Patent ID: 7636498

Claim:
An image processing apparatus for processing electronic image data obtained by an image pickup operation via an optical system, the image data having pixel data two-dimensionally-arranged in a row direction and a column direction, the image processing apparatus comprising: a memory that stores the image data at least before image processing and further stores the image data after image procession; a first data-order converting unit that sequentially reads the pixel data row by row in a row direction in units of a block of the two-dimensional arrangement of the image data via a bus from the memory and thereafter sequentially outputs the pixel data in the block obtained by reading column by column in the column direction to change an order of the image data; an image processing unit that is connected to the first data-order converting unit for performing pipeline processing via an information sending channel different from the bus, inputting the image data outputted column by column in the column direction from the first data-order converting unit, performing image processing, and thereafter outputting the image data in the column direction; and a second data-order converting unit connected to the image processing unit for performing pipeline processing and sequentially outputting column by column in the column direction, the image data in the block obtained by inputting the image processed image data outputted in the column direction from the image processing unit, to restore the original order of the image data, wherein the image processing unit comprises a distortion correction processing unit that corrects distortion aberration caused by the optical system, and wherein the distortion correction processing unit comprises: an interpolating coordinate generating unit that generates interpolating coordinates; an inner memory unit for storing a portion of the image data; and an interpolation calculating unit for generating pixel data of interpolating coordinates from image data stored in the inner memory unit based on the interpolating coordinates generated by the interpolating coordinate generating unit.