Shutter Actuation Software
 

I am not sure if I have imagined this but I understand it is possible to interrogate a camera for the exact number of shutter actuations amongst other things.

I am looking at purchasing a used body but with low use. Software of this type would be very useful to prove low use.

Can anyone vouch for my understanding and point me in a direction where I can find such software.

Very good idea.
Seems possible with higher end bodies but no readily available by supplied software with the usual and common ones.
I believe it is possible to find it easy if you give the camera to manufacturer's repair center, so a call to local on may be of help. But I am sure someone has made a software for such check using cameras usb cable for communication. Will look and if find one, will post it here.

I am sure you are right Stephen. Due to rain tomorrow so time for a web trawl.

Don

Foxy Bob, while waiting for another break in the clouds I am doing a search. My assistant is on cloud watch :D

One possible so far http://drchung.new21.net/previewextractor/

Don

I hope your assistant is wrapped up nice and warm!

I downloaded preview-extractor and it sure works. Looking at the end of RIAT the 'mileage' on my D2X was approx 13500 some 400 higher than the filename I set to consecutive after a few hours of ownership.

My fathers D70 had taken an amazing 600 I reckon 150 of those were from me!

This little utility is going to come in handy :)

Stevie has a bottle of wine so she is fine. Reporting in is an excuse for a fill up :D :D

Does not look too good for a moon pic tonight at the moment.

I am still trawling, but glad that link provided something useful.

Don

Interesting bit of software, its showing 16,511 images and the last photo taken at Dux yesterday was number 15,911.

I have just downloaded and run it too. I have a count 62 higher than image file name. Probably 30 of those were in store demo's to others so not too bad.

Just the thing if you are looking at a used Hs :)

Your father will start charging mileage on his D70 :D

Don

I feel I cannot ask him as I seemed to have it most of the summer for one reason or another. I am quite bad an giving things back that I borrow within the family. Still, my father is using my 28-200 f3.5-5.6D loaned him in 2004!

Very useful utility to confirm use. I can ask for a recent photo from any seller to check date and time and shutter use before I explore any sale further.

Thanks Don :)

Just having a play with it.

No need to ever shoot RAW + Jpeg as it will extract all the jpegs for reviewing of images taken in a trice. Not much use for me as I do not fill 4 x 2gig cards at an airshow. :D

Very useful for dealing with Stevies pics though. She is not up with NX and on return from a do can now spin through her pics in PSP8 in no time. Prior to today I had to convert them to Jpegs individually as I have not worked out how to batch process.

Don

Just taken a JPEG to confirm it can read shutter count from that. ( Only NEF's checked previously )

I can confirm it does read the shutter count.

Don

Glad you have done that Don, I tried to read shutter from a JPEG that had undergone NEF -> TIFF then JPEG using NX and CS (James running in critique) yesterday evening and it did not read anything. Perhaps it reads uneditted JPEG's only - straight out of camera.

Stephen,

I have just been checking this out.

It will NOT read from a jpeg that has been edited in any way. It will read from Jpeg Fine, Medium or Basic out of camera.

Don

I checked mine on an uneddited jpeg so im backing Don there. Would it work on a processed nef? That is before converting it though,

I have just tried it on Canon files in jpg format, shame but it won't read them.

I e-mailed Foxy a out of camera Jpeg to confirm that the e-mail process did not strip out the info. I broke all the rules by not checking the pic first, only checking it in the shutter counter program. And I had the cheek to add at the bottom ' critique welcome ' . On checking I found it definately out of focus. :o :o

So Stephen here is one that IS in focus.

Don

Ollie,

As long as the image is straight out of camera it will read NEF and Jpeg. ANY processing action even turning 90 deg will loose the info.

.................................................. .......................................

Christine,

I will back track my route from yesterday as I am sure I found one that works with Canon files.

Don

Christine,

Here is a link to OPANDA Exif viewer that might be worth a try. IExif is freeware http://www.opanda.com/en/iexif/index.html


It cannot read Nikon NEF's or a Jpeg that has had ANY processing action performed including a change in orientation. It can read a D2X Jpeg but NOT a D100 one.

I cannot attach a screen grab as I keep getting chucked off, or faced with a white screen. You will need to scroll way down to the bottom to find it. Look for a line titled ' Total Number of S '

Don

Edited this to correct missing letter errors that do not exist in this edit window ?????

Thanks Don I will give it a try.

I think there could be a problem with the server at the moment.

Christine

Here is the Opanda screen grab.

Don

Thanks Don I looked but couldn't see it LOL!

I don't think it is showing the actuations of the Canon.

Christine,

Mmmm, about 1/8th the info I get with an edited Nikon image.

I guess Opanda not reading Canon files. I will do another web trawl unless anyone knows better.

Don

Don,

It looks like a similar story for Pentax images. The data relating to the number of shutter actuations simply doesn't appear to be recorded by the camera.

Duncan.

Christine,

It is chucking it down here today, so I have spent some time trawling for something that will work on Canon camera's.

CanCount ( not free although there appears to be a trial version ) does not work on all models. I found a forum comment that says it is NOT compatible with 10D-20D or 300D -350D
Link to CanCount ...... http://www.soens.de/Software_EN.html

From another forum comment it appears Nikon added the shutter count to exif from the D70 but Canon only record this info on D1 series exifs.

I have looked at several threads on the subject on DPR - Canon forums, and from them, it appears that only a Canon Service Centre can accurately determine this for models other than 1D series.


Duncan, I have not found anything that relates to Pentax. Perhaps Pentax users are not too concerned so no posting or site links picked up by Google. :)

Don

Thanks Don I tried doing a search as well and came up with the same thing, never mind, the exif reader I downloaded yesterday works brilliant for viewing setting, even on photos on the net. That can be useful.

I was amazed at the amount of info in an EXIF. I normally only look at info as in a gallery job. Never realised all this existed, must be 100 + lines. No idea what it all means. Might search that one.

If new lines are written to this when processed, then I can see why file sizes rise, as in having a play with a pic posted here and then having to compress further in order to post back.

Don

Well here goes, nothing better to do on a very wet day.

Attatched a full Opanda exif from Foxys messenger pic.

Don

Lots of tech type info that Rob may understand :)

Well I may have sort have answered my question here. All very tech stuff and way way beyond the limited bits of an exif I use.

I will post the two links as they may be of interest to anyone interested in editing the exif.

1) Link to Exif Tool by Phil Harvey http://www.sno.phy.queensu.ca/~phil/exiftool/

2) 2) Link to the Exif Tool Tag Names to save scrolling through the above link. http://www.sno.phy.queensu.ca/~phil/...mes/index.html

Kind of explains the fields in the exif that just contain numbers, by camera manufacturer. Not being a computer buff I found some interesting bits here that explain how a RAW processor ( in my case NX ) recognises things like the A/F point and various settings such as exposure comp, NR etc, that although adjustable, it initially applies when opening an image.

Don

I downloaded this software but it seems to only read jpeg and not RAW?

Afraid so Dan.

It is good if you want to see the exif on any jpeg image though. Try it on a pic posted in a thread. You will need to download it to your pc first. Does not work if image was saved for web though, as that strips out the exif.

Don

Don, it will work with the full image in the gallery but not the thumbnail, you don't have to download it.. If you right click on the image you can check the exif if it hasn't been saved to the web.

Any software option for Canon users?:(

Sassan. It doesn't look like there is at the moment, shame really as I would like to know how many photo's I have taken on my 300D and 350D cameras. I was swapping the CF cards around so will have false reading on both.

I would say it not the lack of software to read shutter actuations from Canon cameras but perhaps Canon do not encode this information into their files.