ExifTool Tip

For anyone who uses Windows and likes to peruse ALL the data from their image exif files, I've just worked out a handy way of doing it.

Download exiftool from
http://www.sno.phy.queensu.ca/~phil/exiftool/

Put it in any folder you like in 'Program Files' and rename exiftool.exe to exiftool (-k).exe.

Find the SendTo folder in 'Documents and settings' and make a shortcut to exiftool (-k).exe.

Now, when you right click any picture file (myhouse.dng, for example) on your system, in the 'Send To' sub folder, you will find 'exiftool'. Click on it and a DOS box opens up with a full listing of the exif information.

There are any number of ways of getting exif information, of course but this is highly convenient, fast and above all gives you ALL the info.

How I lived without knowing that my camera temperature was 33c when I photographed that landscape and that the Y Cb Cr Coefficient was 0.299 0.587 and 0.114 I do not know

Hi Lemmy,

What does it do more or better, compared to PhotoMe, to make it worth mentioning?
The latter one also having a plug in for all the major browsers, so a lot faster in getting all info from on-line and off-line pictures.

Martin.

I didn't know it had to be more or better, Martin, I just thought it might be useful.
I personally like tools that do one thing well. With this I can see all the inf without leaving my DOPUS file manager.

In future, I'll try to get your approval before posting

I didn't ask you for my approval. I did ask about a program written in DOS and with the possibility of command-line input compared to the user friendliness of PhotoMe. The latter considered the industry standard (at least here at PUF by a lot of members)
I apologize for the attack on your toes by my obvious big feet.

Martin.

Its just another way of doing things .. the more choice the better imo.

Thanks for the tip Lemmy.

My thoughts entirely. Thanks!

I have been using Phil Harvey's exiftool for a number of years, certaintaly from before the stand-alone windows version when you had to compile the pearl source files yourself.

You do not have to be a command line guru to use it. I have put it on my desk top renamed as:

exiftool(-k -a -u -g1 -w txt).exe

I then just drag and drop photos onto it and it creates a text file with the same name and in the same place as the original file.

While I now use PhotoMe as my first choice because of its GUI I think these tools all apply some interpretation so a 2nd opinion is sometimes useful.

The text files from exiftool also create a record of the exif data at particular time and interpretation that I still often find useful to keep.

Glyn

At the risk of bringing up an old chestnut, it will be interesting to see how it reports Sigma lenses. I've just noticed that Raw Therapee does the same as Photome used to - lens 70-210, focal length 500mm.

If you put a pic file from the lens somewhere I can get it, I'll run it through and report what it says.

There is a nice GUI for it link
No more cmd or drag and drop.

Sorry Lemmy - I missed your reply. My photo in the gallery here should report Sigma 150-500.

Thanks.

It reports Sigma 70-200mm f2.8 EX DG Macro HSM II SR focal length 500mm with the shake reduction working at 268mm.

I guess that exif is embedded in the lens chip so it's down to Sigma.

Thanks Lemmy.

It cannot be the lens itself as at least one at least one program (Photome) reports the lens correctly.

Photome reports my 50-500mm as a 170-500mm

Does anyone know where the exif information comes from if the same lens is described differently in different programs? The lens must transmit some ID to the camera for the camera to know what it is at all.

My copy of PhotoMe reports your lens exactly the same as Exiftool, by the way, Sigma 70-200mm F2.8 EX DG Macro HSMll.
That's why I thought the lens reported its own information. But your copy of PhotMe reports it differently? Very odd!