Camera Settings Diary

What it does

A running log of the settings and notes from your own past shoots — what camera, lens, and exposure settings worked for a given subject or scene, plus any notes worth remembering. Saved directly in your browser, building into a personal reference you can look back on before a similar future shoot.

What you'll need

• Whichever of date, subject, camera, lens, settings and notes you want to record for a shoot.

Steps

1. Fill in the details after (or during) a shoot.
2. Tap "Save entry."
3. Browse past entries before a similar future shoot for reference.

Reading the result

Entries appear below the form, newest first. This isn't EXIF data pulled from your files automatically — it's a manual log, so it's only as useful as what you actually take the time to note down.

Tips

• Note what didn't work, not just the settings that did — a diary of only successes is less useful than one that also flags what to avoid next time.
• Since this is device-local, it won't follow you to a new phone or computer — copy anything you want to keep long-term somewhere more durable.

Why keep a manual settings diary?

A settings diary is a personal, hand-written record of what camera settings and conditions produced a result you were happy — or unhappy — with, for a given kind of subject or scene. It's different from EXIF data, which records exact technical settings automatically but nothing about your own judgement, the conditions, or what you'd do differently next time.

Why photographers use it

Photography settings that work well for a specific subject — a Milky Way shot at a particular focal length and ISO, a flash setup for a certain venue — are easy to half-remember and hard to reconstruct exactly months later. A running log turns hard-won trial and error into a lookup you can actually use again, rather than re-deriving it from scratch on every similar shoot.

Common mistakes

• Only logging the settings, not the context. "f/2.8, 15s, ISO 3200" means little six months later without noting what subject, light and conditions it was for — always pair settings with enough context to be useful in the future.
• Only recording successes. a diary that only logs what worked misses half its value — noting what didn't work (and why) is just as useful for avoiding the same mistake on a similar future shoot.
• Treating this as a backup for your actual EXIF data. this is a manual, personal log — for exact technical metadata, your photo files' own EXIF data is the authoritative source. Use this diary for judgement and context EXIF data can't capture.

Example settings

FAQ

Is my diary data private?

Yes — it's stored only in your browser's local storage on this device, never sent to CAPTD's servers.

Does this pull settings automatically from my photos?

No — it's a manual log you fill in yourself. It doesn't read EXIF data from your files.

Can I search or filter past entries?

Not in the current version — entries are listed newest first. For a large diary, consider periodically copying older entries somewhere with search, like a notes app.