Image capture device, method for setting zoom operation speed of image capture device, and program for setting zoom operation speed of image capture device

Abstract

To provide an imaging apparatus capable of controlling zoom operation speed with stages, the number of which is larger than the number of stages with which a remote controller connected to the imaging apparatus outputs speed designation commands.SOLUTION: A control unit 22 acquires a plurality of stages of speed designation commands for designating zoom operation speed that are supplied from a remote controller 10 by a zoom lever 11 being rotated. The control unit 22 displays, on a display unit 27, a plurality of setting patterns having different ways of changing the zoom operation speed in controlling the zoom operation speed with a plurality of stages between adjacent stages of the speed designation command's stages correspondingly to a time during which each speed designation command of the plurality of stages of speed designation commands is supplied. The control unit 22 stores, in a memory 29, a correspondence table showing a relation between zoom operation speed and a time during which each speed designation command is supplied showing a selected setting pattern of the plurality of setting patterns.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an imaging device, a method for setting a zoom operation speed of an imaging device, and a program for setting a zoom operation speed of an imaging device. [Background technology]

[0002] As described in Patent Document 1, an imaging device may include a zoom lever for controlling zooming by an optical lens. When a user rotates a zoom lever provided on the housing of the imaging device, the imaging device controls the zooming of the optical lens at a zoom operation speed based on analog data output according to the amount of rotation (rotation angle) of the zoom lever. This allows the user to get a sense of the operation in which the zoom operation speed is finely controlled according to subtle operations of the zoom lever. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 6-86131 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] A remote controller with a zoom lever may be connected to an imaging device, and the zoom of the optical lens may be controlled by the zoom lever of the remote controller. This type of remote controller is often a general-purpose remote controller that can be used with any of a number of imaging devices manufactured and sold by a number of manufacturers. When the zoom lever of the general-purpose remote controller is operated to control the zoom of the imaging device, the remote controller outputs only speed specification commands with about eight steps at most.

[0005] In this way, when the zoom operation speed is controlled by operating the zoom lever of the remote controller connected to the imaging device, the zoom operation speed can only be controlled digitally. Therefore, the user cannot get the same feeling of the operation that the zoom is controlled at the zoom operation speed according to the operation of the zoom lever as when the zoom lever provided on the housing of the imaging device is rotated. As a result, the zoom is not controlled as the user intended, and the user may feel uncomfortable.

[0006] An object of the present invention is to provide an imaging device that can control the zoom operation speed in more stages than the speed designation command output by a remote controller connected to the imaging device, and that allows the user to obtain a sense of operation that is unlikely to cause discomfort, a method for setting the zoom operation speed of an imaging device, and a program for setting the zoom operation speed of an imaging device. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The present invention includes an optical lens driving section that drives an optical lens to control zooming when photographing a subject, a display section, and a control section that controls the optical lens driving section, and in a setting mode in which a zoom operation speed when the optical lens driving section controls zooming is set by operation of a zoom lever provided in a remote controller, the control section acquires a multiple-stage speed designation command that designates the zoom operation speed supplied from the remote controller by rotating the zoom lever, and adjusts the zoom operation speed between adjacent stages in the multiple stages according to the time at which each speed designation command in the multiple-stage speed designation command is supplied. The adjacent stages are further dividedThe present invention provides an imaging device which selectively or simultaneously displays on the display unit a plurality of setting patterns in which the manner in which the zoom operation speed is changed when controlled in a plurality of stages is different, and stores in a memory a correspondence table indicating the relationship between the time at which each speed designation command is supplied and the zoom operation speed, which indicates a setting pattern selected from the plurality of setting patterns, and controls the zoom operation speed in accordance with the correspondence table stored in the memory when the plurality of speed designation commands are supplied from the remote controller in a normal mode after the correspondence table has been stored in the memory.

[0008] The present invention displays instruction information on a display unit of an imaging device that instructs a user to rotate a zoom lever of a remote controller connected to the imaging device from a reference state to a maximum angle, and when the user rotates the zoom lever from the reference state to the maximum angle, a control unit of the imaging device obtains a multiple-stage speed designation command that designates a zoom operation speed in the imaging device, and the control unit adjusts the zoom operation speed between adjacent stages in the multiple stages according to a time at which each speed designation command in the multiple-stage speed designation command is supplied. The adjacent stages are further divided Provided is a zoom operation speed setting method for an imaging device, in which a plurality of setting patterns, which differ in how the zoom operation speed is changed when controlled in a plurality of stages, are selectively or simultaneously displayed on the display unit, and when a user selects one of the plurality of setting patterns, the control unit stores in memory a correspondence table indicating the relationship between the time at which each speed designation command is supplied and the zoom operation speed, which indicates the selected setting pattern.

[0009] The present invention provides a computer mounted on an imaging device, comprising the steps of: displaying, on a display unit of the imaging device, instruction information for instructing a user to rotate a zoom lever of a remote controller connected to the imaging device from a reference state to a maximum angle; acquiring a multiple-stage speed designation command that designates a zoom operation speed in the imaging device when the user rotates the zoom lever from the reference state to the maximum angle; and varying the zoom operation speed between adjacent stages in the multiple stages in accordance with a time at which each speed designation command in the multiple-stage speed designation command is supplied to the display unit. The adjacent stages are further divided Provided is a zoom operation speed setting program for an imaging device which executes the steps of selectively or simultaneously displaying a plurality of setting patterns in which the zoom operation speed is changed in different ways when controlled in a plurality of stages, and storing in a memory a correspondence table showing the relationship between the time at which each speed designation command is supplied and the zoom operation speed, which indicates the selected setting pattern when the user selects any one of the plurality of setting patterns. Effect of the Invention

[0010] According to the imaging device, the zoom operation speed setting method for the imaging device, and the zoom operation speed setting program for the imaging device of the present invention, it is possible to control the zoom operation speed in more stages than the speed designation command output by a remote controller connected to the imaging device, thereby obtaining a sense of operation that is less likely to cause the user to feel uncomfortable. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram showing an imaging apparatus according to an embodiment; [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an example of a remote controller used by connecting it to the imaging device. [Diagram 3] 11A and 11B are diagrams illustrating an example of the relationship between the rotation angle and a speed designation command output from a remote controller when a zoom lever of the remote controller is rotated. [Figure 4A]1A and 1B are diagrams illustrating an example of a change in a rotation angle when a zoom lever provided on an operation unit of an imaging device is operated. [Figure 4B] 4B is a diagram showing a zoom operation speed based on analog data output according to the rotation angle of the zoom lever shown in FIG. 4A. [Figure 5A] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a speed designation command output from a remote controller. [Figure 5B] 5B is a diagram showing changes in the zoom operation speed when the control unit of the imaging device controls the zoom operation speed using the speed designation command shown in FIG. 5A as is. [Figure 6A] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a state in which, during an interactive operation in which a setting pattern for a zoom operation speed is selected based on information displayed on a display unit of an imaging device, instruction information for instructing the start of the interactive operation is displayed on the display unit. [Figure 6B] FIG. 6B is a diagram subsequent to FIG. 6A showing a state in which instruction information is displayed on the display unit to instruct the user to rotate the zoom lever in the reference state to the telephoto side in one go to the maximum angle. [Figure 6C] FIG. 6C is a diagram showing a state subsequent to FIG. 6B in which instruction information is displayed on the display unit to instruct the user to rotate the zoom lever from the standard state to the telephoto side to the maximum angle in three seconds. [Figure 6D] FIG. 6C is a diagram showing a state in which notification information, which is a detection result of a speed designation command, is displayed on the display unit. [Figure 6E] FIG. 6E is a diagram showing a state in which a first pattern image including setting pattern 1 of the zoom operation speed is displayed on the display unit, following FIG. 6D. [Figure 6F] 6F is a diagram showing a state in which the next candidate button in FIG. 6E is operated and a second pattern image including setting pattern 2 of the zoom operation speed is displayed on the display unit. FIG. [Figure 6G] FIG. 6F is a diagram showing a state in which inquiry information for inquiring whether to individually set a setting pattern for the zoom operation speed on the wide-angle side is displayed on the display unit. [Figure 7]13 is a diagram conceptually showing a correspondence table that shows characteristics of how the zoom operation speed is changed according to the time at which a speed designation command is supplied to the control unit and that is stored in a memory by the control unit. FIG. [Figure 8A] 1 is a partial flowchart illustrating an operation of an imaging apparatus according to an embodiment, a zoom operation speed setting method according to an embodiment executed by the imaging apparatus, and processing executed by a computer according to a zoom operation speed setting program according to an embodiment. [Figure 8B] 8B is a partial flowchart continuing from FIG. 8A. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0012] Hereinafter, an image pickup apparatus, a zoom operation speed setting method for an image pickup apparatus, and a zoom operation speed setting program for an image pickup apparatus according to an embodiment will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0013] 1, a remote controller 10 is connected to an imaging device 20 by wire. The remote controller 10 and the imaging device 20 may be connected wirelessly. The remote controller 10 may be a general-purpose remote controller. The remote controller 10 includes a zoom lever 11, a lever angle acquisition unit 12, a command generation unit 13, and a communication circuit 14.

[0014] The imaging device 20 includes a communication circuit 21, a control unit 22, an optical lens driving unit 23, an optical lens 24, an imaging element 25, a video signal processing unit 26, a display unit 27, a recording unit 28, a memory 29, and an operation unit 210. Light from a subject is incident on the imaging element 25 via the optical lens 24, and the imaging element 25 captures an image of the subject. The video signal processing unit 26 performs various types of video signal processing on a video signal obtained by capturing an image of the subject. The display unit 27 may display the video signal output from the video signal processing unit 26, and the recording unit 28 may record the video signal output from the video signal processing unit 26.

[0015] Fig. 2 shows an example of a remote controller 10. The remote controller 10 has a rotatable zoom lever 11 and a button 101 for starting and stopping recording. When the zoom lever 11 is in the state shown in Fig. 2, the rotation angle of the zoom lever 11 is 0 degrees. For example, the zoom lever 11 can be rotated from an angle of 0 degrees (standard state) up to 100 degrees to the telephoto side marked T and to the wide-angle side marked W.

[0016] When operating the zoom of the imaging device 20, the user rotates the zoom lever 11 to the telephoto side or the wide-angle side. The lever angle acquisition unit 12 acquires the rotation angle of the zoom lever 11 to the telephoto side or the wide-angle side. The command generation unit 13 generates a speed designation command according to the rotation angle of the zoom lever 11 acquired by the lever angle acquisition unit 12, and supplies it to the communication circuit 14. The communication circuit 14 transmits the input speed designation command to the communication circuit 21 of the imaging device 20.

[0017] 3, let us assume that the user increases the rotation angle of the zoom lever 11 from time t0, returns the rotation angle to its original value at time t1, and then increases the rotation angle again at time t2. The remote controller 10 is idle until just before the rotation angle of the zoom lever 11 reaches 5 degrees, and when the rotation angle reaches 5 degrees or more, it outputs a speed designation command Cm1 that designates the speed at which the zoom of the imaging device 20 is changed. When the rotation angle of the zoom lever 11 reaches 35 degrees or more, the remote controller 10 outputs a speed designation command Cm2, and when the rotation angle reaches 71 degrees or more, it outputs a speed designation command Cm3.

[0018] The remote controller 10 outputs the three speed designation commands Cm1 to Cm3 as an example, and the speed designation commands output by the remote controller 10 are not limited to three levels. The remote controller 10 outputs speed designation commands at any multiple levels. The remote controller 10 outputs the speed designation commands Cm1 to Cm3 at each of the above rotation angles as an example. It is arbitrary at what rotation angle the remote controller 10 outputs the speed designation command.

[0019] 3, the command generation unit 13 generates three levels of speed designation commands Cm1 to Cm3 in accordance with the rotation angle of the zoom lever 11, and supplies them to the communication circuit 14. The communication circuit 14 transmits one of the speed designation commands Cm1 to Cm3 in accordance with the rotation angle of the zoom lever 11 to the communication circuit 21.

[0020] The communication circuit 21 supplies the received speed designation command to the control unit 22. The control unit 22 can be configured with a central processing unit (CPU) of a microcomputer. The control unit 22 controls an optical lens driving unit 23, and the optical lens driving unit 23 drives an optical lens 24.

[0021] Now, suppose that a zoom lever is provided on the operation unit 210 of the imaging device 20, and the user rotates the zoom lever of the operation unit 210 as shown in Fig. 4A. Then, the control unit 22 controls the zooming by the optical lens 24 at a zoom operation speed based on analog data output according to the rotation angle of the zoom lever, as shown in Fig. 4B. In this case, the user can get the feeling of an operation in which the zoom operation speed is finely controlled according to subtle operations of the zoom lever.

[0022] However, when the zoom lever 11 of the remote controller 10 is rotated to operate the zoom, digital speed designation commands Cm1 to Cm3 as shown in Fig. 5A are supplied to the imaging device 20. If the control unit 22 were to directly use the speed designation commands Cm1 to Cm3 to control the zoom operation speed, the control unit 22 would control the zooming by the optical lens 24 at a stepped zoom operation speed as shown in Fig. 5B. This would result in the zoom operation speed not being controlled as the user intended, which would be uncomfortable for the user.

[0023] Therefore, the imaging device 20 is configured as follows. When the remote controller 10 is connected to the imaging device 20 for the first time, the control unit 22 does not know how many stages of speed designation commands the remote controller 10 will output. Therefore, the user operates the operation unit 210 to execute a wizard execution program stored in the memory 29. The wizard execution program is a zoom operation speed setting program that sets the zoom operation speed in the imaging device 20.

[0024] When the control unit 22 executes the wizard execution program, the control unit 22 causes the display unit 27 to display information (so-called wizard) that prompts the user to perform a multi-step interactive operation. The wizard that the wizard execution program causes the control unit 22 to execute is referred to as a zoom wizard. When the control unit 22 executes the wizard execution program, the control unit 22 transitions the imaging device 20 from a normal mode for photographing a subject to a setting mode. In the setting mode, the control unit 22 sets a zoom operation speed when the optical lens driving unit 23 controls the zoom by operating the zoom lever 11 provided on the remote controller 10.

[0025] 6A to 6G, a specific example of an interactive operation for selecting a setting pattern for a zoom operation speed based on information displayed on display unit 27 will be described. While the user is performing an interactive operation for selecting a setting pattern for a zoom operation speed, control unit 22 does not control optical lens driving unit 23.

[0026] As shown in Fig. 6A, the control unit 22 displays instruction information 271 on the display unit 27 to instruct the user to start the zoom wizard. The instruction information 271 is an operation button including the word "START" in a rectangular image. When the user operates (presses) the operation button of the instruction information 271 using the operation unit 210, the control unit 22 displays instruction information 272 (first instruction information) on the display unit 27 to instruct the user to operate the zoom lever 11, as shown in Fig. 6B. For example, the instruction information 272 includes the sentence "Please turn the zoom lever all the way to the telephoto side in one go."

[0027] Following the instruction in the instruction information 272, the user turns the zoom lever 11 from the reference state all the way to the telephoto side in one go to the maximum angle (here, 100 degrees).

[0028] Next, the control unit 22 displays on the display unit 27 instruction information 273 (second instruction information) which further instructs the user to operate the zoom lever 11. For example, the instruction information 273 includes a sentence such as "Please turn the zoom lever all the way to the telephoto side over three seconds." The user follows the instruction in the instruction information 273 and turns the zoom lever 11 in the reference state all the way to the telephoto side over three seconds. The number of seconds in the instruction information 273 is not limited to three seconds, and may be any predetermined time such as four seconds, five seconds, etc.

[0029] The reason why the control unit 22 instructs the display unit 27 to operate the zoom lever 11 in two stages, the instruction information 272 and 273, is as follows: If the zoom lever 11 is fully turned over a relatively long period of time, such as about three seconds, the control unit 22 can obtain speed designation commands for all stages output by the remote controller 10. However, if the user turns the zoom lever 11 over a long period of time, the rotation of the zoom lever 11 may be stopped before it is fully turned to its maximum angle.

[0030] Therefore, by instructing the user to rotate the zoom lever 11 all the way in one go using the instruction information 272, the user will almost certainly rotate the zoom lever 11 all the way to the maximum angle. This allows the user to recognize the maximum angle when rotating the zoom lever 11, so that the user can almost certainly rotate the zoom lever 11 all the way to the maximum angle when rotating the zoom lever 11 over a long period of time.

[0031] If the zoom lever 11 is rotated all at once in a short time, a situation may occur in which some speed specification commands that should be output are not output. Therefore, it is preferable for the control unit 22 to instruct the operation of the zoom lever 11 in two stages: instruction information 272 instructing the user to rotate the zoom lever 11 to the maximum angle in a short time, and instruction information 273 instructing the user to rotate the zoom lever 11 to the maximum angle in a longer time. However, it is not essential to instruct the user to operate the zoom lever 11 in two stages.

[0032] When the user operates the zoom lever 11 as described above, the control unit 22 acquires three-stage speed designation commands Cm1 to Cm3. As shown in Fig. 6D, the control unit 22 displays, as a detection result, notification information 274 including a sentence such as "Three-stage speed designation commands have been detected" on the display unit 27. The display of the notification information 274 may be omitted.

[0033] 6E, the control unit 22 displays a first pattern image 275a, a setting button 276, and a next candidate button 277 for moving to the next setting pattern on the display unit 27. The first pattern image 275a includes setting pattern 1, which is a first candidate for the setting pattern (Ease pattern) of the zoom operation speed and which is indicated by a thick solid line and in which the zoom operation speed is increased almost linearly.

[0034] Specifically, setting pattern 1 has the characteristic that, when speed designation command Cm1 is input, the zoom operation speed is increased almost linearly over time T1 to the speed indicated by speed designation command Cm1. Setting pattern 1 has the characteristic that, when speed designation command Cm2 is input, the zoom operation speed is increased almost linearly over time T2 to the speed indicated by speed designation command Cm2. Setting pattern 1 has the characteristic that, when speed designation command Cm3 is input, the zoom operation speed is increased almost linearly over time T3 to the speed indicated by speed designation command Cm3.

[0035] When the setting button 276 is operated, the control unit 22 stores in the memory 29 a correspondence table corresponding to setting pattern 1. Details of the correspondence table will be described later. As shown in Fig. 6F, when the next candidate button 277 is operated, the control unit 22 displays a second pattern image 275b on the display unit 27 instead of the first pattern image 275a. The second pattern image 275b includes setting pattern 2, which is a second candidate for the setting pattern of the zoom operation speed and is shown by a thick solid line, in which the zoom operation speed is gradually increased immediately after the operation of the zoom lever 11 is started.

[0036] Specifically, setting pattern 2 has a characteristic that, when speed designation command Cm1 is input, the zoom operation speed is gradually increased in a downwardly convex curve over a time T11 longer than time T1 up to the speed indicated by speed designation command Cm1. Fig. 6F shows a case where speed designation command Cm2 is input before the zoom operation speed reaches the speed indicated by speed designation command Cm1.

[0037] Setting pattern 2 has the characteristic that, when speed designation command Cm2 is input, the zoom operation speed is increased almost linearly over time T12 up to the speed indicated by speed designation command Cm2. The rate of increase in the zoom operation speed at time T12 is greater than that at time T11.

[0038] Setting pattern 2 has the characteristic that, when speed designation command Cm3 is input, the zoom operation speed is gradually increased over time T13 in a downwardly convex curve up to the speed indicated by speed designation command Cm3.

[0039] Similarly, when the setting button 276 is operated, the control unit 22 stores a correspondence table corresponding to the setting pattern 2 in the memory 29. When the next candidate button 277 is operated, the control unit 22 displays another pattern image instead of the second pattern image 275b on the display unit 27. When only the first pattern image 275a and the second pattern image 275b exist as pattern images, the control unit 22 returns the second pattern image 275b to the first pattern image 275a.

[0040] When the control unit 22 sets the setting pattern for the zoom operation speed on the telephoto side in the above manner, as shown in FIG. 6G, the display unit 27 displays inquiry information 278, a transition button 279, and an instruction button 2710. For example, the inquiry information 278 includes a sentence such as "Do you want to set the setting pattern for the wide-angle side separately?" The inquiry information 278 is information inquiring as to whether to set the setting pattern for the zoom operation speed on the wide-angle side separately. The transition button 279 is an operation button for transitioning to the setting of the setting pattern on the wide-angle side. The instruction button 2710 is an operation button for instructing that the same setting be made on the wide-angle side as on the telephoto side.

[0041] When transition button 279 is operated, control unit 22 executes the same process as in Figures 6A to 6D, replacing "telephoto side" with "wide side", and sets the setting pattern of the zoom operation speed on the wide side as in Figure 6E or 6F. Control unit 22 can also set different setting patterns for the telephoto side and the wide side, for example, by setting setting pattern 1 on the telephoto side and setting pattern 2 on the wide side.

[0042] The rotation angles at which the speed designation commands Cm1 to Cm3 are output when the zoom lever 11 is rotated to the wide side are generally the same as the rotation angles at which the speed designation commands Cm1 to Cm3 are output when the zoom lever 11 is rotated to the telephoto side, except that the rotation directions are opposite. Therefore, when the instruction button 2710 is operated, the control unit 22 sets the setting pattern of the zoom operation speed on the wide side to the same as that on the telephoto side.

[0043] Fig. 7 conceptually shows the correspondence table stored in the memory 29. Fig. 7 shows the characteristics of how the zoom operation speed is changed when the zoom operation speed is controlled in multiple stages according to the time when the speed designation command Cm1 is supplied to the control unit 22. The target zoom operation speed when the control unit 22 acquires the speed designation command Cm1 is set to "30".

[0044] 7, the rise speed suppression time at time Ta immediately after the start of operation of the zoom lever 11 is set to 30 ms, the speed change rate at time Ta is set to "1" per 10 ms, and the speed change rate at time Tb during normal operation is set to "5" per 10 ms. The control unit 22 stores these parameters in the memory 29 as a correspondence table corresponding to the setting pattern 1 when the speed designation command Cm1 is supplied to the control unit 22.

[0045] 7, the rise speed suppression time at time Tc immediately after the start of operation of the zoom lever 11 is set to 100 ms, the speed change rate at time Tc is "0.5" per 10 ms, and the speed change rate at time Td during normal operation is "5" per 10 ms. The control unit 22 stores these parameters in the memory 29 as a correspondence table corresponding to the setting pattern 2 when the speed designation command Cm1 is supplied to the control unit 22.

[0046] Similarly, when the speed designation command Cm2 or Cm3 is supplied to the control unit 22, the control unit 22 stores in the memory 29 parameters indicating the characteristics of how the zoom operation speed is changed depending on the time when the speed designation command Cm2 or Cm3 is supplied to the control unit 22 as a correspondence table corresponding to the setting patterns 1 and 2.

[0047] As described above, the control unit 22 acquires multiple-stage speed designation commands that are supplied from the remote controller 10 when the zoom lever 11 is rotated and that designate the zoom operation speed when the optical lens driving unit 23 controls the zoom. Depending on the time at which each speed designation command is supplied, the control unit 22 displays on the display unit 27 multiple setting patterns that differ in the way in which the zoom operation speed is changed when the zoom operation speed is controlled in multiple stages between adjacent stages in the multiple stages.

[0048] 6E and 6F, setting pattern 1 and setting pattern 2 are selectively displayed, but two or more setting patterns may be displayed simultaneously. A plurality of setting patterns may be selectively or simultaneously displayed.

[0049] The control unit 22 stores in the memory 29 a correspondence table indicating the relationship between the time when each speed designation command is supplied and the zoom operation speed, which indicates a setting pattern selected from the multiple setting patterns. After storing the correspondence table in the memory 29, the control unit 22 returns the imaging device 20 to the normal mode. When a multiple-stage speed designation command is supplied from the remote controller 10, the control unit 22 controls the optical lens driving unit 23 to control the zoom operation speed in accordance with the correspondence table stored in the memory 29.

[0050] The control unit 22 controls the zoom operation speed in multiple steps, for example about 127 steps, between adjacent steps in the three zoom operation speed steps indicated by the speed designation commands Cm1 to Cm3. In this way, although the control is not strictly based on analog data, it is possible to control the zoom operation speed in an analog manner. Therefore, the user can get the feeling that the zoom operation speed is finely controlled in response to subtle operations of the zoom lever 11.

[0051] Using the flowcharts shown in Figures 8A and 8B, we will explain the operation of the imaging device 20, the zoom operation speed setting method executed by the imaging device 20, and the processing that the wizard execution program (zoom operation speed setting program) causes a computer (control unit 22) mounted on the imaging device 20 to execute.

[0052] In Fig. 8A, when the user operates the operation unit 210 and the control unit 22 executes the wizard execution program, processing is started. When the instruction information 271 shown in Fig. 6A is operated, the control unit 22 displays, on the display unit 27, instruction information 272 shown in Fig. 6B, which instructs the user to rotate the zoom lever 11, which is in the reference state, to the telephoto side in one go to the maximum angle, in step S1. If the user operates the zoom lever 11 according to the instruction information 272, the control unit 22 acquires a speed designation command in step S2. Here, all speed designation commands may be acquired, or some speed designation commands may not be acquired.

[0053] In step S3, the control unit 22 displays instruction information 273 shown in Fig. 6C which instructs the user to rotate the zoom lever 11, which is in the standard state, to the telephoto side to the maximum angle in three seconds. If the user operates the zoom lever 11 in accordance with the instruction information 273, the control unit 22 acquires all speed designation commands in step S4. If the speed designation command with the highest zoom operation speed obtained in step S2 is not obtained in step S4, it is considered that the user did not rotate the zoom lever 11 to the maximum angle. In such a case, steps S3 and S4 may be repeated two or more times.

[0054] In step S5, control unit 22 creates multiple setting patterns for the telephoto side of the speed designation command and the zoom operation speed, and in step S6 displays one candidate setting pattern on display unit 27. In step S7, control unit 22 determines whether or not the user has set a setting pattern by operating setting button 276.

[0055] If the setting pattern is not set in step S7 (NO), the control unit 22 determines in step S8 whether or not the user has instructed to display other candidates by operating the next candidate button 277. If the user has not instructed to display other candidates (NO), the control unit 22 returns the process to step S7. If the user has instructed to display other candidates (YES), the control unit 22 displays other candidates for the setting pattern on the display unit 27 in step S9, and returns the process to step S7.

[0056] If the user sets a setting pattern in step S7 (YES), the control unit 22 creates a correspondence table of setting patterns on the telephoto side in step S10, stores it in the memory 29, and transitions the process to step S11 in FIG. 8B.

[0057] 8B, in step S11, the control unit 22 determines whether or not the user has instructed creation of a correspondence table corresponding to an individual setting pattern on the wide side by operating the transition button 279 in FIG. 6G. If creation of a correspondence table on the wide side is not instructed by operating the instruction button 2710 (NO), in step S12, the control unit 22 creates a correspondence table on the wide side based on the correspondence table on the tele side, saves it in memory 29, and ends the process. After saving the correspondence table in memory 29, the control unit 22 returns the imaging device 20 to the normal mode.

[0058] If creation of a correspondence table for the wide-angle side is instructed (YES), the control unit 22 creates a correspondence table for setting patterns for the wide-angle side in steps S21 to S30, stores it in the memory 29, and ends the process. Steps S21 to S30 correspond to the process of steps S1 to S10 in Fig. 8A replacing the telephoto side with the wide-angle side.

[0059] As described above, the imaging device 20, the zoom operation speed setting method for the imaging device 20, and the zoom operation speed setting program for the imaging device 20 of this embodiment make it possible to control the zoom operation speed in more stages than the speed designation command output by the remote controller 10 connected to the imaging device 20. Therefore, the imaging device 20, the zoom operation speed setting method for the imaging device 20, and the zoom operation speed setting program for the imaging device 20 of this embodiment provide a sense of operation that is unlikely to cause the user to feel uncomfortable.

[0060] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications are possible without departing from the gist of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0061] 10 Remote Controller 11 Zoom lever 12 Lever angle acquisition unit 13 Command Generation Section 14,21 Communication circuits 20 Imaging device 22 Control section 23 Optical lens drive unit 24 Optical Lenses 25 Image sensor 26 Video signal processing section 27 Display section 28 Recording Section 29 Memory 210 Operation section

Claims

1. an optical lens driving unit that drives the optical lens to control zoom when photographing a subject; A display unit; A control unit that controls the optical lens driving unit; Equipped with The control unit is In a setting mode for setting a zoom operation speed when the optical lens driving unit controls the zoom by operating a zoom lever provided on a remote controller, a zoom lever for rotating the zoom lever and receiving a zoom speed command from the remote controller; selectively or simultaneously displaying on the display unit a plurality of setting patterns in which the zoom operation speed is changed in different ways when the zoom operation speed is controlled in a plurality of steps obtained by further dividing adjacent steps in the plurality of steps according to a time at which each speed designation command in the plurality of speed designation commands is supplied; storing in a memory a correspondence table indicating a relationship between a time when each speed designation command is supplied and a zoom operation speed, the correspondence table indicating a selected setting pattern from among the plurality of setting patterns; When the zoom operation speed is controlled in a normal mode after the correspondence table is stored in the memory and the zoom speed designation command is supplied from the remote controller, the zoom operation speed is controlled in accordance with the correspondence table stored in the memory. Imaging device.

2. displaying instruction information on a display unit of an imaging device to instruct a user to rotate a zoom lever of a remote controller connected to the imaging device from a reference state to a maximum angle; When a user rotates the zoom lever from the reference state to the maximum angle, a control unit of the imaging device acquires a speed designation command having multiple stages that designates a zoom operation speed of the imaging device; the control unit selectively or simultaneously displays on the display unit a plurality of setting patterns in which the zoom operation speed is changed in a manner different from the manner in which the zoom operation speed is changed when the zoom operation speed is controlled in a plurality of steps obtained by further dividing adjacent steps in the plurality of steps according to a time at which each speed designation command in the plurality of speed designation commands is supplied; When the user selects one of the plurality of setting patterns, the control unit stores in a memory a correspondence table indicating the selected setting pattern and indicating the relationship between the time at which each speed designation command is supplied and the zoom operation speed. A method for setting the zoom operation speed of an imaging device.

3. The computer installed in the imaging device displaying instruction information on a display unit of the imaging device to instruct a user to rotate a zoom lever of a remote controller connected to the imaging device from a reference state to a maximum angle; acquiring a speed designation command for designating a zoom operation speed of the imaging device when the user rotates the zoom lever from the reference state to the maximum angle; selectively or simultaneously displaying on the display unit a plurality of setting patterns in which a zoom operation speed is changed in a different manner when the zoom operation speed is controlled in a plurality of steps obtained by further dividing adjacent steps in the plurality of steps according to a time at which each speed designation command in the plurality of speed designation commands is supplied; storing in a memory a correspondence table indicating a relationship between a time at which each speed designation command is supplied and a zoom operation speed, the correspondence table indicating the selected setting pattern when the user selects any one of the plurality of setting patterns; The zoom operation speed setting program for an imaging device is

4. The computer includes: As the step of displaying the instruction information, a step of displaying first instruction information instructing the user to rotate the zoom lever to the maximum angle in one go and second instruction information instructing the user to rotate the zoom lever to the maximum angle over a predetermined period of time is executed.

4. The zoom operation speed setting program for the imaging device according to claim 3.

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