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Comparing JPEG Quality

Use this page to compare the quality of JPEG image compression used in various sources, including both digital SLR / digicams (Canon, Nikon, Sony, etc.) and image editing software (such as Photoshop). Note that this is a comparison on each camera's JPEG output — with RAW output you can bypass the compression quantization "error" step. The data points for Photoshop and IrfanView are useful to determine how the final output quality compares.

This interactive page is very new and will be improved over time. Please leave any feedback or suggestions below. Do you want to see data about a camera that is not listed below? Let me know and I'll add it.

Variable Compression / Quantization

Note that there are a growing number of digicams that use variable quantization tables to produce their JPEG output. As a result, it is possible that a camera may generate photos that use a dozen different quantization tables, meaning that the effective compression quality can, in fact, cover quite a large range. For this reason, I have omitted many of these digital cameras from the list below.

Select Source #1Select Source #2
Compare the selected sources:

JPEG Comparison List of all Cameras & Sources

The following is a sorted summary of the JPEG Quality factor comparisons between all cameras and other sources including Adobe Photoshop and IrfanView. The list is ordered by the luminance quality factor. This is only a very rough comparison as the quality factor is not necessarily a good comparison as it doesn't discern between low and high frequency component differences in the same way that the Human Visual System does. Thus, it is only a starting point -- consult the quantization tables themselves for a more accurate comparison. It also provides a loose guide as to the quality settings in Photoshop Save As when coming from various digicams.

The other very important point is the chroma subsampling being used in the chrominance channel. Note that a camera with a subsampling of 1x1 (i.e. none) and lower chrominance quality factor may appear better than an image compressed with a subsampling factor of 2x1 and a higher chrominance quality factor. Note such a changeover in the Photoshop quality factors, where the subsampling is automatically chosen depending on the quality level.

Lastly, sources with the same quantization tables have been grouped together, as they should all have equivalent JPEG compression quality. Of course the following does not take into account any of the differences in optics quality, CMOS/CCD sensor resolution or quality derived from a RAW->JPEG workflow..

Order is from best to worst JPEG compression quality:

MakeModelQuality ModeChroma SubsampQuality % LumQuality % Chr
PENTAXPENTAX Optio S5i 2x2100100
IrfanView 1001x1100100
MS OfficeMS Office Picture Manager 2x1100100
CASIO COMPUTER CO.,LTD.EX-S500fine2x2100100
KONICA MINOLTAMAXXUM 5D 2x198.479899.1842
KONICA MINOLTAMAXXUM 7D 2x198.479899.1842
SONYDSLR-A700 2x198.479899.1842
CanonCanon EOS-1Ds Mark IIfine2x198.324698.829
NIKONE8800EXTRA2x198.324698.829
NIKONNIKON D2XFINE2x198.324698.829
SIGMASIGMA SD10Qual:121x198.324698.829
SIGMASIGMA SD10Qual:121x198.324698.829
SIGMASIGMA SD9 1x198.324698.829
OLYMPUS IMAGING CORP.FE240/X795shq2x198.324698.829
NIKONNIKON D3FINE2x198.324698.829
FUJIFILMFinePix S9500fine2x198.292299.0936
OLYMPUS CORPORATIONE-1 2x198.290998.8054
CanonCanon EOS-1D Mark IIfine2x198.254398.7342
Photoshop Save For Web 1001x198.24998.3854
Photoshop Save As 121x198.105398.3557
OLYMPUS OPTICAL CO.,LTDE-20,E-20N,E-20PSHQ2x198.04998.4029
FUJIFILMFinePix S9000FINE2x198.024398.2769
NIKONNIKON D50FINE2x198.023798.389
NIKONNIKON D70sFINE2x198.023798.389
NIKONNIKON D80FINE2x198.023798.389
NIKONNIKON D300FINE2x198.023798.389
SONYDSC-F88 2x197.962198.389
SONYDSC-F828 2x197.962198.389
NIKONNIKON D200FINE2x197.912898.389
FUJIFILMFinePix E550fine2x197.860898.265
OLYMPUS IMAGING CORP.E-410SHQ2x197.832598.3557
NIKONNIKON D1HFINE2x197.828898.3557
NIKONNIKON D2HFINE2x197.828898.3557
NIKONNIKON D100FINE2x197.828898.3557
NIKONNIKON D80FINE2x197.828898.3557
CanonCanon PowerShot G1superfine2x197.791497.4087
NIKONCOOLPIX P2FINE2x197.681697.9296
PENTAXPENTAX Optio 750Z 2x197.681697.9296
SONYDSC-H1variable2x197.681697.9296
SONYDSC-H9variable2x197.681697.9296
SONYDSC-H2variable2x197.681697.9296
SONYDSC-H5variable2x197.681697.9296
SONYDSC-H7variable2x197.681697.9296
SONYDSC-P200 2x197.681697.9296
FUJIFILMFinePix S3Profine2x197.61797.8154
OLYMPUS IMAGING CORP.E-330 2x197.534697.9296
OLYMPUS CORPORATIONu30D,S410D,u410Dvariable2x197.534697.9296
FUJIFILMFinePix S20Profine2x197.499297.8035
FUJIFILMFinePixS2Profine2x197.462697.8035
CanonCanon EOS 5Dfine2x197.293397.5132
CanonCanon EOS 40Dfine2x197.293397.5132
CanonCanon EOS-1D Mark II Nfine2x197.293397.5132
CanonCanon EOS-1D Mark IIIfine2x197.293397.5132
CanonCanon EOS 10Dfine2x197.289497.5132
CanonCanon EOS 20Dfine2x197.289497.5132
CanonCanon EOS 30Dfine2x197.289497.5132
CanonCanon EOS 300D DIGITALfine2x197.289497.5132
CanonCanon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XTfine2x197.289497.5132
CanonCanon EOS 350D DIGITALfine2x197.289497.5132
CanonCanon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XTifine2x197.289497.5132
CanonCanon EOS D60fine2x197.289497.5132
CanonCanon EOS 300D DIGITAL 2x197.289497.5132
CanonCanon PowerShot A40superfine2x197.239595.1671
CanonCanon PowerShot A70superfine2x197.239595.1671
CanonCanon PowerShot A430superfine2x197.239595.1671
CanonCanon PowerShot A700superfine2x197.239595.1671
CanonCanon PowerShot S3 ISsuperfine2x197.239595.1671
CanonCanon PowerShot S40superfine2x197.239595.1671
CanonCanon PowerShot S45superfine2x197.239595.1671
CanonCanon PowerShot S50superfine2x197.239595.1671
CanonCanon PowerShot S60superfine2x197.239595.1671
CanonCanon PowerShot S70superfine2x197.239595.1671
CanonCanon PowerShot S80superfine2x197.239595.1671
CanonCanon DIGITAL IXUS 800 ISsuperfine2x197.239595.1671
CanonCanon DIGITAL IXUS 850 ISsuperfine2x197.239595.1671
CanonCanon DIGITAL IXUS 900Tisuperfine2x197.239595.1671
CanonCanon PowerShot SD1000superfine2x197.239595.1671
CanonCanon PowerShot G3superfine2x197.239595.1671
CanonCanon PowerShot G5superfine2x197.239595.1671
CanonCanon PowerShot A510superfine2x197.239595.1671
CanonCanon PowerShot A520superfine2x197.239595.1671
CanonCanon PowerShot TX1superfine2x197.239595.1671
CanonCanon DIGITAL IXUS 55superfine2x197.239595.1671
CanonCanon DIGITAL IXUS 40superfine2x197.239595.1671
CanonCanon PowerShot S5 ISsuperfine2x197.239595.1671
CanonCanon PowerShot SD40superfine2x197.239595.1671
CanonCanon PowerShot SD600superfine2x197.239595.1671
CanonCanon PowerShot SD800 ISsuperfine2x197.239595.1671
CanonCanon PowerShot SD20superfine2x197.239595.1671
CanonCanon PowerShot G6superfine2x197.239595.1671
CanonCanon EOS D30fine2x197.219497.5132
PENTAXPENTAX *ist D 2x197.182697.5132
PENTAXPENTAX *ist DS 2x197.182697.5132
PENTAXPENTAX *ist DL 2x197.182697.5132
PENTAXPENTAX *ist DS2 2x197.182697.5132
PENTAXPENTAX K100D 2x197.182697.5132
SAMSUNG TECHWINGX-1L 2x197.182697.5132
CanonCanon PowerShot Pro1 2x197.167195.1671
CanonCanon DIGITAL IXUS II 2x197.167195.1671
OLYMPUS IMAGING CORP.E-300 2x197.149697.3547
OLYMPUS CORPORATIONu30D,S410D,u410Dvariable2x197.149697.3547
Samsung Techwinsuperfine2x197.134397.087
FUJIFILMMX-500fine2x197.04497.3753
FUJIFILMFinePix A700fine2x197.004396.961
OLYMPUS CORPORATIONu30D,S410D,u410Dvariable2x196.999897.331
NIKONNIKON D1XFINE2x196.969396.9937
NIKONNIKON D70FINE2x196.969396.9937
FUJIFILMFinePix E900fine2x196.946696.961
SONYDSC-N2fine2x196.945296.9937
SONYDSC-H1variable2x196.945296.9937
SONYDSC-H9variable2x196.945296.9937
SONYDSC-W35fine2x196.945296.9937
SONYDSC-H2variable2x196.945296.9937
SONYDSC-H7variable2x196.945296.9937
SONYDSC-H5variable2x196.945296.9937
FUJIFILMFinePixS1Profine2x196.938496.961
CanonCanon PowerShot S1 ISsuperfine2x196.837594.4437
Photoshop Save For Web 0901x196.754395.938
PENTAXPENTAX Optio M40 2x196.72296.9146
FUJIFILMMX-500normal2x196.71496.9159
OLYMPUS IMAGING CORP.E-500 2x196.598996.8774
OLYMPUS IMAGING CORP.uD800,S800SHQ2x196.598996.8774
OLYMPUS CORPORATIONu30D,S410D,u410Dvariable2x196.598996.8774
CanonCanon EOS-1DSfine2x196.591896.5122
CanonCanon EOS-1Dfine2x196.591896.5122
OLYMPUS CORPORATIONu30D,S410D,u410Dvariable2x196.442696.7906
NIKONNIKON D1FINE2x196.15196.0156
SIGMASIGMA SD9 2x296.063696.0156
NIKONE8400FINE2x196.063696.0156
SONYDSC-H1variable2x196.063696.0156
SONYDSC-H9variable2x196.063696.0156
SONYDSC-H2variable2x196.063696.0156
SONYDSC-H5variable2x196.063696.0156
OLYMPUS IMAGING CORP.uD800,S800variable2x195.56995.8689
Photoshop Save As 111x195.47995.4894
SONYDSLR-A100 2x195.297194.0658
SONYDSLR-A700fine2x195.297194.0658
NIKONCOOLPIX P3FINE2x195.211295.1022
Sony EricssonK800ivariable2x195.141994.9469
PENTAXPENTAX K10D 2x195.037194.9093
NIKONE8700FINE2x195.037194.9093
SONYDSC-N1fine2x195.037194.9093
SONYDSC-H1variable2x195.037194.9093
SONYDSC-H9variable2x195.037194.9093
SONYDSC-H2variable2x195.037194.9093
SONYDSC-H5variable2x195.037194.9093
SONYDSC-H7variable2x195.037194.9093
SONYDSC-H7variable2x195.037194.9093
PENTAXPENTAX Optio A10 2x194.846996.3367
NIKONCOOLPIX P4 2x194.781194.5068
FUJIFILMFinePix F810normal2x194.575794.0125
KONICA MINOLTADiMAGE X1fine2x194.369994.0972
NIKONCOOLPIX P4FINE2x194.189293.9684
FUJIFILMFinePix S7000fine2x194.14793.8883
Photoshop Save For Web 0801x194.126993.0311
FUJIFILMFinePix S5000normal2x194.122193.8883
NIKONCOOLPIX L12FINE2x194.016193.9312
SONYDSC-H9variable2x194.016193.9312
SONYDSC-H5variable2x194.016193.9312
NIKONCOOLPIX P5000FINE2x194.016193.9312
OLYMPUS IMAGING CORP.uD800,S800variable2x193.617593.8444
OLYMPUS IMAGING CORP.u700,S700 2x193.617593.8444
OLYMPUS IMAGING CORP.E-410 2x193.604993.8444
CanonCanon PowerShot A640fine2x192.960588.2376
CanonCanon PowerShot G6fine2x192.960588.2376
CanonCanon PowerShot S2 ISfine2x192.960588.2376
CanonCanon PowerShot SD400fine2x192.960588.2376
CanonCanon PowerShot A520fine2x192.960588.2376
CanonCanon DIGITAL IXUS 700fine2x192.960588.2376
CanonCanon PowerShot A630fine2x192.960588.2376
CanonCanon PowerShot S30fine2x192.960588.2376
CanonCanon PowerShot SD700 ISfine2x192.960588.2376
CanonCanon DIGITAL IXUS 60fine2x192.960588.2376
CanonCanon PowerShot G1fine2x192.960583.5027
NIKONE995FINE2x192.957692.9085
NIKONE4600FINE2x192.957692.9085
SONYDSC-W70 2x192.957692.9085
OLYMPUS IMAGING CORP.u1000/S1000SHQ2x192.957692.9085
SONYDSC-H1variable2x192.957692.9085
SONYDSC-H9variable2x192.957692.9085
SONYDSC-H5variable2x192.957692.9085
SONYDSC-H2variable2x192.957692.9085
PENTAXPENTAX Optio A30 2x192.761595.4061
OLYMPUS IMAGING CORP.u700,S700variable2x192.451892.7738
OLYMPUS IMAGING CORP.uD800,S800variable2x192.291192.7738
OLYMPUS IMAGING CORP.u700,S700variable2x192.291192.7738
SONYDSC-H9variable2x191.860891.898
NIKONCOOLPIX S10FINE2x191.860891.898
Photoshop Save As 101x191.643192.5731
SONYDSC-T100 2x190.962290.9581
PENTAXPENTAX Optio S 2x290.925990.9347
OLYMPUS IMAGING CORP.u700,S700variable2x190.772791.2087
FUJIFILMFinePix S5000normal2x190.562990.5001
Samsung ElectronicsAnycall SPH-B4100 2x190.544290.4434
Photoshop Save For Web 0701x190.417188.9253
CanonCanon EOS 10Dnorm2x190.09990.4197
SONYDSC-H9variable2x190.059689.9304
Sony EricssonK800ivariable2x190.059689.9304
SONYDSC-R1fine2x190.059689.9304
SONYDSC-W1 2x190.059689.9304
IrfanView 0902x290.059689.9304
OLYMPUS IMAGING CORP.u700,S700variable2x190.02490.2869
OLYMPUS IMAGING CORP.uD800,S800variable2x189.112289.3138
NIKONNIKON D40FINE2x188.366688.3729
Sony EricssonK800ivariable2x188.067287.9468
SONYDSC-H9variable2x188.047987.9468
Photoshop Save As 091x188.036690.9342
AppleiPhone 2x287.968887.9329
OLYMPUS IMAGING CORP.uD800,S800variable2x187.761388.2625
FUJIFILMFinePix F700normal2x187.463187.1065
Photoshop Save For Web 0601x185.587882.8867
Photoshop Save As 081x183.878789.1117
FUJIFILMFinePix S5000normal2x182.719782.5478
Photoshop Save For Web 0511x182.516279.0152
Sony EricssonK800ivariable2x182.007681.878
Photoshop Save For Web 0502x281.588186.9581
SONYDSC-H9variable2x181.08880.8553
Photoshop Save As 062x280.718790.6277
IrfanView 0802x279.937979.8685
FUJIFILMFinePix F40fd 2x279.937979.8685
Photoshop Save As 071x177.393887.1517
SONYDSC-H9variable2x175.835975.7596
Photoshop Save As 052x274.823788.8975
MS PaintMS Paint 2x274.746974.7406
Photoshop Save For Web 0402x272.90180.8121
CanonCanon PowerShot S30video2x172.210269.9584
Photoshop Save As 042x270.457187.3217
IrfanView 0702x270.062170.1315
Photoshop Save As 032x265.855485.9507
Photoshop Save For Web 0302x265.678376.0281
Photoshop Save As 022x262.496785.1483
IrfanView 0602x259.940460.0696
Photoshop Save For Web 0202x258.450171.3408
Photoshop Save As 012x251.502681.9067
IrfanView 0501x15050
Photoshop Save As 002x246.021480.8089
Photoshop Save For Web 0102x240.203363.3071
IrfanView 0402x239.862539.8893

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Reader's Comments:

Please leave your comments or suggestions below!
2007-11-11agenthex
 Funny enough, a short paper (2004?) on using the matrix for forensics:
Digital Image Ballistics (PDF)
They note getting samples from dpreview .
 Yes, Hany Farid has authored a number of very interesting articles in this field. This is one of the few analyses that are objective and straightforward enough to implement in software -- hence the reason I added it to JPEGsnoop. However, the part that is far more involved than one might expect, is the method to "eliminate entries from images that have been edited"! To accomplish this, I had to develop quite an extensive set of heuristics to filter out the edited photos. If you have an interest in image forensics, it is well worth having a look at Hany's other articles.

As for sourcing images from dpreview or other websites, it became apparent quite quickly that a significant number of images on these review sites (and manufacturer's sites) have been edited, even though one would have expected them to be original images!
2007-11-09agenthex
 The above approach may be subtly flawed. I think some camera makers may use a size-priority scheme to create a quantization matrix for each image. I don't know why they would do this, maybe more accurate frame-remaining count? Anyway, I see this on my fujifilm s6000fd where normal is always around 1.5mb and the matrix changes around a bit. I know nikon has a size-priority setting on some slrs. Curiously, they also have an optimized quality setting, which may be the reverse of size-priority (more difficult to compress material actually compressed less?). Anyway, I should get around to playing w/ jpegsnoop on some cameras. Thanks for the great tool for the inquisitive mind.
 You're right in that there are quite a few digicams that are beginning to use variable quantization matrices (which I've been calling variable compression).

I ran into this early on in compiling the list of compression tables that I've posted online. As a result, I generally decided to omit quality values from cameras that appear to use such a variable scheme. One plan I had was to later augment the list to show the upper and lower bound of these compression quality ranges. Some digicams exhibit huge ranges in compression quality -- enough so that it can become an issue.

Interestingly enough, a file-size priority is generally a poor choice if overall image quality is a concern. Images with finely detailed content (at low ISO/noise) will not be as "compressible" as low-detail images. Therefore, these should result in larger file sizes. Conversely, a bland, flat image will compress easily, allowing for much small file sizes with the same quantization table.

Unfortunately, restricting all JPEG image output to a target file size will generally go against the goal of preserving image quality. For detailed images, you are artificially reducing the compression quality, making JPEG artifacts visible. For low-detail images, you unnecessarily increase file size with little gain in image quality. This is why I'm not particularly keen on the idea of file size priority for general shooting, unless you are trying to keep image sizes to some maximum for some reason (email, etc.)

The other approach, optimal quality priority, does seem to serve a reasonably good purpose, as it should shift the compression quality higher if it detects that the image content necessitates it. My guess is that it works the other way around: starts with the highest compression quality allowed (e.g "fine" level), and if the image content appears to be not particularly complex, it reduces the compression quality (increasing the DQT coefficients) until a compromise is reached.

In developing JPEGsnoop, I have seen thousands of user-submitted compression signatures. From these, I have been able to quickly identify the types of cameras that are using such variable compression scheme (certainly common among Fuji digicams) and the ranges selected for each model.

What I find interesting is how the camera makes the decision about what scaling factor to use to produce the alternate compression tables, and whether the user has any choice in this selection process.
2007-07-19Brian Szymanski
 Well, I'll be. I am using the "fine" setting.

I'll have to play with the menus to see if I can find the setting in question and then I'll re-submit.

Cheers,
Brian

PS - Yeah, it is kind of scandalous that their images were touched in photoshop.

Ok here's the complete table for the 3 settings (now that I found them!) ===normal===
... snipped ...
approx quality factor = 72.21
approx quality factor = 69.96

===fine===
... snipped ...
approx quality factor = 92.96
Approx quality factor = 88.24

===superfine===
.. snipped ...
Approx quality factor = 97.24
Approx quality factor = 95.17
 Thanks Brian!
2007-07-19Brian Szymanski
 By the way, if you want to add to your table:
Canon SD800 IS uses this table:

luminance:
 1  1  1  2  3  6  8 10
 1  1  2  3  4  8  9  8
 2  2  2  3  6  8 10  8
 2  2  3  4  7 12 11  9
 3  3  8 11 10 16 15 11
 3  5  8 10 12 15 16 13
 7 10 11 12 15 17 17 14
14 13 13 15 15 14 14 14
approx quality factor = 92.96

chrominance: 
 4  4  5  9 15 26 26 26
 4  4  5 10 19 26 26 26
 5  5  8  9 26 26 26 26
 9 10  9 13 26 26 26 26
15 19 26 26 26 26 26 26
26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26
26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26
26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26
Approx quality factor = 88.24
 Thanks... I have looked at samples from the Canon SD800 IS and I am seeing better quality than what the tables you've included would suggest. Is it possible that you are using a quality setting other than "Super Fine"? If so, let me know what setting you're on (in JPEGsnoop you can turn on MakerNotes and you'll see it under Canon.CameraSettings1 in the parameter "Canon.Cs1.Quality". My guess is that you're using the "Fine" setting. In general, I try to publish the highest quality setting available, but it would be nice to add other quality settings to show the difference.

Interestingly enough, when I was searching for examples photos from the Canon SD800 IS, I had a look at Canon's official sample gallery for this camera. What really surprised me is that Canon's provided sample photos have actually been edited in Photoshop! Of all sources, this is one that I would have expected to provide the original, unmodified photos. Perhaps they used Photoshop simply to resize the images (and sharpen?), but I think this is pretty misleading.
 
2007-05-07Charlie Davis
 This is one of the most informative sites that I have found in ages! Thanks for creating it and the little JPEGsnoop program.
 Thanks Charlie!
2007-03-15omer
 That really great info

If possible i would like to ask ... is there any know equation between the quality factor and compression ratio
(For example if quality factor = 50 >> you have 2:1 compression ratio)
In other words how mach reduction the quality factor introduce to the image
without considering the entropy coding...:)
Thanks a lot!
omer
 Unfortunately, not with the standard JPEG compression algorithm -- it is highly dependent on image content. This can be readily observed when one compares the file sizes of different photos from the same digital SLR. A photo of a plain blue sky with ISO 100 will result in a much smaller file size (and hence higher compression ratio) than a high-ISO photo of something very detailed. This is one area where JPEG2000 offers advantages (predictable bitrate).

In JPEG, you would generally have to perform an iterative process of multiple compression attempts to come up with a given file size or compression rate.
2006-10-19paul meusburger
 I am submitting a large tiff file to the printer (1200mm x 1786mm x 300 pixels per inch. Which jpeg compression should I tell him to use to get the best results? The picture was taken in RAW (Canon Pro1) converted to tiff with no image compression, interleaved pixel order and a byte order for IBM PC and then interpolated with Genuine Fractals Print Pro software from LizardTech (Version 4.0.1103)
Thanks
 If you are submitting to a commercial printer, you should generally stick with a lossless compressed format (such as TIFF) rather than JPEG. I assume that the only reason you're asking about going to JPEG is so that you can reduce the overall file size prior to uploading to the printing service (otherwise you'd simply print directly from the TIFF). He (at the printer) shouldn't be doing any conversion to JPEG from the interpolated image.

I don't have any experience in trying to send upsampled JPEGs to an online printer, and so others might have better suggestions for you on this front. Good luck!

 

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