Camera with the function of lowering the transmittance of the liquid-crystal display during picture taking

A camera includes a liquid-crystal display device with a liquid crystal whose transmittance is variable. A liquid-crystal control section, in a release signal waiting mode, brings the liquid crystal of the liquid-crystal display device into the light-transmitting state and, when a release signal is output to turn on an exposure mode, lowers the transmittance of the liquid crystal of the liquid-crystal display device temporarily.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
This invention relates to a camera with a liquid-crystal display device 
(hereinafter, referred to as an LCD). 
Use of liquid crystal for a display on the finder of a camera has been 
proposed. With such an LCD, the AF target mark, various modes, and the 
selection of field angle, such as panorama or normal, are indicated on the 
LCD screen. Positive LCDs, including guest-host LCDs and TN (twisted 
nematic) LCDs, have been widely used. 
Recently, the use of macromolecular dispersion liquid crystal for the LCD 
of the finder in a camera has been proposed, as disclosed Jpn. Pat. Appln. 
KOKAI Publication No. 5-165017. The macromolecular dispersion liquid 
crystal disclosed in the publication is a positive liquid crystal which 
prevents light from passing through when a voltage is applied and allows 
light to pass through when no voltage is applied. On the other hand, 
negative liquid crystals have also been known. They allow light to pass 
through when a voltage is applied and prevent light from passing through. 
Since such a macromolecular dispersion liquid crystal display has a high 
degree of scattering, use of it for the finder of a camera makes the 
amount of light reaching the pupil very small. This enables a finder with 
a high contrast to be constructed, as compared with the TN LCD and 
guest-host LCD. Conventional TN LCDs are available in the negative and 
positive types. The types of liquid crystals used for the finder of a 
camera have been increasing these days. 
With the camera with an LCD, however, because there was no change in the 
liquid-crystal display screen during picture taking, the user could not 
tell whether the shutter was fully pressed, even if having pressed the 
shutter release. 
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
It is, accordingly, an object of the present invention to provide a camera 
which enables the user to judge reliably whether a picture has been taken, 
just viewing the liquid-crystal display device. 
The foregoing object is accomplished by a camera according to a first 
aspect of the present invention, comprising: a liquid-crystal display 
device with a liquid crystal whose transmittance is variable; and a 
liquid-crystal control section which, in a release signal waiting mode, 
brings the liquid crystal of the liquid-crystal display device into a 
light-transmitting state and, when a release signal is output to turn on 
an exposure mode, lowers the transmittance of the liquid crystal of the 
liquid-crystal display device temporarily. 
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a 
camera comprising: a liquid-crystal display device which is provided 
within a finder and includes a liquid crystal whose transmittance is 
variable; a release signal output section; and a liquid-crystal control 
section which, in a photograph enable mode, brings the liquid crystal of 
the liquid-crystal display device into a light-transmitting state and, 
when receiving a release signal from the release signal output section, 
lowers the transmittance of the liquid crystal of the liquid-crystal 
display device temporarily. 
According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a 
camera comprising: a liquid-crystal display device which is provided 
within a finder and includes a liquid crystal whose transmittance is 
variable; a switch for starting the camera; a release signal output 
section; and a liquid-crystal control section which, when receiving a 
signal from the switch, changes the liquid crystal of the liquid-crystal 
display device from a blackout state to a light-transmitting state and, 
when receiving a signal from the release signal output section, lowers the 
transmittance of the liquid crystal of the liquid-crystal display device 
for a specific time. 
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a 
camera comprising: a shutter; a judging section for judging whether the 
shutter has operated properly; a liquid-crystal display device which is 
provided within a finder and includes a liquid crystal whose transmittance 
is variable; a release signal output section; and a liquid-crystal control 
section which, in a photograph enable mode, brings the liquid crystal of 
the liquid-crystal display device into a light-transmitting state and, 
when receiving a release signal from the release signal output section, 
lowers the transmittance of the liquid crystal of the liquid-crystal 
display device temporarily, and which returns the lowered transmittance of 
the liquid crystal to that in the light-transmitting state on the basis of 
the output from the judging section. 
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a 
camera comprising: a judging section for judging whether a shutter has 
operated properly; a sensing section which senses whether an extended lens 
has returned to the initial position, on the basis of an output from the 
judging section; a timer for setting a specific time on the basis of an 
output from the sensing section; a liquid-crystal display device which is 
provided within a finder and has a variable transmittance; a release 
signal output section; and a liquid-crystal control section which, in a 
photograph enable mode, brings the liquid crystal of the liquid-crystal 
display device into a light-transmitting state and, when receiving a 
release signal output, lowers the transmittance of the liquid crystal of 
the liquid-crystal display device temporarily, and which returns the 
lowered transmittance of the liquid crystal to that in the 
light-transmitting state after the timer has counted the specific time. 
According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a 
camera comprising: a liquid-crystal display device which includes a liquid 
crystal whose transmittance is variable; a release signal output section; 
a first timer for counting a time related to the operation of a shutter; a 
second timer for counting a time related to the operation of changing the 
transmittance of the liquid crystal of the liquid-crystal display device; 
and a control section which, when receiving a release signal from the 
release signal output section, lowers the transmittance of the liquid 
crystal of the liquid-crystal display device and performs an exposure 
operation according to the time clocked by the first timer, and which, 
when starting the second timer after the completion of the exposure 
operation and the count of the second timer has reached a specific time, 
returns the transmittance of the liquid crystal of the liquid-crystal 
display device to that in the light-transmitting state. 
Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the 
description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the 
description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects 
and advantages of the invention may be realized and obtained by means of 
the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out 
hereinafter.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
Hereinafter, referring to the accompanying drawings, an embodiment of the 
present invention will be explained in detail. FIG. 1 is a conceptual 
diagram of a camera according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
In FIG. 1, a CPU 1 is used to control various operations of the camera. It 
includes a timer 2. Connected to the CPU 1 are a power switch (barrier 
switch) 7, a release switch (release SW) 8 acting as a release signal 
output section, a blocking finger sensing section 9, an abnormal operation 
sensing section 10, a self-mode switch (self-mode SW) 11, a battery check 
section 12, a rear cover switch (rear cover SW) 13, a shutter section 6, a 
pop-up switch (pop-up SW) 81, an EEPROM 14, and a panorama switch 
(panorama SW) 59. A finder 3 is also connected to the CPU 1 via an LCD 
driving section 5. An LCD (hereinafter, referred to as an in-F LCD) 4 is 
provided in the finder 3. 
The embodiment is characterized in that the display is blacked out (or the 
in-F LCD 4 is caused to prevent light from passing through) to give 
various representations or alarm messages by changing the transmittance of 
the in-F LCD 4 under the control of the CPU 1 on the basis of various 
inputs from the user and the result of sensing, such as a blocking finger. 
For instance, they are as follows: 
1) The in-F LCD 4 is changed from blackout to light-transmitting in 
synchronization with the turning on of the power switch 7. When the power 
switch has turned on or a specific time has elapsed, the in-F LCD 4 is 
returned to blackout display. This enables the user to judge whether the 
camera is in the photograph enable mode or the photograph disable mode, 
just viewing the in-F LCD 4. 
2) When exposure is made, the display of the in-F LCD 4 is blacked out. 
This enables the user to know that exposure has been made, just viewing 
the in-F LCD 4. 
3) When the blocking finger sensing section 9 has sensed that a finger 
covering the distance-measuring section, photometric section, or strobe 
section prevents the proper distance measurement, photometry, or strobe 
operation, the display of the in-F LCD 4 is blacked out. In addition, when 
the pop-up switch 81 has sensed that the user has pressed the strobe 
section, the in-F LCD 4 is also blacked out. On the basis of the 
blackouts, the user can know not only that a finger has covered the camera 
but also that the strobe section has been pressed, just viewing the in-F 
LCD 4. 
4) When the user operates the self-mode switch 11 and brings the camera 
into the self mode, the display of the in-F LCD 4 is blacked out. This 
enables the user to know that the camera is not in the normal exposure 
state, just seeing the in-F LCD 4. 
5) The battery check section 12 senses the battery voltage. If the battery 
voltage is lower than a specific voltage, the display of the in-F LCD 4 
will be blacked out. This enables the user to know that the power supply 
is running out, just viewing the in-F LCD 4. 
6) The liquid-crystal display is blacked out by lowering the transmittance 
of the in-F LCD 4 temporarily in synchronization with the release switch 
8. In this case, the time during which the transmittance is lowered 
temporarily is measured by the timer 2 and so controlled that it is longer 
than the shutter open time in exposure. This enables the user to judge 
whether a picture has been taken. 
7) When the abnormal operation sensing section 10 has sensed an abnormal 
operation of the camera and the proper operation of the camera cannot be 
guaranteed, not only is the release switch 8 prevented from being pressed 
but also the in-F LCD 4 is blacked out. This enables the user to know that 
the camera is abnormal, just viewing the in-F LCD 4. 
8) When various operations of the camera are being carried out, for 
instance, when the autoload operation is being carried out with the rear 
cover switch 13 being closed, not only is the release switch prevented 
from being pressed but also the in-F LCD 4 is blacked out. This enables 
the user to know that exposure cannot be made, just seeing the in-F LCD 4. 
When the user operates a panorama switch 59, explained later, the screen 
size is changed. Then, the changed screen is caused to allow light to pass 
through and the remaining portion is forced to prevent light from passing 
through. This enables the user to know that the panorama display is in 
operation, just viewing the in-F LCD 4. 
FIG. 2A is a front view of the camera 100 and FIG. 2B is a top view of the 
camera 100. An AF window 53, a finder 54, a photometric window 55, and a 
self LED 52 are provided at the top middle of the front of the camera. 
Below them, there is provided a lens tube 51. The lens tube 51 houses a 
camera optical system and is capable of moving in and out. On the right 
side of the front, a barrier 50 is provided. An external liquid-crystal 
display section 70 is provided in the middle of the top face of the camera 
and can display the date, various camera modes, and frame number. When the 
camera is viewed from the front, a release SW 58 and a zoom SW 57 are 
provided on the left side of the top face and a pop-up section 56 
incorporating a strobe flashing section is provided on the right side of 
the top face. In addition, at the back of the camera, there is provided a 
slidable panorama SW 59. 
Hereinafter, the operation of sensing a finger blocking the light at the 
blocking finger sensing section 9 will be explained in detail. FIG. 3 is a 
perspective view of the camera illustrating a state where the user has 
blocked the light from the self LED 52 with a finger. The light blocked by 
a finger enters at the photometric window 55. The light passing through 
the photometric window 55 is gathered by a condenser lens 61 and sensed by 
a photometric sensor 62 as shown in FIG. 4A. The photometric sensor 62 is 
composed of a photometric section 62-1 and a blocking finger sensing 
light-receiving section 62-2. The photometric section 62-1 performs normal 
photometry. An infrared LED may be used in place of the self LED 52. 
FIG. 5A shows a circuit configuration of the blocking finger sensing 
section 9. A signal SLED from the CPU 1 causes the self LED 52 to emit 
light. FIG. 5B shows a waveform of the signal S.sub.LED. When the light 
has not been blocked by a finger, no light enters the blocking finger 
sensing light-receiving section 62-2. As a result, the waveform of the 
signal ADO inputted from the light-receiving section 62-2 to an A/D 
converter 63 of the CPU 1 is as shown in FIG. 5B. In contrast, when the 
light has been blocked by a finger, the light from the self LED 52 blocked 
by a finger 60 enters the blocking finger sensing light-receiving section 
62-2. As a result, the waveform of the signal ADO inputted to the A/D 
converter 63 of the CPU 1 is as shown in FIG. 5C. In this way, the state 
where a finger has blocked the light is sensed. 
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the camera to help explain a modification 
of the process of sensing that a finger has blocked the light. To sense a 
finger blocking the light, an infrared LED 70 and a light-receiving 
section 71 are provided in the pop-up section 56. When a finger 60' of the 
user has blocked the light from the infrared LED 70, the light strikes the 
light-receiving section 71, which then senses it. The detail of sensing is 
the same as when the light from the self LED 52 has been blocked in the 
embodiment. Thus, explanation of it will not be given here. 
FIG. 7 is a front view of the camera to help explain a method of sensing a 
state where the user has pressed the pop-up section 56 during the flashing 
of the strobe. As shown in FIG. 7, the pop-up SW 81 and a metal strip 80 
are provided at the front of the camera 100. When the user presses the 
pop-up section 56, the pop-up SW 81 turns off. When the pop-up section 56 
is in the up position, the pop-up SW 81 is on. Therefore, sensing the 
state of the pop-up SW 81 makes it possible to sense a state where the 
pop-up section has been pressed. 
FIGS. 8A, 8B, and 8C show a configuration of a negative macromolecular 
dispersion LCD used in the embodiment. As shown in FIGS. 8A, 8B, and 8C, a 
pair of alignment films 112-1, 112-2, a pair of electrodes 111-1, 111-2, 
and a pair of glass substrates 110-1, 110-2 are provided in that order, 
with macromolecular particles 113 between them. FIG. 8A shows the 
no-light-transmitting state where no pulse voltage is applied. In this 
state, the incident light 107 is outputted in the form of scattered light 
108. FIG. 8B shows the light-transmitting state where a pulse voltage is 
applied. In the state, the incident light 107 is outputted in the form of 
emitted light 120. 
FIG. 8C shows the relationship between the driving pulse voltage of the LCD 
and the transmittance. As shown in FIG. 8C, as the applied voltage 
increases, the transmittance increases. In the embodiment, the 
no-light-transmitting state with a first transmittance, the 
light-transmitting state with a third transmittance, and a second 
transmittance between the first and third transmittances are used. 
While in the embodiment, the negative LCD has been used, a positive 
macromolecular dispersion LCD may be used, as disclosed in, for example, 
Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 5-165017. 
FIG. 9A shows a segment pattern on the lower glass substrate 110-2. The 
segment pattern is made up of a pattern 121 related to a SEG 1 electrode, 
a pattern 120 related to a SEG 2 electrode, and a pattern 122 related to a 
COM electrode. Three openings 120A, 120B, and 120C are made in the pattern 
121. Numeral 123 indicates a connecting section. FIG. 9B shows a common 
pattern on the upper glass substrate 110-1. The common pattern has a 
connecting section 123' connected to the connecting section 123. 
FIG. 9C illustrates a normal finder display, in which the three segment 
patterns and openings in FIG. 9A are shown. FIG. 9D illustrates a panorama 
display, which shows the state where the patterns 120 and 122 are caused 
to prevent light from passing through (or to block light) and the pattern 
121 is forced to allow light to pass through. FIG. 9E illustrate a 
blackout display, in which all the patterns are caused to prevent light 
from passing through and go black. 
Hereinafter, the main flow of the camera will be described in detail by 
reference to FIG. 10. The change of the barrier or rear cover gives rise 
to an interrupt, which starts a process at step S0 (PWRST). The stack 
pointer is cleared (step S1) and then the in-F LCD 4 is turned on to 
change from the no-light-transmitting state to the light-transmitting 
state (step S2). Next, a rear cover state flag F.sub.-- BKCLOS, camera 
state data CNDT, and a damage flag are read from the EEPROM 14 (step S3). 
When the rear cover state flag F.sub.-- BKCLOS has a value of 0, this 
means that the rear cover is closed, whereas when it has a value of 1, 
this means that the rear cover is open. For the camera state data CNDT, 0 
means the normal state (or release enable), 1 means one-frame winding, 2 
means autoloading, and 3 means rewinding. The damage flag includes three 
types of flag: F.sub.-- WNDDMG meaning a failure in one-frame winding, 
F.sub.-- ALDDMG meaning a failure in autoloading, and F.sub.-- RWDDMG 
meaning a failure in rewinding. 
Next, from the state of the rear cover state flag F.sub.-- BKCLOS, it is 
judged whether the rear cover has been changed (step S4). If it has (YES), 
it will be judged whether the rear cover has been closed (step S5). If it 
has (YES), "0" will be substituted into the rear cover state flag F.sub.-- 
BKCLOS (step S6) and "2" be substituted into the camera state data CNDT 
(step S7) and control will proceed to step S8. 
If the rear cover has not been closed (NO) at step S5, "1" will be 
substituted into the rear cover state flag F.sub.-- BKCLOS (step S12) and 
"0" be substituted into the camera state data CNDT (step S13). Then, 
control will proceed to step S8. 
At step S8, the damage flag F.sub.-- WNDDMG is cleared. At step S9, the 
damage flag F.sub.-- ALDDMG is cleared. At step S10, the damage flag 
F.sub.-- RWDDMG is cleared. Next, control goes to step S11, where the rear 
cover state flag F.sub.-- BKCLOS, camera state data CNDT, and damage flag 
are written into the EEPROM 14. 
After step 11 has been executed or when the result at step S4 is NO, 
control proceeds to step S14. At step S14, a check is made to see if the 
camera state data CNDT has a value of 2 (in the course of autoloading). If 
it has (YES), control will proceed to step S16, where autoloading will be 
effected. Depending on whether the autoloading has been done successfully, 
the damage flag F.sub.-- RWDDMG is set at step S16. Next, a check is made 
to see if the damage flag F.sub.-- ALDDMG has a value of 0 (step S17). If 
it has not (NO), control will go to step S110, where an abnormality 
handling process (DAMAG) will be executed, which will explained later. If 
it has (YES) at step S17, "0" will be substituted into the camera state 
data CNDT (step S18) to enable a release action. Thereafter, the damage 
flag F.sub.-- WNDDMG will be cleared (step S19) and then the damage flag 
F.sub.-- RWDDMG be cleared (step S20). Next, control will proceed to step 
S21, where the rear cover state flag F.sub.-- BKCLOS, camera state data 
CNDT, and damage flag will be written into the EEPROM 14. 
If the camera state data CND has not a value of 2 (NO) at step S14, control 
will go to step S15, where it is judged whether the damage flag F.sub.-- 
ALDDMG has a value of 1. If it has (YES), this means a failure in the 
autoloading and therefore control will go to step S16 to execute the 
above-described steps to effect autoloading again. 
After step S21 has been executed or when the damage flag F.sub.-- ALDDMG 
has not a value of 1 (NO) at step S15, control goes to step S23 in FIG. 
11. At step S23, it is judged whether the camera state data CNDT has a 
value of 1. If it has (YES), control will proceed to step S25. If it has 
not (NO) at step S23, control will proceed to S24, where a check will be 
made to see if the damage flag F.sub.-- WNDDMG has a value of 1. If it has 
not (NO), control will proceed to step S25. 
At step S25, one-frame winding is done. Depending on whether one-frame 
winding has been done successfully, the damage flag F.sub.-- WNDDMG is set 
at step S25. Next, it is judged whether damage flag F.sub.-- WNDDMG has a 
value of 0 (step S26). If it has not (NO), control will proceed to step 
S111, where an abnormality handling process (DAMAG) will be executed, 
which will be explained later. If it has (YES), the damage flag F.sub.-- 
RWDDMG will be cleared (step S28). 
Next, control goes to step S29, where the rear cover state flag F.sub.-- 
BKCLOS, camera state data CNDT, and damage flag are written into the 
EEPROM 14. 
After step S29 has been executed or when the damage flag F.sub.-- WNDDMG 
has not a value of 1 (NO) at step S24, control goes to step S30, where a 
check is made to see if the camera state data CNDT has a value of 3. If it 
has (YES), control will proceed to step S32. If it has not (NO), it will 
be judged at step S31 whether the damage flag F.sub.-- RWDDMG has a value 
of 1. If it has (YES), control will go to step S32. At step S32, rewinding 
is done and a check is made to see if the damage flag F.sub.-- RWDDMG has 
a value of 0. If it has not (NO), this means a failure in rewinding and 
therefore control will proceed to step S112 to effect rewinding again, 
where an abnormality handling process (DAMAG) will be executed, which will 
be explained later. 
When NO at step S31 or when YES at step S33, control goes to step S34 in 
FIG. 12, where the stack pointer is cleared. Then, at step S35, a check is 
made to see if the barrier is open. If it is not (NO), control will jump 
to step S54. If it is (YES), the zoom will be set to the wide position 
(step S36). Next, it is judged whether the zoom operation at step S36 has 
been proper (step S37). If it has not (NO), control will proceed to step 
S113, where an abnormality handling process (DAMAG) will be executed. If 
it is (YES), control will go to step S38, where a four-minute timer will 
be started. 
Next, control goes to step S39, where a check is made to see if the barrier 
has changed. If it has (YES), control will proceed to step S114 (PWRST). 
If it has not (NO), control will go to step S40, where a check will be 
made to see if the rear cover has changed. If it has (YES), control will 
proceed to step S115 (PWRST). If it has not (NO), control will go to step 
S41, where it will be judged whether the zoom SW has been operated. If it 
has (YES), zooming control will be executed (step S42). Next, it is judged 
whether the zoom operation at step S42 has been proper (step S43). If it 
has not (NO), control will proceed to step S116, where an abnormality 
handling process (DMAG) will be executed. 
When the rear cover has not been changed (NO) at step S41, or when the zoom 
operation has been proper (YES) at step 43, control goes to step S44, 
where a check is made to see if the release SW has been operated. If it 
has (YES), the release process (R1) will be carried out (step S45) and 
then control will jump to step S23 (FIG. 11). If the zoom operation has 
not been proper (NO) at step S44, control will go to step S46, where an 
external LCD display will be made according to the mode. Next, a check is 
made to see if the strobe has been covered with a finger (step S47). If it 
has (YES), the in-F LCD will be blacked out (step S48). The driving pulse 
voltage of the LCD may be lowered to provide a transmittance between 
transmission and non-transmission. Alternatively, transmission may 
alternate with non-transmission. To do this, a circuit for alternating 
between transmission and non-transmission is provided and turned on and 
off by software. 
After step S48 has been executed or when the strobe has not been covered 
with a finger (NO) at step S47, control goes to step S49, where it is 
judged whether the pop-up section 56 has been pressed to turn off the 
pop-up SW. If it has (YES), the in-F LCD will be blacked out (step S50). 
After step S50 has been executed or when the popup section 56 has not been 
pressed (NO) at step S49, control goes to step S51, where the 
distance-measuring section or the photometric section has been covered 
with a finger (step S51). If it has (YES), the in-F LCD will be blacked 
out (step S52). 
After step S52 has been executed or when neither the distance-measuring 
section nor the photometric section has been covered with a finger (NO) at 
step S51, control proceeds to step S53, where a check is made to see if 
four minutes have elapsed. If they have not (NO), control will return to 
step S39. If they have (YES), the in-F LCD will be turned off to change 
from the light-transmitting state to the no-light-transmitting state (step 
S54). Next, control proceeds to step S55, where the external LCD is turned 
off and the zoom is retracted fully (step S56). Next, control goes to step 
S57, where it is judged whether the zoom operation is proper. If it is not 
(NO), control will proceed to step S117, where an abnormality process 
(DAMAG), explained layer, will be carried out. If it is (YES), control 
will proceed to step S58, where the camera operation will be stopped. 
Next, the release process (R1) will be described in detail by reference to 
the flowchart of FIG. 14. First, distance measuring and photometry are 
carried out (step S60). Then, it is judged whether the self mode is on 
(step S61). If it is (YES), the in-F LCD will be turned off to change from 
the light-transmitting state to the no-light-transmitting state (step 
S62). Next, the LCD is caused to blink to provide a self-display (step 
S63). Then, the in-F LCD is turned on to change from the 
no-light-transmitting state to the light-transmitting state (step S64). 
After step S64 has been executed or when the self mode is not on (NO) at 
step S61, control goes to step S65, where the lens is brought into focus 
according to the result of distance measuring. Then, control goes to step 
S66, where it is judged whether the lens operation at step S65 has been 
proper. If it has not (NO), control will proceed to step S118, where an 
abnormality handling process (DAMAG) will be carried out. If it has (YES), 
control will proceed to step S67, where a check will be made to see if the 
red eye reduction mode is on. If it is (YES), pre-light emission will be 
carried out to reduce red eye (step S68). 
After step S68 has been executed or when the red eye reduction mode is not 
on (NO) at step S67, control goes to step S69, where the in-F LCD is 
brought into the no-light-transmitting state. The transmittance of the 
in-F LCD may be lowered. After a 50-ms timer has been started at step S70, 
shutter control is carried out at step S71. Next, it is judged whether the 
shutter operation is proper (step S72). If it is not (NO), control will go 
to step S119, where an abnormality process (DAMAG) will be performed. If 
it is (YES), control will proceed to step S73, where a check will be made 
to see if the 50-ms timer has expired. If it has not (NO), control will 
wait for the timer to expire. Once the timer has expired, control will go 
to step S74, where the in-F LCD will be caused to allow light to pass 
through. Waiting for 50 ms at step S73 causes the display to be blacked 
out for at least 50 ms even when the shutter operates at high speed, which 
enables the user to know reliably that exposure has been made. Next, the 
lens is driven for resetting (step S75). Then, it is judged whether the 
lens operation at step S75 has been proper (step S76). If it has not (NO), 
control will proceed to step S120, where an abnormality handling process 
(DAMAG) will be carried out, which will be explained later. If it has 
(YES), it will be judged whether the rear cover is closed (step S77). If 
it is (YES), it will be judged whether film has been loaded (step S78). If 
it has (YES), "1" will be substituted into the camera state data CNDT 
(step S79) to set one-frame winding. Thereafter, the rear cover state 
flag, camera state data, and damage flag will be written into the EEPROM 
14 (step S80). Then, control will return. In addition, if the result is NO 
at step S77 and step S78, control will return. 
Using the flowchart of FIG. 16, the abnormality handling process will be 
described in detail. First, the stack pointer is cleared (step S100) and 
the in-F LCD starts to blink at 1 Hz (in this case, the in-F LCD 
alternates between transmission and non-transmission) (step S101). Next, 
after the four-minute timer has been started (step S102), it is judged 
whether the barrier has changed (step S103). If it has not (NO), it is 
judged whether the rear cover has changed (step S104). If it has not (NO), 
it is judged whether four minutes have elapsed (step S105). If they have 
(YES), the in-F LCD will be turned off to present the 
no-light-transmitting state (step S106). If they have not (NO), control 
will return to step S103. Then, control will go to step S107, where the 
external LCD display will be turned off and the camera operation be 
stopped (step S108). If YES at step S103 or S104, control will return to 
"PWRST" at steps S121 and S122. 
A modification of the release process will be explained. In the release 
process explained in FIGS. 14 and 15, the dedicated timer is started at 
the same time that the transmittance of the in-F LCD is lowered 
immediately before the exposure operation. After the exposure operation, 
the lowered transmittance is continued until the dedicated timer has 
counted a specific time. When exposure control is carried out, its timer 
is in operation. Therefore, depending on the hardware configuration of the 
CPU, it might be difficult to further start the dedicated timer for 
controlling the transmittance of the in-F LCD during exposure control. 
To overcome the drawback, the modification prevents the dedicated timer 
from operating during exposure and, when a specific delay time has elapsed 
after the exposure operation, performs control so as to complete the 
operation of lowering the transmittance. This enables the user to 
recognize reliably that the transmittance of the in-finder liquid crystal 
has decreased. The specific delay time may be counted by a dedicated timer 
(in this case, a 50-ms timer). Alternatively, it may be determined without 
using a dedicated timer. In addition, a timer used in lowering the 
transmittance of the LCD may also be used as a timer for exposure control. 
FIG. 17 is a flowchart to help explain a first modification of the release 
process. In the flowchart, step S69 to step S75 in FIG. 15 are replaced 
with the following steps. 
First, at step S200, the in-F LCD is brought into the no-light-transmitting 
state. Alternatively, the transmittance may be lowered. Next, at step 
S201, shutter control is performed. Then, at step S202, it is judged 
whether the shutter operation is proper. If it is not (NO), control will 
proceed to step S207, where the abnormality handling process (DAMAG) will 
be carried out. If it is (YES), the 50-ms timer will be started at step 
S203. At step S204, control will keep waiting until the 50-ms timer has 
expired. Once the 50-ms timer has expired, control goes to step S204, 
where the in-F LCD is brought into the light-transmitting state. Next, at 
step S206, a lens reset operation is carried out. 
FIG. 18 is a flowchart to help explain a second modification of the release 
process. In the flowchart, step S69 to step S75 in FIG. 15 are replaced 
with the following steps. 
First, at step S210, the in-F LCD is brought into the no-light-transmitting 
state. Alternatively, the transmittance may be lowered. Next, at step 
S211, shutter control is performed. Then, at step S212, it is judged 
whether the shutter operation is proper. If it is not (NO), control will 
proceed to step S215, where the abnormality handling process (DAMAG) will 
be carried out. If it is (YES), the focus lens will be reset at step S213. 
Next, at step S214, the in-F LCD is brought into the light-transmitting 
state. As described above, with the second modification, the lens reset 
operation is carried out at step S213 and then the in-F LCD is brought 
into the light-transmitting state at step S214. This produces a similar 
effect to that in the embodiment of FIG. 15, without using a timer. 
FIG. 19 is a flowchart to help explain a third modification of the release 
process. In the flowchart, step S69 to step S75 in FIG. 15 are replaced 
with the following steps. 
First, at step S220, the in-F LCD is brought into the no-light-transmitting 
state. Alternatively, the transmittance may be lowered. Next, at step 
S221, shutter control is performed. Then, at step S222, it is judged 
whether the shutter operation is proper. If it is not (NO), control will 
proceed to step S227, where the abnormality handling process (DAMAG) will 
be carried out. If it is (YES), the lens reset operation will be carried 
out at step S223. Then, at step S224, the 50-ms timer will be started. At 
step S225, control will wait for the 50-ms timer to expire. Once the 50-ms 
timer has expired, control goes to step S226, where the in-F LCD is 
brought into the light-transmitting state. 
FIG. 20 is a flowchart to help explain a fourth modification of the release 
process. In the flowchart, step S69 to step S75 in FIG. 15 are replaced 
with the following steps. 
First, at step S230, the in-F LCD is brought into the no-light-transmitting 
state. Alternatively, the transmittance may be lowered. Next, at step 
S231, shutter control is performed. Then, at step S232, it is judged 
whether the shutter operation is proper. If it is not (NO), control will 
proceed to step S238, where the abnormality handling process (DAMAG) will 
be carried out. If it is (YES), the lens reset operation will be carried 
out at step S233. Next, at step S234, a timer time will be calculated. The 
calculated timer time is determined by the amount of lens driving to bring 
the lens into focus according to the result of distance measurement at 
step S65 in FIG. 14. The timer time is made shorter as the amount of 
driving increases. This makes it possible to keep at about a constant 
value the time from when the shutter operation has been completed until 
the in-F LCD is brought into the light-transmitting state at step S237. 
Next, at step 235, the timer is started according to the timer time 
determined at step S234. Then, at step S236, control will wait for the 
timer to expire. At step S237, the in-F LCD is brought into the 
light-transmitting state. 
The present invention enables the user to judge reliably whether a picture 
has been taken, just viewing the liquid-crystal display device. 
Additional advantages and modifications will readily occur to those skilled 
in the art. Therefore, the invention in its broader aspects is not limited 
to the specific details and representative embodiments shown and described 
herein. Accordingly, various modifications may be made without departing 
from the spirit or scope of the general inventive concept as defined by 
the appended claims and their equivalents.