Nikon HE* Versus Lossless Compressed .NEF Files
Nikon’s Expeed 7 processor – used in the Nikon Zf, Z5 II, Z6 III, Z8, and Z9 – added a variety of capabilities to the Nikon Z lineup. Among its most notable characteristics is that the handling of RAW (.NEF) files on these cameras has a new option called High Efficiency* (HE*) compression. Nikon asserts that this formats is “visually identical” to their traditional Lossless Compressed RAW files, yet much smaller – and more capable of shooting long bursts without filling up the buffer.