Photographic apparatus and photographic method using same

• US 7,394,484 B2
• Filed: 06/06/2003
• Issued: 07/01/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 06/10/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Shimadzu Corporation, Takeharu Etoh
• Original Assignee: Shimadzu Corporation, Takeharu Etoh
• Inventors: Etoh, Takeharu, Kondo, Yasushi, Takubo, Kenji, Soya, Hideki
• Primary Examiner(s): Hannett; James M
• Application Number:
  US10/455,725
• Publication Number:
  US 20030227545A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,852 Days
• Field of Search: 348/207.99, 348/208.16, 348/542
• US Class Current: 348/208.16
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/66 Remote control of cameras or camera parts, e.g. by remote control devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/73 by influencing the exposure time
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/74 by influencing the scene brightness using illuminating means

Abstract

A photographing apparatus includes a photographing plan memory for setting photographing conditions based on a predetermined photographing plan, a vibration sensor for detecting vibration caused by an explosion of a balloon serving as a photographic subject, and a trigger generating circuit for taking in the timing of detection by the vibration sensor as a trigger. The above photographing plan is prepared beforehand for changing from low-speed photography to high-speed photography in response to the trigger, and changing from high-speed photography to low-speed photography after acquiring “40 frames”. With this plan, the low-speed photography is adopted before and after the balloon explosion, an amount of photographic data tends to be small. Photographs may be taken out within limited photographic data, even with a limited memory capacity. At a moment of balloon explosion, rapid variations due to the explosion may be photographed by high-speed photography with high accuracy.

Claims

1. A photographic apparatus having image pickup means for taking in optical images of a photographic subject, performing a photoelectric conversion of the optical images taken in, and outputting the images as electric signals, the electric signals outputted from the image pickup means being processed as photographic images, said apparatus comprising:

photographing condition varying means for varying, during a series of photographing operations, photographing conditions which are a physical quantity of the apparatus needed for performing the photography, and

limited storage means for storing the electric signals during the series of photographing operations,

wherein said photographing condition varying means is photography planning means for setting said photographing conditions based on a predetermined photographing plan, said photography planning means being arranged to vary the photographing conditions during the series of photographing operations based on said photographing plan under conditions imposed by said limited storage means.

2. A photographic apparatus as defined in claim 1, further comprising trigger input means for detecting a motion of said photographic subject and taking in a time of detection as a trigger, said photography planning means being arranged to vary the photographing conditions during the series of photographing operations based on the trigger from said trigger input means.

3. A photographic apparatus as defined in claim 1, further comprising:

motion applying means for applying a predetermined motion to said photographic subject; and

trigger output means for outputting a trigger in timed relationship with said predetermined motion applied from said motion applying means to said photographic subject;

said photography planning means being arranged to vary the photographing conditions during the series of photographing operations based on the trigger from said trigger output means.

4. A photographic apparatus as defined in claim 1, further comprising clock means for controlling operation of said image pickup means, said photographing conditions including photographing intervals between photo-taking acts, said photography planning means being arranged to vary said photographing intervals synchronously with a signal from said clock means.

5. A photographic apparatus as defined in claim 1, further comprising clock means for controlling operation of said image pickup means, said photographing conditions including an exposure time with incident light between photographing intervals between photo-taking acts, said photography planning means being arranged to vary said exposure time synchronously with a signal from said clock means.

6. A photographic apparatus as defined in claim 1, further comprising:

clock means for controlling operation of said image pickup means; and

illuminating means for illuminating said photographic subject;

said photographing conditions including one of an illumination time for continuously or intermittently emitting light from said illuminating means to said photographic subject and an illumination intensity of the light emitted from said illuminating means to said photographic subject;

said photography planning means being arranged to vary one of said illumination time and illumination intensity synchronously with a signal from said clock means.

7. A photographic apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said photographing conditions include photographing intervals between photo-taking acts, and an exposure time with incident light between said photographing intervals, said photography planning means being arranged to maintain said exposure time constant regardless of variations in said photographing intervals.

8. A photographic apparatus as defined in claim 1, further comprising illuminating means for illuminating said photographic subject, said photographing conditions including photographing intervals between photo-taking acts and one of an illumination time for continuously or intermittently emitting light from said illuminating means to said photographic subject and an illumination intensity of the light emitted from said illuminating means to said photographic subject, said photography planning means being arranged to maintain said exposure time constant regardless of variations in said photographing intervals.

9. A photographic apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said image pickup means is provided for each apparatus, said photography planning means being arranged to control each said image pickup means to vary the photographing conditions during the series of photographing operations.

10. A photographic apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said image pickup means is an image sensor with a photo detector for performing a photoelectric conversion of incident light, and a plurality of charge storage elements for storing charge signals received from the photo detector, as classified into a plurality of frames of different photographing times, the image sensor outputting the charge signals stored in the charge storage elements, said apparatus comprising:

(a) varying means for varying at least one of a frame interval, a photographing time and an exposure condition a plurality of times for each unit photographing time during a series of photographing operations.

11. A photographing apparatus as defined in claim 10, further comprising:

(b) image processing means for performing a plurality of exposures in each unit photographing time during the series of photographing operations, wherein said exposure condition is the number of exposures performed in each unit photographing time, and combining, into one image, image information for a plurality of photographs acquired in each unit photographing time; and

(c) display means for displaying the image information processed.

12. A photographing method using the photographing apparatus defined in claim 10, comprising a step of performing a plurality of exposures in each unit photographing time and varying said frame interval during the series of photographing operations.

13. A photographing method as defined in claim 12, comprising a step of varying at least one of the unit photographing time and an exposure time, which is said exposure condition, at a fixed rate during the series of photographing operations.

14. A photographing method as defined in claim 12, comprising a step of performing one exposure in a fixed unit photographing time and varying an exposure time for each exposure during the series of photographing operations.

15. A photographing method as defined in claim 12, wherein said frame interval is varied synchronously with a signal received from outside.

16. A photographing method as defined in claim 13, wherein said exposure time is varied synchronously with a signal received from outside.

17. A photographing method as defined in claim 14, wherein said exposure time is varied synchronously with a signal received from outside.