US 7,380,998 B2
	Image pickup apparatus having image pickup optical system
Shinichi Mihara, Hachioji (Japan); Masahito Watanabe, Hachioji (Japan); Tomoyuki Satori, Hachioji (Japan); Toyoharu Hanzawa, Hachioji (Japan); and Shigeru Kato, Hachioji (Japan)
Assigned to Olympus Corporation, Tokyo (Japan)
Filed on Apr. 30, 2007, as Appl. No. 11/790,984.
Application 11/790984 is a division of application No. 10/101636, filed on Mar. 20, 2002, granted, now 7,253,834.
Claims priority of application No. 2001-080189 (JP), filed on Mar. 21, 2001.
Prior Publication US 2007/0258711 A1, Nov. 08, 2007
Int. Cl. G03B 9/08 (2006.01); H04N 5/228 (2006.01)

U.S. Cl. 396—452  [348/208.11]

5 Claims

1. An image pickup apparatus comprising: an image pickup optical system; an image pickup device; and an optical path bending reflecting optical element which is disposed in a section from an object through said image pickup optical system to said image pickup device, wherein a reflecting surface of said reflecting optical element has a variable shape, and wherein the image pickup apparatus has a control system which varies the shape of the reflecting surface, is capable of performing shutter release and image pickup a plurality of times within a definite time, and picks up a plurality of images of a nearly identical scene which are focused at different locations by automatically varying the shape of the reflecting surface of said reflecting optical element so as to move a focused location relative to said image pickup device at each shutter release.