Panasonic Corporation

Kouji Shibuno

Mitsuyoshi Okamoto

Taizo Aoki

Hiroshi Ueda

Kenichi Honjo

Takayuki Hayashi

Masato Murayama

Michihiko Ootsuka

In a camera system according to the present invention, a lens controller obtains an exposure synchronizing signal that is generated by a camera controller from a camera body, causes a configuration formed of a first encoder, a second encoder and a counter to detect the position of a focus lens according to the obtained exposure synchronizing signal, and notifies the camera body of the detected position of the focus lens. The camera controller associates the position of the focus lens or the mechanism member obtained from the lens controller with an AF evaluation value based on the exposure synchronizing signal, and controls an autofocus operation of the camera system based on the position and AF evaluation value that are associated with each other. With this configuration, it is possible to improve the accuracy of an autofocus operation with a contrast system.

Camera system

In an image pickup device of the present invention, in the case where a mode switchselects a finder mode, a focusing lens is driven at a first speed when a focusing operation is performed in a focus control unit. In the case where the mode switchselects a live view mode, the driving speed of the focusing lens is switched in a range lower than the first speed in accordance with brightness of an object detected by a photometric unitwhen the focusing operation is performed in the focus control unit. With such a configuration, a lens driving control method is changed by AF control of a phase difference detection system and AF control of a hill climbing system, and a driving system suitable for each AF system is performed, whereby the focusing operation can be performed normally at a high speed.

Image picking-up device with a moving focusing lens

A lens position calculator is provided that determines a phase of a driving signal as a reference position of an imaging lens when an output value of a position detection sensor reaches a threshold value. The lens position calculator determines a position obtained by performing addition or subtraction on the reference position read out from a reference position storage as a judgment position, detects an output value of the position detection sensor at a timing in synchronization with the driving signal that drives a driver and at the judgment position, and judges whether the output value of the position detection sensor at the judgment position reaches the threshold value or not, so as to determine the reference position again.

Lens driving apparatus, imaging apparatus, and lens barrel and camera main body used for this

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Osaka, Japan

Kouji Shibuno