An image pickup apparatus of the present invention includes a main body 1 incorporating an image pickup element, an operation part that is placed on the main body 1 and can be operated by a user, and a seventh surface 107 provided on the main body 1, on which, when the user takes a picture while holding the main body 1, the thumb of the hand holding the main body 1 can be left in a stand-by state. The operation part includes rotation operation parts that are placed in the vicinity of the seventh surface 107 and are rotatable, and the rotation operation parts are arranged so that at least a part of the same faces the seventh surface 107. With this, a movement amount of the fingers of the user is reduced, whereby the operability is improved.