Nikon Corporation

Nippon Kogaku K.k.

Etsuo Tanaka

Akira Katayama

Tadao Kai

Hiroshi Okano

Yoshio Imura

Yoshiyuki Nakano

Akihiko Sato

Yoshiaki Tanabe

Hideo Kanno

Yasushi Sakagami

Yoichi Koizumi

Hironobu Kato

A vibration reduction apparatus includes a vibration detector for detecting movement; and an image blur reduction mechanism including a vibration reduction optical system for preventing an image from blurring, and a drive mechanism for driving the vibration reduction optical system. The drive mechanism is controlled to drive the vibration reduction optical system in response to a detection signal from the vibration detector. The vibration detector is integrally mounted as a part of a mechanism unit including the vibration reduction mechanism.

Vibration reduction apparatus

A camera, equipped with a viewfinder having an optical axis different from the optical axis of the photographic lens system, has a parallax compensation apparatus for compensating for the parallax between the viewfinder and the photographic lens system. The parallax compensation apparatus includes a distance measuring device which measures an object's distance from the camera and an optical axis moving device which moves the optical axis of the photographic lens system according to the parallax, which is based on the results received from the distance measuring device, thereby matching the photographic image plane with the viewfinder field. In addition, the optical axis moving device moves the optical axis of the photographic lens system to compensate for hand trembling or other motion of the camera during shooting.

Camera with a parallax compensation apparatus

In a device, an angular velocity detector detects the angular velocity of a camera body and produces a signal conforming thereto. Whether the camera is performing pan shot is discriminated on the basis of the produced signal. Preferably, the discrimination is effected on the basis of a signal from which the high frequency component of the signal has been eliminated. Also, in one mode, the device sets an appropriate shutter speed when it is detected that the mode is pan shot.

Pan shot device for a camera

A camera having an optical system which is shiftable to compensate for vibrations affecting the camera, a shift mechanism which shifts the optical system along an axis, and an urging mechanism. The urging mechanism provides an urging force along the axis to urge the optical system and to assist the shift mechanism in shifting the optical system. The urging force of the urging mechanism is approximately 1.5 to 5 times the weight of the optical system. Moreover, a feed screw mechanism includes a male portion and a female portion which cooperate, via a helical groove, to shift the optical system. The feed screw mechanism has an angle of friction and the helical groove has a lead angle that is smaller than the angle of friction.

Camera with vibration compensation device having anti-vibration lens

An anti-shake camera includes a camera shake correction lens for correcting image blurring caused by a camera shake, a camera shake correction lens position detection device for detecting the moving position of the camera shake correction lens, and an indication device for indicating a shaking direction of the camera so as to decrease the moving amount of the camera shake correction lens from a neutral position.

Camera for preventing camera shake

This specification discloses an image movement correcting device for a photographing apparatus for appropriately judging a variation in the amount of image movement correction by the difference in the position of the center of rotation, and effecting accurate image movement correction. Any angular fluctuation of the optical axis of the photographing apparatus is detected by angular displacement detecting device, and when on the basis of the angular fluctuation, image movement correction on a photographing image field is effected by image movement correcting device, the amount of image movement correction by the image movement correcting device is varied in conformity with the position of the center of rotation discriminated by rotation center position discriminating device for discriminating the position of the center of rotation of the angular fluctuation during the photographing by the photographing apparatus.

Image movement correcting device effecting image movement correction

A blur prevention device is equipped with first and second drive units which can move a blur prevention lens in a plane orthogonal to an optical axis of a main optical system. First and second transfer units transfer the amount of movement of the drive units to the blur prevention lens and first and second transfer receiving units receive the amount of movement in the respective directions from the respective transfer units. Each of the transfer receiving units can move relative to the one transfer unit other than the respective transfer unit. The blur prevention device has a specified direction for one of the transfer units and allows a degree of freedom outside the movement in the specified direction to the other transfer unit. Restriction gears, which are part of the drive units, restrict the amount of movement of the blur prevention lens in the plane orthogonal to the optical axis. And, by integrating a lens shutter or aperture with the blur prevention device, the blur prevention lens may be easily positioned in a central position of its drive range.

Blur prevention device for preventing image blur

An image-shake correcting camera including an image shake correcting device for correcting image shakes caused by camera shakes and a photographic mode setting device for setting an operation condition of camera in photography, in which the image shake correcting device changes a correction property, based on the operation condition set by the photographic mode setting device.

Camera having an image blur suppression device

This specification discloses an image movement correcting device for a photographing apparatus for appropriately judging a variation in the amount of image movement correction by the difference in the position of the center of rotation, and effecting accurate image movement correction. Any angular fluctuation of the optical axis of the photographing apparatus is detected by angular displacement detecting means, and when on the basis of the angular fluctuation, image movement correction on a photographing image field is effected by image movement correcting means, the amount of image movement correction by the image movement correcting means is varied in conformity with the position of the center of rotation discriminated by rotation center position discriminating means for discriminating the position of the center of rotation of the angular fluctuation during the photographing by the photographing apparatus.

A camera comprises a mirror member provided between a photo-taking lens and the focal plane thereof and having a reflecting surface and a pivot axis provided at one end of the reflecting surface in parallelism to the focal plane, the mirror member being movable from an observation position in which the reflecting surface intersects the optic axis of the photo-taking lens to a retracted position in which the reflecting surface is retracted from the optic axis, by the pivotal movement of the reflecting surface about the pivot axis, a mirror chamber for containing the mirror therein, the mirror chamber having a pair of openings forming the optical path from the photo-taking lens to the focal plane a pair of vertical side walls provided on opposite sides of and vertically to the pivot axis and a movable bottom wall in parallelism to the pivot axis, and driving means for moving the mirror member and the movable bottom wall at the same time so that the center of gravity of the movable bottom wall moves in a direction substantially opposite to the direction of the movement of the center of gravity of the mirror member.

Shock absorbing device of a single lens reflex camera

A light-shielding blade for use in a light control device, comprises a flat area and a recessed area on each face. The recessed area on one face is positioned substantially corresponding to the flat area on the other face. The light control device is for controlling a light-passing aperture and comprises a blade group composed of plural light-shielding blades movable between an extended state in which the plural blades are extended in a partially overlapping condition and a superposed state in which the plural blades are stacked in a substantially overlapping state. The blade group comprises at least a blade provided with a flat area and a recessed area on each face thereof. The recessed area on one face is positioned substantially corresponding to the flat area on the other face, and at least one of the flat areas is in overlapping contact with a neighboring blade in said extended state of the blade group.

Light shield blades for light control device and light control device

In a camera having a moving body provided with an optical element which is movable over a predetermined distance in a predetermined direction in connection with a photographing operation, a shock absorbing device acting on a shock resulting from the movement of the moving body includes counterweight means having a greater inertial mass than the moving body, and drive means for moving the counterweight means and the moving body in synchronism with each other. The drive means moves the counterweight means in the direction opposite to the direction of movement of the moving bdy and over a distance shorter than the movement distance of the center of gravity of the moving body.

Mechanical shock absorbing device of a camera

A shutter blade for focal plane shutter, in which the blade thickness is made the thinnest possible by forming a plurality of recesses throughout the whole area, except for the connecting part of the blade with a drive mechanism and the outer peripheral edge of the blade. The recesses are in the regular polygonal shape such as hexagon, square, triangle, and so forth.

Growing community of inventors

Tokyo, Japan

Etsuo Tanaka