Patent ID: 7397502

Claim:
An imaging apparatus comprising: an imaging device to photograph an image of an object and convert said image of the object into an electronic image signal; a feature detection device to detect a feature for a white balance control in accordance with said electronic image signal; and a white balance control device to carry out the white balance control based on a result of said feature detection device; said imaging apparatus further comprising: a device to select a zoom area of the image signal by said imaging device; a device to display the image signal of the area selected by said zoom area selection device; and a device to select an area to conduct the feature detection for said white balance control, wherein said feature detection area selection device conducts the selection of said feature detection area in accordance with an area photographed by said imaging device and the area selected by said zoom area selection device; said white balance control device is adapted to be capable of selecting as to whether the feature detection area selected by said feature detection area selection device and the zoom area selected by said zoom area selection device are an identical area or not; and said feature detection device divides said feature detection area into several areas, and conducts a feature detection in each divided area, respectively, wherein said white balance control device conducts the white balance control without using a result of a feature detection for an area which is not included in said zoom area when a mode which matches said zoom area and said feature detection area is selected, and conducts the white balance control with a result of a feature detection from all of the area photographed by said imaging device when a mode which does not match said zoom area and said feature detection area is selected, wherein the imaging apparatus further comprises: a weighing setup device to set an influence degree of the white balance control to data in each area within said feature detection area, wherein said weighting setup device sets equally a weighting for a result of the feature detection in each of the areas, which are not included in said zoom area, and a weighing for a result of the feature detection in each of the areas within said zoom area when a macro mode or a portrait mode is used as a photographing mode; and wherein said white balance control device conducts the weighting to the result of the feature detection in said each area in accordance with the weighting set by said weighting setup device, and conducts the white balance control by use of said weighted result of the feature detection.