JP2000089292A - Camera - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a camera that irradiating light is controlled based on appropriate irradiating light quantity regardless of focal length and photographing circumstances at the time of photographing with irradiating light. SOLUTION: This camera is provided with a multipoint range-finding means 61 outputting range-finding information, a 1st irradiating light quantity control value decision means 62 deciding a 1st irradiating light quantity control value in accordance with the range-finding information, a preliminary light emission means 63 outputting photometric information on preliminary light emission, a 2nd irradiating light quantity control value decision means 64 deciding a 2nd irradiating light quantity control value in accordance with the photometric information, a distribution ratio calculation means 65 deciding the distribution ratio of the 1st and the 2nd irradiating light quantity control values based on photographing information different from the range-finding information and the photometric information, a 3rd irradiating light quantity control value decision means 66 deciding a 3rd irradiating light quantity control value from the 1st and the 2nd irradiating light quantity control values and the distribution ratio, and a regular light emission control means 67 controlling the irradiating light at the time of regular light emission photographing in accordance with the 3rd irradiating light quantity control value.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] The present invention relates to multipoint ranging information,
The present invention relates to a camera that controls irradiation light at the time of flash photography based on photometric information at the time of preliminary light emission.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is a camera that performs control to stop irradiation light when it is determined that the irradiation light amount reaches a predetermined irradiation light amount based on light reception data of a light control unit during irradiation light photographing. In such a camera, there is disclosed a method of calculating a value for controlling an irradiation light amount according to multipoint ranging information by multipoint ranging means or photometric information in preliminary flash before main flash. By using such information,
A more appropriate irradiation light amount is calculated.

Further, in a camera having a plurality of dimming regions and a multi-division dimming means for performing dimming control of irradiation light according to a dimming contribution ratio corresponding to each dimming region, There is disclosed a method of calculating a dimming contribution ratio of each dimming region according to multipoint ranging information obtained by multipoint ranging means having an area or photometry information in preliminary emission before main emission. By using such information, a more appropriate dimming contribution ratio is calculated.

[0004]

As described above, the multipoint ranging is used as a value for controlling the amount of irradiation light or as information effective for calculating the dimming contribution ratio of each dimming region in the dimming means. Multi-point ranging information by means and photometric information in preliminary flash before main flash shooting are known.However, which information is more reliable depends on the focal length during irradiation light shooting and various shooting conditions. There are differences. Depending on the shooting situation, one of the information may be completely invalid. The more accurate the information, the more reliable the information.

For example, under the following photographing conditions,
The photometric information in the preliminary light emission before the main light emission has higher reliability.・ When the distance information is invalid as in manual focus ・ When the image magnification is so small that the accuracy of the distance information is not sufficient ・ When the main subject is close to the background On the other hand, for example, in the following shooting conditions In addition, the multipoint ranging information obtained by the multipoint ranging means has higher reliability. -When the focal length is extremely wide and exceeds the pre-flash irradiation angle.- When the shooting distance is extremely short and the pre-flash irradiation causes parallax effects to prevent proper irradiation.- Bounce setting is performed. Or, when the diffuser is attached and the metering information cannot be obtained by correct preliminary flashing.In the following shooting conditions, the control value of the irradiation light amount and the dimming Appropriate control is performed by calculating. When good distance accuracy cannot be obtained and accurate photometric information of preliminary flash cannot be obtained (for example, when the focal length is wide-angle, the image magnification is small, and the subject is close to the background)

As described above, the distance measurement information by the multi-point distance measuring means and the light measurement information in the preliminary light emission before the main light emission photographing are determined according to the focal length at the time of the main light emission photographing and various photographing conditions.
Although there is a difference in the reliability as information used when calculating the irradiation light amount and the dimming contribution ratio, this point has not been considered in the conventional camera. Therefore, depending on the focal length at the time of main light emission photographing and various photographing situations, an inappropriate irradiation light amount and dimming contribution ratio may be calculated.

In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a camera in which irradiation light is controlled based on an appropriate irradiation light amount irrespective of a focal length and a photographing state at the time of main light emission photographing. . In addition, an appropriate dimming contribution ratio of each dimming region is calculated irrespective of a focal length and a photographing state at the time of main emission photographing, and a multi-division dimming unit that performs better dimming control based on the dimming contribution ratio An object of the present invention is to provide a camera provided with a camera.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, a camera according to the present invention has a plurality of distance measuring areas and outputs distance measuring information for each area. First irradiation light amount control value determining means for determining a first irradiation light amount control value in accordance with the distance information, and having a plurality of photometric areas, performing preliminary light emission before main light emission photographing and reflecting light from the object direction A pre-emission means for outputting photometric information of preliminary light emission by photometry, and a second irradiating light amount control value is determined in accordance with the photometric information.
An irradiation light amount control value determining means, and first and second light amount control values based on photographing information different from the distance measurement information and the light measurement information.
Distribution ratio calculating means for determining a distribution ratio of the irradiation light amount control value, a first irradiation light amount control value, a second irradiation light amount control value,
Third irradiation light amount control value determining means for determining a third irradiation light amount control value from the distribution ratio, and main light emission for controlling irradiation light during main light emission photographing according to the third irradiation light amount control value. And a control unit.

A camera according to a second aspect of the present invention has a plurality of distance measuring means having a plurality of distance measuring areas and outputting distance measuring information for each area, and a plurality of areas each including an area substantially matching each of the distance measuring areas. Multi-dimming dimming means for dimming and controlling irradiation light at the time of main light emission photographing in accordance with the dimming contribution ratio determined for each dimming region, and according to the distance measurement information First dimming contribution ratio calculating means for calculating a first dimming contribution ratio with respect to each of the dimming regions, and a plurality of photometric regions, which perform preliminary light emission before main light emission photographing and reflected light from the subject direction Preliminary light emission means for measuring light intensity of the light emission area and outputting light measurement information of preliminary light emission; and second light adjustment contribution rate calculation means for calculating a second light adjustment contribution rate for each of the light adjustment areas according to the light measurement information. A first and a second based on photographing information different from the distance measurement information and the photometry information.
Distribution ratio calculating means for determining a distribution ratio of the dimming contribution ratio, and a third dimming contribution ratio for determining a third dimming contribution ratio from the first dimming contribution ratio, the second dimming contribution ratio, and the distribution ratio. And a multi-division dimming unit, wherein the multi-division dimming unit includes
The dimming control of the irradiation light at the time of the main emission photographing is performed at the dimming contribution ratio of.

[0010]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An autofocus camera according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The autofocus camera 1 (hereinafter, also simply referred to as a camera) of the present embodiment is configured as a lens interchangeable single-lens reflex camera to which various photographing lenses can be attached, and the photographing lens is automatically operated by a phase difference detection method. Focus (AF) is performed. FIGS. 1 to 4 show examples of the configuration relating to the control of the camera 1.

The camera 1 comprises a camera body 10 and a taking lens 30. 1 and 2, the flash unit 40 that emits illumination light for illuminating the subject can be mounted on the upper part of the camera body 10. In the configurations of FIGS. The unit is built in the camera body 10.

1 and 3, the AF actuator 32 for driving the focus lens 31 for adjusting the focus of the photographing lens 30 and the AF encoder 3 for detecting the drive amount of the AF actuator 32 are provided.
2 and 4, the AF actuator 32 and the AF encoder 33 are built in the photographic lens 30 in the configurations shown in FIGS. 2 and 4. In the configuration in which the AF actuator 32 is built in the camera body 10, coupler pieces 34 a and 34 b that engage with each other to form a coupler 34 are provided on the camera body 10 and the photographing lens 30, respectively. The force is applied to the focus lens 3 via the coupler 34.
1 is transmitted.

The AF actuator 32 is connected to the photographing lens 30
The manual focus (M) in which the user adjusts the focus of the taking lens 30 by manual operation.
F) is also possible. Here, as a manual focus method, a power focus (PF) that changes the position of the focus lens 31 by driving the AF actuator 32 according to a user operation is employed. For this purpose, the photographing lens 30 is provided with an operation ring (not shown) on the outer periphery thereof, and a PF for detecting rotation of the operation ring.
An encoder 35 is provided.

The camera body 10 includes a flip-up main mirror 11, a sub-mirror 12 attached to the main mirror 11, a shutter 13 disposed just before the silver halide film F located behind the main mirror 11, and a shutter 13.
A shutter control unit 14 for controlling the opening and closing of the pentaprism, a pentaprism 15 for guiding the light reflected upward by the main mirror 11 to the user's eyes, an imaging plate 16 arranged between the main mirror 11 and the pentaprism 15, and Camera 1
And a CPU 18 for controlling the entire operation. The central part of the main mirror 11 is formed translucent, and the transmitted light is reflected downward by the sub mirror 12.

In addition, the camera body 10 includes a distance measuring module 21 that receives light reflected by the sub-mirror 12 and obtains information on the distance to the subject, and a light measuring module 22 that detects the amount of light reflected by the main mirror 11. Light control module 23 for detecting the amount of light reflected by film F during flash photography, and AF
An auxiliary light module 24 that emits auxiliary light is provided. The outputs of the distance measuring module 21, the light measuring module 22, and the light adjusting module 23 are given to the CPU 18,
It is used for focus adjustment of the photographing lens 30, exposure control, and light control during flash photographing.

The photographing lens 30 includes a focus lens 31
In addition to the above, there are provided an aperture 37 for regulating the amount of light, an aperture control unit 38 for opening and closing the aperture, and a lens CPU 36 for controlling the entire lens. Lens CPU 36
Communicates with the CPU 18 of the camera body 10 to transmit and receive information necessary for control. FIG. 2 illustrates that the photographing lens 30 includes an AF actuator 32 that drives the focus lens 31.
4, the terminal switches 39a and 39b for detecting that the focus lens 31 is located at the near end point and the infinite end point are also provided.

The absolute position of the focus lens 31 can be known from the amount of driving from the end point as a reference position. The photographing lens 30 may be provided with a mechanism for directly detecting the absolute position of the focus lens 31. With this mechanism, FIGS. 1 and 3
With this configuration, the absolute position of the focus lens 31 can be known even when the engagement of the coupler 34 is released.

The flash unit 40 includes a flash control module 41 for controlling light emission in addition to a device (not shown) for emitting a flash toward a subject, such as a xenon lamp, a condenser, and a reflector. Flash unit 4
The direction of the flash light irradiation of 0 is variable, and bounce irradiation can be performed by irradiating a flash light to a surrounding object such as a ceiling and illuminating the subject with the reflected light. Flash bracket photographing in which a plurality of frames are continuously photographed while changing the light emission amount stepwise is also possible. Further, a diffuser can be mounted on the front surface of the flash unit 40 to diffuse the flash light. The direction of the flash irradiation and the mounting of the diffuser are detected by the flash control module 41 and the CPU 1
It is conveyed to 8. Also, the flash control module 41
Is not only general flash light emission, but also flat light emission and FP
(Flat pulse) light emission control may be enabled.

The distance measuring module 21 has a multi-point distance measuring element having a plurality of distance measuring areas. Each of the distance measuring areas is provided with a pair of line sensors or area sensors and both sensors for detecting light from different parts of the light beam. Is provided. The distance measurement module 21 generates data representing the contrast of the image on the sensor by calculating the difference in the amount of received light between adjacent pixels for all sensors, and outputs the data to the CPU 18. The output of data by the distance measuring module 21 is repeatedly performed at a substantially constant short cycle.

The CPU 18 generates, from the data supplied from the distance measuring module 21, distance measuring information for use in adjusting the focus of the photographing lens 30 and determining the focus for each distance measuring area. Specifically, for each ranging area, the contrast data is compared between the sensors to detect the correspondence between the images on the sensor, and based on the distance between the corresponding parts of the image, the imaging range corresponding to the ranging area is detected. The position at which the light from the lens forms an image after passing through the photographing lens 30 is calculated, the distance between the calculated image forming position and the film F is obtained, and that value is used as the defocus amount DF. However, when the contrast on the sensor is low and the correspondence between the images between the sensors is not known, the defocus amount cannot be obtained.

The CPU 18 determines the magnitude of the contrast, the magnitude of the defocus amount, and the direction of the defocus, that is, the imaging position of the light transmitted through the photographing lens 30 of the film F, in the ranging area from which the defocus amount can be obtained. Considering whether the subject is the main subject to be photographed in consideration of whether the subject is ahead or behind the subject, the photographing is performed based on the defocus amount of the subject area including the subject image. The focus adjustment of the lens 30 and the focus determination are performed. When the defocus amount becomes equal to or less than a predetermined reference value, it is determined that the focus of the photographing lens 30 is in focus on the subject, and the focus adjustment of the photographing lens 30 is stopped, that is, the focus is locked.

If the absolute position of the focus lens 31 of the photographing lens 30 is known, it is also known how far the photographing lens 30 is focused. In this case, the distance DV to an object within the imaging range of each ranging area can be obtained from the distance at which the imaging lens 31 is in focus and the distance between corresponding portions of the sensor image in each ranging area. The distance DV (hereinafter, referred to as a detection distance) can be used as distance measurement information for focus adjustment of the photographing lens 30 and determination of focusing.

The photometry module 22 has a multi-segment photometry element having a plurality of photometry areas, receives the steady light in each photometry area, and outputs the amount of light received in each photometry area to the CPU 18. The CPU 18 weights the amount of light received in each photometric region to obtain a weighted average, calculates an appropriate exposure value from the value and the sensitivity of the film F, and calculates the opening time of the shutter 13, that is, the shutter speed, and the aperture diameter of the aperture 37. That is, an aperture value is set.

In the camera 1, a program mode for setting a shutter speed and an aperture value according to a predetermined relationship, a shutter priority mode for setting an aperture value according to a shutter speed specified by a user, an aperture value specified by a user , An exposure priority mode in which the shutter speed is set in accordance with the above, and a manual mode in which the shutter speed and the aperture value specified by the user are adopted. In the manual mode, the CPU 1
8 is not set as the calculated exposure value, but it is determined based on the calculated exposure value whether or not the exposure at the shutter speed and the aperture value specified by the user is appropriate. indicate.

The weight given to each photometric area is variable, and C
The PU 18 sets the weight of each photometric area according to the position of the subject. Therefore, it is possible to set the exposure value at which the subject is properly exposed while considering the brightness of the background. Also, depending on the weighting of the photometry area, spot photometry,
Exposure can be controlled by various photometric methods such as center-weighted photometry and average photometry.

In the camera 1 of the present embodiment, the number of distance measuring areas of the multipoint distance measuring element is set to 3, and the number of light measuring areas of the multi-division light measuring element is set to 14. FIG. 5 shows the relationship between the multipoint distance measuring element 21a and the multi-segment photometric element 22a. The outer edges in FIG. 5 of the multi-point distance measuring element 21a and the multi-segment photometric element 22a substantially correspond to the outer edges of the shooting area of one frame of the film F. When the three ranging areas of the multipoint ranging element 21a are represented by areas 1 to 3, respectively, the area 2 is located at the center of the frame of the film F, and the areas 1 and 3 are located on the left and right of the area 2 respectively. I do. In region 2, the paired sensors are arranged in the horizontal direction, and in region 1 and region 3, the paired sensors are arranged in the vertical direction.

When the 14 photometric areas of the multi-segment photometric element 22a are represented by areas BV0 to BV13,
Reference numerals 13 are set to the same size, and are arranged in three horizontal rows with the areas BV1 to BV4 in the lower row, the areas BV5 to BV9 in the center row, and the areas BV10 to BV13 in the upper row. The regions BV1 to BV13 have the same distance from each other, and each of the three regions BV6 to BV8 in the central row is surrounded by the other six regions. The area BV0 is the area B
V1 is set to the entire area except the region where the region BV13 is located.

Regions BV6, BV7 and BV8
Are located at positions corresponding to the area 1, the area 2 and the area 3 of the multipoint distance measuring element 21a, respectively. So, for example,
When the subject is located in the area 1, light from the subject is detected in the area BV6.

The dimming module 23 includes a multi-division dimming device having a plurality of dimming regions, and receives light reflected by a subject or a background in each dimming region during flash photography, and performs each dimming operation. The light receiving amount of the area is output to the CPU 18. The CPU 18 determines that an appropriate amount of irradiation light has been irradiated to the subject when the sum of the light reception amounts of the respective light control areas reaches a predetermined reference value, and stops the light emission via the flash control module 41.

The reference value for stopping light emission is variable.
Reference numeral 8 sets a reference value according to the distribution of the amount of received light in each light control area and the position of the subject. The contribution ratio of each dimming region when calculating the sum of the received light amounts is also variable, and the CPU 18 sets the contribution ratio of each dimming region according to the position of the subject. Therefore, the subject can be illuminated with an appropriate brightness while considering the brightness of the background.

In the camera 1 of the present embodiment, the number of dimming regions of the multi-division dimming element is set to four. Multi-point distance measuring element 2
FIG. 6 shows the relationship between 1a and the multi-division dimming element 23a. The four light control regions of the multi-segment light control device 23a are
When represented by cell 3, cells 1 to 3 are set to have the same size, cell 2 is located at the center, and cells 1 and 3 are arranged on the left and right of cell 2. Cell 0 is set to the whole except for the site where cells 1 to 3 are located.

Cell 1, cell 2 and cell 3 are respectively
It is located at a position corresponding to the area 1, the area 2 and the area 3 of the multipoint distance measuring element 21a. Therefore, for example, when the subject is located in the area 1, the irradiation light reflected by the subject is detected by the cell 1.

Multi-point distance measuring element 21a, multi-division light measuring element 22
FIG. 7 shows the positional relationship between a and the multi-segment dimming element 23a. The three distance measurement areas are included in the three light measurement areas and also in the three light adjustment areas, and the position of the subject detected by the multi-point light measurement element 21a can be directly used for exposure control and light control. It has become. That is, CPU1
8 can increase the weight of the photometry area corresponding to the focus detection area used for the focus determination, thereby performing exposure control with emphasis on the brightness of the subject. By increasing the contribution ratio of the light control area corresponding to the used distance measurement area, the light control can be performed with emphasis on the illumination of the subject.

It should be noted that the number and arrangement of the distance measuring areas of the multi-point distance measuring element 21a, the light measuring area of the multi-division light measuring element 22a, and the dimming area of the multi-division light adjusting element 23a are merely examples. It is also possible to set the number of areas and the arrangement style.

After receiving an instruction to start shooting, the camera 1
An AF priority mode in which shooting is performed only when the focus of the shooting lens 30 is focused on the subject, and an instruction to start shooting regardless of whether the focus of the shooting lens 30 is focused on the subject. The camera has two shooting modes, a release priority mode in which shooting is performed immediately when there is an error. In any shooting mode, the distance measurement information is stored in the shooting lens 3.
In addition to focus adjustment of 0, it is used for exposure control and dimming control during flash photography.

FIG. 8 shows a schematic circuit configuration for controlling the operation of the camera 1. The camera 1 includes, in addition to the above-described circuits such as the distance measuring module 21 and the light control module 23, a power supply unit 51 that supplies power to each unit that requires power, an operation unit 52 operated by a user, and a camera 1 Display section 53 for displaying various information such as the setting status of the camera, a motor 54 for feeding the film F, and a driver 55 for driving the motor 54
It has. The CPU 18 controls the power supply from the power supply unit 51, and stops the power supply when the operation unit 52 is not operated for a predetermined time.

The CPU 18 causes the distance measuring module 21 to repeatedly perform distance measurement, obtains contrast data from all the distance measurement areas, obtains distance measurement information, and adjusts the focus of the photographing lens 30 in accordance with the distance measurement information. I do. FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the photographic lens 30 provided with the AF actuator 32.
4 illustrates the configuration of FIG. 4, and the focus adjustment of the photographing lens 30 is performed via the lens CPU 36. In a configuration in which the AF actuator 32 is provided in the camera body 10, the CPU 18 directly controls the AF actuator 32.

The lens CPU 36 gives information about the photographing lens 30 such as the focal length of the photographing lens 30 and the open aperture value of the diaphragm 37 to the CPU 18, and the CPU 18 uses the information for controlling the camera 1. The lens CPU 36
Further, in response to an instruction from the CPU 18, the opening and closing of the aperture 37 is controlled via the aperture control unit 38.

The CPU 18 receives from the flash control module 41 information regarding the setting of the flash unit 40 such as the direction of irradiation light irradiation for bounce irradiation and the presence or absence of a diffuser, and charges the capacitor, starts light emission, and stops light emission. For example, the flash control module 41 is instructed to emit light and to prepare the light.

The CPU 18 gives instructions to start or end photometry to the photometry module 22, receives information indicating the amount of light received in each photometry area from the photometry module 22, and uses the information for exposure control. Also, the CPU 18 performs flash photography
An instruction to start light reception is given to the dimming module 23, and information indicating the amount of light received in each dimming area is received from the dimming module 23. The instruction to start light reception is issued by the flash control module 41.
Is given in synchronization with an instruction to start light emission.

When the contrast of the image on the sensor of the distance measuring module 21 is low and proper distance measuring information cannot be obtained, the CPU 18 gives an instruction to the auxiliary light module 24 to emit AF auxiliary light. In order to use the distance measurement information for exposure control and dimming control, AF auxiliary light is emitted as needed even after focusing is locked.

The operation section 52 is provided with various operation members such as buttons and dials, and each operation member is provided with a switch for transmitting the operation status to the CPU 18. These switches include switch S1, switch S
2. Mode switch SMODE, self-timer switch SSELF, preview switch SPV, bracket switch SBR, filter mounting switch SFILT, and preliminary light emission switch SPRE. The setting of each switch is transmitted to the CPU 18.

The switch S1 is a release button (not shown)
Is closed when the button is half-pressed, and the switch S2 is closed when the release button is fully pressed. Signals generated by closing the switches S1 and S2 are referred to as a signal S1 and a signal S2, respectively. The signal S1 instructs the start of the control operation. The CPU 18 generates the distance measurement information, adjusts the focus of the photographing lens 30, and sets the exposure value while receiving the signal S1, that is, while the release button is pressed halfway or more. A predetermined control operation required for photographing, such as calculation of, is repeatedly performed.

The signal S2 is for instructing the start of photographing, that is, the start of exposure of the film F. When the signal S2 is given, the CPU 18 immediately opens the shutter 13 in the release priority mode. The shutter 13 is opened when the camera is in focus. At this time, the shutter speed and the aperture value are set to values calculated from the output of the photometry module 22 or values specified by the user according to the set exposure control mode. When performing flash photography, the CPU 18 causes the flash control module 41 to emit irradiation light, and causes the dimming module 23 to receive the reflected irradiation light.

The mode switch SMODE instructs selection of a photographing mode of AF priority and release priority, and the self-timer switch SSELF instructs self-timer photographing to start photographing when a predetermined time has elapsed after the operation. Things. Preview switch SPV
Indicates that the aperture 37 is to be narrowed down to the calculated or specified aperture value. The bracket switch SBR is used to change the exposure value so as to include the calculated optimal exposure value. Is performed to instruct bracket shooting. Filter mounting switch SF
The ILT detects the attachment of the filter to the photographing lens 30, and the preliminary light emission switch SPRE instructs whether or not to perform preliminary light emission before flash photography.

Although not shown, the operation unit 51 also includes a power switch for instructing start of power supply, a switch for instructing selection of an exposure control mode, a switch for instructing selection of auto focus and manual focus, and the like. Various switches are provided.

The display unit 53 is composed of a liquid crystal display (LCD) or a light emitting diode (LED), and has a photographing mode, an exposure control mode, the number of remaining frames of the film F, the remaining power of the power supply unit 51, and the focus of the photographing lens 30. Various information relating to the status of the camera 1 such as the status is displayed. The display unit 53 is provided on the upper surface of the camera body 10 and around the pentagonal prism 15 in the finder.

The processing of focus adjustment control, exposure control and light control in the camera 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a schematic flow of the entire control operation of the camera 1 in the release priority mode. After the start of the operation, the CPU 18 sets a flag DVCAL for indicating whether or not the ranging information has been obtained for all the ranging areas.
OK_F is cleared to 0 (step # 2), and the presence or absence of the signal S1 due to the half-press operation of the release button is determined (# 4). If there is no signal S1, the process returns to # 2 and waits for the release button to be operated.

When there is a signal S1, the distance measuring module 2
1 to output contrast data (#
6), calculation for obtaining distance measurement information is performed (# 8). The distance measurement information obtained here is used not only for focus adjustment and focus determination, but also for exposure control and light control based on the subject position immediately before shooting. Next, drive control for driving the focus lens 31 of the photographing lens 30 according to the distance measurement information is performed (# 10). In this drive control, A
It only instructs the F actuator 32 to drive a predetermined amount, and does not wait for the drive to be completed. When it is determined from the distance measurement information obtained in step # 8 that the photographing lens is focused on the subject, the drive instruction is stopped from being given to the AF actuator, and the focus lock is performed.

Next, it is determined whether or not the focus has just been locked (# 12). As described later, # 4 to # 3
The processing up to 0 is repeated until the signal S2 is issued. In step # 12, whether or not this step is the first time after the focus lock has been performed is determined based on whether or not the focus has been locked. If it is not immediately after the focus lock, the process proceeds to # 24.

Immediately after the focus is locked, it is determined whether or not one or more low-contrast areas are present in the ranging area (# 14). The number of low-contrast ranging areas is #
In the calculation process of No. 8, the flag LOWCON_NO is set, and the value is determined. If there is no low-contrast ranging area, the process proceeds to # 20. If there is at least one low-contrast ranging area, the AF auxiliary light is emitted by the auxiliary light module 24 (# 16), and the AF auxiliary light is used. The contrast data in the state is obtained from the distance measuring module 21 (# 18).

Next, calculation for obtaining distance measurement information is performed (#
20). This calculation is for obtaining distance measurement information used for exposure control and light control, and is different from the calculation performed in # 8. If there is no low-contrast ranging area, the contrast data obtained in # 6 is used for the calculation.
If there is a low-contrast ranging area, the contrast data obtained in # 18 is used. Even when there is a low-contrast ranging area, the contrast is increased by emitting the AF auxiliary light, and the ranging information can be obtained almost certainly in the ranging area.

When the photographing range of the distance measurement area is too far to reach the AF auxiliary light, the contrast of the distance measurement area remains low, but in that case, information that the distance is long is obtained. . Therefore, ranging information can be obtained for all ranging regions. Therefore, the flag DV
CALOK_F is set to 1 to indicate that ranging information has been obtained for all ranging areas (# 22).

Next, information on the photographing conditions such as the focal length of the photographing lens 30, the selected exposure control mode, whether or not to flash the flash light, whether or not to bounce, and whether or not the diffuser is attached. (# 2
4). Then, an instruction is given to the photometric module 22 to detect the received light amount of the stationary light (# 26), and an exposure value A is obtained based on the obtained received light amount and the distance measurement information obtained in # 20.
An E operation is performed (# 28).

With the above-described processing, preparations for starting photographing are completed, and photographing can be started as soon as an instruction is given. Therefore, it is determined whether or not there is a signal S2 due to the full-press operation of the release button (# 30). When there is no signal S2, the process returns to # 4 and the above processing is repeated. When the user has released his / her finger from the release button, the signal S1 is also absent. At that time, the processing after # 6 is performed after the signal S1 is issued again.

When there is the signal S2, the operation proceeds to the release routine. First, it is determined whether or not to pre-emit the irradiation light (# 36). When the pre-emission is performed, an instruction is given to the flash control module 41 to pre-emit the irradiation light (# 40). At the time of preliminary light emission, an instruction is given to the photometry module 22 to perform photometry (# 42). Then, a flag PREFIRE_F indicating that the preliminary light emission is completed is set to 1
(# 44). If the irradiation light is not to be preliminarily emitted, the flag PREFIRE_F is cleared to 0 (# 38). Then, a calculation for obtaining the light control exposure is performed (#
46). This calculation is a calculation for calculating information used for the light control, and when the irradiation light is preliminarily emitted, photometric data at the time of the preliminary light emission is used.

Next, preparation operations such as retreating from the optical path due to the flipping up of the main mirror 11 and charging the shutter control unit 14 for opening the shutter 13 are performed (#
48) Then, the aperture 37 is reduced to the aperture value obtained by the AE calculation of # 28 (# 50), and the shutter is opened (# 52). Then, it is determined whether or not to emit irradiation light (# 54).
When light emission is performed, an instruction is given to the flash control module 41 to emit light (# 56). At the same time as the light emission start instruction, a light reception start instruction is given to the dimming module 23, and when the light reception amount reaches the reference value obtained in # 28, the emission of the irradiation light is terminated.

The elapsed time is measured from when the shutter is opened (# 58), and when the elapsed time reaches the value of the shutter speed (SS) obtained in # 28, the shutter is closed (# 58).
60). Finally, preparations for photographing the next frame, such as return of the main mirror, feeding of the film, opening of the aperture, etc., are made (# 62), and the process ends.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a schematic flow of the entire control operation of the camera 1 in the AF priority mode.
The processing in the AF priority mode is different from the processing in the release priority mode in that steps # 32 and # 34 exist between steps # 30 and # 36.

In the AF priority mode, when the start of photographing is instructed by the signal S2 (# 30), it is determined whether or not the manual focus is selected (# 32). When the manual focus is selected, the process proceeds to the release routine, and the processes after # 36 are performed. When auto focus is selected instead of manual focus, it is determined whether or not the distance measurement information has been obtained for all the distance measurement areas, that is, whether or not the focus lock has been performed, based on whether or not the flag DVCALOK_F is 1. (# 34). When the flag DVCALOK_F is 1, the process proceeds to the release routine. When the flag DVCALOK_F is 0, the process returns to # 4.
Wait for focus lock.

In manual focus, # 10
Lens drive control is performed according to a manual operation of the user. Other processes are the same as those in the release priority mode, and a duplicate description will be omitted.

Hereinafter, the control processing will be described in more detail by taking as an example a case where the distance measuring module 21, the light measuring module 22, and the light adjusting module 23 are arranged as shown in FIG. Here, each ranging area is numbered n (n
= 1 to 3), and each photometry area is numbered k (k = 0 to 13).
The light control areas are represented by numbers m (m = 0 to 3), and parameters corresponding to the distance measurement area n, the light measurement area k, and the light control area m are respectively suffixed by the numbers n, k, and k. It is represented by a code having the number m. Further, the distance measurement area is called an island, and the amount of light received in the photometry area k is represented by the same code as the code BVk representing the photometry area.

FIG. 11 shows a flow of the distance measuring process performed in # 6 and # 18 in FIGS. 9 and 10. First, contrast data is read from the distance measuring module 21 (# 10).
2) It is determined whether or not the auxiliary light has been irradiated when the contrast data is detected (# 104). When the auxiliary light is not irradiated, that is, in the case of the distance measurement process performed in # 6 of FIGS. 9 and 10, regardless of the contrast level, the contrast data and the focus lens 31 are used.
Is used to calculate the detection distance DV of each island n under constant light, and the calculated value is used as the detection distance DVarea of each island n (# 106). This # 106
Is performed every time # 6 in FIGS. 9 and 10 is performed, so that the detection distance DVarea obtained here is always updated to the latest value.

When the auxiliary light irradiation is performed, that is, in the case of the distance measurement processing performed in # 18 of FIGS. 9 and 10, the detection distance DV of each island n under the auxiliary light irradiation is set to # 106.
And the calculated value is set as the detection distance DVarea of each island n (# 108). This # 108
Is performed immediately after focusing, the detection distance D obtained here is
Varean is a value immediately after focusing. The detection distance DV is
To facilitate handling in the APEX system, m
The value obtained in the unit is represented by a logarithm having a base of 2.

FIG. 12 shows the flow of the calculation process for obtaining the distance measurement information performed in # 8 of FIGS. 9 and 10. First, the detection distance DVarea calculated in # 106 of the distance measurement processing in FIG.
Is read (# 110), and the flag LOWCON_NO indicating the number of low-contrast distance measurement areas is set to 0 to be cleared (# 112). Then, it is determined whether or not the detection distance DVarea can be effectively used (# 114).

If the absolute position of the focus lens 31 is known, it can be used effectively, and the detection distance DVar is used.
, the detection distance DVreln of each island n
(# 116 to # 128). Detection distance DVrel
n is specifically determined as follows. First, the detection distance DVarea read in # 110 is converted to the detection distance DVre.
ln (# 118). Next, it is determined whether or not each island n has low contrast (# 120). When the contrast is low, the detection distance D of the island n
Vreln is replaced with DV # which is a DV value corresponding to infinity (# 122), and 1 is added to the flag LOWCON_NO indicating the number of low-contrast ranging areas (# 12).
4). Value DV # is the maximum value that can be represented, for example, 255 when represented by 1 byte.

When the absolute position of the focus lens is not known, the object distance DVarea is invalid.
The detection distance DVreln is set to a large value for each island n (# 130 to # 136). That is, the value DV # corresponding to infinity is set to the detection distance DVre of each island n.
ln (# 132). Note that this calculation is performed every time the flow of processing reaches # 8 in FIGS. 9 and 10, so that the detection distance DVreln obtained here is always updated to the latest value. Distance measurement information.

FIG. 13 shows the flow of the calculation processing for obtaining the distance measurement information in # 20 of FIGS. 9 and 10. First, FIG.
Detection distance DVare calculated in # 108 of distance measurement processing 1
The flag AFLOCK_NO is read (# 138), and the number of the island (in-focus island) used to determine that the photographing lens 30 is focused on the subject is set.
(# 140). Then, the detection distance DV is calculated for the in-focus island, and is set as the detection distance DVAF of the in-focus island (# 142).

Next, the detection distance DVafn is determined for each island n (# 144 to # 158). First,
The number n of the island is compared with the value of the flag AFLOCK_NO to determine whether or not the island is a focus island (# 146). When the island n is a focus island, the detection distance DVAF already obtained is set as the detection distance DVafn of the island (# 154).

If the island n is not the focus island, the detection distance DVarea read in # 138 is set as the detection distance DVafn (# 148). Then, it is determined whether or not the island n has low contrast (# 15).
0), when the contrast is low, the value of the detection distance DVafn is replaced with a value DV # corresponding to infinity (# 15)
2).

The DVafn obtained here is distance measurement information at the time of focusing. When the user changes the camera direction or the subject moves after focusing, the composition changes.
It will not match the distance measurement information at the time of shooting.

FIG. 14 shows the flow of the AE calculation process in # 28 of FIGS. 9 and 10. First, the distance measurement information obtained in steps # 8 and # 20, that is, the detection distance DVreln in FIG. 12 and the detection distance DVafn in FIG. 13 are read (step # 202), and the output of the photometry module 22 is read (# 204). Further, the focal length fl of the photographing lens 30 at that time is read (# 206),
The image magnification β is calculated (# 208). The image magnification β is an approximate ratio of the distance D at which the imaging lens 30 is focused to the focal length fl.

Next, from the output of the photometric module 22,
The brightness BVCm of a portion corresponding to each light control area (cell) m of the light control module 23 is obtained, and used for exposure control and light control, and the brightness BV of the main subject to be photographed is used.
A brightness data calculation process for obtaining S and the background brightness BVA is performed (# 210). Further, referring to the obtained brightness data, the ranging information at the time of focusing and the latest ranging information are corrected. A process for obtaining control parameters is performed (# 212).

After correcting the distance measurement information and calculating parameters to be used in later control, it is determined whether or not to perform flash photography (step # 214). In the camera 1, a constant light photographing operation in which photographing is performed using only the constant light, and a flash unit 4.
Flash photography that emits irradiation light from 0 is possible. For flash photography, backlight flash photography when the subject is dark and the background is bright, slow synchro photography for temporarily brightening the subject while shooting a relatively dark subject by increasing the shutter speed, and both the subject and background There are dark-light emission photography when is dark, and forced-light photography in which the user forcibly instructs light emission, and different exposure controls are performed. Slow synchro photography is instructed by the user, but backlight photography has priority in photography under backlight conditions.

In step # 214, a flash emission request flag indicating whether or not to emit irradiation light is set.
It also determines which exposure control to select.

Next, it is determined with reference to the value of the flash emission request flag whether or not to emit illumination light (# 21).
6) When the light is not emitted, the aperture value AV and the shutter speed TV used in the steady light photography are calculated (# 218).
When flashing, the aperture value AV used for flash photography
And the shutter speed TV is calculated according to the selected control (# 220), and further, for use in dimming control, the contribution ratio WTafm of each dimming region m is calculated based on the distance measurement information (# 222). , The light adjustment correction value ΔEVB is calculated based on the distance measurement information (# 224).

FIG. 15 shows the flow of the process of calculating the luminance data in step # 210 of FIG. First, the brightness BVCm corresponding to the light control area is calculated (# 302). More specifically, the brightness BVC0 of the portion corresponding to the cell 0 is expressed by 10 photometric regions BV1 to BV5 and BV9 to BV9 except for the central three.
The brightness values BVC1 to BVC3 of the portions corresponding to the cells 1 to 3 are respectively obtained as values obtained by performing a function process for obtaining the average of the light reception amounts of the BV13, and the central photometry area BV6.
.About.BV8. The brightnesses BVC1 to BVC3 are also the brightnesses of the islands 1 to 3. In addition, the amount of received light and the luminance are represented by a logarithm with 2 as a base in order to facilitate handling in the APEX system.

The luminance BVC0 may be obtained by any of logarithmic average, exponential average and inverse exponential average. The function f (BVk) for calculating the average is, for example, f
(BVk) = BVk.

Next, the luminance BVS of the subject and the luminance BVA of the background are calculated (# 304 to # 310). Brightness BV
S and BVA are obtained as weighted averages of values obtained by weighting the amount of received light BVk in each photometric region. Two types of weights, one for the subject and one for the background, are used. First, a subject weight Gsk and a background weight Ga for each photometric region.
k is set (steps # 304 and # 306).

Next, the light receiving amount BVk is multiplied by the object weight Gsk for all of the 14 photometric regions to obtain the sum thereof, and the obtained sum is divided by the sum of the weight Gsk to obtain the object brightness BVS (# 308). . Similarly, for all 14 photometric regions, the received light amount BVk is multiplied by the background weight Gak to obtain the sum thereof, and the obtained sum is divided by the sum of the weight Gak to obtain a background luminance BVA (# 310).

FIG. 16 shows the flow of the processing for correcting the distance measurement information and calculating the control parameters in step # 212 in FIG.
Shown in First, the detection distance DV at the time of focusing of each island n
afn is corrected (steps # 404 to # 418). The correction is made only for the islands having low contrast at the time of focusing. In order to perform this correction depending on whether the shooting angle of view is larger than a predetermined value and whether the subject is located at a shorter distance than the predetermined distance, threshold values are set for the focal length and the detection distance. (Step # 402). Specifically, the threshold flth of the focal length is set to 28 mm, and the threshold DVth of the detection distance is set to 0.75.

Following the above setting, it is determined whether the detection distance DVafn is a value DV # (# 406). No correction is made when the judgment result is false. When the determination result is true, that is, when the island n has low contrast at the time of focusing, it is determined whether the focal length fl is equal to or greater than the threshold flth and the focus island detection distance DVAF is equal to or greater than the threshold DVth ( # 408). When the determination result is false, that is, when the shooting angle of view is on the wide angle side or when the subject is located at a short distance, the detection distance DVafn
With the focus island detection distance DVAF (#
414).

When the result of the determination in # 408 is true, that is, when the photographing angle of view is on the telephoto side and the subject is not located at a short distance, two constants C1 and C2 are determined (# 41).
0), the luminance BVC of the photometry area corresponding to the island
The larger of the value obtained by multiplying n by the constant C1 and the constant C2 and the detection distance DVAF of the in-focus island is determined by the detection distance D
Vafn. Specifically, the constants C1 and C2 are -0.75 and 0.6, respectively.

After correcting the detection distance DVafn at the time of focusing, the detection distance DVAF of the in-focus island is subtracted from the detection distance DVafn of each island n at the time of focusing to obtain a detection distance difference ΔDV.
afn is obtained (# 420), and three detection distance differences ΔDVa
The sum of fn is set as a background omission degree DEG_T indicating how far the background is from the subject (# 422). When the sum of the detection distance differences ΔDVafn is negative, the degree of background omission DE
G_T is set to 0.

Further, the latest detection distance D of each island n
Detection distance DV of focus island at the time of focus from Vreln
The detection distance difference ΔDVreln is obtained by subtracting AF (#
426). Next, the latest detection distance difference ΔDVreln of each island n is replaced (# 432 to # 440).
This replacement is performed only for the low contrast type. First, it is determined whether the detection distance DVreln is a value DV # (# 434). No correction is made when the judgment result is false. If the determination result is true, a value obtained by performing a function process on the luminance BVCn of the portion corresponding to the island is set as a detection distance difference ΔDVreln (# 436). This function f (BVCn) is, for example, f (BVCn) = BVCn
-BVS.

The flow of the processing for correcting the distance measurement information and calculating the control parameters in step # 212 in FIG. 13 may be the one shown in FIG. 17 instead of the one shown in FIG. The processing in FIG. 17 differs from the processing in FIG. 16 in that the processing of # 424 to # 430 exists.

In the processing of FIG. 17, after the background omission degree DEG_T is calculated (# 420), the flag DVC is set.
By examining the value of ALOK_F, it is determined whether the calculation of the detection distance DVafn at the time of focusing has been completed (# 4)
24). If it has been completed, the same processing as in FIG. 16 is performed from # 426. If not completed, first, the minimum value of the latest detection distance DVreln is set as the minimum detection distance DVrelmin (# 428). Then, from the latest detection distance DVreln to the minimum detection distance D
Vrelmin is subtracted to obtain a detection distance difference ΔDVreln (# 430).

Next, similarly to the processing of FIG. 16, the latest detection distance difference ΔDVreln of each island n is replaced (# 432 to # 440). If it is determined in # 424 that the calculation of the detection distance DVafn at the time of focusing on each island n is not completed, # 4 based on this value is used.
The background omission degree DEG_T calculated at 22 is an incorrect value. Therefore, in such a case, the background omission degree DEG_T is not used in the following processing.
The other processing is the same as the processing in FIG. 16, and a duplicate description will be omitted.

FIG. 18 shows the flow of the process of determining whether or not to perform flash photography and selecting exposure control in step # 214 of FIG. First, it is determined whether or not the flash control module 41 is connected (# 502).
When the flash control module 41 is not connected, the power of the flash unit 40 is not turned on.
Performs steady light control. In the steady light control, the subject brightness BVS is set to the control brightness BVT (# 514), and 0 is set to a flash request flag indicating whether or not to emit a flash (# 524).

When the flash control module 41 is connected, that is, when the power of the flash unit 40 is turned on, first, a predetermined value is set as the camera shake limit luminance BVH (# 504). Then, whether or not the condition of the backlight flash shooting is satisfied (# 506), whether or not the condition of the slow synchro shooting is satisfied (# 508), the condition that the subject brightness BVS is smaller than the brightness BVH of the camera shake limit is satisfied. It is determined whether or not (# 510).

When the conditions for backlight flash photography are satisfied, backlight flash control is performed. In the backlight flash control, a value obtained by adding a predetermined correction amount α to the background luminance BVA is set as the control luminance BVT (# 522). If slow synchro shooting is specified by the user, it is determined that the conditions for slow synchro shooting are satisfied, and slow synchro control is performed. In the slow synchro control, the background luminance BVA is set to the control luminance BVT (# 52).
0). When the subject luminance BVS is smaller than the camera shake limit luminance BVH, the light emission control in the dark is performed. In the dark light emission control, the camera shake limit luminance BVH is set as the control luminance BVT (# 518).

If none of the above conditions are satisfied, it is determined whether the control mode of the flash unit 40 is set to the automatic light emission control mode (# 512). The control mode of the flash unit 40 is specified by the photographer, and either the automatic light emission control mode or the forced light emission control mode is specified. The automatic light emission control mode is a mode in which the presence / absence of flash light emission is automatically selected according to the shooting situation. The forced light emission control mode is a mode in which flash light emission is performed regardless of the shooting state.

If the automatic light emission control mode is designated in step # 512, it is determined that it is not necessary to perform the flash light emission, and the steady light control is performed. That is, the subject brightness BVS is set to the control brightness BVT (# 514). When the forced light emission control mode is designated, a value obtained by adding a predetermined correction amount γ to the subject brightness BVS is used as the control brightness BVS.
(# 516). Hereinafter, the forced light emission control, the light emission control in the dark, the slow synchro control, and the backlight control are collectively referred to as flash light control. In the flash light control, the flash light emission request flag is set to 1 (# 52).
6).

The value obtained by adding the film sensitivity SV to the control luminance BVT obtained as described above is used as the control exposure EVT (# 528). The film sensitivity SV is a value that is read in advance when the film is mounted.

FIG. 19 shows the flow of the process for calculating the aperture value AV and the shutter speed TV during the steady light control performed in # 218 of FIG. First, it is read which exposure control mode is specified (# 602). When any one of the shutter priority mode, the aperture priority mode, and the manual mode is designated, the aperture value AV and the shutter speed TV are set according to the designated values.

If the program mode is designated, the control exposure EV calculated in step # 528 of FIG.
T is the shutter speed TV at the camera shake limit to the open aperture value AV0
It is determined whether the value is larger than the value obtained by adding H. If not large, the open aperture value AV0 is set to the aperture value AV (# 60
6) The value obtained by subtracting the aperture value AV from the control exposure EVT is set as the shutter speed TV (# 608). If the calculated shutter speed TV is lower than the minimum shutter speed TVmin, a limit process is performed to set the minimum shutter speed TVmin to the shutter speed TV (# 610).

If the control exposure EVT is larger than the value obtained by adding the shutter speed TVH at the camera shake limit to the open aperture AV0, the aperture value AV is set to AV = AV0 + (EVT- (AV0
+ TVH)) / 2 (# 612). Next, the value obtained by subtracting the aperture value AV from the control exposure EVT is used as the shutter speed TV.
(# 614). Aperture value AV is minimum aperture value AVma
If the value is larger than x, the minimum aperture value AVmax is set to the aperture value AV, and the minimum aperture value AVmax is obtained from the control exposure EVT.
A limit process for setting the value obtained by subtracting the shutter speed as the shutter speed TV is performed (# 616). If the shutter speed TV is higher than the maximum shutter speed TVmax, the maximum shutter speed T
A limit process for setting Vmax to the shutter speed TV is performed (# 616).

FIG. 20 shows a flow of processing for calculating the aperture value AV and the shutter speed TV at the time of the flash light control performed in # 220 of FIG. First, it is read which exposure control mode is specified (# 620). When any one of the shutter priority mode, the aperture priority mode, and the manual mode is designated, the aperture value A is set according to the designated value.
V, shutter speed TV.

When the program mode is designated, the control exposure EV calculated in step # 528 in FIG.
It is determined whether or not T is greater than a value obtained by adding the synchro tuning speed TVH to the open aperture value AV0 (# 622). In the flash light control program mode, control is performed so that the flash is emitted when the shutter is fully opened, so that the light emitted by the flash does not become uneven. The shutter speed at the limit at which no unevenness occurs in the way the light is emitted by the flash emission is defined as the synchro tuning speed TVX. If the shutter speed TV is equal to or lower than the synchro tuning speed TVX, no unevenness occurs.

If the control exposure EVT is not larger than the value obtained by adding the synchro tuning speed TVH to the open aperture value AV0, the open aperture value AV0 is set to the aperture value AV (# 624).
A value obtained by subtracting the aperture value AV from the control exposure EVT is set as the shutter speed TV (# 626). If the shutter speed TV is smaller than the minimum shutter speed TVmin, a limit process for setting the minimum shutter speed TVmin to the shutter speed TV is performed (# 628).

If the control exposure EVT is larger than the value obtained by adding the synchro tuning speed TVX to the open aperture value AV0, the synchro tuning speed TVX is set to the shutter speed TV (# 63).
0), a value obtained by subtracting the shutter speed TV from the control exposure EVT is set as the aperture value AV (# 632). If the aperture value AV is larger than the minimum aperture value AVmax, the minimum aperture value AVma
A limit process for setting x to the aperture value AV is performed (# 63)
4).

FIG. 21 shows the flow of the process of calculating the contribution ratio WTafm of each light control area (cell) m in step # 222 of FIG. The light control area m corresponding to the distance measurement area n
The contribution ratio of (m = n) is represented by WTafn. Contribution rate WTa
fm is the absolute value of the latest detection distance difference ΔDVreln of each ranging area n in shooting under normal conditions, ΔDVabs.
Although it is calculated based on n, it may be better to keep it constant under specific conditions. Therefore, first, four light control areas 0
All the contribution ratios WTaf0 to WTaf3 are equal to 8
(Step # 702).

Next, it is determined whether or not a specific condition is satisfied (# 704 to # 710). More specifically, it is determined whether or not the focus is manual (# 704), whether or not the detection distance DV is invalid (# 706), and whether or not self-timer shooting is performed (# 708). And whether or not it is flash bracket shooting (# 7)
Perform 10). If any judgment result is true, # 7
In order to use the value set in 02 as it is as the contribution ratio WTafm, the process proceeds to # 738.

This is for the following reason. This is because in manual focus, there is no guarantee that the taking lens is in focus with respect to the subject, and the reliability of the detection distance difference ΔDVreln is low. This is because the self-timer shooting is frequently performed when the steady light is insufficient, and the reliability of the detection distance difference ΔDVreln often decreases. The flash bracket shooting is to shoot a plurality of frames while changing the light emission amount, and it is easier to achieve the shooting purpose without changing the contribution rate.

Also, when the detection distance DV is invalid, the reliability of the detection distance difference ΔDVreln similarly decreases.

When the determination results in # 704 to # 710 are all false, the absolute value of the latest detection distance difference ΔDVreln is set to the detection distance difference ΔDVabsn, and the contribution ratio of the light control area corresponding to the distance measurement area n is set. WTafn is determined by the detection distance difference ΔDVa.
It is calculated based on bsn (# 714 to # 722). Here, the detection distance difference ΔDVabsn is classified into six levels,
The contribution ratio WTafn is set for each stage.

Specifically, if the detection distance difference ΔDVabsn is less than 0.25, 8 is set, and the detection distance difference ΔDVabsn is set to 8.
Is 0.25 to 0.75, the detection distance difference ΔDV
If absn is 0.75 to 1.25, 4 is set; if the detection distance difference ΔDVabsn is 1.25 to 1.75, 3 is set;
If the detection distance difference ΔDVabsn is 1.75 to 2.25, 1 is set as the contribution ratio WTafn, and if the detection distance difference ΔDVabsn is 2.25 or more, 0 is set as the contribution ratio WTafn (#
718). 0 is set to the contribution ratio WTaf0 (# 72)
4).

Next, the four luminances BVC obtained in FIG.
With reference to 0 to BVC3, the contribution ratio WTafm is corrected for the dimming region where the luminance of the steady light is high (# 738). Specifically, when the luminance BVCm exceeds the value 9.5, #
The contribution ratio WTafm set in 718 or １ ／ of the contribution ratio WTafm calculated in # 738. As a result, even when an extremely bright object such as a light source is present in a part of the photographing range, dimming control with less influence of the bright object can be performed.

Finally, the contribution ratio WTafm of each light control region m
Are standardized (# 740). Normalization has four contribution rates W
Contribution ratio WTa of each light control region m at the maximum value of Tafm
This is done by dividing fm.

In the correction of the distance measurement information and the calculation of the control parameters in step # 212 in FIG. 14, if the processing is performed according to the flow shown in FIG. 17, step # 2 in FIG.
22, the contribution ratio WTafm of each dimming region (cell) m
Is calculated according to the flow shown in FIG. 22 instead of the flow shown in FIG.

The processing shown in FIG. 22 is performed in steps # 712 and # 726.
The processing shown in FIG. 21 differs from the processing shown in FIG. In this process, it is determined whether or not the calculation of the detection distance DVafn at the time of in-focus of the entire ranging area has been completed (# 712).
Instead of the processing of 714 to # 724, the absolute value of the latest detection distance difference ΔDVreln is set to the detection distance difference ΔDVabsn, and the contribution ratio WT of the light control area corresponding to the distance measurement area n
afn is calculated based on the detected distance difference ΔDVabsn (# 726 to # 736). The latest detection distance difference ΔDVreln used here is the one calculated in # 430 of FIG. Here, the detection distance difference ΔDVabsn
Are classified into five stages, and the contribution ratio WTafn is set for each stage.

Specifically, when the detected distance difference ΔDVabsn is less than 0.75, 8 is set, and the detected distance difference ΔDVabsn is set to 8.
Is 0.75 to 1.25, the detection distance difference ΔDV is set to 6.
4 if the absn is 1.25 to 2.0, 2 if the detection distance difference ΔDVabsn is 2.0 to 3.0, and 1 if the detection distance difference ΔDVabsn is 3.0 or more. It is set as the contribution ratio WTafn (# 730). The dimming contribution ratio WTaf0 is set to 4 (# 736).

When the above processing is completed, the flow advances to step # 738. Other processes are the same as those in FIG.

FIG. 23 shows the flow of the process of calculating the dimming correction value ΔEVB in step # 224 of FIG. The correction value ΔEVB is represented by an APEX value. First, the flag DVCAL
By checking the value of OK_F, it is determined whether or not the focusing information at the time of focusing has been calculated for each ranging area n (# 8).
02), the maximum value ΔEVBmax of the dimming correction value ΔEVB is obtained according to the determination result (steps # 804 to # 80).
8).

If the calculation of the distance measurement information at the time of focusing lock has been completed, the contribution ratio WT calculated in FIGS.
afn is set as the average contribution rate DEG_F (# 804), and the value obtained by performing the function processing on the background omission degree DEG_T and the average contribution rate DEG_F is the maximum value ΔEVBm.
ax (# 806). This function processing is, for example, D
The value obtained by multiplying EG_T by DEG_F is further multiplied by a constant -C3, and a constant C4 is added to this value. here,
The constants C3 and C4 are, for example, 0.1 and 0.
When the calculation of the distance measurement information at the time of focusing lock has not been completed, −0.6 is set as the maximum value ΔEVBmax (# 80).
8).

Next, it is determined whether or not the self-timer shooting is performed (# 810), whether or not the flash bracket shooting is performed (# 812), the preview state, that is, whether or not the aperture 37 is narrowed down. (# 814)
I do.

When all of the judgment results in # 810 to # 814 are false, the maximum dimming correction amount ΔEVBmax is set as the value Δ to be used in the next # 820 (# 816). # 81
If any of the determination results of 0 to # 814 is true, the value Δ
Is set to 1/2 of the maximum value of the dimming correction amount ΔEVBmax (# 818). This is to avoid excessive correction when the above condition is satisfied.

Next, a correction value ΔEVB is obtained based on the image magnification β and the background luminance BVA (# 820). here,
Image magnification β is 1/10 or more, 1/10 to 1/25, 1/2
The background luminance BVA is classified into four levels of 5/1/40 and 1/40 or less, and the background luminance BVA is set to 4 of Bv value less than 1, 1-3, 3-6, and 6 or more.
The correction values ΔEVB are set for each stage.

Specifically, when the image magnification β is 1/10 or more, the correction value ΔEVB is set to 0 regardless of the background luminance BVA, and when the background luminance BVA is Bv1 to 3, the correction value is set regardless of the image magnification β. ΔEVB is set to 0. When the background luminance BVA is less than Bv1, as the image magnification β decreases,
The correction value ΔEVB is changed from 0.0 to −0.6 in increments of 0.2. When the background luminance BVA is Bv6 or more, 1/10 to 1/25, 1/25 to 1/40, and 1/4 of the image magnification β
The correction value ΔEVB is set to Δ · 2/8,
Δ · 6/8, Δ Also, when the background luminance BVA is Bv3
In the case of Ｖ6, the correction value ΔEVB when the background luminance BVA is Bv6 or more is set to half.

FIG. 24 shows the flow of the operation of the light control exposure performed in step # 46 of FIGS. 9 and 10. First, whether or not the preliminary light emission has been performed is determined by a preliminary light emission completion flag PREFIR.
The determination is made by checking the value set in E_F (# 902). Preliminary light emission completion flag PREFIRE_F
Is set to 1, since the preliminary light emission has been performed, the photometric data by the photometric module 22 during the preliminary light emission is read (# 904). Then, for use in dimming control, the contribution ratio WTflm of each dimming region m is calculated based on the distance measurement information and the photometry data read in # 904 (# 906), and the dimming correction value ΔEVF is calculated as It is calculated based on the background luminance BVA and the image magnification β (#
908).

When the preliminary light emission completion flag PREFIRE_F is set to 0, since no preliminary light emission was performed, there is no new information, and the contribution rates WTaf0 to WTaf3 of the four light control areas 0 to 3 are all equal. 8 (step # 910). Next, the dimming correction value ΔEVF is set to 0 (# 912).

Then, with respect to all the light control regions 0 to 3,
The control dimming contribution ratio WTtm is calculated using the contribution ratio WTafm based on the distance measurement information and the contribution ratio WTflm based on the light measurement information of the preliminary light emission and the distance measurement information (# 914), and the dimming correction based on the distance measurement information. The control dimming correction value ΔEVT is calculated using the value ΔEVB and the dimming correction value ΔEVF based on the photometric information of the preliminary light emission (# 916).

The calculated control dimming contribution ratio WTtm is shown in FIG.
10 is used to control the amount of flash light emission in the main flash light emission performed in # 56 of FIG. Specifically, control is performed in which the amount of reflected light is received in each light control area of the light control element 23a during flash light emission, and the flash light emission is stopped when the sum of the received light amounts reaches a predetermined value.
Here, the control dimming contribution ratio WTtm is adopted as the contribution ratio of each dimming region m when obtaining the sum of the received light amounts.

The calculated control dimming correction value ΔEVT is used to calculate a control value SVc of the sensitivity of the film F in flash photography. Specifically, the control value SVc
Adds the exposure correction value (+/-) and the dimming correction value (+/-) FL specified by the user to the true sensitivity SV of the film F, and subtracts the control dimming correction value ΔEVT from this value. Value (# 918).

Light control contribution ratio W performed in # 906 of FIG.
FIG. 25 shows the flow of the process for calculating Tfm. First, the luminances BV0 to BV0 detected by the photometric element 22a during the preliminary light emission.
The brightness BVFm converted into each cell is calculated using V13 (# 1002). The brightness BVFm is # 30 in FIG.
2 is calculated in the same manner as the brightness BVCm calculated in step 2.

Next, the value obtained by subtracting the luminance BVCm at the time of steady light irradiation from the luminance BVFm at the time of preliminary light emission is used as the preliminary light emission amount Δ
It is set as BVFm (# 1004). If the value obtained by subtracting the luminance BVCm during the regular light irradiation from the luminance BVFm during the preliminary light emission is 0.125 or less, 0.125 is set as the preliminary light emission amount ΔBVFm. Then, the preliminary light emission amount ΔBVFm is converted into the detection distance DVFm (# 100
6). The detection distance DVFm is the light emission intensity LV during the preliminary light emission.
The value obtained by subtracting the logarithm of the value obtained by subtracting 1 from the luminance BVCm at the time of irradiation of the steady light and 2 raised to the power of ΔBVFm with 2 as the base is calculated from PRE. When calculating the detection distance DVFm, the detection distance DVFm may be calculated using a light emission guide number IVPRE (not shown) at the time of preliminary light emission.

Next, processing for obtaining the contribution ratio WTflm is performed (# 1008 to # 1022). Contribution rate WTflm
Is the detection distance DVAFm, which is a conversion value between the detection distance DVAF of the in-focus island and the preliminary light emission amount in shooting under normal conditions.
, But under a specific condition, the focus island detection distance DVAF is not used.

First, it is determined whether or not a specific condition is satisfied (# 1008, # 1010). Specifically, it is determined whether or not manual focus is set (# 1008).
Determination of whether or not the detection distance DV is invalid (# 1010)
I do.

This is for the following reason. This is because in the manual focus, there is no guarantee that the photographic lens is focused on the subject, and the reliability of the detection distance DVAF is low. Further, when the detection distance DV is invalid, the detection distance DVAF is also invalid.

When the determination results of # 1008 and # 1010 are false, first, a value obtained by subtracting the detection distance DVAF of the focused island from the detection distance DVFm, which is a conversion value of the preliminary light emission amount, is set as the detection distance difference ΔDVFm. (# 101
2), the contribution ratio WTflm of each light control area m is determined by the detection distance difference Δ
It is calculated based on the absolute value | ΔDVFm | of DVFm.
(# 1014). Here, the absolute value | ΔDVFm |
Classification is made into stages, and a contribution ratio WTflm is set for each stage.

Specifically, the absolute value | ΔDVFm |
If it is less than 75, 8 is set, and the absolute value | ΔDVFm |
If it is 5 to 1.0, 6 is set, and the absolute value | ΔDVFm |
If 0 to 1.25, 4 is set; if the absolute value | ΔDVFm | is 1.25 to 1.5, 2 is set;
If the value is 1.5 or more, the contribution ratio WT is 0.125.
It is set as flm (# 1014).

When either of the judgment results of # 1008 and # 1010 is true, first, the reference value βFm which is a value obtained by performing a function process on the detection distance DVFm and the focal length fl.
Is calculated (# 1016). This function is, for example, a function f (fl, DVF) of the detection distance DVFm and the focal length fl.
m), f (fl, DVFm) = fl / (2
^{(DVFm / 2)} x 1000).

Next, the contribution ratio WTflm of each light control region m
Is calculated based on the reference value βFm. (# 1018).
Here, the reference value βFm is classified into five levels, and the dimming contribution ratio WTflm is set for each level.

Specifically, if the reference value βFm is 以上 or more, 3 is set; if the reference value βFm is 1/2 to 1/10, 5 is set.
If the reference value βFm is 1/10 to 1/70, 8
If the reference value βFm is 1/70 to 1/120, 4 is set as the contribution ratio WTflm, and if the reference value βFm is less than 1/120, 0.125 is set as the contribution ratio WTflm (# 1018).
Then, a process of calculating a parameter βMF used in a process of calculating a dimming correction value ΔEVF described below is performed (# 102).
0, # 1022).

First, the detection distance DVF of all light control areas m
The value obtained by dividing the sum of m by 4 is the detection distance DVAE (#
1020). Then, the focal length fl and the detection distance DV
The value obtained by performing the function processing on the AE is set as a parameter βMF (# 1022). This function is, for example, a function f (fl, DVAE) of the focal length fl and the detection distance DVAE,
f (fl, DVAE) = fl / (2 ^{(DVAE / 2)} × 100
0).

Finally, the contribution ratio WTflm of each light control region m
Are standardized (# 1024). Normalization is performed by using the maximum value of the four contribution ratios WTflm as the contribution ratio WT of each dimming region m.
This is done by dividing flm.

FIG. 26 shows the flow of the process of calculating the dimming correction value ΔEVF in step # 908 of FIG. The correction value ΔEVF is represented by an APEX value. In shooting under normal conditions, calculation is performed based on the image magnification β and the background luminance BVA. Under specific conditions, the image magnification β is replaced with the parameter βMF calculated in # 1022 in FIG. It is calculated based on BVA.

First, it is determined whether a specific condition is satisfied (# 1102, # 1204). Specifically, it is determined whether or not manual focus is set (# 1102).
Determination of whether or not the detection distance DV is invalid (# 1104)
I do.

This is for the following reason. In manual focus, there is no guarantee that the taking lens is in focus with respect to the subject, and the reliability of the image magnification β is low. Similarly, when the detection distance DV cannot be used effectively,
This is because the reliability of the image magnification β decreases.

When the determination results of # 1102 and # 1104 are false, the value of the image magnification β is used as it is, and # 11
If either of the determination results of # 02 and # 1104 is true, the image magnification β is replaced with a parameter βMF (# 1
106), a light adjustment correction value ΔEVF is calculated based on the image magnification β and the background luminance BVA (# 1108). Here, the image magnification β is classified into four levels, and the background luminance BVA is classified into two levels, and a dimming correction value ΔEVF is set for each level.

Specifically, when the background luminance BVA is equal to or higher than Bv6, the dimming correction value ΔEVF is set to 0.0. When the background luminance BVA is less than Bv6 and the image magnification β is 1 /
0.0 if the value is 10 or more, and the image magnification β is 1/10 to 1/1 /
25, -0.125, and the image magnification β is 1/25 to 1
If it is / 40, -0.25 is set as the dimming correction value ΔEVF if the image magnification β is less than 1/40 (# 1108).

FIG. 27 shows the flow of the process of calculating the control dimming contribution ratio WTtm performed in # 914 of FIG. Here, the contribution ratio WTafm and the distribution ratio of the contribution ratio WTflm used for calculating the control dimming contribution ratio WTtm are determined according to various shooting information, and the control dimming contribution ratio WTtm is determined according to the determined distribution ratio. calculate.

First, it is determined whether or not the preliminary light emission has been performed by checking the value of the flag PREFIRE_F (# 1202). When the value of the flag PREFIRE_F is set to 0, since the preliminary light emission has not been performed, the contribution ratio WTflm based on the preliminary light emission is not useful.
Therefore, the distribution ratio γ1 is set to 1.0, and the distribution ratio of the contribution ratio WTflm based on the preliminary light emission is set to 0 (# 1222).

Next, whether or not manual focus has been set (# 12)
04), it is determined whether the DV value is invalid (# 1206), whether it is a self-timer (# 1208), and whether it is a flash bracket (# 1210). If any one of the determinations is true, the contribution ratio WTafm based on the distance measurement information has low reliability, and the distribution ratio γ1 is set so that the distribution ratio of the contribution ratio WTafm based on the distance measurement information becomes 0.0. 0 is set (# 1220).

If all of the determinations in # 1204 to # 1210 are false, then whether or not bounce has been set (# 1212), whether or not the diffuser has been mounted (# 1214), the lens filter has been mounted Is determined (# 1216). # 1212- # 121
If any of the determinations of No. 6 is true, the distribution ratio γ1 is set to 1.0 so that the distribution ratio of the contribution ratio WTflm based on the preliminary light emission becomes 0 (# 1222).

If the determination in any of # 1212 to # 1216 is false, the focal lengths fl and f
l × multiplied by image magnification β, fl × β, and background luminance BV
The value of the distribution ratio γ1 is calculated based on A (# 121).
8). Here, the focal length fl is classified into two stages: a case where the focal length fl is 100 mm or less and a case where the focal length fl is larger than 100 mm. First, a case where the focal length fl is 100 mm or less will be described. In this case, the value β × fl is less than 0.5, 0.5
~ 0.75, 0.75-1.0, 1.0-1.25,
The background luminance BVA is classified into five levels of 1.25 or more.
The value is classified into three levels of less than 3, 3 to 8, and 8 or more, and the distribution ratio γ1 is set for each level.

More specifically, if the value fl × β is 1.25 or more, the distribution ratio γ1 is set to 0. 0 regardless of the background luminance BVA.
Set to 0. If the value fl × β is 1.0 to 1.25, the distribution ratio γ1 is changed from 0.0 to 0.2 in increments of 0.1 as the background luminance BVA increases. Value fl × β
Is 0.75 to 1.0, the distribution ratio γ1 is changed in steps of 0.1 from 0.2 to 0.4 as the background luminance BVA increases. If the value fl × β is 0.5 to 0.75, the distribution ratio γ1 is changed from 0.4 to 0.6 in steps of 0.1 as the background luminance BVA increases. If the value fl × β is less than 0.5, the distribution ratio γ1 is changed from 0.5 to 0.7 in steps of 0.1 as the background luminance BVA increases.

The case where the focal length fl is larger than 100 mm will be described. In this case, the value β × fl is set to less than 0.5, 0.5 to 1.5, 1.5 to 1.75, 1.75 to
2.0, 2.0 or higher, classified into 5 levels, and background brightness BVA
Are classified into three stages of Bv values less than 3, 3 to 8, and 8 or more,
The distribution ratio γ1 is set for each stage.

Specifically, if the value fl × β is 2.0 or more, the distribution ratio γ1 is set to 0.0 regardless of the background luminance BVA.
And If the value fl × β is 1.75 to 2.0, the distribution ratio γ1 is set to 0. 0 as the background luminance BVA increases.
Change from 1 to 0.3 in steps of 0.1. If the value fl × β is 1.5 to 1.75, as the background brightness BVA increases, the distribution ratio γ1 becomes 0.3 to 0.5 from 0.3 to 0.5.
Change in 1 increments. If the value fl × β is 0.5 to 1.5, the distribution ratio γ increases as the background luminance BVA increases.
1 is set to 0.5, 0.5, 0.6. The value fl × β is 0.
If it is less than 5, the distribution ratio γ1 is set to 0.5, 0.6, and 0.6 as the background luminance BVA increases.

# 1218, # 122 according to photographing information
0 or # 1222, the distribution ratio γ1 is determined based on the contribution ratio WTafm based on the distance measurement information.
Is controlled by the sum of the value obtained by multiplying the distribution ratio (1-γ1) and the contribution ratio WTflm based on the preliminary light emission.
tm (# 1224).

Finally, the contribution ratio WTtm of each light control area m is standardized (# 1226). Normalization has four contribution rates W
Contribution ratio WTtm of each light control area m at the maximum value of Ttm
By dividing.

FIG. 28 shows the flow of the process of calculating the control dimming correction value ΔEVT performed in # 916 of FIG. Here, the distribution ratio between the correction value ΔEVB and the correction value ΔEVF used to calculate the control dimming correction value ΔEVT is determined according to various shooting information, and the control dimming correction value ΔEVT is determined according to the determined distribution ratio. calculate.

# 1 for obtaining various photographing information
The determination processing of 302 to # 1316 is performed in # 1202 to # 1202 of FIG.
The description is omitted because it is the same as the determination processing of # 1216. When the distribution ratio γ2 is set in # 1322 as a result of the determination process, by setting the distribution ratio γ2, which is the distribution ratio of the correction value ΔEVB based on the distance measurement information, to 1.0,
The correction value ΔEVF based on the preliminary light emission is not taken into account.

As a result of the determination processing, the distribution ratio γ2
Is set, the correction value ΔEVB based on the distance measurement information
By setting 0.0 to the distribution ratio γ2, which is the distribution ratio of, the correction value ΔEVB based on the distance measurement information is not taken into account.

As a result of the determination processing, the distribution ratio γ2 is determined at # 1318.
Is determined. Here, the focal length fl, a value fl × β obtained by multiplying the focal length fl by the image magnification β,
Then, the value of the distribution ratio γ2 is calculated based on the background luminance BVA. When the focal length fl is 100 mm or less and 10
It is classified into two stages when it is larger than 0 mm. First, a case where the focal length fl is 100 mm or less will be described. In this case, the value β × fl is less than 0.5, 0.5 to 0.7
5, 0.75 to 1.0, 1.0 to 1.25, and 1.25 or more, and the background luminance BVA is less than Bv value 3,
Classification is made into three stages of 3 to 8, 8 or more, and the distribution ratio γ2 is set for each stage.

Specifically, if the value fl × β is equal to or greater than 1.25, the distribution ratio γ2 is set to 0. 0 regardless of the background luminance BVA.
Set to 0. If the value fl × β is 1.0 to 1.25, the distribution ratio γ2 is set to 0.0, 0.1, and 0.1 as the background luminance BVA increases. The value fl × β is 0.75
If the background brightness BVA increases, the distribution ratio γ2 is changed from 0.1 to 0.3 in steps of 0.1. If the value fl × β is 0.5 to 0.75, as the background luminance BVA increases, the distribution ratio γ2 is set to 0.
Change from 3 to 0.5 in 0.1 steps. If the value fl × β is less than 0.5, the distribution ratio γ2 is set to 0.5, 0.5, and 0.6 as the background luminance BVA increases.

A case where the focal length fl is larger than 100 mm will be described. In this case, the value β × fl is set to less than 0.5, 0.5 to 1.5, 1.5 to 1.75, 1.75 to
2.0, 2.0 or higher, classified into 5 levels, and background brightness BVA
Are classified into three stages of Bv values less than 3, 3 to 8, and 8 or more,
The distribution ratio γ2 is set for each stage.

Specifically, if the value fl × β is 2.0 or more, the distribution ratio γ2 is set to 0.0 regardless of the background luminance BVA.
And If the value fl × β is 1.75 to 2.0, the distribution ratio γ2 is set to 0. 0 as the background luminance BVA increases.
Change from 0 to 0.2 in increments of 0.1. If the value fl × β is 1.5 to 1.75, as the background luminance BVA increases, the distribution ratio γ2 becomes 0.2 to 0.4 from 0.2 to 0.4.
Change in 1 increments. If the value fl × β is 0.5 to 1.5, the allocation ratio γ2 is set to 0. 0 regardless of the background luminance BVA.
5 is assumed. If the value fl × β is less than 0.5, as the background luminance BVA increases, the distribution ratio γ2 becomes 0.5,
0.5 and 0.6.

# 1318, # 132 according to photographing information
When the distribution ratio γ2 is determined by either 0 or # 1322, the distribution ratio (1−γ2) is multiplied by a value obtained by multiplying the correction value ΔEVB based on the distance measurement information by the distribution ratio γ2 and the correction value ΔEVF based on the preliminary light emission. Controls the sum of the values. Dimming correction value ΔEVT
(# 1324).

As described above, the camera according to the present embodiment employs the dimming correction value ΔEVB calculated according to the multipoint ranging information.
And a dimming correction value Δ calculated according to the metering information of the preliminary flash.
From the EVF and the distribution ratio γ2 calculated according to information different from the multipoint ranging information and the photometry information of the preliminary light emission,
The final control dimming correction value ΔEVT is calculated, and the main light emission control for flash photography is performed using the finally obtained control dimming correction value ΔEVT.

FIG. 29 is a block diagram showing a more specific configuration. This camera has a multi-point distance measuring means 61 which has a plurality of distance measuring areas and outputs distance measuring information for each area, and a first irradiation light amount control value (a dimming correction value ΔEVB) according to the distance measuring information. )
The first irradiation light amount control value determining means 62 (FIG. 23)
And preliminary light emitting means 63 having a plurality of photometric areas, performing preliminary light emission before main light emission photographing, measuring the reflected light from the subject direction, and outputting light measurement information of the preliminary light emission,
A second irradiation light amount control value determining means 64 (processing in FIG. 26) for determining a second irradiation light amount control value (light adjustment correction value ΔEVF) according to the light measurement information; Are distribution ratio calculating means 65 (# 1302 to # 1 in FIG. 28) for determining the distribution ratio (distribution ratio γ2) of the first and second irradiation light amount control values based on different photographing information.
322), the first irradiation light amount control value,
The third irradiation light amount control value determination means 66 (# 1324 in FIG. 28) for determining a third irradiation light amount control value (control dimming correction value ΔEVT) from the irradiation light amount control value and the distribution ratio.
) And main light emission control means 67 for controlling irradiation light at the time of main light emission photographing in accordance with the third irradiation light amount control value.

Thus, the focal length fl, the image magnification β, the AF mode and the dimming correction value ΔEVB calculated in accordance with the multipoint ranging information and the dimming correction value ΔEVF calculated in accordance with the photometry information of the preliminary light emission are calculated. According to various photographing conditions such as information, a more appropriate ratio between the two is selected to obtain a final control dimming correction value ΔE.
By determining the VT, even in a shooting situation where one of the multi-point ranging information and the pre-flash metering information is not useful, it is possible to complement the other by obtaining the more appropriate dimming performance according to various shooting situations. Becomes possible.

The camera according to the present embodiment has the dimming contribution ratio WTaf of each dimming region m calculated according to the multipoint ranging information.
m, the light control contribution ratio WTflm of each light control area m calculated according to the light measurement information of the preliminary light emission, and the distribution ratio γ1 calculated from information different from the multipoint distance measurement information and the light measurement information of the preliminary light emission. , Calculate the final control dimming contribution ratio WTtm, and finally obtain the control dimming contribution ratio WT of each dimming region m.
The main emission control of the flash photography is performed at tm.

FIG. 30 is a block diagram showing a more specific configuration. This camera has a multi-point distance measuring unit 61 that has a plurality of ranging areas and outputs ranging information for each area, and has a plurality of dimming areas including areas each substantially matching each ranging area. A multi-division dimming unit 72 that dimming-controls the irradiation light at the time of main light emission shooting in accordance with the dimming contribution ratio obtained for each dimming region;
A first dimming contribution ratio calculating means 68 (processing in FIGS. 21 and 22) for calculating a first dimming contribution ratio (contribution ratio WTafm) for each of the dimming regions according to the distance measurement information; Preliminary light emitting means 63 having a light metering area, performing preliminary light emission before main light emission photographing, measuring the reflected light from the subject direction, and outputting light metering information of the preliminary light emission, and each light adjusting area according to the light metering information To the second dimming contribution ratio (contribution ratio WTfl)
m) for calculating the second dimming contribution ratio calculating means 69 (FIG. 25).
And a distribution ratio calculating means 7 for determining a distribution ratio (a distribution ratio γ1) of the first and second dimming contribution ratios based on photographing information different from the distance measurement information and the photometry information.
0 (the processing of # 1202 to # 1222 in FIG. 27) and the first
A third dimming contribution calculating means 71 (processing of # 1224 in FIG. 27) for determining a third dimming contribution from the dimming contribution, the second dimming contribution, and the distribution ratio. And the multi-segment dimming means 72 performs dimming control of irradiation light at the time of main emission photographing with the third dimming contribution ratio.

Therefore, the dimming contribution ratio WTafm of each dimming region m calculated according to the multipoint distance measurement information and the dimming contribution ratio WTf of each dimming region m calculated according to the light measurement information of the preliminary light emission.
By determining a final control dimming contribution ratio WTtm by selecting a more appropriate ratio between lm and lm in accordance with various shooting conditions such as a focal length fl, an image magnification β, and AF mode information. Even in a shooting situation in which one of the point ranging information and the photometry information of the preliminary light emission is not useful, the other can complement the shooting situation, and it is possible to obtain more appropriate dimming performance according to various shooting situations.

The distribution ratio calculating means 65 and 70 of the camera of this embodiment calculate the distribution ratio based on information including at least the focal length fl. in this way,
The distribution ratio is calculated based on information including at least the focal length fl, and the final irradiation light amount control value or the dimming contribution ratio of each dimming region is determined based on the distribution ratio, so that the ratio according to various shooting conditions can be improved. Appropriate dimming performance can be obtained. As a specific example, it is possible to supplement the poor accuracy of the preliminary light emission information on the wide angle side with the distance measurement information.

The distribution ratio calculating means 65 and 70 of the camera of this embodiment calculate the distribution ratio based on information including at least the image magnification β. As described above, the distribution ratio is calculated based on the information including at least the image magnification β, and the final irradiation light amount control value or the dimming contribution ratio of each dimming region is determined based on the distribution ratio. It is possible to obtain more appropriate dimming performance according to the situation. As a specific example, the inaccuracy of the distance measurement information obtained by the distance measurement when the image magnification β is small can be complemented by the preliminary light emission information.

The distribution ratio calculating means 65 and 70 of the camera of this embodiment calculate the distribution ratio based on at least information including luminance information. As described above, the distribution ratio is calculated based on at least the information including the luminance information, and the final irradiation light amount control value or the dimming contribution ratio of each dimming region is determined based on the distribution ratio. It is possible to obtain more appropriate dimming performance according to. As a specific example, the inaccuracy of the distance measurement information when the background luminance is dark can be complemented by preliminary light emission.

The distribution ratio calculating means 65 and 70 of the camera of this embodiment calculate the distribution ratio based on at least information including AF mode information. As described above, the distribution ratio is calculated based on at least the information including the AF mode information, and the final irradiation light amount control value or the dimming contribution ratio of each dimming region is determined based on the distribution ratio. It is possible to obtain more appropriate dimming performance according to the situation. As a specific example, since distance measurement information cannot be obtained at the time of manual focusing, better dimming is mainly performed by determining the final irradiation light amount control value or the dimming contribution ratio of each dimming region mainly using the preliminary light emission information. Performance can be obtained.

Further, the distribution ratio calculating means 65 and 70 of the camera of this embodiment calculate the distribution ratio based on information including at least information on whether or not the preliminary light emission has been performed. In this manner, the distribution ratio is calculated based on information including at least information on whether or not the preliminary light emission has been performed, and the final irradiation light amount control value or the dimming contribution ratio of each dimming region is determined based on the distribution ratio. This makes it possible to obtain more appropriate dimming performance according to various shooting situations. As a specific example, when preliminary light emission is not performed,
A final irradiation light amount control value or a dimming contribution ratio of each dimming region is determined from only the distance measurement information.

The distribution ratio calculating means 65 and 70 of the camera according to the present embodiment provide information on the presence / absence of the self-mode setting, information on the presence / absence of the flash bracket setting, information on the presence / absence of the flash bounce setting, and the presence / absence of the diffuser attachment. The distribution ratio is calculated based on information including at least one of the information on the presence or absence of the lens filter. By determining the final irradiation light amount control value or the dimming contribution ratio of each dimming area based on the distribution ratio calculated in this way, it is possible to obtain more appropriate dimming performance according to various shooting situations. Becomes Specifically, when the self mode is set and the flash bracket is set, the photometry information based on the preliminary flash is mainly used, while the flash bounce is set.
When the diffuser is mounted and the lens filter is mounted, better dimming performance can be obtained by determining the final irradiation light amount control value or the dimming contribution ratio of each dimming region mainly based on the distance measurement information.

[0172]

According to the camera described in the first aspect, a more appropriate irradiation light amount is calculated, so that it is possible to obtain a photographed image with good illumination at the time of main light emission photographing. Further, according to the camera of the second aspect, in the multi-division dimming unit having a plurality of dimming regions, the contribution ratio of dimming control in each dimming region has a more appropriate value, so that the illumination of the subject can be improved. It is possible to obtain a clear captured image with emphasis.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration related to control of a camera according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing another example of a configuration related to control.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing another example of a configuration related to control.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing another example of a configuration related to control.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a relationship between a multipoint distance measuring element and a multi-segment photometric element.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a relationship between a multipoint distance measuring element and a multi-segment light adjusting element.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a relationship between a multi-point distance measuring element, a multi-division light measuring element, and a multi-division light adjusting element.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram schematically showing a circuit configuration for operation control.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a schematic flow of the entire control operation in a release priority mode.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a schematic flow of the entire control operation in an AF priority mode.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of a distance measurement process.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the flow of a calculation process for obtaining the latest ranging information.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the flow of a calculation process for obtaining distance measurement information at the time of focusing lock.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of an AE calculation process regarding exposure control.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of a luminance, subject luminance, and background luminance calculation process of a portion corresponding to a light control area.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing for correcting distance measurement information and calculating control parameters.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing the flow of another process of correcting distance measurement information and calculating control parameters.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing a flow of a process of determining whether or not to perform flash photography and selecting exposure control.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of a process of calculating an aperture value and a shutter speed in constant light imaging.

FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing for calculating an aperture value and a shutter speed for flash photography.

FIG. 21 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of a process of calculating a contribution ratio of a light control area based on distance measurement information.

FIG. 22 is a flowchart showing a flow of another calculation process of the contribution ratio of the light control area based on the distance measurement information.

FIG. 23 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of a process of calculating a light control correction value based on distance measurement information.

FIG. 24 is a flowchart showing the flow of a dimming exposure calculation process.

FIG. 25 is a flowchart showing a flow of a process of calculating a contribution ratio of a light control area based on photometric information.

FIG. 26 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of a process of calculating a light adjustment correction value based on photometric information.

FIG. 27 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of a process of calculating a contribution ratio of a control light control area.

FIG. 28 is a flowchart showing the flow of a control dimming correction value calculation process.

FIG. 29 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the camera from a viewpoint of a function of dimming control.

FIG. 30 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the camera's light control function from another viewpoint.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Autofocus camera 10 Camera body 11 Main mirror 12 Submirror 13 Shutter 14 Shutter control unit 18 CPU 21 Distance measurement module 21a Multi-point distance measurement element 22 Photometry module 22a Multi-segment photometry element 23 Dimming module 23a Multi-segment dimming element 24 Auxiliary Optical module 30 Shooting lens 31 Focus lens 32 AF actuator 33 AF encoder 34 Coupler 36 Lens CPU 37 Aperture 38 Aperture control unit 40 Flash unit 41 Flash control module 52 Operation unit 53 Display unit 61 Multi-point distance measuring unit 62 First irradiation light amount Control value determining means 63 Preliminary light emitting means 64 Second irradiation light quantity control value determining means 65 Irradiation light quantity control value distribution ratio calculating means 66 Third irradiation light quantity control value determining means 67 Main light emission controlling means 8 First Dimming Contribution Ratio Calculating Unit 69 Second Dimming Contribution Ratio Calculating Unit 70 Distribution Unit of Dimming Contribution Ratio Calculating Unit 71 Third Dimming Contribution Ratio Calculating Unit 72 Multi-Division Dimming Control Unit F Film DV Detection distance DVafn Detection distance in focus DVreln Latest detection distance WTafm Dimming contribution ratio based on metering information WTrelm Dimming contribution ratio based on metering information of preliminary light emission WTtm Control dimming contribution ratio ΔEVB Dimming correction value based on ranging information ΔEVF Dimming correction value based on photometric information of preliminary flash ΔEVT control dimming correction value

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Shigeto Omori 2-3-13 Azuchicho, Chuo-ku, Osaka City Inside Osaka International Building Minolta Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Tsutomu Ichikawa 2-chome Azuchicho, Chuo-ku, Osaka City No. 13 Osaka Kokusai Building Minolta Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Hiroshi Ueda 2-3-13 Azuchicho, Chuo-ku, Osaka-shi Osaka Kokusai Building Minolta Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Tatsuya Suzuki, Azuchicho, Chuo-ku, Osaka-shi 3-13-13 Osaka International Building Minolta Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Akio Nakamaru 2-3-13 Azuchicho, Chuo-ku, Osaka City Osaka International Building Minolta Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) 2H002 CD00 CD07 CD11 CD13 DB06 DB07 DB11 DB14 DB15 DB23 DB24 DB28 DB32 FB31 FB32 GA00 GA54 HA11 2H053 AA01 AA05 AD12 AD21 AD23 2H054 BB04 BB08 CA00 CA01

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A multi-point distance measuring means having a plurality of distance measurement areas and outputting distance measurement information for each area, and a first irradiation light amount control value for determining a first irradiation light amount control value according to the distance measurement information. Irradiating light amount control value determining means, having a plurality of light metering areas, performing preliminary light emission before main light emission photographing, measuring light reflected from the object direction, and outputting light metering information of the preliminary light emission, preliminary light emitting means, A second irradiation light amount control value determining means for determining a second irradiation light amount according to the information; and a first and second irradiation light amount control value based on photographing information different from the distance measurement information and the photometry information. Distribution ratio calculation means for determining a distribution ratio; a first irradiation light amount control value, a second irradiation light amount control value, and a third irradiation light amount control value for determining a third irradiation light amount control value from the distribution ratio Deciding means, and the main light emission photographing time according to the third irradiation light amount control value. A camera comprising: main light emission control means for controlling irradiation light. 2. A multi-point distance measuring means having a plurality of distance measurement areas and outputting distance measurement information for each area, and a plurality of light control areas including areas each substantially corresponding to each distance measurement area. Multi-division dimming means for dimming control of irradiation light at the time of main light emission photographing in accordance with the dimming contribution ratio obtained for each dimming region; A first dimming contribution ratio calculating means for calculating a first dimming contribution ratio, a preliminary light emission having a plurality of photometric areas, performing a preliminary light emission before main light emission photographing, and measuring a reflected light from a subject direction. Preliminary light emitting means for outputting light metering information, second light adjusting contribution rate calculating means for calculating a second light adjusting contribution rate for each light adjusting area according to the light metering information, the distance measuring information and the light metering Distribution ratio that determines the distribution ratio of the first and second dimming contribution ratios based on photographing information different from the information Output means; and a third dimming contribution calculating means for determining a third dimming contribution from the first dimming contribution, the second dimming contribution, and the distribution ratio, The camera according to claim 1, wherein the multi-division dimming unit performs dimming control of irradiation light at the time of main emission photographing with a third dimming contribution ratio.