HK1166002B - Photographing device and control method for photographing device - Google Patents

Abstract

According to the present invention, a photographing device and a control method for the photographing device are provided. The photographing device comprises a photographing unit, an AGC/SH circuit, an A/D converter circuit, a CCD driver, a timing generator, a color processing circuit; a shutter button of a key input unit; 3-axes geomagnetic sensor for detecting geomagnetism; a charge circuit for a focus motor, a zoom motor, a shutter motor, a dithering modification activator, a strobo light-emitting unit that generate magnetic field through electrical driving, when photographing operations based on the photographing unit, the AGC/SH circuit, the A/D converter circuit, the CCD driver, the timing generator, and the color processing circuit are performed; a main CPU for setting the charge circuit for the focus motor, the zoom motor, the shutter motor, the dithering modification activator and the strobo light-emitting unit to a non-driven state, within a predetermined period after an operation is entered through the shutter button; and a main CPU which captures an output from the 3-axes geomagnetic sensor within the predetermined period, and calculates orientation based on the output.

Description

Image capturing apparatus and control method of image capturing apparatus

Technical Field

The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus that performs orientation measurement during imaging and a method of controlling the imaging apparatus.

Background

Conventionally, in a digital camera, a function of measuring an azimuth at the time of photographing, adding data of a photographing direction to photographed image data, and storing the data has been proposed.

Further, patent document 1(JP 2008-199319 a) discloses a technique of obtaining azimuth information at a photographing timing by an optimization process and adding the azimuth information to photographed image data when azimuth information measured before and after the photographing timing (timing) is different.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention aims to provide a photographic device capable of accurately measuring the direction during photographing and a control method of the photographic device.

In order to achieve the above object, one aspect of the present invention provides an imaging apparatus comprising:

a photographing unit;

a shutter operation section;

a geomagnetic sensor for detecting geomagnetism;

an electric drive unit that generates a magnetic field by electric drive when the image pickup unit performs an image pickup operation;

a drive control unit that sets the electric drive unit to a non-drive state for a predetermined period after an operation input is made via the shutter operation unit; and

and a shooting azimuth calculation unit which takes in an output of the geomagnetic sensor during the predetermined period and calculates an azimuth based on the output.

In order to achieve the above object, one aspect of the present invention provides a method for controlling an imaging apparatus including an imaging unit, a shutter operation unit, a geomagnetic sensor for detecting geomagnetism, and an electric drive unit for generating a magnetic field by electric drive when the imaging unit performs an imaging operation, the method comprising:

a photographing step of generating photographed image data by taking in a signal of the image pickup section in accordance with an operation input of the shutter operation section;

a drive control step of setting the electric drive unit to a non-drive state for a predetermined period after an operation input is made via the shutter operation unit; and

and a shooting orientation calculation step of taking in an output of the geomagnetic sensor during the predetermined period and calculating an orientation based on the output.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a digital camera according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a timing chart showing operations of the respective units during shooting.

Fig. 3 is a flowchart showing a control procedure of the shooting mode process executed by the main CPU.

Fig. 4 is a flowchart showing a control procedure of the mode change process executed by the main CPU.

Fig. 5 is a flowchart showing a control procedure of the 1 st modification of the shooting mode process executed by the main CPU.

Fig. 6 is a timing chart showing the operation of each unit during photographing in modification 2.

Fig. 7 is a flowchart showing a control procedure of the shooting mode process executed by the main CPU in modification 2.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a digital camera as an embodiment of an imaging device of the present invention.

The digital camera 1 of the present embodiment has an azimuth measuring function of a shooting direction, and includes: a key input unit 11 having a plurality of operation buttons and operation keys and inputting an operation instruction from a user; a 3-axis acceleration sensor 12 for detecting acceleration; a 3-axis magnetic sensor 13 for detecting geomagnetism; a display unit 14 for outputting a finder image and a photographed image; an image processing unit 15 that performs various image processing on the captured image; a memory card 16 (storage unit) that stores photographic image data; a program memory 17 that stores control data and a control program; a main CPU (central processing unit) 18 for performing overall control of the apparatus; a strobe light emission unit 19 that emits strobe light; a flash control unit 20 for controlling the flash to emit light; and a bus 21 that connects the main CPU18 and the respective units.

In the above configuration, the main CPU18 functions as a drive control unit, a shooting orientation calculation unit, an autofocus control unit, and an autonomous navigation positioning unit.

The digital camera 1 further includes, as a configuration of an optical system: an imaging unit 30 such as a CCD (Charge coupled device) for imaging; lenses 31, 32 for forming an image on the image pickup section 30; a shutter 33 that opens and closes to control exposure to the image pickup section 30; a focus motor 41 as a focus driving unit that displaces the lens 31 to adjust the focus; a zoom motor 42 that displaces the lens 32 to change the magnification of the object; a shutter motor 43 for opening and closing the shutter 33; and a lens driver 44 for driving the motors 41, 42, 43.

The digital camera 1 further includes: an actuator (activator) 45 for camera shake correction, which is a camera shake correction driving unit that slightly displaces the imaging unit 30 in the direction perpendicular to the optical axis to correct camera shake; a gyro sensor 47 for correcting hand shake and measuring an angular velocity of the apparatus; a camera shake correction control CPU (camera shake correction control unit) 46 that controls driving of the camera shake correction actuator 45 based on the sensor output of the gyro sensor 47; an AGC (automatic gain control)/sh (sample hold) circuit 51 for amplifying and holding an electric signal of the image pickup unit 30 as appropriate; an a/D conversion circuit 52 that performs digital conversion on the image pickup signal; a CCD driver 53 for driving the image pickup section 30; a color processing circuit 55 for converting the RGB image data into image data of brightness and color difference; a Timing Generator (TG) 54 that provides processing Timing synchronized with the CCD driver 53 and the color processing circuit 55.

The imaging unit 30, AGC/SH circuit 51, a/D conversion circuit 52, CCD driver 53, timing generator 54, and color processing circuit 55 constitute an imaging unit.

The 3-axis acceleration sensor 12 and the 3-axis magnetic sensor 13 are used for various purposes such as azimuth measurement of a photographing direction, north detection in an electronic compass function, and measurement of a movement amount in a relative movement direction in positioning of autonomous navigation.

The 3-axis acceleration sensor 12 outputs sensor signals each indicating the magnitude of acceleration in the 3-axis direction.

The 3-axis magnetic sensor 13 outputs sensor signals each indicating the magnitude of the magnetic force in the 3-axis direction.

When measuring the azimuth of the photographing direction, the main CPU18 first samples the sensor signal of the 3-axis acceleration sensor 12 and calculates the gravity direction based on the sampled data.

The main CPU18 samples the sensor signal of the 3-axis magnetic sensor 13, and calculates the direction of geomagnetism based on the sampled data.

Then, the main CPU18 first obtains the inclination angle in the shooting direction of the digital camera 1 (the direction of the central axis of the lenses 31, 32) based on the direction of gravity.

Further, the main CPU18 can calculate the azimuth of the shooting direction based on the inclination and the direction of the geomagnetism.

A small random error is contained in the sensor outputs of the 3-axis acceleration sensor 12 and the 3-axis magnetic sensor 13.

Therefore, when the azimuth of the photographing direction is measured as described above, the main CPU18 samples the sensor outputs of the 3-axis acceleration sensor 12 and the 3-axis magnetic sensor 13 a plurality of times in a short period of time.

The main CPU18 calculates an average value of the values output from the plurality of sensors, and performs a process of removing a random error.

In the positioning for autonomous navigation, the main CPU18 samples the sensor outputs of the 3-axis acceleration sensor 12 and the 3-axis magnetic sensor 13 at a predetermined sampling frequency different from that at the time of measuring the azimuth of the imaging direction.

Then, the main CPU18 calculates the movement direction and the movement amount of the user carrying the digital camera 1 based on these sample data to perform positioning.

Specifically, the main CPU18 counts the number of steps of the user based on the change in the vertical acceleration that appears in the sensor output of the 3-axis acceleration sensor 12.

Further, the main CPU18 multiplies the preset step data by the step data to calculate the movement amount.

The main CPU18 also obtains the moving direction by analyzing the output variation pattern unique to the walking motion represented in the sensor output of the 3-axis acceleration sensor 12.

That is, while walking, the user's body is greatly accelerated in the direction of travel before and after stepping out and then landing the foot.

At this time, since the digital camera 1 is mounted on the body of the user, the digital camera 1 also performs the same motion, and this motion appears as output fluctuation of the 3-axis acceleration sensor 12.

The main CPU18 analyzes the output variation pattern to calculate in which direction the user is traveling.

Further, the main CPU18 can calculate which direction the digital camera 1 is facing based on the sensor output of the 3-axis magnetic sensor 13 and the sensor output of the 3-axis acceleration sensor 12.

Thus, the main CPU18 can determine the moving direction of the user as the direction based on these results.

The main CPU18 can calculate position data indicating the current position by adding vector data including the movement amount and the movement direction obtained as described above to position data of the start position input by the user, for example.

The digital camera 1 includes a focus motor 41, a zoom motor 42, a shutter motor 43, and a camera shake correction actuator 45.

These coils are provided with electromagnetic coils, and a magnetic field is generated by flowing a current through the electromagnetic coils.

A voltage boosting transformer is provided in a charging circuit in the strobe light emitting unit 19, and a current flows through the transformer during a charging operation to generate a magnetic field.

Therefore, the magnetic field generated during these drives affects the 3-axis magnetic sensor 13, and the correct azimuth cannot be obtained.

That is, the focus motor 41, the zoom motor 42, the shutter motor 43, the camera shake correction actuator 45, and the charging circuit of the strobe light emitting unit 19 are electrically driven units, and when electrically driven, the 3-axis magnetic sensor 13 is influenced by magnetic force.

The key input unit 11 is provided with a plurality of operation keys used for changing an operation mode and inputting various settings.

The key input unit 11 is also provided with a shutter button (shutter operation unit) for inputting a photographing timing.

The shutter button inputs an operation signal in a half-pressed state and a full-pressed state, respectively.

Then, the half-press operation instructs preparation for imaging, and the full-press operation instructs imaging.

The program memory 17 stores a control program executed by the main CPU 18.

Specifically, a program of mode change processing for switching the operation mode based on an input from the key input unit 11 is stored.

Further, a program for a shooting mode process for shooting based on a shutter operation by a user is stored.

These programs may be stored in the program memory 17, or may be stored in a removable storage medium such as an optical disk or a nonvolatile memory such as a flash memory, which is readable via the data reading device main CPU 18.

Further, the following form may also be adopted, that is: such a program is downloaded into the digital camera 1 via a communication line via a carrier wave (carrier wave).

Fig. 2 is a timing chart showing the operation of each unit during shooting.

Arrows shown in the horizontal direction in the operation contents of (a) to (f) of fig. 2 indicate the periods of the operation states.

Fig. 3 is a flowchart of the shooting mode process executed by the main CPU 18.

In the digital camera 1 of the present embodiment, the following control operations are performed in the shooting mode.

That is, as shown in the flowchart of fig. 3, when the shooting mode is switched to, the main CPU18 first takes in the video input through the lenses 31 and 32 by the image pickup unit 30 and outputs the image (referred to as a through-image) to the display unit 14 (step S1).

Then, the main CPU18 determines whether or not a half-press operation of the shutter button has been performed (step S2).

If there is no half-press operation, the process returns to step S1 to continue the output of the through-image.

In this state, the user half-presses the shutter button to store the subject in the through image, and starts the process of preparation for shooting.

That is, first, the main CPU18 samples the sensor outputs of the 3-axis acceleration sensor 12 and the 3-axis magnetic sensor 13 at a set sampling frequency (e.g., 50Hz) for a short time (e.g., 0.4 seconds) to acquire each sample data for azimuth measurement in the photographing direction (step S3).

During this sampling period, the main CPU18 controls so that the drive current is not output to the motors or the like (41, 42, 43, 45) that generate the magnetic field.

Further, the main CPU18 controls so that the flash control portion 20 does not perform flash charging.

Then, after the sampling process is completed, the main CPU18 executes Auto Focus (AF) control and Auto Exposure (AE) control (step S4).

Further, the main CPU18 issues a start command of the handshake correction control (step S5) and a start command of flash charging (step S6), respectively.

By the control of step S4, the focus motor 41 and the shutter motor 43 are driven.

When the command in step S5 is issued, the camera shake correction actuator 45 is driven by the camera shake correction control CPU 46.

Further, by the instruction issuance of step S6, the flash control portion 20 performs flash charging.

The preparation for photographing is completed by these processes.

The processing of steps S3 to S6 described above is a drive control step.

Next, the main CPU18 determines whether or not the shutter button is fully pressed (step S7).

Then, if the full-press operation is not performed, the main CPU18 determines whether or not the half-press of the shutter button is continued (step S8).

And, if the half-press of the shutter button is continued, the process returns to step S7.

On the other hand, if the half-press of the shutter button is released, the process returns to step S1.

If it is determined in the determination processing of step S7 that the shutter button is fully pressed, the main CPU18 executes the photographing processing (step S9; photographing step).

That is, the main CPU18 drives the shutter motor 43 to expose the image pickup section 30 for a predetermined period of time and then closes the shutter 33.

The main CPU18 issues an instruction to the flash control section 20 during this period to cause the flash light emission section 19 to flash.

Then, the main CPU18 takes the data of the photographed image from the color processing circuit 55 into the image processing unit 15.

After the imaging process is completed, the main CPU18 sends an operation stop command to the camera-shake correction control CPU46 to stop the driving of the camera-shake correction actuator 45 (step S10).

The main CPU18 performs predetermined image processing on the captured image data captured by the image processing unit 15.

Then, the main CPU18 calculates the azimuth of the imaging direction based on the sample data output from the sensor acquired in step S3 (step S11).

The processing of steps S3 and S11 described above is a photographing orientation calculating step.

Then, the main CPU18 adds azimuth data of the shooting direction to the shot image data and stores the image data in the memory card 16 (step S12).

This completes the image capturing process for one image, and the process returns to step S1.

By the above-described shooting mode processing, as shown in the timing chart of fig. 2, the sensor outputs of the 3-axis acceleration sensor 12 and the 3-axis magnetic sensor 13 are sampled for a fixed period T1 immediately after the user half-presses the shutter button.

Meanwhile, in the period T1, execution of the flash charging operation, the autofocus control, and the camera shake correction control is awaited.

Accordingly, the influence of the magnetic force on the 3-axis magnetic sensor 13 from the charging circuit of the strobe light emitting unit 19, the focus motor 41, and the hand-shake correction actuator 45 can be avoided in sampling the sensor output for azimuth measurement.

Then, as shown in fig. 2(c) to (e), after sampling of the sensor output is completed, the flash charging operation, the autofocus control, and the camera shake correction control are executed, and then the preparation for shooting is ended.

Thereafter, the user fully presses the shutter button, and as shown in fig. 2(a) and (b), the flash and the exposure of the imaging unit 30 for a predetermined period are performed.

Fig. 4 is a flowchart showing a mode change process executed by the main CPU.

The mode change processing is processing executed when entering a mode change menu by a predetermined key operation, for example.

When shifting to this processing, the main CPU18 also performs input processing from the key input section 11 (step S21).

Next, the main CPU18 determines whether or not there is a key input for mode switching (step S22).

If there is no key input, the main CPU18 returns to step S21 to repeat the input processing from the key input section 11.

Then, if it is determined that there is a key input for mode switching, the main CPU18 determines which mode is selected and performs branch processing according to the selected mode (step S23).

As a result, if it is determined that the positioning mode is selected, the main CPU18 performs operation settings for the positioning mode in steps S24 and S25.

That is, the main CPU18 sets the sampling frequency of the sensor outputs of the 3-axis acceleration sensor 12 and the 3-axis magnetic sensor 13 taken in the positioning process to AHz (e.g., 10Hz) (step S24).

The main CPU18 performs various operation settings (step S25).

Then, the main CPU18 switches to the positioning mode (step S26).

Then, the main CPU18 ends the mode change processing.

In the positioning mode processing, it is necessary to detect output fluctuations in walking motion that are exhibited by the sensor outputs of the 3-axis acceleration sensor 12 and the 3-axis magnetic sensor 13.

The output fluctuation accompanying the walking motion is substantially included in the frequency band of 2Hz or less.

Therefore, the sampling frequency of the sensor output in the positioning mode processing is sufficient to be about 10 Hz.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S23 that the shooting mode is selected, the main CPU18 performs operation settings for the shooting mode in steps S27 and S28.

That is, the main CPU18 sets the sampling frequency at which the sensor output is taken in the process of azimuth measurement (step S3 of fig. 3) of the photographing mode process to BHz (e.g., 50Hz) (step S27).

The main CPU18 performs other various operation settings (step S28).

Then, the main CPU18 switches to the shooting mode (step S29).

Then, the main CPU18 ends the mode change processing.

In the shooting mode process, it is necessary to take in the sensor output a plurality of times during a period T1 (see fig. 2) in which shooting preparation processes such as autofocus control, camera shake correction control, and flash charging are to be waited for.

Therefore, the main CPU18 sets the sampling frequency higher than the frequency at the time of positioning processing.

This enables a plurality of sensor outputs to be captured in a short time, and thus the preparation for shooting can be completed quickly after the shutter button is half pressed.

Further, if it is determined in step S2 that another mode is selected, the main CPU18 performs operation setting for the mode (step S30).

Then, the main CPU18 performs mode switching (step S31).

Then, the main CPU18 ends the mode change process.

As described above, according to the digital camera 1 of the present embodiment, the main CPU18 sets the circuits (the charging circuit of the strobe emission unit 19, the focus motor 41, the zoom motor 42, and the shutter motor 43) that generate the magnetic field in the non-driving state for a predetermined period after the shutter button operation.

During this period, the main CPU18 takes in the sensor output of the 3-axis magnetic sensor 13 and calculates the azimuth.

Therefore, the main CPU183 can perform accurate azimuth calculation by obtaining an output with less error from the axial geomagnetic sensor 13.

Furthermore, since the sensor output of the 3-axis magnetic sensor 13 is taken in within a predetermined period after the user operates the shutter button, the user can easily recognize which timing direction is to be calculated.

Thus, the digital camera 1 according to this embodiment enables the user to perform a shooting operation so that an appropriate direction of shooting direction is calculated for shooting.

Specifically, according to the digital camera 1 of this embodiment, the execution of the autofocus control and the camera shake correction control is waited for in a fixed period T1 after the shutter button is half-pressed, and the sensor output is taken in during this period.

Therefore, when the operation pattern of preparing for shooting by half-pressing the shutter button and shooting by full-pressing the shutter button is maintained, the orientation of the shooting direction can be calculated accurately and easily recognized by the user.

Further, when the sensor output of the 3-axis magnetic sensor 13 is acquired, the sensor output of the 3-axis acceleration sensor 12 is also acquired in the same manner to calculate the azimuth of the photographing direction, and therefore, the azimuth of the photographing direction can be calculated taking the inclination of the photographing direction into consideration.

Even when the digital camera 1 is tilted to photograph, the azimuth of the photographing direction can be accurately calculated.

In addition, the sampling frequency of the sensor output of the 3-axis magnetic sensor 13 at the time of azimuth measurement in the imaging direction is changed to be higher than the setting of the sampling frequency in the positioning process of autonomous navigation and azimuth measurement of the electronic compass function.

This can shorten the time required to wait for autofocus control, hand shake correction control, and the like.

In addition, since the average value of the sensor outputs is obtained by sampling the sensor outputs a plurality of times in a short time, accurate azimuth calculation can be realized.

Modification example 1

Fig. 5 is a flowchart of a 1 st modification of the shooting mode process executed by the main CPU 18.

In the modification 1, additional processing is added to the shooting mode processing.

The others are the same as the above embodiments.

Therefore, only the modified portions will be described.

In the shooting mode processing of this modification 1, if the through-image display processing is performed in step S1, the main CPU18 causes the 3-axis acceleration sensor 12 to start continuous measurement (step S41).

After the processing before and after the photographing in steps S2 to S11, the main CPU18 extracts the sensor output of the 3-axis acceleration sensor 13 from the azimuth measurement in step S3 to the photographing processing in step S9.

Then, the main CPU18 determines whether or not all the accelerations during this period are equal to or less than a predetermined value (step S42).

As a result, if all of the directions are equal to or smaller than the predetermined value, the main CPU18 specifies the calculated direction in step S11 as the shooting direction (step S43).

On the other hand, if a part is not below the prescribed value, the main CPU18 discards the azimuth data calculated in step S11 (step S44).

Next, if the orientation data of the photographing direction is present, the main CPU18 adds the orientation data of the photographing direction to the photographed image data and stores it in the memory card 16 (step S12).

Further, if there is no azimuth data of the shooting direction, the main CPU18 stores the shooting image data in the memory card 16 without adding azimuth data of the shooting direction (step S12).

This completes the image capturing process for one image, and the process returns to step S1.

As described above, according to the digital camera 1 of the modification 1, when a predetermined acceleration is generated during a period from the azimuth measurement to the time of shooting, data in the shooting direction is discarded.

Specifically, if the orientation of the digital camera 1 changes during the period from the time of azimuth measurement to the time of photographing, the possibility that the measurement azimuth is different from the photographing direction is high, and therefore the data of the photographing direction is discarded.

This can prevent erroneous shooting direction data from being added to the shot image data.

Modification example 2

The digital camera 1 according to modification 2 sets the electric drive unit that generates the magnetic field to a non-drive state and sets the timing for measuring the shooting direction to a predetermined period after the shooting process.

The others are the same as the above embodiments.

Therefore, only the modified portions will be described.

Fig. 6 is a timing chart showing the operation of each unit during photographing in modification 2.

Fig. 7 is a flowchart of the shooting mode process executed by the main CPU in modification 2.

As shown in fig. 6 and 7, in the 2 nd modification, the main CPU18 does not perform azimuth measurement immediately after the shutter half-press (step S2).

Also, after the shutter is half-pressed (step S2), the main CPU18 starts processing of auto focus, auto exposure, and hand shake correction (steps S4, S5).

Further, the main CPU18 also performs flash charging after the shutter is half pressed (step S6).

Then, the main CPU18 executes the photographing process (step S9) by the shutter full-press (step S7).

The main CPU18 executes the process of azimuth measurement in the period T1 thereafter (separated by a little time) (step S53) if the shutter is closed and hand shake correction is also ended (step S10).

That is, the main CPU18 samples and takes in the sensor outputs of the 3-axis acceleration sensor 12 and the 3-axis magnetic sensor 13 for azimuth measurement of the imaging direction.

Then, the main CPU18 performs predetermined image processing on the captured image data captured in the image processing unit 15.

Subsequently, the main CPU18 calculates the azimuth of the imaging direction based on the sample data output from the sensor acquired in step S53 (step S11).

Next, the main CPU18 adds the orientation data of the shooting direction to the shot image data and stores it in the memory card 16 (step S12).

This completes the image capturing process for one image.

As described above, according to the digital camera 1 of the modification 2, the circuits (the charging circuit of the strobe emission unit 19, the focus motor 41, the zoom motor 42, and the shutter motor 43) that generate the magnetic field are set to the non-drive state for a predetermined period after the shutter button is fully pressed.

Then, the main CPU18 takes in the sensor output of the 3-axis magnetic sensor 13 during this period to calculate the azimuth. Therefore, the main CPU18 can obtain an output with less error from the 3-axis magnetic sensor 13 to calculate a correct azimuth.

Further, since the sensor output of the 3-axis magnetic sensor 13 is taken in without a long time interval after the full-press of the shutter button by the user, the imaging direction can be accurately measured.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications can be made.

For example, if only azimuth measurement is performed when the imaging device is in a horizontal orientation, it is possible to perform azimuth measurement by using only a 2-axis geomagnetic sensor without using a 3-axis acceleration sensor.

In the embodiment and the 1 st modification thereof, the timing of capturing the sensor output during shooting is set immediately after the shutter button is half-pressed, but the sensor output may be captured at a predetermined timing after a short time has elapsed from the half-pressing.

In the case of a photographing apparatus that does not perform half-press control of the shutter button, the sensor output may be acquired immediately after the shutter button is operated, and then each unit may be operated to perform photographing processing.

Alternatively, as in modification 2, the photographing process may be performed immediately after the operation of the shutter button.

Alternatively, the sensor output may be acquired after each unit is set to a non-driving state after the imaging operation is completed.

In addition, the sampling frequency of the sensor output may not be changed and set at the time of the mode change, but may be set at a frequency at which the sensor output is sampled.

In addition, the details shown in the embodiments may be changed as appropriate within a range not departing from the gist of the present invention.

Claims (11)

1. An imaging device is characterized by comprising:

a photographing unit;

a shutter operation section;

a geomagnetic sensor for detecting geomagnetism;

an electric drive unit that generates a magnetic field by electric drive when the image pickup unit performs an image pickup operation;

a drive control unit that sets the electric drive unit to a non-drive state for a predetermined period after an operation input is made via the shutter operation unit; and

and a shooting azimuth calculation unit which takes in an output of the geomagnetic sensor during the predetermined period and calculates an azimuth based on the output.

2. The camera device according to claim 1,

the image capturing device further includes a storage unit that stores captured image data captured by the image capturing unit,

the storage unit stores the orientation calculated by the imaging orientation calculation unit in association with the captured image data.

3. The camera device according to claim 1,

the electric drive unit includes a focus drive unit for changing a focus of a photographed image,

the photographing device further comprises an automatic focusing control unit for driving the focusing driving unit to automatically focus the photographed image according to the half-press operation of the shutter operation unit,

the drive control unit makes the drive of the focus drive section by the automatic focus control unit stand by for a certain time after the half-press operation of the shutter operation section,

the shooting azimuth calculation unit takes in the output of the geomagnetic sensor within the certain time period from the half-press operation of the shutter operation unit, and calculates the azimuth based on the output.

4. The camera device according to claim 1,

the electric drive unit includes a camera shake correction drive unit that electrically displaces an optical system that generates a captured image or an imaging unit that converts the captured image into an electric signal,

the image pickup apparatus further includes a camera-shake correction control unit that drives the camera-shake correction drive unit to reduce camera-shake caused by camera shake in response to half-pressing of the shutter operation unit,

the drive control means waits for a predetermined time after the half-press operation of the shutter operation section to drive the camera shake correction drive section by the camera shake correction control means,

the shooting azimuth calculation unit takes in the output of the geomagnetic sensor within the certain time period from the half-press operation of the shutter operation unit, and calculates the azimuth based on the output.

5. The camera device according to claim 1,

the imaging device further includes an acceleration sensor for detecting acceleration,

the shooting direction calculation unit calculates the direction of the shooting direction based on the output of the geomagnetic sensor and the output of the acceleration sensor.

6. The camera device according to claim 1,

the imaging azimuth calculation unit samples at a frequency higher than a normal sampling frequency at the time of azimuth measurement other than the time of imaging, takes in the output of the geomagnetic sensor, and calculates the azimuth based on the sampled data.

7. The camera device according to claim 1,

the imaging device further includes an acceleration sensor for detecting acceleration,

when the output of the acceleration sensor is greater than a predetermined value during a period from a timing at which the output of the geomagnetic sensor is acquired to a timing at which the image capturing unit captures an image within the predetermined period during which the electric power drive unit is in the non-driving state, the azimuth calculated based on the acquired output of the geomagnetic sensor is discarded.

8. The camera device according to claim 1,

the imaging device further includes:

an acceleration sensor that detects acceleration; and

an autonomous navigation positioning unit for measuring a relative movement amount and a relative movement direction based on an output of the geomagnetic sensor and an output of the acceleration sensor to perform positioning,

the imaging azimuth calculation means samples the output of the geomagnetic sensor at a frequency higher than a frequency used when the output of the geomagnetic sensor is taken in at the time of positioning by the autonomous navigation positioning means, and calculates the azimuth based on the sampled data.

9. The camera device according to claim 1,

the electric drive unit includes a focus drive unit for changing a focus of a photographed image,

the drive control unit stops the drive of the focus drive section at a certain time after the photographing by the photographing unit,

the imaging azimuth calculation unit takes in the output of the geomagnetic sensor within the certain time after the imaging by the imaging unit and calculates the azimuth based on the output.

10. The camera device according to claim 1,

the electric drive unit includes a camera shake correction drive unit that electrically displaces an optical system that generates a captured image or an imaging unit that converts the captured image into an electric signal,

the drive control unit stops the drive of the camera shake correction drive unit by the camera shake correction control unit at a fixed time after the photographing by the photographing unit,

the imaging azimuth calculation unit takes in the output of the geomagnetic sensor within the certain time after the imaging by the imaging unit and calculates the azimuth based on the output.

11. A control method of a photographing apparatus including an image pickup unit, a shutter operation unit, a geomagnetic sensor for detecting geomagnetism, and an electric power drive unit for generating a magnetic field by electric power drive when the image pickup unit performs a photographing operation, the method comprising:

a photographing step of generating photographed image data by taking in a signal of the image pickup section in accordance with an operation input of the shutter operation section;

a drive control step of setting the electric drive unit to a non-drive state for a predetermined period after an operation input is made via the shutter operation unit; and

and a shooting orientation calculation step of taking in an output of the geomagnetic sensor during the predetermined period and calculating an orientation based on the output.