Minolta Camera Kabushiki Kaisha

Hiroyuki Tsumazawa

Masatoshi Itoh

Takashi Iida

Daigo Yoshioka

Hiroshi Kiten

Atsushi Kuwada

Takashi Kondo

Tadahiro Yoshida

Hidenori Fukuoka

Takeya Tsukamoto

Kazuhiko Kojima

Tetsuo Kono

A camera has a zoom lens which includes a variator and a compensator. However, in order to simplify the whole external form of the camera, reduce the size thereof, and further to materially eliminate the treatment of appearance of the taking lens, a linear movement means which includes a threaded shaft provided for linearlly moving a variator and a compensator composing a zoom lens and the nuts to be engaged with the threaded shaft and an electrically driving means for driving this linear movement means are covered by a housing of a camera body, a zoom operation key provided on this housing is caused to be operationally related to an electric circuit which drives and controls the motor.

Camera

An indicator provided on the surface of a video camera for warning of the occurrence of a matter which interrupts the recording; for example, dew on a recording head and the approach of a tape end. These occurrences during a recording operation must be informed to a subject as well as to a photographer who stands without looking into a finder of the video camera.

Video camera having an indicator for warning of the occurrence of

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 has a zoom lens which includes a variator and a compensator. However, in order to simplify the whole external form of the camera, reduce the size thereof, and further to materially eliminate the treatment of appearance of the taking lens, a linear movement means which includes a threaded shaft provided for linearlly moving a variator and a compensator composing a zoom lens and the nuts to be engaged with the threaded shaft and an electrically driving means for driving this linear movement means are covered by a housing of a camera body, a zoom operation key provided on this housing is caused to be operatively related to an electric circuit which drives and controls the motor.

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.

A trigger device for a sound motion picture camera actuates a capstan drive mechanism of the camera at an initial stage of advancing movement of a reciprocatable trigger member and claw and shutter drive mechanism of the camera simultaneously with resilient contact of a pinch roller holder with a capstan at a final stage of the advancing movement of the trigger member. A locking member releasably locking a pinch roller holder at its retracted position wherein the pinch roller is separated from the capstan, is disposed in the path of the advancing movement of the trigger member at a position wherein it is disabled by the trigger member at the final stage of the advancing movement of the trigger member. A wire spring of relatively small spring constant is engaged with the pinch roller holder and a movable member, which is in turn engageable with the trigger member upon the advancing movement of the trigger member, such that the wire spring is loaded by way of the movable member in response to the advancing movement of the trigger member, for urging the pinch roller holder towards an advanced position wherein the pinch roller is in resilient contact with the capstan. A switch is disposed in the path of the movement of the pinch roller holder so as to be activated for actuating the claw and shutter drive mechanism of the camera when the pinch roller holder is moved to its advanced position after released from the locking member.

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Osaka, Japan

Hiroyuki Tsumazawa