A 16 bit file doesn't have any more dynamic range than an 8 bit. The
difference is in the subtle shades in between and the effect of integer
multiplication and division on large vs small numbers when editing. Your
monitor can't display the subtleties which is why you can't see it.
16 bit precision is preferred if you're going to be doing editing of any sort
that means you're going to alter the brightness of pixels... which means
brightness, contrast, saturation, etc... including sharpening if we want to be
complete. Editing pixel brightness in 16 bits helps avoid "holes" that might
appear in your histogram when 8 bit values are divided down and rounded off to
integers. But, if the image has been fully processed with regards to changes
in pixel brightness there's no reason to maintain it even as an 8 bit TIFF vs
16 bit TIFF. A high quality JPEG will give you all that your monitor can
display and even more than what can be printed.
But given the cost of maintaining a 16 bit TIFF I ignore that for sharpening
and just sharpen from a JPEG that has previously been sized and cropped for a
particular print size. Sharpening should not be done until after an image is
sized and cropped.
Chuck Norcutt
> -------Original Message-------
> From: John Hermanson <omtech1@xxxxxxxxxxx>
> Subject: [OM] 16 bit tiff
> Sent: Oct 04 '08 14:28
>
>
> I had been using Raw Shooter Essentials for a while but am now trying
> out Raw Therapee. Is there any benefit to saving a processed ORF as a
> 16 bit tiff instead of 8 bit? I don't see it, but 16 bit is twice the
> file size, 47 meg versus 23.5 .
>
> ___________________________________
> John Hermanson | CPS, Inc.
> 21 South Ln., Huntington NY 11743
> www.zuiko.com | omtech1 AT verizon.net
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