An image pickup apparatus having a simple configuration and being capable of performing switching between an image pickup mode based on a light field photography technique and a normal high-resolution image pickup mode is provided. The image pickup apparatus includes an image pickup lens 11, a microlens array section 12 where light passing through the image pickup lens 11 enters, and an image pickup device 13 sensing light emitted from the microlens array section 12, and the focal length of each of microlenses constituting the microlens array section 12 is variable in response to an applied voltage.