P: Auto-Stack By Capture Time sometimes stacks photos incorrectly

[johnrellis]

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Auto-Stack By Capture Time sometimes stacks photos whose capture times are separated by more than specified by Time Between Stacks.  To reproduce:

1. Create a new catalog.

2. Make a copy of a raw.

3. Import the raw and its copy into the catalog.

4. Select the copy, do Metadata > Edit Capture Time, and change its time to one year earlier.

5. Do Photo > Statcking > Auto-Stack By Capture Time, with Time Between Stacks set at the default 0:08:00. 

Observe that the the two photos are stacked, even though their capture times are separated by a year:

Doing Metadata > Save Metadata To File followed by Read Metadata From File and then auto-stacking doesn't avoid the bug.

I've observed that sometimes exporting the catalog as a new catalog avoids the bug, sometimes not.

A couple other recent reports of similar symptoms:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/lightroom-classic-bugs/auto-stacking-by-capture-time-goes-wrong/idi-p... 

https://community.adobe.com/t5/lightroom-classic-discussions/stacking-problem-auto-stack-virtual-cop...

Yet another symptom of the broken internal architecture for storing photo capture times.

Tested on LR 10.4 / Mac OS 11.3.1.  

[Peter van der Ploeg]

Since the June update Auto stacking does not work anymore.

Although photos have the same capture time, or a few seconds apart, Lightroom Classic does not recognize it as a Stack.

Also, it sometimes stacks photos that are minutes apart.

I use an Olympus EM-5 MIII.

I also use DxO PureRaw (which copies the Capture Time into the DNG file)

Everywhere I look in Lightroom, the Capture times are correct, and thus Auto Stacking seems to have some bug in reading / comparing.

In the image below you see the result of Auto Stacking. The filenames reflect the Capture Times. (I rename them on Import)

[johnrellis]

"I also use DxO PureRaw (which copies the Capture Time into the DNG file)"

Please upload some sample files that get stacked incorrectly to Dropbox or similar and post the sharing link here. It's possible that PurRaw didn't copy the capture time into the DNG in a way that's compatible with LR.  LR has longstanding bugs when it isn't able to read capture time from the EXIF metadata.

[Peter van der Ploeg]

The files can be downloaded here:

https://1drv.ms/u/s!Ao9RB_G2jnxhgYrgI9QO7ddtQafK0gA?e=NHhDeO

Note that is also goes wrong between the two ORF files (it does recognize them as having the same/close capture time).

A work around would be helpfell as well, I use DxO PureRaw a lot, and like those stacked with the original ORF.

[johnrellis]

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I verified that my LR 10.4 is correctly reading the EXIF capture times from the sample photos' metadata and that auto-stacking is working correctly for me:

So there's something different between your configuration and mine.  Next troubleshooting steps to narrow down the issue:

1. Please do the menu command Help > System Info and copy/paste here the first ten lines, so we know your precise LR and OS version numbers.

2. Make a new test catalog and import those photos. Does auto-stacking work correctly in the test catalog?

3. Try resetting LR's preferences:
https://www.lightroomqueen.com/articles-page/how-do-i-reset-lightrooms-preferences/

LR sometimes soils its preferences file, and resetting it can fix all sorts of wonky behavior. That article explains how to restore the old preferences if resetting doesn't help.

[Peter van der Ploeg]

1. The system info:

Lightroom Classic version: 10.4 [ 202108071231-af9219b9 ]
License: Creative Cloud
Language setting: en
Operating system: Windows 10 - Business Edition
Version: 10.0.19043
Application architecture: x64
System architecture: x64
Logical processor count: 16
Processor speed: 3.6GHz
SqLite Version: 3.34.0
2. New catalog

Auto stacking works fully ok!

But you will understand, starting a new catalog is not an option.

3. Resetting preferences.

Auto stacking still goes wrong....

So, how I can repair my catalog?

[Peter van der Ploeg]

I tried a few things:

1. Read Metadat from file: same problem
2. Save Metada to file: Ditto
3. Export to a new Catalog, and open that Catalog: Does solve the Autostacking, but I lose my editting history for all my Photos and manual Collections (but smart collections are preserved, and I use those a lot)
4. Remove photos from Lightroom (the Catalog only), and reimport them: Does work! I lose my editting history, but only on the newly import Photos

So, I will use option 4, for folders that have the Autostack problem.

Thx for all the help!

[johnrellis]

"Export to a new Catalog, and open that Catalog: Does solve the Autostacking, but I lose my editting history for all my Photos and manual Collections"

Hmm, normally when you do File > Export As Catalog, regular collections and Develop History are preserved.  Try exporting your entire catalog with these options:

Sometimes Export As Catalog rebuilds internal indexes (such as the sort used for Capture Time), correcting any mistakes that may have crept in, and sometimes it just copies them (preserving those mistakes).

[Peter van der Ploeg]

I made some HDR pictures (which, at first, stacked correctly with Auto Stack).

But after some editing (using Aurora HDR and LR's own HDR tool), Auto Stack did it wrong again.

It turns out it goes wrong when, at some point, I Synchronize the folder, and have the "Scan for metadata updates" switch on.

Some files (mostly ORF, it seems) then get stacked wrongly again by Auto Stack.

Removing them from the catalog and re-importing with the "Scan for metadata updates" switch off, Auto Stack works ok again.

Doing the same with the switch on, and Auto Stack goes wrong again.

So, keeping the switch off, should prefent further problems.

[johnrellis]

"It turns out it goes wrong when, at some point, I Synchronize the folder, and have the "Scan for metadata updates" switch on."

Interesting, that doesn't happen in my LR with the three sample files you sent.  Further points at perhaps something bad in your catalog.  Trying File > Export As New Catalog with the settings I posted -- that might clean up the internal structures in the exported catalog.

[Peter van der Ploeg]

I did follow your advice, and indeed all collections and history was preserved.

Spontaneusly and after synchronising folders many new photos were found, or turned out to be missing, and new virtual copies emerged. Syncing with the Cloud produced many duuplicates.

After cleaning that all up I deleted all in the cloud and that seems to be syncing ok now.

Auto Stacking does seem to work correctly now, even after synchronizing with reading of metadata.

So, my catalog must have been badly damaged, and probably internally inconsistent.

I am very happy that it seems fixed now, whats more important, apart from living creatures, than a healthy Lr Catalog?

The damage to the catalog may have come about because I have experimented a lot with several syncing solutions. (with my laptop using SyncBack, with the LR Mobile with help from jf Smart-Collection Sync, and with other sources using jf Folder Watch). that all seems to works ok now, but did not always in the past. It took some trial and error. Syncing my catalog with my laptop gave the most problems, so I suspect that as the most likely cause.

Thx for all your help!

[johnrellis]

Glad your catalog is in better shape now.

[learnit23898361]

Hi -

I'm having an issue, that when I create virtual copies they are not automatically stacked. This would be fine, however when I try to use "AUTO STACK BY CAPUTRE TIME" it is grouping too many of the images together, even when I am on 00:00:00 time between stacks. So now some images have 2 in the stack, and some stacks have 4 images or more depending on how quickly my camera fired off.

Is there an easier way than needing to manually go through and split all the stacks and to just have the virtual copy and the master in a stack to start with?

Second question, now that the stack is created, is there a way to move BOTH the virtual copy and the master image to a new collection if the stack is collapsed? Currently only the image selected is being moved when I use shortcut "B"

Thanks in advance for any help!

[johnrellis]

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"is there a way to move BOTH the virtual copy and the master image to a new collection if the stack is collapsed?"

You'll have to expand the stack and select all the stacked photos before typing B.  A shortcut for doing that: double-click or shift-click the stacking badge in the upper-left corner of the thumbnail:

[johnrellis]

"when I create virtual copies they are not automatically stacked."

LR's stacking design is wierd and inconsistent. When you're in a collection, some commands that create stacks, like Create Virtual Copy, will create the stack in the folder containing the photo but not in the collection. Other commands, like Photo > Edit In, will create a stack in the collection and in the folder.

[JohanElzenga]

Another possibility is that you are in a smart collection. Smart collections do not support stacks. Only normal collections and folders do.

[johnrellis]

I've narrowed down one cause of this bug, auto-stack photos whose capture time has been changed by Metadata > Edit Capture Time:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/lightroom-classic-bugs/auto-stack-by-capture-time-sometimes-stacks-ph... 

[johnrellis]

Moderators, please merge this thread with the authoritative bug report:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/lightroom-classic-bugs/auto-stack-by-capture-time-sometimes-stacks-ph... 

[johnrellis]

"when I try to use "AUTO STACK BY CAPUTRE TIME" it is grouping too many of the images together, even when I am on 00:00:00 time between stacks."

Someone else reported similar symptoms a while ago, and I just now identified at least one cause of the problem, using Metadata > Edit Capture Time on some of the photos being auto-stacked:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/lightroom-classic-bugs/auto-stack-by-capture-time-sometimes-stacks-ph... 

[johnrellis]

Moderators, please merge this bug report with this existing bug report:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/lightroom-classic-bugs/auto-stack-by-capture-time-sometimes-stacks-ph... 

[ben446]

Any fix for this yet?

Auto-Stack By Capture Time stacks photos incorrectly?  

M1 Ultra / Ventura 13.6

LRC 12.5

Pics from 1 camera stack correctly, not from the other older one.  Same brand.  Was working for both.

[johnrellis]

@Rikk Flohr: Photography, this apparently never got assigned a tracking number? I just tested the bug recipe, and it still occurs in LR 13.0.

[johnrellis]

@ben446, upload two sample pics that don't stack correctly to Dropbox, Google Drive, or similar and post the sharing link here.  I'll dig into what might be going wrong and file or update a bug report as appropriate.

[Rikk Flohr: Photography]

Looks like this one was lost in the forum transition two years go. I will log it. 

[Rikk Flohr: Photography]

Updating status

[ben446]

Update to OS X Sonoma 14 / LRC  13.0.1 seemed to fix stacking issue in my case 🙂