Patent ID: 7791649

Claim:
An apparatus with automatic white balance control, comprising: a color space conversion unit to convert input image data captured by an image sensor into color space data having a chromatic component; a gray region extraction unit to extract a gray region for the input image data based on gray regions identified in the input image, the identified gray regions being respectively identified in the input image relative to respective plural light sources in the input image and based on a predetermined color checker; a detection unit to extract initial light source information by using a color gamut average value and a color gamut center value of the input image data, and adjust the initial light source information to exclude a chromatic component introduced into the extracted gray region by using a determined existence of a luminance difference between a gray component and the chromatic component; and a gain control unit to calculate gains to be applied to scale the input image data based on the adjusted initial light source information, and control a white balance of the input image data by applying the calculated gains to the input image data.