Patent ID: 6891679

Claim:
An image pickup apparatus comprising: a substrate; an image pickup element on the substrate to convert a converged light flux to electronic signals; an image-taking optical element positioned so as to converge a light flux from an object onto the image pickup element; a light shielding member to house the image pickup element and the image-taking optical element; a controlling device to control an output of the electronic signals and controlling the image pickup element; and a refracting power-variable optical element, wherein the refracting power-variable optical element comprises: a first fluid member having a first refractive index and having an electrical conductivity; a second fluid member having a second refractive index, which is different from the first refractive index, and having an insulative property, the second fluid member having no affinity for the first fluid member and having a same density as the first fluid member; a shell member, in which the first fluid member and the second fluid member are filled and sealed, the shell member being made of an insulative material and having a opening portion to pass a light flux so that the light flux passed through the first fluid member and the second fluid member; a first electrode contacting the first fluid member; a second electrode installed at the shell member; and an electric voltage-supplying device to change a shape of the second fluid member in the shell member by changing a wetting property of the shell member for the second fluid member by supplying an electric voltage between the first fluid member and the shell member.