When I first started shooting time-lapse image sequences with my Nikon D40 DSLR Camera, I had no idea that digital camera shutters had a life expectancy, in that after a certain number of shutter releases, the shutter could wear out and cease to function.

Upon learning this, I had two questions: What is the Nikon D40 shutter life expectancy, and how many shutter actuations does my Nikon D40 have?

The camera shutter count (actuations) is stored in EXIF data, which is stored with each digital photo. There are a number of downloadable programs that can read and edit EXIF information, and I chose to download and install PhotoMe for Windows.

To obtain my camera’s shutter actuations, I opened the most recent photo stored on my pc taken with my Nikon D40, and scrolled down to shutter count. In my case, the shutter count on my Nikon D40 was a little over 8000. Aside from the shutter count, the EXIF data contains camera and photo related information such as camera manufacturer and model, lens type, image resolution, exposure time, ISO speed rating and much more.

To obtain the Nikon D40’s shutter life expectancy, I visited http://www.olegkikin.com/shutterlife, (A Camera Shutter Life Expectancy Database), which lists the shutter life expectancy for many popular cameras. In the case of the Nikon D40, the current average shutter life expectancy actuation count is 84,288.5.

This is good information to be aware of if you use your camera to shoot a high number of image sequences!