PURPOSE: To improve portability and to prevent a photographic lens from breaking while the camera is carried by driving a photographic lens optical system to a short focus side when neither a focal length changeover button nor a shutter release button is operated while the photographic lens optical system is on a long focus side.

CONSTITUTION: When the T/W changeover button 2 is pushed to a side TELE for telephotography, a T/W signal (a) for switching the photographic lens to the telephoto side is inputted to a system controller 1, a driving signal (e) is changed into a format for placing the photographic lens 7 on the telephoto side, and the photographic lens 7 is driven to the telephoto side. When the release button 3 is not pressed for a specific time after the T/W changeover button 2 is operated, namely, when preset data D coincides with output pulses of an oscillator 4, a preset counter 6 inputs a timing signal (d) to the system controller 1, which changes the driving signal (e) into a proper format for placing the photographic lens 7 on the wide-angle side, so that the photographic lens 7 is driven forcibly to the wide-angle side.