Minolta Camera Kabushiki Kaisha

Minolta Company, Ltd.

Minolta Camera Co., Ltd.

Minolta Camera K.k.

Minolta Camera Corporation

Nobuyuki Taniguchi

Masaaki Nakai

Takeo Hoda

Manabu Inoue

Hiroshi Ueda

Tokuji Ishida

Yoshinobu Kudo

Yoshiaki Hata

Takanobu Omaki

Norio Ishikawa

Masataka Hamada

Masayoshi Sahara

Akihiko Fujino

Toshihiko Karasaki

Masatake Niwa

Toshio Norita

Yasuaki Akada

Minoru Sekida

Kenji Tsuji

Hiroshi Ootsuka

Takeshi Egawa

Shuji Izumi

Hiromu Mukai

Toshihiko Ishimura

Hiroshi Hosomizu

Reiji Seki

Akira Fujii

Toshio Yamaki

Shinji Tominaga

Kenji Ishibashi

Yoshihiro Tanaka

Tadahiro Yoshida

Mashio Kitaura

Katsuyuki Nanba

Hisashi Tokumaru

Michihiro Iwata

Kouji Yamamoto

Kunio Kawamura

Kiyoshi Seigenji

Yoshiiku Kikukawa

Akira Yamanaka

Toshiaki Matsumoto

Ikushi Nakamura

Masayuki Nakasa

Toru Inoue

Dai Shintani

Takehiro Katoh

Yoshio Yuasa

Hisayuki Masumoto

Motonobu Matsuda

Akiyoshi Nakamura

Tsuneyo Metabi

Yasuteru Yamano

Yujiro Mima

Yoshito Tanaka

Shigeru Wada

Masatoshi Itoh

Tsutomu Ichikawa

Hideo Kajita

Motohiro Nakanishi

Hirokazu Naruto

Tohru Matsui

Shigeru Oyokota

Tatsuro Izumi

Shuzo Matsushita

Atsushi Sumitani

Hiroyuki Okada

Sadafusa Tsuji

Junji Hashimura

Masayasu Hirano

Kazuchika Sato

Yasuhiro Morimoto

Hidehiko Fujii

Makoto Ando

Shuji Ogino

Keiji Yamazaki

Mitsuru Saito

Makoto Kamiya

Hiroshi Ishibe

Masayuki Ikemura

Isamu Uchida

Nobuya Miki

Masakazu Yagi

Junichi Tanii

Takeshi Hashimoto

Takashi Kondo

Nobuharu Murashima

Hirokazu Yamada

Toshio Kobori

Noriyuki Okisu

Yasuhiro Nanba

Hidekazu Nakajima

Sadanobu Ueda

Norihiro Inoue

Noriyuki Ishii

Ichiro Yoshiyama

Shinichi Yokoyama

Masaaki Makai

Masaaki Kakai

Masaki Nakai

A still video camera or apparatus which eliminates possible erasure in error of a picture image to be maintained and wherein a picture image recorded in an internal memory can be reproduced readily. The camera comprises image pickup means, recording means for recording a picture image signal obtained by the image pickup means into a record medium which may be an internal memory or a removable IC card, manually operable means, protect signal recording means operable in response to an operation of the manually operable means for recording into the record medium a protect signal representative of inhibition of erasure of a picture image signal recorded in the record medium, and controlling means for inhibiting erasure of a picture image signal at a portion of the record medium corresponding to the thus recorded protect signal.

Still video camera having protecting function

A still video camera which eliminates possible erroneous erasure of a picture image recorded in an internal memory of the camera. The camera has an image pickup apparatus and a recorder for recording a picture image signal obtained by the image pickup apparatus into a record medium which may be an internal memory or a removable IC card. Further, the camera has a manually operable switch and a protect signal recording apparatus operable in response to the operation of the manually operable switch for recording a protect signal into the record medium. The protect signal will inhibit the erasure of a picture image signal recorded in the record medium. The camera also has a controller for inhibiting erasure of a picture image signal at a portion of the record medium corresponding to the protect signal.

Still video camera in which erroneous erasure of picture image is prevented

A camera in which the ratio of an object to the photographing frame can be set comprises a varifocal lens in which the in-focus position is changed in accordance with the change in the focal lens and a focusing lens for correcting the focus by the varifocal lens. The size of the object is set to the desired size by using the varifocal lens, and thereafter the deviation of the in-focus point is controlled by the focusing lens. Since the zooming is carried out by using a varifocal lens, a camera can be provided in which the ratio of an object to the photographing frame can be set in a simple structure.

Camera having a varifocal lens

A camera capable of taking pictures selectively in a standard or full size frame and a panorama frame having a reduced vertical dimension. This camera includes vertically movable light-shielding members for partly light-shielding an exposure range of the standard frame to set an exposure range of the panorama frame. When the panorama frame is selected, a warning is given on a display provided on the camera body to the effect that a date and other photographic information cannot be recorded on pictures taken in the panorama frame. The shutter of the camera includes an electronic device for detecting an amount of light traveling from a photographic object to which light is flashed. Output of this device is used for suitably controlling exposure for photography in the standard and panorama frames.

Camera

A camera able to record and reproduce a photographed image includes a storage medium for storing a photographed image, and a reproduction device for reproducing the photographed image. The reproduction device has a reproducing head movable between a contraction position and a withdrawal position. Another camera has a first mode where photography is executed and a photographed image is recorded to a second mode where the recorded image is printed. Another camera has a printer device for printing a photographed image recorded on a recording medium on external reproduction paper, the printer device including an opening portion facing the external reproduction paper, and a presser member positionable above the opening portion for pressing the external reproduction paper.

Camera capable of recording and reproducing a photographed image

Camera capable of taking pictures in both standard frame and panoramic

A camera having a covering member which covers the upper side of the camera and having a projecting portion shaped as a pentagonal reflecting member; a first manually operable portion located at the covering member on one side of the projecting portion for designating one of a plurality of kinds of photographic data; a second manually operable portion located at the covering member on the other side of the projecting portion and adapted for commonly altering any of the plurality of kinds of photographing data to actually alter the designated one thereof in combination with the actual designation by the first manually operable portion; a light measuring device for measuring the luminance of the object to be photographed; a calculator for carrying out an exposure calculation based on the result of the light measuring; a display portion for displaying at least either one of shutter speed and aperture value obtained by the exposure calculation; and a display controller for controlling the display such that, when the first manually operable portion is operated, the display of at least either one of shutter speed and aperture value is turned off, and instead a designated photographing data is displayed.

Camera system

A camera system is capable of operating in a number of different photographic modes and includes a display system which provides information relevant to each of the modes. The camera system also includes an automatic film rewinding mechanism that has two modes of operation. In a first, automatic, mode, the tensioning of the film during winding is detected to indicate the end of the roll of film. Upon such detection, the film is automatically and fully rewound into the film cartridge. In a second, user selectable, mode a signal is manually provided by the user to initiate film rewinding. Rewinding of the film is stopped just prior to the time the end of the film enters the cartridge, so that a portion of the film leader remains extended outside of the cartridge.

Film rewinding mechanism that fully retracts the film or leaves it

A camera having a lens, whereby a power source in the camera is activated in response to a mechanical switch on the lens.

A flash apparatus which allows flashlight photographing of various subjects in a photographing screen in appropriate exposure by simple operation without failure. The flash apparatus comprises a flashlight emitting section having a predetermined irradiation angle with respect to a light emission optical axis, and irradiating direction changing means for automatically changing the direction of the light emission optical axis of the flashlight emitting section in response to subject information such as distribution information of brightness values of or distances to subjects in a photographing screen. Also a camera is disclosed which assures photographing of a main subject with appropriate exposure even when the main subject is in a backlighted condition or when another body is positioned nearer to the camera than the main subject.

Flash apparatus

A film winding/rewinding mechanism of a camera driven by an ultrasonic wave motor. The winding driving section includes a cylindrical spool and a cylindrical first ultrasonic wave vibrator provided in the spool. A roller urged by a leaf spring is pressed against the peripheral surface of the spool, so that the peripheral surface of the vibrator contacts the inner surface of the spool at a point in the circumferential direction thereof. The film rewinding driving section includes a film rewinding fork, a cylindrical member mounted on the periphery of the rewinding fork, and a cylindrical second ultrasonic wave vibrator provided between the rewinding fork and the cylindrical member. The diameter of the outer circumference of the second ultrasonic wave vibrator is greater than the diameter of the outer circumference of the first vibrator. In winding/rewinding the film, the cylindrical member is urged by the tension of the film, so that the peripheral surface of the cylindrical member contacts the peripheral surface of the second vibrator contacts at a point in the circumferential direction thereof. In winding the film, a voltage is applied to the first vibrator to rotate the spool. In rewinding the film, a voltage is applied to the second vibrator to rotate the fork.

Film winding/rewinding mechanism of camera

A photographic system includes a photographing device for photographing subjects to generate respective image data of the subjects, the photographing device having an image information production device for producing image information concerning the photography for each of the subjects, and a storage device for storing the produced image information, and a reproduction device for reproducing the image data, the reproduction device having a retrieval condition input device for inputting a retrieval condition, a retrieval device responsive to the retrieval condition input device for retrieving image data having a connection with the input retrieval condition by inference, and a reproducing device for reproducing the retrieved image data.

Photographic system capable of storing information on photographed image

A camera system including a camera body and a camera accessory attachable to the camera body, such as an interchangeable back lid, an interchangeable lens, a flash device and so on, is disclosed. In the system, a plurality of circuits provided in plurality of camera accessories are controlled by a microcomputer provided in the camera body. Data is transmitted between the microcomputer and the circuits using a serial data bus and synchronizing clock line connected therebetween. The circuit to receive the data sent from the microcomputer, or the circuit which should send the data to the microcomputer are selected by the microcomputer through chip select lines provided between the microcomputer and each circuit.

Growing community of inventors

Nishinomiya, Japan

Nobuyuki Taniguchi