Olympus Optical Company, Ltd.

Hideaki Kume

Yasuo Asakura

Takaaki Ue

Tatsuya Suzuki

Takashi Suzuki

Kunio Yokoyama

Yasuo Yamazaki

Shunji Matsutani

Yuichi Torikoshi

Masatoshi Sato

Lei Shi

Gouichi Hiratsuka

Giichi Kaneta

Goichi Hiratsuka

Hideki Okubo

A camera is provided that includes a camera housing and a TFT panel, which permits verification of a formed image, located on the back of the camera housing. A strobe unit and an electronic viewfinder unit are located in the upper part of the camera housing. The electronic viewfinder unit has a unit body including: a TFT panel permitting viewing of an object image; an eyepiece opposed to the back of the camera housing and used to view the object image displayed on the TFT panel; and a prism serving as an optical path conversion member that bends by a predetermined angle light emitted from an object image displayed on the TFT panel so as to route the light to the eyepiece, and adjoining the TFT panel and the eyepiece.

Camera

A switch operating unit for a camera is assembled in the switch supporting frame of the front cover thereof and provided with an inner button, an outer button, and a dial for switch operation. Under the buttons and the dial, there is provided a metal supporting plate for supporting same. Under the supporting plate, there is provided a flexible printed circuit (FPC). Since the contact of the supporting plate is in contact with the ground pattern on the FPC, even when static electricity is generated with or applied to those buttons or the dial, such static electricity is directed to the ground through the supporting plate. Thus, the electronic circuit element mounted on the FPC is protected against static electricity.

Electrostatic insulation for an operating unit for electronic equipment

A lens barrel assembly includes a lens barrel and a lens hood detachably mounted on the lens barrel. A lens barrel includes a mounting threaded portion and three guide rails at three circularly equally spaced positions around the lens barrel. Each guide rail is provided with a forward latch and a rearward latch. The lens hood is constructed of an elastically deformable member, and has a notch to be engaged with the rail. The lens hood is in sliding engagement with the outer circumference of the lens barrel, and is movable between a retracted position and a photographing position. At each position, the lens hood is locked by the respective latch. The lens hood is easily shifted to the photographing position or to the retracted position along the lens barrel, and is also easily attached to and detached from a camera.

Lens barrel assembly

A camera comprises a fixed lens barrel including a moving lens barrel movable to a collapsed position for non-photography and to a thrust position for photography, and a lens cover capable of pivoting with support shafts, which lie parallel to a plane substantially perpendicular to the optical axis of a photography lens, as a center so as to move to a closed position at which at least part of the face of the photography lens is shielded and to an open position at which the face of the photography lens is exposed. When the lens cover is open, if an external force is applied in a direction in which the lens cover is further opened, the lens cover comes off from the support shafts. The support shafts are formed with two shaft members whose distal portions are formed with tapered surfaces and which are constrained to move in directions in which they are separated from each other. The support shafts are mounted on a member which allows the support shafts to move along the optical axis of the photography lens.

A camera comprises a fixed lens barrel including a moving lens barrel moveable to a collapsed position for non-photography and to a thrust position for photography, and a lens cover capable of pivoting with support shafts, which lie parallel to a plane substantially perpendicular to the optical axis of a photography lens, as a center so as to move to a closed position at which at least part of the face of the photography lens is shielded and to an open position at which the face of the photography lens is exposed. When the lens cover is open, if an external force is applied in a direction in which the lens cover is further opened, the lens cover separates from the support shafts. The support shafts are formed with two shaft members whose distal portions are formed with tapered surfaces and which are constrained to move in directions in which they are separated from each other.

Pivotally mounted lens cover for a moveable lens barrel capable of being

In a camera according to the present invention, a parallax correction indicator for normal-size photography and a parallax correction indicator for panorama-size photography, which are formed on an image formation plane of a finder optical system, are separately displayed in a finder image display screen set in N photographing mode and in a finder image display screen set in P photographing mode. Therefore, using the camera or the present invention, the finder display will not be complicated but be easy to see during N size photography and panorama-size photography alike. This reduces occurrence of a photographic error.

A photographic camera capable of switching the size of a photographic image includes a photographic image size information display device for displaying information on the size of a photographed image on a tongue portion of the film and/or a film cartridge in which the film is loaded. The photographic image size information display device includes a device for printing a printing type in accordance with the photographic image size, and a marking device for making a mark using a laser. Information on the photographic image size can be displayed automatically by this camera using these devices. As a result, no special inconvenience is given to a photographer, and the photographic image size can be reliably recognized in a processing laboratory.

Photographic image size switching camera

The picture-format switchable camera of the present invention is fabricated with a photographic optical system which, in this invention, is a photographic lens; a display unit portion having a lamp light source, a reflection mirror, a condenser lens, and a liquid crystal display; and a mechanical portion, for switching the image plane, having a mask for switching the image plane while retaining an objective lens of an image-forming optical system for inscribing data and a total reflection mirror, and a mask B located in the position facing the mask A; wherein a data-inscribing operation can form the image of the inscribing data on a film by moving the data-inscribing optical system such as the objective lens being interlocked with the up-and-down movement of the mask. Accordingly, an image of the inscribing data can be formed in the predetermined position in accordance with the switched picture format.

Picture-format switchable camera

A camera wherein the photographed picture size can be switched and is formed mostly of a magnification variable finder optical system, a photographed picture size switching mechanism and a finder visual field frame switching mechanism. When the picture size is switched by operating the photographed picture size switching mechanism, the finder magnification will be altered to a magnification corresponding to the picture size through a finder cam as operatively connected with the operation and at the same time the finder visual field frame will be also altered in conformity with the finder magnification and picture size. According to this camera, for example, even if the picture frame becomes narrow, the finder magnification will be elevated by switching the picture size and further the image will be made easy to observe by expanding the finder visual field frame.

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Hachioji, Japan

Hideaki Kume