How to Find the Shutter Count on OM System Cameras with the New Menu System

OM System cameras have a hidden diagnostic menu that displays the number of mechanical shutter actuations. To access it, you need to enter the camera’s Monitor Adjust settings and follow a specific sequence of button presses.

I tested the procedure on the OM System OM-1, OM-1 Mark II, and OM-3, and the steps are identical on all three cameras. The OM-5 Mark II uses the newer OM System menu interface, so I expect the same procedure to work, but I haven’t personally verified it.

The newer OM System menu interface differs from the older Olympus menu system, so instructions written for earlier Olympus cameras may not work exactly as described.

For older Olympus cameras, see my How to Find the Shutter Count on Olympus Cameras article.

How to Find the Shutter Count on OM System Cameras

Follow these steps to access the hidden diagnostic menu.

Start with the camera turned off.
Hold down the MENU button and turn the camera on.
Release the MENU button and press MENU again to display the camera’s menu.
Use the front and rear dials to navigate to sub-menu 3 of the Wrench (Setup) menu.
Press Down on the arrow pad to select Monitor Adjust.

Press OK.
Press Right on the arrow pad.
Press INFO.
Press OK. A screen displaying the camera model and other information will appear. It may take a second to display.

Now enter the following button sequence in the exact order:

Press Up on the arrow pad.
Press Down on the arrow pad.
Press Left on the arrow pad.
Press Right on the arrow pad.
Press the Shutter Release button.
Press Up on the arrow pad. Page 1 of the hidden diagnostic menu will appear.

Press Right on the arrow pad to display Page 2 of the hidden menu.

Look for the number to the right of MS. This is the mechanical shutter actuation count.
Turn the camera off to exit the hidden menu and return to normal operation.

Understanding the Shutter Count

On Page 2 of the diagnostic menu, MS indicates the number of mechanical shutter actuations.

For example, if the screen displays MS:009229, the camera has recorded 9,229 mechanical shutter actuations.

This is different from the total number of photographs taken with the camera. Images captured using the electronic shutter are not included in the mechanical shutter count.

Tested on Three OM System Cameras

I personally followed these instructions on the OM-1, OM-1 Mark II, and OM-3. The procedure worked the same way on all three cameras, including the steps to access Monitor Adjust and enter the hidden diagnostic menu.

Although I don’t own the OM-5 Mark II to test it, that camera uses the newer OM System menu interface. I expect the procedure to be similar, but I can’t confirm that it works without testing.

Final Thoughts

Finding the shutter count on an OM System camera is straightforward once you know how to access the hidden diagnostic menu. The procedure is identical for OM System cameras using the new menu system introduced with the OM System OM-1.

If you’re buying or selling a used OM System camera, checking the mechanical shutter count provides one useful piece of information about how much the camera has been used.

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