JP2002271653A - Electronic camera - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electronic camera that is equipped with an alarm (alarm clock) which is easy to use and comfortable. SOLUTION: The electronic camera is provided with alarm clock functions as an accessory and a user can freely set an alarm operating time (alarm time). When the set time is reached, a predetermined music file is read from a memory card 90 and a loudspeaker 28 sounds the music. Furthermore, an image file is read from a predetermined memory card 90 at the same time, a liquid crystal display monitor 64 reproduces the image and displays the current time. In place of merely an alarm tone, the arrival of the setting time can be informed by a preferred music and the time can be confirmed easily.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electronic camera,
In particular, it relates to an additional function of an electronic camera having a sound and image reproduction function.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art JP-A-2000-101893 discloses that
A digital still camera capable of recording and reproducing an audio signal is disclosed. The camera disclosed in the publication reads audio data from a recording medium such as a floppy (registered trademark) disk and stores it in a flash ROM, reproduces the audio data in response to occurrence of an alarm factor, and outputs the audio data from a speaker. It has the function to do.
With this feature, like during media formatting,
It is designed so that music (BGM) can be played when the user has a long waiting time.

[0003]

Recently, MP3 (MPEG-1
Audio Layer-III) A digital camera having an audio playback function has been developed and commercialized by the present applicant. As described above, development that adds value that can be used not only for a camera as a photographing device but also for other uses and enhances convenience as a portable device is expected.

[0004] The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and provides an easy-to-use and comfortable additional function utilizing a camera's original functions and equipment to provide an electronic camera with high utility value. Aim.

[0005]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electronic camera, comprising: an image pickup unit for converting an optical image into an electric signal; and an image picked up by the image pickup unit on a recording medium. Recording means for recording, image display means capable of reproducing and displaying the image recorded on the recording medium, audio output means capable of reproducing and outputting the audio recorded on the recording medium,
Clock means for measuring time, time setting means for setting a desired time for activating an alarm, and sound recorded on a recording medium when the time set by the time setting means comes from the sound output means. And control means for controlling the display of time on the image display means.

According to the present invention, the user can freely set the time (alarm time) at which the alarm is activated by the time setting means. At the set time, a predetermined sound is reproduced from the sound output means, and at the same time, the time is displayed on the screen of the image display means. By recording the user's favorite music or the like on the recording medium, the arrival of the set time can be notified by the favorite music instead of a mere alarm sound. Further, since the time is also displayed on the image display means, it is easy to confirm the current time.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the above configuration, the electronic camera further comprises an image designating means for designating an image to be displayed at the same time as displaying the time. An image according to the designation by the image designation means is displayed on the image display means, and the time is displayed together with the image.
It is preferable that the present time is displayed while displaying a favorite image on the image display means when the alarm is activated. The image displayed at this time may be a still image or a moving image.
An arbitrary image file in the recording medium can be specified by the image specifying means.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electronic camera, comprising: a sound designating means for designating a sound to be outputted from the sound output means when a time set by the time setting means has arrived. When the time is reached, the sound specified by the sound specifying means is output from the sound output means.

An arbitrary sound file (or a still image file with a voice memo or a moving image file with a voice memo) can be specified by the voice specifying means. The audio file and the image file may be stored on the same recording medium, or may be stored on separate recording media.

According to one aspect of the present invention, an electronic camera according to a fourth aspect has a configuration in which two recording media can be mounted at the same time, one recording medium is used as a recording medium for storing image data, and the other is used as a recording medium. The recording medium is characterized in that it is used as a recording medium for storing audio data.

According to another aspect of the present invention, an electronic camera according to a fifth aspect further includes a battery remaining amount determining unit that determines whether the battery can be driven until the time set by the time setting unit. If it is determined that there is not enough energy left to perform the alarm operation including the audio output from the audio output unit and the time display on the image display unit at the specified time, the control unit performs the alarm setting process. The prohibition control is performed.

When the alarm is set, the battery remaining amount is checked in consideration of the set time, so that the battery remaining amount is guaranteed until the set time, and the alarm can be activated reliably.

In the electronic camera according to the present invention, after the alarm setting for performing the alarm operation including the audio output from the audio output means and the time display on the image display means is performed at the time set by the time setting means. And a time confirmation function for displaying the current time on the image display means in response to the operation of the time display operation means during a period from when the alarm setting is canceled. According to this aspect, after the alarm is set, the current time can be checked at any time by operating the time display operation means.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of an electronic camera according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a digital camera according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, a photographing lens 12, a finder window 14, a strobe light emitting unit 16, a strobe light control sensor 18,
A microphone 19 and a self-timer lamp 20 are provided, and a CCD image sensor (not shown in FIG. 1; described as 68 in FIG. 3; hereinafter, referred to as a CCD) is disposed behind the taking lens 12 as an image sensor. ing.

On the upper surface of the camera, a power (power) switch 22, a shutter button 24, and a flash button 26 for switching a flash photography mode are provided. A speaker 28, an audio / video output terminal 30, and a remote control terminal 3 are provided on the side of the camera opposite to the grip 27.
1. A digital (USB) terminal 32 and a power input terminal 33 are provided.

The power switch 22 also functions as a mode setting switch.
Each mode of "camera mode", "camera OFF mode", "audio mode", and "alarm clock mode" can be selectively switched. Power switch 2
When the audio mode is selected by the user 2, the various switches of the camera body do not function, and only the command signal from the remote controller 36 with the headphone (earphone) 35 connected to the remote controller terminal 31 is accepted. ing.

When the audio mode is selected in a state where the remote controller 36 is not connected to the remote controller terminal 31, the power supply in the camera is kept OFF.
Then, after the remote controller 36 is connected to the remote controller terminal 31, when the switch units 37, 38, and 39 of the remote controller 36 are operated, the power in the camera is turned on. Reference numeral 37 indicates reproduction /
A stop button, reference numeral 38 is a feed / return button, reference numeral 39 is a volume control button, and reference numeral 40 is an LCD panel.

The shutter button 24 is of a two-stage type, in which the automatic focusing (AF) and the automatic exposure control (AE) are activated and the AF and AE are locked in a "half-pressed" state in which the shutter button 24 is lightly pressed and stopped. Then, the shooting is performed in a state of “fully pressed” from “half-pressed”. The shutter button 24 is a means for giving an instruction to start recording of a still image, and is also used as a moving image recording button (recording start / stop button).

A battery cover 42 serving as a slot cover for a memory card (not shown in FIG. 1, described as 90 in FIG. 3) is provided on the bottom of the camera.
A memory card slot (not shown) and a battery storage room (not shown) are formed at the back of the device 2.

FIG. 2 is a rear view of the camera 10. The viewfinder 48, mode dial 50,
A left key 52, a right key 54 and an up / down lever 56, a menu / execute key 58, a cancel / return key 60, a display key 62, a liquid crystal monitor 64, and the like are provided. The mode dial 50 is a means for changing the function (mode) of the camera. By rotating the mode dial 50, a still shooting mode for performing still shooting, a playback mode for playing back a shot image, and a moving image shooting are performed. Can be set to movie mode.

The left key 52, the right key 54, and the up / down lever 56 are operation units for inputting corresponding directions in four directions (left, right, up, down).
4 is a one-frame reverse button in the playback mode,
Functions as a single-frame forward button, and the upper / lower lever 56
Is used as a zoom lever for adjusting the magnification in the reproduction zoom function and the electronic zoom function during shooting.

A left key 52, a right key 54, and an up / down lever 56 are used to select menu items from a menu screen displayed by pressing a menu / execute key 58, and to select various setting items in each menu. Functions as an operation means for instructing. The menu / execute key 58
When transitioning from the normal screen of each mode to the menu screen,
Alternatively, it is used for confirming the selected contents and giving an instruction to execute (confirm) the processing. The cancel / return key 60 is used to cancel (cancel) an item selected from the menu or to return to the previous operation state. The display key 62
It is an operation means for turning on / off the liquid crystal monitor 64 and switching between display / non-display of a reproduction method and a frame number during reproduction.

When the display key 62 is pressed in the still photography mode or the movie mode, the liquid crystal monitor 64 is turned on / off.
OFF can be switched. Also, in the playback mode, each time the display key 62 is pressed, from the state of “single-frame playback (with on-screen display)”, “a state without on-screen display” → “multi-play” → “single-frame playback (on-screen display) Circulates as "). The “multi-play” is a playback method for displaying a plurality of screens at a time (for example, nine screens in three rows and three columns).

The liquid crystal monitor 64 can be used as an electronic finder for confirming the angle of view at the time of photographing, and can display a preview image of the photographed image, a reproduced image read from the memory card 90 loaded in the camera 10, and the like. . The menu selection using the left key 52, the right key 54 and the up / down lever 56 and the setting of various setting items in each menu are also performed using the display screen of the liquid crystal monitor 64. Further, the LCD monitor 64 also displays information such as the number of frames that can be taken (the possible time for a movie) and the number of playback frames, whether or not strobe light is emitted, macro mode display, recording quality (quality) display, and pixel number display. Is displayed.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the camera 10. As shown in FIG. The photographing lens 12 includes one or a plurality of lenses, and may be a single focus lens or a variable focal length lens such as a zoom lens. Shooting lens 12
The light passing through is incident on the CCD 68 after the amount of light is adjusted by the aperture 66. Photosensors are arranged in a plane on the light receiving surface of the CCD, and a subject image formed on the light receiving surface of the CCD 68 via the photographing lens 12 has a signal charge corresponding to the amount of incident light by each photosensor. Is converted to Note that the CCD 68 has a so-called electronic shutter function of controlling the charge accumulation time (shutter speed) of each photosensor by the timing of a shutter gate pulse.

The signal charge stored in each photo sensor is
The signals are sequentially read out as voltage signals (image signals) corresponding to signal charges based on pulses given from a CCD driver (not shown). The image signal output from the CCD 68 is
The signal is sent to the analog processing section 72. Analog processing section 72
Includes a signal processing circuit such as a sampling and holding circuit, a color separation circuit, and a gain adjustment circuit.
In 2, correlated double sampling (CDS) processing and color separation processing for each of the R, G, and B color signals are performed, and the signal level of each color signal is adjusted (pre-white balance processing).

The signal output from the analog processing section 72 is converted into a digital signal by an A / D converter 74, and then sent to a microcomputer (hereinafter, microcomputer) 80 also serving as an image signal processing section. The microcomputer 80 is an image processing means including a digital signal processor including a luminance / color difference signal generation circuit, a gamma correction circuit, a sharpness correction circuit, a contrast correction circuit, a white balance correction circuit, a compression / expansion circuit, and the like. And its peripheral circuits, and functions as control means for the camera.

The image data input to the image signal processing unit of the microcomputer 80 includes a luminance signal (Y signal) and a color difference signal (C
r Cb signal) and a predetermined process such as gamma correction is performed. When a captured image is displayed and output, it is converted into a signal of a predetermined system for display (for example, a color composite video signal of an NTSC system) and then converted to a liquid crystal (LCD).
Output to the monitor 64. Thus, the image content of the image data is displayed on the screen of the liquid crystal monitor 64. CC
The image input via the D68 can be displayed on the liquid crystal monitor 64 in real time, and the photographer can confirm the image (through image) displayed on the liquid crystal monitor 64 or the angle of view by the finder 48.

When the still image capturing mode is selected by the mode dial 50 and the shutter button 24 is pressed, the capture of image data for recording is started. The captured image data is compressed in a compression / decompression circuit according to JPEG or another predetermined format, and is recorded on the memory card 90.

In the camera 10 of the present embodiment, for example, smart media (Solid-Stat)
e Floppy Disk Card) is applied. The form of the recording medium is not limited to this, and may be a PC card, a compact flash (registered trademark), a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a memory stick, or the like, and may be electronic, magnetic, or optical, or a combination thereof. Various readable and writable media can be used according to the method described in the above. Signal processing means and interfaces corresponding to the medium used are applied. A configuration may be adopted in which a plurality of media can be mounted irrespective of different types or the same type of recording media. Also,
The means for saving the image file is not limited to a removable medium that can be attached to and detached from the camera 10, but may be a recording medium (internal memory) built in the camera 10.

When the movie mode is set by the mode dial 50, moving image recording becomes possible. When the shutter button 24 is pressed, the recording operation starts, and when the shutter button 24 is pressed again, the recording operation stops. A mode is also possible in which the recording operation is performed while the shutter button 24 is kept depressed, and the recording is stopped when the shutter button 24 is released. The maximum time, image size, frame rate, and recording method that can be recorded in one shot are predetermined. For example, a movie with sound of up to about 80 seconds can be shot in one shot, 320 × 240 pixels,
The data is recorded on the memory card 90 in the Motion JPEG format at 10 frames / sec.

When the reproduction mode is set by the mode dial 50, an image file is read from the memory card 90. The read image data is decompressed by a compression / decompression circuit as necessary, and output to the liquid crystal monitor 64.

Next, the audio reproducing function will be described. The audio reproduction function of the camera 10 is for reproducing a music file of the MP3 format or the like recorded on the memory card 90. Power switch 22
The audio mode is set by
When the remote control 36 with headphones is connected to the power supply 1, the power supply in the camera is turned on and audio reproduction becomes possible. In the audio mode, the microcomputer 80 receives only a remote control signal from the remote controller 36 and does not receive any switch input other than the power switch 22 from the operation unit of the camera body.

When the play button 37 of the remote controller 36 is pressed while the camera 10 is set to the audio mode,
A music file is read from the memory card 90. It is assumed that the music file has been downloaded into the memory card 90 directly from a personal computer, a music distribution terminal, or the like, or via the digital (USB) terminal 32.

The compressed data of the music file read from the memory card 90 is expanded into uncompressed music data by a compression / expansion circuit in the audio signal processing circuit 94. The expanded music data is converted by a D / A converter 95 into an analog audio signal. The converted audio signal is amplified by the amplifier 96 and output as audio through the audio output terminal in the speaker 28 or the remote control terminal 31 and the headphones 35.

The camera 10 has a microphone 19, and the sound input via the microphone 19 is
After being amplified by the amplifier 100, the A / D converter 102
Is converted into a digital signal. The audio signal converted into the digital signal is input to the audio signal processing circuit 94,
The data can be recorded on the memory card 90 through compression processing and other signal processing. The audio data recorded on the memory card 90 can be reproduced and output from the speaker 28 in the same manner as the music file described above.

As the power source of the camera 10, an external power source (not shown) connected to the main battery 104 or the power input terminal 33 can be used. The power supplied from the main battery 104 and the like is converted to a required voltage by the DC-DC converter 106, and then supplied to each circuit block. Main battery 1
The voltage value of 04 is input to the microcomputer 80 via the A / D port, and the microcomputer 80 can calculate the remaining capacity of the main battery 104 based on the information of the input voltage value.

The microcomputer 80 controls the operation of the corresponding circuits based on input signals received from the power switch 22, the shutter button 24, the mode dial 50 and other operation units, and controls the display on the liquid crystal monitor 64 and the strobe light emission control. , Automatic focus (AF) control, automatic exposure (AE) control, operation control of an alarm function, and the like.
That is, the microcomputer 80 performs various calculations such as a focus evaluation calculation and an AE calculation from the image data captured in response to the half-press of the shutter button 24, and controls a lens driving unit (not shown) based on the calculation results. Shooting lens 1
2 is moved to the in-focus position, and the iris drive unit (not shown) is controlled to set the aperture 66 to an appropriate aperture value.
The charge accumulation time of D68 is controlled.

The alarm function is a function for reproducing music or images at a time set in advance by the user to notify the time or to call attention. This function is realized by the microcomputer 80 acquiring date and time information from the clock IC (Integrated Circuit) 110. The clock IC 110 operates by receiving power supply from a coin battery (or button battery) 112.

Next, the operation of the camera 10 configured as described above will be described. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a control procedure of the alarm function in the camera 10. When the camera 10 is started by operating the power switch 22 (step S410), first, it is determined whether or not the alarm setting mode is selected (step S41).
2). When the alarm setting mode is not selected (N
In the case of "O" determination), the process waits for a key input (step S48).
0).

If there is a predetermined key input in step S412 and the alarm setting mode is selected, the flow advances to step S420. In step S420, it is determined whether or not the memory card 90 is mounted. If the memory card 90 is not inserted (when NO is determined), a process for prohibiting the setting of an alarm is performed (step S470), and the process waits for a key input (step S480).

If it is determined in step S420 that the memory card 90 has been inserted, the flow advances to step S422 to determine whether or not music data is stored in the memory card 90. If there is no music data in the memory card 90, a process of prohibiting the setting of an alarm is performed (step S470), and the process waits for a key input (step S480).

If music data exists in step S422, it is determined whether image data is stored in the memory card 90 (step S424). If there is no image data in the memory card 90, a process for prohibiting the setting of an alarm is performed (step S470), and the process waits for a key input (step S480).

If image data exists in step S424, the flow advances to step S430 to receive a process of selecting an image and music to be output when an alarm is activated. The user selects a desired image and music from the memory card 90 by key input (step 430).
The content selected last time is stored in the camera, and if the same content is selected, it is not necessary to input again. There is also a mode in which a past selection history is stored, and the selection operation is simplified by referring to the history.

Thereafter, an alarm time setting process is accepted (step S432). The user sets a desired alarm time from a menu screen according to a predetermined key operation. For example, the time at which the alarm is activated may be directly input, or the time may be specified as minutes (hours) from the current time. When the user sets the alarm time, a battery check process is performed (step S43).
4) It is determined whether or not the battery capacity enough to output the image and the sound during the alarm time remains.

In the battery check determination, if an NG determination is obtained, a process for inhibiting the setting of an alarm is performed (step S470), and the process waits for a key input (step S480). On the other hand, when the battery OK is determined in step S434, the alarm clock mode (alarm) is set (step S436). When the alarm is set, only the limited key inputs such as the power switch 22 functioning as the alarm canceling key and the shutter button 24 functioning as the clock display key are accepted, and the other keys are controlled so as not to be accepted. You. Thus, the main power supply of the camera 10 is turned off, and the camera 10 shifts to a power saving state in which only the minimum circuits necessary for the clock function are operating.

During the period after the alarm is set and before the alarm is activated, the setting of the alarm can be canceled according to a predetermined operation procedure. For example, turn on the power switch 22
Then, an alarm setting menu screen is displayed, and an input for canceling the alarm setting or changing (editing) the setting contents can be performed on the menu screen.

After the alarm is set in step S436, it is determined whether or not the alarm has been canceled (step S438). If the operation for canceling the alarm has been performed, the process for canceling the alarm is performed, and the process waits for a key input (step S480). .
If the operation of canceling the alarm is not performed in step S438, it is determined whether the clock display key shared with the shutter button 24 is pressed (step S440).

The camera 10 of this embodiment can display the current time on the liquid crystal monitor 64 at any time by pressing the clock display key (also used as the shutter button 24) after the alarm is set (step S442). Instead of or in addition to the time display, it is also possible to provide a time notification by voice. The time may be displayed while the clock display key is being pressed, and the time display may be terminated when the clock display key is released, or the current time is displayed for a fixed time (for example, 10 seconds) after the clock display key is pressed, and then automatically displayed. May be configured to turn off the time display.

If it is determined in step S440 that the clock display key has not been pressed, the flow advances to step S450. Eventually, when the alarm set time comes, music and images are reproduced (step S450). FIG. 5 shows a display example of the liquid crystal monitor 64 when an alarm is activated. As shown in the figure, when the alarm is activated, the image related to the selection is displayed on the liquid crystal monitor 64 and the current time is displayed. At this time, a mode in which the strobe light is emitted together with the display on the liquid crystal monitor 64 is also possible.

After the alarm is activated, when the user performs a predetermined key input for stopping the alarm, a step S46 in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 0, the reproduction of the music and the image is stopped, and the key input is waited (step S480).

The camera 10 having the alarm function according to the present embodiment can be used as a substitute for an alarm clock at a travel destination or the like. In addition, since the remaining battery level is checked at the time of setting the alarm, it is possible to avoid a situation in which the alarm does not operate due to battery exhaustion, and the operation of the alarm is guaranteed. In addition, before going to sleep, the user can take a picture of a sound or a moving image with a sound and play it back at the alarm set time.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a digital camera according to another embodiment of the present invention. 6, parts that are the same as or similar to the camera 10 shown in FIG. 3 are given the same reference numerals, and descriptions thereof will be omitted. Camera 10 shown in FIG.
Has two memory card slots for image recording and music reproduction, and has a memory card 91 for image recording,
The configuration is such that a memory card 92 for music recording can be inserted at the same time. In addition, the form of two memory cards does not necessarily need to be the same. The image picked up by the CCD 68 is recorded on the image memory card 91, and the voice input from the microphone 19 and the downloaded music data are recorded on the music memory card 92.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a control procedure of the alarm function in the camera 10 shown in FIG.
In FIG. 7, steps common to those in FIG. 4 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted. Steps S420 to S420 explained in FIG.
Instead of S424, the processes of steps S421 to S427 are performed in the flowchart of FIG. That is, after the alarm setting mode is selected, the music memory card 9
2 and the presence / absence of each of the image memory cards 91 (steps S421 and S42).
5) It is determined whether music data or image data is stored in each memory card (step S42).
3. If no card is inserted or no data is stored, the alarm setting is prohibited (step S470), and key input is waited for (step S480).

If all the determinations in steps S421 to S427 are YES, the process proceeds to step S43.
Go to 0. Subsequent processing is as described in FIG.

In the above description, an example has been described in which the present invention is applied to a digital camera capable of recording still images and moving images. However, the scope of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but includes a digital still camera, a video camera, Widely applicable to electronic cameras.

[0058]

As described above, according to the electronic camera of the present invention, the electronic camera with the alarm function reproduces the music or voice desired by the user instead of sounding the mere alarm sound at the set time. In addition to notifying the arrival of the set time, a desired image is displayed on an image display means such as a liquid crystal monitor, and the current time is also displayed at the same time, so that an easy-to-use and comfortable alarm clock function can be realized.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a digital camera according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a rear view of the digital camera shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the camera of the present embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a control procedure of an alarm function in the camera of the present embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a screen of a liquid crystal monitor when an alarm is activated.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a digital camera according to another embodiment of the present invention.

7 is a flowchart showing a control procedure of an alarm function in the camera shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Camera, 12 ... Photo lens, 19 ... Microphone, 22 ... Power switch, 24 ... Shutter button, 28 ... Speaker, 52 ... Left key, 54 ... Right key, 56 ... Up / down lever, 64 ... Liquid crystal Monitor, 68 ... C
CD, 80: microcomputer (image signal processing unit), 90: memory card, 91: image memory card, 92: music memory card, 94: audio signal processing circuit, 104: main battery, 110: clock IC, 112 ... Coin battery

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An image pickup means for converting an optical image into an electric signal, a recording means for recording an image taken by the image pickup means on a recording medium, and an image display capable of reproducing and displaying the image recorded on the recording medium. Means, audio output means capable of reproducing and outputting audio recorded on a recording medium, clock means for measuring time, time setting means for setting a desired time for activating an alarm, and the time setting means Control means for causing the sound output means to output the sound recorded on the recording medium at the time set by the control means, and controlling the time to be displayed on the image display means. camera. 2. An image designating means for designating an image to be displayed simultaneously with the display of the time, and when the time set by the time setting means comes, the image specified by the image designating means is displayed on the image display means. 2. The electronic camera according to claim 1, wherein the time is displayed together with the image. 3. A sound designating means for designating a sound to be outputted from the sound output means when a time set by the time setting means arrives, and when the time set by the time setting means is reached, the sound is designated. The electronic camera according to claim 1, wherein a sound associated with the designation by the designation unit is output from the sound output unit. 4. A recording medium capable of simultaneously mounting two recording media, one recording medium is used as a recording medium for storing image data, and the other recording medium is used as a recording medium for storing audio data. Claim 1, characterized in that:
4. The electronic camera according to 2 or 3. 5. An electronic camera according to claim 1, wherein said electronic camera determines whether or not it can be driven by a battery until a time set by said time setting means. Determining means, when it is determined that there is not enough energy left to perform an alarm operation including a sound output from the sound output means and a time display on the image display means at the set time, the control is performed. An electronic camera, wherein the means performs control to prohibit processing of alarm setting. 6. The electronic camera according to claim 1, wherein the electronic camera outputs an audio from the audio output unit and a video output from the image display unit at a time set by the time setting unit. A time check for displaying the current time on the image display means in response to the operation of the time display operation means during a period from when an alarm setting for performing an alarm operation including a time display is performed to when the alarm setting is canceled is performed. An electronic camera having a function.