One objective of the present invention is to provide a digital camera
wherein a shooting process mode can be set easily in a short period of
time. The digital camera includes a lens, an image pickup device, a
driver, an analog signal processor, an A/D converter, a digital signal
processor, an output memory, a compressor/decompressor, a system
controller, a media interface, an image monitor, and an operation unit
including a shutter release button. The operating condition signal of the
shutter release button, of a two-stage stroke type, is transmitted to the
system controller, the halfway-pressed period is detected by a
halfway-pressed period measuring unit, and the shooting process mode
consonant with the halfway-pressed period is determined by a shooting
process mode determination unit. Under the control of the system
controller, the shooing process is performed in the determined shooting
process mode.