Patent ID: 7623708

Claim:
Color shift correction method of a color image using an imaging apparatus comprising the steps of: (a) a step of imaging an object and acquiring image data of each of a plurality of color planes including planes of primaries; (b) a step of determining whether a color of each of pixels of color image data obtained by combining the image data of each of the plurality of color planes is imaginary, wherein an imaginary color is a color outside the optimal range for a color space; (c) a step of counting the number of pixels determined in the step (b) to have imaginary color and calculating the number of pixels within one frame which have imaginary color; (d) a step of repeating a process of performing a pixel shift operation, relative to the image data of each of the plurality of color planes, for the image data of the remaining color planes and performing the steps (b) and (c) using the image data of each of the plurality of color planes having undergone the pixel shift operation, and obtaining, out of the pixel shift operations relative to the image data of the color planes, a pixel shift operation for the color planes in which the number of pixels which have imaginary color is the minimum; and (e) a step of correcting the image data of the plurality of color planes acquired in the step (a) on the basis of the pixel shift operation obtained in the step (d) using the imaging apparatus.