Red-eye reduction using multiple function light source

A camera auxiliary lighting system comprising:

• a flash light source for providing flash illumination during taking of a picture;
• a light sensor that receives light from a scene in front of a camera and produces a signal that indicates the relative amount of light that was received;
• a passive ranging system that determines distance from the camera to an object in the photographic scene in response to the light sensor signal and produces a ranging assist signal if the light sensor signal indicates the light received was insufficient to determine the distance;
• an exposure control system that measures ambient light in the captured scene and determines if sufficient ambient light exists to produce a captured image having correct exposure;
• an auxiliary light source separate from said flash light source that is operated to provide supplemental visible-light illumination into the scene prior to said taking of a picture;
• a red-eye reduction mode switch that selects a red-eye reduction mode of operation;
• a flash defeat mode switch that selects a flash defeat mode of operation;
• light source controller that initiates an image capture sequence in response to actuation of a shutter release, and responds to the ranging assist signal by operating the auxiliary light source, such that the supplemental visible-light illumination increases the amount of received light sufficiently for the passive ranging system to make a distance determination, until the passive ranging system has determined the distance, and further controls operation of the auxiliary light source such that the light source controller
• responds to mode control switch selection of the red-eye reduction mode by operating the auxiliary light source, for a predetermined period of time ending at predefined period of time prior to operation of a shutter mechanism, if the light source controller received a flash signal from an automatic exposure system, such that the supplemental visible-light illumination has a predetermined level of brightness that ordinarily causes a constriction reaction in eyes of persons in the scene who view the supplemental visible-light illumination, and
• responds to mode control switch selection of the flash defeat mode by inhibiting operation of the auxiliary light source.

A camera comprising:

• a camera body;
• an objective lens that receives light from a scene;
• a flash light source for providing flash illumination during taking of a picture;
• a passive ranging system that either determines distance from the camera to an object in the scene in response to received light from the scene or indicates that insufficient received light exists to determine the distance;
• an exposure control system that measures the ambient light in the scene to determine if sufficient ambient light exists to produce a captured image of correct exposure;
• an auxiliary light source separate from said flash light source that operates to provide supplemental visible-light illumination into the scene prior to said taking of a picture in response to an indication from the passive ranging system that insufficient received light exists for it to determine distance, whereby the supplemental illumination increases the amount of received light sufficiently for the passive ranging system to make a distance determination;
• a controller that initiates an image capture sequence, during which the controller operates a shutter mechanism of the camera that permits ambient light from the scene to enter the camera through an objective lens, and also initiates a red-eye reduction mode of camera operation, during which the controller operates the auxiliary light source a predetermined time interval prior to operation of the shutter mechanism of the camera such that the supplemental visible-light illumination has a predetermined level of brightness that ordinarily causes a constriction reaction in eyes of persons in the scene who view the supplemental visible-light illumination.

A camera comprising:

• a camera body;
• an objective lens that receives light from a scene;
• a flash light source for providing flash illumination during taking of a picture;
• a shutter mechanism that is operated so that it opens to permit light from the scene to enter the camera through the objective lens and produce a captured image;
• an auxiliary light source separate from said flash light source that is located on the camera body and is operated after actuation of a shutter release of the camera to provide supplemental visible-light illumination into the scene prior to said taking of a picture;
• a mode control switch block that selects between a self-timer mode, a red-eye reduction mode, and a flash defeat mode;
• a light sensor that receives light from an object in the scene and produces a signal that indicates the relative amount of light that was received;
• a passive ranging system that receives the light sensor signal and either determines distance from the camera to the object or produces a ranging assist signal if the light sensor signal indicates that the received light was insufficient to determine distance to the object;
• a light source controller that responds to the ranging assist signal by operating the auxiliary light source, such that the supplemental visible-light illumination increases the amount of received light sufficiently for the passive ranging system to make a distance determination, until the passive ranging system has determined the distance, and further controls operation of the auxiliary light source such that the light source controller
• responds to mode control switch block selection of the red-eye reduction mode by operating the auxiliary light source, prior to operation of the shutter mechanism, such that the supplemental visible-light illumination has a predetermined level of brightness that ordinarily causes a pupil constriction reaction in eyes of persons in the scene who view the supplemental visible-light illumination, if the light source controller received a flash signal from an automatic exposure system,
• responds to mode control switch selection of the self-timer mode by operating the auxiliary light source for a predetermined self-timer time interval prior to operation of the shutter mechanism, and
• responds to mode control switch selection of the flash defeat mode by inhibiting operation of the auxiliary light source.

A method of controlling a camera auxiliary light source that is separate from a flash light source used during taking of a picture and that provides supplemental visible-light illumination into a photographic scene in response to actuation of a shutter release prior to said taking of a picture, the method comprising the steps of:

• operating a passive ranging system that either determines distance from the photographic camera to an object in the photographic scene in response to received light from the photographic scene or indicates if insufficient received light exists to determine the distance;
• measuring ambient light in the photographic scene to determine if sufficient ambient light exists to produce a photographic image of correct exposure;
• operating the auxiliary light source to provide supplemental visible-light illumination into the photographic scene if the passive ranging system indicates insufficient received light exists for it to determine the distance, whereby the supplemental visible-light illumination increases the amount of received light sufficiently to permit the passive ranging system to make a distance determination, and continuing to operate the auxiliary light source until the passive ranging system has determined the distance;
• operating the auxiliary light source if a camera red-eye reduction mode was selected, whereby the supplemental visible-light illumination has a predetermined level of brightness that ordinarily causes a pupil constriction reaction in eyes of persons and animals in the photographic scene who view the supplemental visible-light illumination, if the light source controller received a flash signal from an automatic exposure system, until a shutter trigger signal is received from the shutter release;
• operating a shutter mechanism of the camera in response to the shutter trigger signal, thereby permitting ambient light from the scene to enter the camera through an objective lens a predetermined time interval after operation of the auxiliary light source.