JP2021060560A - Flash device and control method therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a flash device capable of calculating an appropriate angle of a light emitting portion even when the reflecting surface is a slope, and a control method thereof. An illumination device 200 includes a strobe microcomputer 201, a discharge tube 204, a distance measuring unit 202, and a bounce circuit 205 in a movable portion 200b that is rotated in at least one of a pan direction and a tilt direction. The strobe microcomputer 201 includes the first reflection surface distance measured by the distance measurement unit 202 after rotating the distance measurement unit 202 in the bounce circuit 205 in the direction of the distance measurement point 301 on the reflection surface (the direction of the first reflection surface). The first reflection is based on the second reflection surface distance measured by the distance measurement unit 202 after rotating the distance measurement unit 202 in the bounce circuit 205 in the direction of the distance measurement point 302 on the reflection surface (the direction of the second reflection surface). The surface angle is calculated, and the angle of the light emitting portion when performing bounce light emission imaging is calculated based on the first reflection surface angle. [Selection diagram] Fig. 5

Description

The present invention relates to a flash device and a control method thereof, and more particularly to a flash device capable of automatically changing the irradiation direction and a control method thereof.

Conventionally, photography is performed in a state where the light of a flash device (strobe or the like) is irradiated toward a reflecting surface such as a ceiling and the subject is irradiated with the diffusely reflected light from the reflecting surface (hereinafter referred to as bounce emission photography). ing.

In addition, it has a measuring means for measuring the subject distance and the reflecting surface distance, calculates an appropriate light emitting part angle from the measurement result, and changes the light emitting direction of the flash device based on the calculation result to appropriately perform bounce light emission imaging. There are flash devices and cameras that have a function called auto bounce.

Among such flash devices and cameras, those that utilize the focus adjustment function of the camera and devices that utilize the light emission of the strobe are known as measuring means for measuring the subject distance and the reflecting surface distance.

In addition, when measuring the reflection surface distance, by acquiring distance information to a plurality of AF points with respect to the reflection surface, the reflection surface distance used for the calculation is accurately calculated, and a more appropriate light emitting part angle is calculated. The technology to do is also known.

For example, in Patent Document 1, the distance information with the subject is acquired as the first distance information, and the second distance information with the reflecting surface is acquired as the second distance information. A technique for calculating the angle of the light emitting portion based on the second distance information is disclosed.

In addition, in Patent Document 1, three different AF points within the imaging range are set for the reflecting surface, and the distance information to each AF point is used as the second distance information. Corrects the tilt of the distance measuring optical axis with respect to the reflecting surface. After that, the distance when the distance measuring optical axis is perpendicular to the reflecting surface is obtained.

By correcting the tilt of the distance measuring optical axis with respect to the reflecting surface in this way, it is possible to calculate the reflecting surface distance under the optical axis condition that is perpendicular to the reflecting surface even when the camera or strobe is tilted. Can be calculated.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2009-163179

However, the prior art presupposes that the reflecting surface is a horizontal plane parallel to the subject direction, and when the reflecting surface is a slope, it is not possible to calculate an appropriate light emitting part angle only by calculating the accurate reflecting surface distance. .. This is because the proper angle of the light emitting portion changes depending on the angle of the slope of the reflecting surface.

Therefore, in the prior art, when the reflecting surface is a slope, it is not possible to irradiate the subject with an appropriate amount of light in bounce light emission photographing.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a flash device capable of calculating an appropriate light emitting portion angle even when the reflecting surface is a slope, and a control method thereof.

The flash device according to claim 1 of the present invention is a flash device having a light emitting unit that is rotatably held in at least one of a pan direction and a tilt direction, and is a subject distance that is a distance from the flash device to a subject. A first distance measuring means for measuring the distance, and a second distance measuring means rotatably held in at least one of the pan direction and the tilt direction for measuring the reflecting surface distance, which is the distance from the flash device to the reflecting surface. The means, the first driving means for rotating the light emitting unit and changing the light emitting unit angle which is the rotation angle of the optical axis of the light emitting unit, and the second distance measuring means are rotated. In the direction of the second driving means for changing the direction of the reflecting surface, which is the direction of the second distance measuring means with respect to the reflecting surface, and the direction of the first distance measuring point on the reflecting surface by the second driving means. After rotating the second ranging means in the direction of a certain first reflecting surface, the second ranging means measures the reflecting surface distance, and the measured reflecting surface distance is used as the first reflecting surface distance. In the direction of the second reflection surface, which is the direction of the second distance measurement point different from the first distance measurement point on the reflection surface by the first acquisition means and the second drive means. After rotating the distance measuring means 2, the second distance measuring means measures the reflecting surface distance, and the measured reflecting surface distance is acquired as the second reflecting surface distance. , The first calculation means for calculating the first reflection surface angle based on the first and second reflection surface distances, and the light emission when performing bounce light emission imaging based on the first reflection surface angle. It is characterized by including a second calculation means for calculating the part angle.

According to the present invention, an appropriate light emitting portion angle can be calculated even when the reflecting surface is a slope.

It is a block diagram which shows the schematic structure of the camera system including the lighting device as the flash device which concerns on Example 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the schematic cross section of the camera system of FIG. It is explanatory drawing of the calculation of the bounce control of the auto bounce photography which concerns on Example 1 of this invention. It is a continuation of FIG. It is a flowchart of the bounce drive processing which concerns on Example 1 executed in the lighting apparatus in FIG. It is a flowchart of the bounce drive circuit control process which controls two bounce drive circuits so that the irradiation direction becomes a target irradiation direction, which is executed in steps S101, S103, S105 of FIG. It is explanatory drawing of the calculation of the bounce control of the auto bounce photography which concerns on Example 2 of this invention. It is a continuation of FIG. It is a flowchart of the bounce process which concerns on Example 2 executed in the lighting apparatus in FIG. It is a figure which shows the rotation of the movable part in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction in FIG. It is a figure which shows the detection result of the rotation angle of a movable part in a vertical direction and a horizontal direction by two bounce position detection circuits in FIG. It is a figure which shows the gray code output from the rotary encoder inside each of the two bounce position detection circuits in FIG. 2, and the allocation of the rotation angles in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction of a movable part.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In the first embodiment, a case where a flat surface whose reflecting surface is inclined at a constant angle is used as a bounce surface will be described.

In this case, the angle of inclination of the reflecting surface with respect to the image pickup device (hereinafter referred to as the angle of the reflecting surface) is calculated based on the distance measurement of the two points to the reflecting surface, and the angle of the light emitting portion is calculated based on the angle of the reflecting surface. This will be described in detail below.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a camera system 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. Further, FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a schematic cross section of the camera system 1 of FIG. The same components are designated by the same reference numerals in FIGS. 1 and 2.

The camera system 1 according to the present embodiment includes a camera body 100 which is an imaging device, and a lighting device 200 as a flash device of the present invention which is detachably attached to the camera body 100.

First, the configuration inside the camera body 100 will be described.

The camera body 100 includes a microprocessor CCPU (hereinafter referred to as a camera microcomputer) 101, a posture detection circuit 102, and a terminal 103.

The camera microcomputer 101 controls each part of the camera body 100 and controls the entire camera system 1 by software.

The camera microcomputer 101 has a one-chip IC circuit configuration with a built-in microcomputer including, for example, a CPU, ROM, RAM, an input / output control circuit (I / O control circuit), a multiplexer, a timer circuit, an EEPROM, an A / D, a D / A converter, and the like. It has become. The CPU of the camera microcomputer 101 determines various conditions for controlling the entire camera system 1 by software. Further, software (program) for controlling the entire camera system 1 is stored in the ROM of the camera microcomputer 101.

The terminal 103 is an accessory shoe for attaching / detaching the lighting device 200 to / from the camera body 100. The terminal 103 may be any terminal as long as the lighting device 200 is removable, and other camera accessory devices such as an external finder may also be removable terminals.

The posture detection circuit 102 is a circuit for detecting the posture difference, and is a posture H detection unit 102a for detecting the posture difference in the horizontal direction, a posture V detection unit 102b for detecting the posture difference in the vertical direction, and a front-rear direction (Z direction). The posture Z detection unit 102c for detecting the posture difference between the two is provided.

For the attitude detection circuit 102, for example, an angular velocity sensor or a gyro sensor is used. The attitude information regarding the attitude difference in each direction detected by the attitude detection circuit 102 is input to the camera microcomputer 101.

Next, the configuration of the lighting device 200 will be described. The lighting device 200 has a main body portion 200a that is detachably attached to the camera main body 100 and a movable portion 200b that is rotatably held in the vertical direction (tilt direction) and the horizontal direction (pan direction) with respect to the main body portion 200a. Consists of.

In the present embodiment, the rotation direction of the movable portion 200b is defined with the side of the main body portion 200a connected to the movable portion 200b as the upper side.

The main body 200a includes a microcomputer FPU (hereinafter, strobe microcomputer) 201, a light receiving unit 203, an attitude detection circuit 206, and a display means 207. Further, the movable portion 200b includes a distance measuring unit 202 (first and second distance measuring means), a discharge tube 204 (light emitting unit), and a bounce circuit 205.

The strobe microcomputer 201 controls each part of the lighting device 200.

The strobe microcomputer 201 includes, for example, a one-chip IC circuit configuration with a built-in microcomputer including a CPU, ROM, RAM, an input / output control circuit (I / O control circuit), a multiplexer, a timer circuit, an EEPROM, an A / D, a D / A converter, and the like. It has become.

The distance measuring unit 202 has a light receiving sensor (distance measuring unit), receives light emitted from the discharge tube 204 and reflected by the object in the irradiation direction by the light receiving sensor, and measures the distance to the object. ..

The distance measuring unit 202 does not have to be the device of this embodiment as long as it is a device that measures the distance to the object by a known method. For example, the distance measuring unit 202 has a light source for distance measurement, receives light emitted from the light source for distance measurement and reflected by an object in the irradiation direction with a light receiving sensor, and determines the distance to the object. It may be measured. Further, the distance measuring unit 202 may measure the distance to the object by using the AF function of the ToF or the camera body 100.

The light receiving unit 203 is a sensor that receives the light emitted from the discharge tube 204, and receives the light emitted from the discharge tube 204 directly or via glass fiber or the like. For example, the light receiving unit is composed of a photodiode.

The bounce circuit 205 includes bounce position detection circuits 205a and 205c for detecting the drive amount of the movable portion 200b (rotation angle of the movable portion 200b with respect to the main body portion 200a) and bounce drive circuits 205b and 205d for rotating the movable portion 200b. Will be done. Further, in this embodiment, the discharge pipe 204 and the distance measuring unit 202 are arranged in the movable portion 200b. Therefore, the bounce drive circuits 205b and 205d (light emitting unit driving means, distance measuring unit driving means) reflect the light emitting unit angle which is the rotation angle of the optical axis of the discharge tube 204 and the direction of the distance measuring unit 202 with respect to the reflecting surface. Change the plane direction. Similarly, the bounce position detecting circuits 205a and 205c (first and second angle detecting means) detect the angle indicated by the light emitting portion angle and the reflecting surface direction.

The bounce position detection circuit (bounce H detection circuit) 205a detects the driving amount (rotation angle) in the left-right direction of the movable portion 200b, and the bounce position detection circuit (bounce V detection circuit) 205c detects the drive amount (rotation angle) in the left-right direction of the movable portion 200b. The driving amount (rotation angle) of is detected. Further, as a result of these detections, the rotary encoder (absolute encoder) inside each of the bounce position detection circuits 205a and 205c outputs a gray code.

The bounce drive circuit (bounce H drive circuit) 205b drives the movable portion 200b in the left-right direction, and the bounce drive circuit (bounce V drive circuit) 205d drives the movable portion 200b in the vertical direction using a known motor.

Next, an example of the rotation range and the detection method of the movable portion 200b of the lighting device 200 will be described with reference to FIGS. 10, 11, and 12.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the rotation of the movable portion 200b in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the detection results of the vertical and horizontal rotation angles of the movable portion 200b by the bounce position detection circuits 205a and 205c. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing the allocation of the gray code output from the rotary encoders 2300a and 2300b inside the bounce position detection circuits 205a and 205c, and the vertical and horizontal rotation angles of the movable portion 200b.

As shown in FIG. 10A, the movable portion 200b is held so as to be rotatable in the vertical direction with respect to the main body portion 200a, and as shown in FIG. 10B, the movable portion 200b is attached to the main body portion 200a. On the other hand, it is held so as to be rotatable in the left-right direction.

The indicators shown by circles and lines in each state of FIG. 10 correspond to the positions of the detection portions 2301, 302 in the rotary encoders 2300a and 2300b shown in FIG. 11, respectively.

As shown in FIG. 11A, the bounce position detection circuit 205a outputs a 4-bit gray code from the rotary encoder 2300a inside the movable portion 200b as a vertical rotation angle of the movable portion 200b. Further, as shown in FIG. 11B, the bounce position detection circuit 205c outputs a 4-bit gray code from the rotary encoder 2300b inside the movable portion 200b as a rotation angle in the left-right direction.

The detection portion 2301 of the rotary encoder 2300a for detecting the rotation in the vertical direction shown in FIG. 11 (c) includes four photo reflectors 2301-1 to 2301-4. A signal of 0 or 1 is output from each of the four photo reflectors 2301-1 to 2301-4 depending on the detected vertical rotation angle. The detection portion 2301 does not have to be a photoreflector as long as it is composed of four elements that output a signal of 0 or 1 according to the detected vertical rotation angle. For example, as the above four elements, a known element such as a photo interrupter may be used instead of the photo reflector.

The detection portion 2302 of the rotary encoder 2300b for detecting the rotation in the left-right direction shown in FIG. 11D includes four photoreflectors 2302-1 to 2302-4. A signal of 0 or 1 is output from each of the four photo reflectors 2302-1 to 2302-4 depending on the detected left-right rotation angle. The detection portion 2302 does not have to be a photoreflector as long as it is composed of four elements that output a signal of 0 or 1 according to the detected rotation angle in the left-right direction. For example, as the above four elements, a known element such as a photo interrupter may be used instead of the photo reflector.

In this embodiment, of the photoreflectors 2302-1 to 2302-4, 2302-1 to 2302-4, a 0 signal is output from the element located at the position facing the white portion shown in FIG. A signal of 1 is output from the elements at opposite positions. Further, the photoreflectors 2302-1 to 2302-4, 2302-1 to 2302-4 determine whether the rotation operation or the stop time is based on the rising edge of the bit change, and read the pattern data when the photo reflector is stopped.

As shown in FIG. 12, the rotary encoders 2300a and 2300b output different gray codes according to the rotation angle of the movable portion 200b, so that the bounce position detection circuits 205a and 205c can drive the movable portion 200b. Can be detected. It should be noted that both the vertical rotation angle of the movable portion 200b shown in FIG. 12A and the horizontal rotation angle of the movable portion 200b shown in FIG. 12B show the light emitted from the discharge tube 204. The rotation angle when the center faces the subject on the shooting optical axis is set to 0 degrees.

Returning to FIG. 1, the attitude detection circuit 206 is a circuit for detecting the attitude difference, and the attitude H detection unit 206a for detecting the attitude difference in the horizontal direction, the attitude V detection unit 206b for detecting the attitude difference in the vertical direction, and the front-back direction. A posture Z detection unit 206c for detecting a posture difference in the (Z direction) is provided.

For the attitude H detection unit 206a, the attitude V detection unit 206b, and the attitude Z detection unit 206c, for example, an angular velocity sensor or a gyro sensor is used.

The display means 207 displays a notification screen such as bounce shooting NG, which will be described later, to the user.

(Auto bounce control)
Next, the details of the bounce process according to the present embodiment executed in the lighting device 200 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Hereinafter, the bounce process according to this embodiment will be described by taking distance measurement using pre-emission as an example.

Distance measurement using pre-emission means that micro-emission is performed on the object of distance measurement by the illumination device 200 as pre-emission before bounce shooting, and the reflected light from the object of distance measurement is received by the light receiving unit 203, and the light emission thereof is received. Refers to the process of calculating the distance from the integrated value to the object to be measured.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of the bounce process according to the present embodiment executed in the lighting device 200.

This process is executed by the strobe microcomputer 201 reading a program stored in the internal ROM when the camera microcomputer 101 gives an instruction to start the bounce process.

In step S101, the strobe microcomputer 201 sets the target irradiation direction to the shooting direction (subject direction), that is, sets the target of distance measurement to the subject. After that, the bounce drive circuit control process of FIG. 6 is executed to drive the movable portion 200b so that the irradiation direction is the subject direction.

Here, the details of the bounce drive circuit control process will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

First, in step S201, the strobe microcomputer 201 instructs the bounce drive circuits 205b and 205d to control the motor for driving the movable portion 200b in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction, and starts driving the movable portion 200b. Let me. Further, the drive target horizontal bounce angle θX and the drive target vertical bounce angle θY, which are the target values at the time of driving, are calculated in consideration of the set target irradiation direction and the tilt angle γ of the main body 200a.

For example, in step S101, since the target irradiation direction is set to be the subject direction, the drive target horizontal bounce angle θX is set to 0 °, and the drive target vertical bounce angle θY is set to 0 ° −γ. To. In the following description, the rotation angle when the center of the light emitted from the discharge tube 204 faces the subject is defined as 0 °.

In step S202, the strobe microcomputer 201 acquires the horizontal bounce angle θA and the vertical bounce angle θB, which are the rotation angles of the current movable portion 200b, based on the gray codes output from the bounce position detection circuits 205a and 205c. ..

Then, the strobe microcomputer 201 determines whether or not the acquired rotation angle of the movable portion 200b matches the drive target horizontal bounce angle θX and the drive target vertical bounce angle θY.

If θX = θA and θY = θB, the process proceeds to step S203, and if not, the process of step S202 is repeated.

In step S203, the strobe microcomputer 201 instructs the bounce drive circuits 205b and 205d to control the motor for driving the movable portion 200b in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction, and stops the drive of the movable portion 200b. ..

In step S204, the strobe microcomputer 201 communicates the bounce drive end notification with the camera microcomputer 101 via the terminal 103 of the camera body 100, and ends this process.

Returning to FIG. 5, in step S102, the strobe microcomputer 201 instructs the discharge tube 204 to perform pre-flash after driving the movable portion 200b so that the irradiation direction is the subject direction in step S101. Then, the strobe microcomputer 201 instructs the distance measuring unit 202 to receive the reflected light of the pre-flash, and based on the obtained light receiving result, sets the distance (subject distance) from the irradiation surface of the discharge tube 204 to the subject. Let me measure. Then, it is stored in the RAM of the strobe microcomputer 201.

Next, the distance measurement of two points with respect to the reflecting surface, which is executed in steps S103 to S106, will be described.

In this embodiment, the distance is measured twice on the reflecting surface. In the following description, of the two distance measurements, the target irradiation direction is set to the first reflection surface direction in the first reflection surface distance measurement performed after the subject distance measurement performed in step S102. Set. Further, in the second reflection surface distance measurement executed after the first reflection surface distance measurement, the target irradiation direction is set to the second reflection surface direction.

Hereinafter, the target value calculated in step S201 when the target irradiation direction is set to the first reflection surface direction and when the target irradiation direction is set to the second reflection surface direction will be described.

The drive target vertical bounce angle θY1 when the target irradiation direction is the first reflection surface direction is set to 75 ° −γ ≦ θY1 ≦ 85 ° −γ. On the other hand, the drive target vertical bounce angle θY2 when the target irradiation direction is the second reflection surface direction is set to 90 ° −γ (however, the horizontal bounce angle in both the first reflection surface direction and the second reflection surface direction). θX = 0 °). However, γ may be set to 0 without considering the tilt angle γ of the main body portion 200a. In this case, θY1 is set in the range of 75 ° to 85 ° and θY2 is set in 90 °.

Here, the reason for setting θY2 to 90 ° -γ is to reduce the calculation process of the light emitting part angle to be calculated later as much as possible, but it is not always necessary to set it to 90 ° -γ here, and the measurement for the reflecting surface is performed. The angle is not limited to 90 ° -γ as long as the bounce angle allows distance.

The reason for setting θY1 as 75 ° -γ ≤ θY1 ≤ 85 ° -γ is that when the difference between the value of θY2 (= 90 ° -γ) and the value of θY1 becomes large, the distance measurement when the reflection surface angle is large. This is because the error becomes large and the angle of the reflecting surface and the angle of the light emitting part cannot be calculated accurately. In this embodiment, since θY2 = 90 ° −γ, θY1 is set to 75 ° −γ ≦ θY1 ≦ 85 ° −γ, but the setting range of θY1 depends on θY2 and is set in the vicinity of θY2. It does not have to be limited to such a setting range. However, if θY1 = θY2, the reflection surface angle at different AF points cannot be calculated, so this is excluded.

Returning to FIG. 5, the operations after step S103 in the case of setting the target values at the time of bounce driving in the first reflecting surface direction and the second reflecting surface direction will be described below.

In step S103, the strobe microcomputer 201 sets the target irradiation direction to the first reflection surface direction, executes the bounce drive circuit control process (FIG. 6), and makes the irradiation direction the first reflection surface direction. To drive. Since the details of the bounce drive control process of FIG. 6 executed here have already been described, duplicate explanations will be omitted, but the target values calculated in step S201 of FIG. 6 are θX1 = 0 °, 75 as described above. It is set to ° −γ ≦ θY1 ≦ 85 ° −γ.

In step S104, the strobe microcomputer 201 instructs the discharge tube 204 to perform pre-flash after driving the movable portion 200b so that the irradiation direction is the first reflection surface direction in step S103. Then, the strobe microcomputer 201 instructs the distance measuring unit 202 to receive the reflected light of the pre-emission, and based on the obtained light receiving result, the distance from the irradiation surface to the reflection surface of the discharge tube 204 (first reflection). Surface distance) is measured. Then, the first reflection surface distance, which is the distance measurement result, is acquired and stored in the RAM of the strobe microcomputer 201 (first acquisition means).

In step S105, the strobe microcomputer 201 sets the target irradiation direction to the second reflection surface direction, executes the bounce drive circuit control process (FIG. 6), and executes the bounce drive circuit control process (FIG. 6) so that the irradiation direction is the second reflection surface direction. To drive. Since the details of the bounce drive control process of FIG. 6 executed here have already been described, duplicate explanations will be omitted, but the target values calculated in step S201 of FIG. 6 are θX2 = 0 ° and θY2 as described above. = 90 ° -γ is set.

In step S106, the strobe microcomputer 201 instructs the discharge tube 204 to perform pre-flash after driving the movable portion 200b so that the irradiation direction is the second reflecting surface direction in step S105. Then, the strobe microcomputer 201 instructs the distance measuring unit 202 to receive the reflected light of the pre-emission, and based on the obtained light receiving result, the distance from the irradiation surface to the reflection surface of the discharge tube 204 (second reflection). Surface distance) is measured. Then, the second reflection surface distance, which is the distance measurement result, is acquired and stored in the RAM of the strobe microcomputer 201 (second acquisition means).

In step S107, the strobe microcomputer 201 (first calculation means) reflects based on the distance measurement results (first reflection surface distance, second reflection surface distance) stored in the RAM of the strobe microcomputer 201 in steps S104 and S106. Calculate the surface angle. Then, the calculated reflection surface angle is stored in the RAM of the strobe microcomputer 201.

Here, the calculation of the reflection surface angle based on the first reflection surface distance and the second reflection surface distance, which is executed in step S107, will be described with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 3, assuming that the first reflection surface distance is h1, the second reflection surface distance is h2, and the angle between the first reflection surface direction and the second reflection surface direction is θa, the irradiation direction is the first reflection surface direction. The distance z between the distance point 301 and the distance measurement point 302 whose irradiation direction is the second reflection surface direction is calculated by the following equation (1).

From the following equation (2), the angle θb formed by the direction of the second reflecting surface and the reflecting surface can be calculated as follows.

Θb satisfying the equation (2) can take either a positive value or a negative value, but the angle formed by the reflecting surface and the optical axis is 0 ° <θb <180 ° and does not take a negative value. Therefore, the following calculation is performed under the condition that θb> 0 °.

When θb is calculated from the equation (2), the reflection surface angle θ can be calculated as follows.
θ = θb-90 °

Further, θ can take the following values.
θ = 0 ° (horizontal plane)
θ> 0 ° (positive slope)
θ <0 ° (negative slope)
Here, θ = 0 means that the reflecting surface is a horizontal plane, that is, parallel to the subject direction. Further, θ> 0 ° refers to the case where the reflecting surface is inclined in the direction shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 with respect to the subject direction (hereinafter, positive inclination), and θ <0 ° means the reflecting surface. Refers to the case where is tilted in the direction opposite to the direction shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 with respect to the subject direction (hereinafter, negative tilt).

The calculation formula for the appropriate light emitting part angle differs depending on whether the value of the reflecting surface angle θ is positive or negative. Therefore, when the value of the reflection surface angle θ is calculated, it is necessary to first determine whether the value is positive or negative, and then determine the formula for calculating the light emitting portion angle according to the determination result.

Returning to FIG. 5, the process proceeds to step S108. Here, the strobe microcomputer 201 (second calculation means) is based on the subject distance in the RAM, the first reflection surface distance, the second reflection surface distance, and the reflection surface angle (see steps S102, S104, S106, and S107). , Calculates the optimum light emitting part angle for bounce light emission photography.

The calculation of the light emitting portion angle based on the subject distance, the first reflecting surface distance, the second reflecting surface distance, and the reflecting surface angle will be described with reference to FIG. Note that FIG. 4 describes a case where the reflection surface angle has a positive inclination (θ> 0) and the second reflection surface direction is 90 °.

In FIG. 4, assuming that the second reflection surface distance is h2, the subject distance is x, the optimum bounce angle is θc, and the reflection surface is a horizontal plane (reflection surface 401), the measurement in the second reflection surface direction is performed. The distance a from the distance point 302 to the proper bounce position 404 can be calculated as follows. As shown in FIG. 4, the reflection surface 401 is a horizontal plane in which the distance when the camera system 1 is directed toward the second reflection surface is the second reflection surface distance h2. The optimum bounce angle is an angle that is initially set or set by the photographer.

The distance b between the distance measuring point 302 and the appropriate bounce position 403 whose irradiation direction on the actual reflecting surface 402 is the second reflecting surface direction is as follows from the reflecting surface angle θ, the optimum bounce angle θc, and equation (3). Can be calculated.
b = a ² + r ² -2 arcos θc ... (4)

と算出される。 Note that r is the other side of the triangle formed by a, b, θ, and θc.

Is calculated.

From the equation (4), the light emitting portion angle θd for obtaining the optimum bounce angle θc can be calculated as follows.

When the reflection surface angle θ is a negative value (θ <0 °), the light emitting portion angle θd for obtaining the optimum bounce angle θc can be calculated as follows when calculated in the same manner.

Therefore, in step S108, the strobe microcomputer 201 determines the calculation formula of the light emitting portion angle θd as follows according to whether the value of the reflection surface angle θ calculated in step S107 is positive or negative. The light emitting portion angle θd is calculated.

Returning to FIG. 5, in step S109, the strobe microcomputer 201 calculates the drive target horizontal bounce angle θX and the drive target vertical bounce angle θY, which are the target values at the time of bounce drive. This calculation is performed in consideration of the light emitting portion angle calculated in step S108 and the tilt angle γ of the main body portion 200a. Then, it is stored in the RAM of the strobe microcomputer 201.

In step S110, the strobe microcomputer 201 instructs the bounce drive circuits 205b and 205d until the drive target horizontal bounce angle θX and the drive target vertical bounce angle θY stored in the RAM in step S109, and the movable unit 200b. To drive. After that, this process ends.

According to the bounce process of FIG. 5, even if the reflecting surface is a slope, it is possible to perform bounce light emission photography at an optimum bounce angle.

That is, in this embodiment, the strobe microcomputer 201 of the lighting device 200 calculates the reflection surface angle from the results of distance measurement in the subject direction and distance measurement at two different points on the reflection surface, and the light emitting unit is based on the reflection surface angle. Calculate the angle. Therefore, even when the reflecting surface is tilted at a certain angle, an appropriate light emitting portion angle can be calculated. Therefore, the error between the bounce angle at the time of shooting and the optimum bounce angle, which occurs when the light emitting portion angle is calculated on the assumption that the reflecting surface is a horizontal plane, is improved.

In this embodiment, distance measurement is performed using pre-emission in steps S102, S104, and S106 of FIG. 5, but this is just an example, and pre-emission may not be performed if distance measurement is possible. For example, the AF function of the ToF or the camera body 100 may be used to perform these distance measurements.

Further, the distance measuring unit 202 may be provided in a place other than the movable portion 200b of the lighting device 200.

For example, in addition to the ranging unit 202 having a measurement optical axis in the same direction as the optical axis of the discharge tube 204, the measurement optical axis is set in a direction different from the optical axis of the discharge tube 204 for the purpose of measuring only the reflective surface. A distance measuring unit having the distance measuring unit may be further provided in addition to the movable portion 200b. In this case, the ranging unit is configured to be able to change its direction in each of the direction of the first reflecting surface and the direction of the second reflecting surface, and other than pre-emission in each of the direction of the first reflecting surface and the direction of the second reflecting surface. Distance measurement is performed by the above method, for example, ToF. For example, the distance measuring unit may be provided in the main body 200a. At this time, FIGS. 10, 11, and 12 may be applied to detect and control the orientation of the distance measuring unit.

Although preferable examples of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to these examples, and various modifications and changes can be made within the scope of the gist thereof.

Hereinafter, Example 2 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 7, 8 and 9.

In the first embodiment, the operation for calculating the light emitting portion angle when the reflecting surface is a flat surface has been described. However, in the first embodiment, when the reflecting surface is not a flat surface, that is, when the angle changes in the middle as shown in FIG. 7, an appropriate light emitting portion angle cannot be calculated.

Therefore, in the second embodiment, distance measurement is performed to confirm whether or not the light emitting portion angle determined by the process of FIG. 5 can be used for bounce photography. As a result, even when the angle of the reflecting surface changes in the middle as shown in FIG. 7, the angle of the light emitting portion which is the optimum bounce angle is calculated. This will be described in detail below.

Therefore, since the hardware configuration of this embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment, the same components are designated by the same reference numerals, and duplicate description will be omitted.

In this embodiment, a reflecting surface having a reflecting surface 1 and a reflecting surface 2 having different reflecting surface angles as shown in FIG. 7 will be described as an example.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of the bounce process according to the present embodiment executed in the lighting device 200.

This process is executed by the strobe microcomputer 201 reading a program stored in the internal ROM when the camera microcomputer 101 gives an instruction to start the bounce process.

In step S301, the first bounce process, which is the same process as the bounce process of FIG. 5 of the first embodiment, is executed. That is, also in the second embodiment, the angle of the light emitting portion is first calculated by the same method as in the first embodiment, and the movable portion 200b is driven with the angle as the target value at the time of bounce drive.

In step S302, the strobe microcomputer 201 instructs the discharge tube 204 to perform pre-flash after driving the movable portion 200b in step S301. Then, the strobe microcomputer 201 instructs the distance measuring unit 202 to receive the reflected light of the pre-flash, and based on the obtained light receiving result, the distance from the irradiation surface to the reflection surface of the discharge tube 204 (third reflection surface). Distance) is measured. Then, the strobe microcomputer 201 (third acquisition means) acquires the third reflection surface distance, which is the distance measurement result, and stores it in the RAM of the strobe microcomputer 201. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, the distance measurement result stored in the RAM of the strobe microcomputer 201 is h3.

In step S303, the strobe microcomputer 201 (assumed distance calculating means) assumes that the reflecting surface is a flat surface having the reflecting surface angle θ calculated by the first bounce process in step S301. In this case, the assumed third reflecting surface distance h6 to be calculated as the third reflecting surface distance is calculated. After that, the calculated third reflection surface assumed distance h6 is compared with h3, which is the distance measurement result stored in the RAM of the strobe microcomputer 201 in step S302, and the reflection surface angle is a flat surface based on the comparison result. Judge whether or not.

Here, the calculation of the third reflection surface assumed distance h6 will be described with reference to FIG. 7.

Assuming that the reflection surface angle calculated by the first bounce process in step S301 (that is, the reflection surface angle of the reflection surface 1 in FIG. 7) is θ, the third reflection surface direction is θf, and the second reflection surface distance is h2. The assumed distance h6 of the third reflecting surface can be calculated as follows.

Returning to FIG. 9, as a result of the comparison in step S303, when the absolute value (| h3-h6 |) of the difference between h3 and h6 is within the range of the distance measurement error, it is determined that the reflection surface angle is a flat surface. In this case, the strobe microcomputer 201 determines that the light emitting unit angle calculated in the first bounce process in step S301 is an appropriate light emitting unit angle, and this process ends.

On the other hand, when | h3-h6 | is equal to or greater than the distance measurement error, the strobe microcomputer 201 determines that the reflection surface angle is not a flat surface (NO in step S303), and proceeds to step S304.

The distance measurement error at this time refers to the distance measurement error of the distance measurement unit 202 itself. For example, if the distance measuring unit 202 has a distance measuring error of ± 10% and the value of h6 is 1 m, and the value of h3 is between 0.9 m and 1.1 m, h3 is the distance measurement error of h6. The strobe microcomputer 201 determines that the range is within the range.

However, the method of making a judgment using the distance measurement error as a threshold value is only an example, and a threshold value other than the distance measurement error may be used. For example, if the distance measurement error depends on the distance measurement distance, an arbitrary threshold value for each distance measurement distance may be set for judgment.

In step S304, the strobe microcomputer 201 sets the target irradiation direction to the fourth reflection surface direction, executes the bounce drive control process (FIG. 6), and moves the movable portion 200b so that the irradiation direction is the fourth reflection surface direction. Drive. Since the details of the bounce drive control process of FIG. 6 executed here have already been described, duplicate description will be omitted. However, the target value calculated in step S201 of FIG. 6 is a drive target horizontal bounce when the posture of the main body 200a is in the normal position and the angle formed by the third reflection surface direction and the fourth reflection surface direction is θe. The angle θX is 0 °, and the drive target vertical bounce angle θY is (θf−θe−γ).

In this embodiment, θe is set to 10 °. The reason for this is that when the value of θe, which is the angle formed by the third reflecting surface direction and the fourth reflecting surface direction, is large, the fourth reflecting surface distance h4 is the third reflecting surface depending on the value of the reflecting surface angle θh of the reflecting surface 2. This is because the distance is much larger than the distance h3, and the distance measurement accuracy may be deteriorated. Further, in step S303, the reflection surface angle of the reflection surface 2 where the ranging point 701 whose irradiation direction is the third reflection surface direction θf is located is different from the reflection surface angle θ of the reflection surface 1 (see step S107 in FIG. 5). It has been confirmed that they are different. Therefore, in order to calculate the reflection surface angle of the reflection surface 2, the distance measurement point whose irradiation direction is θg in the fourth reflection surface direction is located near the distance measurement point 701, which is likely to be located on the reflection surface 2. This is because it is necessary to set 702.

For the above reasons, when calculating the reflection surface angle of the reflection surface 2, which is not the reflection surface angle of the reflection surface 1 calculated in step 107 of FIG. 5, the distance is measured with the vicinity of the third reflection surface direction as the fourth reflection surface direction. It is desirable to do. Therefore, it is not always necessary to set the angle of 10 ° with respect to θe. For example, θe may be set in a range larger than 0 ° and 10 ° or less.

In step S305, the strobe microcomputer 201 instructs the discharge tube 204 to perform pre-flash after driving the movable portion 200b so that the irradiation direction is the fourth reflection surface direction in step S304. Then, the strobe microcomputer 201 instructs the distance measuring unit 202 to receive the reflected light of the pre-emission, and based on the obtained light receiving result, the distance from the irradiation surface to the reflection surface of the discharge tube 204 (fourth reflection). Surface distance) is measured. Then, the strobe microcomputer 201 (fourth acquisition means) acquires the fourth reflection surface distance, which is the distance measurement result, and stores it in the RAM of the strobe microcomputer 201. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, the distance measurement result stored in the RAM of the strobe microcomputer 201 is h4.

In step S306, the strobe microcomputer 201 calculates the reflection surface angle based on the distance measurement results (third reflection surface distance, fourth reflection surface distance) stored in the RAM of the strobe microcomputer 201 in steps S302 and S305. Then, the calculated reflection surface angle is stored in the RAM of the strobe microcomputer 201.

Here, the calculation of the reflection surface angle of the reflection surface 2 based on the third reflection surface distance and the fourth reflection surface distance, which is executed in step S306, will be described with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 7, assuming that the third reflecting surface distance is h3, the fourth reflecting surface distance is h4, and the angle formed by the third reflecting surface direction and the fourth reflecting surface direction is θe, the irradiation direction is the third reflecting surface direction. The distance z between the distance point 701 and the distance measurement point 702 whose irradiation direction is the fourth reflection surface direction is calculated by the following equation (5).

From the following equation (6), the angle θi formed by the direction of the third reflecting surface and the reflecting surface 2 can be calculated as follows.

Θi satisfying the equation (6) can take either a positive value or a negative value, but the angle formed by the reflecting surface and the optical axis is 0 ° <θi <180 ° and does not take a negative value. Therefore, the following calculation is performed under the condition that θi> 0.

When θi is calculated from the equation (6), the reflection surface angle θh of the reflection surface 2 can be calculated as follows.
θh = θi + θf-180 °

Further, θh can take the following values.
θh = 0 ° (horizontal plane)
θh> 0 ° (positive slope)
θh <0 ° (negative slope)
Here, θh = 0 means that the reflecting surface is a horizontal plane, that is, parallel to the subject direction. Further, θh> 0 ° means a case where the reflecting surface 2 is inclined in the direction shown in FIG. 7 with respect to the subject direction (hereinafter, positive inclination), and θh <0 ° means that the reflecting surface 2 is inclined. It refers to a case where the image is inclined in the direction opposite to the direction shown in FIG. 7 with respect to the subject direction (hereinafter, is a negative inclination).

The calculation formula for an appropriate light emitting portion angle differs depending on whether the value of the reflecting surface angle θh is positive or negative. Therefore, when the value of the reflection surface angle θh is calculated, it is necessary to first determine whether the value is positive or negative, and then determine the formula for calculating the light emitting portion angle according to the determination result.

Here, assuming that the reflecting surface 1 has the reflecting surface angle θh calculated in step S306, which is necessary for calculating the appropriate light emitting portion angle, the second reflecting surface assumption to be calculated as the second reflecting surface distance is assumed. The calculation of the distance h5 will be described with reference to FIG.

Assuming that the reflection surface angle is θh (however, in FIG. 7, θh> 0 °), the appropriate bounce light incident angle is θj, and the third reflection surface direction is θf, the second reflection surface assumed distance h5 is calculated as follows. it can.

Returning to FIG. 9, in step S307, the strobe microcomputer 201 calculates the optimum irradiation direction (light emitting unit angle) for bounce light emission imaging. The calculation of the light emitting portion angle in step S307 will be described with reference to FIG.

Assuming that the reflecting surface is a horizontal plane (reflecting surface 801), the distance a from the distance measuring point 802 in the direction of the second reflecting surface to the appropriate bounce position 803 can be calculated as follows. As shown in FIG. 8, the reflection surface 801 is a horizontal plane in which the distance when the camera system 1 is directed toward the second reflection surface is the assumed distance h5 of the second reflection surface.

Assuming that the reflecting surface is a flat surface (reflecting surface 804) having a reflecting surface angle θh, the distance b from the AF point 802 in the second reflecting surface direction to the appropriate bounce position 805 is the optimum reflecting surface angle θh. It can be calculated as follows from the bounce angle θj and the distance a. As shown in FIG. 8, the reflection surface 804 is a flat surface having a reflection surface angle θh with a distance of the second reflection surface distance h5 when the camera system 1 is directed toward the second reflection surface. The optimum bounce angle is an angle that is initially set or set by the photographer.

と算出される。 Note that r is the other side of the triangle formed by a, b, θh, and θj.

Is calculated.

From the equation (8), the light emitting portion angle θd for obtaining the optimum bounce angle θj can be calculated as follows.

However, in the calculation formula of the light emitting portion angle θd, the example shown in FIG. 8, that is, the reflection surface angle θh is a positive value (θh> 0), and the appropriate light emitting portion angle is 90 ° <θd <180 °. Applies only in certain cases. That is, in reality, the strobe microcomputer 201 determines the calculation formula of the light emitting unit angle θd according to the following four conditions of the reflecting surface angle θh and the light emitting unit angle θd.
θh> 0 and 0 ° <θd <90 °
θh> 0 and 90 ° <θd <180
θh <0 and 0 ° <θd <90 °
θh <0 and 90 ° <θd <180 °

・θｈ＞０かつ９０°＜θｄ＜１８０°、θｈ＜０かつ０°＜θｄ＜９０°の時

Specifically, the strobe microcomputer 201 determines the calculation formula of the light emitting portion angle θd as follows.
When θh> 0 and 0 ° <θd <90 °, θh <0 and 90 ° <θd <180 °

When θh> 0 and 90 ° <θd <180 °, θh <0 and 0 ° <θd <90 °

Returning to FIG. 9, in step S308, the strobe microcomputer 201 calculates the drive target horizontal bounce angle θX and the drive target vertical bounce angle θY, which are the target values at the time of bounce drive. This calculation is performed in consideration of the light emitting portion angle calculated in step S307 and the tilt angle γ of the main body portion 200a. Then, it is stored in the RAM of the strobe microcomputer 201.

In step S309, the strobe microcomputer 201 drives the movable portion 200b until the drive target horizontal bounce angle θX and the drive target vertical bounce angle θY stored in the RAM in step S308 are reached, and then returns to step S302. At this time, in step S302, the direction of the light emitting portion angle θd is set to the direction of the third reflecting surface, and the third reflecting surface distance is reacquired. Further, in step S303 executed next, the third reflecting surface to be calculated as the third reflecting surface distance is assumed to be a flat surface having the reflecting surface angle θh calculated in step S306. The estimated distance is recalculated. As a result, when the assumed reflection surface and the actual reflection surface match, the strobe microcomputer 201 determines that the reflection surface is flat (YES in step S303), and ends this process. That is, the operations of steps S302 to S309 are repeated until it is determined in step S303 that the reflecting surface is flat. Further, in this repetitive operation, in step S304, a direction indicating an angle different from the light emitting portion angle calculated in step S307 immediately before by 10 ° is set as the fourth reflection surface direction.

According to the bounce process of FIG. 9, it is possible to calculate an appropriate light emitting portion angle based on the distance measurement result even if the reflecting surface is not flat and sloped.

In this embodiment, the distance measurement of the third reflecting surface distance and the fourth reflecting surface distance (steps S302 and S305) is repeated until the reflecting surface is determined to be flat in step S303, but an appropriate light emitting portion angle is performed. If it can be calculated, it is not limited to such a method.

For example, if the number of times the operation of steps S302 to S309 is repeated is set to n times, and the determination in step S303 is continuous n times (continuously for a predetermined number of times) and the determination is NO, the processing in step S304 is stopped. This process may be terminated. At this time, the strobe microcomputer 201 instructs the bounce drive circuits 205b and 205d to drive the movable portion 200b so that the vertical and horizontal rotation angles of the movable portion 200b become 0 °, which is an initial value. It may be. Alternatively, the strobe microcomputer 201 may display the bounce shooting NG notification screen for the user on the display means 207.

In this embodiment, distance measurement is performed using pre-flash in steps S301, S302, and S305 of FIG. 9, but as in Example 1, this is just an example, and if distance measurement is possible, pre-flash is not performed. May be good. For example, the AF function of the ToF or the camera body 100 may be used to perform these distance measurements.

Although preferable examples of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to these examples, and various modifications and changes can be made within the scope of the gist thereof. For example, the reflective surfaces of Examples 1 and 2 may be walls or ceilings.

[Other Examples]
Needless to say, the object of the present invention can also be achieved by supplying the device with a storage medium in which the program code of the software that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiment is recorded. At this time, the computer (or CPU or MPU) including the control unit of the supplied device reads and executes the program code stored in the storage medium.

In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiment, and the program code itself and the storage medium storing the program code constitute the present invention.

As the storage medium for supplying the program code, for example, a flexible disk, a hard disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a CD-ROM, a CD-R, a magnetic tape, a non-volatile memory card, a ROM, or the like can be used.

Further, based on the instructions of the above-mentioned program code, the OS (basic system or operating system) running on the device performs a part or all of the processing, and the processing realizes the functions of the above-described embodiment. Needless to say, cases are also included.

Further, the program code read from the storage medium may be written in the memory provided in the function expansion board inserted in the device or the function expansion unit connected to the computer to realize the functions of the above-described embodiment. Needless to say, it is included. At this time, based on the instruction of the program code, the function expansion board, the CPU provided in the function expansion unit, or the like performs a part or all of the actual processing.

100 Camera body 101 Camera microcomputer 102 Attitude detection circuit 200 Lighting device 200a Main body 200b Moving part 201 Strobe microcomputer 202 Distance measuring unit 203 Light receiving part 204 Discharge tube 205 Bounce circuit 206 Attitude detection circuit

Claims (9)

A flash device having a light emitting unit that is rotatably held in at least one of a pan direction and a tilt direction.
A first distance measuring means for measuring a subject distance, which is a distance from the flash device to a subject,
A second ranging means that is rotatably held in at least one of the pan direction and the tilt direction for measuring the reflecting surface distance, which is the distance from the flash device to the reflecting surface.
A first driving means for rotating the light emitting unit and changing the angle of the light emitting unit, which is the rotation angle of the optical axis of the light emitting unit,
A second driving means for rotating the second ranging means and changing the direction of the reflecting surface, which is the direction of the second ranging means with respect to the reflecting surface.
After rotating the second ranging means in the direction of the first reflecting surface, which is the direction of the first ranging point on the reflecting surface by the second driving means, the reflection by the second ranging means. A first acquisition means for measuring the surface distance and acquiring the measured reflection surface distance as the first reflection surface distance.
After rotating the second ranging means in the direction of the second reflecting surface, which is the direction of the second ranging point different from the first ranging point on the reflecting surface by the second driving means. The second acquisition means for measuring the reflection surface distance by the second distance measuring means and acquiring the measured reflection surface distance as the second reflection surface distance.
A first calculation means for calculating the first reflection surface angle based on the first and second reflection surface distances, and
A flash device including a second calculation means for calculating the angle of the light emitting portion when performing bounce light emission photographing based on the first reflection surface angle. The flash device according to claim 1, wherein the first and second distance measuring means are the same distance measuring means, and the first and second driving means are composed of the same driving means. The first and second distance measuring means are different distance measuring means,
The measurement optical axis of the first distance measuring means is in the same direction as the optical axis of the light emitting unit, and the measurement optical axis of the second distance measuring means is in a direction different from the optical axis of the light emitting unit. The flash device according to claim 1. When the rotation angle when the center of the light emitted from the light emitting unit faces the subject is defined as 0 °, the first acquisition means of the second distance measuring means in the direction of the first reflecting surface. Claims 1 to 3, wherein the rotation angle is set in the range of 75 ° to 85 °, and the rotation angle of the second ranging means in the direction of the second reflection surface is set to 90 °. The flash device according to any one of the above. After rotating the second ranging means to the calculated light emitting portion angle by the second driving means, the reflecting surface distance is measured by the second ranging means, and the measured reflecting surface is measured. A third acquisition means for acquiring the distance as a third reflection surface distance, and
Assuming that the reflecting surface is a flat surface having the first reflecting surface angle, the third calculating means for calculating the reflecting surface distance acquired by the third acquiring means as the assumed reflecting surface distance. ,
When the absolute value of the difference between the assumed distance of the reflecting surface and the distance of the third reflecting surface is equal to or greater than the distance measurement error, the second driving means up to an angle different from the angle of the light emitting portion calculated by the second driving means. After rotating the distance measuring means, the second distance measuring means measures the reflecting surface distance, and the measured reflecting surface distance is acquired as the fourth reflecting surface distance.
A fourth calculation means for calculating the second reflection surface angle based on the third and fourth reflection surface distances, and
The invention according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising a fifth calculation means for calculating the angle of the light emitting portion when performing bounce light emission photographing based on the second reflection surface angle. The flash device described. Each time the light emitting portion angle is calculated by the fifth calculating means, the third acquiring means causes the second driving means to measure the reflecting surface distance up to the light emitting portion angle, and the measurement is performed. The third reflecting surface distance is reacquired as the third reflecting surface distance, and the third calculating means assumes that the reflecting surface is a flat surface having the second reflecting surface angle. The reflection surface distance acquired by the acquisition means is recalculated as the reflection surface estimated distance, and the fourth acquisition means is the difference between the recalculated reflection surface estimated distance and the reacquired third reflection surface distance. When the absolute value of is equal to or greater than the distance measuring error, the second distance measuring means is rotated to an angle different from the light emitting unit angle calculated by the fifth calculating means by the second driving means, and then the second distance measuring means is rotated. The flash device according to claim 5, wherein the reflecting surface distance is measured by the second distance measuring means, and the measured reflecting surface distance is acquired as a fourth reflecting surface distance. When it is determined that the absolute value of the difference between the recalculated estimated reflection surface distance and the reacquired third reflection surface distance is equal to or greater than the distance measurement error for a predetermined number of times in succession, the fourth acquisition means. 6. The flash device according to claim 6, wherein the execution of the flash device is stopped. The flash device according to any one of claims 5 to 7, wherein the difference between the different angles and the calculated light emitting unit angle is greater than 0 ° and not more than 10 °. A method for controlling a flash device having a light emitting unit that is rotatably held in at least one of a pan direction and a tilt direction.
A first distance measuring step in which the subject distance, which is the distance from the flash device to the subject, is measured by the first distance measuring unit, and
A second ranging step of measuring the reflecting surface distance, which is the distance from the flash device to the reflecting surface, by the second ranging unit rotatably held in at least one of the pan direction and the tilt direction.
A first drive step for rotating the light emitting unit and changing the angle of the light emitting unit, which is the rotation angle of the optical axis of the light emitting unit,
A second drive step for rotating the second ranging unit to change the direction of the reflecting surface, which is the direction of the second ranging unit with respect to the reflecting surface.
After rotating the second ranging unit in the direction of the first reflecting surface, which is the direction of the first ranging point on the reflecting surface in the second driving step, the reflection in the second ranging step. The first acquisition step of measuring the surface distance and acquiring the measured reflection surface distance as the first reflection surface distance,
After rotating the second ranging step in the direction of the second reflecting surface, which is the direction of the second ranging point different from the first ranging point on the reflecting surface in the second driving step. In the second acquisition step, the reflection surface distance is measured in the second distance measurement step, and the measured reflection surface distance is acquired as the second reflection surface distance.
The first calculation step of calculating the first reflection surface angle based on the first and second reflection surface distances, and
A control method comprising a second calculation step of calculating the light emitting portion angle when performing bounce light emission photographing based on the first reflection surface angle.

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