Image Formats · Guide

Should I Shoot HEIF or JPEG on My Mirrorless Camera?

31 min read · Published April 25, 2026 · Updated October 7, 2026 · Mochify Engineering Team

Shoot HEIF if your camera, your editor and your deliverables all handle it, and shoot JPEG if any one of them does not. That is the short answer, and it is less useful than it sounds, because "HEIF" is not one setting. Canon's HEIF is always an HDR PQ file. Nikon's HEIF only exists inside its HLG tone mode. Sony's is a 10-bit standard-range file by default, with HDR as an option. Fujifilm's is 10-bit standard-range only. So the question "HEIF or JPEG?" has four different answers depending on which menu you are looking at, and most of what ranks on Google for it, including a Samsung phone thread at number one, never says so. This guide gives the per-brand answer, the file sizes from each maker's own tables, the software and services that still refuse a camera HEIF in 2026, and the one workflow that lets you keep the 10-bit capture and still deliver a JPEG that opens everywhere.

Published April 25, 2026 by the Mochify Engineering Team. Expanded from a Quick Answer into a full guide, with per-brand menus, file sizes and the software that refuses the file.

The short answer, by brand

For most working photographers in 2026 the answer is still JPEG for anything you deliver, and HEIF only where you have checked that every link in your chain opens it. The per-brand version:

Canon (EOS R5, R5 Mark II, R6 family, R3, R1, R7, R8, R10, R50, 1D X Mark III): turning on HEIF is turning on HDR PQ capture. Shoot it if you want HDR stills for an HDR display and you are happy to convert to JPEG for everything else. File size saving: effectively none.
Nikon (Z8, Zf, Z6III, Z5II, Z50II): HEIF is the file format of the HLG tone mode, which also raises your minimum ISO to 400, adds noise, and disables Active D-Lighting. Shoot it for HDR delivery; otherwise stay in SDR, which is JPEG. The Z9 does not offer HEIF stills at all.
Sony (a7 IV, a7R V, a7C II, a7CR, a1, a1 II, a9 III, a6700, a7S III, a7 V and others): HEIF is a 10-bit, standard-range file that is roughly half the size of the equivalent JPEG, with HLG HDR as a separate switch. The best case for HEIF capture on any brand, if your software opens it.
Fujifilm (X-T5, X-H2, X-H2S, X100VI, X-T50, X-E5, X-M5, X-T30 III, GFX100 II, GFX100S II): HEIF is a 10-bit, standard-range file up to 30% smaller than JPEG, but it forces sRGB, disables Clarity, and the camera itself warns about "limited options for viewing and sharing". Shoot it alongside RAW if you want the headroom; shoot JPEG if you deliver straight from camera.

Whatever you pick at capture, deliver JPEG. Client galleries, print labs, stock agencies and marketplaces are JPEG-gated, and the conversion is one deliberate step you control rather than something a gallery platform does to your files on upload. If your HEIF came from an iPhone rather than a camera, that is a .HEIC file and a different workflow: use the HEIC to JPG converter and skip the camera menus below.

The thing the comparison articles miss: 10-bit is not HDR

A 10-bit file stores 1,024 brightness steps per color channel instead of JPEG's 256; an HDR file additionally uses a transfer curve (PQ or HLG) that maps those steps onto a far wider brightness range than a normal screen can show. Every camera HEIF is 10-bit. Only some of them are HDR, and which ones depends entirely on the brand.

This matters because the two properties fail in different ways. A 10-bit standard-range HEIF, which is what Sony and Fujifilm write by default, looks exactly like the JPEG on any screen; the extra bits only show up when you push an edit and the sky does not band. Canon's own image formats page is candid about it, listing "No perceptible difference from good quality JPEG on most monitors" as HEIF's main disadvantage. An HDR HEIF, which is what Canon and Nikon write, looks wrong on any screen or in any application that does not understand PQ or HLG: flat, washed out, too dark, or with highlights that read as clipped. Nikon's own guidance for HLG photos on a non-HDR monitor is that "highlights in HLG photos may seem washed out".

Four of the seven comparison articles on page 1 of Google say HEIF is "16-bit". That is the ceiling of the container specification. Camera HEIF files are 10-bit, and the maker's manual says so in each case below. The same articles treat file size as a property of the format ("40 to 50 percent smaller"). It is a property of the brand's encoder settings, and it ranges from nothing (Canon) to about half (Sony). The sections below take each maker's menu at its word.

Canon: HEIF means HDR PQ, every time

On a Canon body, HEIF is only available when HDR shooting (PQ) is enabled, so choosing HEIF is choosing HDR capture, with the camera's screen showing you an SDR approximation of what an HDR display would render. The EOS R5 Mark II manual puts it in one line: "HEIF is available when [HDR shooting (PQ)] is set to [HDR PQ]", and the specification table marks JPEG as the format when HDR PQ is disabled and HEIF when it is on. There is no standard-range HEIF on a Canon.

What that means in practice:

The file is BT.2100 / SMPTE ST 2084 (PQ). Canon's HDR PQ setting "enable[s] the camera to produce HDR images conforming to the PQ specification defined in ITU-R BT.2100 and SMPTE ST.2084". Viewed on a monitor that does not understand PQ, it will not look like your JPEG would have.
The camera shows you an assist view, not the file. On the R5 the menu is [HDR PQ settings] → [HDR shooting] → [Enable], with [HDR assist disp: shooting] offering "Exposure prior. (mid-tones)" or "Tones prior. (highlights)". On the R6 Mark II, R7, R8, R10 and R50 it is simply [HDR shooting] → [Enable]; on the R5 Mark II, R1 and R6 Mark III it is [HDR shooting (PQ)] → [HDR PQ], with a separate [HDR/C.Log View Assist]. The manual's caution applies to all of them: "Some scenes may look different from how they appear on an HDR display device."
Expanded ISO goes away. "Expanded ISO speeds (L, H) are not available in HDR shooting."
Burst depth drops a little. The R5 Mark II's own table lists a maximum burst of 760 frames for JPEG Large against 690 (CFexpress) or 640 (SD) for HEIF Large.
File size is a wash. On the same table, JPEG Large is 13.0 MB and HEIF Large is 12.5 MB; on the original R5 it is 13.5 MB against 13.4 MB. Canon is spending the better compression on 10 bits and a wider range, not on a smaller file.
RAW + HEIF works. Both files share a number and differ by extension: ".JPG for JPEG, .HIF for HEIF and .CR3 for RAW."

The way back to a normal file is built in. The Playback menu has [HEIF→JPEG conversion], which "convert[s] HEIF images captured in HDR shooting and save[s] them as JPEG images", with the caveat that "Some scenes may look different after conversion" and that cropped images cannot be converted. On a computer, Digital Photo Professional is explicit about what you get: "When images displayed in HDR PQ mode are saved as separate JPEG or TIFF images, they are saved as SDR images", in sRGB, which "cannot be changed". Canon Europe's advice for anyone posting to social media or viewing on a standard screen is the same: convert to JPEG or TIFF first.

Canon verdict: shoot HEIF if you deliver to HDR screens or want the 10-bit PQ file as a working master next to your RAW. If your output is galleries, prints and the web, HDR PQ buys you a conversion step and no space on the card. For the SDR conversion specifically, what you lose going from Canon HDR PQ to JPEG covers the tone-mapping.

Nikon: HEIF means HLG, and the Z9 has neither

Nikon ties the file format to the tone mode: SDR writes JPEG, HLG writes HEIF, and there is no way to get one without the other. The Z8 Reference Guide states it directly: "[SDR] ... Pictures taken while this option is selected are stored in JPEG format (extension "*.JPG")" and "[HLG] This mode supports HDR (high dynamic range). Pictures taken while this option is selected are stored in HEIF format (extension "*.HIF")." The same Tone Mode page appears in the Z6III and Z50II guides, and the Z f and Z5II spec sheets list HEIF and NEF (RAW)+HEIF.

Two Nikon facts that the comparison articles get wrong:

The Z9 does not shoot HEIF stills. Its specification lists NEF (RAW) and JPEG only, HLG appears solely under video, and its Reference Guide (firmware 5.30) has no Tone Mode item. A widely shared 2026 article lists the Z9 among HEIF-capable bodies; Nikon's own pages say otherwise.
"HE★" and "HE" are not HEIF. They are the High Efficiency compression options for NEF RAW files, alongside Lossless compression. The Z9 has them and no HEIF, which is the cleanest proof the two are unrelated.

Choosing HLG on a Z8 changes more than the container. From the Tone Mode page: the color space "is fixed at "BT.2100""; "ISO 400 is the lowest ISO sensitivity value available"; the Hi 0.3 to Hi 2.0 range is off; HLG pictures "exhibit more "noise" (in the form of randomly-spaced bright pixels, fog, and lines) than do pictures taken using [SDR]"; "[Active D-Lighting], [Multiple exposure], and [HDR overlay] are not available"; and the C15, C30, C60 and C120 release modes and Pre-Release Capture are unavailable. The viewfinder and monitor "may fail to accurately reproduce highlights and highly-saturated colors", SnapBridge "can be used to download but not to view HLG photos", and Nikon's system requirements for viewing them properly on a computer run to an HDR10-capable GPU and a DisplayHDR 1000 monitor or an Apple XDR display.

There is also no in-camera HEIF to JPEG conversion on Nikon. The route back to a JPEG is RAW processing of the NEF, and the guide warns that JPEGs made from HLG-mode RAWs "may exhibit more "noise"" and come out "around 2 EV lower" in exposure than JPEGs from SDR-mode RAWs unless you correct them. On a computer, NX Studio's [Export] writes JPEG or TIFF copies; on Windows it first asks you to install Nikon's "Imaging Codec 01", which requires the camera's serial number. You can also shoot RAW + HEIF: "[RAW + JPEG/HEIF fine★]" records an NEF plus a HEIF copy when the tone mode is HLG.

Nikon verdict: on a Z8, Zf, Z6III, Z5II or Z50II, "HEIF or JPEG" is really "HLG or SDR". Pick HLG for HDR delivery or an HDR master beside the NEF, and accept the ISO 400 floor, the noise, and a delivery workflow that goes through NX Studio or Lightroom. For everything else, stay in SDR and shoot JPEG, or RAW + JPEG.

Sony: 10-bit SDR by default, HLG if you ask, and the HIF vs ARW question

Sony is the brand where HEIF is a straightforward upgrade over JPEG: a 10-bit file, standard-range unless you turn on HLG, at about half the size, with the same Creative Look applied. The catch is the one Sony prints in its own menu: "HEIF image files recorded with this camera cannot be displayed on other cameras that do not support the HEIF file format", and from its support site, "You may not be able to view or edit HEIF files depending on the computer or software."

The menu is [JPEG/HEIF Switch], with three options described in the a7R V Help Guide: JPEG "gives priority to compatibility"; HEIF(4:2:0) "gives priority to image quality and compression efficiency"; HEIF(4:2:2) "gives priority to image quality". Both HEIF options are 10-bit; 4:2:2 keeps twice the color resolution of 4:2:0, at a larger file. Then the line that settles the HDR question: "When recording in the HEIF format with [HLG Still Image] set to [Off], the color space is recorded in sRGB. When [HLG Still Image] is set to [On], it is recorded in the BT.2100 color space (BT.2020 color gamut)." So a Sony HEIF is a normal-looking sRGB file until you choose otherwise. dpreview's a7S III review made the comparison with Canon explicit: "unlike Canon, the Sony doesn't assume you're using the move to 10-bit to record lifelike HDR images."

HLG Still Image, when you do want HDR, "can only be set when shooting in the HEIF format", is unavailable with RAW & HEIF, and switches off D-Range Optimizer, Creative Look, DRO Bracket and Picture Profile. Converting an HLG file to JPEG in Imaging Edge Desktop "as is" means "gradations in highlight areas may be blown out"; Sony's software has a checkbox to apply a gamma that keeps the highlight tone. Imaging Edge Desktop is also the only Sony route from HEIF to JPEG (the standalone HEIF Converter was folded into it), and it cannot save back to HEIF after an edit.

HIF vs ARW. This is the question Sony shooters actually type, and page 1 of Google for it is six forum threads. ARW is Sony's 14-bit RAW; HIF is the camera's processed, 10-bit output. Sony's own guidance on its File Format page is the honest version: "If you do not intend to edit the images on your computer, we recommend that you record in JPEG or HEIF format." RAW is for "process[ing] images on a computer for professional purposes." The numbers from the a7R V's recordable-images table, on a 64GB card at full 60M size: JPEG Extra fine 1,200 frames, HEIF Extra fine 2,500, lossless compressed RAW 680, uncompressed RAW 420. Divide 64GB by those counts and a HIF comes out around 26 MB against 53 MB for the JPEG and 94 MB for the lossless RAW. On the a7 IV: 2,300 JPEG, 5,400 HEIF, 1,200 lossless RAW.

Two forum findings worth knowing before you flip the switch. First, a computational-photography researcher shooting an a7R V found that HIF's tonal resolution in the shadows was poorer than the JPEG's, because the camera's DRO was not re-tuned for the HIF contrast curve, and that HEIF in general was "getting used just to provide a higher absolute contrast". Second, early Lightroom support for Sony HIF (12.3 in 2023) corrupted files until 12.4, and Lightroom still will not treat a HIF as the RAW's sidecar on import the way it does a JPEG. Current Lightroom opens them fine; the pairing behavior is a workflow nuisance rather than a blocker.

Sony verdict: HEIF(4:2:2) + RAW is the best-case HEIF workflow on any brand: half the JPEG size, 10-bit, standard-range, and a RAW to fall back on. Shoot HEIF-only if everything downstream of the card opens it; otherwise JPEG. Body-specific conversion steps are in how to convert Sony HIF files to JPG.

Fujifilm: 10-bit SDR only, with two things switched off

Fujifilm's HEIF is a 10-bit 4:2:2 standard-range file, and the camera is unusually frank about the trade: the X-T5 manual describes JPEG as "the widely-supported JPEG format" and HEIF as "a format with excellent compression but limited options for viewing and sharing." The menu is [IMAGE QUALITY SETTING] → [SELECT JPEG/HEIF], and the same page lists what changes when you pick HEIF:

"Selecting [HEIF] disables [CLARITY] and sets [COLOR SPACE] to [sRGB]." If you shoot Adobe RGB JPEGs or lean on Clarity, HEIF takes both away.
"[JPEG] is automatically selected in place of [HEIF] during filter-effect, panorama, multiple-exposure, and HDR photography." (On the X100VI, X-T50, X-E5, X-M5 and the GFX bodies the list is just multiple exposure.)
"HEIF pictures are stored on the memory card as files with the extension ".HIF". Before the pictures can be viewed on a computer, the extension must be changed to ".HEIC". This occurs automatically when HEIF pictures are uploaded from the camera to a computer via USB." Copy the card with a reader instead and you get .HIF files that some software will not recognize until renamed.

There is no HLG stills mode, so a Fujifilm HEIF is never HDR; dpreview's X-H2S review noted there is "no option to combine this mode with an HDR gamma mode", so "you can only shoot standard DR images". The specification line is "HEIF compliant (4:2:2, 10-bit)", and Fujifilm's product pages claim files "up to 30% smaller than standard JPEGs". RAW + HEIF is available ([FINE+RAW] records "both RAW and fine-quality JPEG or HEIF images"), and the escape hatch is in the Playback menu: [HEIF TO JPEG/TIFF CONVERSION], with JPEG, 8-bit TIFF and 16-bit TIFF as outputs.

Fujifilm verdict: HEIF + RAW if you want a 10-bit film-simulation render as a working file and your editor is Lightroom or Affinity. JPEG if you deliver straight from camera, use Clarity or Adobe RGB, or copy cards with a reader into software that has not heard of .HIF. The Fujifilm-specific conversion routes are in Fuji HIF to JPEG: X-T5, X-H2, X100VI.

What breaks if you switch to HEIF

The camera is the easy part. What refuses a 10-bit camera HEIF in 2026 is a specific, checkable list, and it is longer on the delivery side than the editing side. Dates are when we read each vendor's page.

Link in the chain	Opens a camera HEIF (.HIF)?	Detail (vendor's own words)
Lightroom Classic, Lightroom, Camera Raw	Yes, including 10-bit HDR	"support HEIF/.heic/HIF ... on macOS High Sierra v10.13 or later" and "on Windows 10" (2026-04). HDR mode opens "10-bit HEIF (.HIF file extension) files from recent Canon, Nikon, and Sony cameras" (Adobe, 2026-01). Cannot export HEIF.
Capture One 16.8.6	No for any camera HEIF	"Supported files include Apple HEIC and 8-bit HEIF images." / "10-bit HEIF/HEIC files that are generated by new cameras are not supported at the moment." (Capture One, 2026-04). Every camera in this guide writes 10-bit.
Affinity Photo 2	Yes (Canon named)	"For Canon EOS models (1 DX MkIII, R5 and R6), HIF files (HDR 10-bit PQ-encoded) can be opened." No HEIF export.
Photo Mechanic	Yes	Lists "HEIF, HIF"; previews HDR-PQ CR3 files since 2024.10 (Mac) and 2026.1 (Windows).
DxO PhotoLab 9	Not documented	DxO's support is described as iPhone "HEIC/HEIF and ProRAW"; camera `.HIF` is not mentioned. Treat as unsupported.
Windows 11 Photos	Partly	Needs the free HEIF Image Extension plus the paid HEVC Video Extensions, which Microsoft says is required for ".heic, .hif or .heif" files. Owners report 10-bit Canon files and Sony 4:2:2 files still failing in Photos while 4:2:0 and phone files open.
macOS Preview and Photos	Yes, with HDR caveats	HEIF since macOS 10.13. Canon HDR PQ files have been reported rendering dark in Preview, and a `.HIF` extension has tripped Preview errors that renaming to `.HEIC` fixed.
Web browsers	Safari only	Safari 17+ displays HEIF; Chrome, Firefox, Edge and Opera do not. 14.63% of global users (caniuse). Never put a HEIF on a web page.
Client galleries	No	ShootProof: "your files need to be JPEG (.jpg) files" (2026-09). Pixieset: JPEG and PNG (plus RAW on some plans). Pic-Time: JPG only. SmugMug and Zenfolio accept phone HEIC and convert it to JPEG on upload, discarding the original.
Print labs	No	WHCC: "high-quality JPEG files with an RGB color profile". Bay Photo: JPG, PNG, TIFF, 8-bit. Nations Photo Lab: "This file type cannot be uploaded." Loxley (UK pro lab): "JPEG files only", 8-bit.
Stock agencies	No	Shutterstock: "JPEG and TIFF formats" (2026-02). Adobe Stock: "JPEG with sRGB color profile" (2026-06).
Marketplaces	`.heic` yes, `.hif` unstated	eBay, Etsy and Shopify list `.heic` among accepted uploads; Amazon lists JPEG, TIFF, PNG and GIF only. None names `.hif` or says what it does with a 10-bit file.
Social and sharing	JPEG	Instagram's publishing API takes JPEG only; Flickr accepts HEIF through its app and converts it to JPEG.

Three patterns fall out of the table. Editing is mostly solved if you are on Adobe, and mostly not if you are on Capture One. Viewing is solved on a Mac and patchy on Windows. Delivery is not solved at all: there is no gallery, lab or stock agency in the list that takes a camera HEIF and keeps it as one. That is why the capture decision and the delivery decision are separate, and why every HEIF shooter ends up with a conversion step.

If your HEIF files will not open on a PC at all, how to open HEIF files on Windows walks through the codec and viewer fixes.

How much smaller are HEIF files, really?

It depends on the brand, from almost nothing on Canon to about half on Sony, and the only numbers worth repeating are the ones in each maker's manual. Here they are side by side.

Brand, body	JPEG (best quality, full size)	HEIF (same)	Saving	Source
Canon EOS R5 Mark II	13.0 MB	12.5 MB	4%	R5 Mark II specification table
Canon EOS R5	13.5 MB	13.4 MB	1%	R5 specification table
Sony a7R V (61 MP)	1,200 frames per 64GB (≈53 MB each)	2,500 frames (≈26 MB)	about half	a7R V recordable-images table; per-file figures derived
Sony a7 IV (33 MP)	2,300 frames per 64GB (≈28 MB)	5,400 frames (≈12 MB)	about half	a7 IV recordable-images table; derived
Fujifilm X-T5, X-H2, X-H2S	not published	"up to 30% smaller than standard JPEGs"	up to 30%	Fujifilm product pages
Nikon Z8 and others	same nominal ratios (1:4 fine, 1:8 normal, 1:16 basic)	same	"reducing the amount of file data", no figure	Nikon spec pages and press release

Canon's own explanation is that "HEIF files are typically about the same size as JPEGs, because HEIF compression is 50% more effective than JPEG": the efficiency is spent on 10 bits and PQ range rather than on bytes. Sony spends it on bytes: "the HEIF compression efficiency is about twice higher than that of JPEG", and its card tables bear that out. A Z8 owner's informal comparison on dpreview ("the HEIF files are consistently smaller") matches Nikon's press-release wording without a number.

Either way, a 26 MB Sony HIF or a 13 MB Canon one is still a large upload. Many free converters, including Mochify's free tier, cap at 20 MB or less per file, which the 61-megapixel bodies exceed in JPEG and approach in HEIF; why camera files get rejected as too large has the limits by tool and the fixes.

HEIF, JPEG or RAW?

If you edit on a computer, shoot RAW and treat HEIF or JPEG as the preview file you also get; if you deliver straight from the card, HEIF or JPEG is the whole decision, and the sections above make it. The three formats are not three points on one scale.

RAW (CR3, NEF, ARW, RAF) is 14-bit sensor data with the white balance, picture profile, lens corrections and tone curve left undecided. It is the only format that lets you change those decisions later without loss. Sony's description is the useful one: "Select this format to process images on a computer for professional purposes."
HEIF is a processed file like a JPEG, with the camera's look baked in, but stored at 10 bits per channel and, on Canon and Nikon, with an HDR transfer curve. It survives a moderate edit (a stop of exposure, a curve on the sky) better than an 8-bit JPEG because there are four times as many tonal steps to spread the edit across. It does not survive a white balance change or a profile swap any better than a JPEG does, because those decisions were made before the file was written. dpreview's 10-bit explainer makes the point that 10-bit SDR files are "not stored in a manner that's designed for editing"; the headroom is real but modest.
JPEG is the same processed file at 8 bits. It opens everywhere, uploads everywhere, prints everywhere.

So the honest ranking for editability is RAW, then a large gap, then HEIF, then a small gap, then JPEG. The forum objection "you're losing valuable IQ if you're shooting HEIF just to export those to JPEG" is right about the double compression and wrong about the conclusion: if you shoot RAW + HEIF, the HEIF is a better preview and a better emergency file than a JPEG would have been, and the RAW is still there. If you shoot HEIF alone and deliver JPEG, you have traded universal compatibility for 10-bit headroom you may never use. That trade is worth it on a Sony (half the card space, standard-range file) and rarely worth it on a Canon (same card space, HDR file that needs converting before anyone can see it properly).

The workflow that gets you both

Shoot the highest-bit-depth file your camera offers, edit on that, and convert to JPEG exactly once, at delivery, with an encoder you chose. That is the whole workflow, and it keeps the HEIF decision from leaking into your client's inbox.

Capture: RAW + HEIF where the camera allows it, or HEIF alone on Sony and Fujifilm if card space matters more than a fallback. On Canon and Nikon, remember that the HEIF copy is HDR; shoot it when you want that, and shoot RAW + JPEG when you do not.
Cull and edit on the RAW or the HEIF. Lightroom and Camera Raw open every camera HEIF in this guide, including the HDR ones. Capture One users edit the RAW; the HEIF is dead weight there until Capture One ships 10-bit support.
Archive the HEIF or RAW. They are the negatives. A JPEG is a print.
Convert to JPEG at delivery, once. sRGB, full resolution for print, resized and compressed for galleries, the web and marketplaces. For Canon HDR PQ and Nikon or Sony HLG files, do the SDR conversion in software that understands the curve (DPP, NX Studio, Imaging Edge Desktop or Lightroom) so the highlights are mapped rather than clipped; for standard-range Sony and Fujifilm HEIFs, any good converter will do.
Deliver the JPEG, keep the HEIF. If a client asks for HDR, export a JPEG with a gain map or an AVIF from Lightroom; why HDR photos look flat when shared explains what survives which platform.

The step most photographers skip is 4. Letting a gallery platform convert on upload means its encoder, its sRGB conversion and its quality setting, and the original is usually discarded. Doing it yourself takes a minute and gives you files you have looked at.

Mochify Workflow: HIF to delivery-ready JPEG

Mochify's job in this workflow is step 4: turning a folder of camera HEIFs into standard JPEGs (or AVIF and WebP for your own site) in one pass, with the metadata handling you choose. It accepts .HIF files from Canon, Sony and Fujifilm bodies along with .HEIF and .HEIC, detects the format from the file's contents rather than its extension (so a Fujifilm file renamed to .HEIC by the USB transfer is fine), and encodes JPEG with Google's jpegli encoder.

Describe the job in plain English.

Drop the files on mochify.app/flow and type what you want: "convert these to JPEG, 3000px on the long edge, strip the location data" or "convert to JPEG at full size". Magic Flow parses the prompt with a language model and the C++ engine does the conversion, so there is no quality slider and no format picker to get wrong. The web app strips metadata by default; its Strip EXIF switch keeps the camera data when you want it delivered. The same prompts work from the command line (mochify DSC01234.HIF -p "convert to jpeg, 3000px long edge"), from both MCP servers for an agent-driven pipeline, and from the Chrome extension on a single image.
Or use the fixed-purpose converter.

The HIF to JPG converter does one thing: drop HIF files, get JPEGs. Because it is built for photographers, the Strip EXIF switch that appears after upload starts off, so ISO, shutter, lens and GPS are kept on first use; switch it on to remove them, and the page remembers your choice. Three files up to 20 MB each with no account; a free account raises that to 25 images a month, and the Day Pass ($2, 100 uploads in 24 hours, no account) lifts the file limit to 75 MB for a batch of 61-megapixel files.
For your own website, go 10-bit AVIF instead of JPEG.

The HIF to AVIF converter writes a 10-bit AVIF from a 10-bit HIF, which keeps the gradation the whole point of HEIF was, in a format Chrome, Safari and Firefox all display. It is standard-range: a Canon PQ or Sony HLG file's HDR is not carried into it.
From a script or an agent, call the API directly.
convert.sh
```
curl -X POST "https://api.mochify.app/v1/squish?type=jpg&stripExif=false" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer mchy_your_api_key" \
  --data-binary @DSC01234.HIF \
  --output DSC01234.jpg
```
stripExif defaults to stripping; set it to false to keep camera metadata. Full parameters at mochify.app/docs. The CLI and local MCP server (mochify serve) are clients over this same endpoint and authenticate once with mochify auth login.

Two honest limits. First, the JPEG that comes out is a standard-range JPEG. A Canon HDR PQ or Nikon or Sony HLG file's HDR is not carried into it, and the maker's own software is the tested route for that SDR conversion, so for HDR files we recommend converting there or in Lightroom and using Mochify for the resize, compress and strip step on the result. Second, Mochify's HDR path adds an Ultra HDR gain map only to JPEG output, and for a file that has no gain map already (every camera HIF) the map is generated, "invented, not recovered" at roughly a stop and a half, so it is not a way to recover a camera's PQ or HLG range. Where it does help is after a Lightroom HDR export: a JPEG that already carries a gain map keeps it through a Mochify resize or crop when you ask for the HDR path (--hdr on the CLI, hdr=true on the API).

Privacy note for images. On every surface, the image travels over HTTPS to api.mochify.app, is converted in memory, and is wiped immediately: no disk writes, no logs containing file data, and never used to train AI. The CLI and local MCP server write the result straight back to your disk with nothing retained; the hosted MCP server holds only the converted output behind a files.mochify.app link for about five minutes so the agent can fetch it. Images are not processed on your device, so we do not describe them as never leaving it; that is true only of Mochify's in-browser video tools.

Ready to deliver? Convert a HIF batch now at mochify.app.

Cheat Sheet

Brand	What "HEIF" is on this camera	Menu	Switch it on when	Stay on JPEG when	Back to JPEG
Canon	10-bit HDR PQ, always	[HDR shooting (PQ)] → [HDR PQ] (R5 II, R1, R6 III); [HDR shooting] → [Enable] (others)	You want HDR stills; you have an HDR display and Lightroom, DPP or Affinity	Output is galleries, print, web; you use expanded ISO; you want smaller files (you will not get them)	In camera: [HEIF→JPEG conversion]; DPP saves SDR sRGB
Nikon (Z8, Zf, Z6III, Z5II, Z50II; not Z9)	10-bit HLG HDR, always (HLG tone mode)	[Tone mode] → [HLG]	HDR delivery or an HDR master beside the NEF	Base ISO matters (HLG floor is 400), Active D-Lighting, fast C-modes, SDR delivery	No in-camera HEIF→JPEG; RAW processing of the NEF, or NX Studio Export
Sony	10-bit SDR (sRGB) by default; HLG optional	[JPEG/HEIF Switch] → HEIF(4:2:0) or HEIF(4:2:2); [HLG Still Image] separately	You want half the file size and 10-bit headroom; editor is Lightroom	Capture One; HEIF-only with no RAW; clients receive straight from card	Imaging Edge Desktop (JPEG 8-bit or TIFF 16-bit; HLG needs the highlight-gamma option)
Fujifilm	10-bit 4:2:2 SDR only	[IMAGE QUALITY SETTING] → [SELECT JPEG/HEIF]	10-bit film-sim master beside RAW; up to 30% smaller	You use Clarity or Adobe RGB; you copy cards with a reader; Capture One	In camera: [HEIF TO JPEG/TIFF CONVERSION]
All brands	Deliver JPEG, sRGB, converted once at delivery	n/a	n/a	n/a	Mochify: Magic Flow prompt, HIF to JPG converter, CLI, MCP or API

FAQ

Is HEIF better than JPEG on a camera?

As a file, yes: 10 bits per channel instead of 8, so smooth skies and gradients hold up through edits, and on Sony and Fujifilm bodies the file is also smaller. As a format to live with, not yet: Capture One does not open 10-bit camera HEIF, Windows needs paid codecs and still fails on some 10-bit files, no browser except Safari displays it, and galleries, labs and stock agencies require JPEG. HEIF is better at capture and worse at delivery, which is why the sensible workflow uses it for the first and JPEG for the second.

Does the Nikon Z9 shoot HEIF?

No. The Z9's specification lists NEF (RAW) and JPEG for stills, with HLG available only for video, and its Reference Guide has no Tone Mode item. HEIF stills on Nikon are on the Z8, Zf, Z6III, Z5II and Z50II, always as part of the HLG tone mode. The Z9's "High Efficiency" and "High Efficiency★" options are NEF RAW compression settings, not HEIF.

HIF vs ARW on a Sony: which should I shoot?

ARW is the 14-bit RAW; HIF is the camera's processed 10-bit HEIF. Sony's own advice: record JPEG or HEIF "if you do not intend to edit the images on your computer", and RAW for processing on a computer. If you edit, shoot ARW, and add HEIF(4:2:2) as the second file if you want a high-quality preview that takes half the space of a JPEG (on the a7R V, about 26 MB against 53 MB, by Sony's card tables). If you deliver from the card, HEIF is only the right choice if everything downstream opens it; otherwise JPEG.

Does converting HEIF to JPEG lose quality?

Yes, in two ways, and both are usually invisible. You drop from 10 bits to 8, which only shows if you edit the JPEG hard afterwards, and the JPEG encoder adds its own compression on top of the HEIF's, which a good encoder keeps below visibility at delivery sizes. The one case that needs care is an HDR file (Canon HDR PQ, Nikon or Sony HLG), where the conversion must tone-map the wide range into a normal one; use the maker's software or Lightroom for that step. Does converting HIF to JPG reduce quality? goes into the detail.

Can Lightroom and Capture One open my camera's HEIF files?

Lightroom Classic, Lightroom and Camera Raw open camera HEIF (.HIF) on macOS 10.13 or later and Windows 10 or later, including the 10-bit HDR files from Canon, Nikon and Sony, but they cannot export HEIF. Capture One, as of version 16.8.6 (September 2026), supports "Apple HEIC and 8-bit HEIF images" only and states that "10-bit HEIF/HEIC files that are generated by new cameras are not supported at the moment", which rules out every camera in this guide. Affinity Photo 2 and Photo Mechanic open them; DxO PhotoLab documents iPhone HEIF only.

Why does my HEIF look washed out or too dark on my monitor?

Because it is an HDR file being shown on a screen or in an app that does not understand its transfer curve. Canon HEIF is always HDR PQ and Nikon HEIF is always HLG, and both makers warn that the files "may not display correctly on monitors that are not HDR-compatible"; Nikon specifically says highlights "may seem washed out". Sony HEIF only has this problem if HLG Still Image was on, and Fujifilm HEIF never does. The fix is an HDR-capable display and application, or an SDR conversion in DPP, NX Studio, Imaging Edge Desktop or Lightroom.

Are HEIF files smaller than JPEG?

On Sony, about half (a7R V: 2,500 HEIF frames on a 64GB card against 1,200 JPEG). On Fujifilm, "up to 30% smaller" by Fujifilm's claim. On Canon, no: the R5 Mark II's table gives 13.0 MB for JPEG Large and 12.5 MB for HEIF Large, because Canon spends the compression on 10-bit HDR range rather than on size. Nikon gives no figure. Any article that quotes one percentage for "HEIF" is averaging across brands that made different choices.

Should I shoot RAW + HEIF or RAW + JPEG?

RAW + HEIF if your editor opens HEIF and you want the better preview; RAW + JPEG if anyone downstream will take the second file as-is, or if you are on Capture One or a Windows machine without the HEVC codec. On Canon and Nikon, remember the HEIF copy is HDR and will need converting before an SDR viewer sees it correctly; on Nikon, HLG also changes the ISO floor and noise of the RAW itself, so it is not a free second file.

Deliver JPEGs your gallery and lab will take: drop a batch of HIF files on Mochify and prompt "convert these to JPEG, 3000px on the long edge, strip the location data". A standard-range JPEG, encoded with jpegli, processed in memory and wiped immediately after encoding.

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