16 bit or 8 bit?

[CTSELLAS]

What do you all scan at?

[Greg Lockrey]

16 bit. Later when you have to make adjustments to your color you'll see the difference in the histograms. 8 bit can get a little choppy.

[Ken Lee]

You might find this brief discussion helpful: http://www.kenleegallery.com/bronze.htm#16-bit

[trink408]

I was working in 8-bit mode because my older version of PS7 wouldn't support many features in 16-bit mode. Just switched to CS3 and started working in 16 bit, I can see my histograms look a lot smoother now after working with a few adjustment layers...

[Jim Jones]

Where much editing is anticipated, I scan in 16 bit and do as much editing in Picture Window Pro as possible, and finish and print in Photoshop elements in 8 bit. Where little adjustment is needed, 8 bit may suffice.

[tjvitale]

Both RAW and DNG use 16/15 bit when processing images.

[Daniel_Buck]

Same as Jim, 16 when scanning then convert to 8 after everything is done and it's ready to print. I also agree with him, if just minor (or no) adjustments are needed, 8 would probably work just fine. Heck, you could get by using 8 even if you are working on the image alot, unless you are really cranking on it, you may not even notice the difference (unless you have two that you can toggle between and see the difference)

[Mike Boden]

I scan at 16bit the majority of the time and process in 16bit. I then convert to 8bit after I've converted to my printer profile when it's time to print.

[Paula Kay]

Same here 16 bit throughout the workflow until final output