Nikon Corporation

Kiyosada Machida

Hiroshi Wakabayashi

Junichi Omi

Daiki Tsukahara

Hidenori Miyamoto

Minoru Kato

Noriyasu Kotani

Hidefumi Ohta

Hideya Inoue

Yuji Katano

Tomoki Nishimura

Minoru Katoh

Kazuyuki Kazami

Akio Nishizawa

Toshiyuki Nakamura

Norikazu Yokonuma

Akira Katayama

Yoshio Imura

Hitoshi Aoki

Tatsuo Amanuma

Toshio Sosa

Yoshiaki Ohtsubo

Yoshikazu Iida

Hiroshi Terunuma

Tadashi Otani

Yoshihiro Takeuchi

Hachiro Kanai

Yukikazu Iwane

Masayuki Koga

Yoshihiro Takeuchii

Hatsuko Ogasawara

Mitsuru Higuchi

It is possible to provide a user-friendly camera. Provided is an illumination device for emitting illumination light for photographing by a camera including: a light emission unit which can emit lights of a plurality of different colors and/or a plurality of different light emission amounts as the illumination light; and a light emission control unit which controls the light emission unit so as to continuously emit the illumination light while changing the color and/or the light emission amount as the time elapses, independently of photographing by the camera.

Illumination device for photographing and camera

Equipped with a display element which displays a visual field frame in the picture plane by means of obstructing the subject light beam, and which is formed from material which scatters light, and irradiation means which irradiates light to the said display element. When the irradiation means is caused to operate, because its light is scattered by the display element and guided to the eyepiece side, the display element can namely cause the visual field frame portion to shine brightly.

Finder apparatus

A camera having a lens barrier unit that opens without encountering obstructions in response to the operation of an operating member and without increasing the size of the lens barrel of the camera. The lens barrier unit covers the front surface of a photographic lens in a closed position, and moves clear of the front surface of the photographic lens in an open position. A sliding member, which is a separate member from the operating member, mechanically drives the lens barrier unit to an open position in response to the movement of an operating member by means of the operation for photographic preparation (e.g., when the camera is switched ON), and drives the lens barrier unit to a closed position, by coupling to the movement of the photographic lens unit while moving from the extended position to the retracted position (e.g., when the camera is switched OFF). The camera may include a finder optical system for visually recognizing an image of an object, with the sliding member disposed in the vicinity of a film aperture. The slide member is disposed in a face-to-face position to the finder optical system with the film aperture being interposed therebetween.

Camera having a lens barrier unit opening/closing mechanism

A zoom lens barrel includes at least two lens groups, a linear movement guide tube for guiding a linear movement of the lens groups along the optical axis and a cam tube for reciprocating the lens groups along the optical axis. The guide tube has a guiding portion formed on a film side end portion of the guide tube and extends in parallel with a film surface.

Zoom lens barrel

A self-timer camera equipped with a red-eye reducing function is provided with a photographing device that performs photographing, a light emitting device that performs light emission to illuminate the photographic subject in synchronization with the operation of the photographing device when the condition for flash photographing is present and which also performs pre-light emission for red-eye reduction prior to the light emission for illuminating the photographic subject if a red-eye reducing mode is being set when the condition for flash photographing is present, a photographing control device, which causes the photographing device to operate after a specific length of self-timer time has elapsed from the time point at which a photographing start instruction was output when a self-timer mode is set, and a mode setting device, which sets the self-timer mode in response to a specific operation and which also sets the red-eye reducing mode as the self-timer mode is set.

Self-timer camera equipped with a red-eye reducing function

A viewfinder device having an optical path for viewing a photographic image includes a plurality of visual field frames. Each of the plurality of visual field frames define a photographic range. In addition, each of the plurality of visual field frames is positioned on one of a plurality of visual field frame display units. The plurality of visual field frame display units have overlapping regions and are positioned on a viewfinder mask member. The viewfinder mask member is movable in the optical path. The overlapping portions of the visual field frame display units reduce an amount of movement necessary to move the viewfinder mask member to position the visual field frames within the optical path.

Viewfinder device of display plural visual frames

A miniaturized camera includes a cartridge chamber and a spool chamber positioned on either side of a lens barrel, thereby creating a gap above said lens barrel and a gap below said lens barrel. A battery is positioned in one of said gaps and at least one motor member, such as a lens barrel drive motor, is positioned in one of said gaps. Accordingly, the camera is not enlarged in size and miniaturization can be achieved.

Miniaturized camera employing motor members

A camera having selectable normal and trimming photographing modes and a photographing zoom lens, has a control system, including a zooming motor for driving the zoom lens, operable to set a desired focal length in response to the actuation of a control element. When a desired focal length is within the normal zooming range of the zoom lens, the normal photographing mode is selected and the zoom lens is driven to the desired focal length in response to actuation of the control element. When the desired focal length is greater than the focal length at the telephoto end of the zoom lens, the trimming photographing mode is selected, and the zoom lens is driven to the telephoto end, is then driven toward the wide angle end to a predetermined focal length at which a product of the predetermined focal length and a predetermined trimming magnification is equal to the focal length at the telephoto end, and is then again driven toward the telephoto end to a further focal length at which the product of the further focal length and the predetermined trimming magnification is equal to the desired focal length.

Multi-motor camera for normal and trimming photography having variable

In a camera, there is a requirement for ensuring the timing of opening and closing a film cartridge light cutoff door when a cartridge chamber lid is opened and closed, and moreover for lightening the operational force for opening and closing the cartridge chamber lid. In view of these requirements, the camera according to the present invention includes a cartridge chamber into which a film cartridge which comprises a light cutoff door is loaded, a cartridge chamber lid which is selectively opened and closed so as respectively to communicate the cartridge chamber to the exterior or to isolate the cartridge chamber from external light, and a door opening and closing mechanism which exerts opening driving force upon the light cutoff door so as to open it, after the cartridge chamber has been isolated from external light by closing operation of the cartridge chamber lid. Preferably, the door opening and closing mechanism comprises an energy storage mechanism which stores energy from the cartridge chamber closing operation in order to open the light shielding door of the cartridge. The opening of the light cutoff door is started only after the cartridge chamber has been isolated from external light by closing operation of the cartridge chamber lid.

Camera equipped with light cutoff door opening and closing mechanism

A camera capable of operating in a red-eye prevention mode. The camera has an electronic flash device which is activated by a drive circuit in synchronization with the exposure. The electronic flash device also serve as a pre-light-emission device capable of performing pre-light-emission for the purpose of preventing red-eye effect. When it is judged from the photographing condition that red-eye effect may occur, a controller activates the electronic flash device to effect a pre-light-emission for reducing the size of pupils of eyes of a person to be photographed, before the main flashing which is executed in synchronization with the exposure.

Control device for preventing red-eye effect on camera

A high magnification zoom lens barrel including a drive ring having a short length in the optical axis direction to permit a compact camera configuration. The zoom lens barrel includes a first lens group support member to support a first lens group, and a second lens group support member to support a second lens group. The drive ring advances and withdraws the first lens group support member in the optical axis direction as the drive ring itself advances or withdraws in the optical axis direction as it rotates. The drive ring drives the first lens group support member with helicoids. A drive cam member is driven by the drive ring to rotate so that as the drive cam member rotates, it advances and withdraws the second lens group support member relative to the first lens group support member. A second drive ring is inserted into the drive cam member and rotates relative to the drive ring and is able to move in unison with the drive ring in the optical axis direction.

High magnification zoom lens barrel including a drive ring having a

A camera in which lenses in a lens system can be easily adjusted and manufacturing steps can be eliminated. The camera is equipped with an aperture which regulates the exposure region of a film, and a pressure plate with a tool insertion aperture hole formed in a region opposite the aperture. The tool insertion hole is disposed at the back surface of the aperture. This tool insertion hole allows for easy and efficient adjustment of the lenses making up the camera's lens system. Usually, the lens system is a zoom lens system.

Camera having adjustable aperture

A drive mechanism for adjusting the spacing between first and second lens groups spaced apart from each other along the optical axis of a lens barrel of an optical device. The lens barrel is movable between a collapsed position inside the body of the optical device, a wide angle position and a telephoto angle position. The drive mechanism includes a member having a cam groove, and a guide member fit into the cam groove and connected to the second lens group for adjusting the spacing between the first and second lens groups. The guide member (a) moves in a first direction along the cam groove to adjust the spacing as the lens barrel is moved to the telephoto angle position, (b) moves in a second direction, opposite the first direction, along the cam groove to adjust the spacing as the lens barrel is moved from the telephoto angle position to the wide angle position, and (c) moves in the first direction along the cam groove to adjust the spacing as the lens barrel is moved from the wide angle position to the collapsed position.

Drive mechanism for collapsing a lens barrel into the body of a camera

A camera provided with a rear surface switch includes a pressure plate. The pressure plate maintains film in a flattened alignment within a film exposure region of the camera. An external cover encloses a rear of the pressure plate. A switch includes a movable operational member that protrudes from the cover. An electrical conductive member is attached to the rear of the pressure plate. An electrical signal is output in accordance with the movement of the operational member. The operational force resulting from the movement of the operational member is supported by the pressure plate.

Camera provided with a rear surface switch

To avoid making a device body larger through positioning of a rotation shaft of a cartridge cover, a device having a device body containing a cartridge chamber into which a film cartridge can be inserted and removed in a axial direction, a cartridge cover provided on the device body which opens and closes the cartridge chamber by rotating about a predetermined axis of rotation, and a device-composing component positioned to the side of the cartridge chamber to extend in a first direction orthogonal to the direction of insertion and removal of the cartridge, the axis of rotation of the cartridge cover extends in a second direction inclined to the first direction from a position near device-composing component. The positioning of the axis of rotation of the cartridge cover in the camera body and not along an edge or corner also improves the camera's aesthetic and ergonomic qualities.

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Urawa, Japan

Kiyosada Machida