File Numbering

[GadgetGuy]

Maybe the MA2 behaves differently from every drone, DSLR, point & shoot camera and phone camera I have taken images with ........but.........with the mini and the fly app the attached is what I see.

The first attachment shows the numbers continuing in the original sequence when a brand new card is inserted in the mini. In the second attachment you can see that the naming continued from where it had reached when recording images on the new card when the old card was put bad in the mini.

Likewise, every drone, DSLR, point & shoot camera and phone camera I have taken images with behaves/behaved as shown, i.e. in 'contiuous mode', whether that is the only naming mode available or the default mode or the selected mode, the camera records the new image with a name whose number is equal to the number of the previous image...... +1..... UNLESS there is an image on the memory card, in the relevant folder, with a number in its name that is higher than the existing 'counter' number of the camera.

Yes the camera obviously checks the names of images in the relevant folder on the memory card and changes its naming scheme accordingly if that is required but it increases the nu.

I have fallen foul of the latter on a couple of occasions when I have put the wrong card in the camera and the "wrong" card contained a higher numbered image.

It does behave differently than every other drone, except the Autel Evo, which is another drone that stupidly does the exact same thing! Why is DJI going backwards, and now copying Autel? I'm hoping it is a bug that they will eventually fix with the Fly app by giving us a continuous file naming option..

 

[Deleted member 103366]

ok

 

[eEridani]

All of my Canon cameras respect that two images with the same name is a bad idea; thus they retain the file number sequence between card formats. My better cameras even have the ability to choose my own numbering system.

It isn't rocket science.

 

[ggmeyer]

Before you copy the files from the SD card , use Infanview ( free) to batch rename (and move ) based on EXIF date/time. That way all files will be named uniquely

 

[GadgetGuy]

Before you copy the files from the SD card , use Infanview ( free) to batch rename (and move ) based on EXIF date/time. That way all files will be named uniquely

Yes, workarounds exist to solve the problem. However, the sequential file naming that the Go 4 app uses retains the file numbering sequence last used in the drone and increments from there automatically. Makes it easy to see what order images on different cards were taken by simply looking at original file names.

 

[Meta4]

the sequential file naming that the Go 4 app uses retains the file numbering sequence last used in the drone and increments from there automatically.

For DJI Fly using drones, if you format the SD card in the computer after copying the files, the file numbering sequence will continue.
But if you format the card in the drone, it will revert to 001.

 

[GadgetGuy]

For DJI Fly using drones, if you format the SD card in the computer after copying the files, the file numbering sequence will continue.
But if you format the card in the drone, it will revert to 001.

Thanks for the solution! Wish I'd known this earlier!

 

[Tentoes]

I don't reformat the card. Just empty the folder.

 

[GadgetGuy]

I don't reformat the card. Just empty the folder.

Indeed! Wish I'd known this solution when the Fly app first came out.
Thanks for sharing it.

 

[siteguy]

It would be unique to DJI (or possibly some other camera maker) to keep a non-picture file on the card to get the number from.
The standard - which just about everyone follows is
1. A folder in the root named "DCIM" (digital camera IMages)
2. Sub folders within that named by the camera maker, with a maximum of 500 files per folder.
3. 8.3 file names, a manufacturer-set 4 character prefix (some cameras let the user change it) and a 4 digit number.
4. Each new file should go into the newest sub-folder, and be the highest number in the folder.
5. If there is no DCIM folder, or it contains no files matching the cameras naming convention, the camera can either start from 0 or remember the last number and start from there (again this is usually an option for the user).

It makes no difference where the card is formatted, provided everything that uses it supports the filesystem settings being used. Deleting files doesn't free up space immediately, but marks space which can be reclaimed later. For lots of files it is quicker to format, and all the card is "free space" which is preferable to having to reclaim space for most new creates (and with video, as the file gets larger). So generally "format" is preferred to "delete all", and something which relied on "delete all" AND didn't keep the numbering going on a new card would be a poor way to do it.

Being on Windows I often have to use PowerShell to replace the prefix on files or add to/subtract from the camera generated number.

I am confused about the DJI "File number" reset behavior. I know on continuous, the file number increments until 999 and then creates a new folder, but on reset, here is what happened to me. I inserted a formatted sd card, flew the drone and took 116 photos. I landed the drone and changed batteries. (Obviously, the drone shutdown.) I then closed DJI GO app and opened Dronedeploy. Took off and captured some 200 additional photos in DD. When I put the card in my computer, the files went from 1 to 200 (all the drone deploy shots) , but the first 116 photos were gone. Did the battery swap trigger the naming reset (and over writing of the first set of photos) or was it changing to Drone Deploy? I thought only a newly formatted card would trigger a reset. (Note I was able to use a file recover program to recover the 116 overwritten photos, but this could have been a disaster since the job was over an hour away. ) Thanks

 

[GadgetGuy]

I am confused about the DJI "File number" reset behavior. I know on continuous, the file number increments until 999 and then creates a new folder, but on reset, here is what happened to me. I inserted a formatted sd card, flew the drone and took 116 photos. I landed the drone and changed batteries. (Obviously, the drone shutdown.) I then closed DJI GO app and opened Dronedeploy. Took off and captured some 200 additional photos in DD. When I put the card in my computer, the files went from 1 to 200 (all the drone deploy shots) , but the first 116 photos were gone. Did the battery swap trigger the naming reset (and over writing of the first set of photos) or was it changing to Drone Deploy? I thought only a newly formatted card would trigger a reset. (Note I was able to use a file recover program to recover the 116 overwritten photos, but this could have been a disaster since the job was over an hour away. ) Thanks

File numbering interactions between GO and Drone Deploy are unpredictable. I would never use the same card after changing apps for this exact reason.

Best practices also dictates always changing cards every time you change batteries, even if not switching apps, which prevents losing already shot footage should the drone become unrecoverable. You were very lucky not to have lost the prior footage. Lessons learned.