Shutter count - pleasant surprise

pentaprickle · 12-22-2016, 12:58 PM

Last month I bought my first ever DSLR Pentax, a 'used' K-50, from B&H in New York.

They rated its condition as '10' and it was certainly immaculate and works well.

But I was astounded to find, when I uploaded a pic (to a link on this forum) to check the shutter count, that its manufacturing date was September 2013 and the shutter activations totaled just 122.

Considering that I'm responsible for most of these, the camera seems to have had minimal use.

Is the EXIF information reliable?

**lithedreamer** · 12-22-2016, 01:09 PM

EXIF is generally considered a reliable way to determine shutter count. Nice find!

**pepperberry farm** · 12-22-2016, 01:58 PM

minimal indeed - it's barely broken-in....

1wild1 · 12-22-2016, 03:15 PM

Sounds like an in store demo, congrats.

Theov39 · 12-23-2016, 08:15 AM

Amazing for a 'used' camera'. When I bought my K-50 it had under 2000 on it which is nothing. I love this camera. The tonal quality is really good. How much did it cost?

Edgar_in_Indy · 12-23-2016, 09:54 AM - **1 Like**

Congrats on your almost-new camera. It seems like DSLR sales were peaking just as smartphones started taking the place of the family camera. I bet a lot of people abandoned their relatively new DSLR when they decided their iPhone was good enough for them, and a lot easier to use and carry.

pentaprickle · 12-23-2016, 02:35 PM

Guys, thanks for your comments.

Re the cost, it was fairly eye-watering.

Nothing to do with B&H - I thought their ex-shop price of $546 was fair, including as it did, the 18-135 lens. (Plus it's a shiny red one!)

But by the time it was freighted to New Zealand ($64) then converted to NZ dollars, it was looking like all-up $NZ830. Okay, still not bank-breaking.

But then the NZ Customs dept, in 'collusion' with Fedex, slapped me with 15% Goods and Services Tax on top of that, plus another fee, to add a further $NZ173.

The camera very nearly got sent back to B&H (who very generously offered a full refund, bless 'em)

In the end I decided to bite the bullet. A lot of my teeth are busted anyway, so a couple more won't be missed 8-)

Regarding my comment about Fedex's 'collusion' with our Customs Dept, this part of the deal was especially annoying. When I learned of the added tax (and picked myself up off the floor and dried my tears) my first plan was to phone Customs to try and reason with them about the unexpected fee. But it turned out that Fedex had already paid them! So while I might have had a slight chance of getting Customs to waive or minimize a 'pending' tax charge, there was no way they'd refund a received payment.

So I now have over a thousand reasons to make the K-50 into my best camera ever :-)

Actually, it's shaping up really well - it's a lovely camera.

One more question about the shutter count: Is the report based on any uploaded jpg? Or just the most recent one?

Edgar_in_Indy · 12-23-2016, 02:43 PM

Originally posted by pentaprickle

One more question about the shutter count: Is the report based on any uploaded jpg? Or just the most recent one?

Whatever the count was at the time the picture in question was snapped. So I usually use the last pic snapped when checking count. But with my K-30 approaching 80,000 clicks, a few clicks one way or the other doesn't make much difference.

pentaprickle · 12-23-2016, 04:21 PM

Thanks for that. Just checked again with my first jpg and the count was 50.

Theov39 · 12-24-2016, 08:34 AM

Originally posted by pentaprickle

Thanks for that. Just checked again with my first jpg and the count was 50.

Then you ARE looking at effectively a brand new camera, and with a very nice lens. Even with all the 'extras' you had to pay, sounds like a great deal.

12-22-2016, 12:58 PM	#1
pentaprickle Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2016 Posts: 47	Shutter count - pleasant surprise Last month I bought my first ever DSLR Pentax, a 'used' K-50, from B&H in New York. They rated its condition as '10' and it was certainly immaculate and works well. But I was astounded to find, when I uploaded a pic (to a link on this forum) to check the shutter count, that its manufacturing date was September 2013 and the shutter activations totaled just 122. Considering that I'm responsible for most of these, the camera seems to have had minimal use. Is the EXIF information reliable?

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12-22-2016, 01:09 PM	#2
lithedreamer Site Supporter Join Date: Sep 2013 Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,799	EXIF is generally considered a reliable way to determine shutter count. Nice find!

12-22-2016, 01:58 PM	#3
pepperberry farm amateur dirt farmer Join Date: Dec 2014 Location: probably out in a field somewhere... Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 41,679	minimal indeed - it's barely broken-in....

12-22-2016, 03:15 PM	#4
1wild1 Forum Member Join Date: Jan 2016 Location: Lincoln County MO Posts: 56	Sounds like an in store demo, congrats.

12-23-2016, 08:15 AM	#5
Theov39 Pentaxian Join Date: Nov 2015 Location: Sydney Posts: 594	Amazing for a 'used' camera'. When I bought my K-50 it had under 2000 on it which is nothing. I love this camera. The tonal quality is really good. How much did it cost?

12-23-2016, 09:54 AM - 1 Like	#6
Edgar_in_Indy Veteran Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Indiana, USA Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,685	Congrats on your almost-new camera. It seems like DSLR sales were peaking just as smartphones started taking the place of the family camera. I bet a lot of people abandoned their relatively new DSLR when they decided their iPhone was good enough for them, and a lot easier to use and carry.

12-23-2016, 02:35 PM	#7
pentaprickle Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2016 Posts: 47 Original Poster	Guys, thanks for your comments. Re the cost, it was fairly eye-watering. Nothing to do with B&H - I thought their ex-shop price of $546 was fair, including as it did, the 18-135 lens. (Plus it's a shiny red one!) But by the time it was freighted to New Zealand ($64) then converted to NZ dollars, it was looking like all-up $NZ830. Okay, still not bank-breaking. But then the NZ Customs dept, in 'collusion' with Fedex, slapped me with 15% Goods and Services Tax on top of that, plus another fee, to add a further $NZ173. The camera very nearly got sent back to B&H (who very generously offered a full refund, bless 'em) In the end I decided to bite the bullet. A lot of my teeth are busted anyway, so a couple more won't be missed 8-) Regarding my comment about Fedex's 'collusion' with our Customs Dept, this part of the deal was especially annoying. When I learned of the added tax (and picked myself up off the floor and dried my tears) my first plan was to phone Customs to try and reason with them about the unexpected fee. But it turned out that Fedex had already paid them! So while I might have had a slight chance of getting Customs to waive or minimize a 'pending' tax charge, there was no way they'd refund a received payment. So I now have over a thousand reasons to make the K-50 into my best camera ever :-) Actually, it's shaping up really well - it's a lovely camera. One more question about the shutter count: Is the report based on any uploaded jpg? Or just the most recent one?

12-23-2016, 02:43 PM	#8
Edgar_in_Indy Veteran Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Indiana, USA Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,685	Originally posted by pentaprickle One more question about the shutter count: Is the report based on any uploaded jpg? Or just the most recent one? Whatever the count was at the time the picture in question was snapped. So I usually use the last pic snapped when checking count. But with my K-30 approaching 80,000 clicks, a few clicks one way or the other doesn't make much difference.

12-23-2016, 04:21 PM	#9
pentaprickle Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2016 Posts: 47 Original Poster	Thanks for that. Just checked again with my first jpg and the count was 50.

12-24-2016, 08:34 AM	#10
Theov39 Pentaxian Join Date: Nov 2015 Location: Sydney Posts: 594	Originally posted by pentaprickle Thanks for that. Just checked again with my first jpg and the count was 50. Then you ARE looking at effectively a brand new camera, and with a very nice lens. Even with all the 'extras' you had to pay, sounds like a great deal.