JP2621046C - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Industrial application field) The present invention relates to an electronic camera, and more particularly, to a recording medium that can be attached to and detached from a camera body.
The present invention relates to an internal arrangement and form of an electronic camera that records a plurality of pieces of still image information. (Prior Art) A subject image formed by a photographing lens on a solid-state imaging device such as a CCD is converted into an electric signal, and the electric signal is stored as a still image information in a detachable and replaceable recording medium housed in a camera body. Electronic still cameras for recording are already known and various forms have been announced. In this type of camera, for example, a flat rectangular magnetic disk or the like is used as a recording medium. However, its appearance is similar to a conventional still camera using a silver halide film or a camera with a video tape recorder. As an example of a conventional electronic camera, there is a form in which a recording mechanism is arranged on a side surface (a surface parallel to the lens optical axis) of an imaging unit at a rear portion of a photographing lens as shown in FIG. Although it is possible to reduce the projection shape of the front or back of the camera body with respect to the lens optical axis in the format, it is difficult to shorten the length in the direction parallel to the lens optical axis (at least, (It cannot be shorter than the size of the medium.) Adding a grip for facilitating holding of the camera further increases the size. In an arrangement in which an image pickup unit and a recording component are arranged in parallel in the same plane perpendicular to the optical axis as in an electronic camera disclosed in JP-A-54-140506, projection from the front or rear of the camera is performed. The area becomes considerably large. (Problems to be Solved by the Invention) An electronic camera using a magnetic disk or the like as a recording medium is compared with a conventional still camera using a roll film of silver halide as a recording medium or a camera with a video tape recorder using a magnetic tape. In addition, members serving as components inside the camera body, such as a function of capturing an image of a subject and a function of recording still image information, are considerably different. For this reason, when the arrangement configuration of the operation members outside the electronic camera main body and the appearance of the camera related to the handling of the camera are similar to those of the above two, the components inside the electronic camera main body are efficiently arranged to reduce the size. And it is difficult to make it easy to use. Further, camera operations such as taking the recording medium into and out of the camera body, holding the camera when carrying the camera and photographing, and operating the operation members for setting the conditions for photographing and recording of the camera and confirming the setting state. An arrangement suitable for a configuration unique to the electronic camera has been desired to enhance the utility value of the electronic camera in order to improve the operability and ease of use. (Means for Solving the Problems) (1) According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electronic device in which still image information of a subject is electrically recorded on a recording medium detachable from a camera body, and a grip portion projects forward of the camera. Applies to cameras. Then, the following structures (a) to (d) are provided for the purpose of reducing the size of the electronic camera body and improving the portability and operability. (A) On the extension of the optical axis of the photographing lens, the imaging unit including the solid-state imaging device and its driving circuit is at the front, and the recording component including the member for accommodating the recording medium is at the rear. Are arranged so as to coincide with a plane perpendicular to the extension line, (b) a battery part is arranged on the grip part on one side of the imaging part and the recording component part, and (c) a camera is held. A dent to which a fingertip of a photographer is applied is provided between the grip unit and the imaging unit and the recording component unit of the camera body, and a cross-sectional area of the camera body portion where the dent is formed is defined by a cross section of the grip unit. smaller than the area, (d) an upper to a plane perpendicular to the extension of the optical axis of the grip portion photographic lens
Is arranged at an angle of 5 to 20 degrees so that the lower part is closer to the subject and closer to the photographer.
did. (2) The invention of claim 2 aims at facilitating the operation by the hand holding the camera, and in the electronic camera of claim 1, an operation for setting the imaging operation condition or the recording operation condition of the camera. The member and the setting circuit board are arranged on the camera body or the grip on which the recess is formed. (3) The invention of claim 3 is applied to an electronic camera that electrically records still image information of a subject on a recording medium that is detachable from the camera body. Then, for the purpose of reducing the size of the camera body by effectively utilizing the outside of the camera body, the following configurations (e) and (f) are provided. (E) On the extension of the optical axis of the photographing lens, the imaging unit including the solid-state imaging device and its driving circuit is located at the front, and the recording component including the member for accommodating the recording medium is located at the rear. Is arranged so as to coincide with a plane perpendicular to the extension line. (F) The information display section of the camera is located adjacent to a finder eyepiece section arranged on the back of the camera body and above the recording component section. At a position other than the cover member of the recording medium storage section. (4) The invention of claim 4 is applied to an electronic camera that electrically records still image information of a subject on a recording medium detachable from the camera body. In order to reduce the movement of the fingers holding the camera and to improve the operability by arranging the recording medium and the cover member without touching the fingers during the attaching / detaching operation, the following configurations (g) and (h) )
Is adopted. (G) On the extension of the optical axis of the taking lens, the imaging unit including the solid-state imaging device and its driving circuit is at the front, and the recording component including the member for storing the recording medium is at the rear, and the flat surface of the recording medium is Are arranged so as to coincide with a plane perpendicular to the extension line, and (h) an operation member for opening a cover member of the recording medium storage unit for attaching and detaching the recording medium is provided on a rear surface of the camera body, and The recording medium is disposed on a movement trajectory of the recording medium when the recording medium is attached and detached and at a position other than the movement trajectory of the cover member when the cover member is opened and closed. (5) invention of claim 5, together with the still image information of a subject on a removable recording medium in the camera body to electrically recorded, the electronic camera taking lens is further protruded than the grip portion protruding front of the camera Applied. Then, the following configurations (i) and (j) are adopted in order to guarantee the same operation sensation during the horizontal position shooting and the vertical position shooting. (I) On the extension of the optical axis of the photographing lens, the imaging unit including the solid-state imaging device and its driving circuit is located at the front, and the recording component including the member for accommodating the recording medium is located at the rear. (J) a distance from the optical axis of the photographing lens to a bottom surface of the camera body in the camera body opposite to the grip portion; The distance from the optical axis of the taking lens to one side surface of the camera body is configured to be substantially equal. (Operation) In the first invention of the present application, blocks that occupy a relatively large space in a relatively integrated manner among the components of the electronic camera, such as the imaging unit, the recording unit, and the battery unit, are efficiently configured.
They are arranged to reduce the size of the camera body. Further, in order to facilitate holding of the camera, a recess is provided to which a fingertip of a photographer holding the camera is applied. That is, the recording medium is disposed such that the flat surface thereof coincides with a plane perpendicular to the extension line, and the internal components such as the circuit board of the imaging unit and the recording component are the same as the recording medium housing. It is arranged and arranged in a plane space having a degree of spread, and the image pickup unit and the recording constituent unit are arranged so as to overlap each other on the optical axis. Here, in a conventional still camera using a roll film of a silver salt as a conventional recording medium, it is necessary to arrange a winding portion and a rewinding portion of the film to the side of the recording component portion. It is not possible. The first invention of the present application corrects the above-mentioned drawbacks in the conventional example, and makes it possible to simultaneously reduce the size of the camera body in the optical axis direction and the vertical direction thereof by utilizing the characteristics of the electronic camera. In addition, by arranging a relatively large and heavy battery unit among the internal components on one side of the imaging unit and the recording component, the size of the camera body in the side direction is minimized on one side. And a favorable arrangement for balancing when holding the camera. Furthermore, in view of the characteristics of the hand holding the camera, it is clear that the folded state has a stronger holding force than the extended state of the finger, and the stability when holding the camera is improved. In the conventional still camera, the mechanism of the film winding section and the rewinding section is disposed opposite to the side of the recording component, so that the photographer holds the camera on the side adjacent to the recording component. Cannot be provided. In this case, the space between the battery unit, the image pickup unit, and the recording component unit may be increased to provide only a recess. However, a compact and easy-to-use camera cannot be obtained. In the present invention, the battery unit is housed in the grip unit on the side of the camera, and a recess is formed between the grip unit and the imaging unit and the recording component unit so that the photographer's finger can be applied to the grip unit. Also, hold the grip on a surface perpendicular to the extension of the optical axis of the taking lens.
The upper part is tilted at an angle of 5 to 20 degrees so that the upper part is closer to the photographer and the lower part is closer to the subject.
Placed. As described above, according to the present invention, the battery unit, the imaging unit, and the recording component unit can be arranged independently of each other, making use of the features of the electronic camera, while reducing the size as described above, and Considering the balance of holding the camera, it has also become possible to improve operability. It also increases the stability of the camera when holding it,
The operability when carrying and carrying is improved. The second invention of the present application is an operation member and a setting circuit board for setting a photographing operation condition or a recording operation condition of the camera according to the first invention of the present application, and the imaging unit and the recording component unit and the battery unit of a camera body. It is located at the top of the part between. This is because by effectively utilizing the space in the camera body, the size of the camera body is suppressed, and furthermore, it is easier and more reliable to hold the camera by holding the camera by making the recess in the middle part deeper than the upper part of the recess. Squeezed. In addition, the operation can be performed only by slightly moving the finger that has entered the dent during the operation, thereby improving the operability of the camera. In the third invention of the present application, the information display section of the camera is provided other than the cover member of the recording medium storage section which is adjacent to the finder eyepiece section arranged on the back of the camera body and stores the recording medium. After arranging the imaging unit and the recording unit and the battery unit that require a relatively large space among the internal components of the electronic camera as described above, the information display unit of a relatively small camera is located at the position. By arranging the camera body, the size of the camera body can be reduced by effectively utilizing the space and the outer surface in the camera body, and the operability can be improved by reducing the movement of the line of sight of the photographer. In the fourth invention of the present application, the operating member for opening the cover member of the recording medium storage unit for attaching and detaching the recording medium is provided on the back of the camera body, and the movement trajectory of the recording medium when the recording medium is attached and detached. The cover member is disposed at a position other than on the movement trajectory of the cover member when the cover member is opened and closed. The operation unit is also configured so that the finger performing the operation is also outside the track. By arranging the member on the back of the camera body, the member reduces the movement of the fingers holding the camera as compared with a conventional camera of this type arranged on the other surface of the camera body, and reduces the movement of the recording medium and the recording medium. By arranging the cover member without touching the fingers during the attachment / detachment operation, the operation can be performed without hindering the movement of the recording medium when attaching / detaching the recording medium, thereby improving the operability when attaching / detaching the recording medium. The size of the camera body is reduced by effectively utilizing the space inside and the outer surface of the camera body. The fifth invention of the present application is configured so that the distance from the optical axis of the taking lens to the bottom surface of the camera body in the camera body is substantially equal to the distance from the optical axis of the taking lens to one side surface of the camera body. . In the present invention, the recording medium is disposed such that a flat surface thereof coincides with a plane perpendicular to the extension line, and internal components such as a circuit board of the imaging unit and the recording configuration unit are disposed in the recording medium storage unit. It is arranged and arranged in a plane space having the same extent as that of the above, and the center of the respective parts is made substantially coincident with the optical axis, and the imaging part and the recording constituent part are arranged so as to overlap front and back on the optical axis. ing. Furthermore, by arranging other components, which require a relatively small space among the internal components of the electronic camera, in the periphery thereof, the distance from the optical axis of the photographing lens to the bottom surface of the camera body in the camera body, and The distance from the optical axis of the lens to one side surface of the camera body can be configured to be substantially equal. With this configuration, the operability of the camera is improved by making the positions of the hands holding the camera body and the lens in the vertical position and the horizontal position when photographing the subject are substantially the same. (Embodiment of the Invention) Hereinafter, an internal configuration and operability of an electronic camera according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 shows a horizontal section (corresponding to the horizontal section AA in FIG. 3) of the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, a shutter mechanism 16 is disposed at the rear of the lens mount 15, an optical filter 17 is disposed at the front of the shutter blade 16a, and a solid-state imaging device 18 is disposed at the rear. I have. Image sensor support plate 1
An imaging circuit board 21b for driving the solid-state imaging device 18 and generating a video signal of a subject is provided in a space surrounded by the solid-state imaging device 9 and the shield case 20. Blocks through the imaging circuit board and the shield case 20 through the above are collectively referred to simply as an imaging unit hereinafter). Further, a recording mechanism driving circuit board 23 supported by a recording mechanism section support plate 22 is provided at a rear portion of the imaging section. A spindle motor 24 for rotating a magnetic disk and a pack holder 26 for accommodating a recording medium pack 25 as a recording medium are supported by a support plate 22 between the circuit board 23 and the back cover 10. Reference numerals 10a and 26a denote shafts for rotatably supporting the back cover 10 and the pack holder 26 on the support plate 22, respectively. Release knob 11 (fifth
When the rear cover 10 and the pack holder 26 are rotated to the open position by operating the print medium (see FIG. 3), the recording medium pack 25 is discharged to the outside of the camera body to a position where the recording medium pack 25 is easily picked out by a discharge means (not shown). (The blocks from the circuit board 23 to the spindle motor 24, the support platen 22, the pack holder 26, and the back cover 10 are collectively referred to as a recording mechanism hereinafter.) A power supply circuit block 27 (this power supply) converts the voltage of the battery 14 and supplies power to each circuit board at a position between the rear part of the imaging unit, the two of the recording mechanism unit, and the power supply battery 14. The battery 14 and the power supply circuit block 27 are collectively referred to as a power supply unit). In the embodiment of the present invention, the image pickup section and the recording mechanism section are arranged so as to overlap each other on the extension of the optical axis of the image pickup lens L. For example, in an electronic camera disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 54-140506. In comparison with the arrangement in which the imaging unit and the recording component are arranged in parallel in the same plane perpendicular to the optical axis of the lens L, the projected area viewed from the front or back of the camera as shown in FIG. 3 or FIG. Is small. That is, even if a circuit for driving the solid-state imaging device is efficiently disposed adjacent to the solid-state imaging device, an imaging circuit board that drives the solid-state imaging device and generates a video signal requires various circuit element parts. The imaging unit tends to be relatively large as a component of an electronic camera. Therefore, the projection shape from the front or back of the electronic camera body in which the recording mechanism unit (which cannot be smaller than the planar projection shape of the recording medium pack at least) occupies a large space is also arranged in parallel. Would result in a horizontally long rectangle whose long side direction is considerably long, whereas in the embodiment of the present invention, it is easy to reduce the length in the long side direction to a desirable degree for holding and balancing the camera. It has become. Further, in the embodiment of the present invention, FIGS. 1 and 6 (section B-
(Corresponding to B), the camera front side portion 12a is configured to be more concave than the peripheral portion. This is for the purpose of securely holding the camera with the photographer's fingertip penetrating deeply. Since the imaging unit and the recording component occupying a relatively large space in the camera are arranged as described above, it is easy to make the space between the two and the power supply battery unit concave. In the present embodiment, the power supply circuit 27 occupying a large volume of the power supply unit is located on the outside, and the power supply circuit 27 is capable of determining the internal shape by bringing the shape close to the desired external shape of the camera.
The recess is provided by arranging the inside inside. In this way, by arranging the power supply unit that occupies a relatively large space in the camera on one side, it is possible to minimize the required volume of the camera body on the opposite side across the imaging unit and recording component unit In addition, it is possible to reduce the size of the camera to a desirable size for holding and balancing the camera. Further, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, the thickness of the camera is ensured at the upper and lower portions of the portion 12a where the finger for holding the camera enters, so that the actual surface area of the circuit board can be accommodated without reducing the actual surface area. It is composed. That is, an information setting brush board 5a interlocking with the shutter time setting dial 5, an information setting circuit board 28 on which the brush board 5a slides, and an exposure calculation / control circuit 29 of the camera 12a are provided below the circuit board 28. It is installed on the upper part of the board with necessary board area secured. Similarly, a circuit board 30 on which a magnetic recording circuit, a sequence driving circuit of a camera, and the like can be mounted is disposed below 12a. By disposing an operating member such as a shutter time setting dial 5 for setting a photographing operation condition and a recording operation condition of the camera on the upper part of the camera 12a, the first hand of the hand holding the camera in the posture holding the camera is held. It is possible to operate these operating members simply by slightly shifting the finger and the second finger, and not only to efficiently utilize the space inside the camera body but to prevent the camera from becoming unnecessarily large. Another effect is that the operability of the camera can be ensured as good as the camera using the conventional silver halide film. FIG. 2 is a top view of the electronic camera according to the present embodiment. Reference numeral 1 at the front of the camera upper surface is a release button, and a rotary ring 2 around the release button is a shooting mode switching ring. Reference numeral 3 denotes an exposure mode switching knob, on which an exposure compensation dial 4 is disposed coaxially.
Is a shutter time setting dial. The surface of the upper cover of the camera body to which the exposure compensation dial 4 and the shutter time setting dial 5 are respectively attached is lower on the side of the compensation dial 4 arranged outside the camera body. The height of the dial itself is configured so that the exposure compensation dial 4 is lower than the shutter speed dial 5. This has the effect of preventing the finger from touching the outer dial and making it harder to operate when operating the inner dial. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, etc., rubber covers 12 (front side) and 13 (back side) are attached to the front and rear sides of the power supply unit, respectively, to prevent slipping. This is because the outer shape of the power supply unit is a grip portion of the camera, and the grip portion has a surface shape conforming to the shape of the hand, thereby easily and reliably holding the camera. One end of the battery pack 14 housed inside the camera is exposed at the bottom of the grip. This is because the outer shape of the power supply battery portion is a grip portion, and the replacement of the battery pack 14 is facilitated, and the size of the camera body is reduced by effectively utilizing the outer surface of the camera body. Also, judging from the operability when holding the camera, if the angle of the grip surface of the grip part is completely perpendicular to the lens optical axis, the space between the wrist and elbow when holding the camera will be too close to the body If the angle of inclination is too large, the wrist and elbow are too far away from the body, making it difficult to hold the camera stably. It is easy. The angle of inclination of the gripping surface of this grip is most preferably about 5 to 20 ° for stable holding. Since the power supply unit is configured independently of the image pickup unit and the recording component unit, the gripping surface that comes into contact with the hand of the grip unit is moved with respect to a surface perpendicular to the optical axis of the photographing lens as shown in FIGS. The shape is such that the upper part is closer to the photographer side and the lower part is closer to the subject side with an appropriate inclination angle. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, an eyepiece tube 8 of a single-lens reflex type finder is arranged on the upper rear surface of the camera. An information display window 9 to be displayed is installed at an angle to a vertical plane so that the information display window 9 can be observed from both the back side and the top side of the camera. Furthermore, in addition to the above, the point that the embodiment of the present invention is configured as a form suitable for miniaturization and good operability of the camera is that the embodiment is adjacent to the finder eyepiece tube 8 as shown in FIG. The information display member 9 is disposed by utilizing the space above the recording mechanism, and a flash mounting shoe groove 6 and a flash contact 7 are provided at the center of the upper surface of the camera body. The fact that the information display member 9 is disposed at this position not only allows the space inside the camera body to be effectively utilized to prevent the camera from being enlarged, and allows the image display member 9 to be observable from both the upper and lower directions of the camera as described above. There is also an effect that the information on the display member 9 can be confirmed by slightly shifting the line of sight of the photographer looking into the viewfinder of the camera. Similarly, the back cover opening knob 11 and its mechanism are arranged by utilizing the space below the recording mechanism. As shown in FIG. 5, a rear cover 10 is provided at the center of the rear of the camera to cover a recording mechanism for recording still image information on a magnetic disk. On the lower right side of the rear cover 10, a rear cover opening knob 11 for opening the rear cover and taking in and out a recording medium pack containing a magnetic disk in the recording mechanism of the camera is arranged. The back cover 10 is opened by rotating the knob 11 clockwise. The fact that the rear cover opening knob 11 is located at the position shown in the figure not only effectively utilizes the space inside the camera body, but also attaches a strobe or the like, which is a light source for correcting shooting, to the upper surface of the camera, or attaches a tripod to the lower surface of the camera. There is an advantage that the back cover 10 is opened while the camera support member such as the seat is attached, and the exchange of the recording medium pack 25 can be easily performed without being disturbed by the member attached to the camera. ing. Further, the release knob 11 and the finger that operates the release knob 11 are set out of the moving range of the recording medium pack 25 in and out (in this embodiment, the horizontal movement is performed on the right side of the back cover 10 in FIG. 5). Therefore, even when the medium pack 25 is automatically ejected by the urging force of an ejection spring (not shown) when the back cover 10 is opened, the finger that operates the opening knob 11 can move the pack. There is also an advantage that the media pack can be quickly replaced without preventing the operation. As shown in FIG. 1, a sequence control circuit board 28 for controlling an operation sequence of the camera is provided on the opposite side of the power supply circuit block 27 across the imaging unit. FIG. 3 is a front view of the electronic camera according to the present invention, showing a state where the lens L is detached from the camera body. In this embodiment, the camera is miniaturized by arranging the imaging unit and the recording mechanism at overlapping positions, and the horizontal distance X from the optical axis O of the photographing lens to the outside of the camera and the bottom surface as shown in FIG. It is also easy to configure so that the vertical distance Y to the section is approximately the same. By setting the X dimension and the Y dimension to be substantially close to each other, the lens with the left hand when the photographer holds the grip portion with the right hand and holds the camera in the horizontal (horizontal) position and when the photographer holds the camera in the vertical position. The interval between the operation and the holding of the camera (the interval from the optical axis to the lower surface when the camera body is held in the horizontal position and the vertical position) does not change much. It is easy to change the position. (Effects of the Invention) As described above, according to the present invention, the configuration of each function of an electronic camera using a detachable recording medium is efficiently arranged, and is suitable only for miniaturizing the camera. In addition, the shape and arrangement of each operation unit can be a form suitable for improving the operability of the camera.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a horizontal sectional view (horizontal section A in FIG. 3) of an electronic still camera according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a top view, FIG. 3 is a front view, FIG. 4 is a side view, FIG. 5 is a rear view, and FIG. 6 is an electronic still camera according to the present invention. FIG. 7 is a vertical sectional view of the camera (corresponding to the cross section BB in FIG. 3), and FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a form of a conventional electronic camera. (Description of Signs of Main Parts) 1 ... release button, 2 ... shooting mode switching ring, 3 ... exposure mode switching knob, 4 ...
Exposure compensation dial, 5: shutter time setting dial, 6: shoe groove for flash mounting, 7: flash contact, 8: finder eyepiece tube, 9: information display member, 10: rear cover, 11: rear cover opening knob 12.13: Anti-slip rubber cover, 12a: Full body concave cover, 14: Power battery, 15: Lens mount, 16: Shutter mechanism, 16a: Shutter blade, 17: Optical filter, 18: Solid-state image sensor, 19: imaging element support plate, 20: shield case, 21: imaging circuit board, 22: recording mechanism support plate, 23: recording mechanism drive circuit board, 24: spindle motor, 25: recording medium pack, 26: pack holder, 26a: axis, 27: power supply circuit block, 28: information setting control circuit board, 2
9: Exposure calculation / control circuit board, 30: Control circuit board on which a magnetic recording circuit and a camera sequence drive circuit can be mounted, 10a: axis, 5a: information setting brush board, L:
lens.

Claims (1)

Claims: (1) In an electronic camera in which a still image information of a subject is electrically recorded on a recording medium detachable from a camera body and a grip portion projects forward of the camera, the optical axis of a photographic lens is On the extension line, the imaging unit including the solid-state imaging device and the driving circuit thereof is at the front, the recording component including the member for accommodating the recording medium is at the rear, and the flat surface of the recording medium is perpendicular to the extension line. The battery unit is arranged on the grip unit on one side of the imaging unit and the recording component unit, and the depression to which the fingertip of the photographer holding the camera is applied is formed in the camera body. provided between the grip portion and the imaging portion and the recording component, the cross-sectional area of the camera body portion where the recess is formed smaller than the cross-sectional area of the grip portion, the glycidyl
The upper part is closer to the photographer than the plane perpendicular to the extension of the optical axis of the photographing lens.
An electronic camera in which the lower part is inclined at 5 to 20 degrees so as to be closer to the subject . (2) The operation member and the setting circuit board for setting the imaging operation condition or the recording operation condition of the camera are arranged on the upper part of the camera main body portion or the grip portion where the recess is formed. Electronic camera. (3) In an electronic camera that electrically records still image information of a subject on a recording medium that is detachable from a camera body, an imaging unit including a solid-state imaging device and a driving circuit thereof is positioned on an extension of the optical axis of the imaging lens. A recording component including a member for accommodating the recording medium is disposed at a rear portion such that a flat surface of the recording medium coincides with a plane perpendicular to the extension line. An electronic camera provided adjacent to a finder eyepiece disposed on a back surface of the recording medium storage unit and at a position other than a cover member of a recording medium storage unit above the recording configuration unit. (4) In an electronic camera that electrically records still image information of a subject on a recording medium that is detachable from a camera body, an imaging unit including a solid-state imaging device and a driving circuit thereof is positioned on an extension of the optical axis of the imaging lens. A recording component including a member for accommodating the recording medium is disposed at the rear such that a flat surface of the recording medium coincides with a plane perpendicular to the extension line, and the recording is performed for attaching and detaching the recording medium. The operation member for opening the cover member of the medium storage unit is located on the rear surface of the camera body, on the movement trajectory of the recording medium when the recording medium is attached and detached, and other than the movement trajectory of the cover member when the cover member is opened and closed. Electronic camera placed at (5) In an electronic camera in which still image information of a subject is electrically recorded on a recording medium detachable from a camera body, and a photographing lens further protrudes from a grip portion protruding forward of the camera, an optical axis of the photographing lens is provided. On the extension line, the imaging unit including the solid-state imaging device and the driving circuit thereof is at the front, the recording component including the member for accommodating the recording medium is at the rear, and the flat surface of the recording medium is perpendicular to the extension line. In the camera body opposite to the grip portion, the distance from the optical axis of the taking lens to the bottom surface of the camera body, and one of the camera body from the optical axis of the taking lens. An electronic camera configured so that the distance to the side of the camera is approximately equal.