File Naming convention for the G7

Guy Parsons wrote:

tnphoto wrote:

That didn't work on my Panny GX7. I renamed 130_PANA on my Mac, then formatted the card in the camera and shot another image. The folder renamed itself to 130_PANA.

A long time since I fiddled with my LX3 but I did find then there was no easy way except the method on my page http://homepages.ihug.com.au/~parsog/panasonic/24-fileno.html

From vague memory it had to have all the intervening folders present before it would make a new folder with a higher number. It always involved taking a shot then renaming the shot on the card in the camera to xxxx0999, then take another shot to force the creation of a new folder, then rename that shot to xxxx0999 and take another shot and so on.

Of course since then there may have been additions to the file handling firmware, is there some menu item to create a new folder on the card?

Aha! Found it! On my LX3 there is a No. Reset item in the Setup menu, this makes the next shot taken be 0001 and creates a new folder for it. All Panasonic have this menu item. Ignorant me, I could have used that years ago when I wrote that page.

So here's the real way to increase folder numbers properly up to where you need them.

1. Freshly formatted card in and take one shot (that should preserve the folder number).
2. Setup Menu - No. Reset - Yes - OK
3. Take a shot, a new higher number folder is created.
4. Go back to step 2 and keep looping until the folder number is up where you need it.

So it's still not easy, but easier than my page on the LX3, that needs a re-write.

If you do step 2 on the freshly formatted card without a shot on it then the file system goes back to 100-0001, - well, it does on my LX3.

To see the folder number created then review the shot and see on the right the number during this exercise ..... 101-0001, next would be 102-0001, then 103-0001 as you keep looping the above instructions.

Now dammit, I have to take my LX3 back to 109-0001 as I reset the whole darn file numbering during this try.

Summary - thank heavens I use Olympus, they have file numbering and naming sorted nicely. Panasonic is a bit primitive in that regard, sorry folks.

Regards.... Guy

It is not that hard Guy.

I just set my cameras up very easily.  I have not done it for a while and so the exact mechnanism fails my memory.  I will have to put the card into another computer not an iPad and check.  Will post the real deal up later when I can re-check the way the cards are numbered on computer.

If I am right all you have to do is have a file number there that can be altered.  I am not sure if you have to change the folder number and the file number, maybe so.  But in any case only the first digit needs to be changed and no resetting necessary.  I generally clear all my images off the card first and use a test shot as the number I change, but I don't think it absolutley necessary.

The only time I have had to wrestle with it was when the numbering system went crazy when I had been using multiple cards with the same camera.  I think I ended up resetting the numbering first with my chosen card in computer before I could get the new numbering system "to stick".

New camera new card has been very easy.

Once set and the same card dedicated to the camera it just chunkles away happily following the new numbering.

Not as easy as the Olympus (and the Ricoh GR which allows firmware controlled sequence numbering as well). But it is not hard either once you know the handshake.