
Luckily, NEF file recovery can be accomplished in just a few minutes, with the right NEF file recovery software. Since NEF files are usually stored on memory cards, it’s not uncommon for people to accidentally lose or delete their images. Edited images can then be view using View NX-I or, with the Microsoft Camera Codec Pack installed, the default image viewer in Windows. In the case of Nikon, the company recommends processing using their Nikon’s Capture NX2 or Capture NX-D software. The only hurdle that prevents beginners from shooting RAW images stored as NEF files is the need for special software. As long as the digital negative is stored somewhere on the disk or memory card, it’s possible to always go back to its original state. A person can play with various filters, adjustments, effects and never compromise the original image. Because NEF files preserve much more information about the captured scene, they allow for finer control and non-destructive editing. With the affordable prices of memory cards, especially SD cards, storage space is never really a problem for professionals and amateurs alike.īut it’s not just about image quality, either. Most photographers who choose to use NEF over other image formats do so because they want the highest image quality attainable.

Now that we know what is a NEF file and what is NEF format, it’s time to learn what is a NEF files Nikon used for. The uncompressed form results in large files that require minimum processing power, the compressed form results in much smaller files with a negligible sacrifice when it comes to the image quality, and the lossless compress form can be seen as the best of both worlds. Nikon allows users to write NEF files to the memory card in uncompressed, compressed, or lossless compressed form. NEF files, in particular, retain 12-bit or 14-bit data, making their tonal range superior to standard image file formats, which usually retain only 8-bit data. And just like real negatives, NEF files have a wide dynamic range for preserving as much detail about the captured scene as possible. That’s why all RAW files are sometimes called “digital negatives”. RAW files, such as NEF files, have to be first processed using a specialized software.

Such files can be instantly printed, shared, or viewed on any device. What are RAW file formats, you ask? RAW file formats are special formats used primarily by manufacturers of digital cameras to store all the image information that the camera sensor can capture.ĭigital cameras that don’t support this file format have to first process the image information before they store it as a conventional image file. NEF is an abbreviation for Nikon Electronic Format, which is a RAW file format exclusive to Nikon cameras.
