Camera

• US 20070160362A1
• Filed: 01/02/2007
• Published: 07/12/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 01/10/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: OM Digital Solutions Corporation
• Original Assignee: Olympus Imaging Corporation (Olympus Corporation)
• Inventors: Yamada, Yasuharu, Mitsuo, Teruhisa
• Granted Patent: US 7,734,169 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 396/373
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 13/06 with lenses with or without reflectors
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 17/16 for containing both motion-picture camera and still-picture camera

Abstract

There is disclosed a camera having a first imaging medium which acquires subject image data from a subject light flux transmitted through a photographing lens; an optical path branching member which is disposed in an image pickup optical path of the first imaging medium to branch an optical path of the subject light flux; a primary image forming surface on which the subject light flux branched by the optical path branching member forms an image; and a second imaging medium which picks up the subject image formed on the primary image forming surface. When the present camera satisfies at least one of a plurality of optical conditions, the amount of shading of the light flux guided to the second imaging medium is reduced.

Claims

1. A camera comprising:

a first imaging medium which acquires subject image data from a subject light flux transmitted through a photographing lens;

an optical path branching member which is disposed in an image pickup optical path of the first imaging medium to branch an optical path of the subject light flux;

a primary image forming surface on which the subject light flux branched by the optical path branching member forms an image;

a second imaging medium which picks up the subject image formed on the primary image forming surface; and

a secondary image forming optical system which projects the subject image formed on the primary image forming surface onto the second imaging medium,

wherein at least one of the following conditions 1 to 5 are satisfied;

Condition 1;

the camera has a finder optical system which is disposed in an optical path in a direction different from that of the first imaging medium and through which the subject image formed on the primary image forming surface is observed, and the camera satisfies the following equation (1);

|TAN<sup>−

1</sup>(OBJH/ENP1)−

TAN<sup>−

1</sup>(OBJH/ENP2)|≦

20°

 

 

(1),

in which ENP1 is a distance from the incidence pupil of the secondary image forming optical system to the subject image formed on the primary image forming surface along the optical axis, and ENP2 is a distance from the incidence pupil of the finder optical system to the subject image formed on the primary image forming surface along the optical axis,

wherein it is set that an eye point of the finder optical system is disposed at an arbitrary position in a range of 0 to 50 mm from the last surface of the finder optical system toward an observation side, and OBJH is the maximum effective ray height on the primary image forming surface;

Condition 2;

the secondary image forming optical system has at least one positive lens and one negative lens, and the camera satisfies the following equation (2);

10≦

ν

p−

ν

n 

 

(2),

in which ν

p is the Abbe number in a d-line of the positive lens among the lenses constituting the secondary image forming optical system, and ν

n is the Abbe number in a d-line of the negative lens among the lenses constituting the secondary image forming optical system;

Condition 3;

the secondary image forming optical system has at least two positive lenses, and the camera satisfies the following equation (3);

50≦

ν

pmx 

 

(3),

in which ν

pmx is the Abbe number in the d-line of the positive lens having the largest power among the lenses constituting the secondary image forming optical system;

Condition 4;

the camera has;

a photometry member which detects brightness of the subject image formed on the primary image forming surface; and

a photometry optical system which guides, to the photometry member, a light flux emitted from the subject image formed on the primary image forming surface, and the camera satisfies the following equation (4);

0.5≦

ENP1/EPAE≦

1.7 

 

(4),

in which ENP1 is a distance from the primary image forming surface to the incidence pupil of the secondary image forming optical system, and EPAE is a distance from the primary image forming surface to an incidence pupil of the photometry optical system; and

Condition 5;

the camera has;

a finder optical system disposed in an optical path branched by the optical path branching member to observe the subject image formed on the primary image forming surface and having a plurality of reflective members;

a photometry member which detects brightness of the subject image formed on the primary image forming surface; and

a photometry optical system which guides, to the photometry member, a light flux emitted from the subject image formed on the primary image forming surface, and the camera satisfies the following equation (5);

|EPAE−

MSL|≦

20 

 

(5),

in which EPAE is a distance from the primary image forming surface to the incidence pupil of the photometry optical system, and MSL is a distance from the primary image forming surface to a reflective surface of the reflective member having the largest paraxial distance from the primary image forming surface.

2. The camera according to claim 1, wherein the secondary image forming optical system includes at least one or more plastic lenses.

3. The camera according to claim 1, wherein the secondary image forming optical system includes at least one or more aspherical lenses.

4. The camera according to claim 1, wherein an image sensor for use in the second imaging medium is smaller in size than an image sensor for use in the first imaging medium.

5. The camera according to claim 1, further comprising:

a photographing information display member and a focused portion display member as a part of common optical members constituting the finder optical system and the secondary image forming optical system.

6. The camera according to claim 1, wherein at least one of a surface having a condensing function and a mat surface is disposed in parallel with the primary image forming surface in the vicinity of the primary image forming surface.

7. The camera according to claim 6, further comprising:

the finder optical system,

wherein the following condition equation is satisfied;

|TAN<sup>−

1</sup>(OBJH/ENP1)−

TAN<sub>−

1</sub>(OBJH/ENP2)|≦

15°

,

in which ENP1 is a distance from the incidence pupil of the secondary image forming optical system to the subject image formed on the primary image forming surface along the optical axis, and ENP2 is a distance from the incidence pupil of the finder optical system to the subject image formed on the primary image forming surface along the optical axis;

wherein it is set that the eye point of the finder optical system has an arbitrary value in a range of 0 to 50 mm from the last surface of the finder optical system toward the observation side; and

OBJH is the maximum effective ray height on the primary image forming surface.

8. The camera according to claim 1, wherein the secondary image forming optical system includes a plurality of optical reflective surfaces.

9. The camera according to claim 8, wherein some of the plurality of optical reflective surfaces have a light transmitting property.