I'm ready to sell my 5D, and want to publish how many shutter actuations it has. I'm on a mac and can't find a program to help. Any advice? Thanks,
Nathan
I've resolved to keep track of my 5D actuations from the get-go. Usually it's simple - just use the file number created for each image. Whenever I've used a card from another camera, with image numbers greater than the most recent one taken with the 5D, the camera picks up at that point. I just need to be aware of when that happens and note the necessary correction to keep an accurate count.
Klutzy? Yes, but until someone comes up with a better way to do this, it's all I have. I know this doesn't help the OP, but thought it might be useful info for a few others reading this thread.
Actually the last time I sent my 5d in for repair (I blew a fuse with a cheap EF-Pentax adaptor), the Paris Canon Repair service provided me with the shutter actuations (even though I did not ask for). And the number they gave me actually made sense! So there is a way for Canon to do it for the 5D, maybe you could ask them.
Hoping this helps,
Fred
He wants a program, which doesn't exist. I don't think he wants to send it in to Canon just so he can publish the actuation count, given that there's no way in hell Canon would do that for free.
stanj wrote:
He wants a program, which doesn't exist. I don't think he wants to send it in to Canon just so he can publish the actuation count, given that there's no way in hell Canon would do that for free.
Actually, Canon Service is his only choice. However they sometimes do it for free if you make friends with the tech or counter girl. Also, they have "Canon Days" clinics and actually downloaded shutter cycles off my EOS 3 for free (at a local Shirokiya).
stanj wrote:
He wants a program, which doesn't exist. I don't think he wants to send it in to Canon just so he can publish the actuation count, given that there's no way in hell Canon would do that for free.
what a bummer. I have a couple different cameras, and am always swapping cards, so counting file #'s doesn't seem reliable.
An actual knowledgeable buyer should know that shutter cycles are nearly irrelevant. Shutters can fail at any time just like a hard drive. What counts more is how the camera was treated, not how many times the shutter release has been pressed.
Inept sensor cleaning (especially vigorous rocket blowing) has probably killed more sensors and shutters than the releases it was designed for.
RDKirk wrote:
An actual knowledgeable buyer should know that shutter cycles are nearly irrelevant. Shutters can fail at any time just like a hard drive. What counts more is how the camera was treated, not how many times the shutter release has been pressed.
Barring external signs of wear and tear (scratches, scuff marks, cracks) or sizing up the seller, there is no (objective) way to tell how a camera was treated. And personally, I prefer a camera with 5.000 over one with 50.000 shutter cycles under the belt, all else equal.
stanj wrote:
There is no such thing for cameras other than 1D(s)(2)(N).
Not that it helps him, but I was had the understanding that there was a 3rd party ap floating around that could tell you the shutter count of digic III onward.
rvdw wrote:
Barring external signs of wear and tear (scratches, scuff marks, cracks) or sizing up the seller, there is no (objective) way to tell how a camera was treated. And personally, I prefer a camera with 5.000 over one with 50.000 shutter cycles under the belt, all else equal.
I can understand your preferences, but as a sales point it still has little meaning. If you bought a camera because someone proved that the shutter had only 500 cycles and it breaks the third time you fire it, would you feel cheated?
A shutter goes when it goes, and that can be at 1,000 cycles or 50,000 cycles. You just always hedge an additional $200 USD to the price of the camera.
The physically observable signs and a check of all camera functions are meaningful.
I am also selling a 5D, and therefore wanted to state how many time it's been used. I eventually imported every picture on my RAID into Lightroom and went with its count for the camera. It took a while, but is as accurate as I can get it! Mind you some of the stuff that I'd forgotten made it worthwhile!
The Exif image count only showed <6k actuations, the hard drive <16k.
Richard
RDKirk wrote:
I can understand your preferences, but as a sales point it still has little meaning. If you bought a camera because someone proved that the shutter had only 500 cycles and it breaks the third time you fire it, would you feel cheated?
Probably, but I wouldn't hold it against the seller, provided that I don't suspect ill intent.
I agree with what you're saying, but the fact remains that given the MTBF of a shutter assembly, it is more likely to fail as the number of cycles increases. I'm assuming that you wouldn't buy a 20 year old car based on the notion that the engine in a 2 year old car could also break down once you roll off the driveway.
This is a simple utility to retrieve the number of shutter actuations on a Canon Digic III DSLR (40D, 450D, 1000D). Written by David Polivka - [email protected]. All rights reserved - no warranty, express or implied, yada, yada, yada.
thx for the link guys (doesn't work on 5D1, no Digic III, i know)
rvdw wrote:
Probably, but I wouldn't hold it against the seller, provided that I don't suspect ill intent.
I agree with what you're saying, but the fact remains that given the MTBF of a shutter assembly, it is more likely to fail as the number of cycles increases. I'm assuming that you wouldn't buy a 20 year old car based on the notion that the engine in a 2 year old car could also break down once you roll off the driveway.
We have not actually been given a MTBF for shutters. We've been told the shutter design has been tested to certain cycle numbers, but that is not the same thing as a MTBF. We haven't been given any figure that can serve as a useful predictor of shutter life...and I'm sure Canon's lawyers have made sure of that.
My decision to purchase a car would not be predicated on the age of the car at all, and only slightly on the mileage, but on the actual condition and what I can judge about its maintenance record. A 2-year-old car with only 1,000 miles on it is very likely to be a worse purchase than a 20-year-old car with ten times as many miles...but an excellent maintenance record.
If I were buying a second hand camera why would I believe what I was told about the number ?of actuations if I were unable to prove it. Loading all the pictures and counting them is fine if you want to know yourself (assuming you never delete one ()) but it is no help when selling.
)) but it is no help when selling.
I tried the link on the astro sight, doesn't work on the og 5D 