Defective pixel correcting apparatus, imaging apparatus, and method of correcting defective pixel

1. An apparatus for correcting a defective pixel, comprising:

a first correction circuit configured to obtain a first corrected value based on a maximum value or minimum value of values of surrounding pixels around a defective pixel;

a second correction circuit configured to identify a direction in which a change in pixel values is the smallest based on the values of the surrounding pixels, and configured to obtain a second corrected value responsive to values of pixels situated in the identified direction among the surrounding pixels; and

a selection circuit configured to select the first corrected value to replace a value of the defective pixel that differs from a representative value of the surrounding pixels by a value smaller than a first threshold value, configured to select the second corrected value to replace the value of the defective pixel that differs from the representative value by a value larger than or equal to a second threshold value that is larger than or equal to the first threshold value, and configured to output the selected corrected value that replaces the value of the defective pixel, the selected corrected value being a selected one of the first corrected value and the second corrected value.

2. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the second threshold value is larger than the first threshold value, and the selection circuit is configured to output a value situated between the first corrected value and the second corrected value as a corrected value when the difference is larger than or equal to the first threshold value and smaller than the second threshold value.

3. The apparatus as claimed in claim 2 , wherein the value situated between the first corrected value and the second corrected value is a weighted sum of the first corrected value and the second corrected value based on a weight responsive to the first threshold value and the second threshold value.

4. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising a reference value calculating circuit configured to output a reference value responsive to the representative value of the surrounding pixels, wherein the selection circuit is configured to obtain the first threshold value and the second threshold value as values responsive to the reference value.

5. The apparatus as claimed in claim 4 , wherein the reference value increases as the representative value increases.

6. The apparatus as claimed in claim 4 , wherein the reference value is a standard deviation of noise of pixel values.

7. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the first threshold value and the second threshold value assume different values between a case of the defective pixel being a white defect and a case of the defective pixel being a black defect.

8. A method of correcting a defective pixel, comprising:

obtaining a first corrected value based on a maximum value or minimum value of values of surrounding pixels around a defective pixel;

identifying a direction in which a change in pixel values is the smallest based on the values of the surrounding pixels;

obtaining a second corrected value responsive to values of pixels situated in the identified direction among the surrounding pixels; and

selecting the first corrected value to replace a value of the defective pixel that differs from a representative value of the surrounding pixels by a value smaller than a first threshold value, and selecting the second corrected value to replace the value of the defective pixel that differs from the representative value by a value larger than or equal to a second threshold value that is larger than or equal to the first threshold value, thereby outputting the selected corrected value that replaces the value of the defective pixel, the selected corrected value being a selected one of the first corrected value and the second corrected value.

9. An imaging apparatus, comprising:

an imaging device;

a defective pixel correcting circuit configured to correct a defective pixel in an image from the imaging device; and

an image display circuit configured to display the image in which the defective pixel is corrected by the defective pixel correcting circuit,

wherein the defective pixel correcting circuit includes:

a first correction circuit configured to obtain a first corrected value based on a maximum value or minimum value of values of surrounding pixels around the defective pixel;

a second correction circuit configured to identify a direction in which a change in pixel values is the smallest based on the values of the surrounding pixels, and configured to obtain a second corrected value responsive to values of pixels situated in the identified direction among the surrounding pixels; and

a selection circuit configured to select the first corrected value to replace a value of the defective pixel that differs from a representative value of the surrounding pixels by a value smaller than a first threshold value, configured to select the second corrected value to replace the value of the defective pixel that differs from the representative value by a value larger than or equal to a second threshold value that is larger than or equal to the first threshold value, and configured to output the selected corrected value that replaces the value of the defective pixel, the selected corrected value being a selected one of the first corrected value and the second corrected value.