12 bit vs 14 bit color?

12 years 10 months ago #97861 by Happy-pixel
Is there really that much difference in having my camera (D700) set to 14 bit color vs 12 bit? I have looked at the size and they only seem just a tad larger in 14 bit. Which are you using?


Photo Comments
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12 years 10 months ago #97865 by MLKstudios
For most subjects, 12 bits is more than enough. It has 2^12 colors. If your lab prints JPEGs, you'll be throwing most of those away.

Matthew :)

Matthew L Kees
MLK Studios Photography School
www.MLKstudios.com
[email protected]
"Every artist, was once an amateur"

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12 years 10 months ago - 12 years 10 months ago #97899 by Henry Peach
In properly exposed (or even close) photos I don't think you'd ever be able to see the difference. If you are brightening extremely underexposed photos or shadow areas it might be more obvious. The samples I've seen where the difference was noticeable were 8 stops under exposed. That doesn't seem like a real world shooting situation to me. :)

Do some personal testing. I would tend to say memory is cheap, but folks are reporting speedier cameras when set to 12 bit. Maybe it's something you'd want to use if you found yourself shooting at your highest ISO in pitch black conditions? :)

Canon doesn't give me the option, so I'm in 14 bit.
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12 years 10 months ago #97977 by cod
I can't honestly tell the difference in image quality, but I keep it on 14 bit so that I always have the maximum quality just in case. I think storage is cheap enough that teh extra file size is not an issue. The one exception to that? My D300s has a maximum frame rate of 7 fps but only in 12-bit mode. If I switch to 14-bit, max frame rate becomes 4 fps. I'll use 12-bit when I want to use that feature. I see you have a D700. I don't think that's an issue on that body or the D3 but for many of us it is.

Chris

Chris O'Donoghue
Winnipeg, Canada
codonoghue.prosite.com

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12 years 10 months ago #98099 by Todd Knight
Good thread topic, has me wondering where mine is set at B)


Photo Comments
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12 years 10 months ago #98131 by Nikonjan
I use the 12 bit on my D300, I have on occasion switched to 14 bit but I only use 4 gig cards and it takes up space faster, so I haven't even had a real chance to see what difference it might make.

www.betterphoto.com?nikonjan
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