
Nikon DSLR: exiftool source_jpeg_file.jpg | find “Shutter Count”.Type “cd c:” in Windows or “cd /” in MacOS to be in the same folder where the ExifTool executable resides. If you are using a Mac, fire up the shell terminal. Once you download the single ExifTool executable from this website, move it to the root drive of your main drive (typically C: on Windows and / on MacOS), then open up the command prompt via Start->All Programs->Acessories->Command Prompt. 4) Viewing Shutter Count EXIF Data via ExifTool Since these kinds of image EXIF viewers are not going to work to find the total shutter count, we will need to use less popular versions of EXIF data viewers, such as Phil Harvey’s “ ExifTool” and Opanda’s IExif. To reduce the number of blank items to the minimum, they only provide generic information that is more or less standardized across most camera manufacturers. If something is not available, it stays blank. Instead of properly reading EXIF data from files and then parsing the results, they typically just look for generic EXIF tags within the file and display them when they are available. Unfortunately, almost all current image viewers only display generic EXIF data that most people use and ignore the rest. In order to view the proprietary EXIF information from files, you need to use an image EXIF viewer that does not strip out anything from the file. Once selected, take a picture of anything you want. It doesn’t matter what size of JPEG files you choose – even JPEG BASIC works fine. Therefore, switching to JPEG will allow you to view EXIF data straight, without having to import the image into Lightroom or Photoshop first. While the camera native RAW format preserves all of the EXIF information that is coming out of the camera, third party conversion software like Adobe Photoshop Lightroom can strip out some of the proprietary EXIF data, including the number of shutter actuations. If you are shooting RAW, it is best to switch to JPEG format just for getting the required information from your camera. Some camera manufacturers like Nikon and Canon also add unique shutter actuations data fields that are used for seeing the total number of exposures or “shutter actuations” cameras have. Basically, your camera writes all exposure-related information such as date, time, shutter speed, aperture, ISO and a bunch of other important information into the header of each file. If you do not know what EXIF is and what it is used for, check out my “ What is EXIF” article. The information on the total shutter actuations on your camera is preserved in file headers, known as “metadata” or “EXIF”. Viewing Shutter Count EXIF Data via Opanda IExif.Viewing Shutter Count EXIF Data via ExifTool.
