Nikon d7100 - NEF (Raw) bit depth
Mar 24, 2014 09:39:44 #
Jdh1951
Loc: Los Angeles
I just bought a d7100 and am ploughing through the manual to see what's new and different from my (now) old d5000. One thing is choosing between 12-bit and 14-bit depth when shooting in RAW (which I generally do). If you know, please explain pros and cons in this choice-- other than that choosing 14-bit increases the file size.
I've been auditing the forum for a couple of months so far and have already learned quite bit. Looking forward to being a real participant. I would describe my skill and experience level as "aspiring enthusiast."
I've been auditing the forum for a couple of months so far and have already learned quite bit. Looking forward to being a real participant. I would describe my skill and experience level as "aspiring enthusiast."
Mar 24, 2014 11:04:23 #
12 and 14 refer to the color depth. 14 is in the trillions of possible color shades, 12 is about billions. That's it, nothing else. Your choice.
Mar 24, 2014 16:04:47 #
Congrats on your new camera. When I got mine, I picked up "The D7100 Experience" and it is excellent. It is 10x as informative as the manual. Well worth the $.
Mar 25, 2014 08:34:36 #
If you search the Internet you are going to find lots of discussions about shooting 8, 12 and 14 bits. Perhaps your fist reaction could be selecting 14 because it offers more colors. A JPEG image has only 8 bits of color and we are talking about thousands of colors here that neither you nor I nor anybody else can see so imagine millions or trillions of colors. Nobody in this planet can see those colors.
When I shoot RAW I go with 14 bits but keep in mind that as soon as I convert the file to a JPEG I automatically make it an 8 bits file and I always wondered what happened to the millions of colors then!
Do not agonize over color depth, you cannot see those colors even if you shoot a JPEG.
When I shoot RAW I go with 14 bits but keep in mind that as soon as I convert the file to a JPEG I automatically make it an 8 bits file and I always wondered what happened to the millions of colors then!
Do not agonize over color depth, you cannot see those colors even if you shoot a JPEG.
Mar 25, 2014 11:54:59 #
The human eye can only see 8 bits of color, as in JPEG.
BUT.
Make a subtle adjustment to the color balance and you may see the sky turn to bands of color due to the lack of depth in JPEG. Looks awful. If you start in RAW 12 (or 14) bit, adjust the color, and export to 8-bit JPEG, no banding. 8 bits is enough to express the finished product but not to support some adjustments in some situations. Same thing with bringing out details in horribly under-exposed shadows. 12-bit can capture them, Lightroom or Photoshop can bring them out, then export to JPEG.
I doubt there is a situation where 12-bit isn't enough but I just got bigger disk drives and went with 14 anyway. Probably a waste.
BUT.
Make a subtle adjustment to the color balance and you may see the sky turn to bands of color due to the lack of depth in JPEG. Looks awful. If you start in RAW 12 (or 14) bit, adjust the color, and export to 8-bit JPEG, no banding. 8 bits is enough to express the finished product but not to support some adjustments in some situations. Same thing with bringing out details in horribly under-exposed shadows. 12-bit can capture them, Lightroom or Photoshop can bring them out, then export to JPEG.
I doubt there is a situation where 12-bit isn't enough but I just got bigger disk drives and went with 14 anyway. Probably a waste.
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