PURPOSE: To attain image pickup with high precision, image pickup of a high speed phenomenon and also recording of signals picked up in this way by means of a common device.

CONSTITUTION: The horizontal scanning frequency is set to a value twice the standard horizontal scanning frequency (15.75kHz) of the standard television signal, the vertical scanning frequency is the same as that of the standard signal (60Hz), and the chrominance subcarrier frequecny is set to a value being twice the standard frequency (3.58MHz), in an image pickup means 1 comprising an image pickup tube, a solid-state image pickup element, a drive means and a signal processing circuit or the like. An image pickup signal from the image pickup means 1 is A/D-converted at an A/D converter 2 by a clock and a clock signal of a synchronizing signal generating system control circuit 9, and the horizontal scanning frequency, the vertical scanning frequency and the chrominance subcarrier frequency are made to be the same as those of the standard signal by a selector 3, field memories 4A, 4B and D/A converters 5A, 5B.