Patent ID: 7515181

Claim:
An image processing method, comprising the steps of: receiving previously-processed image data and first image processing information representative of first image processing that was previously carried out on original image data to produce said previously-processed image data, wherein said first image processing information is information from which content of the first image processing that was previously carried out on the original image data can be inferred; inferring the content of the first image processing based on the first image processing information; and determining the content of second image processing to be carried out on the previously-processed image data, based on the content of the first image processing inferred from the first image processing information, wherein the first image processing information comprises information regarding a photography mode set in a digital camera, and wherein the content of the second image processing accounts for the photography mode while retaining the content of the first image processing, and wherein the step of determining the content of the second image processing to be carried out comprises: judging whether or not a predetermined content of the second image processing is to be carried out or whether or not the predetermined content of the second image processing is to be diminished, based on the first image processing information; and canceling or diminishing the predetermined content of the second image processing in the case where the predetermined content of the second image processing is judged to be not carried out or to be diminished, respectively.