Multiple Camera Batch Rename?

[nniemik]

Hi, this weekend I'll be shooting a event with a Nikon AND a Canon. I"ll be processing the photos. But I just thought of a problem I can't seem to get over...

I can rename all the files by sorting the date, BUT now with another shooter, I want to rename the files so that the Canon files have a _C extension behind the rename... Is it possible to do it with Irfanview or Adobe Bridge? I want to change the DSC_XXXX and IMG_XXXX files all to something like TTT_XXXX. BUT the pictures that are from the Canon, I want it to show as TTT_XXXX_C.

I want to do this because when I sort the pictures by filename, it will show as a list of all the photos basically by the time they were taken. But at the same time, I can also tell which photos were taken with the Canon and which were taken with Nikon.

[Palladium]

in bridge use batch rename - there are all the possible combination and variables you could want...

[mspringfield]

The easiest way would be to do it in camera but that depends on what kind of Canon and what Kind of Nikon. In the pro line of both you can customize the file names. In the Nikon line anything since the D2h can do it. In the Canon line anything since the 1DMkIIN. Both changes can be made in the menu.

Michael

[nniemik]

It can rename... BUT how can you rename files that are coming from the Canon only? AND also keep the sequence numbers with ALL the other pictures including ones from the Nikon? Im trying to change the IMG_XXXX and DSC_XXXX all to TTT_XXXX but those coming from IMG_ I want to add a extension _C behind it. And the sequence numbers must also be in order? If I change the filenames on the camera, the sequence numbers will not be in sequence with both cameras

[PixelMagic]

Take a look at Downloader Pro from Breeze Systems. I've used it for several years now, and it does exactly what you want to do. When I shot mutiple camera systems, I used it to add the make of each camera to my file names. It can identify each camera by Owner's name (Canon cameras), Serial Number, or by Make and Model and append that info to the file name automatically. Its ability to rename files is only limited by YOUR imagination. The trial version is 14 days which is enough to get what you need done.

http://www.breezesys.com/Downloader/index.htm

Another option is the free ImageIngester software but I'm not sure the ability to identify individual cameras is available in the free version.

http://www.imageingester.com/ImageIngester/index.php

Hi, this weekend I'll be shooting a event with a Nikon AND a Canon. I"ll be processing the photos. But I just thought of a problem I can't seem to get over...

I can rename all the files by sorting the date, BUT now with another shooter, I want to rename the files so that the Canon files have a _C extension behind the rename... Is it possible to do it with Irfanview or Adobe Bridge? I want to change the DSC_XXXX and IMG_XXXX files all to something like TTT_XXXX. BUT the pictures that are from the Canon, I want it to show as TTT_XXXX_C.

I want to do this because when I sort the pictures by filename, it will show as a list of all the photos basically by the time they were taken. But at the same time, I can also tell which photos were taken with the Canon and which were taken with Nikon.

[bohdank]

I use a simple but effective program to batch rename.

http://www.den4b.com/downloads.php "renamer"

[tim]

Bridge: rename all in sequence, ignoring the camera. Filter by camera (ie serial number), batch rename to add _c or _n.

[Tom_D]

Check out http://www.bulkrenameutility.co.uk/Main_Intro.php.

[Mcooper450]

What Tom D said. An amazing and amazingly powerful program.

[tim]

What I suggested would seriously take about 30 seconds, and it's in bridge which most people already have.

[PixelMagic]

Oh wow.

Once again I'm surprised at how "wrong-headed" the suggestions in this thread are; its as if folks didn't read the original poster's specific requirements and just figured they would mention the name of the favorite renaming program, even if it can't solve the actual problem.

This is what original poster said:
Hi, this weekend I'll be shooting a event with a Nikon AND a Canon. I"ll be processing the photos. But I just thought of a problem I can't seem to get over...

I can rename all the files by sorting the date, BUT now with another shooter, I want to rename the files so that the Canon files have a _C extension behind the rename... Is it possible to do it with Irfanview or Adobe Bridge? I want to change the DSC_XXXX and IMG_XXXX files all to something like TTT_XXXX. BUT the pictures that are from the Canon, I want it to show as TTT_XXXX_C.

I want to do this because when I sort the pictures by filename, it will show as a list of all the photos basically by the time they were taken. But at the same time, I can also tell which photos were taken with the Canon and which were taken with Nikon.

and then

It can rename... BUT how can you rename files that are coming from the Canon only? AND also keep the sequence numbers with ALL the other pictures including ones from the Nikon? Im trying to change the IMG_XXXX and DSC_XXXX all to TTT_XXXX but those coming from IMG_ I want to add a extension _C behind it. And the sequence numbers must also be in order? If I change the filenames on the camera, the sequence numbers will not be in sequence with both cameras

The only way to do what he is asking is to use a software program that's capable of reading the EXIF shooting date and time fields (including the sub-second timing field for the times when both cameras are fired simultaneously) and I don't know of any renaming program that does this which is why I suggested either Downloader Pro or ImageIngester; both were specifically created for situations like this one.

Here's how either of these two programs will solve it:
1. Download the images from both cameras to a common folder/directory. (It would be ideal if the camera clocks were synchronized and Downloader Pro can be used to synchronize camera clocks to the milli-second)

2. Set up the Preferences of either program with the following logic:
(a) Rename all image files in this specific "source" folder, irrespective of camera source, to TTT_XXXX
(b) IF EXIF data indicates that the image was created by Canon camera append _C to new filename;
(c) ELSE rename image

3. In a program like Downloader Pro, go to File > Open Source Directory to open the folder created earlier and "import" the files to a new location. During the "import" process the files will all be renamed in the requested TTT_XXXX format, and files created by Canon cameras will be renamed in the TTT_XXXXX_C format.

The other clear advantage of this method is that you will still retain the original files with their original names until you decide to delete the "source" folder. Also either program can be set to write each photographer's name to the EXIF "Creator" field as a means of further identifying where each image came from.

I daresay that none of the renaming programs suggested can execute the logic outlined above without at least making multiple manual iterations; whereas either Downloader Pro or ImageIngester will do it automatically in one step; with all the images accurately sorted according to their sub-second timing field.

[PixelMagic]

Finally, a quote from the relevant portion of the Downloader Pro manual, the recommendations for "one photographer with more than one camera" are apropos to this situation:


Downloading from more than one camera

Sometimes you need to download images from several different cameras on the same computer e.g. if several members of a family each have a digital camera or a professional photographer who has more than one camera. This section suggests different ways that Downloader Pro can download images to the right places automatically.


Suggestions for when several people download their images on the same computer

Lets suppose Bob has a Canon PowerShot G5 and Mary has a Nikon Coolpix 5700 and they both want to download their images on to the same computer. They want to store the images on the same hard disk but they also want to be able to easily tell each other's pictures apart. Here are some suggestions for how to do this:

1. Downloader Pro stores settings for each user and so one method would be for Bob and Mary to have separate user accounts and setup their own personal settings.

2. Since Bob and Mary use different camera models the download directory could use the camera model name to separate their images. The token %T1 translates to "G5" for pictures from Bob's Canon PowerShot G5 and "E5700" for pictures from Mary's Nikon Coolpix 5700. They could specify the download path as C:\Photos\%T1\%Y-%m-%D so that pictures are downloaded to directories like:

C:\Photos\G5\2004-02-04

C:\Photos\E5700\2004-02-04

3. An alternative to option 2 above is to use the camera mapping setting in preferences to map the camera model name to something more meaningful e.g. map "Canon PowerShot G5" to "Bob" and "E5700" to "Mary". Then use %T8 to include the mapped value in the download directory. They could specify the download path as C:\Photos\%T8\%Y-%m-%D so that pictures are downloaded to directories like:

C:\Photos\Bob\2004-02-04

C:\Photos\Mary\2004-02-04



Please see the camera mapping preference settings for more details.



Suggestions for one photographer with more than one camera

A professional photographer may have several different cameras and use them to cover an event such as a wedding. When they download the images they want to be able to be able to identify which camera took which picture and also avoid duplicate filenames. There are a number of ways Downloader Pro can help:

1. Use the %T1 token to extract the camera model from the shooting data and use it to prefix the filename e.g. the cameras might be a Nikon D1X and a Nikon D2H. The filename could be specified as "%T1_%o" (%T1 for the camera model and %o for the original filename on the memory card) and this would give filenames like D1X_DSC_0001.JPG and D12H_DSC_0001.JPG

2. Option 1 doesn't help if the cameras are the same model. If the cameras are Canon digital SLRs the camera serial number could be used instead. e.g. if the cameras are both Canon EOS 10D's the filename could be specified as "%c_%o" (%c extracts the camera's serial number from the shooting data) and this would give filenames like 0130100302_IMG_0001.JPG and 0230104671_IMG_0001.JPG.

3. Option 2 is OK, but it does result in long filenames with aren't very meaningful. An alternative is to use the camera mapping setting in preferences to map the camera model name and serial number to something more meaningful e.g. map "Canon EOS 10D serial # 0130100302" to "10D1" and "Canon EOS 10D serial # 0230104671" to "10D2". Then use %T8 to include the mapped value in the filename e.g. "%T8_%o" which would give filenames like 10D1_IMG_0001.JPG and 10D2_IMG_0001.JPG.

This technique can also be used with other cameras provided they allow you to specify a user comment in the camera which is added to each image. For example the user comments for two Nikon D100 cameras could be set to "(c) John Smith, camera #1" and "(c) John Smith, camera #2" and provided the comments are not the same different mappings for %T8 can be setup for each camera.

Please see the camera mapping preference settings for more details.

[tim]

Fedka, you solution is more complex than necessary. Just sync the camera times at the start of the day, then batch rename into a sequence ignoring the camera it was shot with. Next in Bridge use the filter tab to filter by camera serial number to show just images the Canon camera. Batch rename to add "_C" to the end of the name. Next select the other camera using the filter, and add "_N" to the end of the name. Like I said, it'll take 30 seconds, and won't mean buying more software.

Talk about not reading the thread before posting :p

[PixelMagic]

Fedka, you solution is more complex than necessary. Just sync the camera times at the start of the day, then batch rename into a sequence ignoring the camera it was shot with. Next in Bridge use the filter tab to filter by camera serial number to show just images the Canon camera. Batch rename to add "_C" to the end of the name. Next select the other camera using the filter, and add "_N" to the end of the name. Like I said, it'll take 30 seconds, and won't mean buying more software.

Talk about not reading the thread before posting :p


Speaking about "not reading", the original poster clearly stated that he did not want to append a _N suffix to the Nikon files as you have repeatedly suggested. Are you sure YOU read the thread?

Also, I clearly said that ImageIngester is free and Downloader Pro has a free trial period so the OP doesn't have to buy any software if he doesn't want to.

My suggestions aren't complex at all, it just appears that way to you. And by the way, Bridge does not read the sub-second timing field so what happens if both photographers set their shooting modes to high-speed and happen to shoot at the same time? The images will not be sequenced correctly if just the basic shooting date and time fields are read.

[tim]

Speaking about "not reading", the original poster clearly stated that he did not want to append a _N suffix to the Nikon files as you have repeatedly suggested. Are you sure YOU read the thread?

That means my solution will take 20 seconds instead of 30 :p

And by the way, Bridge does not read the sub-second timing field so what happens if both photographers set their shooting modes to high-speed and happen to shoot at the same time? The images will not be sequenced correctly if just the basic shooting date and time fields are read.

So what. Sub second ordering isn't really important for most types of photography.

[PixelMagic]

So what. Sub second ordering isn't really important for most types of photography.

So what? Since the original poster did not specify the type of event he's covering it can be "really important" if it involves action photography; or in fact any type of photography where multiple shooters are involved and they want to correctly and accurately sequence their photos.

Tim, feel free to have the last word; I'll defer to your obvious expertise.

[tim]

Tim, feel free to have the last word; I'll defer to your obvious expertise.

Thanks ;)

Your solution, of course, is good. The OP has several options now.