The spectral norm is usually the most expensive. Which norm is best? In most instances, we want the norm that puts the smallest upper bound on the magnitude of the matrix. In this sense, the spectral norm is usually the ''best''.
A =
5 -5 -7
-4 2 -4
-7 -4 5
>> norm(A,'fro')
ans =
15
>> norm(A,inf)
ans =
17
>> norm(A,1)
ans=
16
>> norm(A)
ans =
12.0301
>> norm (A,2)
ans =
12.0301
we observe that the 2-norm, the spectral norm, is the norm we get if we just ask for the norm. The smallest norm of the matrix is the spectral norm, it is the tightest measure.