Patent ID: 8265409

Claim:
An image processing device, comprising: a memory; and a processor operatively connected to said memory, said processor being programmed to perform image processing by performing steps comprising: generating multiple images having different edge preservation performances showing a hierarchical degree of preserving an edge in the image, based on a single original image, said step including generating multiple illumination component images having the different edge preservation performances by performing a filter processing with respect to the original image using a predetermined edge preserving filter; detecting edge information from at least one of the original image and the generated images; synthesizing the generated images having the different edge preservation performances based on the edge information in such a manner that an image of an edge portion in the generated image having a low edge preservation performance is replaced by the generated image having a high edge preservation performance; and performing a dynamic range compression with respect to a composite illumination component image obtained by synthesizing the illumination component images by the synthesizer.