The Death of Dates On Pictures

[DaVibe]

With digital cameras, most people opt to take away the date from their pictures and if anything, their camera may not even offer it!

Other than a filename and folder it lies in, there is no real DATE on the photos we all have today. The problem with this is that 20 years from now, when we have printed pictures (or files even) and we're reviewing them, we'll have no idea whether it was 2005 or 2008.

That's a HUGE thing. Anyone use or familiar with some sort of program or software to fix this? Something that you can nicely assign dates to pictures?
That would be my invention at this point.

I think a lot of people are losing the point of photos (especially of family and vacations) by eliminating the date of the event.

[NuggyBuggy]

This is the second post in a few days on this topic. Is this a joke, or do you guys seriously not know that the date/time information and a whole bunch of extra meta-information is embedded in your pictures ? If someone really wanted to superimpose that stuff ON the pictures, it wouldn't take long to write a script to extract that information and superimpose it on top of your pictures. The reason that cameras aren't putting that information ON your pictures is that the information is now IN your pictures.

[DaVibe]

For a regular user to access? I'd like to see this, because I can't see nor do I know how to see this information.

Yes, I would like someone to write that script. Everyone has a digital cameras, no one has dates ... there's a HUGE program sitting that should be made for all to purchase. Seriously, grandma doesn't know when she took that anymore.

[JimG]

Which cameras don't have a date/time stamp option? I haven't seen one. Eitherway, you can access all date/time details and more in the picture properties. Right Click>>Properties. Not exactly difficult.

[DaVibe]

The last 3 Fuji digital cameras I purchased (Z3, Z10, F30) do not have this option.
The 6MP Sony's I've handled do not have this option either. Only my old KODAK had it available and at the time, I took it off.

[DaVibe]

Which cameras don't have a date/time stamp option? I haven't seen one. Eitherway, you can access all date/time details and more in the picture properties. Right Click>>Properties. Not exactly difficult.

But if you transfer the photos around from computer to computer, load them on the net, print them out in hard copy ... there's no date ON the photos.

I think your right clicking will only show the date the picture arrived in a photo transfer onto another computer, not the date it was actually TAKEN or even the day it was created on your computer. Again, those are different dates even ... taken vs. loaded on your computer.

[JimG]

But if you transfer the photos around from computer to computer, load them on the net, print them out in hard copy ... there's no date ON the photos.

I think your right clicking will only show the date the picture arrived in a photo transfer onto another computer, not the date it was actually TAKEN or even the day it was created on your computer. Again, those are different dates even ... taken vs. loaded on your computer.

The data is embedded in the picture itself, you don't lose it by moving to between computers or uploading it. It's written the instant the photo is taken and reflects the actual time the photo was captured. Only way you might lose EXIF data is if you modify the image with a program that doesn't preserve the EXIF data.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exif

[shybutsly]

Below is an example of the EXIF data that is embedded in the picture file for a picture I took late last year. As you can see, it has a lot of information:

Camera: Canon PowerShot SD700 IS
Exposure: 0.125 sec (1/8)
Aperture: f/2.8
Focal Length: 5.8 mm
Exposure Bias: 0/3 EV
Flash: Flash did not fire

Orientation: Horizontal (normal)
X-Resolution: 180 dpi
Y-Resolution: 180 dpi
Date and Time: 2007:12:06 19:33:22
YCbCr Positioning: Centered
Date and Time (Original): 2007:12:06 19:33:22
Date and Time (Digitized): 2007:12:06 19:33:22
Compressed Bits per Pixel: 5 bits
Shutter Speed: 96/32
Maximum Lens Aperture: 95/32
Metering Mode: Pattern
Color Space: sRGB
Focal Plane X-Resolution: 12515.556 dpi
Focal Plane Y-Resolution: 12497.041 dpi
Sensing Method: One-chip colour area sensor
Digital Zoom Ratio: 2816/2816
Compression: JPEG
Image Type: IMG:PowerShot SD700 IS JPEG
Image Number: 1011214
Model ID: 26476544
Tag::Canon::0x0013: 0, 0, 0, 0
Tag::Canon::0x0018: 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0
Tag::Canon::0x001D: 32, 1, 0, 2, 2, 2, 2, 0, 0, 0, 0, 38, 0, 0, 0, 0
Tag::Canon::0x001E: 16843264
Tag::Canon::0x001F: 138, 1, 0, 4, 8, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0
Tag::Canon::0x0022: 416, 0, 0, 16, 8, 24, 16, 640, 480, 65232, 65306, 304, 230, 0, 8, 384, 0, 0, 0, 2569, 3083, 3340, 3085, 2828, 2314, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 2569, 3083, 3597, 3855, 3855, 3342, 2828, 2314, 0, 0, 0, 2304, 2826, 3853, 4624, 4883, 4883, 4114, 3343, 2571, 9, 0, 0, 2560, 3339, 4367, 5651, 6680, 6170, 4886, 3857, 2829, 10, 0, 0, 0, 3852, 5137, 7192, 8736, 8226, 6172, 4372, 3087, 2315, 7, 0, 0, 4110, 6163, 9246, 10535, 10025, 7716, 4888, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 4366, 6933, 10275, 11564, 11309, 9000, 5403, 3601, 2572, 0, 0, 3072, 4623, 7702, 10789, 12078, 11823, 9514, 5662, 3858, 2572, 0, 0, 3072, 4623, 7702, 10789, 12078, 11823, 9514, 5662, 3858, 2572, 0, 0, 0, 4366, 6933, 10275, 11564, 11309, 9000, 5403, 3601, 2572, 0, 0, 2826, 4110, 6163, 9246, 10535, 10025, 7716, 4888, 3600, 0, 0, 0, 2825, 3852, 5137, 7192, 8736, 8226, 6172, 4372, 3087, 0, 0, 0, 2560, 3339, 4367, 5651, 6680, 6170, 4886, 3857, 2829, 2058, 0, 0, 2304, 2826, 3853, 4624, 4883, 4883, 4114, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1280, 0, 2569, 3083, 3597, 3855, 3855, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 2569, 3083, 3340, 3085, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0
Image Width: 2816 pixels
Image Height: 2112 pixels
Macro Mode: Normal
Image Quality: Superfine
Continuous Drive: Single
Focus Mode: Single
Canon Image Size: Large
Easy Mode: Full auto
Contrast: Normal
Saturation: Normal
Sharpness: Normal
Camera ISO: Auto
Metering Mode: Evaluative
Focus Range: Auto
AF Point: Auto AF point selection
Canon Exposure Mode: Easy
Lens: 6 - 23mm
Max Aperture: 95
Min Aperture: 159
AE Setting: Normal AE
Zoom Source Width: 2816
Zoom Target Width: 2816
Focal Type: Zoom
Scaled Focal Length: 5800
Focal Plane Size: 230 x 173
ISO: 100
Measured LV: 65529
Target Aperture: 5.6568542494924
Target Exposure Time: 0.125
Focus Distance Upper: 1.4
F Number: 2.8
Camera Type: Compact
Auto Rotate: None
Exposure Time: 4294967272
Scaled Focal Length: 49
AF Points Used: Center
Image Width: 2816
Image Height: 2112
Image Width (As shot): 1408
Image Height (As shot): 264

[JimG]

I don't like having ugly time stamps on the front of my pictures, so what I do when I print my pictures is run a Photoshop script that extracts a photos EXIF data, puts it into a new document and saves it as FILENAMEexif.JPG back to the same folder. I set that up as a batch action for all files in a folder. Then I set my printer to borderless, auto duplex printing and select the folder of photos and their EXIF images for printing. Photos get printed on the photo side, then the printer sucks it back in, flips it over, and prints all the EXIF data on the back of the photo. Pretty quick and easy. Don't know if there's a program that will do all of that, but thats the best solution I've got.

[NuggyBuggy]

For a regular user to access? I'd like to see this, because I can't see nor do I know how to see this information.

Yes, I would like someone to write that script. Everyone has a digital cameras, no one has dates ... there's a HUGE program sitting that should be made for all to purchase. Seriously, grandma doesn't know when she took that anymore.
Do you use Linux or Mac OS X ? It's fairly trivial to extract EXIF info from Perl with the right library, and I think almost as trivial to superimpose strings on JPEGs using e.g. the GD library. .. but I don't know if resulting images retain the EXIF tags or not.

But honestly, I bet you there's some simple tools out there now that do it.

[sfu_engineer]

The data is embedded in the picture itself, you don't lose it by moving to between computers or uploading it. It's written the instant the photo is taken and reflects the actual time the photo was captured. Only way you might lose EXIF data is if you modify the image with a program that doesn't preserve the EXIF data.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exif

I believe that what DaVibe is saying that digital media can get wiped easily. Hard drive failure, scratched DVD, etc. But a lot of prints last forever (or until fading). The prints themselves are what will last longer than the digital files. These prints have no date on them as the digital file may be long gone and the EXIF that it had stored is useless if the whole file is missing/corrupt.

[DaVibe]

There should be some customization available ... different labels, designs, size texts and fonts ... that's what would make the addition interesting and appealing again ...

Everyone took it off because they hated the huge bold yellow characters on all their pictures thanks to Kodak ...
That's what I'm saying ... that there should be something so that you can personalize the dates for yourself, make them how you want them.

[JimG]

I believe that what DaVibe is saying that digital media can get wiped easily. Hard drive failure, scratched DVD, etc. But a lot of prints last forever (or until fading). The prints themselves are what will last longer than the digital files. These prints have no date on them as the digital file may be long gone and the EXIF that it had stored is useless if the whole file is missing/corrupt.

Well thats what backups are for.

[Spidey]

The new Canon I bought from the RFD deal from Christmas doesnt have that feature excpet on oen setting, postcard. But the resolution is so bad I dont want to make pictures at that setting.

My older cameras had it, and i sure miss it. Yes its in the file, etc. But for people like that me that print pics still and put them in albums, its nice to have the date on them, or least on the back.

My parents in the old days would never put dates on their pics way back when. Now you look at them and you dont know what year they are. Phots from the 70's and 80's

The Canon software says somehwre you can add it after you download them, so Ill have to look into that.

IU agree they should have the option to have it imprinted, either on or off.

[Nordicwolf]

Whenever I have copies printed I write a short description and date on the back and arrange them chronologically in albums with a seperate album for each year, clearly marked.
But I'm kinda anal when it comes to photos :cheesygri

[SupsD]

Epson's Film Factory software lets you print the date on the photo (read from the photo's data). Just like in the film days where the date is printed right on the picture.

In the software, you get to choose where to put the date and what size. I thought that all software allow you to do this.

[jerryhung]

I use PhotoCap freeware to batch-rename my photos to their EXIF dates
like 2008_0101_114307.JPG

PhotoCap also can remove/add EXIF date onto the picture, should you decide to do it afterwards

As for preserving the dates on actual prints, I am quite sure some online photo labs print the file names you uploaded on the back of the photo
so in my 2008_0101_114307.JPG sample, I'd upload it, print it, and flip over to see the date when necessary

PROVIDED you set the Camera time correct!!!!!!!!!!!!! and adjust for DST as well.

and oh yeah, backup your digital photos

[CameraBill]

Other than a filename and folder it lies in, there is no real DATE on the photos we all have today. The problem with this is that 20 years from now, when we have printed pictures (or files even) and we're reviewing them, we'll have no idea whether it was 2005 or 2008.


Kind of an ignorant post. In reality digital files give you superior chronicalling by recording your time down to the second in the exif. Further it does this without ruining the picture.

If you get one of those sony gps units then you can synchronize your photos in time and space and embed all of that info into the exif.

All digital photo printers print the file name on the back of the photo. You can name the photo the date. There are many free applications that will do that for you.

[NuggyBuggy]

I use PhotoCap freeware to batch-rename my photos to their EXIF dates
like 2008_0101_114307.JPG
Nice. I wrote a Perl script a while back to do exactly that; rename photos by EXIF dates. I stopped doing it when I realized I was going to have go back and re-tag them in Picasa, since of course Picasa wouldn't know that the filenames had changed. I contemplated extending that code to read the Picasa tags - but decided I had other things to waste my time on.

[CameraBill]

Nice. I wrote a Perl script a while back to do exactly that; rename photos by EXIF dates. I stopped doing it when I realized I was going to have go back and re-tag them in Picasa, since of course Picasa wouldn't know that the filenames had changed. I contemplated extending that code to read the Picasa tags - but decided I had other things to waste my time on.

I import my pictures with Nikon View which is a free program. When you insert any removable media it gives you alot of renaming import options including renaming to the exif date automatically. Nikon View is no longer availible but they have some NX version that does the same thing.

[nano]

Whenever I have copies printed I write a short description and date on the back and arrange them chronologically in albums with a seperate album for each year, clearly marked.
But I'm kinda anal when it comes to photos :cheesygri

my mother does this with every picture but she uses a pen

[DaVibe]

All digital photo printers print the file name on the back of the photo. You can name the photo the date. There are many free applications that will do that for you.

And those applications I'm asking for. The photos I have printed do not have any writing of the sorts on the back, the back printer does not work at the store I print from.

And again, although it may be simple for us computer users, there's a complete generation of people who have no idea where to find this information and will go forward, printing pictures and deleting files even without ever having knowledge of the date the picture was taken.
That's what I'm commenting on at this point.

Appreciate the help from everyone. Going to check some of these suggested ideas out.

[ShadowVlican]

i never stamp dates on my pictures :lol:

it's recorded in the EXIF as previous posts have mentioned

when i import pictures into my database, i'll rename them to their date.jpg

[edgedamage]

And those applications I'm asking for. The photos I have printed do not have any writing of the sorts on the back, the back printer does not work at the store I print from.

And again, although it may be simple for us computer users, there's a complete generation of people who have no idea where to find this information and will go forward, printing pictures and deleting files even without ever having knowledge of the date the picture was taken.
That's what I'm commenting on at this point.

Appreciate the help from everyone. Going to check some of these suggested ideas out.
I understand what you are saying. To everyone else here. Just stand around at any 1 hr photo place and watch how almost everyone, has problems just loading their memory cards into the readers. These are the folks the OP is talking about. For the casual P&S users out there the time stamp function should be easy to find and use. And should remain a feature on all cameras.

[Spidey]

Someone at work brought an old album from when they went to New Zealand. Older phots but had the dates on them.

Now a days people dont print out there pics like they used to. So you cant just look at a phot album anymore, you need a computer.

I say albums are better. You can leave them around and look at them when u want. You cant leave around digital images for people to look at