Easier way to find total number of m8 frames you've shot on a Mac

[wlaidlaw]

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Simply open an image with MacOS X's 'Graphic Converter' app, click on 'exif' and wonder at the data that unfolds before your eyes:)

 

Steve

 

Steve,

 

Just to let people know, I think Graphics Converter is a Power PC app only and may not run in Rosetta/Intel. I have it on my Dual 2.3 Powermac but could not get it to run either on my Intel iMac or Macbook. This ID number can also be found on the data shown for an image in Adobe Bridge.

 

Wilson

[denniswong]

How do you get the "UI ID" without any additional software? I have Capture One and iphoto only. Can I get the UI ID from this software? I can't seem to find it.

 

Under Intel iMac Tiger, I didn't find the information in either iPhoto or Capture One, but from Preview, under Tools>Get Info>Details, everytthing is listed.

 

Or you can download GraphicConverter from lemkesoft.com, choose the version that suits your Mac CPU and OS, open your file and click on the small "i" button at bottom of your image window, click on EXIF, and everything is there as well.

 

If you also have Adobe Bridge, the same can be found under MetaData.

[JHAG]

Under Snow Leopard, tried the app : crashes - crashes - crashes.

[wlaidlaw]

Under Snow Leopard, tried the app : crashes - crashes - crashes.

 

You used to be able to download an up to date version of Bridge for free from Adobe but not any more it looks like to me. For Slow Leopard, I would guess you would at least need the version of Bridge that comes with CS4/PSE6 or later for both those programs. Here is a pic of the data, showing the unique ID for the particular image I was displaying from my M9 library as 0030A in hex which equals 778 in decimal.

 

Wilson

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[JSU]

Could have got this wrong, but might have stumbled on an easy way for Mac users to find out how many frames you've shot with your M8 without needing to download any apps. Apologies if I'm already stating the known.

 

Open an M8 file with basic Preview app, select Menu-> Inspector. Then choose the second tab in the window that appears. This shows the value of a field called Image Unique ID, which I think is the total count? (This is where I could be wrong). Then use Google to convert to decimal! ("0xff to decimal" for example).

 

Regards, Phil

 

Preview won't open RAW files, they must first be converted to JPEG's. Opening a JPEG in Preview with this method provides the exif data from which the unique id may be seen.

 

This is in the format of a hex, but the calculator app common to the Mac OS 10.5 can be changed in the "view" column from "basic" to "programmer" which incorporates the "Hex to Decimal Convertor."

 

No third party app was used, my Intel MacBook Pro running 10.5 has both versions of Preview and Calculator used for this conversion.

 

I copied the unique id into a word doc and then copied just the numeral into the calculator.

 

I don't understand why Leica goes to such lengths to bury the image ID # but this conversion method is easy enough, at least with a contemporary Mac.

[wlaidlaw]

 

I don't understand why Leica goes to such lengths to bury the image ID # but this conversion method is easy enough, at least with a contemporary Mac.

 

2 reasons. Firstly the hex number is how the unique ID would be stored internally in the M8/M9 and Leica would have to run it through a hex to decimal converter if it felt that this was a number regularly required by customers. I guess they think that this is a number only required by their service personnel, to determine the real number of shutter actuations. Secondly I am not sure that they want people seeing how many shutter actuations their camera has had, prior to the customer's acquisition. On my M8, it was nearly 300. This together with a mix up on serial number (camera has a very early serial number but box and warranty certificate had a serial number consistent with date of leaving factory, 31 December 2006), lead me to query whether I had been sold a re-furb, without this being disclosed to either dealer or myself. Leica claims not, but I am still not 100% convinced. Their story had a number of holes/inconsistencies in it but the camera now works fine, so why worry? It had pretty much a total rebuild with new electronics at the upgrade stage.

 

Wilson