Abstract: First, a CCD package is attached to a plane of a flexible substrate. A reference plane, which is parallel to an image forming plane of a solid state imaging device chip, is formed at the top of the CCD package. The reference plane is brought into contact with a reference plane of an optical unit, and a leaf spring presses the CCD package so that the CCD package can be fixed to the optical unit.

Abstract: A zoom lens includes a front lens group having a negative power as a whole and a rear lens group having a positive power as a whole, and a stop included therein. For zooming, the front and rear lens groups are moved relative to each other on an optical axis. For focusing, only a rearmost positive lens of the rear lens group is moved. The zoom lens satisfies the following conditions:0.5<ff/fR<5.00.01<.beta.f<1.00-1.0.ltoreq.r1/r2.ltoreq.0.3wherein fR represents a synthetic focal length of the rear lens group, ff represents a focal length of the rearmost positive lens, .beta.f represents an image magnification of the rearmost positive lens, r1 represents a radius of curvature of an object side surface of the rearmost positive lens, and r2 represents a radius of curvature of an image side surface of the rearmost positive lens.

Abstract: An optical image formed by a lens system is incident to a CCD, and the CCD performs an electronic shutter operation. The CCD transfers the generated charges by a domino read method. After the electronic shutter operation, a motor is operated to move a shield plate from the lower side to the upper side to enter into an optical path to block the incidence of light to the CCD. On the surface of the CCD, charge transfer is made first, and shielding of light is made successively, from the horizontal charge transfer passage side. With the image pickup device shielding apparatus, the incidence of light can be positively prevented by a simple mechanism during charge transfer in a solid state image pickup device to improve the quality of the image.

Abstract: An electronic still camera having an optical system suitable for TTL direct dimming and capable of disposing a dimming sensor at a suitable position in a main body of the camera. A part of a light reflected by a subject and passing through a taking lens during stroboscopic photographing is diverged by a beam splitter provided on the optical axis of the taking lens and caused to fall into a half mirror. The reflected light diverged by this half mirror is led to the dimming sensor 34, and the transmitted light is led to an AE sensor via a focusing lens. With this arrangement, the dimming sensor can be provided in a position other than the vicinity of a taking shutter and the TTL direct dimming can be conducted.

Abstract: A zoom lens device capable of performing magnification varying and focusing operations by moving part of an optical system. Magnification varying and focusing lens groups guided movably in an optical axis direction by two or more parallel guide shafts. One of the guide shafts is fixed such that it is located inside the extreme side end of a camera main body. Thus, the lens group of the zoom lens can be embedded in the camera main body so as to provide a compact camera. Also, the zoom lens can be assembled simply by inserting parts forming the zoom lens device over the guide shafts, which can improve the assembling of the zoom lens.

Abstract: A diaphragm electromagnetic drive device which comprises ring-shaped rotor and stator disposed coaxially about the optical axis of a taking lens and in which the rotor is rotated to thereby rotate diaphragm blades so as to vary successively a diaphragm diameter defined by the diaphragm blades. The mutually opposed surfaces of the rotor and stator are constructed respectively in the shape of a side surface of a truncated cone, so that the areas of the opposed surfaces can be increased without increasing the outside diameter and the length in the optical axis direction of the electromagnetic drive device.