The invention concerns a color image sensor that can be used to make a miniature camera, and a corresponding method for making this sensor. The image sensor comprises a transparent substrate (40) on the upper part of which are superimposed, successively, a mosaic of color filters (18), a very thin silicon layer (30) comprising photosensitive zones, and a stack of conductive layers (14) and insulating layers (16) defining image detection circuits enabling the collection of the electrical charges generated by the illumination of the photosensitive zones through the transparent substrate. The manufacturing method consists in producing the photosensitive circuits on a silicon wafer, transferring said wafer on to a temporary substrate, thinning the wafer down to a thickness of about three to 30 micrometers, depositing color filters on the surface of the remaining silicon layer and transferring the structure to a permanent transparent substrate and eliminating the temporary substrate.