The photographer’s field notes
Know what your camera file can tell you.
Start with a practical check, follow a real sample, or look closely at the evidence behind a result. Each guide explains what you can conclude and what still needs another check.
Start with your photo
Check a Nikon NEF
How to read the named counter, understand camera-specific limits, and choose an original file.
Read the guide →Reproduce our D2H result
Follow one identified CC0 file from download to Nikon:ShutterCount = 4,350.
Read the guide →When no shutter count appears
Separate a missing tag, an unsupported format, and a reader that could not finish.
Read the guide →Check accepted formats
What the public checker accepts today and how that differs from our research corpus.
Read the guide →Buy and interpret carefully
Buying a used camera
Request a fresh challenge photo, compare serial and count evidence, and inspect the physical body.
Read the guide →What shutter count means
Mechanical use, electronic capture, file numbering, and why a count is only one condition signal.
Read the guide →Canon methods and limitations
Model-specific alternatives when a photo cannot supply a count; no universal Canon detection claim.
Read the guide →Canon shutter durability
How to interpret documented durability figures without turning them into expiry dates.
Read the guide →Olympus and OM System counters
An in-camera diagnostic-menu guide with model-specific evidence and cautions.
Read the guide →Inspect our evidence
1,870-file compatibility research
Original measured results, selected sample records, negative findings, and unresolved counter meanings.
Read the guide →How we test and handle corrections
Our extraction procedure, evidence levels, controlled capture protocol, and privacy boundaries.
Read the guide →About ShutterActuations
Who is responsible for the project, what has been tested, and the limits of the work.
Read the guide →Have a file ready? Open the private checker. Before sharing a sample with anyone, read how photo privacy works.