NEF to BMP Converter

Nikon Electronic Format (NEF) is a proprietary file format for Nikon cameras. It is a RAW file format, which means that it includes all of the information about the image captured by the camera’s sensor, such as data about the camera used to take the photo and the settings that were in place when it was taken. NEF files are not compressed and are often referred to as digital negatives.  

How to open a NEF file?

A NEF file must be transferred from a Nikon camera to a computer for viewing and editing. Since NEF is proprietary to Nikon, the best program to use for opening and editing a NEF is Nikon’s Capture NX2 or a post-processing software like Adobe Lightroom.

Converting a NEF file to a non-proprietary format is as simple as opening it in an image-viewing application and saving it as a TIFF, JPG, PNG, GIF, PSD, or any other popular format. If you do not have access to programs that can open NEF files, we recommend converting them via our NEF to JPG tool. However, NEF files are meant to be post-processed first before converting to JPG.

Developed by: Nikon, Inc.

Initial Release: 2002

Useful links:

https://www.nikonusa.com/en/learn-and-explore/a/products-and-innovation/nikon-electronic-format-nef.html

Bitmap (BMP) is a pixel-based file format that stores two-dimensional images, generally without any compression. BMP utilizes a dot matrix data structure called raster graphics, which establishes the color depth of the image. BMP is mostly used for digital publishing of photographs. However, due to the lack of compression, BMP files are usually large.

How to open a BMP file?

BMP can be device-dependent or independent. BMP opens readily in the Microsoft Paint application and is often associated with Microsoft operating systems. Despite the association with Microsoft, a device-independent BMP, or DIB, can open on almost any device, operating system, or application. 

In addition to opening BMP files, many applications can be used to create them, such as Adobe Illustrator. Should you need to convert the BMP into a vector-based image, then consider using CorelDRAW. Other applications that can open BMP files include Adobe Photoshop, Microsoft Photos, Apple Preview, Apple Photos, and ColorStrokes.

Developed by: Microsoft Corporation

Initial Release: 20 November 1985

Useful links:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMP_file_format

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/gdi/bitmaps