Lightroom modifies altitude field

[toby_95]

Hi everybody,

I am new to Lightroom and I recently noticed something that seems odd to me.

I use a GPS module on my Nikon camera, it adds GPS coordinates as well as an altitude to the metadata of the image taken. I imported my entire library into Lightroom Classic CC recently and noticed that all photos with a GPS tag are marked as "Metadata was changed" (or something of the sorts - I am using a different language) when looking at the metadata info to the right of the image in the "Library" module. So I now have the option of saving the "changed" metadata to the file (although I didn't change anything).

Upon testing this, I discovered that pretty much the only thing LR changes in the metadata (besides adding some redundant fields) is the altitude. It seems to set a new value for the altitude. In one photo from Barcelona, it changed it from 17m to 0m, in another from Tallinn from 8m to 20m.

I read somewhere online that LR uses data from Google Maps or a similar service to obtain its own altitude value for a given set of coordinates. While this is nice if you have no altitude to start with, I would prefer that it didn't overwrite the altitude my device measured to some generic Google Maps value. After all, it does this automatically, without asking. Also, LR does not show any altitude value in the metadata window in the program itself, neither the old nor the new value.

How can I stop LR from overwriting my altitude values? And how can I get it to show them?

[johnrellis · Accepted solution]

I investigated, and it's a recent bug introduced in LR 7.3, 7.4, or 7.5: Address lookup overwrites an existing altitude recorded in the imported photo. If you turn off address lookup in Catalog Settings > Metadata > Look Up City, State and Country..., then LR will import the existing altitude and display it in the Metadata panel.

Please add details of your issue and your constructive opinion to this bug report: Lightroom: Address lookup overwrites existing altitude | Photoshop Family Customer Community . Be sure to click Me Too and Follow in the upper-right corner. This will make it a little more likely Adobe will prioritize a fix, and you'll be notified when the bug's status changes.

[toby_95]

I see. Well, if it is a bug, let's hope they fix it. Thanks a lot for your answer!

[helnet]

I have the same problem. I use drones and when I import the photo, the altitude is changed. Lightroom show the same altitude for all files. Even if I import from a disk or SD card.

I did another test. I imported a file with Lightroom, then I copied the file manually, afterwards I read the metadata again, and the altitude was good.