Dont you just love ebay

[Dangermouse]

Sold a camera today, or at least I thought I did, ad stated it had low shutter count at just under 10k which I would say for an 18 month old camera is pretty low, anyway the buyer after he won the auction asked again about the shutter actuations and then decided it was high

What would you think is a high number for a camera that's 18 months old, I would hazard a guess at anywhere between 30-60k but then again, how long is a bit of string.

 

[Tori_T]

That sounds like a preliminary to demanding discounts or freebies, now they've excluded everyone else from the sale.

 

[tijuana taxi]

If you haven't sent it, just cancel the sale and if they have paid refund the money.
Just know its going to be agro all the way with that kind of stupid remark

 

[Dangermouse]

I did cancel and offer as a second chance as I did think it would all end in tears if I persisted with the sale, but yes it really was a silly remark about 10k being high, just awaiting a reply from the next highest bidder

 

[GarethB]

....silly remark about 10k being high....

Indeed, a truly silly remark!!
When I bought my used (over two years old) 7DmkII a few years ago, I felt incredibly fortunate to find one with ~19K shutter actuations!
10K is barely run-in!!

 

[cambsno]

My 85mm was sold, only for ebay to cancel it as it was a hacked account. Good think in the end but really not looking forward to using them if stuff doesn't sell on here!

 

[sirch]

I suppose it's about expectations and I agree that the buyer should have asked questions first but TBH I wouldn't call a shutter count of 10k low, sounds like it would be definitely in the "average" range. 10k over 18 months is 18 shots per day every day of the year or it's 128 shots every weekend. Personally I don't shoot anything like that many.

 

[Box Brownie]

I suppose it's about expectations and I agree that the buyer should have asked questions first but TBH I wouldn't call a shutter count of 10k low, sounds like it would be definitely in the "average" range. 10k over 18 months is 18 shots per day every day of the year or it's 128 shots every weekend. Personally I don't shoot anything like that many.

Hmmmm! I suppose it is bit like comparing cars such a Ford Focus which is a daily commuter & family car to say the Mazda MX5 which is (for most owners?) the weekend & holiday get away car.

In other words, YMMV depending on the camera body and the usage demand of the owner???

 

[GarethB]

I suppose it's about expectations and I agree that the buyer should have asked questions first but TBH I wouldn't call a shutter count of 10k low, sounds like it would be definitely in the "average" range. 10k over 18 months is 18 shots per day every day of the year or it's 128 shots every weekend. Personally I don't shoot anything like that many.

Hmmmm! I suppose it is bit like comparing cars such a Ford Focus which is a daily commuter & family car to say the Mazda MX5 which is (for most owners?) the weekend & holiday get away car.

In other words, YMMV depending on the camera body and the usage demand of the owner???

Fair points.
High(ish) burst rate cameras like my 7DmkII are more likely to have led a hard life, being as they are more likely to have been used for sports/wildlife.
Regarding DSLRs only however, the shutter mechanisms are probably as tough and reliable as they're ever going to be, and mine has a shutter life expectancy of 200,000 actuations.
I don't shoot every day, but at 10K a year, which sounds reasonable for my shooting style, I can expect another 15 years out of mine, which I would be more than happy with.

Wex has a 1D series camera for sale with over one and a half million actuations!
Granted, it's had the shutter replaced at 600,000....but it's still going....alledgedly!

You're right though, it is all about usage expectations and shooting style.

 

[tijuana taxi]

I enquired about a used camera last week in a shop, but they didn't know the shutter count
Checked it when I asked, bit complicated on a Panasonic so probably the reason they hadn't bothered

Think we were both surprised when it showed a rather meagre 93, now that is what I call low

 

[cambsno]

I suppose it's about expectations and I agree that the buyer should have asked questions first but TBH I wouldn't call a shutter count of 10k low, sounds like it would be definitely in the "average" range. 10k over 18 months is 18 shots per day every day of the year or it's 128 shots every weekend. Personally I don't shoot anything like that many.

I would, for a dslr certainly. Mine is four and a half years old and on 31k but use in the last year has been minimal.

 

[Box Brownie]

Fair points.
High(ish) burst rate cameras like my 7DmkII are more likely to have led a hard life, being as they are more likely to have been used for sports/wildlife.
Regarding DSLRs only however, the shutter mechanisms are probably as tough and reliable as they're ever going to be, and mine has a shutter life expectancy of 200,000 actuations.
I don't shoot every day, but at 10K a year, which sounds reasonable for my shooting style, I can expect another 15 years out of mine, which I would be more than happy with.

Wex has a 1D series camera for sale with over one and a half million actuations!
Granted, it's had the shutter replaced at 600,000....but it's still going....alledgedly!

You're right though, it is all about usage expectations and shooting style.

IMO it is wrong to talk of Shutter Life Expectancy All such figures are more correctly described as MTBF (Mean Time Before Failure)....................it is for that 'reason' you see reports of shutter failure with very low counts and counterpointed by some who say 'my shutter was still going strong at 500,000.....'

 

[sirch]

So we all agree its about expectations however stating it's "low" in a sales advert really should mean, IMHO, significantly less than average, rather than "it's got plenty of life".

On my 7dii shooting my son at rugby I might take 200 shots during a game an I might attend 5 to 10 games in a year. I know some people are out gunning wildlife every weekend and some evenings but they would be in the high shutter count category. Say a reasonable life for a DSLR is 10 years and taking the 200,000 MTBF then that's 20,000 per year - i.e. that's the highest that is reasonable, if 0 (zero) is the lowest possible then somewhere in the middle - 10,000 - is average surely?

 

[GarethB]

IMO it is wrong to talk of Shutter Life Expectancy All such figures are more correctly described as MTBF (Mean Time Before Failure)....................it is for that 'reason' you see reports of shutter failure with very low counts and counterpointed by some who say 'my shutter was still going strong at 500,000.....'

I can accept that.

I use the (marketing term) 'shutter life expectancy' as a guide only....and with a huge pinch of salt!

By the way, if I'm still here in 10-15 years, and turn into one of those that brag about '500,000 and counting'....please punch me in the face!!

 

[KIPAX]

Dont you just love ebay

Yes I do... Don't blame them when you encounter a bad apple

 

[Petrochemist]

Sold a camera today, or at least I thought I did, ad stated it had low shutter count at just under 10k which I would say for an 18 month old camera is pretty low, anyway the buyer after he won the auction asked again about the shutter actuations and then decided it was high

What would you think is a high number for a camera that's 18 months old, I would hazard a guess at anywhere between 30-60k but then again, how long is a bit of string.

While I've probably shot over 10k in a single month occasionally, I don't think you can really call it low.
It's not uncommon to see cameras several years old that have hardly been used. I suspect one of my SD14s & most of my compact cameras have less than 1k shots each - all of these would be over 5 years old, some of them nearing 20 years.

I would expect low to imply less than 1k unless the actual number is included alongside as in 'low 10k shutter count'.