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Import - modified date not capture date

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photoal

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Aug 23, 2018
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6
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Intermediate
Lightroom Version
Lightroom Version Number
Lightroom Classic version: 7.3.1 [ 1167660 ]
Operating System
  1. macOS 10.13 High Sierra
Sorry for posting on what is maybe a repetitive topic but I've been searching Google for hours and can't find ANY decent explanation for this.

I have just moved my entire photo library (145K photos) from Lightroom on PC to Lightroom on MAC. This involved reformatting my external drives to HSF+, copy files back to the externals and then importing to Lightroom to re-sort the photos into the correct folders.

I migrated the catalog with no issues and all keyword etc are good.

Most of the imports are fine (well I've only done 70K so far) but there are a huge number of files which have been imported based on Modified Date not Created Date (see screen shot 20.57.57).

I've looked at other variables and excluded them:
1) Other files with modified dates different to capture date (see screen shot 21.18.11)
2) Not based on particular camera (iPhone etc)
3) Correct EXIF information is always shown
4) No file name processing was performed during import (see screen shot 21.20.47)

Things I can't figure if it makes a difference
1) I am moving these files from one folder to another on the SAME external drive

Clearly with this number of photos I can't possible sort this manually!

Please help I'm going crazy trying to figure this out and REALLY want to apply my backup to this drive asap as this is now my only copy of the photos (1.2TB in total)

Thanks in advance and apologies if someone has already figured this out - a pointer would be appreciated.
 

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  • Screen Shot 2018-08-23 at 21.18.11.png
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  • Screen Shot 2018-08-23 at 21.20.47.png
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Last edited:
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Just realised I used a poor example photo for the problem - here's a better one
 

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  • Screen Shot 2018-08-23 at 22.22.22.png
    Screen Shot 2018-08-23 at 22.22.22.png
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The created date you're seeing in the info window is the date the file was created on the drive it is stored on. That's how operating systems work.
Also, if you assign keywords to a JPG, instead of modifying the file, the original file gets replaced with a new file. The new file will have a OS-level created date different than the EXIF created date.
 
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DGStinner said:
The created date you're seeing in the info window is the date the file was created on the drive it is stored on. That's how operating systems work.
Also, if you assign keywords to a JPG, instead of modifying the file, the original file gets replaced with a new file. The new file will have a OS-level created date different than the EXIF created date.
Click to expand...

Yes I understand that - the OS created date and OS modified date have no bearing on the Capture date in the EXIF information (as far as I am aware).

My understanding is that Lightroom uses the EXIF capture date to sort files into folders on the Import function and this is where my issue is. I have photos with a capture date of 3rd Oct 2009 being placed in a folder 30th January 2014 based on Modified sate not Capture date (see grasshopper screen shot).

This basically ruins my date based foldering system meaning I can't continue with my mass migration until I have this resolved!

Please help!
 
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Looking at your screenshots we both agree that what you are seeing shouldn't be happening. To help try to figure out WHY it is happening, could you upload a couple of the "problem" images (to something like Dropbox) and post the link here so that I can download and import them to try to figure out what's going wrong.
 
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Thanks, but the bad news is that here they are importing into the correct dated sub-folders using Classic 7.5. See screenshot for one of them:

Screenshot_24_08_2018__11_55.png

I suggest you try updating to the latest version (7.5) before trying again on just a few files. If the problem still persists, try resetting the Preferences and try again: How do I reset Lightroom's Preferences? | The Lightroom Queen
 
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Jim Wilde said:
Thanks, but the bad news is that here they are importing into the correct dated sub-folders using Classic 7.5. See screenshot for one of them:

View attachment 11326

I suggest you try updating to the latest version (7.5) before trying again on just a few files. If the problem still persists, try resetting the Preferences and try again: How do I reset Lightroom's Preferences? | The Lightroom Queen
Click to expand...


Jim - my tests have worked fine in 7.5. You rock!

Lets hope Adobe don't break it in the next upgrade!
 
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photoal said:
Jim - my tests have worked fine in 7.5. You rock!

Lets hope Adobe don't break it in the next upgrade!
Click to expand...

Akkkkkhhhhh!! Spoke too soon. Just reimported the first 25K of the original import and exactly the same problem.

It seems to be a bulk "move" issue from the same drive to the same drive. Back to some testing :-(
 
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photoal - Did you find a solution? I've been having this same problem when importing from my iphone for months. It's using a random date (I can't even find it in the EXIF data) that sometimes seems to be based on when I last viewed the photo and sometimes not. I think it's reading some Apple modified date as the creation date rather than the EXIF date.
 
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I'm experiencing the same. Import is organising by CREATED DATE rather than CAPTURED DATE. It's driving me nuts as I discovered it by removing images that had clearly been filed incorrectly from the library and then used import to reintroduce them, hopefully into the correct folders. Except it did not work!
 
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Here are the date/time related exif fields:

Code: 
d:\Temp>exiftool -a -s -G0:1 -Time:All 20*-DSC_*.JPG
======== 20091007-DSC_0531.JPG
[File:System]   FileModifyDate                  : 2018:11:02 21:05:33+01:00
[File:System]   FileAccessDate                  : 2018:11:02 21:04:30+01:00
[File:System]   FileCreateDate                  : 2018:11:02 21:04:30+01:00
[EXIF:IFD0]     ModifyDate                      : 2009:10:07 12:50:00
[EXIF:ExifIFD]  DateTimeOriginal                : 2009:10:07 12:50:00
[EXIF:ExifIFD]  CreateDate                      : 2009:10:07 12:50:00
[EXIF:ExifIFD]  SubSecTime                      : 3
[EXIF:ExifIFD]  SubSecTimeOriginal              : 3
[EXIF:ExifIFD]  SubSecTimeDigitized             : 3
[XMP:XMP-xmp]   ModifyDate                      : 2009:10:07 12:50:00.30+01:00
[XMP:XMP-xmp]   CreateDate                      : 2009:10:07 12:50:00.30+01:00
[XMP:XMP-xmp]   MetadataDate                    : 2014:01:30 00:06:02Z
[XMP:XMP-xmpMM] HistoryWhen                     : 2014:01:30 00:06:02Z
[Composite]     SubSecCreateDate                : 2009:10:07 12:50:00.3
[Composite]     SubSecDateTimeOriginal          : 2009:10:07 12:50:00.3
[Composite]     SubSecModifyDate                : 2009:10:07 12:50:00.3
======== 20130216-DSC_3275.JPG
[File:System]   FileModifyDate                  : 2018:11:02 21:03:47+01:00
[File:System]   FileAccessDate                  : 2018:11:02 21:02:58+01:00
[File:System]   FileCreateDate                  : 2018:11:02 21:02:58+01:00
[EXIF:IFD0]     ModifyDate                      : 2013:02:16 08:19:17
[EXIF:ExifIFD]  DateTimeOriginal                : 2013:02:16 08:19:17
[EXIF:ExifIFD]  CreateDate                      : 2013:02:16 08:19:17
[EXIF:ExifIFD]  SubSecTime                      : 5
[EXIF:ExifIFD]  SubSecTimeOriginal              : 5
[EXIF:ExifIFD]  SubSecTimeDigitized             : 5
[XMP:XMP-xmp]   ModifyDate                      : 2013:02:16 08:19:17.50
[XMP:XMP-xmp]   CreateDate                      : 2013:02:16 08:19:17.50
[XMP:XMP-xmp]   MetadataDate                    : 2014:01:30 00:53:14Z
[XMP:XMP-photoshop] DateCreated                 : 2013:02:16 08:19:17.50
[XMP:XMP-xmpMM] HistoryWhen                     : 2014:01:30 00:53:14Z
[IPTC]          DateCreated                     : 2013:02:16
[IPTC]          TimeCreated                     : 08:19:17
[Composite]     DateTimeCreated                 : 2013:02:16 08:19:17
[Composite]     SubSecCreateDate                : 2013:02:16 08:19:17.5
[Composite]     SubSecDateTimeOriginal          : 2013:02:16 08:19:17.5
[Composite]     SubSecModifyDate                : 2013:02:16 08:19:17.5
    2 image files read

d:\Temp>

You see the "[XMP:XMP-xmp] MetadataDate" is 2014 according to your folder. Perhaps there is a clash for your XML sidecar files.

Maybe as a workaround use exiftool and set all MetadataDate tags.
As far as I know this would be exiftool -preserve -overwrite_original "-MetadataDate<CreateDate" *.jpg
 
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