LR to CS3 (16bit to 8 bit)

[jeanie]

my files in LR are configured to be in 16 bits(whatever that means)

when i export to CS3, i can only save as PSD(and a few other unfamiliar ones).
only when i convert to 8bit then i can save as jpeg.

any idea why is this so and what's the pros and cons of this?

do we really need 16 bit?

this is assuming i might send the file for printing one day.

technical gurus please advise.

TIA

[Del_CtrlnoAlt]

well... u just need 8 bits...

if u notice, if you set to 16bits, most of your options inside CS would be disabled as well...

So for web or normal prints, 8bits are more than enuff... 16 bits for i dunno whatever reason, i dunno what is it used for anyway, and 32bit... thats even more strange.

[genegoh]

JPGs are 8 bit. It's the file format. The other option would be to save in TIFF. That's 16 bit.
For your important shots, u may want to save in PSD or TIFF. For me, JPEG is good enough. I can't really tell the difference anyway.
So of course there's some loss in colour detail if u convert 16 bit to 8 bit. But the camera takes only 12 or 14 bit anyway.
Hard disks are quite cheap nowadays. If you can afford it, just save in 16 bit lor...

[jeanie]

dca, thanks.

gene, but most printers only takes jpegs right?
if i save to tiff or psd and pass to them, they will also convert to jpeg before printing right?

so assuming i save to tiff or psd and they do the conversion, you reckon there will be any color shift or such?

[Del_CtrlnoAlt]

Originally Posted by jeanie dca, thanks. gene, but most printers only takes jpegs right? if i save to tiff or psd and pass to them, they will also convert to jpeg before printing right? so assuming i save to tiff or psd and they do the conversion, you reckon there will be any color shift or such?

dun think your eyes is able to see it... besides, how big a pic are you gonna print to notice a color shift?

[jeanie]

Originally Posted by Del_CtrlnoAlt dun think your eyes is able to see it... besides, how big a pic are you gonna print to notice a color shift?

i usually enlarge to 20 x 30 thereabouts(cant remember) for my friends.

[Michael]

16bit has a higher range than 8bit, so in theory it should be better but there is a BUT:
* you shoot RAW so your master file is not affected. if your master file is jpeg then its anyway in 8bit
* 8bit / 16bit in LR comes into play when you export the file
* for printing you need jpeg and jpeg is 8bit

so generally use 8bit. if there should be 16bit printing and image processing in the future then re-export your files from LR in 16bit. until then dont bother....

PS. for PS, export your files from LR and bring them back to LR, then stack them with the original RAW file. This way you keep the master and correction together...

[Lenscapes]

during the ngee ann exhibition, i send my tiff file for printing and hanged up the photo lab computers..

[jeanie]

Originally Posted by Michael 16bit has a higher range than 8bit, so in theory it should be better but there is a BUT: * you shoot RAW so your master file is not affected. if your master file is jpeg then its anyway in 8bit * 8bit / 16bit in LR comes into play when you export the file * for printing you need jpeg and jpeg is 8bit so generally use 8bit. if there should be 16bit printing and image processing in the future then re-export your files from LR in 16bit. until then dont bother.... PS. for PS, export your files from LR and bring them back to LR, then stack them with the original RAW file. This way you keep the master and correction together...

u mean export as PSD from LR to cs3, edit and reexport back LR as psd and group them together?

geez...my workflow all rojak already.really cant think of the perfect workflow.

[theRBK]

photoshop or any program, Mac or PC, only displays 8bit colour...really... and even if they can display more, most screens other than really expensive ones (not even the mac cinema displays or dell high end ones) like the NEC LED ones (and even then they can only show 10bit), can only display 8bit colour... the programs merely take into account that the file has 16bits...

16bit is useful when you need to push the colours of an image... like when the dynamic range only covers part of the histogram and you want to stretch it by moving the end markers in... what 16bit gives us is more graduations of colours (ie. the colours are described in more tones from dark to bright), not a wider colour range or gamut, so there should be no colour shift converting either way, remembering that what we see on the screen is in any case an 8bit image anyway (but of course an 8bit image converted to 16bit would still not have the colour gradation of an image processed into 16bit)...

[ExplorerZ]

16bits? maybe until they come out with a 16bits raw for camera...
even fuji is still stuck at 14bits?