JP4455089B2 - Lens holding mechanism and imaging device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a lens holding mechanism and an imaging apparatus suitable for being applied to an imaging apparatus such as a digital camera, a film camera, and a video camera having a mechanism for driving a photographing lens.

  In recent years, digital cameras that can take an image of a subject and capture the image in a memory without using a film are rapidly spreading. Some digital camera models have a zoom mechanism that can change the shooting magnification. In this case, the digital camera generally needs to be equipped with a lens barrel zoom mechanism for zooming the photographic lens barrel and a focus mechanism for focusing the subject image on an imaging device such as a CCD or CMOS. . Also, a film camera using a conventional silver salt film requires a mechanism similar to the above.

Conventionally, in an imaging apparatus such as the above-described digital camera or film camera, the lens barrel zoom mechanism and the focus mechanism are generally held at independent positions, and the two mechanisms are generally connected to be stacked. Yes (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
Japanese Patent No. 2644836

  However, the conventional mechanism for moving each lens, such as the lens barrel zoom mechanism and the focus mechanism, which is provided in the imaging apparatus, is configured separately, and is generally used by connecting the respective mechanisms. there were. Such a mechanism for moving the lens requires very high accuracy and is extremely sensitive to variations in the components constituting the mechanism, and managing them with high accuracy requires a lot of labor. Conventionally, in order to ensure the accuracy between the lenses, it is necessary to adjust the distance between the lenses and to adjust the tilt of the optical axis.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a lens holding mechanism and an imaging apparatus that can easily guarantee the lens eccentricity, the lens interval, and the tilting of the optical axis and realize a more accurate lens holding structure. There is.

In order to achieve the above object, the lens holding mechanism of the present invention is a lens holding mechanism that holds at least two lenses, and is the same as the first lens holding means for holding one lens and the one lens. A second lens holding unit that holds the other lens disposed on the optical axis and is located in front of the optical axis from the first lens holding unit; and a first lens holding unit that is behind the optical axis from the first lens holding unit. The first lens holding means is disposed between the lens moving means for moving the first lens holding means in the optical axis direction by contacting and rotating with the means, and the first and second lens holding means. thereby urged against the moving means, and a pressing means for urging in a direction opposite to the said first lens holding means said second lens holding means, the pre-Symbol lens moving means to the second lens holding means Ba Wherein the retaining incorporated into a net shape.

The lens holding mechanism of the present invention is to form the engagement portion of the rail shape before Symbol lens moving means, said engagement portion engageable with the holding portion is formed integrally with the second lens holding means The engaging portion of the lens moving means is engaged with the holding portion of the second lens holding means.

  In the lens holding mechanism of the present invention, the first lens holding means is formed with a protrusion on the side facing the lens moving means, and the lens moving means is in contact with the protrusion to hold the first lens It is characterized in that a cam portion for guiding and restricting the movement of the means is formed.

  In addition, the lens holding mechanism of the present invention further includes a driving unit that generates a driving force and a transmission unit that transmits the driving force of the driving unit to the lens moving unit, and the lens moving unit is rotated by the driving force. Thus, the first lens holding means is moved in the optical axis direction.

  The lens holding mechanism of the present invention is characterized in that the one lens is a focus lens that matches the focus of the imaging apparatus with the subject.

  In the lens holding mechanism of the present invention, the one lens is a zoom lens that changes a focal length of the imaging apparatus.

  In order to achieve the above object, an imaging apparatus according to the present invention includes any one of the lens holding mechanisms described above.

  The image pickup apparatus of the present invention further includes a control unit that rotates the lens moving unit by a driving force of the driving unit based on an external operation and moves the first lens holding unit in the optical axis direction. And

  The image pickup apparatus of the present invention is selected from the group including a digital camera, a film camera, and a video camera.

  Furthermore, the present invention provides a lens holding mechanism comprising: a first lens holding unit that holds one lens or a lens group; and another lens or lens group that is disposed on the same optical axis as the one lens or lens group. A second lens holding means for holding, a lens moving means for moving the first lens holding means in the optical axis direction, and a shape for engaging the first lens holding means; and the first and second lenses And a pressing means disposed between the holding means for urging the first lens holding means against the lens moving means and for urging the second lens holding means in the reverse direction. The engaging portion formed on the second lens holding means may be engaged with the holding portion formed on the second lens holding means, and the lens moving means may be incorporated into the second lens holding means in a bayonet shape and held.

According to the present invention, even if there is an error due to the bayonet coupling between the second lens holding means and the lens moving means, the second lens holding means and the first lens holding means are directly pressed, so there is an influence of backlash. There is an effect that the dimensional accuracy is increased. In addition, it is easy to take measures such as decentration of one lens and the other lens, lens spacing, optical axis tilt guarantee, dimensional correction, etc., and stable optical performance can be facilitated. Thus, a more accurate lens holding structure can be realized. Further, with the lens holding structure of the present invention , the number of parts can be reduced and the cost can be reduced because the dimensional accuracy of one lens with respect to the other lens can be ensured.

  According to the present invention, the first lens holding means is urged against the lens moving means and the second lens holding means is urged in the reverse direction, and the rail-shaped engaging portion of the lens moving means is moved to the second lens. In order to engage and hold the lens moving means in the second lens holding means in the form of a bayonet, the first lens holding means for the second lens holding means and The holding relationship of the lens moving means is not released and the holding relationship can be kept good.

  Further, according to the present invention, since the lens moving means is in contact with the protruding portion of the first lens holding means and the cam portion is formed to guide and restrict movement when the first lens holding means is moved, The lens holding means can be accurately moved, and the lens interval can be easily adjusted.

  In addition, according to the present invention, the first lens holding means is moved in the optical axis direction by rotating the lens moving means by the driving force of the driving means. It is possible to easily adjust the lens interval.

  In addition, according to the present invention, since one lens is a focus lens that matches the focus of the imaging device to the subject, a more accurate focus lens holding structure can be realized without increasing the number of components. .

  Further, according to the present invention, since one of the lenses is a zoom lens that changes the focal length of the imaging apparatus, a more accurate zoom lens holding structure can be realized without increasing the number of components.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  4 is a perspective view of the imaging apparatus according to the present embodiment in a power-on state (barrier opened state), FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the imaging apparatus in a power-off state (barrier closed state), and FIG. FIG. 7 is a bottom view of the imaging apparatus, and FIG. 8 is a back view of the digital camera.

  4 to 8, the imaging device 11 is configured as a digital camera, for example, and includes a barrier 12, a photographing lens barrel 13, a finder 14, a finder eyepiece 14a, a photometric distance measuring sensor 15, a red-eye lamp 16, and a strobe. 17, a photographing lens 18, a release button 19, a flash emission mode button 20, a strap holding unit 21, a tripod mounting unit 22, a card battery cover 24, an external input / output terminal mounting unit 25, an operation button 26, a display 27, and a zoom button 28. I have.

  In the front part of the imaging device 11, each of the components shown in FIG. A barrier 12 slidable between a substantially central portion in the longitudinal direction of the main body and one end side is disposed. The photographing lens 18 is a generic name for the first lens 1 and the second lens 3 described later.

  The photographic lens barrel 13 is retracted inside the camera body and covered with the barrier 12 when the power of the imaging device 11 is OFF (see FIG. 5), and in the power ON state (use state), the barrier 12 is in the longitudinal direction. By sliding to one end side, the camera body protrudes (see FIG. 4). That is, the imaging device 11 is configured as a slide barrier type that opens the photographing lens barrel 13 by sliding the barrier 12 in the longitudinal direction of the camera body when in use.

  Further, a finder 14 that determines the composition of the subject, a photometric distance measuring sensor 15 that performs photometric distance measurement, a red-eye lamp 16, and a strobe 17 are disposed on the front surface of the imaging device 11. A release button 19 for instructing a photographing operation and a strobe light emission mode button 20 for setting a mode for causing the strobe 17 to emit light are disposed on the upper surface of the image pickup apparatus 11. A strap holding portion 21 and an external input / output terminal mounting portion 25 for connecting an external device are disposed on the side surface portion of the imaging device 11.

  A card battery cover 24 in which a tripod mounting portion 22, a memory card drive 34 (see FIG. 9), and a battery insertion portion (not shown) are provided is disposed on the bottom surface of the imaging device 11. On the rear surface of the image pickup apparatus 11, an operation button 26 for selecting an operation mode of the image pickup apparatus 11, setting of the presence / absence of light emission of the strobe 17, an image display display 27 including an LCD, and a digital zoom are set. A finder eyepiece 14a communicating with the zoom button 28 and the finder 14 is provided.

  The user operates the operation button 26 to select an operation mode of the imaging apparatus 11 such as a shooting mode, a playback mode, and a moving image shooting mode. The display 27 displays the image data stored in the memory 29 (see FIG. 9) and the image data read from the memory card (not shown) on the screen. In addition, when the operator selects a desired operation mode with the operation button 26, a plurality of photographed image data can be reduced and displayed on the display 27.

  FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a main part of the imaging device 11.

  In FIG. 9, first, the configuration of each part of the imaging device 11 will be described. The control system of the image pickup apparatus 11 includes a CPU 30, a ROM 31, and a RAM 32. The ROM 31 stores a control program for controlling each component. The RAM 32 stores data necessary for the control program. The CPU 30 executes the processing shown in the flowchart of FIG. 10 based on the control program stored in the ROM 31. Connected to the control system are a lens movement detection unit 10, a release button 19, an operation button 26, a display 27, a memory 29, a memory card drive 34, a drive circuit 35, a compression / expansion unit 45, and a barrier power switch 46 via a bus 33. Has been.

  The drive circuit 35 is a photometric distance sensor 15 (photometric sensor 15a, distance sensor 15b), strobe 17, zoom motor drive unit 36, focus motor drive unit 37, shutter drive unit 38, imaging device such as a CCD or CMOS image sensor. 39, and controls the drive of each unit based on a signal from the control system.

  The photometric sensor 15a measures the brightness of the subject. The distance measuring sensor 15b measures the distance to the subject. The zoom motor drive unit 36 drives the zoom motor. The focus motor drive unit 37 drives the focus motor. The shutter drive unit 38 drives the shutter mechanism 41. The imaging device 39 photoelectrically converts an optical image of a subject into an image signal.

  The analog signal processing unit 42 processes an analog signal output from the imaging device 39. The A / D converter 43 converts the analog signal output from the analog signal processor 42 into a digital signal. The digital signal processing unit 44 processes the digital signal output from the A / D conversion unit 43. The memory 29 stores image data. The compression / decompression unit 45 performs compression processing and decompression processing of image data. The memory card drive 34 writes / reads image data to / from a memory card (not shown).

  Next, the operation of the imaging device 11 will be described. When the user slides the barrier 12 to turn on the barrier power switch 46 linked to the sliding operation of the barrier 12, the CPU 30 reads a necessary control program from the ROM 31 and starts an initial operation. That is, after performing the opening operation of the barrier 12, the imaging device 11 is placed in a shooting standby state by moving the shooting lens barrel 13 housed in the camera body to a predetermined shooting enabled area under the control of the CPU 30. Become.

  When the user presses the release button 19 to take a picture, the photometric sensor 15a performs photometry to measure the brightness of the subject, and the CPU 30 determines the aperture value and shutter speed based on the photometric value, and the strobe 17 is Determine whether to emit light. In addition, the user can select whether the strobe 17 is forced to emit light or not by operating the operation button 26 in advance. Next, distance measurement is performed by the distance measurement sensor 15b, the distance to the subject is measured, and the focus motor drive unit 37 is driven by the drive circuit 35, thereby moving the focus mechanism 40 to a predetermined focus position. Next, the shutter mechanism 41 is opened and closed by the shutter drive unit 38, and an optical image of a desired subject is taken into the imaging device 39.

  The imaging device 39 accumulates charges corresponding to the amount of incident light based on the exposure control value, and the charges become an image signal and are output to the analog signal processing unit 42. The analog signal processing unit 42 performs analog processing on the input image signal and outputs the analog signal to the A / D conversion unit 43. The A / D converter 43 converts the input analog signal into a digital signal and outputs the digital signal to the digital signal processor 44. The digital signal processing unit 44 performs digital signal processing. Finally, the digital image data is stored in the memory 29.

  The image data stored in the memory 29 is subjected to compression processing such as JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) or TIFF (Tagged Image File Format) by the compression / decompression unit 45 by the operation of the operation button 26 by the user. The data is output to the card drive 34 and stored in the memory card. In the case of an image pickup apparatus not equipped with the memory 29, the digital image data processed by the digital signal processing unit 44 is compressed by the compression / decompression unit 45 and stored in the memory card of the memory card drive 34. .

  Further, the image data stored in the memory 29 and the image data stored in the memory card of the memory card drive 34 are expanded by the compression / decompression unit 45, and the image data is displayed on the display 27 via the bus 33. Can be made. When the user visually observes the image on the display 27 and determines that the image is unnecessary, the user can delete the image by operating the operation button 26.

  In addition, the user operates the zoom button 28 to control the zoom motor driving unit 36 via the drive circuit 35, thereby moving the photographic lens barrel 13 in the optical axis direction of the photographic lens 18. In addition, the user can perform so-called digital zoom by operating the zoom button 28 to enlarge or reduce the image displayed on the display 27.

  Next, a lens holding structure in the photographing lens barrel 13 of the imaging device 11 will be described.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the focus mechanism of the imaging apparatus 11, FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing the configuration when the focus mechanism is viewed from the front, and FIG. 3 is the case when the focus mechanism is viewed from the rear. It is a disassembled perspective view which shows the structure.

  1 to 3, the focus mechanism includes a first lens group 1, a first lens holding part 2, a second lens group 3, and a second lens holding part in a lens barrel holding part 6 that constitutes the photographing lens barrel 13. 4, the lens moving unit 5, the lens barrel holding unit 6, the lens driving motor 7 and the like are incorporated. L1 and L2 in FIGS. 2 and 3 are lines indicating the assembly direction of each component.

  The first lens group (hereinafter abbreviated as “first lens”) 1 is composed of one or more lenses (one in this embodiment) and is held by the first lens holding portion 2. The second lens group (hereinafter abbreviated as second lens) 3 is composed of one or more lenses (two in the present embodiment) and is held by the second lens holding portion 4. The first lens 1 and the second lens 3 are disposed on the same optical axis. The first lens holding portion 2 is integrally formed with a hemispherical follower portion 2a, and the second lens holding portion 4 is integrally formed with an L-shaped holding portion 4a having a groove. .

  The lens moving unit 5 is a member that moves the first lens holding unit 2 in the optical axis direction. The lens moving unit 5 is formed integrally with the inner peripheral part, and is a cam unit 5a that guides and restricts movement when the first lens holding unit 2 moves. And a holding part 5b having a rail shape formed on the inner peripheral part, a gear 5c integrally formed on the outer peripheral part, a detected part 5d formed on the outer peripheral part, and formed at equal intervals on the inner peripheral part. For example, three cutout portions 5e are provided.

  The follower portion 2 a of the first lens holding portion 2 is biased by the first lens pressing portion 8 against the cam portion 5 a of the lens moving portion 5. By the pressing force of the first lens pressing portion 8, the follower portion 2a of the first lens holding portion 2 is pressed against the cam surface of the cam portion 5a of the lens moving portion 5 so that the cam surface can be followed. Further, the holding unit 4 a of the second lens holding unit 4 holds the holding unit 5 b of the lens moving unit 5.

  In the present embodiment, the first lens pressing portion 8 is configured as a compression coil spring, and is incorporated between the first lens holding portion 2 and the second lens holding portion 4 as shown in FIG. The lens holding part 2 and the second lens holding part 4 are urged in opposite directions on the optical axis. When the first lens pressing unit 8 presses the first lens holding unit 2 against the lens moving unit 5, the first lens holding unit 2 is supported (mounted) on the lens moving unit 5 and integrated with the lens moving unit 5. The rail-shaped holding portion 5 b provided is engaged with the groove portion of the L-shaped holding portion 4 a provided in the second lens holding portion 4.

  As will be described later, by driving the lens driving motor 7 and rotating the lens moving unit 5, the first lens holding unit 2 holding the first lens 1 is moved in the optical axis direction, thereby focusing the imaging device 11. Can be matched. In the present embodiment, the case where the first lens 1 is a focus lens that matches the focus of the imaging device 11 with the subject is taken as an example, but the first lens 1 can also be applied to a zoom lens that changes the focal length of the imaging device 11. It is.

  At the time of assembly in which the lens moving part 5 engaged with the first lens holding part 2 is connected to the second lens holding part 4, the notch part 5e of the lens moving part 5 and the holding part 4a of the second lens holding part 4 are positioned. The lens moving unit 5 is rotated with respect to the second lens holding unit 4. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 1, the lens moving part 5 is fitted by fitting the rail-shaped holding part 5 b of the lens moving part 5 into the groove part of the L-shaped holding part 4 a of the second lens holding part 4. And the second lens holding part 4 can be connected.

  In this manner, by incorporating the lens moving unit 5 into the second lens holding unit 4 in a bayonet shape, it is not necessary to separately provide components for connecting the two. Due to the bayonet coupling between the lens moving unit 5 and the second lens holding unit 4, in the actual use state, the holding relationship of the first lens holding unit 2 and the lens moving unit 5 with respect to the second lens holding unit 4 is not released. The holding relationship can be kept good.

  A lens moving first gear 9 is meshed with a gear 5 c formed integrally on the outer periphery of the lens moving unit 5, and a lens moving second gear 7 a is meshed with the lens moving first gear 9. Further, the lens moving second gear 7 a is fixed to the rotating shaft of the lens driving motor 7. In the present embodiment, the lens drive motor 7 is configured as a stepping motor, and can operate by a movement amount determined for each step. The lens driving motor 7 and the lens moving first gear 9 are each incorporated in the second lens holding unit 4.

  The lens driving motor 7 is electrically driven by the driving circuit 35 to rotate the lens moving unit 5 via the lens moving second gear 7a and the lens moving first gear 9, thereby holding the first lens 1. The first lens holding part 2 is moved. In addition, the lens movement detection unit 10 is arranged such that a detected unit 5 d formed integrally with the outer periphery of the lens movement unit 5 crosses the detection position of the lens movement detection unit 10 as the lens movement unit 5 rotates. Thereby, the reference position of the lens moving unit 5 can be detected by the lens movement detecting unit 10. The above-described components are finally incorporated into the lens barrel holding unit 6.

  Next, an operation sequence at the time of shooting by the imaging device 11 will be described.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an operation sequence at the time of shooting by the imaging apparatus 11. The processing shown in this flowchart is executed by the CPU 30 of the imaging apparatus 11 based on a control program.

  In FIG. 10, when the user turns on the power of the imaging device 11 (step S1), the CPU 30 starts the operation of the lens driving motor 7 via the drive circuit 35 and rotates it in the CW direction (step S2). Along with the rotation operation of the lens driving motor 7, the lens moving unit 5 rotates via the lens moving second gear 7 a and the lens moving first gear 9. When the detected part 5d of the lens moving unit 5 crosses the lens movement detecting unit 10, the CPU 30 detects the position of the lens moving unit 5 as a reset position, and resets a counter (not shown) at that time (step S3). .

  The CPU 30 rotates the lens driving motor 7 in the CW direction as it is, and moves the first lens 1 by moving the first lens holding unit 2 by the rotation of the lens moving unit 5. Thereafter, the CPU 30 rotates the lens driving motor 7 by a predetermined number of steps, and stops the lens moving unit 5 at the reference position (step S4). Thereafter, when the user presses the release button 19 (step S5), the imaging device 11 is caused to perform an imaging operation of the subject.

  When the release button 19 is pressed by the user, the lens drive motor 7 rotates by a fixed number of steps (step S6), and the first lens 1 is moved to the in-focus point for the subject (step S7). In this state, the CPU 30 operates the shutter mechanism 41 (step S8), and stores the image of the subject imaged by the imaging device 39 in the memory card by the memory card drive 34 (step S9). Thereafter, the CPU 30 moves the first lens 1 to the reference position by rotating the lens driving motor 7 in the CCW direction (step S10).

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the component that drives one lens, that is, the first lens holding unit 2 that holds the first lens 1 and the first lens holding unit 2 in the optical axis direction. The lens moving unit 5 that is moved to the second lens holding unit 4 that holds the other lens, that is, the second lens holding unit 4 that holds the second lens 3, is held in a bayonet shape.

  As a result, it is possible to easily take measures such as decentering of the first lens 1 and the second lens 3, the lens interval, the guarantee of the tilt of the optical axis, the correction of dimensions, and the like, and the stable optical performance can be easily obtained. Therefore, a more accurate lens holding structure can be realized.

  Moreover, since the lens holding structure as described above can be configured with a small number of parts to ensure the dimensional accuracy of the first lens 1 with respect to the second lens 3, the number of parts can be reduced and the cost can be reduced. it can.

[Other embodiments]
In the above embodiment, the case where the first lens group is composed of one lens and the second lens group is composed of two lenses has been described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this. The number of lenses in each of the lens group and the second lens group is arbitrary.

  In the above embodiment, a digital camera is taken as an example of the imaging device. However, the present invention is not limited to this and can be applied to other imaging devices such as a film camera and a video camera.

It is a schematic sectional drawing which shows the structure of the focus mechanism of the imaging device which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a disassembled perspective view which shows the structure at the time of seeing a focus mechanism from the front. It is a disassembled perspective view which shows the structure at the time of seeing a focus mechanism from back. It is a perspective view in the power supply ON state of an imaging device. It is a perspective view in the power-off state of an imaging device. It is a top view in the power-on state of an imaging device. It is a bottom view of an imaging device. It is a rear view of an imaging device. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the principal part of an imaging device. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement sequence at the time of imaging | photography of an imaging device.

Explanation of symbols

1 First lens (corresponding to one lens)
2 First lens holding part (corresponding to the first lens holding means)
2a Follower (corresponding to the protrusion)
3 Second lens (corresponding to the other lens)
4 Second lens holder (corresponding to the second lens holder)
4a Holding part (corresponding to holding part)
5 Lens moving part (corresponding to lens moving means)
5a Cam part (corresponding to the cam part)
5b Holding part (corresponding to the engaging part)
7 Lens drive motor (corresponding to drive means)
7a Lens movement second gear (corresponding to transmission means)
8 First lens pressing part (corresponding to pressing means)
9 Lens movement first gear (corresponding to transmission means)
11 Imaging device 30 CPU (corresponding to control means)

Claims (9)

A lens holding mechanism for holding at least two lenses,
A first lens holding means for holding one lens, and a second lens holding means for holding the other lens disposed on the same optical axis as the one lens and being in front of the optical axis from the first lens holding means; a lens moving means for moving the first lens holding means in the optical axis direction by rotating contact with the first lens holding means in the rear optical axis than the first lens holding means, said first and Arranged between two lens holding means, the first lens holding means is urged against the lens moving means, and the second lens holding means is urged in a direction opposite to the first lens holding means. Pressing means ,
Lens holding mechanism, characterized in that retaining incorporated into the bayonet shape of the front Symbol lens moving means and the second lens holding means. To form the engagement portion of the rail shape before Symbol lens moving means, said engagement portion engageable with the holding portion is formed integrally with the second lens holding means,
The lens holding mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the engaging portion of the lens moving means is engaged with the holding portion of the second lens holding means.   The first lens holding means is formed with a protrusion on the side facing the lens moving means, and the lens moving means abuts the protrusion to guide and restrict the movement of the first lens holding means. The lens holding mechanism according to claim 1, wherein a cam portion to be formed is formed. A driving means for generating a driving force; and a transmission means for transmitting the driving force of the driving means to the lens moving means.
The lens holding mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the first lens holding unit is moved in the optical axis direction by rotating the lens moving unit with the driving force.   The lens holding mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the one lens is a focus lens that matches the focus of the imaging apparatus with the subject.   The lens holding mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the one lens is a zoom lens that changes a focal length of the imaging apparatus.   An image pickup apparatus comprising the lens holding mechanism according to claim 1.   8. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising a control unit that rotates the lens moving unit by driving the driving unit based on an external operation and moves the first lens holding unit in the optical axis direction. apparatus.   8. The imaging apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the imaging apparatus is selected from a group including a digital camera, a film camera, and a video camera.

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