IMAGING APPARATUS AND IMAGING LENS UNIT

• US 20100284679A1
• Filed: 04/16/2010
• Published: 11/11/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 05/08/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Mizukami, Akifumi, Sogawa, Hisamo, Akamatsu, Norihiko, Kimba, Akio
• Granted Patent: US 8,064,762 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 396/257
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/667 Camera operation mode switching, e.g. between still and video, sport and normal or high- and low-resolution modes
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/75 by influencing optical camera components

Abstract

An imaging apparatus includes: continuous imaging mode setting means for setting a continuous imaging mode in which a plurality of captured images including first and second captured images are continuously acquired; and diaphragm control means for controlling a diaphragm in an imaging optical system, wherein in the continuous imaging mode, the diaphragm control means does not drive the diaphragm during a first period from the time of exposure for the first captured image to the time of exposure for the second captured image but maintains the state of the diaphragm at the time of exposure for the first captured image until the time of exposure for the second captured image.

Claims

1. An imaging apparatus comprising:

continuous imaging mode setting means for setting a continuous imaging mode in which a plurality of captured images including first and second captured images are continuously acquired; and

diaphragm control means for controlling a diaphragm in an imaging optical system,

wherein in the continuous imaging mode, the diaphragm control means does not drive the diaphragm during a first period from the time of exposure for the first captured image to the time of exposure for the second captured image but maintains the state of the diaphragm at the time of exposure for the first captured image until the time of exposure for the second captured image.

2. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1,

further comprising distance measurement means for detecting information on the distance to a subject,

wherein the exposure for the first captured image and the exposure for the second captured image are carried out by using, among a plurality of diaphragm apertures, a diaphragm aperture that falls within a distance measurement enabling range, which is a range of diaphragm apertures that allow the distance measurement means to carry out distance measurement, and

the distance measurement means detects information on the distance to the subject in the first period with the diaphragm aperture of the diaphragm set to be equal to the diaphragm aperture used at the time of exposure for the first captured image.

3. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1,

further comprising distance measurement means for detecting information on the distance to a subject,

wherein the distance measurement means selects, among a plurality of diaphragm apertures, a diaphragm aperture that falls within a distance measurement enabling range, which is a range of diaphragm apertures that allow the distance measurement means to carry out distance measurement, determines the selected diaphragm aperture as a diaphragm aperture for imaging, sets a diaphragm aperture used at the time of exposure for the first captured image to be equal to the diaphragm aperture for imaging, and sets a diaphragm aperture used at the exposure for the second captured image to be the diaphragm aperture for imaging as well without driving the diaphragm during the first period.

4. The imaging apparatus according to claim 3,

wherein the diaphragm control means selects a predetermined value within the distance measurement enabling range and determines the selected value as the diaphragm aperture for imaging.

5. The imaging apparatus according to claim 3,

further comprising means for accepting an imaging start instruction,

wherein the diaphragm control means determines the diaphragm aperture for imaging in advance during a composition finalizing period before the imaging start instruction is accepted and drives the diaphragm in advance to the state corresponding to the diaphragm aperture for imaging.

6. The imaging apparatus according to claim 3,

wherein when a first diaphragm aperture determined based on a photometric value measured during the composition finalizing period falls within the distance measurement enabling range, the diaphragm control means determines the first diaphragm aperture as the diaphragm aperture for imaging without any modification.

7. The imaging apparatus according to claim 6,

wherein when the first diaphragm aperture does not fall within the distance measurement enabling range, the diaphragm control means selects a second diaphragm aperture that falls within the distance measurement enabling range and determines the second diaphragm aperture as the diaphragm aperture for imaging.

8. The imaging apparatus according to claim 6,

wherein when the first diaphragm aperture does not fall within the distance measurement enabling range, the diaphragm control means selects the value closest to the first diaphragm aperture among the values within the distance measurement enabling range and determines the selected value as the diaphragm aperture for imaging.

9. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1,

further comprising distance measurement means for detecting information on the distance to a subject,

wherein provided that a diaphragm aperture determined by the diaphragm control means as the diaphragm aperture used at the time of exposure for the first captured image falls within, among a plurality of diaphragm apertures, a range that allows the distance measurement means to carry out distance measurement, the diaphragm control means does not drive the diaphragm during the first period but sets the diaphragm aperture used at the time of exposure for the second captured image to be equal to the diaphragm aperture used at the time of exposure for the first captured image.

10. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1,

further comprising an imaging device that produces a captured image of a subject,

distance measurement means for detecting information on the distance to the subject, and

a semi-transparent mirror that transmits part of the components forming an optical image of the subject so that the transmitted light reaches the imaging device and reflects the remainder of the components forming the optical image so that the reflected light reaches the distance measurement means,

wherein the imaging device acquires the plurality of captured images in the continuous imaging mode based on the optical image having passed through the semi-transparent mirror.

11. The imaging apparatus according to claim 2,

further comprising information storage means for storing information on the distance measurement enabling range.

12. The imaging apparatus according to claim 2,

further comprising communication means for communicating with an imaging lens unit including the imaging optical system to acquire information on the distance measurement enabling range stored in information storage means in the imaging lens unit.

13. An imaging lens unit comprising:

information storage means for storing information on a distance measurement enabling range, which is a range of diaphragm apertures corresponding to the states of a diaphragm in which a light flux used in distance measurement means disposed in an imaging apparatus body to which the imaging lens unit is attached is not blocked; and

communication means for transmitting the information stored in the information storage means to the imaging apparatus body.

14. An imaging apparatus comprising:

an imaging apparatus body; and

an imaging lens unit,

the imaging apparatus body including

continuous imaging mode setting means for setting a continuous imaging mode in which a plurality of captured images including first and second captured images are continuously acquired, and

diaphragm control means for controlling a diaphragm in the imaging lens unit,

wherein in the continuous imaging mode, the diaphragm control means does not drive the diaphragm during a first period from the time of exposure for the first captured image to the time of exposure for the second captured image but maintains the state of the diaphragm at the time of exposure for the first captured image until the time of exposure for the second captured image.

15. An imaging apparatus comprising:

a continuous imaging mode setting unit configured to set a continuous imaging mode in which a plurality of captured images including first and second captured images are continuously acquired; and

a diaphragm control unit configured to control a diaphragm in an imaging optical system,

wherein in the continuous imaging mode, the diaphragm control unit does not drive the diaphragm during a first period from the time of exposure for the first captured image to the time of exposure for the second captured image but maintains the state of the diaphragm at the time of exposure for the first captured image until the time of exposure for the second captured image.

16. An imaging lens unit comprising:

an information storage unit configured to store information on a distance measurement enabling range, which is a range of diaphragm apertures corresponding to the states of a diaphragm in which a light flux used in distance measurement unit disposed in an imaging apparatus body to which the imaging lens unit is attached is not blocked; and

a communication unit configured to transmit the information stored in the information storage unit to the imaging apparatus body.

17. An imaging apparatus comprising:

an imaging apparatus body; and

an imaging lens unit,

the imaging apparatus body including

a continuous imaging mode setting unit configured to set a continuous imaging mode in which a plurality of captured images including first and second captured images are continuously acquired, and

a diaphragm control unit configured to control a diaphragm in the imaging lens unit,

wherein in the continuous imaging mode, the diaphragm control unit does not drive the diaphragm during a first period from the time of exposure for the first captured image to the time of exposure for the second captured image but maintains the state of the diaphragm at the time of exposure for the first captured image until the time of exposure for the second captured image.