US 7,528,865 B2
Digital movie camera and method of controlling operations thereof
Osamu Saito, Asaka (Japan)
Assigned to Fujifilm Corporation, Minato-ku, Tokyo (Japan)
Filed on Nov. 21, 2002, as Appl. No. 10/300,823.
Claims priority of application No. 2001-356838 (JP), filed on Nov. 22, 2001.
Prior Publication US 2003/0095191 A1, May 22, 2003
Int. Cl. H04N 5/225 (2006.01); H04N 5/222 (2006.01)
U.S. Cl. 348—220.1  [348/333.01] 17 Claims
 
1. A digital movie camera comprising:
an imaging device including a solid-state electronic imaging device for imaging a subject and outputting image data representing an image of the subject;
a first driving device for driving said solid-state electronic imaging device such that the subject is imaged in a predetermined period and movie image data is read out and movie image recording is performed in response to the setting of a movie image recording mode;
a movie image recording control device for recording image data representing the movie image read out of said solid-state electronic imaging device under driving by said first driving device as movie image data on a recording medium;
a second driving device for driving said solid-state electronic imaging device such that the subject is continuously imaged at timing corresponding to a continuous imaging time period and still image data is read out in response to the setting of a continuous imaging mode during operations by said movie image recording mode;
a still image recording control device for recording image data representing the still image read out of said solid-state electronic imaging device under driving by said second driving device as still image data on the recording medium; and
a signal processing unit that processes a signal of a still image during a movie image insertion period of said continuous imaging time period in which a movie image is recorded, a still image and a movie image being alternately recorded when said movie image recording is interrupted to perform a continuous imaging operation; a driving control device for controlling said first driving device such that the subject is imaged in a predetermined period within a movie image insertion time period which is a part of said continuous imaging time period, and the movie image data is read out;
a display device for displaying the subject image represented by the image data outputted from said imaging device;
a buffer memory successively temporarily storing image data corresponding to a plurality of frames outputted from said imaging device;
a readout device for reading out the image data stored in said buffer memory and feeding the read image data to said display device; and
a readout control device for controlling, in a still image processing time period excluding said movie image insertion time period in said continuous imaging time period, said readout device such that said display device displays the image of the subject which is imaged during the movie image insertion time period immediately before said still image processing time period.