To improve accuracy of processing to an object to be read by improving efficiency in transfer processing of image data generated by an imaging device.

An image reading apparatus 1 comprises: an image forming lens 36 for forming an image of illumination light reflected on a coin 20; a coin arrival sensor 41; a CMOS image sensor 37 which exposes the formed image to generate image data and outputs image data at the interval of M bits synchronously with a clock signal CL in response to the generation of a vertical synchronizing signal VD; a CMOS image sensor control circuit 42 for generating the clock signal CL and the vertical synchronizing signal VD; and an image data capture control circuit 44 in which the image data are converted into synthetic image data and outputted at the interval of 2N×M bits. The image data capture control circuit counts the clock signal CL repeatedly 2N times and outputs the synthetic image data if the number of times of counting the clock signal CL is 2N.