JP2003224764A - Digital camera - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a digital camera in which erroneous photography due to high sensitivity caused by reduction of recordable image size is reduced. <P>SOLUTION: Display for preventing the erroneous photography from being caused by restriction or the like caused by high sensitivity setting is performed in the digital camera for achieving the high sensitivity setting by mixture of pixels. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a digital camera for photographing a subject by forming an image on a solid-state image sensor.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Recently, there has been a digital camera for photographing a subject on a solid-state image pickup device composed of a plurality of unit light receiving elements arranged two-dimensionally and taking a picture to obtain image data representing the subject. In addition to the miniaturization and cost reduction of the unit light receiving element, it has become widespread. In these digital cameras, the ISO (Inte
national Organization fo
The exposure control is performed according to the sensitivity that is set by selecting the r Standardization value.

In these digital cameras, when the sensitivity setting is high, a plurality of unit light receiving elements constituting the solid-state image pickup device are provided with a plurality of brightness information obtained by a predetermined number of adjacent unit light receiving elements. It is conceivable to integrate each of the obtained predetermined number of pieces of luminance information and perform pixel mixing to obtain one piece of luminance information to realize high sensitivity. For example, in a digital camera in which the solid-state image sensor is composed of 6 million unit light-receiving elements, that is, in a digital camera having a recordable image size of 6 megapixels, when high-sensitivity shooting equivalent to ISO 800 is designated, 4 One unit light receiving element is integrated and regarded as one unit light receiving element, and the recordable image size is 1.5 megapixels.

[0004]

However, since the correlation between the sensitivity setting and the recordable image size is unfamiliar to many users, the recordable image size is 6 megabytes. Taking a digital camera with pixels as an example, if you set a high sensitivity when you want to record an image with an image size of 3 megapixels, the recordable image size will be 1.5 megapixels. The image size (3 megapixels) is not photographed, and as a result, there is a problem that a photograph is taken with an image quality coarser than the intended image quality.

In view of the above circumstances, it is an object of the present invention to provide a digital camera which is capable of preventing photographing errors due to high sensitivity due to reduction of recordable image size.

[0006]

A first digital camera of the present invention for attaining the above object is configured such that an object is formed on a solid-state image pickup device composed of a plurality of unit light-receiving devices arranged two-dimensionally. A digital camera that takes a picture by imaging and obtains image data representing this subject. In a digital camera that controls exposure according to the set sensitivity, a sensitivity setting operator for setting the sensitivity and a recorded image size are set. Image size setting operator to be set, and a plurality of luminance information obtained by a plurality of unit light receiving elements constituting the solid-state image pickup device, which operates when a predetermined sensitivity is set by the operation of the sensitivity setting operator. Is integrated for each predetermined number of luminance information obtained by a predetermined number of adjacent unit light receiving elements to form one luminance information, and the recordable image size is determined by a predetermined high sensitivity pair. A pixel mixing unit that reduces the image size to achieve this predetermined high sensitivity, and sets the recording image size in accordance with the operation of the image size setting operator, and the predetermined high sensitivity by the operation of the sensitivity setting operator. Image size setting unit that changes the recorded image size to this high sensitivity compatible image size when the recorded image size larger than the high sensitivity compatible image size has been set until then, When the recorded image size is changed to the high-sensitivity compatible image size by receiving the predetermined high-sensitivity setting by the operation of the sensitivity setting operator by the section, it is changed to the high-sensitivity compatible image size of the recorded image size. And a display unit for displaying the information.

In the first digital camera of the present invention, when the predetermined high sensitivity is set, the recordable image size is reduced to the high sensitivity compatible image size by the pixel mixture. If the recorded image size set before setting is larger than this high sensitivity compatible image size, the recorded image size is changed to the high sensitivity compatible image size, and the recorded image size this time is changed. , The display means that the value has been changed to a value lower than the set value. Therefore, the first aspect of the present invention
According to this digital camera, if the recorded image size is changed by setting a predetermined high sensitivity, it is possible to know that before the shooting, so the high sensitivity due to the reduction of the recordable image size It is possible to prevent shooting mistakes caused by the change in the quality.

A second digital camera of the present invention for attaining the above object forms an image of a subject on a solid-state image pickup device composed of a plurality of unit light-receiving elements arranged two-dimensionally, and images this subject. A digital camera that takes a picture to obtain the image data that represents, and in a digital camera that performs exposure control according to the set sensitivity, a sensitivity setting operator that sets the sensitivity and an image size setting operation that sets the recorded image size. And a plurality of brightness information obtained by a plurality of unit light-receiving elements constituting the above solid-state image pickup device, when a predetermined sensitivity is set by the operation of the sensitivity setting operator. The recordable image size is reduced to a predetermined high-sensitivity compatible image size by pixel mixture in which a predetermined number of brightness information obtained by the unit light receiving element is integrated into one brightness information. The pixel mixing unit that realizes the predetermined high sensitivity and the recording image size is set according to the operation of the image size setting operator, and the predetermined high sensitivity is set by the operation of the sensitivity setting operator. , The image size setting unit that changes the recorded image size to this high sensitivity compatible image size when the recorded image size larger than the high sensitivity compatible image size is set up to then, and the predetermined high sensitivity is set. It is characterized by comprising a display section for displaying that the predetermined high sensitivity is set while in the state of being present.

In the second digital camera of the present invention, with the above configuration, the display indicating that the sensitivity is set to the predetermined high sensitivity is displayed until the setting is released. Therefore, according to the second digital camera of the present invention, attention is always paid to the fact that the current sensitivity setting is set to a predetermined high sensitivity, and it is possible to eliminate misunderstandings regarding the recorded image size, and thus recording is possible. It is possible to prevent shooting errors due to high sensitivity due to reduction of various image sizes.

A third digital camera of the present invention for attaining the above object forms an image of a subject on a solid-state image pickup device composed of a plurality of unit light-receiving elements arranged two-dimensionally, and images this subject. A digital camera that takes a picture to obtain the image data that represents, and in a digital camera that performs exposure control according to the set sensitivity, a sensitivity setting operator that sets the sensitivity and an image size setting operation that sets the recorded image size. And a plurality of brightness information obtained by a plurality of unit light-receiving elements constituting the solid-state imaging device, which operates when the sensitivity is set to a predetermined value by operating the sensitivity setting operator. By combining pixels for each predetermined number of luminance information obtained by the unit light receiving element of 1 to obtain one luminance information, the recordable image size is reduced to a predetermined high sensitivity compatible image size. A pixel mixing unit that realizes a predetermined high sensitivity of the lever and a recording image size is set according to the operation of the image size setting operator, and the predetermined high sensitivity is set by the operation of the sensitivity setting operator. Then, if a recording image size larger than the high sensitivity compatible image size has been set until then, the image size setting section that changes the recorded image size to this high sensitivity compatible image size and the high sensitivity compatible image size are enlarged. The electronic zoom calculation unit that realizes the maximum electronic zoom function and the image size setting unit receives the predetermined high sensitivity setting by the operation of the sensitivity setting operator, and changes the recording image size to the high sensitivity compatible image. And a display unit that indicates that the electronic zoom function cannot be used when the size is changed.

In the third digital camera of the present invention, in the electronic zoom function, the image size determined by the enlargement range set on the solid-state image pickup device is the high-sensitivity compatible image size in order to prevent deterioration of image quality. It is only available if it is larger. As a result, in the third digital camera of the present invention, when the predetermined high sensitivity is set, both the recordable image size on the solid-state image sensor and the set recorded image size correspond to high sensitivity. Since the image size is reached and the electronic zoom function cannot be used, a display indicating that the electronic zoom function cannot be used is displayed. Therefore, according to the third digital camera of the present invention, since it is possible to take a picture by knowing that the electronic zoom function will be disabled when a predetermined high sensitivity is set, it is possible to record. It is possible to prevent shooting errors due to high sensitivity due to image size reduction.

According to a fourth digital camera of the present invention for achieving the above object, an image of a subject is formed on a solid-state image pickup device composed of a plurality of unit light receiving elements arranged two-dimensionally, and the subject is imaged. A digital camera for taking a picture that obtains image data to be represented, which performs exposure control according to a set sensitivity and has selected and selected one of a plurality of shooting modes with different program diagrams. In a digital camera that performs exposure control based on a program diagram according to the shooting mode, a sensitivity setting operator that sets the sensitivity, an image size setting operator that sets the recording image size, and a shooting mode selection operation that selects the shooting mode A high-sensitivity shooting mode is selected by operating the camera and the shooting mode selection operator, and the operation of the sensitivity setting operator is performed. It operates when the sensitivity is set to a predetermined value, and a plurality of pieces of brightness information obtained by a plurality of unit light receiving elements that form the solid-state image pickup device are converted into a predetermined number obtained by a predetermined number of adjacent unit light receiving elements. Pixel mixing unit that reduces the recordable image size to a predetermined high-sensitivity image size by pixel mixing by integrating each of the brightness information of 1 to realize the predetermined high sensitivity; The sensitivity is set according to the operation of the selection operator, and the sensitivity is set when another shooting mode is selected from the high sensitivity compatible shooting mode that was previously selected by operating the shooting mode selection operator. And a sensitivity setting unit for returning to a predetermined initial sensitivity.

In the fourth digital camera of the present invention, with the above-mentioned structure, it is possible to prevent the predetermined high sensitivity set in the high sensitivity compatible shooting mode from being accidentally dragged to a mode other than the high sensitivity compatible shooting mode. It Therefore,
According to the fourth digital camera of the present invention, it is possible to avoid unintentionally changing the sensitivity that is always used in a mode other than the high-sensitivity shooting mode. It is possible to prevent shooting mistakes caused by the change in the quality.

Here, the sensitivity setting section of the fourth digital camera of the present invention is such that the predetermined normal sensitivity that has been set by the operation of the sensitivity setting operator when in the high-sensitivity shooting mode. From the above, the sensitivity is changed to the predetermined high sensitivity, and thereafter, when another shooting mode is selected from the above high sensitivity compatible shooting modes selected by the operation of the shooting mode selection operator, the sensitivity is changed. It is preferable that the sensitivity is set to the normal sensitivity when the high-sensitivity shooting mode is selected again by operating the shooting mode selection operator while returning to the initial sensitivity.

This is convenient when there is a normal sensitivity that is always used in the high-sensitivity shooting mode.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Common embodiments of the first, second, third, and fourth digital cameras of the present invention will be described below.

FIG. 1 is a front view (a), a left side view (b), a rear view (c) and a top view (d) of a digital camera 1 of this embodiment.

In the front view shown in FIG. 1 (a), the camera housing 11, the lens barrel 13 incorporating the taking lens 13a, the viewfinder objective window 16, the flash light receiving window 14, the time until taking a picture when the self-timer function is used. There are shown a self-timer lamp 15 whose blinking speed changes in accordance with the above, and a photographing mode dial 26 for switching six kinds of photographing modes described later. The flash light receiving window 14 is a window for guiding the flash light to a flash light receiving sensor that detects the light amount of the flash light reflected and returned by the subject when the flash is emitted. The digital camera 1 is equipped with a real image type zoom finder.

The left side view shown in FIG.
In addition to the lens barrel 13 shown in (a), a video output terminal 17 for outputting captured image data to a projector or the like, a Universal Ser used for transmitting the image data to a personal computer or the like.
USB to which ial Bus (USB) cable is connected
Terminal 18, external power supply terminal 19 and battery lid 11a are shown.

In the rear view shown in FIG. 1 (c), a liquid crystal panel 20 for displaying an image, a liquid crystal panel start button 22 for turning on / off the image display by the liquid crystal panel, a viewfinder eyepiece window 25, the above-mentioned photographing mode. The dial 26, the cross key 28 operated when selecting a variation and zooming, the menu / OK switch 2 used for displaying a menu image on the liquid crystal panel and confirming the menu.
7, a flash device start button 30 that is operated when the pop-up flash device is used by popping it up on the upper surface of the camera housing, and a main switch 23 are shown.

Further, in the rear view shown in FIG. 1 (c), in order to determine which one of the "photographing recording function" and the "image data reproducing function" provided in the digital camera 1 is selected. The function selection lever 24 that is operated to is also shown. When the function selection lever 24 is moved to the upper side, the'shooting recording function 'is selected, and when the function selection lever 24 is moved to the lower side, the'image data reproduction' is displayed. Function 'is selected.

The top view shown in FIG. 1D is shown in FIG.
In addition to the lens barrel 13 shown in FIG. 3, a pop-up type flash device 31 and a release button 29 are shown.

The digital camera 1 of the present embodiment will be described later in detail, but a CCD (Charg) is used as a solid-state image sensor.
e Coupled Device) A digital still camera with a built-in zoom lens that uses an image sensor.
The zoom function uses both optical zoom and electronic zoom. In this digital camera 1, the main switch 2
When 3 is turned on, the lens cover (not shown) provided on the front surface of the camera and covering the lens is opened, and the lens barrel 13 is extended to a predetermined position. When the main switch 23 is turned off, the extended lens barrel 13 is retracted inside the camera, and the taking lens 13a is covered by the lens cover.

FIG. 2 is an internal block diagram of the digital camera of this embodiment. In addition, in this digital camera 1,
Flash device 31, various switches and USB terminal 18
I / O port controller that receives signals from
A flash light receiving sensor, a motor driven to perform optical zoom and focusing, a motor driver for controlling the motor, etc. are provided, but the illustration here is
It is omitted because it is irrelevant to the present invention.

In FIG. 2, a CPU 39 for controlling the entire digital camera 1 and a charge for forming an image of a subject through the imaging lens 13a according to an instruction from the CPU 39.
Coupled Device (CCD) image sensor 34
Is driven to output an image signal representing a subject image from the CCD image pickup device 34, an amplifier 32 for amplifying the output image signal, and the image signal amplified by the amplifier 32 as a digital image. An A / D conversion circuit 33 for converting into data is shown.

Further, FIG. 2 shows an SDRAM which is a memory.
35, an image input controller 36 for storing digital image data in the SDRAM 35, an image signal processing circuit 37 for processing the digital image data stored in the SDRAM 35 in a compressible manner, digital image data processed in a compressible manner Processing circuit 38, C for compressing
A media controller 41 for recording the compressed digital image data converted into a file format by the PU 39 on the recording medium 40, a VRAM 42 for storing the uncompressed digital image data transferred from the SDRAM 35,
A video encoder 44 that adds a synchronization signal to digital image data before compression stored in the VRAM 42 to create a video signal, and a video signal created by the video encoder 44 is converted from a digital signal to an analog signal and amplified. The image display controller 43 is also shown. The liquid crystal panel 20 is controlled by the image display control device 43.
Then the image is displayed.

Further, in FIG. 2, an AF detection circuit 46, CC for detecting the contrast of an image based on the image signal output from the CCD image pickup device 34 to perform focusing.
In addition to the AE detection circuit 45 that detects the brightness information from the image based on the image signal output from the D image pickup device 34, the function selection lever 24, the main switch 23, and the cross character used for the zoom operation shown in FIG. Keys 28, release button 29, and mode dial 26 are also shown.

The mode dial 26 has a "portrait" mode, a "manual" mode, a "sports" mode, and an "A" mode.
It is a dial that is operated when selecting one of the six modes, which are the "UTO (auto)" mode, the "landscape shooting" mode, and the "night view shooting" mode.
In'Manual 'mode and'AUTO' mode, the exposure control is performed according to the sensitivity that is set or the default sensitivity, and it is in'Portrait shooting 'mode,'Sports' mode, 'Landscape shooting' mode. , In the'night view photography 'mode, exposure control is performed according to different program charts. This digital camera 1
The zoom function of is performed by using both the optical zoom and the electronic zoom, and by pressing the key with the '△' mark among the cross keys 28 shown in FIG. 1, the telephoto (TELE) side, By pressing the key with the '▽' mark attached, the zoom is made to the wide-angle (WIDE) side. Assuming that the zoom position is currently adjusted to the specified zoom position within the optical zoom range, if you continue to press the '△' mark, zoom-in by extending the lens barrel will occur until the optical zoom-up limit is reached. When the limit of the optical zoom-up is exceeded, the CPU 39 detects the level of depression of the key, and electronic zoom-up is performed this time. This electronic zoom-up detects the level of this depression and the CCD image sensor 3
The expansion range on 4 is determined by calculation.

The operation of the digital camera 1 will be described below.

The digital camera 1 has a'photographing recording function 'and an'image data reproducing function'. Regarding the photographing function of the photographing recording functions, an analog image output from the CCD image pickup device 34 is used. The data is converted into digital image data by the A / D conversion circuit 33 and S
It is stored in the DRAM 35, and then the image signal processing circuit 37.
The digital image data processed in (1) is reprocessed by the video encoder 44 and the like via the VRAM 42 and then displayed on the liquid crystal panel 20 as an image. In this way, the image sent from the CCD image sensor 31 is
It is displayed on the LCD panel as a through image. Note that one of the recording function and the'image data reproducing function 'is irrelevant to the present invention and will not be described.

Here, the digital camera 1 of the present embodiment
Configurable IS for a configurable recording image size
A table showing O sensitivity is shown below. The recordable image size of the digital camera 1 at normal sensitivity is 6 megapixels.

Table 1 shows 6 megapixels (6M), 3 megapixels (3
M), 1 megapixel (1M), and 0.4 megapixel (VGA standard) configurable ISO
Sensitivity is shown and high sensitivity ISO 800, 16
For 00, it is shown that the setting of the recording image size is limited to the case of 1 megapixel.

[0033]

[Table 1]

This is because in the digital camera 1 of the present embodiment, a plurality of pieces of brightness information obtained by a plurality of unit light receiving elements forming the solid-state image pickup element are converted into four pieces of brightness obtained by four adjacent unit light receiving elements. This is because high sensitivity is realized by pixel mixture in which each piece of information is integrated into one piece of luminance information. Therefore, the original recordable image size is 6
If the number of megapixels is reduced to 1/4 and the set recording image size exceeds 1.5 megapixels,
This is because shooting is performed only at 1.5 megapixels. In the present embodiment, 1 megapixel is used as the recordable image size as a result of pixel mixture instead of the 1.5 megapixel, and the 1 megapixel corresponds to the high-sensitivity image size according to the present invention. To do. For this reason, when the set recording image size is 1M, high sensitivity can be set. Further, originally, high sensitivity setting should be possible even when the recorded image size is set to 0.4 megapixels (VGA standard).
Here, it cannot be set.

In the digital camera 1 of the present embodiment,
A table showing the ISO sensitivity that can be set for the settable shooting modes is shown below.

Table 2 shows the shooting modes that can be set.
The ISO sensitivity that can be set in each of the "Auto" mode, the "Manual" mode, the "Portrait" mode, the "Sports" mode, the "Landscape" mode, and the "Nightscape" mode is shown. ISO sensitivity (100-1600) can be selected, but in modes other than'manual 'mode, ISO sensitivity
It is shown that only the sensitivity of 200 can be selected.

[0037]

[Table 2]

FIG. 3 shows the digital camera of the present embodiment.
It is a figure which shows the state of a mode dial and the image displayed on a liquid crystal panel.

At the upper left corner of FIG. 3, a mode dial is
The state of being set to the'manual 'mode is shown, and the state of the mode dial being set to the'auto' mode is shown near the lower left of FIG.

In FIGS. 3 (a) to 3 (h), the image displayed on the liquid crystal panel 20 is the menu / O shown in FIG.
It is shown that the operation is being changed by operating the K button 27 and the mode dial 26.

After pressing the main switch 23 shown in FIG. 1 to select the'shooting record 'function by the function selection lever 24 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the mode shown in the upper left of FIG. The operation of the digital camera 1 will be described while describing the case where "manual" is selected by the dial 26 (see FIG. 1).

First, since the "manual" mode is selected by the mode dial 26, the through image shown in FIG. 3 (a) is displayed on the liquid crystal panel 20.

On the right side of the upper end of FIG.
In addition to displaying "3M" indicating that the image has been recorded with a recording image size of megapixels, a "manual" mode mark is displayed on the upper left side of FIG. It should be noted that this 3 megapixel is the default of the menu "pixel size" described later.

When the menu / OK button 27 shown in FIG. 1 is pressed, the image shown in FIG. 3B is displayed on the liquid crystal panel 20.

FIG. 3B shows a state in which a plurality of menus that can be selected in the "manual" mode are displayed. Here, the menu'sensitivity 'is selected by default, and in order to show this, the display'sensitivity' shown on the left side of the middle part of FIG. 3 (b) is lit up and the upper end of FIG. 3 (b) is displayed. The'sensitivity 'is also displayed on the left side. Note that the display'pixel size 'for selecting the menu'pixel size' is shown on the upper right of the display'sensitivity 'shown in FIG.
In the menu'Pixel size ', the recorded image size can be set. Descriptions of the other menus will be omitted because they are not related to the present invention, but the selection of these menus is performed by operating the cross key 28 shown in FIG. You can make a decision by moving to
This is done by pressing the OK button 27.

In FIG. 3C, the menu / OK button 27 is pressed down (determined) while the default menu “sensitivity” is lighted up, and the ISO sensitivity (100, 200, 400, 80
0, 1600), the image display on the liquid crystal panel 20 when the ISO sensitivity 400 is selected is shown.

In FIG. 3D, in order to select the ISO sensitivity 800, which is a high sensitivity, the light-up is set to ISO sensitivity 4
The image displayed on the liquid crystal panel when moved from 00 to ISO sensitivity 800 is shown. This movement is shown in FIG.
This is done by operating the cross key 28 shown in. In addition, the display on the right side of the display '800' and the display '1600' (1
The meaning of M) 'will be described later.

In FIG. 3E, the recordable image size is 3 by the pixel mixture by the selection of the ISO sensitivity 800.
A message indicating that the number of pixels has been reduced from 1 megapixel to 1 megapixel (see FIG. 3 (a)).
M) 'is displayed on the liquid crystal panel,
Thus, the default selected recording image size of 3 megapixels is changed to 1 megapixel by this high sensitivity setting. In addition, the display of this message is
This is continued until the menu / OK button 27 shown in FIG. 1 is pressed.

In FIG. 3F, after the menu / OK button 27 is pressed for the message in FIG. 3E,
An image displayed on the liquid crystal panel 20 is shown.

Here, the electronic zoom function of the digital camera 1 will be described with reference to the table below.

Table 3 shows combinations of selectable recording image sizes and ISO sensitivity that can use the electronic zoom function of the digital camera 1.

[0052]

[Table 3]

As shown in Table 3, in this digital camera 1, when the ISO sensitivities 800 and 1600 are selected, the electronic zoom function cannot be used for all recorded image sizes, and the ISO sensitivities are less than 800. However, when the recording image size of 6 megapixels is selected, the electronic zoom function is disabled.

This is because the digital zoom function of the digital camera 1 is used when the image size determined by the enlarging range set on the solid-state image pickup device is larger than 1 megapixel in order to prevent deterioration of image quality. This is because only the ISO sensitivity of 800 or more is selected, the recordable image size on the solid-state image sensor is reduced to 1 megapixel, and the already-selected record image size is reduced. When is 6 megapixels or 3 megapixels, the recorded image size is changed to 1 megapixel. Therefore, when the high sensitivity is set, the recordable image size and the recorded image size become the same size, and the electronic zoom function cannot be used. In addition, ISO
When the recording image data selected is 6 megapixels when the sensitivity is less than 800, the electronic zoom cannot be used for the same reason. Further, when the selected recording image data is 0.4 megapixel (VGA standard), when the ISO sensitivity is 800 or more,
As described above, since the recorded image size is changed to 1 megapixel, the electronic zoom function cannot be used. Further, when the ISO sensitivity is less than 800 and the selected recorded image data is 3 megapixels or 1 megapixel, the enlargement range is selected from 6 megapixels of the entire solid-state image sensor. Electronic zoom up to the pixel size of the image data is possible, if the ISO sensitivity is less than 800 and the selected recorded image data is 0.4 megapixels, from 6 megapixels of the entire solid-state image sensor Electronic zoom up to 1 megapixel is possible.

The description will be continued below, returning to FIG. 3 (f).

When the display of the message'pixel → (1M) 'shown in FIG. 3 (e) is terminated by pressing the menu / OK button 27, the selected ISO sensitivity shown in FIG. 3 (f) becomes high. A message “electronic zoom cannot be performed” indicating that the electronic zoom function cannot be used due to the sensitivity is displayed on the liquid crystal panel 20.

The message shown in FIG. 3 (f) can also be terminated by pressing the menu / OK button 27.

When the message shown in FIG. 3 (f) is terminated by the menu / OK button 27, the selected ISO
The display “ISO” indicating that the sensitivity is high is shown in FIG. 3 together with the display “1M” which is the current recording image size.
It is displayed near the center of the upper end of (g). In addition, the mark indicating the'manual 'mode, which is the current selection mode,
It is displayed on the upper left side of FIG.

Here, as shown near the lower left of FIG.
When the mode dial 26 is set to'AUTO ', as shown in FIG. 3 (h), the display'ISO' displayed in FIG. 3 (g) is omitted. This is because the shooting mode was switched from the “manual” mode to the “AUTO” mode, and the sensitivity was set to the default ISO sensitivity of 200 as shown in Table 2.

Here again, the mode dial changes to "AU".
When the TO mode is switched to the "Manual" mode, the sensitivity is the normal sensitivity that was selected immediately before the high sensitivity setting in the immediately preceding "Manual" mode, which is ISO.
It will be set to 400.

FIG. 4 shows ISO800 or ISO in the menu "sensitivity" in the "manual" mode.
The CP shown in FIG. 2 is activated when 1600 is selected.
7 is a flowchart of a routine executed by U.

In step 1 of the routine "high sensitivity setting process" shown in FIG. 4, it is judged whether or not the recorded image size before being set to the high sensitivity of ISO 800 or higher was 1 megapixel.

If it is determined in step S1 that the pixel size is not 1 megapixel, the process proceeds to step S2, and a message'pixel → (1M) 'indicating that the recording image size has been changed to 1 megapixel is displayed. . Then, the process proceeds to step S3 and waits for the menu / OK button 27 to be pressed.

In step S3, if the menu / OK button 27 is not pressed, the process returns to step S1, and if it is pressed, the process proceeds to step S4.

When it is determined in step S1 that the number of pixels is 1 megapixel, the process proceeds to step S4, and a message "electronic zoom cannot be performed" is displayed, which means that the electronic function cannot be used. Then, the process proceeds to step S5 and waits for the menu / OK button 27 to be pressed.

In step S5, if the menu / OK button 27 is not pressed, the process returns to step S1, and if it is pressed, the process proceeds to step S6.

At step S6, "ISO" indicating that the current sensitivity setting is high is displayed. After that, the process proceeds to step S7, and the current sensitivity is still I.
It is determined whether the SO is 800 or more.

In step S7, the sensitivity is ISO8.
If it is determined to be 00 or more, step S6 is repeated, and if it is determined to be less than ISO 800 in step S7, this routine is ended.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart of a routine "mode switching process" which is started when the photographing mode is switched by operating the mode dial 26.

In step S11 of this routine "mode switching process", it is determined whether or not this mode switching is switching from a mode other than the "manual" mode among the six kinds of photographing modes to the manual "mode. It

In step S11, "manual"
It is determined that it is not a mode other than the mode switch to the manual mode, that is, a mode switch between modes other than the "manual" mode, or a switch from the "manual" mode to a mode other than the "manual" mode. If so, step S13
Then, ISO200 (see Table 2), which is the default sensitivity, is set.

In step S11, "manual"
When it is determined that the mode other than the mode is switched to the manual 'mode, the process proceeds to step S12, and the normal sensitivity ISO400 (Fig. 3 (( c)
(See) is set.

As described above, in the digital camera 1 of the present embodiment, when a high sensitivity of ISO 800 or higher is set, the recorded image size set before the high sensitivity setting exceeds 1 megapixel. In this case, the recorded image size is changed to 1 megapixel, and a message indicating the change is displayed as an image until a response is received from a predetermined switch.

Further, in the digital camera 1 of the present embodiment, when a high sensitivity of ISO 800 or more is set, a message from the predetermined switch gives a message indicating that the electronic zoom function cannot be used. Is displayed, and thereafter, a mark indicating this is displayed while the high sensitivity is set.

Further, in the digital camera 1 of the present embodiment, when the mode is switched from the'manual 'mode to a mode other than the'manual' mode among the six kinds of photographing modes, the sensitivity is always ISO20.
Set to 0.

Further, in the digital camera 1 of the present embodiment, a high sensitivity of ISO 800 or higher is set in the'manual 'mode, and thereafter, when a mode other than the'manual' mode is selected, the sensitivity is set to ISO 200. . After that, when the'manual 'mode is selected again, the normal sensitivity ISO 400 selected immediately before the high sensitivity setting in the previous'manual' mode is set.

As a result, in the digital camera 1 of the present embodiment, it is possible to know unintentionally changing the recorded image size, unusable electronic zoom function, and the like before shooting or shooting operation due to the high sensitivity setting. Also, dragging of the set sensitivity value between shooting modes is prevented.

[0078]

As described above, according to the digital camera of the present invention, it is possible to prevent a photographing error due to the high sensitivity due to the reduction of the recordable image size.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view (a), a left side view (b), a rear view (c), and a top view (d) of a digital camera 1 according to the present embodiment.
Is.

FIG. 2 is an internal block diagram of the digital camera of this embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a state of a mode dial and an image displayed on a liquid crystal panel of the digital camera of this embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a routine that is started when ISO 800 or ISO 1600 is selected in the menu “sensitivity” in the “manual” mode and executed by the CPU shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a routine'mode switching process' which is started when the shooting mode is switched by operating the mode dial.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 digital camera 11 camera housing 11a Battery lid 13 lens barrel 13a shooting lens 14 Flash light receiving window 15 Self-timer lamp 16 Finder objective window 17 Video output terminal 18 USB terminal 19 External power supply terminal 20 LCD panel 22 LCD panel start switch 23 Main switch 24 Function selection lever 25 viewfinder eyepiece window 26 Shooting mode dial 27 Menu / OK switch 28 four-way controller 29 Release button 30 Flash device start button 31 Flash device 32 amplifier 33 A / D conversion circuit 34 CCD image sensor 35 SDRAM 36 Image input controller 37 Image signal processing circuit 38 Compression processing circuit 39 CPU 40 recording media 41 Media Controller 42 VRAM 43 Image display control device 44 video encoder 45 AE detection circuit 46 AF detection circuit

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Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A digital camera for taking a photograph by forming an image of a subject on a solid-state imaging device composed of a plurality of unit light-receiving elements arranged two-dimensionally to obtain image data representing the subject. In a digital camera that controls exposure according to the set sensitivity, a sensitivity setting operator that sets the sensitivity, an image size setting operator that sets the recorded image size, and a predetermined sensitivity by operating the sensitivity setting operator. Acts when set, a plurality of brightness information obtained by a plurality of unit light receiving elements constituting the solid-state imaging device, for each predetermined number of brightness information obtained by a predetermined number of adjacent unit light receiving elements A pixel mixing unit that reduces the recordable image size to a predetermined high-sensitivity compatible image size and realizes the predetermined high sensitivity by pixel combination that is integrated into one luminance information; The recording image size is set in accordance with the operation of the setting operator, and the predetermined high sensitivity is set by the operation of the sensitivity setting operator, and the recording image size larger than the high sensitivity compatible image size until then is set. An image size setting unit that changes the recorded image size to the high-sensitivity image size if set, and the image size setting unit receives the predetermined high sensitivity setting by the operation of the sensitivity setting operator and records the image. A digital camera, comprising: a display unit that displays that the image size has been changed to the high-sensitivity image size when the image size is changed to the high-sensitivity image size. 2. A digital camera for taking a picture by forming an image of a subject on a solid-state imaging device composed of a plurality of unit light-receiving elements arranged two-dimensionally to obtain image data representing the subject. In a digital camera that controls the exposure according to the set sensitivity, a sensitivity setting operator that sets the sensitivity, an image size setting operator that sets the recorded image size, and a predetermined sensitivity are set by operating the sensitivity setting operator. The plurality of brightness information obtained by the plurality of unit light receiving elements constituting the solid-state image pickup device are integrated for each predetermined number of brightness information obtained by a predetermined number of adjacent unit light receiving elements. A pixel mixing unit that reduces the recordable image size to a predetermined high-sensitivity image size by pixel mixing to obtain one luminance information, and the image size setting unit. The recording image size is set according to the operation of the operating element, and the recording image size larger than the high-sensitivity corresponding image size is set by receiving the predetermined high sensitivity setting by the operation of the sensitivity setting operating element. And an image size setting unit that changes the recorded image size to the high-sensitivity image size, and that the predetermined high sensitivity is set while the predetermined high sensitivity is set. A digital camera having a display section for displaying. 3. A digital camera for taking a picture by imaging a subject on a solid-state imaging device composed of a plurality of unit light-receiving elements arranged two-dimensionally to obtain image data representing the subject. In a digital camera that controls exposure according to the set sensitivity, a sensitivity setting operator that sets the sensitivity, an image size setting operator that sets the recorded image size, and a predetermined sensitivity by operating the sensitivity setting operator. Acts when set, a plurality of brightness information obtained by a plurality of unit light receiving elements constituting the solid-state imaging device, for each predetermined number of brightness information obtained by a predetermined number of adjacent unit light receiving elements A pixel mixing unit that reduces the recordable image size to a predetermined high-sensitivity compatible image size and realizes the predetermined high sensitivity by pixel combination that is integrated into one luminance information; The recording image size is set in accordance with the operation of the setting operator, and the predetermined high sensitivity is set by the operation of the sensitivity setting operator, and the recording image size larger than the high sensitivity compatible image size until then is set. An image size setting unit that changes the recorded image size to the high-sensitivity compatible image size if it has been set, and an electronic zoom calculation unit that realizes an electronic zoom function that maximizes the high-sensitivity compatible image size. When the image size setting unit receives the setting of the predetermined high sensitivity by the operation of the sensitivity setting operator and the recording image size is changed to the high sensitivity compatible image size, the electronic zoom function cannot be used. A digital camera, comprising: a display unit that displays the information.