Patent ID: 8538252

Claim:
A camera comprising: an image sensor imaging an object image; a face detecting section detecting a face area in a shooting screen based on an output of the image sensor; a focus detecting section having a plurality of optional areas in the shooting screen and calculating a defocus amount from a relative interval of a pair of images based on an optical flux passed through a shooting lens in each of the optional areas; a first focus controlling section specifying a focus detecting area from the optional areas based on an output of the face detecting section and performing a focus operation of the shooting lens based on the defocus amount of the focus detecting area; a second focus controlling section calculating a focus evaluation value in the face area based on an output of the image sensor, searching a lens position where the focus evaluation value becomes a maximum value, and performing a focus operation; and a control section causing at least one of the first focus controlling section and the second focus controlling section to perform a focus operation, wherein: when the face area is detected within a calculable range of the defocus amount, the control section causes the first focus controlling section to perform a focus operation, and thereafter further causes the second focus controlling section to perform a focus operation, and when the face area is detected outside a calculable range of the defocus amount, the control section causes the second focus controlling section to perform a focus operation.