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up vote 3 down vote favorite

I hoped that I could depend on the Exif shutter count for D7000, but Nikon support website explained that shutter count is not trustworthy since it may reset by service centers for different reasons such as a shutter change and also software update.

In my case, I think I can be sure that the shutter has not been changed, because the body looks new... so what are the other ways to understand this?

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What makes you think it is not new? – Phil Sep 15 '12 at 18:17
Not buying from a shop... – Omne Sep 15 '12 at 19:20

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up vote 6 down vote accepted

The shutter-count is a good start. If you are buying from someone, you can ask to see the receipt. Here at least, photo stores print the serial number on it. That will give you a date of purchase. If buying from a store, call Nikon support and ask if the serial number has been registered for warranty.

There is perhaps no foolproof way of removing all doubts but at least the shutter-count gives you the age of the shutter which will tell you how long you have before it needs replacing. That and the mirror-box. Other parts should last a very long time compared to those.

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I didn't think about checking receipt and the serial with Nikon support, I'll check the Exif too, but probably, as you said checking receipt and serial should be better. Thank you :) – Omne Sep 15 '12 at 19:19
up vote 3 down vote

One way to tell if it is "new in box" is if when you power it on, it prompts you to select the user interface language. This happens automatically only the first time it is powered on.

I bought a Nikon D90 (from a retail store), and when I turned it on, it did NOT give me that prompt, so I checked the shutter count and found it at over 1500. I returned it and got a different one that prompted for the menu language.

I'm in Canada, so I'm not sure if the prompt for UI language is universal, but I think it would be as the choices included more than just English and French.

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That prompt appears also after leaving the battery off for a long time or doing a firmware update on most brands of cameras. – Itai Sep 16 '12 at 1:40
seanmc, thanks for your reply. I too thought I can depend on that, but as Itai said it's too easy to reset. I'm looking for a more trustworthy way, I'm not sure but it seems Canon's shutter count is more trustworthy than Nikon... or are they same? idk why Nikon is making this so hard... – Omne Sep 16 '12 at 9:40

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