Exiftool for MF lenses

fotomachi · Posted: Sat Feb 18, 2012 3:45 pm Post subject: Exiftool for MF lenses

The following is written with Lightroom in mind... Perhaps it is important to know that I have written these small "scripts" for use with NEX.

I would like to write basic lens information to the EXIF for use in Lightroom. If I use an Industar-26m, I want to put that in the EXIF. Problem is, I may have several copies of the same lens, so I'll want to write something like a serial number as well. And while we're at it, I want to put the used f-value as well. I use the following cmd line for exiftool:

exiftool -@ ARGFILE RAWDIR

ARGFILE is named for the particular lens that I used:
czjtessar50exa.txt: Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar 50mm f/3.5 (EXA)
jupiter9LTM.txt: Jupiter 9 8.5cm f/2 (M39)
nikon50f18.txt: Nikon 50mm f/1.8
yashica28.txt: Yashica ML 28mm f/2.8
etc....

RAWDIR is the directory that contains the RAW-files I want to change. So the command line may become something like this:

exiftool -@ czjtessar50exa.txt H:\RAW\2012\20120218.Family.NEX\

Now let's take a look at the content of czjtessar50exa.txt:

Attila · Expire: 2025-11-18

Great hint! Many thanks!

dani9batan · Joined: 19 Jan 2012 Posts: 218 Location: Madrid (Spain)

Hi,

Does anyone could explain how to get the EXIF data of the target in Lightroom or Photoshop? I would like to do but I am in capable.

Thank you.

fotomachi · Posted: Thu Mar 01, 2012 10:30 am Post subject:

dani9batan · Joined: 19 Jan 2012 Posts: 218 Location: Madrid (Spain)

fotomachi · Posted: Thu Mar 01, 2012 12:25 pm Post subject:

You need to have exiftool installed. You can get this program here: http://www.sno.phy.queensu.ca/~phil/exiftool/
Then you write a file that includes all the data you want to change, also known as ARG-file. I make individual text files for every lens that I have. For instance yashica28.txt

dani9batan · Joined: 19 Jan 2012 Posts: 218 Location: Madrid (Spain)

This is for Windows? I work on MAC Crying or Very sad

Thank you very much for your help fotomachi.

fotomachi · Posted: Thu Mar 01, 2012 3:11 pm Post subject:

std · Joined: 09 Feb 2010 Posts: 1826 Location: Bulgaria

Very nice trick.
Thanks for sharing.

dani9batan · Joined: 19 Jan 2012 Posts: 218 Location: Madrid (Spain)

I am unable to get that, someone knows how to do it on Mac?

marty · Joined: 09 Apr 2009 Posts: 767 Location: Italy

dani9batan · Joined: 19 Jan 2012 Posts: 218 Location: Madrid (Spain)

Thanks Marty, I'm going to try it Wink

dani9batan · Joined: 19 Jan 2012 Posts: 218 Location: Madrid (Spain)

I got it! Thanks to everyone! Very Happy

http://img833.imageshack.us/img833/5448/capturadepantalla201203z.jpg

LGH · Joined: 31 Jan 2012 Posts: 46

Thanks photomachi for this informative post. I had been thinking about how I would go about adding lens information to my images.

However, the workflow that I ended up with looks a bit different from yours, mostly because I prefer to add the EXIF data once the images are imported. It is sometimes helpful to be able to look at the pictures in the grid view and select the ones you want to update.

I claim no originality in this, but I thought it would be helpful to others.

1. In the OSX Terminal application, either type the exiftool command line from memory or copy it from a text file, for example like this:

fotomachi · Posted: Wed Mar 07, 2012 7:42 am Post subject:

fotomachi · Posted: Sun Mar 18, 2012 8:05 pm Post subject:

I've updated to LR4 and guess what... it doesn't work anymore Confused

After doing some reading, I changed the following parameter:

GrahamNR17 · Expire: 2012-09-06

Good job I'm a patient man. Page two of this thread so far, and still none of it makes any sense to me Laughing

fotomachi · Posted: Mon Mar 19, 2012 10:37 am Post subject:

std · Joined: 09 Feb 2010 Posts: 1826 Location: Bulgaria

I think that just adding tags with the name of the lens used in LR is kind of faster and easier to do. Those tags are also saved to Exif when you export from LR.

Exiftool is a command line tool and it's not so easy to manipulate from LR for individual photos.

n6mod · Posted: Thu Mar 22, 2012 2:51 pm Post subject:

I did roughly the same thing a couple of years ago, thinking about processing a whole card's worth of images at a time.

The result is in https://github.com/zandr/LensTag. You give it a config file for the lens, optionally a GPS log, and a list of files (usually * in a directory) and it adds the tags.

I've recently dusted this off because of a brilliant suggestion. I've condensed the config files to the point where they'll fit in a QR code. Now, when I'm in the field shooting and switch lenses, I snap a pic of the QR code for that lens and go on my way.

I'm now working on the code to scan a directory of pictures looking for QR codes. It's a little bit tricky: I need to be sure I'm processing them in order by EXIF date, since file numbers can wrap around.

I also use an external GPS logger, so I'm working on a solution for synchronizing camera clocks as well. There are in fact iPhone and Android apps that show a QR code clock. Very Happy

peterqd · Expire: 2014-01-04

fotomachi · Posted: Thu Mar 22, 2012 3:25 pm Post subject:

Orio · Expire: 2012-12-04

peterqd · Expire: 2014-01-04

You cheered me up Orio! Everything is still all right with the world. Smile

I like your style too, food above women. But where's the beer? Embarassed

GrahamNR17 · Expire: 2012-09-06