An electronic still camera including a shutter, an image sensor, a recording device for recording an output signal from the image sensor, a power source for supplying electric power to the image sensor and recording device, and a shutter button is disclosed in which immediately after the operation of the shutter button is detected, the shutter is made open and an optical image of a body to be imaged is formed on the light receiving surface of the image sensor in a state that scanning and reading operations for the image sensor are inhibited, the above state is maintained till the recording device reaches a recordable state, to accumulate an electric charge corresponding to the optical image in the image sensor for an open period of the shutter, and a scanning operation for the image sensor is started after the recording device has reached the recordable state, in order for the recording device to record the output signal from the image sensor.