Error in docs about "file creation date"

[Luis]

Could the 2038 date be set on the camera? By mistake of course...

Cheers,

Luis.


On 22 May 2007, at 21:44, Wilhelm Sanke wrote:

> I am not intending to continue this thread endlessly, but I think  
> the last contributions and questions of Ian Wood and Jacqueline  
> deserve another response.
>
> I had written:
>
>> When a photo is taken, it gets a modification date at the same  
>> time, although it is - as it were - only modified out of non- 
>> existence.
>> The creation date is generated when the image arrives on the  
>> computer, and a new creation date is generated each time the image  
>> is saved or copied. Simply "moving" an image to another folder  
>> does *not* change the creation date.
>
>
> This holds for Windows and Ian had pointed out that the situation  
> might be different for MacOS. I had responded that for various  
> reasons I am in the habit of *copying" the files from the memory  
> card to the computer. For that purpose I use an USB card reader.
> I have now tested simply "moving" the files from the memory card,  
> and in this case the creation dates are indeed preserved.
> But copying/pasting of files to another folder or volume changes  
> the creation date, as does "save as" under a different name, but in  
> all these cases the EXIF-creation date - which is not taken into  
> account by the detailed files function - remains unchanged.
>
> Jacqueline had commented:
>
>> I know the Mac doesn't change creation
>> dates when just saving a file, and I haven't noticed it on XP  
>> either --
>> though I admit I do very little editing on that OS. Most of my image
>> editors are on the Mac.
>
> What about "saved as"?-
>
> As I don't have a card reader for the Mac (or could not get it  
> configured for lack of a drivers disk) today I imported images  
> directly from the camera via USB,
>
> once transferring the images directly from the camera by "dragging"  
> the files from the memory card folder to a folder on the Mac desktop.
> The detailed files show the "phantastic" date of "Jan 18, 2038" as  
> the creation date, whereas the modification date is correct.
> When I open the folder in "column" view and click on a file name, I  
> get the information that the creation date is "empty".
> However, the correct EXIF creation date is still connected with the  
> file and can be inspected with EXIF tools like Alex's "libEXIF" stack.
>
> Then I used "iPhoto" to *import" the same files into the iPhoto  
> Library: Now the detailed files show May 22 (today) both for the  
> creation and the modification date.
> The information directly from the library folder in "column" view  
> is the same. Apparently the iPhoto import function works in the  
> same way I copy the images from the memory card to the computer on  
> WindowsXP.
>
> Jaqueline again:
>
>> >> But this does not explain the "phantastic" date of "Jan 18,  
>> 2038" which
>> >> I got for the creation date - item four of the detailed files -  
>> when I
>> >> transferred files to my Powerbook with an USB stick.--
>>
>> Oops, forgot to address this point. It would be interesting to see  
>> what
>> the creation date is on the USB stick, before the transfer. I  
>> wonder if
>> something about USB is munging the date somehow when the file is  
>> copied
>> (I think you suspected this too at some point.) After you've  
>> copied the
>> file to the hard drive, does the creation date listed in the  
>> properties
>> dialog on XP match the unusual year as well?
>
>
> The creation date on the USB stick - after having copied the images  
> there from my Windows computer and inspecting them there still from  
> WindowsXP - show the "actualized" creation dates because they have  
> been copied at the same date.
> But read from the Mac with the detailed files, we get "Jan 18,  
> 2038", and "empty" for the creation date when looking at the file  
> information in the Mac folder.
> The EXIF data are intact in this case, too, which read May 5th as  
> the correct creation date in this case.
>
> I tried three other USB sticks and always get the same phantastic  
> creation date. When I connect an old Mac harddisk via USB with my  
> Powerbook, the phantastic date does *not* appear.--
>
> I repeat my recommendation to add the ability to read EXIF data  
> with the detailed files function:
> EXIFdata seem to be really reliable data, survive most transfer  
> procedures, and spare you the trouble to remember in which way you  
> have transferred image files from one volume or folder to another  
> or which special photo tool you used to transfer the images. And  
> they survive even when the image file is "saved as" under a  
> different name. They will disappear only when you make major  
> changes to the image contents - like manipulating the imagedata.
>
> Regards,
> Wilhelm Sanke
>
> <http://www.sanke.org/MetaMedia>
>
>
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