18 and the panel 34 in response to the mount unit 18 being rotated by a predetermined amount or more. A step mode (see FIG. 4B) that changes stepwise between 0 ° and 90 ° (horizontal position and vertical position), and the rotation angle of the panel 34 is fixed regardless of the rotation of the mount portion 18. Three panel rotation modes, which are linked modes, are provided, and it is easy to perform framing of the subject by switching each mode according to the subject's situation. The panel rotation mode selection switch 39 is operated when switching between these modes. Note that switching of each panel rotation mode is not limited to the panel rotation mode selection switch 39, and may be performed from, for example, a menu screen displayed by pressing the menu button 36.

  In the step mode shown in FIG. 4B, the amount of rotation of the mount portion 18 is different (having hysteresis) when moving from 0 ° to 90 ° and when moving from 90 ° to 0 °. However, they may be switched with the same rotation amount. However, unnecessary rotation of the panel 34 due to erroneous operation can be suppressed by providing hysteresis so that the amount of rotation at the beginning of rotation increases as shown in FIG. Further, in the step mode shown in FIG. 4B, the change is made only at 0 ° and 90 °. However, for example, the change may be made in steps in more steps such as 45 °. .

  FIG. 5 is a block diagram schematically showing the internal configuration of the digital camera 10. The camera main body 11 is provided with a main body control unit 50 that comprehensively controls each unit in the main body. The main body control unit 50 includes a ROM that stores a control program for controlling each unit and a RAM that temporarily stores work data. The main body control unit 50 controls each unit based on this control program. An operation unit 32 is connected to the main body control unit 50. As a result, an operation such as the menu button 36 is input to the main body control unit 50.

  A memory 53 is connected to the digital signal processing unit 51 via a system bus 52. When the image data acquired from the lens unit 12 is temporarily stored in the memory 53, the digital signal processing unit 51 performs various images such as gradation conversion, white balance correction, and gamma correction on the image data. Processing, YC conversion processing, and the like are performed.

  Connected to the system bus 52 are a serial driver 54 for communicating with the lens unit 12, a strobe control unit 55, an LCD driver 56, a media controller 57, a mount unit rotation drive mechanism 58, a motor driver 59 and the like. The serial driver 54 is connected to the lens unit 12 through each contact provided on each mount portion 15, 18. The serial driver 54 is configured to be capable of bidirectional communication, and transmits and receives various control signals and image data to and from the lens unit 12.

  The strobe control circuit 55 causes the strobe light emitting unit 24 to emit light according to the strobe light emission signal transmitted from the main body control unit 50. For example, the LCD driver 56 converts the input image data into an analog composite signal and displays it on the LCD 30. The media controller 57 reads and writes image data and the like with respect to the recording medium 60 detachably loaded in the camera body 11. When the digital camera 10 is in the shooting mode, the image data acquired by the lens unit 12 is recorded on the recording medium 60. On the other hand, when the digital camera 10 is in the reproduction mode, the image data recorded on the recording medium 60 is reproduced and displayed on the LCD 30.

  The mount portion rotation drive mechanism 58 is a well-known mechanism including a gear, a motor, and the like, and rotates the mount portion 18 in the clockwise direction or the counterclockwise direction according to the pressing operation of the mount portion rotation button 38. Further, the mount portion rotation drive mechanism 58 is provided with an encoder (angle detection means) 62. The encoder 62 detects the rotation angle of the mount unit 18 by counting the number of drive pulses applied to a motor (not shown), and transmits the detected rotation angle to the main body control unit 50.

  A drive motor 46 is connected to the motor driver 59. The motor driver 59 receives a control signal from the main body control unit 50 via the system bus 52 and applies a drive pulse to the drive motor 46 based on the control signal. The drive motor 46 rotationally drives the panel 34 as described above in response to the application of the drive pulse. That is, the drive motor 46, the main body control unit 50, and the motor driver 59 constitute the drive control means described in the claims. The motor driver 59 is provided with an encoder 63. The encoder 63 detects the rotation angle of the panel 34 by counting the number of drive pulses applied to the drive motor 46, and transmits the detected rotation angle to the main body control unit 50, similarly to the encoder 62. The main body control unit 50 controls the rotation of the mount unit 18 and the panel 34 based on the detection results of the encoders 62 and 63. The detection of the rotation angle is not limited to the encoders 62 and 63. For example, the terminal on the printed resistor is slid in accordance with the rotation of the mount unit 18 or the panel 34, and the change in the resistance value is measured. The rotation angle may be detected by.

  The camera body 11 has a battery storage chamber (not shown), and a battery 65 is detachably held in the battery storage chamber. The battery 65 is connected to the power supply control part 66 through the electrode provided in the battery storage chamber. The power control unit 66 transforms the output voltage of the battery 65 to a predetermined voltage and supplies it to each part of the camera body 11. A power switch 28 is connected to the power controller 66. Supply and stop of power to each unit is controlled in response to an ON / OFF operation of the power switch 28. The power control unit 66 is connected to the mount unit 18, and also supplies power to the lens unit 12 through the contacts of the mount units 15 and 18.

  The lens unit 12 is provided with a unit control unit 70 that comprehensively controls each unit in the unit. The unit control unit 70 includes a ROM that stores a control program for controlling each unit and a RAM that temporarily stores work data. The unit controller 70 controls each part based on this control program.

  The photographing lens 13 includes a zoom lens 72, a diaphragm 73, and a focus lens 74 arranged along the optical axis. A lens motor 75 is connected to the zoom lens 72. The lens motor 75 moves the zoom lens 72 to the wide side or the tele side in conjunction with the operation of the zoom operation button 33. An iris motor 76 is connected to the diaphragm 73. The iris motor 76 adjusts the amount of light incident from the zoom lens 72 by changing the aperture area (aperture value) of the diaphragm 73 during the shooting preparation process when the release button 25 is half-pressed. A lens motor 77 is connected to the focus lens 74. The lens motor 77 moves the focus lens 74 to the near side or the infinity side in response to zooming of the zoom lens 72 or half-pressing of the release button 25.

  Each motor 75, 76, 77 is connected to a motor driver 78. The motor driver 78 is connected to the unit controller 70 and transmits drive pulses to the motors 75, 76, 77 based on the control signal from the unit controller 70. Each of the motors 75, 76, 77 rotationally drives the rotating shaft in accordance with this drive pulse. In addition, as each motor 75, 76, 77, a stepping motor etc. are used, for example.

  Further, the CCD 14 is connected to the unit controller 70 via a CCD driver 80. The unit controller 70 controls the CCD driver 80 to drive the CCD 14. The CCD 14 converts the subject image into an electrical signal by photoelectric conversion, and acquires image data of an analog signal.

  The CCD 14 is connected to the analog signal processing unit 81 and outputs the acquired image data to the analog signal processing unit 81. The analog signal processing unit 81 is connected to the unit control unit 70 via the system bus 82 and is controlled by the unit control unit 70. The analog signal processing unit 81 performs noise removal and amplification processing on the image data and outputs the processed image data to the A / D converter 3. The A / D converter 83 converts image data from an analog signal to a digital signal.

  An AE / AF detector 84 is connected to the A / D converter 83. The A / D converter 83 inputs the image data converted into the digital signal to the AE / AF detection unit 84. The AE / AF detection unit 84 is controlled by the unit control unit 70, detects the in-focus position where the amplitude value of the high frequency component of the image data is maximized, and outputs the AF detection value to the unit control unit 70. Further, the AE / AF detection unit 84 detects an AE detection value at which the exposure is optimal, and outputs the detected AE detection value to the unit control unit 70. The unit control unit 70 performs AF processing by moving the focus lens 74 to a position where the AF detection value becomes the highest, and controls operations of the diaphragm 73 and the CCD 14 based on the AE detection value.

  A serial driver 85 is connected to the system bus 82. The serial driver 85 is connected to the serial driver 54 of the camera body 11 via the mount parts 15 and 18. Each serial driver 54, 85 converts the parallel signal from each control unit 50, 70 into a serial signal and transmits it, converts the received signal back to a parallel signal, and inputs it to each control unit 50, 70. Thereby, transmission and reception of control signals and image data are performed between the camera body 11 and the lens unit 12.

  The power control unit 86 is connected to the mount unit 15, and is connected to the power control unit 66 of the camera body 11 through the contacts of the mount units 15 and 18. The power controller 86 distributes the power to each part of the lens unit 12 when power is supplied from the power controller 66.

  Next, the operation of the digital camera 10 configured as described above will be described. In order to perform photographing with the digital camera 10, first, the lens unit 12 is attached to the camera body 11, and the power switch 28 provided in the camera body 11 is turned on. When the power switch 28 is turned on, the voltage of the battery 65 is transformed by the power controller 66 and supplied to each part of the camera body 11. The power control unit 66 also supplies power to the power control unit 86 of the lens unit 12 via the contacts of the mount units 15 and 18. The power control unit 86 to which the power is input distributes and supplies the power to each part of the lens unit 12. As a result, the digital camera 10 is activated and becomes ready for photographing.

  After the digital camera 10 is activated, when the shooting mode is set by operating the mode switching dial 26, the image data captured by the CCD 14 is sent to the camera body 11 via the serial drivers 54 and 85. The image data sent to the camera body 11 is subjected to various image processing by the digital signal processing unit 51 and then input to the LCD driver 56 and displayed on the LCD 30 as a through image. The framing of the subject by the photographer is performed by a through image displayed on the LCD 30. At this time, when the mount unit rotation button 38 is pressed, the main body control unit 50 drives the mount unit rotation drive mechanism 58 according to the operation, and rotates the lens unit 12 around the optical axis.

  As a result, even when shooting at the horizontal position, the vertical position, and an intermediate angle between them, the camera body 11 can be held in the horizontal position shooting state without rotating, so that the shooting is performed at the vertical position or the like. It is possible to suppress the occurrence of camera shake when performing. In addition, since a grip for vertical position shooting is not required, the convenience and portability of the digital camera 10 are not impaired.

  Further, the main body control unit 50 refers to the detection result of the encoder 62 to obtain the rotation angle of the mount unit 18 when the mount unit rotation drive mechanism 58 is driven to rotate the mount unit 18. When the interlock mode is selected by the panel rotation mode selection switch 39, the main body control unit 50 transmits a control signal to the motor driver 59 while referring to the detection result of the encoder 63 so as to be interlocked with the rotation of the mount unit 18. The panel 34 is rotated. When photographing the vertical position by rotating the lens unit 12, the through image becomes sideways if the LCD 30 remains fixed, which is very difficult to see. On the other hand, in this example, as shown in FIG. 2B, the panel 34 is rotated so that the orientation of the LCD 30 can be adjusted to the orientation of the CCD 14, so that the composition can be easily confirmed.

  When the step mode is selected by the panel rotation mode selection switch 39, the main body control unit 50 determines whether or not the detection result of the encoder 63 has reached a predetermined value (see FIG. 4B). The panel 34 is changed stepwise between the horizontal position and the vertical position in accordance with the determination result. Further, when the non-interlocking mode is selected, the rotation angle of the panel 34 is fixed regardless of the rotation of the mount unit 18. In this way, by providing a plurality of panel rotation modes in advance and selecting an appropriate mode according to the situation of the subject, the composition can be more easily confirmed. The number and type of panel rotation modes to be set are not limited to the above.

  In the above-described embodiment, the panel 34 is automatically rotated by the drive motor 46 and the motor driver 59, but there is a concern that the cost and size of the digital camera 10 may increase due to these. For this reason, when it is desired to provide an inexpensive and small digital camera 10, the panel 34 may be manually rotated without providing the drive motor 46, the motor driver 59, and the like. In this case, the panel 34 is rotated only within a range of 90 ° corresponding to the horizontal position and the vertical position, and the horizontal position and the vertical position can be switched immediately by contact. preferable.

  However, when the lens unit 12 is at an intermediate angle between the horizontal position and the vertical position, it is very difficult to manually adjust the panel 34 to the intermediate angle. Therefore, when the panel 34 is manually rotated, the camera main body 90 shown in FIG. 6 may be configured. Note that the same functions and configurations as those of the above embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted. A panel 92 of the camera body 90 is provided with a plurality of LEDs (notification means) 94 along the vicinity of the outer periphery thereof. Each LED 94 is arranged on a concentric circle of the panel 92 in increments of 10 ° from 0 ° to 90 °. Each LED 94 is electrically connected to the main body control unit 50 via a driver (not shown), and the main body control unit 50 controls lighting and extinguishing.

  An arrow mark 96 is printed on the back of the camera body 90. The mark 96 is directed in the direction of the rotation axis of the panel 92. As shown in FIG. 6A, the mark 96 points to the LED 94 corresponding to 0 ° when the LCD 30 is in the horizontal position, and FIG. As shown, the LED 94 corresponding to 90 ° is indicated when the LCD 30 is in the vertical position.

  When the main body control unit 50 drives the mount unit rotation drive mechanism 58 to rotate the mount unit 18, the main body control unit 50 obtains the rotation angle of the mount unit 18 with reference to the detection result of the encoder 62, and obtains the rotation angle most The LED 94 at a close angle is turned on. Thus, by rotating the panel 92 so that the lit LED 94 is aligned with the mark 96, as shown in FIG. 6C, it can be easily adjusted to the intermediate angle manually. The intervals between the LEDs 94 are not limited to 10 ° increments, and may be set at arbitrary intervals. Further, the mark 96 is not limited to printing, and may be any mark as long as the position can be specified, such as a protrusion or a depression. Further, in this example, the LED 94 is shown as the notification means. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a mark indicating the position may be displayed in an overlay on the LCD 30. Furthermore, a notifying unit is configured by the scale attached to the outer periphery of the panel 92 and the rotation angle of the mount portion 18 displayed on the LCD 30, and the angle of the panel 92 is adjusted by adjusting the scale to the displayed angle. You may do it.

  In each of the above embodiments, the panel 34 holding the LCD 30 is rotated and the orientation of the LCD 30 itself is changed to display a horizontally long image acquired by the horizontal position shooting and a vertically long image acquired by the vertical position shooting. However, the orientation of the displayed image may be rotated while the LCD 30 is fixed. A horizontally long LCD 102 is fixed to the back surface of the camera body 100 shown in FIG. For example, the main body control unit 50 determines whether or not the detection result of the encoder 63 has reached a predetermined value (see FIG. 4B), and in accordance with the determination result, the landscape orientation shown in FIG. The LCD driver 56 is instructed to switch the aspect ratio of the through image to be displayed according to the aspect ratio corresponding to the image and the aspect ratio corresponding to the portrait image shown in FIG. That is, the main body control unit 50 and the LCD driver 56 constitute display switching means described in claims. When switching the aspect ratio of the through image, in order to prevent the image from vibrating due to continuous switching between the horizontal position and the vertical position, a hysteresis is provided as shown in FIG. It is preferable to perform switching with a predetermined time constant.

  The aspect ratio of the display surface of the LCD 102 is adjusted to the aspect ratio of the imaging surface of the CCD 14, and when a horizontally long image is displayed, a through image is displayed over the entire display surface as shown in FIG. Is displayed. On the other hand, when a vertically long image is displayed, the through image must be reduced as shown in FIG. If the through image is reduced in this way, for example, it becomes difficult to check the focus state. Therefore, when displaying the vertically long image as a through image, the main body control unit 50 causes the digital signal processing unit 51 to extract a part of the image to be displayed and inputs the extracted portion to the LCD driver 56, for example. The LCD driver 56 creates an enlarged image by enlarging the part extracted to a size corresponding to the blank area BT (area shown by hatching in FIG. 7B) generated when displaying a vertically long image. As shown in c), the created enlarged image and the vertically long image are displayed side by side. By displaying in this way, the overall composition can be confirmed with a vertically long image, and the state of focus and the like can be confirmed with an enlarged image.

  The part extracted as the enlarged image may be a characteristic part such as a person's face as shown in FIG. 7C or a predetermined part such as a central part of the image. In this example, the horizontally long LCD 102 is used to display the vertically long image and the enlarged image side by side. Of course, the vertically long LCD may be used to display the horizontally long image and the enlarged image side by side.

  Further, FIG. 7 shows an example in which the LCD 102 having a display surface with the same aspect ratio as the imaging surface of the CCD 14 is used, but an LCD 108 having a square display surface is used like the camera body 106 shown in FIG. May be. In this way, on the display surface formed in a square shape, when switching between the horizontally long image and the vertically long image, as shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, the size of each image is made uniform. Can do.

  In addition, when using the LCD 108 having a square display surface, not only the horizontally long image and the vertically long image are switched and displayed, but the image may be continuously rotated according to the detection result of the encoder 62. . However, on a square display surface, vignetting occurs at the four corners of the image when the image is slanted. For this reason, a mode in which the four corners are vignetted with the same size, and a mode in which the image is rotated without vignetting by reducing the image, for example, from a menu screen displayed by pressing the menu button 36, etc. It may be settable.

  Further, when a rectangular image is displayed on the LCD 108 having a square display surface, as shown in FIG. 8 (a), the horizontally long image is displayed vertically, and as shown in FIG. 8 (b), the vertically long image is displayed. A margin area BT is generated in each of the left and right directions. In order to make effective use of these blank areas BT, for example, as shown in FIG. 9A, a histogram showing the luminance characteristics of an image displayed as a through image is displayed side by side, or in FIG. As shown, the detection result of the encoder 62 may be displayed in a graph or the like, or various setting information of the digital camera 10 such as ISO sensitivity, shutter speed, and f value may be displayed. Further, the enlarged image shown in FIG. 7C may be displayed. By simultaneously displaying various shooting information in this way, the blank area BT can be used effectively and the situation of the image to be shot can be more easily grasped.

  In each of the above embodiments, the digital camera 10 in which the lens unit 12 is detachably attached to the camera body 11 is shown, but the camera body 11 and the lens unit 12 may be integrated. Further, as in the digital camera 120 shown in FIG. 10, a rotation drive mechanism that rotates the lens unit 122 may be configured as a rotation unit 123 that is detachable from the camera body 121. At this time, it is preferable that the mounting portions of the units have a common shape so that photographing can be performed even when the lens unit 122 is directly attached to the camera main body 121 without sandwiching the rotating unit 123. Further, a communication device capable of wireless communication is provided between the camera body 121 and the rotation unit 123, and photographing can be performed by remote operation from the camera body 121 in a state where the lens unit 122 and the rotation unit 123 are separated from the camera body 121. You may comprise as follows.

  In each of the above embodiments, the lens unit 12 is automatically rotated by driving the mount rotation driving mechanism 58 according to the pressing operation of the mount rotation button 38. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The lens unit 12 may be manually rotated. Further, in each of the above embodiments, a digital camera is shown in which each part is laid out based on horizontal position shooting. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and is applied to a digital camera in which each part is laid out based on vertical position shooting. May be.

It is a perspective view which shows the structure of a digital camera roughly. It is the top view which looked at the camera main body from the back. It is explanatory drawing which shows the structure of a rotation mechanism roughly. It is a graph which shows the change of the rotation angle of the mount part and panel in interlocking mode and step mode. It is a block diagram which shows the internal structure of a digital camera schematically. It is a top view which shows the example which rotates a panel manually. It is a top view which shows the example which rotates and displays an image on LCD which has a display surface of the same aspect ratio as the imaging surface of CCD. It is a top view which shows the example which rotates and displays an image on LCD which has a square-shaped display surface. It is a top view which shows the example which displays an image and imaging | photography information side by side on LCD which has a square-shaped display surface. It is a perspective view which shows the example which comprised the digital camera from the camera main body, the lens unit, and the rotation unit.

Explanation of symbols

10, 120 Digital camera 11, 90, 100, 106, 121 Camera body 12, 122 Lens unit 13 Shooting lens 14 CCD (image sensor)
30, 102, 108 LCD (display means)
34 panel 40 case 42 sandwiching plate 46 drive motor 50 main body control unit 58 mount unit rotation drive mechanism 59 motor driver 62 encoder (angle detection means)
63 Encoder 94 LED (notification means)
96 Mark 123 Rotating unit

Claims (12)

A horizontal position shooting that has an imaging element formed with a substantially rectangular imaging surface and that holds the imaging surface in a landscape orientation to acquire a horizontally long image, and a vertical position imaging that acquires the portrait image by holding the imaging surface in a portrait orientation In digital cameras where
A lens unit provided with the imaging element and a photographic lens that forms a subject image on the imaging element;
The lens unit is composed of a camera body that rotatably holds around the optical axis of the photographing lens, and
Display means on which a display surface for displaying an image obtained by the image sensor as a through image is formed;
A digital camera characterized in that a rotation mechanism for rotatably holding the display means about a direction substantially orthogonal to the display surface is provided in the camera body.   The camera body has an angle detection means for detecting the rotation angle of the lens unit, and a drive control for rotationally driving the display means to match the rotation angle of the lens unit based on the detection result of the angle detection means. The digital camera according to claim 1, further comprising: means.   The drive control means includes an interlock mode in which the display means is continuously rotated according to the detection result of the angle detection means, and a step mode in which the display means is rotated stepwise according to the detection result of the angle detection means. And a non-interlocking mode in which a rotation angle of the display means is fixed.   The digital camera according to claim 1, wherein the camera body includes angle detection means for detecting a rotation angle of the lens unit and notification means for notifying a detection result of the angle detection means. A horizontal position shooting that has an imaging element formed with a substantially rectangular imaging surface and that holds the imaging surface in a landscape orientation to acquire a horizontally long image, and a vertical position imaging that acquires the portrait image by holding the imaging surface in a portrait orientation In digital cameras where
A lens unit provided with the imaging element and a photographic lens that forms a subject image on the imaging element;
The lens unit is composed of a camera body that rotatably holds around the optical axis of the photographing lens, and
Display means on which a display surface for displaying an image obtained by the image sensor as a through image is formed;
Angle detection means for detecting the rotation angle of the lens unit;
Based on the detection result of the angle detection means, the aspect ratio of the through image displayed on the display screen is switched between the first aspect ratio corresponding to the landscape image and the second aspect ratio corresponding to the portrait image. A digital camera characterized in that display switching means is provided in the camera body. The display surface has one aspect ratio of the first aspect ratio and the second aspect ratio;
The display switching means displays a magnified image obtained by extracting and enlarging a part of the image in a blank area generated when the entire image having the other aspect ratio is displayed on the display surface. The digital camera according to claim 5.   6. The digital camera according to claim 5, wherein the display surface is formed in a substantially square shape.   The digital camera according to claim 7, wherein the display switching unit displays photographing information in a blank area generated when the horizontally long image or the vertically long image is displayed on the substantially square display surface.   The photographed information includes an enlarged image obtained by extracting and enlarging a part of an image to be displayed, a detection result of the angle detection unit, and a histogram indicating characteristics of the image to be displayed. 8. The digital camera according to 8. A horizontal position shooting that has an imaging element formed with a substantially rectangular imaging surface and that holds the imaging surface in a landscape orientation to acquire a horizontally long image, and a vertical position imaging that acquires the portrait image by holding the imaging surface in a portrait orientation In digital cameras where
A lens unit provided with the imaging element and a photographic lens that forms a subject image on the imaging element;
A rotation unit provided with a first holding unit that detachably holds the lens unit, and a first rotation mechanism that rotates the held lens unit around the optical axis of the photographing lens;
A second holding unit that detachably holds the rotating unit, a display unit on which a display surface for displaying an image obtained by the image sensor as a through image is formed, and a direction substantially orthogonal to the display surface as an axis. And a camera body provided with a second rotation mechanism for rotatably holding the display means. A horizontal position shooting that has an imaging element formed with a substantially rectangular imaging surface and that holds the imaging surface in a landscape orientation to acquire a horizontally long image, and a vertical position imaging that acquires the portrait image by holding the imaging surface in a portrait orientation In digital cameras where
A lens unit provided with the imaging element and a photographic lens that forms a subject image on the imaging element;
A first holding unit that detachably holds the lens unit, a rotation mechanism that rotates the held lens unit around an optical axis of the photographing lens, and an angle detection unit that detects a rotation angle of the lens unit are provided. A rotating unit,
Based on a detection result of the second detection unit that detachably holds the rotation unit, a display unit on which a display surface that displays an image obtained by the imaging device is displayed, and an angle detection unit. A camera body provided with display switching means for switching an aspect ratio of the through image displayed on the display surface between a first aspect ratio corresponding to the landscape image and a second aspect ratio corresponding to the portrait image; A digital camera characterized by comprising:   The said 2nd holding | maintenance part is comprised also so that attachment or detachment holding | maintenance of the said lens unit is possible, One of the said lens unit and the said rotation unit is selectively attached to Claim 10 or 11 characterized by the above-mentioned. The digital camera described.

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