Camera with built-in electronic flash

• US 6,029,015 A
• Filed: 04/24/1997
• Issued: 02/22/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 10/20/1994
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Fuji Photo Optical Co. Ltd (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Fuji Photo Optical Co. Ltd (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Ishiguro, Minoru
• Primary Examiner(s): Gray, David M.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Dalakis, Michael
• Application Number:
  US08/842,507
• Time in Patent Office: 1,034 Days
• Field of Search: 396/61, 396/164, 396/187
• US Class Current: 396/187
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 15/05 Combinations of cameras with electronic flash apparatus; Electronic flash units
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 2215/0503 Built-in units
• 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

An ever-flash exposure control system for a built-in flash camera controls a shutter to open and close so as to provide a standard exposure for scene brightness which are higher than standard scene brightness for which the shutter provides a full aperture to complete the standard exposure and triggers an electronic flash to provide illumination light at a time at which the shutter reaches an aperture according to a subject distance during exposure.

Claims

1. A built-in flash camera equipped with an ever-flash exposure control system comprising:

a brightness detector capable of measuring a level of brightness of a scene to be photographed;

a distance detector capable of determining a camera-to-subject distance;

a shutter which, for each photographic exposure, is capable of moving from a closed position to a fully open position, maintaining the fully open position for a predetermined period of time, and moving back to the closed position;

an electronic flash;

a memory containing a flash output correction value associated with each of a plurality of combinations of said scene brightness level and said camera-to-subject distance, said flash output correction values being established so that a proportional amount of light provided by the electronic flash in relation to said scene brightness level decreases as a function of increasing scene brightness level; and

a controller capable of retrieving the flash output correction value associated with the camera-to-subject distance and the scene brightness level from the memory and using the flash output correction value to determine the preselected time for triggering the electronic flash;

wherein the electronic flash is triggered at a preselected time while the shutter is one of partially open and fully open, wherein a degree of illumination provided by the electronic flash is maximized by triggering the electronic flash while the shutter is fully open, and wherein the degree of illumination provided by the electronic flash is progressively decreased by triggering the flash earlier during the shutter'"'"'s movement from the closed position to the fully open position.

2. The built-in flash camera of claim 1, wherein the memory comprises flash output correction values based on combinations of predetermined ranges of said scene brightness level and said camera-to-subject distance.

3. The built-in flash camera of claim 2, wherein there are at least four said ranges of scene brightness level.

4. The built-in flash camera of claim 3, wherein there are at least four said ranges of camera-to-subject distance.

5. The built-in flash camera of claim 4, wherein within at least one of the camera-to-subject distance ranges, at least two adjacent ranges of said scene brightness level have an identical flash output correction value associated therewith.

6. The built-in flash camera of claim 5, wherein within at least the camera-to-subject distance range encompassing infinity, at least one of the ranges of scene brightness level has a flash output correction value associated therewith which causes the controller not to trigger the electronic flash.