Nikon Corporation

Yoshio Imura

Hidenori Miyamoto

Minoru Kato

Akira Katayama

Tatsuo Amanuma

Junichi Omi

Yoshihisa Kitagawa

Daiki Tsukahara

Tadao Kai

Hiroshi Wakabayashi

Hideya Inoue

Isao Soshi

Noriyasu Kotani

Tsugio Takahashi

Hitoshi Aoki

Sueyuki Ohishi

Toshiyuki Nakamura

Hiroshi Okano

Etsuo Tanaka

Keishi Urata

Jun Nagai

Hideki Kanbayashi

Koichi Daitoku

Shinichi Hirano

Nobuhiko Terui

Susumu Sato

Hideo Kanno

Kazuharu Imafuji

Kiyosada Machida

Hiroshi Terunuma

Akio Nishizawa

Tomoaki Kawamura

Fumiya Taguchi

Hiroshi Tanioka

Yoshihiro Takeuchi

Hidenobu Kaji

Yukio Uemura

Tetsuo In

Yasushi Sakagami

Jirou Asami

Tetuji Kamata

Suieyuki Ohishi

An adapter includes a first housing member that includes a first mount portion to which a camera body can be attached and detached and a second mount portion to which an interchangeable lens can be attached and detached, a second housing member that is integrally formed with the first housing member and includes a screw-receiving part, which can be attached to and detached from a tripod, in a side opposite to the first housing member, a driven member, and an actuator of a drive system for driving the driven member. The screw-receiving part is arranged in the vicinity of a center of an end of the second housing member, and at least a portion of the actuator is arranged in the periphery of the screw-receiving part in the second housing member.

Adapter and camera system

A lens barrel comprises a fixed optical system though which a subject image enters into the lens barrel along with an optical axis, a retreatable blur correction optical system that corrects an image blur by moving within a plane ranging perpendicular to the optical axis in an operating position and that retreats to a storage position from the operating position, a blur correction optical system drive unit that drives the retreatable blur correction optical system within the plane ranging perpendicular to the optical axis, and a correction information recording unit at which reference position correction information is recorded, the correction information indicating a reference position for the retreatable blur correction optical system within the plane ranging perpendicular to the optical axis.

Lens barrel, camera and lens barrel adjustment device

Provided is a lens barrel, which can be further reduced by providing such a first helicoid as can be easily manufactured even in the zone of a small lead. The lens barrel () comprises a first barrel member () having a first helicoid (and) formed in a first face (), and a second barrel member () having a second helicoid () formed in a second face () confronting the first face (). The lens barrel is characterized in that the first barrel member () has, in the first face (), a first zone (Z), in which the first helicoid (and) has a first lead, and a second zone (Zand Z), in which the first helicoid (and) has a second lead smaller than the first lead, and in that the first helicoid (and) having the second lead has a smaller thread number than that of the first helicoid (and) having the first lead.

Lens barrel, and camera

When initializing a recording medium, an ordinary folder and a lock folder are created. Photographic information files of photographed images are stored into the ordinary folder. Files the erasure of which is disabled among the photographic information files are stored into the lock folder. After a photographing operation, any image file set for a lock is erased from the ordinary folder and stored into the lock folder.

Electronic camera and photographic information data file management method

A camera is provided which has a vibration detection unit that detects vibration, a photographic focal length detection unit which detects the focal length of the photographic optical system, and a distance-measurement unit that measures the distance to the object being photographed. The vibration compensation device employs drive motors as a vibration compensation unit. The drive motors have a start up time which is at least as fast as the acceleration of a vibration having roughly a sine wave shape with a frequency of 10 Hz and a maximum velocity of 7.5 mm/sec. Such a motor is able to reach the maximum velocity of the vibration in under 25 ms. Additionally, a correct compensating coefficient calculation unit is provided which, from the output of the photographic focal length detection unit and the output of the distance-measurement unit, calculates a correct compensation coefficient for determining how much to change the optical axis of the photographic optical system relative to the output of the vibration detection unit. The vibration compensation device compensates for vibrations by driving the motor to change the optical axis of the photographic optical system of the camera in response to the compensation coefficient and the output of the vibration detection unit.

Camera with vibration compensation device varying the compensating action in accordance with the focal length of a lens and the distance to the subject

A vibration reduction apparatus includes a vibration detector for detecting movement; and an image blur reduction mechanism including a vibration reduction optical system for preventing an image from blurring, and a drive mechanism for driving the vibration reduction optical system. The drive mechanism is controlled to drive the vibration reduction optical system in response to a detection signal from the vibration detector. The vibration detector is integrally mounted as a part of a mechanism unit including the vibration reduction mechanism.

Vibration reduction apparatus

An optical motion compensation device that quickly releases the locking of a motion compensation optical system when it is desired to effect motion compensation, and that reliably locks the motion compensation optical system when not effecting motion compensation. The device includes a motion compensation optical system to move so as to compensate for motion. Also, the device includes an optical system support device to movably support the motion compensation optical system. An optical system drive device drives the motion compensation optical system in a direction to compensate for motion caused by external factors, such as hand shaking. An optical system movement device, distinct from the optical system drive device, causes the motion compensation optical system to move to a predetermined location. An optical system holding device maintains the motion compensation optical system, which has moved to the predetermined location, in that location, and a clamp control system, directly before commencing driving of the motion compensation optical system by the optical system drive device, cancels holding of the optical system holding device, and after the driving has stopped, moves the motion compensation optical system to a predetermined position by the optical system movement device, to maintain the motion compensation optical system in this location by the optical system holding device.

Motion compensation optical device having improved clamp structure

An image deflection preventing device for a camera, such as a still camera which is used to drive a deflection preventing optical system in accordance with readings from angular velocity sensors and other circuitry. Moreover, an exposure mode selection device is included to select strobe photography according to the focusing distance from a distance measuring unit maintained in the camera to a subject to be photographed. The selection device can select strobe photography when the focusing distance is closer than a predetermined distance or when photographic magnification from a focal length detection unit to a subject to be photographed is greater than a predetermined value. The selection of strobe photography is done using results from a photometric unit in conjunction with the determination of a brightness level. In particular, if a given brightness level is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, strobe photography is selected, otherwise, exterior light photography is selected. The brightness level for selection of strobe photography is typically higher at closer distances, longer focal lengths, or larger photographic magnifications.

Camera with device to prevent image blurs

A camera including a flashlight device for emitting a flashlight, a shutter, such that the camera has a flash synchro photographing mode in which the flashlight device emits the flashlight in synchronism with the shutter, a vibration detector for detecting a vibration quantity of the camera, a vibration correcting device for correcting an image blur on the basis of a vibration signal output from the vibration detector. The camera also includes a control device for controlling, while performing flash photographing by use of the flashlight device and driving the vibration correcting device, the shutter so that a maximum shutter time in the flash synchro photographing mode is shorter than or equal to a maximum shutter time in a non-emission of the flashlight. As a result, the flashlight device does not emit the flashlight.

Camera having vibration correcting device

A camera having a vibration correction function. The camera includes a vibration detecting unit that detects vibration of the camera. The camera further includes a vibration correcting unit that corrects vibration in photographing, based on a detected signal by said vibration detecting unit, a photographing-mode selecting unit that selects a successive photographing mode for successive photographing. The camera also includes a control unit that performs sampling of vibration signals in order to calculate a reference level of the detected signal corresponding to a signal level without vibration, based on the detected signal of said vibration detection unit. The control unit is arranged to perform the sampling of vibration signals immediately after completion of an exposure operation by a shutter unit of each frame when the successive photographing mode is selected by the photographing-mode selecting unit.

Camera having vibration correcting function

A motion compensation device, suitable for an optical system such as a camera, has a blurring motion compensation unit to compensate for blurring motion by driving an image blurring motion compensation optical system in a direction generally perpendicular to the optical axis. The device can lock the image blurring motion compensation optical system by a locking member even if there is no power supply. This is accomplished by using a magnet which attracts an iron piece mounted on a blurring motion compensation lens frame, and lock members which lock the blurring motion compensation lens frame. When an operation mode changeover switch changes over from the ON position to the OFF position, a contact unit of this operation mode changeover switch locks a coupling member of a lock ring. Accordingly, because the magnet attracts the iron piece even when there is no power supply, the blurring motion compensation lens frame can be locked by the lock ring.

Motion compensation device for an optical system and method

A vibration reducing apparatus housed in the internal periphery of a tubular member comprises a vibration reducing optical system which reduces a vibration, a supporting frame which supports the vibration reducing optical system, provided in at least a part of the external periphery with a gap portion which forms a gap to the internal periphery of the tubular member, and a drive unit which drives the supporting frame in a direction perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to an optical axis.

Vibration reducing apparatus and lens barrel

A lens driving device is disclosed, whereby it is made unnecessary for a user side to determine focusing when focusing is to be performed by an operation ring in a manual preference automatic focusing mode. The lens driving device includes an operation ring rotated for performing automatic focusing, a rotary encoder for detecting the operation amount of the operation ring, a motor for performing lens driving according to an operation amount detected by the rotary encoder, a body side CPU for detecting a defocusing amount at least during lens driving and a lens side CPU for forcibly stopping the lens driving of the motor when a defocusing amount detected by the body side CPU becomes equal to a preset value or lower.

Lens driving device

A vibration reduction device includes a vibration reduction optical system which reduces vibration by its movement, a fixing portion which assumes a fixing state for fixing the vibration reduction optical system and a releasing state for releasing the vibration reduction optical system, a holding portion for holding/canceling the fixing state of the fixing portion, and a biasing portion for biasing the fixing portion from the fixing state in which the vibration reduction optical system is fixed to the releasing state in which the vibration reduction optical system is released. The biasing portion is interlocked with a releasing operation of the holding portion to release the vibration reduction optical system.

Vibration reduction device

A motion compensation device compensates for movement of an optical system of a camera. The motion compensation device includes a motion detection unit to detect motion of the optical system. A drive unit then drives a motion compensation lens in response to the detected motion while a stopping position detection unit detects a stopping position of the motion compensation lens. A centering operation unit moves the motion compensation lens from the stopping position to a first range about the optical axis or a second range greater than the first range about the optical axis. Depending upon whether the camera is in a one-frame photographic mode or a continuous photographic mode, the camera selects between the first or the second range for photographs subsequent to the first photograph.

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Kawasaki, Japan

Yoshio Imura