Patent ID: 8390693

Claim:
An image processing apparatus, comprising: a bias degree calculator which calculates a bias degree of each luminance of a plurality of pixels forming an input image by referring to an average luminance of the input image; a luminance corrector which corrects each luminance of the plurality of pixels forming the input image based on the bias degree calculated by said bias degree calculator; a searcher which searches for a partial image representing a specific object from the input image; and a luminance setting adjuster which adjusts a setting of said luminance corrector so that a characteristic for correcting a luminance of a contour portion of an object appeared on the input image is different depending on a search result of said searcher, the image processing apparatus further comprising: a color corrector which corrects each color of the plurality of pixels forming the input image by referring to a luminance corrected by said luminance corrector; and a color setting adjuster which adjusts a setting of said color corrector so that a characteristic for correcting a color is different depending on the search result of said searcher, wherein said color setting adjuster includes a first color characteristic setter which sets the correction characteristic of said color corrector to a first color characteristic corresponding to detection of said searcher, and a second color characteristic setter which sets the correction characteristic of said color corrector to a second color characteristic corresponding to non-detection of said searcher; said first color characteristic is equivalent to a characteristic in which a chroma in a high luminance portion and/or a low luminance portion is inhibited and the chroma in a medium-luminance portion is increased, and said second color characteristic is equivalent to a characteristic in which the chroma of the low-luminance portion is inhibited and the chroma of the high-luminance portion is increased.