To provide: an imaging apparatus which can perform light non-emission photography and light emission photography nearly at the same time by performing each of the light emission photography and the light non-emission photography with a plurality of imaging devices and by controlling exposure timing and light-emitting timing of a flash so that an exposure period in the light non-emission photography and flash light-emitting period may not overlap with each other; a compound eye imaging apparatus; and an imaging method.

As soon as light emission of the flash is started, exposure of the imaging device (1) is started. After regular light-emitting time T elapses, the light emission of the flash is stopped and also exposure of the imaging device (2) is started. The exposure of the imaging device (1) and the exposure of the imaging device (2) are finished after the lapse of an exposure time period based on a result of AE arithmetic operation from start of the exposure of the imaging device (1) and the imaging device (2). Then, photographing sensitivity of the imaging device (1) is set to ISO400, and photographing sensitivity of the imaging device (2) is set to higher sensitivity than the imaging device (1), for example, ISO800. Since the regular light-emitting time T is several msec or less, the flash light emission photography and the light non-emission photography are performed at the same time in most (hatched part in Fig.2) of the exposure time of the imaging device (1).