A Bit on Bit Depth
by Jordan Thunquest
A JPEG is compressed, containing less information than a RAW. Cameras capture light in three channels: Red, Green, and Blue. JPEGs are 8 bit per channel, versus a RAW being 12 to 14 bit per channel (Depending on camera). What this means is that each pixel in a jpeg image can be one of ~16 million (2^(8*3)) different colors, while each pixel in a RAW can be one of ~68 billion (2^(12*3)) to ~4.4 trillion (2^(14*3)) different colors. This allows a RAW file a lot more color possibilities for each pixel, allowing colors to come a lot closer to reality, gradients to look much smoother even when blown up, and minute details to be easily maintained.
