New app for making "exif notes"

[team_player]

Hi everyone! I'm an avid film photographer and while shooting film I like to take quick notes of my camera settings, time & date, location etc. For the past year or so I've been developing an Android app that enables you to quickly and easily save your camera settings and other notes on your phone. The app was in beta testing for quite some time but the number of participants through my local photography forum fell short of what I was aiming for. I have made the app publicly available so that now anyone can download it.

And so I would like to invite you guys to test the app and give me some valuable feedback, bug reports and feature wishes. So if you're an Android user and you like to take notes while shooting film, hop along! Your feedback can actually affect future versions of the app. Despite being an early version, the app is actually quite polished and well tested. You should already be able to use it without any major hiccups or in-app data losses.

The idea for this app came out of my personal needs really. I didn't find the current note taking apps on Android, including the ones made for this purpose, to really suit my needs, and so I decided to code one for myself. The goal for this app is to be fast and intuitive to use as well as easy on the eyes. What it lacks in features it should make up for in ease of use. In addition to being able to take notes and view them on your phone, you can also share your "exif notes" through Dropbox for example. The app has ExifTool integration in the sense that you can export automatically created ExifTool commands. You can use these commands to save the exif data on your scanned files on your computer using ExifTool.

I've been developing the app on and off for about a year now on my spare time. This is purely a hobby project which is not intended to make a single cent of profit (or income for that matter). The app is free, it will always be free and it doesn't contain any ads! You can download the app from the Google Play store through the link below.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tommihirvonen.exifnotes

You can post bug reports, feedback, feature wishes, questions and other comments on this thread. If you encounter a bug, please describe what you were doing, what happened and what was supposed/expected to happen. This will help with tracking down the bugs.

A massive thank you to all those willing to try out the app! I hope someone else finds this app useful.

P.S. If the moderators find that this thread is in the wrong place, could you please move it somewhere more appropriate. Thanks.

 

[EdoNork]

It sounds interesting.
Can you post a short example of how use ExifTool with your app to tag images?
Thanks in advance.

 

[canvassy]

Thanks for the heads up, I've installed it and will give it a try this weekend.

 

[paul ron]

can you also delete existing exif data?

 

[mooseontheloose]

Looks interesting - will it only be available for Android, or will iOS be a possibility too?

 

[iandvaag]

Just downloaded this, and I must say it looks very useful! I'll try to report back after I've used it for a bit. Thanks so much for spending the time to put this together.

 

[CCLA]

To delete an item just touch it and hold until the pop up appears.

How do you find where you took a picture? All I can see is a GPS coordinate (I guess you could use another app to translate to an address).
However when I click on the location button I only get the option to clear or reacquire location.

claudio

 

[CCLA]

Never mind, when you click on the reacquire button you don't actually change location until you use the map to do so. Otherwise you see the original location.

Good app.

claudio

 

[paul ron]

well i cant download it from google store. im not signing in.

sounds like a nice app.

good luck

 

[team_player]

Thanks so much for the positive comments!

I actually just found a bug in the app and released an update. It should be available in a couple of hours. Exporting ExifTool commands was broken, instead it shared the roll in .csv format when clicking either "Export exiftool cmds" or "Export .csv". To remedy this I had to disable .csv export entirely. I will try to find a more sophisticated fix. I figured the automatically generated ExifTool commands are more useful to more people than a .csv file.

It sounds interesting.
Can you post a short example of how use ExifTool with your app to tag images?
Thanks in advance.

Sure thing. Here's a short example/guide. I am using OS X, but Windows isn't all that different.

1. First you should define the artist name and copyright information in the app's settings. These can be anything, name, company, year etc.
2. You should define the "Exiftool path" in the settings if you haven't placed it in your PATH file. For example, I defined it as "~Tommi/Documents/Image-ExifTool-10.13/" (without the quote marks). That is to say the ExifTool executable is in a folder called Image-ExifTool-10.13 in my Documents folder.
3. Then you should define the "Path to pictures" setting. For me this is "~Tommi/Desktop/". That is to say the scanned files are on my desktop.
4. Name the scanned files to 1.jpg, 2.jpg, 3.jpg etc. The number in the file name should correspond to the frame count in the app.
5. Export the roll's data by clicking "Export exiftool cmds". You can save the file in your Dropbox as a text file or send the text as an email for example.
6. Open the text file on your computer. Copy the commands for the files you wish to tag and paste them on your terminal. Make sure you run all the commands, you may have to press enter to run the last command.
7. ExifTool will run and update the exif tags of your scanned files.

That's it! I know it's a bit technical to tag the files using ExifTool, but then again it's an extremely powerful tool when mastered. Also I didn't want to develop separate apps for Windows and OS X when such tools as ExifTool are around.

Looks interesting - will it only be available for Android, or will iOS be a possibility too?

It will only be available for Android sadly. I'm not at all familiar with iOS app development. Besides, I haven't really got the time to maintain the app on two different platforms. Keeping the Android version up-to-date is already time consuming enough.

 

[EdoNork]

Linux here.
Thank you for the guide.

 

[Ashfaque]

Hi Tomm,

First of all thank you very much for this very helpful tool. I started using your app few days ago. It has a very simple but quite elegant UI.

I have no knowledge of Android (or any) tool development. With that novice's disclaimer, I'd like to see the following features in this app please:
1) Bug: When I write information (shutter speed, f/stop etc.), there is a field called "Notes". In it, whilst writing I can't see what I'm writing as it's blocked by the keyboard. Can you make the app to be able scrolled up so that we can see what we are writing.
2) I put some later frame details before inserting earlier frames'. But I can't move them around. Can you introduce that feature, if possible? Somewhat related, a sorting option based on frame number will be good too.
3) Speaking of sorting, do you think you can also introduce an option to sort all frames in each roll based on date/time, f stop, shutter speed too?
4) Also, please introduce the ability to move each film roll around [under "Film Rolls"]

FYI, Phone: Samsung Galaxy A3; Android version: 5.0.2

Bests,
Ashfaque

 

[team_player]

Hi Tomm,

First of all thank you very much for this very helpful tool. I started using your app few days ago. It has a very simple but quite elegant UI.

I have no knowledge of Android (or any) tool development. With that novice's disclaimer, I'd like to see the following features in this app please:
1) Bug: When I write information (shutter speed, f/stop etc.), there is a field called "Notes". In it, whilst writing I can't see what I'm writing as it's blocked by the keyboard. Can you make the app to be able scrolled up so that we can see what we are writing.
2) I put some later frame details before inserting earlier frames'. But I can't move them around. Can you introduce that feature, if possible? Somewhat related, a sorting option based on frame number will be good too.
3) Speaking of sorting, do you think you can also introduce an option to sort all frames in each roll based on date/time, f stop, shutter speed too?
4) Also, please introduce the ability to move each film roll around [under "Film Rolls"]

FYI, Phone: Samsung Galaxy A3; Android version: 5.0.2

Bests,
Ashfaque

Hi Ashfaque,

thank you so much for the feedback, this is great.

I was able to replicate the bug you mentioned where the 'Notes' field is blocked by the keyboard. So this will need fixing and is priority no. 1.

The feature suggestions you gave related to sorting frames and rolls are great. I had similar features in mind, but haven't had to time to experiment yet. These will also make it to the top of my priority list.

Thanks again!

 

[team_player]

I believe I found what caused the bug. I have already uploaded a new version on Google Play Store. It should be available in a matter of hours. Please try if the bug has been fixed after you have updated the app to version 1.4.1. I will include new features in a future version.

 

[Ashfaque]

Thanks a lot, Tommi.

 

[team_player]

According to Ashfaque's feature requests I have now added functionality to sort rolls and frames. You can sort rolls by date, name and camera and frames by count, date, f-stop, shutter speed and lens. I have uploaded the new version (1.5.0) to Google Play and it should be available shortly.

Again, if you find bugs in the app or have other feature requests please share them! This is invaluable information.

 

[Ashfaque]

Excellent news. I'll update right away. Thanks a lot, Tommi.

 

[ron917]

Thanks for this app, Tommi! It is useful and easy to use.

I've used it for 2 rolls now, with different cameras and lens sets. It is certainly easier than recording my info in a notepad type app. I did need to tweak the exported exiftool command file to suit my needs, but it was simple enough. I did make it a little more difficult on myself due to an accidental double exposure - but that is a user error.

I find it amusing that images from my Argus C3 and Nikon F3 are now geotagged, while the files from my DSLRs are not

 

[redtreephoto]

Hi, thank you for taking the time to develop this and for making it freely available. I scan my films and add them to Lightroom, -is it possible to batch add the exif data to scanned images from a roll of film?

 

[team_player]

Thanks for this app, Tommi! It is useful and easy to use.

I've used it for 2 rolls now, with different cameras and lens sets. It is certainly easier than recording my info in a notepad type app. I did need to tweak the exported exiftool command file to suit my needs, but it was simple enough. I did make it a little more difficult on myself due to an accidental double exposure - but that is a user error.

I find it amusing that images from my Argus C3 and Nikon F3 are now geotagged, while the files from my DSLRs are not

Thanks for the feedback! Glad to hear you find the app useful.

Hi, thank you for taking the time to develop this and for making it freely available. I scan my films and add them to Lightroom, -is it possible to batch add the exif data to scanned images from a roll of film?

If you mean exif tagging all the images from a specific roll in one go, then yes. I have provided a seven step 'quick guide' in a previous message on this thread:
(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

Although you have to be comfortable using a programme called ExifTool on a terminal/command line on your computer.

 

[team_player]

Hey everyone!

I've just uploaded version 1.6.0 to the Google Play store. Changes include:

• The app now requires write permissions to the phone's external storage (see third bullet point)
  
• The app can now share two text files when exporting a roll's data: one contains the data in csv format and the other contains the ExifTool commands. The user can choose which files to export in the app's settings
  
• Added the possibility to export the csv file and/or ExifTool commands using an inbuilt folder browser (Export files to storage). This feature requires write permissions to the phone's external storage.
  
• Location info is added to a frame only if the user has enabled location updating in the app's settings
  
• Added a help/quick guide to the app to set up Exif Notes to work with ExifTool
  
• Added version history to the About dialog

It's been a month since my last release (v1.5.1). I was going to release a smaller update sooner, but somehow I ended up cramming more stuff into this release. Many of you may not be affected by these changes, but I do hope some of you find them useful.

Keep the feedback coming! Even though recently I haven't had quite as much time to focus on Exif Notes as I would like, I still thoroughly enjoy Android development. And I already know what I'm going to try out in the next release...

 

[roos]

I have been using exif4film before and im now trying out your app as a replacement. Generally, i like it, but i have two concerns.

1. The filenames. I scan my files as raw tiffs from vuescan before importing them to colour perfect. It would be nice to be able to apply the exif to the tiffs right after the scan. I also use other filenames than 1.tiff. Could you make the output would look something like this:
/usr/local/bin/exiftool -Make="Linhof" -Model="Technica 4x5" -LensMake=“Meyer Görlitz” -LensModel=“Trioplan 13cm” -DateTime="2017:2:12 16:16" -ShutterSpeedValue="1/5" -ApertureValue=“22” -Artist="Roos" -Copyright="roos@swedish.photography" ./*1.{jpg,JPG,tif,tiff,TIF,TIFF,png,PNG};
It wouldnt break anything for anyone, just give us that want a little more flexibility a bit of help.

2. When i load my film cassettes, i dont yet know what camera i will use them in, they fit in several. It would be very nice if one could leave the camera field empty, making it show up when filling the frame information in instead.

 

[team_player]

I have been using exif4film before and im now trying out your app as a replacement. Generally, i like it, but i have two concerns.

1. The filenames. I scan my files as raw tiffs from vuescan before importing them to colour perfect. It would be nice to be able to apply the exif to the tiffs right after the scan. I also use other filenames than 1.tiff. Could you make the output would look something like this:
/usr/local/bin/exiftool -Make="Linhof" -Model="Technica 4x5" -LensMake=“Meyer Görlitz” -LensModel=“Trioplan 13cm” -DateTime="2017:2:12 16:16" -ShutterSpeedValue="1/5" -ApertureValue=“22” -Artist="Roos" -Copyright="roos@swedish.photography" ./*1.{jpg,JPG,tif,tiff,TIF,TIFF,png,PNG};
It wouldnt break anything for anyone, just give us that want a little more flexibility a bit of help.

2. When i load my film cassettes, i dont yet know what camera i will use them in, they fit in several. It would be very nice if one could leave the camera field empty, making it show up when filling the frame information in instead.

Thanks for the feedback and suggestions! You are right, your first suggestion shouldn't break anything, but adds to the functionality and flexibility of the app. This is a quick and easy addition. The second is also fairly straightforward. If it isn't included in the next update, it'll certainly be in the one after that.

I've been working on the next update for quite some time now and I'm hoping to release it soon. I've done some extensive code rewriting and added a few new functionalities. So yes, the project is still alive and well! Since I've made some changes to the database side of the app as well, I still need to do some more testing. I hope it'll be worth the wait.

 

[team_player]

I can't believe it's been five months since the last update. However, today I'm happy to announce, that I've released version 1.7.0 to the Play Store and it should be available for everyone to download. Changes include:

• Bug fixes
• Special characters are now allowed when entering text anywhere in the app.
• Filters can now be added to the database and frame's information.
• Shutter speed and aperture increment are now camera and lens specific respectively instead of global settings.
• Lenses now have an aperture range, focal length range and aperture increment setting.
• Cameras now have a shutter speed range and a shutter speed increment setting.
• Rolls now have ISO, push/pull and format attributes.
• Frames now have focal length, exposure comp, no. of exposures and filter attributes.
• The user can now export and import the entire database as a .db file. This is useful when you want to transfer all your data to a new phone for example.
• Changes to ExifTool commands: file names can now have a prefix before the frame number and the user can now choose in the settings which file ending should be used.

Under the hood I have done some massive code rewriting to make the code more manageable. All in all this was the biggest update since the launch of this app.

If you have any ideas on how to improve the UI of the app, I'd be glad to hear them. For example the frame information dialog is beginning to get a bit cluttered. What do you think, should the frame settings be represented as a list instead of separate buttons? Also I've gotten some feature wishes, which I have yet to implement. And new frame settings (e.g. flash information, metering mode etc.) will be added along the way.

 

[sixkings55]

Hi, I'm new to the group. It's strange how things happen sometimes. I just ran across this forum. Wish I had over a week ago probably would've saved me a big headache. I wanted learn how to change the exif and went all through videos and articles about how to do it. One person would do it this way another person that way and when I would try it it wouldn't work. I downloaded the exiftool program and tried to read the Man pages and that seemed to make matters worse. I can be pretty stubborn sometimes and don't like to quit until I 'get it'. And today I figured out a simple syntax that works. I know I need to know more in order to do some really complicated formulas but for what I needed it for it works well.
My hat is off to you that you are able to understand and deal with this stuff and putting this thing together. I'm sure if I had someone to teach me I'd get it but right now it's hard to teach an old dog new tricks.
I'd like to try out your app if it will work on a Mac desktop, I don't own a cell phone. I'm all for keeping it simple. I'd share what I figured out but you guys probably already know about it.
Keep up the good work and I hope it turns out well.