Exposure and Lighting For Digital Photographers Only

PRO GLOSSARY

8-bit (24-bit) image:

an image file format that allocates 8 data bits to record light intensity for each color channel of each pixel. An 8-bit image can record 256 levels of brightness. Most JPEG, TIFF, PNG, and other common image file formats are 8-bit images. Sometimes called a 24-bit image. The number 24 comes from counting 8-bits in each of the three color channels.

12-bit image:

an image file format that allocates 12 data bits to record light intensity for each color channel of each pixel. A 12-bit image can record 4096 levels of brightness. The native Raw file formats of many digital cameras record 12-bit images. These images usually must be converted to 8-bit images for printing and other uses.

16-bit (48-bit) image:

an image file format that allocates 16 data bits to record light intensity for each color channel of each pixel. A 16-bit image can record 64K (65,536) levels of brightness. The native Raw file formats of some digital cameras record 16-bit images. These images usually must be converted to 8-bit images for printing and other uses. Also called a 48-bit image. The number 48 comes from counting 16-bits in each of the three color channels.

32-bit image:

an image file format that allocates 32 data bits to record light intensity for each color channel of each pixel. A 32-bit image can record a huge brightness range. None of the current digital cameras are capable ...