Abstract:
A method for image compression of a set of image data (I) includes operating a quantization operation (20; 150; 230) on the image data (I), said quantization operation (20; 150; 230) including controlling a compression factor by applying a scaled quantization level ( ), obtained by multiplying a first quantization level (Q) by a gain factor (G; Gs; Gi), the gain factor (G; Gs; Gi) being updated (100; 1000; 110; 300) as a function of a bit per pixel value (bpp) of a compressed image (O). The update operation (1000; 110; 300) includes an iterative procedure (110) comprising at least one iteration step (Eq. 6; Eq. 7) that provides for updating a current gain factor (G n+1 ) as a function of a previous gain (G n ) used for performing a previous compression step and as a function of a ratio (G n ) of the bit per pixel value (bpp) of the compressed image (O) at the previous compression step to a target bit per pixel value (T). Preferred application is in Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) and digital still cameras.