What does the word "effective" mean and should I be concerne

[A new newbie]

I was wondering if there is a concensus about what meaning I should take from the word "effective." Does it mean thatthe image may beinterpolated up the wazoo or what?

[PeterP]

Generally no need for concern:-)

A sensor is usually rated(what is available to you)at lower that its real capability.

So a camera my have a 8.4mp sensor in it, but it is rated as an effective 8.25mp camera.

Except for Sigma's and Fuji's they try to work some magic with special sensors like the FOVON(Sigma) and the SuperCCD(Fuji).

[atlantagreg]

No. Generally, if a camera uses interpolation it will say so, with the exception being the controversial Fuji super CCDs, which interpolate even though Fuji says that's not accurate (an argument for another day).

You'll see cameras say things like "7.5 megapixels, 7.1 effective", etc or something along those lines. A few of the pixels are using for photo balance and processing "stuff" (no need for complex details), so you don't quite get all of the pixels on the finished photo. So again, this isn't anything to worry about - it's standard.

[JimC]

When you look at CCD Specifications,a sensor has more photosites than are actually used for the final image.

For example, the Kodak DX7630 you're referring to has a CCD with 6.2 Million Photosites. Yet, only 6.1 Million of these Photosites are used to produce the final 2856 x 2142 Pixel Image.

Some pixels around the edges of the CCD portion used for the image may be used for other purposes. The number of pixels in the image itself is known aseffective pixels.

[A new newbie]

Thanks for the quick replies and for reaffirming my belief in the greatness of the internet! You guys are awesome!

[Setiprime]

Thats true !