The third letter – ‘C’ refers to sensor cleaning. That’s right, the flash has fired – once! My camera didn’t come with a flash – and I guess the previous owner lost it almost immediately, because my number is 000001. The second letter ‘S’ refers to the number of times the flash has fired (no, I don’t know why it’s ‘S’ and not ‘F’ either?). Wo-ho!Īll the important numbers should be now visible. My number is 002428 – meaning the cameras shutter has been pressed just 2,428 times. Whatever that number is equates to the number of times the shutter has been fired. The first, ‘R’ is the shutter release count – this is the number you’ve been looking for. The first four are the important ones in terms of shutter actuations.
#What is a high shutter count series
On the screen of the camera you should now see a series of letters with numbers beside them. This will get you to of 4 pages of extra camera data! Finally, press the ‘Right’ arrow on the control pad again to move to – the page that actually contains the cameras shutter count! Hallelujah, you made it! Could they have made it any harder to access? It is a lot easier to actually do than it is to explain in words, but still…. Lastly, press the Shutter button and then the ‘Up’ arrow again. Now press the ‘Up’ arrow, the ‘Down’ arrow, the ‘Left’ arrow and the ‘Right’ arrow (in that exact order) on the control pad. Once there, press the ‘Info’ button on the camera, and then the ‘OK’ button (in the centre of the control pad). In the wrench menu, go to the ‘Brightness Adjust’ sub-menu and enter the Brightness Adjust sub menu by pressing the right arrow on the control pad. Then press ‘Menu’ again and navigate to the ‘Wrench’ icon. Navigate to the 'Wrench' icon and the 'Adjust Brightness' Menuįirst, with the camera turned off, hold down the ‘Menu’ button and turn the camera on. Olympus OM-D cameras keep track of shutter actuations (among other things), although it’s not an intuitive process to retrieve the information. I’ve successfully used Camera Shutter Count () on many cameras – but it doesn’t work for all of them.
#What is a high shutter count software
Depending on your make and model of camera there is probably a software programme that can easily spit out the shutter count for you. On some it is relatively easy, on others it is more difficult (if not down-right impossible). From what I can establish, it seems that the OM-D E-M1 is rated at around 150,000 – which is quite a few photos!Ĭhecking the shutter count on a camera is a case-by-case scenario. For example, Canon and Nikon’s 1D and D4 series have been rated at around 350,000 shutter actuations, with many users claiming at least double these figures. The more ‘professional’ a camera, the sturdier it’s shutter, and therefore the more shutter actuations it will be rated at.
Most manufacturers will quote an expected shutter count that a particular camera has been tested to – say 100,000 shutter actuations – although this is by no means a certified guarantee. I have passed on at least a couple of DSLR’s whose shutter counts have been approaching 3/4s of the manufacturers recommended life. When buying a second-hand camera, I like to see the shutter count at less than half its rated value.
You probably won’t notice it, since it may only be out by mere fractions, but it still won’t be as accurate as it was when it was new. Secondly, the older the shutter unit, the more likely it is to be ‘out’ in terms of shutter accuracy. Although to be honest, most photographers will have upgraded their camera body long before their shutter has reached its limit. Yes, you can get the shutter unit replaced, and maybe that’s worth considering if the body cost you $4k? But many will consider it cheaper to ‘upgrade’ their camera instead. Why shutter count? Well, if/when the shutter goes in your camera, you can pretty much kiss it goodbye. Shutter count is seen as important for establishing the ‘life’ of the camera. There are many factors that go into assessing the condition of a second-hand camera, but the one that most buyers want to establish is the shutter count – often referred to as shutter actuations. Having recently purchased a ‘mint’ E-M1, I was keen to try to find out exactly how ‘minty’ it actually was.