How to find your Canon camera shutter count in TWO simple steps

Finding your Canon camera's shutter count is useful to know, especially if you're thinking of selling it (Image credit: Canon)

Finding your Canon camera’s shutter count isn’t as simple as some other manufacturers make it.

Since it's not stored in EXIF data, you won't be able to follow the same steps required to find a Nikon camera’s shutter count. So, I’m going to show you an alternative method using two pieces of software for macOS and Windows users, respectively: ShutterCount and Canon EOS Digital Info.

Finding your camera’s shutter count is useful if you’re selling your camera, since it’s a better indication of the wear and tear it may have experienced than its age alone.

Most manufacturers provide an estimated shutter count lifespan. For example, the Canon EOS 6D Mark II is rated for 150,000 shutter actuations – but at the time of writing, there are examples of this camera over at MPB that far exceed this number. And that’s certainly not unusual.

But another reason you might like to look up your Canon camera’s shutter count is for no other reason than it’s often just cool to know. As Henri Cartier-Bresson famously said: “Your first 10,000 photographs are your worst.” So it’s certainly a useful figure to know!

How to find your Canon camera shutter count

1. Download the software

Hand pushing USB cable into the micro USB port of a Canon EOS 6D Mark II — Dig out your Canon's USB cable and plug it in (Image credit: Future)

Download ShutterCount via the App Store if you’re using macOS, and Canon EOS Digital Info via your browser if you’re using a Windows computer. Physically connect your Canon camera to your computer using the USB cable that came with it and switch your camera on.

2. Find your shutter count

Screenshot from Canon EOS DIGITAL Info software displaying Canon EOS 5D Mark III data — Canon EOS Digital Info is the software to use if you have a Windows computer (Image credit: Canon EOS DIGITAL Info)

If you’re using ShutterCount, the camera will automatically connect, supplying you with the camera model, serial number (also useful when selling), shutter count and rather interestingly, shutter wear.

This is calculated as a percentage, suggesting it’s finding what percentage of the camera’s estimated shutter life your shutter count represents.

If you're using Canon EOS Digital, click ‘Connect’ and you’ll be greeted with the camera model, firmware version, attached lens, serial number, and shutter count.

If you’re not using a Canon camera, check out our guide on how to find your shutter count. Fujifilm and Olympus users, for example, can actually find their shutter count in-camera, simplifying the process somewhat.

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If you're a Canon user then check out the best Canon cameras and the best Canon lenses for DSLRs. If you're looking to learn more about your camera, here's how to update your Canon EOS firmware.

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Mike is Digital Camera World's How To Editor. He has over a decade of experience, writing for some of the biggest specialist publications including Digital Camera, Digital Photographer and PhotoPlus: The Canon Magazine. Prior to DCW, Mike was Deputy Editor of N-Photo: The Nikon Magazine and Production Editor at Wex Photo Video, where he sharpened his skills in both the stills and videography spheres. While he's an avid motorsport photographer, his skills extend to every genre of photography – making him one of Digital Camera World's top tutors for techniques on cameras, lenses, tripods, filters and other imaging equipment – as well as sharing his expertise on shooting everything from portraits and landscapes to abstracts and architecture to wildlife and, yes, fast things going around race tracks...

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