megapixel

electronics

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Last updated

July 17, 2026

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A megapixel is a unit of digital image resolution, representing one million pixels. Pixels are the individual light receptors on a semiconductor device, such as a charge-coupled device (CCD) or complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS), within a digital camera. These devices measure light intensity and color, translating it into binary digits for storage.12

Digital cameras are often marketed by their megapixel count, indicating their resolution. For instance, a 24.2-megapixel camera has a resolution of 6,016 by 4,016 pixels. Kodak developed the first megapixel camera in 1986, capable of producing a print comparable to film quality.2

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digital camera
…marketed by their resolution in megapixels (millions of pixels)—for example, a 24.2-megapixel camera has a resolution of 6,016 by 4,016 pixels. Kodak developed the first megapixel camera in 1986; it could produce a film-quality 5 × 7-inch (12.5 × 17.5-cm) print.
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…marketed by their resolution in megapixels (millions of pixels)—for example, a 24.2-megapixel camera has a resolution of 6,016 by 4,016 pixels. Kodak developed the first megapixel camera in 1986; it could produce a film-quality 5 × 7-inch (12.5 × 17.5-cm) print.
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