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This refers to a digital camera. In the days of the film cameras nobody worried about this.
In digital imaging, a pixel (or picture element) is the smallest item of information in an image. Pixels are normally arranged in a 2-dimensional grid, and are often represented using dots, squares, or rectangles. Each pixel is a sample of an original image. If you use a magnifying glass on pictures that are printed you can also see these tiny dots. A larger number of dots typically provide more-accurate representations of the original photo. The intensity of each pixel is variable; in color systems, each pixel has typically three or four components such as red, green, and blue, or cyan, magenta, yellow, and black.
The word pixel is based on a contraction of pix ("pictures") and el (for "element").
When you take a picture the elements of light (Red, Green & Blue) are stored in a form of media. This media is normally an SD or other card. These are very small and can store quite a few pictures. The number of pictures that can be stored on the card depends on the storage size and the resolution (explained below) the camera is set on for that picture.
The number of resulting pixels in the image determines its "pixel count". For example, a 640x480 image would have 307,200 pixels, or approximately 307 kilo pixels; a 3872x2592 image would have 10,036,224 pixels, or approximately 10 megapixel. The higher the megapixel the sharper a printed picture will be. In earlier cameras that were only 2 Megapixel you could only print picture 5x7 if you wanted them to look sharp. In today's cameras (10 or more Megapixel) you can easily print very large pictures. If you would have printed a large picture with the old cameras the picture would be "pixilated" and would be very blurry. You could actually see the space between the dots in that case.
The pixel count alone is commonly presumed to indicate the resolution of a camera, but this is a misconception. There are several other factors that impact the resolution (how good the picture looks when printed). Some of these factors include sensor size, lens quality, and the organization of the pixels (for example, a monochrome camera without a Bayer filter mosaic has a higher resolution than a typical color camera). Many digital compact cameras are criticized for having excessive pixels. Sensors can be so small that their 'buckets' can easily overfill; again, resolution of a sensor can become greater than the camera lens could possibly deliver.
It should be noted that the higher the resolution the more storage it will take up both on your storage media and on your computer. You should know what you plan to use the picture for. As an example: if you plan to use it for a web site you can take it at a very low resolution. If you plan to publish the picture in a magazine(or other printed media)you need to have it as high as possible. Keep in mind that if you have your camera set at a high resolution you will not be able to store as much on your media card.
As you can see this can become very complex. You can easily go to a search engine to find out more information about this subject.
Dennis is a Microsoft A+ Certified Technician since 1995. He has a very informative computer blog and website that
goes into how to solve numerous computer related problems as well as providing
general computer tips, reviews and advice. See: http://www.pcinfospace.com
Disclaimer: All information on this site is provided for informational purposes only! By no means is any
information presented herein intended to substitute for the advice provided to you by any health care or other professional
or organization.
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