Hybrid electronic-film camera

An improved hybrid camera is provided for capturing an image photographically on film and electronically on an electronic sensor in which the image captured by the electronic sensor may be electronically cropped to match the image captured on the film. The camera includes a first lens having multiple focal lengths and a second lens having two selectable focal lengths. The image is focused through the first lens onto the film to capture the image photographically, while the image is focused through the second lens on an electronic sensor to capture at least the image electronically. A controller in the camera selects the focal length of the second lens to maximize the resolution of the portion of the image captured on the electronic sensor which matches the image captured on the film. The image captured on the electronic sensor may be cropped by the controller to match the image captured on the film. The controller can display the cropped image on a color LCD screen, thereby allowing the user to view the same image as captured on film, or store the cropped image in memory.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates to a camera (and method) for capturing an 
image photographically and electronically, and relates particularly to, a 
camera for capturing an image photographically through a first multiple 
focal length lens and electronically through a second lens having two 
selectable focal lengths. The focal length of the second lens is selected 
to maximize the resolution of the portion of the electronically captured 
image which matches the photographically captured image. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
Hybrid cameras for the simultaneous capture of an image both 
photographically and electronically generally require that the image 
captured electronically matches the image captured photographically in 
terms of proportion (aspect ratio) and scene content. This is useful for 
maintaining an electronic record of images captured on film, for proofing 
latent photographic images, or other similar electronic-film imaging 
purposes. To provide zoom capability, such hybrid cameras may utilize two 
continuously variable zoom lens; one zoom lens through which an image is 
captured electronically on an electronic sensor, such as a CCD sensor 
array, and another zoom lens through which the image is captured 
photographically on film. These continuous zoom lenses can each be zoomed 
over different focal lengths up to its maximum zoom (or focal length) to 
provide various modes, extending from a wide angle mode through different 
telephoto modes at different zoom ratios. Zoom ratio is defined as the 
ratio of the focal length of the zoom lens divided by the shortest focal 
length of the lens, and the maximum zoom of a zoom lens is the longest 
focal length divided by the shortest focal length of lens. Matching the 
images captured electronically and photographically is prevented, however, 
when the zoom ratios of the two zoom lenses do not optically match over 
the focal lengths of each lens. Then, the electronic and photographic 
images captured will have different scene content, such that one image 
captured will have scene content that is a subset of the other captured 
image. In addition, matching is also prevented by parallax due to the 
different positions of the zoom lenses in a camera. 
It has been proposed to mechanically couple the movement of the lens 
elements of separate continuous zoom lenses which respectively capture the 
image photographically and electronically, such that their zoom ratios 
match over various focal lengths. See U.S. Pat. No. 5,329,325 to McClellan 
et al., issued Jul. 12, 1994. Optically matching the zoom ratio is 
required in order that the pixels of the electronic array sensor represent 
the full latent photographic image captured on film. One drawback of 
optically matching the zoom ratios of such continuous zoom lenses is that 
the complexity, size, and cost of the camera is greatly increased because 
each continuous zoom lens requires at least two independent moving lens 
element groupings and a precision motor driven mechanism for moving the 
lens groups. 
If the continuous zoom lens for capturing an image electronically is 
replaced by a fixed focus lens to deal with the drawbacks of using two 
continuous zoom lenses, the image captured on the electronic sensor would 
not match the scene content of the photographic image for different focal 
lengths of the continuous zoom lens. 
It is a feature of the invention to provide a hybrid camera with zoom 
capability which can provide an electronic image matching the image 
captured photographically which does not depend on optically matching the 
zoom ratios of two continuous zoom lens, and further requires only one 
continuous zoom lens. 
Further, it has been proposed that the two zoom lenses in a hybrid camera 
be positioned at an angle with respect to each other to correct for the 
parallax which prevents the images captured photographically and 
electronically from matching. This angle can be mechanically adjusted by 
the camera's user to correct for parallax. See also McClellan et al. One 
drawback to this proposal is that because the amount of parallax differs 
over the range of distances from the camera to the subject, different 
angles between the zoom lens are needed over this range to correct for 
parallax. Thus, the user must select the precise angle to correct for 
parallax. Further, as the distance between the camera and the subject in 
the image changes, the user may be required to reposition the angle 
between the zoom lenses to correct for parallax. This both introduces user 
error into the parallax correction and is time consuming. 
In addition, it is another feature of the invention to provide a hybrid 
camera that does not depend on mechanical positioning the zoom lenses at 
an angle to correct for parallax. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
Accordingly, it is the principal object of the present invention to provide 
an improved camera for and method of capturing an image both 
photographically and electronically. 
Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved camera 
and method for capturing an image photographically through a first 
continuous zoom lens and electronically through a second lens having two 
selectable focal lengths in which the focal length of the second lens is 
selected to maximize the resolution of the portion of the electronically 
captured image matching the photographically captured image. 
A further object of the present invention is to provide an improved camera 
and method for capturing an image electronically and photographically in 
which the electronically captured image may be electronically cropped to 
match the image captured photographically on film. 
Briefly described, a camera is provided for capturing an image 
electronically and photographically which includes a first continuous zoom 
lens having multiple focal lengths and a second lens having two selectable 
focal lengths. The image is focused through the first lens onto film to 
capture the image photographically. The image is focused through the 
second lens on an electronic sensor to capture at least the image 
electronically. A controller is provided in the camera for selecting the 
focal length of the second lens to maximize the resolution of the portion 
of the image captured on the electronic sensor which approximately matches 
the image captured on the film. 
The controller of the camera may further provide cropping of the image 
captured by the electronic sensor to match the image captured on the film 
in terms of proportion (i.e., aspect ratio) and scene content. The cropped 
image may be displayed on a color LCD screen on the camera or stored in 
memory.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
Referring to FIG. 1, a block diagram of a camera 10 in accordance with the 
present invention is shown. Camera 10 includes a film lens 12 through 
which an image is photographically captured on silver-halide (AgX) film 
14. Film lens 12 is a continuous zoom lens such as used in a conventional 
compact camera for focusing an image at one of multiple focal lengths onto 
film 14. Preferably, film lens 12 has five discrete focal lengths ranging 
from approximately 31.0 mm to 57.9 mm. This provides a range of zoom 
ratios from approximately 1.0X to 2X (actually 1.87X), where zoom ratio is 
defined as the ratio of a specific focal length of the lens to the 
shortest focal length of the lens and is generally followed by "X". The 
five discrete focal lengths of film lens 12 enable zoom ratios (or zoom 
positions) of approximately 1X, 1.25X, 1.5X, 1.75X, and 2X, respectively. 
Although five focal lengths is described herein, film lens 12 may have 
fewer or more focal lengths over a smaller or larger range of zoom ratios. 
Similar to a conventional zoom lens, film lens 12 has at least two moving 
lenses in which a first lens group is moved along an optical axis 13 to 
select the focal length of film lens 12 and the other lens group is moved 
along optical axis 13 to restore focus at the selected focal length. Drive 
motors 18 may be two stepper motors driving each lens group to a desired 
position along optical axis 13, or a single stepper motor in which both 
lens groups are driven via a gear and cam system. In film lens 12, an 
aperture 17, such as an iris, is positioned along optical axis 13 having 
an adjustable diameter to set the amount of light focused on film 14, 
i.e., the film aperture setting. This aperture also serves as a shutter 
for camera 10 to photographically image on film 14, but alternatively, a 
separate blade may provide a shutter in film lens 12 to block light from 
film 14 until the image is ready to be photographed. A shutter/aperture 
motor 16 drives aperture 17 to a desired film aperture setting or F-stop. 
In addition to moving the lens groups in film lens 12, drive motors 18 may 
also move lens groups in viewfinder 20, a small continuous zoom lens which 
allows a user of camera 10 to visually perceive how an image through film 
lens 12 would likely appear. Drive motors 18 synchronize the movement of 
the lens groups in viewfinder 20 with the lens group in film lens 12 such 
that the zoom ratio of viewfinder 20 is identical to that of film lens 12. 
Camera 10 further includes a digital lens 22 which focuses an image onto an 
electronic sensor 24, such as a CCD sensor array. Digital lens 22, in 
contrast to film lens 12, has two selectable focal lengths. Preferably, no 
focusing adjustment is required in the camera for imaging onto electronic 
sensor 24. In the preferred embodiment, digital lens 22 has two groups of 
lenses in which a first lens group 25a is fixed, and another lens group 
25b moves towards and away from the first lens group along an optical axis 
23 to obtain two different focal lengths. The moving lens group 25b is 
positioned along optical axis 23 by a lens actuator 26, such as a 
solenoid, to drive the moving lens group along optical axis 23 to each of 
the two focal lengths for digital lens 22. Since only one moving lens 
group is required for digital lens 22, digital lens 22 may be made less 
mechanically complex and smaller in size than a conventional zoom lens, 
which requires at least two moving lens groups. Digital lens 22 may be, 
for example, a dual power digital zoom lens as described in the article by 
Ellis Betensky, "Zoom lenses for small CCD cameras", SPIE Vol. 2539, pages 
2-11, June 1995. In the preferred embodiment, two selectable focal lengths 
of digital lens 22 are provided at approximately 5.14 mm and at 
approximately 8.46 mm, which provides a zoom ratio of approximately 1X and 
approximately 1.75X (actually 1.65X), respectively. Other zoom ratios for 
digital lens 22 may be used so long as they are approximately equal to the 
zoom ratios at two of the five discrete focal lengths of film lens 12. 
The image captured on electronic sensor 24 represents a digital image 
having a maximum resolution of 480.times.640 color pixels. Although other 
types of electronic sensors may be used in camera 10, a sufficient number 
color pixels should be employed to obtain a resolution needed for high 
resolution digital images after cropping is performed. Cropping of the 
digital image from electronic sensor 24 is described later in more detail. 
An aperture 29 in digital lens 22 adjusts the amounts of light onto 
electronic sensor 24. Aperture 29 represents a slide having holes, e.g., 
five holes, of different diameters which may be centered on optical axis 
23 to set the amount of light incident on electronic sensor 24, i.e., the 
digital aperture setting or F-stop. A digital aperture motor 28, such as a 
stepper motor, moves the slide perpendicular to optical axis 23 in order 
to drive the slide to a desired digital aperture setting. Digital lens 22, 
electronic sensor 24, lens actuator 26, and digital aperture motor 28 may 
all be part of a digital imaging system 32 in camera 10. 
A microcontroller 34, such as a computer microprocessor, is provided in 
camera 10 which operates responsive to programmed instructions stored in 
its memory for controlling camera 10 operation. Microcontroller 34 
controls the capturing of an image photographically on film 14 by sending 
signals to driver motors 18 and shutter/aperture motor 12, as well as 
controlling the conventional transport of film 14 within camera 10 to 
different frames. Further, microcontroller 34 controls the capturing of an 
image electronically on electronic sensor 24 by sending signals to lens 
actuator 26, digital aperture motor 28, and to electronic sensor 24 for 
setting the sensor's integration time and gain. Microcontroller 34 also 
receives the digital image from electronic sensor 24 after an image is 
electronically captured. These digital images may be processed by 
microcontroller 34 and then outputted to a color LCD display 42 for 
viewing by the user, stored in a memory 48 in camera 10, or outputted from 
camera 10 via line 52 to an external computer for viewing and storage. 
Memory 48 is non-volatile RAM which can store a number of digital images. 
Microcontroller 34 may further allow the user to review images stored in 
memory on color LCD display 42. Optionally, camera 10 may have removable 
memory 50, such as a high density magnetic disc or card for long term 
storage of digital images. Removable memory 50, for example, may be 
similar to that used in the Eastman Kodak digital camera model DC-50. In 
addition, microcontroller 34 can enable a flash 40 when capturing an image 
either photographically or electronically, or both. 
As in conventional cameras for taking either photographic or electronic 
images, microcontroller 34 in camera 10 determines the amount of ambient 
light in the image to be captured, takes autorange measurements, and 
determines the speed (ASA) of film 14. The amount of ambient light is 
determined via light meter 38, or preferably, by operating digital imaging 
system 32 as a light meter. To operate system 32 as a light meter, 
microcontroller 34 sets up electronic sensor 24 to capture an image using 
the largest diameter digital aperture setting for aperture 29. Depending 
on the values of the pixels in the digital image captured by electronic 
sensor 24 and received by microcontroller 34, the amount of ambient light 
in an image to be captured is determined. Microcontroller 34 further 
performs an autorange measurement to determine the distance to the subject 
being imaged via a ranger and assist LED 36, where the assist LED is used 
to take a range measurement in dim ambient light. Also, microcontroller 34 
can check the speed (ASA) of film 14 via typical ASA reading elements in 
conventional photographic cameras which sense the ASA on the film loaded 
in a camera. Based on the information about ambient light, distance to the 
subject, and film speed, microcontroller 34 can set up camera 10 for 
capturing an image photographically on film 14 or electronically on 
electronic sensor 24, as will be described in more detail later in 
connection with FIG. 2B. Camera option switches 44 are further provided in 
camera 10 to select various camera options or settings. One of switches 44 
provides for allowing the user to toggle through various zoom positions at 
the five focal lengths of film lens 12, while another of switches 44 
allows the user to select one of the following camera modes: hybrid 
(electronic-film) mode, film (AgX) mode, or digital mode. Hybrid mode 
refers to the camera 10 capturing the same image both electronically and 
photographically such that the digital image viewed on color LCD display 
42, stored in memory 48, or outputted on line 52 matches the image 
captured photographically in terms of proportion (i.e., aspect ratio) and 
scene content. Film mode refers to capturing an image only 
photographically on film 14, while digital mode refers to capturing an 
image only electronically on electronic sensor 24. Other ones of switches 
44 may be used to select various photographic settings, such as automatic 
flash (when insufficient ambient light for image capture is determined by 
microcontroller 34) or manual flash, manual exposure time on film 14, 
manual film/digital aperture settings, or other similar settings for 
electronic or photographic imaging. 
A further one of switches 44 is the shutter-release button for capturing an 
image based on camera mode selected. Microcontroller 34 operates 
responsive to signals from switches 44 to control the operation of camera 
10. Microcontroller can further sense when the shutter-release button is 
either half-depressed or fully-depressed. Optionally, additional switches 
44 may be used for allowing the user to use the digital image outputted to 
color LCD display 42 as a viewfinder, instead of, or in addition to 
viewfinder 20, when capturing an image on film 14. 
Status information is displayed by microcontroller 34 to the user on a 
status display LCD 46 in camera 10. Such status information for camera 10 
may include the number of exposures left or taken, the camera mode, focal 
lengths of lens 12 or 22, or camera options or settings selected by 
switches 44 or set by microcontroller 34. Optionally, all or some status 
information may be displayed in a LCD display 21 in viewfinder 20, such as 
the depress status of the shutter-release button. 
Microcontroller 34 may be a single microprocessor or several 
microprocessors working in conjunction. Preferably, two microprocessors 
are used for microcontroller 34 where one microprocessor is used only for 
operating digital imaging system 32, while the remaining functions of the 
camera are controlled by the other microprocessor. The components in 
camera 10 are powered by a power (battery) 54. 
Responsive to the focal length of film lens 12 selected by the user via 
switches 44, microcontroller 34 in addition to setting the focal length of 
film lens 12 via driver motors 18, uses the focal length of the film lens 
12 to select the focal length of digital lens 22 when camera 10 is in 
hybrid mode. At focal lengths of the film lens 12 which enable zoom ratios 
of approximately 1X, 1.25X and 1.5X, microcontroller 34 selects the focal 
length of digital lens 22 which provides approximately 1X zoom ratio. 
While at focal lengths of the film lens 12 which enable zoom ratios of 
approximately 1.75X and 2X, microcontroller 34 selects the focal length of 
digital lens 22 which provides approximately 1.75X zoom ratio. 
Microcontroller 34 may automatically switch the focal length of digital 
lens 22 from its shorter to longer length when the zoom ratio of film lens 
12 changes from approximately 1.5X to 1.75X, and vice versa. 
Alternatively, driver motors 18 selecting the focal length of film lens 12 
may be mechanically coupled to lens actuator 26 to provide such automatic 
switching between the two focal lengths of digital lens 22. Lens actuator 
26 may be electronic solenoid or its mechanical equivalent. In a further 
alternative, lens actuator 26 may be a lever allowing the user to 
mechanically shift the position of the moving lens group of digital lens 
22 to each one of its two focal lengths. 
Referring to FIGS. 2A and 2B, a flowchart of the operation of camera 10 is 
shown which is embodied in the programming of microcontroller 34. The 
circled letters in the figures represent connecting branches. Camera 10 
starts by checking if it has been turned on by the user (step 58). Until 
camera 10 is turned on, such as by lifting a camera cover, it maintains a 
sleep/low power mode to maintain images stored in memory 48. After camera 
10 is turned on, microcontroller 34 checks camera option switches 44 to 
determine the camera settings (step 60), which includes the mode of the 
camera, one of hybrid, digital or film mode. Next at step 62, the camera 
film speed (ASA) is checked. Microcontroller 34 then activates status 
display LCD 46 and digital camera CCD, i.e., electronic sensor 24 (step 
64). 
Based on the selected camera mode, the user selects the focal length of 
either film lens 12 or digital lens 22 (step 66). For example, if hybrid 
or film mode was selected, then the user would select the focal length of 
the film lens, while if digital mode was selected, the user would select 
the focal length of only the digital lens. In hybrid mode, microcontroller 
34 selects the shorter focal length of digital lens 22 to maximize the 
resolution of the portion of the image to be captured on electronic sensor 
24 approximately (or most closely) matching the image to be captured on 
film 14 when the focal length of film lens provides zoom ratios of either 
approximately 1X, 1.25X, or 1.5X. The longer focal length of digital lens 
22 is selected to maximize the resolution of the portion of the image to 
be captured on electronic sensor 24 approximately (or most closely) 
matching the image to be captured on film 14 when the focal length of film 
lens 12 provides zoom ratios of either approximately 1.75X or 2X. At all 
zoom ratios of film lens 12, the scene content in the image to be captured 
on electronic sensor 24 is greater than the scene content to be captured 
on film lens 12. This is useful for later cropping of the captured image 
on electronic sensor 24 to the portion which approximately matches the 
image captured on film 14 and also corrects for parallax. Preferably, to 
obtain greater scene content on electronic sensor 24 than on film 14 a 
sufficiently large electronic sensor is used, and the zoom ratio of lens 
22 is selected to always be less than or approximately equal to the zoom 
ratio of lens 12 when an image is captured. 
Camera 10 then waits for the shutter-release button to be half-depressed 
(step 70). Until this occurs, microcontroller 34 branches back to step 66 
to update the user selected focal length for lens 12 or 22. 
Microcontroller 34 may further check switches 44 for any change in other 
user selected settings of camera 10 until the shutter-release button is 
half-depressed, and respond accordingly to such changes, such as changes 
in the camera mode. After the shutter-release button is half-depressed, 
microcontroller 34 at step 71 then determines the amount of ambient light, 
which may be in terms of an exposure number, such as typically used in a 
photographic camera. Preferably, the amount of ambient light is 
continuously updated until the shutter-release button is either released 
or fully-depressed by the user. Next, microcontroller 34 performs an 
autorange measurement to obtain the subject distance (step 72). Based on 
this subject distance, microcontroller 34 autofocuses film lens 12 (step 
74). The steps in FIG. 2A are shown sequentially for purposes of 
illustration, they also may be performed by microcontroller 34 in parallel 
to improve processing efficiency. 
Microcontroller 34 continues along one of three branches based on the 
camera mode. In hybrid mode, microcontroller 34 at step 76 calculates the 
film (AgX) aperture setting and exposure time for the shutter for 
photographic imaging through film lens 12. The film aperture setting and 
exposure time is determined based on the camera (ASA) film speed checked 
at step 62 and the amount of ambient light determined at step 71. The 
integration time and gain for electronic sensor 24 is also calculated 
based on the amount of ambient light at step 76 in order to capture an 
electronic image approximating the photographic image to be taken. If 
flash 40 is to be enabled when the image is captured, this may also affect 
the calculations at step 76. 
After step 76, microcontroller 34 checks if the shutter-release button is 
released by the user, i.e., no longer half-depressed (step 78). If the 
shutter-release button is released, microcontroller branches back to step 
70, otherwise it checks if the shutter-release button is fully-depressed 
(step 79). At step 79, if the shutter-release button is not yet 
fully-depressed, microcontroller 34 branches to the step 76 calculation to 
take into account any changes in the amount of ambient light. If the 
shutter-release button is fully-depressed, microcontroller 34 sets up 
camera 10 at the calculated film aperture setting and exposure time for 
capturing the image photographically on film 14 through film lens 12, and 
sets up camera 10 at the calculated gain, integration time, and digital 
aperture setting for capturing the image electronically on electronic 
sensor 24. The image is then captured photographically on film 14 and on 
the CCD, i.e., electronic sensor 24 (step 80). Flash 40 is used if 
required. 
The captured digital image of 480.times.640 pixels is next cropped by 
microcontroller 34 to scale the captured digital image to the 
360.times.640 pixels which match the aspect ratio of the image captured on 
film 14 and correct for parallax (step 82). Also at step 82, the cropped 
digital image of 360.times.640 pixels is stored in memory 48. The number 
of pixels in the digital image captured on electronic sensor 24 
approximates a 3 by 4 aspect ratio (480 rows by 640 columns of pixels), 
and hence differs from the 9 by 16 aspect ratio of the image captured on 
film 14. Accordingly, only 360 consecutive rows of the 480 rows of pixels 
in the captured image are stored. The specific 360 consecutive rows stored 
is determined based on the amount of parallax to be accounted for due to 
the displacement of digital lens 22 from film lens 12 in camera 10 and the 
subject distance determined at step 72. For example, if the subject 
distance determined was at infinity, an equal number of pixels would be 
unused from the top and bottom of the pixels captured since parallax is 
approximately zero, and only the central 360 rows of pixels are taken and 
stored by microcontroller 34 from the 480 rows of pixels captured. Digital 
lens 22 may be located in camera 10 above film lens 12. Thus, as the 
distance to the subject becomes closer to camera 10 parallax increases, 
and as a consequence, more rows of pixels are used or taken from the top 
of the captured image than from the bottom of the captured image. The 
position of the rows taken and stored from the captured image depends on 
the geometry between the lenses 12 and 22 and the determined subject 
distance. Therefore, at step 82 the electronically captured image is both 
cropped to a 9 by 16 aspect ratio and corrected for parallax by selecting 
and storing the 360.times.640 captured pixels which matches at least the 
image captured on film 14. More than the image captured on film 14 is 
present in the 360.times.640 pixels stored if the zoom ratios of lens 12 
and 22 were substantially unequal when the image was captured, while 
approximately the same image as captured on film is present in the 
360.times.640 pixels stored if the zoom ratio of lens 12 and 22 were 
substantially equal when the image was captured. 
After the 360.times.640 pixels are stored in memory they are further 
cropped by microcontroller 34 if digital lens 22 and film lens 12 are 
substantially unequally zoomed based on their focal lengths when the image 
was captured (step 83). Referring to FIGS. 3A and 3B, this cropping is 
illustrated. The 360.times.640 pixels stored in memory are shown at 
various zoom positions, i.e., zoom ratios, of film lens 12. FIG. 3A shows 
the preferred embodiment where the shorter of the two focal lengths for 
digital lens 22 is selected to enable a zoom ratio of approximately 1X for 
lens 12 when film lens 12 is at a focal length enabling zoom ratios for 
lens 12 of approximately 1X, 1.25X or 1.5X. While the longer of the two 
focal lengths for digital lens 22 is selected to enable a zoom ratio of 
approximately 1.75X for digital lens 22, when film lens 12 is at its focal 
length enabling zoom ratios for lens 12 of approximately 1.75X or 2X. When 
lens 12 and 22 are substantially equally zoomed, i.e., both at 
approximately 1X or 1.75X, the 360.times.640 pixels stored in memory at 
step 82 approximately match the image captured on film 14 in terms of 
content and proportion, and all the pixels in the stored digital image can 
be used for later processing. However, when lens 12 and 22 are 
substantially unequally zoomed, i.e., the zoom ratio of film lens 12 is 
substantially greater than the digital lens 22, only a central window 
within the 360.times.640 pixels stored matches the image captured on film 
14 in terms of content and proportion. Accordingly, digital images 84, 85 
and 86 are cropped by microcontroller 34 to a central window of pixels 88, 
89 and 90, respectively, and only this central window of pixel is used for 
later processing. The amount of cropping in the stored image depends on 
the difference between the zoom ratios of lens 12 and 22 when the image 
was captured, such that more is cropped if lens 12 is at 1.5X, than at 
1.25X or 2X. 
FIG. 3B shows another embodiment in which the longer of the focal lengths 
of the digital lens 22 enables a zoom ratio of 2X for the digital lens. 
Thus, only when film lens 12 enables a zoom ratio of 2X is the longer 
focal length of digital lens 22 selected, and hence cropping to a central 
window at step 83 will be required when film lens 12 is at zoom ratios of 
approximately 1.25X, 1.5X, or 1.75X. This embodiment has a lesser number 
of pixels in the central window at 1.75X of film lens 12 than that is the 
case for the embodiment of the invention first described above. In this 
manner, camera 10 simulates a digital zoom lens having more than the two 
zoom positions set by the two selectable focal lengths of lens 22. 
At step 92, microcontroller 34 expands a window of pixels, i.e., the 
digital image cropped at step 83, to agree with zoom position, i.e., zoom 
ratio, of camera 10 based on film lens 12 when the image was captured on 
film 14. Step 92 is not required if cropping was not performed at step 83. 
To expand the window of pixels, additional pixels are added based on the 
values of pixels in the stored digital image by bicubic or bilinear 
interpolation, or other similar pixel interpolation methods. For example, 
the central window of pixels 88, 89, or 90 in FIG. 3A may be expanded to 
include a sufficient number of pixels to equal 360.times.640 pixels, 
thereby providing a full digital image representing electronic zooming at 
approximately 1.25X, 1.5X, and 2X, respectively. The resulting digital 
image is stored in memory 48. 
Next at step 94, the 360.times.640 pixel digital image stored in memory is 
then processed for display on color LCD display 42. This processing may 
include adjusting the white balance of the digital image or color 
filtering for the particular LCD display. Further, if color LCD display 42 
cannot view all of the pixels of the digital image, the pixels may be 
under-sampled prior to display. Color LCD display 42 is then enabled for 
review of pixels in the digital image stored in memory (step 96). The 
image displayed on color LCD display 42 may appear to track the image 
being seen by the user through viewfinder 20 when the image is captured. 
Optionally, the digital image stored in memory may be placed in long term 
storage on removable memory 50, or transferred to external computer memory 
over line 52 for further display on the external computer or on the 
camera's LCD display 42 (step 98). The camera is then ready to capture the 
next image. 
When camera 10 is operating in digital mode, the digital aperture, 
integration time and gain for the CCD, i.e., electronic sensor 24, are 
calculated by microcontroller 34 (step 100). After step 100, if the 
shutter-release button is released by the user (step 102), microcontroller 
34 branches back to step 70, otherwise, it checks if the shutter-release 
button is fully-depressed (step 103). At step 103, if the shutter-release 
button is not fully-depressed, microcontroller 34 branches to update the 
step 100 calculations to take into account any changes in the amount of 
ambient light. If the shutter-release button is fully-depressed, 
microcontroller 34 sets up camera 10 at the calculated gain, integration 
time, and digital aperture setting for the capture of an image 
electronically on electronic sensor 24. The image is captured on 
electronic sensor 24, and flash 40 is used if required (step 104). All the 
480.times.640 pixels captured are stored in the camera memory 48 (step 
106). The stored digital image is then processed at step 108 for display 
on color LCD display 42 similarly to step 94 described earlier. Color LCD 
image display 42 is then enabled and the 480.times.640 pixels stored in 
memory are reviewed by the user (step 110). The digital image may be then 
processed at step 98, as described above. Optionally, in both digital and 
hybrid modes, camera 10 may store in memory multiple sequential images, 
and review them on color LCD display 42 to simulate a moving picture. 
In film (AgX) mode, microcontroller 34 at step 112 calculates the film 
exposure time and film aperture setting. After step 112, if the 
shutter-release button is released by the user (step 114), microcontroller 
34 branches back to step 70, otherwise, it checks if the shutter-release 
button is fully-depressed (step 115). At step 115, if the shutter-release 
button is not fully-depressed, microcontroller 34 branches to update the 
step 112 calculations to take into account any changes in the amount of 
ambient light. If the shutter-release button is fully-depressed, 
microcontroller 34 sets up camera 10 at the calculated film aperture 
setting and exposure time for capturing the image photographically on film 
14 through film lens 12. The image is then captured on film, and if 
required flash 40 is used (step 116). 
In a further embodiment, camera 10 operating in a digital mode may after 
capturing an image on electronic sensor 24 utilize cropping at either of 
the two focal lengths selected for digital lens 22. Such cropping may 
involve selecting a window of pixels in the captured image, similar to 
step 83, except that other windows of pixels may be selected in addition 
to a central window. The cropped image may be expanded as described in 
step 92 to electronically zoom the window of pixels. In addition to the 
480.times.640 pixel image from electronic sensor 24, the cropped image may 
also be stored in memory 48 and displayed on color LCD display 42 for 
review by the user. 
Although the above describes capturing an image photographically on film 14 
through lens 12, this also refers to other mechanisms for capturing an 
image through lens 12 such as capturing an image on video tape, similar to 
that of a typical camcorder. Thus, in hybrid mode, an image can be both 
captured on video tape and captured electronically on electronic sensor 
24. 
From the foregoing description, it will be apparent that there has been 
provided an improved camera and method for capturing an image both 
photographically and electronically. Variations and modifications in the 
herein described camera and method in accordance with invention will 
undoubtedly suggest themselves to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, 
the foregoing description should be taken as illustrative and not in a 
limiting sense.