Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd.

Kenichi Kikuchi

Toshinobu Haruki

Kazuhiko Sugimoto

Masao Takuma

Akio Kobayashi

Hirotsugu Murashima

Akira Toba

Takashi Fujita

Hideto Hayashi

Masaru Hidaka

An electronic camera includes a shutter button. When the shutter button is half-depressed, a focal level of an object is determined on the basis of an image signal outputted from an imaging device, and a moving start position of a focus lens is settled on the basis of the determination result. More specifically, a correction amount of the moving start position is settled in accordance with the determination result of the focal level, and a position that subtracts the correction amount from a lens position at a time the shutter button being half-depressed is settled as the moving start position. The higher the focal level, the more reduced the correction amount. The focus lens gradually moves toward the imaging device from the settled moving start position, and a focal position is specified on the basis of the image signal outputted from the imaging device at each step.

Electronic camera and focus control method which minimizes the time required for adjusting a focus

An image pickup apparatus includes an image pickup unit which forms a subject image on an image pickup device through an optical system to generate an image pickup signal; an adjustment unit which changes an optical zoom magnification with respect to the subject image; and a control unit which records image data as a moving image in a memory in response to a moving image recording command, the image data being obtained based on the image pickup signal, and stops recording the moving image for a time period during which the zoom magnification is changed.

Image pickup apparatus and image pickup method

A camera includes a CPU. The CPU individually detects a ratio of an object which exceeds a threshold value in a moving amount to a center area of an object scene and a ratio of an object which exceeds the threshold value in the moving amount to a peripheral area of the object scene. If differences between the respective detected ratios are large, the CPU sets a photographing mode to a sports mode. When a shutter button is operated, the object scene is photographed in accordance with a set photographing mode.

Camera performing photographing in accordance with photographing mode depending on object scene

It is an object of the invention to prevent a taken image which is contrary to the intention of the user, from being derived in a video camera which comprises means for disabling an operation of a video monitor for displaying a taken image, and in which an exposure adjustment can be manually performed. The video camera has: an optical view finder; a video monitorfor displaying a taken image; a manual exposure adjuster (); and manual-exposure adjustment inhibiting means () for detecting that an operation of the video monitor is set to be disabled, and for inhibiting an exposure adjustment of the manual exposure adjuster.

Detecting/setting the on/off state of a display in a video camera with manual and automatic function

A video camera () includes a photographing device (). The photographing device () generates an image signal corresponding to an optical image irradiated on a light-receiving surface, and a monitor () displays a moving image based on a generated image signal. An amount of incident light into the photographing device () is controlled by an aperture apparatus () having an aperture blade that moves to a direction perpendicular to a light axis. A moving amount of the aperture blade is restricted by a predetermined value, and this defines a minimum value of an F number. When the moving image is displayed on the monitor (), it is prohibited to set to the minimum value of the F number.

Video camera with aperture blade

A still camera utilizes a focus evaluation value based on an imaging video signal to execute an autofocus operation by a hill-climbing control method. A CPU divides a focus area into a plurality of regions to obtain a focus evaluation value from a digital integrator for each of the regions. When the autofocus operation is restarted from the state of a monitoring mode in accordance with a variation of the focus evaluation value, the CPU detects a further hill of the focus evaluation value while forcibly moving a focus lens position always toward a near side, and when a maximal value of the once detected focus evaluation value is less than a certain standard value, additionally executes the autofocus operation.

Imaging apparatus having autofocus function

It is an object of the invention to prevent a taken image which is contrary to the intention of the user, from being derived in a video camera which comprises means for disabling an operation of a video monitor for displaying a taken image, and in which an exposure adjustment can be manually performed. The video camera has: an optical view finder ; a video monitor for displaying a taken image; a manual exposure adjuster ( ); and manual-exposure adjustment inhibiting means ( ) for detecting that an operation of the video monitor is set to be disabled, and for inhibiting an exposure adjustment of the manual exposure adjuster.

A digital camera includes a CPU. When a memory card is attached to the digital camera, the CPU determines as to a format formed on the memory card. If the format is a normal format, the CPU changes the normal format to an optimal format. However, where an image file is already stored in the memory card or a directory for a file other than the image file is formed, the CPU does not change the format.

Digital camera

A video camera includes a CCD imager, and an image corresponding to a camera signal outputted from all of charge areas of the CCD imager is outputted on a monitor in a normal mode. In a quadruplication mode, four (4) images corresponding to camera signals repeatedly outputted from one of quarter areas of the charge area are outputted on the monitor. A high-frequency luminance component value generation circuit generates a high-frequency luminance component value on the basis of a luminance signal to be outputted at a center of the monitor in the normal mode, and a high-frequency luminance component value on the basis of a luminance signal to be outputted at a center of one of quarter areas of the monitor in the quadruplication mode. A microcomputer controls a focus motor on the basis of the high-frequency luminance component values obtained in such manners so as to adjust a focus.

Video camera with high speed mode

A calculation circuit compares a current focus evaluation value provided from a focus evaluation value generation circuit, with a focus evaluation value, of one preceding field stored in a memory, to determine whether a CCD is in-focus or not. The calculation circuit provides a driving signal VD to a linear motor so that the CCD moves toward the in-focus position. A position prediction circuit predicts the position where the CCD arrives after a predetermined time period according to the driving signal VD. A comparator circuit compares a predicted result from the position prediction circuit with the actual moved position of the CCD detected by a position detection circuit to provide a signal Dpr corresponding to an amount of load according to the comparison result. A correction value determination circuit and a bias determination circuit correct the level of driving signal VD in response to signal Dpr to supply a second corrected driving signal VD2 to a voice coil.

Autofocus video camera that can compensate for variation in the amount

Sixty-four regions are established on an image sensed picture from a video camera, where evaluating value r.sub.ij, b.sub.ij, and y.sub.ij is obtained by averaging color difference signals R-Y and B-Y and luminance signal Y obtained from an image sensing signal for over 1 field period for each region. When the apparatus determines that the difference in the evaluating values between two adjacent regions does not exceed a predetermined value, that is, when that continuing regions have the same color, the weighing amount of the color evaluating values of a corresponding region is adjusted to limit its effect upon the gain control signals used to adjust the gain of the color signal amplifiers. As a result, the effect of objects of the same color towards white balance adjustment is reduced.

White balance adjusting apparatus for automatically adjusting white

Sixty-four regions are established on an image sensed picture from a video camera, where evaluating value r.sub.ij, b.sub.ij, and y.sub.ij is obtained by averaging color difference signals R-Y and B-Y and luminance signal Y obtained from an image sensing signal for over 1 field period for each region. When the apparatus determines that the difference in the evaluating values between two adjacent regions do not exceed a predetermined value, that is, when that continuing regions have the same color, the weighing amount of the color evaluating values of a corresponding region is adjusted to limit its effect upon the gain control signals used to adjust the gain of the color signal amplifiers. As a result, the effect of objects of the same color towards white balance adjustment is reduced.

Sixty-Four regions are established on an image sensed picture from a video camera, where evaluating value r.sub.ij, b.sub.ij, and y.sub.ij is obtained by averaging color difference signals R-Y and B-Y and luminance signal Y obtained from an image sensing signal for over 1 field period for each region. When the apparatus determines that the difference in the evaluating values between two adjacent regions do not exceed a predetermined value, that is, when that adjacent regions have the same color, the weighing amount of the color evaluating values of a corresponding region is adjusted to limit its effect upon the gain control signals used to adjust the gain of the color signal amplifiers. As a result, the effect of objects of the same color towards white balance adjustment is reduced.

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Daito, Japan

Kenichi Kikuchi