Can't Use Layers & 16 Bit Images?

[cnl390]

Am I glad I I subscribed! An "Elements for Beginners" forum!
Man, are you all are going to get tired of me.

Anyhow for my first question.

I am using Elements 7 to organize & edit images taken with my Nikon D80.
I shoot RAW and use the ACR included in 7 to pre-edit (i.e. white balance, exposure, etc.) then open the image and use the regular editor.

Question: Why do some (most) of the editing features, like layers, work only with an 8 bit image? Since the RAW images have 16 bits of data half of it is lost. Which would really help make an outstanding image.

Thanks,
Charles

[dj_paige]

Question: Why do some (most) of the editing features, like layers, work only with an 8 bit image?

Because Adobe wants you to shell out more money (in the form of purchasing the full Photoshop) for its more advanced features, that's why.

[cnl390]

I should have guessed.

Thanks a lot.

[Wendy]

Hi Charles ...

... and welcome to the Village.

I guess that the problem Adobe have is that if they put too much into Elements then no one will buy Photoshop, so it must be a fine balancing line for them.

Wendy :)

[Michel B]

Since the RAW images have 16 bits of data half of it is lost. Which would really help make an outstanding image.

Thanks,
Charles

Paige and Wendy are right... That said, don't believe you could see a difference between an 8 bits and a 16 bits image. What is true is that you can do much heavier editing in 16 bits without creating visible problems such as posterization.
Conclusion: if you can't afford the full Photoshop, shoot raw and edit as much as you can in ACR, then in 16 bits in Elements for the available tools (most general enhancement tools and plugins), then convert to 8 bits to use layers and local editing tools.

[markgriff]

Yes, this is a problem I recently encountered being a new user a Elements as well.

After converting to an 8 bit image to apply some changes in Elements, what format would be best to save the final image, in order to retain the best quality for printing?

[Michel B]

Yes, this is a problem I recently encountered being a new user a Elements as well.

After converting to an 8 bit image to apply some changes in Elements, what format would be best to save the final image, in order to retain the best quality for printing?

Short answer: either PSD or TIFF format. Same quality and you can keep your layers to help for a possible ulterior editing.
With Tiff you can use lossless compression (LZW or ZIP) for somewhat smaller size. (Warning : not all software can open compressed TIFF)
With JPEG, you get much better compression, but it is a lossy format. With a low compression (10 to 12) you'll still get high quality prints. You can test it yourself by printing crops of your images at various compressions (or having the crops printed by your lab.)

[Benny Pedersen]

Short answer: either PSD or TIFF format. Same quality and you can keep your layers to help for a possible ulterior editing.
With Tiff you can use lossless compression (LZW or ZIP) for somewhat smaller size. (Warning : not all software can open compressed TIFF)
With JPEG, you get much better compression, but it is a lossy format. With a low compression (10 to 12) you'll still get high quality prints. You can test it yourself by printing crops of your images at various compressions (or having the crops printed by your lab.)

I would say; save as 16 bit PSD, but save 16 bit TIF to other software. Final step could be converting the PSD to 8 bit (the 8 bit PSD file would use less HD space than a 16 bit PSD). Then save it as a final 8 bit JPG.

Benny