Canon shutter count: which models show it in a photo

Most Canon cameras keep the shutter count inside the camera, not in the photo. A few bodies do write it into their JPEGs. If yours is on the list below, pick one original JPEG.

Canon bodies that work from a JPEG (10)

Model names as the camera writes them: Canon EOS R5, Canon EOS R6, Canon EOS R6m2, Canon EOS R8, Canon EOS R50, Canon EOS-1D, Canon EOS-1D Mark II, Canon EOS-1D Mark II N, Canon EOS-1DS, Canon PowerShot G5 X Mark II.

Canon files we do not show a number for

• CR3 RAW files. Not verified yet (see the FAQ). Use a JPEG from the same camera.
• EOS-1D Mark III and 1Ds Mark III. ExifTool says the value may be valid only for some copies.
• EOS-1Ds Mark II. ExifTool notes reports that the count changed when a settings file was loaded.
• EOS R6 Mark III. Its files carry an image count that resets when the card is formatted, not a shutter count.

Every other Canon camera

ExifTool 13.59 found no count in our sample photos from the 5D Mark IV, 6D, 80D, 90D, EOS R, RP, R7, R10, and the Rebel and EOS M models we have. These cameras keep the count inside the body, so a file-based checker has nothing reliable to read. Your options:

• USB software. Some apps connect to the camera and ask it for the count. They run on Windows, Mac or iOS, support different model lists, and many are paid. We have not tested them, so check the app’s supported-model list before you pay.
• Canon service. A Canon service center can read the count. A Canon community answer puts it this way: “The only way to get an accurate shutter count … on Canon EOS DSLR bodies is to have the Canon Factory Service Center provide it.”

If you check a JPEG from one of these bodies here, the reader says no count was found and explains why.

Where the listed Canon bodies store it

The bodies that work keep the count in Canon’s maker notes: the EOS-1D, 1D Mark II, 1D Mark II N and 1Ds in the FileInfo block; the R5, R6, R6 Mark II, R8, R50 and G5 X Mark II in their CameraInfo block, where ExifTool notes that the number includes electronic and mechanical shutter frames. On the G5 X Mark II, ExifTool reads the JPEG and the CR3 count from different positions, which is part of why we verify each format separately.

Check it on a computer instead

For a listed body, ExifTool gives the same number: exiftool -ShutterCount IMG_0001.JPG. For other Canon bodies a file-based check has nothing to read; see the options above.

How we verified Canon

11 Canon JPEGs from 10 bodies were read in the browser engine and with native ExifTool 13.59; every number matched. We also have CR3 files from the R5, R6, R6 Mark II and G5 X Mark II, but no JPEG and CR3 pair from the same body and moment to confirm the CR3 numbers, so CR3 stays unverified.

Other brands

• Camera shutter count checker
• Nikon shutter count checker
• Sony shutter count checker
• Fujifilm shutter count (image counter)
• Pentax and Ricoh shutter count checker

Related tools

• View image metadata online lists GPS, camera, XMP and C2PA data in a photo.
• Remove metadata from product images cleans listing photos before you post them.
• Remove EXIF and GPS from a JPEG, PNG or WebP.

The reader runs ExifTool 13.59 by Phil Harvey (same terms as Perl: Artistic License or GPL) on zeroperl 1.0.10 (Apache-2.0), a WebAssembly build of Perl. Notices.