P: Video capture time shifted by time zone offset

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

I recently got a 5D IV and just noticed that capture times on video files shows 5 hours ahead in Lightroom (photos are fine). This causes videos taken late in the day to be imported into the folder for the next day. I'm running the latest Lightroom (6.10) and 5D Firmware (1.04). I checked my old 5D Mark III videos and they are fine. 

I suspect Lightroom ins't picking up the timezone info and is using UTC time.  Is this a bug?

[Rikk Flohr: Photography]

I shot some test videos with a Canon 5D Mark IV this morning and Lightroom is showing them as the correct (local) time.  I do not have the newest firmware installed yet. 

[johnrellis]

Most likely this is due to the poorly written Quicktime (MP4) spec, which "strongly recommends" that capture date be recorded in UTC but doesn't provide any standard field in which to record time zone.   Traditionally, most cameras have ignored the spec and recorded local time rather than UTC, so by default LR interprets the capture time in Quicktime videos as local time.   But smartphones have tended to record capture date as UTC, with time zone sometimes recorded in proprietary metadata fields.

So perhaps the 5D IV is now recording capture time in UTC.  Why don't you upload a very short sample video to Dropbox or similar and post the link here, and we can determine that authoritatively.

LR CC 2015.10 / 6.10 introduced a fix specific to iPhones (which record UTC), reading the time zone from an Apple proprietary metadata field.   Adobe could continue along that path for less widely used cameras, but obviously, identifying the appropriate time zone field for each make and model is much more effort.  

[simonsaith]

There is an LrD existing bug on this and the fix is on its way. Canon stores the time zone info in a proprietary location where Lr needs to look for it. This act (amounting to reverse engineering) requires legal reviews and consents from both companies)

[johnrellis]

Excellent.

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

When I import videos from Canon 5D Mk IV, Lightroom assigns incorrect Timestamp to the video, but assigns correct timestamp to photo files. The video timestamp ignores UTC timezone and assumes GMT 0. Since I'm in GMT -5, video files recorded in the evening hours get time stamped with next day date. Lightroom also creates import folder with the corresponding wrong date and places the files into that wrong folder.

When I view the same file in Canon's EOS Movie utility it shows the correct timestamp.

When I look at the file in Windows File Explorer, DateModified shows correct timestamp, DateCreated shows incorrect timestamp.

Here's what I see:

Canon EOS Movie Utility: Shooting Date/Time:  5/3/2017 7:55:20 PM (This is correct)
Windows Explorer: Date Created: 5/4/2017 1:51 PM
Windows Explorer: Date Modified: 5/3/2017 7:56 PM
Lightroom: Date Time Digitized: 5/4/217 12:55:20 AM
Lightroom: Date Time: 5/4/2017 1:47:40 PM

I'm using Adobe Ligthroom CC 2015.10 [1111918]

[torstenv58075562]

I am experiencing the same problem with my Canon PowerShot G7X Mark II.

The MP4 file's related metadata are contained in

- EXIF
--- DateTimeOriginal: (correct) local date and time
- Maker Canon
--- TimeZone: +02:00  (in my case: the offset from UTC for CET summer time)

My conclusion for a fix in this case: Lightroom should simply grab and display "DateTimeOriginal" as apparently done correctly for photos and disregard "TimeZone".

I am using Lightroom 6.10.

[johnrellis]

Can you please upload a sample file to Dropbox or similar and post the sharing link here? I'd like to confirm precisely which fields contain what on both cameras.  

[johnrellis]

Just updated my previous comment, which had some technical errors.

[torstenv58075562]

A sample photo and video from Canon Powershot G7X Mark II are available here:
https://www.magentacloud.de/share/62pfu6hgdm

[johnrellis]

This sample video perfectly illustrates the industry video-metadata mess and where LR resides within that mess.

The capture date is recorded in different places in the file:

[QuickTime]  Create Date: 2017:05:24 14:58:35
[EXIF]  Date/Time Original: 2017:05:24 16:58:35
[MakerNotes] Time Zone: +02:00

(It helps to use “exiftool -a -G” to show where metadata fields are coming from.)   

QuickTime:CreateDate is the QuickTime/MPEG-4 standard field for recording capture date, and the spec calls for it to be recorded in UTC, which the camera has done.  But note that many, many cameras ignore the spec and write the date/time in local time, because the spec doesn’t specify a place to write the time zone and older cameras often did have any notion of time zone (shame on Apple originally and later on MPEG).  

EXIF:DateTimeOriginal is an industry-standard field for still photos but not videos.  In this case, it is coming from a thumbnail image stored in a non-standard Canon-specific location in the file, which you can verify by doing “exiftool -v”.  Other cameras don’t store metadata in this way.

MakerNotes:TimeZone is coming from the non-standard Canon-specific MakerNotes section, also stored in that thumbnail image. Some other cameras (but not all) record the time zone, but in other locations.

LR reads the industry-standard field QuickTime:CreateDate but treats it as local time rather than UTC (see above).  This is why it shows the wrong capture date for your videos.

It is definitely feasible for LR to handle video metadata better for mainstream cameras, but at considerably more engineering and legal expense. LR would need camera-specific rules for where to read and write metadata. Also, Adobe appears to have a very conservative legal approach to manufacturer-specific metadata, requiring legal agreements before incorporating such metadata in Adobe products. Up until very recently, Adobe has resisted this additional expense.  But LR now reads an Apple-specific time zone field for iPhones, and Adobe employees have indicated that they will do it for some Canons.

[torstenv58075562]

Thank you very much for your comprehensive explanation of the situation!

[J453]

Good morning. We'd like to invite you to our prerelease if you're interested in evaluating a fix for this issue. Let us know and we'll get you added.

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

Hello. while I don't have the 1946 issue. I do have issue with my canon P/S camera and the time stamps being 4-5 hours off with video compared to photographs. Reported in past but still no resolve. Last I was told LR does not support Video correctly.

[eoren1]

Hi,
Reviving this thread as the same issue exists on my new Sony a7rIII - camera shows correct timestamp for photos and video.  LR importing shifts timestamp for videos (but not photos) + 5 hours for EST.
Happy to post video to Dropbox
Thanks!

[johnrellis]

No need to post a sample -- this is another example of the confusion caused by the poorly designed QuickTime spec, as described here: https://feedback.photoshop.com/photoshop_family/topics/canon-5d-mark-iv-video-capture-time-incorrect...

[marcs39127930]

Since Android LRCC Mobile doesn't import or upload videos (see this thread), I've plugged my phone into my pc via usb. Then I use LRCC to import several videos. The problem is that , for all my imported videos, Lightroom CC shifts the Captured Date/Time  7 hours later than the actual Capture Date/Time. Seems like there must be a Time Zone setting in LRCC that I'm missing.

For example, this video, was captured on Oct-21-2017 at 4:06PM PST. However, LRCC desktop shows its capture date/time as Oct-21-2017 at 11:06PM. See the attached screen cap from LRCC. It shows the capture date 7 hours later than actual. 
. 


Specs:

• Android Samsung S7
• LR CC Mobile version 3.1
• LR CC Desktop version 1.0

[johnrellis]

ExifTool shows all the dates in the video as 2017:11:25 21:11:01 (9:11 pm 11/25/17).  Clearly the video was taken during the day (great dog!) -- assuming you're in PST (UTC - 8), you took it at 1:11 pm?

It looks like the Samsung/Android software strictly obeyed the spec and recorded the capture date in UTC. And there is no time zone or indication of local time recorded in non-standard fields in the video.   
There are (at least) a few ways that Adobe could improve this situation (caused by Apple's QuickTime specification failure):

- Adobe could ask Android or Samsung to record time zone in a non-standard field and give Adobe permission to read it.  They could suggest the same field that iOS uses.

- LR could infer the time zone from the GPS data (there's a well-maintained database of worldwide time zones they could use).

- LR CC could add the Edit Capture Time command that's been in LR 1 - 7, which would let you manually shift the time shown for the video.

Based on years of Adobe's indifference to capture-time issues, I'm guessing this last may be the best you could reasonably hope for.

[LauraL982001]

Why isn't this fixed???  I thought I'd try importing again through Lightroom because I love that it doesn't import duplicates, but it's useless and creates such a mess of my files. 

2 issues exist due to the inconsistent capture date/time on all my .MOV files. : 
* Renaming video files on import using date & time in filenames
** Renaming video files using date OR date & time in filenames

Info: I'm using LR Classic CC (v. 8.3) and I have tested Canon 5D Mark II and IV, iphone 6s Plus and iphone X.  

*Renaming video files on import using DATE+TIME
Replicate Scenario: 
1. Import a video and rename upon import as: 
Date (YYYY)-Date (MM)-Date (DD)_Hour.Minute.Second.MOV

Results: 
1. Library shows inconsistent Date Digitized and Date Captured.
        *Date Digitized= correct capture date and time; and agrees with import screen's.
        *Capture time= import time for all video files.
2. Filename time is wrong for all video files.  
3. Filename date is wrong for all video files taken after 5:59 pm or 6:59 CST.
4. Files are sorted correctly 

Conclusion: **SOMEWHERE in LR there is another time that isn't shown and is off by 5-6 hours (at least in Central time zone), resulting in the file naming/re-naming problem. This is the time that is used for naming files.


** RENAMING existing video files with DATE+TIME:
Replicate Scenario:
1. Use any existing video file that has inconsistent date/time digitized and date/time values (such as the files imported above):

2. Rename them:
Date (YYYY)-Date (MM)-Date (DD)_Hour.Minute.Second...

3. They are renamed using the date/time value, which is the IMPORT date/time. Absolutely useless.

Conclusion: No idea.

I know the workaround. The workaround gets OLD. And there shouldn't BE one.  

Is there a way to change the date??  My luck I could have fixed my own issue.  I don't see anywhere to change the time zone...  But it's always consistently 5-6 hours off, which is just weird.

[johnrellis]

Laura, there are two issues that trip up LR with video capture time:

1. The QuickTime spec was badly written and doesn't provide a standard way for cameras to record time zone (see the top of this topic).

2. Importing via a USB cable has bugs with time zones.

Are you importing via USB cable or memory card?

[LauraL982001]

I use a memory card reader for my canon 5D Mark IV and an apple USB cord for my iPhone X.

I am tired of the workarounds. When I was airdropping them to my computer and then importing them into LR I don’t think I had the time issue. But I had a hard time figuring out which files had already been uploaded and I ended up with lots of duplicates that LR didn’t catch.

I’ve tried using Dropbox to auto upload and set LR to watch that folder and rename on import. I believe the filenames were correct, but videos took forever to upload on my wireless and it wouldn’t let me use cellular (even though I have unlimited data). Anyway, I just want to plug in my phone, back it up and import to Lightroom with correct dates and times like it’s designed to do.

I just don’t understand why I can “edit” the capture time (but don’t actually edit anything) and magically the time gets corrected... Why can’t they just do that behind the scenes for all videos so I don’t have to?

And why does finder know the correct time and LR can’t figure it out?

And why is the Date/Time field actually the imported date/time? And why does that incorrect field populate the renaming date/time field?? I just wish I could code or fix things. It seems like it should be so easy for the people who know how...

[johnrellis]

You're getting the wrong dates on the Canon videos because of the QuickTime standards mess, and because Adobe and Canon haven't agreed that it's OK for Adobe to read the metadata field in Canon videos containing the time zone. (Adobe considers that field "proprietary", though there's plenty of third-party software that will read it.)

You're getting the wrong dates on the iPhone videos because you're importing over a USB cable, yet another date/time bug:
https://feedback.photoshop.com/photoshop_family/topics/lightroom_import_wrong_folder_names_organizin...

If you sync the iPhone videos using Dropbox or Apple Cloud thingies or some other mechanism that doesn't involve USB cables, you should get correct dates.  Adobe worked around the QuickTime standards mess for iOS videos only, working out an agreement with Apple to read their "proprietary" time zone fields:
https://feedback.photoshop.com/photoshop_family/topics/iphone_video_capture_time_is_shifted_upon_imp...

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

I'm having this exact issue with a Canon G7x iii that I never had before with Canon 6D or any other cameras. What I gather from this is that there still is no fix.

[Dave Rye]

Same problem here.  Have to manually group files with a filter, then apply -5 hour date/time fix, then write it back.  Do yourself a favor and do such before trying to mix still photos, or frame captures from the same shoot.  It's enough to cause tooth enamel wear.

[Dave Rye]

My Sony A7RMIII doesn't seem to know how to write some things so that Adobe likes them.  Despite it syncing my time on still photos just fine with my GPS logs and such.  Just the video always must be shifted back four hours after I finally wait through the God cursed import delay so it sits next to the plain 42MP shots.  🙂

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

In the newest version 9.3 is still the bug that Videos have the wrong time in the catalog ?? When will Adobe fix this problem ?? Realy nerving - and cannot be a big bug - right ?