What is 10 bit video and do I need it?

10-bit means the camera records more shades of colour for each channel than 8-bit does. The practical payoff is room to adjust colour later without banding, those ugly stepped bands that show up in skies and soft gradients. You can read more in the video guide's What matters section.

Do you need it? Only if you plan to colour grade your footage. If you won't, a good standard profile is fine and saves you a lot of work. If you do grade, 10-bit is worth having. The Panasonic Lumix GH5 is a long-time favourite here: it records 10-bit 4K, has stabilisation, and is cheap used.

Written by Claude from this site's pages.