Manual Lens data (EXIF) to Aperture - Quick & Easy!

Aperture is a fine tool for image management and manipulation.

There are many good built in image manipulation possibilities as well as the capability to use external editors and plugins such as Photoshop, Topaz Labs, Nik Software  and others for more detailed work.

GPS functions and geo tagging of images has also come into maturity.

All the metadata coming from the images (filename, camera make, lens, aperture, etc..) and the data we build around the images (geo info, faces, comments, groupings, keywords, etc) allow us to use Smart folders allow us to sort, search and do the data management thing faster.

THE PROBLEM:
BUT! Some of the metadata CANNOT be modified from within Aperture.  Specifically this relates to the EXIF data.  The issue is that I use a few manual focus lenses - and while beautiful images with proper exposure can be obtained, the camera has no way of knowing which lens you used!  By the time your image makes its way into Aperture, all camera EXIF data and anything else you add is properly attached to the image, less the LENS information.

I've recently added a Samyang 8mm T3.8 (Fisheye with stopless aperture ring) lens to my arsenal.  It's 100% manual - no chips - no data coming over to the camera.

Upon import of the images into Aperture, I get all the metadata - but no lens info.  Check out the sample image with the missing data noted in red.


THE SOLUTION:
ExifTool by Phil Harvey solves these problems.  ExifTool is a command line (terminal) toolset allowing you to read, write and edit metadata information of most image file types (including raw).  It runs on Windows, Mac OS-X, and Linux.  For those of you comfortable with the terminal interface, check out Phil Harvey's site.

You will need to download and install this tool as part of the "slick and simplified" solution I discuss here. Don't worry, the entire thing is about 3.3MB - less than your average JPG.

MAKING THE SOLUTION "SLICK AND SIMPLE":
Just as I was about to write some scripts to automate adding of missing LENS TYPE, FOCAL LENGTH, and APERTURE information to my images using ExifTool, I came across an AppleScript droplet written by Vincenzo Della Mea called QuickEXIF for Manual Focusers.

It is a very simple solution which changes just those three metadata elements (LENS TYPE, FOCAL LENGTH, APERTURE) - nothing more, nothing less.

WALKTHROUGH:
Once you have both ExifTool installed and QuickEXIF downloaded we can begin.

The QuickEXIF droplet works by parsing the droplets file name, and applying the data using ExifTool to your images.

STEPS:

1. Prepare the DROPLET
In Finder, duplicate the QuickEXIF droplet (marked blue in my reference image) (there is a safe version which makes a copy of your file, and works on the copy to you can test it out) and rename it with the following syntax:

Lens_type ; Focal_length ; Aperture

For my troubles with the fisheye lens, I've named the droplet "Samyang 8mm T3.8;8;5.6" -
Which translates to:
Lens type - Samyang 8mm T3.8
Focal length - 8mm
Aperture - 5.6

2. Locate Aperture images in the Finder.

Aperture handles images in two ways - Managed and Referenced.  With Managed (default setting) the images are stored in the Aperture Library bundle file.  Referenced keeps the images stored in a user provided location (e.g. fast raid disk), while keeping all metadata, previews, and thumbnails within the library.  The latter provides considerable flexibility with backups and data management.  Russ Williams has a more detailed discussion here if you need it.

2.a. If your images are "Managed", you will first need to move them out of your library.  (*While its possible to manipulate images directly, its best not to muddle in the bundle library file, so we'll move the images out first.)  This can be done by selecting the images, and choosing "Relocate Original..." from Aperture's File menu.  Choose a simple to find temp location (eg. new temp folder on your desktop) to hold the files. 

2.b. Your images are now "Referenced" - this can be seen by the new icon on the thumbnails of the images in Aperture.  Right-click on the image, and choose "Show in Finder"

This will open a new Finder window with the image you had selected in Aperture, already selected for you.

3. DRAG & DROP the Images onto the newly renamed DROPLET
Since all the images I shot in this project were with the same lens and aperture, I just did a select all, and a "Drag & Drop" of the images onto the "Samyang 8mm T3.8;8;5.6" droplet.

The new metadata, as parsed from the filename is appended to the files.

4. UPDATING APERTURE
4.a. If you temporarily made your images "Referenced" and want them back as "Managed" - simply select them in Aperture, and choose "Consolidate Original..." from the File menu - make sure you tell Aperture to MOVE the files and NOT copy them.

4.b. If you look at the metadata info for the images in Aperture you will not see any change - YET!  The last step is to apply the changes made to the sources images to Aperture.  This is done by selecting the images you used with the Droplet, and selecting "Update from Original" from the Metadata menu in Aperture.

5. CONCLUSIONS
Lens type, Focal Length and Aperture are now updated within both the sources images and within the Aperture library.  You can now search, sort, and do whatever type to image data management your workflow demands.

To streamline things a bit, you would create a Droplet for each type of lens you have, adjusting focal length / aperture used as required.

Enjoy!