Camera having a real-image viewfinder

A camera comprising:

• a photo-taking lens for forming an object image on a film;
• a viewfinder forming a real image, which is independent from said photo-taking lens, said viewfinder having
• an objective lens distinct from said photo-taking lens,
• an eyepiece,
• an erecting system disposed in an optical path from said objective lens to said eyepiece, said erecting system having a light dividing means, which is disposed in an optical path from said objective lens to a predetermined image plane of said objective lens, for penetrating a part of incident light and reflecting a part of the incident light;
• and
• means, which is disposed on a conjugate surface of said predetermined image plane, for receiving light penetrating through said light dividing means to measure brightness of an object which will be photographed.

An improved compact camera for automatically determining distance and light exposure measurements for photography, comprising:

• a camera body;
• a first photographic optical system mounted on the camera body for receiving light from an object at a first exterior position on the camera body, the first photographic optical system forming an image capable of being recorded by a film, and including a photo-taking lens at the first exterior position;
• a viewfinder optical system mounted on the camera body for receiving light from the object at a second exterior position on the camera body, the viewfinder optical system including an objective lens at the second position, an eyepiece, and an erecting image system disposed in an optical path from the objective lens to the eyepiece, the first exterior position being displaced on the camera body from the second exterior position, and
• means for receiving light rays from the object transmitted only through the viewfinder optical system to generate data representing the distance to the object from the camera for controlling the focus position of the first photographic optical system, including a sensor member positioned at a plane substantially conjugate with an image plane of the objective lens of the viewfinder optical system.