How to change cRAW timestamp?

[bakubo]

I am still in Egypt, but the time is counting down to my return to Japan on 12/26. I have a question that I hope someone can answer since it is undoubtedly a problem that many have faced.

When I first got to Egypt a few weeks ago I forgot to change the time on my A700 until the second day I was here. I have 65 cRAW files that have Japan time on them. Does anyone know how I can adjust the date/time to Egypt time? Thanks!

[David Kilpatrick]

Sony Motion Picture Picture Browser allows you to do this, I think - PC program, sold or supplied with the GPS unit, but you may already have it.

David

[Dr. Harout]

If I'm not wrong PMB cannot change anything in RAW format. You may in JPEG.
I had once such a problem when accidentally the year was taken back. I asked it on Dyxum and David Defoort (one more time, many many thanks to him) sent me a small sized software which fixed the issues (on RAW files!).

[Winston]

I think your best bet is Phil Harvey's EXIF Tool

[harveyzone]

I think your best bet is Phil Harvey's EXIF Tool

Exiftool cannot change Sony RAW files either, or at least couldn't last time I tried it. The only thing that I have found that will do it is Photome, but I do not know if that works with A900/A850 cRAW files.

[bakubo]

I think your best bet is Phil Harvey's EXIF Tool

According to this page it can write to Canon, Nikon, Minolta, Olympus, Pentax, Fuji, Panasonic, Leica, DNG, etc. RAW files but not Sony RAW files.

http://www.sno.phy.queensu.ca/~phil/exiftool/#supported

I wonder why?

[Winston]

Sorry about that.

Lightroom says it can but I have not tried it.

[harveyzone]

Sorry about that.

Lightroom says it can but I have not tried it.

Again, I don't think it can for Sony RAWs. The versions I have tried only wrote to XMP, but that may have changed.

[colorpenguin]

I keep my camera's clock set to UTC so I don't have to change it for daylight savings time or when traveling.

[bakubo]

I keep my camera's clock set to UTC so I don't have to change it for daylight savings time or when traveling.

You have confused me here. Are you saying that I can go back and adjust my 65 files by doing this? Please explain further because I don't understand how this helps me solve the problem at hand. Thanks!

[01af]

I keep my camera's clock set to UTC so I don't have to change it for daylight savings time or when traveling.

You have confused me here. Are you saying that I can go back and adjust my 65 files by doing this? Please explain further because I don't understand how this helps me solve the problem at hand.

He means setting the camera to UTC time would save you from running into this kind of problem again in the future. Of course it cannot undo the damage already done.

To change date-and-time tags in raw files, first add some bulk metadata (i. e. your name, contact data, copyright notice, etc.) which will end up in XMP sidecar files. Then, change the data-and-time tags in the XMP files which are plain-text XML files; you can open them in a simple text editor (e. g. Notepad or Wordpad), read them, and edit them. For adjusting timezone information (a frequently reoccurring problem here, as Bridge and Lightroom are too dumb to handle timezones properly), I have written a little Bridge script ... but for a one-time adjustment on 65 files, you may do that manually in maybe half an hour of work---tedious but doable. Make sure to change all occurrences of the date and time of origin and of digitisation ... there are more than one of each, in the different metadata sections.

-- Olaf

[Winston]

I keep my camera's clock set to UTC so I don't have to change it for daylight savings time or when traveling.

Not a bad idea. I have been considering this for a while. Clock errors can be a real pain when it's time to sync up with GPS track files. I will probably make the switch on January 1.

Thanks for the push.

[Tom F]

Go to http://www.microsoft.com/prophoto/downloads/tools.aspx and get Microsoft Pro Photo Tools 2. It's free and will let you make that change and many other things.

[Winston]

Go to http://www.microsoft.com/prophoto/downloads/tools.aspx and get Microsoft Pro Photo Tools 2. It's free and will let you make that change and many other things.

There doesn't seem to be a driver for WinXP.

[Johnc]

I am playing with RAW files for the first time and am quite surprised to see how few applications have support for some later models camera's. The A850 is a case in point.
I have found, that depending what Exif data what you want a change, that PhotoME (http://www.photome.de/) allows quite a few changes and does allow the date and time change.
Its small and full of info that I am sure most will find quite interesting.
Enjoy
John