Image metadata has invalid time offset

[Lectem]

1. What is not working as documented?

When analazing my latest photos from Nepal, I'm getting the following error:

metadata: 20241015_095117.heic has invalid time offset +05:45 (exiftool)

The exiftool -j output of one of my photos:

[{
  "SourceFile": "20241015_103317.heic",
  "ExifToolVersion": 12.65,
  "FileName": "20241015_103317.heic",
  "Directory": ".",
  "FileSize": "8.1 MB",
  "FileModifyDate": "2024:10:15 05:49:46+01:00",
  "FileAccessDate": "2024:11:11 11:41:56+01:00",
  "FileInodeChangeDate": "2024:11:11 11:06:51+01:00",
  "FilePermissions": "-rwxrwxrwx",
  "FileType": "HEIC",
  "FileTypeExtension": "heic",
  "MIMEType": "image/heic",
  "MajorBrand": "High Efficiency Image Format HEVC still image (.HEIC)",
  "MinorVersion": "0.0.0",
  "CompatibleBrands": ["mif1","heic"],
  "MediaDataSize": 8112411,
  "MediaDataOffset": 32,
  "HandlerType": "Picture",
  "PrimaryItemReference": 193,
  "MetaImageSize": "8160x6120",
  "ExifByteOrder": "Little-endian (Intel, II)",
  "Make": "samsung",
  "Model": "Galaxy S23",
  "Orientation": "Rotate 90 CW",
  "XResolution": 72,
  "YResolution": 72,
  "ResolutionUnit": "inches",
  "YCbCrPositioning": "Centered",
  "ModifyDate": "2024:10:15 10:33:17",
  "ExposureTime": "1/285",
  "FNumber": 1.8,
  "ExposureProgram": "Program AE",
  "ISO": 25,
  "ExifVersion": "0210",
  "DateTimeOriginal": "2024:10:15 10:33:17",
  "CreateDate": "2024:10:15 10:33:17",
  "OffsetTime": "+05:45",
  "OffsetTimeOriginal": "+05:45",
  "ComponentsConfiguration": "Y, Cb, Cr, -",
  "ApertureValue": 1.8,
  "BrightnessValue": 6.46,
  "ExposureCompensation": 0,
  "MaxApertureValue": 1.8,
  "MeteringMode": "Center-weighted average",
  "Flash": "No Flash",
  "FocalLength": "5.4 mm",
  "SubSecTime": 996,
  "SubSecTimeOriginal": 996,
  "SubSecTimeDigitized": 996,
  "FlashpixVersion": "0100",
  "ColorSpace": "Uncalibrated",
  "ExifImageWidth": 8160,
  "ExifImageHeight": 6120,
  "WhiteBalance": "Auto",
  "DigitalZoomRatio": 1,
  "FocalLengthIn35mmFormat": "23 mm",
  "SceneCaptureType": "Standard",
  "ImageUniqueID": "F50XLPE00PM F50XLPE00PM",
  "HEVCConfigurationVersion": 1,
  "GeneralProfileSpace": "Conforming",
  "GeneralTierFlag": "Main Tier",
  "GeneralProfileIDC": "Main",
  "GenProfileCompatibilityFlags": "Main 10, Main",
  "ConstraintIndicatorFlags": "176 0 0 0 0 0",
  "GeneralLevelIDC": "93 (level 3.1)",
  "MinSpatialSegmentationIDC": 0,
  "ParallelismType": 0,
  "ChromaFormat": "4:2:0",
  "BitDepthLuma": 8,
  "BitDepthChroma": 8,
  "AverageFrameRate": 0,
  "ConstantFrameRate": "Unknown",
  "NumTemporalLayers": 0,
  "TemporalIDNested": "No",
  "ProfileCMMType": "",
  "ProfileVersion": "4.3.0",
  "ProfileClass": "Display Device Profile",
  "ColorSpaceData": "RGB ",
  "ProfileConnectionSpace": "XYZ ",
  "ProfileDateTime": "2022:07:01 00:00:00",
  "ProfileFileSignature": "acsp",
  "PrimaryPlatform": "Unknown (SEC)",
  "CMMFlags": "Not Embedded, Independent",
  "DeviceManufacturer": "Unknown (SEC)",
  "DeviceModel": "",
  "DeviceAttributes": "Reflective, Glossy, Positive, Color",
  "RenderingIntent": "Perceptual",
  "ConnectionSpaceIlluminant": "0.9642 1 0.82491",
  "ProfileCreator": "Unknown (SEC)",
  "ProfileID": 0,
  "ProfileDescription": "DCI-P3 D65 Gamut with sRGB Transfer",
  "ProfileCopyright": "Copyright (c) 2022 Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.",
  "MediaWhitePoint": "0.9642 1 0.82491",
  "ChromaticAdaptation": "1.04781 0.02289 -0.05013 0.02954 0.99048 -0.01704 -0.00923 0.01505 0.75214",
  "RedMatrixColumn": "0.51508 0.24117 -0.00105",
  "GreenMatrixColumn": "0.29195 0.69223 0.04189",
  "BlueMatrixColumn": "0.15718 0.06659 0.78455",
  "RedTRC": "(Binary data 32 bytes, use -b option to extract)",
  "GreenTRC": "(Binary data 32 bytes, use -b option to extract)",
  "BlueTRC": "(Binary data 32 bytes, use -b option to extract)",
  "ImageWidth": 8160,
  "ImageHeight": 6120,
  "ImageSpatialExtent": "8160x6120",
  "Rotation": 270,
  "TimeStamp": "2024:10:15 05:48:17.996+01:00",
  "Aperture": 1.8,
  "ImageSize": "8160x6120",
  "Megapixels": 49.9,
  "ScaleFactor35efl": 4.3,
  "ShutterSpeed": "1/285",
  "SubSecCreateDate": "2024:10:15 10:33:17.996",
  "SubSecDateTimeOriginal": "2024:10:15 10:33:17.996+05:45",
  "SubSecModifyDate": "2024:10:15 10:33:17.996+05:45",
  "CircleOfConfusion": "0.007 mm",
  "FOV": "76.1 deg",
  "FocalLength35efl": "5.4 mm (35 mm equivalent: 23.0 mm)",
  "HyperfocalDistance": "2.30 m",
  "LightValue": 11.9
}]

OffsetTime is +5:45 which happens to be exactly Nepal's timezone. I don't understand why it's rejected except if the timezones code in Photoprism assumes timezone needs to be exactly 1hour. (yes, anything date/timezone related is complicated, that's why the IANA database exists https://www.iana.org/time-zones )

2. How can we reproduce it?

Steps to reproduce the behavior:

1. Get a photo with a timezone offset of +5:45
2. Import it

3. What behavior do you expect?

+5:45 Timezone is accepted.

4. What could be the cause of your problem?

Code not allowing X:30 or X:45 timezones.

5. Can you provide us with example files for testing, error logs, or screenshots?

20241015_103317.zip

6. Which software versions do you use?

(a) PhotoPrism Architecture & Build Number: ARM64, Build [240420-ef5f14bc4]

(b) Database Type & Version: MariaDB

(c) Operating System Types & Versions: Linux

(d) Browser Types & Versions: Firefox

(e) Ad Blockers, Browser Plugins, and/or Firewall Software?

You can find the version/build number of the app in Settings by scrolling to the bottom. Note that MySQL 8 support has been discontinued, see system requirements at https://docs.photoprism.app/getting-started/#system-requirements.

7. On what kind of device is PhotoPrism installed?

(a) Device / Processor Type: NAS, ARM Cortex-A53

(b) Physical Memory & Swap Space in GB: 1GB

(c) Storage Type: HDD

(d) Anything else that might be helpful to know? Nope

[lastzero]

Thanks for your report! Unfortunately, no one tested and reported this when support for UTC offset "timezones" was added as an alternative to using the official timezone identifier.

The reason fractions are not currently supported is that, based on what was requested at the time of implementation, there is only a fixed set of UTC offsets implemented in the frontend:

photoprism/frontend/src/options/options.js

Lines 7 to 33 in 42ce5ac

	export const UtcOffsets = [
	{ ID: "UTC-12", Name: "UTC-12:00" },
	{ ID: "UTC-11", Name: "UTC-11:00" },
	{ ID: "UTC-10", Name: "UTC-10:00" },
	{ ID: "UTC-9", Name: "UTC-09:00" },
	{ ID: "UTC-8", Name: "UTC-08:00" },
	{ ID: "UTC-7", Name: "UTC-07:00" },
	{ ID: "UTC-6", Name: "UTC-06:00" },
	{ ID: "UTC-5", Name: "UTC-05:00" },
	{ ID: "UTC-4", Name: "UTC-04:00" },
	{ ID: "UTC-3", Name: "UTC-03:00" },
	{ ID: "UTC-2", Name: "UTC-02:00" },
	{ ID: "UTC-1", Name: "UTC-01:00" },
	{ ID: "UTC", Name: "UTC" },
	{ ID: "UTC+1", Name: "UTC+01:00" },
	{ ID: "UTC+2", Name: "UTC+02:00" },
	{ ID: "UTC+3", Name: "UTC+03:00" },
	{ ID: "UTC+4", Name: "UTC+04:00" },
	{ ID: "UTC+5", Name: "UTC+05:00" },
	{ ID: "UTC+6", Name: "UTC+06:00" },
	{ ID: "UTC+7", Name: "UTC+07:00" },
	{ ID: "UTC+8", Name: "UTC+08:00" },
	{ ID: "UTC+9", Name: "UTC+09:00" },
	{ ID: "UTC+10", Name: "UTC+10:00" },
	{ ID: "UTC+11", Name: "UTC+11:00" },
	{ ID: "UTC+12", Name: "UTC+12:00" },
	];

Of course, Asia/Kathmandu is supported as such, i.e. it should be detected automatically if the metadata contains GPS coordinates AND you can select it as timezone in the photo edit dialog:

• https://docs.photoprism.app/user-guide/organize/edit/

A possible workaround to avoid this error would be to round the time up or down - but then users will not notice that the chosen UTC offset is not exact. If you're asking for a "quick fix" that can be implemented within the scope of a bug report, that seems feasible. Note that we are currently refactoring the entire frontend codebase, so we cannot implement any changes there in the short term.

[Lectem]

I'd rather have the "real fix" that supports such timezones properly, I'm not in a hurry !