DISTANCE METERING DEVICE AND AN OPTICAL APPARATUS PROVIDED WITH THE SAME

A distance metering device includes a pair of image sensors, and a pair of optical members. Each image sensor has a number of pixels arranged along a specified direction. There is provided a distance data calculator for defining a plurality of pairs of meter areas over pixels of the first and second image sensors, and calculating distance data concerning a distance to the object by performing a plurality of comparisons between image data from a pair of meter areas by shifting the pair of meter areas relative to each other a set number of pixels. A shift pixel number for a particular pair of meter areas having a smallest spatial parallax with respect to an optical axis of an optical system of a viewfinder is made to be different from that for the other pairs of meter areas.