Ingest: Rename images based on camera serial no.

[Eldor]

(I've been having a private discussion with Kirk and he's been very kind and helpful, but it's better that we continue this in public...)

I have an image naming convention which I guess is non-standard but it is one I've been using for over 20 years now and I'm very happy with it and reluctant to change.  For ingesting images from my cards, I've been using Downloader Pro by Chris Breeze.  I'm trying to get the same functionality with PM6 and Kirk leads me to believe it's possible.  Here's the scenario:

Two Canon 5D Mk III's and two Fuji XPro-2's (and various other cameras).  I have four memory cards in my hands, and don't know which camera they came from.  With DLPro I don't even have to think about it... I ingest the images from all cards and get this kind of result:
 
5d3a_01234    <--- 5D Mk III body "a", plus camera's image sequence number
5d3b_01234    <--- 5D Mk III body "b", plus camera's image sequence number
pro2a_01234   <--- Fuji XPro2 body "a", plus camera's image sequence number
pro2b_01234   <--- Fuji XPro2 body "b", plus camera's image sequence number

There's never any duplication of filenames and I can tell at a glance (without any image viewer) which camera the image(s) came from.  No brainer.  I can ingest card after card without thought and without having to change any settings.
 
I know that with PM images can be renamed when ingesting, but I don't see how I can get the same result as above.  Using {frame} I can get the image sequence number but I don't know how to get PM to identify each individual camera WHILE INGESTING.  I know I could use code replacement to change things, but can that be done WHILE INGESTING?  Or is it like I think, a separate operation once the images have been ingested?  If so, that doesn't work for me.  I don't want to ingest, then do a code replacement operation, and then ingest the next card, etc.  Too much work, and too much chance (I think) of getting duplicate names until the prefix gets changed.
 
I love PM and if I can figure this ingesting thing out, I'll be able to get rid of both BreezeBrowser Pro and Downloader Pro.

Thanks for any comments or suggestions.

[Kirk Baker]

Yes, you can get names similar to those examples in PM while Ingesting.  It takes a little preparation.  First we need to know what each of your camera's serial numbers are.  You can customize your Info Text (Edit->Settings->Set Info Text...) and add this to your current Info Text:

Serial #: {snum}

Then open up a contact sheet with an image from each of your cameras.  Preview each image, make note of the serial numbers (you can copy and paste from the Info Text pane).  Copy each serial number and paste them each on a new line of text in a plain text file (use Notepad on Windows or BBEdit on macOS, they're both free) like so:

000112543
545784
93E7J54

Now that you have each camera serial number on its own line, you need to add your desired names.  Put your cursor on each serial number and move your cursor to the end of the line.  Press the Tab key once to insert a tab.  Type in the name.  Repeat this for each serial number.  You should have something that looks like this:

000112543   pro2a
545784   5d3a
93E7J54   5d3b
000112754   pro2b

Save that file somewhere convenient.  Next, back in PM, open up the Code Replacement settings (Edit->Settings->Set Code Replacements...) and click the Add... button.  Find your file and choose it.  Then at the bottom of the Code Replacement dialog set your "Delimiter character:" to the equals sign: = and click the OK button.

Then in Ingest, set the "Rename Ingested photos as:" checkbox to checked.  In the text field below enter:

={snum}=_0{frame4}

That's it.

Now when you Ingest, your camera's serial number will be looked up from the photo being processed, and the name you gave that serial number will be substituted via Code Replacement (that's the ={snum}= part), then you'll have an underscore, a zero, and finally the frame number of the photo will be substituted.

You should be getting very similar names as to what you were used to by using Downloader Pro.

HTH,

-Kirk

[Eldor]

INCREDIBLE!!!

I'm talking about your incredible support and help with this.  Outstanding!
 
I'm just heading into a meeting but will try this out either later tonight or tomorrow morning.  And of course I'll let you know the results.

Thank you!

[Eldor]

Kirk, it's working!!!

EXCEPT...
 
For images from my Fuji XPro2 bodies. 

There is something strange about the serial number of those bodies.  They display like this:

Serial #: FFDT22950095     5935303934321603045A502011205D

I tried first with just the FFDT22950095 part and it didn't work.  Then I entered the WHOLE THING (as above), followed by a tab and then my prefix.  And that did work.  So you might just tuck that info into your database somewhere in case someone else has problems with Fuji XPro2 bodies.

It's really great and I'm very happy that it's working so well now.  Thank you for your kind help.

[Kirk Baker]

Kirk, it's working!!!

EXCEPT...
 
For images from my Fuji XPro2 bodies. 

There is something strange about the serial number of those bodies.  They display like this:

Serial #: FFDT22950095     5935303934321603045A502011205D

I tried first with just the FFDT22950095 part and it didn't work.  Then I entered the WHOLE THING (as above), followed by a tab and then my prefix.  And that did work.  So you might just tuck that info into your database somewhere in case someone else has problems with Fuji XPro2 bodies.

Yes, you'd need to enter the whole thing, spaces and all.

It's really great and I'm very happy that it's working so well now.  Thank you for your kind help.

You're welcome and hopefully others may learn from this solution.

-Kirk