Shutter Count Checker
Upload a photo from your camera and read its shutter count, the number of actuations the body has fired. Free, no signup, and the picture itself never leaves your computer.
How It Works
Four steps, and none of them need the image itself
Upload a photo
Straight from the camera or SD card, JPEG or RAW. Any size: an 80 MB file is fine.
We read the metadata
Only the file header is sent, never more than a few megabytes even for an 80 MB RAW. The image itself never leaves your device.
Find the counter
We look up your camera maker's own actuation tag and, where there are two counters, say which is which.
See the number
With the body it came from, the tag it was read from, and what it means for this camera.
What Is a Shutter Count?
Every time a camera takes a picture, its shutter fires once. The camera keeps a running total of those actuations and writes the current number into the metadata of the photos it produces. That number is the shutter count.
It matters because a mechanical shutter is a moving part with a finite life. Manufacturers rate bodies for a certain number of actuations, and the count tells you how much of that life has been used. It is the first thing to ask about a second-hand camera, and the photographic equivalent of mileage on a car.
How to Check Your Camera's Shutter Count
The count lives inside the photo, so you do not need the camera in front of you, just a file it produced. Upload any recent photo taken with the body and we read the counter out of its metadata.
Use an original file straight from the camera or the SD card. Anything re-saved by Instagram, a messaging app or a screenshot has had its metadata stripped and the number will be gone. For some cameras the counter may only be in the RAW file, and the tool names the file type to try when a JPEG comes back without it.
Which Cameras Store a Shutter Count?
Shutter count is not part of the standard EXIF specification. Each manufacturer decides whether to record it and where to put it, so support varies more than people expect. This table is what we verified on real files, plus the Canon bodies ExifTool documents.
| Brand | Supported | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Nikon | Yes | Best supported, in JPEG and NEF. Z-series bodies record a separate mechanical shutter count. |
| Sony | Yes | Verified on ARW files from the a6000 to the a7R IV. If a JPEG comes back empty, upload the ARW. |
| Fujifilm | Yes | Stored as an image count. Verified on RAF files; upload the RAF if a JPEG comes back empty. |
| Pentax | Yes | In JPEG and PEF. |
| Ricoh | GR III | The GR III shares the Pentax format and records it. Older Ricoh compacts do not. |
| Canon | Some bodies | The early EOS-1D and 1Ds bodies up to the 1D Mark III, EOS R5 and R6 (CR3 file only), PowerShot G5 X Mark II. Most others, including the 5D and 6D series, do not write it. |
| Olympus / OM System | No | Not written into the file. |
| Panasonic Lumix | No | Not written into the file. |
| Leica | No | Not written into the file. |
What Counts as a High Shutter Count?
There is no single number. Rated shutter life varies enormously by class: entry-level, enthusiast and professional bodies are built to different standards, and the manufacturer's own specification for your model is the only figure worth trusting. Where we cannot cite one, we do not invent one.
A count well under the rating on a well-kept body is not a problem. Shutters outlive their rating routinely and fail early occasionally; the rating is an average, not a guarantee, and how the camera was stored and used matters as much as the number.
On mirrorless bodies the electronic shutter takes many of the frames, so the mechanical count can be far lower than the total picture count. That is why the two numbers differ, and why the mechanical one is what matters for wear.
Buying or Selling a Used Camera
Before you buy
Ask the seller for an unedited photo straight from the camera and read the count yourself. It takes a few seconds and it is the one spec that cannot be talked up.
Before you sell
Publish the count in your listing. Buyers ask anyway, and volunteering it reads as confidence.
Insurance and service
A documented count helps when arranging a repair, a warranty claim or a valuation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need the camera to check the shutter count?
No. On cameras that record it, any original photo the camera produced carries the number, so a file from the seller or from your own archive is enough.
Why does it say my camera isn't supported?
Some manufacturers, including Olympus, Panasonic and Leica, never write the count into the file. That is a decision by the camera maker, not a limitation here. Many of those bodies show it in a service menu on the camera itself.
Why do I get no result from an Instagram or WhatsApp photo?
Those platforms strip metadata on upload, and so do most exports and screenshots. Use the original from the camera or SD card.
Do I need to upload a RAW file?
For some cameras, yes. Canon EOS R5 and R6 only record the count in the CR3 file. For Sony and Fujifilm the tool asks for the ARW or RAF when a JPEG carries the camera block but no counter.
What is the difference between shutter count and mechanical shutter count?
On bodies with an electronic shutter, many frames never move the mechanical shutter. The mechanical count is the one that reflects physical wear. Where a camera records both we show both and say which is which.
Is my photo uploaded to your server?
No. Your browser cuts out the metadata header and sends only that: under 200 KB for a JPEG and never more than 4 MB for a RAW. The image itself never leaves your device, and we do not store the header either.
Can I check the shutter count of a lens?
No. Actuations are a body figure. Some cameras record lens data, but not a lens count.
Is this free?
Yes, and there is no signup.