How to recover the original image number from the camera?

I need to recover the original image number assigned by the camera before transferring to my computer, if that is even possible. I took several hundred headshots of 26 actors with my 7D and carefully wrote down each person's image of choice (i.e. 6374, etc.) beside their names during the photoshoot. Of course, once I loaded my images onto my PC all of the images were renamed so instead of 6374 it has become something like Headshot_123, etc. So now I can't tell what the original image of choice is. I looked under "properties" on my desktop but to no avail. It seems like I remember in the past opening my images with some kind of Canon software and being able to view ALL of the images specifications but I don't seem to have that software now. Does anyone have a link to such software or have a way to view the original assigned image number? Please help.

How do you transfer files from your camera to the PC?
Ordinarily, programs like Lightroom and Photoshop do not import files and change their name immediately.

The original file name should be in the EXIF. You can read the EXIF in detail using ExifTool.
https://www.sno.phy.qu​eensu.ca/~phil/exiftoo​l/

I agree with Wilt, though.

There is nothing Of course about this.

Thank you Wilt and Archibald for your feedback. I believe I'm using my default Windows Photo Gallery to transfer my photos from camera to laptop. I don't have Lightroom. When I look in Properties and Details on my photo file on my laptop I see a lot of data but not the original number. Archibald, I tried to install ExifTool but it seems very complicated and my Windows defender blocks it. Any suggestions?

forbiggs wrote in post #18804260
Thank you Wilt and Archibald for your feedback. I believe I'm using my default Windows Photo Gallery to transfer my photos from camera to laptop. I don't have Lightroom. When I look in Properties and Details on my photo file on my laptop I see a lot of data but not the original number. Archibald, I tried to install ExifTool but it seems very complicated and my Windows defender blocks it. Any suggestions?

I don't have a way of knowing what is going on in your system. ExifTool can be used in different ways. And you might be able to get the EXIF info using other programs.

Don't you have the pics on the card any more?

forbiggs wrote in post #18804227
I need to recover the original image number assigned by the camera before transferring to my computer, if that is even possible. I took several hundred headshots of 26 actors with my 7D and carefully wrote down each person's image of choice (i.e. 6374, etc.) beside their names during the photoshoot. Of course, once I loaded my images onto my PC all of the images were renamed so instead of 6374 it has become something like Headshot_123, etc. So now I can't tell what the original image of choice is. I looked under "properties" on my desktop but to no avail. It seems like I remember in the past opening my images with some kind of Canon software and being able to view ALL of the images specifications but I don't seem to have that software now. Does anyone have a link to such software or have a way to view the original assigned image number? Please help.

You might try loading up Canon Digital Photo Professional and see what that might yield. As I recall, there are way to rename files in a batch mode within that software. But the fact of the matter is you had to initiate this renaming action, which can be done in camera, so you might have to struggle through the results of your action.

I downloaded Canon's Digital Professional 4.9 from the Canon website and opened up the EXIF info. I see all of the image's info including the current file name but I can't seem to find the original on-camera file number. I imagine it must be forever lost.

forbiggs wrote in post #18804274
I downloaded Canon's Digital Professional 4.9 from the Canon website and opened up the EXIF info. I see all of the image's info including the current file name but I can't seem to find the original on-camera file number. I imagine it must be forever lost.

ExifTool will display the original file name as the File Number. So it is not lost forever. You just need to figure ExifTool out.

Do you still have the images on the card in the camera?
if so then the timestamp on the important images might help co-relate to the re-named images on your P.C. if the exif timestamp is still intact.

It might be too late for the OP, but it is always wise to check the integrity of files transferred to the computer (and properly back them up) before deleting them from the memory card.

Check out https://exifinfo.org/.

I'm not optimistic that much can be done here but some things that might prove very helpful would be to understand how these images got the new name. Something like your example "Headshot_123" is something you have had to supply, probably part of the workflow of PP. Any idea where that might have come from?

Archibald wrote in post #18804480
Check out https://exifinfo.org/.

I checked one file (.jpg), and under the header "Maker Notes", File Index gives the original 4-digit number without "IMG_". If the files were renumbered sequentially, scan the first and the rest should be easy?

Do you know what your starting image count was? ie 6324
Then the difference between 6324 and the preferred shot 6374 is 50, so reference Headshot_50 maybe?

Exiftool is a great tool and would make things far easier.

Get EXIFTOOL command line here: https://www.dropbox.co​m …6peu1jl/exiftoo​l.exe?dl=0

Place it in a directory on your machine.

Open a command prompt, and CD to the directory you placed the file.

Then execute this command against one of your pictures:
exiftool -FileNumber location_of_your_pictu​re_and_name

example:

exiftool -FileNumber D:\$$$photos\mypictire​s\DS3_testme.CR2

returns: File Number : 100-0903