12 or 14 bit?

Amp34

Amp34

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I have just got a D7000 and need to work out whether to shoot in 12 or 14 bit. I have two 16GB cards but apparently I can only store ~400 photos with 14 bit uncompressed NEFs!

What does everyone shoot with? It's quite a shock only being able to store 400ish images as my old 8GB card on the 10MP 400D could store 800-1000...
 
This may help you http://www.nx101.com/12vs14.html , it's based on a D300 though but hopefully should explain it a little.

I would never store massive amounts of photos on a card anyway as if it goes wrong then you have lost all those images....better to have a few cards than being able to store it all on one.

With the D7000 as you know you have dual slots for the memory cards, you can set this to either be used as an 'overflow' for Slot 1 when full or as a backup to Slot 1.
 
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Thanks, I've read that before along with another couple of websites but was wondering what people did on here. :)

I currently have mine set to overflow, which is another reason I'm a little confused as to why there are so few shots left, unless the D7000 has real problems estimating shots remaining?
 
I have it set to 14 bit.....not by personal choice but because that's what the default setting was so just have never changed it!

I only ever have mine set to backup but have you tried formatting both cards? If not try that then look how many images you get.
Would format both of mine to test for you but I have some images on them that I need to keep just for now.
 
I'd always go with the best possible quality.

Fewer shots per card mean you really need to make each shot count and there is less temptation to "spray and pray" (take loads of shots and hope that at least a few will be ok).
 
On my D700 I always go for 14bit raws. I can fit 250+ shots on a 8Gb card which is far more than I normally shoot in a day anyway.
 
The difference is almost insignificant and unless your printing on a very high-end printer which might make good use of those subtle tonal changes then it is probably not worth it.
I shoot in 12 bit mainly because
1: I cannot tell the difference
2: The reduction in FPS ( not sure if the D7000 has the same problem )
 
14 bit capture has about 16% more information than 12 bit. If you want the best possible quality, shoot 14 bit. If you then need more capacity than 400 pictures (I only get 320 on the D3) then get more cards. I carry 6 4GB cards and even on expedition last year to Alaska for a month, they were plenty and I had no means of downloading until I got home.

If you select the lossless compression, you will lose no information but gain a little capacity.

Only you can choose. I shoot lossless compressed, RAW at 14-bit and use 4Gb cards with the second slot on overflow.My cards are years old now and still perfectly good. There are certain things you need to do to ensure long card life:
never delete in camera, instead be selctive about what you shoot - either bite the bullet and shoot it anyway, or be more selective. The reason you shouldn't delete in camera while shooting is because the card over writes and that is one way to get corruption.

The other thing is to format the card every time. This does mean that you cannot recover any files afterwards with rescue Pro or whatever rescue package you use, so only do it once you are certain the images are safely downloaded and backed up.
 
Lensflare said:
14 bit capture has about 16% more information than 12 bit.
Click to expand...
Apologies in advance if I've screwed up the maths, but doesn't 14 bits/channel have 4 times as much information per channel as 12 bits/channel?

I think it works out as:
~69 billion potential colour values across 3 channels for 12 bit.
~4398 billion potential colour values across 3 channels for 14 bit.

So quite a bit more information. Question is, when (if ever) can you see all that? Certainly not by the time you've prepared it for display as an 8 bit/channel JPEG.
 
Lensflare said:
The other thing is to format the card every time. This does mean that you cannot recover any files afterwards with rescue Pro or whatever rescue package you use, so only do it once you are certain the images are safely downloaded and backed up.
Click to expand...
Actually you can. Formatting just deletes the allocation tables, the data is still all there and can be recovered.

I have had to do just that when a card reader corrupted a card. I used the camera to format the card as the mac couldn't see it, then right away used recovery software to get the images back before I over wrote them by reusing the card.
 
I tried both 12 and 14 bit taking the same pictures under various scenarios [ under exposed, over etc ] , then fed those into lightroom to see if 14 bit gave any advantage in post processing, but I cant see any difference, not for what I do anyway, considering I use an Kodak A4 inkjet to print and Im not a professional, I'll stick to 12 bit , but I will use uncompressed to get maximum data.
I use a 16Gb card and get 800 per card, so that 1600 with 2 cards, that much more that the battery will support.
BTW 7dayshop are now selling 64Gb SDXC cards for under £28
 
I have tested vigorously also, I want the best image quality I can get so made sure I looked hard at the 2 particularly in underexposing to see the difference when bringing it up...

...no difference. That's when I thought well ok, there obviously is more information...but can the human eye detect it?

Mine can't.
 
Phil Young said:
I have tested vigorously also, I want the best image quality I can get so made sure I looked hard at the 2 particularly in underexposing to see the difference when bringing it up...

...no difference. That's when I thought well ok, there obviously is more information...but can the human eye detect it?

Mine can't.
Click to expand...

I think it depends on where you look for difference and what types of shots, 14 bit theoretically gives you much smoother graduation between different shades and hues especially in highlight transitions when editing heavily and also a slight increase in DR. 14 bit gives you 4 times more colour values I believe over 12 bit. I would imagine it is more evident in something like a vivid sunset shot than say a daytime cityscape :thumbs:
 
jacob12_1993 said:
I think it depends on where you look for difference and what types of shots, 14 bit theoretically gives you much smoother graduation between different shades and hues especially in highlight transitions when editing heavily and also a slight increase in DR. 14 bit gives you 4 times more colour values I believe over 12 bit. I would imagine it is more evident in something like a vivid sunset shot than say a daytime cityscape :thumbs:
Click to expand...

I think you should test for yourself...I couldn't see any difference.

There are lots of theoretically's but...I think that's where it stops.
 
On my D300 I use 14 bit for landscapes and 12 bit for wildlife as 14 bit reduces the continues shooting rate to something like 3 or 4 frames a second.
 
matt83 said:
On my D300 I use 14 bit for landscapes and 12 bit for wildlife as 14 bit reduces the continues shooting rate to something like 3 or 4 frames a second.
Click to expand...

Actually, 2.5 fps :)
 
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