A parallax image pickup apparatus for forming a parallax image train by photographing an object from a plurality of directions includes an image pickup unit in which an image pickup device and an image forming optical system are integrated in order to photograph the parallax images of the object; a rotating unit on which the image pickup unit is mounted and which rotates the image pickup unit in a parallax direction; an image pickup unit moving unit for rectilinearly moving the image pickup unit and the rotating unit synchronously with the rotation of the rotating unit; a control unit for controlling so that a virtual image pickup center portion is always located at the center of a photographed image; and a focal distance control unit for continuously changing a focal distance of the image pickup unit.