Patent ID: 7667748

Claim:
A defective pixel correction method for use with an imaging device having a solid-state imaging device including a plurality of pixels respectively coated with mutually different color filters, comprising the steps of: detecting whether or not a first pixel is a defective pixel by comparing a video signal level of the first pixel of the solid-state imaging device with a signal level of a first judgment reference signal created from video signal levels of a plurality of peripheral pixels coated with color filters of a color of the first pixel; correcting, if the first pixel is a defective pixel, the video signal level of the defective pixel according to a defective pixel correction signal created using the video signal levels of the peripheral pixels; selecting, from two pixels coated with a color filter of a same color as a second pixel coated with a color filter of a different color from said first pixel and are on the same line as and closest to the second pixel, a pixel having a higher video signal level than the other; creating a second judgment reference signal using video signal levels of pixels above and below the pixel selected from the two pixels, video signal levels of pixels above and below the second pixel, and a video signal level of the pixel selected from the two pixels; detecting whether or not the second pixel is a defective pixel by comparing a video signal level of the second judgment reference signal with a video signal level of the second pixel; and correcting, if the second pixel is a defective pixel, a video signal level of the defective pixel using the video signal level of the pixel selected from the two pixels.