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Photo

why do my RAW NEF look like JPEG?

nef raw jpeg

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10 replies to this topic

#1
audioscavenger

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d5300 + latest firmware 1.03 patched + latest distortion 2.018 + RAW 12bits

 

i save pictures to RAW+JPEG basic.

when i zoom the jpeg i see artifacts, normal

when i zoom the NEF i see the SAME artifacts, normal??? not normal!

 

when i save pictures are RAW+JPEG fine, same issue

 

is this a bug?? what am i doing wrong?

 

Attached Thumbnails

  • DSC_3620 artifacts.png


#2
audioscavenger

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is NX studio the issue? Irfanview + NEF plugin shoes the same crap


and in case you wonder, yes using RAW only also stores the picture with artifacts



#3
audioscavenger

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i think that, after reading about it online, d5300 is crap.

d5300 and the line below are total crap. they save NEF as lossy, compressed JPEG. that's why JPEG and NEF have the same artifacts.

 

i thought i bought a good camera, i got a crappy one.

abandoning NEF totally for the time being.,

 

at least i can enjoy HDR, now!



#4
Merco_61

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What zoom factor do you pixel peep at?

Where was your focus point?

What was your aperture?

What shutter speed did you use?

VR on or off?

 

Not all artefacts are from compression.



#5
audioscavenger

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thanks for chiming in! i like to chat with pros, and i hope to not make you lose your time :)

 

i peep at text on the picture until i see the classic JPEG artifacts. they are best visible around fonts as we all know.

* focus point: the letter E of nutella

* F/3.5  Shutter 1/45 ISO 400

* Manual mode and VR OFF

* camera firmly standing on countertop to minimize movements when i switch the pic saving settings

 

so in the example below i simply open each picture and zoom at 600% on the (U)d below the brand name:

DSC_3958-640-faststone.jpg

 

then I crop the same portion in NEF, fine and basic (which are jpeg 98% and 75%) then stack them together as seen below:

 

DSC_3958-3961-zoom600.png

 

The portion zoomed are resized with resize mode to preserver artifacts, and the result is saved as PNG to also preserve the artifacts.

 

As you can see, it's clear that NEF on d5300 is even more lossy than JPEG 75% - shocking

And this is just one example, we can see that everywhere on the picture, this has nothing to do with aperture or zoom or iso.

These are clearly lossy compression artifacts just like JPEG does, NEF does it similarly although i don't know the codec used.

NEF may be slightly smoother than JPEG 98% on plan areas, such as white surfaces, but overall this is really bad for the size in question:

 

* NEF         = 18  MB

* jpeg 98% = 8.2 MB

* jpeg 75% = 1.7 MB

 

And finally, i did an export from NX studio into a JPEG 75% and the result is atrocious, as expected when you re-compress a lossy picture.
Worse, the size is 3.5MB > 1.7MB for the one produced by the camera, which is also expected.
This means in finale, that I can do nothing with my NEFs. Because when i export them to share them with friends or on my website, the result is grainy and look terrible. I have to apply all sorts of filters to smooth it and my time is more precious than anything.

Did I analyze this correctly?

Look, i know that these artifacts won't be visible when you don't zoom, let alone on a printout. It's just a question of principle.

if you pay $600 for a camera, you expect to have at least a mode that saves pictures LOSSLESS. Nikon does a good job of hiding this information that i found on stackexchange.

 

Which is the cheapest model in the chart below to get actual, lossless RAW files? I'm thinking of the d610

Template:Nikon DSLR cameras - Wikipedia



#6
Merco_61

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If this extreme level of pixelpeeping disturbs you that much, there are only three bodies that will satisfy without buying new lenses.
These are the D7500, D500 and Z50 with FTZ adapter.
The D7500 and D500 give the choice between uncompressed, lossless compression or lossy. The Z50 always uses the Huffman lossless compression algorithm.

As your lenses donā€™t cover the FX sensor, the FX bodies will mean getting new lenses.
The D7200 and earlier wonā€™t work fully with AF-P lenses.

#7
audioscavenger

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z50 looks like a toy and i need the Fmount adapter for an extra $190 but seems like it's the future... will miss the click-clack that comes with DSLR lol



#8
Merco_61

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I am surprised at the quality the Z50 can produce. I have mostly used mine in available darkā€¦

#9
audioscavenger

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does the viewfinder flicker when you shoot? since there is no prism

 

i wish i knew about all this before buying it, the 5100 would be a better option since i can patch it with lossless compression: Nikon-Patch

 

unfortunately it's only 16MP or i would switch right away



#10
Merco_61

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The viewfinder goes dark when the shutter handles the exposure. I am impressed by how little lag there is, compared to older electronic viewfinders.



#11
audioscavenger

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nice! yes there is an atrocious lag when i use the backscreen instead of the viewfinder that's why i asked

 

okay, Simeon from simeonpilgrim.com replied from NZ and may send me instructions to compile a hacked firmware for d5300 that enable lossless NEF, will let you know if i could do it

 

thanks for all







Also tagged with one or more of these keywords: nef, raw, jpeg