Sorting by Capture Time

First, make sure the camera clocks were in sync. If you didn't sync them at the start, find a common moment to compare before you combine them into one folder. If the time is off significantly, it's going to be difficult to get an accurate sort. Make sure also that the file names won't overwrite if you combine them into a single folder (or at least be VERY careful when it asks you if you want to overwrite, to keep BOTH files).

Assuming the clocks are in sync, put them into Adobe Bridge. Adobe Bridge will sort by capture time. If you don't have access to Adobe Bridge, you might have to process them separately and then sort the .jpgs later in Lightroom or another program.

Thanks so much. I downloaded Bridge. I have 2 folders of RAW files (both timestamped accurately) but the file numbers are in the same range therefore I cannot put them in a folder together. How do I join the 2 folders in bridge, order by time, and then export still in RAW? Any recommendations of a good tutorial? Thanks in advance!

First, make sure the camera clocks were in sync. If you didn't sync them at the start, find a common moment to compare before you combine them into one folder. If the time is off significantly, it's going to be difficult to get an accurate sort. Make sure also that the file names won't overwrite if you combine them into a single folder (or at least be VERY careful when it asks you if you want to overwrite, to keep BOTH files).

 

Assuming the clocks are in sync, put them into Adobe Bridge. Adobe Bridge will sort by capture time. If you don't have access to Adobe Bridge, you might have to process them separately and then sort the .jpgs later in Lightroom or another program.

I have 2 folders of RAW files (both timestamped accurately) but the file numbers are in the same range therefore I cannot put them in a folder together. How do I join the 2 folders in bridge, order by time, and then export still in RAW? Any recommendations of a good tutorial? Thanks in advance!

Do a batch rename on one folder first, then import the other and batch rename the whole set once it *completely loads* the thumbnails and sorts by capture date.

For future reference, many cameras now allow you to customize the file name in camera. So, you could start your file names with sn_ (for snapple, or you know, whatever) and then you'll never run into that problem with your second shooters.

If you use software that uses a catalog (a database basically), it doesn't quite matter they're in different folders. Software like Lightroom, CaptureOne or the Photoshop Elements Organiser will mostly hide the folders for you, and show your photos on a continuous timeline.

These software titles can also rename on import, and append sequencial numbers to the filename to avoid potential replicate filenames. The catalog will sort on the EXIF data, and potentially while exporting you can change filenames again to align filenames to the shot date.