HEIC files?

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Alan
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Mrs WW recently took some pictures with her Samsung phone and they're in this format. I don't have anything which can open them and Googling proved to be a waste of time as none of the links that came up were compatible with a windows pc.

I've checked my phone and luckily I had this format turned off and I've also turned it off on her phone too but that doesn't solve the problem of how to open / convert her files to jpegs so that other people can receive and view them.

Does anyone know how these files can be opened on a windows pc?

Perhaps people with smartphones should check their camera settings if they are likely to want to send pictures to other people and view on pc;'s.
 
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If you have Windows 10 or above there is a free app in the Microsoft store
 
woof woof said:
Perhaps people with smartphones should check their camera settings if they are likely to want to send pictures to other people and view on pc;'s.
Click to expand...

Apple switched to HEIC as their default format for photographs with iOS 11 in 2017. Usually, when you share a photo from an iPhone by email or some such, it is converted on the fly to a JPEG, so people at the other end receive a JPEG. I don't know if Android does a similar trick.

If you have them, Lightroom and Photoshop have been able to open HEIC files from iOS devices for several years and should open HEIC files from Android devices since April 2022.
 
Musicman said:
Apple switched to HEIC as their default format for photographs with iOS 11 in 2017. Usually, when you share a photo from an iPhone by email or some such, it is converted on the fly to a JPEG, so people at the other end receive a JPEG. I don't know if Android does a similar trick.

If you have them, Lightroom and Photoshop have been able to open HEIC files from iOS devices for several years and should open HEIC files from Android devices since April 2022.
Click to expand...

This is with Samsung phones. I'm using CS2023 and it wont open them, it just says that I need some non Adobe software.
 
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This is a massive PITA as Mrs WW took pictures of a remembrance service for both us and a friend and obviously the pictures are of sentimental value and can not be retaken. The work around I used was to open the files in clipchap and then take a screen shot with results in quite a small picture.

I'll do screen shots in the package Adam linked to and see if that gets the size up a bit.

I do think changing the file format whilst other devices may or may not be read is a total PITA.
 
I thought apple were the only ones to use HEIC.

How many files do you have?

If you share them with me I can look into converting them if my osx photos or LR will read them.

Edit:
Looks like you have got some help on the Sony thread. Give us a shout if you get stuck...
 
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Are they still on her phone? If they dont need too much edit perhaps export them all using snapseed

Apparently can be done on device as well

Easy Guide to Convert HEIC to JPG on Samsung- Dr.Fone

This detailed article will show you how to convert HEIC to JPG Samsung and make your images Android-friendly.
drfone.wondershare.com drfone.wondershare.com
 
nandbytes said:
I thought apple were the only ones to use HEIC.

How many files do you have?

If you share them with me I can look into converting them if my osx photos or LR will read them.

Edit:
Looks like you have got some help on the Sony thread. Give us a shout if you get stuck...
Click to expand...

I have 7 files.

Toby is helping. I've uploaded them to dropbox so assuming he can see and download them he may be able to help.
 
Thanks all.

I'd never heard of this but it looks like it could be something which could catch people out. I think it's something to watch for if you want or don't want you pictures saved in this format :D
 
GreenNinja67 said:

Free HEIC to JPEG/JPG Online Photo Conversion Tool

HEIC converter is a free online tool that converts iOS 11+ photos from HEIC to JPEG/JPG, made with <3 by JPEGmini
heictojpg.com heictojpg.com

There you go Alan.

We use this at work.
Click to expand...

That worked. Thank you very much Terry. The 7 problem files are now on my pc as jpegs.

These are pictures taken at a remembrance service and we'd taken someone from church with us and now that the files are jpegs I can email them off and be sure they can be opened.

Thanks again.

Hope no one else runs into this issue but if they do... Your link works :D
 
I had this recently as a friend sent some photos she'd taken of us with her iPhone. I had to work through several of the MS Store apps to find one that was free for the limited number of shots I needed.
 
Snapsh0t said:
I had this recently as a friend sent some photos she'd taken of us with her iPhone. I had to work through several of the MS Store apps to find one that was free for the limited number of shots I needed.
Click to expand...

Yes. It's a pita and as we wanted to send pictures to someone we couldn't really just write them off and not bother solving all this.

Thinking about it the change on Mrs WW's phone must have been very recent as the last time she used the camera phone it saved them as jpegs. Luckily when my phone did a software update just a few days ago my settings stayed as jpeg as the heic option was disabled in the settings, this is accidental good luck rather than planning as I had no idea this could be an issue.
 
Out of interest, what happens if you email them to someone? Since this is still a minority use format I wonder if they get converted?
 
According to post #4, they do.
 
ancient_mariner said:
Out of interest, what happens if you email them to someone? Since this is still a minority use format I wonder if they get converted?
Click to expand...

I didn't take the risk as the guy these pictures are for is well into his 70's and not very interested in computers. Mrs WW did send some pictures and vids to family and friends overseas and they didn't report any issues with their phones / tablets.
 
Emailing them to myself on my pc... they stay as heic files.
 
woof woof said:
Emailing them to myself on my pc... they stay as heic files.
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Interesting. I suspect there's either a setting to convert them that's not been 'set' yet or you are soon due for another update. This file format is plainly of no use to man or beast right now.
 
WORTH A READ, Alan - if you haven't already seen it. I know your issue is sorted but it might be of interest!
 
I suppose at some point Adobe CS202x may be able to open them and it does seem strange that it doesn't (or at least I can't get it to) whilst photoshop can.
 
woof woof said:
I suppose at some point Adobe CS202x may be able to open them and it does seem strange that it doesn't (or at least I can't get it to) whilst photoshop can.
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Certainly the last couple of releases of Lightroom Classic have been able to open and process HEIC files.
 
ancient_mariner said:
Interesting. I suspect there's either a setting to convert them that's not been 'set' yet or you are soon due for another update. This file format is plainly of no use to man or beast right now.
Click to expand...

It's a massive irritation, at least for me and the Mrs as we didn't know this was going to happen and got stuck with pictures that mattered to us and someone else that couldn't be retaken that we couldn't view easily away from Mrs WW's phone. I then had to research it, try several conversion methods and fail and then ask here.

I can imagine other people being caught and indeed that wiki article mentions students submitting work in the "wrong" format.
 
I have this turned on on my S23 Ultra. There are several advantages to HEIC over Jpeg, including higher bit-depth and better compression. So much smaller file sizes, and better image quality. Google Photos and Lightroom handle them just fine, on both my Android phone and my iPad, and sending images in Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp is no problem either. I've also used Android Nearby Share to send image to my wife's Samsung phone with no issues at all. I've not run into any compatibility yet, and if I did it's simple to drop an image into Lightroom on my phone and export as a jpeg. Some cameras now have the option to save as HEIC/HEIF as well, including the Fuji X-H2 and X-H2S I believe. Hopefully it will completely replace Jpeg as it's much better all around.
 
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RichardC27 said:
I have this turned on on my S23 Ultra. There are several advantages to HEIC over Jpeg, including higher bit-depth and better compression. So much smaller file sizes, and better image quality. Google Photos and Lightroom handle them just fine, on both my Android phone and my iPad, and sending images in Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp is no problem either. I've also used Android Nearby Share to send image to my wife's Samsung phone with no issues at all. I've not run into any compatibility yet, and if I did it's simple to drop an image into Lightroom on my phone and export as a jpeg. Some cameras now have the option to save as HEIC/HEIF as well, including the Fuji X-H2 and X-H2S I believe. Hopefully it will completely replace Jpeg as it's much better all around.
Click to expand...

Time will tell and it may well have advantages but at the moment it's being foisted on unaware users who then may have to deal with unforeseen and unexpected issues, as in the Wiki piece which mentions students failing because work is in the wrong format and my own relatively minor issue of pictures of a remembrance service being unviewable on my pc without hours of faff on. Hours I could have spent getting on with my life instead of figuring out how to deal with a file format nobody informed me about.

To implement this change without informing customers is IMHO just simply wrong from every conceivable viewpoint. But I shouldn't really be surprised as our modern tec reliant lives are repeatedly littered with little and big irritations from companies who seem incapable of thinking about the implications of their actions for customers who may just have better things to do than deal with the fallout of these changes or even bothering to clearly inform them of these changes.

It is strange that lightroom opens these files yet my PS2023 does not or at least any easy way of doing it is not visible to me.
 
This link seems to give the solution on W10 or W11, in a few mouse clicks

www.howtogeek.com

How to Open HEIC Files on Windows (or Convert Them to JPEG)

Here's how to open your iPhone's photos on a Windows computer.
www.howtogeek.com www.howtogeek.com

It's not as widely compatible as jpeg but as has been said above, it's been the default image format on iPhones for several years at this point. I only turned it on on my phone to make my cloud storage go much further, and as there are no compatibility issues in my workflow. At the end of the day it's just a different file type, and you just need the right software to open them. It is odd that PS doesn't like that but LR does.
 
Musicman said:
The OP is about Samsung/Android and their implementation of HEIC

Apple converts HEIC images to JPEG before sending them in an email or text. I just tested it for myself a few seconds ago and a JPEG is sent.
Click to expand...

Yup.

My main gripe is really nothing to do with how good a format this is or if it's an improvement over jpeg or not but that this just landed on Mrs WW's phone and we knew nothing about it until I couldn't open the pictures on my pc to resize them and email them to an elderly friend.

If it becomes the standard then fine but at the moment it could well be a problem for less tec aware people.
 
Musicman said:
The OP is about Samsung/Android and their implementation of HEIC

Apple converts HEIC images to JPEG before sending them in an email or text. I just tested it for myself a few seconds ago and a JPEG is sent.
Click to expand...
Then how did my friend manage to email me HEIC images?
 
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