Nikon Corporation

Ryuichi Mori

Nobuo Matsukawa

Keiji Osawa

Sunao Nishioka

Yoshiyuki Nakano

Keiji Ohsawa

Masao Owashi

Yasuaki Ishiguro

Masaaki Tsukamoto

Tetsuo Goto

A waterproof housing for housing a device that is adapted to receive a sub-assembly. The waterproof housing includes a body having a wall. The wall includes an aperture. The aperture has dimensions corresponding to the sub-assembly. The aperture provides operative access to the device to allow it to receive the sub-assembly through the aperture. The waterproof housing is suitable for housing devices that may have compartments or portions which are to receive corresponding sub-assemblies. Such devices include, but are not limited to, film-based cameras that utilize film cartridges, digital imaging cameras that utilize replaceable data storage modules (RAM cards, magnetic media such as diskettes, etc.), video cameras that utilize magnetic tape cassettes, and devices that utilize batteries maintained in battery compartments.

Waterproof housing for a device adapted to receive a removable sub-assembly

A power focus device for a camera provides a user-friendly lever interface allowing efficient camera operation. A lever, located outside a camera cover, is movable in two opposing directions but is biased to remain at a neutral position between two extremes of movement. Moving the lever from the neutral position initiates driving the camera lens to focus in either a first or a second direction according to a direction of a displacement of the lever from the neutral position. A speed of focusing is proportional to an amount of displacement of the lever from the neutral position, thus permitting variable high and low speed focusing in both directions for rapid and accurate close-up and infinity focussing. Incorporating a seal into the device permits use in underwater camera applications.

Power focus device for a camera

A camera having a depth priority operation mode calculates a stop value and perform photography such that multiple objects at different distances all enter into the photographic depth of field. When the calculated stop value is less than the smallest possible stop value of a photographic lens attached to the camera, the photographic lens is driven so that the closest object is placed on the photographic lens side of the focal surface, when the closest object is focused into the photographic depth of field.

Camera having a depth priority operation mode

In order to prevent water that passes by the seal between an outer box and a back plate of a waterproof camera when the back plate is opened from damaging a camera mechanism, a cover that covers the gap between the outer box and the camera mechanism is formed so that the radially inner portion of the cover, which forms an aperture through which the rear portion of the camera mechanism can be accessed, protrudes toward the back plate farther than the radially outer portion of the cover.

Waterproof camera

An autofocus camera conducts a focus detection operation with one of differently directed sets of photoelectric conversion elements which is given priority according to the detected attitude of the camera. If focusing cannot be effected using the elements given priority, a focus detection operation is automatically conducted with the other elements. Also provided is a camera having a first mode of operation in which focusing detecting operations are conducted which collectively utilize outputs of all of the elements of differently directed sets of photoelectric conversion elements when a first camera attitude is detected, and a second mode of operation in which focusing detecting operations are conducted which collectively disregard the output of at least one conversion element when a second camera attitude is detected.

Autofocus camera

A camera with an automatic bracketing device for permitting photographing of a plurality of frames in group while exposure is stepwise changed under a certain exposure condition solves a problem which is caused when the number of frames to be photographed in a bracketing photographing mode is set larger than the number of remaining available frames of a film. The camera comprises means for calculating the number of remaining available frames based on the number of available frames of the film loaded and the number of photographed frames, means for calculating a proper exposure, means for setting the number of frames to be photographed in a bracketing photographing mode in which a plurality of frames are photographed with changing exposures, and means for setting the number of steps of exposure to be changed in the bracketing photographing mode. When the set number of frames to be photographed is larger than the number of remaining available frames, the set number of frames to be photographed is automatically changed to a number which is no larger than the number of remaining available frames so that a frame with the proper exposure is photographed.

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Yokohama, Japan

Ryuichi Mori