An image pickup apparatus includes an image pickup unit, an image compression unit and an inspection data generating unit. The image pickup unit captures an image and generates image data. The image compression unit compresses the image data in accordance with an image compression method selected from a first image compression method and a second image compression method, and generates compressed image data. The inspection data generating unit generates inspection data necessary to inspect whether the compressed image data is modified. A generation method of the inspection data is varied according to the selected image compression method. The inspection data generating unit adds first data and second data to the compressed image data. The first data indicates the generation method of the inspection data and the second data indicates a location of the compressed image data.