Keeping track of images from multiple bodies and CF cards

[bobatkins]

If you have two digital bodies and 4 or 5 CF cards, how do you keep

track of images?

 

With one camera you get a unique image ID#, but if you have two

cameras you can have two different images with the same "in camera"

ID number.

 

Also, if you switch cards between cameras you can compound the

problem as well as since that can mix up folder numbers!

 

Now I know the solution is (a) dedicate CF cards to a particular body

and (b) rename all your images, but that's too much to think about

and I need a lazy, forgetfull person's solution!

 

I'm sure others must have had this problem and I'd be interested in

what you do about it (if anything).

[Troll]

Get rid of one too many cameras.

[johnlund]

As part of my processing, I use a homebrew script to rename all the newly-downloaded files to computer-generated universally unique ids (UUIDs). (Microsoft folks call them GUIDs.) I doubt than many people would enjoy this particular scheme, since it yields horrific filenames like "563058b7-e2fa-4a71-bc8f-664c4a259b46.raw", but the technique might be of interest.

[craig_bridge]

With Nikon bodies, unless they are the same model and firmware, the image properties will tell you what body/firmware and settings produced the image.

[leonard_richmond7]

BreezeBrowser (www.breezesys.com) can batch rename your files. One choice might be to use the date, time, and the %u parameter in the new name. %u is the "Lowest number to give a unique name. Useful when using %t and camera takes shots at more than 1 fps" OR when multiple cards in multiple cameras end up with the exact same date/time to the second. Just setup your renaming preference and run Batch Rename on a directory to change all the names based on your preference.

 

I defined my in reverse order - year, numerical month, day, etc. so my pictures are in chronological order when Windows sorts the filenames alphabetically.

[kristian_olson]

Bob,<br>

I totally understand your dilemma as I will find myself in the exact same situation very soon and I find myself wondering the same thing. Most of the posts have not helped much.<br>

There must be a way within firmware to change the first part of the file name that the dSLR saves the files as. I don't have a dSLR right now, but will by buying a couple D100's very soon. I may have to contact Nikon directly and ask them that exact question. It seems so obvious a fix that it should be there.<p>

Does anyone know of a way to do this INSIDE the camera before taking the memory card out of the camera?<p>

 

kdo

[struan_gray]

Take two of everything and only keep the even/odd frames?

 

Don't most cameras let you set the start number for the

counting? Why not just set the start number on one body to

some tens of thousands above the number for the other?

[Ed_Ingold]

1) You can name the directory in a Nikon D1-series camera, and probably others as well. When you dump the chip, copy the directory rather than just the files.

 

2) If you use Nikon Capture, you have an option to automatically create a new sub-directory on each download.

 

3) There is a shareware utility, CKRename, on the web which will rename files according to any rule you devise. It works pretty well. You should find it easily with a search.

[h_d4]

Filename collision and general filename confusion are an area where DSLR's have room to improve. I humbly suggest that the wizards who design our digital toys should allow us to set the filename convention used by the camera as we wish. I am shooting with a 5D and a 350D, I might set the filenames to (carmeratype)(date) (time) so I would never have file collisions. Kevin Ames, who did a workflow class I took (and who never answered my emails like he promised to do after) prefers to add a job number to every shot he takes. He might use (job number)(cameraname) (fileneumber). The need to rename images when the cards are ingested would be eliminated. Hopefully these improvements can be implemented in firmware.