Image processing apparatus, an image processing method, a medium on which an image processing control program is recorded, an image evaluation device, an image evaluation method and a medium on which an image evaluation program is recorded

Abstract

In image processing according to the prior art, the important part of photographic image data (referred to herein as the object) could not be determined and therefore required human participation. A computerwhich is the core of image processing calculates an edginess which is an image variation from a differential value of data for adjacent picture elements in a step SA, and determines object picture elements by selecting only images with a large variation in steps SA, SA. As optimum parameters for contrast correction and lightness compensation are calculated from image data for object picture elements in steps SA-SA, image processing indicators based on object picture elements are determined, and optimum image processing can be performed automatically. After summing a luminance distribution for each area of the image, which is a feature amount, while uniformly selecting picture elements in a step SB, a reevaluation is performed by a weighting determined for each area in a step SB, and a luminance distribution strongly influenced by the luminance distribution of the photographed object is thus obtained with uniform sampling. After determining the intensity of this luminance distribution insteps SB-SB, the image data is converted in a step SB, and image processing can therefore be performed with optimum intensity while reducing the processing amount.