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Sony Alpha reset?

Started by harlequin2, October 23, 2019, 04:13:54 PM

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harlequin2

Running the exiftool on an image from my Sony A7M3 gives a shutter count value of 2850 whereas the file number counter is now up to 7498. I'm wondering if the firmware updates from Sony have somehow reset the shutter count? That's about the only explanation I can think of. Any other ideas from anyone? I'm thinking of selling the camera and I'd like to advertise it with a correct shutter count.

Phil Harvey

Can you go back through your pictures and see what the ShutterCount did when the Software was updated?

- Phil
...where DIR is the name of a directory/folder containing the images.  On Mac/Linux/PowerShell, use single quotes (') instead of double quotes (") around arguments containing a dollar sign ($).

JosR

A firmware update will not reset the Shuttercount, as far as I know.
But did you maybe use "Silent shooting" a lot: this will use the electronic shutter, and not increase the Shuttercount (which appears to count only the mechanical shutter).

Keith

One possibility is that you may have reused a card in your camera without formatting it first.  I've noticed similar jumps in my Canon camera's numbering scheme from back when I was less careful about formatting my cards.  For example, if my card was ordered IMG_1001, IMG_1002, ... then a card from another camera (or even the same camera from a different time), it will adopt the new numbering scheme, for example IMG_5520, IMG_5521, ...

Note that this may happen even if the photos were removed from the new card (hidden index files may remain unless formatted).

Personally, I've spent considerable time trying to resolve this exact problem in my own photo archive.  ExifTool has been extremely useful by giving me access to the 'File Number' information.  Otherwise it's hard to distinguish a gap in the photo count as missing images or simply a numbering jump.

Keith

I just took a look at my own Sony's filename vs shutter count and see the same discrepancy.  Since I'm certain the file numbers for this camera have never been reset, I believe JosR's earlier conjecture about 'silent shooting' is most likely.