FOCUS STATE DETECTION METHOD AND APPARATUS WITH SELECTIVE STATISTICAL PROCESSING

A method and apparatus for detecting the focus state of an object image pattern in accordance with a plurality of photo-electrically converted output signals, including a first mode in which the plurality of photo-electrically converted output signals are sampled at different times and statistically processed for each output, wherein the focus state is detected in accordance with the statistically processed outputs, and a second mode for detecting the focus state without the statistical processing.