PURPOSE: To obtain the photographed picture of high quality by increasing the number of effective picture elements through the use of a usual image pickup element, and simultaneously, to use the image pickup element of a large package without using the manufacturing technique or the circuit technique of a high degree.

CONSTITUTION: Image pickup light L having passed through a lens 1 is divided into plural beams L1, L2 of equal quantity of light by a beam splitter 2, and they are made to image-form on imaging planes 3a, 3b at positions different from each other. Then, the light receiving parts of the image pickup elements 100a, 100b provided with plural light receiving parts divided on a plane are arranged at divided positions not neighboring when the images of a subject on each imaging plane 3a, 3b are divided into plural parts, and picture information from each image pickup element 100a, 100b is synthesized by a picture synthesis circuit 4.