Image pickup apparatus capable of controlling flash exposure and control method therefor

Abstract

An image pickup apparatus that improves flash-exposure accuracy by adjusting a light amount suitably depending on a situation so that variation decision of the object distance based on a distance map will be possible. An image sensor outputs an image signal. A memory device stores a set of instructions. At least one processor executes the set of instructions to calculate a main emission amount using luminance of a pre-emission image corresponding to the image signal, divide a picked-up image frame corresponding to the image signal into a plurality of blocks, obtain distance information for each of the blocks, adjust luminance of the image signal for each of the blocks, and determine whether distance continuously varies in a same direction between adjacent blocks within a region corresponding to a same object based on the distance information obtained using the image signal of which luminance is adjusted.