Exif Data

[john_arnold4]

Hi,

 

I am using Adobe Photoshop CS2. I recently bought a Canon EOS 5D. I

have noticed that the EXIF Data in Adobe Bridge does not seem to be

as complete as that in Zoom Browser. For example, in Bridge I can

not see the amount of flash exposure compensation but I can in Zoom

Browser. So the data is available, but is not being picked up by

Bridge.

 

I downloaded that latest downloads from Adobe's site that are

supposed to support the 5D. But the data is still not as complete as

in Zoom Browser. Is this just the way it is or is there anything

that I can do?

 

John

[mark u]

It's the way it is.

 

There are actually relatively few fields in the EXIF specification that are standardized. Among those that are, nul values are permitted in many cases (to cover for cameras that lack sophistication). EXIF also allows an area for data called the "makernote", but this is left as free-form in terms of its internal structure. Canon has chosen to record some data that could be recorded in standard EXIF fields in fields they created in the makernote area, which can be interpreted by Canon's software and by software that makes use of Canon's SDK.

 

Meantime, Adobe complains about the proprietory nature of makernote data, and claims that different pointer structures within it can actually lead to images being corrupted by software that attempts to interpret it without being aware of the protocol, so to be safe, they simply strip the makernote out of the file. They obviously have baulked at doing a deal with Canon to license Canon's SDK that would allow the makernote to be deciphered, and are only prepared to do what is necessary to cope with converting raw files.

[john_arnold4]

Mark,

 

Thanks for the insight. Hopefully most of this will take care of itself in time as digital camera capture becomes more standardized.

 

John