EXIF Data Question

[drgek]

My Leica M10 cannot properly record the Zeiss lenses I use to shoot with. It records the lens I have set in the lens detection menu. However, I've found that once I've imported a photo into Lightroom, altering the lens EXIF data of an image with an EXIF editor will not change LR's display of it, even if I remove the image from the catalog and reimport. I can tell from looking on Preview on my Mac that I have in fact changed the EXIF data of the file, but LR refuses to acknowledge the change. Is there any way around this? Moving forward, I have found that if I change the EXIF data prior to the initial import LR reports the data as I have edited it.

[johnrellis]

Some troubleshooting questions:

1. Are you importing a raw photo or a JPEG?

2. Is the raw photo a DNG? 

3. Is the option Catalog Settings > Metadata > Automatically Write Changes Into XMP checked?

[drgek]

Thanks for taking the time to help. I was trying to change the metadata in some JPEGs, I haven't tried with a RAW file yet (but it would be a DNG.) The option for Catalog Settings > Metadata > Automatically Write Changes into XMP was NOT checked. I checked it and tried again, no change. If I open up the file in Preview on my Mac, it shows the lens EXIF data change I had made in Exif Editor. But if I re-import the file, the same erroneous lens information shows in LR. I hope I'm making this clear and apologize if I'm not.

[johnrellis]

Perhaps you could upload to Dropbox (or similar) a sample, unmodified file that hasn't yet been imported into LR, and post the sharing link here.  Include the exact steps you're taking (the precise EXIF field you're modifying, the tool you're using, a screenshot of what you see in LR after importing).   We can quickly figure out what's going on.

[drgek]

Thanks again, I'll do that this week. But to be clear, if I change the EXIF data on a DNG prior to importing, the correct EXIG data are displayed in LR. It's the image files currently in my library which LR will not modify despite data successfully edited and read by other programs.

[johnrellis]

Thanks again, I'll do that this week. But to be clear, if I change the EXIF data on a DNG prior to importing, the correct EXIG data are displayed in LR. It's the image files currently in my library which LR will not modify despite data successfully edited and read by other programs.

Right -- provide the steps that you would take with that posted sample file to illustrate the behavior.

[drgek]

Going through the process you suggested allowed me to isolate the problem. There are two different areas to put lens data in the EXIF editor; when I put the lens data into both LR handled it appropriately. Thank you for suggesting I approach this in a systematic fashion. Problem solved!

[johnrellis · Accepted solution]

Very good.  Metadata can often be confusing.