Nikon, Mac, and File Created Date

[bmoorhouse]

I noticed today while trying to use Spotlight and search for photos created on a given date, that the image

files from my camera have no Created date. There is a modified date that appears to be close enough, but

the Created date is dashed out.

 

Am I missing something or do Nikon cameras not record the Created date when creating the files?

 

Thanks for the help

 

 

p.s. The EXIF data has the correct Image Taken On Date, but Spotlight apparently does not search that.

[michael erlich]

I've also noticed that the file created date is not recorded properly on files that I import directly by dragging in the Finder. The file created date is correct when I import the files using Nikon View or PictureProject Transfer. I think this is a bug in the Mac OS code.

[skellener]

The photos I have in iPhoto all seem to have a "Created" date if I Get Info on them in the Finder and I use a D50.

[bmoorhouse]

Michael and Steve, thanks for the responses. I have double checked and took a couple of

photos. After putting the card in the reader, I imported the photos into iPhoto and then

also dragged them to the desktop. I then checked all three copies of the photos (in

iPhoto's folders, on the desktop, and the original still on the SD card), and all three were

missing the Created date.

 

Steve, What version of iPhoto are you using? And do you import into iPhoto directly from

the card or do you copy them to the computer manually first? I am curious what you do

different than me that you get the Created date that I don't. And just to confirm, you are

talking about the Created Date for the file as indicated by the Finder's Get Info window and

not for the photo as shown in iPhoto's Get Info window, right?

 

Thanks for the help guys.

[ombrello]

Aperture 1.5 displays the picture time stamp as Image Date and it is accurate. Maybe

Spotlight has mapped the created date to the wrong EXIF field.

[bmoorhouse]

Actually, the problem is the other way around. The EXIF data is fine, the Created date for the

file itself, however, is empty.

 

In other words, if I view the Photo's info in iPhoto, EXIF Viewer, or Preview, the created date is

there. If, however, I select the file in the Finder and select Get Info, the Created date is

dashed out.

 

It would seem as if the camera does not record it, but siince others have reported that the

date is available coming from their D50, I am wondering why it isn't on mine.

[h._p.]

It looks to me like a 'feature' of Aqua. If you open a Terminal and do 'ls -lT' on the file, you'll find it has a date, which corresponds to the 'last opened' date shown in the Finder. If you compare that with a file you created, say a copy of a picture, you'll find it has a 'created' date that matches what you'd expect. I wonder if the copy routine just fails to populate the 'created' field after it's done the copy from the card.

 

It's not the only odd feature of Aqua. For instance, if you create an 'alias', Aqua reports it as having a size of around 64KB but if you look at the alias in the terminal, it turns out to be an ordinary link with, as you'd expect, a size of '0'. Unless Aqua is keeping additional information elsewhere for some reason, the zero size is clearly the correct value.

[bmoorhouse]

Cool. I don't know what exactly the ls -lT command is telling me, but when I entered it into

Terminal, I did in fact see the date that corresponds with the date the photo was taken, and

which Finder reports as the Modified Date.

 

If this is a Finder problem, hopefully, it will be repaired with Leopard.

[aaron_lee___minneapolis__m]

I believe the problem roots in the differing file systems being used.

 

1. Your Nikon uses FAT or FAT32

2. Your Mac is using HFS+

 

File creation date is a function of the file system, not of the image. Your camera may or may not create a proper "File Creation" timestamp, or it may be getting lost.

 

That being said, images from my D200 have an accurate Image Creation date

 

Whoever was talking about "features of Aqua" is way off the mark. Aqua is all the pretty widgets and textures you see on the screen, not the operating system, much less Finder.

 

I am wondering how you import your images exactly, which camera, what version of OS X, and which version of iPhoto.

 

Aaron Lee

[bmoorhouse]

Aaron,

 

Thanks for the reply. I use iPhoto to import my photos off the card using a Belkin card

reader. I also then copy the files of the card to a separate drive using the finder. Both

files, i.e. the one iPhoto creates in its library and the one the Finder created, are missing

the Created Date.

 

I also noticed that my image files from my older Canon, which I have not used in nearly a

year, are also missing the Created Date.

 

All of these files from both cameras do, however, have a Modified Date even though these

files have never been modified.

 

My guess is either the camera wrongfully puts the Created date in the Modified field or

somewhere between the cameras and the computer the dates are misinterpreted by

Apple's OS. But why does my computer/camera seem to be the only one with this

problem?

[skellener]

Robert,

 

I currently have iPhoto 5.0.4

 

I used to bring in images directly from my D50, but lately that's been a bit flakey (craps out occasionally). Instead, now I use a card reader (Rosewill USB/SD $8 from NewEgg.com) and use Image Capture to import into the computer. Then drop that folder into iPhoto.

 

I can see a "Created" date in both the Finder as well as in iPhoto.

 

Hope this helps!