Metadata for film shooting

A very nice feature of digital photography is the support of metadata (EXIF). Even with non-electronic lenses, date/time/ISO/shutter speed is stored in the EXIF.

Nowadays, when I shoot with a film camera, I want to add EXIF to the scans. To do this, I take two pictures with my mobile phone after taking one with the film camera.

First picture with nearly the same scene. This is for image identification and date/time.

And second picture with the look of the film camera:

This view helps to determine:

1. The frame number (approximately 13)

2. The lens model (Pentax K 55/1.8).

3. The shutter speed (1/250).

4. The aperture value (f/8).

5. The lens filter usage (ND4 in this case).

So later, after scanning, it is possible to generate metadata and add it as EXIF.

But there is a big downside. This additional action takes the fun out of shooting with a film camera. So I often ignore the opportunity to know so much data. I only take a picture of the film camera after changing the lens. The only metadata I get is the lens model.

See also related notes:

• exiftool: Lens, camera, film information (2024-07-29)

Image albums:

• Photographic film