Please Fix This Nikon: no Sequence Number for 'Focus Shift' or Pixel Shift

2024-02-08 • SEND FEEDBACK |
Related: digital sensor, Nikon, Nikon mirrorless, Nikon Z8, Nikon Zf, optical focus shift, pixel shift, please fix this, please fix this camera, please fix this Nikon, true-color sensor or image

re: pixel shift and multi-shot high-res mode
re: Nikon Z8
re: please fix this

re: Nikon Brings Pixel Shift to Nikon Z8 with Firmware v2.00

Nikon Z8

I first reported the Sequence Number problem back in July 2023.
In addition to operation, there is no sequence number with “focus shift” captures, so my automated image organization cannot detect related images. This costs me many hours for my shoots. Sony and Fujifilm include a "Sequence Number" in the EXIF.

The recent firmware update 2.00 for Nikon Z8 has failed to fix this issue.

Nikon NEF lacks Sequence Number in EXIF

View this request at X.com...

If anyone has a Nikon contact, please send them the link to this page. Post it too. Maybe we can get enough attention to get it fixed.

Software tools rely upon EXIF data to do all sorts of useful things. For example, a sequence number for series of images, such as:

• "Focus shift" eg focus bracketing for focus stacking.
• Pixel Shift
• Possibly, any bracketed series or time lapse, etc.

Nikon NEF files lack a Sequence Number and Sequence Length in EXIF.

Nikon NX Studio can figure it out, but it is hidden in some obscure non-standard place so that 3rd-party tools are forced to reverse-engineer what ought to just be there in EXIF.

This is already causing trouble for some 3rd-party software (confirmed!), and not just mine.

My 'img' software to automate grouping of focus stacks and pixel shift series cannot detect Nikon "focus shift" sequences or pixel shift sequences for this reason. This omission creates many hours extra work for me, because I have to manually group image sequences out of hundreds or thousands of frames. Hours to days to tediously sort through thousands of images that otherwise can be done in seconds with software tools.

What should be provided

An explicit Sequence Kind eg pixel shift, focus bracket, exposure bracket, etc would also be a nice touch.

Sony

Sony provides the following in EXIF:

Sequence Number : 1
Sequence Image Number : 1
Sequence Length : 4 shots
Sequence File Number : 1

Fujifilm

Fujifilm provides the following in EXIF:

Sequence Number : 1
Sequence Image Number : 1
Sequence Length : 12 shots
Sequence File Number : 1