Can you change the image filename prefix on a Canon 5D?
Asked 9/25/2010
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I’d like to change the default filename prefix used by a Canon 5D so I can tell which camera body shot each image and avoid filename collisions after many thousands of frames. Is this possible in-camera, or do I need to rename files later on a computer?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
15y ago
2 Answers
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A quick Google suggests that the 5D doesn't have an in-camera way to do this, but instead requires a post rename.
Personally, I use Exiv2 to read the date+time from my EXIF metadata and prefix this to the filename, precisely to avoid any possibility of overlapping numbers.
Here's the command I use to do that with:
"\path\to\exiv2.exe" -k -v -r %Y%m%d-%H%M%S_:basename: rename _DSC*
(The _DSC* there is because my images start with _DSC prefix - meaning I can safely run the command on a mixed contents directory and only rename what I should, since nothing else starts with these characters.)
Based on this Canon MakerNote page, you can extract the serial number of the camera, which allows you to differentiate between images on different bodies. There is also a page providing details of more generic metadata.
Not as ideal as being able to configure it in the camera settings (as the 1D appears to allow; and no idea why they'd not let the 5D do it too), but at least this allows you to run a single command and get all your images renamed as you want.
Originally by user137. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user137
15y ago
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The Canon 5D does not appear to offer an in-camera option to change the filename prefix. If you need unique filenames or want to distinguish files from different bodies, the practical solution is to rename them during import or afterward on your computer.
One approach mentioned is using Exiv2 to rename files based on EXIF capture date and time, which avoids duplicate names. You can also use metadata such as the camera serial number from the Canon MakerNote to tell files from different bodies apart.
So, in short: no in-camera prefix change on the 5D; use a post-processing rename workflow instead.
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