Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.

Panasonic Corporation

Yasuhiro Shingu

Naotaka Kishida

Kenichi Honjo

Tetsuya Uno

Norikazu Katsuyama

Kyosuke Osuka

Kenji Kawazoe

Takaaki Yamasaki

Hiroyuki Kawahara

Hironori Nakano

Michio Kishiba

Yasuo Amano

A camera system includes a camera body, a lens barrel that is mounted to the camera body and includes at least one movable lens, and a zoom ring drive device that is mounted to the camera body. A first control unit of the camera body controls a second control unit of the lens barrel and a third control unit of the zoom ring drive device so as to move a zoom lens with a DC motor on the basis of information about the characteristic of the zoom lens and an optical characteristic value inputted to an input unit.

Camera system, camera body

A control method for controlling a light control module including a light emitter that radiates detection light according to the present disclosure, includes interrupting radiation of the detection light by the light emitter in at least part of an exposure period in which exposure is being performed in still image shooting or moving image shooting.

Control method, control device, and imaging device including interrupted detection light in exposure period

The imaging device includes a camera body and an interchangeable lens unit detachably attached to the camera body, the imaging device including, an optical system including a focus lens, an infinite rotation type focus ring, a lens drive part moving the focus lens forward and backward in an optical axis direction of the optical system, a setting part allowing a user to set a rotation range of the focus ring, a storage part assigning and storing respective different rotation amounts of the focus ring to multiple positions within a movement stroke of the focus lens in accordance with a rotation range set in the setting part, and a control part driving the lens drive part to move the focus lens depending on a rotation amount of the focus ring to a position corresponding to the rotation amount stored in the storage part.

Imaging device and camera body

An imaging apparatus includes an interchangeable lens, and a camera body. The interchangeable lens includes a correction lens, a lens driver, and a first controller. The camera body includes an image sensor, a sensor driver, and a second controller. The first or second controller selects one of the interchangeable lens and the camera body, in accordance with a level of correction capability to perform the image stabilization. Corresponding to the selected one, one driver of the lens driver and the sensor driver performs the image stabilization for the image blur within a predetermined range. The other driver corresponding to non-selected one performs the image stabilization for a remaining portion of the image blur exceeding the predetermined range.

Imaging apparatus and image stabilization sharing between interchangeable lens and camera body

An imaging apparatus capable of communicating with an external control device and configured to capture a subject image formed via an optical member includes a communication interface and a controller, wherein the controller starts the driving of the optical member based on a first command received from the control device via the communication interface, and wherein when the communication interface receives from the control device a second command different from the first command before completion of driving control of the optical member, the controller updates a target position as a target of driving the optical member based on the second command.

Imaging apparatus, control device, and imaging system

An imaging apparatus includes: a shake detector that detects a shake amount of at least one of an interchangeable lens and a camera body; an image stabilization unit that performs an image stabilization by moving at least one of a correction lens and an imaging device by an image stabilization amount obtained based on the shake amount; a storage unit that stores drive limit range information that indicates a relationship between an aperture value and a drive limit range corresponding to the interchangeable lens; and a controller. The drive limit range includes a range where the at least one of the correction lens and the imaging device is to be moved by the controller, and in the drive limit range, a light attenuation rate is less than or equal to a predetermined value. The controller sets the aperture value based on the drive limit range information and causes the image stabilization unit to perform the image stabilization, when a shooting mode is not a first mode that allows designation of the aperture value.

Imaging apparatus

An image pickup device includes an optical system including a plurality of lenses, an imaging element that captures a subject image formed by the optical system, and a peripheral light quantity correction unit that corrects peripheral light quantity of an image captured by the imaging element. The image pickup device also includes a shake detector that detects shake of the image pickup device, and a drive controller that moves at least one of (i) the plurality of lenses and (ii) the imaging element on a plane perpendicular to an optical axis in response to an output signal of the shake detector to correct the shake. The peripheral light quantity correction unit extracts a predetermined frequency component of the shake and changes a correction amount of the peripheral light quantity in response to the predetermined frequency component of the shake.

Image pickup device

An imaging apparatus including an exchangeable lens and a camera body. The camera body transmits a synchronizing signal having the same cycle as the cycle of the capturing operation in the imaging unit, to the interchangeable lens. The controller of the exchangeable lens performs a zoom tracking control by determining the focus position of the focus lens from the position of the zoom lens detected by the position detector by referring to the relation information, and controlling the focus lens driver to move the focus lens to the determined focus position, The controller performs the zoom tracking control in a cycle (for example, one-eighth) shorter than a cycle indicated by the synchronizing signal received from the camera body.

Imaging apparatus including zoom mechanism, and interchangeable lens

An image pickup apparatus of the present invention is an image pickup apparatus including an ultrasonic motorthat moves a focus lens, and further including a correction control partthat operates the ultrasonic motorunder a predetermined condition. The correction control partis capable of executing a correction process by measuring a frequency characteristic of an applied voltage at the time of operating the ultrasonic motorat a predetermined rotation speed, comparing the frequency characteristic with a preset reference frequency characteristic, and correcting the frequency characteristics on the basis of a difference between the frequency characteristic and the reference frequency characteristic so as to calculate a correction frequency characteristic. Accordingly, even when the frequency characteristic of the ultrasonic motor varies due to wear of the ultrasonic motor and mechanical components coupled thereto, a stable drive can be maintained over a long time.

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Osaka, Japan

Yasuhiro Shingu