Patent ID: 7911528
Filing Date: 2011-03-22
Classification: H04N

Abstract:
1. An optical apparatus comprising: an image pickup device; an image pickup optical system configured to focus light beams from a subject on the image pickup device as a subject image; an optical filter disposed to be inserted into and removed from an optical path of the image pickup optical system and configured to transmit light beams in a first wavelength band and cut light beams in a second wavelength band, in which a wavelength is longer than that in the first wavelength band, among the light beams incident on the image pickup device from the subject; a subject luminance detection sensor configured to detect the light beams in the first wavelength band and not detect the light beams in the second wavelength band, among the light beams from the subject; and a controller configured to determine whether the optical filter is to be inserted into or removed from the optical path of the image pickup optical system, wherein the image pickup optical system includes a variable power optical system, and an imaging range of the image pickup optical system changes as the variable power optical system changes the magnification, wherein the subject luminance detection sensor does not include a variable power optical system, wherein an illuminance detection range of the subject luminance detection sensor is within the imaging range of the image pickup optical system, wherein the controller determines whether or not the optical filter is to be inserted into the optical path of the image pickup optical system, based on first luminance information obtained by detecting the light beams in the first wavelength band and not detecting the light beams in the second wavelength band by the subject luminance detection sensor, when the position and the area of the illuminance detection range are substantially equivalent to those of the imaging range, and wherein the controller determines whether or not the optical filter is to be inserted into the optical path of the image pickup optical system, based on first luminance information obtained by detecting the light beams in the first wavelength band and not detecting the light beams in the second wavelength band by the subject luminance detection sensor and second luminance information limited to an area equivalent to the illuminance detection range on the image pickup device, when the illuminance detection range is smaller than the imaging range.