Modern cameras have complicated electronics, but only a few moving parts. The most important are the shutter mechanism and the motor that flips up the mirror in a DSLR. As a camera gets older, it’s important to be aware of your camera’s shutter count. This is also very important when considering purchasing a used camera.
What is Shutter Count?
5 Count (Pack of 1) 4.2 out of 5 stars 10,221. Creative Grip Crevice Gap Corner Cleaning Tools Set for Shutter/Keyboard/Air Conditioner/Car. Nikon embeds shutter count data into every JPEG. They have implemented this feature on all their digital SLR cameras post 2005. To find out your cameras shutter count or total number of shutter releases, take a picture in JPEG quality (small basic settings). Save it to your computer, and upload it to this page by clicking the BROWSE button above. Shutter count and more for your canon eos dslr. EOSCount allows you to read a shutter counter from a Canon EOS DSLR (DIGIC III and later) camera. It can also sync a camera clock to your PC's clock. Reasons to retrieve a camera's shutter count include: confirm that a new camera is truly new (shutter count 0) establish value of a used camera. Sony Alpha shutter count tool SONY Alpha shutter/image counter This tool will provide the number of shutter actuations that the camera has made up to the file in question. ONLY ORIGINAL JPG or ARW files STRAIGHT from the camera will work. Check Camera Shutter Count Check Your Camera's Shutter Count & Manufacture Date Use this tool to check your camera's shutter count and find out when the camera was manufactured. Note that if you upload an image that has been processed by Photoshop, etc., it might not be usable as some of its EXIF data could have been stripped.
Shutter count is the amount of photos that your camera has taken. It’s an important number that indicates the life expectancy of your camera. It’s a mechanism that flips a DSLR’s mirror out of the way, built from tiny and delicate parts. Then, a curtain will move from top to bottom, exposing the sensors, followed by another curtain covering it. This process also often moves incredibly quickly, which can subject them to a surprising amount of force:
For example, if you’re taking a picture in bright afternoon sunlight, your shutter may only be open for 1/1000 of a second or less. In order to stay open for such a short amount of time, it needs to start moving very quickly and then stop moving just as fast.
Over time, the forces involved in opening and closing the shutter are going to lead to the parts wearing out and the shutter mechanism breaking down. When this happens, you may have to either send the camera back to the manufacturer to replace the shutter mechanism–which is expensive and time-consuming–or get a new camera.
Fortunately, shutter mechanisms are built for a fairly large number of actuations. In most cameras, the shutter is rated for at least 100,000 to 200,000 shots, with top-tier pro models rated even higher. It’s also common for camera shutters to last far longer than their official rating.
For casual shooters or even many semi-pro photographers, this could be enough to last for many years and longer than you would want to keep the camera. Heavy shooters, though, will start to run into problems much sooner. If you shoot 2,000 shots a week (not difficult for certain types of photography, such as weddings and events), you might only be looking at a year or two before hitting the shutter lifespan.
If your camera is starting to get some age on it or you are looking at buying a used piece of gear, it can become important to check your shutter count to know how close you are to reaching the shutter’s limit. After all, the last thing you want is to have your shutter fail during the middle of an important shoot.
How To Check Shutter Count
Luckily, camera manufacturers build a tool into a camera to keep track of the shutter count. It’s not always easy to access this data, however. Depending on your camera, there are many ways to check your shutter count.
What is EXIF Data?
All cameras store a lot of info in each image’s EXIF data. For many cameras, such as most Nikons, most Sony Alphas, and some Canons, this includes the shutter count. You can use any program that will show you the complete EXIF data (not just an image viewer that only shows the basic information) and look for a line that says something like Image Number or Shutter Count.
Adobe Photoshop will show your EXIF data by clicking on File Info in the File menu and clicking on the Raw Data tab. You can view complete EXIF data on images uploaded to Flickr. There are also a large number of websites that will allow you to upload an image and will tell you the shutter count.
Alternatives for Canon Cameras
For Canon cameras, if the shutter count isn’t saved in the EXIF data, there are some alternative tools you can use. If you use a Mac computer, the Shuttercheck App will connect to your camera and show your shutter count. For some camera models, you can use EOSInfo to find this information on Windows. The firmware hack Magic Lantern also adds the option to view shutter counts directly in the camera.
Shutter Count Ratings
Different cameras have different shutter counts ratings from their manufacturers. These ratings are what the camera makers expect the minimum shutter life to be. Depending on how you use your camera (and your general luck), your actual shutter life may be lower or far higher than what the manufacturer states.
Canon Shutter Count Ratings
Canon has released shutter count ratings for most of their cameras above the Rebel line. Only some of the Rebels have official ratings available.
Camera Model | Shutter Rating |
---|---|
Canon 1D X Mark II | 500,000 |
Canon 5D Mark II/III/IV | 150,000 |
Canon 6D Mark II | 100,000 |
Canon 7D Mark II | 200,000 |
Canon 60D/70D/80D | 100,000 |
Canon T5i/T6i | 100,000 |
Nikon Shutter Count Ratings
Nikon also states shutter count ratings for most of their camera models.
Camera Model | Shutter Rating |
---|---|
D4/D5 | 400,000 |
D500 | 200,000 |
D850 | 200,000 |
D3500 | 100,000 |
D5600 | 100,000 |
D7500 | 150,000 |
Shutter Count Tool Sony
Sony Shutter Count Ratings
Sony has for the most part avoided giving official shutter count ratings on their cameras. The only models that have been given an official statement for their shutter count lifespan are the a7R II, a7R III, and a9, all of which are rated for 500,000 actuations.
Shutter Count Sony
It’s common to hear comparisons made between camera shutter counts and car mileage. While this isn’t exact, it can give a useful frame of reference about how long to expect your camera to keep working well.
Like with mileage, this value is generally a suggestion and not a rule. You can get far more or less life out of your camera than their official rating. If you’re preparing for a major shoot or looking at buying a used camera, know if you’re near the rating to avoid potential problems.
Tags: Used CamerasLast modified: May 20, 2020 Greetings!
I am proud to announce the launch of a tool for reading the number of shutter actuations a SONY alpha camera has made!
The method for A850/A900 was discovered by people on the mi-fo.de forum, so cheers to them! (Thanks Micholand for providing the starting info!)
http://tools.science.si/index.php
Since I was searching for a way to do this on SONY cameras for a couple of years now, this was all that I needed, and my breakthrough was fast.
I can now successfully read the number from ORIGINAL RAW, CRAW or JPEG (re-sizing breaks the exif for example) images from the following cameras:
- A55
- A850/A900
- A99
Support for the following cameras will be added very soon (a week or so):
- A500
-A700
- A77
For other cameras I will require sequential shots from that model (at least 5 or preferably more).
I will publish instructions later, but you can PM me already with questions.
There are some interesting discoveries:
1) The shutter count in a file shows the number of actuations before the current image was taken
2) first curtain on/off makes no difference, the counter always counts only one actuation
3) Panoramas in the DSLTs make from 33 to 50 (or maybe more) actuations for a single image!
4) Multi shot iso mode and hand-held twilight also make multiple actuations (this is clearly audible)
5) If your shutter was changed (due to being broken for example), the counter is reset to 0.
http://tools.science.si/index.php
Please don't abuse the tool too much, as it currently sits on a not-so-powerful server and with relatively slow upload speed (about 20Mps).
Any info is available if anyone wants to make offline applications.
Regards,
Borut
.........................................
UPDATE OCT. 2018
So, another update, pretty significant one as well.
The good stuff first:
- expanded support for new E and A-mount (7rm3, 9, 99m2, etc ...)
- up to 1000x faster (read below for more info)
- source code now completely free and open
The bad stuff:
- no more option of providing a link (you need to download the photo to your computer and 'upload' it to the tool
The 'meh' stuff:
- old tool will still be available for a while
The gruesome details
I've rewritten the whole application, so that it now runs on your computer - in the internet browser - instead of on the server.
The benefits are:
- files no longer need to be uploaded, saving bandwidth on both ends.
- only the file header is read and processed, which is blazingly fast
- many files can be processed simultaneously
- code for reading is 'readable' in the source html of the tool, if people want to 'roll their own'
- no more exploits trying to infest my server
The tool should work on all modern browsers. If you have any specific issues or requests, let me know here or via a private message.
Best regards,
Guy
Edited by stiuskr - 13 October 2018 at 12:42
I am proud to announce the launch of a tool for reading the number of shutter actuations a SONY alpha camera has made!
The method for A850/A900 was discovered by people on the mi-fo.de forum, so cheers to them! (Thanks Micholand for providing the starting info!)
http://tools.science.si/index.php
Since I was searching for a way to do this on SONY cameras for a couple of years now, this was all that I needed, and my breakthrough was fast.
I can now successfully read the number from ORIGINAL RAW, CRAW or JPEG (re-sizing breaks the exif for example) images from the following cameras:
- A55
- A850/A900
- A99
Support for the following cameras will be added very soon (a week or so):
- A500
-
- A77
For other cameras I will require sequential shots from that model (at least 5 or preferably more).
I will publish instructions later, but you can PM me already with questions.
There are some interesting discoveries:
1) The shutter count in a file shows the number of actuations before the current image was taken
2) first curtain on/off makes no difference, the counter always counts only one actuation
3) Panoramas in the DSLTs make from 33 to 50 (or maybe more) actuations for a single image!
4) Multi shot iso mode and hand-held twilight also make multiple actuations (this is clearly audible)
5) If your shutter was changed (due to being broken for example), the counter is reset to 0.
http://tools.science.si/index.php
Please don't abuse the tool too much, as it currently sits on a not-so-powerful server and with relatively slow upload speed (about 20Mps).
Any info is available if anyone wants to make offline applications.
Regards,
Borut
.........................................
UPDATE OCT. 2018
So, another update, pretty significant one as well.
The good stuff first:
- expanded support for new E and A-mount (7rm3, 9, 99m2, etc ...)
- up to 1000x faster (read below for more info)
- source code now completely free and open
The bad stuff:
- no more option of providing a link (you need to download the photo to your computer and 'upload' it to the tool
The 'meh' stuff:
- old tool will still be available for a while
The gruesome details
I've rewritten the whole application, so that it now runs on your computer - in the internet browser - instead of on the server.
The benefits are:
- files no longer need to be uploaded, saving bandwidth on both ends.
- only the file header is read and processed, which is blazingly fast
- many files can be processed simultaneously
- code for reading is 'readable' in the source html of the tool, if people want to 'roll their own'
- no more exploits trying to infest my server
The tool should work on all modern browsers. If you have any specific issues or requests, let me know here or via a private message.
Best regards,
Guy
Edited by stiuskr - 13 October 2018 at 12:42