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EOS bodies - shutter "odometer"

Doug Kerr

Well-known member
We periodically read of someone who has discovered, buried in the Exif metadata from EOS cameras such as the 20D and 40D, the "shutter actuation count".

These are bum steers. What the writers have "discovered" is the "frame serial number", a combination of the numerical part of the folder name and the numerical part of the filename for the frame. It is encoded in a peculiar way for some bodies. I have before written of how to decode that for some EOS bodies.

There is no credible evidence that the shutter "actuation count" is in the Exif metadata in files from modern EOS bodies (other than for the 1D series).

However, the is now a Windows utility program that will supposedly, for non-1D EOS bodies with the Digic III or Digic IV processors (notably, the EOS 40D, 50D, 450D, 500D, and 1000D) read, over the USB interface, the shutter actuation count.

It is available here:

http://astrojargon.net/EOSInfo.aspx

Thanks to Sandrine Bascouert for bringing this back to my attention (via an article in compétence Photo magazine).

I have not tested this utility (that I can remember!).

An older utility program, supposedly with a similar capability, available for both Windows and Mac platforms, is available here:

http://astrojargon.net/40DShutterCount.aspx

(It is this that is directly referenced in compétence Photo.)

Best regards,

Doug
 

Doug Kerr

Well-known member
Well, evidently I already had it installed, and may in fact have tested it! (It's hell to get old!) I might even have reported on that!

In any case, I've tested it now (on my EOS 40D), and it looks as if it works. The shutter count is credible, given the file numbering history, which I have generally kept uninterrupted, and without any significant number of "non file" actuations (including captures).

The utility also allows us to set in the camera, for application to the Exif metadata, the Owner, Artist, and Copyright data items.

Thanks to David Polivka for developing this useful tool.

Best regards,

Doug
 
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