Photographic apparatus, method of controlling photographic apparatus, and recording medium

• US 20070127903A1
• Filed: 11/28/2006
• Published: 06/07/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 11/29/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Original Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Inventors: Nagaishi, Michihiro, Nomura, Kazuo, Masuzawa, Hiroki, Sando, Megumi
• Application Number:
  US11/563,727
• Publication Number:
  US 20070127903A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 396/52
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/64 Computer-aided capture of images, e.g. transfer from script file into camera, check of taken image quality, advice or proposal for image composition or decision on when to take image
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/68 for stable pick-up of the scene, e.g. compensating for camera body vibrations
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/684 performed by controlling the image sensor readout, e.g. by controlling the integration time

Abstract

A photographic apparatus includes a shooting section for performing shooting based on an operation of an operation part for instructing shooting, a tremor detection section for detecting a tremor amount of the shooting section, and a shooting control section for causing detection by the tremor detection section the tremor amount at least one of before and after an operation of the operation part, specifying a hand tremor tendency of a photographer based on the tremor amount, and instructing the execution of a shooting process in accordance with the specified hand tremor tendency.

Claims

1. A photographic apparatus comprising:

a shooting section for performing shooting based on an operation of an operation part for instructing shooting;

a tremor detection section for detecting a tremor amount of the shooting section; and

a shooting control section for causing detecting of the tremor amount by the tremor detection section at least one of before and after an operation of the operation part, specifying a hand tremor tendency of a photographer based on the tremor amount, and instructing the shooting section to execute shooting process in accordance with the specified hand tremor tendency.

2. The photographic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the shooting control section compares the tremor amount before the operation of the operation part with a predetermined threshold value, and specifies whether the hand tremor tendency of the photographer is a converging tendency in accordance with a result of the comparison.

3. The photographic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the shooting control section compares the tremor amounts before and after the operation of the operation part with each other, and specifies whether the hand tremor tendency of the photographer is a converging tendency in accordance with a result of the comparison.

4. The photographic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the photographic apparatus stores information representing the specified hand tremor tendency of the photographer; and

the shooting control section, instructs an execution of the shooting process in accordance with the hand tremor tendency in the stored information.

5. The photographic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

in response to specifying that the hand tremor tendency of the photographer is a converging tendency, and in response to the tremor amount after the operation of the operation part reaching near the tremor amount before the operation of the operation part, the shooting control section instructs the shooting section to execute shooting.

6. The photographic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

in response to specifying that the hand tremor tendency of the photographer is a non-converging tendency, the shooting control section obtains shooting conditions that are set one of automatically and manually, and shooting conditions capable of reducing the effect of the tremor, and instructs the shooting section to perform shooting with severer shooting conditions out of the obtained shooting conditions.

7. The photographic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the shooting control section further comprises;

a hand tremor tendency specifying section for specifying the hand tremor tendency of the photographer based on the tremor amount before the operation of the operation part; and

a storage section for pre-storing hand tremor tendency information for representing the hand tremor tendency of the photographer; and

the photographic apparatus is adapted to select a first priority mode and a second priority mode,

wherein;

in the first priority mode, the hand tremor tendency information stored in the storage section is given priority over the specifying result of the hand tremor tendency specifying section, and the shooting process is executed in accordance with the hand tremor tendency represented in the hand tremor tendency information; and

in the second priority mode, the specifying result of the hand tremor tendency specifying section is given priority over the hand tremor tendency information stored in the storage section, and the shooting process is executed in accordance with the hand tremor tendency represented by the specifying result.

8. The photographic apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising:

a hand tremor tendency information generation section for comparing the tremor amounts before and after the operation of the operation part with each other to specify the hand tremor tendency of the photographer, and for pre-generating the hand tremor tendency information.

9. The photographic apparatus according to claim 7, wherein:

the hand tremor tendency is categorized into at least two tendencies;

a first hand tremor tendency wherein the hand tremor of the photographer converges on a tremor amount so small as to cause no conspicuous jitter on a shot image after operation of the operation part; and

a second hand tremor tendency wherein the hand tremor of the photographer does not converge on a tremor amount so small as to cause no conspicuous jitter on a shot image after operation of the operation part.

10. The photographic apparatus according to claim 9, wherein:

in response to the hand tremor tendency of the photographer being a first hand tremor tendency, shooting is commenced in response to the tremor amount that has converged after the operation of the operation part.

11. The photographic apparatus according to claim 9, wherein:

in response to the hand tremor tendency of the photographer being a second hand tremor tendency, shooting is commenced with shooting conditions including exposure time, aperture value, and sensitivity changed to shooting conditions hardly causing jitter on the shot image.

12. The photographic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the shooting section performs automatic focus adjustment in response to a semi-holding-down operation of the operation part, and performs a shooting process after a full-holding-down operation of the operation part; and

the shooting control section obtains by the tremor detection section a tremor amount at least one of before and after the semi-holding-down operation of the operation part, specifies the hand tremor tendency of the photographer based on the tremor amount, and in response to the full-holding-down of the operating part, instructs the shooting section to perform a shooting process in accordance with the specified hand tremor tendency.

13. The photographic apparatus according to claim 12, wherein:

the shooting control section compares the tremor amounts before and after the semi-holding-down operation of the operation part with each other, and specifies whether the hand tremor tendency of the photographer is a converging tendency in accordance with a result of the comparison.

14. The photographic apparatus according to claim 13, wherein:

the shooting control section judges the hand tremor tendency of the photographer to accumulate information representing the hand tremor tendency every semi-holding-down operation of a shutter button and specifies the hand tremor tendency of the photographer based on the accumulated information.

15. The photographic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the shooting control section judges whether there is a tremor having an amplitude greater than a predetermined amplitude within a predetermined frequency range in the tremor detected by the tremor detection section, specifies the hand tremor tendency of the photographer based on the judgment result, and instructs the shooting section to perform a shooting process in accordance with the specified hand tremor tendency.

16. The photographic apparatus according to claim 15, wherein:

the shooting control section judges whether there is a constant tremor with an amplitude greater than a predetermined amplitude approximately equal to 10 Hz.

17. The photographic apparatus according to claim 15, wherein:

the shooting control section specifies whether the hand tremor tendency of the photographer is a converging tendency, in response to specifying that the hand tremor tendency of the photographer is a converging tendency, and in response to the tremor amount after the operation of the operation part reaching near the tremor amount before operation of the operation part, instructs the shooting section to execute shooting.

18. The photographic apparatus according to claim 15, wherein:

the shooting control section specifies whether the hand tremor tendency of the photographer is a converging tendency, in response to specifying that the hand tremor tendency of the photographer is a non-converging tendency, obtains shooting conditions that are set one of automatically and manually, and shooting conditions capable of reducing an effect of the tremor, and instructs the shooting section to perform shooting with severer shooting conditions out of the obtained shooting conditions.

19. A method of controlling a photographic apparatus comprising:

detecting a tremor amount at least one of before and after an operation of an operation part for instructing shooting; and

specifying a hand tremor tendency of a photographer based on the tremor amount to perform a shooting process in accordance with the specified hand tremor tendency.

20. A computer readable recording medium recording a program for instructing a computer including a shooting section for performing shooting based on an operation of an operation part for instructing shooting to function as:

tremor detection means for detecting a tremor amount of the shooting section; and

shooting control means for causing detecting of the tremor amount by the tremor detection means at least one of before and after an operation of the operation part, specifying a hand tremor tendency of a photographer based on the tremor amount, and instructing the shooting section to execute a shooting process in accordance with the specified hand tremor tendency.