Time modified from UTC to GTM-5 Bug

[NickVC]

Good Day, as many of us, I'm moving out all my pictures from Google Photos.I will not enter the pay lifetime business... Can anyone help me to solve the time difference I got in my pictures? Here Details:

1. My pictures are in Google Photos showing date/time example: 26 Jun 2021, Sat 15:42 GMT-05:00
2. I am downloading using google Takeout.
3. The .json file shows photoTakenTime as follows: 26 Jun 2021, 20:42:48 UTC.
4. 15:42 GMT-05 is equal to 20:42:48 UTC, and should be OK from google.
5. Then I use the ExifTool command (below) to migrate Exif Data.
6. When pictures are successfully updated it shows time as: 20:42.
7. When I upload my picture to other cloud service as BOX or photos again, the time keeps as 20:42

My theory is that the Exiftool algorithm does not convert the UTC time of the .json file to the PC time zone setup. attached a picture collage illustrating the issue.

Can anyone help me:
to understand the problem and
How to solve it by adding any instruction to the command below I am using with exiftool?

Tks!

Software/ Hardware details: System Macbook OS Catalina 10.15.7 / exiftool -ver 12.44 /  Viewer is finder / Time setup in Mac is GTM-05/ Time setup in BOX is GTM-05

Command used in Terminal:  (console output is "image file updated")

exiftool -r -d %s -tagsfromfile "%d/%F.json" "-GPSAltitude<GeoDataAltitude" "-GPSLatitude<GeoDataLatitude" "-GPSLatitudeRef<GeoDataLatitude" "-GPSLongitude<GeoDataLongitude" "-GPSLongitudeRef<GeoDataLongitude" "-Keywords<Tags" "-Subject<Tags" "-Caption-Abstract<Description" "-ImageDescription<Description" "-DateTimeOriginal<PhotoTakenTimeTimestamp" "-fileCreateDate<PhotoTakenTimeTimestamp" "-fileModifyDate<PhotoTakenTimeTimestamp" -ext "*" -overwrite_original -progress --ext json / (Directory)

[StarGeek]

My theory is that the Exiftool algorithm does not convert the UTC time of the .json file to the PC time zone setup. attached a picture collage illustrating the issue.

No, it doesn't.  It's not a bug.  Exiftool will write only the data you provide.

This has always been one of the big problems with copying data from Google Takeout. They provide the data in UTC with no way of knowing the original time zone.

But you really should check your files before you copy data from the json files using exiftool.  Google does not remove any data from your files. The time stamps that were in the file when you uploaded them is still there. There's been a long running misunderstanding about that.  The only time you need to copy data from the json files is if you made edits on the Google website.  Those changes are what will need copying.

The only data that is lost from uploading is the file system data, such as the FileModifyDate.  And those can always be copied from the original EXIF time stamps, such as DateTimeOriginal.

Can anyone help me:
to understand the problem and
How to solve it by adding any instruction to the command below I am using with exiftool?

The only way I know would to be to write the time stamps first, then shift them with a second command
exiftool -TagsFromFile @ -time:all -FileModifyDate -globaltimeshift -5 /path/to/files/

[maxxx]

Newbie here. Hope this is the correct thread.

Having issues with GlobalTimeShift command. Trying to change UTC in single or multiple .json files to local time by adding -7 value. The response I get is: no file with specified extension. This is the command I'm typing:

exiftool --ext json -r "-Alldates<Alldates" -GlobalTimeShift -7 *.json

Even if I enter the full json file name, I'm getting the same response.

If I remove *.json from the end of the command, I get "No file specified" (obviously).

What am I doing wrong?

Thank you.

[Phil Harvey]

ExifTool doesn't edit JSON files, so I don't think you can do what you want.

- Phil

[maxxx]

Thank you! I suspected that, but one of the posts I found somewhere mislead me into believing it can.

Are you aware of any tool that does that? Otherwise, I'd just have to change the time offset in jpegs which exiftool had done for me in the past effortlessly.

Thanks again.

[Phil Harvey]

Sorry I don't know of any json editors.

- Phil

[StarGeek]

Try looking at JQ

jq is like sed for JSON data - you can use it to slice and filter and map and transform structured data with the same ease that sed, awk, grep and friends let you play with text.

[maxxx]

Great! Thank you!