Digital Photo Professional 4... 'HDR Compositing Tool..." No option to save camera data?

[robertkjr3d]

It's slightly annoying that when using the DPP ver 4.  The 'Start HDR Compositing Tool', does some good work with the photos in many cases, not in all cases.  But when its used, there seems to be no way to have it save with the 'Camera' data.  You know like 'Camera Maker', 'Camera Model', 'F-Stop', 'Exposure Time', 'ISO-Speed'....

All of that data is lost when saving the file using this method.

EDIT: This is for processing one image at a time.  Not multiple images in the HDR screen.  I realize that the function is called 'Composite', but I've only used the function with one image.  Maybe few have discovered it's usefulness. 

[shadowsports]

Greetings,

I tried with 3 photos.  Waterfall, crane, and my niece.  Same body, different lenses.

I can confirm the data gets stripped.  There may be a technical reason for this.  You can make a feature request using [+]Feedback > Product on the Canon USA website.   

[Waddizzle]

When you stop and think about it, the EXIF data for a HDR composite image is undefined.  You cite exposure settings as an example.  Okay.  What should the shutter speed for the composite image be when three were used to capture the HDR sequence of images?

What date and time should be used in the EXIF?  The most logical date and time would when the HDR composite was captured.  If you cannot write some of the data, I guess the best compromise is to write none of the data.

[shadowsports]

Waddizzle,

Agree.  😃  I was looking at the EXIF data and thought how is it going to do this?  I used 3 photos taken at different times with different glass.  Even if they were captured at the same time, there isn't a way to definitively list what differs.

[johnrmoyer]

While others have mentioned that some of the exif data would differ among the photos composited, it would be possible to use exiftool to copy the metadata from one of the raw files that you think represents the image closely enough.

For example, I did this to copy information to a composite:

exiftool -TagsFromFile IMG_6759.CR3 -makernotes -make -model DC_IMG_6759-6764.JPG
exiftool -TagsFromFile IMG_6764.CR3  -Canon:Image:FocusDistanceUpper DC_IMG_6759-6764.JPG

The focus distance for both the first image (FocusDistanceLower) and last image (FocusDistanceUpper) was then in the composite image as well as the ISO, focal length, and shutter speed.

A wild orchid Spiranthes lacera var. gracilis commonly called Slender Ladies' Tresses blooming in Norman, Oklahoma, United States, on October 9, 2023 (focus stack of 6 images) https://www.rsok.com/~jrm/2023Oct15_birds_and_cats/2023oct09_wildflower_IMG_6759-6764c.html

[johnrmoyer]

To list what differs on your Linux computer or your macOS computer,

exiftool -s -G0:2 image1.jpg > image1.jpg.txt

exiftool -s -G0:2 image2.jpg > image2.jpg.txt

diff image1.jpg.txt image2.jpg.txt | less

But, the raw file will usually contain more information than the JPEG, so substitute CR3 or CR2 for jpg.

The output from diff for the first and last CR3 files I used to make a composite is:

2c2
< [File:Other]    FileName                        : IMG_6673.CR3
---
> [File:Other]    FileName                        : IMG_6676.CR3
4c4
< [File:Other]    FileSize                        : 8.9 MB
---
> [File:Other]    FileSize                        : 13 MB
9,10c9,10
< [File:Time]     FileModifyDate                  : 2023:10:04 09:05:53-05:00
< [File:Time]     FileAccessDate                  : 2023:10:04 09:53:12-05:00
---
> [File:Time]     FileModifyDate                  : 2023:10:04 09:05:54-05:00
> [File:Time]     FileAccessDate                  : 2023:10:04 09:53:10-05:00
43,44c43,44
< [QuickTime:Video] MediaDataSize                 : 8399958
< [QuickTime:Video] MediaDataOffset               : 492544
---
> [QuickTime:Video] MediaDataSize                 : 11914326
> [QuickTime:Video] MediaDataOffset               : 773120
85,87c85,87
< [EXIF:Time]     SubSecTime                      : 00
< [EXIF:Time]     SubSecTimeOriginal              : 00
< [EXIF:Time]     SubSecTimeDigitized             : 00
---
> [EXIF:Time]     SubSecTime                      : 66
> [EXIF:Time]     SubSecTimeOriginal              : 66
> [EXIF:Time]     SubSecTimeDigitized             : 66
169c169
< [MakerNotes:Camera] MeasuredRGGB                : 580 1024 1024 473
---
> [MakerNotes:Camera] MeasuredRGGB                : 582 1024 1024 472
248c248
< [MakerNotes:Image] MeasuredEV2                  : 16.5
---
> [MakerNotes:Image] MeasuredEV2                  : 17
255c255
< [MakerNotes:Image] ImageUniqueID                : c5bc905dde404a4ba1b91d62c962c613
---
> [MakerNotes:Image] ImageUniqueID                : cbbc905dde404a4ba1b91d62c962c613
264,265c264,265
< [MakerNotes:Image] FocusDistanceUpper           : 0.46 m
< [MakerNotes:Image] FocusDistanceLower           : 0.44 m
---
> [MakerNotes:Image] FocusDistanceUpper           : 0.62 m
> [MakerNotes:Image] FocusDistanceLower           : 0.57 m
299c299
< [MakerNotes:Time] TimeStamp                     : 2023:10:04 09:05:53.00
---
> [MakerNotes:Time] TimeStamp                     : 2023:10:04 09:05:53.66
302c302
< [MakerNotes:Preview] ThumbnailImage             : (Binary data 19208 bytes, use -b option to extract)
---
> [MakerNotes:Preview] ThumbnailImage             : (Binary data 20160 bytes, use -b option to extract)
309,310c309,310
< [QuickTime:Preview] JpgFromRaw                  : (Binary data 1509761 bytes, use -b option to extract)
< [QuickTime:Preview] PreviewImage                : (Binary data 384488 bytes, use -b option to extract)
---
> [QuickTime:Preview] JpgFromRaw                  : (Binary data 2862408 bytes, use -b option to extract)
> [QuickTime:Preview] PreviewImage                : (Binary data 663832 bytes, use -b option to extract)
351c351
< [Composite:Image] DOF                           : 0.15 m (0.39 - 0.54 m)
---
> [Composite:Image] DOF                           : 0.28 m (0.49 - 0.77 m)
354,357c354,357
< [Composite:Time] SubSecCreateDate               : 2023:10:04 09:05:53.00-05:00
< [Composite:Time] SubSecDateTimeOriginal         : 2023:10:04 09:05:53.00-05:00
< [Composite:Time] SubSecModifyDate               : 2023:10:04 09:05:53.00-05:00
< [Composite:Video] AvgBitrate                    : 67.2 Mbps
---
> [Composite:Time] SubSecCreateDate               : 2023:10:04 09:05:53.66-05:00
> [Composite:Time] SubSecDateTimeOriginal         : 2023:10:04 09:05:53.66-05:00
> [Composite:Time] SubSecModifyDate               : 2023:10:04 09:05:53.66-05:00
> [Composite:Video] AvgBitrate                    : 95.3 Mbps

[robertkjr3d]

That doesn't make sense.  Almost any JPEG editor your using (worth its salt) in any form will still forward the 'data' to the resulting image.  It's not a totally new image just because your doing 'HDR processing'.  

The shutter speed of the image is a 'historical record marker', am I missing the point of what the data is for?.  As another poster pointed out... the data is stripped out.  The point of the data is for 'history'. Just because you are 'hdr processing'... does not and would not change the 'shutter speed' of the original image.   Shutter speed and other settings in the 'data' is only listed for 'historical reasons'.  And is the whole point of the question.

[Waddizzle]

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@robertkjr3d wrote:

That doesn't make sense.  Almost any JPEG editor your using (worth its salt) in any form will still forward the 'data' to the resulting image.  It's not a totally new image just because your doing 'HDR processing'.  

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It is a totally new image.  It is a composite of multiple images.  That question should not even be open to debate.  It is a totally new image that was generated in post.

The only date and time that would make sense would the date and time the composite was created.  The exposure and camera settings are undefined because they will almost always be mismatched between the images used to build the final composite.

[EDIT] The source images could have three different shutter speeds.  Which shutter speed should be used for the final composite image?  A, B, or C?

Parts of the final image were captured at each of the original shutter speeds used in the source files.  To specify a specific shutter speed would be false and misleading.

[robertkjr3d]

I don't see what is the meaning of this comment.  When you click 'Convert and Save' DPP4 saves with the data... When you click 'HDR Processing' --> then change 'Art Standard' in the settings.  Sometimes the HDR version wins in its processing ability.  So I may keep the latter version.  But keeping that as the version that I process into Jpeg costs me the 'historical' camera data in the file record. 

What does have to do with photos taken at different times?  as mentioned in the example above.  Nothing.  Those would be 3 different photos. 

There should be no different in functionality in saving then when using 'Convert and Save'...  

[johnrmoyer]

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@robertkjr3d wrote:

I don't see what is the meaning of this comment.  When you click 'Convert and Save' DPP4 saves with the data... When you click 'HDR Processing' --> then change 'Art Standard' in the settings.  Sometimes the HDR version wins in its processing ability.  So I may keep the latter version.  But keeping that as the version that I process into Jpeg costs me the 'historical' camera data in the file record. 

What does have to do with photos taken at different times?  as mentioned in the example above.  Nothing.  Those would be 3 different photos. 

There should be no different in functionality in saving then when using 'Convert and Save'...  

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It makes sense to me that if some of the historical camera data is the same for all of the images that are composited, then that data should be put into the resulting image. Since DPP does not do that, I use exiftool.

I also save the recipe in DPP to a dr4 file and use exiftool to dump that to text so that I have a record of my edits. More history.