Bad format (72) for SubIFD0 entry 0 & Bad offset for SubIFD0 tag 0x0000

[MJ]

Hi all, with the attached image, I tried setting the DateTimeOriginal tag using ExifTool GUI but got the following:

Error: [minor] Bad format (72) for SubIFD0 entry 0 - 103a.jpg

I then ran this in ExifTool as per FAQ 20:

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exiftool -all= -tagsfromfile @ -all:all -unsafe -icc_profile 103a.jpg
Then got this:

Warning: [minor] Bad offset for SubIFD0 tag 0x0000 - 103a.jpg

Then tried this:

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exiftool -exif:all= -tagsfromfile @ -exif:all -unsafe -thumbnailimage -F 103a.jpg
But I keep getting this:

Warning: [minor] Bad offset for SubIFD0 tag 0x0000 - 103a.jpg

And after all of the above, when I go back to ExifTool GUI and try to set the DateTimeOriginal tag, I get this:

Error: [minor] Bad SubIFD0 offset for Kodak_SubIFD0_0x0000 - 103a.jpg

Any way to fix this so I can adjust the date?

[StarGeek]

It looks like the MakerNotes are irrevocably corrupted. Running this command
exiftool -G1 -a -s -MakerNotes:all 103a.jpg
doesn't output any data, only Warnings.

The easiest thing to do would be to remove the Makernotes
exiftool -MakerNotes:all= 103a.jpg

Otherwise, you can force writing the file with -m (-ignoreMinorErrors) option, as it downgrades minor errors (Error: [minor]) into a simple warning (Warning:)

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C:\>exiftool -P -overwrite_original -DateTimeOriginal=2024:09:04:12:00:00 Y:\!temp\x\y\103a.jpg
Error: [minor] Bad format (72) for SubIFD0 entry 0 - Y:/!temp/x/y/103a.jpg
    0 image files updated
    1 files weren't updated due to errors

C:\>exiftool -P -overwrite_original -m -DateTimeOriginal=2024:09:04:12:00:00 Y:\!temp\x\y\103a.jpg
Warning: Bad format (72) for SubIFD0 entry 0 - Y:/!temp/x/y/103a.jpg
    1 image files updated

C:\>exiftool -G1 -a -s -DateTimeOriginal Y:\!temp\x\y\103a.jpg
[ExifIFD]       DateTimeOriginal                : 2024:09:04 12:00:00
Once you do that, you should be able to write to the file normally.

[MJ]

Ah, thank you kindly! That did the trick. The MakerNotes aren't crucial here, so removing them was fine.

Good to know about the downgrading option too. Thanks again.