Olympus Optical Company, Ltd.

Kazuhiro Yamuchi

Osamu Nonaka

Akira Inoue

This distance measuring apparatus comprises a first light projecting device for projecting a distance measuring light to an object to be photographed in the central part of a picture; second and third light projecting devices for projecting distance measuring light to objects in the peripheral parts of the picture; a first distance measuring operating device for receiving the reflected light from the object in the central part of the picture and outputting the first distance information in response to the object distance; second and third distance measuring operating devices for receiving reflected light from objects in the peripheral parts of the picture and outputting second and third distance informations in response to the object distances; and a photographing distance determining device for determining a photographing distance based on the above mentioned distance information. The photographing distance determining device has a first judging part for judging the first distance information to be a photographing distance in case the first distance information is within a predetermined distance range; a second judging part for judging either of the first and second distance informations to be a photographing distance in case the first distance information is a distance nearer than the predetermined distance range and the second distance information is also a distance nearer than the predetermined distance; and a third judging part for judging the first distance information to be a photographing distance in case the first distance information is in a distance farther than the predetermined distance.

Growing community of inventors

Hachioji, Japan

Kazuhiro Yamuchi