US Patent 7465107 Photographing apparatus and control method therefor

A photographing apparatus which realizes a taking lens barrel whose shape is not largely changed during panning or tilting shot, thereby being compact in size and easy to handle. In the photographing apparatus, an image pickup device (14i) outputs an electric signal from object light. A bending optical system (14) has a front lens (14f) and lens groups (14j, 14k, 14l, and 14m) and a mirror (14c) disposed between the front lens and the laminated lens 14j, to guide the object light to the image pickup device. A panning actuator (19) and a tilt actuator (15f) cause the mirror and the front lens or the lens groups to be pivotally moved in unison about respective different axes to thereby change a shooting direction.