Minolta Camera Kabushiki Kaisha

Minolta Camera K.k.

Minolta Camera Corporation

Masayoshi Sahara

Masaaki Nakai

Nobuyuki Taniguchi

Takeo Hoda

Masatake Niwa

Minoru Sekida

Akira Fujii

Toshio Kobori

Tokuji Ishida

Motonobu Matsuda

Hiroshi Hosomizu

Yasuhiro Nanba

Yasuzi Kogure

Shuji Izumi

Seiji Yamada

Mitsuru Saito

Yoshiharu Ohta

Masaaki Kakai

A camera having a covering member which covers the upper side of the camera and having a projecting portion shaped as a pentagonal reflecting member; a first manually operable portion located at the covering member on one side of the projecting portion for designating one of a plurality of kinds of photographic data; a second manually operable portion located at the covering member on the other side of the projecting portion and adapted for commonly altering any of the plurality of kinds of photographing data to actually alter the designated one thereof in combination with the actual designation by the first manually operable portion; a light measuring device for measuring the luminance of the object to be photographed; a calculator for carrying out an exposure calculation based on the result of the light measuring; a display portion for displaying at least either one of shutter speed and aperture value obtained by the exposure calculation; and a display controller for controlling the display such that, when the first manually operable portion is operated, the display of at least either one of shutter speed and aperture value is turned off, and instead a designated photographing data is displayed.

Camera system

A camera system operable with data carried from a camera accessory to a camera body. The camera accessory has a ROM for storing various data at a plurality of addresses, respectively, each of which data consists of a plurality of bits, and a coupling terminal for receiving a train of clock pulses from the camera body. A circuit is also provided for sequentially designating the address of the ROM one by one to permit the ROM to output data stored at the designated address. In the circuit, an address signal is formed in response to the clock pulses, received through the coupling terminal, for designating an address. The data derived from the ROM are transmitted to the camera body.

Camera system operable by carrying data from a camera accessory to a

In a camera adapted to function with stored data, aperture value data is stored at a predetermined step in accordance with a manual operation of a manually operable member and digital data, showing a controllable range of an aperture diaphragm of an interchangeable lens, is transmitted from the interchangeable lens and read. The stored aperture value data is detected to determine whether such data is out of the controllable range and the aperture value data to be stored is set to a limited value within the controllable range when the detection of the stored aperture value data is out of the controllable range.

Camera system with means for varying exposure control data

A camera includes a cover for the upper side of the camera body and having a projecting portion shaped as a pentagonal prism with a first manual operable member located at the cover on a first side of the projecting portion for designating one of a plurality of kinds of photographic data. A second manually operable member is located at the cover on a second side of the projecting portion and alters any of the plurality of the kinds of photographic data in combination with the actual designation of the first manually operable member. The designated photographic data is indicated by a display located at the cover on the second side of the projecting portion. A third manually operable member, also located at the cover on the second side of the projecting portion, initiates exposure operation of the camera.

Camera with manually operable means for designating and altering the

A camera with circuitry, a main power source for supplying electric power to the circuitry, a back-up power source for supplying electric power to the circuitry independently from the main power source, a detector for detecting the condition of the back-up power source to produce a warning signal when the back-up power source can not supply sufficient electric power to the circuitry, starting the operation of the detector when the main power source has recovered, setting data to the circuitry in accordance with a manual operation and interrupting the operation of the warning signal when the data setting is operated.

Camera system with means for detecting the condition of back-up power

A camera has an automatic data reading arrangement for reading ISO data provided on a film cartridge. When a main battery is exchanged with an old battery while the film is still loaded in the camera, ISO data is maintained in a memory supported and powered by a back-up battery. If such an ISO data is not available after the exchange of the main battery, ISO data again read from the loaded film cartride is employed. If the film is not the type that can provide an ISO data, the most widely used ISO data will be automatically set for the further exposure calculation.

A camera system operable with data carried from a camera accessory to a camera body. The camera accessory has a ROM for storing various data at a plurality of addresses, respectively, each of which data consists of a plurality of bits, and a coupling terminal for receiving a train of clock pulses from the camera body. A circuit is also provided for sequentially designating the address of the ROM one by one to permit by ROM to output a data stored at the designated address. In the circuit, an address signal is formed in response to the clock pulses, received through the coupling terminal, for designating an address. The data derived from the ROM are transmitted to the camera body.

Camera system operable by carrying data from a camera accessory

In a camera system having a camera body and at least one camera accessory attachable to the camera body, a plurality of circuit elements are provided in the camera body and in the camera accessory for performing predetermined respective operations. Circuitry in the camera controls the plurality of circuit elements and includes a data bus for connecting the control circuitry with the plurality of circuit elements. The data bus serially sends data from the control circuitry to the plurality of circuit elements and from the plurality of circuit elements to the control circuitry. At least one signal line connects the control circuitry with each of the circuit elements, respectively, for sending clock pulses utilized for synchronizing the data sent through the data bus. A plurality of selecting lines selects, by the control circuitry, which circuit element receives the data from the control circuitry and sends the data to the control circuitry. The control circuitry selects, in accordance with predetermined camera operation, the circuit element which operates through the selecting lines, with the control circuitry receiving data from the selected circuit element through the data bus with pulses through the signal line to calculate data sent to the circuit element according to the predetermined camera operation. The control circuitry sends the calculated data to the selected circuit element through the data bus with pulses through the signal line for operating the circuit element.

In a camera for setting photographic data, a first manually operable means for designating one of a plurality of kinds of photographing data and second manually operable means for adapted for commonly altering any of the plurality of kinds of photographing data to actually alter the designated photographing data in combination with the actual designation by the first manually operable means, and an indicator for indicating the designated one of the photographing data.

In a camera adapted to function with stored data, the exposure time data, aperture value data and override data are stored and the stored aperture value data is normally indicated with provision for indication of the stored override data in place of the aperture value data. The stored exposure time data may be indicated by additional indicating means which can be disabled while the stored override data is being indicated.

Camera system for alternately indicating exposure time data, aperture

A camera system comprising a camera body and an interchangeable lens assembly adapted to be coupled to the camera body. The interchangeable lens assembly has no manipulatable aperture adjusting ring, but has an aperture mechanism and a read-only memory both built therein. The read-only memory stores therein various data peculiar to such lens assembly. The camera body communicates with and power the lens assembly through a set of terminals connectable with associated terminals provided in the lens assembly. The terminals in each of the camera body and lens assembly are arranged in a generally arcuate row with the data transmitting terminal located at one extremity of the arcuate row on the leading side with respect to the direction of turn of the lens assembly which is effected when the lens assembly is to be completely coupled to the camera body.

Camera system capable of interchanging its objective lens

A camera is adapted to operate with stored data by sensing the film speed data prepared on the surface of a film cartridge loaded in the camera to produce a data reading signal and reading the sensed film speed data in response to the data reading signal and detecting whether or not the the film loaded in the camera includes film speed data to provide a warning when a determination is made that the film speed data is not on the film cartridge. Film speed data may be loaded in the camera manually and the warning is interrupted in response to the manual setting of the film speed. At least one of the film speed data and the manually set film speed data is stored and the exposure data is calculated on the basis of the stored film speed data.

A camera in which the film speed data and exposure time data are selectively indicated by a first indicator and aperture value data and override data are also selectively indicated by a second indicator.

A camera in which both a light measuring operation and an exposure data calculating operation are made operative in response to either a manual exposure operation of a shutter release member or a manual operation of a manually operable means to be operated for altering data stored in a storing means which is co-acting in the exposure data calculating operation.

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Sennan, Japan

Masayoshi Sahara