Patent ID: 7423685

Claim:
An image-taking apparatus comprising: an image-pickup device which photoelectrically converts an object image formed by an image-taking optical system including a focus lens; a signal processing section which generates an image signal based on an output signal of the image-pickup device and has an electronic zoom function electrically processing part of the image signal to generate an enlarged output image; and a controller which controls the driving of the focus lens by using a first control method and a second control method which is different from the first control method, wherein the first control method is a method in which the focus lens is driven based on a signal output from the image-pickup device, and the second control method is a method in which the focus lens is driven based on a signal representing an object distance obtained by using an optical system different from the image-taking optical system, and wherein the controller (a) carries out the first and second control methods in a first zooming state including at least a state in which the electronic zoom function is not in use, and (b) carries out the first control method but not the second control method in a second zooming state using the electronic zoom function, which has a zoom enlargement ratio larger than that of the first zooming state.