For those of you dying to know the shutter count on your 400D, there is an option - it's not easy, but it is an option.

CHDK forum member thaibv has created a hacked version of the 400D firmware that allows you to (among other things, like 3200 ISO) access the "factory" options screen on a 400D.  Pushing some buttons will cause a file to be written out to your CF card with the shutter count value in it.   Definitely not for the faint of heart nor the technically challenged, but I felt I had to report it, as so many people have asked me.  

Detailed instructions at POTN on this thread.

Some folks have reported issues with the version of SetupEOSInfo.exe that I put up the other day.  Let's try again, shall we?  I'm using another different packager, I think this will do the trick.  As always, let me know if you have issues.

Also, I've updated EOSInfo to version 0.2 - it'll now accept changes for the Owner, Artist, and Copyright fields (if your camera model supports them, of course).  I think I may have fixed the issue with serial numbers on cameras after the 40D, as well.

The EOSInfo installer (SetupEOSInfo) is back online.  I repackaged it with another utility that makes it somewhat larger, but doesn't trigger any antivirus alarms.  Thank you for your patience.

The EOSInfo installer is currently unavailable. Apparently Kaspersky anti-virus is reporting the presence of a trojan (Trojan-Downloader.Win32.Agent.cley) in it. I've run it against several online services which check uploaded files against multiple anti-virus packages, and Kaspersky and two others are the only packages (out of 40+) that report an issue. Hopefully the report is a false positive, but in the meantime, I am taking the installer offline (SHUT HER DOWN, CLANCY, SHE'S PUMPIN' MUD!). Check back periodically, or sign up for the RSS feed. Sorry for the inconvenience.

I've had a couple of folks report that the software throws an exception when used with the 500D.  One enterprising user (thanks, Poe!) tried switching some .DLLs around, and ends up getting the informational message that the count isn't a supported property.  It appears that Canon has shut down the counter for that model.  Sigh.  More news if I learn anything different.

Another bug - the serial number on the 50D (and on one users' screenshot I saw posted online) is wrong, wrong, wrong.  It's fine on my 40D, however.  If you notice that yours is wrong or right, and are so inclined, drop me a note.  david at astrojargon dot net 

You can't use EOSInfo and Canon's EOSUtility at the same time, so how do I know the count updates in realtime (except for the 5D, that is)?  You can still shoot with the shutter release cable (TC-8N03, or whatever), and I *believe* that you can even press the shutter button.

Also, I've had some great ideas for enhancements  sent in - let me know if you've thought of anything.

EOSInfo is the long-awaited successor to the 40DShutterCount utility.  It displays useful information about your Canon EOS DSLR, including the shutter count (on models for which the shutter count property is available). 

EOSInfo improves upon the older utility in the following ways:

• Packaged with an installer, so installation involves downloading and running the installation program instead of mucking about in Windows Explorer
  
• Recognizes cameras attached and/or powered on either before or after the software is started
• Displays the camera's body id, firmware version, date/time, and owner/artist/copyright information 
• Updates the shutter counter in real time when shooting tethered (except for the 5DMkII, which still needs to be power cycled for the shutter counter to update)

Yep, it's true.  I picked up a used mac, and built a version for you Mac fanatics.   I hope it works. :)

Honestly, this is my first-ever Mac app - quite different from what I've been doing for oh, the past 15 years.

 Let me know if you Mac users have any issues: david at astrojargon dot net

UPDATE: 12/12/2008 

Thanks to Justin Acuff (http://www.justinacuff.net/) and Robert Blum (http://www.luiswatkins.com/5dmarkii/) for helping run this down.

It turns out that 40DShutterCount *does* work on the new Canon 5DMkII.  The only hitch is that the shutter count number won't increment while the camera is on.

For example: say you hook up your 5DMkII to your PC, run the utility, and get a count of 42.

You then take some shots while tethered, and then run the utility again, you'll still get a count of 42.  You can unhook it, take even more shots, hook it back up, and the number will *still* be 42.

Now, turn the camera *off.*  Turn it back on, run the utility, and you should get the correct number of shots.

Good news.   Thanks again to Justin and Robert.

UPDATE: 12/11/2008: I'm getting conflicting reports about the 5DMkII - if you give it a try, let me know the results.  Thanks! 

 Just got my first report from a 5DMkII owner, and unfortunately, it does not work.  Bummer.

Thanks to Robert for the (bad) news.

The original idea behind this site was to be a sort of glossary as I learned astronomy and astrophotography. The jargon surrounding the hobbies can be somewhat overwhelming, and I thought that by writing up definitions for some of the baffling words I came across in my journey, I could help others - as I helped myself remember.

 Well, over the past year and a few months, this site has mainly served as a repository for sharing some of my astrophotos with friends and family. More recently it has become home for some tools I've developed. I finally have circled around to implementing a feature I'm calling the "Word of the Day" which is my interpretation of an astronomy or astrophotography term. In fact, the first two terms I've defined are astronomy and astrophotography.

The current WOTD will be appear on the home page. All the Words can be accessed at http://astrojargon.net/Words

While astronomy was my WOTD for several months, I'm hoping to keep up with this on a regular, if not daily basis. Eventually, I hope to flesh it out into a useful glossary. I hope that others will read and benefit from my somewhat eclectic "definitions" of buzzwords, technical terms, and acronyms relating to astronomy and astrophotography - in other words, astrojargon.