PURPOSE: To control a picture quality having the thickness of characters by choice of individual users.

CONSTITUTION: When a platter performs positive/positive recording, lines are made thinner in the case of stronger output of an LD 8 and are made thicker in the case of weaker output of the LD 8. At the time of positive/negative recording, these relations are inverted. A μCPU 1 selects the Yop set mode through a key operation part 4 and writes a newly set value in a Yop register. When the power control mode is set, the μCPU 1 sets data Xi (i=0, 1...) of the driving current of the LD 8 to a DAC 6, and the turn-on signal of the LD 8 is applied to an LD driver 7. An output power Yi of the LD 8 subjected to A/D conversion by an ADC 10 is read in, and its value Yop is read in from the Yop register, and data Xi for Yop=Yi are stored to terminate the processing in the power control mode.