Image pickup apparatus performing focus operation when proximity sensor senses an object

An image pickup apparatus comprising:

• an imaging unit configured to capture an image of a subject to output captured image data;
• an optical system configured to form an image of the subject on the imaging unit, the optical system including a focus lens;
• a viewfinder configured to allow a user to view the subject;
• a proximity sensor configured to sense proximity of an object to the viewfinder;
• and
• a controller configured to perform a focus operation to drive the focus lens based on a value calculated from the captured image data to focus on the image of the subject when the proximity sensor senses proximity of the object, and lock a state of auto-focus by fixing a position of the focus lens after completion of the focus operation until a predetermined condition is satisfied, wherein
• the focus operation is contrast auto-focus (AF) which decides a moving direction of the focus lens based on an evaluation value calculated from the captured image data output from the imaging unit, and
• the controller maintains the locked state of autofocus in the contrast AF until the predetermined condition is satisfied, even though the focus operation is requested.