Patent ID: 8154623

Claim:
An image pickup apparatus comprising: an optical zooming unit configured to provide an optical magnification variation by using a rear focus mechanism; an electronic zooming unit configured to provide an electronic magnification variation; and a controller configured to discretely control an operation of the electronic zooming unit along with an operation of the optical zooming unit by using at least a first change rate or a second change rate smaller than the first change rate, wherein when the optical zooming unit moves from a first zoom region to a second zoom region that is closer to a wide-angle end than the first zoom region, the controller discretely moves the electronic zooming unit along with the operation of the optical zooming unit at the first change rate, and when the optical zooming unit moves from the first zoom region to a third zoom region that is closer to a telephoto end than the first zoom region, the controller discretely operates the electronic zooming unit along with the operation of the optical zooming unit at the second change rate; wherein the controller maintains a zoom magnification of the electronic zooming unit at a predetermined value when the optical zooming unit operates in the first zoom region.