Panasonic LX3 Changing File Numbering
The
usual way with file numbers is to leave on auto so the file number
keeps climbing and every time it gets to xxxxx999 it creates a new
folder and starts again at Pxxx0001. When it gets to folder name
999_PANA and file number P9990999 you have a problem. The best
way is to go into the setup menu and cause a reset by using the No. Rests feature in the Setup menu so the file numbers
starts again at folder name 100_PANA and P1000001.
But
if you
have two Panasonic cameras there is often a clash in file numbering, so
forcing one of them up to a much higher file number is a nice way to
avoid problems, but that turns out to be not simple to do. To keep the
file numbering 100,000 apart then you need folders on the various
cameras at 100_PANA, 200_PANA, 300_PANA spacing.
Here are examples of the latest methods revised in October 2015. The relevant DPReview thread is at http://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/56591681
I suspect all Panasonic cameras would behave like this as they all have the same basic firmware.
The
main point to remember is that the camera looks for a vacant folder
number on the card or uses the highest folder and adds one to the last
image number taken. It also remembers which folders it has used in the
past so will not drop back to 100_PANA unless you do a No. Reset on a
working card that may already only have say 105_PANA as its current
working folder.
So here's two methods, the first being the in-camera method. The aim in both being to increase the working folder number.
In Camera.
1. Format a card in camera.
2. In Setup Menu - No. Reset - Yes - OK
3. Take one shot and a new folder number is created.
4. Go back to step 2 and repeat until the folder number is up where you need it.
Now
the camera knows that all the folder numbers have been used up to where
you stopped so now the card can be formatted and the next shot will be
at 108_pana or wherever you stopped creating folders.
Naturally
that method is entirely cumbersome and only good if shifting a few
folders up in numbering, to get into the hundreds apart like having
100_PANA, 200_PANA, 300_PANA spacing then you would get really sick of
button pressing on the camera, so it's time to consider a method using
the computer.
In Computer.
1. Create a DCIM folder on the computer.
2. In that folder create a 100_PANA folder.
3. In that folder create a 101_PANA folder.
4. In that folder create a 102_PANA folder.
5. And keep going until you have a giant set of folder numbers in that DCIM folder up to the XXX_PANA number that you need.
..
..
..
997. Then format a memory card in the computer (use only the formatter from https://www.sdcard.org/downloads/formatter_4/ to do that).
998. Copy the DCIM folder with all its XXX_PANA folders to the memory card.
999.
Put the card in the camera and take one shot. If you set the
folders at say 110_PANA then the first shot will be P1100001.
At
that point you could rename the image file to a higher number to get
the file numbering to be continuous if recovering from some disaster.
But
even that is a massively tedious exercise if needing to make hundreds
of folders to force the folder numbers up nice and high, but at least
you now have a master DCIM folder file to use for other disasters or
fixing numbering starts for other cameras.
So
here's a method that Bob revealed in that DPReview thread, not tried by
me so far and it needs some MSDOS effort to make it happen.
In Computer with MSDOS.
On your PC create a batch file "ten.bat" -
md %1%20_PANA
md %1%21_PANA
....
md %1%29_PANA
Create a second batch file "hun.bat" -
call ten %1 0
call ten %1 1
...
call ten %1 9
Type "hun 1" this will create 100 empty folders 100_PANA to 199_PANA,
"hun 2" will create folders 200_PANA to 299_PANA and so on.
Copy the two hundred (or three hundred or whatever) empty folders to
the DCIM folder on your SD card, put the card in the camera and take a
snap, the camera will record the image in whichever folder its internal
counter is pointing to. Now go into the setup menu and do a "No. Reset"
then take another shot - lo and behold the image is saved in 300_PANA !
You can now re-format the SD card in the camera to get rid of all
those unwanted folders, you can even swap cards, the camera will
remember whatever you've forced it to.
Again,
if you manage to make that work then keep that master set of folders so
it can be copied and selectively deleted in the copy to custom adjust
other Panasonic cameras' numbering.
So
I interpret the LX3/LX5 manual's words "A folder number between 100 and
999 can be assigned." to really mean "A folder number between 100 and
999 will be automatically assigned as the file numbers grow and it
creates a new folder at each file name reaching Pxxx0999 but skips
folders already there (or remembered as being used already by this
camera) as those other folders on the card may belong to another
camera.".