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Nikon D1x

Nikon ups the ante with 5.33 million pixels (5.9 megapixel file size), improved color, and exceptional noise performance!

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Page 10:Image Storage & Interface

Review First Posted: 6/16/2001

Image Storage and Interface
The D1x uses CompactFlash memory cards for image storage, accommodating Type I and II sizes, as well as the IBM Microdrive. The D1x does not come with a memory card, so you’ll need to purchase one separately. As with the original D1, we were pleased to find the CompactFlash slot very accessible, allowing us to quickly change the card while the camera was mounted on a tripod. The D1x utilizes a folder arrangement that allows users to organize images in the camera and a sequential frame counter option to avoid problems with overwriting files when copying them to the computer.

Captured images can be individually write-protected through the Playback settings menu. Write-protected files are only immune to accidental deletion, not card reformatting. Two image resolution sizes are available: Large (3,008 x 1,960 pixels) and Medium (2,000 x 1,312 pixels). File formats include several levels of compressed JPEG files as well as RGB TIFF, YCbCr TIFF, and RAW data modes. RGB TIFF is the familiar uncompressed TIFF format that can be read by most any imaging program. The YCbCr TIFF is also an uncompressed mode, dealing with data more closely to the format in which it comes from the CCD. While still uncompressed, it is a more compact data format. The "raw" file format stores the data exactly as it comes from the CCD array, either compressed or uncompressed. Since the "raw" format is completely proprietary though, it can only be processed by Nikon's "Nikon Capture" software, Mike Chaney's Qimage Pro program, or "Bibble." The compressed RAW format is a "lossless" compression, making it difficult to determine the actual amount of compression being used. Nikon estimates that compression is 50 or 60 percent over the standard, uncompressed RAW format.

Below are the approximate number of images and their compression ratios for a 96 MB CompactFlash card. (The largest size sold directly by Nikon. Third-party cards are available as large as 512 MB for solid-state memory, and up to 1 gigabyte in the case of the IBM MicroDrive.)

Resolution/Quality vs Image Capacity
3,008 x 1,960 Resolution
2,000 x 1,312 Resolution
Images
Approx. Compression
Images
Approx. Compression
HI RAW data (Uncompressed)
11
1:1
N/A
N/A
HI RAW data (Compressed)
22
2:1
N/A
N/A
HI YCbCr TIFF
8
1:1
17
1:1
HI RGB TIFF
5
1:1
12
1:1
Fine Quality
29
5:1
66
5:1
Normal Quality
59
11:1
132
11:1
Basic Quality
114
21:1
265
22:1



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