Television – Camera – system and detail – With electronic viewfinder or display monitor
Reexamination Certificate
1999-08-26
2004-05-11
Vu, Ngoc-Yen (Department: 2612)
Television
Camera, system and detail
With electronic viewfinder or display monitor
C348S239000, C348S333050, C348S231300
Reexamination Certificate
active
06734910
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an electronic camera and a control method for shooting with the same. Particularly, the present invention relates to an electronic camera which can display a finder image and a control method for shooting with the same.
In an electronic still camera (hereinafter referred to as a digital camera or the like), which is one kind of an electronic camera, when a shooting mode is set, an optical image of a subject is converted to an electric signal by an image pick-up element, image data obtained after image processing such as signal conversion and color process are not only taken in a working memory but simultaneously transferred to a display section and further the data transferred to the display section is subjected to image reconstruction by a video encoder, thereby displaying a through-(finder)-image (dynamic image) on a liquid crystal display.
Thereafter, if a user operates a shutter button in a desired timing (hereinafter referred to as a shutter chance), image data which has been taken in a working memory at a time point of the operation of a shutter button are not only presented on a liquid crystal display as a shot image in a still state, but also recorded in a retention-recording memory after the image data is compressed.
However, in such a process as described above, there are frequent cases for a user to overlook a shutter chance in a shoot mode without conducting a shutter operation and to find that the user has lost the shutter chances by confirming a shot still image after conducting a shutter operation.
As a result, there has been a problem that a user has cases where desired shot images cannot be obtained.
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide an electronic camera by which a shutter chance can be prevented from being lost and a control method for shooting with the same.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In one of preferred embodiments in order to achieve the above described object, an electronic camera according to the present invention comprises:
image picking-up means for picking up an image of a subject;
display means for displaying the image picked up by the image picking-up means;
first display control means for controlling the display means so as to display the image picked up by the image picking-up means immediately after the image is picked up by the image picking-up means as a present finder image;
second display control means for controlling the display means so as to display the image picked up by the image picking-up means a prescribed time period after the image is picked up as a past finder image;
shoot instructing means for instructing shooting of the subject;
retention-image recording means for recording the image picked up by the image picking-up means as a retention-image; and
record control means for controlling the retention-image recording means so as to record for retention, when shooting is instructed by the shoot instructing means, one of a present finder image and a past finder image according to a display state of the display means at a shoot instruction time point by the shoot instructing means as a shot image,
whereby an electronic camera which can secure a shutter chance is provided.
In another of preferred embodiments in order to achieve the above-described object, an electronic camera according to the present invention comprises:
image picking-up means for sequentially picking up images of a subject;
display means for displaying the image picked up by the image picking-up means;
display control means for controlling the display mean so as to display the image picked up by the image picking-up means immediately after the image is picked up as a present finder image and simultaneously so as to display the image picked up by the image picking-up means a prescribe time period before a present time point as a past finder image;
first shoot instructing means for instructing shooting based on the present finder image;
second shoot instructing means for instructing shooting based on the past finder image;
retention-image recording means for recording for retention the image picked up by the image picking-up means;
first record control means for controlling the retention-image recording means so as to record for retention, when shooting is instructed by the first shoot instructing means, the present finder image of the present finder image and a past finder image presented on the display means at a shoot instruction time point by the first shoot instructing means as a shot image; and
second record control means for controlling the retention-image recording means so as to record for retention, when shooting is instructed by the second shoot instructing means, the past finder image of a present finder image and the past finder image presented on the display means at a shoot instruction time point by the second shoot instructing means as a shot image,
whereby an electronic camera which can secure a shutter chance is provided.
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Patent Abstracts of Japan, vol. 006, No. 151 (E-124), Aug. 11, 1982 and JP 57-073578 A (Sony Corp.), May 8, 1982, English Abstract Only
Kobayashi Keiichi
Yumoto Noboru
Casio Computer Co. Ltd.
Frishauf Holtz Goodman & Chick P.C.
Vu Ngoc-Yen
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