Back to my homepage – Hans-Georg Michna
Changing the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZx and DMC-TZx Picture Counter
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ1, Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ2, Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ3, Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ5, Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ7, Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ10, Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ20, and other digital cameras count the picture file names upwards, first from P1000001.JPG to somewhere around P1000900.JPG. Then they create a new folder, next to U:/DCIM/100_PANA/ they automatically create a U:/DCIM/101_PANA/ and fill it with picture files beginning with P1010001.JPG. (Your memory module's drive letter may not be U:. It may be D:, or E:, or any letter.)
The camera has a function to reset the picture counter, but that picture only resets the last three digits. The camera never wants to forget the first three digits, the ones that correspond to the folder.
However, you may wish to influence that first counter. For example, you may have bought a used camera and want to reset that counter to 100, or you may want to synchronize the counter with the actual year if you take less than some 900 photos per year.
I've tried removing the battery from the camera for three days, but the camera never forgets. It seems to have another, internal buffer battery that also serves to keep the camera's clock running.
Then I read about an ingenious method to change the counter upwards and even downwards. It seems that the camera always looks for the highest numbered file in the folder and adds one for any new picture you take. When the highest numbered file reaches somewhere near 900, the camera automatically creates the next higher folder and resets the last three digits of the picture file name to 001.
We can exploit this behavior to influence the camera's counting.
Before you begin, charge the camera's battery or use external power. It may not be a good idea to shut down the camera in the middle of the procedures described below.
If you want to reduce the folder counter, keep reading. If you only want to increase the counter, skip to the next chapter.
Here's what I did with full success on a Windows XP computer. Note that you probably need a memory module with at least 16 MB, otherwise you have to work with a smaller number of folders and do the procedure in several steps.
| 0. | Before you begin, copy all valuable pictures out of the memory module, format it in the camera (use the menu and select the format command), then take one photo. |
| 1a. | Open a command line window (run cmd), navigate to the DCIM folder. Example
with U to be replaced by the drive letter of your memory module in the camera:
Then enter the following command:
If you want put this command into a batch file and execute it from there, you have to double each percent sign, i.e.: for /L %%a in (100, 1, 999) do md %%a_PANA Actually you need only the folders with numbers above your last one, but the others don't hurt, so don't bother to change the first number. This works in Windows NT, 2000, XP, 2003, but not in Windows 98 and probably not in Windows ME either. |
| 1b1. | Alternatively, using Visual Basic Script (using the Windows Scripting
Host), copy the following text into a text file named: MakeFolders.vbs If Msgbox("Click on OK to create folders.", _ vbOkCancel, "Start message") = vbOk Then Set fsO = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject") For i = 999 To 100 Step -1 fsO.CreateFolder i & "_PANA" Next End If If you don't need the start message, you can use the even shorter program: Set fsO = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject") |
| 1b2. | Copy this file into the DCIM folder on the memory module in the camera. |
| 1b3. | Double-click on it or select it and press return, then wait until you
get an error message (file or folder already exists) when it hits your last
existing folder. Be sure to double-click or press return only once, the program
runs invisibly (except for wscript.exe showing up among the processes in Task
Manager and the folders actually showing up on the memory module). It takes
a few minutes (with very low processor load). There you have your folders
up to 999_PANA. If you get an error message immediately, saying that this file type is not known, then you don't have the Windows Scripting Host installed and either have to install it or use another method to create the folders, like a long batch file that you can create almost automatically in Excel, for example. |
| 2. | Go into the folder on your memory module in which your last picture resides. Rename that picture and change the last three digits of the file name before .JPG to 999. (Example: P1050999.JPG). You may also copy any picture file and rename the copy if you prefer. |
| 3. | Click on the safe hardware removal icon in the system tray (lower right) and select the camera to remove it. Then unplug the camera and take one picture. |
| 4. | Switch the camera to picture review mode (green icon) and wait again. (By the way, after the wait you can already see the new number on the camera's display if the display mode is set to display the picture number. It should be 100-0001.) |
| 5. | Make sure you have no valuable pictures still in the camera, then format the card in the camera. (Menu button, up, right, left, down). |
Note that it is not necessary, contrary to some earlier statements, to create a picture file one number higher than the actual one. One that ends with 999.JPG is enough.
If going back to 100_PANA and P1000001.JPG was more (or less, rather) than you wanted, keep reading and increase the counter with the following procedure.
If you have any valuable pictures on the memory modules, copy them out.
| 1. | Go into the folder on your memory module in which your last picture resides. Rename that picture and change the last three digits of the file name before .JPG to 999. (Example: P1000999.JPG) |
| 2. | Create additional folders in a sequence without gaps. Example: 101_PANA,
102_PANA, etc. But do not create the folder you really want. Stop short before
it. For example, if you really want 104_PANA then create the folders between your current one and 104. (Example: 101_PANA, 102_PANA, and 103_PANA) But do not create 104_PANA, because the camera will create 104_PANA automatically. |
| 3. | Click on the safe hardware removal icon in the system tray (lower right) and select the camera to remove it. Then unplug the camera and take one picture. |
| 4. | Switch the camera to picture review mode (green icon). (By the way, you can now already see the new number on the camera's display if the display mode is set to display the picture number. It should be 104-0001 in our example.) |
| 5. | Make sure you have no valuable pictures still in the camera, then format the card in the camera. (Menu button, up, right, left, down). |
If you want to advance the last three digits, just rename (or copy and rename) any picture in the memory module and give it the desired filename minus 1. The next picture will get the desired number. For example, if you have only P1040001.JPG, but want the next picture to be P1040500.JPG, create a picture file with the name P1040499.JPG.
If you want to reduce the last three digits, use the RESET NUMBER command in the camera menu, then advance the number as described above.
If you find any inaccuracies, corrections, possible improvements, better or more hints, please drop me a mail.
Apparently valid for the Panasonic DMC-TZ1, Panasonic DMC-TZ2, and Panasonic DMC-TZ3 cameras.
2007-04-20 – Bill Rymer wrote his very useful findings. Thanks a lot!
Use a PC to create placeholder folders in the media SD card with names of the form 100_PANA, 101_PANA, etc. as far up as desired.
If necessary, reinsert the SD card in the camera. Immediately use the "Number Reset" function. That creates a new folder in the sequence at the next higher number. Then any future pictures taken while that card is present in the camera are stored in appropriate numerical sequence. Just like normal, but with the higher number names. Problem solved.
If you don't have an SD card adapter on the computer, I suppose that you could also connect the camera, with the SD card inserted, to the computer via USB and create the folders thus.
If anybody can confirm that the procedure worked, please send me an email. I would also like to know whether it works in cameras other than the DMX-TZx.
2007-06-20 – The Baer Family wrote:
I haven’t tried it on my TZ3 yet, because I don’t get this camera until tomorrow. However, I was successful with an FX8 and two LZ7s.
We have 5 Panasonic digital cameras (including the TZ3 that is coming tomorrow). I wanted to start my kids’ cameras at 600, 700, and 800 in their sequencing, so that they do not have duplicate file numbers with my cameras. I followed your directions, with a few modifications, as shown below…
1) I created a temporary folder on my computer, with all the 100_PANA, 101_PANA … up to 799_PANA. Each series (100, 200, 300, etc.) was in a separate sub-folder. This was very time consuming. However, I found that I could make use of some shortcuts in creating the folders, like copying all the 100_PANA … 199_PANA to a 200 folder, and then just changing all the 1’s to 2’s, where 100_PANA became 200_PANA, 101_PANA became 201_PANA.
2) I was not successful copying all the folders to the card at one time. I needed to separate by series, first completing 100_PANA … 199_PANA, etc.
a. First I took one picture
b. Then I put the SD card in my computer
c. I copied 100_PANA … 199_PANA to the SD card
d. In the 100_PANA folder, I included a jpg called P1000999.jpg
e. All other folders were empty (this is important)
f. Then I put the card back into my camera and took a picture
g. I verified that the picture was in the 200 sequencing
h. I formatted the card
i. Put the card back in my computer
j. Copied 200_PANA … 299_PANA folders to the SD card
k. In the 200_PANA folder, I included a jpg called P2000999.jpg
l. All other folders were empty (this is important)
m. Then I put the card back into my camera and took a picture
n. I verified that the picture was in the 300 sequencing
o. I formatted the card
p. Then I continued this process until the camera was sequencing at P8000001 for the file name in 800_PANA folder.
Then I repeated this process for the other two cameras, stopping at 700_PANA and 600_PANA.
Thanks for this information. Although it took me a LONG time to finish this, it will be very helpful for our files.
I read the information about the TZ3. Since I don’t have the camera yet, I wasn’t sure what the difference was between the other cameras. I’ll try that tomorrow. Luckily, I only want to go the 300_PANA for the TZ3!
Thanks for this information!
Back to my homepage – Hans-Georg Michna
hits since 2007-11-01
Free PHP scripts by PHPJunkYard.com