Effective Pixels: Camera System: Glossary: Learn: Digital Pho...

A distinction should be made between the number of pixels in a digital image and the number of sensor pixel measurements that were used to produce that image. In conventional sensors, each pixel has one photodiode which corresponds with one pixel in the image. A conventional sensor in for instance a 5 megapixel camera which outputs 2,560 x 1,920 images has an equal number of "effective" pixels, 4.9 million to be precise.

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