The same 14 independently finished SDR/HDR master pairs now produce both our website AVIFs and our Instagram-ready HDR JPEGs. This page compares the actual delivery files and lets you open each one for yourself.
The whole album at a glance
All four sets below include an SDR base and an HDR gain map. Each total contains one viewing file per photograph.
| Output | 14-file total | Average per photograph | Compared with our Instagram JPEG set |
|---|---|---|---|
| Instagram-ready JPEG · 2160 × 1440 | 41.59 MB | 2,971 kB | Reference |
| Standard Q70 AVIF · 2048 pixels wide | 7.18 MB | 513 kB | 82.7% smaller |
| Standard Q70 AVIF · 2560 pixels wide | 10.35 MB | 739 kB | 75.1% smaller |
| Standard Q70 AVIF · 5120 pixels wide | 36.39 MB | 2,600 kB | 12.5% smaller |
The 2560-pixel AVIF set is 75.1% smaller overall despite being wider than the Instagram JPEG exports. Even the complete 5120-pixel AVIF set occupies less space overall than the 2160-pixel JPEG set. Individual photographs vary, as the table below shows.
Open the files and judge for yourself
Each file-size link opens that exact file in a new tab. The small previews identify the photographs; they are not the files used to judge fine detail. All sizes use decimal units: 1 kB = 1,000 bytes and 1 MB = 1,000,000 bytes.
| Photograph | Instagram JPEG | AVIF Q70 · 2048 | AVIF Q70 · 2560 | AVIF Q70 · 5120 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 1. _DSC1214sunset | 1,319 kB2160 × 1440 | 249 kB2048 × 1365 | 383 kB2560 × 1706 | 1,889 kB5120 × 3413 |
 2. _DSC3765sunset | 3,328 kB2160 × 1440 | 508 kB2048 × 1365 | 798 kB2560 × 1706 | 3,535 kB5120 × 3413 |
 3. _DSC3788sunset | 2,734 kB2160 × 1440 | 399 kB2048 × 1365 | 556 kB2560 × 1706 | 2,138 kB5120 × 3413 |
 4. _DSC3820sunset | 3,854 kB2160 × 1440 | 235 kB2048 × 1358 | 323 kB2560 × 1697 | 1,142 kB5120 × 3395 |
 5. _DSC4189sunset | 2,965 kB2160 × 1440 | 404 kB2048 × 1365 | 622 kB2560 × 1706 | 2,815 kB5120 × 3413 |
 6. _DSC4329sunset | 3,019 kB2160 × 1440 | 477 kB2048 × 1365 | 677 kB2560 × 1706 | 2,997 kB5120 × 3413 |
 7. _DSC4489sunset | 2,931 kB2160 × 1440 | 488 kB2048 × 1365 | 718 kB2560 × 1706 | 2,762 kB5120 × 3413 |
 8. _DSC5160sunset | 4,369 kB2160 × 1440 | 1,059 kB2048 × 1365 | 1,534 kB2560 × 1706 | 4,595 kB5120 × 3413 |
 9. _DSC8777sunset | 2,870 kB2160 × 1440 | 660 kB2048 × 1381 | 895 kB2560 × 1726 | 2,306 kB5120 × 3453 |
 10. _DSC8968sunset | 3,676 kB2160 × 1440 | 751 kB2048 × 1365 | 1,114 kB2560 × 1706 | 4,098 kB5120 × 3413 |
 11. _DSC9093sunset | 3,197 kB2160 × 1440 | 552 kB2048 × 1365 | 777 kB2560 × 1706 | 2,409 kB5120 × 3413 |
 12. _DSC9100sunset | 3,314 kB2160 × 1440 | 465 kB2048 × 1431 | 663 kB2560 × 1788 | 2,064 kB5120 × 3577 |
 13. _DSC9147sunset | 2,938 kB2160 × 1440 | 803 kB2048 × 1361 | 1,114 kB2560 × 1701 | 3,090 kB5120 × 3403 |
 14. DSC09151 | 1,075 kB2160 × 1440 | 131 kB2048 × 1365 | 173 kB2560 × 1706 | 554 kB5120 × 3413 |
Why keep gain-map JPEG specifically for Instagram?
We support this output because it enables our photographs to reach Instagram in HDR from the same approved masters. File-size efficiency is not the reason for choosing it. At our chosen settings, the JPEG base and full-resolution gain map together produce substantial files even at the relatively modest 2160 × 1440 export size: 41.59 MB for 14 photographs, averaging 2.97 MB each.
Keeping this output at Instagram size makes that cost manageable. It does not make it our preferred format for higher-resolution website delivery. Our wider 2560-pixel Q70 gain-map AVIF set is 75.1% smaller overall, and even the 5120-pixel AVIF set occupies less space than these Instagram JPEGs. Both formats include HDR gain maps; the figures compare the complete files produced by our chosen recipes.
Gain-map JPEG solves a specific publishing need; AVIF remains our efficient website delivery choice. These are our upload files before Instagram processing, not measurements of Instagram’s delivered images.
What this comparison tells us
This is a comparison of our chosen publishing recipes, not a claim of equivalent quality settings or identical dimensions. The near-sized AVIF is 2048 pixels wide, while the JPEG canvas is 2160 × 1440. AVIF preserves each photograph’s crop; some Instagram exports include narrow black borders to fit the fixed canvas. Exact dimensions are listed above.
Our Instagram recipe uses a Display P3 JPEG base at Q95, with a full-resolution colour gain map at Q95. Our standard website recipe uses Q70 for the base and full-resolution gain map, 10-bit 4:4:4 and encoder speed 3. Both apply our agreed output sharpening after resizing. Quality numbers from different encoders are not interchangeable.
The practical result supports the two-output approach: AVIF for efficient website delivery at several resolutions, and gain-map JPEG for the Instagram upload requirement. We retain the same independently approved SDR and HDR masters for both. This table uses our standard Q70 AVIFs; the separate Q50 fast experiment is not included.
Browse the Instagram JPEG export gallery · Browse the standard AVIF gallery · Read about the experiment and workflow