Copyright info missing after import

[Roadrunner]

I'm importing all my photos since I first start shooting digital in 2003 and have used Canon models from 10D up to 7D MkII. I use Photo Mechanic to Ingest , browse and quicksort my photos and also apply some IPTC info into XMP sidecar.
After import it looks fine until I import photos from my old Canon 7D. For those photos there are no copyright in IPTC. Very strange. If I do an import to LR I can see it, but not in Imatch.

I attach a screen dump from two XMP files. The left shows correct in IMatch, but in the right copyright is missing?

[Mario]

The Metadata Working Group defines a set of rules which include how to map legacy data into the copyright info field. This field, when I recall it correctly, is filled from sources both in legacy IPTC and EXIF. If you have data in both, or rubbish in one, the copyright info may be mapped to an empty field. I'm not aware that this has ever happened, but there so many files with a mess of metadata out there, you can never tell.

Don't use Lr as your guide. Adobe shuffles metadata around in any way they see fit, and often it depends on the Lr version you are using what the end result will be. Adobe does not follow all Metadata Working Group recommendations, despite the fact they have written many of them.

As always when a user reports some strange issues related to metadata of files, it makes not much sense to post screen shots or stuff. We all safe a lot of time when you just attach one of your files so we can have a look at the actual data. Looking at a screen shot of XMP data is useless, because the problem will be in the EXIF or legacy IPTC data in your original file. I also cannot even tell how you produced this XMP data, which software and which options were used.

Please detail and attach a sample file. Since I'm currently totally overloaded, please allow for a week or two before I can look into your very specific metadata problem. Or, look at the EXIF and IPTC source data yourself, for copyright info.

[Roadrunner]

I'm so sorry Mario.
As a newbie to IPTC/EXIF and Imatch I was not aware of the complexity. I only have photography as my main interest and the big passion for my entire life and never bothered to deal with IPTC/EXIF before. But now I wanted to do some cataloging and get structure for all photos and upload some to the web.

I will look into this myself and see if I can find anything specific and try to learn more about this topic.


 

[Mario]

Usually the default settings in IMatch "just work". I've spend months developing just this part alone.
If it does not work, the reason is usually the data in the source file. Hence, without having a look at a source file, I cannot tell more.

[thrinn]

If you search for "metadata mess" in this forum you will find that you are not alone being baffled by mysterious metadata problems. Maybe some of the discussions can shed some light on your specific problems. At least it will help to understand why it seems all so complicated.

Another search term that may prove to be helpful is the ECP  (Exiftool Command Processor). Not so easy to use without guidance  (in my opinion), but there are examples here in the forum and also in the excellent manual.

If you want to attach an example file, it is best to zip it before. The forum software seems to strip the metadata if you just attach the picture.

[ubacher]

Another good starting point is to invoke the exiftool command processor and select the List all Metadata preset.
This will show you what metadata is stored in the file (More precisely what metadata exiftool finds and is able to interpret.)

If photomechanic already generated an XMP file then you can list the metadata in it by just replacing the {Files} argument in the preset
by {XMPfiles}

[Roadrunner]

Thanks for all advise!

I attach a link to a zip file containing a photo along with XMP file created by Photo Mechanic as I use to quick sort, browse, ingest and write some info in IPTC.
http://naturephotos.se/2016-10-04.zip

I can't figure out myself what's going on and I have to admit that this is beyond my skills.

Cheers,
Ulf

[Mario]

The CR2 file contain an empty "Copyright" tag in the EXIF record. That's unusual. The camera should  not have written an empty copyright field.

When Photo Mechanic has written the copyright info into the XMP, it should have updated all corresponding fields in the EXIF and IPTC record in the CR2 file as well.
It did not do this, and this is why you now have to deal with two separate sets of metadata. Since XMP contains copies of large parts of EXIF, GPS and IPTC data embedded in the original image, an application which only updates the XMP data will cause problems. So beware.

This is what happens:

When IMatch maps EXIF, IPTC and GPS data during import (applying the MWG rules for metadata mapping) it produces a new, rich XMP record. IMatch looks at the metadata in the CR2 file (EXIF, GPS, IPTC, XMP) and also at the XMP data stored in the sidecar file. By default (for good reasons) metadata contained in the original image is considered more important and is preferred over data coming from the sidecar file.

And this is why the empty copyright information from the CR2 is used to 'fill' the matching XMP field. The behavior of IMatch/ExifTool is correct, but in this thankfully rare case produces an unwanted side-effect.

This is what happens when you make modifications to metadata with software that is not up to the job. I recommend to use IMatch for modifying metadata.

Note: You can control which data IMatch prefers in the IMatch options (Metadata 2) but make sure you read the corresponding help topic and understand the risks. If you want to continue using PM to change metadata and it has no options to perform proper metadata mapping you can enable, switching IMatch to prefer the data in the sidecar is the solution for your problem.

I fixed the problem in a better way;

Solution 1: When I delete the empty copyright tag from the CR2 file using the ExifTool Command Processor in IMatch with these arguments:

-overwrite_original_in_place
-copyright=
{Files}


the copyright info from the external XMP file prevails and shows up in IMatch.

Solution 2: I just enter the copyright info in IMatch. During write-back, IMatch saves it to the XMP file, but also takes care to update the corresponding EXIF field in the CR2 file. The data is then properly synchronized.


And, yes. Metadata is complicated and often a mess. And the problems lurking in image files often show up when a user uses a proper metadata tool for the first time. As long as you look at your metadata with the same software you use to modify it, you won't notice any problems. But when you use different software, you exchange files with friends or customers or you use your files in conjunction with web services, you may run into unexpected trouble.

[Roadrunner]

Thanks Mario, most appreciated.

Maybe it's the best choice to skip Photo Mechanic and import directly to Imatch from memory card and then enter Metadata within Imatch.

I'm happy that I have two copies of all original RAW-files as backup in a safe.

I will read the user guide and do some testing.

Cheers,
Ulf