Patent ID: 8477187

Claim:
An imaging apparatus comprising: an imaging unit configured to acquire a photographed image from an optical image; a pan/tilt head configured to support the imaging unit; a drive unit configured to drive the pan/tilt head using a stepping motor with an initial position of the pan/tilt head set as a reference position; a detecting unit configured to detect whether the pan/tilt head is at the initial position or not using a sensor; a control unit configured to control the drive unit based on a control value which is a value of driving pulses of the stepping motor from the initial position, wherein the control value is reset when the detecting unit detects that the pan/tilt head is at the initial position; an image storage unit configured to store, as a registered image, a photographed image acquired by the imaging unit when the detecting unit detects that the pan/tilt head is located at the initial position; and an image comparison unit configured to compare a photographed image newly acquired by the imaging unit with the registered image stored in the image storage unit, wherein the image comparison unit repeatedly performs the comparison until the control unit receives a driving instruction for driving the pan/tilt head, wherein the drive unit drives the pan/tilt head to the initial position based on a result of a detection by the detecting unit and the control unit resets the control value if, as a result of comparison made by the image comparison unit, it is determined that a degree of matching between the photographed image and the registered image satisfies a predetermined condition.