Auto white balance (AWB) processing is performed immediately after an
electronic camera is turned on in a motion-picture-capturing mode, and an
image being captured (a through image) is displayed on a liquid crystal
monitor. When an image-capturing switch is pressed and an instruction to
prepare for image-capturing is entered, white balance is fixed by
performing AWB processing, and a motion picture is captured in response
to an instruction to start the image-capturing. During the capturing of
the motion picture, periodical AWB processing is not performed, an
evaluation value for AE is obtained on a regular basis, and when the
evaluation value changes by more than a predetermined value, the AWB
processing is performed again. Thus, a load of processing is reduced for
a control unit (CPU) included in the electronic camera, which can capture
a motion picture, and the cost is also reduced. Moreover, a good image
can be attained by making a white balance adjustment react
instantaneously to a big change in a scene being captured.