Abstract: A barrel unit includes a barrel having an image sensing device and a photographing optical system built therein, a supporting member for pivotally supporting the barrel, a steel ball functioning as a pivot bearing portion provided between the barrel and the supporting member, and first and second actuators for giving driving forces to the barrel for shake correction. A gravity point of the barrel is located within an area enclosed by supporting points by first and second acting portions, to which the driving forces from the first and second actuators are given, and the steel ball. The barrel unit can be made more compact and more stably and precisely driven for shake correction.

Abstract: An imaging apparatus of the invention includes an image pickup device for picking up object light; a mirror section for switching an optical path of the object light; a retaining member for retaining at least the mirror section; and a shake detection section for detecting a shake of the image pickup device. The shake detection section is provided in a member separate from but indirectly connected to the retaining member via a predetermined connection section.

Abstract: In a lens unit including a plurality of lens groups, the first, most object-side lens group includes a prism that changes the optical axis. In this lens unit, during zooming, while the first lens group is kept stationary, an image-sensing device is moved along the optical axis.

Abstract: A taking lens system is provided with, from the side of the object to be photographed, a first lens unit (G1) having positive optical power, a second lens unit (G2) having negative optical power, a third lens unit (G3) having positive optical power and a fourth lens unit (G4) having positive optical power. Zooming is performed by moving the first to fourth lens units (G1) to (G4), and focusing is performed by moving the fourth lens unit (G4). When the distance from the most object-to-be-photographed side surface (r1) of the first lens unit (G1) to the imaging surface at the wide angle end is TLw, the overall focal length of the taking lens system at the telephoto end is ft, the overall focal length of the taking lens system at the wide angle end is fw, and the focal length of the first lens unit (G1) is fl, relationships 0.5?TLw/ft?1.0 and 6.0?fl/fw?20.0 are satisfied.

Abstract: The lens barrel of the present invention, in order to provide a lens barrel capable of reliably and easily preventing the breakage of the tooth of the revolving shaft of the driving motor and the tooth of the rack which teeth are engaged with each other, the lens barrel is provided with: the driving motor; the lens unit holder that has the rack receiving the transmission of the driving force by engaging with the revolving shaft which is a part of the driving motor, and holds the lens unit holder; and the spear portion that releases the engagement between the part of the revolving shaft and the rack.

Abstract: A thermal transfer image receiving sheet containing a substrate having thereon a porous intermediate layer and an image receiving layer in that order, wherein the porous intermediate layer has a void ratio of not less than 30%; the porous intermediate layer contains inorganic microparticles; and the porous intermediate layer and the image receiving layer are formed by a coating method.

Abstract: A camera casing 100 accommodates therein a shake correction unit 2 for oscillatingly supporting an image sensor 20, a control circuit board 6 loaded with electronic components such as ASIC 61 and a driving control circuit 62, and a viewfinder section 7 for allowing a user to confirm a field to be photographed. The shake correction unit 2, the control circuit board 6, and the viewfinder section 7 are arranged in proximity to each other on planes substantially identical to each other. The shake correction unit 2 has a first driving unit 3a arranged on the side of a side portion 20b of the image sensor 20 to apply an oscillating force to the image sensor 20 to oscillate the image sensor 20 in a first direction (pitch direction shown by the arrows p in FIG.

Abstract: An image-taking lens unit has an image-taking lens system that forms an optical image of an object and an image sensor that receives the optical image in a rectangular image-sensing region and converts the optical image into an electrical signal. The image-taking lens system includes a reflective optical element that bends the optical path. Of the lens elements constituting the image-taking lens system, the most image-side lens element called the last lens element is molded of resin, and is given a non-circular outer shape fulfilling a prescribed condition.

Abstract: The exposure amounts of R, G, and B laser light emitted from a fabrication light source are so adjusted that the diffraction efficiency at R, G, and B wavelengths in an optical element is commensurate with the light intensity at the R, G, and B wavelengths in the light emitted from a reproduction light source. For example, when the light intensity of the light emitted from the reproduction light source is increasingly low at the B, G, and R wavelengths in this order, the exposure amounts of the R, G, B, laser light emitted from the fabrication light source are so adjusted that the diffraction efficiency in the optical element is increasingly high at the B, G, and R wavelengths in this order. In this way, the hue of the light (reproduction light) obtained from the reproduction light source via the optical element can be adjusted to the hue desired with every reproduction light source used, while the most use is made of the light emitted from the reproduction light source actually used.

Abstract: The image capturing apparatus extracts and records an effective image Ap from a captured image Ao obtained by imaging of incident light from a subject on an image capturing element by an optical system composed of optical members. When an angle of view of an image that is to be recorded is large, the image capturing apparatus adjusts an angle of view of the effective image Ap by an optical zoom unit and records the effective image Ap while correcting camera shake by a mechanical camera-shake correction unit. Only when a magnification of the optical zoom unit for the captured image Ao is maximal, the image capturing apparatus further adjusts the angle of view of the effective image Ap by an electronic zoom unit and records the effective image Ap while correcting camera shake by an electronic camera-shake correction unit.

Abstract: In an electronically zoomable digital camera having a hand shake correction mechanism, when electronic zoom operates, pixel shift is carried out in such manner of capturing a reference image and then capturing a shifted image after moving an image capturing element from the reference image by a prescribed amount of shift by means of the hand shake correction mechanism and thereafter interpolating pixels of the shifted image between pixels of the reference image. The amount of shift is changed according to a magnification of the electronic zoom. The hand shake correction mechanism has a continuous mode in which the movement is effected by a continuous amount and a fixed amount mode in which movement is effected by only a fixed amount and is driven in the fixed amount mode when the pixel shift is carried out.

Abstract: A variable magnification optical system includes lens units that focus a ray of light from an object side on an image sensor, in which the lens unit located at a first position from the object side toward the image side includes an optical path changing element for changing an optical path. The variable magnification optical system performs magnification variation by changing gaps between the lens units, and satisfies predetermined conditional formulae.

Abstract: There are provided a lens barrel unit and an imaging apparatus in which a plurality of constituent elements can be driven using a linear driving mechanism.

Abstract: An image processing apparatus for converting photographed image data representing a scene luminance into visual image data representing a visual image, comprises a data analyzing section to obtain a viewing condition to view a visual image, to analyze the photographed image data, and to obtain an image converting condition and a viewing condition parameter for a color management employing a color appearance model on the basis of the analysis result of the photographed image data and the viewing condition for the visual image; an image converting section to convert the photographed image data on the basis of the image converting condition obtained by the data analyzing section so as to produce the visual image data; and a formatting section to attach the viewing condition parameter to the visual image data produced by the image converting section and to output the visual image data attached with the viewing condition parameter.

Abstract: A variable magnification optical system of the present invention for forming an optical image of an object on a light-receiving surface of an image sensor with variable magnification includes: from the object side, at least a first lens unit having a positive optical power, a second lens unit having a negative optical power, a third lens unit having a positive optical power, and a fourth lens unit having a positive optical power. The variable magnification is performed by movement of at least the first lens unit and the third lens unit. A bending optical element for bending an optical axis is provided between the second lens unit and the third lens unit. Moreover, prescribed conditional formulae are fulfilled.

Abstract: A photocurrent corresponding to the intensity of the light from the subject which photocurrent is successively generated at predetermined intervals is converted into a voltage by being logarithmically compressed by a logarithmic compression circuit in a divisional cell of a metering sensor during the preliminary light emission of the flash immediately before the actual shooting. Then, the voltage level is outputted to a controller as an analog metering signal. The controller A/D converts the successively inputted analog metering signal to generate digital data corresponding to the BV value representative of the brightness of the subject under flash light, and stores the digital data into a RAM. Then, the controller calculates a subject distance for determining the light emission amount of the flash in the actual shooting by performing a digital calculation including an integration calculation of the BV values obtained under ambient light and under flash light.

Abstract: An optical unit for forming an object image according to the present invention includes: a reflection member for bending an optical axis of the optical unit; a front lens group arranged closer to an object side of the optical unit than the reflection member; a rear lens group arranged closer to an image forming side of the optical unit than the reflection member; and a driver for driving the optical unit. The driver drives the reflection member and the front lens group in a predefined first direction and in a predefined second direction.

Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide a compact size variable power optical system capable of producing a high quality image. The variable power optical system comprises a plurality of lens groups for forming an optical image on an image surface of an image pickup device. Among the plurality of lens groups, the first lens group, which is disposed in the most subject side has a negative refraction power, includes at least a lens having a negative refraction power and a reflective optical element for bending the optical axis. When varying the variable power, the axial distance between the first lens group and the image surface varies. When Nd denotes the refraction power of the lens having negative refraction power at d-line, the refraction power satisfies the conditional formula Nd>1.81.

Abstract: A variable magnification optical system for forming an optical image of an object on the light receiving surface of the image sensor so that the magnification is variable includes from the object side: a first lens unit GR1 having negative optical power; a second lens unit GR2 having positive optical power; a third lens unit GR3 having positive optical power; and a fourth lens unit GR4 having positive or negative optical power. In magnification variation from the wide-angle end (W) to the telephoto end (T), at least first lens unit GR1 and the second lens unit GR2 are movable, and the fourth lens unit GR4 is stationary. An optical member having a wavelength selecting property is included in the fourth lens unit GR4.

Abstract: A variable magnification optical system for forming an optical image of an object on a light-receiving surface of an image sensor with variable magnification includes: from the object side, at least a first lens unit having a positive optical power, a second lens unit having a negative optical power, a third lens unit having a positive optical power, and a fourth lens unit having a positive optical power. In magnification variation from the wide angle end to the telephoto end, at least the first lens unit moves. Conditional formulae (1) and (2) below are fulfilled: (1) 6.0<fl/fw<20.0 and (2) 1.83<Ndave, where fl represents the focal length of the first lens unit, fw represents the focal length of the entire system at the wide angle end, and Ndave represents the average refractive index for a d-line among all lens elements included in the second lens unit.