Patent ID: 8330851
Filing Date: 2012-12-11
Classification: G03B,H04N

Abstract:
1. An image pickup apparatus comprising: a half mirror that separates light from a photographing optical system into transmitted light and reflected light; a phase difference detecting AF sensor that receives the reflected light reflected on the half mirror to detect a focusing state by a phase difference detecting method; an image pickup device that receives the transmitted light passing through the half mirror to generate time-series images with respect to subject image light from the photographing optical system; and a display means for sequentially displaying the time-series images generated by the image pickup device, wherein the half mirror is movable between a first position on an optical path of the subject image light from the photographing optical system and a second position to which the half mirror is removed from the optical path of the subject image light, when the half mirror is in the second position, the image pickup device generates an actual photographing image based on the subject image light reaching the image pickup device from the photographing optical system without passing through the half mirror, and when a subject brightness is greater than a predetermined value, regardless of reception of a photographing instruction, the half mirror is positioned in the first position and an actual photographing image is generated based on the subject image light passing through the half mirror from the photographing optical system to reach the image pickup device.