Disclosed is a case where an aligning method according to the present
invention is applied to a probe apparatus. Target probes are photographed
by an upper CCD camera and target electrode pads are photographed by a
lower CCD camera. Second virtual images of the photographed probes and
first virtual images of the electrode pads are displayed in second and
first image data areas on a monitor screen. Dark and light colors in
terms of brightness are applied to pixels of the second virtual image and
the first virtual image. The second virtual images are moved on the
monitor screen, so that the second virtual images are superimposed on the
first virtual images. The total sum of the brightness (luminance) of all
the first virtual images is calculated. On the basis of the calculated
luminance value, a position where the target probes are most successfully
brought into contact with the target pads is detected.