shutter activations

[duncan22]

I have seen the subject of "shutter activations" appear in a few threads for Canon cameras.
How do you find out the number of shutter activations on a camera, specifically how would you do this on a 50D

[chris-p]

I know that you can see the number of shutter actuations using Photoshop CS3 if the camera records that data in it's EXIF header.

In Photoshop open the photo file and go to File > File Info and then click on Advanced (last item in the list) and select http ://ns.adobe.com/exif/1.0/aux and look for an item called Aux: ImageNumber. That should be the shutter count.

[jinky]

Duncan - also if you have a flickr account - free or pro- you can find out by uploading an unaltered jpeg and it will be listed in the "more properties" section by the photo.

[chris-p]

Originally Posted by jinky

Duncan - also if you have a flickr account - free or pro- you can find out by uploading an unaltered jpeg and it will be listed in the "more properties" section by the photo.

Ooh! I didn't know that!

[flake]

Beware with this as the shutter count is often inaccurate!

If you put a memory card from an old camera into a new one and then format it, all the shutter count data wil be passed to the new camera. Instead of a zero reading it could be in the thousands! Both Nikon and Canon cameras do this, and it has led to people returning cameras they believed are not new, when in fact they are!

[duncan22]

Flake,
Thanks for that. Is there any way around this problem ? Could you format an old card in your computer and then format it again in the camera to avoid it reading the old shutter count ?

[Forseti]

To the best of my knowledge, information such as 'shutter count' is contained in the manufacturers notes (plus lots of other information) and this data is NOT made available to other software providers. It's one of the reasons for instance that Camera Raw cannot read the various settings such as Portrait and Landscape colour information etc obliging Adobe to calibrate their own. This might be different as concerns Nikon cameras. Canon engineers can of course access these manufacturers notes and it's probably of use to them when warranty claims are made regarding faulty shutters and the like.

Using the info that Chris provided I've just checked with my 40D and SX1 cameras. Both these cameras have had only 1 CF card used in them for their respective lifetimes, both cameras are set to continuous file numbering and have only been formatted in camera. The File Info menu in Photoshop shows numbers that are way way off the mark - for instance, the 40D shows a figure of 35 when in reality shutter actuations are up in the thousands.

I remember doing this exercise on the 30D a while back as the subject came up on the old DCM forums and again meaningless numbers were given. It's also one of the reasons why I have the camera set to continuous file numbering so that the number given to the image is representative of how many images I have taken with any particular camera. If I need to change a file name for any reason e.g.giving it a meaningful name for uploading to web sites I first make a copy of it and rename this.

[chris-p]

I must admit I've never looked myself to see how many shutter actuations my camera has (theoretically) had. I will have a look when I get home and see what the Photoshop method comes up with - although I've no way of proving if it's right or wrong.

I wonder if DPP or View/CaptureNX show that sort of info? If the manufacturers are encoding it in the EXIF data (which would make sense) then they may give access to it with their own software?

[flake]

Originally Posted by duncan22

Flake,
Thanks for that. Is there any way around this problem ? Could you format an old card in your computer and then format it again in the camera to avoid it reading the old shutter count ?

Formatting cards on the PC is not a good idea, I believe if you format the card in the old camera before transfering it to the new one will not pass the data on.

I'm not quite sure why people find this so important, when you're buying a second hand unit the wear & tear will indicate the amount of use a camera has had, but with some cameras having a 300K + activation count there are very few of us who will ever reach that in the life of a body before moving on to a newer model.

[anglefire]

The first 1Series cameras did store the shutter count in the Exif - and you can get a program off the net to read the number.

As far as I know, no other canon records the data.

If you want to avoid the file number from the old camera starting in a new camera, you have to format it on a computer. When the camera formats the card, it also stores the last file number the camera used.

When you put the card into a camera, it checks its own internal file number with that stored on the card and uses the highest number.

Flake, I've no idea why you would think formatting a card on a PC to not be a good idea. Though when you put it in the camera its probably a good idea, but only to ensure the format is correct.