Concord Camera Corp.

Alex Raschke

Klaus G Raschke

Ellis Betensky

Lothar Westerweck

Steve Buescher

Ken Heglund

Optical systems for use in digital cameras are provided. The systems can be switched between three optical paths ( ): a first path ( ) for through-the-lens (TTL) viewing; a second path ( ) for recalling previously taken pictures from a microdisplay ( ); and a third path ( ) in which pictures are taken using an electronic sensor ( ), e.g., a CMOS sensor. The optical systems employ a zoom objective lens unit ( ), e.g., a 3:1 zoom, an erector lens unit ( ), and an eye lens unit ( ). They can also employ an image size adjusting lens unit ( ) for equalizing the TTL and recalled images presented to the user. To facilitate integration with the electronic components of a digital camera and to provide a &ldquo;book&rdquo; format for the camera, the first and second optical paths ( ) lie in a single plane and each includes two folding mirrors ( for the first path; for the second path) and the third optical path ( ) has a single folding mirror ( ) so that a portion of that path is in the single plane and a portion is orthogonal to that plane.

Optical systems for digital cameras

A compact through-the-lens digital camera comprising an objective lens unit, an image sensing device, an internal display device, an eye lens unit, an optical system, control and processing circuitry, function select controls, and an external interface. The optical system is switchable between an image framing mode optical path, wherein light is directed from the objective lens unit to the eye lens unit, an image capture mode optical path, wherein light is directed from the objective lens unit to the image sensing device, and an image review mode optical path, wherein light is directed from the display device to the eye lens unit. The control and processing circuitry switches the optical system between the image framing mode optical path, the image capture mode optical path and the image review mode optical path and controls the image capture, processing, storage and display on the display device, the operation of the zoom and auto focus functions and function select controls and external communication through the external interface.

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Weston, FL, United States of America

Alex Raschke