Main face choosing device, method for controlling same, and image capturing apparatus

A main face choosing device comprising:

• a face detection unit adapted to detect, in time-series, faces of human figures in captured images successively captured by an image capturing unit and to determine which of the detected faces are the most recently detected faces;
• a calculation unit adapted to calculate a degree of priority for each face detected in time-series by the face detection unit such that a choice can be made of one of said detected faces as a main face based on at least one of size and position in the captured image of each detected face;
• a main face choosing unit adapted to choose a main face from among the detected faces based on the degree of priority calculated for each detected face;
• and
• a counting unit adapted to compare a degree of priority assigned to a last chosen main face and degrees of the priority assigned to faces other than the main face, and then to count a number of times the degrees of priority assigned to faces other than the main face exceed the degree of priority assigned to the main face for each of the faces other than the main face,
• wherein when, among the numbers of times counted by the counting unit for each of the faces other than the main face, the number of times counted for one of the faces other than the main face exceeds a preset threshold value, the main face choosing unit is arranged to perform a main face changeover from the most recent main face to the one of the faces which exceeded said threshold.