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Glite Dictionary
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saturation point

saturation point

5.9
The point where a camera sensor or screen cannot record brighter colors and loses detail
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : punto de saturación
  • When editing the photograph, I realized the blue channel had reached its saturation point, resulting in a loss of detail.

Examples

  • To avoid clipping, it's important to stay below the saturation point during the editing process.

  • The image became overexposed because we passed the saturation point for the red color channel.

  • Saturation point: Too many restaurants on the Downtown Mall?

    Blog text (22)

Surface Forms

saturation point singular
saturation points plural

Morphology

saturation + point

The phrase is a literal combination of 'saturation' (a state of capacity) and 'point' (a specific stage), so it straightforwardly denotes the stage at which capacity is reached. While the exact technical consequences (clipping, loss of detail) are domain-specific, a B1 learner who knows both constituents can infer the general meaning.

Etymology

Saturation point for cameras comes from imagining a tiny light cup (a pixel or sensor) filling with color until it overflows; saturation is being full and point is the moment it can take no more. That's why when a camera sensor hits the saturation point, it 'cannot record more light' and the picture loses fine detail.