Apparatus and method for light field microscopy

An apparatus and method for light field microscopy. The apparatus has a light source for emitting excitation light, an excitation beam path for guiding the excitation light onto and into a sample, a two-dimensionally spatially resolving detector for detecting emission light emitted by the sample as a consequence of the irradiation by the excitation light, and a detection beam path having a microscope objective and a multi-lens array for guiding the emission light onto the two-dimensionally spatially resolving detector. The two-dimensionally spatially resolving detector being arranged in the focal plane of the multi-lens array or in a plane optically conjugate thereto, the excitation beam path being configured to illuminate only a portion of the sample in a field of view of the detection beam path with excitation light, with a device, in particular a scanner, being present for variable positioning of the illuminated portion of the sample in the field of view of the detection beam path and with a variable stop device being present. The variable stop device being configured to restrict an effective field of view of the detection beam path on the basis of the position of the illuminated portion in the field of view. The stop device is an electronic stop device and/or the stop device is arranged in an intermediate image plane of the detection beam path upstream of the multi-lens array.