Abstract:
A digital camera with a detachable display panel that is usable as a remote controller and a method of operating the digital camera are provided. The digital camera includes ( 1 ) a camera body to photograph a subject, generate and process a photographed image of the subject; ( 2 ) a display panel that is detachable from the camera body and capable of remotely operating the camera body and displaying the photographed image; and ( 3 ) a coupling means to combine or separate the camera body and the display panel, wherein the camera body and the display panel communicate wirelessly to each other when separated.

Description:
[0001]     This application claims the priority of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2004-0075076, filed on Sep. 20, 2004, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0003]     The present invention relates to a digital camera and a method of operating the digital camera. More particularly, it relates to a digital camera with a detachable touch screen display panel that is usable as a remote controller and to a method of operating the digital camera.  
         [0004]     2. Description of the Related Art  
         [0005]      FIG. 1  is a front view of a conventional digital camera.  
         [0006]     Referring to  FIG. 1 , the digital camera includes a microphone MIC, a self-timer lamp  11 , a flash  12 , a shutter release button  13 , a mode dial  14 , a function select button  15 , a photograph information display  16 , a viewfinder  17   a,  a function block button  18 , a flash-intensity sensor  19 , a lens  20 , and an external interface  21 .  
         [0007]     The self-timer lamp  11  operates during a time period from when the shutter release button  13  is pressed until a shutter starts operating. The mode dial  14  is used by a user to select various modes, such as, a still picture photography mode, a night view photography mode, a motion picture photography mode, a replay mode, a computer connection mode, and a system setup mode. The function select button  15  can also be used by the user to select one of the modes of the digital camera  1 , such as, the still picture photography mode, the night view photography mode, the motion picture photography mode, and the replay mode. The photography information display  16  displays information of photographic functions. The function block button  18  is used by the user to select any of the functions displayed on the photography information display  16 .  
         [0008]      FIG. 2  is a rear view of the conventional digital camera of  FIG. 1 .  
         [0009]     Referring to  FIG. 2 , the digital camera includes a speaker SP, a power button  31 , a monitor button  32 , an automatic focus lamp  33 , a viewfinder  17   b,  a flash standby lamp  34 , a display panel  35 , an exposure correct/delete button  36 , an enter/replay button  37 , a menu/OK button  38 , a wide angle zoom button  39   w,  a telephoto zoom button  39   t,  an up shift button  40   up,  a right shift button  40   ri,  a down shift button  40   lo,  and a left shift button  40   le  on the backside.  
         [0010]     The monitor button  32  is used by the user to adjust operations of the display panel  35 . For example, if the user presses the monitor button  32  a first time, a photographed image of a subject and corresponding photography information are displayed on the display panel  35 . If the monitor button  32  is pressed a second time, only the photographed image is displayed on the display panel  35 . And if the monitor button  32  is pressed a third time, the power supplied to the display panel  35  is cut off. The monitor button  32  is also used to select the image in parts for a resolution change.  
         [0011]     The automatic focus lamp  33  operates right after an automatic focusing is complete.  
         [0012]     The flash standby lamp  34  operates when a flash  12  of  FIG. 1  is on standby.  
         [0013]     The exposure correct/delete button  36  is used to adjust light intensity, or used as a delete button while the user establishes any modes. The exposure correct/delete button  36  is also used to consecutively select the image for a resolution change.  
         [0014]     The enter/replay button  37  is used for receiving data entered by the user, or used to instruct to pause or play in the replay mode.  
         [0015]     The menu/OK button  38  is used to display and select a menu of a mode selected by the mode dial  14 .  
         [0016]     The up, right, down, and/or left shift buttons  40   up,    40   ri,    40   lo,  and/or  40   le  are also used while the user establishes modes.  
         [0017]     Recently, a digital camera with a detachable LCD panel usable as a remote controller has been developed. However, this disclosed digital camera comprises a camera body to capture images and a separate receiver to receive and display the captured images. These components are separated from each other and are restricted in function in that unidirectional communication is used to send captured images to the receiver. In addition, such a digital camera is bulky and difficult to operate.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0018]     The present invention provides a digital camera with a touch screen display panel that is detachable from a camera body and usable as a remote controller. A method of operating the digital camera is also provided.  
         [0019]     According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a digital camera comprising: a camera body to photograph a subject and to generate and process a photographed image of the subject; a display panel that is detachable from the camera body and is used to remotely operate the camera body and display the photographed image; and a coupling means to combine or separate the camera body and the display panel, wherein the camera body and the display panel communicate to each other via wire or wirelessly when separated.  
         [0020]     According to an embodiment of the present invention, the display panel is a touch screen that receives a user&#39;s command.  
         [0021]     According to an embodiment of the present invention, the display panel comprises: a display to indicate whether a wireless communication is being normally performed between the camera body and the display panel; and a shutter release button to enter a command for the camera body to photograph the subject.  
         [0022]     According to an embodiment of the present invention, a front view of the display panel comprises: a first display area to display an image of a subject photographed by the camera body; and a second display area to display menu buttons which a user touches in order to manipulate the photographed image displayed on the first display area or to input a command to operate the camera body.  
         [0023]     According to an embodiment of the present invention, a backside of the display panel comprises: a plurality of terminals to transmit or receive power or data to or from the camera body when the display panel is attached to the camera body.  
         [0024]     According to an embodiment of the present invention, the camera body comprises: a photography unit to photograph the subject and convert the result to an electrical photographed image; a image processor to process the photographed image according to a user&#39;s command; a data transmitting/receiving unit to transmit or receive data (including the image) to or from the display panel by a wire or wirelessly; and a micro-controller to perform functions such as checking whether the display panel is detached from the camera body, determining a data communication state with the display panel, controlling the camera body to transmit the photographed image to the display panel, and controlling the camera body to perform an operation according to a command received from the display panel.  
         [0025]     According to an embodiment of the present invention, the display panel comprises: a data transmitting/receiving unit to communicate data with the camera body by a wire or wirelessly; a display to display a menu for adjusting the photographed image received from the camera body or for remotely instructing the camera body&#39;s operation; a sensor unit to detect a touch on the menu displayed on the display; and a micro-controller to perform functions such as checking whether the display panel is detached from the camera body and controlling the display panel to transmit a signal generated by the touch on the menu to the camera body if the display panel is detached.  
         [0026]     According to an embodiment of the present invention, the digital camera further comprises a memory to store the image photographed by the camera body.  
         [0027]     According to an embodiment of the present invention, the digital camera further comprises a power unit to supply power to the detached display panel.  
         [0028]     According to an embodiment of the present invention, the micro-controller enables a display panel power unit if the display panel is detached from the camera body and disables the display panel power unit if the display panel is attached to the camera body.  
         [0029]     According to another embodiment of the invention, there is provided a method of operating a digital camera comprising a camera body that photographs a subject and processes the photographed image of the subject, and a display panel that is detachable from the camera body and is capable of remotely instructing the camera body&#39;s operation and displaying the photographed image received from the camera body, the method comprising: determining whether the display panel is detached from the camera body; determining a communication state between the camera body and the display panel; and performing an operation according to a command received through the display panel, if the display panel is detached and the communication state is normal.  
         [0030]     According to an embodiment of the present invention, the display panel is a touch screen that can receive a user&#39;s command.  
         [0031]     According to an embodiment of the present invention, the method further comprises supplying power to the display panel with a display panel power unit if it is determined that the display panel is detached from the camera body.  
         [0032]     According to an embodiment of the present invention, the method further comprises displaying the communication state on the display panel to indicate whether the communication state is normal or abnormal. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0033]     The above and other aspects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent by describing in detail preferred embodiments thereof with reference to the attached drawings in which:  
         [0034]      FIG. 1  is a front view of a conventional digital camera;  
         [0035]      FIG. 2  is a rear view of a conventional digital camera;  
         [0036]      FIG. 3  is a rear view of a digital camera with a touch screen display panel usable as a remote controller, according to an embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0037]      FIG. 4  shows a digital camera with a touch screen display panel detached from the camera body, according to an embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0038]      FIGS. 5A and 5B  are front and rear views of the touch screen display panel of  FIG. 4 ;  
         [0039]      FIG. 6  is a block diagram illustrating a digital camera according to an embodiment of the present invention; and  
         [0040]      FIG. 7  is a flowchart illustrating a method of operating a digital camera with a touch screen display panel that is usable as a remote controller. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0041]     Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings.  
         [0042]      FIG. 3  is a rear view of a digital camera with a touch screen display panel that is usable as a remote controller, according to an embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0043]     Referring to  FIG. 3 , the digital camera consists of a camera body  300  including a shutter release button  300 - 1 , a power key  300 - 2 , and a viewfinder  300 - 3 , and a touch screen display panel  400  that is detachable from the camera body  300 .  
         [0044]     The camera body  300  does not include all of the buttons required by a user to operate the camera, since buttons are also displayed on the touch screen display panel  400 .  
         [0045]     Displaying the manipulation buttons on the touch screen display panel  400  possibly causes the display panel  400  to be larger in size than it would be if such buttons were not displayed, but the size of the camera body  300  may be reduced because it does not have to include manipulation buttons.  
         [0046]      FIG. 4  shows a digital camera with the touch screen display panel  400  detached from the camera body  300 , according to an embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0047]     While in a detached state, the camera body  300  and the touch screen display panel  400  perform wireless data communication with each other.  
         [0048]     The camera body  300  has a sliding groove  300 - 4  through which the touch screen display panel  400  is attached to or detached from the camera body  300 , a lock  300 - 5  that is used for the touch screen display panel  400  to be fixed in the sliding groove  300 - 4 , and a terminal  300 - 6  for transmitting/receiving power and data to/from the display panel when the touch screen display panel  400  is attached to the camera body  300 .  
         [0049]      FIGS. 5A and 5B  are front and rear views of the detached touch screen display panel  400  of  FIG. 4 , respectively.  
         [0050]     As shown in  FIG. 5A , the detached touch screen display panel  400  comprises a sliding groove  400 - 1  through which the display panel  400  can be attached to or detached from the camera body  300 , a display  400 - 2  to display a communication state between the detached touch screen display panel  400  and the camera body  300 , and a shutter release button  400 - 3  to remotely instruct the camera body  300  to photograph a subject.  
         [0051]     The touch screen display panel  400  is divided into two display areas: a first display area  400 - 4 , and a second display area  400 - 5 . The first display area  400 - 4  displays the image photographed and processed by the camera body  300 . The second display area  400 - 5  displays a menu which enables a user to adjust the image displayed on the first display area  400 - 4  or remotely instruct the camera body  300  to operate when menu buttons are touched by the user.  
         [0052]     An enlarged version of the photographed image can be displayed by setting the menu to enable the display panel  400  to display the image on an enlarged display area comprised of the first display area  400 - 4  and the second display area  400 - 5 . When an image is displayed on both the first display area  400 - 4  and the second display area  400 - 5 , the menu does not appear on the second display area  400 - 5 .  
         [0053]     The menu displayed on the second display area  400 - 5  comprises a plurality of buttons: a zoom W/T button  400 - 5   a,  an M (menu) button  400 - 5   b,  a direction button  400 - 5   c,  an Adj button  400 - 5   d,  an MF button  400 - 5   e,  an LCD button  400 - 5   f,  and a Play button  400 - 5   g.    
         [0054]     The zoom W/T button is used as an optical zoom button or a digital zoom button. If a T button of the zoom W/T is pressed, the subject being photographed appears to come closer to the camera body  300 , and if a W button is pressed, the subject appears further from the camera body  300 .  
         [0055]     If the M button  400 - 5   b  is touched once, a menu of an operational mode of the digital camera is displayed, and if it is touched one more time, the display returns to a previous display state.  
         [0056]     The direction button  400 - 5   c  is used to move across the menu for operating the digital camera.  
         [0057]     The Adj button  400 - 5   d  is used to select an exposure correction button, a white balance button, an ISO button, an RGB button, an A/S/M button, or an extended shutter time button for the photography mode. If the user touches the Adj button  400 - 5   d  and then touches the exposure correction button, the extent of the exposure appropriate for a corresponding photography situation can be manually adjusted. If the user touches the Adj button  400 - 5   d  and next touches the white balance button, white balance can be adjusted to obtain a natural tone of images. If the user touches the Adj button  400 - 5   d  and next the ISO (a unit of film sensitivity) button, sensitivity in photographing an image can be selected. If the user touches the Adj button  400 - 5   d  and next the RGB button, R, G, B values of the image to be photographed are adjusted. If the user touches the Adj button  400 - 5   d  and next the A/S/M button, a speed of the shutter or a value of an iris can be set up, as planned by the user. If the user touches the Adj button  400 - 5   d  and next the extended shutter time button, the speed of the shutter or the value of the iris in night view mode can be set up.  
         [0058]     The MF button  400 - 5   e  is for setting a focusing method. Whenever the MF button  400 - 5   e  is touched, the focusing method sequentially changes between manual focusing, consecutive automatic focusing, and automatic focusing.  
         [0059]     The LCD button  400 - 5   f  is a button for turning the display panel  400  on or off; if it is touched once, the display panel  400  is turned on, and then if it is touched one more time, the display panel  400  is turned off.  
         [0060]     The play button  400 - 5   g  is a button for starting or stopping motion picture reproduction.  
         [0061]     On the backside of the touch screen display panel, as shown in  FIG. 5B , there is a terminal  400 - 6  for transmitting/receiving power and data to/from the camera body  300  when the touch screen display panel  400  is attached to the camera body  300 .  
         [0062]      FIG. 6  is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of a digital camera according to an embodiment of the present invention, the digital camera comprising the camera body  300  and the touch screen display panel  400  that is detachable from the camera body  300 .  
         [0063]     The digital camera body  300  will now be described with reference to  FIGS. 3-4  and  6 .  
         [0064]     An optical system (OPS) comprising lens and filter units (not shown) optically processes light reflected from a subject being photographed. The lens unit of the OPS includes a zoom lens (ZL), a focus lens (FL), and a correction lens (CL).  
         [0065]     When a wide-angle zoom command or a telephoto zoom command is received from the display panel  400 , wherein the command is generated according to a user&#39;s manipulation on the display panel  400 , a corresponding command signal is input to a micro-controller  600 . Accordingly, the micro-controller  600  controls the lens driver  602  to drive a zoom motor (M Z ) to move the ZL. Specifically, when the wide-angle zoom button W of the zoom W/T button  400 - 5   a  of the display panel  400  shown in  FIG. 5A  is pressed by the user, and a corresponding wide-angle zoom command is generated and transmitted to the micro-controller  600  of the camera body  300 , the micro-controller  600  controls a focal length of the ZL to be shorter and the angle of view to be wider. If the telephoto zoom button T of the zoom W/T button  400 - 5   a  of the display panel  400  shown in  FIG. 5A  is pressed by the user and a corresponding telephoto zoom command is generated and transmitted to the micro-controller  600  of the camera body  300 , the micro-controller  600  controls the focal length of the ZL to be longer and the angle of view to be narrower. Afterwards, the micro-controller  600  transmits the resulting image to the touch screen display panel  400 . The micro-controller  600  transmits the resulting image to the touch screen display panel  400  wirelessly if the touch screen display panel  400  is detached from the camera body  300 .  
         [0066]     The micro-controller  600  obtains the angle of view θ with respect to a position of ZL from the design specification of OPS. Here, since the position of the focal lens is adjusted after the position of ZL is set, the angle of view θ is hardly affected by the position of FL. The correction lens CL corrects a refractive index and does not operate independently.  
         [0067]     M A  is a motor to drive an aperture (not shown). The rotating angle of M A  depends on whether the digital camera is in a designated exposure mode. The designated exposure mode is a mode in which, if a certain range of a photography area selected by the user corresponds to a designated detection range displayed on the display panel  400 , the intensity of the exposure of the digital camera is set up with respect to an average brightness of the designated detection range.  
         [0068]     In the filter unit of the OPS, an optical low-pass filter OLPF eliminates optical noise with high frequency components. In addition, an infrared cut filter IRF cuts off infrared components of incident light.  
         [0069]     An Optical-to-Electrical conversion unit (OEC) including a charge coupled device (CCD) or a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) converts the light received from the OPS to an electrical analog signal. For this, a digital signal processor (DSP)  604  controls a timing circuit  606  to control operations of OEC and an analog-to-digital converter  608 . The analog-to-digital converter  608 , referred to as a correlation double sampler and analog-to-digital converter CDS-ADC, handles an analog signal received from OEC to eliminate high frequency noise therefrom, adjust an amplitude thereof, and then converts it to a digital signal. The digital signal processor  604  processes the digital signal received from the CDS-ADC  608  to generate a digital image signal divided into luminance and chroma signals.  
         [0070]     A light emitting unit  610  driven by the micro-controller  600  includes a self-timer lamp, an automatic-focus lamp, and a flash-standby lamp.  
         [0071]     A Dynamic Random-Access Memory (DRAM)  612  temporarily stores the digital image signal received from the digital signal processor  604 .  
         [0072]     An Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM)  614  stores algorithms and data settings which are required for the operation of the digital signal processor  604 .  
         [0073]     A memory card interface (MCI)  616  accepts a detachable user memory card (not shown).  
         [0074]     The digital image signal from the digital signal processor  604  is transmitted to the display panel  400  via the data transmitting/receiving unit  632  of the camera body  300 . The digital image signal from the digital signal processor  604  may also be transmitted as serial communications through a universal serial bus USB connector  618   a  or through an RS232C interface  620  using a connector  618   b.  The digital image signal may also be output to the display panel  400  as a video signal via a video filter  622  and a video output  618   c.    
         [0075]     An audio processor  624  is capable of relaying an audio signal received from a microphone MIC to the digital signal processor  604  or to a speaker SP. The audio processor  624  is also used to output an audio signal received from the digital signal processor  604  to the speaker SP.  
         [0076]     A flash  626  is controlled by both the micro-controller  600  and a flash controller  630  in response to a signal generated by a flash intensity sensor FS  628 .  
         [0077]     When the display panel  400  is detached from the camera body  300 , a data transmitting/receiving unit  632  wirelessly receives a command to perform an operation from the detached display panel  400 , performs a corresponding operation according to the command, and wirelessly transmits the result back to the display panel  400 . If the display panel  400  is attached to the camera body  300 , the data transmitting/receiving unit  632  communicates with the display panel  400  by a wire, via the terminal  300 - 6  as shown in  FIG. 4 .  
         [0078]     When power for operating the camera body  300  is supplied from a power unit  634 , the camera body  300  starts operating, executes operations according to commands received from the detached display panel  400 , and returns the result to the display panel  400 .  
         [0079]     The display panel  400 , which is now assumed to be detached from the camera body  300 , will now be described. The display panel  400  is also used as a remote controller to remotely control operations of the camera body  300 .  
         [0080]     A data transmitting/receiving unit  702  receives or transmits signals from the camera body  300 , under the control of a micro-controller  700  in the display panel  400 .  
         [0081]     A memory  704  stores menu data for the operation of the camera body  300  and/or the photographed image signals transmitted by the camera body  300  and through the display panel&#39;s data transmitting/receiving unit  702 .  
         [0082]     A touch screen sensor unit  706  detects a touch on the menu displayed on the second display area  400 - 5  (see  FIG. 5A ) of the display  708 . The detection result is output to the micro-controller  700 , which generates a corresponding command to transmit to the camera body  300  via the data transmitting/receiving unit  702 .  
         [0083]     An LCD driver  710  drives the LCD display unit  708  by a control of the micro-controller  700 .  
         [0084]     A power unit  712  in the display panel  400  operates to supply power to the display panel  400  only when the display panel  400  is detached from the camera body  300 . The micro-controller  700  detects whether the display panel  400  is detached, and if so, enables the operation of the power unit  712 . If the display panel  400  is attached to the camera body  300 , the micro-controller  700  disables the operation of the power unit  712 .  
         [0085]     When the user enters a command by touching one of menu buttons  400 - 5   a  to  400 - 5   g  (see  FIG. 5A ) to adjust the photographed image displayed on the first display area  400 - 4  (see  FIG. 5A ) of the display  708 , the command is wirelessly transmitted to the camera body  300  through the data transmitting/receiving unit  702 . Then, the camera body  300  performs a corresponding operation under the control of the micro-controller  600  and transmits the result of the operation back to the display panel  400  through the transmitting/receiving unit  632  of the camera body  300 . The user can also manipulate any menu displayed on the second display area  400 - 5  to instruct the camera body  300  to photograph a subject as desired.  
         [0086]      FIG. 7  is a flowchart illustrating a method of operating a digital camera with a touch screen display panel that is usable as a remote controller. The method of  FIG. 7  will now be described with reference to  FIGS. 4, 5B ,  6  and  7 .  
         [0087]     First, in operation  70 , the micro-controller  600  checks whether the display panel  400  is attached to or detached from the camera body  300 . To do this, the micro-controller  600  checks whether the terminal  300 - 6  of the camera body shown in  FIG. 4  and the terminal  400 - 6  of the display panel  400  shown in  FIG. 5B  are coupled with each other. If they are coupled to each other, the micro-controller  600  determines that the display panel  400  is attached to the camera body  300 ; otherwise, it determines that the display panel  400  is detached from the camera body  300 .  
         [0088]     When the micro-controller  600  determines that the display panel  400  is attached to the camera body  300  in operation  71 , the power unit  634  of the camera body  300  supplies power to the display panel  400  in operation  72 .  
         [0089]     When the micro-controller  600  determines that the display panel  400  is detached from the camera body  300  in operation  71 , the power unit  712  of the display panel  400  supplies power to the display panel  400  in operation  73 .  
         [0090]     Next, the micro-controller  600  checks a data communication state between the camera body  300  and the display panel  400  in operation  74 . The micro-controller  600  may perform test communication between the data transmitting/receiving unit  632  of the camera body  300  and the corresponding data transmitting/receiving unit  702  of the display panel  400  to determine whether data communication is available therebetween.  
         [0091]     If, in operation  75 , the micro-controller  600  determines that the data communication between the camera body  300  and the display panel  400  was abnormally performed during operation  74 , the micro-controller  600  causes the display of a warning notice in operation  76 . The micro-controller  700  of the display panel  400  also checks the data communication state between the camera body  300  and the display panel  400 . If the micro-controller  700  of the display panel  400  determines that the data communication is abnormally performed, it also causes a warning notice to be displayed on the first display area  400 - 4  and/or activates a red light on the communication state display  400 - 2 .  
         [0092]     In the case where the data communication is abnormally performed between the camera body  300  and the display panel  400 , each micro-controller  600  or  700  may take certain measures to find a cause and recover normal data communication between them in operation  77 . The camera body  300  and the display panel  400  are on standby until the data communication between them is normally performed.  
         [0093]     If the micro-controller  600  determines that the data communication between the camera body  300  and the display panel  400  is normally performed in operation  75 , it turns on a green light on the communication state display  400 - 2 .  
         [0094]     Next, in operation  78 , the micro-controller  600  checks whether a command has been received from the display panel  400 , and if so, the micro-controller  600 , in operation  79 , then performs an operation corresponding to the received command.  
         [0095]     In addition, when a user touches one of menu buttons  400 - 5   a  to  400 - 5   g  displayed on the second display area  400 - 5  of  FIG. 5B  to enter a command to operate on the photographed image displayed on the first display area  400 - 4  of the touch screen display panel  400 , the command is wirelessly transmitted to the camera body  300  via a data transmitting/receiving unit  702  on the display panel  400 . Then, the camera body  300  receives the command through its data transmitting/receiving unit  632 , and the micro-controller  600  performs a corresponding operation according to the command. The operation result is wirelessly transmitted back to the display panel through the camera body&#39;s data transmitting/receiving unit  632 . The user may also remotely photograph images as desired, by manipulating menu buttons displayed on the second display area  400 - 5  of the display panel  400 .  
         [0096]     According to the present invention, as described above, various conventional hardware operational buttons of a digital camera can be eliminated by using a touch screen display panel also used as a remote controller. With the display panel, not only images can be monitored, but also the digital camera can be controlled through bi-directional communication between the display panel and the camera body. Furthermore, since the display panel of a touch screen can be attached to or detached from the camera body by sliding the display panel into or out of the camera body and operational buttons are implemented on the touch screen display panel, the size of the entire digital camera can be smaller and more compact. With the display panel used as the remote controller and equipped with various functions to meet the user&#39;s demands, the user can efficiently manipulate the digital camera from a remote location.  
         [0097]     While this invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.