The present invention relates generally to a slim electronic image pickup system comprising an optical path-bending zoom optical system, and particularly to an image pickup system inclusive of video cameras or digital cameras, the depth dimension of which is reduced by contriving an optical system portion thereof, e.g., a zoom lens.
In recent years, digital cameras (electronic cameras) have received attention as cameras of the next generation, an alternative to silver-salt 35 mm-film (usually called Leica format) cameras. Currently available digital cameras are broken down into some categories in wide ranges from the high-end type for commercial use to the portable low-end type.
In view of the portable low-end type category in particular, the primary object of the present invention is to provide the technology for implementing video or digital cameras whose depth dimension is reduced while ensuring high image quality.
The gravest bottleneck in making the depth dimension of cameras thin is the thickness of an optical system, especially a zoom lens from the surface located nearest to the object side to the image pickup plane. To make use of a collapsible lens mount that allows the optical system to be taken out of a camera body for phototaking and received therein for carrying now becomes mainstream. However, the thickness of an optical system received in a collapsible lens mount varies largely with the lens type or filter used. Especially in the case of a so-called + precedent type zoom lens wherein a lens group having positive refracting power is positioned nearest to its object side, the thickness of each lens element and dead space are too large to set such requirements as zoom ratios and F-numbers at high values; in other words, the optical system does not become slime as expected, even upon received in the lens mount (JP-A 11-258507). A − precedent type zoom lens, especially of two or three-group construction is advantageous in this regard. However, this type zoom lens, too, does not become slim upon received in a collapsible lens mount, even when the lens positioned nearest to the object side is formed of a positive lens (JP-A 11-52246), because the lens groups are composed of an increased number of lens elements, and the thickness of lens elements is large.
Among zoom lenses known so far in the art, those set forth typically in JP-A's 11-194274, 11-287953 and 2000-9997 are suitable for use with electronic image pickup systems with improved image-formation capabilities including zoom ratios, field angles and F-numbers, and may possibly be reduced in thickness upon received in collapsible lens mounts.
To make the first lens group thin, it is preferable to make the entrance pupil position shallow; however, the magnification of the second lens group must be increased to this end. For this reason, some considerable load is applied on the second lens group. Thus, it is not only difficult to make the second lens group itself thin but it is also difficult to make correction for aberrations. In addition, the influence of production errors grows. Thickness and size reductions may be achieved by making the size of an image pickup device small. To ensure the same number of pixels, however, the pixel pitch must be diminished and insufficient sensitivity must be covered by the optical system. The same goes true for the influence of diffraction.
To obtain a camera body whose depth dimension is reduced, a rear focusing mode wherein the rear lens group is moved for focusing is effective in view of the layout of an associated driving system. It is then required to single out an optical system less susceptible to aberration fluctuations upon rear focusing. Alternatively, such thickness reductions may be achieved by bending the optical path of an optical system with a mirror or the like; however, some considerable restrictions are imposed on the zooming movement of lenses because of the space for such optical path bending.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds