Why does my new camera appear to have over 3000 photos taken already?

Question

I just bought a new Canon EOS 60D and a new 8GB SDHC card. When I started it the first time I realised that the shutter count on Battery-Information-Menu was at 256 taken photos.

I made a few shots an copied them on my pc. Then I realised that my first pic had the name IMG_3881.JPG

How are theses counters set?

The SD card was in its original package but I didn't have to format it. Is it possible that the camera was already in use?

Answer

Using the filename to get shutter count might be inaccurate because of previously stored photos. You can try using utilities like http://www.mydigitallife.info/2010/10/20/download-eosinfo-to-check-shutter-count-for-canon-dslr/ to get the real shutter count

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