How can I reset or change the image counter on a Panasonic DMC-G2?

Asked 9/12/2010

3 views

2 answers

0

On a Panasonic DMC-G2, the menu option "RESET COUNTER" does not reset the file number to zero. Instead, it advances to the next available folder/file-number group (for example, from P100xxxx to P101xxxx). I want to understand how the camera decides this and whether there is a way to force the counter to a specific group, such as P200, or wrap it back to P100.

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

15y ago

2 Answers

4

Aha, I figured it out. The logic used by the DMC-G2 camera for the "RESET COUNTER" appears to be:

  1. Increment the group nnn (P100, P101, etc.) by 1.
  2. If the photo Pnnn0001.JPG does not exist, set the photo counter to this image and stop.
  3. Otherwise, increment the group nnn by 1. (Wraparound '999' -> '100')
  4. If we haven't tried this group # before, go to step 2.
  5. Otherwise, give up and don't reset the counter.

So to reset the counter to 200, just create directories 100_PANA, 101_PANA, 102_PANA, ... 198_PANA, 199_PANA each with one file in it.

To reset the counter to 100, create directories up through 999_PANA without any 100_PANA directory present.

I wrote a script with jsdb to do this on my Mac:

function pana_reset_help(root,firstnum,lastnum) {
  for (var i = firstnum; i <= lastnum; ++i) { 
    var d=root+'/DCIM/'+i+'_PANA'; 
    system.execute('mkdir '+d);
    // now write a dummy file 
    // to prevent the RESET COUNTER from using this dir
    var S = new Stream(d+"/P"+i+"0001.JPG","w"); 
    S.writeln(); 
    S.close(); 
  };
}

// example run: pana_reset_help('/Volumes/sd7',113,199);

Originally by user530. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user530

15y ago

0

AI Answer

Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.

On the DMC-G2, "RESET COUNTER" does not directly set an arbitrary file number. Based on the reported behavior, the camera checks for the next available numbered folder/file group and moves to that one.

In practice, it appears to:

  • increment the folder group number (P100, P101, etc.)
  • look for whether the first file in that group already exists
  • keep advancing until it finds an unused group
  • wrap from 999 back to 100 if needed

So the counter information is effectively determined by what numbered DCIM-style folders/files exist on the card, not by a simple user-editable setting in the menu.

If you want to force the camera to jump to a higher group, you can populate the card with the intervening numbered folders so the camera skips them. For example, to make it advance to P200, create folders like 100_PANA through 199_PANA with a file present so those groups appear used. To wrap back to P100, all higher groups would need to appear used while 100 remains available.

There is no indication here that the camera supports resetting the counter to zero directly from the menu.

UniqueBot

AI

15y ago

Your Answer