Patent ID: 8059186

Claim:
A camera having a focus adjusting system and a face recognition function, comprising: a controller for controlling operations of a said focus adjusting system and for performing said face recognition function; a photographing optical system including a focusing lens group movable along an optical axis direction; an image pickup device; a focus adjusting device, which performs a focus search process in which said image pickup device is activated to capture an object image at each of a plurality of different positions of said focusing lens group in said optical axis direction while said focusing lens group is moved along said optical axis direction to detect a position of said focusing lens group in said optical axis direction as an in-focus lens position based on image signals of said object images obtained at said plurality of different positions of said focusing lens group, and in which said focusing lens group is moved to said in-focus lens position detected by said focus search process; and a face recognition device for recognizing a first previous face image and a second present face image based on said image signals of said object images, a memory for storing said first previous face image and said second present face image; wherein, in the case where said face recognition device recognizes said second present face image and said second present face image is stored in said memory, and in the case where an in-focus state was previously achieved on said first previous face image previously recognized by said face recognition device and said first previous face image is stored in said memory, said focus adjusting device determines a range of movement of said focusing lens group in said focus search process based on sizes and positions of said second present face image stored in said memory and said first previous face image stored in said memory when said in-focus state was previously achieved, and said second present face image currently recognized by said face recognition device on a picture plane, wherein, said controller is arranged to compare an area said second present face image and an area of said first previous face image, wherein, when said area of said second present face image recognized by said face recognition device becoming greater than said area of said first previous face image by a predetermined amount, said focus adjusting device determines a range of movement of said focusing lens group as a limited range from a position closer to said near extremity than a current stop position of said focusing lens group by a first predetermined amount to a position closer to a far extremity than said current stop position of said focusing lens group by a second predetermined amount which is smaller than said first predetermined amount, and wherein said focus adjusting device performs said focus search process so that said focus lens group moves in a direction from the far extremity toward the near extremity within said limited range.