JPH08179405A - Camera - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To brightly illuminate an object, without using an exclusive illuminator, etc., at the time of taking a close-up picture of a dark object. CONSTITUTION: When the result of photometry by a photometry sensor 43 is smaller than a previously set value and the result of range-finding by a range- finding encoder 16 is smaller than the previously set value, that is, the close-up picture of the dark object is taken, the existent red-eye effect reducing lamp 35 or auxiliary lamp 37 emits light, when a shutter 30 is opened.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a camera equipped with an illumination device which is suitable for taking a close-up image of a dark subject.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an autofocus camera, when the subject is dark or the contrast is low, the light receiving element of the focus detection circuit cannot receive a sufficient amount of light and cannot perform focus detection. Therefore, recent autofocus cameras are provided with an AF (autofocus) auxiliary lamp, and this lamp is caused to emit light during focus detection before release, and focus detection can be performed even in a dark shooting environment or when the subject has low contrast. I am trying.

In addition, when the photographing environment is dark and a person is photographed using a strobe, the pupil of the person is widened. Therefore, if the strobe is photographed in this state, the person's pupil may appear red. is there. Therefore, in recent cameras, in order to prevent this red-eye, the red-eye reduction lamp is made to fire intermittently several times prior to the flash firing to reduce the pupil of the person who is trying to shoot, There are things that reduce the possibility of being red.

By the way, in general, when the subject is dark,
I shoot with a strobe light, but this strobe light
Since the subject has a high directivity so that it can be bright even at a relatively distant place, when a close-up of a dark subject is used, uneven exposure may occur if a strobe attached to the camera body is used. For this reason, when taking a close-up shot of a dark subject, conventionally, use a dedicated macro lens with a ring-shaped strobe at the front end of the lens barrel, or
It uses a separate light source that is independent of the camera body.

[0005]

However, in such a conventional technique, when a close-up image of a dark subject is taken, a special light source such as a dedicated macro lens with a ring strobe has to be used, and the photographer is costly. Also, in terms of portability, there is a problem that a large load must be applied.

The present invention has been made in view of such conventional problems, and an object thereof is to provide a camera capable of taking a close-up photograph of a dark subject without using a dedicated microlens or a dedicated illumination light source. And

[0007]

[Means for Solving the Problems] A camera for achieving the above object comprises a red-eye reduction light source for preventing white light from emitting red light to prevent the pupil from appearing red before flash photography, and a camera according to the situation of the subject. And at least one of a focus detection auxiliary light source that illuminates the subject at the time of focus detection,
It is characterized by comprising control means for causing at least one of the red-eye reduction light source and the focus detection auxiliary light source to emit light while the shutter is open in response to a release operation.

Here, the camera comprises a distance measuring means for measuring the distance to the subject and a photometric means for photometrically measuring the brightness of the subject, and the control means for the subject measured by the photometric means. When the brightness is equal to or less than a predetermined brightness and the distance to the subject measured by the distance measuring unit is equal to or less than a predetermined distance, the red-eye reduction light source and the focus detection auxiliary light source Of these, at least one may be made to emit light.

Further, in the camera, the red-eye reduction light source and the focus detection auxiliary light source may be the same light source, and the light source may be provided.

Further, the camera may be provided with a light source for flash photography, and the control means may further cause the light source for flash photography to emit light while the shutter is open.

Further, the camera is provided with both the red-eye reduction light source and the focus detection auxiliary light source as separate bodies, and lens information grasping means for grasping information regarding a photographing lens in use, and the lens information. According to the lens information grasped by the grasping means, a light source selecting means for selecting which of the red-eye reduction light source and the focus detecting light source is to be emitted, and the control means, by the light source selecting means, Only the light source selected from the red-eye reduction light source and the focus detection auxiliary light source may be caused to emit light.

[0012]

In the camera according to the first aspect of the present invention, when the shutter is open, the control means causes at least one of the red-eye reduction light source and the focus detection auxiliary light source to emit light, so that photographing can be performed using these light sources.

In the camera according to the second aspect, the control means causes at least one of the red-eye reduction light source and the focus detection auxiliary light source to emit light in accordance with the distance to the subject and the brightness of the subject. Therefore, these light sources are used. Can illuminate the subject sufficiently.

In the camera of the third aspect, since the red-eye reducing light source and the focus detection auxiliary light source are used in common, space saving and cost reduction of the camera can be realized.

In the camera of the fourth aspect, since the light source for flash photography is also used together, it is possible to increase the amount of illumination light to the subject. Further, the amount of illumination light from the light source for flash photography can be reduced as compared with normal flash photography.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a camera according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The camera of this embodiment is a so-called autofocus single-lens reflex camera, and is composed of a lens barrel 10 and a camera body 20 as shown in FIGS.

The lens barrel 10 includes a camera lens 11 and
In order to move the camera lens 11 in the optical axis direction, a gear 12 that transmits the rotational force of an AF motor 23, which will be described later, to the camera lens 11, a diaphragm 13, and a lever 14 that operates the diaphragm 13 are provided. The lens barrel 10 includes an encoder 16 that outputs a distance signal and the lens barrel 1
Lens CPU 1 in which lens information regarding 0 is stored
5 and. The lens information stored in the lens CPU 15 includes the focal length of the lens, the aperture of the lens, the total length of the lens, and the like. In the present embodiment, the camera lens 11, the lens CPU 15, and the encoder 16 form a distance measuring unit that measures the distance to the subject.

The camera body 20 includes a main mirror 21a.
, A sub-mirror 21b, a photometric sensor 43 for detecting the subject brightness, and an AF sensor module 44 for determining whether or not the subject is in focus according to the light condensed by the camera lens 11 and guided by the sub-mirror 22b. A shutter 30; a film winding mechanism 28 for winding the film F; and a film winding motor 29 for driving the film winding mechanism 28. The camera body 20 also includes an AF motor drive circuit 24 controlled by a microcomputer 40 described later, an AF motor 23 driven by the drive control of the AF motor drive circuit 24, and a pair of rotational forces of the AF motor 23. Coupling 12a, 22a
And a gear 22 that transmits the The encoder 2
Reference numeral 5 detects the drive amount of the AF motor 23 and outputs the detection result to the microcomputer 40. Further, the camera body 20 includes an electromagnetic magnet 26 that drives the lever 14.
And encoder 27 for detecting the driving amount of lever 14, external display device 31a provided on the outer surface of main body 20, and internal display device 3 for displaying in the finder.
1b, a display device drive circuit 32 for driving these display devices 31a, 31b, a strobe 33, a red-eye reduction lamp 35, an AF auxiliary lamp 37, these lamps 33,
35, 37 light emitting circuits 34, 36, 38, a setting dial 41 for setting various shooting modes, a release button 42, and a micro controller for executing various calculations based on various information and controlling each circuit. And a computer 40.

Further, the camera body 20 and the lens barrel 10
Is provided with a lens contact 15a for transmitting information in the lens CPU 15 of the lens barrel 10 to the microcomputer 40 in the camera body 20. Although not shown in FIG. 2, drive circuits for the sensors 43 and 44, the magnet 26, the hoisting motor 29, etc. are also provided in the camera body 20.

The AF sensor module 44 has an optical system for splitting the light guided by the sub mirror 21b and a plurality of light receiving elements for respectively capturing the split light. The shutter 30 according to the present embodiment has a front curtain and a rear curtain.
This is a so-called focal plane shutter composed of one sheet.

As the strobe 33, a xenon tube having a high directivity and a large amount of light is used. The red-eye reduction lamp 35 and the AF auxiliary lamp 37 are tungsten lamps (white light) having high diffusibility. As shown in FIG. 1, the strobe 33, the red-eye reduction lamp 35, and the AF auxiliary lamp 37 are all provided on the front surface of the camera body 20. The release button 42 is a so-called two-step push button, and when it is pressed halfway, it instructs the photometric and focus detection operations, and when it is pressed fully, it instructs the shutter 30 to be driven.

The microcomputer 40 is a ROM storing various programs including the flow shown in FIG.
And a CPU that executes various calculations according to the programs stored in the ROM, a RAM that stores the calculation results of the CPU, and the like. In the present embodiment, the control means is configured to have a microcomputer and light emission drive circuits 34, 36, 38. Further, the photometric means is a photometric sensor 43 and a microcomputer 40 for grasping the brightness of the subject based on the output from the photometric sensor 43.
Is configured.

Next, regarding the operation of the camera of this embodiment,
Description will be given according to the flowchart shown in FIG. When the release button 42 is half pressed, the microcomputer 4
At 0, the photometric sensor 43 is driven to start photometry of the subject (step 1). The photometric result from the photometric sensor 43 is sent to the display device drive circuit 32 and is sent to the internal display device 3.
It is displayed on 1b and also used for determining calculation of aperture value and shutter speed. In the subsequent focus detection operation (step 2), the microcomputer 40 also determines whether or not the photometric result is the usable brightness of the light receiving element of the AF sensor module 44.

Then, the microcomputer 40
The F sensor module 44 is driven, and based on the output from this sensor module 44, it is determined whether or not the subject is in focus (step 2). At this time, in step 1, the photometric result is the AF sensor module 44.
If it is determined that the light receiving element cannot be used, the microcomputer 40 causes the AF auxiliary lamp 37 to emit light, and the AF auxiliary lamp 37 illuminates the subject whose focus should be detected.

When it is determined in step 2 that the subject is out of focus, the microcomputer 40 drives the AF motor 23 to move the camera lens 11 until it is in focus (step 3). The distance measuring encoder 16 outputs a distance signal to the lens CPU 15, and the lens CPU 15 calculates the distance to the subject based on this distance signal and sends it to the microcomputer 40.

Next, when the release button 42 is fully pressed (step 4), the microcomputer 40 determines whether or not the illumination is necessary according to the photometric result in step 1 (step 5). When it is determined that the illumination is unnecessary, the shutter 30 is immediately operated to execute the exposure operation (steps 38 and 39). If it is determined that illumination is necessary, the strobe 33 and AF auxiliary lamp 3
7. Of the red-eye reduction lamps 35, it is determined which illumination lamp is used (step 6). Whether to use the strobe 33 or the other lamps 35 and 37 is determined depending on whether the distance to the subject obtained in step 3 is larger or smaller than a predetermined distance. When the distance to the subject is larger than the predetermined distance, the strobe 33 is used, and when the distance to the subject is less than or equal to the predetermined distance, that is, in the case of close-up photography, the other lamps 35 and 37 are used. I will do it. When the other lamps 35 and 37 are used, the lens CP of the lens barrel 10 is used.
Based on the lens information and the distance measurement result stored in U15, it is determined which of the AF auxiliary lamp 37 and the red-eye reduction lamp 35 is to be used. In this determination, the outer diameter dimension and the total length of the lens barrel 10 are grasped from the lens information (lens aperture, focal length, etc.) and the distance measurement result, and the positions of the AF auxiliary lamp 37 and the red-eye reduction lamp 35 are taken into consideration. Then, the one having a better illumination effect, such as which lamp is used to prevent the lens barrel 10 from being vignetted, is selected.

When it is determined in step 6 that the strobe 33 is used, the strobe 33 is caused to emit light (step 7) and the shutter 30 is driven to perform exposure (steps 8 and 9). At this time, if the use of the red-eye reducing lamp 35 for the purpose of reducing red-eye is preset by the setting dial 41, the red-eye reducing lamp 35 is caused to emit light before the strobe 33 emits light. When it is determined in step 6 that the red-eye reduction lamp 35 or the AF auxiliary lamp 37 is to be used, the lamp that is determined to be used is made to emit light (steps 18 and 28), and the shutter 30 is driven to perform exposure (step 19). , 29).

End of exposure (steps 9, 19, 29, 3)
9) After that, the winding motor 29 is driven, the shutter charge for the next frame shooting and the film winding are performed, and the series of processing routines are ended.

In each of the above processes, for convenience of explanation, the focus detection (step 2) is followed by the lens drive (step 3). However, in reality, these processes are almost simultaneously performed. Done. In addition, lamp light emission (steps 7, 17, 27) and exposure (steps 8, 18, 2)
Regarding 8) as well, exposure is performed after the lamp emits light, but in reality, the lamp emits light during the exposure.

As described above, in this embodiment, when the distance to the subject is short and it is determined that the subject is a close-up shot, the red-eye reduction lamp 35 or the AF auxiliary lamp 37 having high diffusibility is used.
Therefore, it is possible to prevent uneven exposure. In addition, when taking a close-up shot of a dark subject, the red-eye reduction lamp 35 or the AF auxiliary lamp 37 provided in advance is used without using a dedicated lighting device such as a dedicated macro lens with a ring strobe, so that the manufacturing cost is low. Does not become bulky and the portability does not deteriorate. Furthermore, since the red-eye reduction lamp 35 and the AF auxiliary lamp 37 are used, the power consumption can be reduced and the battery life can be extended as compared with the case of using a strobe.

Further, it is possible to shorten the exposure time when taking a close-up shot of a dark subject. This will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. As described above, in the shutter 30 of this embodiment, after the front curtain operates, the rear curtain operates subsequently. Generally, the strobe 33 emits light in a short time with an emission waveform having a peak, as shown in FIG. Therefore, in order to uniformly expose the entire surface of the film by the reflected light of the strobe light from the subject, the front curtain ends the operation a, and the rear curtain starts the operation b with a slight delay, and during the period a to b (the entire film surface). It is necessary to make the strobe 33 emit light during a period in which the light is exposed. Therefore, the operation of the trailing curtain cannot be started b before the operation of the leading curtain is completed a, and the exposure time cannot be shortened. In the figure, the shutter speed is the time S from the start of the front curtain operation to the start of the rear curtain operation.
(= Time from the end of the first curtain operation to the end of the second curtain operation). On the other hand, in the case of a tungsten lamp such as the AF auxiliary lamp 37 and the red-eye reduction lamp 35, as shown in FIG. 5, it is possible to continuously emit light for a certain period of time. Therefore, if the light is emitted from before the operation of the front curtain to after the operation of the rear curtain, even if the operation of the rear curtain is started b before the end a of the front curtain, the reflected light of the lamp light from the subject is generated. The entire surface of the film can be exposed uniformly. Therefore, the exposure time can be shortened.

Although the AF auxiliary lamp 37 and the red-eye reduction lamp 35 have a small instantaneous light quantity, they can obtain a desired light quantity by continuously emitting light for a certain period of time. Particularly, in the case of this embodiment, the AF auxiliary lamp 3 is used at the time of close-up photography.
7 and the red-eye reduction lamp 35 are used, there is almost no shortage of light intensity even with this lamp alone. Further, here, the AF auxiliary light is emitted from about 1 second before the start of the operation of the front curtain. This is because the AF auxiliary lamp 37 is used to assist the AF sensor module 44 at the time of focus detection described above. This is because the AF auxiliary lamp 37 emits light in order to brighten the subject being exposed. Therefore, when the AF auxiliary lamp 37 is not used to assist the AF sensor module 44, it is preferable that the lamp 37 emit light immediately before the operation of the front curtain.

In the case of this embodiment, the photographic color film F is of tungsten type (color temperature 3200K).
However, when using the daylight type (color temperature 5500K), the color temperature of the subject becomes low, resulting in a photograph with a strong red tint. For this reason, in the case of taking a close-up of a dark subject, when a daylight film is used as the photographing color film F, it is preferable to previously attach the color temperature conversion filter to the camera lens 11.

By the way, in the present embodiment, when a close-up of a dark subject is taken, the AF auxiliary lamp 37 or the red-eye reduction lamp 3 is used.
5 is used and the strobe 33 is not used, but at this time, the strobe 33 may be used together. Further, in the present embodiment, when taking a close-up shot of a dark subject, only one of the AF auxiliary lamp 37 and the red-eye reduction lamp 35 is used, but both may be used at this time. . Also, AF auxiliary lamp 3
7 and the red-eye reduction lamp 35 are provided and only one of them is not selectable, for example, as shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3, the reflector 37a of the lamp 37 is arranged so as to be movable, and the moving mechanism 3 for the reflector 37a is arranged.
7b may also be provided so that the illumination angle of the illumination light from the lamp 37 can be changed. In this case, the reflective umbrella 37
Instead of moving a back and forth, the direction may be changed to change the illumination direction of the illumination light from the lamp 37. Further, here, the microcomputer 40 causes the AF auxiliary lamp 37 or the red-eye reduction lamp 35 to emit light based on the distance measurement result. However, the photographer himself operates the setting dial 41 before photographing, so that the dark object is darkened. The AF auxiliary lamp 37 or the red-eye reduction lamp 35 may be synchronized with the shutter 30 to emit light during close-up. As described above, by manually instructing the lamp to emit light, the present invention can be applied to a camera having no distance measuring means as in the present embodiment.

[0035]

According to the first and second aspects of the present invention, the control means causes at least one of the red-eye reduction light source and the focus detection auxiliary light source to emit light when the shutter is open. You can take the picture you had. As a result, the photographer can take a picture without using a dedicated illumination device, so the portability of the camera is good, and no extra cost is required. In addition, the shutter speed can be increased compared to normal flash photography.

In the camera according to the third aspect, since the red-eye reducing lamp and the focus detection auxiliary light source are used in common, space saving and cost reduction of the camera can be realized.

In the camera according to the fourth aspect, since the light source for flash photography is also used, the amount of illumination light to the subject can be increased. Also, compared to normal flash photography,
It is also possible to reduce the amount of illumination light from the light source for flash photography.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a camera according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration block diagram of a camera according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an operational sequence of the camera of one embodiment according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a shutter operation at the time of flash emission.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the shutter operation when the auxiliary lamp emits light in the camera of one embodiment according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view around an auxiliary lamp according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 ... Lens barrel, 11 ... Camera lens, 12 ... Gear,
13 ... Aperture, 15 ... Lens CPU, 16 ... Distance measuring encoder, 20 ... Camera body, 22 ... Gear, 23 ... AF motor, 33 ... Strobe, 35 ... Red-eye reduction lamp, 37 ... A
F auxiliary lamp, 40 ... Microcomputer, 42 ... Release button, 43 ... Photometric sensor, 44 ... AF sensor module.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A red-eye reduction light source that prevents white light from emitting red light before the flash photography, and a focus detection auxiliary light source that illuminates the subject at the time of focus detection according to the situation of the subject. In a camera including at least one of the above, a control means for causing at least one of the red-eye reduction light source and the focus detection auxiliary light source to emit light while the shutter is opened in response to a release operation is provided. A camera characterized by being. 2. A distance measuring means for measuring the distance to the subject, and a photometric means for photometrically measuring the brightness of the subject, wherein the control means is the brightness of the subject measured by the photometric means. Is less than or equal to a predetermined brightness, and the distance to the subject measured by the distance measuring unit is less than or equal to a predetermined distance, among the red-eye reduction light source and the focus detection auxiliary light source. The camera according to claim 1, wherein at least one of them emits light. 3. The camera according to claim 1, wherein the red-eye reducing light source and the focus detection auxiliary light source are the same light source. 4. A light source for flash photography, wherein the control means further causes the light source for flash photography to emit light while the shutter is open. The listed camera.