Patent ID: 8224080

Claim:
An image pickup apparatus comprising: an encoding part which encodes a color of each of pixels forming an image represented by image data that are input from an image pickup part, using either one of a dominant wavelength and a complementary wavelength and an excitation purity that are determined, in a color space capable of representing an entire visible region, based on a predetermined reference point within the visible region and a locus of a visible light spectrum in said color space, and which outputs obtained encoded data, wherein said encoding part comprises: a parameter calculating part calculating either one of a dominant wavelength and a complementary wavelength and an excitation purity that correspond to each pixel, based on the reference point being set within the visible region in said color space; and a wavelength parameter forming part forming a wavelength parameter from a value obtained by said parameter calculating part and a determination flag indicating whether said value is one of a dominant wavelength and a complementary wavelength.