Nikon Electronic Format

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Also known as

• NEF
• Nikon Image Format
• Nikon Digital SLR Camera Raw Image File

File extension(s)

.nef

Format Registry Information

PRONOM

Preservation Action Plan

• Possible 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.

Preservation Issues

• 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. Xena also removes embedded data added during image editing, converting the data to a separate XMP file. This means that any edits added by the creator are removed.
• NEF is a proprietary format with an unpublished specification.
• NEF files can be very large - 70 MB or more.
• PRONOM provides only outline information for NEF files: see PRONOM: Nikon Digital SLR Camera Raw Image File.

More information

• NEF is a raw (i.e. pre-processed) image format produced by Nikon cameras.
• Much more detailed information on NEF files is available at Library of Congress Sustainability of Digital Formats: Camera Raw Formats.