Abstract: Two modes for releasing a memory, a mode in which the memory is released page by page and a mode in which the memory is released block by block are provided and one of the modes is selected in accordance with the amount of received data to enhance the reliability of the reception and recording with a smaller capacity of image memory.When the reception of the data is started and the image data is filled in the memory block, the recording of the received image to a recording medium is started. Each time the recording of the memory block is completed, the release mode of the image memory is set. Namely, when the reception of the page recorded in the memory hold mode is not yet completed and the remaining capacity of the image memory reaches below a predetermined capacity, the recorded memory blocks are released and the release mode is switched to the memory release mode.