ShutterCount Mobile 3.5 : File Mode

Version 3.5 of ShutterCount Mobile (including the Pro edition) brings File Mode to the iOS app.

File Mode is designed to be used with cameras that store the shutter counter in image files, that is almost all Nikon and Pentax models.

While on the Mac it is pretty easy to bring images into the app, it’s a bit tricky on iOS: you have to import them into Photos first. Basically you have two options to do it.

The first is to connect the camera (or a card reader) directly to your iPhone or iPad, and let iOS to import the image into Photos. On this year’s USB-C equipped iPads its straightforward, but on devices with a Lightning connector you’ll need Apple’s Lightning to USB Camera Adapter.

The second option is to import the image into Photos on your desktop computer and let it sync through your iCloud Photo Library to the phone.

Either RAW (NEF/PEF/DNG) or JPG format photos will do it, but I recommend small size JPGs, as the app only needs the metadata from the image, not the pixels.

Other options, such as sending the image through iMessage or via email might strip the metadata portion, in which case the app will tell you that shutter count information is missing from the file.

Once the image is in Photos, open ShutterCount and tap Connect. Tap Open Photo… and the app will let you select the image from your photo library.

If the image is present locally on your device, which is usually the case, especially if you just imported it, the reading will be done immediately.

But if for some reason the photo is in the cloud (because you imported it into the desktop Photos, or if iOS migrated it to the cloud due to low available space on your device), it needs to be downloaded.

For JPGs, Photos will handle the downloading. But for RAW files, Photos will only download the preview JPG, and strip all the metadata we need. In this case ShutterCount will download the complete file for you.

Once the download completed, the app will do the reading.

ShutterCount 3.5 is a free update for existing owners. New users can purchase it in the App Store. Also available is a Pro edition containing all optional extras, such as the Plus Pack with graphing and forecasting features.

File Mode on iOS requires iOS 12 or later and supports the exact same cameras it does on a Mac. For the complete list, please refer to our Tech Specs page.

ShutterCount : Bonjour, les Francophones!

Thanks to Agnes, ShutterCount is now available in French!

This includes both the Mac and iPhone/iPad versions, and regular as well as Pro editions.

If you are using your Mac or iOS device in French as the primary language (or French is before English in your preferred language order), the app will automatically appear in French. Just make sure that you are using version 3.5 (the current one) or later. The update is free for existing users.

À bientôt!

Introducing ShutterCount Pro

We have received numerous requests to make purchasing the whole ShutterCount package (the base app plus the Live View and Plus packs) easier.

Here it goes, the new ShutterCount Pro (for macOS) and ShutterCount Pro Mobile (for iOS) editions contain the complete functionality right out of the box.

That is, you get live view actuation counts and the Distribution Chart (for supported cameras), and all the goodies from the Plus Pack: from graphing and forecasting, to additional niceties, such as Canon camera date/time sync and outdated firmware warning.

If these features sound new to you, then I’d recommend to read my former posts: this one about the Usage Meter and the Graph, and this other one about the Distribution Chart and live view counters in general.

Having purchased the original app, you can make it fully equal to the Pro edition by purchasing the Live View and the Plus packs in ShutterCount’s in-app store.

ShutterCount 3.2 Released

Version 3.2 of my ShutterCount app for both macOS and iOS was released yesterday. This version adds a few new features and improves others. Camera makers were quiet recently, so the only new camera we certified the app with is the Nikon D850 (for the Mac version).

From the new features, let’s discuss the Usage Meter first. For several cameras the manufacturer publishes an “official” shutter durability rating. Sometimes these are key selling points for the camera, in other cases the numbers are buried deep in a web page or document. We’ve gathered these ratings for all supported Canons, and most Nikon and Pentax models. Both the percentage display after the count and the Usage Meter bar are relative to these ratings.

Usage Meter showing still photo and live view counts

The dark blue part indicates still photos, the light blue live view actuations (the latter is available when you purchased the Live View Pack). Percentage display was formerly available in the Plus Pack, but now it’s in the base app.

Of course these ratings are not hard limits, so your camera may go well over 100% – I’ve seen several ones with 300% or more. If yours is over 100%, an orange indicator will appear on the Usage Meter marking the 100% position.

We’ve received quite a few requests to allow photo count only display even if you have the Live View Pack, and to separate these values. So now you can toggle between photo only and photo + live view display via the menu (as well as the More tab in the iOS version), by clicking/tapping the “Shutter Count” title on the Camera Summary tab and via a dedicated check box/switch on the Graph tab.

Just like the Usage Meter (and the Distribution Chart), the Graph now displays live view actuations in light blue.

New live view count graphing

In case you have live view counts for part of your history data – just like on the above screen shot showing my 7D Mark II – the live view count graph will only appear for the respective part. And forecasting will only take into account history entries having both counters. The trend line also indicates this: with a dashed section marking ignored history data and a dot showing the forecasting start date.

Speaking of history data, that tab was also beefed up. Gray text indicates entries with no live view count (in case you have the Live View Pack) and red text indicating entries with a lower value than a previous one.

The above features are available on both macOS and iOS, but now let’s talk about something that’s Mac only: File Mode changes.

Due to a bug in OS X 10.7 and 10.8 we had to disable automatic memory card scanning on these operating systems. Apple corrected it in 10.9, so contemporary versions are not affected. And while I was working on this, added a preference to turn automatic scanning off if you don’t like it.

New is the Eject after scan preference – which is a huge time saver. With this and automatic scanning on, just pop a memory card into your reader while the app is running, and it will scan the card, do the reading from the latest image and also eject the card properly. The fastest way to get the counter from your Nikon or Pentax. Automatic scanning is on, while ejecting is off by default.

Memory card scanning preferences

Version 3.2 is a free update for existing users on both operating systems. New users can purchase the app in the respective App Store. Live View Pack and Plus Pack are available as in-app purchases.