Forum OpenACS Q&A: exif and photo-album

Posted by Brad Ford on 12/03/03 01:49 AM

Hi all, These threads: http://openacs.org/forums/message-view?message_id=140437 and http://openacs.org/forums/message-view?message_id=105687 mention that displaying exif has been implemented in photo-album (or was in the process of) by Vinod or Andrew. The whereabouts of this doesn't jump out at you in an install from Head - was it ever implemented? If not, has anyone gotten a start on this or should I take a whack at it? Also, is there a simple way to enable comments on the photos?

2: Re: exif and photo-album (response to 1)

Posted by James Harris on 12/03/03 03:26 AM

The photo album package already stored most of the EXIF data however it didn't display it. I have modified it to display the data (see http://hotham.net/personal/photos/photo?photo_id=13403) for an example.

I am using a pre no-quote system so I had to comment out those navigation links, but I am happy to send you the modified files if you like.

3: Re: exif and photo-album (response to 2)

Posted by Brad Ford on 12/03/03 04:38 AM

Hi James, that's exactly what I'm looking for! Can you send the modified files to me at bradleyford@canada.com? I'll see if I can factor them into the current code.

4: OT: exif and Digital Rebel ... (response to 1)

Posted by Ola Hansson on 12/03/03 12:05 PM

James,

I've been thinking about buying a 300D myself as it seems to be an excellent camera for its price.

Do you know if RAW files shot with that camera which have been converted and processed in Photoshop (say) still holds the exif info when they've been saved as jpeg?

Silly question to ask here perhaps, but still ...

/Ola

5: Re: exif and photo-album (response to 1)

Posted by Brad Ford on 12/03/03 04:38 PM

Hi Ola,

The answer seems to be yes re exif and photoshop'd files. At least for files that are just fixed with cropping, adjustments to levels, etc - not sure what would happen once you start combining files into your own creations. And a plug for the new photoshop - it's well worth the upgrade to CS if you have a digital camera as there are a ton of enhancements including RAW support, 16 bit throughout (almost) new photo filters and, my favourite, sliders for adjusting shadows and levels.

6: Re: exif and photo-album (response to 1)

Posted by Ola Hansson on 12/03/03 07:03 PM

Brad,

That's great. Did you just try it on that camera yourself or did you read about it somewhere?

(Re RAW processing in Adobe CS: On a similar note, there's a free program called "dcraw.c" - http://www.cybercom.net/~dcoffin/dcraw/ - that lets you convert raw files from most digital cameras to 16-bit (or 8-bit) TIFF or PSD files which is nice if you can't afford Photoshop or if you want to batch convert a bunch of files. You don't get the real time preview UI with dcraw, of course. YMMV, etc.)

7: Re: exif and photo-album (response to 1)

Posted by Brad Ford on 12/03/03 07:07 PM

Checked it on files I've processed and 'saved as' copies - exif intact.

8: Re: exif and photo-album (response to 1)

Posted by James Harris on 12/03/03 09:41 PM

Ola, I would definitely recommend the 300D - I've had mine for about two months and absolutely love it.

Photoshop does keep EXIF data intact except when you "Save for web". This removes both the EXIF data and any embedded preview. I think it also adjusts the the Gamma (on the Apple OS X version I use).

If you are playing with the RAW data from the 300D you either need CS or the RAW plugin for version 7 (and I agree with Brad that CS is a massive step forward for digital photographers).