To provide a compact blade drive unit for a camera that drives a shutter blade and a diaphragm blade applied to a camera unit mounted in a cellular phone or the like.

The blade drive unit for the camera includes electromagnetic actuators 60 and 80 arranged inside a hinge part (cylindrical member) of the cellular phone or the like and including rotors 61 and 81 rotating around an axial line parallel with a center axial line of the cylindrical member, and blade members 70 and 90 arranged inside the cylindrical member and rotating integrally with the rotors, and also reciprocating between a position where they face a photographing window 31a formed in the cylindrical member and a totally open position where they retreat from the photographing window, so as to adjust quantity of light advancing from the photographing window. Thus, the camera unit and the blade drive unit for the camera are arranged inside the hinge part of the cellular phone or the like, and a distinct high-quality image is taken while achieving miniaturization of the cellular phone or the like.

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