ASP3 Fails to read some metadata

[drgrumpy]

Seems like metadata is pretty broken:

To reproduce:
Add metadata to .dng file in photoshop/bridge, or with exiftools or geeqie. Data is def. embedded in the dng file. Open filed in ASP - missing headline, description, keywords.

Try to manually merge: edit settings merge external
still missing.

I am desparate to abandon bridge/ps, but failure to handle metadata is a real deal breaker for me.

[tomshopping]

I’m going to tag on to this post with a similar problem with EXIF tags in JPGs.

Background: Evaluating ASP3 with the trial license for one day thus far; barely scratched the surface. Imported nothing into a library, just working directly with the files. Photos taken with a Canon EOS 80D. Windows 7 Pro x64 with plenty of resources (e.g. i7 with 12GB RAM, etc.), ASP3 fully up to date (version 3.0.0.0.126); a few of the free plug-ins installed… I have both JPG and raw (CR2) files, but I’ve run into an immediate issue with the JPGs and haven’t done much with the raws.

Symptom: It seems pretty causal: any JPG photo rotated in another program will not have its EXIF metadata (e.g. Model, ISO, Shutter, Aperture, Exposure) read properly by ASP3. IPTC metadata (caption, keywords, etc.) applied by another program however is read fine. I’ve used Windows Explorer, Windows Live Photo Gallery 12, and IrfranView x64 v4.42 in non-destructive edit mode for the rotations. ASP3 shows all EXIF fields as blank in the rotated files. The other programs can still read the EXIF tags fine. EXIF data in untouched, non-rotated files are read fine by ASP3. If I edit a JPG with "blank" EXIF fields in ASP3 and export it, the metadata is rewritten as blank in the resulting file and the other programs no longer see it. Makes sense, as ASP3 didn’t read it to start, there’s nothing to export. So it seems it's not being read, not that it isn't being displayed, by ASP3.

I also noticed the problem today with one of my cropped images, so it may be any edits with the programs above. Those programs apparently rewrite the metadata after an edit in a way that ASP3 doesn’t like. I edited the date field on some other pictures with ExifTool, and ASP3 was fine with that, so perhaps not all programs cause an issue. I can also copy the EXIF tags from a “good” file to one edited in ASP3 now missing its EXIF data via ExifTool, and ASP3 can read them fine again. However, for the ones already rotated without a backup—and that's a lot of mine—that metadata is “gone” from ASP3’s perspective.

Whether it is their problem or ASP3’s I don’t know, but given I’m on a trial license, and proper handling of metadata is critical to me, I don’t have much time to troubleshoot or wade through possible finger-pointing. Even if Microsoft and IrfanView are doing things slightly non-standard or making assumptions about offsets or padding or whatever different than ASP3, they meet my needs for tagging, organization, and basic JPG edits as they don’t have any issue at all reading the tags. My primary use case for evaluating ASP3 is editing the CR2 raws and hopefully consolidating Windows Gallery and Canon DPP4 workflows into a single program--but I won't have confidence to get there if it seems like there's metadata handling issues.

Thank you.

[tomshopping]

Not that I was expecting a change since it wasn't in the release notes, but just confirming that there is no observed improvement in metadata handling in ASP3 Patch 1.

Can Corel please comment/increase focus on this now that the pink hue issue was addressed?

Thank you.

[tomshopping]

Update: this issue is not limited to my EOS 80D; it also occurs with photos from a Canon G1X.

The common theme is the photos were edited or rotated somewhere (Windows Live Photo Gallery or IrfanView typically). If they were, ASP3 can’t read the EXIF, otherwise no issues.

I’m posting this in hopes that it helps others—maybe the Corel community can post whether they’ve seen this problem or not to help future customers or Corel troubleshoot the problem.

I did open a tech support ticket as well, and that was thoroughly unproductive.

As for me, I’m pretty much done with ASP3. I was evaluating it on a trial license, and I have now verified that neither Capture One Pro nor DxO Optics Pro have any problems whatsoever with these images, nor do the Microsoft products or IrfanView. I’m sure the other photo editors I’m looking at will handle the EXIF data fine as well. Clearly this is Corel’s problem, and unfortunately I have no confidence to purchase ASP3 at this point.

[grubernd]

please keep in mind that ASP (Bibble) was designed as an editor for unaltered raw files.
it can do other things now, too, but that is not it's main purpose.

also metadata blocks in images are pure hell when it comes to compatibility and debugging.
it's not a hard standard, it is more like a set of recommendations.
less "here's the one recipe for CocaCola" it is more like "for a burger use some ground beef.
but chicken is also nice. even carrots will do. we will add a pickle, if you dont like it just throw it out."
and so on.

although others consider re-writing their original files as the Bestthingever™ i consider it the worst idea.

anyway, send some of your mangled files to Corel, describe *exactly* what you are missing and hope for the best.