Image pickup apparatus with automatic focus lens, when auto focusing cannot be conducted focus lens is driven based on stored information of distance to object

摘要

In an image pickup apparatus, information of a distance to an object is acquired according to an image pickup direction such as panning or tilting under a condition where focusing can be conducted, an image pickup direction is detected at a present position due to a panning angle and a tilting angle in the case where focusing cannot be conducted at a low illumination level, the information of distance to an object corresponding to the detected image pickup direction is read out from the memory, and a focus lens is driven at the read position, thereby making it possible to take a photograph even under a condition where the object cannot be focused.