diff --git a/modules/highgui/include/opencv2/highgui.hpp b/modules/highgui/include/opencv2/highgui.hpp
index c20cf883ecbacdbd1187b219605796f44c33f551..c4fc73a81f8c2f7803fd777e1ba846c1f6946c0d 100644
--- a/modules/highgui/include/opencv2/highgui.hpp
+++ b/modules/highgui/include/opencv2/highgui.hpp
@@ -544,8 +544,8 @@ protected:
     Ptr<CvVideoWriter> writer;
 };
 
-template<> CV_EXPORTS void Ptr<CvCapture>::delete_obj();
-template<> CV_EXPORTS void Ptr<CvVideoWriter>::delete_obj();
+template<> CV_EXPORTS void DefaultDeleter<CvCapture>::operator ()(CvCapture* obj) const;
+template<> CV_EXPORTS void DefaultDeleter<CvVideoWriter>::operator ()(CvVideoWriter* obj) const;
 
 } // cv
 
diff --git a/modules/highgui/src/cap.cpp b/modules/highgui/src/cap.cpp
index 453f1dd122634554a2c6005bc8496ef491678be6..be62ce9d382dde7741a417054188cc04f960a8ee 100644
--- a/modules/highgui/src/cap.cpp
+++ b/modules/highgui/src/cap.cpp
@@ -49,10 +49,10 @@
 namespace cv
 {
 
-template<> void Ptr<CvCapture>::delete_obj()
+template<> void DefaultDeleter<CvCapture>::operator ()(CvCapture* obj) const
 { cvReleaseCapture(&obj); }
 
-template<> void Ptr<CvVideoWriter>::delete_obj()
+template<> void DefaultDeleter<CvVideoWriter>::operator ()(CvVideoWriter* obj) const
 { cvReleaseVideoWriter(&obj); }
 
 }
@@ -492,14 +492,14 @@ VideoCapture::~VideoCapture()
 bool VideoCapture::open(const String& filename)
 {
     if (isOpened()) release();
-    cap = cvCreateFileCapture(filename.c_str());
+    cap.reset(cvCreateFileCapture(filename.c_str()));
     return isOpened();
 }
 
 bool VideoCapture::open(int device)
 {
     if (isOpened()) release();
-    cap = cvCreateCameraCapture(device);
+    cap.reset(cvCreateCameraCapture(device));
     return isOpened();
 }
 
@@ -578,7 +578,7 @@ VideoWriter::~VideoWriter()
 
 bool VideoWriter::open(const String& filename, int _fourcc, double fps, Size frameSize, bool isColor)
 {
-    writer = cvCreateVideoWriter(filename.c_str(), _fourcc, fps, frameSize, isColor);
+    writer.reset(cvCreateVideoWriter(filename.c_str(), _fourcc, fps, frameSize, isColor));
     return isOpened();
 }
 
diff --git a/modules/highgui/src/grfmt_bmp.cpp b/modules/highgui/src/grfmt_bmp.cpp
index 131e84eca504c8eb7bc76bca7bcec07d72a5a781..f7147b5fc1d8f85f8c0eba2226fd7cf3d3e1fa3e 100644
--- a/modules/highgui/src/grfmt_bmp.cpp
+++ b/modules/highgui/src/grfmt_bmp.cpp
@@ -70,7 +70,7 @@ void  BmpDecoder::close()
 
 ImageDecoder BmpDecoder::newDecoder() const
 {
-    return new BmpDecoder;
+    return makePtr<BmpDecoder>();
 }
 
 bool  BmpDecoder::readHeader()
@@ -496,7 +496,7 @@ BmpEncoder::~BmpEncoder()
 
 ImageEncoder BmpEncoder::newEncoder() const
 {
-    return new BmpEncoder;
+    return makePtr<BmpEncoder>();
 }
 
 bool  BmpEncoder::write( const Mat& img, const std::vector<int>& )
diff --git a/modules/highgui/src/grfmt_exr.cpp b/modules/highgui/src/grfmt_exr.cpp
index 33d0ad0f56385b1f49d44250ac80a712031a788a..079de583403b66a26de316cf36efd7334dd0c9bf 100644
--- a/modules/highgui/src/grfmt_exr.cpp
+++ b/modules/highgui/src/grfmt_exr.cpp
@@ -551,7 +551,7 @@ void  ExrDecoder::RGBToGray( float *in, float *out )
 
 ImageDecoder ExrDecoder::newDecoder() const
 {
-    return new ExrDecoder;
+    return makePtr<ExrDecoder>();
 }
 
 /////////////////////// ExrEncoder ///////////////////
@@ -726,7 +726,7 @@ bool  ExrEncoder::write( const Mat& img, const std::vector<int>& )
 
 ImageEncoder ExrEncoder::newEncoder() const
 {
-    return new ExrEncoder;
+    return makePtr<ExrEncoder>();
 }
 
 }
diff --git a/modules/highgui/src/grfmt_jpeg.cpp b/modules/highgui/src/grfmt_jpeg.cpp
index 09db677a43e334556489cf7089d4697f514eaf23..28c52e8598795411fdb82eefb0981f89781dca1d 100644
--- a/modules/highgui/src/grfmt_jpeg.cpp
+++ b/modules/highgui/src/grfmt_jpeg.cpp
@@ -208,7 +208,7 @@ void  JpegDecoder::close()
 
 ImageDecoder JpegDecoder::newDecoder() const
 {
-    return new JpegDecoder;
+    return makePtr<JpegDecoder>();
 }
 
 bool  JpegDecoder::readHeader()
@@ -539,7 +539,7 @@ JpegEncoder::~JpegEncoder()
 
 ImageEncoder JpegEncoder::newEncoder() const
 {
-    return new JpegEncoder;
+    return makePtr<JpegEncoder>();
 }
 
 bool JpegEncoder::write( const Mat& img, const std::vector<int>& params )
diff --git a/modules/highgui/src/grfmt_jpeg2000.cpp b/modules/highgui/src/grfmt_jpeg2000.cpp
index 4a48e81a65a2c7aaa4d7f00910597eb687ccb4cc..d711846ce8ee9e046123de9d7b3ddb32155eb696 100644
--- a/modules/highgui/src/grfmt_jpeg2000.cpp
+++ b/modules/highgui/src/grfmt_jpeg2000.cpp
@@ -88,7 +88,7 @@ Jpeg2KDecoder::~Jpeg2KDecoder()
 
 ImageDecoder Jpeg2KDecoder::newDecoder() const
 {
-    return new Jpeg2KDecoder;
+    return makePtr<Jpeg2KDecoder>();
 }
 
 void  Jpeg2KDecoder::close()
@@ -403,7 +403,7 @@ Jpeg2KEncoder::~Jpeg2KEncoder()
 
 ImageEncoder Jpeg2KEncoder::newEncoder() const
 {
-    return new Jpeg2KEncoder;
+    return makePtr<Jpeg2KEncoder>();
 }
 
 bool  Jpeg2KEncoder::isFormatSupported( int depth ) const
diff --git a/modules/highgui/src/grfmt_png.cpp b/modules/highgui/src/grfmt_png.cpp
index c784d5a5b32798ae61b64dd54eeb6690af9427b7..4d5c7793ea59f8c491ca70f734ed9b0c22555bfd 100644
--- a/modules/highgui/src/grfmt_png.cpp
+++ b/modules/highgui/src/grfmt_png.cpp
@@ -101,7 +101,7 @@ PngDecoder::~PngDecoder()
 
 ImageDecoder PngDecoder::newDecoder() const
 {
-    return new PngDecoder;
+    return makePtr<PngDecoder>();
 }
 
 void  PngDecoder::close()
@@ -317,7 +317,7 @@ bool  PngEncoder::isFormatSupported( int depth ) const
 
 ImageEncoder PngEncoder::newEncoder() const
 {
-    return new PngEncoder;
+    return makePtr<PngEncoder>();
 }
 
 
diff --git a/modules/highgui/src/grfmt_pxm.cpp b/modules/highgui/src/grfmt_pxm.cpp
index 0acf195dd5bb80a6a2ccd4db93ae8592d4d446e1..425a296cb92f6bbcdd27cef2014a037133067e4a 100644
--- a/modules/highgui/src/grfmt_pxm.cpp
+++ b/modules/highgui/src/grfmt_pxm.cpp
@@ -116,7 +116,7 @@ bool PxMDecoder::checkSignature( const String& signature ) const
 
 ImageDecoder PxMDecoder::newDecoder() const
 {
-    return new PxMDecoder;
+    return makePtr<PxMDecoder>();
 }
 
 void  PxMDecoder::close()
@@ -357,7 +357,7 @@ PxMEncoder::~PxMEncoder()
 
 ImageEncoder  PxMEncoder::newEncoder() const
 {
-    return new PxMEncoder;
+    return makePtr<PxMEncoder>();
 }
 
 
diff --git a/modules/highgui/src/grfmt_sunras.cpp b/modules/highgui/src/grfmt_sunras.cpp
index a16e5d8004b7a0efb16c2f133e699f419f695c96..b67400f3370814773ee72eddc4d8412d131db54c 100644
--- a/modules/highgui/src/grfmt_sunras.cpp
+++ b/modules/highgui/src/grfmt_sunras.cpp
@@ -63,7 +63,7 @@ SunRasterDecoder::~SunRasterDecoder()
 
 ImageDecoder SunRasterDecoder::newDecoder() const
 {
-    return new SunRasterDecoder;
+    return makePtr<SunRasterDecoder>();
 }
 
 void  SunRasterDecoder::close()
@@ -388,7 +388,7 @@ SunRasterEncoder::SunRasterEncoder()
 
 ImageEncoder SunRasterEncoder::newEncoder() const
 {
-    return new SunRasterEncoder;
+    return makePtr<SunRasterEncoder>();
 }
 
 SunRasterEncoder::~SunRasterEncoder()
diff --git a/modules/highgui/src/grfmt_tiff.cpp b/modules/highgui/src/grfmt_tiff.cpp
index a0d53f3db836213c7c07f05b0c6ebb0d21a7f39c..d8937db25163c035dc95f102b56485e4b9b1d336 100644
--- a/modules/highgui/src/grfmt_tiff.cpp
+++ b/modules/highgui/src/grfmt_tiff.cpp
@@ -108,7 +108,7 @@ int TiffDecoder::normalizeChannelsNumber(int channels) const
 
 ImageDecoder TiffDecoder::newDecoder() const
 {
-    return new TiffDecoder;
+    return makePtr<TiffDecoder>();
 }
 
 bool TiffDecoder::readHeader()
@@ -400,7 +400,7 @@ TiffEncoder::~TiffEncoder()
 
 ImageEncoder TiffEncoder::newEncoder() const
 {
-    return new TiffEncoder;
+    return makePtr<TiffEncoder>();
 }
 
 bool TiffEncoder::isFormatSupported( int depth ) const
diff --git a/modules/highgui/src/grfmt_webp.cpp b/modules/highgui/src/grfmt_webp.cpp
index fd9682a79f8a633b4b67b91b0b7e30b9ec05d10f..1c64adec60e4f89ace5bf0a6de77ae8916549e1e 100644
--- a/modules/highgui/src/grfmt_webp.cpp
+++ b/modules/highgui/src/grfmt_webp.cpp
@@ -90,7 +90,7 @@ bool WebPDecoder::checkSignature(const String & signature) const
 
 ImageDecoder WebPDecoder::newDecoder() const
 {
-    return new WebPDecoder;
+    return makePtr<WebPDecoder>();
 }
 
 bool WebPDecoder::readHeader()
@@ -201,7 +201,7 @@ WebPEncoder::~WebPEncoder() { }
 
 ImageEncoder WebPEncoder::newEncoder() const
 {
-    return new WebPEncoder();
+    return makePtr<WebPEncoder>();
 }
 
 bool WebPEncoder::write(const Mat& img, const std::vector<int>& params)
diff --git a/modules/highgui/src/loadsave.cpp b/modules/highgui/src/loadsave.cpp
index a548df54de5947f445263692191cb897b5f1cdee..58a0a6fbf72d4c1cacf0e188d2669e679d98006e 100644
--- a/modules/highgui/src/loadsave.cpp
+++ b/modules/highgui/src/loadsave.cpp
@@ -58,35 +58,35 @@ struct ImageCodecInitializer
 {
     ImageCodecInitializer()
     {
-        decoders.push_back( new BmpDecoder );
-        encoders.push_back( new BmpEncoder );
+        decoders.push_back( makePtr<BmpDecoder>() );
+        encoders.push_back( makePtr<BmpEncoder>() );
     #ifdef HAVE_JPEG
-        decoders.push_back( new JpegDecoder );
-        encoders.push_back( new JpegEncoder );
+        decoders.push_back( makePtr<JpegDecoder>() );
+        encoders.push_back( makePtr<JpegEncoder>() );
     #endif
     #ifdef HAVE_WEBP
-        decoders.push_back( new WebPDecoder );
-        encoders.push_back( new WebPEncoder );
+        decoders.push_back( makePtr<WebPDecoder>() );
+        encoders.push_back( makePtr<WebPEncoder>() );
     #endif
-        decoders.push_back( new SunRasterDecoder );
-        encoders.push_back( new SunRasterEncoder );
-        decoders.push_back( new PxMDecoder );
-        encoders.push_back( new PxMEncoder );
+        decoders.push_back( makePtr<SunRasterDecoder>() );
+        encoders.push_back( makePtr<SunRasterEncoder>() );
+        decoders.push_back( makePtr<PxMDecoder>() );
+        encoders.push_back( makePtr<PxMEncoder>() );
     #ifdef HAVE_TIFF
-        decoders.push_back( new TiffDecoder );
+        decoders.push_back( makePtr<TiffDecoder>() );
     #endif
-        encoders.push_back( new TiffEncoder );
+        encoders.push_back( makePtr<TiffEncoder>() );
     #ifdef HAVE_PNG
-        decoders.push_back( new PngDecoder );
-        encoders.push_back( new PngEncoder );
+        decoders.push_back( makePtr<PngDecoder>() );
+        encoders.push_back( makePtr<PngEncoder>() );
     #endif
     #ifdef HAVE_JASPER
-        decoders.push_back( new Jpeg2KDecoder );
-        encoders.push_back( new Jpeg2KEncoder );
+        decoders.push_back( makePtr<Jpeg2KDecoder>() );
+        encoders.push_back( makePtr<Jpeg2KEncoder>() );
     #endif
     #ifdef HAVE_OPENEXR
-        decoders.push_back( new ExrDecoder );
-        encoders.push_back( new ExrEncoder );
+        decoders.push_back( makePtr<ExrDecoder>() );
+        encoders.push_back( makePtr<ExrEncoder>() );
     #endif
     }
 
@@ -198,7 +198,7 @@ imread_( const String& filename, int flags, int hdrtype, Mat* mat=0 )
     Mat temp, *data = &temp;
 
     ImageDecoder decoder = findDecoder(filename);
-    if( decoder.empty() )
+    if( !decoder )
         return 0;
     decoder->setSource(filename);
     if( !decoder->readHeader() )
@@ -269,7 +269,7 @@ static bool imwrite_( const String& filename, const Mat& image,
     CV_Assert( image.channels() == 1 || image.channels() == 3 || image.channels() == 4 );
 
     ImageEncoder encoder = findEncoder( filename );
-    if( encoder.empty() )
+    if( !encoder )
         CV_Error( CV_StsError, "could not find a writer for the specified extension" );
 
     if( !encoder->isFormatSupported(image.depth()) )
@@ -309,7 +309,7 @@ imdecode_( const Mat& buf, int flags, int hdrtype, Mat* mat=0 )
     String filename;
 
     ImageDecoder decoder = findDecoder(buf);
-    if( decoder.empty() )
+    if( !decoder )
         return 0;
 
     if( !decoder->setSource(buf) )
@@ -409,7 +409,7 @@ bool imencode( const String& ext, InputArray _image,
     CV_Assert( channels == 1 || channels == 3 || channels == 4 );
 
     ImageEncoder encoder = findEncoder( ext );
-    if( encoder.empty() )
+    if( !encoder )
         CV_Error( CV_StsError, "could not find encoder for the specified extension" );
 
     if( !encoder->isFormatSupported(image.depth()) )
diff --git a/modules/highgui/test/test_framecount.cpp b/modules/highgui/test/test_framecount.cpp
index 875ce6aca44c42e735deebb5a03ec0c4b5de8b89..30f6e67ce6df3c0fc317268defc6b878f92f7a17 100644
--- a/modules/highgui/test/test_framecount.cpp
+++ b/modules/highgui/test/test_framecount.cpp
@@ -71,8 +71,8 @@ void CV_FramecountTest::run(int)
     {
         string file_path = src_dir+"video/big_buck_bunny."+ext[i];
 
-        cap = cvCreateFileCapture(file_path.c_str());
-        if (cap.empty())
+        cap.reset(cvCreateFileCapture(file_path.c_str()));
+        if (!cap)
         {
             ts->printf(cvtest::TS::LOG, "\nFile information (video %d): \n\nName: big_buck_bunny.%s\nFAILED\n\n", i+1, ext[i].c_str());
             ts->printf(cvtest::TS::LOG, "Error: cannot read source video file.\n");