How to save an i16 image without losing data?

[SectorEffector]

Hello,

I have a camera that makes 12 bit images (0=black/4095=white) and now I want to save

these images without converting them to U8 like the NI-Vision or IMAQ vi's do, because

data is then lost.

I use a i16 image-type with my Vision and IMAQ vi's.

I also want to be able to open the saved images with the standard graphics programs.

(We want to sent some images to custumors)

How can I do this and what filetype should I use (eg. BMP,PNG, etc)?

[muks]

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How can I do this and what filetype should I use (eg. BMP,PNG, etc)?

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U should use a tiff format

[music2131]

You can also use a PNG file (That's how I save all my 16 bit images).

Also, try to remember that even though a standard graphics program may be able to open up the file, doesn't mean it will be able to use all 16 bits. I can open up 16 bit images in Vision Assistant and properly modify the image, but most of the other programs I've tried (paint, paint.net, Gimp, Adobe Photoshop Elements, even Adobe Photoshop CS3 Extended ) simply interpret the image as 8 bit (and may or may not save the image as 16 bit). I don't think most consumer programs are setup for 16 bit grayscale.

Vision Assistant is the only program I know that can actually acknowledge the actual pixel values in a 16 bit image. If you want to give it a try, I've attached a 16 bit image for you to play around with. Pixel values in Labview/Vision should show up in the 10's of thousands range. In most other paint programs, trying to threshold the image will be a range from 0 to 255 (spread evenly across the range of original pixel values).