There is one crucial thing you need to notice before buying a used camera. You need to know how many times the camera you want to buy has been used to take pictures. Physically holding the camera is not required to check the shutter count of it. Today, nearly all camera manufacturers embed the shutter count info in the EXIF data, but not all EXIF viewers might display the shutter count of a digital camera.
The shutter itself is one of the moving parts of a digital camera system. It’s like a car engine which eventually will reach the end of its lifecycle and fail to actuate properly. Different camera models have different shutter count ratings as well. Therefore, you absolutely need to check shutter count of a used digital or DSLR camera that you plan to buy from your friend or any other person, as you would never want to spend money on an electronic product that is used beyond its limit.
As mentioned earlier, you don’t have to physically hold the camera to check its shutter count since you can find the shutter count on the EXIF data. Therefore, if you want to buy a used camera, you can ask for the sample of the newest photo taken with the associated camera and check the EXIF data of the photo. Camera Shutter Count is one of the online EXIF viewers that displays the shutter count information. You can simply upload a photo taken using a camera model to check its shutter count.
Camera Shutter Count will display the shutter count of the camera once the photo is fully uploaded. One thing, don’t edit the photo in order to make Camera Shutter Count be able to read all information on the EXIF data. This tool won’t store your photo to its server.
Camera Shutter Count is capable of displaying the shutter count of several camera models. From entry-level cameras to professional cameras. You can see the list of the tested camera on its homepage.
Alternatively, you can also use Shutter Counter, but this tool doesn’t specifically display the shutter count. Instead, it displays more complex entries of an EXIF data of a photo so it takes a little effort to find the shutter count section.