Camera Workflow November 12, 2026 · 9 min read
Four cameras, one problem: RAW+JPEG pairs, two card slots and a file counter that comes round every 10,000 frames. Here is the folder tree and the order of work that fixes it on each body.
By Tiago Trindade · Updated November 2026
This guide replaces four separate posts, one per camera. They gave the same advice four times, because the problem is the same on every modern body: the camera names files with a counter instead of a date, and a card holds everything you shot since the last format. What differs from body to body is the file names, the RAW extension and what the second card slot does, so that is what each camera section below covers.
Copy each card to the computer as it is. Then build the folders from the date the camera wrote into every file (the EXIF capture date), not from the file name and not from the day you copied it. A date-first tree keeps a RAW file and its JPEG together, separates shoots that sat on the same card and does not care that the counter came round. Add one level under the day only when you need it: the file type if you shoot RAW+JPEG, the camera body for two-camera jobs, an event name for a wedding. Import into your editor afterwards, without copying, so the catalog mirrors the tree.
Photos/
└── 2026/
├── 2026-06-14/
│ ├── ARW/
│ │ ├── DSC01200.ARW
│ │ └── DSC01201.ARW
│ └── JPG/
│ ├── DSC01200.JPG
│ └── DSC01201.JPG
└── 2026-06-15/
└── ARW/
In FolioSort that tree is the template {YYYY}/{YYYY}-{MM}-{DD}/{Extension}. Shoot RAW only? Drop the last level. The reasoning behind a date-first tree is in the best photo folder structure.
| Camera | RAW files | Default file names | Card slots | Video files |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canon EOS R5 (45 MP) | .CR3 (RAW or C-RAW) | IMG_0001.CR3 | CFexpress Type B + SD | .MP4, .CRM |
| Nikon Z8 (45.7 MP) | .NEF | DSC_0001.NEF | CFexpress Type B + SD | .MOV, .MP4, .NEV |
| Sony A7 IV (33 MP) | .ARW | DSC00001.ARW | CFexpress Type A or SD + SD | .MP4 |
| Fujifilm X100VI (40 MP) | .RAF | DSCF0001.RAF | One SD | .MOV |
Factory-default file names; each body lets you change the prefix in its menu. Canon and Nikon put an underscore first (_MG_, _DSC) when the colour space is set to Adobe RGB.
DCIM folders.Sorting by capture date solves the first two by construction: two different frames with the same name almost never share a day. When they do, FolioSort never overwrites in silence. You choose to keep both (the newcomer becomes DSC_0001_1.NEF), skip it or replace it, and a file that is byte-for-byte identical to the one already in the destination is simply left alone.
The R5 writes 45-megapixel .CR3 files, either full RAW or the smaller C-RAW, and names them IMG_0001.CR3. Its two slots take CFexpress Type B and SD, and the recording function decides what lands where. Rec. to multiple writes the same frame to both cards: copy one, keep the other as a backup until the archive is safe. Rec. separately lets each card take a different image quality, typically RAW on CFexpress and JPEG on SD. Then the pairs only meet again on the computer, so run both cards into the same destination: each JPEG lands in the same day folder as its CR3. 8K and 4K clips arrive as .MP4, or as .CRM for Cinema RAW Light. FolioSort reads the capture date of both, so the clips file into the same day as the stills shot around them. CRM, like every RAW and cinema format, needs Pro.
The Z8 writes 45.7-megapixel .NEF files in lossless compressed, High Efficiency★ or High Efficiency, named DSC_0001.NEF. At up to 20 frames per second in RAW, it burns through the 9,999-frame counter faster than any other body here: one sports weekend can cross it, which is exactly when date-based folders earn their keep. The secondary slot (SD, next to CFexpress Type B) has three roles. Overflow needs nothing special. Backup duplicates every file, so treat the second card as a backup and copy one. RAW primary, JPEG secondary splits the pairs, so bring both cards into the same run. For sports and wildlife, a lens level under the day helps: {YYYY}/{YYYY}-{MM}-{DD}/{Lens} puts every 400 mm frame in one folder, ready to review together. Video comes as .MOV or .MP4, plus .NEV for N-RAW clips.
The A7 IV writes 33-megapixel .ARW files (uncompressed, lossless compressed or compressed) and names them DSC00001.ARW. Slot 1 takes CFexpress Type A or SD, slot 2 takes SD only. Simultaneous recording puts identical files on both cards; the sorted mode splits RAW and JPEG between them. The same rules apply as on the Canon and the Nikon: copy one card of a simultaneous pair, run both cards of a split pair. One Sony habit catches people out. Stills go to DCIM, but video clips (C0001.MP4 and on) are stored under PRIVATE/M4ROOT/CLIP. Copy the whole card, not just DCIM, or the clips stay behind. FolioSort reads subfolders by default, so pointing it at the top of the card copy finds both.
The X100VI writes 40-megapixel .RAF files named DSCF0001.RAF, on a single SD card. Most owners shoot RAW+JPEG to keep the film-simulation JPEG and the RAW together, so every frame is a pair on the same card. It is also a camera people carry every day and rarely format, so one card can hold weeks of unrelated days. Both habits are what a date-first tree with a type level handles best: {YYYY}/{YYYY}-{MM}-{DD}/{Extension} gives each day a RAF and a JPG folder, and the JPEGs are ready to share without opening an editor. Pair the camera with the FUJIFILM XApp over Bluetooth and it writes your phone's location into each file. Then a place level works too: {YYYY}/{MM}/{City} turns a trip into one folder per town. See organize photos by location.
When two bodies or two shooters cover one day, the folder that matters is the moment, not the card. Set your camera clocks to the same minute before the shoot, then define the day's time windows (getting ready, ceremony, portraits, reception) in FolioSort Events. Every file from every body is matched by its capture time and lands in the right event folder, so the ceremony frames from both cameras sit side by side. Add {Camera} under each event if you need to know which body took what. If a clock was off, correct the offset before you sort, not after.
Lightroom Classic's import can build date folders, but only from date tokens: no body, no lens, no event. And importing two split cards separately is where duplicate names collide. Organize on disk first. Then, in Lightroom Classic, import the organized folder with Add, not Copy or Move, so it reads the files where they are and mirrors your tree. In Capture One, import into a catalog and choose to keep the images in their current location. The folders on disk stay the real structure; if you move the archive to a NAS later, point the editor at the new location and your edits stay attached.
Cull per day or per event, not per card: 400 frames from one ceremony are a decision you can make, 4,000 from a whole card are not. If you shot RAW+JPEG, review the JPEG folder and keep its picks for the RAW edit. AI Cull can rate keepers and rejects into standard XMP ratings that Lightroom reads, without moving anything. Once a shoot is sorted, back it up before you format the card: three copies, two kinds of storage, one off-site, as in the photo backup workflow. Because the tree is plain folders, any NAS, drive or cloud keeps it as it is. More on the metadata all of this relies on in EXIF metadata explained and organizing RAW photos.
Why does my camera give two different photos the same file name?
Every body names files with a four- or five-digit counter: IMG_0001 on the Canon EOS R5, DSC_0001 on the Nikon Z8, DSC00001 on the Sony A7 IV, DSCF0001 on the Fujifilm X100VI. When the counter passes 9,999 it starts again, and a second body uses the same names from day one. Sorting by capture date keeps most of them apart; for the rest, FolioSort keeps both files and adds _1 to the newcomer.
What is the best folder structure for RAW+JPEG?
Date first, file type second: a year folder, a day folder, then RAW and JPG folders inside the day. The pair stays in the same day, the editor only needs the RAW folder, and the JPEGs are ready to share. In FolioSort that is the template {YYYY}/{YYYY}-{MM}-{DD}/{Extension}.
I record to both cards. Should I copy both?
Copy one card into the archive and keep the other untouched until the archive is backed up. If you do run both, FolioSort leaves a file alone when a byte-for-byte identical copy is already in the destination, so the backup card adds nothing twice.
Can FolioSort organize RAW files for free?
No. RAW and cinema formats (CR3, NEF, ARW, RAF, CRM and the rest) need FolioSort Pro, a one-time €29.99 with a 14-day money-back guarantee. The free version sorts JPEG, HEIC and video up to 100 files per batch.
Does organizing change my RAW files?
No. FolioSort reads the metadata inside each file and copies or moves it into the new folder. It never develops, converts or rewrites a RAW file, and a move can be undone.
Should I import into Lightroom first or organize first?
Organize first. Then add the organized folder to Lightroom Classic or Capture One without copying, so the catalog mirrors the folders that are already on disk instead of building a second structure of its own.
RAW and cinema formats need Pro: €29.99 once, no subscription, 14-day money-back guarantee. The free version sorts JPEG, HEIC and video, up to 100 files per batch.