Patent ID: 7650038

Claim:
An image processing method for spatially processing image data picked up and stored in a frame memory in an image processing unit of a digital camera, compressing the obtained image data in an image compression unit connected in series with the image processing unit, and outputting the obtained compressed image data, comprising: inputting, with a buffer memory of the digital camera, the image data obtained from the image processing unit of the digital camera sequentially for one block line having pixels of N times of a minimum unit of the image compression in the direction of column, and the length in the direction of row equivalent to one length of a scanning line, and outputting sequentially the image data of each block by dividing the image data into a plurality of blocks, which consists of N unit blocks arranged in the direction of column, each of the unit blocks consisting of M minimum units of the image compression arranged in the direction of row; compressing, with the image compression unit of the digital camera, the sequentially output image data of each block sequentially from the upper side unit block of each block, and obtaining compressed image data for each block of one block line; writing, with an image expansion of the digital camera, the obtained compressed image data for each block of one block line in the frame memory of the digital camera; and changing, with a sequence change data writing unit of the digital camera, the sequence of the written compressed image data for each block of one block line.