The most popular question in our service

“Master, you replaced the shutter - now EXIF ​​will be 0?” I hear this every day. And in the secondary market this question is still more important: the buyer looks at a camera with 12,000 frames - and suspects that there were actually 250,000, and then they made a replacement with zeroing. Let's look at how it actually works.

What is ShutterCount and where does it live?

TagShutterCount(orImageCount) is storednot in the mechanical block shutter, and in the non-volatile memory of the camera motherboard - in a special EEPROM chip. The bolt block is simply a set of springs, shutters and a gearbox. There is no memory there.

This means: when the master takes out the old gate module and installs a new one - a counter on the motherboardnowhere doesn't go away. He continues to count further from the same number.

Then how do some “reset” the mileage?

Here is the most important thing. ResetShutterCounttechnically possible, but only through:

1. Official Nikon Service Software (Camera Control Pro + Service Mode):At certain service operations - for example, completely replacing the motherboard - the counter is reset automatically. That's why the carcass after official repairs with replacement of the “brains” it may show low mileage.
2. Direct rewrite via hardware EEPROM programmer:This is done by dishonest craftsmen or "craftsmen". Requires a physical connection of the programmer to the chip on the board. Thisillegal falsification.
3. Full firmware “empty” EEPROM:A rare case that occurs when the microcircuit itself fails memory and its replacement. The counter is forced to reset to 0.

How to distinguish “honest” 12,000 frames from dishonestly dropped ones?

A few indirect signs that I use in practice:

• Case wear does not correspond to mileage:If the meter shows 8,000 and the rubber is on the handle shiny, the bayonet mount is scratched and the shutter button is soft like porridge - something is fishy here.
• The serial number in EXIF ​​matches the case:If not, it means the motherboard was changed (possibly specifically to reset the counter).
• Last snapshot date in metadata:If you buy a “fresh” camera with 10,000 frames, but the last photo is dated 4 years ago - think about it.

Bottom line: a simple cheat sheet

Service operation	Does it affect ShutterCount?
Replacing the shutter block (curtains)	NO. The counter remains the same
Replacing the motherboard	YES. The counter is reset to 0
Camera firmware update	NO. EEPROM data is not affected
Manual rewriting of EEPROM with a programmer	YES. This is fake