I've used two programs on my 5D3. eoscount.com which requires Internet Explorer and crashes a dozen times before actually working and tornadosw.com which is a download and requires you to disable Windows Defender, but works much more reliably.
Well, after having put off trying tornadosw.com for at least a couple of years because of the apparent risks I finally decided to live dangerously today :- )
Mike_5D's post above persuaded me. There had been no other option in Windows other than tornadosw, believe me I'd tried.
I had to disable Defender as suggested but that was covered in the some notes within the Defender app. It says its OK to do that for a short time after which it will switch itself on again. I did switch it back on myself.
I used it on a 5DS-R, two 5D Mark IV's, and a 6D Mark II. It all worked out great. I saved the screenshots.
It also supplies a lot of extra interesting data e.g. what the mirror count is as well as the shutter count, what factory it was built in and when, and what countries it was supplied for.
The cost was just UK£19.38 for unlimited use for 3 days on one PC.
roythegreat wrote:
Can anyone help me to understand how I can get the shutter count from my 5D3 without sending it to canon's service center?
Thanking you in advance.
Astro Photography Tool works on my 50D, 7D and 5DIII, and it's free.
lesaus wrote:
Astro Photography Tool works on my 50D, 7D and 5DIII, and it's free.
I had tried Astro a few weeks ago but without success. It may be because my cams are what they are or it may be my user error - Astro is extremely complex on first look but if you are an astrophysicist you may be fine :- )
ashton lamont wrote:
I had tried Astro a few weeks ago but without success. It may be because my cams are what they are or it may be my user error - Astro is extremely complex on first look but if you are an astrophysicist you may be fine :- )
Basically, you attach your camera to your PC via USB, turn it on, launch Astro. The camera make, model and shutter count appear at the bottom left of screen.
lesaus wrote:
Basically, you attach your camera to your PC via USB, turn it on, launch Astro. The camera make, model and shutter count appear at the bottom left of screen.
What camera bodies are you using?
I have just tried again,updated the Astro Photoography App, my Windows is 10, 64 bit version 20H2, bang up to date.
Connected a 5D-IV and a 5DS-R. Both show as connected but NEITHER show the shutter count.I had assumed in my previous attempts that there must be some change of Preferences needed etc but not so.
A quick search via Youtube here:
shows how to use it but several viewers have confirmed it does not show the shutter count for the 80D, 750D, 77D, 5D-IV, 6D-II.
As stated previously: 50D, 7D and 5DIII. The OP has a 5DIII that he was looking to get a shutter count on. So, Astro should work for his as it does for mine.
After EOSCount did not work for my 7D Mk II, and Direstudio Shutter Count only had downloads for Mac (that I found), I found FreeShutterCount.com and got the shutter, serial number and firmware version for my Canon 6D and 7D Mark ii, on Windows 10.
HOWEVER, the name is misleading, it's only free up to 1,000 actuations So it showed ??722 Actuations. However, for $7 through Paypal you can get an unlock code, and I doubt the developer is getting rich off his tool.
Getting started: I had to run another program Zadig, to install new USB drivers. There's a link to the drivers and a 35-second instructional video in the program, and you have to follow the instructions closely to 1) select your camera from your devices list, and 2) wait for the proper driver to appear. After the driver update, it works flawlessly, both from navigating to the most recent image, or with a USB wired connection.
I wonder why camera maker make's so difficult to have a counter of activation's on the cameras. The Canon 1Dx series and Nikon D3 D4 D5 as it in the menu easily reachable. Why hide the true status/count of the other series of cameras ?
By law a car has to have millage counter . So why not for camera ?? This should be Mandatory on all cameras.
It would be great if it was easy. But each Canon camera has three counters. Shutter count, mirror box count, entire camera clicks count. These third party apps read from anyone of these causing problems on the used market.
Appears that the count may not include shutter actuations if live view is used with some models but I have not investigated further. I seldom if ever use live view except for video and the occasional tethered stills.
I used Tornado recently. On a 6D-II the shutter count and total was only 852 (I've hardly used that cam at all). The mirror count and total was 766. On a 5D-IV the shutter / mirror was 19636 / 18764. On another 5D-IV 20486 / 19267. On a 5DS-R 47344 / 47269.
The fairly significant difference between shutter and mirror with the two 5D-IV's may have been due to my use of live view tethered to shoot some products in a studio environment.
None of these four cams have had shutter replacements.
In the past I have had shutter assemblies replaced as a precaution with a couple of 1-Series. Done by Fixation UK. They did not re-set the counter to zero, but perhaps there is an option to do so (I had not used Tordado but a then workable counter software). I may have done the same with some old 5D-II's but I can't recall; however their shutter counts were lower than I expected when I hcame to sell so maybe I did have replacement shutter assemblies and re-sets. Likewise I would have done that as a precaution only as I have never had a shutter fail ..... tempting fate!!!
Shutter replacement together with its associated and recommended parts is a significant cost but not a killer. Recently I saw a thread in which someone obtained a Chinese knockoff shutter assembly and installed it. That would be way beyond my competence or bravery.
qc_mountain wrote:
I wonder why camera maker make's so difficult to have a counter of activation's on the cameras. The Canon 1Dx series and Nikon D3 D4 D5 as it in the menu easily reachable. Why hide the true status/count of the other series of cameras ?
By law a car has to have millage counter . So why not for camera ?? This should be Mandatory on all cameras.
Francois.
Wow, did you really comparing a car to a camera? Completely different beats. Vehicles have its own rules, regulations and for safety reasons. Not to mention for maintenance purposes. Cameras don't fall under this category. There's really no need to know the shutter count. People request or prefer to know only to help with their sale and buyers know what they're getting.
Might as well put a counter on everything? Maybe a knife to see how many cuts or slices you did before you need to sharpen the blade? Maybe a counter on your legs or arms before you need surgery?
iazybandit wrote:
Wow, did you really comparing a car to a camera? Completely different beats. Vehicles have its own rules, regulations and for safety reasons. Not to mention for maintenance purposes. Cameras don't fall under this category. There's really no need to know the shutter count. People request or prefer to know only to help with their sale and buyers know what they're getting.
Might as well put a counter on everything? Maybe a knife to see how many cuts or slices you did before you need to sharpen the blade? Maybe a counter on your legs or arms before you need surgery?
( Wow, did you really comparing a car to a camera? ) Ain't a camera a mechanical device ?
( Not to mention for maintenance purposes ) yes that would be nice to know before your shutter dies fix it before you are a shooting session and your camera dies on you .
( There's really no need to know the shutter count. ) Yes we should know ... why do you think they make Third Party software to get the amount of activation's ?
I have used Reikan Focal to perform a microfocus adjustment on my lenses. It also provides shutter count. Have used it on 5D II, 1D IV. It supports most bodies. I found the lens tuning to be very helpful.
So it showed ??722 Actuations. However, for $7 through Paypal you can get an unlock code, and I doubt the developer is getting rich off his tool.