the invention relates to an image pickup system comprising an electronic view finder suitable for achieving compactness and having a sufficient viewing angle of field and satisfactory optical performance . the image pickup system comprises an image pickup device , an image display device for displaying an image , a controller for converting image formation obtained from the image pickup device into a signal that enables the image information to be formed on the image display device , and a viewing optical system for guiding an image displayed on the display device to a viewer &# 39 ; s eye . the viewing optical system comprises at least three lenses .