JP2014049859A - Camera and camera system - Google Patents

Abstract

An operating state display is visually recognized together with a subject image.
An external viewfinder is attached to an accessory shoe in a camera. The lens barrel includes a fixed barrel 24, a rotary barrel 25, and a rectilinear barrel 26, and a photographing lens 27 is held therein. On the circumferential surface of the fixed cylinder 24, there are provided an AF display unit 29 that is turned on when focus is achieved, and a flash display unit 30 that is turned on when flash shooting is notified. The rotary cylinder 25 is fed out while rotating during focus adjustment. An object distance scale 31 is displayed on the circumferential surface of the rotary cylinder 25. The rectilinear cylinder 26 goes straight according to the rotation of the rotary cylinder 25. An indicator 32 indicating one point of the scale 31 is displayed on the circumferential surface of the rectilinear cylinder 26. In the field of view of the external viewfinder 12, an image of the AF display unit 29, the flash display unit 30, the subject distance scale 31, and the index 32 is visually recognized in addition to the image of the shooting frame indicating the shooting range.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a camera and a camera system.

  Conventionally, many digital cameras incorporate an optical viewfinder. The built-in optical viewfinder is provided with electrical display means such as an indicator. The display means displays the operation state of the camera at that time, such as focus adjustment, focal length, aperture value, and shutter speed.

  In recent years, many digital cameras omit the built-in optical viewfinder and instead provide a monitor such as an LCD on the back of the camera body to reduce costs and save space. In such a camera, the operation state is displayed superimposed on the through image displayed on the monitor.

  The photographer can take a picture in a stable posture by taking a picture through the optical viewfinder. In addition, the optical viewfinder can confirm the subject with a clear image that cannot be obtained with a monitor. Furthermore, the subject image can be clearly seen even in an environment under the hot sun that is difficult to see on a monitor.

For these reasons, optical finders are very popular. In view of this, some digital cameras have an external viewfinder that can be attached to and detached from the accessory shoe as an accessory. However, when the external viewfinder is used, the display of the operation state displayed on the monitor cannot be read. Therefore, a display mechanism of a digital camera in which an LED display unit for displaying an operation state is installed near the accessory shoe is known (Patent Document 1).
In addition, an imaging device, an external dedicated device, and an imaging system that include an electronic viewfinder (EVF) unit in an external viewfinder are known (Patent Document 2).

JP 2009-25550 A JP 2008-244676 A

  In the display mechanism of the digital camera described in Patent Document 1, light emission of the LED display unit is confirmed at a position where it can be visually recognized while outside the field of view of the external viewfinder. In this case, the eyes are slightly removed from the external viewfinder. If the eyes are kept apart as described above, for example, shooting while chasing the subject image cannot be performed, and there is a risk of missing a photo opportunity.

  In the invention described in Patent Document 2, a liquid crystal display unit, a connector for receiving a video signal, and the like are required, and the cost of the external finder increases. In addition, a connector is required on the body side, which increases the cost of the camera.

  In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a low-cost camera and camera system that are devised so that a display of an operation state can be visually recognized without taking a look away from the viewfinder.

  One aspect of a camera exemplifying the present invention is a camera having an optical axis different from that of a photographic lens and having an optical viewfinder that allows a subject image to be visually recognized by a virtual image or a real perspective image, or provided detachably. A display unit for displaying the operation state is provided in a part of the lens barrel so that the subject image is visually recognized in the field of view of the optical viewfinder.

  In the present invention, since the display unit for displaying the operation state of the camera is provided on a part of the lens barrel so that the object image is visually recognized within the field of view of the external viewfinder, the display of the operation state is also visually recognized simultaneously with the object image. can do.

It is a perspective view which shows the camera system which is one Embodiment of this invention. It is a top view which shows the camera system demonstrated in FIG. It is a right view which expands and shows a part of camera system demonstrated in FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the visual field of the external finder demonstrated in FIG. It is a top view which shows the example of the camera system which displays a focal distance as a display part of an operation state. It is a principal part enlarged plan view which expands and shows the display part of the operation | movement state demonstrated in FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the visual field of the external finder demonstrated in FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example which made high the magnification of the operation state display range among finder visual field ranges. It is a right view which shows the example which displays the operation state on an inclined surface by making the circumference surface of a lens-barrel into an inclined surface.

  A camera system 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a digital camera 11 and an external viewfinder 12 as shown in FIGS. The external viewfinder 12 includes an optical member 13, a lens barrel 14, and legs 15. The optical member 13 is held by the lens barrel 14. The leg portion 15 holds the lens barrel 14 at the upper portion, and the lower portion is detachably attached to an accessory shoe 16 provided on the digital camera 11.

  The optical member 13 includes at least two lenses, a concave lens 17 and a convex lens 18. The optical member 13 is, for example, an Albada finder in which the eyepiece side surface of the concave lens 17 is a half mirror surface, and a photographing frame for indicating a photographing range is formed as a reflection pattern on the object side surface of the convex lens 18. This is preferable because the range in which the optical image can be seen looks wider than the shooting range. The photographing frame is provided at a position for correcting the parallax.

  The digital camera 11 is provided with an operation unit including an accessory shoe 16 and a shutter button 20 on the upper surface of the camera body 11a, and a monitor 21 for displaying a through image and the like on the rear surface. A strobe light emission window 22 and a lens barrel 23 are provided on the front surface of the camera body 11a.

  The lens barrel 23 includes a fixed barrel 24, a rotary barrel 25, a rectilinear barrel 26, and a photographing lens 27 held therein. The fixed cylinder 24 is provided so as to protrude in a cylindrical shape from the front surface of the camera body 11a. The rotating cylinder 25 moves in the direction of the photographing optical axis 28 while rotating around the photographing optical axis 28 inside the fixed cylinder 24 at the time of focus adjustment, and the rectilinear cylinder 26 moves inside the rotating cylinder 25 at the time of focus adjustment. According to the rotation of the rotary cylinder 25, it goes straight in the direction of the photographing optical axis 28.

  The fixed cylinder 24 is provided with an AF display unit 29 and a flash display unit 30 side by side in the circumferential direction at a substantially upper position on the circumferential surface. The AF display unit 29 lights up when the subject is in focus. The flash display unit 30 is turned on when a flash flash notification is given. The display units 29 and 30 are an example of a display unit that displays the operation state of the digital camera 11.

  On the rotary cylinder 25, a distance scale 31 indicating a subject distance from a close distance to infinity is displayed along the rotation direction. On the rectilinear cylinder 26, an index 32 indicating one point of the distance scale is displayed at a position substantially above the circumferential surface in the direction of the photographing optical axis 28.

  The accessory shoe 16 is provided at a position whose center coincides with the photographing optical axis 28 in a plan view, and when the external finder 12 is attached to the accessory shoe 16, the finder optical axis 36 is a photographing optical axis in the plan view. 28 substantially matches. It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to substantially coincidence, and there is no problem even if it is within a predetermined range.

  The AF display unit 29 and the flash display unit 30 are LED display units. As shown in FIG. 3, the LED display unit has a circuit board 34 and an LED 35 mounted on the circuit board 34 arranged in a transparent window 33 provided above the fixed cylinder 24, and can be viewed from above. In this way, the LED 35 emits light through the transparent window 33. Reference numeral 36a indicates the photographing range, and reference numeral 39 indicates the entire field of view of the external viewfinder 12. The shooting range 36 a is a range that is not blocked (not kicked) by the upper edge of the lens barrel 23 in the most protruding state, and the entire visual field 39 is an AF display provided on the circumferential surface of the fixed barrel 24. The part 29 and the flash display part 30 are visible.

  Images of the index 32, the distance scale 31, the AF display unit 29, and the flash display unit 30 are visually recognized in the entire visual field 39, as shown in FIG. Reference numeral 38 denotes an image of an imaging frame that indicates the imaging range. The images of the index 32, the distance scale 31, the AF display unit 29, and the flash display unit 30 are visually recognized outside the image of the shooting frame 38. 4 is used to indicate that the finder optical axis 36 coincides with the center of the entire visual field 39, and is not visible in the entire visual field 39.

  In the digital camera 11, the rotating cylinder 25 and the rectilinear cylinder 26 are housed in the fixed cylinder 24 when not in use (power off), and the rotating cylinder 25 and rectilinear advance when in use (power on). The cylinder 26 may be extended from the inside of the fixed cylinder 24 to the outside.

  A digital camera 40 shown in FIG. 5 has a zoom lens barrel 41. The zoom lens barrel 41 includes a fixed barrel 42, a rotating barrel 43, and a rectilinear barrel 44, and in response to an operation of the zoom operation unit 45, the rotating barrel 43 rotates around the imaging optical axis 28 in the direction of the imaging optical axis 28. Further, the rectilinear cylinder 44 moves straight in the direction of the photographic optical axis 28 according to the rotation of the rotating cylinder 43, and the focal length of the photographic lens is continuously varied between the wide end and the tele end.

  As shown in FIG. 6, on the rotating cylinder 43, focal length scales 46 are displayed side by side in the circumferential direction at substantially upper positions on the circumferential surface. On the rectilinear cylinder 44, an index 47 indicating one point of the focal length scale 46 is displayed as a long line in the direction of the photographing optical axis 28 at a position substantially above the circumferential surface.

  The fixed cylinder 42 is provided with an aperture value display section 48 for displaying the aperture value at that time at a substantially upper position on the circumferential surface. The aperture value display unit 48 includes, for example, a numerical scale 49 representing aperture values of F2.8 to F22, and a plurality of LEDs 51 provided in the back of the transparent window 50 corresponding to each aperture value. In response to the half-pressing operation of the shutter release, one LED 51 indicating the aperture value at that time is turned on. Note that. An LCD may be used instead of the plurality of LEDs 51. In this case, a black circle may be displayed on the LCD to indicate the aperture value. Further, in the case of using an LCD, the scale 49 may be omitted, and a number representing the aperture value may be displayed as a segment instead.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the index 47, the focal length scale 46, and the aperture value display unit 48 are visually recognized in the entire visual field 56 of the external viewfinder 12. In this example, since the digital camera 40 is a zoom camera, the entire field of view 56 is configured to display a plurality of, for example, three shooting frames 57 to 59 having different shooting ranges according to the focal length of the shooting lens. Has been. The photographer may confirm the current focal length, for example, “28 mm” from the focal length scale 46 visually recognized in the entire visual field 56, and perform framing in accordance with the photographing frame 57 corresponding to the confirmed focal length.

  Thus, as a display unit that displays the operation state, in addition to the distance scale 31, the AF display unit 29, and the flash display unit 30, the focal length and the aperture value may be displayed. Further, the shutter speed may be displayed. Furthermore, the current date and time display or a level display may be displayed.

  In the example illustrated in FIG. 8, a range (operation state visual recognition range) 56 b in which the display unit that displays the operation state in the entire visual field 56 of the external viewfinder 12 is visually recognized is a range in which the shooting frame is displayed (shooting range display (Range) The image magnification may be different from 56a.

  For example, in the shooting range display range 56a, the image magnification is set low to cover the shooting range at the wide end. On the other hand, it is desirable that the operation state visualizing range 56b has a larger image magnification than the photographing range display range 56a because the display of the operation state is easier to see. As described above, in order to change the image magnification of a part of the entire visual field 56 (operation state viewing range 56b) with respect to the other part (shooting range display range 56a), a part of the lens constituting the optical member 13 is used. For example, this can be achieved by changing the curvature of the lower surface on the eyepiece side of the objective lens including the concave lens 17 with respect to the upper surface, or by making partial lenses having different curvatures bonded together to form one objective lens. Note that the photographing frames 57 to 59 that are visible in the entire visual field 56 of the external viewfinder 12 are displayed, for example, shifted upward from the finder optical axis 36 that coincides with the center of the visual field, so that the operation state visual recognition range 56b is displayed widely. You may comprise as follows. Note that the cross mark representing the finder optical axis 36 described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8 is not visible in the entire visual field 56.

  By the way, the display part of the operation state is displayed on the circumferential surface of a lens barrel or the like. In general, the circumferential surface of the lens barrel is a surface parallel to the photographing optical axis. On the other hand, the photographer looks into the display of the operation state from diagonally above through the external viewfinder. When the display of the operation state is, for example, a display of numbers and characters such as a focal length and an aperture value, the circumferential surface is looked from diagonally above, so that the heights of the numbers and characters appear to be clogged, making it very difficult to read. Therefore, as the display of the operation state, it is preferable to display a number, a character, or the like by increasing the size in the photographing optical axis direction accordingly.

  Further, the circumferential surface for displaying the operation state may be formed on an inclined surface so that the heights of numbers and characters are not clogged even when viewed from obliquely above. In the example shown in FIG. 9, a part of the circumferential surface of the fixed cylinder 42 is formed by the inclined surface 60 so that the end on the subject side is higher than the end on the camera body 11a side. If, for example, a numerical scale 49 indicating the aperture value is displayed on the inclined surface 60, it becomes easy to read.

  In each of the above-described embodiments, the digital camera 11 is described in which the photographing lens cannot be replaced. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the present invention can be applied to a camera capable of lens replacement. In this case, a display unit that displays the operation state of the camera may be displayed on one or both of the camera body 11a side and the interchangeable lens side.

  In each of the above embodiments, a scale along the circumferential direction of the outer peripheral surface is provided in the case of a rotating cylinder, but a scale along the imaging optical axis direction may be provided in the case of a straight advance cylinder. In addition, the lens barrel 23 has a three-stage cylinder structure including a fixed cylinder 24, a rotary cylinder 25, and a rectilinear cylinder 26. Alternatively, it may be a lens barrel composed of four or more stages. Moreover, you may display not only in a lens barrel but in a part of camera body 11a. Further, the lens barrel 23 is not limited to a zoom lens, and may be a step zoom.

  In each of the above embodiments, the external finder 12 is described as an Albada finder, but it may be an inverted Galileo finder. In addition to these viewfinders, an optical viewfinder having an optical axis different from that of the photographing lens and visually recognizing a subject image with a virtual image or a perspective real image may be used. Further, not only the optical viewfinder but also a through viewfinder may be used. In this case, a target mark may be provided as a shooting frame.

  In each of the above embodiments, the finder is described as a removable type, but a built-in finder incorporated in the camera body 11a may be used.

In each of the above embodiments, the display unit for displaying the operation state of the camera is provided at the substantially top portion of the lens barrel 23. However, in the present invention, the display unit is not limited to this. Of the outer peripheral surface of the lens barrel, the lens barrel may be provided on the substantially right side when viewed from the back side of the camera body 11a so that it can be seen on the left side outside the frame.
In each of the embodiments described above, a display unit that displays the operating state of the camera is provided in the lens barrel 23 that protrudes from the camera body 11a toward the subject when the camera is in use. The display unit is not limited to the lens barrel 23 and may be any projecting part that projects from the camera body 11a toward the subject (front).

  In each of the above embodiments, the digital camera 11 has been described. However, the present invention can also be applied to a camera for a photographic film, a mobile phone with a camera, and an electronic device with a camera such as a smartphone.

  Although the present invention has been specifically described above based on the preferred embodiments, it is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to the above-described ones and can be variously modified without departing from the gist thereof.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Camera system 11 Digital camera 12 External viewfinder 13 Optical member 24 Fixed cylinder 25 Rotating cylinder 26 Straight advance cylinder

Claims (14)

In a camera having an optical axis different from that of the photographing lens, and a built-in optical viewfinder that allows a subject image to be visually recognized by a virtual image or a real perspective image, or a detachable camera,
A camera characterized in that a display unit for displaying an operation state of the camera is provided in a part of a lens barrel so as to be visually recognized as the subject image in the field of view of the optical viewfinder. The camera of claim 1,
The display unit is provided on a circumferential surface of a rotating cylinder that rotates around the photographing optical axis of the lens barrel, or a rectilinear cylinder that goes straight in the direction of the photographing optical axis, and moves the rotating cylinder or the rectilinear cylinder. Accordingly, the camera has a scale indicating the operating state at that time. The camera according to claim 2,
The scale includes letters or numbers,
The camera is characterized in that the letters or numbers are displayed in a long size in the photographing optical axis direction so that an image visually recognized in the field of view of the optical viewfinder can be read in a normal size. The camera of claim 1,
The camera according to claim 1, wherein the display unit is an LED or LCD that is provided on a fixed cylinder of the lens barrel and electrically displays the operation state. The camera according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The optical viewfinder has a shooting frame indicating a shooting range so that it is displayed in the field of view.
Of the entire field of view of the optical viewfinder, the operating state viewing range including the range for viewing the image of the display unit is viewed outside the shooting range display range including the range for displaying the image of the shooting frame. Features a camera. The camera according to claim 5, wherein
The camera in which the operation state visual range has an image magnification different from that of the photographing range display range. The camera according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
2. The camera according to claim 1, wherein the optical viewfinder is an external viewfinder that is detachably attached to an accessory shoe provided on the camera body. An external viewfinder that can be detachably attached to the accessory shoe,
A camera provided in a part of the lens barrel so that a display unit for displaying an operation state can be visually recognized in the field of view of the external viewfinder,
A camera system comprising: The camera system according to claim 8,
The display unit is provided on a circumferential surface of a rotating cylinder that rotates around the photographing optical axis of the lens barrel, or a rectilinear cylinder that goes straight in the direction of the photographing optical axis, and moves the rotating cylinder or the rectilinear cylinder. Accordingly, the camera system has a scale indicating the operating state at that time. The camera system according to claim 9, wherein
The scale includes letters or numbers,
The camera system according to claim 1, wherein the letters or numbers are displayed in a long size in the photographing optical axis direction so that an image visually recognized in the field of view of the optical viewfinder can be read in a normal size. The camera system according to claim 8,
The camera system according to claim 1, wherein the display unit is an LED or LCD that is provided on a fixed cylinder of the lens barrel and electrically displays the operation state. The camera system according to any one of claims 8 to 11,
The camera system according to claim 1, wherein the external viewfinder is an optical viewfinder. The camera system according to any one of claims 8 to 12,
The external viewfinder has a shooting frame indicating a shooting range so that it is displayed in the field of view.
Of the entire field of view of the external viewfinder, the operating state viewing range including the range where the image of the display unit is visually recognized is visually recognized outside the shooting range display range including the range where the image of the shooting frame is displayed. A camera system characterized by that. The camera system according to claim 13.
The camera state characterized in that the operation state visual range has an image magnification different from that of the photographing range display range.

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