ExifTool to read or modify EXIF data

This ExifTool is a nice command line based tool that allows read and write of properties from Exif an others. It can easily be used in the shell to e.g. collect information about images or just to list all properties.

ExifTool by Phil Harvey

The tool can be used with no arguments like:

exiftool IMG_0001.jpg

resulting in the output:

Artist : Kenneth Lausdahl
Exposure Time : 30
F Number : 9.0
Exposure Program : Manual
ISO : 100
Exif Version : 0230
Date/Time Original : 2012:12:12 19:07:19
Create Date : 2012:12:12 19:07:19
Shutter Speed Value : 30
Aperture Value : 9.0
Exposure Compensation : 0
Max Aperture Value : 4.0
Metering Mode : Multi-segment
Flash : Off, Did not fire
Focal Length : 67.0 mm
Sub Sec Time Original : 01
Sub Sec Time Digitized : 01
Focal Plane X Resolution : 4438.356164
Focal Plane Y Resolution : 4445.969125
Focal Plane Resolution Unit : inches
Custom Rendered : Normal
Exposure Mode : Manual
White Balance : Auto

If only a single property is desired then this argument can be used to just extract the date from when the photo was taken:

exiftool IMG_0001.jpg -EXIF:DateTimeOriginal

When using this tool to sort some pictures, mainly removing duplicates, I came a across the small tool tag which allowed me to tag files in Mac from the terminal. This could then be used in combination with the ExifTool for marking duplicates.

tag -a IMG_0001.jpg

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