Provided is a focus device for a camera. The focus device moves an image sensor toward, or away from, the incoming light of an image according to commands received from a processor/controller. The focus device includes an actuator for inducing movement of the image sensor, and a position sensor for measuring the distance moved. In one embodiment, the actuator is a voice coil actuator comprising a plurality of magnets and a coil winding. In an alternate embodiment, the actuator is a piezo-bimorph actuator of a type well known in the art. Operation of the actuator is controlled by the processor/controller. Further, the resulting measurement data from the position sensor is used by one or more focusing algorithms in the camera to focus the image.