When is an image considered a gigapixel image?

From a resolution of one billion pixels, i.e. 1000 megapixels. Below that, it is referred to as megapixel resolution.

Is the resolution generated by AI?

No. A true gigapixel image is created optically by stitching many genuinely captured frames. AI upscaling only produces apparent, interpolated detail.

Gigapixel Image

Category: Capture

A photographic image with at least one billion pixels (1000 megapixels). Usually created by stitching many individual frames into one extremely detailed composite – without AI upscaling.

A gigapixel image is a photograph with a resolution of one billion pixels or more. For comparison: a professional full-frame camera delivers 40 to 100 megapixels – a gigapixel image therefore reaches ten to twenty-five times that, and beyond.

This resolution is not produced by a single sensor but by systematically capturing many overlapping frames, which are then combined into a seamless composite through stitching. Every area of the image is recorded at full optical sharpness.

Crucially, the resolution is created optically and not interpolated through subsequent AI upscaling. Only this preserves the finest structures across the entire surface – the basic requirement for large-format applications such as stretch ceilings, exhibition stands or architectural prints.