NEF (RAW) Recording

Choose a compression type and bit depth for NEF (RAW) photographs.

NEF (RAW) Compression

Option		Description
N	[Lossless compressed]	NEF pictures are compressed using a reversible algorithm. The resulting files are about 60% to 80% the size of pictures recorded using [Uncompressed]. Image quality is the same as pictures recorded using [Uncompressed].
O	[Compressed]	NEF images are compressed using a non-reversible algorithm. The resulting files are about 45% to 65% the size of pictures recorded using [Uncompressed]. Image quality is nearly the same as pictures recorded using [Uncompressed].
[Uncompressed]		NEF pictures are not compressed; the resulting files are larger than those for pictures recorded using [Lossless compressed] or [Compressed].

Option		Description
q	[12-bit]	NEF (RAW) images are recorded at a bit depth of 12 bits.
r	[14-bit]	NEF (RAW) images are recorded at a bit depth of 14 bits. Files recorded at a bit depth of 14 bits contain more color data than pictures recorded using [12-bit]. Files recorded at a bit depth of 14 bits are also larger than pictures recorded using [12-bit].