Digital Camera - CCD Size vs Pixels

Megapixels madness is very similar to MHz madness in personal computers. The number of pixels that are available in a camera is just one of the elements in determining the photo quality. Another important element that is usually forgotten is the sensor size.

Charge-coupled device (CCD) is an electronic sensor, which captures images thru a group of small light sensors (pixels), and aids to re-create the images in a digital format. This sensor acts like film rolls in the traditional cameras.

When you take a photo, the shutter opens and allows light to hit on each individual pixel.



The amount of light that hits each pixel determines its intensity (also known as the pixel value), and each of pixel records its own pixel value.

For a fixed CCD size the more pixels the CCD supports the smaller each pixel is. On the other hand for a CCD with a fixed number of pixels, the larger the CCD in size the bigger will each pixel be.



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