Ohio Transplant
Apr 19, 2007, 7:07 pm
I've received many inquiries by you folks regarding how I can find out a particular camera model from an image. Well, it's no big secret. I learned it from the photography forums I belong to, and thought I'd share it with you.
EXIF (Exchangeable File format) and Your Digital Camera
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Imagine if you will that your digital camera is a mini processor. Most of us have cameras in the point and shoot category, and some of us are fortunate enough to own DSLRS. (Digital Single Reflex Cameras)
What ever camera you own processes each image prior to you seeing the result on your viewfinder, or on your computer. For instance, digital zoom isn't really zoom at all, but the camera deciding what you want to capture and cropping the image to achieve what you want.
Digital zoom is usually not used as it normally yields poor results. Always look for a camera with a high Optical Zoom ratio. Optical Zoom is true zoom.
Anyhow, thats an example of what a camera does. It does many other things to your image, but thats another topic.
What we are going to learn about now is EXIF data.
Every modern digital camera stores data about the particular image you shot. This data is invaluable when entering a photo contest, or simply to see what settings a particular photographer used to achieve the results that they did. For instance if a member here posts an extraordinary photo, and I want to know what settings he/she used to acheive the results, then I simply look at the EXIF data and that will tell me everything I need to know and more.
For instance. Here is an unedited photo i took earlier with my camera.
Flag (http://www.michiganmorels.com/beyond_the_morel/images/flag.jpg)
I uploaded the original unedited photo so it's quite large for you dial up folks. The photo is no big deal, but we are going to extract the EXIF data from it.
There are several programs out there that will extract the EXIF data for you. Some photo editing software will also do it, such as paint shop pro, photoshop or irfranview. But for just EXIF extraction, we can use simpler methods.
The most popular EXIF extractor is called OPANDA and can be downloaded
HERE (http://www.opanda.com/en/iexif/download.htm)
Once you have OPANDA downloaded, you can simply upload a photo to your computer and right click it, and choose open with OPANDA. Once you do that, the EXIF data for that photo will appear.
Here si the EXIF data from the flag photo I uploaded earlier:
[Image]
Make = Canon
Model = Canon PowerShot S3 IS
Orientation = top/left
X Resolution = 180
Y Resolution = 180
Resolution Unit = inch
Date Time = 2007-04-19 16:58:32
YCbCr Positioning = centered
Exif IFD Pointer = Offset: 196
[Camera]
Exposure Time = 1/640"
F Number = F6.3
Exif Version = Version 2.2
Date Time Original = 2007-04-19 16:58:32
Date Time Digitized = 2007-04-19 16:58:32
Components Configuration = YCbcr
Compressed Bits Per Pixel = 5
Shutter Speed Value = 9.31 TV
Aperture Value = 5.31 AV
Exposure Bias Value = ±0EV
Max Aperture Value = F3.51
Metering Mode = Pattern
Flash = 80
Focal Length = 27.6mm
Maker Note = 1830 Byte
User Comment =
Flashpix Version = Version 1.0
Color Space = sRGB
Exif Image Width = 2816
Exif Image Height = 2112
Interoperability IFD Pointer = Offset: 2772
Focal Plane X Resolution = 12515.556
Focal Plane Y Resolution = 12497.041
Focal Plane Resolution Unit = inch
Sensing Method = One-chip color area sensor
File Source = DSC
Custom Rendered = Normal process
Exposure Mode = Manual exposure
White Balance = Manual white balance
Digital Zoom Ratio = 1x
Scene Capture Type = Normal
[Interoperability]
Interoperability Index = ExifR98
Interoperability Version = Version 1.0
Related Image Width = 2816
Related Image Length = 2112
[Thumbnail Info]
Compression = JPEG Compressed (Thumbnail)
X Resolution = 180
Y Resolution = 180
Resolution Unit = inch
JPEG Interchange Format = Offset: 5108
JPEG Interchange Format Length = Length: 2312
[Thumbnail]
Thumbnail = 160 x 120
[MakerNote (Canon)]
0000 = 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0
0000 = 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0
Camera Settings 1 = 92, 2, 0, 5, 0, 0, 0, 4, 65535, 1, 0, 1, 0, 1, 2, 2, 16464, 3, 1, 8197, 4, 32767, 65535, 7200, 600, 100, 116, 192, 65535, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1, 0, 2816, 2816, 0, 0, 65535, 0, 32767, 32767, 1, 0
0002 = 2, 2760, 230, 173
0003 = 0, 0, 0, 0
Camera Settings 2 = 68, 0, 149, 340, 170, 298, 0, 2, 0, 0, 73, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1, 2770, 0, 164, 298, 0, 0, 0, 250, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0
Image Type = IMG:PowerShot S3 IS JPEG
Firmware Version = Firmware Version 1.00
Image Number = 1002503
Owner Name =
000D = 0, 1, 4294967280, 1013, 18, 18, 4294967292, 0, 0, 0, 7, 10, 1004, 1013, 494, 1053, 4294967236, 0, 4294967262, 1004, 370, 576, 1026, 4294967257, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 135, 4294967206, 269, 0, 0, 4294966707, 318, 4294966707, 0, 23, 0, 4294967078, 274, 0, 0, 4287807988, 0, 1024, 1024, 1024, 1280, 4294967079, 274, 4294967295, 926, 1796, 1471, 926, 1, 1056, 507, 1022, 603, 4294967236, 6, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 7824, 5, 0, 0, 0, 0, 3, 0, 8355, 8795, 8872, 0, 1, 0, 26936, 3, 1, 7830, 29, 7, 1720846504, 38212
0010 = 26542080
0012 = 1, 1, 2816, 2112, 1408, 264, 253, 48, 0, 0, 1, 0
0013 = 0, 0, 0, 0
0018 = 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0
0019 = 1
001A = 0
001C = 0
001D = 32, 1, 12, 1, 2, 2, 2, 0, 0, 0, 0, 38, 0, 0, 0, 0
001E = 16777472
001F = 138, 1, 0, 4, 8, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0
0022 = 416, 0, 0, 16, 8, 1, 1, 640, 480, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 8, 384, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0
Now, that's a lot of information, right? A lot of it is unnecessary and doesn't really matter to most of us.
The things that we would be interested in is how the photographer achieved the results that he did.
So, here would be an edited version of the EXIF keeping the most important aspects, and discarding the rest.
Make = Canon
Model = Canon PowerShot S3 IS
F Number = F6.3
Date Time Original = 2007-04-19 16:58:32
Date Time Digitized = 2007-04-19 16:58:32
Shutter Speed Value = 9.31 TV
Aperture Value = 5.31 AV
Exposure Bias Value = ±0EV
Metering Mode = Pattern
Flash = 80
Focal Length = 27.6mm
Exposure Mode = Manual exposure
White Balance = Manual white balance
Digital Zoom Ratio = 0
Scene Capture Type = Normal
There. With that list, you have everything you need to set your camera exactly like mine was in case you wanted to use my settings to achieve the same results with your camera.
Most of us simply "point and shoot" because our cameras are capable of producing results like that. Once you get into digital photography, you'll more than likely want a camera that will allow you to switch into manual mode and select the exposure, shutter speed, ISO, and other things to achieve better results.
My first mushroom photos were done that way with an old Fuji Finepix 2600. I look at them now and cringe. Last year, I attempted to use manual settings with a Canon A610 and after a lot of practice, results improved. I have a Canon S3 IS now, and look forward to using it for fungi this year.
Anyhow, that's my little lesson on EXIF data, and what it can do for you.
------------------------------------------------------
If I can offer you one piece of advice regarding your digital camera purchase, please do not let the salesman intimidate or upsell you because "Model A" has more megapixels than "Model B".
This is the worst misconception out there today. I believed it also, until I learned from others.
A 5 or 6 megapixel camera will shoot just as well as a 10 megapixel camera. Don't be fooled by Mr. BestBuy.
Stay within your budget, look for the most manual options if your serious about learning more, and also look for OPTICAL ZOOM.
Optical Zoom is important. Digital Zoom is a gimmick. Remember that.
I in no way am affiliated with any particular camera manufacturer, but right now, with prices falling like they are, I would recommend the camera I own now. The Canon Powershot S3 IS.
It's about 300 U.S. right now.
Here is a link to it at Amazon.
S3 IS at Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/Canon-PowerShot-Image-Stabilized-Zoom/dp/B000EMWBV0)
It was well over 400 dollar U.S. at Christmas time, and I payed over 500 Canadian for mine.
An excellent deal right now for those that might be interested in a new camera.
Sorry for rambling.
EXIF (Exchangeable File format) and Your Digital Camera
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Imagine if you will that your digital camera is a mini processor. Most of us have cameras in the point and shoot category, and some of us are fortunate enough to own DSLRS. (Digital Single Reflex Cameras)
What ever camera you own processes each image prior to you seeing the result on your viewfinder, or on your computer. For instance, digital zoom isn't really zoom at all, but the camera deciding what you want to capture and cropping the image to achieve what you want.
Digital zoom is usually not used as it normally yields poor results. Always look for a camera with a high Optical Zoom ratio. Optical Zoom is true zoom.
Anyhow, thats an example of what a camera does. It does many other things to your image, but thats another topic.
What we are going to learn about now is EXIF data.
Every modern digital camera stores data about the particular image you shot. This data is invaluable when entering a photo contest, or simply to see what settings a particular photographer used to achieve the results that they did. For instance if a member here posts an extraordinary photo, and I want to know what settings he/she used to acheive the results, then I simply look at the EXIF data and that will tell me everything I need to know and more.
For instance. Here is an unedited photo i took earlier with my camera.
Flag (http://www.michiganmorels.com/beyond_the_morel/images/flag.jpg)
I uploaded the original unedited photo so it's quite large for you dial up folks. The photo is no big deal, but we are going to extract the EXIF data from it.
There are several programs out there that will extract the EXIF data for you. Some photo editing software will also do it, such as paint shop pro, photoshop or irfranview. But for just EXIF extraction, we can use simpler methods.
The most popular EXIF extractor is called OPANDA and can be downloaded
HERE (http://www.opanda.com/en/iexif/download.htm)
Once you have OPANDA downloaded, you can simply upload a photo to your computer and right click it, and choose open with OPANDA. Once you do that, the EXIF data for that photo will appear.
Here si the EXIF data from the flag photo I uploaded earlier:
[Image]
Make = Canon
Model = Canon PowerShot S3 IS
Orientation = top/left
X Resolution = 180
Y Resolution = 180
Resolution Unit = inch
Date Time = 2007-04-19 16:58:32
YCbCr Positioning = centered
Exif IFD Pointer = Offset: 196
[Camera]
Exposure Time = 1/640"
F Number = F6.3
Exif Version = Version 2.2
Date Time Original = 2007-04-19 16:58:32
Date Time Digitized = 2007-04-19 16:58:32
Components Configuration = YCbcr
Compressed Bits Per Pixel = 5
Shutter Speed Value = 9.31 TV
Aperture Value = 5.31 AV
Exposure Bias Value = ±0EV
Max Aperture Value = F3.51
Metering Mode = Pattern
Flash = 80
Focal Length = 27.6mm
Maker Note = 1830 Byte
User Comment =
Flashpix Version = Version 1.0
Color Space = sRGB
Exif Image Width = 2816
Exif Image Height = 2112
Interoperability IFD Pointer = Offset: 2772
Focal Plane X Resolution = 12515.556
Focal Plane Y Resolution = 12497.041
Focal Plane Resolution Unit = inch
Sensing Method = One-chip color area sensor
File Source = DSC
Custom Rendered = Normal process
Exposure Mode = Manual exposure
White Balance = Manual white balance
Digital Zoom Ratio = 1x
Scene Capture Type = Normal
[Interoperability]
Interoperability Index = ExifR98
Interoperability Version = Version 1.0
Related Image Width = 2816
Related Image Length = 2112
[Thumbnail Info]
Compression = JPEG Compressed (Thumbnail)
X Resolution = 180
Y Resolution = 180
Resolution Unit = inch
JPEG Interchange Format = Offset: 5108
JPEG Interchange Format Length = Length: 2312
[Thumbnail]
Thumbnail = 160 x 120
[MakerNote (Canon)]
0000 = 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0
0000 = 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0
Camera Settings 1 = 92, 2, 0, 5, 0, 0, 0, 4, 65535, 1, 0, 1, 0, 1, 2, 2, 16464, 3, 1, 8197, 4, 32767, 65535, 7200, 600, 100, 116, 192, 65535, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1, 0, 2816, 2816, 0, 0, 65535, 0, 32767, 32767, 1, 0
0002 = 2, 2760, 230, 173
0003 = 0, 0, 0, 0
Camera Settings 2 = 68, 0, 149, 340, 170, 298, 0, 2, 0, 0, 73, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1, 2770, 0, 164, 298, 0, 0, 0, 250, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0
Image Type = IMG:PowerShot S3 IS JPEG
Firmware Version = Firmware Version 1.00
Image Number = 1002503
Owner Name =
000D = 0, 1, 4294967280, 1013, 18, 18, 4294967292, 0, 0, 0, 7, 10, 1004, 1013, 494, 1053, 4294967236, 0, 4294967262, 1004, 370, 576, 1026, 4294967257, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 135, 4294967206, 269, 0, 0, 4294966707, 318, 4294966707, 0, 23, 0, 4294967078, 274, 0, 0, 4287807988, 0, 1024, 1024, 1024, 1280, 4294967079, 274, 4294967295, 926, 1796, 1471, 926, 1, 1056, 507, 1022, 603, 4294967236, 6, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 7824, 5, 0, 0, 0, 0, 3, 0, 8355, 8795, 8872, 0, 1, 0, 26936, 3, 1, 7830, 29, 7, 1720846504, 38212
0010 = 26542080
0012 = 1, 1, 2816, 2112, 1408, 264, 253, 48, 0, 0, 1, 0
0013 = 0, 0, 0, 0
0018 = 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0
0019 = 1
001A = 0
001C = 0
001D = 32, 1, 12, 1, 2, 2, 2, 0, 0, 0, 0, 38, 0, 0, 0, 0
001E = 16777472
001F = 138, 1, 0, 4, 8, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0
0022 = 416, 0, 0, 16, 8, 1, 1, 640, 480, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 8, 384, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0
Now, that's a lot of information, right? A lot of it is unnecessary and doesn't really matter to most of us.
The things that we would be interested in is how the photographer achieved the results that he did.
So, here would be an edited version of the EXIF keeping the most important aspects, and discarding the rest.
Make = Canon
Model = Canon PowerShot S3 IS
F Number = F6.3
Date Time Original = 2007-04-19 16:58:32
Date Time Digitized = 2007-04-19 16:58:32
Shutter Speed Value = 9.31 TV
Aperture Value = 5.31 AV
Exposure Bias Value = ±0EV
Metering Mode = Pattern
Flash = 80
Focal Length = 27.6mm
Exposure Mode = Manual exposure
White Balance = Manual white balance
Digital Zoom Ratio = 0
Scene Capture Type = Normal
There. With that list, you have everything you need to set your camera exactly like mine was in case you wanted to use my settings to achieve the same results with your camera.
Most of us simply "point and shoot" because our cameras are capable of producing results like that. Once you get into digital photography, you'll more than likely want a camera that will allow you to switch into manual mode and select the exposure, shutter speed, ISO, and other things to achieve better results.
My first mushroom photos were done that way with an old Fuji Finepix 2600. I look at them now and cringe. Last year, I attempted to use manual settings with a Canon A610 and after a lot of practice, results improved. I have a Canon S3 IS now, and look forward to using it for fungi this year.
Anyhow, that's my little lesson on EXIF data, and what it can do for you.
------------------------------------------------------
If I can offer you one piece of advice regarding your digital camera purchase, please do not let the salesman intimidate or upsell you because "Model A" has more megapixels than "Model B".
This is the worst misconception out there today. I believed it also, until I learned from others.
A 5 or 6 megapixel camera will shoot just as well as a 10 megapixel camera. Don't be fooled by Mr. BestBuy.
Stay within your budget, look for the most manual options if your serious about learning more, and also look for OPTICAL ZOOM.
Optical Zoom is important. Digital Zoom is a gimmick. Remember that.
I in no way am affiliated with any particular camera manufacturer, but right now, with prices falling like they are, I would recommend the camera I own now. The Canon Powershot S3 IS.
It's about 300 U.S. right now.
Here is a link to it at Amazon.
S3 IS at Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/Canon-PowerShot-Image-Stabilized-Zoom/dp/B000EMWBV0)
It was well over 400 dollar U.S. at Christmas time, and I payed over 500 Canadian for mine.
An excellent deal right now for those that might be interested in a new camera.
Sorry for rambling.