Asahi Kogaku Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

Pentax Corporation

Hoya Corporation

Pentax Ricoh Imaging Company, Ltd.

Asahi Kogaku Kabushiki Kaisha

Asahi Kogaku Kogyo K.k.

Shigeru Iwamoto

Masahiro Kawasaki

Hiroyuki Takahashi

Tadahisa Ohkura

Masahiro Nakata

Osamu Sato

Kazuhito Taneoka

Toshihiro Hamamura

Yutaka Ohsawa

Tetsuo Hosokawa

Hidefumi Kaneko

Yukio Uenaka

Shinichi Kakiuchi

Isamu Hirai

Takuya Hasegawa

Yoshio Wakui

Isamu Hashimoto

Naoto Asakura

Hiroyuki Takahasi

Taizo Matsumasa

A camera according to the present invention is equipped with an image sensor; an A/D converter that converts analog image-pixel signals read from the image sensor to digital image-pixel signals; an image stabilizer that comprises a coil and a movable member configured to move in a given direction while supporting the image sensor; an image stabilization controller that controls a position of the movable member at given time intervals by sending pulse drive signals through the coil; and a timing adjustment processor that shifts at least one of a rise timing and fall timing of the pulse drive signals from a signal-processing interval associated with an A/D conversion process.

Camera with image stabilization function

A sequential shooting controller includes both high and low load drive modes, and first and second power-voltage detectors. The high/low load drive modes drive a device under high/low loads. The first power-voltage detector detects a power-voltage by connecting a load. The second power-voltage detector detects the voltage across the device. The first power-voltage detector is actuated at the beginning of sequential shooting before a first image capturing operation starts. The high load image capturing operation starts when the voltage detected by the first power-voltage detector is higher than a first threshold. The low load image capturing operation starts when the voltage detected by the first power-voltage detector is lower than the first threshold. The second power-voltage detector is driven during a high load image capturing operation. The second power-voltage detector is disabled during a low load image capturing operation.

Sequential shooting controller

A dust removal apparatus of a photographing apparatus comprises a movable unit and a controller. The movable unit has an imaging device and is movable. The controller strikes the movable unit against a boundary of a range of movement of the movable unit as a dust removal operation. The controller counts the number of times of the dust removal operation, measures an elapsed time from the point when counting the number of times of the dust removal operation commences. When the elapsed time is less than or equal to a time period and the number of times of the dust removal operation is equal to or greater than a predetermined number of times, the controller halts the dust removal operation until a predetermined time period has elapsed.

Dust removal apparatus of photographing apparatus

A focus detection device includes an AF sensor which converts received object light into electrical charges, integrates the electrical charges, and outputs the integrated electrical charges as a video signal in pixel units; a photometering sensor which converts received light into an electrical signal to output the electrical signal as a photometering signal; a flicker repetition period determining device for determining a flicker repetition period of the received object light from fluctuations of the photometering signal of the photometering sensor; and a controller which causes the AF sensor to start integrating the electrical charges in synchronization with the flicker repetition period.

Focus detection device including reduction of fluctuations due to flickering light

A camera has a viewfinder that forms a subject image to be observed, a multipoint auto-focus adjuster that focuses the subject image on the basis of multiple focus points defined on the subject image, a superimposer that superimposes an indicator mark on a position of a given focus point, and a focus point luminance detector that detects a luminance of the position. Then, the superimposer superimposes the indicator mark such that a brightness of the indicator mark increases as the luminance of the position increases.

Camera with superimpose indication function

An apparatus for controlling the supply of electric power to mobile equipment has a battery checker that checks a remaining battery-level of at least one of plural batteries including main battery. The main battery is installed in a body, and the other batteries are installed in an auxiliary electric power source accessory that is detachably mounted on the body. The apparatus further has a battery-level indicator that indicates a mark so as to represent a remaining battery-level based on a plurality of grades and indicates a common mark in each grade, and a battery selector that selectively uses one of the plural batteries. When the remaining battery-level shifts over a boundary battery-level positioned between grades adjacent to each other, the battery selector selects one of the plural batteries, the remaining battery-level of which is greatest.

Mobile equipment with electric power supply control function

A camera system includes a camera body including a photometering device and an external operating device, and a photographing lens which is detachably attached to the camera body, the photographing lens including an aperture setting device for selecting an auto aperture setting and at least one fixed aperture setting. A full-aperture photometering operation is performed when the aperture setting device is positioned at the auto aperture setting, and a stop-down photometering operation is performed in response to an operation of the external operating device when the aperture setting device is positioned at the fixed aperture setting.

Camera system with a photometering device and an external operating device

A flash case, in which a flash is provided, is automatically moved to an up position, when a user selects a flash mode in a state where the flash case is at a down position, when a user begins to forcibly raise the flash case by hand in a state where the flash case is at the down position, or when the flash case is at the down position in a state where a photometric operation starts in an auto-flash mode. The flash case is automatically moved to the down position, when an external force is added to the flash case at the up position.

Flash control mechanism

In a multipoint autofocus system in which a focus state of objects at different positions in a plurality of focus detection zones in an image surface is detected, and thereafter, one of pieces of information on the focus state thus detected is selected, so that a focusing optical system is moved in accordance with the selected focus data, provision is made of a judging apparatus for judging the contrast of the detected object in the focus detection zones, and a controller for selecting data representing the shortest focus from among the focus data of the objects in the focus detection zones in which the judged object contrast is higher than a predetermined value.

Multipoint autofocus system

A zoom flash includes a light emitter, a zoom driver which moves the light emitter along an axis to vary an illumination angle, a detecting device which detects a zoom position of the light emitter, a calculation device which calculates a pre-flash emission level according to the detected zoom position so that illuminance on an object at a predetermined distance is substantially constant regardless of a variation of the illumination angle, and a control device which activates the light emitter to emit a preliminary flash emission, before a main flash emission, by supplying a voltage corresponding to the pre-flash emission level for the light emitter. A flash photography system is also disclosed.

Zoom flash and flash photography system

A flash photography system includes a camera body, a main flash device and at least one sub-flash device, wherein the main flash device emits at least one low flash emission serving as a main-flash emission command signal to transmit the main-flash emission command signal to the sub-flash device, the sub-flash device emitting a flash emission in accordance with the main-flash emission command signal. The flash photography system includes a designating device for designating a flash emission mode of a main-flash emission, and a command device which activates the main flash device to emit the low flash emission serving as the main-flash emission command signal to transmit the main-flash emission command signal to the sub-flash device in a manner corresponding to the designated flash emission mode.

Flash photography system

A uniform flash-emission controller which controls an intensity of a light emission of a flashtube, the uniform flash-emission controller includes an IGBT which causes the flashtube to emit a rapid series of short flash pulses; an IGBT controller which switches the IGBT ON and OFF so as to maintain the intensity at a substantially constant level; and a latch for holding an ON state and an OFF state of the IGBT until a predetermined period of time elapses from a time the IGBT controller switches the IGBT ON and OFF, respectively.

Uniform flash-emission controller

A flash photography system having a camera body and external flash devices includes a designating device for designating a sync flash mode for a main flash emission; a first pre-flash emission mode in which the external flash devices are activated to emit a preliminary flash emission at the same time; a second pre-flash emission mode in which the plurality of external flash devices are activated to emit the preliminary flash emission in a predetermined order; a pre-flash emission mode selecting device which selects the first or second pre-flash emission mode in accordance with the designated sync flash mode; and a pre-flash emission command device which transmits a command signal to the external flash devices to emit the preliminary flash emission in the first or second pre-flash emission mode.

Multi-flash photography system

A flash photography system includes a first photometering device including a multi-segment photometering sensor having a plurality of zone sensors for measuring a pre-flash emission; a second photometering device including a single-segment direct photometering sensor for measuring a main flash emission; a weighting device which assigns a weighting factor to an output of each of the plurality of zone sensors; a calculation device which calculates a correction value based on each photometering value and the weighting factor of each zone sensor of the first photometering device, wherein an appropriate receiving light amount of the second photometering device is calculated in order to attain a compensation exposure for the main flash emission based on the correction value; and a controller which terminates the main flash emission after the light amount measured by the second photometering device reaches the appropriate receiving light amount.

A camera includes a built-in flash and a controller for controlling the camera. The controller includes different photographic modes; an auto-exposure-mode selecting mode in which an appropriate photographic mode is automatically selected from the different photographic modes based on photographic conditions, the controller allowing the built-in flash to discharge automatically in the selected appropriate photographic mode when the built-in flash discharges at a most appropriate time of exposure; and a flash-prohibiting/auto-exposure-mode selecting mode in which an appropriate photographic mode is automatically selected from the different photographic modes based on photographic conditions, the controller prohibiting the built-in flash from discharging automatically in the selected appropriate photographic mode at a time of exposure. The controller selects either the auto-exposure-mode selecting mode or the flash-prohibiting/auto-exposure-mode selecting mode in response to an operation of the manual operation member.

Growing community of inventors

Saitama, Japan

Shigeru Iwamoto