Bit Depth

Electronic imaging systems convert the analog intensity signals produced by each pixel into digital form. The number of distinct levels into which the signal range of each pixel is divided is known as the Bit Depth, which is expressed as 2^N levels. For instance, a bit depth of 8 (2⁸) corresponds to 256 levels. A system with an 8-bit depth would therefore have 256 discrete intensity levels per pixel. In contrast, a 12-bit system, with 2¹² levels, offers 4,096 discrete levels. Although the total intensity range for each pixel remains the same, a 12-bit system provides more detailed levels than an 8-bit system, as it breaks the range into finer divisions.