Patent ID: 8059185

Claim:
A photographing apparatus comprising: a first image pickup unit having a first photographing field and a second image pickup unit having a second photographing field, the first and second image pickup units configured to form image data; an image forming unit configured to form first image data including a first object apart from the first image pickup unit by a first distance, a second object apart from the first image pickup unit by a second distance longer than the first distance, and a third object apart from the first image pickup unit by a third distance longer than the second distance, based on the image data formed by the first image pickup unit, and to form a second image data including the first object apart from the second image pickup unit by a fourth distance, the second object apart from the second image pickup unit by a fifth distance longer than the fourth distance, and the third object apart from the second image pickup unit by a sixth distance longer than the fifth distance, based on the image data formed by the second image pickup unit; and a communication control unit configured to transmit to a monitor apparatus the first and second image data formed by the image forming unit, wherein principal points of the first and second image pickup units are spaced apart from each other by a predetermined base line length, and wherein the first and second image pickup units are disposed such that the first and second photographing fields overlap each other by a same width equal to the predetermined base line length independent of distance from the first and second image pickup units, and wherein the monitor apparatus can change a joining position of the first and second photographing fields, when the monitor apparatus displays the two first objects, the two second objects, and the one third object based on the first and second image data including the first, second and third objects and a reference table indicating the joining position of the first and second photographing fields, such that the monitor apparatus displays the one second object and the two first objects and does not display the third object, and wherein the first and second image pickup units change the focus so as to set in-focus to the second object in accordance with the changing of the joining position.