JP-7855364-B2 - Lighting control device and system, imaging device

JP7855364B2JP 7855364 B2JP7855364 B2JP 7855364B2JP-7855364-B2

Inventors

岩▲瀬▼ 大介

Assignees

キヤノン株式会社

Dates

Publication Date: 20260508
Application Date: 20220224

Claims (18)

A communication means for communicating with multiple lighting devices, A first acquisition means for acquiring required light emission amount information indicating the amount of light emission required for imaging by the imaging unit, A second acquisition means for acquiring maximum light emission information indicating the maximum light emission amount of each lighting device whose communication has been established by the aforementioned communication means, A third acquisition means for acquiring remaining battery information indicating the remaining battery level in each of the aforementioned lighting devices, An output means that outputs light intensity information based on the maximum light emission amount of each lighting device whose communication has been established by the aforementioned communication means, A determination means for determining the amount of light emitted by each of the illumination devices during imaging, based on the required light emission amount information obtained by the first acquisition means, the maximum light emission amount information obtained by the second acquisition means, and the remaining amount information obtained by the third acquisition means. The system includes a control means for causing the lighting device to emit light at the amount of light determined by the determination means, The determination means determines, based on the maximum light emission amount information and the remaining amount information, an amount corresponding to the maximum number of times each of the lighting devices can emit light is determined as the light emission amount for each of the lighting devices. The determination means is characterized by setting the amount of light emitted from a lighting device whose maximum number of uses is a first number of uses to a value greater than the amount of light emitted from a lighting device whose maximum number of uses is a second number of uses that is less than the first number of uses .
A communication means for communicating with multiple lighting devices, A first acquisition means for acquiring required light emission amount information indicating the amount of light emission required for imaging by the imaging unit, A second acquisition means for acquiring maximum light emission information indicating the maximum light emission amount of each lighting device whose communication has been established by the aforementioned communication means, A third acquisition means for acquiring remaining battery information indicating the remaining battery level in each of the aforementioned lighting devices, An output means that outputs light intensity information based on the maximum light emission amount of each lighting device whose communication has been established by the aforementioned communication means, A determination means for determining the amount of light emitted by each of the illumination devices during imaging, based on the required light emission amount information obtained by the first acquisition means, the maximum light emission amount information obtained by the second acquisition means, and the remaining amount information obtained by the third acquisition means. The system includes a control means for causing the lighting device to emit light at the amount of light determined by the determination means, The determination means determines, based on the maximum light emission amount information and the remaining amount information, an amount corresponding to the maximum number of times each of the lighting devices can emit light is determined as the light emission amount for each of the lighting devices . The lighting control device is characterized in that the determination means calculates the ratio of the maximum number of times for each of the lighting devices based on the maximum light emission amount information and the remaining amount information, and determines an amount corresponding to the ratio of the maximum number of times as the light emission amount for each of the lighting devices, within a range in which the light emission amount for each of the lighting devices does not exceed the respective maximum light emission amount.
The illumination control device according to claim 2, wherein the determination means determines an amount corresponding to the ratio of the maximum number of times as the amount of light emitted for each of the illumination devices, calculates the amount of light emitted for each illumination device calculated according to the ratio of the maximum number of times as a provisional amount of light emitted, and if there is an over-illumination device which is an illumination device in which the provisional amount of light emitted exceeds the corresponding maximum amount of light emitted, the amount of light emitted for the over-illumination device is set to the maximum amount of light emitted corresponding to the over-illumination device, and for the amount obtained by subtracting the maximum amount of light emitted corresponding to the over-illumination device from the required amount of light emitted, an amount corresponding to the ratio of the maximum number of times for illumination devices other than the over-illumination device is determined as the amount of light emitted for each of the illumination devices other than the over-illumination device, and the amount of light emitted set to the maximum amount of light emitted for the over-illumination device and the amount of light emitted determined for each of the illumination devices other than the over-illumination device according to the ratio of the maximum number of times are determined as the amount of light emitted for each of the illumination devices at the time of imaging .
The determination means, in determining an amount corresponding to the ratio of the maximum number of times as the amount of light emitted for each of the illumination devices, calculates the amount of light emitted for each illumination device calculated according to the ratio of the maximum number of times as a provisional amount of light emitted. If there is an over-illumination device whose provisional amount of light emitted exceeds the corresponding maximum amount of light emitted, the amount of light emitted for the over-illumination device is set to a value obtained by multiplying the maximum amount of light emitted corresponding to the over-illumination device by a predetermined coefficient less than 1. For the amount obtained by subtracting the value obtained by multiplying the maximum amount of light emitted by the predetermined coefficient from the required amount of light emitted, an amount corresponding to the ratio of the maximum number of times for illumination devices other than the over-illumination device is determined as the amount of light emitted for each of the illumination devices other than the over-illumination device . The illumination control device according to claim 2 is characterized in that the amount of light emitted for the over-illumination device set to the value and the amount of light emitted for each of the illumination devices other than the over-illumination device determined according to the ratio of the maximum number of times are determined as the amount of light emitted for each of the illumination devices during imaging .
The lighting control device according to claim 2, characterized in that the determination means sets the amount of light emitted from a predetermined specific lighting device among the plurality of lighting devices to a fixed value, and for the amount remaining after subtracting the fixed value from the required amount of light emitted, an amount corresponding to the ratio of the maximum number of times for lighting devices other than the specific lighting device is determined as the amount of light emitted from each of the lighting devices other than the specific lighting device.
The lighting control device according to claim 5 , characterized in that the aforementioned specific lighting device is a lighting device that receives power from an external power source.
The lighting control device according to claim 5 , characterized in that the aforementioned specific lighting device is a lighting device that receives power from a battery that does not have a communication function.
The lighting control device according to claim 2, characterized in that, if there is a lighting device with insufficient number of uses, which is a lighting device whose corresponding maximum number of uses is less than a predetermined number, the light emission amount of the lighting device with insufficient use is set to 0, and the required light emission amount is determined as the light emission amount of each lighting device other than the lighting device with insufficient use, in proportion to the ratio of the maximum number of uses of the lighting devices other than the lighting device with insufficient use.
The lighting control device according to claim 2, characterized in that, if there is a lighting device with insufficient number of uses, which is a lighting device whose corresponding maximum number of uses is less than a predetermined number, the light emission amount of the lighting device with insufficient use is set to a predetermined amount of light, and the amount remaining after subtracting the predetermined amount of light from the required light emission amount is determined as the light emission amount of each of the lighting devices other than the lighting device with insufficient use, in proportion to the ratio of the maximum number of uses of the lighting devices other than the lighting device with insufficient use.
The lighting control device according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that, if there are no lighting devices with insufficient number of uses, the determination means determines the amount of light emitted by each lighting device to be an amount corresponding to the ratio of the maximum number of uses, within a range in which the amount of light emitted by each lighting device does not exceed the respective maximum amount of light emitted.
The lighting control device according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that the determination means determines the amount of light emitted from each of the lighting devices so that the sum of the light emitted from each of the lighting devices matches the required amount of light emitted.
The lighting control device according to any one of claims 1 to 11 , characterized in that the control means causes the plurality of lighting devices to emit light simultaneously.
The lighting control device according to any one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that the output means outputs information indicating the total amount of light obtained by summing the maximum light emission amounts of each lighting device with which communication has been established, as light quantity information based on the maximum light emission amount of each lighting device with which communication has been established.
The lighting control device according to any one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that, if the total amount of light obtained by summing the maximum light emission amounts of each of the lighting devices with which communication has been established exceeds a predetermined upper limit, the communication means outputs information indicating the upper limit as light amount information based on the maximum light emission amounts of each of the lighting devices with which communication has been established.
It has multiple shoe portions for holding the multiple lighting devices, The second acquisition means acquires the maximum light emission amount information via the shoe portion, The lighting control device according to any one of claims 1 to 14 , characterized in that the third acquisition means acquires the remaining amount information via the shoe portion.
The lighting control device according to any one of claims 1 to 15 , characterized in that the communication means can communicate with the imaging unit wirelessly.
A lighting control device according to any one of claims 1 to 16 , A lighting control system characterized by having the aforementioned plurality of lighting devices.
A lighting control device according to any one of claims 1 to 16 , An imaging device characterized by having the aforementioned imaging unit.

Description

This invention relates to an illumination control device and system, and an imaging device. Traditionally, photography has involved using clip-on lighting devices or lighting devices mounted on stands. In these methods, the photographer, for example, positions the stand-mounted lighting device around the subject and controls the shadows by diffusing the light using umbrellas or diffusers. In photography using such lighting devices, the placement and intensity of the lighting devices are adjusted to control the emission level to the desired intensity. Furthermore, as an example of photography, a technique is known to compensate for insufficient light in large spaces or when the subject is far away. This involves fixing multiple lighting devices to the same stand and bringing the light sources of the devices closer together to simulate high-intensity illumination. However, in photography using such lighting devices, repeated high-intensity illumination can sometimes lead to the lighting devices not being able to charge quickly enough to keep up with the camera's continuous shooting speed, resulting in missed flashes or complete failure to emit light due to overheating. Patent Document 1 discloses a control system that assigns numbers to multiple sub-accessories connected to a main accessory and communicates independently with each sub-accessory, thereby making it easier to recognize the identification numbers. The system disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes an identification function for the main and sub-accessories in multiple lighting devices, and a communication function for communicating with them. Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 7-159844 This is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of the imaging system.This is a flowchart of the camera processing.This is a flowchart that continues from Figure 2, which shows the camera processing.This is a flowchart showing the first control device processing.This is a flowchart showing the second control device process.This is a flowchart showing the process for calculating the total light intensity.This is a flowchart showing the processing of lighting equipment.This is a flowchart showing the light emission process.This is an external view of the control device.This is an external view of the control device.This flowchart shows the light emission control process.This is a flowchart showing the light emission calculation process.This is a flowchart showing the light emission calculation process.This is a flowchart showing the light emission calculation process. The embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. (First Embodiment) Figure 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of an imaging system to which the lighting control device according to the first embodiment of the present invention is applied. This imaging system (lighting control system) includes a camera 100 as an imaging device (imaging unit), a photographic lens 200, a control device 300 as a lighting control device, and a plurality of lighting devices 400 (400a to 400d). A photographic lens 200 is mounted on the front of the camera 100. The photographic lens 200 is replaceable, and the camera 100 and the photographic lens 200 are electrically connected via a mount contact group 103. A camera ACC shoe 109 is provided on the top surface of the camera 100. The camera control unit 101 is a microcomputer that controls the operation of various parts of the camera 100. The camera control unit 101 also has built-in memory that stores various adjustment values and programs for executing various controls. This built-in memory also serves as a buffer memory for temporarily storing various data processed at different points. The image sensor 102 converts light from the subject entering through the lens 202 into an electrical signal to generate an image signal, including still images and moving images, and outputs it to the camera control unit 101. The shutter 104 is a focal-plane shutter. The shutter 104 is positioned between the image sensor 102 and the lens 202 and operates according to instructions from the camera control unit 101. The shutter 104 consists of a front curtain and a rear curtain. Exposure of the image sensor 102 begins when the front curtain moves and the shutter opens, and ends when the rear curtain moves and the shutter closes. The camera control unit 105 is equipped with user-operated controls. The camera control unit 105 detects user operations via buttons, switches, dials, connected devices, etc., and sends signals corresponding to the operation instructions to the camera control unit 101. In still image mode, the camera control unit 105 outputs an instruction signal (hereinafter referred to as the SW1 signal) to the camera control unit 101 when the user half-presses the release button. The camera control unit 105 also outputs an instruction signal (hereinafter referred to as the SW2 signal) to the camera co