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Colour Depth Formula:
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Colour depth, also known as bit depth, refers to the number of bits used to represent the color of a single pixel in a digital image or video frame. It determines how many unique colors can be displayed or stored.
The calculator uses the colour depth formula:
Where:
Explanation: Each additional bit doubles the number of possible colors, following exponential growth.
Details: Higher colour depth allows for more accurate color representation, smoother gradients, and reduced banding in images. It's crucial for professional photography, graphic design, and high-quality video production.
Tips: Enter the number of bits per pixel (typically 8, 16, 24, or 32 bits in modern systems). The calculator will compute the total number of colors that can be represented.
Q1: What are common colour depth values?
A: Common values include 8-bit (256 colors), 16-bit (65,536 colors), 24-bit (16.7 million colors), and 32-bit (4.3 billion colors, typically with alpha channel).
Q2: How does colour depth affect file size?
A: Higher colour depth increases file size as more data is required to store color information for each pixel.
Q3: What's the difference between colour depth and resolution?
A: Resolution refers to the number of pixels (width × height), while colour depth refers to the color information stored per pixel.
Q4: Can the human eye perceive all colors in high bit depth?
A: The human eye can distinguish approximately 10 million colors, so 24-bit color (16.7 million colors) is often considered "true color" that satisfies most visual requirements.
Q5: What is the relationship between colour depth and dithering?
A: Dithering is a technique used to simulate higher colour depth on displays with limited color palettes by arranging pixels of available colors to create the illusion of intermediate shades.