This has been tested on my Nikon D80 JPEG and NEF image files.

Linux

exiv2 -r'%Y%m%d-%H%M_:basename:' rename $(ls)

Windows (from the command prompt)

exiv2.exe -r %Y%m%d-%H%M_:basename: rename d*

Windows (in a MS-DOS batch file)

exiv2.exe -r %%Y%%m%%d-%%H%%M_:basename: rename d*

You have to add an extra % if you are going to use exiv2 in a Windows batch file, because % in batch files is treated as a variable and not as a switch to exiv2.

These examples require that you have access to the exiv2 program from the current folder.

Result
Now my image files have names like

20071022-1202_DSC_9727.JPG
20071022-1202_DSC_9727.NEF

Change in workflow
Since I rename all my files in the format YYYYMMDD-HHMM_Filename I’ve included it in my image “workflow” (a simple MS-DOS batch file) I wrote about in Rotate images depending on the EXIF orientation post.

This has been tested successfully on the Windows exiv2 version 0.16

The new batch file can be downloaded here.

jhead -ft -autorot *.JPG

All JPG-files in that folder will be rotated and file time (time and date of exposure) will be set according to the EXIF info.

-autorot
Using the ‘Orientation’ tag of the Exif header, rotate the image so that it is upright. The program ‘jpegtran’ is used to perform the rotation. This program is present in most Linux distributions. For Windows, you need to get a copy of it. After rotation, the orientation tag of the EXIF header is set to ’1′ (normal orientation). The Exif thumbnail is also rotated as of Jhead version 2.5. Other fields of the Exif header, including dimensions are untouched, but the JPEG height/width are adjusted.
This feature is especially useful with newer digital cameras, which set the orientation field in the Exif header automatically using a built in orientation sensor in the camera.

-ft
Sets the file’s system time stamp to what is stored in the EXIF header.

This is the way to fix the Orientation EXIF tag if a picture is rotated, but the EXIF Orientation tag doesn’t reflect this change.

jhead -ft -norot DSC_XXX.JPG

-norot
Clears the Exif header rotation tag without altering the image. You may find that your images have rotation tags in them from your camera, but you already rotated them with some lossless tool without clearing the rotation tag. Now your friendly browser rotates the images on you again because the image rotation tag still indicates the image should be rotated. Use this option to fix this problem. You may also want to regenerate the thumbnail using the -rgt option.

You’ll need the program exiftags to this excercise.

Let’s look at my picture trees.jpg‘s EXIF tags using exiftags:

$ exiftags trees.jpg
Camera-Specific Properties:

Equipment Make: OLYMPUS OPTICAL CO.,LTD
Camera Model: C40Z,D40Z
Camera Software: QuickTime 6.4
Maximum Lens Aperture: f/4.8

Image-Specific Properties:

Image Orientation: Top, Left-Hand
Image Orientation: Top, Left-Hand
Horizontal Resolution: 72 dpi
Vertical Resolution: 72 dpi
Image Created: 2003:12:07 15:49:06
Exposure Time: 1/500 sec
F-Number: f/5.6
Exposure Program: Creative
ISO Speed Rating: 100
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Metering Mode: Pattern
Light Source: Unknown
Flash: No Flash
Focal Length: 19.80 mm
Color Space Information: sRGB
Image Width: 2272
Image Height: 1704

Now lets add a “Comment” with my copyright notice. Type:

$ exifcom -w "copyright Joe Blow" trees.jpg

Now let’s look at the tags again to see the new “Comment” field:

$ exiftags trees.jpg
Camera-Specific Properties:

Equipment Make: OLYMPUS OPTICAL CO.,LTD
...
...
Flash: No Flash
Focal Length: 19.80 mm
Comment: copyright Joe Blow
Color Space Information: sRGB
Image Width: 2272
Image Height: 1704

You can add your copyright tag to a folder full of images by doing:

$ cd /path/to/picture/directory
$ exifcom -fw "copyright Joe Blow" *

Another command line utility that changes exif data and comment fields is jhead. To add a comment, use the following command:

jhead -cl "my comment here" picturename.jpg