Which cameras record SubSecTimeOriginal in JPEG EXIF data?
Asked 5/3/2019
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I'm looking for cameras that definitely write the EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal field to JPEG files, not just RAW. I know support varies by model, and camera clocks may be inaccurate in absolute terms, but I only need sub-second timing to compare the relative spacing between shots from the same camera. Are there known camera brands or models that reliably include this field?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
7y ago
2 Answers
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Phil Harvey (author of exiftool) keeps a collection of metadata examples from many cameras/scanners/etc. The files all have the image data stripped away and just include the metadata. Scanning through my older local copy of that, it shows 196 files (out of over 6,000) that include SubSecTimeOriginal. The list includes Apple, Canon, Kodak, Nikon, Nokia, and Samsung among others. For the most part, it does seem to be higher end models but the DSLRs usually seem to have it.
I can say for certain that my Nikon 5000/5100 and Canon EOS 60D pictures do have that tag, while my lower end Samsung phone does not.
Originally by user37960. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user37960
7y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Yes—some cameras do populate SubSecTimeOriginal in JPEG EXIF, but support is model-dependent rather than universal. Based on metadata samples reviewed from a large camera-file collection, the tag appears in a minority of files overall, but it is present on models from brands including Apple, Canon, Kodak, Nikon, Nokia, and Samsung. It seems more common on higher-end cameras, and DSLRs often include it.
Specific confirmed examples mentioned are the Nikon D5000, Nikon D5100, and Canon EOS 60D, all of which write the tag. A lower-end Samsung phone was noted as not including it.
If you're checking files yourself, ExifTool does support reading this tag, so if it isn't shown, the camera likely didn't write it. In short: yes, some JPEG-shooting cameras record sub-second EXIF timestamps, especially certain DSLRs and higher-end models, but there isn't a simple universal list by brand.
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