Efficiency and storage space
JPG or HEIF when the mobile’s camera app is to save your images, we sort out the pros and cons.
You can choose how the mobile camera saves the image files, which affects the image result.
Jpeg is the most used file format in the world. It provides good image quality while reducing file size through compression, and it works just about everywhere. But compression technology can today be classified as ancient, and we can do better. As standard in the iPhone, Apple has instead switched to the HEIF file format. It uses a more modern compression algorithm that both retains more of the image quality from the image content and gives you more compact image files. The only disadvantage of HEIF compared to jpeg is that the file format does not work everywhere. If you mostly look at pictures on your mobile, or send pictures to others who have iPhones, HEIF is preferable, but some programs have problems handling the file format. For example, it is fine to share a HEIF file on social media, while websites where you can upload an image do not usually support the format. On the other hand, it is easy to save a HEIF image as a jpeg directly in the mobile if it would not work to upload it. You go into the gallery app and select the image. Press the pencil to edit, and then on the three dots in the upper right corner, you can choose “save as jpeg”.
Samsung mobiles can save in both jpeg and HEIF, and what is standard may vary depending on the model you have. You can always choose yourself in the settings.
Tap the four dots in the camera app to expand the menu, and tap the gear to enter the settings. You can either find photo formats directly here, or you can choose advanced image options. If you switch off HEIF in the settings here, the images are saved as jpeg.
The same goes for video. Here, the files can be saved in H.264, which is older but has the widest support, or HEVC, which provides better image quality and smaller files. You will find the settings for it under the video format heading, in the same place where you select the image format. Converting a video file between file formats is fussier than a photo, so here there is more reason to be conservative and choose the older format, but at the same time, there is more memory to be saved by using the newer image format.
This is an excerpt from a longer series of articles with camera tips for Samsung mobiles, which were previously published exclusively for Plus members on Mobil.se. Here you can become a Plus member and thus get direct access to all articles on Mobil.se. As a plus member, you get collected tips and many other in-depth, guiding articles. You can find the full two original articles here and here.