What is a NEF file?

NEF — RAW Nikon

What is it?

NEF is Nikon's RAW format, the exact counterpart to Canon's CR2: raw sensor data, captured before any processing is applied.

It stores sensitivity, white balance and other shooting settings as instructions rather than baking them permanently into the image. Everything remains adjustable at the editing stage.

History & origin

Nikon introduced NEF with its first professional digital SLRs in the late 1990s, and has continued to develop the format without ever renaming it.

The format was once the subject of controversy: Nikon briefly encrypted certain white-balance data, which caused problems for third-party software. Pressure from photographers put an end to the practice.

Why it is useful

12- or 14-bit depth gives enormous latitude for correction, with no loss of information at capture.

It is supported by every major editing application.

Limits & drawbacks

Files are large, the format is proprietary, and it cannot be used directly on the web or sent by email.

Files from a newly released camera body may not be recognized by software that hasn't yet been updated to support it.

Practical tips

Edit the image, then export it: JPEG for sharing, TIFF for printing. Never discard the original NEF file.

For quick use — pulling a viewable image with no intention of editing it — converting straight to JPEG works perfectly well.

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