Free webp to jpg
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Image MIME Reference
Epson-ERF

Epson Raw Format

image/x-epson-erf
VS

JPEG XL

image/jxl
JXL

A complete technical comparison of Epson Raw Format and JPEG XL — covering compression, feature support, browser compatibility, magic bytes, and when to choose each format.

JXL wins on browser support

Feature Support

Feature Epson-ERF JXL
Transparency (Alpha) ✕ No Yes
Animation Support ✕ No Yes
Progressive Loading ✕ No Yes
HDR Support Yes Yes
EXIF Metadata Yes Yes
ICC Color Profile ✕ No Yes
Epson Raw Format
image/x-epson-erf
Extension
.erf
Container TIFF/EP
Compression Uncompressed / Lossless JPEG (ITU-T81)
Algorithm
NoneLossless JPEG
Color Depth 12-bit (Per Channel)
Developed by Seiko Epson Corporation
Released 2004
Magic Bytes
49 49 2A 00 or 4D 4D 00 2A
Full Epson-ERF reference →
JPEG XL
image/jxl
Extension
.jxl
Container ISOBMFF / JPEG XL Codestream
Compression Lossy (VarDCT) / Lossless (Modular)
Algorithm
VarDCT (Variable block-size DCT)Modular (Predictive coding for lossless)
Color Depth 8-bit, 10-bit, 12-bit, 16-bit, 32-bit (Float)
Developed by Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG)
Released 2021
Magic Bytes
FF 0A (Codestream) / 00 00 00 0C 4A 58 4C 20 0D 0A 87 0A (Container)
Full JXL reference →

Browser Support Comparison

Browser Epson-ERF JXL
Chrome Chrome
✕ ✕
Firefox Firefox
✕ ✕
Safari Safari
✕
✓ 17+
Edge Edge
✕ ✕
IE IE (Legacy)
✕ ✕
Epson-ERF

Epson-ERF Strengths

  • Preserves original raw sensor data, allowing extreme recovery of highlights and shadows compared to in-camera JPEGs
  • Utilizes the standard TIFF container structure, making it relatively easy for open-source software (like dcraw and LibRaw) to parse and decode
Limitations
  • Completely obsolete proprietary format tied to a defunct line of digital cameras
  • Requires parsing EXIF metadata to differentiate it from standard TIFF files programmatically
  • Cannot be natively viewed in web browsers or standard operating system image viewers without specialized codecs
JXL

JXL Strengths

  • Capable of losslessly recompressing legacy JPEG files, saving ~20% space while retaining perfect byte-for-byte restorability
  • Highly superior progressive decoding (Saliency-driven), allowing recognizable images to load extremely fast on slow connections
  • Outperforms WebP and competes favorably with AVIF, especially at high-fidelity settings and for complex textures/photography
  • Royalty-free with an open-source reference implementation (libjxl)
Limitations
  • Google's removal of JXL support from Chrome severely hindered its adoption as a universal web standard
  • Lack of hardware decoding chips compared to video-derived codecs like AVIF (AV1)
  • File parsing logic is complex due to the split between raw codestreams and ISOBMFF containers

When to choose which format

Epson-ERF
Use Epson-ERF when…
  • Vintage Digital Photography (Epson R-D1)
  • Non-destructive Image Post-Processing
  • Raw Imaging Archival
JXL
Use JXL when…
  • High-End Web Delivery (via Safari/Polyfills)
  • HDR Photography
  • Legacy JPEG Archiving
  • Digital Art & Image Storage

More comparisons

Epson-ERF vs ACES → JXL vs ACES → Epson-ERF vs APNG → JXL vs APNG → Epson-ERF vs AVCI → JXL vs AVCI → Epson-ERF vs AVCS → JXL vs AVCS → Epson-ERF vs AVIF → JXL vs AVIF → All comparisons →
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