Input file
NEF
- Full Name: Nikon Digital SLR Camera RAW Image Format
- Developer: Nikon
Output file
RAW
- Full Name: Digital Camera Photo RAW Image Format
- Developer: N/A
What is NEF file?
The .NEF (Nikon Electronic Format RAW Image) file is a digital image file created by a Nikon cameras and stored in a proprietary format. This type of NEF formatted files are located in the memory card from Nikon digital cameras, as well as other types of Nikon compatible devices. The NEF raw image data is uncompressed, unprocessed and contains more information that is typically used for editing photos on a computer. [ ⏩ ] NEF file extension
What is RAW file?
RAW (Raw Image Data File) is a type of file used in digital photography and contains the pixel data captured by the camera's sensor. This data is uncompressed and untouched by any image manipulation software, making it ideal for digital photography purposes. RAW files can be opened with photo-editing programs such as Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Lightroom, and Corel PaintShop Pro. [ ⏩ ] RAW file extension
Software, that you can use to convert
How to convert the file from NEF to RAW?
To successfully convert the NEF file to RAW, you should install one of the applications from the list. After installing the software, open the program and select the file you want to convert (file-name.NEF). The next step is to select the target format from the list, in this case RAW (usually converters allow you to convert to several different formats, so check out their features - maybe one of the available formats will suit you more than RAW).
What is a file conversion?
A data conversion is normally an automated process to some extent. The effect of the operation of one program is automatically the input product of another application. If that does not happen we need to help the process a little bit and convert the file on our own, e.g. NEF to RAW. To obtain a matched structure of the data, it is necessary to use an appropriate converter.
Program for converting NEF files to RAW files is a kind of a "binary code translator" compensating for the differences in the code or translating it in such a way so that another application could use it. For us, as users, the visible change will be only another file extension. (After converting the file, it will be the extension RAW, while before this step we had the NEF file). For the programs, the difference is on a much higher level – either the application will be able to open a new RAW file, or not.