Future-proofing XMP dates

[Cici]

I would like to future-proof the metadata in my images.

I understand that for XMP, the most common tags used for dates are: 1) XMP-photoshop:DateCreated, 2) XMP-xmp:CreateDate and 3) XMP-xmp:ModifyDate. MWG also uses these tags.

However, when I review the CIPA DC-010-2024 Exif metadata for XMP standards, they advise the following: 1) XMP-exif:DateTimeOriginal and 2) XMP-exif:DateTimeDigitized. 3) XMP-xmp:ModifyDate remains the same.

Is there an expectation there will be a transition to these XMP-exif tags in the near future?

See attached Table 12, page 10.CIPA_DC-010-2024_E.pdf

[Phil Harvey]

The XMP-exif tags aren't as widely used.

- Phil

[Cici]

I understand. If certain CIPA standards are unlikely to be widely adopted, I wish CIPA would change their documentation to reflect reality.

[Phil Harvey]

CIPA (and formerly JEIDA) are not widely known for their grasp on reality. 

It took them 21 years to realize that time zone information is useful.

- Phil

[StarGeek]

It's unlikely, IMO, that the XMP-exif tags are going to replace the actual EXIF tags. The only situation I can think of for them is in an XMP sidecar when someone wants to override the EXIF values in a RAW file type when using LightRoom or similar programs.

Long ago, when I found the exif2xmp.args file, I ran it over a lot of my images. But as I learned more about metadata and was testing more programs, I realized that they weren't used by most software. These days, I only use them to hold date/time tags and GPS tags, as I prefer the single tag used in XMP vs the multiple tags for a single value in EXIF.

[Cici]

Lol. Good to know. Thanks Phil.

StarGeek, I wasn't thinking about the XMP-exif tags replacing the actual EXIF tags. Rather, I was thinking about a shift from XMP-xmp tags to XMP-exif tags. But as Phil mentioned, CIPA standards are not necessarily in line with reality.

I found it helpful to export different types of images from Apple Photos and view the metadata with ExifTool. It gave me an understanding of the various tags used, especially since Apple's documentation leaves a lot to be desired.

I'm organizing historical images and documents for family. My goal is to be as simplistic and straightforward as possible so they can easily make sense of the information.