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
    T
    TimTam1234
    Participant
    February 15, 2012
    Thanks Ben.
    B
    Benjamin Warde
    Participating Frequently
    February 15, 2012
    Hi Timothy,

    Nope, unfortunately not yet. Some day, I hope? In the meantime, you can work around this issue by importing from a card reader, or the hard drive, rather than from the camera directly.

    Thanks,
    Ben
    T
    TimTam1234
    Participant
    February 15, 2012
    Was this ever fixed? I'm seeing the same behaviour in LR 3.6 (PC / Nikon).
    B
    Benjamin Warde
    Participating Frequently
    August 16, 2011
    I am able to reproduce this problem, and have entered the issue in our bug database.

    Incidentally, time zone and DST settings on the camera don't seem to make a difference. I also tested with Nikon and had the same problem, so it doesn't seem to be specific to any particular camera. Appears to be a Windows-only bug, I cannot reproduce on Mac.

    Thanks,
    Ben
    F
    FeedbackCommunityMember
    Inspiring
    July 23, 2011
    BTW, thought it'd be a good idea to check what happens in a negative UTC zone and found consistent behaviour, i.e. set UTC to -12, local time in camera to before midday, take a picture, and subsequent import folder name shows previous day.
    F
    FeedbackCommunityMember
    Inspiring
    July 23, 2011
    This particular issue appears to be a variation of the original 'time-zone' bug which occurred in 3.0, but now it only affects date-based folder names when importing directly from camera. File naming is not affected.

    Caveat: on Win7 64bit, LR3.4.1, Canon 5D MkII, USB2 connection. Other combinations may produce different results, I have not tested, though I think Geoff Walker was going to try with a Nikon/MAC combination.

    The problem is that in this specific import scenario, Lightroom will ADD the system time-zone UTC offset to the DTO of the files being imported when it determines the destination folder name for the date-based schemes that include DD. For example, if you live in a UTC+12 time-zone, ALL shots taken after mid-day local time with camera also set to local time will produce a folder date of the following day, as +12 is added to the local hour value in the DTO.

    Apologies, meant to report it when we first came across it a month or so ago.
    areohbee
    areohbee
    Legend
    July 22, 2011
    Seems safe to say Lightroom is using a different source for time when naming the files versus the folders.

    My WAG: Lightroom uses file-created date for folders and exif info for file-naming, and when camera is emulating disk via USB it reports a different file-created date. This is just a guess...

    I think Lightroom's handling of date-time needs to be "robustified" in this case, and a few others... More specifically to this case: use date-time-original in exif metadata for both folder name and file-name.

    But also, I've seen Lightroom name the same files differently upon import too. Once with local time and another with UTC, so my WAG may be completely bogus...
    areohbee
    areohbee
    Legend
    July 22, 2011
    Quoting LrUser24: "Note that the file naming itself (date and time) is absolutely correct! "

    Seems safe to say Lightroom is using a different source for time when naming the files versus the folders.

    My WAG: Lightroom uses file-created date for folders and exif info for file-naming, and when camera is emulating disk via USB it reports a different file-created date.

    I think Lightroom's handling of date-time needs to be "robustified" in this case, and a few others... More specifically to this case: use date-time-original in exif metadata for both folder name and file-name.
    Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement
    Using the community Terms of use Privacy Cookie preferences Do not sell or share my personal information ad choicesAdChoices