Aside from the default image file type (JPEG), the other picture file type you can create on your Nikon D3100, D5100 or D7000 is Camera Raw, or just Raw (as in uncooked) for short.
Each manufacturer has its own flavor of Raw. Nikon’s is NEF, for Nikon Electronic Format, so you see the three-letter extension NEF at the end of Raw filenames.
Raw is popular with advanced, very demanding photographers, for three reasons:
Capture NX-D is the ideal RAW image processor for photographers who demand the ultimate in image quality as intended by Nikon cameras. Processed RAW files can then be saved as 16-bit TIFF files for further editing or retouching in other image editing programs such as. Nikon Capture NX-D is a RAW image processing program designed for use with Nikon NEF and NRW files as well as JPEG and TIFF images. It is available at no charge, via download from the Nikon website. Jun 18, 2013 Re: Raw files and Nikon d7100 dj_paige Jun 14, 2013 12:08 PM ( in response to WolsinghamTrevor ) Despite what you have read, the DNG Converter 7.4 does indeed convert Nikon D7100 NEF files to DNG.
Greater creative control: With JPEG, internal camera software tweaks your images, adjusting color, exposure, and sharpness as needed to produce the results that Nikon believes its customers prefer. With Raw, the camera simply records the original, unprocessed image data. The photographer then copies the image file to the computer and uses special software known as a Raw converter to produce the actual image, making decisions about color, exposure, and so on at that point. The upshot is that “shooting Raw” enables you, not the camera, to have the final say on the visual characteristics of your image.
Higher bit depth: Bit depth is a measure of how many distinct color values an image file can contain. JPEG files restrict you to 8 bits each for the red, blue, and green color components, or channels,that make up a digital image, for a total of 24 bits. That translates to roughly 16.7 million possible colors. A Raw file delivers a higher bit count.
Best picture quality: Because Raw doesn’t apply the destructive compression associated with JPEG, you don’t run the risk of the artifacting that can occur with JPEG.
How To Open Raw File
But of course, as with most things in life, Raw isn’t without its disadvantages. To wit:
You can’t do much with your pictures until you process them in a Raw converter. You can’t share them online, for example, or put them into a text document or multimedia presentation. You can view and print them immediately if you use the free Nikon ViewNX 2 software, but most other photo programs require you to convert the Raw files to a standard format first. Ditto for retail photo printing. So when you shoot Raw, you add to the time you must spend in front of the computer instead of behind the camera lens.
Raw files are larger than JPEGs. Unlike JPEG, Raw doesn’t apply lossy compression to shrink files. In addition, Raw files are always captured at the maximum resolution available on your camera, even if you don’t really need all those pixels. For both reasons, Raw files are significantly larger than JPEGs, so they take up more room on your memory card and on your computer’s hard drive or other picture-storage device.
To get the full benefit of Raw, you need software other than Nikon ViewNX 2. The ViewNX 2 software that ships free with your camera does have a command that enables you to convert Raw files to JPEG or to TIFF, another standard imaging format. However, this free tool gives you limited control over how your original data is translated in terms of color, exposure, and other characteristics. The same is true for the Raw converter built into the camera.
Whether the upside of Raw outweighs the down is a decision that you need to ponder based on your photographic needs, your schedule, and your computer-comfort level.
Nikon D7100 Raw File Size
Nikon D7200 Sample Images
This is a selection of sample images from the Nikon D7200 camera, which were all taken using the 24 megapixel Fine JPEG setting. The thumbnails below link to the full-sized versions, which have not been altered in any way.
1/160s · f/11 · ISO 160 | 1/160s · f/11 · ISO 160 | 1/80s · f/5 · ISO 125 |
1/30s · f/11 · ISO 640 | 1/30s · f/11 · ISO 560 | 1/30s · f/11 · ISO 180 |
1/160s · f/11 · ISO 22800 | 1/30s · f/11 · ISO 1400 | 1/30s · f/8 · ISO 140 |
1/125s · f/8 · ISO 1000 | 1/100s · f/8 · ISO 2000 | 1/50s · f/8 · ISO 1100 |
1/160s · f/8 · ISO 720 | 1/160s · f/8 · ISO 3200 | 1/160s · f/8 · ISO 4000 |
1/30s · f/11 · ISO 180 | 1/160s · f/11 · ISO 180 | 1/60s · f/11 · ISO 100 |
1/160s · f/11 · ISO 360 | 1/30s · f/11 · ISO 2000 | 1/160s · f/11 · ISO 220 |
1/60s · f/11 · ISO 180 | 1/160s · f/11 · ISO 1800 | 1/160s · f/5.6 · ISO 100 |
1/160s · f/5.6 · ISO 110 | 1/200s · f/5.6 · ISO 100 | 1/125s · f/5.6 · ISO 110 |
1/200s · f/5.6 · ISO 100 | 1/160s · f/5.6 · ISO 100 | 1/100s · f/5.6 · ISO 160 |
1/160s · f/5.6 · ISO 180 | 1/200s · f/5.6 · ISO 100 | 1/160s · f/5.6 · ISO 100 |
1/160s · f/5.6 · ISO 125 | 1/125s · f/11 · ISO 100 | 1/400s · f/4.5 · ISO 100 |
1/320s · f/5.6 · ISO 100 | 1/1000s · f/4.5 · ISO 100 | 1/160s · f/4.8 · ISO 100 |
1/320s · f/4.5 · ISO 100 | 1/160s · f/8 · ISO 100 | 1/80s · f/8 · ISO 100 |
1/100s · f/8 · ISO 100 | 1/160s · f/8 · ISO 140 | 1/100s · f/8 · ISO 125 |
1/400s · f/5.6 · ISO 100 | 1/80s · f/11 · ISO 100 | 1/160s · f/11 · ISO 160 |
1/160s · f/11 · ISO 400 | 1/160s · f/11 · ISO 220 | 1/160s · f/11 · ISO 360 |
1/640s · f/5.6 · ISO 100 | 1/400s · f/5.6 · ISO 100 | 1/250s · f/5.6 · ISO 100 |
1/250s · f/5.6 · ISO 100 | 1/160s · f/8 · ISO 100 | 1/400s · f/8 · ISO 100 |
1/400s · f/8 · ISO 100 | 1/400s · f/8 · ISO 100 | 1/500s · f/5.6 · ISO 100 |
1/400s · f/8 · ISO 100 | 1/500s · f/5.6 · ISO 100 | 1/400s · f/5.6 · ISO 100 |
1/100s · f/16 · ISO 100 | 1/320s · f/8 · ISO 100 | 1/320s · f/8 · ISO 100 |
1/320s · f/8 · ISO 100 | 1/200s · f/8 · ISO 100 | 1/800s · f/5.6 · ISO 100 |
1/640s · f/5.6 · ISO 100 | 1/800s · f/5.6 · ISO 100 | 1/320s · f/5.6 · ISO 100 |
1/400s · f/5.6 · ISO 100 | 1/160s · f/11 · ISO 100 | 1/160s · f/11 · ISO 100 |
1/100s · f/11 · ISO 100 | 1/200s · f/11 · ISO 100 | 1/160s · f/11 · ISO 100 |
1/160s · f/11 · ISO 125 | 1/250s · f/11 · ISO 100 | 1/400s · f/11 · ISO 100 |
1/100s · f/11 · ISO 320 | 1/60s · f/11 · ISO 100 | 1/200s · f/11 · ISO 100 |
1/160s · f/5.6 · ISO 110 | 1/160s · f/8 · ISO 220 | 1/100s · f/8 · ISO 100 |
1/200s · f/8 · ISO 100 | 1/3s · f/8 · ISO 100 | 1/6s · f/8 · ISO 200 |
1/13s · f/8 · ISO 400 | 1/25s · f/8 · ISO 800 | 1/50s · f/8 · ISO 1600 |
1/100s · f/8 · ISO 3200 | 1/200s · f/8 · ISO 6400 | 1/400s · f/8 · ISO 12800 |
1/800s · f/8 · ISO 25600 | 1/1600s · f/8 · | 1/3200s · f/8 · |
Nikon D7200 Sample RAW Images
The Nikon D7200 enables users to capture RAW and JPEG format files. We've provided some Nikon RAW (NEF) samples for you to download (thumbnail images shown below are not 100% representative).
1/160s · f/8 · ISO 3200 | 1/160s · f/11 · ISO 400 | 1/200s · f/5.6 · ISO 100 |
1/400s · f/4.5 · ISO 100 | 1/160s · f/11 · ISO 400 | 1/400s · f/5.6 · ISO 100 |
1/250s · f/5.6 · ISO 100 | 1/500s · f/5.6 · ISO 100 | 1/160s · f/11 · ISO 100 |
1/200s · f/11 · ISO 100 | 1/200s · f/8 · ISO 100 | 1/3s · f/8 · ISO 100 |
1/6s · f/8 · ISO 200 | 1/13s · f/8 · ISO 400 | 1/25s · f/8 · ISO 800 |
1/50s · f/8 · ISO 1600 | 1/100s · f/8 · ISO 3200 | 1/200s · f/8 · ISO 6400 |
1/400s · f/8 · ISO 12800 | 1/800s · f/8 · ISO 25600 |
Nikon D7200 Sample Movie & Video
The Nikon D7200 can record Full HD video in the MOV format. This is a sample movie at the quality setting of 1920x1280 pixels at 30 frames per second. Please note that this 19 second movie is 26.7Mb in size.