Are you planning to sell your Fujifilm X-T20 and want to check the shutter count? Or maybe you’re searching the market for your first Fuji X-T20 and want to know the shutter life remaining on the camera body. Or perhaps you’ve had your camera for a few years and want to track its lifespan. Learning how to check the shutter count for your camera can be helpful in a number of situations.
How Can I Check Shutter Count Using an EXIF Reader?
Since there’s no convenient shutter count tracker accessible from the X-T20 menu, you will have to use an online tool to check the shutter count. For example, you can visit this website to upload a JPEG file and get shutter count data.
If you’re starting from scratch and want to check the shutter count for the first time, follow these steps:
- Take a picture in JPEG format on your Fujifilm X-T20
- Transfer the file to your desktop or mobile device
- Upload the JPEG file to the EXIF data reader
What Is the Shutter Count?
The term “shutter count” refers to the number of actuations of the camera’s shutter or the number of times the shutter has been released when taking a photo. For a mirrorless camera like the Fuji X-T20, both the mechanical shutter actuations and electronic shutter actuations are accounted for in the image count.
In other words, the shutter count is the number of clicks the camera has, or the number of times the camera has taken a picture. While both types of actuations are counted on the X-T20, electronic shutter actuations do not require the mechanical parts of the shutter to move, so this may be misleading. Only physical activations of the mechanical shutter will actually cause natural wear of the shutter mechanisms.
Can I Check Shutter Count on the Fujifilm X-T20?
If you’re looking to buy a used Fujifilm X-T20 camera, typically you will aim to purchase one with a lower shutter count because the camera has a longer lifespan remaining. However, don’t expect to be able to check the shutter count on the spot when buying a used X-T20. There is no actual shutter count button built into the X-T20. You cannot access the shutter count from the camera menu or settings. Instead, Fujifilm records the shutter count on EXIF (Exchangeable Image File) metadata, such as the JPEG files taken by the camera. You will not be able to see the shutter count data if you only shoot photos in RAW format.
What Is the Shutter Life of the Fujifilm X-T20?
Fujifilm does not provide a set number for shutter count expectancy for the X-T20. On average, modern mirrorless cameras are rated for at minimum a shutter count of 50,000. This is not a hard limit, meaning your camera won’t die the second you take that many pictures.
The truth is most users will not use the Fujifilm X-T20 and exhaust its full shutter life. That’s a lot of photos to take. It would require extensive, regular daily use to approach the shutter count, and even then the camera would last you for several years.
For example, if you took 100 pictures a day for an entire year that would result in 36,500 photos. If you’re just getting started in photography and you’re not using your camera daily, you can expect to use your camera for several years before approaching the minimum shutter count.
The reality is some shutters may also fail before the expectancy, depending on the conditions you shoot in and how you or the previous owner cared for the camera.
What Shutter Count Should I Look For In A Used X-T20?
Naturally, a higher shutter count indicates the camera has been used extensively and could potentially be subject to more repairs. When planning to buy a used camera, you should look for one with a lower shutter count. A Fujifilm camera with a lower image count likely means the previous owner kept it on a shelf collecting dust or forgotten in a drawer.
In my experience, I bought my used Fujifilm X-T20 in March 2020. At that point, the model was already 3 years old as it was released in January 2017. In reviewing one of the first pictures I shot, of a Darth Vader Lego minifigure, the shutter count from that day was 94 actuations. That means the used camera I bought was barely used by the previous owner.
Then I took the picture below of Lego Darth Vader today, in February 2023, almost three years later from purchasing my used X-T20. The shutter count today was 4903 actuations.
That means over three years my camera has recorded actuations 4809 actuations. Divided over 3 years, that’s 1603 actuations per year, or an average of 4.39 actuations per day.
Now, I shoot quite sporadically and do not use my camera daily at all. It’s usually reserved for trips and vacations, or days when I’m feeling inspired and bring my camera out with me. But this goes to show that there is lots of room to take many photos with your X-T20 before reaching the estimated shutter count life rating. If I took on average 5 photos a day, every day of the year, it would take me over 27 years to reach a limit of 50,000 actuations.
Conclusion
Now that you know how to check the shutter count of a Fujifilm X-T20, you can be better prepared to make your purchase or verify the status of your own camera. When you shoot photos in JPEG, you can take a file and upload it to an EXIF reader online that will tell you the shutter count. Odds are that there will be plenty of life left in your camera before reaching the rated shutter count life expectancy.