Why do different sites show different mileage?

I get asked this question regularly. A person uploads a photo to one service and receives the number 78,432. The uploader the same file on the other one gets 76,000. On the third one it says “EXIF not found”. What's the matter?

It all comes down to one technical detail: Nikon’s mileage tag is hidden not in the standard EXIF, but in a proprietary blockMakerNote. Most simple EXIF viewers either do not read this block at all, or read wrong - losing data in the process.

How different tools work with MakerNote

ExifTool (command line, free)

The absolute champion in completeness of metadata reading. Reads MakerNote thoroughly, supports all Nikon models, Canon, Sony, Fujifilm. But this is a tool for older people: you need a command line and installation on the system. For ordinary buyer at a meeting with the seller is not an option.

MyShutterCount, Camera Shutter Count (web services)

Popular Western sites. Work well with JPEG files of popular Nikon models. The problems start with RAW formats (.NEF) from older or non-standard models. Sometimes they return a number from a standard tag imageNumber, and not from MakerNote - which gives an error.

Online EXIF ​​viewers (exif.tools, exifdata.com and analogues)

Shows standard EXIF, but Nikon MakerNote does not decrypt. The mileage will not be shown at all or the wrong mileage will be shown. a number from another field.

Why different numbers?

Nikon has several fields related to mileage:

• ShutterCount— total operation of the mechanical shutter (what interests us)
• ImageCount— total number of images (may vary after formatting the card)
• ImageNumber— serial number of the file on the card (resets when formatting)

Services that confuse these fields produce different numbers. Sometimes a difference of 2,000-5,000 frames is why.

Tool Comparison Chart

Tool	Does MakerNote Nikon read?	RAW (.NEF) support?	Convenience
Shutter-Mounter.ru	Yes (full)	Yes	Web, file upload
ExifTool	Yes (full)	Yes	Command line
MyShutterCount	Partially	Partially	Web, file upload
EXIF viewers	No	No	Web, convenient