8-bit vs 16-bit - we know which is better - but what's the point?

[Dismayed]

There 's a bit more to consider, particularly the size of your editing space. Small spaces, such as sRGB, are less prone to banding because the 16 MM possible values with 8 bits/channel are spread across a relatively small space. Move to ProPhoto RGB or some other large space and all bets are off. The space between colors is relatively large with 8-bit files so that even minor edits can create banding. Move to 16 bits/channel and you open up many more possible colors that you can't 'reach' with 8 bit channels.

So why edit in a larger space? I like to edit the image in it's 'original' state, prior to mapping it into a smaller space by discarding information. And not all output is to monitors - inkjets have fairly large gamuts, and future devices will likely be able to display more colors.

Our host site covers these ideas:

http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tut.../bit-depth.htm

http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tut...terization.htm

And j holmes has a lot of info on working spaces and bit depth:

http://www.josephholmes.com/propages...RGBSpaces.html