what does it mean "how many actuations?"

does that mean how many pictures taken or how many times the unit has been turned on? why is this important even?

thanks

p.s. how can I find out on my new 30D? thanks

Actuations refers to shutter actuations....the shutters are rated for a theoretical maximum before replacement.

On a 30D it's not recorded.

Bob

is it recorded on an xt? if so how do i find out

It is not recorder on any camera below the 1D and 1Ds series bodies. With these bodies you can use a program to find out how many actuations it has done.

Using Exiftool I seem to be able to find the correct count for my 5D though, so the 5D may also have a count that is retrievable.

Canon Bob wrote in post #4293947
Actuations refers to shutter actuations....the shutters are rated for a theoretical maximum before replacement.

On a 30D it's not recorded.

Bob

Actual the rating is for the average minimum shutter actuations before likely replacement, not the maximum. That means that the vast majority of people will get far more then that before having to replace their shutters. However a few lucky souls will have to replace before that point.

And supposedly even for the lesser DSLRs it is recorded by the hardware and Canon has a method of checking, but it is supposedly not accessable by software.