Why does Lightroom group two different 50mm f/1.8 lenses together, and can I filter by lens model?
Asked 2/16/2017
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2 answers
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I have photos from two Nikon lenses: AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D and AF-S Nikkor 50mm f/1.8G. ExifTool shows different lens-related metadata, including distinct lens ID values, but Lightroom 5.7.1 groups both under the same metadata filter entry, "50.0 mm f/1.8," and Loupe view does not show a separate lens model field.
Lightroom can still identify the lenses for lens profile corrections, so the information seems to exist somewhere in the file or be derivable from it.
Can Lightroom be configured to display the actual lens model in Loupe view, and is there any built-in way to filter photos by the specific lens model rather than just focal length/aperture?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
9y ago
2 Answers
5
I think the problem is that Lightroom only reads the Lens field, and your lenses don't fill it like eg. the XF in your screenshot.
Consider this info from my lens:
Lens Info : 15-85mm f/?
Lens Model : EF-S15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM
Lens : EF-S15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM
Lens ID : Canon EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM
The Lens field is the only one of these which is part of the EXIF 2.31 specification.
I agree it would be nice to have the Lens ID info available, but the only possibility i see is to modify the EXIF data prior to import with exiftool, copying the ID to the Lens field.
Update: the Lens ID in my example is actually constructed by exiftool, it's not present in the file itself. Running exiftool -e (no composites) gives
Lens ID : 488
exiftool "-Lens<LensID" *.jpg copies the value from ID to Lens in my example, but a real solution is probably dependent on the individual lens/camera combination and the required result and needs testing, especially with raw files (we don't want to destroy any other EXIF data in the process).
Originally by user32110. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user32110
9y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Lightroom 5 does not reliably expose every lens-identifying field as a browsable/filterable metadata field. In many files, the standardized EXIF "Lens" field only contains something generic like "50mm f/1.8," while the more specific model info is stored in maker notes or derived by tools such as ExifTool. Lightroom may use that data internally for profile corrections, but that does not mean it can display or filter on it in Library.
So: no, there is generally no built-in Lightroom 5 setting that makes Loupe view show the full lens model or lets you filter by Nikon lens model in this case.
Workarounds mentioned:
- Use a plugin such as ExifMeta to expose/filter additional EXIF fields that Lightroom does not natively offer.
- Preprocess files before import with ExifTool, copying more specific lens identification into the standard "Lens" field if desired.
In short, this is a Lightroom limitation, not proof that the metadata is missing from your files.
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