Photographic control system for varying both flash fire aperture and exposure termination in correspondence with film speed

• US 4,355,873 A
• Filed: 06/08/1981
• Issued: 10/26/1982
• Est. Priority Date: 06/08/1981
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Polaroid Corporation (PLR IP Holdings LLC)
• Original Assignee: Polaroid Corporation (PLR IP Holdings LLC)
• Inventors: Carcia, Peter P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Gellner, Michael L.
• Application Number:
  US06/271,579
• Time in Patent Office: 505 Days
• Field of Search: 354/26, 354/27, 354/28, 354/29, 354/30, 354/32, 354/34, 354/137, 354/139, 354/149
• US Class Current: 396/105
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 7/16 in accordance with both the intensity of the flash source and the distance of the flash source from the object, e.g. in accordance with the "guide number" of the flash bulb and the focusing of the camera

Abstract

In a photographic exposure control system of the type which provides a flash fire signal at an appropriate follow focus aperture value corresponding to the camera-to-subject distance range and which terminates the exposure interval as a function of scene light detection and integration to a select level, there is provided an arrangement by which the exposure control system may be selectively adjusted to accommodate any one of a variety of different film speeds.

Claims

1. In a photographic exposure control system for use with a source of artificial illumination and for controlling the exposure of a photosensitive recording medium, the system having a shutter arrangement for at least initially providing progressively increasing aperture values at a predetermined rate during an exposure interval within which scene light is transmitted to the photosensitive medium following actuation of the shutter arrangement, and means for providing a flash fire signal to ignite the source of artificial illumination during the exposure interval at an appropriate follow focus aperture value corresponding to the subject distance, the improvement comprising selectively actuatable means for varying the follow focus aperture at which the flash fire signal is provided in correspondence with different ones of a select plurality of film speeds.

2. In a photographic exposure control system for use with a source of artificial illumination and for controlling the exposure of a photosensitive recording medium, the system having a shutter arrangement for at least initially providing progressively aperture values at a predetermined rate during an exposure interval within which scene light is transmitted to the photosensitive medium following actuation of the shutter arrangement, means for providing a flash fire signal to ignite the source of artificial illumination during the exposure interval, and means for determining the distance of a photographic subject from the system to define a range related time interval corresponding to the subject distance and for producing the flash fire signal responsive to a lapse of a time period commencing at the initiation of the exposure interval and corresponding to the range related time interval to thereby produce the flash fire signal at an aperture value corresponding to the subject distance, the improvement comprising selectively actuatable means for varying the lapsed time period at which the flash fire signal is provided in correspondence with different ones of a select plurality of film speeds.

3. The improvement of claim 2 wherein the means for producing the flash fire signal at the lapse of the time period includes counter means for counting up during the range related time interval corresponding to the subject distance and for counting back down starting at the commencement of the exposure interval to define the lapsed time period and said means for varying the lapsed time period includes means for progressively varying the rate at which the counter means counts back down.

4. The improvement of claim 3 wherein said means for progressively varying the rate at which the counter means counts back down includes a frequency divide counter and means for selecting one of a plurality of different decodes for said frequency divide counter to correspond with one of said select plurality of film speeds.

5. In a photographic exposure control system for use with a source of artificial illumination and for controlling the exposure of a photosensitive recording medium, the system having a shutter arrangement for at least initially providing progressively increasing aperture values at a predetermined rate during an exposure interval within which scene light is transmitted to the photosensitive medium following actuation of the shutter arrangement, means for detecting scene light and for responding to the detection of a select amount of scene light to terminate the exposure interval and means for providing a flash fire signal to ignite the source of artificial illumination during the exposure interval at an appropriate follow focus aperture value corresponding to the subject distance, the improvement comprising selectively actuatable means for varying both the follow focus aperture at which the flash fire signal is provided and the select amount of ambient light to be detected to terminate the exposure interval in correspondence with different ones of a select plurality of film speeds.

6. In a photographic exposure control system for use with a source of artificial illumination and for controlling the exposure of a photosensitive recording medium, the system having a shutter arrangement for at least initially providing progressively increasing aperture values at a predetermined rate during an exposure interval within which scene light is transmitted to the photosensitive medium following actuation of the shutter arrangement, means for detecting scene light and for responding to the detection of a select amount of scene light to terminate the exposure interval and means for determining the distance of a photographic subject from the system to define a range related time interval corresponding to the subject distance and for producing the flash fire signal responsive to a lapse of a time period commencing at the initiation of the exposure interval and corresponding to the range related time interval to thereby produce the flash fire signal at an aperture value corresponding to the subject distance, the improvement comprising selectively actuatable means for varying both the lapsed time period at which the flash fire signal is provided and the select amount of scene light to be detected to terminate the exposure interval in correspondence with different ones of a select plurality of film speeds.

7. The improvement of claim 6 wherein the means for producing the flash fire signal at the lapse of the time period includes counter means for counting up during the range related time interval corresponding to the subject distance and for counting back down starting at the commencement of the exposure interval to define the lapsed time period and wherein said means for varying the lapsed time period includes means for progressively varying the rate at which the counter means counts back down.

8. The improvement of claim 7 wherein the means for detecting ambient scene light and terminating the exposure interval includes a digital light integrator for providing a pluse train output signal corresponding to the detected ambient scene light and an integration counter for counting the number of pulses from said pulse train and wherein said means for varying the select amount of scene light to be detected to terminate the exposure interval includes means for selecting one of a plurality of different decodes for said integration counter to correspond with one of said select plurality of film speeds.

9. The improvement of claim 8 wherein said means for progressively varying the rate at which the counter means counts back down includes a frequency divide counter and means for selecting one of a plurality of different decodes for said frequency divide counter to correspond with one of said select plurality of film speeds.