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SeaOtter · Joined: 21 Apr 2005 Posts: 305 Location: West Hartford, CT

I shoot in Raw (Canon cr2 in my 20D). After I open and work on the image in CS2 I've saved the image as a TIF file so I can continue working on it in photoshop. I have 2 questions:

The TIF file is HUGE, about 5 times as large as my Raw file; the raw file is about 8Mb's and the Tif file is over 40Mb's.

and

I cannot save the Tif file in JPeg format. That file option does not appear in the Save As dialogue box.

I've tried saving the file in different formats,e.g. DNG and photoshop format. Same result.

What's the solution?

Thanks a bunch.

Whoa .... a little experimentation ....

If I change the raw workflow settings to 8 bits per channel rather than 16 bits per channel, everything seems fine, at least I can save in Jpeg format.

So now a new question .... what's best for SS uploads?

Ed

pcimaging · Joined: 16 May 2005 Posts: 12

When you use your RAW converter and convert to TIF you need to select 8 bit rather than 16 bit. A 16 bit TIF can not be saved as a JPG. Since I do not know which converter you use I can not tell you where the setting gets changed. However if you look in your RAW cobverter you will find there is an option to make it an 8 bit TIF. Also in Photoshop under IMAGE/MODE there is an option to change the image to 8 bit. Once you do that you will be able to save as a JPG.

gracey · Joined: 24 Aug 2005 Posts: 2417 Location: Ontario, Canada

I work on the file in 16 bit and when complete convert to 8. 16 bit is slower, but has more data. I save the tif file first, then convert to 8 bit to save as a jpg file.

When you open your file in the converter, keep it as 16 bit. It's an extra step, but worth it. You can convert from 16 bit to 8 in photoshop after the work is completed.

SeaOtter · Joined: 21 Apr 2005 Posts: 305 Location: West Hartford, CT

Thanks all!!!

SeaOtter · Joined: 21 Apr 2005 Posts: 305 Location: West Hartford, CT

CarolinaSmith · Joined: 11 Apr 2005 Posts: 221 Location: USA

SeaOtter,

In PS, go to Image > Mode > 8bit

That's where you'll find it. Don't give up your 16bit files... meaning that when you save, convert that 16bit to 8bit so you can save it to jpeg, use

Save As a Copy....

not Save...

Yes you will have one more file on your hard drive, but you'll then always have your 16bit file to work on down the road if you want to or need to...

For example if you learn new PS skills down the road, or if you want to make a print from your TIF file (You do want to print from your best file, don't you?). So when you convert a 16bit file to 8bit, then Save As a Copy for the jpeg, just close the original 16bit file (say NO to 'Save Changes?'...).

It's best to keep your options open :)

SeaOtter · Joined: 21 Apr 2005 Posts: 305 Location: West Hartford, CT

Thanks for the tip Carolina.

sk8ter20art · Joined: 06 Jun 2005 Posts: 377

.tif,.tiff's, and .tga and other propriatary versions of those file types can exist as 16bit images. Jpegs are not capable of bieng 16bit only 8bit. In older versions of photoshop only a few tools worked in 16bit mode anyway. I do not have CS2 so i cant say anything about that. But the tools are becoming more widespread. Unless you get into the high end software like photoshop, premier, after effects, and shake most programs will not recognize 16bit or convert them to 8bit automatically.

sk8ter20art · Joined: 06 Jun 2005 Posts: 377

and as always keep an original, work on a copy, and always save in a lossless format like tif or tga. because once you compress a file or resize it smaller you cant go back. Space is getting cheaper by the day so having multiple copies wont hurt.

supertramp · Posted: Mon Oct 10, 2005 10:50 am

Now is 16-bit better for print over 8-bit? Can you see the difference? I do know that you can get finer control when editing 16-bit, but does it make that much of a difference?

feztaa · Joined: 14 May 2005 Posts: 616 Location: Canadia, eh?

SeaOtter · Joined: 21 Apr 2005 Posts: 305 Location: West Hartford, CT

I won't challenge your math, it looks about right to me. However, most cameras will not capture 16 bit images. For example, the 20D specs say that raw images are 12 bits. But we're stuck in PS with either 8 or 16. So if I use 16 in PS but my camera is actually capturing only 12, I guess the most I get in PS is 12. Can anybody shed light on this?

feztaa · Joined: 14 May 2005 Posts: 616 Location: Canadia, eh?

Oh yeah, my mistake. Camera RAW formats are usually around 12 bits from what I hear.

I do know that although GIMP only supports 8-bit, the RAW import tool supports the full 12 or whatever bits, and it lets you do white balance, color correction, and has a rudimentary levels tool, so basically I can do all that with the full 12 bits, and then import into gimp and just do some quick touch ups with the clone stamp and the crop tool in 8-bit, and save it as a tiff with a beautifully "even" (for lack of a better word) histogram.