Hybrid film-electronic camera having a dynamic number of stored electronic images protected from overwriting and method

Abstract

In a hybrid camera and method, the number of stored electronic images protected from overwriting is not fixed, but instead changes depending upon the film unit used in the camera. In the method, a first film unit is loaded in the camera. The first film unit has a first quantity of available film frames. An equal quantity of corresponding electronic images is less than the capacity of memory in the camera. The first quantity is determined by the camera and a tag number is set to an integer value equal to or less than the difference between the image capacity, in units of space for individual ones of the electronic images, and the first quantity. A plurality of electronic images are captured in the camera and stored in the memory. Individual tags are selectively assigned to one or more of the electronic images. The first film unit is removed and a second film unit is loaded in the camera. The second film unit has a second quantity of available film frames that is less than the image capacity. The second quantity is determined. The tag number is then reset to an integer value that is equal to or less than the difference between the image capacity and the second quantity. A warning is displayed when the tag number is less than the number of tagged images.