Manual

196
Image Adjustment
Saving Images
Nikon Capture supports a variety of fi le formats. Images displayed in Nikon Capture can be
saved in a fi le format that suits the end in view. Hints for choosing a fi le format may be found
on the pages that follow.
Choosing a File Type
Nikon Capture 4 supports the following fi le types when saving images:
File type Compression Extension
NEF
(Nikon Electronic Image Format)
Uncompressed
.NEF
Compressed
16-bit TIFF (RGB)
Uncompressed .TIF8-bit TIFF (RGB)
TIFF (CMYK)
JPEG Compressed .JPG
Nikon Electronic Image Format (NEF)
All images, including those taken at an image quality setting of RAW, can be saved in Nikon
Electronic Image Format (NEF). NEF images created in Nikon Capture 4 can only be opened
in Nikon View 6 or Nikon Capture 4, or in Adobe Photoshop 5.0 or later (Photoshop LE ex-
cluded) using the Nikon NEF fi lter supplied with Nikon View 6. Photographs recorded at an
image quality setting of uncompressed NEF (RAW) can be compressed when saved in NEF
format (compressed RAW images are automatically saved in compressed NEF format, and can
not be saved in uncompressed NEF format).
Images saved in NEF format maintain the high quality of the original photograph; ad just -
ments to set tings are not applied to the original image data, but are in stead saved separately
in the same fi le. NEF images can later be opened in Nikon Cap ture and saved again in a
format that can be opened in other applications. As changes to settings are only applied to
the original image data when the image is saved in another for mat, this min i miz es any loss of
image quality that may be produced when the image is edited. Save images in NEF when ev er
you are unsure of how they will be used or when you want to process the original image in
a number of different ways.
TIFF
Use TIFF when saving images for high-quality output or publishing. Although the lack of
compression will result in larger fi les, image quality will be maintained at a high level. TIFF
also preserves the ICC profi le and caption information. This format is supported by a wide
variety of applications on a variety of platforms.
JPEG
This fi le type is adequate for images that will be output at low resolution or distributed in
elec tron ic form. Compression allows more images to be saved in the same amount of disk
space while preserving the ICC profi le and caption information. Note, however, that JPEG
compression results in loss of image information that can not afterwards be restored. Save
fi les at the lowest com pres sion ratio possible; if necessary, they can always be saved again at
a lower compression ratio.