File naming convention question

BVardy

Hi folks,

I have a Canon S-45 (mostly used by wife, and carried in tank bag), and a Rebel 350. I've been running into a problem lately when I download my cards into various files - both cameras are 'naming' the files the same (i.e. IMG-8504).

So, when I attempt to download pictures into my son's folder, for instance, I'll get the message "The flie name IMG-XXXX already exists, do you want to replace it?".

I thought I could change the naming convention on the camera itself, but can't find how to do that in the cameras or the manuals. Short of setting up separate folders for each camera, is there anything I can do?

Thank you.

hgernhardtjr

BVardy wrote:

Short of setting up separate folders for each camera, is there anything I can do?

With several cameras, I have used separate folders for years ... its far easier IMHO.

patch29

Since the camera will roll over at 9999, starting the problem again, there is not a lot to do besides use different folders or rename your files on the computer or the new files as they come into the computer. I can reset the camera to 0000 on mine, not sure about the P&S, but I don't know if that will help, maybe temporarily.

Some very good renaming software can be found here. I am sure you can find some freeware, but that software works very well for me.


Some of the newer cameras allow you to modify the first part of the filename, so you could change it, but not all cameras have that yet.

claudermilk

What I do is use a transfer utility called Downloader Pro. In its settings, one thing you can do is automatically rename the files as they are transferred. I have it set to use the timestamp, camera model, and the original sequence number thus: YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS-model-seq. I also drop the files to an automatically-generated folder structure based on the timestamp as well. Never any problem with duplicate filenames, and it's very organized. With that naming convetion, I expect the likelihood of a duplicate is vanishingly small.

wxwax

Brad, you didn't say what photo software you use. I believe a lot of them give you the power to rename files in a batch process (i.e. you tell the computer what you want, and it applies the instructions to all the files in the folder.)

DoctorIt

Yo Brad, what wax said.

I have 3 cameras I download from all the time, and as soon as they come in, I use Photoshop batch rename to take care of things. Something like: "camera-date taken-seq#" is way better than just a random number anyway. For example: 30d-20070122-001.jpg is how all my files are organized. Pshop and many other programs will recognize the date on their own, and sequence automatically, so all you need to do is tell it which camera a certain batch of photos came from.

With all the fancy stuff that exists, I still have an "import" folder right on my main photo directory that I always drop new stuff into, rename, then redistribute. It adds a step, but now taht you have multiple cams and more photos, it'll help you down the road.

Embrace it.

Say hi to the boy and the Mrs, btw

BVardy

Thanks guys, I appreciate the responses.

wxwax wrote:

Brad, you didn't say what photo software you use.

I'm a Luddite when it comes to the software. I'm currently using a mixture of Picasa and the Windows XP OEM stuff, as my primary computer is government issue, and I can't add anything to it. I think my situation is going to change very soon, so I'll probably end up with PS - if I can get someone to teach me how to use it

Hi Erik They say Hi back, and kisses to T Tell her she gets her sidecar ride this year

mrcoons

I use Canon's EOS Utility to download & rename my photos from all my cameras and my families cameras (because it seems that my wife and kids don't have time to download their own photos! ).

EOS Utility will let you rename the file anyway you want. I always put the date shot in the filename but like the idea of "camera-date taken-seq#". I've been creating 2 folders one for each camera. Would simplify things.

DoctorIt

BVardy wrote:

Hi Erik They say Hi back, and kisses to T Tell her she gets her sidecar ride this year

You know, now I wonder, are sidecars setup for "right-drive" in Australia??...

to the matter at hand: MrCoons is on to something. I know the free provided Nikon software is VERY good at downloading and renaming, I'm guessing the Canon stuff should be similar.

Picasa is PC-only, so I haven't played with it, but I did just hit their site real quick and it does say it can handle renaming "single or a group of photos". Maybe someone here has more Picasa experience?

BVardy

I never thought of the OEM software - thanks for the tip

To be honest, I'm not that impressed with Picasa. maybe it's me

DoctorIt

BVardy wrote:

I never thought of the OEM software - thanks for the tip

yw

let us know how it goes. easy/hard to use? did the trick?

claudermilk

DoctorIt wrote:

to the matter at hand: MrCoons is on to something. I know the free provided Nikon software is VERY good at downloading and renaming, I'm guessing the Canon stuff should be similar.

Actually, from what I saw it isn't. The included Nikon downloader is quite nice & the main thing I missed in switching to Canon (ok from a Coolpix 995 to a 20D). Losing Nikon's downloader is what drove me to go looking and find Breezesys' Downloader Pro, which is like Nikon's, only better.

Overall, IMHO Canon's included software sucks. DPP is the best piece in the package, and I still am underwhelmed by the interface--enough so that I paid for a 3rd party converter.