JP2001211354A - Electronic camera - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [PROBLEMS] To enable shooting to be started in a state where a setting change screen is overlaid on a through screen by an electronic camera. The image data captured by a CCD is A.
After being converted into a digital signal by the / D conversion circuit 28, the image is processed by the image processing CPU 29. Display image creation circuit 3
1 creates a display image from the image-processed image data, and the display image is displayed on the display LCD 3 as a through screen. When the menu button 15 is operated, the image processing CPU 29 performs processing such that a setting change screen is overlaid on a through screen in accordance with a command from the CPU 21. When the half-press switch 22 is operated, the CPU 21 instructs the image processing CPU 29 not to perform the processing for overlay display and starts the photographing processing.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to an electronic camera for capturing an image of a subject with an imaging device such as a CCD.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An image pickup apparatus for picking up an image of a subject passing through a photographic lens, an image processing circuit for performing predetermined image processing such as white balance and gamma correction on an image signal output from the image pickup apparatus, and an image processing circuit 2. Description of the Related Art There is known an electronic camera including a monitor for displaying image data afterward, and a compression circuit for compressing data after image processing by a predetermined method such as JPEG and recording the data on a recording medium such as a flash memory.

[0003]

In such an electronic camera, for example, when setting photographing conditions such as setting of adjustment conditions in white balance adjustment processing, predetermined photographing conditions are displayed on a monitor of the electronic camera. There is a menu display method in which a setting item is displayed and a setting content is selected from the displayed setting items. In the case of such a menu display method, predetermined setting items are displayed on a monitor before photographing, and a desired item is selected from the displayed setting items to perform setting. After the setting of the photographing conditions, the photographing is performed in a state where the display on the monitor is switched from the display of the setting items to the display of the through image photographed through the photographing lens. The photographer can determine the composition while checking the through image displayed on the monitor.

However, in the above-described menu display type electronic camera, the display of the predetermined setting items and the display of the through image performed on the monitor are performed separately, so that the setting contents are changed on the monitor. While the setting item of was displayed, shooting could not be performed.

An object of the present invention is to turn on / off the display of setting items.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an electronic camera in which both a setting item that can be turned off and a through image captured through a shooting lens are simultaneously displayed on a monitor so that shooting can be performed even when the setting item is displayed.

[0006]

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention.
The present invention will be described with reference to FIG. (1) The invention described in claim 1 is applied to an electronic camera that captures a subject image by an imaging device 26 through a photographing lens 2, performs predetermined image processing on the captured subject image, and records the processed image on a recording medium 34. Is done. Then, pointing members 19a to 19d for selecting an arbitrary area from a plurality of predetermined areas provided in advance to detect a focus adjustment state by the photographing lens 2, and a display for displaying an image after image processing Means 3 and display control means 29 and 21 for causing display means 3 to display at least one of a setting item for setting a photographing condition and an icon representing the setting item.
When the photographing conditions are set, the pointing member 19
The above-described object is achieved by providing the setting control unit 21 for selecting and setting at least one of the setting item displayed by the display control units 29 and 21 and the icon representing the setting item using a to 19d. . (2) The invention described in claim 2 is applied to an electronic camera that captures a subject image under the set shooting conditions and image processing and records the captured image on the recording medium 34. Then, the display means 3 for displaying the image after the image processing, the photographing condition and the image processing are the first setting item and the second setting item which is more than the first setting item.
Setting means for selecting and setting the sub-items, and operating members 19a to 19d to which a manual operation can be added.
A first display state in which sub-items set by the first setting item setting means are displayed on the display means 3 based on an operation of the operation members 19a to 19d, and a second setting item is displayed in the display means. A display switching means 29, 21 for switching between a second display state and a second display state, and a control means 21 for permitting the start of the photographing process in a state where the display state is switched to the second display state by the display switching means 29, 21. By having
Achieve the above objectives. (3) The invention described in claim 3 is applied to an electronic camera that captures a subject image under the set photographing conditions and image processing and records the captured image on the recording medium 34. Then, the display monitor 3 for displaying the image after the image processing, and a plurality of sub-items each including a first setting item and a second setting item which is larger than the first setting item are set for the shooting condition and the image processing. A first setting unit having a plurality of setting items, a setting unit for selecting and setting a sub-item, and a first display unit 29 for displaying the sub-item set by the setting unit for the first setting item on the display monitor 3. 21, a first operating member 14 for turning on / off the first display means 29, 21; a second display means 29, 21 for displaying the second setting item on the display monitor 3;
The second operation member 15 for turning on / off the second display means 29, 21 regardless of the on / off state of the display means 29, 21 and the second operation member 15 based on the operation by the second operation member 15 The above-described object is achieved by providing the control unit 21 that allows the start of the photographing process while the second setting item is being displayed on the display units 29 and 21. (4) According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the electronic camera according to the second or third aspect, information on the sub-items and the second setting items set by the setting means for the first setting items is stored. When the start of the photographing process is allowed in the storage unit 21, information is stored in the storage unit 21 to temporarily turn off the display of the sub-item and the second setting item set by the setting unit of the first setting item. And display control means 29 and 21 for turning on the display again based on the information stored in the storage means 21 when the photographing process is completed. (5) The invention according to claim 5 is the electronic camera according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the second setting items include all image processing items that can be set by an operator with the electronic camera. Features.

In the section of the means for solving the above-mentioned problems, which explains the configuration of the present invention, the drawings of the embodiments are used to facilitate understanding of the present invention. However, the present invention is not limited to this.

[0008]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1A and 1B show the appearance of an electronic still camera according to an embodiment of the present invention when the electronic still camera is stored and when the electronic still camera is carried, wherein FIG. 1A is a view seen from above, and FIG. 2A and 2B show the appearance of the camera shown in FIG. 1 during normal shooting, where FIG. 2A is a view seen from the front, FIG.
(c) is a view seen from behind. The electronic still camera 1 according to this embodiment is divided into a lens unit 1a including a movable lens 2 and a monitor unit 1b including a display LCD 3, and both units 1a and 1b are relatively rotatably connected.

When stored or carried, the lens unit 1a is rotated so that the lens unit 1a and the monitor unit 1b are flat as shown in FIG. During normal shooting, as shown in FIG. 2, the lens unit 1a is rotated so that the shooting zoom lens 2 faces the subject. At this time, the monitor unit 1b displays LC
Since D3 is held so as to face the photographer, the photographer can perform photographing while viewing the display LCD3.

The lens unit 1a includes an electronic flash device 4, a finder window 5, a red-eye reduction / self-timer display lamp 6, and a finder eyepiece window 7 in addition to the photographing zoom lens 2.
And so on. On the other hand, the monitor unit 1b includes, in addition to the display LCD 3, a main switch 8, a release button 9, a display panel 10, a shooting distance button 11, a flash mode button 12, an image quality button 13, a monitor button 14, a menu button 15, and a zoom operation switch 16. , Selection dial 17, AF area selection buttons 19a to 19d, and the like.

-Recording Mode- The electronic still camera 1 has two operation modes: a recording mode for capturing an image of a subject and recording image data, and a reproduction mode for reading and reproducing the recorded image data.
By switching the main switch 8, the recording mode (RE
C) and the playback mode (PLAY) are selected. The main switch 8 is switched to at least three positions of PLAY, OFF, and REC. The recording mode is an operation mode in which a captured subject image is recorded as image data, and the reproduction mode is an operation mode in which recorded image data is read out and displayed on the display LCD 3. The description of the present embodiment will focus on the recording mode.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a circuit of the electronic still camera 1 according to the first embodiment. When the main switch 8 is switched to the recording mode: REC, the electronic still camera 1 is turned on and switched to the recording mode. When the CPU 21 activates a predetermined control program, subject light incident on the photographing zoom lens 2 (FIG. 2) forms an image on a CCD 26 as an image pickup device, and an image signal passes through an analog processing circuit 27 and an A / D conversion circuit. 28 to be converted into a digital signal. The digitally converted signal is, for example, an image processing C configured as an ASIC.
The image is guided to the PU 29, subjected to image preprocessing such as contour compensation and gamma correction, and is temporarily stored in the buffer memory 30.

The image data once stored in the buffer memory 30 is processed by the display image creation circuit 31 controlled by the image processing CPU 29 into image data for display. The display image creation circuit 31 reads out the image data after the image pre-processing stored in the buffer memory 30 and creates a display image by performing a thinning process or the like according to the display resolution of the LCD monitor 3. Display image creation circuit 31
Is displayed on the display LCD 3 as a photographing monitor image called a through image. The through image is created by repeating the above operations.
It is sequentially updated at predetermined intervals based on the subject light incident on the photographing zoom lens 2.

The CPU 21 has a half-press switch 22 and a full-press switch 23 (hereinafter, referred to as a switch) linked to the release button 9.
A half-press signal and a full-press signal are input from the release switch 23). When the half-press switch 22 is operated and a half-press signal is input, the focus detection / adjustment device 36 detects a focus adjustment state of the photographing zoom lens 2 in a focus detection area described later according to a command from the CPU 21. Then, the photographic zoom lens 2 is driven to a focus position so that the subject light incident on the photographic zoom lens 2 forms an image on the CCD 26 which is an imaging device. The drive of the CCD 26 is controlled via the timing generator 24 and the driver 25, and the timing generator 24 controls the operation timing of the analog processing circuit 27 and the A / D conversion circuit 28.

The electronic still camera 1 is provided with two AF operation modes, a "single AF mode" and a "continuous AF mode". When the “single AF mode” is set, the focus detection operation by the focus detection / adjustment device 36 is performed by operating the half-press switch 22 as described above. On the other hand, when the “continuous AF mode” is set, when the main switch 8 is switched to the recording mode position,
The focus detection operation by the focus detection / adjustment device 36 is always performed.

The electronic still camera 1 has five areas in the object field as areas where the focus detection / adjustment device 36 detects the focus adjustment state. From these five focus detection areas, the area where focus detection is performed by the focus detection / adjustment device 36 is set as follows. Display LCD3
, A mark indicating the focus adjustment area is overlaid on the through image. FIG. 4 shows the through image displayed on the display LCD 3 and the mark indicating the focus adjustment area. In FIG. 4, five marks 4V to 4Z represent a focus detection area. The setting of the focus detection area is performed by operating the AF area selection buttons 19a to 19d (FIG. 2).

When the switch 19a is operated, the focus detection area 4W currently set in FIG. 4 is changed to the focus detection area 4V located above the focus adjustment area 4W. Subsequently, when the AF area selection button 19b is operated,
It is changed to the focus detection area 4W again. Further, when the AF area selection button 19c is operated, the focus detection area 4Y is changed to the focus detection area 4Y located to the left of the focus detection area 4W. Similarly, by operating the AF area selection button 19d, the focus detection area 4Z can be changed to the focus detection area 4Z located to the right of the set focus detection area 4W. The selected focus detection area is displayed in an emphasized manner as compared with marks in other areas, for example, as an area 4Y in FIG. When the photographer selects any of the marks 4V to 4Z on the main subject, the adjustment state of the focus position described above is detected in the focus detection area in the photographing screen corresponding to the selected mark.

When the zoom operation switch 16 is operated,
Zoom lens driving device 37 according to a command from CPU 21
Drives the photographing zoom lens 2 to change the focal length. The zoom operation switch 16 is a seesaw type switch, and the focal length is moved to one of the telephoto side (T) and the wide-angle side (W) that is being pressed. The photometric device 38
The half-press signal from the half-press switch 22 linked to the release button 9 is measured by the CPU.
The light metering is performed when the light is input to 21.

When the release switch 23 is turned on after the half-press switch 22 is turned on, the photometric device 3 is turned on.
The flash device 4 emits light in accordance with the photometric result by the flash unit 8 and the flash mode set in advance by the flash mode button 12, and the subject light from the photographing zoom lens 2 forms an image on the light receiving surface of the CCD 26, so that the CCD 26 Accumulates signal charges corresponding to the brightness of the subject image. CCD26
The signal charges accumulated in the circuit are discharged by the driver 25 and input to an analog signal processing circuit 27 including an AGC circuit, a CDS circuit and the like. After analog processing such as gain control and noise removal is performed on the analog image signal by the analog signal processing circuit 27, the A / D conversion circuit 28
Is converted into a digital signal.

The digitally converted signal is guided to the above-described image processing CPU 29, where image pre-processing such as contour compensation and gamma correction is performed and temporarily stored in the buffer memory 30. Then, image data is exchanged between the CPU 21 and the buffer memory 30, and a white balance adjustment value is obtained from the stored image data. Image processing CPU based on the obtained white balance adjustment value
At 29, white balance adjustment is performed, and the image data after the white balance adjustment is stored in the buffer memory 30 again.

The image data subjected to the above-described image pre-processing is further subjected to, for example, a predetermined format process (image post-processing) for JPEG compression by the image processing CPU 29. Is subjected to data compression at a predetermined ratio in the JPEG system by the compression circuit 32 controlled by the. When the image data is subjected to the data compression processing, the occupied area occupied by the compressed image data in the buffer memory 30 is reduced, so that the buffer memory 30 can accept new image data.

The image data subjected to the JPEG data compression is given a predetermined data name by the CPU 21 and recorded on a recording medium (PC card, CF card, etc.) 34 such as a flash memory together with time information from a real-time clock 35. Is done. When the recording process on the recording medium 34 ends, a series of photographing processes ends.

In addition, a display panel driver 33 is connected to the CPU 21 to set the light emission mode of the flash device 4 with the flash mode button 12, the distance range setting with the shooting distance button 11, the compression ratio setting with the image quality button 13, and the like. It is displayed on the display panel 10.

-Reproduction Mode- When the main switch 8 is switched to the reproduction mode position, the electronic still camera 1 is switched to the reproduction mode when the power is turned on. If image data has already been recorded on the recording medium 34, the recorded image data is
Read to 1. The data read by the CPU 21 is sent to the buffer memory 30 and then sent to the image processing CPU 2.
The image data for display is processed by the display image creation circuit 31 controlled by the control unit 9. Then, the playback image is displayed on the LCD
3 is displayed. During the playback mode, a playback image is displayed on the display LCD 3, but a screen of a subject image captured through the photographing zoom lens 2: a through screen is not displayed. Further, the exposure adjustment (AE) based on the photometry result by the photometry device 38 and the focus adjustment state detection (AF) by the focus detection / adjustment device 36 are not performed.

-Menu setting- The menu button 15 is used when setting the photographing conditions of the electronic still camera 1 in detail. When the menu button 15 is operated while the main switch 8 is switched to the recording mode: REC, the display of the setting change screen is turned on. When the main switch 8 is in the playback mode: PLAY
The menu button 15 is effective even when the mode is switched to the recording mode. However, since the present embodiment is characterized by the operation when the mode is switched to the recording mode, the state when the mode is switched to the recording mode will be described.

The setting change screen is displayed by overlaying the setting change screen on the through screen displayed on the display LCD 3. The processing for displaying the overlay is performed by the image processing CPU 29 in accordance with a command from the CPU 21. While the setting change screen is displayed as an overlay, the marks 4V to 4Z (FIG. 4) indicating the focus detection areas are not displayed as an overlay. FIGS. 5 and 6 are diagrams for explaining a setting change screen overlaid on the display LCD 3 of the electronic still camera 1, and FIG. 5A is the first screen overlaid.

In FIG. 5A, the setting change screen has a page number display section 51, a first item display section 52, a tag display section 53, and a first operation explanation display section 54. Taking a case where there are 21 setting items such as shooting conditions to be set for the electronic still camera 1 as an example, the setting items are grouped by a predetermined number and displayed in a menu format for each group. One page is configured by a predetermined number of grouped setting items, and a setting change screen is configured by a plurality of pages. In the present embodiment, the display LCD 3
The number of setting items that can be displayed on one screen on the display LCD 3 is determined to be seven in consideration of the display resolution of the display and the visibility when displayed on the display LCD 3. By putting the eighth to fourteenth setting items of the menu on page 2 and the fifteenth to twenty-first items of the menu on page 3, a total of 21 setting items
Classified into pages and managed. When a new setting item is added, pages 4 and subsequent pages may be added to store the setting item.

The page number display section 51 displays a page number. Among them, the page number selected by the cursor is displayed with emphasis (white in the figure) compared to other page numbers not selected. FIG. 5A shows the first screen switched to the setting change screen, and thus page 1 is automatically selected. At this time, “photographing menu 1” representing the content of page 1 is displayed on the tag display section 53. The first item display section 52 displays 1
The seventh to seventh setting items are displayed. In the present embodiment,
The setting item for white balance adjustment is “WB”, the setting item for metering method is “photometry”, the setting item for continuous shooting is “continuous shooting”, the setting item for camera shake reduction processing is “blurring”, and the setting item for converter lens is “Converter”, a setting item relating to gradation correction is displayed as “gradation”, and a setting item relating to edge enhancement is displayed as “edge”. The items displayed on the first item display section 52 include setting items relating to a shutter speed and an aperture value as photographing conditions. The setting items may be displayed by icons representing the setting items instead of characters. Also, it may be displayed so that the set state can be understood.

The first operation explanation display section 54 displays the operation switches required for the displayed setting change screen and the explanation of the operation. In the example of FIG. 5A, the menu button 15 is operated to turn off the display of the setting change screen, and the upward AF area selection button 19a and the downward AF area selection button 19b are operated to select a page. It means.

The cursor for selecting the page number is moved using the AF area selection buttons 19a to 19d described above. When the setting change screen is displayed on the display LCD 3, the AF area selection buttons 19a to 19d are used to move the cursor position up, down, left, and right. For example, when page 1 is selected and “1” in the page number display section 51 is highlighted, the downward AF area selection button 19
When b is pressed, the cursor moves down and page 2 is selected. When page 2 is selected, page number display section 51
, “2” is highlighted, and the eighth to fourteenth setting items included in page 2 are displayed. Similarly, when page 3 is selected, “3” is highlighted in the page number display section 51 and the 15th to 21st setting items included in page 3 can be displayed.

Next, the setting operation of the setting items included in each page will be described. For example, when the right AF area selection button 19d is operated while page 1 is selected as shown in FIG.
The 2nd first selection item is selected by the cursor. When the rightward AF area selection button 19d is operated again in this state, the first setting item, white balance adjustment, is selected as shown in FIG. 5B. At this time, the first
"WB" is highlighted in the item display section 52, "White Balance" is displayed on the tag display section 53, and the second operation explanation display section 55 is newly displayed. The second operation explanation display section 55 displays which switch should be operated to set a setting item. In the example of FIG. 5B, the rightward AF area selection button 1
9d or the selection dial 17 (FIG. 1).

As shown in FIG. 5B, when the rightward AF area selection button 19d is operated in a state where the setting item of the white balance adjustment is selected, the second AF shown in FIG.
Is newly displayed. In the second item display section 56, selection items related to the setting items selected in the first item display section 52 are displayed. Fig. 6 (a)
In the example of, the selection items related to white balance adjustment are displayed, and the selection item selected by the cursor is emphasized compared to other selection items that are not selected.
(White in the figure). In FIG. 6A, the photographer selects the AF area selection button 19a pointing upward and the AF button pointing downward.
When, for example, “light bulb” is selected from “auto”, “sunlight”, “bulb”,... Using the area selection button 19b, the above-described image processing CPU 29 causes The balance is adjusted. That is, when the selection item is selected by the cursor, the setting state inside the electronic still camera 1 changes immediately.

When the rightward AF area selection button 19d is operated while the second item display section 56 is displayed as shown in FIG. 6A, the page shown in FIG. The screen returns to the setting change screen for selecting a number. In this state, the upward AF area selection button 19a and the downward AF
By operating the area selection button 19b, another page number can be selected. Menu button 1
When 5 is operated, the overlay display of the setting change screen is turned off.

The setting for switching to the two AF operation modes, the "single AF mode" and the "continuous AF mode", is also performed using the setting change screen using the menu button 15. By operating the AF area selection buttons 19a to 19d, for example, an item relating to the AF operation is selected from the setting items included in the page 2.
FIG. 6B is a diagram illustrating a state where page 2 is selected. When "AF" is selected by operating the AF area selection button 19d, selection items (not shown) relating to the AF operation are displayed on the above-described second item display section 56. The selection items are “Continuous AF mode” and “Single A
Since "F mode" is displayed, the selection may be made by operating the upward AF area selection button 19a and the downward AF area selection button 19b to select a selection item, and operating the right AF area selection button 19d.

When the "single AF mode" is set,
As described above, every time the half-press switch 22 is operated, the focus detection operation by the focus detection / adjustment device 36 is performed,
When the “continuous AF mode” is set, the focus detection operation by the focus detection / adjustment device 36 is always performed while the main switch 8 is switched to the recording mode position.

The settings made using the setting change screen using the menu button 15 are immediately effective without pressing the menu button 15 again to turn off the overlay display of the setting change screen. Therefore, in addition to the above-described white balance adjustment included in the setting items of page 1, for example, gradation correction for adjusting the brightness of an image and exposure correction for adjusting the aperture value at the time of exposure are displayed on the setting change screen. In this case, the through screen displayed on the display LCD 3 changes based on the contents set on the setting change screen. As a result, the photographer can change the settings while checking in real time whether or not the white balance adjustment, the gradation correction, and the exposure correction are correctly performed from the through screen displayed on the display LCD 3 together with the setting change screen.

When the setting change screen by the menu button 15 is displayed as an overlay, the release switch 2
When the camera 3 is turned on, the electronic still camera 1 shoots based on the content selected by the cursor at that time. That is, when the release switch 23 is operated in a state where one of the selection items displayed on the second item display section 56 is selected by the cursor, the release switch 23 is not determined by the rightward AF area selection button 19d. Even so, the content selected by the cursor is reflected in the photographing process.

When the above-described photographing process is started by the release switch 23, the display of the setting change screen overlay displayed on the display LCD 3 is temporarily turned off, and an icon indicating that the photographing process is being performed as shown in FIG. Is displayed as an overlay. In FIG. 7, the icon displayed on the right side is a processing icon 71 indicating that the shooting processing is being performed,
The icon displayed in the center is a keep icon 72 for extending the freeze screen display time, and the icon displayed on the left is a delete icon 73 for deleting captured image data. The freeze screen is an image during shooting that is displayed on the display LCD 3 for a predetermined time after the release switch 23 is turned on, unlike the through image that is sequentially updated as a monitor image before shooting as described above.

The processing icon 71 is displayed until the above-described series of photographing processes is completed. Keep icon 72
Is displayed together with the processing icon 71 for a predetermined time during which the freeze screen is displayed: for example, three seconds. When the flash mode button 12 disposed near the display position of the keep icon 72 is operated while the keep icon 72 is displayed, the display time of the freeze screen is further another predetermined time: for example, 20 seconds. Will be extended. The delete icon 73 is displayed while the freeze screen is displayed. When the photographing distance button 11 arranged near the display position of the delete icon 73 is operated while the delete icon 73 is displayed, the photographing process is started by operating the release switch 23 and the flash memory is started. The image data recorded on the recording medium 34 is deleted.

When the predetermined display time for displaying the freeze screen is over, the display of the freeze image, the processing icon 71, the keep icon 72, and the delete icon 73 is stopped. Then, a through image newly picked up through the photographing zoom lens 2 and a setting change screen which has been once turned off by the operation of the release switch 23 are displayed as an overlay on the through image. The setting change screen in this case is different from the screen when the menu button 15 in which page 1 is selected is operated first as shown in FIG. 5A, and the release switch 23 is operated during the previous setting change screen display. The screen at the point in time is reproduced.

The photographing process of the electronic still camera 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. In step S201 of FIG. 8, exposure adjustment (AE) based on the photometry result of the photometry device 38 (FIG. 3) is performed, and subsequently, in step S202, focus detection (AF) by the focus detection / adjustment device 36 is performed. When the AF operation is completed, image preprocessing is performed in step S203.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the processing of the image pre-processing 250. In step S251, the CCD 26
(FIG. 3) accumulates charges corresponding to the brightness of the subject image,
The charges accumulated in step S252 are sequentially discharged and input to the analog signal processing circuit 27. Step S2
At 53, analog signal processing is performed by the analog signal processing circuit 27, and the analog signal is converted to a digital signal by the A / D conversion circuit 28 at the subsequent step S254.
The digitized image signal is temporarily stored in the buffer memory 30 after being subjected to contour compensation and gamma correction by the image processing CPU 29 in step S255, and then subjected to image processing such as white balance adjustment to perform image preprocessing 250. Ends.

When the above-described image preprocessing is completed in step S203 of FIG. 8, in step S204, the data after the image preprocessing is converted into display image data by the display image creation circuit 31 controlled by the image processing CPU 29. Processing is performed, and a through image is displayed on the display LCD 3. In step S205, it is determined whether or not the half-press switch 22 has been operated. When it is determined that the half-press switch 22 has been operated (Y in step S205), the process proceeds to step S206, and the shooting A
When the E operation is performed and the AF operation for photographing is performed in the subsequent step S207, it is determined in step S205 that the half-press operation has not been performed (step S205).
N) returns to step S201 again.

When the AF operation in step S207 is completed, the results of the AE and AF operations are held in the CPU 21, and it is checked in step S208 whether the full-press switch 23 has been operated. Full-press switch 23
Is determined to have been operated (step S208).
Y) indicates that the AF area display mark 4V
4Z (FIG. 4) and the through screen are turned off, and a black screen is displayed. In step S211, image preprocessing is performed. This image pre-processing is the same as the above-described image pre-processing performed in step S203. When the image preprocessing in step S211 is completed, the image data on which the image preprocessing has been performed is sent to the compression circuit 32 (FIG. 3), and the JP
Image post-processing for compressing data at a predetermined ratio by the EG method is performed (step S212).

When the freeze screen is displayed on the display LCD 3 in step S213, in step S214, the display of the processing icon 71 (FIG. 7) is turned on. In step S215, the CPU 21 assigns a predetermined image data name to the compressed image data, and starts recording the image data on the recording medium 34. The time until the recording of the image data ends is the display time of the predetermined freeze screen. In step S216 during the recording process on the recording medium 34, it is determined whether to extend the freeze screen display, and it is determined that the freeze screen display is extended (step S2).
The freeze screen display is extended in Y) of step 16 and step S217. It is determined in step S216 that extension is not performed
(N in step S216) and the process proceeds to step S218.

In step S218, the recording medium 34
It is determined whether or not to delete the image data recorded in.
When it is determined that the image data is to be erased (Y in step S218), the process proceeds to step S219, and the image data recorded and started in step S215 is erased. On the other hand, when it is determined not to delete (N in step S218),
Proceed to step S221.

In step S221, the recording medium 34
It is determined whether or not the recording to has been completed. When it is determined that the processing has not been completed (N in step S221), step S2
16 and it is determined that the processing has been completed (step S221).
Y) and the process proceeds to step S222. In step S222, it is determined whether to delete the image data recorded on the recording medium 34. When it is determined that the image data is to be erased (Y in step S222), the process proceeds to step S223. After the image data recorded and started to be recorded in step S215 is erased, the process proceeds to step S220. On the other hand, when it is determined not to erase (N in step S222), the process proceeds to step S224. In step S224, it is checked whether the time is up. Step S2
24 has not timed out (N in step S222)
Returns to step S222 when it is determined that the time is up (Y in step S222)
Proceeds to step S223.

In step S220, the display of the processing icon 71 (FIG. 7) is turned off, and it is determined whether a menu flag described later is set. If it is determined that it has not been set (N in step S220), A
The display of the F area display marks 4V to 4Z (FIG. 4) is turned on, and the processing in FIG. 8 ends. If it is determined in step S220 that the menu flag is set (Y in step S220), the process jumps to the menu processing described below.

When it is determined in step S208 that the full-press switch 23 has not been operated (N in step S208), it is checked in step S209 whether the time has elapsed. If it is determined in step S209 that the time is not up, AE and A
The result of both the F operations is stored in the CPU 21 and the process proceeds to step S20
The process returns to step 8 and waits until the full-press switch 23 is operated.
When it is determined that the time is up in step S209 (Y in step S209), the photographing process in FIG. 8 ends.

The menu processing of the electronic still camera 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. When the menu button 15 is operated, the menu processing of FIG. 10 is performed. In step S301,
A menu flag indicating that the menu processing is being executed is set in the CPU 21, and the display of the AF area display marks 4V to 4Z (FIG. 4) is turned off in step S302. Step S30
In 3, the setting change screen display is overlaid on the through screen. In step S304, setting processing for each of the setting items described above is performed. In step S305, it is determined whether the half-push switch 22 has been turned on, and a negative determination is made (step S30).
If the determination is affirmative (Y in step S305), the process proceeds to step S310.

In step S306, it is determined whether or not the menu button 15 has been operated to turn off the menu processing. If it is determined that the turning operation has been performed (Y in step S306), the process proceeds to step S307, and the overlay display of the setting change screen is turned off. On the other hand, step S3
If it is not determined in step 06 that the off operation has been performed (N in step S306), the process returns to step S304 and the setting process is repeated. In step S308, AF
After the display of the area display marks 4V to 4Z (FIG. 4) is turned on and the menu flag is reset in step S309, the processing in FIG. 10 ends.

In step S310, the state of the setting change screen, that is, information such as the page number being displayed and the setting item selected by the cursor is stored in the memory in the CPU 21. In the subsequent step S311, after the overlay display of the setting change screen is turned off, the process jumps to step S206 in the photographing process of FIG.

When an affirmative determination is made in step S220 in FIG. 9 (Y in step S220), the processing following step S312 in FIG. 10 is performed. In step S312, the state of the setting change screen stored in step S310 is read. In step S313, the overlay display of the setting change screen is turned on based on the read information of the setting change screen.
The setting process of 304 is performed.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the following operational effects are obtained. (1) When the menu button 15 is operated in a state where the through screen imaged through the photographing zoom lens 2 is displayed on the display LCD 3, the setting change screen is overlaid on the through screen. Therefore, it is possible to perform adjustment while confirming the result of actually taking an image through the photographing zoom lens 2 and performing image processing. In particular, when performing white balance adjustment, gradation correction, and exposure correction, an electronic camera with improved operability and easy to use can be obtained. (2) In addition to the above (1), when the release button 9 is half-pressed while the setting change screen is displayed on the display LCD 3 (step S305 in FIG. 10), the routine of the photographing process is immediately performed (FIG. 8). Jumping to) and taking a picture with full press. Therefore, when a photo opportunity comes while the setting change is being performed while looking through the through screen, the photographing can be immediately performed without missing the photo opportunity. (3) In the case of the above (2), when the photographing process is started, the state of the setting change screen at that time is stored, the display of the setting change screen is temporarily turned off, and a predetermined screen during the photographing process is displayed. I do. When the photographing process is completed, the stored state of the setting change screen is read out, and the display of the same setting change screen at the time when the release button 9 is operated is automatically restored. An electronic camera which is easier to use than when the screen state is not restored can be obtained. (4) On the setting change screen, setting items are grouped by a predetermined number and displayed in a menu format for each group. One page is composed of a predetermined number of grouped setting items, and a setting change screen is composed of a plurality of pages. Therefore, in consideration of the display resolution of the display LCD 3 and the visibility when displayed on the display LCD 3, the number of setting items that can be displayed on one screen on the display LCD 3 can be determined to be an ideal number. As a result, even when the number of setting items in the menu is large, the pages are divided and classified, so that it is easy to manage, and the operability is improved to be easy to use. (5) On the setting change screen, AF area selection buttons 19a to 19d are used as pointing members for moving the cursor.
Was also used. Therefore, the number of buttons can be reduced as compared with the case where a new pointing member is added, and the cost can be reduced. Also, a shooting distance button 11, a flash mode button 1
2. Since the image quality button 13, the zoom operation switch 16, and the like are not used as a pointing member for moving the cursor on the setting change screen, the camera setting by the above-described buttons and switches can be performed even while the setting change screen is displayed. it can.

In the above description, the case where the photographing process is performed in a state where the setting change screen is displayed on the display LCD 3 so as to be superimposed on the through screen has been described. However, only the setting change screen is displayed on the display LCD 3. The present invention can also be applied to a case where a setting change screen is displayed instead of a through screen.

In the above description, the menu button 15
The setting change screen is displayed when is operated. The display of the first item display section 52 on the setting change screen can be turned on / off using the monitor button 14. In this case, every time the monitor button 14 is operated, the through-screen display → the setting item of the first item display section 52 is superimposed on the through-screen, and the overlay display → the display LCD
The display on the display LCD 3 is cyclically switched as shown in the following order: OFF → display through screen →→. As described above, when the icon representing the setting item is displayed on the first item display section 52, the icon representing the set state is displayed. By turning on, the photographer can see the display to know the setting state of the camera. For example, when “bulb” is set as described above for white balance adjustment, an icon representing “bulb” is displayed instead of “WB”. The photographer can see from the display of "bulb" that the white balance adjustment is set so as to be performed in accordance with the illumination light from the bulb.
The setting items displayed by the monitor button 14 show the image capturing conditions and image processing conditions set other than the default.

The correspondence between each component in the claims and each component in the embodiment of the present invention will be described.
26 is an imaging device, display LCD 3 is a display means, AF area selection buttons 19a to 19d are pointing members and operation members, and image processing CPUs 29 and 21 are display control means, display switching means, first and second display means. In addition, the CPU 21 sets the items displayed on the first item display section 52 as the first setting items, and the items displayed on the second item display section 56 as the sub-items in the setting control means, the control means, and the storage means. In addition, the state in which the setting item is displayed on the first item display section 52 by the monitor button 14 is set to the first display state, and the first item display section 52 is set by the menu button 15.
And the state in which the setting items are displayed on the second item display section 56 is the second display state, the setting change screen is the setting means, the monitor button 14 is the first operation member, and the menu button 15 is the second operation state. Each corresponds to an operation member.

[0058]

According to the present invention as described in detail above, the following effects can be obtained. (1) According to the first aspect of the present invention, a setting item and an icon representing the setting item are selected using a pointing member for selecting an area used for detecting a focus adjustment state. It is possible to suppress an increase in cost as compared with a case where a pointing member is provided. In addition, since it is different from the pointing member for detecting the focus adjustment state, for example, it is not used also as another operating member for switching the flash mode or performing the zoom operation, the flash mode switching or the zoom operation while selecting the setting item is performed. Can be set. (2) According to the second to fifth aspects of the present invention, the start of the photographing process is performed in a state where the sub-item or the second setting item set by the first setting item setting means is displayed. It was tolerated. Therefore, for example, when a photo opportunity comes in the middle of setting the setting items, shooting can be started immediately without missing the photo opportunity, so that a camera with good operability can be obtained. (3) In the invention described in claim 4, in addition to the above (2),
When the photographing process is started, the information of the sub-item and the second setting item set by the setting means of the first setting item is stored and the display is temporarily turned off. The display is turned on again based on. Therefore, when the predetermined screen is displayed during the shooting processing, the predetermined screen during the shooting processing is easier to see than when the display of the setting items and sub-items is kept on. Further, after the photographing process is completed, the display of the original setting items and sub-items is restored, so that it becomes easier to use as compared with a case where the display is newly turned on.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIGS. 1A and 1B are diagrams illustrating an appearance of an electronic still camera according to an embodiment when the electronic still camera is stored and when the electronic still camera is carried, wherein FIG. 1A is a diagram viewed from above, and FIG.

2A and 2B are views showing the appearance of the camera of FIG. 1 at the time of normal shooting, wherein FIG. 2A is a view seen from the front, FIG.
(c) is a view seen from behind.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing circuit blocks of the electronic still camera according to one embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a through image and a mark representing a focus adjustment area.

FIG. 5A illustrates a state where page 1 is selected.
(b) is a diagram illustrating a state in which an item related to white balance adjustment is selected.

6A is a diagram illustrating a second item display unit, and FIG. 6B is a diagram illustrating a state where page 2 is selected.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an icon during a shooting process.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a photographing process.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating image preprocessing.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating menu processing.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Electronic still camera, 2 ... Shooting zoom lens, 3 ... Display LCD, 4 ... Flashing device, 4V-4Z ... AF area mark, 8 ... Main switch, 9 ... Release button, 11 ... Shooting distance button, 12 ... Flash mode Button, one
5 Menu button, 16 Zoom operation switch,
17: selection dial, 19a-19d: AF area selection button, 21: CPU, 22: half-press switch,
23: Full-press switch, 26: CCD,
29: image processing CPU, 31: display image creation circuit, 32: compression circuit, 34: recording medium,
36: Focus detection / adjustment device, 37 ...
Zoom lens driving device 38 photometric device 51
Page number display section, 52: first item display section, 53: tag display section, 54: first operation explanation display section, 55: second operation explanation display section,
56: second item display section, 71: processing icon,
72: keep icon, 73: delete icon

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An electronic camera for capturing a subject image by an imaging device through a taking lens, performing predetermined image processing on the taken subject image, and recording the subject image on a recording medium, wherein a focus adjustment state by the taking lens is detected. A pointing member for selecting an arbitrary region from a plurality of predetermined regions provided in advance, a display unit for displaying the image after the image processing, a setting item for setting a shooting condition, and Display control means for displaying at least one of the icons representing the setting items on the display means; and when setting the shooting conditions, the setting items and the setting items displayed by the display control means using the pointing member. And a setting control means for selecting and setting at least one of the icons representing the icons. camera. 2. An electronic camera which captures a subject image according to set photographing conditions and image processing and records the image on a recording medium, a display means for displaying the image after the image processing, the photographing condition and the image processing. Has a plurality of setting items each having a plurality of sub-items, each of which includes a first setting item and a second setting item which is larger than the first setting item, and selects and sets the sub-item. Means, an operation member to which a manual operation is applied, and a first display state for displaying, on the display means, a sub-item of the first setting item set by the setting means based on the operation of the operation member. A display switching means for switching between a second display state in which the second setting item is displayed on the display means; and a photographing operation in a state in which the display setting means has switched to the second display state. Electronic camera according to a controlling means for allowing the start of the process. 3. An electronic camera that captures an image of a subject according to set photographing conditions and image processing and records the image on a recording medium, a display monitor that displays the image after the image processing, the photographing condition and the image processing. Has a plurality of setting items each having a plurality of sub-items, each of which includes a first setting item and a second setting item which is larger than the first setting item, and selects and sets the sub-item. Means, first display means for displaying sub-items of the first setting item set by the setting means on the display monitor, and first operation member for turning on / off the first display means Second display means for displaying the second setting item on the display monitor; and second means for turning on / off the second display means irrespective of the on / off state of the first display means. Operation members Control means for permitting the start of the photographing process in a state where the second setting item is displayed by the second display means based on an operation by the second operation member. Electronic camera. 4. The electronic camera according to claim 2, wherein storage means for storing information of a sub-item set by the setting means of the first setting item and information of the second setting item; When the start of the photographing process is allowed, the information is stored in the storage unit, and the display of the sub-item and the second setting item of the first setting item set by the setting unit is temporarily turned off. An electronic camera, comprising: display control means for turning on the display again based on the information stored in the storage means when the photographing processing is completed. 5. The electronic camera according to claim 2, wherein the second setting items include all image processing items that can be set by an operator using the electronic camera.