I seriously doubt they would do such a thing for free, but for peace of mind, it would be worth the financial outlay. If none of the above suggestions work for you then your camera manufacturer's service center may be happy to give you a reading off the camera.
Canon users may also consider using Magic Lantern which is a free software add-on that you install directly onto your camera and unlocks many new features including an on-screen shutter counter reading when you visit the “Debug” menu. Both EOSInfo and Shutter Count from Dire Studios are very popular although I haven't used either so can't comment on their reliability. If your particular camera manufacturer in their infinite wisdom has decided not to include the shutter counter figure in the Exif data, there are some third-party programs which can still give you the current shutter reading directly off the camera body when it is connected to a computer via USB. Try the phrases “Shutter Count,” “Image Number,” or even “Image Count” to help direct you to the correct part of the code.įor those without Photoshop, there are also many handy websites like Camera Shutter Count, Nikon Shutter Count, and which will read the Exif data on an image you upload and instantly display your shutter count. Depending on which camera manufacturer you use the wording will vary. Once you are in the File Info menu, click on the "Raw Data" tab and use the search box to help find your count number. This means that it's possible to view the count information in Photoshop by going to “File Info.” Some cameras actually store the shutter count in the Exif data of every image you make. Unfortunately, there is no universal way to perform this task as the camera manufacturers all do things slightly differently. Hopefully you now have a rough idea of how long your camera will last, so it's now time to find out how many shutter actuations you have already made. Finding the Current Shutter Count on a Camera In some cases, camera companies will replace a shutter if it fails before that particular number so it's well worth knowing if that is the case. Personally, I'd also drop a line to the necessary service center to get an official answer on a shutter's lifespan. A quick Google will also return the typical life of a camera shutter for your particular body. If you've had the same camera for a few years or are considering buying something secondhand, this website can quickly give you a ballpark figure. Typical Shutter Counts for Popular CamerasĮven though the site is a little dated now, The Camera Shutter Life Expectancy Database is a great resource for camera shutter actuations and their life cycles. If something you find on eBay has already taken a lot of pictures it may not last as long as you hope or be as much of a bargain as you think. Knowing these numbers is equally as important to be aware of when looking to purchase a camera secondhand. For this reason, it's crucial you keep an eye on how many pictures your current camera has made and how many frames your particular model will be at when it reaches the end of its life cycle. Some photographers may get unlucky and find themselves on the lower side of those numbers while others may find their cameras are still going strong after 500,000 shots. This shutter moves at some speed and force every single time you take a photograph and because of this the shutter will eventually wear out and kill the camera.ĭepending on the camera you have, the typical life of a shutter can vary from anything as low as 50,000 shutter actuations right up to 350,000. In a nutshell, the role of the shutter is to allow light to pass for a determined period of time onto the sensor which captures the image. For those who don't know exactly what the shutter in the camera looks like, this video is a fascinating watch and will help you to understand what we are talking about. This worry is justified by the fact that the shutter in a DSLR camera does not actually last forever and will eventually cease to function. I think this complex came from shooting very high shot counts day in, day out in my first commercial studio job as well as owning several secondhand cameras early on in my career. Minimize these risks by knowing what to look out for and the kind of plan you need to have in place for when that inevitable disaster strikes.įor as long as I have practiced digital photography, I have had a persistent apprehension that my camera is on the brink of taking its final few frames.
Not only is this bad news for our bank balances, but if a camera were to die mid-shoot then it could potentially land us in a world of professional problems. Like most technology we own, our cameras will eventually stop working.