Minolta Camera Kabushiki Kaisha

Atsushi Kuwada

Daigo Yoshioka

Hiroyuki Tsumazawa

Dai Shintani

Takeo Hoda

Masatoshi Itoh

Yoshito Tanaka

Takashi Kondo

Yoshihiro Tanaka

Toshio Yamaki

Takashi Iida

Hidenori Fukuoka

Kazuhiko Kojima

Hiroshi Kiten

Takeya Tsukamoto

An imaging apparatus of an electronic camera according to the present invention has a lens barrier arranged on an object side of a photographing lens; an imaging device capable of changing electric charge storage time; a lens barrier state-detecting means for outputting a signal indicating an opening state of the lens barrier after detecting the opening state of the lens barrier; a release switch for starting a photographing operation; an imaging device control means for starting electric charge storage of the device when the signal of the opening state of the lens barrier is outputted from the detecting means and for outputting a charge termination signal when the charge is terminated; and a lens barrier opening and closing driving means for driving the lens barrier to open on the basis of a turning-on signal of the release switch and for driving the lens barrier to close on the basis of the charge termination signal outputted from the control means. In this apparatus, by driving the driving means, the lens barrier is opened only during a photographing period, while the lens barrier is closed during a non-photographing period to prevent the device from being exposed to strong outside light.

Camera having a lens barrier which is opened only during photographing

A video camera wherein a microphone is shifted from a retracted inoperative position to a projected operative position without fail when the video camera is changed over from a photographing enabled condition to a photographing disabled condition or vice versa. The video camera includes a lens barrier and a microphone which are operatively coupled to each other such that when one of them is moved between its photographing disabling position and its photographing enabling position, the other is also moved between its photographing disabling position and its photographing enabling position. A power supply switch or a video/camera changing over switch may be operatively coupled to the lens barrier and the microphone in a similar relationship. When one of the microphone, lens barrier and switch is manually operated to change over the video camera from a photographing disabled condition to a photographing enabled condition, the others are also moved to the individual photographing enabling positions.

Video camera with automatically movable microphone

A camera such as a vide camera having an automatic focusing function, a power focusing function and a power zooming function which allows most reasonable change-over between the functions of the camera. The camera comprises manually operable mode change-over means for alternatively changing over the camera between a zooming mode and a focusing mode, and manually operable instructing means for instructing a direction of movement of a zooming lens system or a focusing lens system for zooming or focusing. When the zooming mode is selected, first actuating means actuates the zooming lens system for zooming in a direction instructed by the instructing means, but when the focusing mode is selected, second actuating means actuates the focusing lens system for focusing operation in a direction instructed by the instructing means. Several forms of instructing means are disclosed.

Camera

Growing community of inventors

Osaka, Japan

Atsushi Kuwada