definition and resolution. What is the difference?

[DinoThePhotoGuy]

I am a noob keep that in mind before you freak out with my question.

 

[KmH]

In what context?
Input resolution or output resolution.

Image resolution? Lens resolution? Image sensor resolution? Print resolution? New Years resolution?

I think of the word definition in artistic rather than technical terms for photography.

The Internet is a remarkable resource.
A benefit of using internet search engines is that we frequently encounter information we didn't know we would want to know.
So looking to others to answer your questions can prevent you from the serendipity of stumbling upon pertinent and related information you didn't know you don't know.

 

[Bebulamar]

Talking about digital image then:
Definition related to the total number of pixels
Resolution related to the number of pixels per unit of area.

 

[KmH]

A Google search doesn't seem to come up with that regarding 'digital image definition'.

As far as image resolution:
Image resolution - Wikipedia the free encyclopedia

 

[WayneF]

Talking about digital image then:
Definition related to the total number of pixels
Resolution related to the number of pixels per unit of area.

Pixels do not create the image.

The resolution of the lens image (projected by lens onto the camera sensor) creates and defines the resolution of the image, defining the details in the image, or resolvable line pairs per mm, so to speak.

The digital pixels merely attempt to reproduce that analog image digitally. Pixels can never add more detail to the lens image, but the hope is for a reasonably sufficient reproduction of it.

People lament that excessive megapixels might exceed the lens image resolution, however the only alternative is less pixels which is insufficient pixels to reproduce it as well as possible. The rule of thumb (Nyquist) is that digital resolution must be at least twice the resolution of the analog detail it tries to reproduce.

One factor of resolution is the size of the sensor (size in mm). A small sensors image has to be enlarged more to be shown as same size as a larger sensors image. Enlargement factor is a divisor, reducing resolution.

Image usage also defines additional criteria. A 24 megapixal sensor, 24mm wide and 6000 pixels wide,
is 6000/24mm = 250 pixels/mm. If we enlarge it to a 8x10 inch print (203x254mm, about 10x enlargement), then at most it is 6000/254 = 23.6 pixels per mm (which is 600 pixels/inch). This is the advantage of larger film sizes and larger sensor sizes, for larger uses.

Video monitor screens rarely exceed 2 megapixels, in which case, more pixels cannot be shown on the screen (image is cropped or resampled smaller to fit on the screen). Printing large prints however, does need many more pixels.

 

[fjrabon]

wayne pretty clearly sums up resolution.

Definition is a pretty sloppy term IMO, but what I usually see it to mean is increasing in post processing the local black and white contrast of "edges" as the processing program interprets them. It makes images look sharper than the original resolution of the image was.

So, resolution is sort of like "real sharpness" while definition is sort of like "apparent sharpness through processing trickery."

Not the clearest explanation, but definition itself, in this context, isn't a clear term to begin with. It's something that mostly came into the photographer's language because processing programs needed something to call the tool, and that was the best term they could think of for the effect.