Patent ID: 7706678

Claim:
An electronic imaging apparatus comprising: an imaging device for imaging a subject through an imaging lens and generating an image signal; a data generating section for generating imaging data which indicates an individual imaging condition of the subject; a finder for displaying an image of the subject so that the subject's image is visible through an eyepiece having an optical axis distant from an optical axis of the imaging lens by a predetermined distance; an optical finder mechanism that has a hollow penta prism and introduces light provided from the subject to the finder, so as to optically display the subject's image in the finder; a data display device configured to display the subject's image in the finder based on the image signal, the data display device forming and displaying an image which includes one or both of the subject's image based on the image signal and the imaging data; and a state switching device for performing switching between a state in which the light provided from the subject is incident on the optical finder mechanism and a state in which the light provided from the subject is not incident on the optical finder mechanism, wherein in a first mode in which the imaging device does not perform imaging, the state switching device enables light from the subject to be incident on the optical finder mechanism; in a second mode in which the imaging device performs imaging and does not perform recording of the image signal, the state switching device enables light from the subject to be incident on the optical finder mechanism, and the subject's image formed by the optical finder mechanism and the image formed by the data display device are superimposed on each other and displayed in the finder; and in a third mode in which the imaging device performs imaging, generates the image signal, and performs recording of the image signal, the state switching device performs the switching so that at least the image formed by the data display device is displayed in the finder.