JP3847595B2 - Electronic camera and electronic camera system - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an electronic camera and an electronic camera system including the electronic camera and a camera stand.
[0002]
[Prior art]
There are defective pixels in a solid-state imaging device such as a CCD imaging device. The defective pixels include black defective pixels and white defective pixels.
[0003]
It is said that black defective pixels are mainly generated during manufacturing. If this black defective pixel exists, for example, when a bright sky is photographed, the defective portion appears as a black dot. Therefore, it has an adverse effect on shooting a subject with a bright background.
[0004]
The white defective pixel is said to be a defective pixel that is generated later mainly due to exposure to cosmic rays after shipment. If this white defective pixel exists, for example, when shooting at night, the defective portion appears as a white point. Therefore, for example, there is a risk of fatal damage in shooting a star.
[0005]
The presence of such defective pixels significantly impairs the quality of the photographed image, so that improvement is strongly desired. Measures can be taken by the manufacturer for defective pixels that occur during manufacturing. However, it is difficult for manufacturers to take countermeasures for late defective pixels that occur over time due to the influence of cosmic rays after shipment.
[0006]
In view of this, there has been proposed a means for providing a program for detecting a defective pixel later in the electronic camera, detecting the defective pixel generated with time, and correcting it. As a method for correcting defective pixels, the address of the detected defective pixel is stored in a memory or the like, and the output data of the pixel corresponding to the stored address at the time of recording image data or the like, It is a general method to perform interpolation processing based on output data of pixels having no defect existing around.
[0007]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
The means for providing the above defective pixel detection program in the electronic camera and detecting and correcting the subsequent defective pixels that occur over time has the following problems.
[0008]
(1) It takes a relatively long time to detect a defective pixel. Therefore, it is required to perform defective pixel detection at a timing that does not interfere with camera use as much as possible. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-57656 discloses means for executing defective pixel detection at the timing of camera battery replacement. However, in the above means, since defective pixels are detected for a predetermined time after the battery is replaced, it is not possible to take an image immediately after the battery is replaced. In the end, the means disclosed in the above publication cannot avoid the trouble in using the camera.
[0009]
(2) Although the detection of defective pixels is easily affected by the temperature of the image sensor and its surroundings, the temperature compensation means is not particularly considered. For this reason, for example, if a defective pixel detection operation is performed immediately after using an electronic camera for a long time, the vicinity of the image sensor is relatively hot, and even pixels that are not defective pixels are detected as defective pixels at normal temperatures. End up.
[0010]
In the case of a CCD image pickup device, the dark current based on defects in the Si crystal increases as the temperature rises, so that white defective pixels tend to increase. For example, when photographing in the dark, the output of a specific pixel, which is about +20 dB compared to the average output of normal pixels at a low temperature, may reach +40 dB at a high temperature. Therefore, if the upper limit threshold is set to +40 dB on the premise of execution at the normal temperature and the detection operation is performed at a high temperature, the specific pixel that is originally allowed as a normal pixel is detected as a defective pixel. For this reason, it is determined that the image sensor has a large number of defects, and accurate defective pixel detection is not performed.
[0011]
The present invention has been made based on such circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide an electronic camera and an electronic camera system having the following advantages.
[0012]
(A) The camera can be diagnosed without hindering the use of the camera.
[0013]
(B) It is possible to accurately detect defective pixels without being affected by temperature.
[0014]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the problems and achieve the object, the electronic camera and the electronic camera system of the present invention have the following characteristic configurations. Note that features other than those described below will be clarified in the embodiments.
[0015]
(1) The electronic camera of the present invention is
An electronic camera mounted on a camera stand and supplied with power by a power supply means (AC / DC converter or the like) provided in the camera stand, the camera body and a camera provided in the camera body Diagnosis means (CPU, EEPROM, defective pixel detection / correction unit, etc.), placement detection means (stand placement detection circuit, etc.) for detecting that the camera body is placed on the camera stand, When the position detection means detects that the camera body is placed on the camera stand, the camera diagnosis means (CPU, EEPROM, defective pixel detection / correction unit, etc.) is executed at a predetermined timing. And a control means (CPU, stand placement detection circuit, etc.).
[0016]
In the above electronic camera, since the diagnosis of the electronic camera is automatically performed under the condition that the camera non-use state is fixed, so-called dead time is effectively used, and the use of the camera is not substantially hindered. In addition, the diagnosis accuracy can be improved because the diagnosis can be made with sufficient time.
[0017]
(2) The electronic camera system of the present invention
An electronic camera system comprising an electronic camera and a camera stand on which the electronic camera is detachably mounted, wherein the camera stand irradiates light on a photographing system of the mounted electronic camera A light irradiating means (light source, reflector, milky white plate); It is said.
[0018]
In the above electronic camera system, uniform light can be stably irradiated from the light irradiation means provided in the camera stand to the photographing system of the electronic camera placed on the camera stand. It becomes possible to detect accurately.
[0019]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an electronic camera according to a first embodiment of the present invention, in which (a) is a top view, (b) is a front view, (c) is a bottom view, and (d) is a side view. (E) is a rear view.
[0020]
As shown in FIG. 1, the electronic camera 10 has a photographing lens window 12, a strobe light emission window 13, a remote control light reception window 14, and the like on the front surface of a camera body 11. A release button 15 is provided on the top surface of the camera body 11, and a tripod mounting hole 16, a battery loading port 17 and the like are provided on the bottom surface. A rechargeable secondary battery 18 can be detachably loaded from the battery loading port 17 into a battery housing part in the camera body.
[0021]
A connector cover 19 is slidably provided on the left side surface when the camera body 11 is viewed from the front, as indicated by an arrow. A connector 21 is disposed inside the connector cover 19. The connector 21 is connected to the secondary battery 18 via a charging circuit 23 described later, and can be coupled to a connector 31 of a camera stand 30 described later.
[0022]
An LCD display unit 22 is provided on the back surface of the camera body 11 as display means for reproducing and displaying an image recorded on a recording medium or the like. A defective pixel detection command button 28 for giving a white defective pixel detection command or a black defective pixel detection command is provided at one corner on the back of the camera body 11.
[0023]
A substrate 20 is installed inside the camera body 11, and the charging circuit 23, a lens barrel 24 having the photographing lens window 12 at the tip, and the like are attached on the substrate 20.
[0024]
2A and 2B are diagrams showing a state in which the electronic camera 10 is placed on the camera stand 30 with the back side facing up. FIG. 2A is a side view, FIG. 2B is a front view, and FIG. It is a side view of the principal part broken and shown. As shown in FIG. 2, the electronic camera 10 is placed in a posture different from the posture at the time of use, that is, a vertically long posture, with one end thereof being inserted into the camera placement recess 32 of the camera stand 30. The In such a mounted state, the connector disposed on the side surface of the camera body 11 (in the drawing, the camera body 11 is positioned on the lower side in the vertical orientation). 21 is coupled to the connector 31 disposed on the bottom surface of the camera mounting recess 32 on the stand side.
[0025]
The camera stand 30 is made of, for example, hard resin and has a shape like a seat chair, and the camera mounting recess 32 is provided on the upper surface of the base portion 30a. One side surface of the screen portion 30 b that is in an upright state is a slightly inclined backrest portion 33 for supporting one side surface of the camera body 11. An insertion plug 35 is connected to the stand 30 via a cable 34. When the plug 35 is inserted into a power outlet (not shown), the stand 30 functions as a power supply unit or the like.
[0026]
As shown in FIG. 2C, the camera stand 30 emits light to the photographing system 40 (the photographing lens 41, the image sensor 43, etc.) of the electronic camera 10 placed on the stand 30. A light irradiation means 30L for irradiation is provided. The light irradiating means 30L includes a light source 37, a reflecting plate 38, and a milky white plate 39. The light emitted from the light source 37 is diffusely reflected by the reflecting plate 38, and the uniform light is transmitted to the photographing system 40 via the milky white plate 39. It can be irradiated stably. In addition, a defective pixel detection unit 90 that detects defective pixels of the image sensor 43 is provided inside the electronic camera 10. The defective pixel detection means 90 includes a temperature sensor 91 and a defective pixel detection / correction unit 92, which will be described later, and can detect and correct defective pixels accurately.
[0027]
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a control system of the entire electronic camera system including the electronic camera 10 having a defective pixel detection / correction function and the camera stand 30. A portion surrounded by an upper two-dot chain line in the drawing is a portion of the electronic camera 10, and a portion surrounded by a lower two-dot chain line in the drawing is a portion of the camera stand 30.
[0028]
First, the camera stand 30 will be described. The stand 30 includes an AC / DC converter 36 for converting commercial AC power (AC 100 volts) into low-voltage rectified power and the light source 37 that is one of the components of the light irradiation means 30L. Also, a video output terminal (jack) VID and a serial bus connection terminal (jack) USB as a signal communication terminal are provided. The AC / DC converter 36, the video output terminal (jack) VID, the serial bus connection terminal (jack) USB as a signal communication terminal, etc. are connected to the stand side connector 31 and the electronic camera side as will be described below. Are electrically connected to each part in the camera body.
[0029]
One of the electronic camera-side connector 21 and the stand-side connector 31 is a plug and the other is a jack, and can be detachably coupled. In a state where the connector 21 and the connector 31 are coupled, as shown by a dotted line in the figure, each part on the electronic camera side and each part on the stand side are connected to each other via corresponding connector terminals.
[0030]
In other words, the grounding part E1 on the stand side and the grounding part E1 on the electronic camera side are connected via the connector terminal a. Further, the AC / DC converter 36 on the stand side and the switching circuit 71 in the power supply unit 70 on the electronic camera side are connected via the connector terminal b. Further, the control end of the AC / DC converter 36 on the stand side and one port of the CPU 54 on the electronic camera side are connected via the connector terminal c. Further, the ground side E2 on the stand side and the potential control terminal P in the stand placement detection circuit 60 on the electronic camera side are connected via the connector terminal d. Further, the serial bus connection terminal (jack) USB on the stand side and the serial bus connection terminal (jack) USB on the electronic camera side are connected via the connector terminal e. Similarly, the video output terminal (jack) VID on the stand side and the video output terminal (jack) VID on the electronic camera side are connected via the connector terminal f.
[0031]
Next, the electronic camera 10 will be described. The electronic camera 10 includes a photographing system 40 including a photographing lens 41, a mechanical shutter 42, and an image sensor (for example, a CCD image sensor) 43 inside the camera body 11. The electrical signal corresponding to the subject image captured by the photographing system 40 is converted into image data by the imaging circuit 44. This image data is temporarily stored in a temporary storage memory 51 such as a DRAM via a data bus 50. The temporarily stored image data is compressed by the image processing device 52 and then stored in the image recording medium 53 including a flash memory.
[0032]
The image data stored in the image recording medium 53 is read from the recording medium 53 at the time of reproduction, decompressed by the image processing device 52, and temporarily stored in the temporary storage memory 51. The temporarily stored reproduced image data is supplied to the LCD display unit 22 via the LCD driver 55 so that the image can be displayed. The reproduced image data can be output from the video output terminal VID to an external display device (not shown) via the video driver 56, and can be externally monitored at an appropriate time.
[0033]
In FIG. 3, reference numeral 57 denotes an EEPROM comprising a flash memory or the like for storing the address of the detected defective pixel, reference numeral 58 denotes an operation program section for causing the CPU 54 to perform a predetermined operation, and reference numeral 59 denotes a serial number. Bus connection terminal (jack) An interface for exchanging signals via USB.
[0034]
The electronic camera 10 is provided with a stand placement detection circuit 60 as placement detection means for detecting whether the camera body 11 is placed on the stand 30. The stand placement detection circuit 60 applies a potential of + V applied to the terminal 61 to one port of the CPU 54 via the resistance element 62, and the camera body 11 is placed on the stand 30. When the connectors 21 and 31 are coupled, the camera body 11 is placed on the stand 30 by dropping one end of the resistance element 62, that is, the potential control terminal P connected to the CPU 54 to the ground potential. The stand placement information SA shown is given to the CPU 54. In the present embodiment, when the CPU 54 is provided with the stand placement information SA, the defective pixel detection function and the correction function by the defective pixel detection command button 28 described above work effectively.
[0035]
The power supply unit 70 includes a switching circuit 71, a power supply circuit 72, the charging circuit 23 including a remaining battery level detection circuit 73, and the secondary battery 18. When a predetermined level of rectified power is input from the AC / DC converter 36 of the stand 30, the power source 70 is connected to each part in the camera body via the switching circuit 71 and the power supply circuit 72. Supplied. When the rectified power is not input from the stand 30, DC power from the secondary battery 18 is supplied to each part in the camera body via the power supply circuit 72. Further, when the remaining battery level detection circuit 73 detects that the remaining battery level of the secondary battery 18 has dropped to the limit level, the charging circuit 23 charges the secondary battery 18.
[0036]
The camera control unit 80 includes an input instruction unit 81, a shutter control unit 82, and a shutter motor 83. The input instruction unit 81 includes a release switch that responds to the release button 15, a switch that responds to the defective pixel detection command button 28, and other various switches.
[0037]
A temperature sensor 91 as temperature measuring means is connected to the CPU 54. Further, a defective pixel detection / correction unit 92 is connected to the data bus 50. The temperature sensor 91, the defective pixel detection / correction unit 92, the EEPROM 57 for storing the address of the defective pixel, the defective pixel detection command button 28, and the like constitute the defective pixel detection means 90 of the present invention together with the CPU 54. . The defective pixel detection means 90 performs defective pixel detection according to the temperature measured by the temperature sensor 91, and can always perform accurate defective pixel detection while compensating the detection output level of the defective pixel depending on the temperature. ing.
[0038]
In the present embodiment, the address of the detected defective pixel is stored in the EEPROM 57. At the time of shooting, the data output from the defective pixel at the stored address is subjected to an interpolation process using the output data of the surrounding normal pixels. Then, the image data after the interpolation processing is subjected to compression processing and the like, and then recorded on the image recording medium 53.
[0039]
Hereinafter, the white defect detection operation and the black defect detection operation by the electronic camera system according to the present embodiment configured as described above will be described with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS. First, the white defect detection operation will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
[0040]
Step ST11: When the stand placement detection circuit 60 detects that the electronic camera 10 is placed on the stand 30, stand placement information SA is obtained.
[0041]
Step ST12: On the condition that the stand placement information SA is obtained, the temperature around the image sensor 43 is measured based on the signal from the temperature sensor 91.
[0042]
Step ST13: It is determined whether or not the measured temperature is below a predetermined level.
[0043]
Step ST14: As a result of the determination, if the measured temperature exceeds a predetermined level, for example, 30 ° C., the defective pixel is not detected and the detection operation is stopped.
[0044]
Step ST15: As a result of the determination, if the measured temperature is a predetermined level, for example, 30 ° C. or less, a defect determination threshold value corresponding to the measured temperature level (range) is set. For example, the defect determination threshold when the measurement temperature is 25 to 30 ° C. is set to +50 dB with respect to the average output level of normal pixels. Similarly, the defect determination threshold at 20 to 25 ° C. is set to +40 dB with respect to the average output level of normal pixels.
[0045]
Step ST16: The exposure of the image sensor 43 is controlled for a predetermined time (several seconds) with the shutter 42 closed.
[0046]
Step ST17: A pixel whose output level exceeds a defect determination threshold set according to the measured temperature level (range) is detected as a defective pixel.
[0047]
Step ST18: The address of the detected defective pixel is recorded in the EEPROM 57.
[0048]
Step ST19: A series of defect detection operations are terminated.
[0049]
Next, the black defect detection operation will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
[0050]
Step ST21: When the stand placement detection circuit 60 detects that the electronic camera 10 is placed on the stand 30, stand placement information SA is obtained.
[0051]
Step ST22: On the condition that the stand placement information SA is obtained, the temperature around the image sensor 43 is measured based on the signal from the temperature sensor 91.
[0052]
Step ST23: It is determined whether or not the measured temperature is equal to or lower than a predetermined level.
[0053]
Step ST24: As a result of the above determination, when the measured temperature exceeds a predetermined level, for example, 35 ° C., the defective pixel is not detected and the detection operation is stopped.
[0054]
Step ST25: If the measured temperature is a predetermined level, for example, 35 ° C. or less as a result of the determination, a defect determination threshold value corresponding to the measured temperature level (range) is set. For example, the defect determination threshold when the measured temperature is 25 to 30 ° C. is set to −20 dB with respect to the average output level of normal pixels. Similarly, the defect determination threshold at 20 to 25 ° C. is set to −30 dB with respect to the average output level of normal pixels.
[0055]
Step ST26: The light control signal SB based on the black defect detection command BP is given from the CPU 54 to the AC / DC converter 36 in the stand 30 via the connectors 21 and 31. As a result, the lighting power SP is supplied from the AC / DC converter 36 to the light source 37 of the light irradiation means 30L. For this reason, uniform light is stably irradiated from the light irradiation means 30L to the imaging system 40 of the camera body 11.
[0056]
Step ST27: The exposure of the image sensor 43 is controlled for a predetermined time (for a moment) with the shutter 42 opened.
[0057]
Step ST28: Pixels (pixels that do not become bright) whose output level is lower than the defect determination threshold set according to the measured temperature level (range) are detected as black defective pixels.
[0058]
Step ST29: The address of the detected defective pixel is recorded in the EEPROM 57.
[0059]
Step ST30: A series of defect detection operations are terminated.
[0060]
Next, regarding the timing control operation of the defective pixel detection by the defective pixel detection means 90 and the charging of the built-in secondary battery 18 by the charging means (charging circuit 23 or the like), each flow shown in FIGS. Each will be described with reference to the drawings. First, the control operation in the case of charging after the defect detection operation will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
[0061]
Step ST31: When the stand placement detection circuit 60 detects that the electronic camera 10 is placed on the stand 30, stand placement information SA is obtained.
[0062]
Step ST32: On the condition that the stand placement information SA is obtained, the defective pixel detection unit 90 detects the defective pixel.
[0063]
Step ST33: It is determined whether or not the remaining battery level is a predetermined amount or more.
[0064]
Step ST34: When it is determined that the remaining battery level is not equal to or greater than the predetermined amount, charging by the charging circuit 23 is performed, and the process returns to step ST33.
[0065]
Step ST35: When it is determined in step ST33 that the remaining battery level is equal to or greater than the predetermined amount, the series of control operations is terminated.
[0066]
By performing the control as described above, the defective pixel detection operation by the defective pixel detection unit 90 is not affected by the temperature rise due to charging, so that temperature compensation using the temperature measurement unit (CPU 54, temperature sensor 91, etc.) is performed. The detection accuracy can be maintained at a predetermined level even if it is not performed specially. Of course, the temperature compensation using the temperature measuring means may be performed simultaneously.
[0067]
Next, the control operation when the defective pixel detection unit 90 performs the defective pixel detection operation after charging will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
[0068]
Step ST41: When the stand placement detection circuit 60 detects that the electronic camera 10 is placed on the stand 30, stand placement information SA is obtained.
[0069]
Step ST42: On the condition that the stand placement information SA is obtained, it is determined whether or not the remaining battery level is a predetermined amount or more.
[0070]
Step ST43: When it is determined that the remaining battery level is not equal to or greater than the predetermined amount, charging by the charging circuit 23 is performed, and the process returns to step ST42.
[0071]
Step ST44: When it is determined in step ST42 that the remaining battery level is equal to or greater than the predetermined amount, the defective pixel detection unit 90 detects the defective pixel.
[0072]
Step ST45: A series of control operations are terminated.
[0073]
By controlling as described above, after the charging means (charging circuit 23 or the like) is sufficiently charged, the defective pixel detection by the defective pixel detecting means 90 is performed. Therefore, since the built-in secondary battery 18 is hardly consumed during the detection operation, there is no possibility that the defective pixel detection operation is interrupted due to battery consumption. In this case, it is necessary to perform temperature compensation using the temperature measuring means.
[0074]
(Feature points in the embodiment)
[1] The electronic camera 10 shown in the embodiment includes:
An electronic camera 10 that is placed on a camera stand 30 and receives power supply from a power supply means (AC / DC converter 36, etc.) provided in the camera stand 30;
Detects that the camera body 11, camera diagnosis means (CPU 54, EEPROM 57, defective pixel detection / correction unit 92, etc.) provided in the camera body 11 and the camera body 11 are placed on the camera stand 30 When the placement detection means (stand placement detection circuit 60, etc.) and the placement detection means (60, etc.) detect that the camera body 11 is placed on the camera stand 30, It is characterized by comprising execution control means (CPU 54, stand mounting detection circuit 60, etc.) for executing camera diagnosis means (CPU 54, EEPROM 57, defective pixel detection / correction unit 92) at a predetermined timing.
[0075]
In the electronic camera 10, since the diagnosis of the electronic camera 10 is automatically performed under a situation where the camera non-use state is fixed, so-called dead time is effectively used, and the use of the camera is not substantially hindered. In addition, the diagnosis accuracy can be improved because the diagnosis can be made with sufficient time.
[0076]
[2] The electronic camera 10 shown in the embodiment is the electronic camera 10 according to [1],
The camera diagnosis means (CPU 54, EEPROM 57, defective pixel detection / correction unit 92) is a defective pixel detection means 90 that detects a defective pixel of the image sensor 43.
[0077]
In the electronic camera 10, defective pixel detection is automatically performed in a situation where the electronic camera 10 is not used.
[0078]
[3] The electronic camera 10 shown in the embodiment is the electronic camera 10 according to [2],
The camera body 11 further includes temperature measurement means (CPU 54, temperature sensor 91, etc.), and the defective pixel detection means 90 is a defective pixel corresponding to the temperature measured by the temperature measurement means (CPU 54, temperature sensor 91, etc.). It is characterized by detecting.
[0079]
In the electronic camera 10, since the detection output level of the defective pixel depending on the temperature is compensated for temperature, erroneous defective pixel detection can be prevented.
[0080]
[4] The electronic camera 10 shown in the embodiment is the electronic camera according to [2] or [3],
The camera body 11 further includes charging means (charging circuit 23 or the like) for charging the built-in secondary battery 18 with the power supplied from the camera stand 30;
The execution control means includes means for starting charging by the charging means (such as the charging circuit 23) after detection of the defective pixel by the defective pixel detecting means 90.
[0081]
In the electronic camera 10, since the defective pixel detection operation by the defective pixel detection means 90 is not affected by the temperature rise due to charging, temperature compensation using the temperature measurement means (CPU 54, temperature sensor 91, etc.) is exceptionally performed. Even if it is not performed, the detection accuracy can be maintained at a predetermined level.
[0082]
[5] The electronic camera shown in the embodiment is the electronic camera according to [3],
The camera body further includes charging means (charging circuit 23 or the like) for charging the built-in secondary battery 18 with the power supplied from the camera stand 30;
The execution control means (CPU 54, stand placement detection circuit 60, etc.) includes means for executing the defective pixel detection means 90 after the charging by the charging means (charging circuit 23, etc.) is completed. It is said.
[0083]
In the electronic camera 10, the defective pixel detection operation is not likely to be interrupted due to the battery consumption of the built-in secondary battery 18.
[0084]
[6] The electronic camera system shown in the embodiment
An electronic camera system comprising an electronic camera 10 and a camera stand 30 on which the electronic camera 10 is detachably mounted.
The camera stand 30 includes light irradiation means 30L (a light source 37, a reflection plate 38, and a milky white plate 39) for irradiating light to the photographing system 40 of the placed electronic camera 10.
The electronic camera 10 includes a defective pixel detection unit 90 that can detect a black defective pixel of the image sensor 43 by being irradiated with light from the light irradiation unit 30L.
[0085]
In the electronic camera system, uniform light can be stably irradiated from the light irradiation means 30 </ b> L provided in the camera stand 30 to the photographing system 40 of the electronic camera 10 placed on the camera stand 30. Therefore, it is possible to accurately detect black defects.
[0086]
[7] The electronic camera system shown in the embodiment is the electronic camera system according to [6],
The camera stand 30 includes power supply means (AC / DC converter 36 and the like) for supplying power to the electronic camera 10 placed thereon.
The electronic camera 10 includes a charging unit (charging circuit 23 or the like) that charges the built-in secondary battery 18 with the power supplied from the camera stand 30.
[0087]
(Modification)
The electronic camera and the electronic camera system shown in the embodiment include the following modifications.
[0088]
-A temperature sensor 91 provided on the stand side.
[0089]
【The invention's effect】
ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the electronic camera and electronic camera system which have the following effects can be provided.
[0090]
(A) Since the camera diagnosis is executed in a situation where the camera non-use state is fixed, the camera diagnosis can be performed without hindering the use of the camera.
[0091]
(B) Since defective pixels are detected while temperature compensation is performed, defective pixels can be detected accurately without being affected by temperature.
[Brief description of the drawings]
1A and 1B are diagrams showing a schematic configuration of an electronic camera according to a first embodiment of the present invention, wherein FIG. 1A is a top view, FIG. 1B is a front view, FIG. 1C is a bottom view, and FIG. The figure and (e) are rear views.
2A and 2B are views showing a state where the electronic camera according to the first embodiment of the present invention is placed on a rechargeable camera stand, where FIG. 2A is a side view, FIG. 2B is a front view, and FIG. FIG.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a control system of the entire camera system including the electronic camera and the stand according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIGS. 4A and 4B are flowcharts respectively showing a white defect detection operation and a black defect detection operation by the electronic camera system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIGS. 5A and 5B are flow charts showing timing control operations of defective pixel detection and built-in secondary battery charging in the electronic camera system according to the first embodiment of the present invention, respectively. explain.
[Explanation of symbols]
10. Electronic camera
11 ... Camera body
19 ... Connector cover
21 ... Connector
22 ... LCD display
23 ... Charging circuit (part of charging means)
28 ... Defective pixel detection command button
30 ... Stand for camera
30L ... Light irradiation means (37, 38, 39)
31 ... Connector
32. Recess for mounting camera
36 ... AC / DC converter (part of power supply means)
40 ... Shooting system (41, 42, 43)
60. Stand placement detection circuit (placement detection means)
70 ... Power supply
80 ... Camera control unit
90 ... Defective pixel detection means

Claims (7)

An electronic camera mounted on a camera stand and receiving power supply by a power supply means provided in the camera stand,
The camera body,
Camera diagnostic means provided in the camera body;
A placement detection means for detecting that the camera body is placed on the camera stand;
An execution control means for executing the camera diagnosis means at a predetermined timing when the placement detection means detects that the camera body is placed on the camera stand;
An electronic camera characterized by comprising: The electronic camera according to claim 1, wherein the camera diagnosis unit is a defective pixel detection unit that detects a defective pixel of an image sensor. 3. The electronic apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the camera body further includes a temperature measuring unit, and the defective pixel detecting unit performs defective pixel detection according to the temperature measured by the temperature measuring unit. camera. The camera body further includes a charging means for charging the built-in secondary battery with power supplied from the camera stand,
4. The electronic camera according to claim 2, wherein the execution control means includes means for starting charging by the charging means after detection of a defective pixel by the defective pixel detection means. The camera body further includes a charging means for charging the built-in secondary battery with power supplied from the camera stand,
4. The electronic camera according to claim 3, wherein the execution control means includes means for executing the defective pixel detection means after charging by the charging means is completed. An electronic camera system comprising an electronic camera and a camera stand on which the electronic camera is detachably mounted,
The camera stand includes a light irradiation means for irradiating light to a photographing system of the mounted electronic camera,
The electronic camera system includes a defective pixel detection unit capable of detecting a black defective pixel of an image pickup device by being irradiated with light from the light irradiation unit. The camera stand includes power supply means for supplying power to a mounted electronic camera,
The electronic camera system according to claim 6, wherein the electronic camera includes a charging unit that charges a built-in secondary battery with electric power supplied from the camera stand.

Images