Patent ID: 8538174

Claim:
An image processing apparatus comprising: means for holding a plurality of conversion rules for original image data taken by an imaging device; means for extracting luminance information associated with said original image data; means for setting, from a plurality of predetermined compression conversion rules, a variable portion of each conversion rule from said plurality of conversion rules held in said means for holding on the basis of said luminance information indicating an amount of luminance of the original image data; and means for converting a first portion of said original image data on the basis of said luminance information in accordance with said variable portion of each conversion rule from said plurality of conversion rules held in said means for holding and for converting a second portion of said original image data independent of said luminance information in accordance with a fixed portion of each conversion rule from said plurality of conversion rules held, independent of luminance information, in said means for holding, wherein the means for setting sets a first of the plurality of predetermined compression conversion rules in the variable portion when the amount of luminance information is below a first threshold, sets a second of the plurality of predetermined compression conversion rules in the variable portion when the amount of luminance third of the plurality of predetermined compression conversion rules in the variable portion when the amount of luminance information is above the second threshold.