Photography – Attitude sensing
Reexamination Certificate
1997-07-07
2001-02-20
Mathews, Alan A. (Department: 2851)
Photography
Attitude sensing
C396S060000, C396S080000, C396S122000, C396S123000, C396S147000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06192198
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improvement in a camera including a format selecting means for selecting a given one of full size photographing and photographing in a print format different from the full size.
2. Related Background Art
Recently, a camera capable of photographing in a print format (panorama size) different from a normal full size, such as panorama photographs, has been put into practical use. A photographer can perform selection between a normal full size and an arbitrary scene size in the same camera by selecting this size.
On the other hand, there is provided a camera by which distances to a plurality of positions within an angle of view at which photographing is to be performed can be measured by a distance measuring device. In an active device of this sort, the direction of a projected beam corresponds to a distance measuring position. A plurality of light projection elements are fixed in different directions, and position detection elements (PSD) corresponding to the individual directions are arranged. This makes it possible to measure distances to a plurality of positions.
If photographing in different print formats is possible in the camera capable of measuring distances to a plurality of positions, however, the same distance measuring point selection scheme as in full size photographing is also used in panorama size photographing. This results in the following problems.
1) A distance measuring point for a photographing angle of view is set at a position where it is assumed on the basis of data of conventional full size photographing that a probability of the presence of a principal object to be photographed is high. In a practical situation, therefore, in panorama size photographing which is different in photographing magnification, the distance measuring point is not located at an appropriate position; the distance measuring point is located on a background or the like rather than the principal object to be photographed.
2) An operating means for determining a driving direction and a driving amount of a focusing lens on the basis of data obtained by measuring distances to individual distance measuring points, i.e., an operating means for calculating a point which is to be focused performs the operations in accordance with an operation method suitable for full size photographing in which a probability that an object to be photographed is present at the center of a scene is high. In panorama size photographing, a probability that a principal object to be photographed is present at the center of a scene is lower than that in full size photographing. Therefore, a distance measuring point other than the one at the center corresponds to a principal object to be photographed. In this case, even if proper distance measurement data is output, arithmetic operations are executed by the method suitable for full size photographing. Consequently, there is a high possibility that the operation result is determined by data corresponding to distance measurement for a background which is positioned at the distance measuring point at the center.
Of compact cameras incorporating a zoom lens, a camera in which a photographing optical system is changed for macro photographing on the most telephoto side is known. This camera can perform photographing corresponding to object distances within a predetermined range from the wide-angle side to the telephoto side in a normal zoom region. When a macro mode is set, the camera can photograph an object in a certain designated distance closer than the predetermined range.
FIG. 17
is a side view showing an optical system in such a macro photographing state, and
FIG. 16
is a side view showing an optical system in a normal photographing state. The macro photographing state is set when a photographic lens barrel
812
is extended forward farther than in the normal photographing state. Referring to
FIGS. 16 and 17
, the camera consists of viewfinder objective lenses
808
and
809
, a photographing scene changing mechanism
804
, a viewfinder field frame
804
a,
and a viewfinder eyepiece
811
.
In a camera in which a photographing optical axis and a viewfinder optical axis are arranged apart from each other, as in the compact camera incorporating a zoom lens as shown in
FIGS. 16 and 17
, a shift is present between a photographing field
813
and a viewfinder field
807
. A shift amount is of no problem when an object to be photographed is in a middle or long distance. If, however, an object is at close range as in the macro mode, a scene viewed through a viewfinder is not photographed. Therefore, as shown in
FIGS. 18 and 19
, short distance correction marks
802
a,
802
b,
and
802
c
are drawn in the viewfinder field
807
, thereby designating the photographing field
813
at the closest focusing distance.
In the camera capable of photographing in different print formats described above, however, the field of the viewfinder is covered with the viewfinder field frame
804
a
in the panorama mode as shown in
FIG. 19
, forming a wide field of view corresponding to the range of panorama photographing. In this case, a photographing field in the macro mode (at the closest focusing distance) is as indicated by
814
. Although the shift amount from the viewfinder field frame
804
a
remains unchanged, the ratio of a vertical shift increases because the photographing field is narrowed in the vertical direction. Therefore, as shown in
FIG. 19
, more than one-half of a scene viewed through the viewfinder is not photographed. That is, there is a large shift amount between a photographing scene that a photographer intends, i.e., a viewfinder field, and an actual photographing field.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has been made in consideration of the above situation and has as its object to provide a camera capable of print format selection, which can solve various problems posed when a camera is so designed as to be able to perform photographing in different print formats, such as a problem taking place in performing distance measurement for a plurality of positions in a scene, and a problem of a viewfinder parallax in a macro mode.
To achieve the above object, one aspect of the present invention provides a camera capable of print format selection comprising connecting means for responding to at least one of means for forming information for focus adjustment on the basis of one of distance measurement information of a plurality of portions in a scene and defocus information, and means for different print formats, thereby affecting an operation related to at least the other means.
Another aspect of the present invention provides a camera capable of print format selection comprising connecting means for responding to at least one of means for a predetermined distance range as in macrophotographing and means for different print formats, thereby affecting an operation related to at least the other means.
Other aspects of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5258799 (1993-11-01), Tanii et al.
patent: 5307111 (1994-04-01), Kurei
patent: 5321460 (1994-06-01), Yoshida
patent: 5345285 (1994-09-01), Hasushita et al.
patent: 5365302 (1994-11-01), Kodama
Kitani Kazunari
Kodaira Takanori
Masuda Hidetoshi
Ohtsuka Masanori
Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
Mathews Alan A.
Robin Blecker & Daley
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