Lossy vs lossless and 12 vs 14 bit, for wildlife

WWA

WWA

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I'm confused about what RAW format I should be using? Mostly wildlife shooting so action and fast movement but want the best detail too.

So would 12bit (for faster buffer) but lossless (for max detail) be best? Will a 14bit file contain anything a 12 won't for wildlife? And would lossy get rid of anything I need on a wildlife shot?

Any advice great fully received? (Just started using a D500 and was setting it up hence the sudden worry!)

Thanks in advance!
 
what do you need the images for? if printing large then there is a need for 14 bit lossless if not 12 bit lossy will be fine hth mike
 
From what I've read, 14 bit contains more data and therefore has more ability to bring back lost details. From what I've seen online and in my own photos, there's basically no difference except in extremely dark areas where shadows give a little more detail recovery in the 14bit. In real life though, I've never used 14bit as it's extra space for a minute amount of return.
 
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With the D500 12bit will loose the *potential* of a couple stops DR at the bright end when using low ISOs. Technically, lossless compression is better as it is fully reversible.
But I've been using my D5 to record Jpegs with optimized compression and I'm generally finding more benefits than negatives to it.
 
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Thanks for the replies everyone. Still confused about what to do though. 12 bit and lossless sounds right for me?? Not printing big, mostly screen shared and small prints.

A lot of my stuff is at quite high ISO does this make a difference to my question?
 
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If you were shooting checker boards, it that would
be irrelevant but wildlife takes a most demanding
as one wants to record all the beauty, nuances, and
details that make wildlife shooting so pleasurable.

I think that I have the same issues with my D800E.
FF + 36,3 MP… every shot is very heavy in terms
of data and the buffer fills too quickly and that slows
down the frame rate. I am willing to suffer all these
for the final quality in wildlife photography.

For sports is is a different ball game! As most of the
subjects have less colours, nuances and details, it
is advantageous to even shoot jpg as frame rate is
a cutting argument there.
 
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Thanks Daniel, i can see where you're coming from.
 
It is perfectly fine if you shoot everything with 12bit lossy. Saved card space/processing speed/backup requirements is worth it.

Unless you have very special image postprocessing needs (processing astrophoto images is the only workflow I can think of) you won't see any difference by using lossless/uncompressed or 14bit.
 
WWA said:
Just started using a D500 and was setting it up hence the sudden worry!
Click to expand...

Spend a couple of weeks with it set one way, and another couple of weeks set another way, and then compare the images and the shooting experience. Basically, there's no right answer - which is why you can't work it out straight away and you'll get differing advice.

The best answer, is the one that gives you the results you want with the convenience at the time, and the best way to work that out, is to try them. Avoid switching back and forwards in a short space of time - give it a proper run with both the settings, using lots of different subjects and situations, and then see which you preferred.

Neither mode will result in ruined shots, so you're not going to waste your time, you'll get usable pics from both setups - try them out, find which you like the best.
 
WWA said:
A lot of my stuff is at quite high ISO does this make a difference to my question?
Click to expand...
Yes, by ISO 12000 on the D500 everything recordable will fit w/in an 8bit file. The "negative" of using 8bit (jpeg) is that the processing is "baked in" and data is discarded. 12bit lossy probably would not hurt at all. Above ISO 400 everything fits w/in a 12bit file. It's only below ISO 400 where there is any real/potential benefit to 14bit.

For almost all situations 12bit lossless will record everything possible w/ the D500. Even at ISO's below 400 the most you will loose is a potential 1.3 stops of DR in highlights as reported by DXO (engineering DR). In reality the PDR (Photographic DR/DR above noise) is less than 11bit at every ISO.
 
Thank you for all the advice guys.

I'm going to start off with 12 bit lossless and see how I find that for a few weeks as @EightBitTony suggest.

Regards.
 
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