Altitude and GPS data not showing for drone raw files Lightroon+MacOS catalina

[JeffEllis]

Lightroom Version Number

10.4

Operating System

1. macOS 10.15 Catalina

Hi gang. A very specific problem to a limited group of people...
I fly drones - DJI Phantom 4 Pro currently. Been processing those files (P3P and P4P) in Lightroom since 2014. And in the Grid view/Metadata/EXIF info the Altitude and GPS fields have always shown the data from the files - until April of 2021.
Since then almost all of them do not show the data. But its all there if you use a Meta Data software reader.
Here is the Exif panel for a current file:
And then what a Metadata reader shows on a similar file. The GPS is not on this screenshot, but its there. Altitude in meters rather than feet:

Here is a dropbox folder with a few sample files - if anyone is inclined to help. Goes without saying that they are all Copyright Jeff Ellis Photo 2021-All Rights Reserved - well, I said it anyway....
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/yq02kze63ou54e0/AADaTsrpmpSjQVObN83u_bvza?dl=0
If you import to Lightroom , and Sort by Date, you should see that any file earlier that end of march 2021 the Altitude and GPS fields are filled, but any file later than March of 2021

And ALMOST every flight Ive shot since then is missing the Altitude and GPS in LR.
EXCEPT inexplicably this one day just last month I did some test flying and shooting and all the files I shot that day 09/24/2021 - I think the file I included here is <DJI_0216_092421.jpg> is one - Do show the GPS data.
And at first I thought is was a system thing. my desktop computer is still on Mac OS 12.xx Sierra, and Laptop is 10.15xx- Catalina. But on both computers and Lightroom Catalogs all shoots up through March of 2021 show the Altitude and GPS, and anything after usually not.
And its making me crazy because I can't figure out why they don't show it - and once in a while DO...

It's just inconvenient as I do a lot of panoramic stitch shots and I have to make sure all the shots on a given group are from the same height & location before stitching.

Does anyone here have a thought on this?

Much appreciated as always!

 

[johnrellis]

Exiftool shows that three of those files don't have GPS coordinates:

$ exiftool -gpsposition *.dng *.DNG
======== 010_081621-Pano.dng
GPS Position                    : 41 deg 54' 8.88" N, 87 deg 37' 20.82" W
======== 010_081621.DNG
Warning: [minor] Possibly incorrect maker notes offsets (fix by 13740?) - 010_081621.DNG
======== 034_102621_EduDix.DNG
Warning: [minor] Possibly incorrect maker notes offsets (fix by 13740?) - 034_102621_EduDix.DNG
======== 072_031321.DNG
GPS Position                    : 42 deg 6' 10.02" N, 87 deg 45' 53.34" W
======== DJI_0080.DNG
GPS Position                    : 41 deg 57' 31.10" N, 87 deg 38' 24.60" W
======== DJI_0216.DNG
GPS Position                    : 41 deg 58' 38.45" N, 87 deg 38' 44.80" W
======== DJI_0555.DNG
GPS Position                    : 41 deg 55' 25.33" N, 87 deg 37' 43.48" W
======== DJI_0619.DNG
Warning: [minor] Possibly incorrect maker notes offsets (fix by 13740?) - DJI_0619.DNG
    8 image files read

But my LR 11 imports the coordinates for the other 5 files.

First thing to check: In the Import window's right column, try importing with Apply During Import > Metadata set to None. If the GPS coordinates now import, then you had set a metadata import preset that's clearing the GPS coordinates. Edit the preset and uncheck the checkbox to the right of the GPS field.

 

[JeffEllis]

Thanks John. I’ll try that. Much appreciated!
I hope that’s it.
To confuse me more, I shot a group of images the other day and imported them into LR after usual using Photo Mechanic to download card & edit bad creamed, and all of that group had both GPS and Altitude.
I thought I figured it out that perhaps and using photo mechanic to rename the files caused the problem. But then I tried to replicate it with the same group of files from that same card into a new folder and then it did not show the coordinates or altitude. One of those WTF moments…

 

[JeffEllis]

John- haven’t had a chance yet to shoot new drone photos to test. But there may be something to your suggestion. I have a few metadata presets for myself and a few associates with basic info - name, address, copyright, phone number. And sometimes I have that applied on import.
There’s a number of categories but I just leave blank. What I am unclear on and maybe you can help with that is, if I have a checkmark in a section of information, such as the GPS and altitude, but nothing filled in, will that then exclude that data on import? I wasn’t sure if I should check mark a section that I’m not filling in or leave it unchecked.

I looked at my current “Jeff Ellis Basic” preset and I had a checkmark in that section with nothing filled in. Is it possible that’s the reason didn’t write the GPS and altitude into white room as it imported?

My goal of course was just to fill in the basic info for myself and then I could add to that meta-data later based on the image content. But I don’t want to exclude anything from the original file.

 

[Hal P Anderson]

If you put a check mark on a blank entry, the blanks will be copied into that piece of metadata. That isn't likely to be what you want.

 

[JeffEllis]

Excellent! I feel like I’m zeroing in on the problem. This has been plaguing me for a year or two and up till now no one’s been able to offer a solution. I think this is what the problem is. I’ll be able to do an actual test in the next few days.
I’ll let you know how it turns out…

 

[JeffEllis]

Halnd John wanted to thank you both again.
Problem solved!
The culprit was the Metadata preset. By making sure it was set to None, ,and I did Uncheck those empty boxes for later too, I now have my Altitude and GPS readout in LR. This has confounded me for almost 2 years.

 

[johnrellis]

Glad you got it resolved. This is a common problem, with many similar questions in the forums. The problem is that LR is completely silent when it applies the preset and clears the field, and you often don't notice the issue until long after the import completes, so nothing connects the two in your mind. I finally filed this feature request:
https://community.adobe.com/t5/ligh...et-should-clear-a-field/idi-p/12505655#M13182

 

[JeffEllis]

Glad you did that John. And I was indeed confused about that instruction. I thought by checking it that would make SURE that data would be imported with the file, not CLEAR it…
<Head Slap!>….