Abstract: An autofocus system which can prevent erroneous tracking of an unintended tracking target, is provided. In a recognition and tracking mode which uses an AF frame to automatically track a face of a specific person for which certification data is previously stored, a face of a specific person designated by an operator is detected by face authentication processing from a captured image obtained from a television camera. Thereafter, the face is detected from the captured image by a pattern matching processing in which an image of the face is used as a reference pattern for object tracking processing, and the AF frame is moved to the detected position. The face recognition processing is executed each time when the object tracking processing is executed a predetermined times, thereby preventing erroneous tracking by the object tracking processing.

Abstract: An autofocus system which can prevent erroneous tracking of an unintended tracking target, is provided. In a recognition and tracking mode which uses an AF frame to automatically track a face of a specific person for which certification data is previously stored, a face of a specific person designated by an operator is detected by face authentication processing from a captured image obtained from a television camera. Thereafter, the face is detected from the captured image by a pattern matching processing in which an image of the face is used as a reference pattern for object tracking processing, and the AF frame is moved to the detected position. The face recognition processing is executed each time when the object tracking processing is executed a predetermined times, thereby preventing erroneous tracking by the object tracking processing.

Abstract: Disclosed is an AF frame auto-tracking system that does not require a complicated operation when starting AF frame auto-tracking, is capable of setting the face of a person as a tracking target with a simple operation, and reduces the load of an operator. A CPU of an image processing unit determines whether the face of a person is included in an image captured by a camera body. If it is determined that the face of the person is included in the captured image, the CPU automatically sets the face of the person included in the captured image as an object, which is a tracking target. When a plurality of faces of persons is included in the captured image, the CPU automatically sets a face with the largest size among the plurality of faces of persons as the object, which is the tracking target.

Abstract: An imaging device, an autofocus unit, a focusing-target registration unit, focusing-target specification unit and an authentication unit are provided. The autofocus unit performs focus adjustment of an optical system so that a subject within a certain AF area is in focus. The focusing-target registration unit registers, as information for specifying subjects to be set to a focusing target, character information and image information of the subjects. The focusing-target specification unit specifies a subject, which is a focusing target during taking, from among the registered subjects to be set to the focusing target. The authentication unit determines as to whether or not the subject being taken matches with the specified subject, which is the focusing target. If the authentication unit determines that the subject being taken matches with the specified subject, which is the focusing target, the autofocus unit performs the focus adjustment for the subject being taken.

Abstract: An autofocus unit, a face authentication information acquiring unit and a face authentication unit are provided. The autofocus unit performs focus adjustment so that a subject within a certain AF area is in focus in an image taken. The face authentication information acquiring unit acquires information required to face-authenticate the subject, from an external memory being separate from the autofocus system and storing information required to face-authenticate plural subjects which are targets to be focused on during taking. The face authentication unit face-authenticates the subject in the taken image to determine as to whether the subject in the taken image is the same person as any of the subjects being targets to be focused on during the taking. If the face authentication unit determines that the subject in the taken image is the same person, the autofocus unit performs the focus adjustment for the subject in the taken image.