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Question

Lightroom Classic does not recognise already imported photos from SD card

Forum|Forum|4 years ago
June 29, 2021
10 replies
2416 views

Hello,

I've upgraded my camera recently and now I notice that LrC does not "recognise" already imported photos in the Import module. It thinks all photos, present on the SD card (SanDisk Extreme Pro SDXC 64GB 170MB/s), are new and thus selects them all to be imported (even though I do have "New Photos" selected in the Import module).

With my previous (very old EOS 30D) camera I never had this problem. LR was always able to detect photos already present in the catalog and deselected those.

There are two differences in the new situation:

- The EOS 30D had a CF flash card whereas my new camera uses SD (see above)

- I always used a CF-reader to import the photos (simply because the 30D could not be connected directly to the laptop (Macbook) - now I connect the camera (EOS R) directly to the laptop via USB-C and leave the SD card in the camera (thus not using a card-reader anymore).

Did anybody else in here ran into this problem? Is this an user error from my side?

Thanks for your reaction in advance.

KR,

Jan.

This topic has been closed for replies.

N

Nigel26754057pgxd

Participant

I realise this is an old post, but if you see this, just to let you know,

I too have the same problem, but no answer. Thanks.

G

Glassyeyed

Participant

I have this issue as well. I read the entire thread and the OP's situation and method of doing things EXACTLY replicates my situation. There was a brief moment in time when I upgraded to the Adobe monthly subscription so that I could use Lightroom Classic and not be stuck with whatever the ancient version was that I had just bought, and it resolved the issue of not recognizing previously imported photos, and then it started happening again. I even have a brank new MacBook Pro with a built-in card reader and still, LR Classic is not recognizing the previously imported photos. I just don't immediately delete them because I take 100s of shots at a time and it takes me a while to go through them. I don't want to make some stupid mistake where I somehow delete all of the photos from my hard drive, I don't trust myself. I am doing backups with Time Machine and also to an external hard drive but I still like to keep them on the SD card for a bit and LR should work properly and not import duplicates. What is the point of checking that box?

J

J.H.H.Author

Participating Frequently

Hi Nigel & Glassyeyed,

I am "glad" that I am not the only one having this issue. Since I posted my workaround (using a stand-alone card-reader) I do not have this problem anymore. Admitted: I never tried it again, leaving the card in my camera and then connecting it (via USB-C) to my MacBook, so didn't realize the problem still is there. I still think it is strange that this does not work.

Will keep an eye on this thread to see whether a solution will pop-up.

W

Wim van98BC

Participant

Can you please tell me why you do not use the internal card reader from the labtop? I too have problem with importing from my SD card. I get the massage "preview is unavailable for this file" I already did rebuild the previews,ircat file whitout succes.

J

J.H.H.Author

Participating Frequently

Hi Wim,

That is very simply answered: My MBP 16" has no internal SD-card slot.

And to be clear: I did not get the previews in the import-tab ... after importing the imported photos show up perfectly clear.

KR,

Jan.

GoldingD

Legend

see second from last reply in:

https://www.lightroomqueen.com/community/threads/new-photos-not-identified.30673/

I have the impression that you keep images on your SD card well after copying them to your computer. I suspect most of us, after we have a copy on our computer, and a backup copy on some other drive, format their SD card before taking more photos.

I for one, do not trust memory card for long term storage, so I copy and backup asap. And hence, if this is the problem, have no lessons learned.

Anyhow, do you have another SD card to test, should you not choose to format the one you have, and test.

This might be a long shot based on one other persons experience.

J

J.H.H.Author

Participating Frequently

Thank you very much for your hints and suggestions. Really appreciated.

I did check the permissions (I'm on Big Sur) and all seem to be OK (it is not that I do have a permission problem when importing, all photos end up in the folder which I specified - that part is perfectly OK).

It could be a problem that the database information is not accessible (in read-mode) making it impossible for LR to compare the library against the information on the SD-card in the import module but that doesn't make sense.

I do store the photos (for some time) on the card but it is not a key part in my "work flow" - it is just that it feels good to not immediately format the card after the import (if all goes wrong I still have the originals on the card). So it is not a matter of "trusting the card in sense of relying on its content after import. I do have "normal" backup schemes (time-machine and external copies) in place (remind you: I am just a hobby-photographer, not a professional for whom a more professional approach to backup is key).

I will do some experiments to see whether there is a difference between accessing the contents directly from the camera (using the USB-C connection) and using the card reader. Will update this thread with my findings ......

Jan.

J

J.H.H.Author

Participating Frequently

I have done some more experiments and found that using a card-reader i.s.o. directly connecting the Canon to the laptop with the USB-C (and then import the photos directly) does make the big difference here:

Using the external card-reader LR is able to detect any "alreay imported" duplicate and filters it from the list if selected.

I also noticed that when reading directly from Camera previews not always show up (gray squares instead) and the orientation (portrait vs. landscape) isn't detected either (all pictures in the import preview are presented in landscape).

Conclusion: use a card reader for importing (the way I used to work with my old camera as that one simply couldn't be connected to the laptop at all).

Thanks all for your suggestions and detailed information.

KR,

Jan.

GoldingD

Legend

This may be considered buggy behavior. As such have you considered resetting the preference file? That is Adobe speak for deleting the preference file, as so to allow LrC to create a new uncorrupted one. The preference file can get corrupted leading to buggy behavior. The preference file good or corrupted will survive updates, upgrades, and often uninstall/reinstalls.

Some preferences settings might revert to defaults, that is not the purpose of the reset, just a possible side effect.

https://helpx.adobe.com/lightroom-classic/help/setting-preferences-lightroom.html

GoldingD

Legend

As you are on a MAC, and if MACOS is Catalina or newer, remember to check out:

https://nektony.com/duplicate-finder-free/folders-permission

Probably not the issue, but just in case.

GoldingD

Legend

Ahh, one point forgotten

How long do you wait in the import screen for LrC to look at those images. Might this be a performance issue. Does letting LrC have a bit more time to read those files and decide if they have already been imported help?

Taliking minutes

Randy Hufford

Community Expert

I also found that getting a really good card reader from the camera manucturer really made a big difference for me. Previously i bought any card reader usually more econimical and i had crazy issues. I than purchased a good sony reader(Since i have a sony camera) and things went way smoother. Also i have seen images imported again if you edited some images and threw some away. The thrown away images will show up again if they are still on card.

GoldingD

Legend

A recommendation to make. Mind you this might have nothing to do with your issue. Get a SD card reader.

Methods of transferring images from a card to computer with comments as follows:

Use a card reader. Fastest transfer. Eliminates potential issues with camera internal processor (typically not a big issue, but you are not communicating directly to the card)
Keep card in camera, use USB, Slower, couple of bottlenecks, camera USB port capability (yes yours probably great), Camera in between computer and card.
Via WiFi, Very slow, problematic, highly not recommended.

GoldingD

Legend

Not sure that I am understanding the workflow and the card management.

So:

New Canon EOS R, mirrorless with SD card. check

Lightroom Classic version 10.3. Correct?

No SD card reader, connecting camera to computer via USB. Check

You do not format the SD card in camera after import/copy??

You previously imported images from the SD card, went out and accomplished more photography, came back, went into LrC, imported, and previously imported files show up as new?

Do not import suspected duplicates is checked. Check

And you click on the New box.

Please correct or verify

J

J.H.H.Author

Participating Frequently

First of all thank you for your feedback.

To answer GoldingD's questions:

- Indeed a Canon EOS R using SD card (see above)

- Using latest LrC (Adobe Photography plan, all tools up-to-date)

- The card has 64GB and I did only format it once via the camera

- All photos which I took since I bought it, are still on the SD-card

- I indeed want to skip photos which I have already imported in previous import-sessions (and have indeed the options "New Photos" and "Don't Import Suspected Duplicates" selected (see screenshot above) - (of course if i have deleted a photo from the Lightroom library which is also still on the card I accept that this one is seen as "new" again).

With the old camera (EOS 30D) I used a card-reader to import the pictures from the CF card that worked as expected (and described above). With the SD card in the camera and then connecting this camera to the laptop (Apple) via the USB-C cable, this does not work anymore. It does not seem to be able to compare the photos on the SD-card against the ones previously imported, and present in the LR library, anymore.

As suggested by you and Randy, I can give it a try using the card reader (it also accepts SD cards as well) to see if this does a better job - thought that it was more convenient doing it via the USB cable as then I can re-charge the battery and import the photos in one go. I now read here that it might not be such a good idea after all (slower, more error-prone).

Nevertheless I still would like to know why it isn't working this way (I also noticed that some "portrait" photos in the import preview aren't rotated either).

Again thanks for the feedback,

Jan.

F. McLion

Community Expert

Just to make sure .. you are using LrC 10.3 and you have selected to not import duplicates?

--- Got your issue resolved? Please label the response as 'Correct Answer' to help your fellow community members find a solution to similar problems. ---

J

J.H.H.Author

Participating Frequently

Sorry for not being complete at first. I double checked and can confirm to both: I am using the very latest LrC and do have "Don't Import Suspected Duplicates" selected:

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