Skip to main content
L
LRuserXY
Known Participant
July 22, 2011

P: Wrong folder names organizing by date when using camera USB

  • July 22, 2011
  • 78 replies
  • 2457 views

When importing from a camera connected to USB (at least for a Canon EOS 40D Firmware 1.1.1 in my case), lightroom generates wrong folder names when organizing folders by date, at least for the "2011/2011-07-22" format (I guess it's the same for the other formats). 

I use Lightroom 3.4.1 on Windows XP 32 Bit SP 3 and my time zone is CET+DST (Paris, Berlin). I shot six photos an hour apart around midnight CET+DST from 21:30 on Thursday to 02:30 on friday (I changed the camera's time for that) and got the following folder/file structure using a USB connection to the camera: 

2011\2011-07-21\20110721-213022-IMG_0314.CR2 
2011\2011-07-22\20110721-223033-IMG_0315.CR2 <<< wrong folder 
2011\2011-07-22\20110721-233041-IMG_0316.CR2 <<< wrong folder 
2011\2011-07-22\20110722-003049-IMG_0317.CR2 
2011\2011-07-22\20110722-013055-IMG_0318.CR2 
2011\2011-07-22\20110722-023102-IMG_0319.CR2 

Clearly, the two marked files are in the wrong folder. Note that the file naming itself (date and time) is absolutely correct! 

When I import the same six photos using a card reader from the CF card, I get the correct structure: 

2011\2011-07-21\20110721-213022-IMG_0314.CR2 
2011\2011-07-21\20110721-223033-IMG_0315.CR2 <<< now correct folder 
2011\2011-07-21\20110721-233041-IMG_0316.CR2 <<< now correct folder 
2011\2011-07-22\20110722-003049-IMG_0317.CR2 
2011\2011-07-22\20110722-013055-IMG_0318.CR2 
2011\2011-07-22\20110722-023102-IMG_0319.CR2 

This seems to be some "time zone / daylight savings time bug" affecting all photos made from two hours before midnight until just before midnight (my local time is UTC plus two hours) - but why only for camera USB and not for card reader? I didn't test it for a date that has no DST, but I would bet that it would affect photos from *one* hour before midnight, then. 

P.S. The wrong folder structure also already shows in the folder preview in the import dialog. Here is the wrong structure using USB to camera: 

Image is not available

 
...and the correct one using a card reader: 

Image is not available

    This topic has been closed for replies.

    78 replies

    Show previous replies
    michaela47900781
    michaela47900781
    Participating Frequently
    May 20, 2015
    and all the while Adobe are silent...
    michaela47900781
    michaela47900781
    Participating Frequently
    May 20, 2015
    Yes, save to desktop first or use a card reader?
    I travel and whilst card readers are minimal sized, I will move heaven and earth to travel with one less apparatus in my burgeoning camera bag.
    and saving to HD first...egad, it's a work around..yes it is

    For me, maybe moving my camera date to Greenich (is that the problem?) would be the easiest...I cant think when ive checked a time on the camera?
    Jim Wilde
    Community Expert
    Jim WildeCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    May 20, 2015
    I take the opposite view. In my experience, importing via card reader (built-in or usb-attached) is both quicker and safer (and has the other advantage of being bug-free). If I'm asked for a recommendation, I'll always say use a card-reader, which is the method used by the majority of my photographer acquaintances.

    I spend a great deal of time on various Lightroom forums, trying to help other users with their varied problems. And I can honestly say that the number of problems I've seen, which are directly attributable to importing via direct camera attachment, far outweigh the number of card-reader associated issues. Only today I was dealing with such a problem at the Adobe U2U site: https://forums.adobe.com/thread/1849151

    Not wishing to be argumentative, just wanted to offer a counter-view.
    J
    jkf385
    Participating Frequently
    May 20, 2015
    The two workarounds would be fine if importing was something you did every few months. However a serious user may do importing four or five times a day, every day, and in this case the annoyance of using the workaround multiples many fold until you just want to scream.

    In particular one workaround suggested was to remove the memory card from your camera and use a card reader. This is ok if done rarely but I would never suggest that one do this repeatedly. The memory card and card reader are physical devices and if stressed repeatedly they will fail. If the memory card reader in your camera fails or becomes intermittent you must throw the camera away...

    The other work around where you copy the files via usb to the computer and then import from a folder takes a lot of monitoring by the photographer to make each step happen. Comparing that to just plugging the camera into the computer and clicking import you end up wasting a tremendous amount of your time waiting for copying to occur and you end up thinking poorly of Adobe.

    As a programmer myself working on a long running project with many releases I understand the concept of reviewing bugs and choosing those to be fixed in the next release. You have someone at Adobe who is doing that job and I suggest you fire that person and hire someone who is a photographer and who uses the Windows platform. I guarantee that this bug will get fixed. The fact that it still exists after all this time is a tremendous embarrassment to Adobe.
    Jim Wilde
    Community Expert
    Jim WildeCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    May 20, 2015
    Immediately above your post are two posts from Benjamin Warde (Lightroom Engineer). The first explains why the problem has not yet been fixed, and the second explains the very simple workaround.
    michaela47900781
    michaela47900781
    Participating Frequently
    May 20, 2015
    Wouldn't it be nice to have one of those programmer "engineer" type dude or dudettes explain this?
    michaela47900781
    michaela47900781
    Participating Frequently
    May 20, 2015
    Can someone explain how this isnt resolved... its a right royal pain in the butt!

    EVERY TIME I IMPORT!
    B
    Benjamin Warde
    Participating Frequently
    May 11, 2015
    Sure thing. The bug occurs only when importing directly from a connected camera. If you use a card reader, the bug will not occur. If you don't have a card reader, you can connect your camera directly, and first copy the photos from the camera to your hard drive in the OS, then import into Lightroom from the hard drive.
    J
    jkf385
    Participating Frequently
    May 11, 2015
    I never found an easy work around. I always had to manually do a lot of work every time I did an import to ensure that the correct folders were created and photos moved into them.

    Perhaps you could be so kind as to outline the easy workarounds??

    This ancient but still present bug no longer affects me. I did an expensive workaround and bought a Mac and bug does not exist in the Mac version. However I'm sure the Windows users would be grateful for any tidbit of help you can reveal to workaround this painful yet trivial to fix bug.
    B
    Benjamin Warde
    Participating Frequently
    May 6, 2015
    "I just can't get why isn't anyone dealing with this."

    This may have been rhetorical, but in case not, I'll answer it. We need to prioritize everything we do. Low impact bugs with easy workarounds get prioritized lower. It doesn't necessarily mean that it will never be fixed, but it does mean it's hard for it to get to the top of the list.

    -Ben
    Show more replies
    Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement
    Using the community Terms of use Privacy Cookie preferences Do not sell or share my personal information ad choicesAdChoices