Lens metadata (e_lens_make, e_lens_model) not extracted from Nikon NEF files

[OPGERUIMD97]

Describe the bug
Lens information is not imported from Nikon NEF files. The e_lens_make and e_lens_model fields are NULL in the database for all NEF files, while the same data is correctly extracted from JPG and DNG files shot with the same camera.

To Reproduce

1. Create a library with Nikon NEF files (tested with Nikon D3000 and Nikon D5300)
2. Wait for import to complete
3. Filter by Lens — no lens data available for NEF files

Expected behavior
Lens make and model should be extracted from the Nikon Makernote EXIF data embedded in NEF files, just as it is from JPG/DNG files.

Additional context

• Confirmed via direct SQLite query: SELECT name, e_lens_make, e_lens_model FROM afiles WHERE name LIKE '%.NEF' → all NULL
• JPG and DNG from same cameras do have lens data populated
• Tested with: Nikon D3000 (~4000 files) and Nikon D5300 (~1200 files)
• App version: v0.1.12, macOS

[julyx10]

Thanks for the detailed report — I noticed the same issue on my side and will keep improving it.

The root cause is that the current EXIF parsing stack doesn’t handle RAW metadata, especially Nikon MakerNote, very well. As a result, lens information in NEF files is not reliably extracted.

I’ll look into alternative approaches to improve RAW metadata extraction and make this more complete.

Really appreciate your thorough and professional feedback — it’s very helpful. 👍
Feel free to share any further ideas or findings.

[OPGERUIMD97]

Thanks for the quick response!

Great to hear you’re already aware of it.

One additional thought: once you’ve improved the RAW metadata extraction, it would be really helpful to have an option to re-index / re-extract EXIF data for existing libraries — without having to delete and rebuild the entire library from scratch.
Something like a “Refresh metadata” option per library or per folder would be ideal. That way, existing users automatically benefit from the improved extraction once it’s implemented.