Strange double lens description

[Hayo Baan]

Hi Phil,

Some of my files report a strange Composite:LensID description with the same lens spec mentioned twice:

Code Select Expand

exiftool -G0:1 -a -warning -'lens*' Sample.tif
[XMP:XMP-aux]   Lens                            : 24.0 mm f/3.5
[XMP:XMP-aux]   Lens ID                         : 149
[XMP:XMP-aux]   Lens Info                       : 24mm f/3.5
[Composite]     Lens ID                         : PC-E Nikkor 24mm f/3.5D ED or PC-E Nikkor 24mm f/3.5D ED

The same lens in the original raw files gives the right description:

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exiftool -G0:1 -a -warning -'lens*' Sample.nef
[MakerNotes:Nikon] Lens Type                    : D
[MakerNotes:Nikon] Lens                         : 24mm f/3.5
[MakerNotes:Nikon] Lens F Stops                 : 6.33
[MakerNotes:Nikon] Lens Data Version            : 0204
[MakerNotes:Nikon] Lens ID Number               : 149
[MakerNotes:Nikon] Lens F Stops                 : 6.33
[Composite]     Lens ID                         : PC-E Nikkor 24mm f/3.5D ED
[Composite]     Lens                            : 24mm f/3.5 D

I guess exiftool does this as it is perhaps not certain about the lens as not all the makernote data is available, but it's a bit redundant to mention the same lens twice, don't you think

[Phil Harvey]

Thanks for pointing this out.  This happens for 2 reasons:

1) This specific lens has been seen with two different Nikon LensID values.

2) The full Nikon LensID value is lost when Photoshop does its magic, and ExifTool only has the (now ambiguous) XMP-aux LensID to go by.

But you are right, printing the same name twice doesn't make sense.  I'll add a check for this.

- Phil