10/12 bit JPEG XL export from Lightroom Classic?

[Marc dbr]

Hello,

Always used to export my edited files in Lightroom as 10-bit HEIC files (through plugin) and upload to Synology Photos for quick access. Worked wonderfully.

Until Synology decides to pull the plug on HEIC because of expensive royalties, I now need to find another format. I'm looking at JPEG XL (jxl) and see that Lightroom supports saving in that format. I only see two options though, 8 bit and 16 bit. First exported at lossless 16 bit and had files of 140+mb, then reducing to 90% quality 16 bit dropped it to 40mb. My HEIC files saved as 90% quality were 4-6mb.

How do I ensure so save in a similar quality to the HEIC format while saving on storage, or increasing quality while equaling storage requirement? A little bit weary of going back to 8 bit, so is it the 16-bit option that's making the file sizes really high? Can I drop the quality slider to 70-80% without introducing compression signs? If there was an option for export in 10 or 12 bit I guess that would be perfect, or use a plugin if anyone knows any?

Thanks,

Marc

 

[Dave_J_E]

Hello,

Always used to export my edited files in Lightroom as 10-bit HEIC files (through plugin) and upload to Synology Photos for quick access. Worked wonderfully.

Until Synology decides to pull the plug on HEIC because of expensive royalties, I now need to find another format. I'm looking at JPEG XL (jxl) and see that Lightroom supports saving in that format. I only see two options though, 8 bit and 16 bit. First exported at lossless 16 bit and had files of 140+mb, then reducing to 90% quality 16 bit dropped it to 40mb. My HEIC files saved as 90% quality were 4-6mb.

How do I ensure so save in a similar quality to the HEIC format while saving on storage, or increasing quality while equaling storage requirement? A little bit weary of going back to 8 bit, so is it the 16-bit option that's making the file sizes really high? Can I drop the quality slider to 70-80% without introducing compression signs? If there was an option for export in 10 or 12 bit I guess that would be perfect, or use a plugin if anyone knows any?

Thanks,

Marc

AVIF might be an option depending on what you want to do with the files. It's exported by LR in 10 bit and has similar coding efficiency to jpeg xl. It's supported by Apple Photos, not sure about windows. It's good for HDR display if you use that.

Dave

 

[Zeee]

I have not used XL however for Jpeg there was information and videos out there that stated 80 for quality showed no IQ loss compared to 100. 100 just increases the file size a lot. There may be more current info out there as it has been a while since I looked.

 

[Marc dbr]

Hi, thanks for the answer. I always tended to avoid AVIF as I wasn't familiar. Just looked it up now and it looks to be similar to HEIC in that it enhances compression. The question is whether it will be supported going forward as a next generation compression for JPEG. My clients were always able to open HEIC files, and I think with JPEG XL we will go that direction. Lets see if Lightroom comes with an update to allow intermediate bit-depths.

 

[Marc dbr]

Yes exactly, I think I picked up the same (above 75, 80, or 85 I forgot) si always stuck to exporting in 90% quality.

 

[Zeee]

Yes exactly, I think I picked up the same (above 75, 80, or 85 I forgot) si always stuck to exporting in 90% quality.

I just exported a few Jpeg XL 16 bit files for fun. As one would expect with Jpeg a huge difference in file size between 100 and 95. I'll have to check more into Jpeg XL when IO gets hime.

 

[Dave_J_E]

Hi, thanks for the answer. I always tended to avoid AVIF as I wasn't familiar. Just looked it up now and it looks to be similar to HEIC in that it enhances compression. The question is whether it will be supported going forward as a next generation compression for JPEG. My clients were always able to open HEIC files, and I think with JPEG XL we will go that direction. Lets see if Lightroom comes with an update to allow intermediate bit-depths.

Yes it’s a little difficult to know which way to head with a distribution format to replace jpeg. There appear to be three main competitors- jpeg xl, Avif and heic - and it’s hard to see which one (if only one) will prevail! For now I’m sticking with jpeg. My distribution is only with friends and family.

Dave

 

[Marc dbr]

Yes it's an interesting experiment. To be honest I am a little confused about how file compression works... So My R5 .CR3 files are generally 40-50mb depending on detail levels. Going to 16 bit uncompressed jumps all the way to 140mb even though it should be a smarter compression...? And does it make up the extra information and color space when going from 14 bit to 16 bit?

And even when exporting a file from a 14 bit RAW from the camera, will I be able to keep the same breath of adjustmentsif it takes an original RAW and bakes into a different JPG XL file in 16 bit uncompressed?

A good resource to check out for explanation would be awesome!