US 7,583,308 B2 · Image capturing apparatus

Abstract

The present invention provides a digital camera which has a plurality of image capturing optical systems and quickly performs automatic focusing. A digital camera includes a first image capturing optical system formed from a lens 2 and a first image sensor, and a second image capturing optical system formed from a lens 3 and a second image sensor. An image processor detects a phase difference between an image of a single subject formed on the first image sensor and an image of the same formed on the second image sensor, in order to perform phase-difference AF. Since the lenses 2, 3 have different focal lengths, the image processor executes correlation operation after having performed conversion processing for causing a scaling factor of the image formed by the first image sensor to coincide with that of the image formed by the second image sensor, to thus detect a phase difference.

Claims10

Dependent claims

An image capturing apparatus comprising:

a first image capturing optical system which generates a first image output signal;
a second image capturing optical system which is spaced apart from the first image capturing optical system by a predetermined distance and differs from the first image capturing optical system in terms of an angle of field which generates a second image object signal;
conversion mechanism which performs conversion operation for causing a scaling factor of the first image to coincide with a scaling factor of the second image;
and
distance computing mechanism which computes a distance to a subject by means of performing correlation operation of a first image and the second image after the conversion mechanism performs the conversion operation.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Image capturing apparatus

Life of this patent

Image capturing apparatus

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims10