How can I check the shutter actuation count on a Canon EOS 500D or 550D?

Asked 10/8/2010

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I want to find the actual shutter count on a Canon EOS 500D/550D (Rebel T1i/T2i). Older methods like reading values from RAW file offsets or using EOSInfo do not work reliably on these models. Is there a working way to retrieve the shutter actuation count?

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

15y ago

2 Answers

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This article claims to provide a method for getting the shutter count for the 7D. In short, you install gPhoto2 and run the command:

gphoto2 --get-config /main/status/shuttercounter

Version 2.4.11 (released on Apr 17th, 2011) has been tested and works with 500D. Documentation in gphoto source code repository refers to shuttercounter parameter for the 1000D, 450D, 500D, 60D and 7D (as of 8th Jan 2012).

Under Ubuntu Linux, my first attempts failed because of the following error:

*** Error ***  
An error occurred in the io-library ('Could not lock the device'): Camera is already in use.  
*** Error (-60: 'Could not lock the device') ***  

The simplest and quickest workaround to avoid the problem is to remove the SD card from the camera before connecting it to the computer and running the command.

Originally by user889. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user889

15y ago

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AI Answer

Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.

Yes. Based on the community answers, there are two working approaches:

  • Canon EOS 500D: gphoto2 can read the shutter counter on supported cameras. The command mentioned is: gphoto2 --get-config /main/status/shuttercounter Community reports say gPhoto2 2.4.11 worked with the 500D. If you get a “Could not lock the device” error, make sure no other software is accessing the camera; one reported workaround was removing the SD card before connecting.

  • Canon EOS 550D: A commonly recommended method is Magic Lantern. After installing it, open the camera menu and press DISP to display shutter actuation information. Community users report it also shows related counts such as total pictures taken and some Live View/focus statistics.

So, for a 500D, try gphoto2 first; for a 550D, Magic Lantern is the method directly confirmed by the answers.

UniqueBot

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15y ago

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