I do all my Aperture processing against my RAW images, but when I round trip to NIK I have to create a TIFF file. Is there any benefit using 16-bit vs 8-bit TIFF files if I want to extract maximum detail in the plugins?
I do all my Aperture processing against my RAW images, but when I round trip to NIK I have to create a TIFF file. Is there any benefit using 16-bit vs 8-bit TIFF files if I want to extract maximum detail in the plugins?
As are most things in photography (and life in general), it’s a trade-off. You will get more latitude to make fine edits with 16 bit files, but you will pay for it with a greatly increased file size and processing time. Only you can decide if it is worth it for what you need. For example, if you will be printing large prints, it might be worth it. But if your output ends up as 8x10 prints or on the web, it probably is a waste of disk space to use 16 bit TIFF files.
You could run your own test by editing the same original both ways (8 bit TIFF and 16 bit TIFF) and see if you can detect a difference worth the extra size.
Thomas