Library module Sort by Capture Time not sorting at all by capture time...

[AlexBrandt]

Lightroom Version Number

10.0

Operating System

1. macOS 10.14 Mojave
2. macOS 10.15 Catalina

Hello,
So. I'm selecting LR to sort my Libary (All Photographs) by Capture Time A -> Z
I can only assume it’s looking at the date then the time. I assume the intended result is to have the pictures in chronological order.

However, when I look at the "Capture Date/Time" metadata of the pictures, it is clearly not that order they are in.

Here is the date& time of the 1st picture

Here is the date&time of the last picture

In the middle somewhere:

Is this "Capture Date/Time" metadata not what LR is looking at for sorting?
Is there another Capture Date which metadata which can be in conflict?

Thanks

 

[Johan Elzenga]

Check that none of your pictures are in a stack. A stack sorts as a whole, based on the first picture.

 

[AlexBrandt]

Check that none of your pictures are in a stack. A stack sorts as a whole, based on the first picture.

Hello Johan
Is that when one picture has sevral virtual copies that they can be Stacked?
Is there a fast method to locate stacks?

 

[Johan Elzenga]

Virtual copies are indeed stacked with the original by default, but that should not be a problem because the virtual copy and the original will have identical capture dates. You can also stack other images however (you could even do that by mistake) and then the capture dates of the members are not identical. I don’t think there is a way to search for stacks, but if you see an image that does not sort the way it should sort, then it should be easy to check whether or not that image is in a stack.

 

[AlexBrandt]

Virtual copies are indeed stacked with the original by default, but that should not be a problem because the virtual copy and the original will have identical capture dates. You can also stack other images however (you could even do that by mistake) and then the capture dates of the members are not identical. I don’t think there is a way to search for

So I did a quick glance over 3800 pictures in my catalogue and I don't see stacks. I tried reordering but the problem persists.
Clearly there is something wrong. Because my first pictures in after sorting are in the year 2020 and my last pictures are in 2020 and in between I've got tons of stuff from 2018 and 2019...

The only reason I can think of is that the Sort by "Capture Time" does not correspond to the "Capture Date/Time" metadata line.
Indeed, I only shoot analog film and so my negatives have been scanned by different labs. Perhaps there is a different metadata dates created during the scanning and LR is sorting according to those dates.
Any clue?

 

[Johan Elzenga]

Aha. Scanned images do not have a capture date/time. What Lightroom normally does is use the file creation date in that case, but that may not be reliable. I have seen reports about that. How do I change the photo dates on scanned / photographed images? | The Lightroom Queen

 

[AlexBrandt]

Aha. Scanned images do not have a capture date/time. What Lightroom normally does is use the file creation date in that case, but that may not be reliable. I have seen reports about that. How do I change the photo dates on scanned / photographed images? | The Lightroom Queen

Hey Johan.
I understand the concern but I don't think the issue stems from that.

Indeed, via the Menu "Metadata" -> "Edit Capture Time" I was able to look at the current Capture Time on 4-5 of my picture in my Catalog.
Do they have times to them.

So still with the A-Z Capture Time here is what I have.

First picture at the very top left. The date here is about correct. I took the pics late Feb and got them scanned in early March.

Since this date of the 8th of March 2020 I've got many other scans.

Here is an example.
One of the last pictures on my catalog (bottom)
The date here is also correct. I took the pic 3 weeks ago and got it scanned later November.
Theoretically this picture should be at the top of the catalog.

Here is a date from pictures in the middle of my catalog. I just chose randomly.
You can see summer (July) 2018. This is correct as well. That picture in no case should be in the middle of the catalog but much more at the bottom.

 

[Johan Elzenga]

Maybe you should still use this dialog to see if that solves the problem: Problem Sorting by Capture Time

 

[johnrellis]

To build on Johan's reply, LR has long had bugs with imported photos not containing capture dates (EXIFateTimeOriginal):
https://feedback.photoshop.com/conv...or-photos-and-videos/5f5f45764b561a3d424dfc91

You'll see inconsistencies between the capture date shown in the Metadata panel, under the thumbnails in grid view, and sorting by capture date. Despite a couple of half-hearted attempts, Adobe hasn't been able to get it right. Use the workaround I posted in the thread linked to above by Johan.

 

[AlexBrandt]

Maybe you should still use this dialog to see if that solves the problem: Problem Sorting by Capture Time

To build on Johan's reply, LR has long had bugs with imported photos not containing capture dates (EXIFateTimeOriginal):
https://feedback.photoshop.com/conv...or-photos-and-videos/5f5f45764b561a3d424dfc91

You'll see inconsistencies between the capture date shown in the Metadata panel, under the thumbnails in grid view, and sorting by capture date. Despite a couple of half-hearted attempts, Adobe hasn't been able to get it right. Use the workaround I posted in the thread linked to above by Johan.

Hello Johan and John
Bingo, it worked !

Following your instructions John, I ended up making a copy of my catalog then selecting all pictures to via Metadata > Edit Capture Time followed by Change All. A lot of pictures were shuffled as they were being re-sorted. At first glance my Library is now looking correctly sorted

By the way, I also discovered the View Options settings (via your post John). Very useful settings, I had never been in there to change anything. I was very happy to be able to customize this!

 

[johnrellis]

Glad you're making progress.