diff --git a/frontend/src/components/layout/RightSidebar.tsx b/frontend/src/components/layout/RightSidebar.tsx
index c92e8d6..4725da7 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/layout/RightSidebar.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/layout/RightSidebar.tsx
@@ -38,6 +38,8 @@ export function RightSidebar() {
     bulkRating: bulkRatingMutation,
     bulkColor: bulkColorMutation,
     bulkNotes: bulkNotesMutation,
+    bulkTakenAt: bulkTakenAtMutation,
+    bulkTakenAtMap: bulkTakenAtMapMutation,
     invalidatePhotoQueries,
   } = useBulkPhotoMutations()
 
@@ -53,10 +55,11 @@ export function RightSidebar() {
     onSuccess: invalidatePhotoQueries,
   })
 
-  // Shared report-and-invalidate tail for both bulk taken_at mutations.
-  // They return a partial-apply shape (updated/skipped/errors) because
-  // EXIF writes can fail per-photo (unsupported format, missing file)
-  // without wrecking the rest of the batch.
+  // Toast for bulk taken_at responses. The endpoints return a partial-
+  // apply shape (updated/skipped/errors) because EXIF writes can fail
+  // per-photo (unsupported format, missing file) without wrecking the
+  // rest of the batch. Cache reconciliation is handled inside
+  // useBulkPhotoMutations; this just surfaces the count to the user.
   const reportBulkTakenAt = (
     data: {
       status: string
@@ -75,25 +78,8 @@ export function RightSidebar() {
     } else {
       toast.success('Dates updated', detail)
     }
-    invalidatePhotoQueries()
   }
 
-  const bulkTakenAtMutation = useMutation({
-    mutationFn: ({ ids, iso }: { ids: string[]; iso: string }) =>
-      photosApi.bulkSetTakenAt(ids, iso),
-    onSuccess: reportBulkTakenAt,
-    onError: (e: any) =>
-      toast.error('Date update failed', formatApiError(e)),
-  })
-
-  const bulkTakenAtMapMutation = useMutation({
-    mutationFn: (map: Record<string, string>) =>
-      photosApi.bulkSetTakenAtMap(map),
-    onSuccess: reportBulkTakenAt,
-    onError: (e: any) =>
-      toast.error('Date update failed', formatApiError(e)),
-  })
-
   // Bulk tag mutations. Tag mutations also need to invalidate the tags
   // query so the FilterBar / sidebar tag counts stay fresh.
   const invalidateTagsAndPhotos = () => {
@@ -486,9 +472,16 @@ export function RightSidebar() {
             selectedCount={selectedPhotos.length}
             collectPhotos={collectSelectedPhotos}
             onApplyUniform={(iso) =>
-              bulkTakenAtMutation.mutate({ ids: selectedPhotos, iso })
+              bulkTakenAtMutation.mutate(
+                { ids: selectedPhotos, iso },
+                { onSuccess: reportBulkTakenAt },
+              )
+            }
+            onApplyMap={(map) =>
+              bulkTakenAtMapMutation.mutate(map, {
+                onSuccess: reportBulkTakenAt,
+              })
             }
-            onApplyMap={(map) => bulkTakenAtMapMutation.mutate(map)}
           />
         </div>
       </div>
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/sidebar/PhotoInfoPanel.tsx b/frontend/src/components/sidebar/PhotoInfoPanel.tsx
index d84a67b..a6d0262 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/sidebar/PhotoInfoPanel.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/sidebar/PhotoInfoPanel.tsx
@@ -164,8 +164,13 @@ export function PhotoInfoPanel({ photoId, darkTheme = false }: PhotoInfoPanelPro
     placeholderData: keepPreviousData,
   })
 
-  // Mutation for any patchable field. Invalidates both the photo detail
-  // cache and the timeline list so the grid reflects the change too.
+  // Mutation for any patchable field. The PATCH response is the updated
+  // row, which we merge straight into the per-photo cache so the panel
+  // paints synchronously — no follow-up GET round-trip before the new
+  // value appears. Merge (not replace) because the GET endpoint adds a
+  // `tags` field that PATCH doesn't return; replacing would clobber it.
+  // Lists and stats are still invalidated so sort order and aggregates
+  // reconcile with the server.
   const updateMutation = useMutation({
     mutationFn: (data: {
       filename?: string
@@ -176,8 +181,17 @@ export function PhotoInfoPanel({ photoId, darkTheme = false }: PhotoInfoPanelPro
       color_label?: string | null
       taken_at?: string
     }) => photosApi.update(photoId, data),
-    onSuccess: () => {
-      queryClient.invalidateQueries({ queryKey: ['photo', photoId] })
+    onSuccess: (updated: Partial<PhotoDetails> & { id: string }) => {
+      queryClient.setQueryData<PhotoDetails>(['photo', photoId], (prev) =>
+        prev ? { ...prev, ...updated } : (updated as PhotoDetails),
+      )
+      queryClient.setQueriesData<PhotoDetails[]>(
+        { queryKey: ['photos'] },
+        (prev) =>
+          prev
+            ? prev.map((p) => (p.id === updated.id ? { ...p, ...updated } : p))
+            : prev,
+      )
       queryClient.invalidateQueries({ queryKey: ['photos'] })
       queryClient.invalidateQueries({ queryKey: LIBRARY_STATS_QUERY_KEY })
     },
diff --git a/frontend/src/hooks/useBulkPhotoMutations.ts b/frontend/src/hooks/useBulkPhotoMutations.ts
index 24775da..ac6cd27 100644
--- a/frontend/src/hooks/useBulkPhotoMutations.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/hooks/useBulkPhotoMutations.ts
@@ -189,5 +189,75 @@ export function useBulkPhotoMutations() {
     onSuccess: invalidatePhotoQueries,
   })
 
-  return { bulkRating, bulkColor, bulkNotes, invalidatePhotoQueries }
+  // Bulk taken-at: same iso applied to every selected id. Mirror the
+  // server's manual-source flip so the badge updates without waiting on
+  // the reconcile fetch. has_date_warning isn't patched optimistically —
+  // it's recomputed server-side and the post-success invalidate carries
+  // it back. Per-photo errors (unsupported EXIF formats) come through
+  // the response shape, not as a thrown error, so onError isn't the
+  // place to roll back; instead we rely on the invalidate to bring back
+  // any rows the server skipped.
+  const bulkTakenAt = useMutation({
+    mutationFn: ({ ids, iso }: { ids: string[]; iso: string }) =>
+      photosApi.bulkSetTakenAt(ids, iso),
+    onMutate: ({ ids, iso }) => {
+      const snapshot = snapshotPhotos(ids)
+      patchPhotos(ids, { taken_at: iso, taken_at_source: 'manual' })
+      return { snapshot }
+    },
+    onError: (e, _vars, ctx) => {
+      if (ctx?.snapshot) restoreFromSnapshot(ctx.snapshot)
+      toast.error('Date update failed', formatApiError(e))
+    },
+    onSuccess: invalidatePhotoQueries,
+  })
+
+  // Bulk taken-at with a per-photo iso map. Same shape as bulkTakenAt
+  // otherwise — patch each row to its own iso, snapshot the lot for
+  // rollback, reconcile via invalidate.
+  const bulkTakenAtMap = useMutation({
+    mutationFn: (map: Record<string, string>) =>
+      photosApi.bulkSetTakenAtMap(map),
+    onMutate: (map) => {
+      const ids = Object.keys(map)
+      const snapshot = snapshotPhotos(ids)
+      const want = new Set(ids)
+      // Per-id patch: can't reuse patchPhotos (single-patch primitive),
+      // so walk the same caches inline.
+      queryClient.setQueriesData<Photo[]>({ queryKey: ['photos'] }, (prev) =>
+        prev
+          ? prev.map((p) =>
+              want.has(p.id)
+                ? { ...p, taken_at: map[p.id], taken_at_source: 'manual' }
+                : p,
+            )
+          : prev,
+      )
+      for (const id of ids) {
+        const cur = queryClient.getQueryData<Photo>(['photo', id])
+        if (cur) {
+          queryClient.setQueryData<Photo>(['photo', id], {
+            ...cur,
+            taken_at: map[id],
+            taken_at_source: 'manual',
+          })
+        }
+      }
+      return { snapshot }
+    },
+    onError: (e, _vars, ctx) => {
+      if (ctx?.snapshot) restoreFromSnapshot(ctx.snapshot)
+      toast.error('Date update failed', formatApiError(e))
+    },
+    onSuccess: invalidatePhotoQueries,
+  })
+
+  return {
+    bulkRating,
+    bulkColor,
+    bulkNotes,
+    bulkTakenAt,
+    bulkTakenAtMap,
+    invalidatePhotoQueries,
+  }
 }