EXIF Data and Film Cameras?

I thought occurred to me, a question that needed to be asked, as I was looking at a recent thread where the OP praises the virtues of film.

I hadn't really paid that much detailed attention to the challenge rules, but was aware that the use of a Nikon camera is called for, as well as EXIF data being available.

I see that in the most recent challenge, the first rule is written as follows…


It looks like my question is already answered, but I thought I should ask, anyway, just in case it ever comes up, just so that it's clear.

If, one week, instead of using my modern DSLR, I decided to dig up my old F2, and run a roll of film through it, and with that, come up with a picture that I wanted to enter in a challenge, there would be no EXIF data at all from the camera. Any EXIF data present would have come later, in the scanning and editing. You'd have to take my word for it that I used a Nikon camera to take the picture, and that I took it during the challenge period. This would seem to violate the requirement that “Photos must…appear in the thread with EXIF info in order to be considered for the challenge.”, but it appears that this would be covered under the part which states that “If the forum EXIF viewer does not show for any reason, listing the camera and capture date/time below the photo is acceptable.”

So, just to be clear: If I were to take a picture using a Nikon film camera, during the period of a particular challenge, get that film processed, during that time, and scan the resulting image, would this be an acceptable entry? What information would I need to provide, in lieu of the nonexistent EXIF data? How accurately would I need to know the date/time? What if I bought a roll of film early that week, shot that film over the course of several days, got it processed, and found, before the week was over, a picture that I wanted to enter in a challenge, not knowing with anything more than a few days' precision just when I had taken that picture?

Bob Blaylock said:

I thought occurred to me, a question that needed to be asked, as I was looking at a recent thread where the OP praises the virtues of film.

I hadn't really paid that much detailed attention to the challenge rules, but was aware that the use of a Nikon camera is called for, as well as EXIF data being available.

I see that in the most recent challenge, the first rule is written as follows…

1. Photos must be captured with a Nikon and appear in the thread with EXIF info in order to be considered for the challenge. If the forum EXIF viewer does not show for any reason, listing the camera and capture date/time below the photo is acceptable. Listing exposure info, lens & focal length is encouraged so others can learn.

​

It looks like my question is already answered, but I thought I should ask, anyway, just in case it ever comes up, just so that it's clear.

If, one week, instead of using my modern DSLR, I decided to dig up my old F2, and run a roll of film through it, and with that, come up with a picture that I wanted to enter in a challenge, there would be no EXIF data at all from the camera. Any EXIF data present would have come later, in the scanning and editing. You'd have to take my word for it that I used a Nikon camera to take the picture, and that I took it during the challenge period. This would seem to violate the requirement that “Photos must…appear in the thread with EXIF info in order to be considered for the challenge.”, but it appears that this would be covered under the part which states that “If the forum EXIF viewer does not show for any reason, listing the camera and capture date/time below the photo is acceptable.”

So, just to be clear: If I were to take a picture using a Nikon film camera, during the period of a particular challenge, get that film processed, during that time, and scan the resulting image, would this be an acceptable entry? What information would I need to provide, in lieu of the nonexistent EXIF data? How accurately would I need to know the date/time? What if I bought a roll of film early that week, shot that film over the course of several days, got it processed, and found, before the week was over, a picture that I wanted to enter in a challenge, not knowing with anything more than a few days' precision just when I had taken that picture?

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It's not a big deal really. we go by the honor system if Exif Data is not available. If you lie and can sleep with yourself at night, knock yourself out.

Like Pete said, there's no cash prizes or equivalent, so not much motivation to misrepresent when a photo was taken or the settings used. The general idea on the EXIF data is so that others can see how it was done and learn from that.

Film would probably be tough to shoot/process/post in the weekly time window, but not impossible. In the context of sharing and learning, as long as you are comfortable that it was done in the timeframe dictated by the challenge, post it up with the listing of settings (ISO, shutter speed, aperture, plus any lens/body info that would be helpful) and it will count.