How can I change the image counter on my Canon Sx240?

Question

I use one monthly folder. My image counter was about 2300 (after a full loop... when will they use 5 digits?). When inserting my SD card to another Canon and back to mine, the image counter is now about 8000, in a new folder for the same month. Even after deleting the new images, folder, and .CFG file, my camera won't restore to the previous numbering.

What should I do?

I don't want to reformat my huge memory card. The issue in large number jump is the early recycling of image numbers, once copied to my computer. If one thematic folder happened to already host an older image with that number, this image will be destroyed and replaced, which is really bad. Plus, the incorrect ordering. (I already suffered a normal cycling once). I can't change the fact that Canon set none-unique (e.g. date based) or not-long (5-9 digits) numbers, so the only thing I can do is to have numbering progressing slowly. A jump of 5700 over 9900 is clearly not that way.

Answer 1

What should I do?

Reconsider your file naming scheme. The only thing you should be depending on the camera to do is put each image in a different file on the card. Expecting it to maintain state for you between cards is unreasonable and will, as you discovered, break in ways you don't want it to.

The EXIF data produced by most cameras provides a number of things you can use to name your files uniquely without regard to how the camera named them on the card. For example, every digital photo I've ever shot (16 years' worth) is stored in a directory tree using the format YYYY/MM/DD/hhmmss-nnn.eee, where the groups of letters are year, month, day, hour, minute, second, copy number and file extension:

YYYY MM DD hhmmss nnn eee
2015/12/20/084519-000.nef
2015/12/20/085138-000.nef  <-- These two frames were shot
2015/12/20/085138-001.nef  <-- during the same second
2015/12/20/085726-000.nef

Everything in the names except the copy number is derived from the image's EXIF information and none of it comes from the name of the file as the camera wrote it to the card. The copy numbers are determined by file uniqueness, so two unique images shot within the same second will have unique names. (It also means that if I import the same picture more than once, it will only ever be stored once.)

Just about everything in the process of copying the files from your card to the directory tree as described above can be done with a single invocation of EXIFTool. The exception is unique file detection, which I do in custom software.

Answer 2

You ask 'What should I do? and I would say that you should... do nothing. Don't worry about it. There's nothing important about the number selected, and no harm in it having jumped to a larger value.

But that said, if you really want the numbering to reset, take a look at the File Numbering option in the menu (see page 191 of your manual). Change it to "Auto Reset", and the next time you format your card, it'll go back to zero. If you then want to continue from there without resetting again, simply put the T back to "Continuous".

I haven't tried it, but I expect that if, once you've reset and then changed back to continuous, if you copy one of your photos with a higher number back to the card and take a shot, it will continue from there.

But, going back to my first point, I think relying on the camera's naming just isn't best practice. You say ". I can't change the fact that Canon set none-unique (e.g. date based) or not-long (5-9 digits) numbers, so the only thing I can do is to have numbering progressing slowly." But actually, there is something you can do: rename the photos as you import them, with a scheme based on the date and time. There are many, many programs that do this. I use ExifTool as part of a script which copies images from my memory cards, but there are many others.

I recommend this because, as you note, 4 digits isn't really that many, and keeping the files with their original short names just seems like a problem waiting to happen someday in the future.

Answer 3

One method I used on my Canon 60D is, if i want to shift the counter to DSC1001.JPEG from any lower or higher current counter:

Take one memory card, Put it into Camera, format, take one photo, put card in laptop card reader, rename the photo to DSC1000.JPEG i.e. one before the desired number, put card back in camera, shoot one photo and it will be DSC1001

Answer 4

Ok, here is a working solution:

• On the regular SD card, renum & displace (or delete) the images with jumped numbers, delete their abnormal directory, and possibly its corresponding CFG file in CANONMSC.

• Insert in your camera an unused spared SD card. Set numbering pref to auto-reset in your camera, and format the card. Possibly, take on picture to be sure to reset your camera internal counter. Then re-set the numbering flag to continuous numbering if you wish.

• Now when you reinsert your regular card, numbering should resume to its normal sequence.

Note that this also suggests, when borrowing someone else camera, to first use it to reformat (the way above) a spare SD card to avoid the problem. And possibly, to do the same thing after your use of the camera, to not scramble you friend sequence on his ordinary SD. (i.e. reseting the internal camera counter again, so that it restart freshly with the highest number found on the next entered card).

(thanks to people here for inspiring discussion !)