Patent ID: 7995138

Claim:
An apparatus for controlling an aperture of a camera, comprising: a first determining device that determines an aperture range for a normal shooting which secures predetermined optical capability; a second determining device that determines an aperture range including an aperture out of the aperture range for the normal shooting; and a controlling device that controls a diaphragm mechanism to set an aperture within the aperture range determined by said first determining device for recording of a still image, and controls the diaphragm mechanism to set an aperture within the aperture range determined by said second determining device for at least one of real-time displaying of a moving image and recording of a moving image, wherein a first program line is used for deciding an aperture value for shooting in the aperture range for the normal shooting, when shooting to record the still image, and a second program line is used for deciding an aperture value for shooting in the aperture range determined by said second determining device, wherein the aperture range determined by said second determining device includes an extra aperture position and is wider than the aperture range for the normal shooting, when performing a camera operation of displaying a movie or recording a movie.