Adobe default is to open Raw files in 8 bit

Elines

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Many of you folk may know this already.

This video shows you how to change the default - once you change it for one image then - after restarting - it seems to change it for all future ones. You might also what to change to Prophoto.

How to open a raw file in Photoshop in 16 bit mode (English) - YouTube

In practice I tend to open my raw images from LR - and those settings ensure they enter PS in 16 bit Prophoto (thanks Ian :) ). But just noticed that on the rare occasion that I might have opened in PS then probably doing myself a disfavour.
 
You're welcome Simon :)

I'm also telling folk at the photo club - be interesting to see what the 'hit' rate is there
 
Now that is quite interesting. On my D700 you can also shoot as TIF which remains as 16 bit, when it opens up but using Photoshop then going into the RAW tab, is that not the same? I know it remains in 16 bit because if I go to save a file as a Jpeg it won't save until I convert it into an 8 bit image.

Excuse me 'cos I don't fully understand, but when you convert to 8bit to save as a Jpeg are you not undoing the work you may have done on that file.
 
Can't comment on jpeg point but as regards raw ....

I declare my non understanding of many things technical but .....

.... I think if the file opens as 16 bit in PS then it stays as PS even if you open the raw filter. (Can't check as about to set off on s journey )

If you open the raw file directly into PS then it will open as 8 bit by default. Hence the need to change the settings.

I understand that PS updates can change your setting back to the default so something to watch out for.

So far 3 folk at the club report checking and all 3 have changed this setting.
 
Thanks Ian, but I still don't understand!:confused: I probably never will but I will continue to lurch from crisis to crisis!
 
Can't comment on jpeg point but as regards raw ....

I declare my non understanding of many things technical but .....

.... I think if the file opens as 16 bit in PS then it stays as PS even if you open the raw filter. (Can't check as about to set off on s journey )

If you open the raw file directly into PS then it will open as 8 bit by default. Hence the need to change the settings.

I understand that PS updates can change your setting back to the default so something to watch out for.

So far 3 folk at the club report checking and all 3 have changed this setting.

I too th9ink I may try it. If I am loosing information when it could save a picture from the delete button that cannot be a bad thing.

One thing, if I scan a negative (or positive) in my Nikon scanner, I can scan and save in 14 bit RAW. Am I right in thinking the 14 bit will remain, or will that be converted to 16 bit? (You have to have at least one awkward sod who asks a daft question).
 
I too th9ink I may try it. If I am loosing information when it could save a picture from the delete button that cannot be a bad thing.

One thing, if I scan a negative (or positive) in my Nikon scanner, I can scan and save in 14 bit RAW. Am I right in thinking the 14 bit will remain, or will that be converted to 16 bit? (You have to have at least one awkward sod who asks a daft question).
I just opened a scanned image which is 16 bit and then took it into camera raw and saved it, still remained a 16 bit file even when still a negative...
 
Whether it gets saved as 8 or 16 bit is dependant on the setting you choose in ACR

Screenshot 2021-07-07 at 12.12.35.jpg

I just opened a scanned image which is 16 bit and then took it into camera raw and saved it, still remained a 16 bit file even when still a negative...

I dont think applies because you already have the image in a Color Space and have most likely set a bit depth in the scan software
 
.........On my D700 you can also shoot as TIF which remains as 16 bit, when it opens up but using Photoshop then going into the RAW tab, is that not the same? I know it remains in 16 bit because if I go to save a file as a Jpeg it won't save until I convert it into an 8 bit image.

.....,.. .

Just to be clear .....

...IF you have not changed PS default settings

AND you open a raw file from PS then it will open as a 8 bit file

It will remain 8 bit. Once it is 8 bit you cannot regain the information you have lost.

(If this is not right please feel free to put me right - I don't see myself as technically sound and feel rather nervous talking about bit depth)
 
Just to be clear .....

...IF you have not changed PS default settings

AND you open a raw file from PS then it will open as a 8 bit file

It will remain 8 bit. Once it is 8 bit you cannot regain the information you have lost.

(If this is not right please feel free to put me right - I don't see myself as technically sound and feel rather nervous talking about bit depth)

You are correct Chris
 
Wow - me getting a technical point right :eek:

Thanks for confirming, Ian

I'll go and have a lie down to get over the excitement:)
 
I have just used the 16bit option for the 1st time and I am not very sure if I can detect the difference except when I save as 16 bit the only options I can use are TIFF and PSD and boy are those files big. Change the file to Jpg and the file from a scanned colour negative is 26MB but the TIFF and PSD files are a gnats whisker under 100MB. I think I will use it from now on because as it mentioned in the video you loose a lot of information with 8 bit only.
 
John I think that if you don't heavily process the photo then most likely you won't see a difference - certainly on screen.

The real differences show when you process heavily or print or both.
 
I haven't watched this all the way through for some time, and when I first saw it thought I was ok re working in 16 bits as I opened from LR and I had changed the default settings. I didn't pick up on the PS defaults needing changing too.



NB You may not like the Joel Grimes style of presenting but he's worth sticking with, in my view :)
 
I have just worked on another mono negative scanned at 14 bit and worked upon in PS at 16 bit. It was a flatish negative taken on a tripod in quite dense woodland (On the way to the waterfall I submitted a few days ago) I was able to recover a lot of shadow detail which is all but a vague shadow on the negative. The tops of the trees were a lot brighter and they were pulled back to have a decent amount of detail and then printed it to A3 through my Canon 300 and it is significantly better than an earlier print. Is it my imagination? Possibly, but it was much easier to do.
 
If you produced the earlier print from a file that at any point dropped to 8 bit, then it will inherently have less information (ie tones) than another version processed entirely in 16 bit.
 
I have just used the 16bit option for the 1st time and I am not very sure if I can detect the difference except when I save as 16 bit the only options I can use are TIFF and PSD and boy are those files big. Change the file to Jpg and the file from a scanned colour negative is 26MB but the TIFF and PSD files are a gnats whisker under 100MB. I think I will use it from now on because as it mentioned in the video you loose a lot of information with 8 bit only.

You will see a big difference in gradations, an 8bit gradation will certainly produce banding
 
If you produced the earlier print from a file that at any point dropped to 8 bit, then it will inherently have less information (ie tones) than another version processed entirely in 16 bit.

Those were scanned from actual darkroom prints, not the negative
 
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