When you record in b/w (grayscale) with the CoolPix 950, are you actually saving an 8-bit image, using 1/3 the storage space? I'm ready to upgrade from the Sony Mavica, which says it is capturing in grayscale, but wastes space (and time) recording a file as big as a full-color, 24-bit image. It is later displayed as b/w, but the file is 3x too large, and I have to change it's color space in PhotoShop later to discard unwanted data. Does Nikon do this right?

-- David Wing (deedub@home.com), November 29, 1999

Answers

You can save your image in greyscale if you want, but if you save it as an rgb file you have more potential to work with. Depending on the subject you are photographing, you may get a better result with the final image if you split the channels in photoshop. For example if you are photographing foliage under a blue sky, if you use the information from the red channel, you will get a bluer sky and brighter foliage than if you take a greyscale image. Just think about the different filters you use in black and white photography. The rgb channels are those filters. Check out Daryl Bensons article on B&W digital imaging in September's Outdoor Photographer for more information. It works.

Jonathan

-- Jonathan Ratzlaff (jonathanr@clrtech.bc.ca), November 29, 1999.

And if Jonathan's answer is not enough, the Nikon CP950 uses the same memory space to save B&W images as color. No savings to be had.

-- Steve (milwaukeechrome@aol.com), November 29, 1999.