LENS BARREL AND PHOTOGRAHING APPARATUS

摘要

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a camera realizing thinning by collapsing a lens barrel and capable of coping with a momentary shutter chance when the camera is carried. SOLUTION: A digital camera includes a shooting lens which comprises a plurality of lens groups and which has a variable focal length and adjusts a focus; and the lens barrel which accommodates the shooting lens and which is freely extended and collapsed. The lens barrel includes a lens advancing/retracting mechanism which retracts at least one of the plurality of lens groups from a shooting optical axis when the lens barrel is collapsed, and which advances the lens group retracted when the lens barrel is collapsed to the shooting optical axis when the lens barrel is extended. The shooting lens forms a fixed focus shooting optical system by the remaining lens group among the plurality of lens groups excluding the lens group which is retracted from the shooting optical axis when the lens barrel is collapsed. COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI