Image-capturing device having multiple optical systems
View Patent ↗By providing different switching points between two optical systems for the case where an image capture device such as a camera is zoomed in, when the angle of view for the captured image is transitioned from wide to tele, and for the case where the camera is zoomed out, when the angle of view of the captured image is transitioned from tele to wide, the number of switching operations between the two optical systems can be reduced.
1. An image-capturing device having multiple optical systems, the image-capturing device comprising:
an image-capturing optical system having a first image-capturing optical system which is of a zoom type and a second image-capturing optical system which is of a zoom type, wherein an angle of view at a wide end of a zoom range of the first image-capturing optical system is set to be wider than an angle of view at a wide end of a zoom range of the second image-capturing optical system and the zoom ranges are set so that a portion of the zoom range of the first image-capturing optical system overlaps a portion of the zoom range of the second image-capturing optical system;
a user setting unit which sets an angle of view for image capturing to an angle of view desired by a user; and
a controller which applies a control to switch to the second image-capturing optical system at a tele end or a position near the tele end of the first image-capturing optical system when the first image-capturing optical system is used to zoom in and to switch to the first image-capturing optical system at a wide end or a position near the wide end of the second image-capturing optical system when the second image-capturing optical system is used to zoom out, the controller further controls a switching point between the first image-capturing system and the second image-capturing system when a captured image is transitioned from wide to tele that is not identical and differs from the switching point between the first image-capturing system and the second image-capturing system when the captured image is transitioned from tele to wide.
2. An image-capturing device according to claim 1 , wherein
the first image-capturing optical system has an electronic zoom at least in the overlap range of angle of view, and
the image-capturing device further comprises:
a pixel number setting unit which can set a number of recording pixels of an image-capturing element in at least two stages, and
a unit which changes a position of a tele end of the electronic zoom of the first image-capturing optical system according to a set number of recording pixels.
3. An image-capturing device according to claim 2 , further comprising:
an electronic zoom range setting unit which sets the tele end of the electronic zoom range further to the tele side as the set number of recording pixels becomes smaller.
4. An image-capturing device according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a unit which calculates a first distance from the set angle of view to the tele end of the zoom range of the first image-capturing optical system and a second distance from the set angle of view to the wide end of the second image-capturing optical system when the set angle of view falls within the overlap range, and
a unit which switches zoom to the zoom of the second image-capturing optical system when the first distance is smaller than the second distance and to the zoom of the first image-capturing optical system when the first distance is greater than the second distance.
5. An image-capturing device according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a unit which sets movement of a zoom position of the second image-capturing optical system to a position corresponding to the tele end of the zoom range of the first image-capturing optical system in connection with the switching from the zoom of the second image-capturing optical system to the zoom of the first image-capturing optical system.
6. An image-capturing device according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a storing unit which stores image data obtained by the first image-capturing optical system and image data obtained by the second image-capturing optical system when the set angle of view falls within the overlap range.
7. An image-capturing device according to claim 6 , further comprising:
a unit which sets a captured image mode, wherein
the storing unit stores the image data obtained by the first image-capturing optical system and the image data obtained by the second image-capturing optical system when the set captured image mode is a RAW format.
8. An image-capturing device having multiple optical systems, comprising:
a first image-capturing optical system and
a second image-capturing optical system, wherein
the first image-capturing optical system has a first electronic zoom range;
the second image-capturing optical system has a second optical zoom range and a second electronic zoom range;
the first electronic zoom range and the second optical zoom range are set so that the first electronic zoom range partially overlaps the second optical zoom range; and
the image-capturing device further comprises
a user operating unit which sets the angle of view for image capturing to an angle of view desired by a user, and
a control unit which applies a control according to an angle of view which is set by the user operating unit to switch to an optical zoom of the second image-capturing optical system at a tele end or a position near the tele end of the first electronic zoom range when the first image-capturing optical system is used to zoom in and to an electronic zoom of the first image-capturing optical system at a wide end of the second optical zoom range when the second image-capturing optical system is used to zoom out, the controller further controls a switching point between the first image-capturing system and the second image-capturing system when a captured image is transitioned from wide to tele that is not identical and differs from the switching point between the first image-capturing system and the second image-capturing system when the captured image is transitioned from tele to wide.
9. An image-capturing device according to claim 8 , wherein
the control unit applies a control to switch from the electronic zoom of the first image-capturing optical system to an electronic zoom of the second image-capturing optical system at the tele end or near the tele end of the first electronic zoom range when a rapid zoom-in is set by the user operating unit and to switch from the electronic zoom of the second image-capturing optical system to the electronic zoom of the first image-capturing optical system at a wide end or near the wide end of the second electronic zoom range when a rapid zoom-out is set by the user operating unit.
10. An image-capturing device having multiple optical systems, comprising:
a first image-capturing optical system, and
a second image-capturing optical system, wherein
the first image-capturing optical system has a first optical zoom range and a first electronic zoom range;
the second image-capturing optical system has a second optical zoom range and a second electronic zoom range;
the first electronic zoom range and the second optical zoom range of the second image-capturing optical system are set so that the first electronic zoom range and a portion of the second optical zoom range partially overlap as a result of a tele end of the first electronic zoom range being set to be at a wider side than a tele end of the second optical zoom range and a wide end of the first electronic zoom range to be at a wide end of the second optical zoom range, and
the image-capturing device further comprises:
a user operating unit which sets an angle of view for image capturing to an angle of view desired by a user, and
a control unit which applies a control according to an angle of view which is set by the user operating unit to switch to an optical zoom of the second image-capturing optical system at the tele end of the first electronic zoom range when the first image-capturing optical system is used to zoom in and to an optical zoom of the first image-capturing optical system at the wide end of the second optical zoom range when the second image-capturing optical system is used to zoom out, the controller further controls a switching point between the first image-capturing system and the second image-capturing system when a captured image is transitioned from wide to tele that is not identical and differs from the switching point between the first image-capturing system and the second image-capturing system when the captured image is transitioned from tele to wide.
11. An image-capturing device having multiple image-capturing optical systems, comprising:
a first image-capturing optical system, and
a second image-capturing optical system, wherein
the first image-capturing optical system has a first optical zoom range and a first electronic zoom range;
the second image-capturing optical system has a second optical zoom range and a second electronic zoom range;
the first optical zoom range of the first image-capturing optical system and the second optical zoom range of the second image-capturing optical system are set so that the first optical zoom range and the second optical zoom range partially overlap as a result of a tele end of the first optical zoom range being set to be at a wider side than a tele end of the second optical zoom range and at a position nearer to the tele side than is a wide end of the second optical zoom range of the second image-capturing optical system, and
the image-capturing device further comprises:
a user operating unit which sets an angle of view for image capturing to an angle of view desired by a user, and
a control unit which applies a control according to an angle of view which is set by the user operating unit to switch to an optical zoom of the second image-capturing optical system at the tele end of the first optical zoom range when the first image-capturing optical system is used to zoom in and to an optical zoom of the first image-capturing optical system at the wide end of the second optical zoom range when the second image-capturing optical system is used to zoom out, the controller further controls a switching point between the first image-capturing system and the second image-capturing system when a captured image is transitioned from wide to tele that is not identical and differs from the switching point between the first image-capturing system and the second image-capturing system when the captured image is transitioned from tele to wide.