File Naming convention for the G7

stokey wrote:

...for those old enough to remember MSDOS.

I grew up on MSDOS, but it's so long now all that ability has faded into oblivion..... still have my MSDOS manuals somewhere.....

On your PC create a batch file "ten.bat" -

md %1%20_PANA

md %1%21_PANA

....

md %1%29_PANA

Create a second batch file "hun.bat" -

call ten %1 0

call ten %1 1

...

call ten %1 9

Type "hun 1" this will create 100 empty folders 100_PANA to 199_PANA, "hun 2" will create folders 200_PANA to 299_PANA and so on.

Copy the two hundred (or three hundred or whatever) empty folders to the DCIM folder on your SD card, put the card in the camera and take a snap, the camera will record the image in whichever folder its internal counter is pointing to. Now go into the setup menu and do a "No. Reset" then take another shot - lo and behold the image is saved in 300_PANA !

You can now re-format the SD card in the camera to get rid of all those unwanted folders, you can even swap cards, the camera will remember whatever you've forced it to.

Believe me it took me longer to type this than to do it.

Bob

Thanks, Bob, that is the most elegant way to do it and means that there's no need for an actual image file in any of the folders.

The main thing is to get the camera to realise that all the folder numbers have been used up already to the point where you need your camera at say 200_PANA or whatever, from then on it knows where it is up to so fresh cards always start at the higher numbers.

Of course if you do the No.Reset at any time then the camera goes back to 100_PANA and starts its life all over again.

For safety and comfort, if you make a huge DCIM set of XXX_PANA folders then keep that structure safe forever and then copy to a work area and delete the top numbers not needed and then copy to a card to "fix" your camera.

When getting organised in separating cameras with different folder number series then remember that Panasonic rolls over folders at 999 and not the more usual 9999 of other cameras. So to separate cameras by a safe 100,000 images then the cameras need to be at 100_PANA, 200_PANA, 300_PANA and so on. If taking lots of timelapse shots then that thinking needs to be revised to maybe separating by 200,000.

The focal plane shutters will collapse by then so that degree of separation only would make sense when using the electronic shutter for timelapse.

Regards..... Guy