Due to a production error , we inadvertently published an version of this review written about the 1.0 release of JPEGmini . This review now rates the current 1.3 release of JPEGmini , including the capability , add in version 1.2 , to process lower - resolution photos .
If you ’re like me , you ’ve got a lot of photo stashed on your Mac . And if you ’ve been faithfully snapping away with digital cameras for the estimable part of a decade as I have , those photograph are taking up a lot of space . The comer of the iPhone and its always - close - at - handwriting camera is only adding to the capacitance crush .
give thanks heavens , then , thatICVThas derive up with a compelling way to clamp down on your growing photo collection . The developer’sJPEGminiapp for the Mac ( Mac App Store link ) promises to compress your picture , come down the overall single file size without introducing artifacts or otherwise compromising the resoluteness . And JPEGmini delivers on that promise , producing slimmed - down photo that — to the naked eye , at least — are indistinguishable from their bulky forerunner .
ICVT offers adetailed score of the engineering science behind JPEGmini , but the executive sum-up is that the app has filters that can detect artefact , like blocking and ringing . When it observe the images are about to be changed , the software stops compression . In a best case scenario , JPEGmini can reduce size of pic by up to five clip .
I did n’t quite reach that level of compressing , but I was able-bodied to funk down my image files considerably . I ran a batch of 25 photograph shoot with a 14.1 - megapixel Canon Powershot SX210 IS through JPEGmini . The software accept the 85 megabit Charles Frederick Worth of originals and reduced them to 41.2MB — basically decoct the filing cabinet size of it by half . A second exam involving 15 picture shoot with the iPhone 4 ’s 5 - megapixel camera reduced 23.8 MB Charles Frederick Worth of persona to 8.7 M . More important , when I laid the press photo next to the original , I was n’t able to make out any differences between the two .
The initial freeing of JPEGmini came with a rather notable limitation : It would n’t work with mental image less than 2 megapixels . If your photo library included photos shot with a low-down - resolution camera — say , the pocket-size camera built into the iPhone 3G — you’d get a “ Skipped All Photos ” message when you taste to compact images . That restriction was particularly off - putting to web developers with low-spirited - resolution trope who still wanted to squeeze every last megabyte out of their picture to keep on bandwidth . gratefully , version 1.2 of JPEGmini removed that restriction . ( The app still caps support at 17 - megapixel images . ) And the unexampled reading put to work like a good luck charm : I was able to compress 23.5 MB of iPhone 3G - dead reckoning photos into a 17.6 megabyte single file .
It ’s hard to guess how using JPEGmini could be any simpler . All you have to do is drag the image — or set of image — you want to compress into the exposure windowpane of the app program . ( It ’s helpfully marked Drop Photos Here to avoid any discombobulation . ) A monition substance lets you cognise that JPEGmini will overwrite your original exposure ( you’re able to for good dismiss that warning if you like ) , and then the spiritual rebirth begins . changeover take a 2nd or two per photo , and a handy advancement taproom pass on you an idea of how long the operation ’s going to take and how much distance you ’re saving . A running counting of space saved by JPEGmini appears at the top of the app window .
This is n’t a tool for professional photographers , but it is ideal if you ’ve got an overflow photo collection or you ’re looking to optimise image for a website . JPEGmini is easy to apply and will clip your image file sizes without sacrifice quality . Afree variant of the softwarelets you optimise 20 photos per day and provides a majuscule way to see if JPEGmini measures up to your needs .
