Patent ID: 7742093
Filing Date: 2010-06-22
Classification: G03B,G09G,H04N

Abstract:
1. A digital camera for photographing an object and obtaining an optical image of the object as an image having a shape of a first rectangle that has a first aspect ratio, said first rectangle having first long sides and first short sides, said digital camera comprising: an imaging device that generates an image signal corresponding to the optical image of the object; a memory that stores said image signal generated by said imaging device; a monitor on which an image corresponding to said image signal is displayed, said monitor including a second rectangle having a second aspect ratio, said second aspect ratio being lower than said first aspect ratio if said first aspect ratio is higher than one, said second aspect ratio being higher than said first aspect ratio if said first aspect ratio is lower than one, said second rectangle having first sides and second sides; a monitor controller that causes a displayed-image corresponding to said image signal stored in said memory to be selectively displayed on said monitor in a first or in a second replay mode, said displayed-image being displayed such that one of said first long sides is parallel to one of said first sides and such that an aspect ratio of said displayed-image is the same as said first aspect ratio in said first replay mode, said displayed-image being displayed rotated by 90 degrees such that one of said first long sides is parallel to one of said second sides and such that an aspect ratio of said displayed-image is the same as a reciprocal of said first aspect ratio in said second replay mode; and a position sensor that generates an inclination-signal when said position sensor detects that said digital camera is inclined with respect to a straight line perpendicular to a light receiving surface of said imaging device, and parallel to the horizon, said memory storing said inclination-signal, generated concurrently with said image signal in association with said image signal, and said monitor controller switching between said first replay mode and said second replay mode based on said inclination-signal; said digital camera including a photographing mode in which the positions of the image and photographic information on the monitor do not change in accordance with an orientation of the digital camera while the orientation of the photographic information on the monitor changes in accordance with the orientation of the digital camera, wherein, in the replay modes, the positions of the image and photographic information on the monitor change in accordance with the orientation of the digital camera in the photographing mode, while the orientation of the photographic information on the monitor does not change in accordance with the orientation of the digital camera in the photographing mode.