# Identify camera model through properties **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 7, 2014, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-camera-model-through-properties/680721 "2014-02-07T02:15:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2014, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-camera-model-through-properties/680721/1 "2014-02-07T02:15:17Z")
I suspect someone stole my camera a while back. Is their a way I can use the properties of their on line photos to identify what type of camera took the pictures? ---
**Author:** ![chacoguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2014, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-camera-model-through-properties/680721/2 "2014-02-07T02:22:57Z")
If you can get a look at the metadata, that would be a good start. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2014, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-camera-model-through-properties/680721/3 "2014-02-07T02:30:01Z")
> [@chacoguy](#): > > If you can get a look at the metadata, that would be a good start. How do I find the meta data? Could I somehow compare the properties of the photos I took with the camera to the ones he has taken? ---
**Author:** ![Tabby\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Tabby\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tabby_Cat)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2014, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-camera-model-through-properties/680721/4 "2014-02-07T02:34:57Z")
It’s called the exif data, and most photo sharing sites don’t strip this data. I’m assuming that you’re seeing his photos on your alleged camera over facebook or similar. Download the photo, and run it through an EXIF data viewer, such as this site (disclaimer, I have not used this site and do not know if it is geniune) [http://exifdata.com/](http://exifdata.com/) EDIT: I understand windows explorer can do it too. > **[What EXIF Photo Data Is, How to Find It & How to Understand It](https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/exif-photo-data-find-understand/)** > > Pretty much every digital camera available today records EXIF data within each image you take. The data is useful for improving your photography and can also be quite interesting, especially if you're a geek. EDIT: You probably want to look for the camera model, and see if it’s the same as your model. ---
**Author:** ![Nanoda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Nanoda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nanoda)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2014, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-camera-model-through-properties/680721/5 "2014-02-07T02:44:13Z")
I like Irfanview with the Exif plugin, but I’m sure there are even easier ways to get the info. The exif info will show information like ISO, aperture, flash, etc, along with camera make and model, and usually a unique serial number also. That part of the process is automated with sites such as [http://www.stolencamerafinder.com/](http://www.stolencamerafinder.com/) where you can drop an old photo, and it’ll show any new photos by the same device. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2014, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-camera-model-through-properties/680721/6 "2014-02-07T02:50:15Z")
> [@Tabby\_Cat](#): > > It’s called the exif data, and most photo sharing sites don’t strip this data. > > I’m assuming that you’re seeing his photos on your alleged camera over facebook or similar. Download the photo, and run it through an EXIF data viewer, such as this site (disclaimer, I have not used this site and do not know if it is geniune) [http://exifdata.com/](http://exifdata.com/) EDIT: I understand windows explorer can do it too. > > [http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/exif-photo-data-find-understand/](http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/exif-photo-data-find-understand/) > > EDIT: You probably want to look for the camera model, and see if it’s the same as your model. Great info, thanks ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2014, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-camera-model-through-properties/680721/7 "2014-02-07T02:51:18Z")
> [@Nanoda](#): > > I like Irfanview with the Exif plugin, but I’m sure there are even easier ways to get the info. The exif info will show information like ISO, aperture, flash, etc, along with camera make and model, and usually a unique serial number also. > > That part of the process is automated with sites such as [http://www.stolencamerafinder.com/](http://www.stolencamerafinder.com/) where you can drop an old photo, and it’ll show any new photos by the same device. This is even better than I had hoped for ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2014, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-camera-model-through-properties/680721/8 "2014-02-07T03:53:29Z")
The face book data seems to be stripped. I will check around for other photos I know he posts a lot. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2014, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-camera-model-through-properties/680721/9 "2014-02-07T06:30:29Z")
Report back! Preferably **before** you need to make the “Need answer fast - how to melt a body” thread. Yeah it looks like Facebook takes that away… That website looks cool, I’ll have to try it (camera stolen by a stranger though). IMHO I don’t always use an image viewer/editor, but when I do, I use IrfanView. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2014, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-camera-model-through-properties/680721/10 "2014-02-07T13:21:58Z")
The funny part was that when I enetered pics from my camera that I still had it told me this model did not imprint the serial number. Out of all my photos one of them did give me the serial number. So I am one small step ahead of where I was incase I ever have to prove a camera is mine.