Bonehead Bridge question

I know next to nothing about Bridge or Photoshop.

I'm now in a new class using CS5. We're looking at metadata and I don't see something that I expected to see.

I don't see anything to indicate whether I shot a photo using manual or auto focus.

Would someone be so kind as to guide me to where I can find this info in Bridge using CS5? I've been all over the help file and Adobe forums with no luck. Canon's software shows this info so I'm confident that it's in Bridge someplace.

Thanks in advance.

The AF/Focus Mode information is stored in the Maker Notes section of the EXIF metadata. Much of the data there isn't exposed to applications like Adobe Bridge. Adobe software is designed to report information covered by IPTC metadata specifications and technical data like Focus Mode isn't covered by any of the IPTC specifications.

You can read up on the IPTC specifications here: http://www.iptc.org/IP​TC4XMP/

and http://www.iptc.org …hotoMetadata-201007_1.pdf

Thank you PixelMagic!!

I forgot to add that the manufacturer's software can read some of the Maker Notes information which is why Canon's own software shooting AF information. Adobe, on the other hand, apparently chose not to report that Maker Notes info since it isn't standardized. As an example, I recall that a few years ago Nikon encrypted White Balance information for some of their high-end cameras in their Maker Notes section. I don't think any of the other major manufacturers stored WB information there or encrypted the info. This ended up causing a big row between Adobe and Nikon.

An individual programmer, Dave Coffin, stepped up and used DCRAW to decrypt the information; something Adobe seemed unwilling to do for legal reasons. Once DCRAW was available, even some of its code was incorporated into Adobe software (I suspect its the portion that decrypts Nikon information).
You can read up on DCRAW here: http://www.cybercom.ne​t/~dcoffin/dcraw/

If you want to see all the metadata information you need to use a program like EXIFTool: http://www.sno.phy.que​ensu.ca/~phil/exiftool​/

Use this software to inspect metadata. It works with raw and jpeg files, and gives much more information than bridge.

Well, unfotunately, I'd say your findings are accurate - yess the camera reports the AF/MF setting and DPP picks up on it, but Photoshop (and Lightroom) do not.

There are other settings that may not get picked up by Potoshop as well. A lot of this is because Canon stores and encodes some of its Exi/Metadata into a "Maker's Notes" section and this data is "not shared" with other exif readers/Ra processors. But, I don't have the technical details about that. And, it is not necessarily consistent. For example, the in-Camera Picture Styles are stored in a file even for a Raw file, and so when DPP opens a Raw file it "reads" the Picture Style (and related settings) and applies all that to the Raw preview and default conversion.

But Lightroom/Photoshop do not read those Picture Styles -- Canon doesn't share with Adobe and Adobe either hasn't had the time/resources to decode every Picture Style for every camera they support or it's just not worth the R&D.

And then, on the other hand, the camera saves some kind of information for White Balance, and Adobe has done the work to do a reasonable job of decoding that -- if you set different WB presets in the camera the images will show up in Lightoom with a different WB applied.

So, it can be inconsistent, but it's there. Some stuff Canon puts in the "straight Exif" and it is easily read but some stuff it stores things in that "other place" and evidently encodes it. But I'm just saying some very general things here because I really don't know the technical "stuff" behind it all.

I haven't checked out the software that Tim worked with but it would be interesting to see the different types of Exif/Metadata, which software picks up what, and which is so "guarded" by Canon that no third-party readers can "get it"!

I know that program can look at my NEF (Nikon RAW) files and tell me my focus mode, I expect it can do the same for Canon files.

So I installed the software.

It has a section "Manufacturer Notes" that does indeed contain a lot of stuff that Adobe doesn't pick up. so I just suppose the Adobe team figures they have other things to work with.
And, even though DPP does show the AF mode, there is a lot that it doesn't show.

So, I'd say the answer is that if you want to view as much data as possible, and that PhotoMe app seems to do a pretty good job.

And it does work with Raw files, at least with my older 1DM3 (no guarantee for newer camera files).

Oh good grief! I have information overload. When my head finally explodes there is a good chance that the investigating agency will see that I was reading POTN.

I downloaded PhotoME and it's great-lots of information there. I don't understand a lot of it yet but I'm getting there.

Thanks to all of you that responded. If other forums that I visit had members that were as helpful as those on POTN the world would certainly be a better place.

The next round of beer (or whatever your poison happens to be) is on me.

Note that development of PhotoME has been abandoned and it hasn't been updated since 2008. Chances are it wouldn't read files from newer cameras. By comparison, EXIFTool is in active development and is updated regularly...it also reveals much more information than PhotoME. Although its a command-line tool there are GUIs for both Windows and Mac which makes it much easier to use.

PixelMagic wrote in post #13062451
Note that development of PhotoME has been abandoned and it hasn't been updated since 2008. Chances are it wouldn't read files from newer cameras. By comparison, EXIFTool is in active development and is updated regularly...it also reveals much more information than PhotoME. Although its a command-line tool there are GUIs for both Windows and Mac which makes it much easier to use.

Interesting. It worked for my D700s because they're a bit old, but still excellent cameras.

tim wrote in post #13062460
Interesting. It worked for my D700s because they're a bit old, but still excellent cameras.

Hopefully someone with a newer camera can test it. I seem to recall that when the developer stopped working on PhotoME he suggested using Geosetter instead. But PhotoME is still one of the few programs that will show Canon focus points so its extremely useful.

PixelMagic wrote in post #13062502
Hopefully someone with a newer camera can test it. I seem to recall that when the developer stopped working on PhotoME he suggested using Geosetter instead. But PhotoME is still one of the few programs that will show Canon focus points so its extremely useful.

It works fine with 5DII files.

tim wrote in post #13062506
It works fine with 5DII files.

Wow! Well, didn't the 5D2 come out in '08? I think it did, so someone with a newer body will have to check!