[Help] Is there a way to automatically set and keep time synced to the world?

[AlainCh2]

In my two bodies, I have some differences in time...
.... so while shooting both then renaming the resulting files and sorting them...
by to "taken Day Time" result in some confusion.

Manually I can try to set them to a few seconds from each other using the PC world time,
but it's a feat.



Nikon's day time settings don't allow seconds to be taken into account.

( not found an option in the manuals )

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Mid of French/Italian Alps - Hardiness Zone 8A
I Love all Carnivores, I have mostly Red Dioneas.
https://eu.zonerama.com/AlainCH2/1191151

 

[AZ Indie]

In my two bodies, I have some differences in time...
.... so while shooting both then renaming the resulting files and sorting them...
by to "taken Day Time" result in some confusion.

Manually I can try to set them to a few seconds from each other using the PC world time,
but it's a feat.

Nikon's day time settings don't allow seconds to be taken into account.

( not found an option in the manuals )

For stills or video?

For video there's a functionality called time code, which when used with an external device creates either a unique or time/date signal which then can be "jammed" to multiple devices. Tentical Sync is a popular brand that is reasonably priced. In basic use, time code is backed into the files and is used to synchronize multiple camera angles with the external audio tracks.

I'm not sure if that functionality translates into the stills world though.

 

[AlainCh2]

In my two bodies, I have some differences in time...
.... so while shooting both then renaming the resulting files and sorting them...
by to "taken Day Time" result in some confusion.

...

For stills or video?

...

Thanks for answering.

It's the Camera time I'm speaking.

And, yes the files I'm referring to are for STILL pics.

Sorry for the confusing post :-(

 

[AZ Indie]

In my two bodies, I have some differences in time...
.... so while shooting both then renaming the resulting files and sorting them...
by to "taken Day Time" result in some confusion.

...

For stills or video?

...

Thanks for answering.

It's the Camera time I'm speaking.

And, yes the files I'm referring to are for STILL pics.

Sorry for the confusing post :-(

No worries. Evidently you can sync your images in post within Lightroom:

Hope this is what you're trying to accomplish. If not --as in actually syncing the cameras-- someone much smarter than myself will hopefully come along and solve it for you.

Good luck!

 

[Models By Day]

With Snapbridge App , if you connect your camera to the app, it has a time sync setting that updates the time of the camera during the connection

https://nikonimglib.com/snbr/onlinehelp/en/08_master_01.html

However I am not sure how this can be down with 2 cameras at the same time, as the app can only connect with one camera at a time.

If you have two mobile devices ie Phone and Tablet, you could connect one to the phone and the other to the tablet. as long as both devices can sync the the time sync servers.

I just tested this on my camera I changed the time off by 1 hour and then synced with the app and it corrected the time.

Unknown as to what task actually syncs the time, and/or how often the update happens.

 

[michaeladawson]

Link your camera to the Snapbridge app on your phone. Snapbridge will keep the camera's time updated. Or it's supposed to anyway. I haven't confirmed it myself.

 

[Thom Hogan]

In my two bodies, I have some differences in time...
.... so while shooting both then renaming the resulting files and sorting them...
by to "taken Day Time" result in some confusion.

We've been dealing with "time sync" in still cameras since forever. There are brute force and nuanced choices. The question I have is just how close do you need these cameras synced, and for how long?

As some have suggested, you can use SnapBridge to get phone time (which on most phones should really be GPS time) set on each camera. The camera's not likely to drift a second off from that in a session.

The age old brute force method is to photograph a known time source simultaneously as the first image on both cameras, then in post get the internal time differential from the EXIF, then use a batch EXIF tool to adjust camera #2's images.

 

[Barleyman]

Link your camera to the Snapbridge app on your phone. Snapbridge will keep the camera's time updated. Or it's supposed to anyway. I haven't confirmed it myself.

It syncs to my camera, and is very accurate. Not sure the precision the OP is looking for, but I imagine the drift isn't significant on newer bodies.

I just checked my camera and it is within 1 second of actual time. It synced a few days ago with Snapbridge.

 

[AlainCh2]

In my two bodies, I have some differences in time...
.... so while shooting both then renaming the resulting files and sorting them...
by to "taken Day Time" result in some confusion.

We've been dealing with "time sync" in still cameras since forever. There are brute force and nuanced choices. The question I have is just how close do you need these cameras synced, and for how long?

As some have suggested, you can use SnapBridge to get phone time (which on most phones should really be GPS time) set on each camera. The camera's not likely to drift a second off from that in a session.

The age old brute force method is to photograph a known time source simultaneously as the first image on both cameras, then in post get the internal time differential from the EXIF, then use a batch EXIF tool to adjust camera #2's images.

Thanks Thom.
I don't need more than 4-5 seconds,
so as posted by you and other members SnapBridge Sync should be ok for me.

Your idea/method you suggested to resync files
will be used from time to time in the future.

>Take a pic of the phone time, and then redress/rename...
a) will take care of future discrepancies into the PC >after shooting<

b) it will also serve as a warning that a resync will be needed before the next session.

So I suppose there is no way ....
...the camera will automatically recognize and switch to Winter/Sumer time :-(
Whattapity

If later on ...
a huge time gap will open between the two bodies I will report back in this thread.

( no idea how much the clocks disagree with each other in a month )

--
___.............................!............................ ___
Mid of French/Italian Alps - Hardiness Zone 8A
I Love all Carnivores, I have mostly Red Dioneas.
https://eu.zonerama.com/AlainCH2/1191151

 

[j_photo]

I don't think anyone in this thread has yet mentioned that there is a setting in Nikon Transfer 2 to sync the camera clock to computer time when the camera is connected by usb cable. I've never tried it. But it sounds pretty easy.

For myself, before an important shoot, I just manually sync the camera clocks using the set time menu function. That gets me within a second, and is close enough for my needs.

It does surprise me how quickly my cameras drift apart. In a month or two they can be off by many seconds.

 

[shuncheung]

In my two bodies, I have some differences in time...
.... so while shooting both then renaming the resulting files and sorting them...
by to "taken Day Time" result in some confusion.

Manually I can try to set them to a few seconds from each other using the PC world time,
but it's a feat.

Nikon's day time settings don't allow seconds to be taken into account.

Your profile lists the Z30 and Zf. As a lot of people have mentioned, SnapBridge is one way. On the Z9, I just use the GPS to sync the clock. For those bodies without a built-in GPS, you can use an external GPS. I do that with my Z8.

 

[AlainCh2]

I don't think anyone in this thread has yet mentioned that there is a setting in Nikon Transfer 2 to sync the camera clock to computer time when the camera is connected by usb cable. I've never tried it. But it sounds pretty easy.

For myself, before an important shoot, I just manually sync the camera clocks using the set time menu function. That gets me within a second, and is close enough for my needs.

It does surprise me how quickly my cameras drift apart. In a month or two they can be off by many seconds.

Thanks!!

Yes, I forgot it!
I used it once, time ago. But I never use any more Transfer.

Direct USB transfer is automatically in charge of DropBox,
who provide to rename all the files in a more sensible YMD HMS format :-D

( copying directly on the local disk, and then up to the cloud without interventions )

 

[shuncheung]

For myself, before an important shoot, I just manually sync the camera clocks using the set time menu function. That gets me within a second, and is close enough for my needs.

It does surprise me how quickly my cameras drift apart. In a month or two they can be off by many seconds.

When I received my Z8 in mid November, I attached a Nikon GP-1A to sync its clock with the GPS. That was about two months ago. I just checked its clock against that on a Z9, which gets sync frequently with its built-in GPS. They were off by about 5, 6 seconds. I just re-sync that Z8 with the GP-1A.

 

[rumple]

When I received my Z8 in mid November, I attached a Nikon GP-1A to sync its clock with the GPS.

For the OP: just sync each body this way, or from snapbridge, or from Nikon Transfer, before your shoot. The bodies will be close enough for at least the duration of the shoot.

Much faster, easier and more accurate than doing it manually, which also works.

 

[GeoffRG]

I don't think anyone in this thread has yet mentioned that there is a setting in Nikon Transfer 2 to sync the camera clock to computer time when the camera is connected by usb cable. I've never tried it. But it sounds pretty easy.

For myself, before an important shoot, I just manually sync the camera clocks using the set time menu function. That gets me within a second, and is close enough for my needs.

It does surprise me how quickly my cameras drift apart. In a month or two they can be off by many seconds.

Whilst that works well it isn’t perfect; most computers automatically switch daylight saving on or off as appropriate but I keep my cameras on Zulu (GMT or UTC as you prefer). Additionally, if one crosses time zones the computer might adjust its clock accordingly, the same applies if using SnapBridge with a phone. This might mean that computer/phone and camera time differ. With multiple cameras syncing with SnapBridge will require connecting the cameras to the phone regularly if crossing several time zones. GPS would be best if possible.

 

[Ellis Vener]

In my two bodies, I have some differences in time...
.... so while shooting both then renaming the resulting files and sorting them...
by to "taken Day Time" result in some confusion.

...

For stills or video?

...

Thanks for answering.

It's the Camera time I'm speaking.

And, yes the files I'm referring to are for STILL pics.

Sorry for the confusing post :-(

When I need to set the time for a camera I do it manually with my eye on a clock I know is accurate. I do it as the second counter or hand go from 59 to 0.



With two cameras I wait to do the second one for the next minute change.

 

[PLShutterbug]

I don't think anyone in this thread has yet mentioned that there is a setting in Nikon Transfer 2 to sync the camera clock to computer time when the camera is connected by usb cable. I've never tried it. But it sounds pretty easy.

For myself, before an important shoot, I just manually sync the camera clocks using the set time menu function. That gets me within a second, and is close enough for my needs.

It does surprise me how quickly my cameras drift apart. In a month or two they can be off by many seconds.

Thanks!!
Yes, I forgot it!
I used it once, time ago. But I never use any more Transfer.

Direct USB transfer is automatically in charge of DropBox,
who provide to rename all the files in a more sensible YMD HMS format :-D

( copying directly on the local disk, and then up to the cloud without interventions )

I remembered that Nikon Transfer can sync the camera to the computer's time this morning, but just now had a chance to test it.

I found that it was spotty whether my Z7 and Z8 would automatically sync when plugged in. However, once plugged in and Transfer recognizes the camera, in the Preferences tab there is a Synchronize button you can use to force a sync. I think this is simplest and most reliable. Just plug in camera 1, wait for it to be recognized, sync it, unplug; rinse and repeat for each camera. After doing this I found the two cameras were exactly the same when I displayed the time screen on each camera's monitor. I could watch the seconds tick by in lockstep.

If you have 15 cameras to sync this would be tedious. But for 2-5 it's doable. It takes about 30 seconds per camera.

 

[Thom Hogan]

I remembered that Nikon Transfer can sync the camera to the computer's time this morning, but just now had a chance to test it.

This reminded me that Nikon Camera Control Pro also has a sync time/date function. However, this also led me to now notice that CCP doesn't yet support the Zf. Way to go Nikon.

 

[michaeladawson]

As evidenced in this thread, there are a number of ways one can use to get the time on the camera to be synced properly.

What annoys me with Nikon though, is the complication of Daylight Saving Time. Unfortunately, not every region/state/country implements DST, or does so on the same cut-over dates. I suppose Nikon doesn't want to take up room in the camera for storing this information. I always hate being halfway into April or May and realizing that my camera time is an hour off.

 

[sirhawkeye64]

In my two bodies, I have some differences in time...
.... so while shooting both then renaming the resulting files and sorting them...
by to "taken Day Time" result in some confusion.

Manually I can try to set them to a few seconds from each other using the PC world time,
but it's a feat.

Nikon's day time settings don't allow seconds to be taken into account.

( not found an option in the manuals )

About the only way I can think of (which may be a hit or miss) is to use SnapBridge periodically to sync the camera's time as this will usually be based on the smart device or the location or both (it may not necessarily change the time zone but it should keep the time up to date).

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