What is a 8-bit or 10-bit image? Bit Depths EXPLAINED!

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Do you get confused when people say 8-bit or 10-bit when referring to image quality? What on earth does bit depth mean? I too was mystified until I actually read about bit depths, and discovered how simple they are to understand. So here's my explanation on what is probably one of the most important aspects of digital imaging!

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[BuildingCenter]

This is the clearest, most succinct explanation of this nerd-fuel topic I've found. Well done, B. Thanks.

[galihseno]

What about 4:2:2 or 4:2:0, Could you please make a video explanation about that?

[moldie]

Excellent point regarding the bit difference in a raw image, thank you !

[Silentnight]

Just found your videos as i begin my journey to make movies. Great stuff. Thanks !!!

[Mandemics]

Thank you! I share your video with my photography students each semester.

[stevedowning]

Finally I can impress my crush 🤠 "You like 50 shades of grey? Let me show you my 256 shades of grey 😏"

[SandyChase]

It would be nice to show us in the video an example of where that makes a difference. In 8-bit video, I notice it in big areas of sky with a subtle blue gradation, and on faces, where we're especially sensitive to subtle color differences. It usually shows up as banding in the image rather than smooth gradients.

[kalderetangKambing]

Greetings from the Philippines! More power sir :)

[AAhmed_Alii]

Sharing this with Digital Image Processing students!

[iixem]

Thanks for the explanation, found on petapixel, straight to the point and clear, love the content.

[oneeyedphotographer]

JPEG is always 8 bit, it's in the definition.
Computer monitors, specialist monitors excepted, and TVs always display 8 bit.

[binthepete]

very educational and informative... you explained the information very well...

[Propix]

Please make a video on c log, s log, and nikons whatever log if its there

[nyrubin]

Does bit in video really matter since ur still only recording @ a certain mbs

[geraldundone]

Camera talk AND cats? What's not to like. 👌

[felobazo]

Hey! So most cameras produce 8-bit JPEGs and 14-bit RAWs, but what’s the bit depth of RAWs coming from cameras that produce 10-bit JPEGs?

[Ddubmedia.content]

I'm gonna kill it at the next party I go to! Thanks for the info buddy. 🙂

[someoneyoumightknew]

Why does it happen with BMP files that a small image with a color space of only
256 colors (8 bit) require more storage space than the same image with a color space of 16.8 million colors (24 bit)?

[arifkizilay]

bit depth is about dynamic range. is that right?

[NomadicNative]

Ha! I see what you did there, it’s a test, right? Does the cat really have stripes, or is that a solid gray cat with bit banding in the video? Clever :^)