PL6.6 Dji Mini 3 pro Exif time modified automatically or being read incorrectly?

[lightzone (M1 Mac mini 16gb)]

After several weeks of struggle I was able to pin point the problem why my images shot with Dji Mini 3 pro shows wrong Exif time. My Sony & Canon Camera raw files are showing correct time.

Here is what I found.

1. PL 6 is modifying the Exif time on opening the images (Or reading it incorrectly)
2. This problem is not specific to my drone only, I got some images from other users of Mini 3 pro & same problem exist in their DNG files.
3. This problem is only for mini 3 pro files if I open Air2s or Mavic 3 files they show correct exif time without modification.
4. I then opened same images in 5 different Raw editing software & 4 of the software shows wrong time & Only Capture One is able to read/show correct exif time.
5. So it seems Dji Mini 3 pro is doing something internally & Software are reading wrong time.

What can I do to revert /modify bulk of images to show their correct exif time without opening of 1000s of file & clicking one by one?

[George]

Use exiftools. Put the image you want to change in a directory. I cant tell you how the command line looks but it is possible. Maybe @Joanna can be of help.

George

[danielfrimley (Leica APS-C CL, Nikon D850 | MacBook Air (M1))]

If the Mini Pro is on the supported list I’d recommend you raise support tickets with DxO and Dji. they might thank you for finding a bug, reporting it and fix it for you.

[KeithRJ (Keith - Perth, Australia - Win11, PL6, VP3, Canon)]

I have a Mini 3 Pro and do not have this issue. What I did find is the drone did not set the time and date when I moved time zones and the only way to fix this was to connect the controller to the internet and have the drone connected and ready to fly. This is when the drone updated date and time zones.

This could be your issue so check all the time stamps in exif to ensure the date and time is correct before letting PL read the files.

[George]

The question will be then is the shown time the local time or the greenwich time. I’ve seen this mess before.

George

[Joanna (Joanna Carter)]

Can you post a file that hasn’t been changed here along with one that has?

[KeithRJ (Keith - Perth, Australia - Win11, PL6, VP3, Canon)]

It is local time.

[lightzone (M1 Mac mini 16gb)]

Before I report to DXO I need to figure out what is happening to exif data as other software are also reading the time wrongly except Capture One.

I have contacted Dji support & waiting to hear from them.

[lightzone (M1 Mac mini 16gb)]

Thanks KeithRJ for confirming that its working & showing correct local time as per GMT timezone set on your Mini 3 pro.

In my case I have set the timezone correctly & time correctly which shows right on RC but the drone image exif data shows wrong time of capture in 4 out of 5 software.

If I set use network provided time zone on RC it shows correct time on RC but wifi gets disabled when we fly (I don’t use mobile hotspots either) so seems it doesn’t work with exif data.

If I set it manually or use network provided timezone & before flying connect to wifi then also taking images it doesn’t solve the problem.

Can I request you post an image shot by you which is showing correct local time as per timezone set.

[lightzone (M1 Mac mini 16gb)]

Here is the DNG file attached which I haven’t modified but PL shows it as exif time modified. Where as same file opened in exif editor shows correct time.

DJI_0182.DNG (23.6 MB)

[KeithRJ (Keith - Perth, Australia - Win11, PL6, VP3, Canon)]

The RC gets time from the internet or you can set it manually, but the drone itself has no way that I could find to set the date and time except when connected to the RC in which case it gets the time and date from the RC.

Also be aware that there are three date/time fields in exif: datetime_original, create_date and modify_date. The first two should be the date and time the file was created (photo taken by the drone) and the modify date is updated whenever the file is updated. In the case of PL, when exported.

PL will never modify the original raw file.

Here is an exported file from a dng where the only change is the modify date which is different from the first two which are correct.

[Joanna (Joanna Carter)]

Here are the results of an inspection using ExifTool…

[File]          File Modification Date/Time     : 2023:06:13 15:32:13+02:00
[File]          File Access Date/Time           : 2023:06:13 15:32:15+02:00
[File]          File Inode Change Date/Time     : 2023:06:13 15:32:14+02:00

The date/time I downloaded and saved the file to my computer. Note UTC+2h because I live in France.

[EXIF]          Modify Date                     : 2022:05:29 08:58:48

[EXIF]          Date/Time Original              : 2022:05:29 08:58:48
[EXIF]          Create Date                     : 2022:05:29 08:58:48

[XMP]           Modify Date                     : 2022:05:29 08:58:48+00:00
[XMP]           Create Date                     : 2022:05:29 08:58:48+00:00

So, it seems that PhotoLab is reading one of the EXIF date/time values, which it should. But, then it is getting the UTC offset wrong and displaying an incorrect UTC time in the Date field.

However, the localised time zone shows as UTC with no offset, so I am beginning to think that you haven’t set the time zone on your drone.

According to the GPS data, you took the shot in Philadelphia in May, which should record it as UTC-4h.

Reading the date in PL on my computer shows the 2 hour time difference I would expect from UTC but the Date field shows 2 hours before the UTC time shown in the flyover hint.

Compare these results with those from an iPhone image I took in January…

[File]          File Modification Date/Time     : 2023:01:06 13:38:37+01:00
[File]          File Access Date/Time           : 2023:04:26 10:45:42+02:00
[File]          File Inode Change Date/Time     : 2023:02:13 11:00:28+01:00

[EXIF]          Modify Date                     : 2023:01:06 13:38:37

[EXIF]          Date/Time Original              : 2023:01:06 13:38:37
[EXIF]          Create Date                     : 2023:01:06 13:38:37
[EXIF]          Offset Time                     : +01:00
[EXIF]          Offset Time Original            : +01:00
[EXIF]          Offset Time Digitized           : +01:00

[XMP]           Create Date                     : 2023:01:06 13:38:37

[XMP]           Modify Date                     : 2023:01:06 13:38:37
[XMP]           Date Created                    : 2023:01:06 13:38:37

[Composite]     Create Date                     : 2023:01:06 13:38:37.265+01:00
[Composite]     Date/Time Original              : 2023:01:06 13:38:37.265+01:00
[Composite]     Modify Date                     : 2023:01:06 13:38:37+01:00

My conclusion is that the time zone on your drone has not been set to your locale - plus PhotoLab is making a pig’s breakfast of displaying the correct information from the UTC+0h the it reads from your zone.

It may also be that the drone is not writing the relevant date EXIF data for PhotoLab to read - especially if you compare all the extra EXIF tags that the iPhone writes.

@StevenL is this one for your fix list?

[lightzone (M1 Mac mini 16gb)]

The Jpg file you posted doesn’t show any exif data, maybe the forum upload strips that data so I cant see.

I am well aware the RC will sync time & that same time is stamped in exif data, as you can see that when I open image in PL it shows time modified where as same image in Exif editor, that shows actual time.

I am not able to figure out if the problem is with DXO PL or Dji writing the exif time in some different way hence software are failing to read it correctly?

[Joanna (Joanna Carter)]

@lightzone

I am not able to figure out if the problem is with DXO PL or Dji writing the exif time in some different way hence software are failing to read it correctly?

See my message - I am reasonably convinced the problem stems from DJI.

[lightzone (M1 Mac mini 16gb)]

Thanks Joanna for spending time to find the possible cause.

On Dji RC the time setting has 2 option, one by using wifi network & another is manually setting the timezone & time. Using both methods I have tried they show correct time on the Dji RC from which the Drone should take same time in exif but something is not right which is why the problem is happening.

If the Dji is writing timezone in different way then I wonder how is exif editor & capture one able to read correct time? This also confirms that timezone & time both are actually set on the RC.

[KeithRJ (Keith - Perth, Australia - Win11, PL6, VP3, Canon)]

Sorry, forgot these forums strip exif data in JPG files. Here is the same file as a zip.
DJI_0021_KRJ.zip (2.7 MB)

[lightzone (M1 Mac mini 16gb)]

Thanks Keith
Your file when I open in PL still shows different time then originally recorded.
So something in PL is indeed modifying the exif time.

[Joanna (Joanna Carter)]

Just going out to club photo. I’ll look when I get back.

[KeithRJ (Keith - Perth, Australia - Win11, PL6, VP3, Canon)]

Well that is strange because it all works perfectly on my system. Check your computer’s time zone and ensure it is correct. I am on windows and I see you are on Mac so there may be differences in implementations on the two systems.

[George]

There’s also a difference in minutes.

Exiftools says 11:25:36 for both datetimeoriginal and createdate.

George