With all due respect, I don't mean to sound rude, but did you even read my question?
You linked me to a basic guide that I had seen 1000 times.
My question was:
"Is there an official guide that definitively describes what to expect from each method, and which options are TRULY loseless?"
The reason for my question is that "Apple silently compresses the files and/or removes metadata/edits" when using Photos app or Image Capture app.
Your links do NOT "definitively describe .. which options are TRULY loseless" as my question had requested.
So, (again, with all due respect) why do you post links that have nothing to do with my question?
I found this video:
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/nVa8Z2Okuv8
The guy tested 3 methods of media transfer - Photos app, Image Capture, Airdrop.
The results:
- Apparently, Photos app compresses media, so it's LOSSY = bad!
- Image Capture does not compress, but it DOES strip away HDR and possibly metadata = LOSSY = bad!
- Airdrop is the only method that preserves the original file completely, but like I stated in my original post: it's a poorly written thing because it crashes when you try to airdrop too many files. Apple does not list the limit because the limit is obviously not an indended thing but rather is just a result of poor craftsmanship, but experimentally it was established that the Airdrop limit is ~300-500 files at a time. So, transferring 20k media files will be a HUGE pain in the Apple.
I find it fascinating that Apple was originally the go to choice of photographers and graphic designers, and yet nobody is even talking about how the precious details, quality, and metadata gets quietly stripped and/or compressed away by their go-to ways to transfer media from the iPhone. Those precious details from your babies' photos, from your memories, maybe people who you will never get to see again - GONE. Lossy compression.
And then the Airdrop that chokes on a handful of files. AirChoke.
Ugh.
