Patent ID: 8452079

Claim:
An image processing apparatus, comprising: viewpoint range setting means for setting a viewpoint range based on position information of reference image data selected as a reference image from captured image data, the captured image data containing, for each captured image, at least position information representing a capturing position and direction information representing a capturing direction attached thereto as additional information; synthesis image data acquisition means for acquiring synthesis image data from the captured image data, the position information and the direction information of the synthesis image data satisfying the conditions that an image outside an imaging frame of the reference image data is captured and that the capturing position is within the viewpoint range; display image generating means for generating display image data by placing a reference image from the reference image data and a synthesis image from the synthesis image data at positions set in accordance with the position information and the direction information for each of the reference image and synthesis image; and display control means for causing a partial area of the display image data to be displayed on a display screen and causing the partial area of the display image data displayed heretofore to be modified in response to a shift direction specified in a shift instruction of a display area, further comprising virtual image placement surface setting means for setting a virtual image placement surface, the virtual image placement surface being used to set a synthesis position of the reference image and the synthesis image, the entire virtual image placement surface being partitioned into placement areas respectively bearing images thereon, a reference placement area from the placement areas defined as a reference containing a center point, and a line of capturing direction determined by the position information and the direction information of the reference image data passing through the center point, wherein the synthesis image data acquisition means acquires the synthesis image data having the position information and the direction information determining the center point, the center point placed in each of the placement areas other than the reference placement area, and wherein the display image generating means sets the synthesis position of the reference image so that the center point of the reference image data is placed in the reference placement area of the virtual image placement surface, and sets the synthesis position of the synthesis image so that the center point of the synthesis image data acquired by the synthesis image data acquisition means is placed in each of the placement areas other than the reference placement area, and the display image generating means synthesizes the reference image and the synthesis images with the synthesis positions thereof set to generate a display image.