Flash indication aid for cameras with manual flash
First Claim
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1. Apparatus for a camera having a body and a manually operated flash assembly, is characterized by:
- sensing means disposed on said camera body and made from a material having properties which vary depending on the amount of incident light striking the sensing means; and
reference means having a specific property value for comparing to said sensing means for visually indicating whether said flash assembly should be powered, wherein said reference means includes a material having a known and fixed optical density, said reference means being disposed adjacent said sensing means to provide a comparative index.
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Abstract
A device for a camera having a manually operated flash assembly includes a sensing element made from a photochromic, metameric or other material which is capable of producing visible optical density changes, such as color changes, based on the level of incident light impinging on the element. According to the invention, a reference standard having a specific optical density is adjacently positioned relative to the sensing element so that the respective optical densities can be compared prior to image capture in order to guide the user whether or not to use the flash.
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10 Claims
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1. Apparatus for a camera having a body and a manually operated flash assembly, is characterized by:
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sensing means disposed on said camera body and made from a material having properties which vary depending on the amount of incident light striking the sensing means; and reference means having a specific property value for comparing to said sensing means for visually indicating whether said flash assembly should be powered, wherein said reference means includes a material having a known and fixed optical density, said reference means being disposed adjacent said sensing means to provide a comparative index. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A method for using a camera having a manually activatable flash assembly, comprising the steps of:
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reading the optical density of a displayed light sensing element made from a material which varies in optical density depending on the level of incident light impinging thereon; comparing the optical density of the light-sensing element with that of an adjacently disposed reference standard having a fixed optical density; and activating the flash assembly if the optical density of the light sensing element is markedly different than that of the reference standard. - View Dependent Claims (10)
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Specification