Metadata: Use multiple cameras to update pictures with missing information #1934

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opened 2026-02-20 01:02:42 -05:00 by deekerman · 1 comment

deekerman commented

2026-02-20 01:02:42 -05:00

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Originally created by @rob-miller on GitHub (Oct 21, 2023).

Use case: I've returned from a trip with friends/family and have all their photos (1000 or so), plus maybe a gps track (UTC time-stamped series of waypoints say every two minutes) for parts of the trip. The phone photos are correctly annotated with time and geotags, however only some cameras have geotagging, some are on the wrong time zones because not updated on arrival, and each one may be a few minutes off due to drift and/or sloppy initial setup. Also the one guy skipped setting up his camera so those photos start in 1970. I would like to fix this mess so all the photos have the proper timestamp and the best geotag they can get.

Solution outline: Given a set of photos, divide into camera/device groups. Note (lock) the 'source' cameras and data for gps and/or time (the phones and optional gps track in this case) and mark the others for optional update of timezone, time offset, and geotag. Process to get the photos in correct time order, then generate the complete gps track from the geotagged photos (yes there may be an issue with members of group separating within the trip, can fix later because the 'source' images are protected). Assign geotags to the remaining photos based on nearest time available gps waypoint, or (better) interpolate.

An easy but ugly interface would be to dump a text file listing devices, start/end timestamps, etc., edit this file in some way and read it back in to direct the processing. A nicer way would be a GUI for working on the timeline of photos with one track for each device (camera/phone); with this I'd like to be able to tag in each dimension - per device track photos ("Joe Bloggs camera") and selection of photos at one time ("yellow frog" we all took the same photos of). The process would be iterative as the sorted timeline of photos comes together.

I'm in this exact situation (again), with the change that I got a Solmeta GMAX-EOS2 GPS unit for my camera for this trip. It worked great, but having it mounted on my camera all the time was annoying and prone to breaking. I've read about the option to have the GPS unit (or maybe just a Garmin watch?) generate a track of waypoints and then use available software to map a dir of photos to the nearest timestamp waypoints. This got me thinking that (1) sufficient data could actually come from just the phone photos along the way, and (2) interpolation of the GPS coordinates would be cooler anyway.

I reialize this is a big project, and I've not seen this functionality anywhere other than what I have done on my own with exiftool, plus the above mentioned waypoint-mapping software. I suggest it to stimulate thought and discussion about interface(s) able to do this and work with subsets of photos.

Originally created by @rob-miller on GitHub (Oct 21, 2023). **Use case:** I've returned from a trip with friends/family and have all their photos (1000 or so), plus maybe a gps track (UTC time-stamped series of waypoints say every two minutes) for parts of the trip. The phone photos are correctly annotated with time and geotags, however only some cameras have geotagging, some are on the wrong time zones because not updated on arrival, and each one may be a few minutes off due to drift and/or sloppy initial setup. Also the one guy skipped setting up his camera so those photos start in 1970. I would like to fix this mess so all the photos have the proper timestamp and the best geotag they can get. **Solution outline:** Given a set of photos, divide into camera/device groups. Note (lock) the 'source' cameras and data for gps and/or time (the phones and optional gps track in this case) and mark the others for optional update of timezone, time offset, and geotag. Process to get the photos in correct time order, then generate the complete gps track from the geotagged photos (yes there may be an issue with members of group separating within the trip, can fix later because the 'source' images are protected). Assign geotags to the remaining photos based on nearest time available gps waypoint, or (better) interpolate. An easy but ugly interface would be to dump a text file listing devices, start/end timestamps, etc., edit this file in some way and read it back in to direct the processing. A nicer way would be a GUI for working on the timeline of photos with one track for each device (camera/phone); with this I'd like to be able to tag in each dimension - per device track photos ("Joe Bloggs camera") and selection of photos at one time ("yellow frog" we all took the same photos of). The process would be iterative as the sorted timeline of photos comes together. I'm in this exact situation (again), with the change that I got a Solmeta GMAX-EOS2 GPS unit for my camera for this trip. It worked great, but having it mounted on my camera all the time was annoying and prone to breaking. I've read about the option to have the GPS unit (or maybe just a Garmin watch?) generate a track of waypoints and then use available software to map a dir of photos to the nearest timestamp waypoints. This got me thinking that (1) sufficient data could actually come from just the phone photos along the way, and (2) interpolation of the GPS coordinates would be cooler anyway. I reialize this is a big project, and I've not seen this functionality anywhere other than what I have done on my own with exiftool, plus the above mentioned waypoint-mapping software. I suggest it to stimulate thought and discussion about interface(s) able to do this and work with subsets of photos.

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2026-02-20 01:02:42 -05:00

deekerman commented

2026-02-20 01:02:43 -05:00

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@graciousgrey commented on GitHub (Oct 25, 2023):

Thank you very much for your feedback!

A few thoughts from my side:

PhotoPrism already supports basic location estimates. They are based on photos taken on the same day.

https://docs.photoprism.app/user-guide/settings/library/#estimates

We plan to refine this in the future, for example limiting it to individual cameras or groups of cameras.

Reading and creating estimates from GPS tracks is not yet possible. However, if I remember correctly, we have a feature request for it.

When it comes to wrong camera settings in terms of date/time/timezone. An advanced batch editing functionality might help with this.

Once "basic" batch editing is implemented, it will be possible to set a specific date, time, time zone, and other data for a set of selected photos.

An advanced option that might be implemented at a later time would be to offer batch editing options such as current date + x days/months/years or current time + x hours/minutes.

@graciousgrey commented on GitHub (Oct 25, 2023): Thank you very much for your feedback! A few thoughts from my side: PhotoPrism already supports basic location estimates. They are based on photos taken on the same day. https://docs.photoprism.app/user-guide/settings/library/#estimates We plan to refine this in the future, for example limiting it to individual cameras or groups of cameras. Reading and creating estimates from GPS tracks is not yet possible. However, if I remember correctly, we have a feature request for it. When it comes to wrong camera settings in terms of date/time/timezone. An advanced batch editing functionality might help with this. Once "basic" batch editing is implemented, it will be possible to set a specific date, time, time zone, and other data for a set of selected photos. An advanced option that might be implemented at a later time would be to offer batch editing options such as current date + x days/months/years or current time + x hours/minutes.