Camera having face detection and with automatic focus control using a defocus amount

A camera comprising:

• an imaging section that generates an image data by shooting a subject;
• a face detecting section that detects at least one face area in a shooting image plane by performing a face detecting process on the image data generated by the imaging section;
• a focusing section that calculates a defocus amount based on a pair of images of a light beam that has passed through a shooting lens of the camera in each of a plurality of optional areas in the shooting image plane;
• and
• a controlling section that designates a focusing area among the optional areas based on a detecting result of the face area detected by the face detecting section and performs a focusing operation by controlling the shooting lens based on the defocus amount in the focusing area, wherein the face detecting section detects a face area by performing a face detecting process on the image data within the shooting image plane from which an area that cannot detect a focus at any of the optional areas is excluded.