Auto-portrait photo studio
First Claim
1. A microprocessor-aided portrait photography system for the exposure of one or more frames of photographic film to the image-forming light reflected from a portrait subject and simultaneous reception and recording to said image-forming light to produce identical video displays of the image of the portrait subject as captured by said film, said portrait photography system comprising:
- (a) an automatic camera including a camera housing, multiple frame photographic film, auto-focus lens means, auto-exposure shutter means, auto-film-wind means, and circuitry means for operating said camera;
(b) a video charge coupled device located within the camera housing and out of the path of image-forming light reflected from the portrait subject toward a frame of said photographic film;
(c) beam splitting means within the camera housing between said lens means and said shutter means for diverting a portion of said image-forming light to said charge coupled device for reception and conversion of said diverted portion of said image-forming light to an exact video image of the portrait suject as viewed by said camera;
(d) a microprocessor interconnected to the circuitry means of said camera to control the photographic functions thereof and interconnected to said charge coupled device to receive said video image and at the instant of exposure of said film frame record and store said image in the memory of said microprocessor;
(e) a video viewfinder associated with said camera housing and interconnected with said microprocessor for the display of said video image and for directing the alignment of said camera with the portrait subject;
(f) means associated with the circuitry means for said camera for actuating said shutter means to expose a frame of said film; and
(g) a video potrait viewer in communication with said microprocessor and located remote from said camera, within viewing range of the portrait subject, for the display to said subject of an exact video image as recorded and stored by said microprocessor as a representation of the image of the portrait subject captured on a frame of said photographic film.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A method and system (including a unique arrangement of computer and photographic apparatus) for automated or computer-aided portrait photography. The method and system utilize an automatic, between-the-lens 35 mm camera including auto-wind, auto-focus and auto-exposure features. A beam splitter behind the camera lens captures a part of the image-forming light reflected from the portrait subject to provide a video pickup charge coupled device with an exact color video image of the subject as seen by the camera. On the outside of the camera housing a flat screen video viewfinder is provided which permits the operator (portrait photographer) to view the image which is being received by the video pickup device. The camera and overall system components are interfaced with and connected to a microprocessor and are controlled by the flash circuitry of the camera. When the operator is satisfied with the subject'"'"'s appearance and pose (as seen through the video viewfinder), press-button action trips the camera shutter for exposure of a frame of film, actuates the flash circuitry of the camera firing flash lighting apparatus and directs (through the microprocessor) the electronic storage (via solid state memory) of a video image identical to the image captured by the camera film. The stored video image can be outputed to a video portrait viewer (CRT screen) for subject viewing. The portrait viewer can also be utilized to display a mutiplicity of the capture (stored) video images (each representing a film frame) for subject selection.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A microprocessor-aided portrait photography system for the exposure of one or more frames of photographic film to the image-forming light reflected from a portrait subject and simultaneous reception and recording to said image-forming light to produce identical video displays of the image of the portrait subject as captured by said film, said portrait photography system comprising:
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(a) an automatic camera including a camera housing, multiple frame photographic film, auto-focus lens means, auto-exposure shutter means, auto-film-wind means, and circuitry means for operating said camera; (b) a video charge coupled device located within the camera housing and out of the path of image-forming light reflected from the portrait subject toward a frame of said photographic film; (c) beam splitting means within the camera housing between said lens means and said shutter means for diverting a portion of said image-forming light to said charge coupled device for reception and conversion of said diverted portion of said image-forming light to an exact video image of the portrait suject as viewed by said camera; (d) a microprocessor interconnected to the circuitry means of said camera to control the photographic functions thereof and interconnected to said charge coupled device to receive said video image and at the instant of exposure of said film frame record and store said image in the memory of said microprocessor; (e) a video viewfinder associated with said camera housing and interconnected with said microprocessor for the display of said video image and for directing the alignment of said camera with the portrait subject; (f) means associated with the circuitry means for said camera for actuating said shutter means to expose a frame of said film; and (g) a video potrait viewer in communication with said microprocessor and located remote from said camera, within viewing range of the portrait subject, for the display to said subject of an exact video image as recorded and stored by said microprocessor as a representation of the image of the portrait subject captured on a frame of said photographic film. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A microprocessor-aided portrait photography system for the exposure of a sequence of photographic film frames to the image-forming light reflected from a portrait subject during a sequence of poses and simultaneous reception and recording of said image-forming light to produce an identical sequcnce or video images of the portrait subject as captured by said film frames, said portrait photography system comprising:
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(a) an automatic camera including a camera housing, multiple frame photographic film, auto-focus lens means, auto-exposure shutter means, auto-film-wind means, and circuitry means for operating said camera; (b) a video charge coupled device located within the camera housng and out of the path of image-forming light reflected from the portrait subject toward a frame of said photographic film; (c) beam splitting means within the camera housing between said lens means and said shutter means for diverting a portion of said image-forming light to said charge coupled device for reception and conversion of said diverted portion of said image-forming light to exact color video images o the portrait subject as viewed by said camera; (d) a microprocessor interconnected to the circuitry means of said camera to control the photographic functions thereof and interconnected to said charge coupled device to receive the color video images of the portrait subject and at the instant of exposure of each film frame record and store the identical video image in the memory of said microprocessor; (e) a flat screen video view finder associated with said camera housing and interconnected with said microprocessor for the display of said video images to the camera operator for alignment of said camera with the portrait subject; (f) means associated with the circuitry means of said camera for a actuating said shutter means to expose each frame of said film; and (g) a CRT video portrait viewer in communication with said microprocessor and located remote from said camera, within viewing range of the portrait subject, for display to the portrait subject of said video images as recorded and stored by said microprocessor as identical representation of the images of the portrait subject captured on each film frame. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method of microprocessor-aided, automated portrait photography of a portrait subject comprising the steps of:
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(a) receiving image-forming light reflected from a portrait subject through the lens of an auto-focus, auto-exposure and auto-film-wind camera; (b) directing said image-forming light within said camera to a beam splitting means behind the lens of said camera for passage of a first portion of said image-forming light therethrough to the shutter of said camera and for reflection of a second portion of said image-forming light to a video charge coupled device for the conversion thereof to a video image of the portrait subject as viewed by said camera; (c) displaying said video image through microprocessor means on a flat screen video viewfinder associated with said camera for assisting the camera operator in the alignment of said camera with the portrait subject; (d) opening the shutter of said camera to permit the passage of said first portion of said image-forming light to expose a frame of light sensitive film for the recording of a photogaphic image of the portrait subject thereon and at the same instant directing the reception and recording of the video image of the video charge coupled device in the memory circuitry and disc storage software of said microprocessor means; and (e) retrieving said video image from said memory circuitry and said software of said microprocessor means and displaying said video image on a CRT video portrait viewer to the portrait subject for review by said subject as an exact representation of the photographic image recorded on said frame of film. - View Dependent Claims (20)
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Specification