Usage

Please can any one tell me if you can check on the 20d how many photo's you have taken.

Many thanks
Mark

Unfortunately, you can't tell for sure on the 20D. The file number can be reset to zero, or set to any other number. There isn't an internal "total number" setting.

IF you left the camera set to "Continuous numbering" and IF it's never had cards from another camera used in it, and IF you've never done a complete system reset by pulling both batteries, the folder/frame (file) number gives you this, roughly. The frame number gives you the first 9999 photos, and you add 10000 to the frame number for every hundred folders after 199. So Folder 101 frame 0123 is your 123rd picture; folder 326 frame 2634 is your 22634th. A used, unerased, card from another camera that's got a higher frame count will force the camera to use that higher frame count. Pulling the batteries will let it reset to zero, as will using the "Reset numbering" option. But it doesn't allow for "dry firings" with no card in place.

Many thanks for your replies. I thought there may of been a counter. So really their is no way of telling how many shots the camera has taken.

Mark

You are welcome.....No......Ye​s.

There are internal counters on all Canon cameras. Just with the consumer/prosumer cameras you do not have access to that information. Only the 1-series can you access that. If you want to know true activations you'd have to send the camera to Canon.

I knew that you could do that with a 1-series, but I didn't know that about other Canon cameras. You would think that someone would have come up with a hack to do this. What info do you have about internal counters?

If canon can access the internal counter then maybe their is a way to check it your self. i assume their would be a proceedure or code to activate this counter.

Mark

No one yet has come up with a way to access this information.

Hopfully it may be only a matter of time.

Mark

Jim, where did you hear about this? The question of "how many times has my shutter been activated?" comes up often in this and other forums, and it would be nice to have a definitive answer.

A member, who shall remain nameless unless he chooses to reveal himself (to spare him a flood of PMs and e-mails), who works at an authorized service facility has access to the Canon diagnostic software, which is different for each camera model and is locked to an individual computer via serial number. You might be able to convince Canon to let you have the SDK for your particular model and by exploring that find what system calls would be necessary to dump this memory location, but I seriously doubt it's that easy or there'd be a solution for the 300D at least, which has been most thoroughly explored and exploited by independents (witness Wasia & Undutchables hacks).