Shutter Count Checker

How to check the shutter count

1. Take a new photo with the camera, or use the newest one on its memory card. The count is the number at the moment of that photo.
2. Copy the original file to your computer or phone without editing it. A RAW file or the camera JPEG both work.
3. Choose the file here. The count appears at once, or a plain note says why the file has none.

Where the number comes from

A camera does not write its shutter count into the standard EXIF tags. When it records the number at all, it puts it into its maker notes, a block that each brand lays out in its own way, sometimes scrambled. That is why most shutter count websites ask you to upload a photo: they run it through a program on their server. I wanted the same answer without sending my files anywhere, so this page reads the maker notes itself, in your browser.

It only reads places I could check against a real file from that camera. Every count in the table below was read from a sample RAW file and matched the number that ExifTool, the reference program for photo metadata, gives for the same file. My own A7 III is on the list too, but the photos I first tried were Lightroom exports, and the answer was that the copy had lost its maker notes. A RAW file straight from the card gives the number.

Cameras checked with a real file

The two K-x files were taken one after the other, which is why their counts differ by one. Sony uses the A7 III layout also in the A6100, A6300, A6400, A6500, A6600, A7C, A7R II, A7R III, A7R IV, A7S II, A9, A9 II, A99 II and ZV-E10, so the tool reads those too, but I have not had a file from each of them to check.

How each brand keeps the count

Nikon writes the number of releases into every photo, in the same maker notes tag on its DSLRs, so any Nikon that records it is read. Pentax does the same but scrambles the number with the date and time of the photo; the tool undoes that. Sony hides it in an enciphered block whose layout changes between generations, which is why only the models above are read, and another Sony gets the answer that this tool cannot read it yet rather than a wrong number.

Canon writes a count only on some models; most of its DSLRs and the EOS M keep it inside the camera, where only Canon's service can read it. Fujifilm stores a count of pictures taken, not of shutter movements, so shots with the electronic shutter are included. Olympus cameras and phones do not write a count into their photos.

What a shutter count tells you

Makers rate their shutters for a number of releases, often 100,000 to 200,000 for enthusiast bodies and more for professional ones. The rating is an average, not a limit: many shutters last far longer, a few fail early. When you buy a used camera, a low count says it has not been worked hard, and a count close to the rating is a reason to ask for a lower price or a shutter replacement receipt. Ask the seller for a fresh photo, so the number is current and the file really comes from that camera.

Tips for better results

• Use a file straight from the memory card; copies exported from Lightroom, Photos or a messenger usually lose the maker notes.
• Take one new photo before you check, so the number is up to date.
• On a used camera, compare the count with the date of the photo and the age of the model.
• If the answer is that this camera does not store a count, ask the maker’s service; only they can read it from the body.

Privacy

What you choose here never leaves your device. The photo is read and cleaned in your browser, so nothing is uploaded or stored, and you need no account. The map link sends a photo’s coordinates to OpenStreetMap only when you tap it.

Related tools and guides

• EXIF Viewer: Read the camera, settings, date and GPS location stored in a photo, or remove them.
• Remove EXIF Data from Photos: Save a copy of your photo without its location, camera details and hidden thumbnail. The picture stays exactly as it was, and you choose what to keep.
• Image Converter: Convert JPEG, PNG, WebP and HEIC images directly in your browser.
• Image Compressor: Reduce JPEG, PNG and WebP file sizes while keeping quality high.
• JPG to PDF Converter: Combine JPG, PNG, HEIC and other images into one PDF in your browser.
• I Built the Tools I Kept Looking For as a Photographer: Why I made browser tools like this one instead of using upload sites.
• What Is Bokeh in Photography? How I Use Blur Without Losing the Photograph: A guide written with the same camera whose count I wanted to read.