Canon does not record lens information

[jwolf6589]

Perhaps this belongs in the video thread I dont know.

For some strange reason neither my Powershot nor my Vixia display lens information in video mode but do in still shot mode. I have no clue as to the why here. I would like lens information for video files as well as still shots.

Also I dont understand why both files look exactly the same when I play them back, yet one is larger yet shorter.

 

[arw]

I can at least give a hint regarding the file size question:
The first video is slightly less than half the resolution (720p instead of 1080p) but has twice the frame rate (60 fps instead of 30).
(Apparently) Doubling the frame rate weighs more than doubling the resolution - at least at the given codec/compression settings.

With an appropriate display, you should see a larger, more detailed picture with the second video (1080p) whereas the first one should have smoother movement (60 fps).

 

[jwolf6589]

I can at least give a hint regarding the file size question:
The first video is slightly less than half the resolution (720p instead of 1080p) but has twice the frame rate (60 fps instead of 30).
(Apparently) Doubling the frame rate weighs more than doubling the resolution - at least at the given codec/compression settings.

With an appropriate display, you should see a larger, more detailed picture with the second video (1080p) whereas the first one should have smoother movement (60 fps).

I see. My TV is only 720P so I guess it does not matter the res.

 

[coolguy4747]

It's common for videos not to include lens information. At least part of it is probably due to the variability of focal length and aperture. It would be meaningless to say "20mm f/2.8" for the video, because you might zoom from 20mm to 100mm, back to 60mm, etc, while changing aperture the whole time in a single video. And in the case of these specific cameras, they are built in lenses so you know which lens was used.

 

[jwolf6589]

It's common for videos not to include lens information. At least part of it is probably due to the variability of focal length and aperture. It would be meaningless to say "20mm f/2.8" for the video, because you might zoom from 20mm to 100mm, back to 60mm, etc, while changing aperture the whole time in a single video. And in the case of these specific cameras, they are built in lenses so you know which lens was used.

I did not know this. Thanks for clarifying.

 

[MacNut]

Why do you need lens information?

 

[jwolf6589]

Why do you need lens information?

When I look at my photos file on my Mac it's nice to know what camera recorded what file.

 

[MacNut]

When I look at my photos file on my Mac it's nice to know what camera recorded what file.

Exif data should tell you what camera it was.

 

[bunnspecial]

Will the camera let you set custom file naming?

On my Nikon DSLRs, and I think my X-T5(but don't hold me to the latter), the first letters/numbers can be changed. Still photos, for example, come set to factory default as DSC_### , but I can change those first three letters to be anything I want and there's room for quite a few characters there.

I use this to tell me, just from looking at the file, which camera the file came from. It can be super useful if you have multiple models of the same camera, which I don't at least among the ones I use regularly, but it's also really handy to be able to tell at a glance for example whether something came from my D800 or D810(those both give files with identical pixel counts and roughly the same file size).

 

[jwolf6589]

Exif data should tell you what camera it was.

What does that mean?

 

[MacNut]

What does that mean?

It's the metadata of every file.

 

[Clix Pix]

Will the camera let you set custom file naming?

On my Nikon DSLRs, and I think my X-T5(but don't hold me to the latter), the first letters/numbers can be changed. Still photos, for example, come set to factory default as DSC_### , but I can change those first three letters to be anything I want and there's room for quite a few characters there.

I use this to tell me, just from looking at the file, which camera the file came from. It can be super useful if you have multiple models of the same camera, which I don't at least among the ones I use regularly, but it's also really handy to be able to tell at a glance for example whether something came from my D800 or D810(those both give files with identical pixel counts and roughly the same file size).

Since I have several cameras, I, too, set up custom names rather than just going with the "DSC___" naming convention and this is very helpful, especially on a day when I've shot with more than just one camera and put all of the files into the computer. I can look at the info and immediately see that, OK, this particular file was shot with one of my full-frame cameras, this other one was shot with another FF camera or with the bridge camera, which I also use from time to time. Most of the time this isn't really important information but it is still good to know right from the get-go as one then begins culling and later editing the image files.

 

[jwolf6589]

It's the metadata of every file.

How do I get that?

 

[arw]

How do I get that?

I use Adobe Bridge instead of Finder to browse my photos/videos because there you can filter by camera model and many more different properties (reads said EXIF data of the files).

Bridge is free but requires an account. But for the occasional use, I cannot recommend the Adobe Creative Suite bloatware in good conscience.

 

[mollyc]

You can see Exif data in Preview if it's embedded into the image. And original, out of the camera photo or video will have this info available, but when you re-export to a smaller size you can deliberately strip out that info. But if you are just looking at files you've imported directly from the source, you can see it in Preview.

Open your image in Preview, then hit ⌘I and it will bring up the info palette. Go to the second tab with the ! in a circle then choose Exif.

I don't know how to see this info for a video though as I don't shoot those frequently.

 

[MacNut]

I don't know how to see this info for a video though as I don't shoot those frequently.

I don't know what there is to see unless you have a video editor.