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jonasflanken
Participating Frequently
March 18, 2016

P: Lens metadata field missing on import

  • March 18, 2016
  • 142 replies
  • 2657 views

Since updating Photoshop and Lightroom, I've noticed that the aux:lens metadata field is being deleted from my images on import, such that there is no lens listed after import. I've determined that it's Camera Raw 9.5 that seems to be the culprit, as lens metadata is retained if I use an older version of the DNG Converter v8.8 to import the same images.

For example, I had an image shot on a Sony RX100 III at 8.8mm. If I import this image with the old version of DNG Converter, and then open the converted DNG in Photoshop, the lens is reported with the full-frame equivalent focal lengths, i.e., 24-70mm F1.8-2.8, and the raw metadata has the correct aux:Lens field (24-70mm F1.8-2.8).

Conversely, if I import the same image directly into Photoshop or Lightroom, the metadata will display the correct focal length, but will not display the lens information; Lightroom reports this only as "unknown lens," and in Photoshop the aux:Lens field is missing completely.

For now, I will use the old version of DNG Converter as a workaround, but this is inconvenient, and really should be fixed.

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    142 replies

    johnrellis
    johnrellis
    Genius
    May 14, 2016
    When you invoke Edit In Adobe Photoshop, or Open As Smart Object In Photoshop, no XMP files will be created.

    Re ON1: I'm pretty LR passes a TIFF, rather than a raw file, to the ON1 tools, with all the metadata embedded inside the TIFF, so no XMP is created.  But I don't have ON1, so I can't verify.
    F
    FeedbackCommunityMember
    Inspiring
    May 14, 2016
    Thanks John.
    I use ON1 and Photoshop to edit files exported from LR. I'm assuming that one or both of these programs need the XMP files?
    ssprengel
    ssprengel
    Inspiring
    May 14, 2016
    There is a LR preference of Automatically Write Changes Into XMP that you can enable or not.  If you don't have that enabled then you can manually write the changes.
    johnrellis
    johnrellis
    Genius
    May 14, 2016
    By default, LR does not create XMP sidecars.  They get created for raw files under two circumstances:

    1. You do Metadata > Save Metadata To File.

    2. You set the option Catalog Settings > Metadata > Automatically Write Changes Into XMP.

    As I mentioned above, the "truth" about develop settings and metadata is always stored in the catalog file.  But creating sidecars can be useful for a couple of reasons:

    - They allow the raw photo's metadata to be accessed by other programs.

    - They act as a last-ditch backup in case the catalog file gets corrupted, either by user error, faulty hardware, operating-system bugs, or (very, very rarely in the last many years) a LR bug.   I try to keep my regular backups active and test them frequently, but I prefer to also have XMP files just in case.
    F
    FeedbackCommunityMember
    Inspiring
    May 14, 2016
    I'm confused. If this is the case what's the point of having the sidecar files? Can LR be setup not to create them in the first place? Thanks!
    johnrellis
    johnrellis
    Genius
    May 14, 2016
    Yes, you can safely delete the XMP sidecar files.  The catalog file contains the "truth" for all the photo develop settings and metadata.
    dimtunai
    dimtunai
    Participant
    May 14, 2016
    doing the process of saving the metadata to xmp file added 10000+ files on my computer.
    Can I clean up those files after I read metadata from the file?
    dimtunai
    dimtunai
    Participant
    May 14, 2016

    G
    gonzalu
    Inspiring
    May 2, 2016
    No no, of course I get that. But sometimes I have edits from Photoshop or other tools that manage the sidecar files as well. Blindly doing anything isn't my favorite. Again, it should be "easy" and "simple" for adobe to simply pull the ExIF data at the time you touch the image... no need for workarounds IMO. Although it is nice to have a workaround, I want the bug fixed properly 🙂

    Thanks
    Victoria Bampton LR Queen
    Community Expert
    Victoria Bampton LR QueenCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    May 2, 2016
    > I basically have my photos in various stages of taste or desire when it comes to edits. Having to commit them blindly is not something that would work for me

    You do realise that writing the metadata to the files isn't final?  It's not like exporting to a rendered file format.  If you wanted to edit the file, you'd just continue moving the sliders as normal.
    Victoria - The Lightroom Queen
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