Shutter Life Question

Shutter Life

  • I think twice about taking lots of shots.

    Votes: 10 10.9%

  • I snap away at every oppurtunity.

    Votes: 82 89.1%
  • Total voters
    92
It isn't like they click over to 10,000 actuations, then fail. The shutter went on my 1D at about 90,000, less than the expected amount, cost £150 to replace, not a big issue.
 
Just snap away, if you thought about how many steps your shoes lasted you'd never go out.

Dave.
 
I've never worried about the shutter life (until I started reading forums!) but even knowing that every shot I take is another step closer to shutter failure doesn't stop me firing frames off like nobody's business! I bought my first SLR a couple of years ago and it was about four years old then, it must be coming up for seven now! It's never skipped a beat or let me down. Even the 10D I have as a spare if I can't miss a photo is ancient and still works fine! Both cameras were well used (and loved) before I got them but they are still going several years after being built.

You paid good money for the camera, limiting your use seems a bit pointless!
 
With regards to Canon I just have my photos continuously numbered. That gives me a very good idea, I presume, of the actuations that I have taken.
 
Pre- digital even flagship film SLRs had a max quoted shutter life of 100,000 actuations, which is the equivalent of shooting a 36 exposure roll of film every day for nearly 8 years! Only the busiest working pros would have been likely to make any significant inroads into the shutter life expectancy, and the cost of all that processing would have been astronomical!

Digital has removed the cost of processing and people are taking far more exposures without a second thought. The manufacturers know this and are under pressure to improve shutter life expectancy, which they are gradually doing - projected shutter lives of 150,000, 200,000 and 300,000 are now commonplace. The biggest problem is the focal plane shutter - we're stuck with it and it's a large mechanism subject to quite violent shocks with each actuation , so it eventually self -destructs.

It's not the end of the world if the shutter fails, the cost of replacement is reasonable compared to the overall cost of a decent DSLR, but heavy continous shooting if you don't need to do it is going to be putting a heavy stress on the shutter. I shoot on continuous in short burts of 2 or 3 for the most part, and shoot single exposures when continuous isn't necessary.
 
I don't even think about the life of my camera when I'm shooting.
I purchased the camera to take photo's with so I'm not going to stop using it just in case it stops working. I'll use it until it either dies and I need to buy a new one, or until I decide I want to upgrade.
 
I had not heard of "shutter counts" till I started looking on Photo forums. So I would have been ignorant to the fact (ignorance is bliss)(well it was at one time). I did a "shutter count" on my D200 and found I had only taken about 5000 "shots" so on the basis of the time I have had the camera and the fact that I have bought a D700 as well. It will take me for ever to get near the 100,000 mark. So it won,t matter to me too much either, and as for their resale value. I tend to keep my cameras even when I upgrade them.
 
CT said:
Pre- digital even flagship film SLRs had a max quoted shutter life of 100,000 actuations, which is the equivalent of shooting a 36 exposure roll of film every day for nearly 8 years! Only the busiest working pros would have been likely to make any significant inroads into the shutter life expectancy, and the cost of all that processing would have been astronomical!

Digital has removed the cost of processing and people are taking far more exposures without a second thought. The manufacturers know this and are under pressure to improve shutter life expectancy, which they are gradually doing - projected shutter lives of 150,000, 200,000 and 300,000 are now commonplace. The biggest problem is the focal plane shutter - we're stuck with it and it's a large mechanism subject to quite violent shocks with each actuation , so it eventually self -destructs.

It's not the end of the world if the shutter fails, the cost of replacement is reasonable compared to the overall cost of a decent DSLR, but heavy continous shooting if you don't need to do it is going to be putting a heavy stress on the shutter. I shoot on continuous in short burts of 2 or 3 for the most part, and shoot single exposures when continuous isn't necessary.
Click to expand...

I've a mate who worked the cruise ships for 18 months, 2xEOS-3 bodies and 10 rolls of 36exp each body per night, 5 nights a week, 48 weeks a year. Plus I don't know how many rolls for weddings etc. in the intervening 10 years or so... Probably both around 140,000+ shots.

They're both as sweet as a nut, albeit worn a little smooth on the grips etc. and I'm sure they'll be fine for a while yet.

With that kind of longevity from a late 90's design, I'm not exactly worried about using my 7D to the full :) It's not as if I do motorsports, or stuff where I'm machine-gunning it anyway. It's nice however to get 3 shots in rapid-fire on landscapes if I'm using auto-bracketing for HDR for example.
 
TheBigYin said:
I've a mate who worked the cruise ships for 18 months, 2xEOS-3 bodies and 10 rolls of 36exp each body per night, 5 nights a week, 48 weeks a year. Plus I don't know how many rolls for weddings etc. in the intervening 10 years or so... Probably both around 140,000+ shots.

They're both as sweet as a nut, albeit worn a little smooth on the grips etc. and I'm sure they'll be fine for a while yet.

With that kind of longevity from a late 90's design, I'm not exactly worried about using my 7D to the full :) It's not as if I do motorsports, or stuff where I'm machine-gunning it anyway. It's nice however to get 3 shots in rapid-fire on landscapes if I'm using auto-bracketing for HDR for example.
Click to expand...

When we shot film at work we were probably doing about 10-12 rolls per day, 3 times each week per body - not as much as your cruise ship friend but still a lot so it's never been a problem for me. My 50e and 300 35 mm bodies never once missed a beat and they were just plain, everyday pieces if kit, nothing special. I think some folk see a shutter rating and panic....
 
specialman said:
When we shot film at work we were probably doing about 10-12 rolls per day, 3 times each week per body - not as much as your cruise ship friend but still a lot so it's never been a problem for me. My 50e and 300 35 mm bodies never once missed a beat and they were just plain, everyday pieces if kit, nothing special. I think some folk see a shutter rating and panic....
Click to expand...

I'd be worried if I was shooting that many exposures on something like my Fed3 - I don't think that the russki-rubberised cotton would stand for it, but I certainly don't fret over the Canon jobs :LOL:
 
I'm in the gun it corner :) my 5DII has nocked up oveer 60,000 shots since December 27th 2009 :) so just over 14months :).
 
The beauty of digital photography is that it is free after you buy the camera. You can experiment, try new and different things and really enjoy your equipment. Worrying about shutter actuations is a waste of time.
 
TinaC said:
I bought it to use and so will do. I didn't buy to sell on, though I wouldn't exclude the possibility.

Worrying about the number of shutter actuations would be like leaving the car in the garage in case the mileage is too high to get a good price; pointless.
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Still not as funny as the "girlfriend" analogy :D
 
I don't even take mine outside. It remains with the lenses in a padded case (silica dessicate bags to the keep atmosphere stable). If anyone dare touch the bag then all hell is to be paid. Anyone want to buy a camera, one careful owner, not even used?

Like hell. I bought it to do a job. I look after it and treat it with respect but beyond that nothing will stop me using it. If it accidently gets damaged I'll deal with it (not sure penny wise but I'll deal with that if it happens). It is like buying a car, leaving it in the garage and walking everywhere so that you don't get it damaged or wear it out.

As regards the initial question - no I don't worry about shutter count.
 
markmullen said:
girlfriend for the benefit of her next bloke!/QUOTE]

Make you right mate, and I used to know some girls that seemed to have a
" burst mode ", those were the days!

But anyway snap, snap, and snap away, thats one of the main advantages of digital photography, the ability to snap away instantly view and re-take if required.
Click to expand...
 
Not the slightest bit interested in this sort of issue, I tend to buy a bit of kit and only replace it when it dies and only if beyond 'my' economic repair criterion.

Paul
 
Even though I'm still new to photography (and I didn't know anything about shutter counts before I joined this forum), I'm firmly in the "shoot away to your hearts content" camp - as I was when I just used a bridging camera.

I can't see the point in having something and then not using it - whether that be camera, car or (as has pointed out) girlfriend! :naughty:
 
Poll is a bit ambiguous- I think about the shots I take and I wouldn't just snap away but it's purely from the angle of not wishing to take a bunch of pointless and dull shots.
I never think about shutter life- if a shot is on I'll take it.

I may use shutter count as an indication as to what kind of life a camera has had- eg a high count in a short period of time may mean more pro use than hobbiest and therefore it may have been treated with less care than I might be looking for. Of course it's only a guide and the shutter mechanism could equally fail at 10k.
 
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