Image-capturing apparatus
View Patent ↗An image-capturing apparatus is configured to capture an image of an object, an object. The image-capturing apparatus includes a focus lens, an image sensor configured to capture an object image of the object to produce image data, and a controller. The controller is operable to detect a speed at which the image-capturing apparatus is panned, and determine, in response to the detected speed, a control amount corresponding to a moving speed at which the controller moves the focus lens until causing the focus lens to focusing on a target object.
1. An image-capturing apparatus configured to capture an image of an object, the image-capturing apparatus comprising:
a focus lens;
an image sensor configured to capture an object image of the object to produce image data; and
a controller operable to
(i) cause the image sensor to capture the object image of a target object at a certain time point while the image-capturing apparatus is panned;
(ii) detect a speed at which the image-capturing apparatus is panned, and an object distance to the target object at the certain time point;
(iii) obtain a certain focusing position of the focus lens at the certain time point using the detected object distance; and
(iv) determine, based on the certain focusing position and the detected speed, a control amount corresponding to a moving speed at which the controller moves the focus lens such that the focus lens focuses on the target object at a time when the target object is positioned at a predetermined position.
2. The image-capturing apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein the control amount is a lens moving speed at which the focus lens moves, and
wherein the controller is operable to move the focus lens at the lens moving speed to cause the focus lens to focus on the target object.
3. The image-capturing apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein the image-capturing apparatus captures an image of an object in an image-capturing direction that is changed by panning the image-capturing apparatus, and
wherein the controller is operable to determine the control amount such that the focus lens focuses on the target object when the object is positioned in the image-capturing direction from the image-capturing apparatus by panning the image-capturing apparatus.
4. The image-capturing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the object is selected at the certain time point.
5. The image-capturing apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising
a screen that displays the object image,
wherein the controller is operable to:
detect a position of the object image on the screen at the certain time point; and
determine a necessary duration for the target object to move from the position on the screen to the predetermined position based on the detected position of the object image and the detected speed.
6. The image-capturing apparatus according to claim 5 ,
wherein the image-capturing apparatus captures an image of an object in an image-capturing direction that is changed by panning the image-capturing apparatus,
wherein the image-capturing direction corresponds to a predetermined position on the screen, and
wherein the controller is operable to determine the control amount such that the focus lens focuses on the target object at a time when the object image is positioned at the predetermined position on the screen by panning the image-capturing apparatus.