Rename sequentially after multi-card ingest

[Lyle Aspinall]

Mac OS 10.6.5
Photo Mechanic 4.5.4
4 GB of RAM
Shooting two Canon EOS 1D Mark IIN bodies, one with an SD card, one with a CF card

I'm not sure if this is the correct forum for this, but here goes…

I posted this (http://forums.camerabits.com/index.php?topic=6017.0) in the General Discussion tab, and on a couple of other associations' forums, and the results have led me to ask if its possible to implement an automated feature in which the files inside of a contact sheet can be renamed sequentially after multiple cards are ingested simultaneously.

I realize that files can't be renamed sequentially from different sources while they're in the process of ingesting, but would it be possible to create an option that automatically sorts the resulting contact sheet after a multi-card ingest according to Capture Time and then rename the files sequentially?

[Kirk Baker]

Lyle,

Shooting two Canon EOS 1D Mark IIN bodies, one with an SD card, one with a CF card

I'm not sure if this is the correct forum for this, but here goes…

I posted this (http://forums.camerabits.com/index.php?topic=6017.0) in the General Discussion tab, and on a couple of other associations' forums, and the results have led me to ask if its possible to implement an automated feature in which the files inside of a contact sheet can be renamed sequentially after multiple cards are ingested simultaneously.

I realize that files can't be renamed sequentially from different sources while they're in the process of ingesting, but would it be possible to create an option that automatically sorts the resulting contact sheet after a multi-card ingest according to Capture Time and then rename the files sequentially?

I'm not sure it would be possible.  Since PM allows you to work with your photos while they're being Ingested, you could be off in the middle of some operation at the moment that the Ingest finished and then it wouldn't be able to carry out the task.  Also since the destination path for an Ingest operation can be very dynamic, not all of the images are guaranteed to be in the same folder.  Both of these issues could be deal breakers.

-Kirk

[vAfotoriporter]

If you desperately need the files to be named sequencially then you have the option to set up your file naming convention to include the creation time as well in the filename. This way even a multi card ingest could include the actual capture time in filenames resulting a sequential numbering privded by your camera clock. This way a filename sort would result in a capture time sort and you wouldn't need to rename all your files after ingest.

I had similar thoughts when I first started using PM but I quite quickly dropped the need for this as sort by Capture Time in PM solved my probelm. I don't need such sort outside of PM.

[Lyle Aspinall]

Thanks for the feedback. The thing about the variables that keep it from being viable makes perfect sense.

[Alan W. Smith]

One quick thing to watch out for with naming based off creation time is that for it to work properly, the cameras' clocks have to be pretty well in sync. If you use Canon EOS cameras, there is a piece of software called "EOS Utility" that comes on the CD with the cameras that can help with this. The utility will let you sync individual camera time to the computers clock. It's a lot simpler than trying to do it manually by setting the clock on the back of the camera.

[Kirk Baker]

One quick thing to watch out for with naming based off creation time is that for it to work properly, the cameras' clocks have to be pretty well in sync. If you use Canon EOS cameras, there is a piece of software called "EOS Utility" that comes on the CD with the cameras that can help with this. The utility will let you sync individual camera time to the computers clock. It's a lot simpler than trying to do it manually by setting the clock on the back of the camera.

And you can use the Adjust Capture Dates and Times dialog to sync up your pictures afterward if you want.

-Kirk

[vAfotoriporter]

One quick thing to watch out for with naming based off creation time is that for it to work properly, the cameras' clocks have to be pretty well in sync. If you use Canon EOS cameras, there is a piece of software called "EOS Utility" that comes on the CD with the cameras that can help with this. The utility will let you sync individual camera time to the computers clock. It's a lot simpler than trying to do it manually by setting the clock on the back of the camera.

And you can use the Adjust Capture Dates and Times dialog to sync up your pictures afterward if you want.

-Kirk

I second this. Using this option I don't really bother not to forget to set the clock properly.

[vAfotoriporter]

If shooting time and photo order is a key to be really precise then it is a good thing to have an atomic clock in arms reach before each shoot. (ie Emerald Clock for the iPhone or any other ITP protocol software). Take a snapshot of it with all the cameras before the shoot so you can simply sync all the capture times with PM.

For multiple camera setups I prefer using a letter at the filename to identify which camera took the picture. For this I use a code replacement file listing all the camera serial numbers and the desired letters to assign to them in the filename, I changed the code replacement delimiter to + because the default one cannot be used in filenames and I add +{snum}+ to all filenames. This way even photos taken exactly the same time (including even subseconds) won't cause any filename problem and from the camera identifier you know in a glance who took the photo with which camera.