Opening Files using Adobe Bridge

[Don Thompson]

I hope that this is the correct forum for this question. If not, let me know and I will post elsewhere.

When I open a RAW file from Bridge into ACR, I can change the parameters before opening in Photoshop. For example, I can change the color space, the depth (8bit vs 16bit). What resolution do you recommend?

[Chris Starbuck]

Hi Don. Welcome to the forum.

For bit depth, I use 16-bit and do as much of my processing in Photoshop in 16-bit mode as possible (a lot of filters still only work in 8-bit mode). 16-bit mode will double the file size vs 8-bit mode, but it has an important advantage. Processing in 16-bit instead of 8-bit produces much smoother tone and color transitions, which can become very important if you make significant changes to contrast, hue, or saturation. It doesn't take all that much alteration to start getting banding (abrupt changes of tone or color) in 8-bit mode.

The other aspect of "resolution" in the ACR conversion settings is the ppi (pixels per inch) setting. This is only relevant for printing, and setting it in ACR is a matter of convenience, since you can change it later in PS with no impact on image quality. I have mine set at 300, since that's what I normally use for printing. Set it to whatever print resolution you use most, just to save yourself a few mouse clicks when you print.