Naming files with multiple cameras

[Reciprocum]

Planning to go multi-body soon. How to avoid naming collisions on importing images from multiple cameras ?
I know the odds are low that the image counter will coincide between the various cameras, but I wanted to hear if this is an issue for you and how you solved it ?

 

[morcup]

I got an A7R IV recently. It may be in a different place on your camera, but on the setup menu (the briefcase), there is an option for File/Folder Settings. Inside that, you can chose to "set file name," which allows you to change the prefix of the files created. There is a separate menu called File Settings (with a little movie icon in front of it) for naming video files.

Luckily I learned that within a few days of getting the camera, so I did not have major file naming issues.

 

[G-FOTO.de]

Just change the name settings (File/Folder settings in suitcase menu) within the bodies.
I have 3 bodies: A9M2, A7R4 and A7III
and I changed the file names to: 9M2xxxx; 7R4xxxx; 7M3xxxx

So I can identify all 3 cameras even based on their ARW files.

When importing them into Lightroom, I change the name including the date.
Then the logic is: YYMMDD_hhmmss_ORIGINAL-FILE-NAME (see above)

 

[Reciprocum]

Just change the name settings (File/Folder settings in suitcase menu) within the bodies.
I have 3 bodies: A9M2, A7R4 and A7III
and I changed the file names to: 9M2xxxx; 7R4xxxx; 7M3xxxx

So I can identify all 3 cameras even based on their ARW files.

When importing them into Lightroom, I change the name including the date.
Then the logic is: YYMMDD_hhmmss_ORIGINAL-FILE-NAME (see above)

I was also inclined to adopt some kind of time/date stamp in the naming, maybe not as detailed as all the way to hhmmss. I have been using the in camera 3 letters with my initials, and renaming on import to add the true 5 digit camera lifespan count (I remember in Wich Nxxxx I am (currently 50.000).
‘Still wonder how an agency that receives many cards from many photographers, each with more than one body (sometimes repeated make&model) do it. Maybe adding camera SN to file name on import solves that, at least solves the name collision problem that having two equal bodies would still pose.

 

[garuda]

I use the Batch Rename tool in Bridge to both assign consecutive serial numbers and build my naming convention, with the capability to assign prefixes, keep orig serial, and a suffix so as to quickly move them to category libraries after sequencing. This seems to accommodate collision issues, moves category types to approp library, and makes it easy to locate any pic by lib, category, type, content, and date, etc. The methods mentioned in posts above work great and do it all in the camera. I decided to do it on the computer which seems more flexible for what I need, and since I also add other nodes to the file name (DSN). You can also assign pic priorities and mortality dates, etc — if you routinely cull.

Also makes it easy for me to build databases for ease at accessing pics by categories, theme types, content, etc when later composing collages, montages, videos, composites, etc. They can also be cross-referenced betw databases. Having the appropriate naming convention is the key requisite. The DSN determines what folder(s) it's assigned to. Certainly nothing new, most others likely do a similar workflow. I just modified the naming convention to suit my applications. There's certainly nothing superior about this method, it just works well for me to do both photo & video projects.