The operating mode contents of a camera can easily be set by the visual alignment action of the photographer and by manual operation. In a first embodiment, a camera is equipped with a visual line position detection device that detects the position of the visual line of the photographer, a mode contents setting device that sets the contents of the operating modes, and a control device that, when it is determined from the output of the visual line position detection device that the photographer is aligning his vision on a predetermined area, changes the camera mode of the mode contents setting device. In a second embodiment, it is possible to quickly switch the camera mode that is the object of manual operation to the object of the visual alignment operation. It is then possible to change the contents of the mode through the visual alignment action, constituting the manual operation in the second embodiment. A selection device is started through the operation of an operation device, such as a mode switching device, and accomplishes a process wherein the camera mode set through manual operation using a mode setting device is set as the camera mode that is the object of contents changing through the action of visual alignment on numerical value setting areas.