A solid-state image pickup device comprises for each pixel a photoelectric converter PD, an input terminal FD of a signal amplifier and a transfer switch TX for transferring an optical signal from the photoelectric converter to the input terminal. The device additionally comprises means for resetting the photoelectric converter by opening the transfer switch TX under a condition of holding the voltage of the input terminal FD to a fixed high level before storing the optical signal in the photoelectric converter PD. With this arrangement, any residual electric charge in the photoelectric converter can be eliminated without paying the cost of reducing the manufacturing yield and degrading the chip performance.