The camera system includes a zoom lens (51) with a mechanism for moving it along the optical axis. The camera housing is releasably mounted on the lens, and a motor drive is provided for moving the lens according to commands from a CPU (61). Data communication is carried out via input-output devices between the lens and the camera housing. The camera housing includes a housing CPU for controlling the entire camera system. The zoom lens has a focus detector for determining the focal length setting, the latter being stored in a memory.
