Poor Image quality on Google Maps

Google Maps contribution stories
1

I upload photos from a DSLR to Google maps and find the image quality is poor for the user. Most have been uploaded as a full sized JPG. Using my laptop, I have noticed that the (100%) view when the photo is first opened is quite pixelated … but if you zoom in with the “+” button the photo quality is better … huh? I also notice that some photos have more “zoom steps” than others.
Is the AI using the thumbnail size image for the initial image? I would certainly prefer the initial image to be as sharp as possible.

Here is an example of one of my posted photos - have a look at the detail of the camper before and after clicking the “+” button.
https://www.google.ca/maps/place/Glass+Butte/@43.5600302,-120.005431,3a,54.2y/data=!3m8!1e2!3m6!1sAF1QipMr05CnYJLZBJ7XxdL74tipe0aPcy66Y0oGsuo!2e10!3e12!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipMr05CnYJLZBJ7XxdL74tipe0aPcy66Y0oGsuo%3Dw203-h135-k-no!7i5568!8i3712!4m7!3m6!1s0x54b9cfa3f1d8a43f:0x48adeb8d6b2a8254!8m2!3d43.5600768!4d-120.005585!10e5!16s%2Fg%2F11pdw13zk1?entry=ttu

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@DaveRenfroe

Auf dem Smartphone ist Bild hervorragend

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Here is a screen-video I took using Safari on a Macbook Pro that illustrates what I am referring to. I really shows up with this set-up … it is different using Firefox.
In the video - when I click on the “+” does not the whole image look much sharper? What is going on here and is it related to how bad the initial image looks?

Link to photo on Google Maps: https://www.google.ca/maps/place/Steens+Mountain+Wilderness/@42.7434375,-118.6348125,3a,54.2y/data=!3m8!1e2!3m6!1sAF1QipMYq02yZZz1_MEAqMUZOfawg67z4cHDXN3u0ppi!2e10!3e12!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipMYq02yZZz1_MEAqMUZOfawg67z4cHDXN3u0ppi%3Dw203-h360-k-no!7i2988!8i5312!4m13!1m5!8m4!1e2!2s108990632450619570837!3m1!1e1!3m6!1s0x54b6b8df1be7e26d:0xc1556e856e0acff1!8m2!3d42.7434375!4d-118.6348125!10e5!16s%2Fg%2F1hmbqptsq?entry=ttu

Screenshot Video: https://youtu.be/uYKStsIV308

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@DaveRenfroe

Tut mir leid, auf dem Smartphone sieht alles sehr gut aus :blush: :+1:

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Yes, I tried it. There is no problem with my iPhone 7. Also it doesn’t show up with all photos on my Macbook Pro.
Thanks for your interest.

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Hi @DaveRenfroe

The photo servers are pretty smart. They will adapt to the screen size so bandwidth is not wasted. Images are stored in pretty much original quality, so when you see lower quality it is not because they don’t have the image in a higher resolution.

I shared some tests on pic and video resolution earlier. Let me know if you can’t find them and would care to read more.

Cheers

Morten

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7

That is not totally correct. I had/have more or less the same problem.

Images which are high quality are shown in low quality in Google Maps; also when zooming in.

You can find some examples in my question from a few years ago here:

https://support.google.com/maps/thread/174436440/high-quality-photo-s-appear-in-very-low-quality-on-google-maps?hl=en