Reading an optical code

A method of reading an optical code, said method comprising:

• recording image data having the optical code, wherein code modules in the image data each have a module size that indicates how large the respective one of the code modules is in picture elements of the image data;
• determining defects, wherein a defect is a region in the image data in which at least one of the code modules is not recognizable;
• and
• evaluating the image data by reading code words, wherein each of the code words comprises a plurality of the code modules,
• wherein the defects are determined using an edge criterion and/or a binarization criterion, wherein the edge criterion evaluates whether one of the code modules is in an edge-free region of the image data that is larger than a specified multiple of the module size corresponding thereto, an edge detection in the image data being further performed, wherein a distance from a next edge is determined for a picture element per position of one of the code modules, the edge criterion being deemed satisfied in the picture element when the distance corresponds to at least a specified distance, and
• wherein the binarization criterion evaluates whether one of the code modules having gray scale values close to a binarization threshold has been recorded, wherein the binarization criterion is deemed satisfied at the picture element when the gray scale value of the picture element remains within an expected fluctuation range around the binarization threshold.