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Image Quality and Size
Taking Photographs—Image Quality and Size
Option
Description
TIFF-RGB
Images are saved in uncompressed TIFF-RGB at a color depth of eight
bits per channel (24-bit color).
JPEG Fine
Images are saved in JPEG format at a compression ratio of roughly
1 :4.
JPEG Normal
Images are saved in JPEG format at a compression ratio of roughly
1 : 8.
JPEG Basic
Images are saved in JPEG format at a compression ratio of roughly
1 :16.
Image Quality
The image quality setting determines the file type and compression ratio used
to store photographs. The following options are available:
File Names
Photographs taken with the D100 are stored as image files with names of the form
“DSC_
nnnn
.
xxx
,” where
nnnn
is a four-digit number between 0001 and 9999 assigned
automatically in ascending order by the camera, and
xxx
is one of the following three
letter extensions: “.NEF” for NEF images, “.TIF” for TIFF-RGB, and “.JPG” for JPEG
images.
NEF (Raw)
Raw 12-bit data from the CCD are saved directly to the memory
card in
N
ikon
E
lectronic Image
F
ormat (NEF). NEF files can only be
viewed in Nikon View 5 or Nikon Capture 3 (
169). Two NEF
modes are available:
•
NEF (Raw)
In this mode, NEF images are not compressed, reducing the time
needed to process images before they are saved to the memory
card but increasing file size.
•
Comp. NEF (Raw)
In this mode, NEF images are compressed using a virtually “loss-
less” algorithm that reduces file size by approximately fifty to sixty
percent without affecting image quality. More time is required to
process images before they are saved to the memory card.