Photo Mechanic, RAW files, and Metadata

[Ken_Bennett]

Greetings,

I am sinking further and further into the morass that is RAW files and metadata. I am shooting with Canon 1-D cameras, and using Photo Mechanic as my browser, both Photoshop and Capture One to process RAW files, and Canto Cumulus as my archiving system.

So, here goes:

1. If I apply IPTC information with Photo Mechanic to a RAW file, then Photoshop ACR will import that data when it does the conversion, and when I save the file as a jpeg or a tiff, the IPTC info is still there. I can find that data in PM, and in the File Info window in Photoshop, *and* Cumulus imports it automatically and puts it in the IPTC fields. So far, so good.

2. Minor Glitch #1: If I process with Capture One, all the IPTC data is gone. So I have to re-apply it with PM (ugh) to the processed files, which then get archived into Cumulus just fine.

3. Major Glitch: If I try to acquire a RAW file directly into Cumulus without processing it first, Cumulus doesn't see any of the IPTC information, whether I applied it with PM or with Photoshop Browser. It just isn't there. That means I can't easily archive all my outtakes (well, I can archive them, but I can't search them very easily).

4. Major Glitch (continued): I can apply IPTC info to RAW files in Cumulus, but then when I go to process them, the data is gone. Doesn't show up in either PM or Photoshop.

The good news is that the IPTC data that I apply in Photo Mechanic appears to be 'sticky' -- that is, it stays attached to the RAW file even after I acquire it in Cumulus. That means that when I do happen upon a photo in Cumulus that I want to use, I can get the caption info by downloading the file and opening it in PM or PS.

Does anyone have any experience with getting Cumulus to recognize IPTC information that's been applied by other programs? I am familiar with the xmp and sidecar files (in fact, when you apply IPTC info in PS Browser, the xmp file is cataloged *separately* into Cumulus as a text file. Ugh.), but I don't know where PM is storing this information.

Thanks in advance for letting me rant.

Ken

[RobertEdwards]

Hi Ken,

[ QUOTE ]
2. Minor Glitch #1: If I process with Capture One, all the IPTC data is gone.

[/ QUOTE ]
C1DSLR 3.6 now recognises embedded IPTC (hallelujah!). I was resorting to scripting metadata back into C1 conversions.

[ QUOTE ]
3. Major Glitch: If I try to acquire a RAW file directly into Cumulus without processing it first, Cumulus doesn't see any of the IPTC information

[/ QUOTE ]
The latest version of Cumulus recognises IPTC in my NEFs, maybe they updated it for CRW too?

[ QUOTE ]
4. Major Glitch (continued): I can apply IPTC info to RAW files in Cumulus, but then when I go to process them, the data is gone

[/ QUOTE ]
Cumulus v6 documentation says it will write IPTC to Canon raw files, but from memory it is fiddly and you have to set Cumulus to 'prepare for IPTC writing'. Otherwise of course the metadata only exists in the Cumulus catalog. Also Photoshop's original Camera Raw 2.2, as shipped with current boxed versions, has a bug reading IPTC and needs updating to v2.3+.

I reckon the Adobe XMP sidecar files will eventually be adopted by all software vendors.

-- Robert.

[Ken_Bennett]

[ QUOTE ]

C1DSLR 3.6 now recognises embedded IPTC (hallelujah!). I was resorting to scripting metadata back into C1 conversions.

[/ QUOTE ]

Hang on a sec, because I downloaded 3.6 as soon as it was available, and tested this, and it didn't work. Maybe I am missing something. I want to embed IPTC data with Photo Mechanic, and have C-1 recognize this data and put it in the right spot on the final 16-bit tiff file after the conversion. Are you saying it does this? Care to point me in the right direction?

Many thanks in advance. This is my one major headache with C-1.

Ken

[RobertEdwards]

Ken,

Two provisos here: I now use Windows and Nikon NEFs! But surely the Mac version of C1DSLR has feature parity with the Windows version. Indeed I understood the Mac version actually has more features. Check the Raw Workflow forums. BTW The mac version of C1DLSR is now at 3.6.1.

-- Robert.

[Ken_Bennett]

Thanks, Robert. I checked the C-1 website, and it says IPTC support is Windows only. Ah, well. Even Mac IPTC support, while terrific, wouldn't solve the big problem -- getting Cumulus to properly import the IPTC tags from RAW files.


Still working on that one.

Thanks,

Ken