Patent ID: 7545410

Claim:
An image pickup system comprising a commander, a video camera and a display device; wherein said commander is shaped so as to be held by a user in one hand, said commander includes: a microphone for obtaining an audio signal; command information storing means for storing a plurality of kinds of command information; command information generating means for generating a plurality of kinds of command information which correspond to a plurality of different operations performed by a user, the generation of the command information being carried out on the basis of said plurality of kinds of command information which are stored in said command information storing means; and transmitting means for transmitting said command information as transmitted information; wherein said video camera includes: image pickup means for obtaining an image pickup signal by imaging an object; receiving means for receiving said transmitted information; recording and reproducing means for recording and reproducing said image pickup signal to and from a recording medium; image information storing means for storing a plurality of kinds of image information; display-ready video signal generating means for generating a display-ready video signal by combining either of the image pickup signal obtained by said image pickup means or the image pickup signal reproduced from said recording medium by said recording and reproducing means and said image information; transmitting means for transmitting said display-ready video signal; and controlling means for controlling said image pickup means, said recording and reproducing means and said display-ready video signal generating means in accordance with any one of a plurality of operation modes; and wherein said display device includes: receiving means for receiving said display-ready video signal transmitted from said transmitting means of said video camera; and displaying means for displaying an image represented by the received display-ready video signal, wherein the microphone is extendible and retractable, an extending position and a retracting position switching an operation mode of the image pickup system, wherein the commander has a mark/click key member, an operation of the mark/click member in a recording mode being interpreted by the video camera as a marking operation, the same operation of the mark/click key member in an edit mode being interpreted by the video camera as a mouse click.