PURPOSE: To interpolate the defect of the picture element of a solid state image pickup element without increasing a circuit scale.

CONSTITUTION: In a period in which the output of the solid state image pickup element 2 is normal (period free from defect), the switch 7-8 of a predictive encoder 7 is connected to the side of (a), and normal predictive encoding (data compression) is executed. When it becomes the timing of the defect of the picture element, the switch 7-8 is connected to the side of (b), and '0' of digital data is supplied to the loop of the predictive encoder 7. Namely, at the timing of the defect, the difference of a signal Xn at present and the signal Xn-1 of the one line preceding same timing is made '0', and interpolation by a preceding value is executed. Thus, by only providing the predictive encoder 7 with the switch 7-8, the defect can be interpolated.