Patent ID: 8081242

Claim:
An imaging apparatus, comprising: an image sensor having a light receiving surface with a plurality of pixels and a color separation filter of a plurality of colors placed on a front side of the pixels, which receives light from a photographic subject which is incident via an optical system on the light receiving surface via the color separation filter, outputs a pixel output of each pixel, and images an image of the photographic subject; a pixel output judging section which judges if each pixel output reaches each predetermined saturation level or not; a pixel output compensation processor which performs a compensating process that calculates a pixel output of a pixel where a color separation filter of a specific color is placed, and expands a dynamic range of the image which the image sensor images, based on a pixel output of a pixel where another color separation filter is placed in a vicinity of the pixel where the color separation filter of the specific color is placed and the pixel output of the pixel where the another color separation filter is placed is less than its predetermined saturation level; and a bit compression convertor which has a bit compression conversion characteristic in which a data compression rate of a pixel output for brightness where the pixel output of the pixel where the color separation filter of the specific color is placed is less than its predetermined saturation level is smaller than a data compression rate of the pixel output for brightness where the pixel output of the pixel where the color separation filter of the specific color is placed reaches its predetermined saturation level, and converts data of the pixel output converted to a second bit number which is larger than a first bit number from the first bit number to the first bit number again based on the bit compression conversion characteristic.