Abstract: The present invention includes a light-emitting element, and a reflector including a reflection face that reflects light from the light-emitting element toward a rectangular area to be photographed. The reflection face includes a pair of first refection faces facing each other with the light-emitting element interposed therebetween in a direction corresponding to a long-side direction demarcating the area to be photographed, and a pair of second reflection faces facing each other with the light-emitting element interposed therebetween in a direction corresponding to a short-side direction demarcating the area to be photographed. Furthermore, a height of the second reflection faces is lower than a height of the first reflection faces. This makes it possible to achieve a lighting apparatus used in photography, which is small and with which the whole area to be photographed is illuminated uniformly.

Abstract: An image pickup lens compatible with small high-pixel image pickup elements (e.g., from CCD and CMOS image sensors having a pixel pitch of 1.75 ?m and a pixel count of 5 mega pixels to CCD and CMOS image sensors having a pixel pitch of 1.4 ?m and a pixel count of 8 mega pixels) is provided. An image pickup lens 7 includes, in order from an object side to an image surface side: an aperture stop 5, a first lens 1 having positive power; a second lens 2 that is a meniscus lens having negative power and whose lens surface facing the image surface side is concave; a third lens 3 that is a meniscus lens having positive power and whose lens surface facing the image surface side is convex; and a fourth lens 4 that has negative power, whose lens surfaces are both aspherical and whose lens surface facing the image surface side is concave near the optical axis. A diffractive optical element is formed on one of the lens surfaces of the first lens 1 or the second lens 2.

Abstract: A combined optical element of the present invention includes a first optical element for collecting light in one direction on an irradiated surface; and a second optical element for collecting light in another direction on the irradiated surface. The first optical element and the second optical element are superposed with light-incoming surfaces thereof as being a common surface, and a light-outgoing surface is formed only with a superposed part. This prevents light from irradiating unnecessary parts, which allows the irradiated surface of a photographic subject to be irradiated with a small amount of light emission.

Abstract: An image pickup lens compatible with small high-pixel image pickup elements (e.g., from CCD and CMOS image sensors having a pixel pitch of 1.75 ?m and a pixel count of 5 mega pixels to CCD and CMOS image sensors having a pixel pitch of 1.4 ?m and a pixel count of 8 mega pixels) is provided. An image pickup lens 7 includes, in order from an object side to an image surface side: an aperture stop 5, a first lens 1 having positive power; a second lens 2 that is a meniscus lens having negative power and whose lens surface facing the image surface side is concave; a third lens 3 that is a meniscus lens having positive power and whose lens surface facing the image surface side is convex; and a fourth lens 4 that has negative power, whose lens surfaces are both aspherical and whose lens surface facing the image surface side is concave near the optical axis. A diffractive optical element is formed on one of the lens surfaces of the first lens 1 or the second lens 2.