Patent ID: 8773578
Filing Date: 2014-07-08
Classification: H04N

Abstract:
1. An electronic camera, comprising: an image-capturing unit with variable image-capturing sensitivity, which captures an image of a subject through a photographic lens; a brightness detection unit that detects a subject brightness; a first calculation unit that calculates an ambient light over/under extent by using an image-capturing sensitivity set for the image-capturing unit, an exposure time length set for an image-capturing operation, an aperture value set for the image-capturing operation and the subject brightness having been detected; a reflected light detection unit that detects reflected light from a main subject when a flash unit, which executes a main flash to illuminate the subject during the image-capturing operation and executes a preliminary flash emission to illuminate the subject before the image-capturing operation, executes the preliminary flash emission; a second calculation unit that calculates a main flash quantity needed for the image-capturing operation based upon a detection signal obtained at the reflected light detection unit during the preliminary flash emission and the image-capturing sensitivity currently set for the image-capturing unit; a third calculation unit that calculates a sensitivity change quantity indicating an extent by which the currently set image-capturing sensitivity should be changed so as to achieve optimal exposure of the main subject with a main flash quantity within a variable flash quantity range of the flash unit if the main flash quantity having been calculated by the second calculation unit is outside the variable flash quantity range; and a sensitivity adjusting unit that adjusts the image-capturing sensitivity during the image-capturing operation according to the sensitivity change quantity having been calculated by the third calculation unit; and a control device that controls the sensitivity adjusting unit so that the smaller the ambient light over/under extent having been calculated by the first calculation unit is, the more strongly an extent of change in the image-capturing sensitivity is restricted, in case that the sensitivity change quantity indicates an increase from the currently set image-capturing sensitivity.