101 – Formats

Bit Depths

Bit’s	Bytes	Bit Depth	Possible RGB channels	Supported Files	Best use as
1 bit	2	1	2 (black or white)	n/a	Black or white
2 bit	4	2	4	icons	Black or white
4 bit	16	16	4098	bmp	Windows Programs
8 bit	256	24	16.78 Million	jpeg, gif, tga	Web, Textures, Games
8 bit (w/ Alpha)	256	32	16.78 Million	tga, png	Web, Textures, Games
10 bit	1024	40	1.07 Billion	dpx, cin	Film, Color Grading, TV Productions
12 bit	4095	48	68.68 Billion	cr2 (Canon)	Photography, TV Productions
14 bit	16384	56	4.39 Trillion	raw (Nikon)	Photography
16 bit	65532	64	281 Trillion	psd, ong, tif, exr (half), dpx, cin	Print Images, 3d, Compositing
32 bit	4,294,967,296	128	80 Octillion	exr, hdr	3D, HDR & Compositing

File Formats

File Type	Bits	Bytes	Bit Depth	Possible RGB channels	Gamma	Best use as
jpg	8	256	24	16.78 Million	sRGB	Web, Office apps
bmp	4	16	16	4,098	sRGB	Windows Programs
gif	8	256	24	16.78 Million	sRGB	Animated Web
png	8	256	24	16.78 Million	sRGB	Web
png	16	16,384	64	281 Trillion	sRGB	Games
tga	8	256	32	16.78 Million	sRGB	Textures & Games
dpx or cin	10	1,024	40	1.07 Billion	LOG	Film
cr2	12	4,095	48	68.68 Billion	LOG	Photographs
raw	14	16,384	56	4.39 Trillion	LOG	Photographs
psd	8,16 or 32	16,384	?	4.39 Trillion	n/a	Production, Design
tiff	8 or 16	16,384	?	4.39 Trillion	sRGB or CMYK	Production, Photos, Print
exr (half)	16	16,384	64	281 Trillion	Linear	3d & Comp
exr (full)	32	4.2 Billion	128	80 Octillion	Linear	AOV’s, 3d & Comp
hdr	32	4.2 Billion	128	80 Octillion	Linear	High Dynamic Range

Displays & Monitor

Bits	FRC	Bytes	Bit Depth	Display Colors	Color Space	Panel	Model/ Type
8 bit	(6 bit + FRC)	256	18	16.78 Million	99% sRGB	IPS	34UM67-P
10 bit	(8 bit + FRC)	1,024	30	1,07 Billion	99% sRGB	IPS	Dell p2415q
10 bit	No	1,024	30	1,07 Billion	99% AdobeRGB 100% sRGB	IPS	Benq SW271
10 bit	No	1,024	30	1,07 Billion	P3 wide	IPS	Pro Display XDR