Imaging apparatus
Contents
1. FIG 7 is a flowchart for describing a display moni tor switching operation of the camera system 1 according to the present embodiment 0055 When the microcomputer 220 senses that the above described setting state is changed first the microcomputer 220 determines based on the automatic switching flag 241 whether the display monitor switching is set to automatic switching or manual switching S401 0056 Ifthe automatic switching flag 241 is set to ON that is set to automatic switching by the user on the menu then the microcomputer 220 sets the eye proximity sensing opera tion flag 242 to ON to activate the automatic display monitor switching function 5409 The microcomputer 220 receives a sensing result from the eye proximity sensor 310 And thereby checks an eye proximity sensing state 5410 If the sensing result of the eye proximity sensor 310 indicates an eye proximity sensing state YES at S410 then the micro computer 220 sets the external viewfinder 300 as the display monitor to be operated and an image is displayed on the finder monitor 320 in the external viewfinder 300 S411 If the sensing result of the eye proximity sensor 310 indicates an eye proximity non sensing state NO at S410 then the microcomputer 220 sets the rear monitor 230 as the display monitor to be operated and an image is displayed on the rear monitor 230 S408 0057 On the other hand if the automatic switching flag 241 is set to OFF a2. mounted that is a camera system including two display monitors a rear moni US 2011 0310285 Al tor and an external viewfinder which further facilitates the setting performed due to a change in user s shooting style thereby providing excellent usability 0019 An embodiment in which the idea of the present application is applied to a lens interchangeable camera sys tem will be described below using the drawings 1 2 Configuration 0020 FIG 1isablock diagram showing a configuration of a camera system 1 according to a first embodiment FIG 2 is a schematic diagram showing a rear view of the camera sys tem 1 according to the first embodiment The camera system 1 includes an interchangeable lens 100 a camera body 200 and an external viewfinder 300 The interchangeable lens 100 has a zoom lens and a focus lens not shown and guides light passing through the interchangeable lens 100 to the camera body 200 0021 The camera body 200 includes a CCD image sensor 210 a microcomputer 220 a rear monitor 230 a DRAM 240 an operating member 250 a card slot 260 and a connector 270 0022 Inthe camera system 1 the CCD image sensor 210 captures a subject image incident through the interchangeable lens 100 and converts the subject image into an electrical signal to generate image data The microcomputer 220 per forms various image processing and compression processes on the generated image data and stores the processed image d
3. 300 is set as the display monitor to be operated an image is displayed on the finder monitor 320 in the external viewfinder 300 by the microcomputer 220 S411 On the other hand when the display monitor flag 243 is ON that is when the rear monitor 230 is set as the display monitor to be operated by the microcomputer 220 an image is displayed on the rear moni tor 230 S408 0060 On the other hand at step 5405 when state of the detection switch 340 is ON or is changed from OFF to ON it US 2011 0310285 Al is determined that the external viewfinder 300 is in the van angle state Thus in that case the microcomputer 220 rec ognizes that the external viewfinder 300 is in the van angle state and thus sets the eye proximity sensing operation flag 242 to ON to activate the automatic display monitor switch ing function S409 Thereafter in the same manner as above switching ofthe display monitor to be operated is performed according to the flags and the result of an eye proximity sensing operation 1 4 Summary 0061 As described above a camera system 1 of the present embodiment includes a CCD image sensor 210 that captures a subject image to generate image data an external viewfinder 300 that displays the image data generated by the CCD image sensor 210 and that can take a reference position closed state and a position different from the reference position vari angle state an eye proximity sensor 310 tha
4. 310285 Al Fig 7 SWITCHING OF DISPLAY MONITOR AUTOMATIC SW MANUAL SW 5402 CURRENT DISPLAY MONITOR EXTERNAL VIEWFINDER REAR MONITOR 403 DISPLAY MONITOR FLAG ON 5405 5404 DISPLAY MONITOR FLAG OFF VARI ANGLE STATE GHECK STATE OF EXTERNAL VIEWFINDE 5406 CLOSED STATE AUTOMATIC DISPLAY MONITOR SWITCHING FUNCTION INACTIVE EYE PROXIMITY SENSING _OPERATION FLAG OFF 8407 7 CHECK USER SS sere REAR MONITOR DISPLAY IMAGE DATA ON REAR MONITOR 5409 AUTOMATIC DISPLAY MONITOR SWITCHING FUNCTION ACTIVE EYE PROXIMITY SENSING OPERATION FLAG ON 15 EYES PROXIMITY 2 SENSED YES EXTERNAL VIEWFINDER DISPLAY IMAGE DATA ON EXTERNAL VIEWFINDER 5408 US 2011 0310285 Al IMAGING APPARATUS BACKGROUND 0001 1 Technical Field 0002 The technical field relates to an imaging apparatus having a plurality of display units including a movable dis play unit 0003 2 Related Art 0004 JP10 004509A discloses an imaging apparatus including two types of display units a viewfinder and a moni tor The imaging apparatus includes an eye proximity sensor When the proximity of the user s eye to the viewfinder is sensed by the eye proximity sensor the monitor display is turned off When the eye proximity is not sensed the view finder display is turned off By this control an im
5. OFF the microcom puter 220 stops or inactivates the operation of the eye prox imity sensor 310 At this time the microcomputer 220 deter mines a display monitor to be operated a display monitor for displaying an image based on the value of the display moni tor flag 243 0032 The display monitor flag 243 takes the value ON when the display monitor to be operated is the rear monitor 230 and takes the value OFF when the display monitor to be operated is an external viewfinder 300 that is a finder monitor 320 The microcomputer 220 sets the eye proximity sensing operation flag 242 based on the connection state of the external viewfinder 300 the state ofthe automatic switch ing flag 241 and the state of a detection switch 340 The setting of the eye proximity sensing operation flag 242 will be described in detail later 0033 The rear monitor 230 is provided at the rear of the camera body 200 The finder monitor 320 is provided in the external viewfinder 300 The user can check an image cap tured by the CCD image sensor 210 by looking at the finder monitor 320 inside the external viewfinder 300 The rear monitor 230 and the finder monitor 320 display an image represented by image data subjected to various image pro cessing and the like by the microcomputer 220 The rear monitor 230 and the finder monitor 320 can display through images and still images represented by image datarecorded in the memory card 400 The throu
6. US 20110310285 1 Patent Application Publication o Pub No US 2011 0310285 A1 19 United States NAKAI 43 Pub Date Dec 22 2011 54 IMAGING APPARATUS 75 Inventor YASUNORI NAKAI Nara JP PANASONIC CORPORATION Osaka JP 73 Assignee 21 Appl No 13 161 590 22 Filed Jun 16 2011 30 Foreign Application Priority Data Jun 18 2010 2010 138854 Publication Classification 51 Int Cl HOAN 5 222 2006 01 230 52 US CL an 348 333 06 348 E05 024 57 ABSTRACT An imaging apparatus includes an imaging unit configured to capture a subject image to generate image data a first display unit configured to display the image data generated by the imaging unit and to be capable of taking a reference position and a position different from the reference position a prox imity sensor configured to sense proximity ofan object to the first display unit a position sensor configured to sense whether the first display unit is at the reference position a second display unit configured to display the image data generated by the imaging unit and a controller configured to perform control when the position sensor senses that the first display unit is not at the reference position to activate the proximity sensor and to operate the first display unit when the proximity sensor senses proximity ofan object andto operate the second display unit when the proximity sensor does not sense proxi
7. aging appa ratus which is easy to operate and capable of reducing wasted power consumption is implemented 0005 In the imaging apparatus disclosed in the above described JP10 004509A when the display switching between the viewfinder and the monitor is set to manual switching instead of automatic switching which is per formed based on the detection result of the eye proximity sensor and the setting is performed to turn off the viewfinder display turn on the monitor display even if the user looks through the viewfinder nothing is displayed on the view finder In such circumstances when the user wants to check a subject by looking through the viewfinder he she needs to take the trouble to perform an operation to turn on the view finder display Thus the operation becomes troublesome causing a problem of poor usability SUMMARY 0006 An imaging apparatus capable of solving the above described problem is provided that has improved usability of switching between a plurality of display units 0007 Ina first aspect an imaging apparatus includes an imaging unit configured to capture a subject image to gener ate image data a first display unit configured to display the image data generated by the imaging unit and to be capable of being positioned at a reference position and a position differ ent from the reference position a proximity sensor config ured to sense proximity of an object to the first display unit a
8. ata in a memory card 400 A detail of each component will be described below 0023 The microcomputer 220 controls the overall opera tion of the camera system 1 according to an instruction from the operating member 250 For example the microcomputer 220 performs various image processing including gamma correction flaw correction white balance correction and the like and compression processes including a JPEG compres sion process an MPEG compression process and the like on the image data obtained from the CCD image sensor 210 The microcomputer 220 uses the DRAM 240 as a working memory during control operation and image processing 0024 The DRAM 240 stores at least the following three flags 241 242 and 243 which are used for control 0025 Automatic switching flag 241 a flag indicating user s setting state for automatic display monitor switching 0026 Eye proximity sensing operation flag 242 a flag that is referred by the microcomputer 220 to determine whether to actually perform an eye proximity sensing operation 0027 Display monitor flag 243 a flag indicating a display monitor to be operated to function when the eye proximity sensing operation flag 242 is OFF that is when automatic switching of the display monitor is not performed 0028 The value ON and OFF of each flag and the mean ings indicated by each value are as follows ON OFF Automatic switching Automatic switching Manual switching flag Eye proxim
9. e controller acti vates the proximity sensor and operates the first display unit when the proximity sensor senses the object is proximate to the first display unit and operates the sec ond display unit when the proximity sensor does not sense the object is proximate to the first display unit 2 Theimaging apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the first display unit is mountable to a body of the imaging appa ratus 3 The imaging apparatus according to claim 2 wherein when the first display unit is mounted to the body of the imaging apparatus a setting item for an automatic switching between the first display unit and the second display unit is added to a menu for allowing a user to set a function of the imaging apparatus 4 The imaging apparatus according to claim 2 further comprising an operating member used by a user to provide an instruction to the imaging apparatus wherein when the first display unit is mounted to the body of the imaging apparatus the controller assigns a function con cerning manual switching between the first display unit and the second display unit to the operating member 5 The imaging apparatus according to claim 1 wherein when the position sensor senses that the first display unit is positioned at the reference position the controller performs control to inactivate a function of the proximity sensor 6 An imaging apparatus to which a first display unit is mountable the first display unit configured
10. gh image is moving image which is displayed to allow a user to determine a composition upon still image shooting but is not yet recorded 0034 Therear monitor 230 and the finder monitor 320 can display a setting menu For example the rear monitor 230 and the finder monitor 320 can display as setting menus a menu screen for setting the number of pixels of data on an image to be shot a menu screen for setting exposure a menu screen for setting 150 sensitivity and the like In particular in the present embodiment when the external viewfinder 300 is connected to the camera body 200 the rear monitor 230 and the finder monitor 320 can display a setting menu including the afore mentioned automatic display monitor switching setting item see FIG 3B 0035 The operating member 250 is a collective term for various operating members Examples of the operating mem US 2011 0310285 Al ber 250 include a function button 251 and a cross key 252 which will be described later The operating member 250 may include a touch panel 0036 The memory card 400 can be placed in the card slot 260 The memory card 400 can store image data generated by the microcomputer 220 The memory card 400 can also out put the stored data to the microcomputer 220 0037 The connector 270 is a connecting device that elec trically connects the external viewfinder 300 to the camera body 200 The microcomputer 220 communicates data such as external viewfinde
11. he first embodiment 0047 When the microcomputer 220 detects that the exter nal viewfinder 300 has been connected to the connector 270 of the camera body 200 the microcomputer 220 detects whether there is the eye proximity sensor 310 S301 0048 Now an example of a method of detecting whether there is the eye proximity sensor 310 will be described When the microcomputer 220 in the camera body 200 and a micro computer not shown in the external viewfinder 300 confirm that the external viewfinder 300 has been connected to the camera body 200 through the connector 270 communication US 2011 0310285 Al starts between the microcomputers and the microcomputer 220 in the camera body 200 determines whether there is the eye proximity sensor 310 Alternatively ifthe external view finder 300 has the function of outputting an identification signal indicating that an eye proximity sensor is included the microcomputer 220 may determine that a viewfinder includ ing an eye proximity sensor has been attached when receiv ing the identification signal from the external viewfinder 300 Alternatively it may be set on the menu whether the external viewfinder 300 includes the eye proximity sensor 310 0049 Ifthe microcomputer 220 senses the presence of the eye proximity sensor 310 by the method as described above YES at S301 the microcomputer 220 adds the automatic display monitor switching setting item to the setting menu S302 Spec
12. ifically in the present embodiment normally as shown in FIG 3A the automatic display monitor switching item is not displayed on the setting menu When the presence of the eye proximity sensor 310 is sensed as shown in FIG 3B the automatic display monitor switching item 20 is added to the setting menu At the same time the microcom puter 220 sets the initial setting of the automatic display monitor switching to ON that is sets automatic switching where the display monitors are automatically switched based on the sensing result of the eye proximity sensor 310 and sets the automatic switching flag 241 to ON Note that at this time a message indicating that the automatic display monitor switching setting is set to ON may be displayed on the rear monitor 230 to notify it to the user see FIG 6 0050 Then the microcomputer 220 assigns a manual dis play monitor switching function to the predetermined func tion button 251 S303 The manual display monitor switch ing function is the function of forcibly switching the display monitor to the rear monitor 230 or the external viewfinder 300 by a user s manual operation Each time the function button 251 is pressed by the user the microcomputer 220 switches the display monitor to be operated between the rear monitor 230 and the finder monitor 320 and changes the value of the display monitor flag 243 in association with the switched display monitor Note that the ma
13. inder 300 Accordingly even if the user changes the shooting style from shooting performed while looking at the rear monitor 230 to shooting performed while looking at the external viewfinder 300 he she does not need to manually change the display monitor setting and thus the usability of the camera system 1 improves 2 Other Embodiments 0063 An embodiment is not limited to that described above and various other embodiments are considered Other embodiments will be summarized below 0064 In the above described embodiment the camera system 1 includes the camera body 200 and the interchange able lens 100 attachable to camera body 200 However the camera body 200 and the lens 100 do not necessarily need to be separable and the lens 100 and the camera body 200 may be formed integrally 0065 In the above described embodiment the external viewfinder 300 is detachable from the camera body 200 However provided that the finder monitor 320 is rotatable Dec 22 2011 tilt operable upward relative to the camera body 200 the external viewfinder 300 does not need to be a separate unit from the camera body 200 and may be formed integrally with the camera body 200 0066 Though description is omitted in the above de scribed embodiment when the external viewfinder 300 is removed from the camera body 200 the microcomputer 220 determines the rear monitor 230 as the display monitor to be operated 0067 Although in the above de
14. ity Eye proximity sensor Eye proximity sensor sensing operation Active Inactive flag Display monitor flag Rear monitor External viewfinder Dec 22 2011 0029 Inthe camera system 1 a setting menu can be dis played on the rear monitor 230 and a user can set various functions of the camera system 1 on the setting menu The setting menu has for example an item of automatic display monitor switching which is a setting for automatically switching a display monitor based on the sensing result of an eye proximity sensor 310 see FIG 3B 0030 When the automatic display monitor switching setting is turned on by the user on the setting menu that is automatic switching is set the microcomputer 220 sets the automatic switching flag 241 to ON When the automatic display monitor switching setting is turned off by the user that is manual switching is set the microcomputer 220 sets the automatic switching flag 241 to OFF As such the automatic switching flag 241 indicates the contents of the setting for automatic display monitor switching which is set by the user on the setting menu 0031 When the eye proximity sensing operation flag 242 is ON the microcomputer 220 activates the eye proximity sensor 310 At this time the microcomputer 220 performs switching of a display monitor to be operated based on the sensing result of the eye proximity sensor 310 When the eye proximity sensing operation flag 242 is
15. mity of an object 250 251 252 US 2011 0310285 1 Dec 22 2011 Sheet 1 of 7 Patent Application Publication 009 092 Ove 022 614 Patent Application Publication Dec 22 2011 Sheet 2 of 7 US 2011 0310285 Al 252 251 230 Fig 2 Patent Application Publication Dec 22 2011 Sheet 3 of 7 US 2011 0310285 Al SELECT lt gt DETERMINE SETTING MENU GLOCK EXTERNAL MICROPHONE OFF BEEP SOUND 20 AUTOMATIC DISPLAY MONITOR SWITGHING ON SELECT DETERMINE Patent Application Publication Dec 22 2011 Sheet 4 of 7 US 2011 0310285 Al Fig 4 300 MONITOR Patent Application Publication Dec 22 2011 Sheet 5 of 7 US 2011 0310285 Al Fig 5 CONNECTION OF EXTERNAL VIEWFINDER IS THERE EYE PROXIMITY SENSOR _ NO 301 YES SETTING ITEM OF AUTOMATIC DISPLAY MONITOR SWITCHING IS ADDED TO SETTING MENU SETTING ITEM OF AUTOMATIC DISPLAY MONITOR SWITCHING IS SET ON BY DEFAULT AUTOMATIC SWITCHING FLAG IS SET 5302 MANUAL DISPLAY MONITOR SWITCHING 303 FUNCTION IS ASSIGNED TO PREDETERMINED FUNCTION BUTTON END Patent Application Publication Dec 22 2011 Sheet 6 of 7 US 2011 0310285 Al AUTOMATIC DISPLAY MONITOR SWITGHING IS SET TO ON Fig 6 Patent Application Publication Dec 22 2011 Sheet 7 of 7 US 2011 0
16. ng an instruction to the imaging apparatus by a user wherein when the first display unit is attached to a body of the imaging apparatus the controller assigns a function con cerning manual switching between the first display unit and the second display unit to the operating member 9 An imaging apparatus comprising a first display unit configured to be positioned at a reference position and a position different from the reference posi tion the first display unit operable to output a display a proximity sensor configured to sense a proximity of an object to the first display unit the proximity sensor operable to be activated when the first display unit is positioned at the position different from the reference position a second display unit configured to output a display and a controller configured to control operation of the first display unit and the second display unit wherein when the first display unit is not positioned at the reference position the controller operates the first dis play unit when the proximity sensor senses the object is proximate to the first display unit and operates the sec ond display unit when the proximity sensor does not sense the object is proximate to the first display unit x
17. nual display monitor switching function may be assigned to any of the buttons included in the operating member 250 instead of the function button 251 0051 On the other hand if the microcomputer 220 does not sense the presence of the eye proximity sensor 310 NO at 301 the microcomputer 220 assigns the manual display monitor switching function to the function button 251 S303 0052 By the above described operation when the exter nal viewfinder 300 is connected to the camera body 200 the external viewfinder 300 can be used in a state in which the external viewfinder 300 and the rear monitor 230 can be automatically switched Thereafter the user can change the setting as to whether automatic display monitor switching is performed the setting of the automatic switching flag 241 on the automatic display monitor switching item 20 see FIG 3B which is added to the menu 1 3 2 Display Monitor Switching Operation 0053 A display monitor switching operation of the cam era system 1 of the present embodiment will be described In the present embodiment switching of the display monitor to be operated is performed when 1 the connection of the external viewfinder 300 to the camera body 200 is sensed 2 the automatic switching flag 241 is changed by the user Dec 22 2011 changing the setting of the automatic display monitor switching item on the menu or 3 the state of the detection switch 340 is changed 0054
18. of the face covers the eye proximity sensor 310 and thus the eye proximity sensor 310 senses that there is an object within the predetermined distance and sends a sensing signal to the microcomputer 220 through the connector 270 0043 The user can shoot a still image by full pressing a release button The cross key 252 includes up down left and right buttons and a set button located at the center thereof The user can perform for example selection on a menu as a GUI displayed on the rear monitor 230 or the finder monitor 320 by pressing the various buttons of the cross key 252 1 2 1 Term Correspondence 0044 The CCD image sensor 210 is an example of an imaging unit The finder monitor 320 is an example of a first display unit The position of the finder monitor 320 in the closed state is an example of a reference position The eye proximity sensor 310 is an example of a proximity sensor The detection switch 340 is an example of a position detector The rear monitor 230 15 an example of a second display unit The microcomputer 220 is an example of a controller Also the microcomputer 220 is an example of a position determining unit and a proximity determining unit 1 3 Operation 0045 1 3 1 Operation performed when the external view finder is connected 0046 FIG 5 is a flowchart for describing an operation performed when the external viewfinder 300 is connected to the camera body 200 ofthe camera system 1 according to t
19. ot positioned at the reference position the controller performs control to operate the first display unit when the proximity determining unit determines that the object is in proximity to the first display unit and to operate the second display unit when the proximity determining unit does not determine that the object is in proximity to the first display unit 0009 According to the imaging apparatus of the above aspect when the first display unit e g an external view finder is moved from the reference position the proximity sensor is forcibly activated and when the proximity sensor senses the proximity of an object the first display unit is operated By this for example even if the automatic switch ing function of the display unit is set to invalid when the user rotates the first display unit e g an external viewfinder to use the first display unit the external viewfinder the auto matic switching function of the display unit becomes valid Hence the setting for changing the display unit which is performed due to a change in user s shooting style is facili tated improving the usability of the imaging apparatus BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 0010 FIG 1 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of a camera system 0011 FIG 2 isa rear view of the camera system 0012 FIG 3A is a diagram for describing a setting menu and FIG 3B isa diagram for describing a setting menu having the automatic dis
20. play monitor switching item added thereto 0013 FIG 4A isa diagram for describing a closed state of an external viewfinder and FIG 4B is a diagram for describ ing a van angle state of the external viewfinder 0014 FIG 5 is a flowchart for describing an operation performed when the external viewfinder is connected to a camera body of the camera system according to a first embodiment 0015 FIG 6 is a diagram showing an example of a mes sage displayed when the external viewfinder is mounted on the camera body 0016 FIG 7 is a flowchart for describing a display moni tor switching operation of the camera system according to the first embodiment DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 1 First Embodiment 1 1 Overview 0017 A camera system according to the present embodi ment includes an interchangeable lens and a camera body An external viewfinder is mountable on the camera system through a connector The camera body includes a rear liquid crystal monitor hereinafter referred to as a rear monitor and a connector for connecting the external viewfinder here inafter referred to as a connector The external viewfinder includes an eye proximity sensor a liquid crystal display unit hereinafter referred to as a finder monitor and a detection switch that detects a state of the external viewfinder 0018 The following embodiment describes a camera sys tem to which an external viewfinder is
21. position sensor configured to sense whether the first display unit is positioned at the reference position a second display unit configured to display the image data generated by the imaging unit and a controller configured to perform control such that when the position sensor senses that the first display unit is not positioned at the reference position the controller activates the proximity sensor and operates the first display unit when the proximity sensor senses the object is proximate to the first display unit and operates the second display unit when the proximity sensor does not sense the object is proxi mate to the first display unit 0008 Ina second aspect an imaging apparatus to which a first display unit is mountable is provided The first display unit is a display unit configured to display captured image data and capable of being positioned at a reference position and a position different from the reference position The imaging apparatus includes a second display unit configured to display captured image data a position determining unit configured to determine whether the first display unit is posi tioned at the reference position a proximity determining unit configured to determine whether the object is in proximity to Dec 22 2011 the first display unit and a controller configured to control the first and second display units In a case where the position determining unit determines that the first display unit is n
22. r mount information image data infor mation as to whether there is an eye proximity sensor and information on an eye proximity sensing state with the exter nal viewfinder 300 through the connector 270 The external viewfinder mount information is information indicating whether the external viewfinder 300 is connected to the con nector 270 and is used by the microcomputer 220 to deter mine whether the external viewfinder 300 is connected to the connector 270 When external viewfinder 300 includes the eye proximity sensor 310 as information as to whether there is an eye proximity sensor information indicating that the external viewfinder 300 includes an eye proximity sensor is sent to the microcomputer 220 from the external viewfinder 300 through the connector 270 In the present embodiment the external viewfinder 300 includes the eye proximity sensor 310 but when the external viewfinder 300 does not include the eye proximity sensor 310 information indicating that an eye proximity sensor is not included may be sent to the microcomputer 220 0038 The external viewfinder 300 includes a hinge 330 that can change the orientation of the external viewfinder 300 that is the eye proximity sensor 310 and the finder monitor 320 the detection switch 340 that detects a rotation state position of the external viewfinder 300 and an eye proxim ity window 350 through which the user looks the finder moni tor 320 0039 The eye proximity
23. rallel to the topside of the camera body 200 as shown in FIG 4 and a state hereinaf ter referred to as a vari angle state in which the external Dec 22 2011 viewfinder 300 is rotated upward with the hinge 330 being a rotating shaft from the closed state as shown in FIG 4B Note that the position when the external viewfinder 300 is in the closed state is a reference position of the external viewfinder 300 0041 The detection switch 340 is a switch which detects whether the state of the external viewfinder 300 is the closed state or the van angle state When the external viewfinder 300 is in the closed state the detection switch 340 is OFF When the external viewfinder 300 is in the van angle state the detection switch 340 is am When in the closed state the finder monitor 320 is oriented toward the rear of the camera body 200 That is when the external viewfinder 300 is in the closed state the orientation of the finder monitor 320 sub stantially matches the direction of an optical axis L of the interchangeable lens 100 0042 Referring to FIG 2 the eye proximity sensor 310 is disposed near the lower portion of the eye proximity window 350 When the user rotates the external viewfinder 300 upward about the hinge 330 the eye proximity sensor 310 rotates upward together with the eye proximity window 350 and the finder monitor 320 When the user looks at the finder monitor 320 through the eye proximity window 350 a part
24. scribed embodiment the rear monitor 230 is fixedly mounted to the rear of the camera body 200 the rear monitor 230 does not necessarily need to be fixedly mounted to the rear For example a rotating shaft may be provided on a side surface of the camera body and the rear monitor 230 may be provided on the camera body 200 so as to be rotatable about the rotating shaft 0068 In the above described embodiment the eye prox imity sensor 310 is disposed adjacent to the eye proximity window 350 and when the user rotates the external view finder 300 the eye proximity sensor 310 rotates together with the eye proximity window 350 and the finder monitor 320 However the eye proximity sensor 310 may be provided on a member on the side of the camera body 200 with respect to the hinge 330 0069 In the above described embodiment when the external viewfinder 300 is connected to the camera body 200 the automatic display monitor switching setting item is added to the setting menu step 302 in the flowchart of FIG 9 The setting menu may always have the automatic display monitor switching setting item In this case when the exter nal viewfinder 300 is not connected to the camera body 200 the automatic display monitor switching setting is made inoperable and when the external viewfinder 300 is con nected to the camera body 200 and the presence of the eye proximity sensor 310 has been confirmed the automatic display monitor swi
25. sensor 310 is disposed at the rear of the external viewfinder 300 and near the eye proximity window 350 The eye proximity sensor 310 senses the prox imity of an object that is whether there is an object within a predetermined distance from the eye proximity sensor 310 When the eye proximity sensor 310 senses the presence of an object the eye proximity sensor 310 sends information indi cating that it 15 in an eye proximity sensing state to the microcomputer 220 through the connector 270 On the other hand when the eye proximity sensor 310 does not sense the presence of an object the eye proximity sensor 310 sends information indicating that it is in an eye proximity non sensing state to the microcomputer 220 through the connec tor 270 When the user looks the finder monitor 320 through the eye proximity window 350 the eye proximity sensor 310 senses that there is an object e g a part of the user s face within the predetermined distance and thus sends informa tion indicating an eye proximity sensing state to the micro computer 220 0040 The finder monitor 320 of the external viewfinder 300 can change its angle position in an vertical direction with the hinge 330 being a rotating shaft The rotating shaft of the hinge 330 is parallel to a horizontal direction of the cam era body 200 Specifically the external viewfinder 300 can take a closed state reference state in which the underside of the external viewfinder 300 is pa
26. t senses the proximity of an object to the external viewfinder 300 a detection switch 340 that senses whether the external viewfinder 300 is at the reference position a rear monitor 230 that displays the image data generated by the COD image sensor 210 and a microcomputer 220 that performs control to activate the eye proximity sensor 310 when the detection switch 340 senses that the external viewfinder 300 is not at the reference position and performs control to operate the external viewfinder 300 when the eye proximity sensor 310 senses the proximity of an object and to operate the rear monitor 230 when the eye proximity sensor 310 does not sense the proximity of an object 0062 By the above described configuration even if the display monitor switching setting is set to manual switch ing when the user rotates the external viewfinder 300 upward to place the external viewfinder 300 in a van angle state the automatic display monitor switching function is activated By this even if the automatic display monitor switching function is set to invalid when the user rotates the external viewfinder 300 to use the external viewfinder 300 the automatic display monitor switching function becomes valid Hence when the user brings his her eye in proximity to the external viewfinder 300 an image is displayed on the finder monitor 320 in the external viewfinder 300 enabling the user to for example check the image through the external viewf
27. t step S401 that is manual switching then the microcomputer 220 checks whether the currently functioning display monitor is the rear monitor 230 or the external viewfinder 300 S402 If the currently functioning display monitor is the rear monitor 230 then the microcom puter 220 sets the display monitor flag 243 to ON S403 If the currently functioning display monitor is the external viewfinder 300 then the microcomputer 220 sets the display monitor flag 243 to OFF S404 0058 Then the microcomputer 220 checks the state of the external viewfinder 300 based on the state of the detection switch 340 S405 Specifically when the state of the detec tion switch 340 is OFF or is changed from ON to OFF it is determined that the external viewfinder 300 is in the closed state Thus in that case the microcomputer 220 recognizes that the external viewfinder 300 is in the closed state and thus sets the eye proximity sensing operation flag 242 to OFF to inactivate the automatic display monitor switching function S406 0059 Then the microcomputer 220 checks the user set ting for the display monitor by referring to the display moni tor flag 243 S407 Specifically since the eye proximity sensing operation flag 242 is OFF the microcomputer 220 determines the display monitor to be operated based on the display monitor flag 243 When the display monitor flag 243 is OFF that is when the external viewfinder
28. tching setting is made operable 0070 Although in the above described embodiment the COD image sensor 210 is used as an imaging device the imaging device is not limited thereto For example instead of the CCD image sensor 210 other imaging devices such as a CMOS image sensor and an NMOS image sensor may be used INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY 0071 Theabove embodiments further facilitate the setting performed due to a change in user s shooting style and thus can improve usability Therefore the above embodiments can also be applied to imaging apparatuses such as digital still cameras and digital video cameras What is claimed is 1 An imaging apparatus comprising an imaging unit configured to capture a subject image to generate image data a first display unit configured to display the image data generated by the imaging unit the first display unit capable of being positioned at a reference position and a position different from the reference position a proximity sensor configured to sense a proximity of an object to the first display unit a position sensor configured to sense whether the first display unit is positioned at the reference position a second display unit configured to display the image data generated by the imaging unit and US 2011 0310285 Al a controller configured to perform control such that when the position sensor senses that the first display unit is not positioned at the reference position th
29. to display cap tured image data and capable of being positioned at a refer ence position and a position different from the reference position the imaging apparatus comprising a second display unit configured to display captured image data a position determining unit configured to determine whether the first display unit is positioned at the refer ence position a proximity determining unit configured to determine whether an object is in proximity to the first display unit and Dec 22 2011 a controller configured to control the first and second dis play units wherein in a case where the position determining unit determines that the first display unit is not positioned at the reference position the controller performs control to operate the first display unit when the proximity determining unit determines that the object is in proximity to the first display unit and to operate the second display unit when the proximity determining unit does not determine that the object is in proximity to the first display unit 7 The imaging apparatus according to claim 6 wherein when the first display unit is attached to a body of the imaging apparatus the controller adds a setting item for automatic switching between the first display unit and the second dis play unit to a menu for allowing a user to set a function ofthe imaging apparatus 8 The imaging apparatus according to claim 6 further comprising an operating member for providi
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