How to set prefs for Image Capture to change HEIC format images to JPEG during import?

Question

How to set prefs for Image Capture to change HEIC format images to JPEG during import?

Image Capture previously would automatically convert HEIC images from my iPhone to JPEG during import to my Mac, but it stopped doing so after I migrated to a new Mac. I cannot find any setting within Image Capture to go back to converting to JPEG during import ... is this option in set by a preference elsewhere in the macOS? Did they simply drop the JPEG convert feature in later versions?

I realize there is a format option within the iPhone camera prefs to select either HEIC vs. JPEG at the time the photo is taken, but with a 1000 photos already taken and stored in the HEIC format, I dread the thought of having to individually convert them after-the-fact to JPEG in order to work with them in Photoshop.

Is there a better alternative to Image Capture? Is there a utility that can convert a batch of HEIC images to JPEG automatically? Thanks in advance for any ideas.

iPhone XS Max, iOS 18

Posted on Nov 7, 2025 4:48 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

MartinR

Level 7

24,053 points

Nov 7, 2025 5:57 PM in response to Lee Warren 500

AFAIK Image Capture no longer offers an option to convert HEIC to JPEG when you import images.

You can batch convert HEIC images a number of different ways:

Option 1 - Use the Convert Image Quick Action. Select one or more HEIC images in the Finder; then control-click them and select Quick Actions > Convert Image then select JPEG and your desired image size.

Option 2 - Create an Automator Workflow to convert the HEIC images. My suggested steps are:
- - Ask for Finder Items (with Allow Multiple Selection)
  - Copy Finder Items (use if you want to keep copies as HEIC images; specify the folder to save them in)
  - Change Type of Images (to Type=JPEG)

Option 3 - Use an app like Imazing Converter (free)

Personally, I prefer using Automator:

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Answer 2

Nov 7, 2025 9:54 PM in response to Lee Warren 500

I went with Option 3 and tried the iMazing Converter, and I found it to work quite well ... thank you very much!

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Answer 3

MartinR

Level 7

24,053 points

Nov 8, 2025 10:38 AM in response to Lee Warren 500

Lee Warren 500 wrote:

Is it possible to install an older version of Image Capture that still has a JPEG convert feature?

No

Regarding Option 1, that sounds reasonable, but when I tried that, there was no sub-menu "Convert Image", only "Rotate", "PDF", and "Customize" (no convert function) ... does this require some other command to get to the "Convert Image" option?

What version of macOS is on your Mac? The Convert Image quick action was added in one of the Monterey releases.

Regarding Option 2 ... if Option 1 is not available, then I don't see how automating it would work?

Automator is not the same as Quick Actions. You should be able to build the workflow as I suggested earlier.

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Answer 4

Nov 7, 2025 6:45 PM in response to MartinR

Thanks for the detailed reply ...

Is it possible to install an older version of Image Capture that still has a JPEG convert feature?

Regarding Option 1, that sounds reasonable, but when I tried that, there was no sub-menu "Convert Image", only "Rotate", "PDF", and "Customize" (no convert function) ... does this require some other command to get to the "Convert Image" option?

Regarding Option 2 ... if Option 1 is not available, then I don't see how automating it would work?

Option 3 is probably the best bet for the short term, but it is frustrating that when Apple "improves" an OS with a new "feature", we have to find a work-around just to keep things functional.

Thank you again for your advice!

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Answer 5

Nov 8, 2025 3:13 PM in response to MartinR

I had been running macOS Mojave well past its retirement as I had a lot invested in software that was not fully 64-bit compliant (e.g. Adobe's CS5 and CS6 products among them), so I delayed updating the OS for several years. I have since replaced that older software, upgraded to a newer Mac and recently migrated it to Big Sur, so that explains why that quick action convert function was not available to me.

My intention is to work through the various application and hardware bugs to get to a fully-functional system with a stable Big Sur OS that I can live with and only then do a trial move on to Monterey, get it running well, and repeat with Ventura, etc. At some point when the next OS upgrade breaks more things than it improves, then I will revert back to the last stable OS configuration and hold there for a while.

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Answer 6

MartinR

Level 7

24,053 points

Nov 8, 2025 4:22 PM in response to Lee Warren 500

Like you, I value stable, fully-functional systems and am extremely cautious about upgrades.

In my own case I have been running Monterey on a 2019 Intel i9 iMac for a few years and everything has been completely stable. That includes Photoshop CC, CaptureOne Pro, Davinci Resolve, Screenflow, 3 scanners, 2 printers and 4 external SSDs. Currently on Monterey 12.7.6.

I am also running Sonoma 14.7.3 on a 2019 Intel i5 iMac and Sonoma 14.7.4 on a 2018 Intel i7 Mac mini and they are both stable and running fine. I had no issues from the get-go with Sonoma. I plan to update both Macs to 14.8.2 by year end.

Also running Sequoia 15.4 on an M4 Pro MacBook Pro and I have to say it's the nicest laptop & setup I've ever had. Everything is smooth and I had no problems whatsoever installing all my apps & peripherals. I plan to update to 15.7.2 by year end.

FWIW, I would skip Ventura. I saw a lot more problems with Ventura reported in these forums over the years compared to Monterey, Sonoma or Sequoia.

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Answer 7

Nov 8, 2025 7:06 PM in response to MartinR

Thanks for the heads-up about Ventura ... general web searches on the pros & cons of the various macOS versions have not been particularly helpful as opinions of each seem to vary widely; like most things, people are quick to comment about the negatives but less often post about the positives.

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Answer 8

dialabrain

Level 10

135,287 points

Nov 8, 2025 7:23 PM in response to Lee Warren 500

FWIW, my better half has been running Ventura on a 2017 iMac for two years with zero issues. She's currently running 13.7.8.

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