What is the advantage of obtaining 3 bands (RGB) imagery with 16 bits pixel depth?

JamalNUMAN

What is the advantage of obtaining 3 bands (RGB) imagery with 16 bits pixel depth?

 

In terms of visual context, is an image of 3 bands (RGB) with 16 bits pixel depth necessarily better than the same image with 8 bits?

 

Is the pixel depth value set at the level of camera? how about the number of bands?

PeterBecker

Answer depends on the sensor and processing applied. Most modern satellite and aerial sensors capture 12-14 bits per pixel enabling a wider dynamic range to be captured and reducing the quantization of the imagery. The larger bit depth enables more details to be captured especially in dark and light areas of the image. This is only applicable if the sensor also has low noise. The value of higher bit depth is also more evident in images that have more significant light fall off or other trends in the image. If the image has been correctly processed vast majority of the information content will be within the 8bit range. Use of 16bit imagery is typically used for imagery directly from the sensors. The number of bands depends on the sensor. Note some sensors such as those in most drones actually only have one band in the raw data, but include filters (Bayer) on the CCD/CMOS that then enable the interpolation of a 3band image. Most images from such cameras are recorded as 3band JPEGs, although some cameras can also record the RAW sensor data, which can be post processed to gain a bit more detail. Some more advanced sensors capture 4 bands typically to include near Infrared bands for agricultural applications. There are also cameras and sensors that capture more bands for specific applications. For the majority of application dealing with the visual interpretation of processed imagery 8bit 3band imagery is sufficient.