JP4212485B2 - Electronic camera capable of stereoscopic imaging - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic camera capable of stereoscopic imaging.

  In recent years, electronic imaging devices such as video cameras and electronic still cameras have been widely used. In such an imaging apparatus, an object having a three-dimensional (three-dimensional) structure is projected and recorded and reproduced on a flat image having no depth.

  On the other hand, stereoscopic imaging systems that record stereoscopic information, that is, depth information of a subject together and observe it as a stereoscopic video have been known, and in some fields, such a system is actually built. Has been applied.

  As an example of the stereoscopic imaging system, there is a system that performs stereoscopic imaging using two video cameras with a video camera or a video camera such as a normal video movie or video camera. Hereinafter, this will be briefly described with reference to FIG.

  In FIG. 3A, the subject 3 is indicated by a triangle, and the left eye 7L and the right eye 7R are indicated by a circle. FIG. 3A is a schematic diagram of a situation in which the subject 3 is viewed with two eyes assuming a human face, for example, when viewed from directly above, and the left eye 7L and the right eye 7R. A certain distance, that is, a base line length d is between the two. It is said that there is a distance between the left and right eyes of about 60 mm to 70 mm in normal adults, typically about 65 mm, and the subject 3 is slightly different in order to see the subject 3 from the distance to the left and right Looks. That is, the subject 3 seen when viewed from the left eye and the subject 3 seen when viewed from the right eye appear to deviate.

  The case where this is imaged with an actual camera will be described. In FIG. 3B, the camera 4L is arranged on the left side and the camera 4R is arranged on the right side by a base line length d and the subject 3 is imaged by these two cameras 4L and 4R, so that the human can see the left and right eyes. If you get the same image as when you saw the subject 3 and give the image to the human eye with the left eye again from the left eye and the right eye to the right eye by some means, Since the same image as when viewed with two eyes is actually reproduced, it looks three-dimensional.

  As described above, the conventional imaging system is usually configured by using two cameras, or in a special case, two camera heads (portions for inputting the camera image by a lens, an imaging device, etc.) to one camera. Conventionally, a three-dimensional imaging camera or the like that is integrated into a single camera to capture an image has been used.

  However, the imaging system described above has a drawback in that it takes a lot of time since the camera is arranged with two cameras to image a subject. This will be described below.

  In FIG. 3 (a), when viewing the subject 3, the left eye 7L and the right eye 7R are somewhat deviated from the subject 3 to form a convergence angle θ. In other words, it is known that when a human is looking at a distant subject, his eyes are hardly approached and his eyes are parallel, but when he looks at a very close subject, his eyes are blinded. A convergence angle θ is formed. Here, congestion means “getting together”. Strictly speaking, the convergence angle is 2θ, and θ is a half-convergence angle. Therefore, when the cameras 4L and 4R are arranged apart from each other by the base line length d as shown in FIG. 3B, it is necessary to finely adjust the convergence angle θ when the distance of the subject 3 changes.

  Accordingly, in practice, two cameras must be arranged in consideration of such points, which is very time-consuming and uses two cameras, resulting in a large system configuration. In addition, it has been difficult to put a stereoscopic still image imaging system into practical use by applying an imaging system having various drawbacks to an electronic still camera or the like.

  The present invention has been made paying attention to such a problem, and an object thereof is to provide a practical electronic camera having a simple configuration.

To achieve the above object, according to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a first photographing mode suitable for performing normal photographing, which is monocular imaging, and stereoscopic imaging for photographing images having different photographing directions at different exposure timings. A mode switching means capable of switching between a second photographing mode suitable for the camera and a shutter control means,
  The shutter control means performs a single stereoscopic imaging operation as shutter drive timing control suitable for performing stereoscopic imaging, which is different from that in the first imaging mode, in the second imaging mode. In response to this, a shutter drive signal is generated at least twice.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to realize a camera that can be used for both normal shooting and stereoscopic shooting.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. This embodiment uses a still image capturing method such as an electronic still camera that captures a still image, and does not use two cameras as in the past, but includes one camera and one imaging device (one in this case). (This means that there is only one camera head itself), and stereoscopic imaging is performed with a simple configuration.

  First, the basic concept of monocular (monocular or single lens when viewed as a camera) stereoscopic imaging will be described. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the principle of the monocular stereoscopic imaging method. Here, the two states of the subject are shown superimposed over time, and the triangular schematic subject 3 shown in FIG. 3 shows the direction of the arrow in the figure, in this case clockwise or clockwise (clockwise). It shows that it is rotating in the direction of. Specifically, for example, such a state can be created if a subject is placed on a turntable such as a record player and rotated. When the subject is rotated, the subject 3 is located at the position of the subject 3 'at a certain time, and is located at the position of the subject 3 "when a little time has passed.

  Considering that this is captured by a single camera 4 arranged at the lower front of FIG. 4, the positional relationship between the camera 4 and the subject when the subject 3 is at the position of the subject 3 ′ is as shown in FIG. The same relationship as when the camera 4L faces the subject 3 and the relationship between the camera and the subject when the subject 3 reaches the position of the subject 3 ″ are the positions when the camera 4R faces the subject 3 in FIG. It can be seen that the relationship is the same as the relationship.

  Here, it is assumed that the subjects 3 ′ and 3 ″ do not move like a living thing, and do not move themselves, and when such a subject moves on a turntable, Two pictures represented by 3 ′ and 3 ″ are taken one after another at a predetermined timing. By such shooting, information of the left eye 7L and the right eye 7R of both eyes shown in FIG. 3 is captured by one camera. The above is the principle of monocular stereoscopic imaging.

  Note that a subject image equivalent to this stereoscopic view can be obtained by fixing one camera and tilting the subject to capture an image. However, this fact alone means that a stereoscopic photograph using a conventional film camera or the like can be obtained. This is the same as the shooting technique. However, in the system of the present embodiment, as will be described later, the subject is placed on a turntable and rotated for easy photographing. Then, by pressing the button once with a single camera on the rotating subject, two images are automatically taken one after another at a predetermined timing, and two necessary pictures can be easily taken. .

  The first embodiment of the present invention will be described below. The basic configuration of this embodiment is shown in FIG. FIG. 1 is a side view of the entire three-dimensional still image imaging system of the present embodiment. A turntable 1 for placing and rotating a subject 3, a camera 4 for photographing the subject 3, and a turntable 1 And a support arm 5 that supports the camera 4 and a motor 2 that rotationally drives the turntable 1. Although not shown in the drawing, in addition to the above configuration, a fine control switch such as a power source is provided, and when this switch is turned on, the motor 2 rotates and the turntable 1 as a rotating means is interlocked. The subject 3 disposed on the turntable 1 rotates. At this time, the support arm 5 maintains the rotation axis of the turntable 1 and the camera 4 in a predetermined angular relationship, and the optical axis of the camera 4 is perpendicular to the rotation axis 6 of the motor 2. It shall be.

  Here, when the subject 3 is photographed with the camera 4, if the camera 4 is a normal camera, the photographed screen has a rectangular shape and is a photographing screen that is longer in the horizontal direction than in the vertical direction. Here, the horizontal direction in such a case is referred to as a horizontal direction. That is, the camera 4 shown in FIG. 1 is set to shoot in the lateral direction, and the arrow (photographing optical axis) extending to the left from the lens portion of the camera 4 and the rotation axis 6 of the motor 2 are perpendicular to each other. It is attached with the support arm 5 so that it may become. Here, the camera 4 is rotated by 90 degrees when attempting to shoot in a state where the position where the camera 4 is finally going to shoot is a vertical position (the vertical position of the photographic image frame to be shot is long and the width is short). All that is required is a vertical position (relative to the optical axis). That is, in the present embodiment, the horizontal line of the shooting screen is not completely determined only by the camera 4, but represents the direction considered horizontal with respect to the shooting screen to be finally shot by the camera.

  A specific configuration of the camera 4 will be described below. FIG. 2 is a diagram in which a portion related to the present embodiment of a typical electronic still camera is extracted and illustrated for a power supply unit, an autofocus, a strobe, a finder device, and the like that should be included in a normal electronic camera. Not provided, but of course provided.

  In FIG. 2, the light incident from the photographing lens 10 is regulated by a diaphragm 11 and irradiated to an image pickup device (imager) 12 such as a CCD. The subject photoelectric conversion signal output at this time is sent to the recording unit 14 after appropriate signal processing is performed by the imaging unit 13. In this embodiment, as with a conventional electronic camera, the electrical signal is digitized and digitally recorded. The recording unit 14 performs digital conversion on the signal from the imaging unit 13, and the digitized image signal is written to the memory card 16 through the card interface (I / F) 15.

  In the present embodiment, the reproduction operation is not the essence of the invention, so the description thereof is omitted here. However, in the case of having a reproduction function, a reproduction unit that reproduces a signal from the memory card 16 or an external device from the reproduction unit. Of course, a display or the like for displaying the output signal is required.

  The portion from the imager 12 to the memory card 16 is the flow of the image signal at the time of recording. The system controller 20 for controlling the entire camera including these portions and other portions not shown is provided. . The system controller 20 is usually composed of a microcomputer for performing various processes, but in this embodiment as well, the microcomputer is the main component. In particular, in the present embodiment, since control related to exposure control is performed, an exposure control unit 20a for that purpose is provided.

  An imager driver 18 for controlling the imager 12 is also provided. The imager driver 18, the imaging unit 13, the recording unit 14, and other parts operate based on a synchronization signal from a synchronization signal generating device called a clock generator or a synchronous signal generator (also called SSG) although not particularly shown. Is done. In particular, when an instruction to drive, for example, an electronic shutter (not shown) is given to the imager driver 18 by an exposure control command from the exposure controller 20a of the system controller 20, the imager driver 18 sends the electronic A shutter driving signal for controlling the shutter is given to cause the imager 12 to perform a shutter operation only by an electrical command. Here, the imager driver 18 and the exposure control unit 20a described above constitute a shutter control unit, and a signal output from the imager driver 18 is a shutter drive signal. The exposure control unit 20 a further controls the diaphragm 11 through the iris driver 17.

  The electronic still camera shown in FIG. This is a key provided at an appropriate location on the camera body, and is composed of, for example, a push button switch or a slide switch. By operating this input key 21, various settings can be made to the system controller 20. Specific examples thereof will be described later.

  The signal flow until the image signal is recorded has been described above. In the present embodiment, since the image signal in the NTSC format is taken in, one frame is composed of two fields. This will be described below.

  In the NTSC format, one image (one frame) is composed of 525 scanning lines. This one-frame image performs a so-called interlace operation in which every other 525 scanning lines are scanned. It consists of two fields obtained by Such two field images are recorded as one frame image. That is, two 1-field images in the 2: 1 interlaced video signal are recorded in the recording unit 14 as one still image.

  FIGS. 5A and 5B show such field image signals, in which an Odd field representing an odd number and an Even field representing an even number are sequentially output one after another. Here, a simplified example of FIG. 5A will be described, and FIG. 5B will be described later. Odd and Even field signals output from the imaging unit 13 to the recording unit 14 are output alternately (O, E, O, E) and at time intervals of 1/60 seconds for each field. Before these field signals are actually recorded on the memory card 16, the field signals to be actually recorded as one frame image are selected from the Odd and Even signals output in order in time and recorded. The data is taken into the frame buffer 23 in the unit 16. FIG. 5A shows how Odd and Even field signals are recorded in each area, odd area (O), and even area (E) of the frame buffer 23.

  At this time, an instruction signal is supplied to the recording unit 14 by the system controller 20 in order to instruct which signal, that is, which of the signals output one after another is recorded. After these field signals are stored in the frame buffer 23, the Odd and Even field signals are recorded as a single frame on the memory card 16 via the card I / F 15.

  Here, the two signals of the Odd and Even fields are once recorded in the frame buffer 23 in order to compress information in order to minimize the amount of data recorded in a normal electronic still camera. That is, in this embodiment, the Odd and Even field signals recorded in the frame buffer 23 are combined and compressed into a single frame image and recorded in the memory card 16. It is not always necessary to perform image compression in such a state. Actually, Odd and Even field images can be individually compressed. However, since the compression method used in many conventional electronic still cameras compresses after forming an image of one frame, this method is used in this embodiment.

  As described above, in this embodiment, the two field signals output from the imaging unit 13 are taken into the frame buffer 23 as one still image. The timing of capturing two images at this time depends on the timing at which the shutter signal is output, and the timing at which the shutter signal is opened and closed and the timing at which the control signal for capturing the image into the frame buffer 23 is sent to the recording unit 14. The output is usually 1: 1. Therefore, for example, as shown in FIG. 5A, after the Odd image information of the two field signals is taken into the frame buffer 23 at a predetermined timing, a predetermined time has passed for the Even image information. By capturing in the frame buffer 23 later, one frame image can be formed from two field signals having different time intervals.

  The above recording operation will be described below with reference to the flowchart of FIG. This flowchart shows the flow of processing of stereoscopic still image shooting by the system of this embodiment. First, in step S1, it is determined whether or not a setting input has been made. This is prepared for performing various settings described in later embodiments. Here, it is assumed that there is no setting input, and the process proceeds to the next step S3.

  In step S3, it is determined whether or not a trigger is input, and waits until a trigger is input. When a trigger is input, the process proceeds to the next step S4. Step S4 performs default processing. This is related to the operation of the setting input described above, and since it is assumed here that there is no setting input, the processing when there is no setting is executed here as the default processing. As shown in FIG. 7, the default conditions for performing the default processing are: the number of shots n = 1 when shooting a frame image, the shutter interval Δt = 1/60 (1 field), and the shooting order information is the order of Odd and Even. First, the Odd field signal is recorded.

  After the default condition as described above is set in step S4, the process proceeds to the next step S5. In this step, it is determined whether or not there is a VD signal (vertical drive signal). Here, the VD signal is substantially the same as the so-called vertical synchronization signal Vsync, and is a signal for determining the image processing timing of one sheet. Here, the fall of the VD signal is used as the processing timing. In step S5, the process waits until the VD signal is generated. When the falling edge of the VD signal is detected, the process proceeds to step S6 to determine whether or not the field determination is OK. The field discrimination is related to the shooting order information given as one of the default conditions in step S4.

  As can be seen from FIG. 7, here, since the condition of Odd is given to the shooting order information first, if the current field is Odd, the field discrimination in step S6 is OK, and the process proceeds to the next step S8. On the other hand, if it is not Odd, that is, if it is Even, the process proceeds to step S7 and waits until the fall of the VD signal is detected once again. Here, since the Odd and Even fields come alternately in the NTSC signal, even if it is not Odd at a certain point in time, it always becomes Odd if the next VD signal is waited for again. Therefore, the process proceeds to step S8 when the Odd signal is detected.

  In step S8, shutter driving is performed a plurality of times according to the conditions. Here, considering that the above-described shutter interval Δt = 1/60 is one field, continuous two-field shutter driving is performed, and then the process proceeds to step S9 to perform recording according to the conditions. That is, here, the field signal corresponding to the image signal captured by the shutter drive for two consecutive fields in step S8 is recorded. Here, only one image is recorded in accordance with the default condition (the number of shots n = 1). Here, the timing control is based on the assumption that when the shutter is driven, recording is performed correspondingly.

  As described above, in step S8, two field signals continuous in the order of Odd and Even are captured at 1/60 second intervals, and the captured two field signals are recorded as one single frame image in the next step S9. The

  As described above, one trigger is given, and shutter driving is performed a plurality of times according to the above conditions, and one frame image is recorded corresponding to this driving. In step S9, it is determined whether or not to end this operation. If YES, the process returns to the main routine, but if another still image is to be taken, the process returns to the first step S1 and waits for a trigger. To do. As described above, when the trigger is pressed once, the above-described process is executed, so that one frame of the stereoscopic still image is captured by the recording unit 14.

  The case where the stereoscopic still image recorded in this way is reproduced will be described below.

  The image captured by the above method assumes that the direction of rotation of the subject is clockwise, that is, the turntable 1 of FIG. 1 is rotating clockwise, as if the subject 3 was viewed from the left. An image equivalent to that of the subject 3 is captured, and an image that is subsequently captured 1/60 seconds later is recorded as an image equivalent to the image of the subject 3 viewed from the right side.

  FIG. 8 shows a state in which such an equivalent image is displayed on the TV monitor 30. Here, two images are not displayed on the TV monitor 30 at the same time, but at different timings. Further, liquid crystal shutter glasses 31 are provided between the left eye 7 </ b> L, the right eye 7 </ b> R, and the TV monitor 30. The white portions of the liquid crystal shutter glasses 31 indicate that they are in a transmissive state that allows light to pass therethrough, and the portions that are filled with black indicate that they are in a state of blocking light. Accordingly, in FIG. 8A, the liquid crystal shutter glasses 31L in front of the left eye 7L are in a transmissive state, and the right liquid crystal shutter glasses 31R are in a blocked state. In this case, only the left eye 7L displays an image on the TV monitor 30. Can see. FIG. 8B shows a state in which the right and left of the liquid crystal shutter glasses 31 are switched at different timings. In this case, the right eye 7R is in the transmission state and the left eye 7L is in the blocking state. Only the eye 7R can see the image on the TV monitor 30. Therefore, at the time of reproduction, when the Even field signal of the NTSC signal and the Odd field signal are associated with the left and right eyes, the liquid crystal shutter glasses 31 are transmitted and cut off every 1/60 seconds in accordance with each field. Is switched, the left eye 7L can always see the image only at a certain timing, and the right eye 7R can see the image only at another timing. Therefore, it is possible to selectively view the image for the left eye and the image for the right eye, respectively.

  A method for correctly reproducing the image stored in the memory card 16 in consideration of the above will be described with reference to FIGS.

  In FIG. 9, VD is a vertical synchronizing signal, F / I is a field index signal, and the above-mentioned Odd and Even field signals are represented by high and low F / I signals.

  Here, the liquid crystal shutter glasses 31 of FIG. 8 sequentially repeat that the liquid crystal of the left-eye glasses is in a transmission state when in the odd field and is in a cutoff state when in the even field. The right eye is the opposite. Therefore, the left eye 7L can see only the image in the odd field, and the right eye 7R can see only the image in the even field. Here, at the time of shooting, an image L viewed from the position of the left eye 7L is always input to the Odd field, and an image R viewed from the right eye 7R is always input to the Even field. As a result, the image can be viewed correctly, and as a result, it can be correctly reproduced as a stereoscopic image.

  In the example described above, the Odd field signal is always fetched first as a result of the field discrimination in the default state. FIG. 10 shows the relationship between the rotation direction of the subject 3 and the Odd and Even field signals including this case. As shown in the figure, when the turntable 1 rotates clockwise (clockwise), the image L viewed from the left is always input first, and then the image R viewed from the right. Is entered. Here, if an Odd field signal is assigned to the previously input image L and an even field signal is assigned to the later input image R, the result is that the image L is Odd and R is Even. A correspondence relationship is established, and correct reproduction can be performed. Therefore, in the above-described embodiment, if the subject rotates clockwise, a correct operation as a system is performed.

  The left and right directions such as clockwise and counterclockwise are defined by the rotation direction when the system is looked down from above, and thus the drawings are drawn as such. Further, the image signals for the left eye and the right eye have been described above, but the left and right are L when the human eye sees, and R is the image corresponding to the right eye. For example, even if a person moves with respect to the subject 3 and sees it from the right side, when referring to one person, the left eye is always seen from the left rather than the right eye, and the right eye is left The relationship of looking from the right rather than the eyes always holds.

  The second embodiment of the present invention will be described below. This embodiment is characterized in that the number of still images recorded at the same time can be changed in response to one shooting command. In the first embodiment, the number of shots is set to 1 on the assumption that there is no setting input. However, in the second embodiment, the number of shots can be changed in response to a shooting command. This will be described below.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the camera includes an input key 21. A number setting key is assigned to an appropriate key in the input key 21, and a predetermined number can be input from the input key 21. Here, for example, it is assumed that recording of two frame images is designated. At this time, it is determined in step S1 of the flowchart of FIG. 6 that there is a setting input, and the number of shots n = 2 is input in step S2. From this point onward, the steps as described in the first embodiment are basically executed. However, in the default process in step S4, there is no remaining setting in which the setting of n = 2, which has been input, is prioritized. The difference is that the default processing is performed on things. That is, in this case, in the shutter drive in step S8, n = 2 is effective here, so the shutter drive is performed four times in this case. However, the shutter drive is not necessarily limited to four times.

  Hereinafter, an operation when four times of shutter driving are performed will be described with reference to FIG. Here, FIG. 5B is drawn in a general form. Here, the buffer memory of the recording unit 14 is composed of two buffer memories 23 and 23 ′. Of these, the specifications of the buffer memory 23 'vary depending on the maximum number of images to be captured. Here, it is assumed that the buffer memory 23' has a sufficient capacity. The frame buffer 23 is a single frame buffer similar to that of the first embodiment, and image signals that are sequentially output in the order of Odd and Even as long as the buffer 23 ′ allows, regardless of how many instructions are received at the same time, are temporarily stored. It is assumed that it is possible to record in the memory card 16 by storing it in this buffer 23 ′ and then reading out the necessary one frame image signal to the frame buffer 23.

  In this embodiment, the shutter drive is performed in step S8 in order to capture the images of the first four fields O, E, O, and E into the frame buffer 23 'by specifying n = 2. One frame image is recorded. That is, four fields of image signals are recorded in the frame buffer 23, and the first Odd and Even two fields of images are subjected to processing such as compression processing as necessary, and then the memory card. 16 is recorded. The remaining two field images are read out as one frame and recorded on the memory card 16. As described above, an image is input at a shutter interval = 1/60 seconds under the same default conditions as in the first embodiment, and as a result, an image of two frames is recorded on the memory card 16. Thereafter, it is determined whether or not to end in step S10 as in the first embodiment.

  In this example, four fields obtained continuously when n = 2 is designated, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, when one frame image is obtained from the first two fields, the next recording is performed. Of course, another frame image to be taken may be fetched from a timing after a predetermined time elapses, for example, from two memories indicated by * in FIG. 5B.

  The reason for changing the timing of the image to be captured in this way is that one image is not always obtained at the optimal timing when the shutter trigger is pressed while the subject 3 is rotated. In other words, since the subject 3 may be shot when it is facing a direction other than the camera 4, a stereoscopic still image image is obtained in advance at several timings so that it can be selected later. At that time, for example, the timing of capturing two images may be arbitrarily set via the input key 21 regardless of the shutter interval. Further, in this case, when a plurality of captured images are taken, it is possible to specify in combination with a change in the shutter interval, which will be described later.

  A third embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG. In the first and second embodiments, the left eye and right eye information is associated with the field of the image to be recorded, as described with reference to FIGS. Therefore, once recording is performed according to such a rule, it can be said that data relating to what method is currently recorded is unnecessary. However, there is a case where such accompanying data is required, and the third embodiment considers the correspondence in this case.

  Although the basic concept of photographing is as described above, there are two methods shown in FIGS. 11A and 11B depending on how the accompanying data is recorded. This figure shows the data structure of an image file recorded on the memory card 16. Prior to describing each method, common items will be described. For example, one piece of image data is recorded as data in the form of one image file, but image data is directly stored in one image file. The brightness of this part is divided into a part of image data recorded in how many colors and how many colors, and a part of various accompanying data such as the recording format in which this data is recorded. It is done. An example of such accompanying data is known as a file header or simply a header. In each embodiment, data relating to a frame field as a stereoscopic still image and shooting order is recorded as a part of the header.

  First, in the case of FIG. 11A, the image data itself is just image data, but when it is read and used, it is premised on image data having a frame structure such as NTSC. Therefore, at this time, data indicating which of Odd and Even is recorded first is defined, and even if the recording itself is performed in any order, the data can be reproduced by reading later. . As an example, 1 bit of stereo bit data is secured in the header, and when this bit is 0, it is considered forward, for example, Odd is first and Even is later, and when bit data is 1, reverse order recording, that is, Even Can be considered earlier and Odd later. By using such bit data, for example, in the above-described embodiment, it is necessary to determine the order of Odd and Even according to the rotation direction. In this case, the recording procedure is performed according to the rotation direction of the subject 3. There is no need to decide, just set 0 or 1 as stereo bit data in order to manage what form is currently recorded, and finally use this to record in what order Therefore, information on how the liquid crystal shutter should be driven can be obtained.

  Next, the case of FIG. 11B will be described. In this case, the recording method of the image data is not necessarily the same as the conventional format such as the NTSC system, and there are several image data handled on the computer, and data showing the temporal relationship between them. You may make it have. That is, in this embodiment, timing data indicating when each captured image is captured is provided. In this case, a combination of A and B or a combination of A and C may form one stereoscopic image during reproduction. Also, a combination of B and C may be used. Here, image data captured by one shutter drive is expressed as A, B, and the like. Therefore, in the above-described embodiment, A and B are combined and recorded as one frame, but here, such a thing is not distinguished, or Odd and Even are not distinguished. For example, when A is captured, A is If it is taken in first, it is assumed that timing is used as a reference for timing, B is how much later than it, C is how much later than that, or data about the direction of rotation of the subject 3 at that time is used. The reproduction is performed based on these data. In this case, the amount of data is insufficient with one bit, but it is a matter of course that the necessary number of bits can be secured in the header.

  The fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG. This embodiment relates to management of the rotation direction of the subject.

  As described with reference to FIG. 9, when the rotation of the subject 3 is clockwise, the odd field signal is first captured after the odd field signal, and when the rotation of the subject 3 is counterclockwise, the even field signal is first captured. The Odd field signal was captured later, and the order of the image signals to be captured at the time of shooting was changed according to the rotation of the subject 3.

  Here, the shooting order information includes specific bit information about the order of shooting, but here also has the concept of how to manage the field when recording signals. Shall be included. Therefore, when a certain setting condition is satisfied, for example, when the subject 3 rotates clockwise, the judgment that the odd field signal is recorded first can also be the shooting order information. On the other hand, when the Even field signal is recorded first by inverting the subject 3, the shooting order information is changed. This will be described with reference to FIG. 10. This indicates that when the subject 3 is clockwise, the odd field signal must be recorded first, and when the subject 3 is counterclockwise, the even field signal must be recorded first.

  In the fourth embodiment, the user inputs whether the rotation of the subject 3 is clockwise or counterclockwise from the input key 21 shown in FIG. For example, a modification may be considered. For example, a system in which the camera 4 and the turntable 1 are integrally configured and information regarding the rotation direction of the subject 3 is automatically input to the camera 4 may be used. However, in order to make the explanation easy to understand, it is assumed that a human operates the input key 21 to input.

  Since the system controller 20 can detect the clockwise or counterclockwise condition by this key input, if it is clockwise, it is the same as the default condition shown in FIG. 7, but information indicating that it is counterclockwise is input. In this case, information indicating that it is counterclockwise is input in step S2 of the flowchart of FIG. In this case, in the determination of whether or not the field discrimination in step S6 is OK, the reverse condition to the above-described default case is applied. In other words, since the shooting order information has been changed, the field determination is OK when Even. The above will be described with reference to FIG. 5 (a). In this case, the Even field signal is captured first, and the subsequent Odd field signal (without the arrow in the figure) is captured later. If it is added, it is stored in the frame buffer 23 in a state where the arrows intersect.

  The fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described below. The fifth embodiment is characterized in that the shutter control means can change the generation timing of the shutter drive signal. Here, the shutter driving timing corresponds to the shutter interval Δt in FIG. 7. For example, when the rotation speed of the subject 3 is high, the shutter interval is preferably short, and when the rotation is slow, the shutter interval is also slow. Will be good.

  That is, in this system, in order to obtain a single 3D still image, the shutter is released twice, but the subject 3 moves in the meantime, so that an image equivalent to that seen at the interval of human eyes can be obtained with reference to FIG. Stated. Here, since the distance between human eyes is almost determined, for example, when two images are taken at the same time interval, if the subject 3 is rotated rapidly, the amount or angle by which the subject 3 moves during the shutter interval. Becomes extremely large, and the subject 3 is viewed at a larger angle than that actually seen by a human, and a person with a face with an extremely wide distance between both eyes is viewing the subject 3.

  On the other hand, when the subject 3 moves slowly, for example, considering the case where the subject 3 is stopped, the effect corresponding to the left and right eyes corresponding to stereoscopic vision is lost.

  Therefore, in consideration of such points, in the present embodiment, the shutter drive signal generation timing can be changed, and an appropriate two-image shooting time interval can be set in accordance with the rotation speed of the subject 3. . That is, the user determines how fast the speed of the turntable 1 is, and inputs two shooting intervals via the input key 2. In this case, since the NTSC system is followed, the timing for obtaining two images is in 1/60 second increments, and one image is recorded in correspondence with the Odd field, and the other image is recorded in correspondence with the Even field. Is recorded, and the number of fields is changed for a minimum 1/60 second interval. When used in the normal NTSC system, only an interval of 2 · m + 1 fields (m is a non-negative integer) can be realized. However, after the first picture is taken, any m field can be arbitrarily switched by temporarily switching between all odd field driving and all even field driving. It can be realized up to the field interval.

  For example, when the input key 21 is used to input that an image is to be recorded at 10 field intervals (10 fields are about 1/6 second), the system controller 20 detects this and sets the shutter interval, that is, the generation timing of the drive signal. (Step S2 in the flowchart shown in FIG. 6). In this case, in step S8, the shutter is driven twice at a time interval of about 10 fields (about 1/6 second) instead of the above-mentioned 1/60 second interval so as to suit the subsequent recording. The shutter is driven in the order of the odd field and the even field, and an image is captured in the frame buffer 23 shown in FIG.

  At this time, it is good to switch to the special drive as described above. However, if the normal NTSC system is to be maintained, only 2 · m + 1 fields can be realized, so the value is changed to 9 or 11 fields. Now round up and run in 11 fields. This means that the Even field indicated by a dotted line in FIG. 5A is the 11th field. The captured image is recorded on the memory card 16 in step S9.

  A modification of the above-described fifth embodiment will be described below. In this modification, a plurality of sheets are recorded, and this is combined with changing the shutter driving timing described above. That is, the number of shutter driving times is set to a plurality of times, and when an image is captured into the frame buffer 23 at an appropriate timing, combinations of the odd field signal and the even field signal are captured at various intervals instead of only two adjacent ones. Hereinafter, a more specific description will be given with reference to FIG.

  For example, all the images obtained by releasing the shutter at all the timings of the signals output continuously from O, E, O, and E are recorded in a frame buffer prepared in advance. For example, when one image is taken out from the two O and E on the left side of the buffer memory 23 ', it is the same as in the above embodiment, but in this embodiment, at the same time, for example, the first O is constant. Combine with E after the period. As a result, the timing of the L and R images is very open, and therefore a picture with a large binocular parallax (the degree of difference between the image seen with the left eye and the image seen with the right eye) is taken simultaneously. be able to.

  Further, when such shooting is further combined, for example, a plurality of images with different shutter timings in one image, and thus with different binocular parallax can be captured, and conversely according to the rotation of the subject 3 with the same parallax. Images can be obtained in any combination, such as capturing images at various times. At that time, if the number of recorded memory cards is also designated separately by the input key 21, arbitrary recording becomes possible. In this case, however, what number of sheets is actually taken at what interval is a design matter, but since it is related to the complexity of the system, it is necessary to integrate it to some extent so that it does not become complicated.

  The sixth embodiment of the present invention will be described below. The shutter control means can change the capture timing of two images, but this change is not input from a manual input key as in the above-described embodiment, but the rotation speed of the subject and the taking lens system are actually changed. It is also possible to automatically perform necessary shutter control according to the distance of the subject being photographed, the magnification at which the subject is being photographed, and the like.

  That is, the AF / lens control unit 19 detects the subject distance and the shooting magnification, obtains information on which distance the subject lens 10 is in focus, and when the shooting lens 10 knows the zoom magnification. Can obtain information on the magnification of the subject 3, and thus functions as information input means for the system controller 20. In other words, information from the input key 21 or information on the rotational speed and / or subject distance and photographing magnification from the AF / lens control unit 19 is input to the system controller 20 as necessary.

  This will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 6. Although the process shown in FIG. 6 does not particularly mention AF lens control, it is substantially the same as the setting input process in that information is input. Corresponds to step S2 in FIG. In accordance with the input value, the higher the rotational speed, the shorter the shutter driving time interval (drive signal generation timing) needs to be shortened. On the other hand, regarding the setting of the subject distance and the subject magnification, it is necessary to increase the shutter interval as the distance of the subject 3 becomes generally longer, and it is necessary to decrease the shutter interval as the subject magnification increases. There is.

  In other words, since the system itself is a rotation system, the angle at which the subject 3 is expected must be increased if the rotation speed is fast as described above, but conversely, if the rotation speed is the same and the shutter interval is the same, L and R The rotation angle corresponding to the angle of convergence between the L and R images is the same. That is, in FIG. 4, the convergence angle θ means that it is always constant if the rotation speed and the shutter interval are constant. However, when a person looks at the actual subject 3, the convergence angle θ is smaller as the subject 3 is farther away because the baseline length is constant, and becomes larger as the subject 3 is closer. Accordingly, in consideration of this, the longer the subject distance is, the smaller the rotation angle within the shutter interval period needs to be. Conversely, when the subject 3 is rotating at the same speed, it is necessary to shorten the shutter interval. In terms of magnification, when the subject 3 is moved closer or farther away, the subject magnification will decrease if the distance is reduced as a result, and the magnification will increase if the subject 3 is moved closer. However, when the zoom magnification is increased, the subject 3 appears larger, and when the zoom magnification is decreased, the subject 3 appears smaller. Thus, increasing the magnification means that the imager 12 is photographed in the same way as if the subject 3 was brought nearby. Therefore, it means that the user feels closer when observing it, and conversely, when the magnification is lowered, it seems that the subject 3 has moved away.

  Therefore, in stereoscopic vision, the convergence angle θ must be large when it looks close to the subject 3, and conversely the convergence angle θ must be small when it looks far away, the magnification has increased. In some cases, control must be performed such that the angle increases, that is, the shutter interval increases. When the subject 3 is far from the subject 3, it is necessary to perform the reverse control.

  As described above, in the sixth embodiment, the shutter drive is controlled in step S8 in FIG. 6 corresponding to the rotation speed, the subject distance, and the shooting magnification. For example, the faster the rotation speed of the subject 3, the shorter the shutter interval. Thus, the shutter interval is controlled to be shorter as the subject distance is longer. Further, with regard to the photographing magnification, the shutter drive is controlled in step S8 so that the lower the shutter magnification, the faster the shutter interval. Here, the absolute value in each case is set to a value suitable for the system.

  Hereinafter, a seventh embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In this embodiment, a mode change switch is defined in the input key 21 of FIG. This switch may be any switch, for example, it is composed of a slide switch. When it is tilted in one direction, it is in the normal shooting mode (first shooting mode), and when it is tilted in the other direction, it is in stereoscopic shooting mode (first shooting mode). Use a switch that can be switched.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where stereoscopic shooting is performed has been described. However, in the present embodiment, the imaging apparatus and the camera used are not necessarily dedicated to stereoscopic shooting. For example, a system that can be used alone as an ordinary camera and combined with a subject rotation system to capture a 3D still image as a whole is used to switch between the two modes described above using a changeover switch. Hereinafter, such mode control will be described.

  That is, considering the correspondence with the recording mode, for example, the conventional electronic camera used for general photographing has a field recording mode and a frame recording mode. In the case of field recording, one field is not used but one frame information is not used. I am trying to record with only information. In a camera using the most common complementary color mosaic filter type imager at present, it is necessary to use a field mode in order to perform strobe photography without using a mechanical shutter. On the other hand, the frame mode for recording one frame consisting of two fields has a feature that the vertical resolution is high.

  On the other hand, as can be seen from the description of the embodiments so far, in a camera that performs such shooting, the frame mode is suitable for the stereoscopic shooting mode as the second shooting mode in many cases. On the other hand, the first shooting mode, that is, the normal shooting mode, can be used in either the field mode or the frame mode. Therefore, it is possible to propose a camera that can automatically select a frame mode in the stereoscopic shooting mode, but can select a camera suitable for the circumstances at the time in the normal mode.

  That is, a mode suitable for normal shooting and a mode for a stereoscopic still image are set separately.

  Hereinafter, an eighth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. This embodiment is characterized in that the generation timing of the shutter drive signal is switched between the case where the normal shooting mode is set and the case where the stereoscopic shooting is set with the input key 21 shown in FIG. To do. This is to shorten the time lag from when the trigger button is pressed until the image is actually recorded as much as possible.

  Here, since all of the above embodiments are compatible with stereo shooting, the stereo shooting mode will be described first in this embodiment as well. The field determination is performed in step S6 of the flowchart shown in FIG. 6. If OK is determined here, the process proceeds to the next shutter drive. If the field determination is NO, another field is determined in the next step S7. That is, it waits until the next VD signal comes. In the above-described embodiment, since three-dimensional imaging is performed, such a determination is always necessary, and if this determination is NO, one field must be waited. The probability at this time is ½ because the Even and Odd field signals are alternately repeated.

  However, such field discrimination is not necessary in the normal shooting mode, and either one of the frame images may be recorded first. Furthermore, there is no need to wait for one field when recording a field image. That is, from the viewpoint of shortening the time until the shutter is driven with respect to the shutter trigger signal, executing step S7 is one drawback.

  Therefore, in the eighth embodiment, when the setting of the input key 21 is switched to the first mode, that is, the normal shooting mode, the determination in step S6 is jumped, and immediately after step S5, the process proceeds to step S8. The time lag from the trigger to the shutter drive is minimized in each case.

  The ninth embodiment of the present invention will be described below. In the embodiments described so far, it has been described that two pictures are captured at a shooting time interval of 1/60 seconds and the shooting time interval can be freely set. However, this system is applied to still images. However, whether the subject is stationary or not is relative, depending on the way of thinking, and if you take two fast-moving objects that are moving slowly, you may be able to consider that they are actually stopped. . For example, in the case of shooting a person or the like, if the subject is completely stationary, it can be photographed as a still image, but cannot be stationary for a long time.

  For this reason, a mode in which two pictures are taken at a certain interval, for example, at an interval of 1/60 seconds, was used. However, in this case, on the contrary, it is necessary to rotate the subject 3 within 1/60 seconds to shoot as an image viewed from two different places, and the shutter speed (shutter for shooting one image) If the shutter is opened for a long time, the subject 3 is rotated during that time, resulting in a disadvantage that the image is blurred. This is a problem peculiar to stereoscopic still image capturing that does not occur at all during normal shooting.

  Therefore, practically, a shutter speed faster than 1/250 seconds is usually required because each image is stationary when two images are taken at 1/60 second intervals. This is not an absolute requirement, and there are cases where the shutter speed can be lowered a little, but a speed of 1/250, 1/360 or 1/500 is desirable.

  In this way, control must be performed to increase the shutter speed as much as possible, but on the other hand, the shooting conditions also change depending on the size of the subject and the shooting conditions. In other words, it is necessary to prevent out of focus when performing stereoscopic shooting. This should not be out of focus even in a normal image, but in the case of a normal photo, there are many cases where shooting is performed such as focusing on one point firmly and intentionally blurring the rest. On the other hand, in the case of stereoscopic shooting, during playback, the entire stereoscopic view from the front to the back is often observed. This is not desirable because the same situation as the bokeh mentioned in the photo above occurs. In other words, it is generally considered that photographing with a deep so-called depth of field in which the subject is focused anywhere from the front to the back is desirable, and it is usually desirable to reduce the aperture. Therefore, it is desirable that the shutter speed is fast and the aperture is reduced. However, there is a limit to this, and it varies depending on the conditions of the subject.

  Therefore, it is conceivable to change the sensitivity condition of the imaging system in the case of stereoscopic shooting compared to the case of normal shooting. For example, it is usually not preferable to raise a camera that is shooting at an ISO sensitivity of 100 to ISO 200 and 400 because image quality often deteriorates. However, for example, in stereoscopic still image shooting, as described above. Since it is necessary to squeeze the aperture to increase the depth of field as much as possible, the shutter speed is as high as possible. Become.

  That is, as a general idea, in the aperture control and the shutter control, the shutter control is more important in order to obtain a blur-free image. For this reason, in this embodiment, an exposure control unit 20a is provided in the system controller 20 of FIG. 2, and a signal from the exposure control unit 20a is supplied to the imager driver 18 and the iris driver 17. Further, a signal from the system controller 20 is also output to the imaging unit 13. Here, some kind of program control is conventionally performed at the time of normal shooting, but in this embodiment, at the time of stereoscopic shooting, the iris driver 17 or the image pickup unit 13 is set so as to keep the shutter speed at 1/250 seconds at the worst. Control sensitivity.

  Here, both the iris and the sensitivity have setting limits, and the iris driver 17 cannot be further opened if the aperture is opened to the maximum, and the imaging unit 13 has a limit even if the generation of noise is allowed. For example, it may be possible to increase the ISO 100 to ISO 400, and when the brightness of the subject is insufficient, the shutter speed is not longer than 1/251 seconds, and the aperture 11 is opened or the sensitivity of the imaging unit 13 is increased. Raise. Here, if the subject 3 is illuminated with a slightly brighter illumination, the conditions under which a certain degree of photographing can be performed increase. Therefore, as another way of thinking, it is conceivable to perform control in which the sensitivity of the imaging unit 13 is sacrificed by reducing the aperture 11 in order to fix the shutter speed to 1/251 and make the depth of the focal aperture as deep as possible.

  Here, the control as described above is necessary in the second shooting mode, that is, in the stereoscopic shooting mode. When the stereoscopic shooting mode is set with the input key 21 in FIG. 2, the control as described above is performed. When the input key 21 is in the normal shooting mode, the conventional control is performed without performing the above-described control.

  It should be noted that when the subject is sufficiently bright, it is not necessary to increase the sensitivity, and all conditions can be realized, or the sensitivity may not be increased as an embodiment, and so forth.

  The tenth embodiment of the present invention will be described below. In reality, unless the illumination of the subject 3 is sufficiently bright, the condition of increasing the shutter speed and narrowing down the aperture 11 is often not satisfied. Therefore, when shooting under the above-described conditions, it is necessary to illuminate the subject 3 brightly and to reduce the aperture 11 to a desirable shutter speed, for example, about 1/251 at the worst as described above, preferably 1/500 or more.

  Here, for example, when a condition to narrow down to F8 is set, if this condition is not satisfied, the sensitivity can be increased. However, in practice, it is preferable not to increase the sensitivity of the imaging unit 13. Therefore, in this embodiment, a warning is given that the above condition is not satisfied. As the warning means, for example, an LED lamp is provided at an appropriate location of the camera, for example, slightly above the input key 21 in FIG.

  The eleventh embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. In this embodiment, the configuration of the turntable 1 on which the subject 3 shown in FIG. Prior to detailed description, a principle diagram of the monocular stereoscopic imaging method will be described. As described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, although there is a time lag when a subject is photographed, the same images can be obtained for L corresponding to the left eye and R corresponding to the right eye.

  However, this can be said only for the subject 3 that is rotating on the turntable 1, and what appears in the camera at the time of shooting is not only the rotating subject 3 and the turntable 1 but behind the subject 3. What is called a background is also photographed together. That is, since the background is not rotated, if the background is captured as it is with this shooting method, only that part will be taken under different conditions by breaking the original binocular stereoscopic condition, Will result in unnatural images.

  In addition, when the subject 3 is illuminated with illumination having a uniform direction of light such as a diffusion surface light source, the surface of the subject 3 is not particularly glossy. Although there is no particular influence, surface reflection is caused by the subject 3 in consideration of being illuminated by something like a spot lamp. When the degree of surface reflection is weak, it looks just like a gloss, but when the degree is strong, the surface shines white and looks like light (shine). When the subject 3 is rotated, the appearance of luster and luster moves with the rotation to some extent, but since the light source is stopped, it is different from the binocular stereoscopic conditions of the original photographing. In this case, in order for the monocular stereoscopic imaging described in FIG. 4 to be fully realized, the background needs to rotate together with the turntable, and the light source applied to the subject 3 does not rotate with the subject 3 as well. Is slightly different from the original binocular stereoscopic conditions.

  In the present embodiment, such a problem is solved to obtain a correct stereoscopic image, which will be described in detail below with reference to FIG. FIGS. 12A and 12B both illustrate one example, but FIG. 12A is a perspective view and FIG. 12B is a side view. In this embodiment, when monocular imaging is performed, an unnatural image is obtained when a fixed background plate is photographed together with a subject. Therefore, in this embodiment, a natural image is obtained by making the background plate rotatable.

  The rotatable background plate 50 may be anything as long as it is normally used for the background, but normally, the surface of the background plate 50 with a matte paint is used. Since the background plate 50 is attached to the turntable 1 with an appropriate metal fitting 52 as shown in (b), the background plate 50 rotates together with the subject 3 when the turntable 1 is rotated. Here, the background plate 50 can also be used as a background with a matte paint, and the background plate 50 is provided with a fixture such as a replacement (addition) clip 51 as shown in FIG. It is attached. The clip 51 can be used by attaching paper or the like having an appropriate background. For example, if a landscape photograph or the like is pasted, an effect can be obtained in which a background behind the subject 3 is taken as a true background.

  A first modification of the eleventh embodiment will be described below. In this modification, an appropriate arm 55 is erected on the turntable 1, and an illumination lamp 53 is attached to an appropriate location of the arm 55. Here, since the shutter can be released at any timing during rotation of the subject, the figure does not particularly indicate from which the turntable 1 is photographed, but usually the normal light photographing (the camera and the lamp are directed to the subject). (Shooting on the same side) is often performed. Therefore, also in this embodiment, the shutter is pushed to shoot with the camera from the right side of FIGS. A wire 56 is wound around the arm 55 to turn on the lamp 53. Further, a power supply device 54 such as a battery connected to the end of the wiring 56 and a switch are provided on the turntable 1 in order to rotate the lamp 53 as a light source together with the turntable 1. As a result, the lamp 53 illuminating the subject 3 is rotated together on the turntable 1, and the relationship between illumination and subject photographing is exactly the same as in actual photographing. In other words, gloss and the like appear as when viewed with ordinary eyes, and a very natural stereoscopic effect is obtained.

  Hereinafter, a second modification of the eleventh embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. Although this modification focuses on the reflection of illumination as described above, rotating the lamp 53 on the turntable 1 as in the above example has a drawback that it is difficult to install and the system becomes large. is there. Therefore, in this modified example, it is intended to obtain relatively good illumination conditions while further downsizing.

  In other words, in FIG. 14, a spot lamp 53 'is provided outside the system so as to perform strong illumination from the outside. Also, a milky white diffusion plate (light diffusing means) 55 made of a milky white diffusion acrylic is attached to the ceiling portion of the turntable 1 so that light from the outside is not directly transmitted, and is diffused once by this diffusion plate 55. After that, the subject 3 is illuminated. In this case, even if light having a strong point light source such as the spot lamp 53 'and having a strong directivity is used, the light that strikes the subject 3 is diffused light, so that gloss or shine is less likely to occur and unnaturalness due to reflected light There is no feeling.

  The third modification of the eleventh embodiment will be described below. As shown in FIG. 15, in this modification, a structure in which a hole 56 is provided in a part of the milk white diffusion plate 55 is used. When used in combination with a strong spot lamp 53 ′ provided outside as shown in FIG. 15B, the hole 56 moves together with the rotation of the turntable 1. In this case, the light is selectively transmitted. Since light is transmitted, that is, only through the hole 56, the light use efficiency is reduced. However, according to such a configuration, an effect similar to that of the light source moving can be given to the subject 3. Therefore, an effect similar to that of the example described with reference to FIG. 13 can be obtained, and a suitable image can be obtained by rotating the apparent light source position together with the subject.

  Although the eleventh embodiment has been described with reference to FIGS. 12 to 15, the four embodiments are not necessarily used alone. For example, a background plate is provided to diffuse light with the milk white diffuser plate. , Make a suitable 3D shooting while making a hole in a part of it and securing glossiness by taking out gloss and shine from the outside, moving the background together with the milk white diffuser and the subject, etc. You can choose one or two of the combinations to use, or combine them all. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the diffuser plate, the perforated plate, and the lamp of the background plate and the ceiling plate are all configured integrally on the turntable so as to be the most efficient in practice, but are not necessarily rotated together. The present invention is not limited to this, and it is a matter of course that the same effect as this may be obtained separately from the turntable and moved individually.

  The twelfth embodiment of the present invention will be described below. As already described in the fourth to sixth embodiments, in this system, the shooting order information at the time of shooting and the shutter drive signal generation timing are adjusted with respect to the rotation direction and speed of the subject, the subject distance and the shooting magnification. In other words, it is effective to perform optimization, that is, to select the appropriate rotation direction for the given shooting order information, and to provide the subject distance, shooting magnification, and shutter drive. It shows that the stereoscopic still image recorded can be optimized by adjusting the rotation speed with respect to the signal generation timing.

  On the other hand, the present embodiment is provided with a rotation direction switching means and a rotation speed adjusting means for this purpose. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 16, a changeover switch 8 and a speed adjustment knob 9 are installed on the support arm 5 so that the rotation direction can be switched and the rotation speed can be adjusted. Yes. For example, the speed adjustment knob 9 is attached to the voltage setting volume in the motor constant voltage drive circuit or the speed setting volume in the motor constant speed control servo circuit. ing. The changeover switch 8 is connected so that H and L signals can be input to a forward / reverse control input terminal in a logic circuit for controlling the motor forward / reverse transistor bridge circuit.

  Of course, the changeover switch 8 and the speed adjustment knob 9 may be used independently.

It is a figure which shows the basic composition of embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the detailed structure of the camera shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the basic composition of the conventional three-dimensional still image imaging system. It is a figure for demonstrating the principle of a monocular three-dimensional imaging system. It is a figure which shows how the signal of an Odd field and an Even field is recorded on a frame buffer in order. It is a figure which shows the still image shooting / recording operation | movement which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of a default condition, and the operation | movement at that time. It is a figure which shows the state by which the equivalent image was displayed on TV monitor. It is a figure for demonstrating the method to reproduce | regenerate correctly the image memorize | stored in the memory card. It is a figure for demonstrating the method to reproduce | regenerate correctly the image memorize | stored in the memory card. It is a figure for demonstrating embodiment which adds accompanying data to image data. It is a figure for demonstrating embodiment which provided the background board. It is a figure which shows the modification of embodiment shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the other modification of embodiment shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the other modification of embodiment shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the structure of 12th Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Turntable, 2 ... Motor, 3 ... Subject, 4 ... Camera, 5 ... Support arm, 6 ... Rotating shaft, 10 ... Shooting lens, 11 ... Aperture, 12 ... Imager, 13 ... Imaging part, 14 ... Recording part, DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 15 ... Card I / F, 16 ... Memory card, 17 ... Iris driver, 18 ... Imager driver, 19 ... AF lens control part, 20 ... System controller, 20a ... Exposure control part, 21 ... Input key, 22 ... LED lamp .

Claims (1)

A mode capable of switching between a first shooting mode suitable for performing normal shooting that is monocular imaging and a second shooting mode suitable for performing stereoscopic imaging in which images with different shooting directions are shot at different exposure timings. Switching means and shutter control means,
The shutter control means performs a single stereoscopic imaging operation as shutter drive timing control suitable for performing stereoscopic imaging, which is different from that in the first imaging mode, in the second imaging mode. An electronic camera capable of stereoscopic imaging , wherein two or more shutter drive signals are generated according to the above .

Images