Ingest Dialog, variables, Mac

[sidewinder]

I am on a Mac using Photo Mechanic 4.6.2.1. I want to use this expression to name my files on ingest:

{datesort}_{tims}_{seqn:-2}

The dialog replaces the ":" as I type it with a "-". Is there a simple way around this issue?

Scott

[Kirk Baker]

Scott,

I am on a Mac using Photo Mechanic 4.6.2.1. I want to use this expression to name my files on ingest:

{datesort}_{tims}_{seqn:-2}

The dialog replaces the ":" as I type it with a "-". Is there a simple way around this issue?

No, but why are you trimming off characters in the sequence number?  You can make the sequence number have as many or as few leading digits as you like.

-Kirk

[sidewinder]

Kirk,

What I really want was this:

{dats}_{tmsl}

But my D90 does not support the subsecond field. It always contains "00".

 So, I wanted to have a 2 digit number in that field just in case I shot at 4 FPS.

I have settled on this:

{dats}_{tims}{fnm4}

That will be safe. Do you have a better solution?

I didn't want to use {seqn} but I can limit it to 2 characters. I use {fnm4} because it will always be 4 characters long. File names will be the same length all the time.

Scott

[Kirk Baker]

Scott,

What I really want was this:

{dats}_{tmsl}

But my D90 does not support the subsecond field. It always contains "00".

 So, I wanted to have a 2 digit number in that field just in case I shot at 4 FPS.

I have settled on this:

{dats}_{tims}{fnm4}

That will be safe. Do you have a better solution?

Sounds fine to me.  And by the way, to enter a ':' in the Rename field, you must first finish typing the variable with the closing '}' and then insert a colon and a -2.  Then it should work.

-Kirk

[sidewinder]

Kirk,

Thanks! I was able to get this typed in using your tip:

{dats}_{tims}{seqn:-2}

I have the sequence set to start at "0001". That assures that I get 2 digits with the {seqn:-2} expansion.

Now I get the YYYYMMDD_HHMMSSss.nef format I wanted for filenames with a fixed 21 character filename length and no chance for duplication even when shooting at 4 fps.

Thanks again!!

Scott

[Hayo Baan]

What I really want was this:

{dats}_{tmsl}

But my D90 does not support the subsecond field. It always contains "00".

Now that is strange; all Nikon Camera's I've seen so far (D70, D200, D300, D3) do support the subsecond field (contrary to a couple of Canon models I've noticed). Have you perhaps edited the file with other software that strips some of the file data? Your original camera files should certainly have subseconds (unless Nikon broke some great functionality in the D90, which I doubt).

Note that the subseconds are not accessible in all file formats either; I noticed that images saved as PSD don't show subseconds, but the same file saved as TIFF does, go figure...

Cheers,
    Hayo

[sidewinder]

Hayo,

No, the D90 really doesn't support the subsecond field. I have my D90 set to RAW and I ingest the files straight from the card into Photo Mechanic. I looked at the EXIF data of a file straight off the D90 and no subsecond information existed.

I sent an email to Nikon Support about it. Maybe there will be a firmware update someday that fixes this.

Scott

[sidewinder]

I ended up using this expression:

{dats}_{tims}{fnm4:-2}

I did so because I get all the data for the file name from the EXIF and I don't need to worry about how the seqn variable is setup. This solution works fine because I don't really care what data is in the subsecond field as long as it increments from one photo to the next in a sequence.

I will post back any information I get back from Nikon on the issue.

Scott

[Hayo Baan]

Excellent solution! As my own workflow and filenaming relies on the subsecond data too to make filenames unique, I might use your solution if I ever get a camera that doesn't include it.

Thanks,
    Hayo

[sidewinder]

Hayo,

My plan, when I got a camera that populated the subsecond field, was to change the expression to this:

{dats}_{tmsl}

But, since I don't really care what values are in the subsecond field, I think I will continue to use my current expression since that expression should work with any camera no matter how it treats the subsecond field.

In other words, the expression I use now is pretty much camera agnostic!

Scott

[sidewinder]

Hayo,

For some unique ergonomic reasons, I swapped my D90 for a D300s. I am now using this expression:

{dats}_{tmsl}

That makes the most sense and it is working quite well!

Scott

[Hayo Baan]

Excellent, and congrats on the D300s. It's a step up from the D90 you'll see 

[sidewinder]

Hayo,

Thanks. I have seen that already. And it is no small step either.

Scott