Camera Short Name

[stevieray]

I am currently using the {model} tag as part of the filename for my ingested images, mainly to quickly tell which camera was used to take a particular shot.  The only problem is that most ingestion tools that I have used offer a tag for the full name, as well as a short name.  So, instead of getting "Canon EOS 20D" it simply returns "20D".  Does Photo Mechanic offer such an option?  If not, can it be added?  The short name results in a much shorter filename so it is possible to see the full filename in thumbnail views rather then something like "Canon EOS 2....144159.cr2".

Thanks.

M.

[Kirk Baker]

I am currently using the {model} tag as part of the filename for my ingested images, mainly to quickly tell which camera was used to take a particular shot.  The only problem is that most ingestion tools that I have used offer a tag for the full name, as well as a short name.  So, instead of getting "Canon EOS 20D" it simply returns "20D".  Does Photo Mechanic offer such an option?  If not, can it be added?  The short name results in a much shorter filename so it is possible to see the full filename in thumbnail views rather then something like "Canon EOS 2....144159.cr2".

No, we don't have such a variable but you can use variable substring extraction on the current model variable like so:

{model:-3}

and you'll get 20D with your above example.

-Kirk

[stevieray]

Fantastic, thank you for the quick reply!   

Thanks.

[IanGoldstein]

You could use code replacement along with the {model} tag to get a shorter camera name. For example, you could create a code replacement file with entries such as...

    modelCanon EOS 20D      20D
    modelCanon EOS 30D      30D
    modelCanon EOS 5D       5D
    modelCanon EOS-1D       1D
    etc...

...and then use "\model{model}\" in any text location you want to include the short model name.

I've posted a few similar, non-sporting event replated code replacement ideas on the code replacement forum (http://forums.camerabits.com/index.php?board=16.0).

It is important to note that (at this point) this will only work if you make sure to include an entry in this code replacement file for each of the cameras you work with. If a camera model is not in the list, you will get "replacement" text such as "\modelNIKON D200\". To really handle this properly, we would need official support for these "pseudo-variables", which I requested in a previous thread (http://forums.camerabits.com/index.php?topic=1763.0). Perhaps if enough of us are interested in such a feature it could eventually be added to Photo Mechanic.

-Ian

[stevieray]

Was the "pseudo-variables" feature inlcluded in PM 4.6? 

[Kirk Baker]

Was the "pseudo-variables" feature inlcluded in PM 4.6? 

No, but the methods above all work as described.

-Kirk

[rjp]

You could use code replacement along with the {model} tag to get a shorter camera name. For example, you could create a code replacement file with entries such as...

    modelCanon EOS 20D      20D
    modelCanon EOS 30D      30D
    modelCanon EOS 5D       5D
    modelCanon EOS-1D       1D
    etc...

...and then use "\model{model}\" in any text location you want to include the short model name.

I've posted a few similar, non-sporting event replated code replacement ideas on the code replacement forum (http://forums.camerabits.com/index.php?board=16.0).

It is important to note that (at this point) this will only work if you make sure to include an entry in this code replacement file for each of the cameras you work with. If a camera model is not in the list, you will get "replacement" text such as "\modelNIKON D200\". To really handle this properly, we would need official support for these "pseudo-variables", which I requested in a previous thread (http://forums.camerabits.com/index.php?topic=1763.0). Perhaps if enough of us are interested in such a feature it could eventually be added to Photo Mechanic.

-Ian

Ian,

Are you saying that if there is not an exact match for model you will get replacement text that is arbitrary and not even listed in your table?

[Kirk Baker]

You could use code replacement along with the {model} tag to get a shorter camera name. For example, you could create a code replacement file with entries such as...

    modelCanon EOS 20D      20D
    modelCanon EOS 30D      30D
    modelCanon EOS 5D       5D
    modelCanon EOS-1D       1D
    etc...

...and then use "\model{model}\" in any text location you want to include the short model name.

I've posted a few similar, non-sporting event replated code replacement ideas on the code replacement forum (http://forums.camerabits.com/index.php?board=16.0).

It is important to note that (at this point) this will only work if you make sure to include an entry in this code replacement file for each of the cameras you work with. If a camera model is not in the list, you will get "replacement" text such as "\modelNIKON D200\". To really handle this properly, we would need official support for these "pseudo-variables", which I requested in a previous thread (http://forums.camerabits.com/index.php?topic=1763.0). Perhaps if enough of us are interested in such a feature it could eventually be added to Photo Mechanic.

Are you saying that if there is not an exact match for model you will get replacement text that is arbitrary and not even listed in your table?

That would indeed be the case, but if you modified Ian's example just slightly, then the worst you would get is just blank text.  For instance with the following code replacement table:

Canon EOS 20D          20D
Canon EOS 30D          30D
...

You would then just do \{model}\ instead of \model{model}\

(and setting your Default replacement to nothing in the Code Replacement dialog) you would just get blank text when using an unknown camera.  But honestly, how many different cameras are you going to encounter that you can't enter a short replacement string for them as you come across them?

-Kirk

[rjp]

You could use code replacement along with the {model} tag to get a shorter camera name. For example, you could create a code replacement file with entries such as...

    modelCanon EOS 20D      20D
    modelCanon EOS 30D      30D
    modelCanon EOS 5D       5D
    modelCanon EOS-1D       1D
    etc...

...and then use "\model{model}\" in any text location you want to include the short model name.

I've posted a few similar, non-sporting event replated code replacement ideas on the code replacement forum (http://forums.camerabits.com/index.php?board=16.0).

It is important to note that (at this point) this will only work if you make sure to include an entry in this code replacement file for each of the cameras you work with. If a camera model is not in the list, you will get "replacement" text such as "\modelNIKON D200\". To really handle this properly, we would need official support for these "pseudo-variables", which I requested in a previous thread (http://forums.camerabits.com/index.php?topic=1763.0). Perhaps if enough of us are interested in such a feature it could eventually be added to Photo Mechanic.

Are you saying that if there is not an exact match for model you will get replacement text that is arbitrary and not even listed in your table?

That would indeed be the case, but if you modified Ian's example just slightly, then the worst you would get is just blank text.  For instance with the following code replacement table:

Canon EOS 20D          20D
Canon EOS 30D          30D
...

You would then just do \{model}\ instead of \model{model}\

(and setting your Default replacement to nothing in the Code Replacement dialog) you would just get blank text when using an unknown camera.  But honestly, how many different cameras are you going to encounter that you can't enter a short replacement string for them as you come across them?

-Kirk

Agreed. Blank is fine, just don't want random text.