In the world of digital images, pixels are the most basic building blocks. But you know what? There are two types of pixels: physical pixels and interpolated pixels. There are essential differences between them, and the impact on image quality is also very different.
First, let's look at physical pixels. Physical pixels, as the name suggests, are pixels that actually exist on an image sensor. Each physical pixel captures light information and converts it into a digital signal that makes up the final image in front of our eyes. The number of physical pixels determines the resolution and clarity of the image. For example, when we use a mobile phone with a high-pixel camera to take a photo, if the camera has 12 million physical pixels, then the final result is made up of 12 million physical pixels.
An interpolated pixel is a virtual pixel that is calculated by an algorithm. When the resolution of the image needs to be improved, but the hardware conditions are limited and the number of physical pixels cannot be increased, an interpolation algorithm is used to increase the pixels. This algorithm calculates new pixel values based on the color and brightness information of the surrounding pixels, increasing the number of pixels in the image. However, it is important to note that these new pixels are not real, but are calculated, so they do not capture real light information like physical pixels.
So, what is the difference between the impact of physical and interpolated pixels on image quality? In the case of a landscape painting, for example, if the painting is made up of a high number of physical pixels, the details in the picture will be very rich and the colors will be more vivid. Because every physical pixel captures real light information, the clarity and fidelity of the picture will be very high. If the picture is composed of interpolated pixels, the number of pixels in the picture increases, but the expressiveness of details and colors is greatly reduced. Because the interpolated pixels are calculated algorithmically, they don't capture the real light information like physical pixels, so the clarity and fidelity of the picture are affected.
Overall, there is a clear difference between physical and interpolated pixels in terms of image quality and expressiveness. Physical pixels are real, and they are able to capture real light information, providing high-quality clarity and fidelity to images; The interpolated pixel is a virtual pixel calculated by the algorithm, which can increase the number of pixels in the image, but cannot improve the real resolution and expressiveness of the image. Therefore, when choosing a camera or processing images, we should pay more attention to the quantity and quality of physical pixels.