dual camera workflow suggestions?

[tim_klimowicz]

<p>Please forgive me if this isn't the right forum; it's the closest match I can find.</p>

<p>I've been shooting with a Canon 30D for a few years now, and just yesterday I received the new Canon 7D. I don't plan on giving up shooting on the 30D entirely, so I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for how I should organize the files on my drive between two cameras.</p>

<p>Currently, I use the YYYY_MM_DD folder structure for all files from the 30D (assigned by Canon's EOS Utility app, which I use to pull the images from the cards), so each day's shooting sits in a unique dated subdirectory of my 'Pictures' directory. If I use the same structure with the 7D's files, I'm worried there will be directory conflicts (both cameras used on the same day), and possibly even naming conflicts.</p>

<p>How is this best solved?</p>

<p>I shoot RAW exclusively and use Apple's Aperture, if that matters, and use references to the files rather than import them into the library. I will be pulling both camera's images into the same library. Also, this mostly for personal usage, so there shouldn't be any really hardcore commercial considerations, but I shoot quite often so I'd appreciate something pretty solid.</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

[howard_m]

<p>some transfer software can include a camera identifier (I think Lightroom & Nikon Transfer can). Anyway, I've always included the hour:minute_frame# in the file name to help try to prevent such a thing.</p>

<p>look into something like Imageingester or PhotoMechanic too (although $$).</p>

[pcnilssen]

<p>I do not know Aperture, but in Lightroom, the camera# is presented along with the exif-data, and is also searchable. Maybe you have this option in Aperture as well? </p>

<p>Maybe you should add an "A" to the filenames coming from the 30D, and a "B" for those from the 7D? (or vice versa) during transfer?</p>

[mendel_leisk]

<p>Just have a couple of head-of-the-tree folders: one named 30D, and the other 7D? Not sure of your operating system, but your folder structure would be something like:</p>

<p>C:\images\30D\[your current folder sytem]</p>

<p>C:\images\7D\[your current folder sytem]</p>

<p>And if you're worried about duplicate names, rename the files? Say with one of the batch renamers available, or the rename function in various image viewer/editor programs?</p>

[joseph_wisniewski]

<p>I'm entirely the opposite. I like them merged smoothly. Before the shoot, synchronize the time on both cameras. Use your EOS utility (or scrap it and get some real software) to download all the files into the same directory, then use a decent renaming program (like "power renamer") to rename the files into order by time.</p>

<p>I think LightRoom can also rename files into order by time, but if the LightRoom Beta 3 is any indication of what the final LightRoom 3 is going to look like, it may be time to find another workflow software.</p>

[cabbiinc]

<p>EOS utility can be set up a couple different ways. It can continue to import files the same way you have it, and the duplicate file names get a 1 after them (_mg_2402, _mg_2402-1 or something of that nature), of which you can then use the renaming tool in DPP to rename. You can have EOS utility rename the files as it imports. You can also import into different files completely, I have a folder for real estate, a folder for portraits, and a folder for family stuff.</p>

<p>If you go with mixing in the same folder and you want to be able to sort by time and date get in the habit of updating the time on both cameras often and sync them to the computers clock with EOS Utility. That will get the two cameras within a second of each other.</p>

<p>If you use the renaming tool in DPP, it will rename in the order which you set the images too. You can sort by date and time, then drag the files to different spots. Say that you have a bunch of bird shots, then a bunch of family stuff, with a few bird shots left over. You can select the family shots and drag them to the front of the line (family first right), then when you rename it will start with those shots first, it retains the order which I like a lot.</p>

<p>Have fun shooting.</p>

[notso bad]

<p>I am not sure if this method will easily work for referenced files, but I rename files on import. My old 20D died, so I bought a 50D. Also, I have a canon P&S that I sometimes download into Aperture.<br>

So I use the aperture renaming options upon import so that I can use custom names(to name the event) with image date, or image year, or whatever I need and use the counter. The only disadvantage is that the files are numbered in the order you import, rather than the image time. However, Aperture can view by image date, so this can be overcome.<br>

I actually imported all my pics into aperture. previously I had them in folders through adobe bridge organized by month, and I could never find anything.</p>

[farski]

<p>sorry I didn't completely read through all the previous posts, but I shoot two cameras about 90% of the time and here's how I handle it. If I'm using both bodies at a single event, like a baseball game, I will name the folder on my computer: 2009-10-26 Baseball Yankees at Red Sox, which means I could have any number of event on that date and their folder names won't conflict, and I will also know the contents, date, and context just by glancing at the name. That folder will go in a year folder in my Pictures directory (the path is actually ~/Pictures/Pictures/2009/2009-10-26 Baseball Yankees at Red Sox)<br>

To avoid the possibility of individual files' names conflicting, I have my bodies set to use distinct names when actually writing the files in camera. Instead of the default DSC_XXXX.NEF, I change the prefix to be indicative of the camera they came from, so if I have one full-frame body and one crop-frame body, I would set it to get images like FXA_2131.NEF and DXA_9871.NEF. If I were using more than one full-frame bodies at one event, I would get FXA_XXXX and FXB_XXXX, FXC_XXXX, etc. That way even in the Finder I have a way of quickly sorting an entire event by: capture time, camera, camera type, etc. And there's never any chance of naming collisions, without the need to rename every single file coming out of the cameras.<br>

If I'm shooting more than one event in a day, like I already mentioned, the folder names include an event descriptor, so I can have five folders from 2009-10-26 sitting right next to each other and still know what each one is.</p>