Patent ID: 8169538
Filing Date: 2012-05-01
Classification: G02B,G03B,H04N

Abstract:
1. An image rotation adapter that is configured to be detachably mounted between an image capturing lens and a camera main body in a camera in which the image capturing lens is detachably provided to the camera main body and in which an object image passed through the image capturing lens is formed on a light receiving surface of an image pickup device via a prism incorporated in the camera main body, and that is configured to rotate the object image formed on the light receiving surface of the image pickup device, the image rotation adapter comprising: a first prism that is formed to have an optical path length within ±5 mm of the optical path length of the prism incorporated in the camera main body, that is arranged in an optical path before the object image passed through the image capturing lens is formed at a predetermined position in the image rotation adapter, and that is configured to invert the object image passed through the image capturing lens by reflecting an odd number of times object light passed through the image capturing lens; a second prism that is formed to have an incident optical axis and an emitting optical axis on the same axis, that is arranged on the optical axis of the object light passed through the first prism and once formed as the image and is supported rotatably about the optical axis, and that is configured to further invert the object image inverted by the first prism by reflecting an odd number of times the object light passed through the first prism, so as to return the image to the same state as when emitted from the image capturing lens, the second prism being located at a predetermined reference position in an initial state such that the same image is formed on the light receiving surface as when the image rotation adapter is not mounted; an operation device configured to perform an operation to rotate the second prism; and a relay optical system configured to re-form the object image passed through the second prism on the light receiving surface of the image pickup device.