JP7297506B2 - IMAGING DEVICE, ITS CONTROL METHOD AND PROGRAM - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to exposure control of an imaging device, and more particularly to a method of controlling exposure control values.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an imaging apparatus, it is possible to set a plurality of shooting modes with different priority exposure control values among a plurality of exposure control values (parameters) that are exposure factors for determining exposure at the time of shooting. For example, there are a shutter speed priority mode that prioritizes the shutter speed and an aperture value priority mode that prioritizes the aperture value. In these shooting modes, the imaging device automatically determines parameters other than the exposure control value set by the user. It is a specification. In addition, as an imaging mode of an imaging apparatus, a fully automatic mode in which all exposure control values are automatically set by the imaging apparatus is often provided.

Therefore, in the conventional imaging apparatus, by switching the shooting mode, it is possible to switch whether the change of each of the plurality of exposure control values is determined by the user or determined by the imaging apparatus. With this configuration, for example, if you want to reduce the blurring of the subject in the image, in the shutter speed priority mode, the user determines an arbitrary shutter speed, and the imaging device determines another exposure control value, so that the optimum exposure can be set. Also, when the exposure to be changed according to the scene to be photographed is unknown, the exposure control value corresponding to the luminance value of the subject can be automatically determined in the fully automatic mode.

However, in the fully automatic mode, since the imaging device automatically determines the exposure at the time of shooting, it is difficult to reflect the user's intention. Further, among a plurality of exposure control values, changing the combination of the exposure control value determined by the user and the exposure control value determined by the imaging device requires switching the shooting mode, which complicates the operation by the user. For example, if the depth of field desired by the user cannot be obtained with the aperture value set by the imaging device in the fully automatic mode, the user switches the shooting mode to the aperture value priority mode and then manually adjusts the aperture value. need to be done.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-200002 proposes a technique in which an imaging device recognizes the state of a subject and switches from the current imaging mode to another imaging mode associated with the imaging mode.

Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-200002 proposes that when the user changes the shooting mode, as a technique for saving the trouble of manually adjusting the pre-shooting settings, the items set before shooting are handed over to the changed shooting mode. .

JP 2011-19019 A JP-A-10-42187

However, in the technique proposed in Patent Document 1, the user's intention and the state recognized by the imaging apparatus do not always match, and the exposure parameter intended by the user is not always changed. Further, in the technique proposed in Patent Document 2, as described above, the user has to switch the shooting mode, and the operation by the user before shooting becomes complicated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to enable a user to set the exposure intended by the user while suppressing the operation related to setting the exposure from becoming complicated.

In order to achieve the above object, an imaging apparatus of the present invention has a plurality of imaging modes in which a plurality of exposure control value control methods are different in order to change the exposure when an object is imaged and an image signal is acquired. An apparatus comprising imaging means, first control means for controlling transition of the plurality of shooting modes according to a user's operation using a first operation member, and a second operation member. and second control means for controlling change of the plurality of exposure control values in accordance with a user's operation, wherein the plurality of photographing modes are set to an arbitrary exposure control value among the plurality of exposure control values. is set to a fixed value by a user, and other exposure control values are set to automatic values that can be set by the imaging apparatus without intervention by the user, and the plurality of exposure control values are set to the automatic values. a third mode in which the plurality of exposure control values can be set to the fixed value and the automatic value; and a fourth mode in which a user sets all of the plurality of exposure control values to the fixed values. , wherein the third mode is a mode different from the first mode, the second mode , and the fourth mode, wherein the third mode is a mode different from the first mode, the second mode, and the fourth mode; 1 , a combination of the automatic value and the fixed value that can be set in the second mode and the fourth mode can be set by the user using the second operation member.

Advantageous Effects of Invention According to the present invention, it is possible to set the exposure intended by the user while suppressing the operation related to setting the exposure from becoming complicated.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is a figure explaining the structure of the imaging device 100 which is 1st Embodiment of the imaging device which implemented this invention. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of an imaging device 100 as a first embodiment of an imaging device embodying the present invention; FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a display example of exposure control values according to the first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a method of displaying an exposure control value according to the first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a program diagram related to exposure control that can be set in the imaging device 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 4 is a flowchart relating to program diagram transition processing in the semi-automatic mode according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram for exemplifying the transition of the program diagram in the semi-automatic mode according to the first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating, by way of example, changes in exposure control values during bracket shooting in a shutter speed priority mode according to the first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 4 is a flowchart relating to bracketing imaging processing in semi-automatic mode according to the first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating, by way of example, changes in exposure control values during HDR shooting in a shutter speed priority mode according to the first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 4 is a flowchart relating to HDR imaging processing in semi-automatic mode according to the first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating safety shift setting processing according to the first embodiment of the present invention; 4 is a flowchart illustrating safety shift processing according to the first embodiment of the present invention; 4 is a flowchart for explaining safety shift release processing according to the embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a display example of exposure control values according to the second embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 13 is an enlarged view of an exposure meter display section 1305 according to the second embodiment of the present invention; FIG.

(First embodiment)
(Basic Configuration of Imaging Device 100)
Preferred embodiments of the present invention are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. 1A and 1B are diagrams for explaining the configuration of an imaging device 100 which is a first embodiment of an imaging device embodying the present invention. FIG. 1B shows a rear view of the imaging device 100, and FIG. 1C shows a bird's-eye view of the imaging device 100. FIG. Also, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of an image pickup apparatus 100 which is the first embodiment of the image pickup apparatus according to the present invention. One or more of the functional blocks shown in FIG. 2 may be implemented by hardware such as an ASIC or programmable logic array (PLA), or implemented by a programmable processor such as a CPU or MPU executing software. may It may also be implemented by a combination of software and hardware. Therefore, in the following description, even when different functional blocks are described as main entities, the same hardware can be implemented as the main entities.

The imaging device 100 can be electrically connected to the interchangeable lens 200 via a mount contact 105 provided on the mount section. The mount section provided in the imaging device 100 has a bayonet claw group (not shown), and can be coupled with a bayonet claw group (not shown) provided in the mount section of the interchangeable lens 200 by a so-called bayonet coupling method. . With this configuration, a camera accessory including the interchangeable lens 200 can be attached to and detached from the imaging device 100 .

The interchangeable lens 200 converges a light flux from an object with a lens group 208 and guides it to an image pickup element 101 provided inside the image pickup apparatus. The imaging device 101 is imaging means that employs a charge storage type solid-state imaging device such as a CMOS that can receive a subject's luminous flux guided by the interchangeable lens 200 and convert it into an electrical image signal. In addition, in the imaging apparatus 100, it is possible to change the sensitivity (light receiving sensitivity) when converting the optical image corresponding to the light flux of the subject into an electrical signal. The brightness of the image signal can be adjusted by adjusting the light receiving sensitivity and adjusting the amount of digital gain after conversion into the image signal. In the present embodiment, these are collectively referred to as imaging sensitivity, and in the imaging apparatus 100, the imaging sensitivity can be adjusted by changing the ISO sensitivity.

The shutter 102 is a light shielding member arranged in front of the image sensor 101 on the optical path of the speed of light led from the lens group 208 . The shutter 102 has a blade member, and when the blade member is in the unfolded state, it can block the light beam from the subject. An image can be formed on the imaging device 101 . Note that the imaging apparatus 100 can adjust the amount of light incident on the imaging element 101 according to the running speed of the shutter 102 . By changing the shutter speed, which is an exposure condition based on the travel speed of the shutter 102 and the exposure time of the image sensor 101, the brightness of the image signal can be adjusted. Note that a so-called electronic shutter that performs the same operation as the operation of the shutter 102 by accumulation control in the image sensor 101 may be employed.

The interchangeable lens 200 has a photographing lens control section 206 . The photographing lens control unit 206 can change the diaphragm amount (aperture value) related to the aperture diameter of the diaphragm 207 provided inside the interchangeable lens 200 . By adjusting the diaphragm amount of the diaphragm 207, the amount of light incident inside the imaging apparatus 100 can be adjusted. Further, the photographing lens control unit 206 can control the position of each lens (focus lens, zoom lens, shift lens, etc.) that constitutes the lens group 208 .

A system control unit 104 and a photographing lens control unit 206, which will be described later, are electrically connected via a mount contact 105. FIG. The system control unit 104 can issue various instructions regarding the operation of the diaphragm 207 and the lens group 208 of the interchangeable lens 200 via the imaging lens control unit 206 .

The system control unit 104 is control means for comprehensively controlling each unit of the imaging device 100 and camera accessories attached to the imaging device 100, and includes a microcomputer (CPU) (not shown). Details of the control executed by the system control unit 104 will be described later in the description of various operations.

The memory 106 is a recording medium capable of recording data related to the operation of the imaging device 100 and various data acquired using the imaging device 100 . The memory 106 of this embodiment includes a ROM area as nonvolatile memory and a RAM area as volatile memory.

The display unit 103 is display means configured by a TFT type LCD (thin film transistor driven liquid crystal display) or the like capable of displaying image signals for display based on image signals acquired using the imaging device 101 . The display unit 103 can display a menu including shooting parameters such as an aperture value, a shutter speed, an ISO sensitivity, and exposure control values for adjusting the brightness of an image signal and the exposure when capturing an image of a subject. Further, the display unit 103 is a so-called touch panel that also serves as an operation unit that allows a touch operation by the user, and functions as a capacitive touch panel in the present embodiment. That is, the display unit 103 is an operation member that can be manually operated by the user. For example, when the user touches a specific icon displayed on the display unit 103, an operation input related to an item desired by the user is performed. It is possible. Note that the configuration of the display unit 103 that enables touch operation is not limited to one that detects capacitance, and any known scheme may be employed.

The shooting mode selection unit 109 is selection means for selecting a shooting mode that can be set in the imaging apparatus 100, and is an operation member (first operation member) that can be manually operated by the user. Note that the shooting mode in this embodiment is a mode in which the above-described exposure control value setting method is different. For example, the aperture value (Av) priority mode that sets the aperture value with priority, the shutter speed (Tv) priority mode that sets the shutter speed with priority, and the exposure control value and exposure compensation amount can be set automatically or manually. It is possible to set a semi-automatic mode that can be set to a value of The imaging mode selection unit 109 is also electrically connected to the system control unit 104 , and the system control unit 104 controls the imaging apparatus 100 according to the imaging mode selected by the imaging mode selection unit 109 .

Note that in the semi-automatic mode, a fixed exposure control value (fixed value) that is manually set according to the user's operation input, and an exposure control value (automatic value) that can be set by the imaging apparatus 100 without being changed by the user. , can be freely set by the user without changing the shooting mode.

The imaging instruction unit 110 is electrically connected to the system control unit 104, and when the user manually pushes down the imaging instruction unit 110, the signal becomes valid and the imaging preparation and the start of imaging are instructed, and the signal is invalid in other states. becomes. Note that the imaging instruction unit 110 can transition to a two-step depressed state, and the system control unit 104 recognizes the half-pressed state of the imaging instruction unit 110 as an imaging standby state, and to instruct the imaging preparation operation. Then, the system control unit 104 recognizes the full-press state of the imaging instruction unit 110 as an imaging state, and instructs each unit of the imaging device 100 to perform an imaging operation.

The main dial input unit 111 is rotatable without an end in the direction of rotation, and can acquire the amount of rotation according to the user's operation as the amount of input relating to a predetermined action. The sub-dial input unit 112 is rotatable without an end in the rotation direction, and can acquire the amount of rotation according to the user's operation as an input amount related to a predetermined action. The main dial input unit 111 and the sub dial input unit 112 are electrically connected to the system control unit 104, and the system control unit 104 controls operation input according to the amount of rotation. Note that the main dial input unit 111 and the sub dial input unit 112 are operation means (second operation members) that can be manually operated by the user. Any value can be set from among the values. The reset input unit 113 is a button-type input unit that can be pushed down by a user's operation. When the user operates the reset input unit 113, the system control unit 104 controls a predetermined operation according to the operation (reset input). An accessory connection unit 114 is a connection unit for attaching accessories such as an external strobe and a microphone (not shown) to the camera and controlling them from the camera. It can be controlled from the unit 104 .

A diaphragm drive unit 201 is configured to move the diaphragm 207 of the interchangeable lens 200, and drives the diaphragm 207 to the diaphragm position instructed by the photographing lens control unit 206 to set the aperture of the diaphragm 207 according to the aperture value. You can adjust the amount. The lens driving section 202 is configured to drive the lens group 208 of the interchangeable lens 200 to a predetermined position, and can drive the lens group 208 to the position instructed by the photographing lens control section 206 .

The shutter control unit 107 controls the opening/closing state of the shutter 102, and controls the running of the shutter 102 at a time specified by the system control unit 104, thereby controlling the shutter speed when capturing an image of the subject. . The signal processing unit 108 is configured to perform various processes on the image signal output from the image sensor 101. The signal processing unit 108 performs predetermined image interpolation, resizing processing such as reduction, color conversion processing, saturation pixel processing, and the like on digital image data. Arithmetic processing of the number of pixel data such as black crushed pixels is performed. Further, the signal processing unit 108 is processing means for performing arithmetic processing such as white balance (hereinafter simply referred to as WB) on the digital image data. The recording unit 115 is a recording medium for recording an image signal obtained by imaging, and can record the image signal obtained using the image sensor 101 as still image data or moving image data.

The focus determination calculation unit 116 calculates information for determining whether or not the lens position of the focus lens included in the interchangeable lens 200 is in focus based on the image signal output from the signal processing unit 108. It is a part to do. If the current lens position is out of focus based on the calculated information, the system control unit 104 controls the interchangeable lens 200 through the photographing lens control unit 206 . Note that the position of the focus lens can be adjusted by the control of the system control unit 104 according to the user's operation input regardless of the in-focus state.

The luminance detection unit 117 is luminance detection means for detecting the brightness (luminance value) of the object based on the image signal output from the signal processing unit 108 . Specifically, the luminance detection unit 117 divides one screen corresponding to the acquired image signal into a plurality of blocks, and calculates the average luminance value of each block. Then, the representative luminance value is obtained by integrating the average luminance value of each block. In the following description, this representative luminance value is used as the luminance value of the subject, and this luminance value is used for various processes and controls such as exposure control. Note that the luminance value detection method is not limited to this, and various methods related to luminance value calculation can be employed. The system control unit 104 performs exposure control with various exposure control values (shutter speed, aperture value, ISO sensitivity, etc.) based on the brightness value detected by the brightness detection unit 117 and the shooting mode selected by the shooting mode selection unit 109. Calculate quantity.

The strobe control unit 118 performs light emission control of the light emitting means when the system control unit 104 determines that illumination of the object is necessary based on the light emission determination based on the luminance value, or based on the user's manual operation. . Note that the built-in strobe 119 built in the imaging device 100 or an external strobe connected to the accessory connection section 114 corresponds to the light emitting means in this embodiment.

Next, with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, various methods of displaying exposure control values and exposure compensation amounts will be described. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a display example of exposure control values according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the display screen of the display unit 103 is taken as an example, and a case where a graphical user interface (GUI) related to exposure control is displayed as various function icons on the display unit 103 will be described.

A shooting mode display portion 301 is a portion for displaying the shooting mode selected by the shooting mode selection portion 109 . A shutter speed display section 302 is a section that displays the shutter speed selected by the user or the shutter speed determined by the system control section 104 . An aperture value display unit 303 is a portion that displays an aperture value selected by the user or an aperture value determined by the system control unit 104 . The ISO sensitivity display section 304 is a section that displays the ISO sensitivity selected by the user or the ISO sensitivity determined by the system control section 104 . That is, the display unit 103 can display setting items related to each exposure control value.

The exposure meter display section 305 is a section that visually displays the exposure control value selected by the user or the difference between the current exposure control value and the brightness (luminance value) of the subject. As shown in FIG. 3, the center of the exposure meter display section 305 is the position based on the luminance value of the subject, and the difference from this center position is the exposure correction amount. In this embodiment, the exposure compensation amount can be set for each ±1/3 step of exposure in APEX units. You can adjust the brightness of the signal. In a situation where at least one or more exposure control values are automatically set by the imaging apparatus 100 as automatic values, the exposure meter display unit 305 displays the exposure correction values and all exposure control values are fixed values. , the difference between the exposure control value and the luminance value is displayed.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a method of displaying exposure control values according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4A shows a case where all settable exposure control values are set as fixed values. FIG. 4B shows a case where the system control unit 104 can automatically set the predetermined exposure control value. When the system control unit 104 has not determined the exposure control value, "AUTO" is displayed. FIG. 4(c) shows a display example when the user is changing the exposure control value, and a predetermined icon is displayed next to the exposure control value being changed by the user. Note that FIG. 4C exemplifies a case where the user changes the shutter speed.

As shown in FIG. 4B, in the semi-automatic mode according to the present embodiment, as a method of displaying the exposure control value, a is underlined. On the other hand, even in the same semi-automatic mode, when the exposure control value is set to a fixed value, the fixed value is not underlined. That is, in the semi-automatic mode, even setting items related to the same exposure control value are displayed on the display unit 103 according to whether the exposure control value is set to a fixed value or an automatic value. Different function icons.

Table 1 is a table for exemplifying correspondence between examples of shooting modes that can be changed by the shooting mode selection unit 109 and settings of exposure control values according to the shooting modes. As shown in Table 1, in the shutter speed priority mode, the shutter speed can be set as an arbitrary fixed value, and the remaining exposure control values are automatically set by the system control unit 104 according to the set shutter speed. is determined by Further, as shown in Table 1, in the aperture value priority mode, the aperture value can be set as an arbitrary fixed value, and the remaining exposure control values are set by the system control unit 104 according to the set aperture value. Determined automatically. In the ISO sensitivity priority mode, the ISO sensitivity can be set as an arbitrary fixed value, and the remaining exposure control values are automatically determined by the system control unit 104 according to the set ISO sensitivity. In manual mode, the shutter speed, aperture value, and ISO sensitivity can be set as arbitrary fixed values. In the fully automatic mode, the system control unit 104 automatically determines exposure control values such as shutter speed, aperture value, and ISO sensitivity according to the luminance value of the subject. That is, in the fully automatic mode, all major exposure control values such as shutter speed, aperture value, and ISO sensitivity are automatic values.

In the semi-automatic mode, the exposure control value can be set as an arbitrary fixed value or automatically set by the system control unit 104 according to the user's operation, without changing the shooting mode. mode. That is, the semi-automatic mode is one of the shooting modes, and the exposure is controlled by the same method (setting conditions) as the above-described various shooting modes (shutter speed priority, aperture value priority, ISO sensitivity priority, manual, fully automatic). You can set the value. The above is the basic configuration of the imaging device 100 .

(How to set the program diagram)
The method of setting the exposure control value in semi-automatic mode will be described in detail below with reference to FIGS. In this embodiment, exposure control is performed based on a program diagram, which is an exposure condition in which a combination of predetermined values of exposure control values corresponding to the luminance value of a subject is predetermined according to a predetermined rule. The program diagrams are stored in the memory 106 in advance according to changes in each shooting mode and exposure conditions, and are changed by the system control unit 104 according to changes in shooting modes by the user.

FIG. 5 is a diagram exemplifying a program diagram relating to exposure control that can be set in the imaging apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5(a) exemplifies a program diagram when the user sets a certain shutter speed in the shutter speed priority mode. FIG. 5B exemplifies a program diagram when the user sets a certain aperture value in the aperture value priority mode. FIG. 5(c) exemplifies a program diagram when the user sets a certain ISO sensitivity in the ISO sensitivity priority mode. It should be noted that, in the program diagram for each priority mode described above, other exposure control values are set around the exposure control value set by the user as a fixed value. FIG. 5(d) shows a program diagram used when the system control section 104 automatically determines each exposure control value in the fully automatic mode. In each diagram of FIG. 5, the horizontal axis indicates the luminance value, and the right direction in the diagram is the high luminance side. In each diagram of FIG. 5, the vertical axis indicates the degree of each exposure control value, and the upward direction in the diagram is the high shutter speed side, the large aperture value side (small aperture side), and the high ISO sensitivity. side (high sensitivity side).

In the imaging apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment, the exposure control value (or AUTO) automatically set by the system control unit 104 is used as the first exposure control value after the semi-automatic mode is set by the user. set. The program diagram used at this time is the same as the program diagram for the fully automatic mode described above. After that, when any exposure control value is changed to a fixed value by manual operation of the user, the system control unit 104 automatically sets the other exposure control values based on the fixed exposure control value. set. At this time, for example, if only the shutter speed is set to an arbitrary fixed value, other exposure control values are set using the same program diagram as in the shutter speed priority mode. When all the exposure control values are set to fixed values in the semi-automatic mode, the user can arbitrarily set the exposure control values without using a program diagram, as in the manual mode. That is, in the semi-automatic mode according to the present embodiment, when the user sets the same setting conditions as in other shooting modes, the same program diagram as that in the shooting mode with the same setting conditions is used.

Next, with reference to FIG. 6, exposure control value determination processing in the semi-automatic mode will be described. FIG. 6 is a flowchart relating to program diagram transition processing in the semi-automatic mode according to the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 6, in step S101, the system control unit 104 uses the same program chart as the program chart used in the full-automatic mode in response to the setting of the shooting mode to the semi-automatic mode. Determine control values.

Next, in step S102, the system control unit 104 determines whether or not the user has changed the exposure control value to a fixed value. That is, in the process of step 102, similarly to the fully automatic mode, it is determined whether or not the user has set a fixed value other than automatic for an arbitrary exposure control value from the state in which each exposure control value is automatically set. do.

Next, in step S103, the system control unit 104 changes the internal shooting mode based on the fixed value set by the user. Here, the content of the processing in step S103 differs depending on the exposure control value set as a fixed value by the user. In this embodiment, when all the exposure control values that can be set in the imaging apparatus 100 are set to fixed values, the system control unit 104 maintains the semi-automatic mode as the shooting mode, and the internal shooting mode (which is not notified) to the same conditions as manual mode. Further, in this embodiment, if any exposure control value can be automatically set, the system control unit 104 sets the corresponding program diagram based on the exposure control value for which a fixed value is set.

Table 2 is a table for explaining the correspondence relationship between the internal shooting mode and the setting state of the exposure control value. In the process of step S103, the system control unit 104 determines the internal shooting mode based on table data corresponding to Table 2.

As shown in Table 2, in this embodiment, when certain two exposure control values are set to fixed values, the internal shooting mode (in other words, corresponding program diagram). For example, when both the shutter speed and ISO sensitivity are fixed, the internal shooting mode is set to the shutter speed priority mode.

This is because when the exposure is changed by the same amount, the degree of change in the image signal due to the change in the ISO sensitivity is relatively large due to the change in the shutter speed. The relationship between aperture value and ISO sensitivity is similar to that between shutter speed and ISO sensitivity. The degree of change in the image signal is the degree of change in the effect given to the image when the user views the image based on the image signal. That is, in the semi-automatic mode of the present embodiment, when two different exposure control values are set to fixed values, an internal shooting mode is set that gives priority to the exposure control value that greatly changes the effect on the image signal.

In this embodiment, when two different exposure control values are set to fixed values, the internal shooting mode is set based on the priority exposure control value, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, when the shutter speed and the ISO sensitivity are fixed values, the shutter speed and the ISO sensitivity are fixed values, and a program diagram is used in which only the aperture value changes according to the change in the luminance value. may In this case, there is no imaging mode that uses a program diagram that provides the same imaging conditions as the semi-automatic mode as an imaging mode that the imaging apparatus 100 can actually set. You just need to keep the diagram. Although the amount of data increases by storing new program diagrams, the program diagrams can be shared for internal imaging modes that are the same as other imaging modes. The amount of data can be relatively reduced compared to holding .

Returning to FIG. 6, in step S104, the system control unit 104 determines whether or not the user has instructed preparation for imaging or imaging. If the determination indicates that imaging preparation or imaging has been instructed, the system control unit 104 ends the processing related to the flowchart shown in FIG. Further, if the determination indicates that imaging preparation or imaging has not been instructed, the system control unit 104 returns to the process of step S102.

Here, with reference to FIG. 7, the transition of the program diagram in the semi-automatic mode will be described by exemplifying the case where the internal shooting mode is changed from the full-automatic mode to the shutter speed priority mode in the semi-automatic mode. This operation corresponds to the process of step S103 when the determination of step S102 is YES. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustratively explaining the transition of the program diagram in the semi-automatic mode according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In the display screen shown in FIG. 7, the semi-automatic mode is referred to as Fv mode.

As shown in FIG. 7, in the semi-automatic mode, the user changes the automatically set shutter speed (1/125 seconds) to a fixed value (1/160 seconds), thereby completely changing the internal shooting mode. Transition from automatic mode to shutter speed priority mode. In this case, in the shutter speed display unit 302, the shutter speed is switched from automatic display (the shutter speed is underlined) to fixed value display (the shutter speed is not underlined). On the other hand, in the shooting mode display unit 301, the display related to the actual shooting mode is not changed regardless of the switching of the internal shooting mode (same as "Fv"). That is, by setting the semi-automatic mode, the imaging apparatus 100 of the present embodiment can freely change the exposure control value desired by the user without switching the actual shooting mode. It is possible to change the shooting conditions equivalent to the switching of .

In addition, the user can freely set each exposure control value in the semi-automatic mode by using not only an operation member for mechanically inputting the operation amount by the user's manual operation, but also a GUI display using the display unit 103. , can be realized by a simple operation by the user.

Also, the change of the internal shooting mode in the semi-automatic mode substantially matches the change of the actual shooting mode using the shooting mode selection unit 109 . Specifically, among the photographing conditions that can be realized in the semi-automatic mode, for those that are the same as those in other photographing modes, the photographing conditions in the same photographing mode may be used. For example, among the imaging conditions that can be realized in the semi-automatic mode, if the imaging conditions are the same as those in other imaging modes, a common program diagram is used for each.

In the imaging apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment that employs the configuration described above, there is no large difference between the actual change of the photographing mode and the change of the photographing conditions in the semi-automatic mode. Therefore, it is possible to provide a shooting mode that allows the user to freely change the exposure control value with a simple operation without giving the user a sense of discomfort due to the difference in shooting mode. In addition, the imaging apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment can make substantially the same imaging conditions in the internal imaging mode in the semi-automatic mode and in the imaging modes that can actually be selected by the user. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the amount of data to be held by the imaging apparatus 100 as data relating to the shooting conditions for the semi-automatic mode, and reduce development costs.

(bracketing)
Next, the case of performing exposure bracket photography (hereinafter simply referred to as bracket photography) in which an object is imaged at a plurality of different exposures in the semi-automatic mode described above will be described. The image capturing apparatus 100 of the present embodiment includes, as an item that can be set by the user, a bracketing function of performing image capturing a plurality of times while changing a predetermined exposure control value. Note that the bracketing function can be set independently of the above-described shooting modes, so the bracketing function can be set in each shooting mode.

When executing the bracket shooting function, the subject of the exposure control value to be changed in the bracket shooting differs depending on the shooting mode. Table 3 is a table exemplifying the relationship between the shooting mode and the exposure control value that is preferentially changed during bracket shooting. As shown in Table 3, for example, in the shutter speed priority mode, the ISO sensitivity is preferentially changed during bracket shooting, and the aperture value is changed in situations where the ISO sensitivity cannot be changed (such as when the ISO sensitivity reaches the set limit value). change.

FIG. 8 is a diagram exemplifying changes in exposure control values during bracket shooting in the shutter speed priority mode according to the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 8, in the first imaging (reference exposure) during bracket shooting in the shutter speed priority mode, the fixed value of the shutter speed set by the user and the aperture value automatically set by the system control unit 104 and ISO sensitivity. In the second imaging (overexposure than the reference exposure), imaging is performed based on the ISO sensitivity automatically changed by the system control unit 104 with respect to the first imaging. Then, in the third imaging (underexposure relative to the reference exposure), imaging is performed based on the aperture value automatically changed by the system control unit 104 with respect to the first imaging. In bracket shooting in shutter speed priority mode, the ISO sensitivity is preferentially changed as the exposure control value to be changed. , to change the aperture value instead of the ISO sensitivity.

Next, in the semi-automatic mode, the exposure control value to be changed during bracket shooting differs depending on the internal shooting mode. For example, in the semi-automatic mode, if the internal shooting mode is the shutter speed priority mode, the ISO sensitivity is preferentially changed. , and perform bracket shooting. That is, in the semi-automatic mode, the exposure control value to be changed during bracket shooting is set according to the actual shooting mode that has the same shooting conditions as the set internal shooting mode. In other words, in the semi-automatic mode, the exposure control value that is preferentially changed during bracket shooting changes according to the exposure control value set by the user as a fixed value.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart relating to bracket shooting processing in semi-automatic mode according to the first embodiment of the present invention. First, in step S<b>201 , the system control unit 104 detects the number of times of bracket photography set by the user. Note that the number of times of bracketing photography may be set in advance by the user based on, for example, a menu display or the like, or may be configured such that the imaging apparatus 100 can select a predetermined number of times. may Further, the system control unit 104 may automatically calculate the number of times of imaging for bracketing based on the situation of the subject and the shooting scene.

Since the subsequent steps S202 to S204 are the same as the steps S101 to S103 shown in FIG. 6, description thereof will be omitted. In step S205, the system control unit 104 determines an exposure change amount according to the number of times of imaging detected in step S201. For example, if the number of bracketing shots is 3, the exposure step for each shot is 2 steps of exposure (1 Ev in APEX unit is 1 step of exposure), and if the number of shots is 5, each Assume that the exposure step in imaging is one step of exposure. The processing of the next step S206 is the same as the processing of step S104 shown in FIG. 6, so the description is omitted.

Next, in step S207, the system control unit 104 changes the exposure control value according to the exposure change amount determined in step S205, and performs one shooting in bracket shooting. The exposure control value to be changed is determined by referring to information such as table data as shown in Table 3 according to the current shooting conditions (internal shooting mode) in the semi-automatic mode, as described above. .

Next, in step S208, the system control unit 104 determines whether or not the number of times of imaging up to the time of imaging corresponding to the process of step S207 executed immediately before has reached the number of times of imaging of the previously detected bracketing imaging. It should be noted that the number of imaging times of bracket imaging is counted by the system control unit 104 and the result is developed in the primary recording area of the memory 106 . Then, in the process of step S201, the count of the number of imaging times of bracketing is reset, and the count is incremented by "1" when the process of step S207 is completed.

In the process of step S208, if it is determined that the number of times of bracketing imaging has not been reached, the process returns to step S207 to repeat imaging. Further, if it is determined in the process of step S208 that the number of imaging times for bracketing photography has been reached, the current bracketing photography processing is terminated.

As described above, in the imaging apparatus 100 of the present embodiment, the exposure control value to be preferentially changed during exposure bracketing shooting in the semi-automatic mode is determined according to the internal shooting mode in the semi-automatic mode. . With this configuration, the imaging apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment can match the exposure control value to be preferentially changed between the internal shooting mode in the semi-automatic mode and the actual shooting mode.

In addition, in the imaging apparatus 100 of the present embodiment, the exposure control value to be preferentially changed during bracket shooting differs depending on whether or not the user has set an arbitrary exposure control value to a fixed value in the semi-automatic mode. be. In this case, the user can freely set a fixed exposure control value without changing the shooting mode. It is possible to change the bracket shooting. Therefore, the imaging apparatus 100 of the present embodiment can perform bracket photography with an exposure according to the user's intention without complicated operations.

(High dynamic range shooting)
Next, in the semi-automatic mode described above, in order to obtain an image with an expanded dynamic range, high dynamic range photography (hereinafter referred to as HDR photography) for obtaining a plurality of images with different brightnesses for synthesis. will be described. The imaging apparatus 100 of the present embodiment has an HDR imaging function of changing a predetermined exposure control value as an item that can be set by the user and performing imaging a plurality of times with different exposures to obtain an image to be synthesized for synthesis. Prepare. Note that the HDR imaging function can be set independently unlike the above-described imaging modes, so the HDR imaging function can be set in each imaging mode.

When the HDR imaging function is executed, the difference in brightness between images to be synthesized is set by varying the exposure when the subject is imaged and each non-synthesized image is obtained. Then, the target of the exposure control value to be changed in each shooting of HDR shooting differs depending on the shooting mode. Table 4 is a table exemplifying the relationship between the shooting mode and the exposure control value that is preferentially changed during HDR shooting. As shown in Table 4, for example, in the shutter speed priority mode, only the ISO sensitivity is preferentially changed during HDR shooting. Also, in the aperture value priority mode, the ISO sensitivity is preferentially changed during HDR shooting, and when the ISO sensitivity reaches the settable limit value, the shutter speed is changed to set the exposure difference for each shot. .

FIG. 10 is a diagram exemplifying changes in exposure control values during HDR shooting in the shutter speed priority mode according to the first embodiment of the present invention. As illustrated in FIG. 10 , in the first imaging (reference exposure) during HDR shooting in the shutter speed priority mode, the fixed value of the shutter speed set by the user and the aperture value automatically set by the system control unit 104 and ISO sensitivity. In the second imaging (overexposure relative to the reference exposure) and the third imaging (underexposure relative to the reference exposure), the ISO sensitivity automatically changed by the system control unit 104 compared to the first imaging is used. image.

Next, in the semi-automatic mode, the exposure control value to be changed during HDR shooting differs depending on the internal shooting mode. For example, in the semi-automatic mode, if the internal shooting mode is the shutter speed priority mode, the ISO sensitivity is preferentially changed. to perform HDR shooting. That is, in the semi-automatic mode, the exposure control value to be changed during HDR shooting is set according to the actual shooting mode that has the same shooting conditions as the set internal shooting mode. In other words, in the semi-automatic mode, the exposure control value preferentially changed during HDR shooting changes according to the exposure control value set by the user as a fixed value.

Note that this configuration is substantially the same as that for the above-described bracket shooting, and in HDR shooting, one image with an expanded dynamic range of brightness is synthesized with an image to be synthesized obtained by each imaging in HDR shooting. There is a feature that you can get it by doing. Note that the composition of images may be executed inside the imaging device 100 or may be executed outside the imaging device 100 . In other words, the imaging apparatus 100 may be configured to simply acquire the image to be synthesized by HDR imaging.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart of HDR imaging processing in semi-automatic mode according to the first embodiment of the present invention. First, in step S301, the system control unit 104 detects various settings related to HDR imaging set by the user. Various settings related to HDR photography include, for example, the number of times of imaging in HDR photography (the number of images to be synthesized) and the exposure step of each image.

For example, the number of times of HDR shooting and the exposure steps may be configured such that the user can set arbitrary values in advance based on the menu display of the imaging device 100, or may be set in advance in the imaging device 100. It may be a usable configuration. Alternatively, the system control unit 104 may automatically calculate the number of times of imaging and the exposure step based on the luminance value of the subject.

Note that in this embodiment, the images to be composited used to generate one HDR image are a total of three images, i.e., a properly exposed image, and an overexposed image and an underexposed image with respect to the properly exposed image. The number of times of imaging is used as a reference for the number of times of imaging. The exposure steps may be such that the dynamic range of one composite image (HDR image) is a desired dynamic range.

Since the subsequent steps S302 to S304 are the same as the steps S101 to S103 shown in FIG. 6, description thereof will be omitted. In step S305, the system control unit 104 determines an exposure change amount according to the number of times of imaging and the exposure step detected in step S301. The processing of the next step S306 is the same as the processing of step S104 shown in FIG. 6, so the description is omitted.

Next, in step S307, the system control unit 104 changes the exposure control value according to the exposure change amount determined in step S305, and performs one image pickup in HDR shooting. The exposure control value to be changed is determined by referring to information such as table data as shown in Table 4 according to the current shooting conditions (internal shooting mode) in the semi-automatic mode, as described above. . The subsequent processing in step S308 is substantially the same as the processing in step S208 shown in FIG. 9, so description thereof will be omitted.

Note that in HDR photography, unlike the above-described bracket photography, the aperture value is not changed in order to set the exposure step in either photography mode or internal photography mode. For example, when HDR shooting is performed by changing the aperture value, the depth of field also differs according to the difference in the aperture value. There is a risk that the quality of the HDR image will deteriorate. Therefore, during HDR shooting according to the present embodiment, in order to prevent the quality of HDR images from deteriorating, the exposure step is set by preferentially changing the exposure control value other than the aperture value in any shooting mode. It is configured. Note that HDR photography may be performed with different aperture values when other exposure control values have reached settable limit values.

As described above, in the imaging apparatus 100 of the present embodiment, the exposure control value to be preferentially changed during HDR shooting in the semi-automatic mode is determined according to the internal shooting mode in the semi-automatic mode. With this configuration, the imaging apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment can match the exposure control value to be preferentially changed between the internal shooting mode in the semi-automatic mode and the actual shooting mode. Therefore, the imaging apparatus 100 of the present embodiment can obtain HDR images (or combined images) with different brightness in both the other shooting mode and the semi-automatic mode in which the shooting conditions are the same as those in the other shooting mode. can be prevented.

Further, in the imaging apparatus 100 of the present embodiment, the exposure control value to be preferentially changed during HDR shooting is configured to differ depending on whether or not the user has set an arbitrary exposure control value to a fixed value in the semi-automatic mode. be. In this case, the user can freely set a fixed exposure control value without changing the shooting mode. HDR imaging is possible. Therefore, the imaging apparatus 100 of the present embodiment can perform HDR imaging according to the user's intention without complicated operations.

(Luminescence shooting)
As a factor for determining the brightness of the image, it is necessary to consider not only the above-described exposure control value but also the illumination of the object by the built-in strobe 119, which is a light-emitting device, an external strobe, or the like. In general, the settings of these light-emitting devices include an automatic light-emitting mode in which the device automatically determines whether or not to emit light, a forced non-light-emitting mode in which light emission or non-light emission is forcibly determined according to the user's operation input, and a forced non-light-emitting mode. Light emission mode can be set. These light emission modes can also be set in the imaging apparatus 100 of this embodiment, and can be set independently of the above-described shooting modes.

Also, as a technique of luminescence photographing using a light-emitting device, a photographing technique (so-called slow synchro photographing) is known in which the exposure time of the image sensor is set longer than that in normal luminescence photographing. By performing this slow-synchronized photographing, it is possible to suppress the fact that only the subject close to the light emitting device is brightly illuminated, and the background portion where the light does not reach is crushed to black. Also in the imaging apparatus 100 of the present embodiment, the slow-synchronized photographing function can be set, and of the above-described light emission modes, the automatic light emission mode and the forced light emission mode can be set on the menu screen regarding the light emitting device.

Table 5 is a table for explaining the relationship between shooting modes and functions during flash shooting. Of the light emission modes, the automatic light emission mode adjusts the brightness of the subject by the system control unit 104 (or the strobe control unit (not shown) included in the external strobe) through light adjustment control in consideration of exposure control according to the luminance value of the subject. The presence or absence of light emission is controlled according to the condition. That is, it is necessary to determine the light emission of the built-in strobe and the external strobe in consideration of the relationship with the exposure control value. Therefore, as shown in Table 5, in the present embodiment, the automatic light emission mode can be set in the fully automatic mode in which each exposure control value is automatically set on the imaging device 100 side.

In addition to the fully automatic mode, the configuration may be such that the automatic light emission mode can be set even in the aperture value priority mode. When synchronization between the built-in strobe 119 and the external strobe and the shutter speed is taken into consideration, the shortest shutter speed that can be set for flash photography is longer than the shortest shutter speed that can be set for non-flash photography (lower speed side ). Therefore, in shutter speed priority mode and manual mode, if the fixed value of the shutter speed set by the user is faster than the shortest time for flash photography, the brightness of the image obtained by flash photography will be unnatural. Sometimes. Therefore, the automatic flash mode may not be set in shooting modes that may require a shutter speed limit, and the automatic flash mode may be set in other shooting modes (fully automatic mode, aperture value priority mode). .

In addition, it is necessary to set the shutter speed in consideration of synchronization with the light emitted by the light emitting device. Therefore, in the imaging apparatus 100 of the present embodiment, as shown in Table 5, in the shutter speed priority mode and the manual mode in which a fixed shutter speed can be set, the slow sync photography function cannot be set. In the present embodiment, the shortest shutter speed at which flash photography is possible is set to 1/200 second, and the reference shutter speed for flash photography is set to 1/60 second.

Here, in the semi-automatic mode, as described above, the exposure control value can be freely set so as to achieve the same shooting conditions as in other shooting modes. In this case, in the semi-automatic mode, the same shooting conditions as a shooting mode in which the automatic flash mode and slow sync shooting function can be set (for example, fully automatic mode) and a shooting mode in which the shooting function cannot be set (for example, shutter speed priority mode) are set to 1. can be set in one shooting mode.

However, in one shooting mode, if various conditions for flash shooting change according to the exposure control value manually set by the user, the user may be confused. For example, even in the semi-automatic mode, when the internal shooting mode is the full-automatic mode, the automatic flash mode is set in response to the user setting the shutter speed to a fixed value even though the user has set the automatic flash mode. is canceled, it will confuse the user. Also, for example, even in the semi-automatic mode, if the slow-synchronized photographing function becomes impossible due to the user setting an arbitrary exposure control value to a fixed value even though the user has set the slow-synchronized photographing function, the user It gives confusion.

Therefore, as shown in Table 5, in the imaging apparatus 100 of the present embodiment, the automatic flash mode and the slow sync photography function cannot be set in the semi-automatic mode. In other words, the imaging apparatus 100 of the present embodiment is configured to control the functional limitations of the light-emitting device according to the shooting mode regardless of whether the exposure control value is set automatically or fixed. That is, in the present embodiment, whether or not the automatic flash mode and the slow-synchronized shooting function are set is controlled according to the shooting mode set in the imaging device 100 . With this configuration, the imaging apparatus 100 of the present embodiment can prevent various settings of the light-emitting device from changing in accordance with the setting of the exposure control value in the semi-automatic mode, thereby preventing the user from feeling uncomfortable. can be suppressed.

(Safety shift function for proper exposure)
Conventionally, when the fixed exposure control value set by the user does not provide an appropriate exposure corresponding to the brightness value of the subject, the imaging device automatically changes the fixed value set by the user (hereinafter referred to as the safety shift function). ) are known.

As described above, the semi-automatic mode is a photographing mode in which the user can change any exposure control value from a state in which the image capturing apparatus 100 can automatically set to a fixed value without changing the photographing mode. In addition, the imaging apparatus 100 stores in advance information regarding a standard for determining appropriate exposure according to the brightness value of the subject. Various exposure control values are adjusted so that proper exposure is obtained. However, in semi-automatic mode, if the fixed value set by the user does not result in proper exposure, the exposure control value may change due to the aforementioned safety shift function changing the exposure control value. In this case, the user feels uncomfortable.

Therefore, the imaging apparatus 100 of this embodiment is configured so that the safety shift function does not operate in the semi-automatic mode. The details will be described below with reference to FIGS. 12 to 14. FIG. FIG. 12 is a flowchart for explaining safety shift setting processing according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In response to the imaging apparatus 100 being powered on, in step S401, the system control unit 104 detects the currently set imaging mode (actual imaging mode). Information about the currently set shooting mode is stored in the storage area of the recording unit 115 or the memory 106, and the information is updated each time the shooting mode is set.

Next, in step S<b>402 , the system control unit 104 acquires the safety shift setting value from the recording unit 115 . This safety shift setpoint contains information about the safety shift mode. The imaging apparatus 100 of this embodiment has a Tv/Av safety shift mode in which proper exposure is set by changing the shutter speed or aperture value, and an ISO safety shift mode in which proper exposure is set by changing ISO sensitivity. Furthermore, this embodiment has a safety shift OFF (mode) in which the safety shift function is not executed.

Next, in step S403, the system control unit 104 determines whether or not an instruction to start photometry of the subject has been issued. Note that in the present embodiment, the photometry of the subject is performed in accordance with the imaging preparation instruction, so in step S403 the system control unit 104 determines whether or not the imaging preparation instruction has been issued in accordance with the operation of the imaging instruction unit 110 . If the start of photometry has been instructed, in step S404 the system control unit 104 acquires the luminance value of the object based on the method described above. On the other hand, if the start of photometry has not been instructed, the process proceeds to step 407 to execute safety shift release processing, which will be described later.

In step S405, the system control unit 104 executes exposure control based on the brightness value acquired in step S404 according to the current shooting mode, and determines whether or not the exposure control value after control is the proper exposure. . If it is determined in the process of step S405 that the correct exposure is not obtained, the process proceeds to step S406 to execute the safety shift process, which will be described later. Also, if it is determined in the process of step S405 that the exposure is appropriate, the safety shift setting process is terminated.

Next, referring to FIG. 13, safety shift processing in the imaging device 100 of this embodiment will be described. FIG. 13 is a flowchart for explaining safety shift processing according to the first embodiment of the present invention. Proceeding to the process of step S406 described above, when the safety shift process is started, in step S501, the system control unit 104 determines whether or not the shooting mode detected in the process of step S401 is the semi-automatic mode. . Further, the system control unit 104 determines whether or not the safety shift OFF is set based on the safety shift set value detected in the process of step S402 described above. If the shooting mode corresponds to at least one of the semi-automatic mode and the safety shift OFF setting, the safety shift processing ends. That is, in the imaging apparatus 100, the safety shift function is not executed when the shooting mode is the semi-automatic mode or when the safety shift function is not executed.

Next, in step S502, the system control unit 104 determines whether the shooting mode detected in the process of step S401 is shutter speed priority mode, aperture value priority mode, or ISO sensitivity priority mode. If it is determined in the process of step S502 that the shooting mode is not one of the modes described above (YES in step S502), the safety shift process ends.

In other words, the safety shift function is not executed when the shooting mode is fully automatic mode or manual mode. This is because, in the manual mode, the fixed value set by the user is shifted by executing the safety shift function, which may give the user a sense of discomfort. Also, in the fully automatic mode, all the exposure control values can be automatically set in the imaging apparatus 100, so that the proper exposure that can be set in the imaging apparatus 100 is automatically set.

Next, in step S503, the system control unit 104 determines whether the safety shift mode is the ISO safety shift mode based on the safety shift set value detected in the process of step S402. If the ISO safety shift mode is determined in the process of step S503, the system control unit 104 records the currently set ISO sensitivity in the recording unit 115 in step S504. Then, in step S505, the system control unit 104 changes the ISO sensitivity so as to obtain proper exposure.

If it is determined in the process of step S503 that the ISO safety shift mode is not set, the system control unit 104 records the currently set shutter speed and aperture value in the recording unit 115 in step S506. Then, in step S507, the system control unit 104 changes at least one of the shutter speed and the aperture value so as to obtain proper exposure. The above is the safety shift processing of this embodiment. It should be noted that when the process of step S503 is executed, the safety shift process is ended if the safety shift OFF is set regardless of the determination of the safety shift target.

Next, referring to FIG. 14, the aforementioned safety shift cancellation processing will be described. FIG. 14 is a flowchart for explaining safety shift cancellation processing according to the embodiment of the present invention. Proceeding to the process of step S407 described above, when the safety shift release process is started, in step S601, the system control unit 104 determines whether or not the ISO sensitivity is recorded in the process of step S504 described above. If it is determined in step S601 that the ISO sensitivity is recorded, in step S602 the system control unit 104 reads out the ISO sensitivity (latest) recorded in the recording unit 115 and sets it as a new exposure control value. do.

Next, if it is determined in the process of step S601 that the ISO sensitivity is not recorded, the system control unit 104 determines in step S603 whether or not the shutter speed and aperture value are recorded in the process of step S506. . If it is determined in step S603 that the shutter speed and aperture value are recorded, in step S604 the system control unit 104 stores the shutter speed and/or aperture value (latest) recorded in the recording unit 115. Read out and set as a new exposure control value. If there is no recorded exposure control value (not recorded) (determination in step S603 is NO), the safety shift canceling process is terminated. Finally, in step S605, the system control unit 104 erases (clears) the latest exposure control value recorded in the recording unit 115, and terminates the safety shift canceling process.

As described above, the imaging apparatus 100 of this embodiment does not perform the safety shift function related to exposure control when the shooting mode is the semi-automatic mode. Therefore, for example, even if the internal shooting mode in the semi-automatic mode is the shutter speed priority mode, unlike the case where the actual shooting mode is the shutter speed priority mode, the safety shift function is not executed. Therefore, the imaging apparatus 100 of the present embodiment can prevent the user from feeling uncomfortable due to the change of the exposure control value intentionally set by the user, such as in the semi-automatic mode or the manual mode, by the safety shift function. can.

(Second embodiment)
In the first embodiment described above, the configuration in which the imaging apparatus 100 has imaging modes other than the semi-automatic mode has been described. In this embodiment, a case where only the semi-automatic mode is mainly provided as the imaging mode of the imaging apparatus 100 will be described. That is, the imaging apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment has only one shooting mode in which the same shooting condition can be set for a combination of whether the exposure control value is automatically set and the fixed exposure control value that is manually set. . Regarding the imaging apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment, the same configurations and members as those of the imaging apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment described above will be omitted from description, and the same reference numerals and part numbers will be given.

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating a display example of exposure control values according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 15A is an example of a GUI including various function icons displayed on the display unit 103. FIG. FIG. 15(b) is a diagram exemplifying that the user has set the shutter speed to an arbitrary value.

As shown in FIG. 15A, the shutter speed display section 1302, aperture value display section 1303, ISO sensitivity display section 1304, and exposure meter display section 1305 of this embodiment are the same as those described in the first embodiment. It has the same function as the function icon (see FIG. 3). This embodiment differs from the first embodiment described above in that the function icons corresponding to the shooting mode display section are removed from the GUI displayed on the display section 103 .

As shown in FIG. 15(b), when the user selects an arbitrary exposure control value, an exposure determination icon 1306 is newly displayed as a functional icon for selecting a specific numerical value related to the exposure control value to be selected. It is displayed in section 103 . Also, as shown in FIG. 15B, as items that can be input by user operation on the exposure determination icon, a predetermined fixed value and an item ( "AUTO") has an automatic setting value.

Therefore, as a user operation input method according to the present embodiment according to the GUI display, first, the user selects an area (function icon) is selected (for example, touch operation). Next, an exposure determination icon 1306 is displayed on the display unit 103 as a new function icon corresponding to the selected item. When the user selects an area corresponding to an arbitrary fixed value or an area corresponding to an automatically set value from the exposure determination icon 1306, the system control unit 104 changes the exposure control value in the imaging apparatus 100. .

When the automatic setting value is selected as the exposure control value, the function icon for the corresponding exposure control value is underlined (see FIG. 15(a)), and the fixed value is selected as the exposure control value. is not underlined (see shutter speed in FIG. 15(b)). For example, to change the exposure control value from a state in which the user has set a fixed exposure control value to an automatically set value using the method described above, select the corresponding exposure control value icon and then , an operation based on the exposure determination icon 1306 is required.

In this case, at least two operation inputs (touch operations) by the user are required, and it may take time to change the exposure control value. Therefore, in this embodiment, a configuration is adopted in which the user operates the reset input unit 113 to transition to a state in which all the exposure control values are set to the automatic setting values. With this configuration, the state of the imaging apparatus 100 can be changed to a state in which the system control unit 104 can automatically set the exposure control value without requiring complicated operations. Therefore, for example, even if the user performs an operation to change an arbitrary exposure control value to a fixed value based on the user's intention after tentatively determining each exposure control value by leaving it to the judgment of the imaging device. , the exposure control value can be immediately set according to the user's intention.

In the semi-automatic mode, the exposure control value that is preferentially changed during exposure control differs for the exposure control value for which the automatic setting value is set, depending on the combination of the fixed value and the automatic setting value. Table 6 is a table exemplifying the priority of automatically settable exposure control values in the semi-automatic mode.

Also, in semi-automatic mode, it is possible not only to change the value of each exposure control value, but also to change the amount of exposure compensation. FIG. 16 is an enlarged view of the exposure meter display section 1305 according to the second embodiment of the invention. As shown in FIG. 16, when performing exposure compensation for an arbitrary amount of exposure compensation from the reference position, in the semi-automatic mode, the exposure control value to be used for exposure compensation is selected from the exposure control values set as automatic setting values. decide. Table 7 is a table exemplifying the priority of exposure correction values used for exposure correction in the semi-automatic mode.

As shown in Tables 6 and 7, in the semi-automatic mode, if the ISO sensitivity can be set automatically, the ISO sensitivity is preferentially changed, and then the shutter speed is preferentially changed. Of the exposure control values, the ISO sensitivity has relatively little change in the acquired image in response to the user's intention, and the exposure control value is relatively small compared to the case of driving a mechanical configuration such as an aperture. This is because the time required for changing is relatively short. The conditions shown in Tables 6 and 7 are examples, and other exposure control values may be preferentially used for change and exposure correction. The conditions shown in Tables 6 and 7 are common to the first embodiment and the present embodiment.

Although preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to these, and various modifications and changes are possible within the scope of the gist. For example, in the above-described embodiment, shutter speed, aperture value, and ISO sensitivity are used as exposure control values, but exposure control values related to other elements may be added. For example, if there is a configuration in which a light reduction means such as an ND filter that reduces the amount of light incident on the image pickup device 101 is provided inside the imaging device 100 or the interchangeable lens 200, the exposure control value related to the density of the ND filter is considered. It may be configured to perform exposure control.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, a GUI is displayed on the display unit 103, and the user can set the exposure control value freely in the semi-automatic mode according to the user's operation input of the function icon on the GUI. However, it is not limited to this. For example, the configuration may be such that the exposure control value in the semi-automatic mode can be set by the user operating a mechanically operable operation member such as a dial provided in the imaging apparatus 100 .

Further, in the above-described embodiment, a configuration including shooting modes with different settings regarding exposure control values has been described, but the shooting conditions corresponding to each of the above-described shooting modes are not limited to those that can be set as modes. For example, any configuration may be employed as long as the user can select or set shooting conditions corresponding to the shooting modes described above. Specifically, when the shooting mode is the manual mode and an item for setting the ISO sensitivity to a fixed value is provided as a menu that can be set separately from the shooting mode, this shooting condition is abbreviated as the ISO sensitivity priority mode described above. It becomes the same imaging condition.

That is, in the above-described embodiment, among shooting conditions with different exposure control value settings, each shooting condition in which a combination of a fixed value and an automatically set value is preset for each exposure control value is referred to as a mode. On the other hand, in the semi-automatic mode, the user arbitrarily selects the combination of the fixed value and the automatic setting value and the fixed value for each exposure control value without changing the combination of the fixed value and the automatic setting value all at once. can be set to the actual value of In the semi-automatic mode, the results obtained by individually changing the settings of the exposure control values are referred to as the internal shooting mode.

In the above-described embodiment, the display unit 103 is assumed to be a display device arranged on one side surface (mainly the rear surface) of the imaging device 100. The configuration may be such that a GUI display is performed. That is, means for displaying various function icons related to exposure control values can be applied to various modifications and modifications.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, each unit that configures the imaging apparatus 100 and the interchangeable lens 200, such as the system control unit 104 and the memory 106, operates in cooperation with each other, thereby controlling the operation of the imaging apparatus as a whole. However, it is not limited to this. For example, a (computer) program according to the flow shown in each of the above drawings is stored in advance in the memory 106 or the like. The programs may be executed by the system control unit 104 including a microcomputer to control the operations of the imaging device 100 and the interchangeable lens 200 . Also, as long as it has the function of a program, the form of the program does not matter, such as object code, a program executed by an interpreter, script data supplied to the OS, and the like. The recording medium for supplying the program may be, for example, a hard disk, a magnetic recording medium such as a magnetic tape, or an optical/magneto-optical recording medium.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, a so-called interchangeable lens type imaging apparatus in which the main body of the imaging apparatus that is the imaging apparatus 100 and the interchangeable lens 200 are separate from each other has been described as an example of the imaging apparatus that implements the present invention. is not limited to For example, a so-called lens-integrated imaging device in which an imaging device main body and a photographing lens unit are integrally formed may be used as the imaging device for implementing the present invention.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, a digital camera is assumed as an example of an image pickup apparatus that implements the present invention, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, it may be configured to adopt an imaging device other than a digital camera, such as a portable device such as a digital video camera or a smart phone, a wearable terminal, or a security camera.

(Other embodiments)
In addition, the present invention supplies a program that implements one or more functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or apparatus via a network or a storage medium, and one or more processors in the computer of the system or apparatus reads the program. It can also be realized by executing processing. It can also be implemented by a circuit (eg, ASIC) that implements one or more functions.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 100 imaging device 101 imaging device 102 shutter 103 display unit 104 system control unit 200 interchangeable lens 207 diaphragm

Claims (18)

An imaging device having a plurality of shooting modes in which a plurality of exposure control value control methods are different in order to change the exposure when capturing an image of a subject and acquiring an image signal,
imaging means;
a first control means for controlling transition of the plurality of shooting modes according to a user's operation using a first operation member;
a second control means for controlling change of the plurality of exposure control values according to a user's operation using a second operation member;
The plurality of shooting modes are automatic modes in which a user sets an arbitrary exposure control value among the plurality of exposure control values to a fixed value, and other exposure control values can be set by the imaging device without intervention by the user. a first mode that sets the exposure control values to the automatic values; a second mode that sets the plurality of exposure control values to the automatic values; and a third mode that allows the plurality of exposure control values to be set to the fixed values and the automatic values. and a fourth mode in which the user sets all of the plurality of exposure control values to the fixed values,
The third mode is a mode different from the first mode, the second mode, and the fourth mode, and the first, the second, and the An imaging apparatus, wherein a user can set a combination of the automatic value and the fixed value that can be set in the fourth mode using the second operation member. a memory storing a plurality of exposure conditions in which a combination of numerical values in the plurality of exposure control values according to the luminance value of the subject is predetermined;
In the third mode, for the same combination of the fixed value and the automatic value as in the first mode or the second mode, out of the plurality of exposure conditions stored in the memory, the same exposure 2. The imaging device of claim 1, wherein conditions are used. The exposure condition is a program diagram,
3. The imaging apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said memory stores program diagrams common to said first mode, said second mode, and said third mode. In the third mode, the user can change the fixed value and the automatic value for each of the plurality of exposure control values, and the exposure control value is different from the exposure control value set by the user as the fixed value. is the automatic value, which is automatically set by the imaging device according to the luminance value of the object. The imaging device can execute a bracketing function of photographing a plurality of times while changing the exposure, and the second control means can be set by a user when executing the bracketing function in the third mode. 5. The imaging apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein an exposure control value to be preferentially changed in said bracket shooting function is determined according to said fixed value. The imaging device is capable of executing an HDR imaging function of acquiring a plurality of synthesized images with different exposures used to generate a synthesized image with an expanded dynamic range,
The second control means determines an exposure control value to be preferentially changed in the HDR shooting function according to the fixed value set by the user when the HDR shooting function is executed in the third mode. 5. The imaging apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: The imaging device is capable of exposure correction for correcting an arbitrary amount of exposure according to a user's operation with respect to a proper exposure that is a predetermined reference in the imaging device, and the second control means is 5. The imaging apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein, in said third mode, an exposure control value used for said exposure compensation is determined according to said fixed value set by a user. . further comprising light emission control means for controlling light emission photography using a light emitting device connectable to the image pickup means and the image pickup device;
In the first mode, the light emission control means causes the imaging device to determine the presence or absence of light emission and the light emission amount of the light emitting device in the first combination of the fixed value and the automatic value without user setting. 3. The automatic light emission to be set is performed, and in the third mode, even if the fixed value and the automatic value are the first combination, the automatic light emission is controlled not to be performed. 5. The imaging device according to any one of 1 to 4. 9. The imaging apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said light emission control means can set whether or not said light emitting device emits light according to manual setting by a user in said first mode and said third mode. In the first mode, the light emission control means can execute a first function of performing light emission photography so that the accumulation time is longer than in normal light emission photography. 10. The method according to claim 8, wherein control is performed so that the first function is not executed even if the combination of the plurality of exposure control values is the same when executing the first function in the mode. imaging device. The imaging apparatus can execute a shift function of changing a predetermined exposure control value without intervention of the user so that the exposure control value becomes a proper exposure in response to the setting of the fixed value by the user. ,
The second control means, in the first mode, performs the shift function in a first combination of the fixed value and the automatic value, and in the third mode, the fixed value and the automatic value. 5. The imaging apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein control is performed so that the shift function is not executed even if and are the first combination. The shift function can change any of the shutter speed, aperture value, or ISO sensitivity as the predetermined exposure control value so as to achieve the proper exposure without the user's change,
12. The imaging apparatus according to claim 11, wherein said predetermined exposure control value can be set in advance by a user. The plurality of exposure control values include at least shutter speed, aperture value, and ISO sensitivity;
In the third mode, a state in which only the shutter speed is set as the fixed value, a state in which only the aperture value is set as the fixed value, and a state in which only the ISO sensitivity is set as the fixed value can be set. The imaging device according to any one of claims 1 to 12. display means capable of displaying setting items related to each of the plurality of exposure control values;
Each of the setting items displayed on the display means is the same setting item when the fixed value is set and when the automatic value is set in the third mode. 14. The imaging apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein the icons to be displayed are different. An imaging device having a plurality of shooting modes in which a plurality of exposure control value control methods are different in order to change the exposure when capturing an image of a subject and acquiring an image signal,
imaging means;
a memory for storing a plurality of exposure conditions in which a combination of numerical values in the plurality of exposure control values according to the luminance value of a subject is predetermined;
a control means for controlling change of the plurality of exposure control values in accordance with a user's operation input;
The plurality of shooting modes are automatic modes in which a user sets an arbitrary exposure control value among the plurality of exposure control values to a fixed value, and other exposure control values can be set by the imaging device without intervention by the user. a first mode of setting the plurality of exposure control values to the automatic values; a second mode of setting the plurality of exposure control values to the automatic values; and a fourth mode in which a user sets all of the plurality of exposure control values to the fixed values,
The third mode is a mode different from the first mode, the second mode and the fourth mode, and is a combination of the fixed value and the automatic value without changing the shooting mode. can be changed and
The control means controls, in the third mode, the same combination of the fixed value and the automatic value as in the first mode or the second mode to be set in the plurality of exposure conditions stored in the memory. Among them, an imaging apparatus characterized by performing control so as to use the same exposure conditions. A control method for an image pickup apparatus having a plurality of shooting modes in which a plurality of exposure control value control methods are different in order to change the exposure when an image signal is obtained by picking up an image of an object using the image pickup device. and
a first control step of controlling transition of the plurality of shooting modes according to a user's operation using a first operation member;
a second control step of controlling change of the plurality of exposure control values according to a user's operation using a second operation member;
The plurality of shooting modes are automatic modes in which a user sets an arbitrary exposure control value among the plurality of exposure control values to a fixed value, and other exposure control values can be set by the imaging device without intervention by the user. a first mode that sets the exposure control values to the automatic values; a second mode that sets the plurality of exposure control values to the automatic values; and a third mode that allows the plurality of exposure control values to be set to the fixed values and the automatic values. and a fourth mode in which the user sets all of the plurality of exposure control values to the fixed values,
The third mode is a mode different from the first mode, the second mode, and the fourth mode, and the second mode is selected without changing the photographing mode in the first control step. In the control step of (1), the user can use the second operation member to set a combination of the automatic value and the fixed value that can be set in the first, second, and fourth modes. A control method for an image pickup device. and a memory storing a plurality of exposure conditions in which a combination of numerical values in a plurality of exposure control values corresponding to the luminance value of a subject are predetermined, and the subject is imaged using the imaging means. A control method for an imaging device having a plurality of shooting modes in which a plurality of exposure control value control methods are different in order to change the exposure when acquiring an image signal,
a control step of controlling a change of the plurality of exposure control values in accordance with an operation input by a user; , and sets other exposure control values to automatic values that can be set by the imaging device without intervention by the user; and a second mode that sets the plurality of exposure control values to the automatic values. a third mode in which the user can set the plurality of exposure control values to the fixed values and the automatic values; and a fourth mode in which the user sets all of the plurality of exposure control values to the fixed values. including modes of and
The third mode is a mode different from the first mode, the second mode and the fourth mode, and is a combination of the fixed value and the automatic value without changing the shooting mode. can be changed and
In the control step, in the third mode, for the same combination of the fixed value and the automatic value as in the first mode or the second mode, one of the plurality of exposure conditions stored in the memory is set. Among them, a control method for an imaging device characterized by controlling so as to use the same exposure condition. A computer-readable program for causing a computer to execute the imaging apparatus control method according to claim 16 or 17.

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