Metadata Limits for keywords etc

[ScannerBoy]

Recently I found some church records on microfilm for my family tree.
As it stands, each record I can get a digital copy of, may contain several potential candidates when I first look over the record.
My current inclination is to name the file according to the location and dates covered by this particular record
and then to use the metadata - such as possibly keywords - to list the individuals who are mentioned in the record.
For some of the records I have seen this can come to well over 100 names.

My first concern is what if any limits to the metadata items there might be and whether or not this number would in any way
be workable.

I know I can try it and see, but it will be a lot of work to transcribe the names and I would rather only do it once 

Any thoughts or comments will be most welcome.

TIA
Arnold

[Phil Harvey]

In JPEG images, IPTC is limited to less than 64 kB, but other than this it may contain as many keywords as you want.  In other file formats, the size of the IPTC is not limited.

If storing the keywords in XMP (XMP:Subject), there is no limit, however ExifTool will warn if there are more than 1000 items because this could be an indication that some other software has gone off the deep end.

- Phil

[ScannerBoy]

Thank you, Phil;
That means I can proceed with a bit more confidence and if some utility barfs,
I will have a better idea where to look (or whom to blame)