Thank you for such insightful feedback! I should clarify that this tool was designed as a web-based solution to avoid the traditional installation or server upload requirements, aiming for maximum accessibility. While I hadn't considered a CLI approach initially, you make an excellent point about its efficiency. However, I'm still weighing the trade-off between performance and accessibility.

I completely understand your concerns about the drag-and-drop stability with thousands of files. The issue you're experiencing with Vivaldi might be related to this. Would you mind trying the file picker button instead? I've been unable to reproduce the issue on my Apple M1 MacBook with the same browser, which makes it challenging to provide an immediate fix. I apologize for the inconvenience.

Regarding EXIF extraction, we're using the 'exifr' npm library, which actually works exactly as you suggested - it only reads the beginning portion of the file to extract EXIF data, even in the browser. You can learn more about it here: https://www.npmjs.com/package/exifr

Makes you wonder if you could chop the start of the file, upload it, and get the result?

Let me share my experience. This tool helped me objectively understand which focal lengths I actually prefer. It was particularly valuable when I was considering new lens purchases. For instance, you might choose to invest in a lens that covers your most-used focal lengths, or alternatively, explore new creative possibilities with focal lengths you rarely use. I see this tool as a small compass that helps us better understand and develop our photography journey.

As @nanoanderson mentioned, we use the "FocalLengthIn35mmFormat" tag from EXIF. Let me explain why: since cameras have different sensor sizes, comparing actual focal lengths directly can be misleading (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crop_factor#Introduction). By using the 35mm film equivalent, we can compare field of views across all cameras on the same scale. For instance, a 50mm lens on a crop sensor camera shows a similar field of view to a 75mm lens on a full-frame camera.

We're using the 'exifr' library for EXIF data extraction: https://www.npmjs.com/package/exifr

There is a FocalLength tag in the EXIF spec. https://exiftool.org/TagNames/EXIF.html

Thanks for the suggestion! While I initially considered providing sample images, I realized they might not effectively convey the tool's real value, which is analyzing your personal shooting patterns.

Perhaps you could try it with some smartphone photos? Smartphone cameras typically include EXIF data, making them perfect for testing the tool. Even a few casual photos from your phone should give you a good sense of how the tool works. This way, you can experience the functionality with your own real-world images rather than pre-prepared samples.

Thank you! It's really encouraging to hear this. When I shared it with a small photography community, many said this was exactly the kind of information they'd been wanting to see. It makes me feel that creating this tool was truly worthwhile, knowing it addresses a real need in the photography community.