The camera system of the present invention comprises: an image pickup unit of an X-Y address system; a horizontal scanning unit and a vertical scanning unit for scanning the image pickup unit by the X-Y address system; a main scanning direction controller which, in accordance with a main scanning direction control signal that determines a main scanning direction to be either in horizontal direction or in vertical direction, performs control by having one of either the horizontal scanning unit or the vertical scanning unit as the main scanning direction and having the other one as a subsidiary scanning direction; an output unit for outputting an image signal which is read out as a result of scanning the image pickup unit by the horizontal scanning unit and the vertical scanning unit; and a signal processing circuit which produces the main scanning direction control signal and also cuts out the image data outputted from the output unit in accordance with an output pixel number of an output device that is connected to the output unit. Provided that a larger pixel number out of either a horizontal direction pixel number or a vertical direction pixel number in the output device is set as a reference pixel number, a pixel number in the image pickup unit is equal to or larger than the reference pixel number both in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction.