Changing XMP embed / sidecar preferences for ingesting vs. keywording

[DavidL]

Hello,

Fairly new to PM+, amateur hobbyist, and this is my first post, so please bear with me if I've missed something obvious.

PM+ version 6.0 build 6645
OS: Windows 10

I would like to embed XMP data in my RAW files when ingesting (I go to Preferences, IPTC/XMP, uncheck "Always create and/or update XMP sidecar file"), but I prefer to create XMP sidecar files for keywording.

Why, you may ask? Olympus cameras add "OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA" to the IPTC Content Description field. If I forget to get rid of it, this is displayed as the image title on some platforms. I want it gone. Fried right out of my RAW files. So, I can achieve this by unchecking "Always create and/or update XMP sidecar file" when ingesting. So far, so good.

I also prefer to create XMP sidecar files when keywording, as I understand that PM+ catalogs work more efficiently when reading and writing XMP files, rather than large RAW files. To achieve this, I need to remember to go to Preferences, and check that option "Always create and/or update XMP sidecar file".

If I leave that option checked for ingesting, I found I get an XMP sidecar file and also the IPTC Content Description is cleared with the Metadata IPTC Template I use for my ingest. But if I then add keywords, I found the keywords are also added to the RAW. This is not necessarily a problem so long as the keywords are in the XMP for the catalog to use, but I'd prefer to keep RAW embedding to a minimum (I'd like to only clear the OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA from the Content field, and add my copyright, leave the RAW file alone otherwise).

To achieve what I prefer, I need to remember to go to Preferences and change the option "Always create and/or update XMP sidecar file" for ingesting, vs. keywording.

Is there an elegant way (say, in the ingest process without going to Preferences), to force RAW file embedded metadata when ingesting, and force XMP sidecar with no keywords written to the RAW file when keywording? I'm well aware that I can also edit/change metadata when importing to my editing software (I do it in Capture One) but if I'm using PM+ at the start of my workflow, I'd like to do it within PM+.

Thanks everyone.

[Bob M]

I will be interested in the reply.  While I don't like David's proposed solution -- I think the raw file should be left untouched -- the "OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA" is a damn nuisance.  If you overwrite the description field with a few blanks in the applied template on ingestion, that seems to hide it, but if I leave the description field empty and just check that check box, that doesn't get rid of it.  Further, if I overwrite with blanks and then, sometime later, inadvertently clear that field then its back.

(This issue doesn't arise with all Olympus cameras, only some.  It happens with my em10 mkII, but not with my em5 mkIII.)

[ahoward]

The short answer is no, there is no easy way to do this, and I think this is really too specific of a use case for us to implement into Photo Mechanic without potentially causing bigger problems for other users. Additionally, changing the setting manually as you suggested doesn't actually fulfill your request of "I want it gone. Fried right out of my RAW files". Photo Mechanic is adding your caption to embedded XMP and then showing you that when you view the metadata, but "OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA" is still there in the file, and nothing you do in Photo Mechanic will actually remove that. We would suggest removing this unwanted data with something like Exiftool and then working exclusively with XMP sidecar files in Photo Mechanic. I imagine you are not the first person to be frustrated by Olympus inserting this information into a caption; there is probably an Exiftool-based solution out there already.

[MNeipris]

Prefacing this with: I do not have an Olympus camera to test with.

Does Olympus Capture (https://support.olympus-imaging.com/oc1download/index/) allow you to change camera settings such as IPTC information?

I know that Canon's EOS Utility lets users register IPTC fields for supported cameras. https://support.usa.canon.com/kb/index?page=content&id=ART166285

[DavidL]

The short answer is no, there is no easy way to do this, and I think this is really too specific of a use case for us to implement into Photo Mechanic without potentially causing bigger problems for other users. Additionally, changing the setting manually as you suggested doesn't actually fulfill your request of "I want it gone. Fried right out of my RAW files". Photo Mechanic is adding your caption to embedded XMP and then showing you that when you view the metadata, but "OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA" is still there in the file, and nothing you do in Photo Mechanic will actually remove that. We would suggest removing this unwanted data with something like Exiftool and then working exclusively with XMP sidecar files in Photo Mechanic. I imagine you are not the first person to be frustrated by Olympus inserting this information into a caption; there is probably an Exiftool-based solution out there already.

Thank you for the reply and for the hint about Exiftool, which I didn't know about before. Indeed there is an Exiftool-based solution, and I'll explore this option - copied here for any others browsing here with this OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA problem.

https://exiftool.org/forum/index.php?topic=9588.0

[DavidL]

Prefacing this with: I do not have an Olympus camera to test with.

Does Olympus Capture (https://support.olympus-imaging.com/oc1download/index/) allow you to change camera settings such as IPTC information?

I know that Canon's EOS Utility lets users register IPTC fields for supported cameras. https://support.usa.canon.com/kb/index?page=content&id=ART166285

Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately, no. Olympus Workspace (now OM Workspace) lets me see the EXIF data but not edit it. (just for the information of other long-suffering Olympus users).