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Can number of shutter actuations be rolled back?
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Dec 12, 2016 14:24:41   #
sandyegg Loc: San Francisco Bay Area
 
Hello,
I've been approached by an acquaintance who's friend has a really clean used Canon 7D body for sale for $400. I'm interested in buying it, mainly because I need one, but it supposedly has only 158 clicks on it (verified by EOSInfo).
The question I have is, can the recorded shutter actuation information be manipulated? I don't know the friend of my acquaintance and am hesitant given the camera is probably several years old.
Thanks!

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Dec 12, 2016 14:33:47   #
Hal81 Loc: Bucks County, Pa.
 
Not sure but I would guess not. That would be like telling a lie, and we never lie.

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Dec 12, 2016 14:34:10   #
Screamin Scott Loc: Marshfield Wi, Baltimore Md, now Dallas Ga
 
I would think that it' possible but not likely. I inherited a 2002 Honda accord coupe Last December that had less than 18 K miles on it's odometer (My MIL passed & she hardly drove the car). Yeah, I know circumstances are different, but I'd suspect a stolen camera before one that had it's shutter count manipulated.

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Dec 12, 2016 14:44:11   #
Peterff Loc: O'er The Hills and Far Away, in Themyscira.
 
sandyegg wrote:
Hello,
I've been approached by an acquaintance who's friend has a really clean used Canon 7D body for sale for $400. I'm interested in buying it, mainly because I need one, but it supposedly has only 158 clicks on it (verified by EOSInfo).
The question I have is, can the recorded shutter actuation information be manipulated? I don't know the friend of my acquaintance and am hesitant given the camera is probably several years old.
Thanks!


Anything is possible, but I would say that it is unlikely unless reset by Canon themselves. A few years ago I bought a used Rebel T2i for my wife on ebay. There was a problem with it on some lenses and on checking I discovered that the serial number on the camera and the number reported by software did not match so clearly something was amiss. I got a full refund without any issues, so it all got sorted easily and I bought a different camera. Perhaps if the motherboard was changed then things could be altered, but you could call Canon and ask.

I would suggest that you talk to the camera owner and ask a few simple questions such as how long the person has had the camera, what they used it for and how much - which could include "it sounds hardly used with so few clicks" why is that and why are you selling it, has it been repaired and so on.

It could be legitimate and a phone call could either reassure you, or convince you to not pursue it.

Good luck.

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Dec 12, 2016 16:19:43   #
CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City
 
My understanding is the only way to have the count reset is to have the shutter mechanism replaced. That 'understanding' comes from how the D600 oil spot issue was initially handled before Nikon began replacing the entire camera with the D610 model. The suggestion above to ask some probing questions is best. If you read closely the 'for sale' listings, you'll regularly see people who bought high-end equipment and never used (shot just once being a common comment). A count of 158 is either an error in the utility reporting the shutter count or likely such a situation regarding the light use of this 7D.

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Dec 12, 2016 16:49:09   #
rook2c4 Loc: Philadelphia, PA USA
 
If history teaches anything, systems are rarely ever completely hack-proof. However, if there is a way to reset a camera's shutter actuation counter, it most certainly isn't an easy task, as it would have been a wide-spread, well-known practice by now.

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Dec 12, 2016 17:36:15   #
SharpShooter Loc: NorCal
 
sandyegg wrote:
Hello,
I've been approached by an acquaintance who's friend has a really clean used Canon 7D body for sale for $400. I'm interested in buying it, mainly because I need one, but it supposedly has only 158 clicks on it (verified by EOSInfo).
The question I have is, can the recorded shutter actuation information be manipulated? I don't know the friend of my acquaintance and am hesitant given the camera is probably several years old.
Thanks!


I would think if you drove it backwards long enough the count would go down...., no? LoL
I'm not so sure that anyone besides Canon can reliably verify the count!
If the shutter is replaced by Canon, the count is set to Zero.
Do you know the cameras history?
SS

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Dec 12, 2016 17:40:30   #
Peterff Loc: O'er The Hills and Far Away, in Themyscira.
 
SharpShooter wrote:
I would think if you drove it backwards long enough the count would go down...., no? LoL
I'm not so sure that anyone besides Canon can reliably verify the count!
If the shutter is replaced by Canon, the count is set to Zero.
Do you know the cameras history?
SS


Does that mean if we delete images in camera the shutter count reverses? That would really be a good incentive for chimping!

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Dec 12, 2016 20:00:58   #
Jim Bob
 
sandyegg wrote:
Hello,
I've been approached by an acquaintance who's friend has a really clean used Canon 7D body for sale for $400. I'm interested in buying it, mainly because I need one, but it supposedly has only 158 clicks on it (verified by EOSInfo).
The question I have is, can the recorded shutter actuation information be manipulated? I don't know the friend of my acquaintance and am hesitant given the camera is probably several years old.
Thanks!


Short answer: yes.

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Dec 12, 2016 20:32:10   #
sandyegg Loc: San Francisco Bay Area
 
Thanks, eveyone, for your input. Guess I have some questions to ask.

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Dec 13, 2016 05:42:49   #
jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY
 
sandyegg wrote:
Hello,
I've been approached by an acquaintance who's friend has a really clean used Canon 7D body for sale for $400. I'm interested in buying it, mainly because I need one, but it supposedly has only 158 clicks on it (verified by EOSInfo).
The question I have is, can the recorded shutter actuation information be manipulated? I don't know the friend of my acquaintance and am hesitant given the camera is probably several years old.
Thanks!


I would accept the shutter count.

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Dec 13, 2016 06:27:52   #
Szalajj Loc: Salem, NH
 
The Canon shutter counts roll over every time they hit 9,999.

On a camera that old, it is likely that the shutter count has rolled over several times, especially if there is an _ within the image number!

I've only had my Rebel T5 for just under 2 years, and I've rolled the shutter count over at least twice in that time!

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Dec 13, 2016 06:38:45   #
Billyspad Loc: The Philippines
 
My mate Bent Bert does it all the time. Just needs a Mole Wrench and a toothpick with a final flourish with a grommet spanner and you can have any number of shutter operations you like!!!!
Use your common sense huh. If its only got 158 clicks its gonna look like a new camera. If it does buy the damn thing and stop asking dumb questions. Its your acquaintance not ours you will see the camera not us so how the frig can we say its the right thing to do? If the seller turns up wearing a mask with a striped shirt and a bag over his shoulder marked swag then beware. If he comes by ship has got a peg leg and a parrot on his shoulder which screams Pieces of Eight continually then back out of the deal!
Good luck with your new purchase cos it sounds kosher to me bro so get it bought and take some snaps.

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Dec 13, 2016 07:03:14   #
CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City
 
Szalajj wrote:
The Canon shutter counts roll over every time they hit 9,999.

On a camera that old, it is likely that the shutter count has rolled over several times, especially if there is an _ within the image number!

I've only had my Rebel T5 for just under 2 years, and I've rolled the shutter count over at least twice in that time!
Szalajj - you seem to have joined a discussion where you don't even understand the question ....
http://www.howtogeek.com/218244/how-to-check-a-dslrs-shutter-count-and-why-you-should-care/

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Dec 13, 2016 07:23:39   #
Japakomom Loc: Originally from the Last Frontier
 
Szalajj wrote:
The Canon shutter counts roll over every time they hit 9,999.

On a camera that old, it is likely that the shutter count has rolled over several times, especially if there is an _ within the image number!

I've only had my Rebel T5 for just under 2 years, and I've rolled the shutter count over at least twice in that time!


You are talking file number, not shutter count. I had a 6D and the file number would roll over, the shutter count came up as 63,000+ when I sold it. Two very different things.

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