Difference between revisions of "Nikon Electronic Format"
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===Conversion test results=== | ===Conversion test results=== | ||
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===Access format=== | ===Access format=== | ||
Revision as of 16:43, 4 February 2010
Main Page > Documentation > Format-specific preservation plans > Nikon Electronic Format
Also known as
- NEF
- Nikon Image Format
- Nikon Digital SLR Camera Raw Image File
File extension(s)
- .nef
Format registry information
Significant properties
Preservation action plan
Preservation issues
- NEF is a proprietary format with an unpublished specification.
- NEF files can be very large - 70 MB or more.
- Xena incorrectly guesses the file type as TIFF and normalizes as it would a TIFF, with the result that a very large file (e.g. 70 MB) is normalized to a very small one (eg. 250 KB) with considerable loss of data. Changes to the raw file (ie: alterations done in image editing software) are stored in a separate XMP file, which Xena also does not recognize, and does not normalize together. This means that any edits added by the creator are removed.
- Possible preservation plan is normalization to Adobe Digital Negative (DNG) format
- Library of Congress states that Adobe Digital Negative (DNG), Version 1.1 may be emerging as a standard preservation format for raw camera images.
- Adobe provides a free (but not open-source) Adobe DNG Converter designed for downloading to Windows or Mac computers.
- An open-source option for converting RAW image files to DNG is DigiKam.
- Library of Congress states that Adobe Digital Negative (DNG), Version 1.1 may be emerging as a standard preservation format for raw camera images.
- Another preservation option is conversion to JPEG2000.
Conversion test results
Access format
More information
- NEF is a raw (i.e. pre-processed) image format produced by Nikon cameras.
- Information on NEF files is available at Library of Congress Sustainability of Digital Formats: Camera Raw Formats.
- For more information on JPEG2000 see Universal Photographic Digital Imaging Guidelines: Archiving and Technology Watch Support:JPEG 2000 - a Practical Digital Preservation Standard? Digital Preservation Coalition 2008.