Patent ID: 8451506

Claim:
An image processing apparatus which performs processing of applying blur processing to divided image data, and compositing divided images having undergone the blur processing, the apparatus comprising: an out of image boundary estimation unit which estimates a pixel out of an image boundary of image data for each of first image data subjected to the blur processing and second image data neighboring the first image data among the divided image data; and a blurring image generation unit which generates blurring image data for the first image data by performing the blur processing using a filter for the first image data while referring to the first image data, the second image data, and an estimation pixel estimated by said out of image boundary estimation unit, wherein the estimation pixel estimated by said out of image boundary estimation unit is a pixel having the same value as a pixel at the image boundary of the image data in each of the first image data and the second image data, and when referring to a pixel at which a pixel of the first image data and an estimation pixel for the second image data overlap each other in the blur processing using the filter for the first image data, as the referred pixel moves apart from a boundary between the first image data and the second image data, said blurring image generation unit gradually reduces a weight of reference to the estimation pixel for the second image data, gradually increases a weight of reference to the pixel of the first image data, calculates a weighted average corresponding to the weights for the pixel of the first image data and the estimation pixel for the second image data, and refers to a calculated value.