Image-taking apparatus

An image-taking apparatus comprising:

• an image-pickup element which photoelectrically converts an object image formed by an image-taking optical system including a focus lens;
• a first detector which outputs a focus evaluation value signal representing a focusing state of the image-taking optical system, based on a predetermined frequency component of an output signal of the image-pickup element;
• a second detector which outputs a detection signal different from the focus evaluation value signal;
• and
• a controller which performs first processing of obtaining information for searching for an in-focus position of the focus lens, based on the focus evaluation value signal,
• wherein the controller performs second processing of obtaining information on an in-focus position of the focus lens, based on the detection signal from the second detector,
• wherein the controller performs third processing different depending on a comparison result between direction information representing a direction of the in-focus position obtained by the first processing and direction information representing a direction of the in-focus position obtained by the second processing,
• wherein the controller performs a first control of driving the focus lens for performing the first processing and a second control of driving the focus lens for an in-focus position search according to information obtained by the first processing, and
• wherein the controller performs, as the third processing, processing of allowing transition from the first control to the second control and processing of inhibiting the transition.

An image-taking apparatus comprising:

• an image-pickup element which photoelectrically converts an object image formed by an image-taking optical system including a focus lens;
• a first detector which outputs a focus evaluation value signal representing a focusing state of the image-taking optical system, based on a predetermined frequency component of an output signal of the image-pickup element;
• a second detector which outputs a detection signal different from the focus evaluation value signal;
• and
• a controller which performs first processing of obtaining information for searching for an in-focus position of the focus lens, based on the focus evaluation value signal,
• wherein the controller performs second processing of obtaining information on an in-focus position of the focus lens, based on the detection signal from the second detector,
• wherein the controller performs third processing different depending on a comparison result between direction information representing a direction of the in-focus position obtained by the first processing and direction information representing a direction of the in-focus position obtained by the second processing,
• wherein the controller performs, as the third processing, processing of vibrationally driving the focus lens with different amplitudes,
• wherein the controller obtains the direction information representing the direction of the in-focus position as information on the in-focus position by each of the first and second processing, and
• when first direction information obtained by the first processing does not match second direction information obtained by the second processing, the controller performs processing of vibrationally driving the focus lens with a first amplitude, and when the first direction information matches the second direction information, the controller performs processing of vibrationally driving the focus lens with a second amplitude larger than the first amplitude.

An image-taking apparatus comprising:

• an image-pickup element which photoelectrically converts an object image formed by an image-taking optical system including a focus lens;
• a first detector which outputs a focus evaluation value signal representing a focusing state of the image-taking optical system, based on a predetermined frequency component of an output signal of the image-pickup element;
• a second detector which outputs a detection signal different from the focus evaluation value signal;
• and
• a controller which performs first processing of obtaining information for searching for an in-focus position of the focus lens, based on the focus evaluation value signal,
• wherein the controller performs second processing of obtaining information on an in-focus position of the focus lens, based on the detection signal from the second detector,
• wherein the controller performs third processing different depending on a comparison result between direction information representing a direction of the in-focus position obtained by the first processing and direction information representing a direction of the in-focus position obtained by the second processing,
• wherein the controller performs, as the third processing, processing of driving the focus lens for an in-focus position search at different drive speeds,
• wherein the controller obtained the direction information representing the direction of the in-focus position as information on the in-focus position by each of the first and second processing, and
• when first direction information obtained by the first processing does not match second direction information obtained by the second processing, the controller performs processing of driving the focus lens at a first drive speed, and when the first direction information matches the second direction information, the controller performs processing of driving the focus lens at a second drive speed higher than the first drive speed.

An image-taking apparatus comprising:

• an image-pickup element which photoelectrically converts an object image formed by an image-taking optical system including a focus lens;
• a first detector which outputs a focus evaluation value signal representing a focusing state of the image-taking optical system, based on a predetermined frequency component of an output signal of the image-pickup element;
• a second detector which outputs a detection signal different from the focus evaluation value signal;
• and
• a controller which performs first processing of obtaining information for searching for an in-focus position of the focus lens, based on the focus evaluation value signal,
• wherein the controller performs second processing of obtaining information on an in-focus position of the focus lens, based on the detection signal from the second detector,
• wherein the controller performs third processing different depending on a comparison result between direction information representing a direction of the in-focus position obtained by the first processing and direction information representing a direction of the in-focus position obtained by the second processing,
• wherein the controller performs, as the third processing, processing of determining reversal of a drive direction of the focus lens for an in-focus position search under different conditions,
• wherein the controller obtains the direction information representing the direction of the in-focus position as information on the in-focus position by each of the first and second processing, and
• when first direction information obtained by the first processing does not match second direction information obtained by the second processing, the controller performs processing of reversing the drive direction on condition that the focus lens evaluation value signal is reduced a first number of times in succession, and when the first direction information matches the second direction information, the controller performs processing of reversing the drive direction on condition that the focus lens evaluation value signal is reduced a second number of times in succession larger than the first number of times.

An image-taking apparatus comprising:

• an image-pickup element which photoelectrically converts an object image formed by an image-taking optical system including a focus lens;
• a first detector which outputs a focus evaluation value signal representing a focusing state of the image-taking optical system, based on a predetermined frequency component of an output signal of the image-pickup element;
• a second detector which outputs a detection signal different from the focus evaluation value signal;
• and
• a controller which performs first processing of obtaining information for searching for an in-focus position of the focus lens, based on the focus evaluation value signal,
• wherein the controller performs second processing of obtaining information on an in-focus position of the focus lens, based on the detection signal from the second detector,
• wherein the controller performs third processing different depending on a comparison result between direction information representing a direction of the in-focus position obtained by the first processing and direction information representing a direction of the in-focus position obtained by the second processing,
• wherein the controller performs, as the different types of processing, processing of allowing reversal of a drive direction of the focus lens for an in-focus position search and processing of inhibiting the reversal,
• wherein the controller performs, as the third processing, processing of determining that the focus lens is located at an in-focus position under different conditions,
• wherein the controller performs vibration drive of the focus lens to obtain first position information representing the amplitude central position by the first processing and obtains second position information representing the in-focus position as the information on the in-focus position of the focus lens by the second processing, and
• when the first position information is located within a predetermined range relative to the second position information, the controller performs the determination on condition that the vibration drive is performed a first number of times within the same area of a movable range of the focus lens, and when the first position information is out of the predetermined range relative to the second position information, the controller performs the determination on condition that the vibration drive is performed a second number of times larger than the first number of times within the same area of the movable range.