Nikon D100 Product Manual - Page 56

Taking Photographs-Image Quality and Size Image Quality and Size Image Quality The image quality setting determines the file type and compression ratio used to store photographs. The following options are available: Option Description NEF (Raw) Raw 12-bit data from the CCD are saved directly to the memory card in Nikon Electronic Image Format (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 "lossless" 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. 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. 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. 44