10-bit color
Also known as: 10-bit video, bit depth, 10-bit
Video that stores 1,024 brightness levels per color channel instead of 256, giving over a billion colors, smoother gradients and more room for grading.
Updated
What it means
Bit depth describes how many steps each color channel can use. Standard 8-bit video gives 256 levels each for red, green and blue, about 16.7 million colors. 10-bit video gives 1,024 levels per channel, roughly 1.07 billion colors. The extra steps are not about more saturated colors; they are about finer gradations between similar shades.
You see the difference in smooth gradients: a clear sky at sunset, a snowy slope in flat light, deep blue water. In 8-bit those can break into visible bands, especially after editing. 10-bit keeps them smooth and holds up far better when you push exposure or color in grading.
How it works in practice
Most current action cameras and drones offer 10-bit, almost always recorded in HEVC. DJI uses it for D-Log M and HLG on cameras like the Osmo Action 4 and the Mini 4 Pro, and GoPro offers a 10-bit option on the HERO11 Black and later models, which pairs naturally with its flatter color profiles.
10-bit matters most with a log profile, which records a deliberately flat, low-contrast image to preserve highlights and shadows. Stretching that flat image back to normal contrast is exactly where 8-bit falls apart. If you shoot in a standard, punchy color profile and never grade, 10-bit adds less, though it still helps with skies and banding.
What to watch out for
10-bit footage is heavier to play. Older computers without hardware decoding for 10-bit HEVC will stutter, and some phones and players show it with odd colors. Test playback on the machine you will edit on.
The second mistake is assuming 10-bit makes footage look better on its own. Straight out of the camera, a 10-bit log clip looks gray and washed out; it needs a LUT or a proper grade. And since most web video ends up 8-bit, the benefit only survives if you do the grading on the 10-bit source before the final export, not on an 8-bit copy afterward.
How RawClip handles it
RawClip accepts H.265 footage, which is where most 10-bit recordings live. It does not apply LUTs or color grades you pick, so if you shot flat log, grade it or apply your LUT and export before uploading; otherwise the highlight will look as gray as the source. Clips shot in a standard color profile need no such step.