7D funky file info

BGtom

I've noticed the file creation/modified info on my canon cameras (noticed on my xTi as well) seems backwards...The time the image is taken is listed in file/properties as "date modified" and "date created" is something else entirely, perhaps the date/time I dumped it from the card?

Is there a way to fix this?

Many thanks!
Tom

ziggy53

Are you referring to the image file's "Date" fields in Windows Explorer?

If so, what date information is it you wish to see?

BGtom

ziggy53 wrote: »

Are you referring to the image file's "Date" fields in Windows Explorer?

If so, what date information is it you wish to see?

Yes. I see the info, but the date in the "date created" field is the date I (presumably) dumped the pix/video to my HDD, not the date I actually shot the pix/vid. Instead, the date I shot the picture/video is in the date modified field.

This seems wrong to me. The date I shoot the picture should ALWAYS be in the "date created" field, since I shot the picture that day. It seems inconceivable that windows (i dunno, maybe Apple too...) would treat the transfer of a file from removable media to the HDD as "creating" the file.

Sadly, this really seems like an OS issue, since I now that I've gone looking I'm seeing this behavior with other removable media devices.

However, I also never see anything listed under the "date taken" field...what's up with that?

Thanks Ziggy.

BGtom

Ahhhh...self discovery.
This is what I just discovered. You take a picture; if you COPY the file from your removable media to your HDD it will exhibit this awful behavior. But if you MOVE the file, it retains the "date created" as the date the picture was taken. In fact, date created and date modified will be the same.

Hah! Nailed IT! (I am a sad pathetic man...)

This still doesn't explain why there is nothing in the "date taken" field.

Gratitude,
Tom

ziggy53

BGtom wrote: »

This is what I just discovered. You take a picture; if you COPY the file from your removable media to your HDD it will exhibit this awful behavior. But if you MOVE the file, it retains the "date created" as the date the picture was taken. In fact, date created and date modified will be the same.

Hah! Nailed IT! (I am a sad pathetic man...)

This still doesn't explain why there is nothing in the "date taken" field.

Gratitude,
Tom

I always recommend using the Copy technique as opposed to Move, since Copy allows an opportunity for additional action if the first Copy did not work, for whatever reason. Using the Move technique means that if the OS acts up and the file does not transfer into the computer, you have to run a utility against the card to try to recover the deleted file. Copy keeps your options open until you can verify that all files copied correctly.

A computer is a general purpose device and the file system is simply noting different date attributes in different fields and columns within Windows Explorer, which is a file system utility.

For best results in a Windows machine I recommend a file management utility specific to photos, if you want sorting and searching features related to photography. Both of the following utilities read the date from the EXIF portion of the image file, if the file contains full EXIF.

Picassa is free and delivers basic image file utility.

http://picasa.google.com/

FastStone is free to try but I do recommend purchase if you like it. FastStone is what I use for most simple image file management.

http://www.faststone.org/