does JPEG quality vary in different software?

[Paresh]

Hi - I understand that RAW files are processed differently in each software & so the final product may vary in quality. Is this also the case with JPEG? ie - if I made the exact same edits in 2 dif softwares, would I get the same result? Thanks.

[davidedric]

Hi - I understand that RAW files are processed differently in each software & so the final product may vary in quality. Is this also the case with JPEG? ie - if I made the exact same edits in 2 dif softwares, would I get the same result? Thanks.

There really isn't any way of doing exactly the same edit in two different software packages, so I'm afraid I can't see a way to answer your question.

Dave

[Mike Buckley]

There really isn't any way of doing exactly the same edit in two different software packages

I fundamentally agree with that statement. However, sometimes a particular developer will release two different software applications priced differently because one has more capabilities than the other. In that case, it is usually possible to make some of the more basic edits exactly the same in both applications because both applications use the same technology to make that happen.

[DanK]

The JPEG standard includes a number of variations; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JPEG. However, if your two pieces of software use the same jpeg algorithm and the same degree of compression (which many editing programs allow you to choose), the results should be at least very similar.

However, as Dave pointed out, this is not true of editing. For example, Photoshop offers quite a number of options for sharpening an image, none of which is quite equivalent to the sharpening algorithms in Lightroom.

My advice is to ignore this for now. You wrote earlier that you are a beginner. I would focus on learning the basics--for example, how to adjust the tonality of the image, how to use sharpening, etc. The algorithms in any of the major packages should be fine for this stage. The only reason to worry about which editing software you choose at your stage is to avoid having to learn something new later.

[NorthernFocus]

+1 to what DanK said. I'd concentrate on software UI and features and not worry about what sort of algorithms are used.

[george013]

You must distinguish between editing and saving. They are two different adaptations.

George

[Paresh]

Thank you and yes, I am a beginner. I'm satisfied with my edits so far but still trying to evaluate if i'm wasting time before i dive into Lightroom.
On another note, I am not receiving notifications even though I have instant email reply selected. Is therre a fix for this? I'll post this in community lounge.