I just got my absolutely mint/gorgeous/beautiful..did I say mint D2x and I just wanted to know if anyone compresses their RAW files when shooting (Comp. NEF)? Thanks.
I agree with John. I've compared so many images, trying to find a difference, and it just isn't there. Yeah, I've read all the scientific pontifications and theories
Thanks Jack. By the way, I am thinking about using one of my new UDMA 8GB cards in the D2x...any chance it will make a difference? I have plenty of regular Sandisk Ultra III's but I got a great deal on some UDMA cards and was curious. I cannot wait to take the D2x out tomorrow and shoot some birds using the HSC!
treebeard wrote:
I just got my absolutely mint/gorgeous/beautiful..did I say mint D2x and I just wanted to know if anyone compresses their RAW files when shooting (Comp. NEF)? Thanks.
Congrats. Great, great camera. I don't own one anymore, but I enjoyed it tremendously when I did. RAW compression will have no measurable effect. Use it without concern.
treebeard wrote:
Thanks Jack. By the way, I am thinking about using one of my new UDMA 8GB cards in the D2x...any chance it will make a difference? I have plenty of regular Sandisk Ultra III's but I got a great deal on some UDMA cards and was curious. I cannot wait to take the D2x out tomorrow and shoot some birds using the HSC!
I haven't used any UDMA enable cards in my D2x's, so I don't know about that. I use the Sandisk Ultra cards too. Speaking of HSC mode, I love it. I have shot tons of bird photos with it. The ~7MP raw file size is nice, and sometimes the 8FPS comes in handy too
The compressed NEFS use lossless compression, i.e. a zip equivalent . It improves card writing speed a tiny bit as there's less to write, but probably has a marginal battery impact as the camera has to do more processing. They are probably slightly slower to open on the PC too, but you won't notice any difference on any PC sold in the last 5 years. I've always shot compressed NEFS
the D2X uses lossy compression. lossless compression first became available on the D300/D3. it compresses the highlights which means in large areas of light even tones, you are more likely to see banding.
Herb...
firewireguy wrote:
The compressed NEFS use lossless compression, i.e. a zip equivalent.
HerbChong wrote:
the D2X uses lossy compression. lossless compression first became available on the D300/D3. it compresses the highlights which means in large areas of light even tones, you are more likely to see banding.
sorry, that's not lossless. lossless has a very precise mathematical meaning. Nikon admits it too. with the right subject material, you can see the difference. it also says so in the fine print. JPEG is visually lossless by Nikon's definition too.
I wanna see just one picture Herb to prove your point. having used the D2x for a few years before the D3 and having sold lots of prints from it that have held up for major publications , galleries and critical individuals. A picture is worth..........
i don't have to post anything nor show any examples. visually lossless isn't the same as lossless by the mathematics alone. reading the source to dcraw, the open source RAW converter, and looking at how it handles lossy compressed NEF and it is very clear that it is throwing away highlight information. just like any other simple lossy compression algorithm, there are times when it overdoes things. just because you don't see the loss, that doesn't mean those highlights aren't being thrown away.
Herb...
jmcfadden wrote:
I wanna see just one picture Herb to prove your point. having used the D2x for a few years before the D3 and having sold lots of prints from it that have held up for major publications , galleries and critical individuals. A picture is worth..........
D2x and I just wanted to know if anyone compresses their RAW files when shooting (Comp. NEF)? Thanks.
