The invention provides an imaging apparatus and a variable speed imaging method. In the imaging apparatus, a continuous shooting speed change controlling section (3) generates an instruction to change a continuous shooting speed (in other words, a recording frame rate) to, for example, 30 fps, 150 fps, or 300 fps. When the continuous shooting speed is changed by the continuous shooting speed change controlling section (3), based on this continuous shooting speed, a frame thinning setting section (4) sets, for example, from which image and by what thinning rate images buffered by a frame buffer (2) are extracted. Then, in accordance with frame thinning information set by the frame thinning setting section (4), a frame thinning processing section (5) extracts, from among the images stored in the frame buffer (2), images traced back a predetermined amount of time at a predetermined acquisition interval.