Thank you very much Karl for the fantastic and extremely helpful answer. This is just what I was looking for. The question I have now is this: The number or variable corresponding to the X count you refer to in your post: can it be reset if the user chooses the auto-reset or similar setting in the menu under the file numbering system or is this a number that is continuously running from the moment the camera is built and can not be reset ? Following your rational, could I opened the image in a text editor such as Word and search for this variable to simplify the process ? Also following Alfred Tay's post and your rational, since dead pixels are white (Alfred refers to them as WBP or White Bad Pixels) do you think it would be possible to do the following to test the number of bad pixels in the sensor: 1. Photograph a subject of an even color with RGB values that contrast reasonably from the RGB values for white (usually closer or around 255). 2. Open the image in some type of text editor or perhaps the EXIF software you mention to do a search for number values that fall outside of the average value for the even-colored subject that was photographed. 3. Identify the number of pixels with values that do not coincide with the values relative to the background. One of Kodak's 8"x10" could be used as the neutral gray has a known value and would make it simpler to identify the outstanding pixels. In case you think this would be a viable approach, how could this be done in a simple manner ? Thank you very much once again for the very thorough and helpful post. Best regards, Joseph --- Dr. Joseph Chamberlain Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- On 10/24/05 7:05 PM, "karl shah-jenner" <shahjen@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Joseph Chamberlain, > > : Last week I purchased a Canon EOS 1Ds Mk II. > > :but > : wanted to have some assurance that the equipment was new and not > something > : that had been opened before and handled by numerous customers. > > > : I called Canon and was told that this feature is not offered for any of > : Canon's cameras. > > > found elsewhere: > > "Open picture in one of exif viewers and find field "Unknown (0093)". It > should look like: > Unknown (0093)3,9: 18,Y,X,0,0,0,65535,65535,0 > Important are Y and X. If Y is 0 then shutter count is X. If Y is 1 or > more, then count real count is Yx65536+X. Y increases for 1 every 65536 > photos" > > another answer is: > > Go to: http://www.soens.de/ > Select SOFTWARE > download the demo version of 'EOS1DInf Version 1.2' (used to be called > cancount.exe) > > drag a RAW file into Cancount and it tells you how many shutter actuations > the camera has made. > > > > maybe this will help > > k >
