The invention provides a photographic illumination device, a camera system and a camera in which the quantity of light emission is accurately controlled in accordance with photographing conditions such as a shutter speed. When an external flash 30 of the camera system is set so as to emit light, exposure is calculated by using an iris value and a shutter speed which are respectively set in an electronic camera 10, detected luminance of an object and set photographing sensitivity and controlled exposure including light quantity to be emitted from the flash 30 in accordance with a difference [Delta]EV between control exposure and proper exposure is calculated so as to obtain the proper exposure. An LED is used as a light emitting body for the flash 30 and light is continuously emitted from the flash 30 in a range of exposure time corresponding to the set shutter speed.