Patent ID: 8605201
Filing Date: 2013-12-10
Classification: G03B,H04N

Abstract:
1. An image capturing apparatus comprising: an image capturing unit configured to photoelectrically convert an image of an object formed by an image capturing optical system to generate an image signal; a generation unit configured to generate, from the image signal generated by said image capturing unit, an evaluation value representing an in-focus state of the image capturing optical system; an adjusting unit configured to, using first driving that drives a focusing lens included in the image capturing optical system along an optical axis direction in a first driving amount and second driving that drives the focusing lens along the optical axis direction in a second driving amount larger than the first driving amount, perform focus detection by adjusting relative positions of said image capturing unit and the focusing lens so as to maximize the evaluation value generated by said generation unit; and a determination unit configured to determine, during the focus detection by said adjusting unit, whether the object exists in a specific region defined in advance in the image capturing optical system at a distance shorter than a predetermined distance, wherein said determination unit determines that the object exists in the specific region when the focusing lens is located in a region on a closest side of a position corresponding to the predetermined distance, said adjusting unit drives the focusing lens using the first driving, and the focusing lens has reciprocally passed through a single peak position of the evaluation value not less than a predetermined reference number of times.