A gigapixel image is a digital image bitmap composed of one billion (109) pixels (picture elements), more than 1000 times the information captured by a 1 megapixel digital camera.
Current technology for creating such very high-resolution images involves making mosaics of a large number of high-resolution digital photographs, or uses a film negative as large as 9″×12″ (23 cm×30 cm), which is then scanned with a high-end film scanner.
Recent developments have demonstrated the practicality of developing scanning cameras capable of creating a gigapixel image in a single sweep of a scene.