Feature request for Photos

Question

Feature request for Photos

I would like to be able to have a smart album filter based on the timezone of a photo. Not date range, not location, just the timezone. (Question: can this be done?)

I need to change all the timezone setting of a photo from whatever it is to UTC without altering the time value. I.e., if the time is 11:15:23 EDT, I need to make it 11:15:23 UTC. (If it is 10:20:34 CDT, then I need 10:20:34 UTC.) Over the years (before time zones were managed in iPhotos) I set the times to UTC, the time value is what I want it to be.

In Photo (Version 2.0 (3161.4.140)), when the timezone is changed, it adjusts the time, which is not desirable. The consequence is that photos in EDT get shifted 4 hours, photos in EST 5 hours, and photos in other time zones are offset by other values. To correctly "un-correct" Photo's change of the time value, I'd have to do each timezone separately.

It would helpful too to be able to find the photos not in UTC, so I can identify what work needs to be done. (My Photos database spans many decades.) I figure the easiest way out is to expand the filter options in smart albums.

Too many "products" to enumerate

Posted on Jul 15, 2018 9:52 AM

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Answer 1

léonie

Level 10

197,321 points

Jul 15, 2018 2:47 PM in response to edsappleproblems

You are welcome to post feature requests in these forums. This is within the bounds of the terms of use (https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-5952)

See the rule 2.3:

2.3: Post constructive comments and questions. Unless otherwise noted, your Submission should either be a technical support question or a technical support answer. Constructive feedback about product features is welcome as well. If your Submission contains the phrase "Im sorry for the rant, but…" you are likely in violation of this policy.

Apple invites us to post constructive feedback. It is just not guaranteed that the developer team will read each and every contribution. The feedback form is a safer way to communicate feature requests.

In closing, I agree that entering the photos with the correct time stamp is the best start. Besides the "bug" I just found (my camera was configured for UTC but the import set the photos to EDT), I've been managing photos since before times zones were a settable value so I have lots of legacy. (Mind you, times prior to the digital era are estimates, etc., so my need to fix is really only for the last 10-15 years or so.)

It depends on your camera model and the way you import the photos, if Photos will be able to read the timezone from the camera. With my Canon 5D Mk II I got a different timezone on importing, if I connected the camera for import and read the card in the camera than when I used a card reader. If Photos cannot read the timezone from the camera, it will either use the time zone of the embedded GPS location, and if the photos do not have GPS the current system time time zone.

When I want to set the timezone of a photo to UTC; I set the closest city to a city in Iceland, for example Reykjavík. Iceland does not have daylight saving time. If I picked GMT (London) time, Photos would apply the daylight saving time.

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Answer 2

Jul 15, 2018 11:23 AM in response to edsappleproblems

You can let Apple know at: Feedback - Photos - Apple

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Answer 3

léonie

Level 10

197,321 points

Jul 15, 2018 12:19 PM in response to edsappleproblems

I would like to be able to have a smart album filter based on the timezone of a photo. Not date range, not location, just the timezone. (Question: can this be done?)

It is not even possible to to retrieve the timezone using an Apple Script. The date and time of a photo are returned as a date object, and that does not have a timezone tag. Withe Photos it is best to ensure that photos have a well defined timezone right on import. You could use the time zone of the location where the photo has been taken, or use summarily UTC for all photos. I add a keyword with the time zone name, when I import photos, so I can search for them in a smart album.

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Answer 4

Jul 15, 2018 2:24 PM in response to léonie

I knew/know there wouldn't be a quick fix to this. I've been obsessing with Time since a trip in 2008 where I used multiple cameras and tried to put all the pictures into one folder. Over time I've seen bugs in how camera manufacturers stamp still and video images and how photo manager applications mishandle timezones and try to use location information to adjust a photo's time. (The latter is what has pushed me once more over the edge.)

After posting, I found that even though all my photos have "EDT" reported by Photos, photos are really in EDT or EST depending on the date taken. I.e., when "slamming" them into UTC, I need to adjust by 4 or 5 hours, depending on daylight savings time.

I went over my camera once again and noticed that I had it set to London/No Daylight Savings time - which raises the question of why Photos stamps my photos with EDT. (I live there, maybe that's from the system setting.) This has increased, rather than decreased my level of satisfaction. (I don't blame Photos for camera bugs, but some more features might help treat the problem.)

I have gone through some photo sets that crossed time zones, different cameras (models and manufactures) and have been able to get Photos to show the pictures in the correct order. That involved setting the time to UTC and the time value to the time in UTC, despite locations showing where I was. Outside of a few "how did that time get stamped" related only to phones (apple and samsung too), this worked out. So, I am hopeful this can be worked out.

This problem is a candle burning at both ends. Cameras are buggy in stamping images, not to mention clock drift. Photo managers then mangle the time data in ways that I still haven't reverse engineered. I'm spending way too much time on time.

It would be helpful if Photos did this:

1) In the info box, show the timezone (instead of having to pull up Adjust date and time).

2) Allow filtering based on the timezone.

3) Allow setting the timezone without fudging the time value.

Given the daylight savings time issues with some time zones, the last feature would be most helpful for me.

In closing, I agree that entering the photos with the correct time stamp is the best start. Besides the "bug" I just found (my camera was configured for UTC but the import set the photos to EDT), I've been managing photos since before times zones were a settable value so I have lots of legacy. (Mind you, times prior to the digital era are estimates, etc., so my need to fix is really only for the last 10-15 years or so.)

And for me the problem is significant because I've travelled (mostly for work) excessively for many years, carrying multiple cameras, wearing a lot of snap-and-shoots out, with a lot of time zone crossing as well as collecting co-travelers' photos from time to time. That's why this is a big deal for me, even if it's a edge case in the realm of photography.

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