Life expectancy?

BAD WOLF

BAD WOLF

Suspended / Banned
Messages
75
Name
Stan
Edit My Images
Yes
As a relatively newbe to the digital scene, could anyone tell what sort of life expectancy you should get from a dslr. I'm only asking because if i was looking to buy second hand and it has done say 20,000 shots would that be too many or is it ok. Thanks in advance.
 
There's no way to answer that unfortunately. It would help to know what body you're thinking of, as manufacturers quote anticipated shutter life in their specs. It's the shutter which is likely to fail first due to the fact that DSLRs have a focal plane shutter which basically suffers far more than other type from wear in repeated use.

Bottom end starter bodies tend to have a quoted life of 50,000 shutter cycles, mid range ones around 100,000 cycles, while top end cameras have claimed lives of 200,000 or even 300,000 shutter cycles.

These are only guesstimates of what actuations they should achieve before failure though, many will fail before that, and some will well exceed it. :shrug:

Shutters can be replaced so it isn't a death sentence for the camera anyway. I wouldn't say 20K actuations is excessive even for a starter body, but you have to accept it may fail before or after the anticipated number of shots.
 
:agree: If you contact one of the manufacturer repair centers you will be able to get a quote on the cost to replace a shutter assy , you have an idea of the costs in-case of a failure then.
 
Just to put this into perspective 20K actuations is equivalent to shooting 555 rolls of 36 exposure 35mm film, which most film cameras wouldn't shoot in their whole lifetime of many years. Since the advent of digital cameras, and no film costs, people are pressing that shutter with gay abandon compared to using film, and making big inroads into the shutter life in a much shorter space of time.
 
There's no way to answer that unfortunately. It would help to know what body you're thinking of, as manufacturers quote anticipated shutter life in their specs. It's the shutter which is likely to fail first due to the fact that DSLRs have a focal plane shutter which basically suffers far more than other type from wear in repeated use
Click to expand...

Ok thanks for the reassuring advice,the body i'm looking to get is a Canon 450d.

Just to put this into perspective 20K actuations is equivalent to shooting 555 rolls of 36 exposure 35mm film, which most film cameras wouldn't shoot in their whole lifetime of many years. Since the advent of digital cameras, and no film costs, people are pressing that shutter with gay abandon compared to using film, and making big inroads into the shutter life in a much shorter space of time
Click to expand...

When you look at it like that it don't seem so bad,when i had a film camera i don't think i ever used 200 rolls of film let alone 555.Thanks for the advice once again,always helpfull.
 
Well the 450D has an anticipated shutter life of 50K shots if that helps. :)
 
It depends on how much use you intend put the camera to as well - if you think you'll be going through 1-2000 shots a week (easier than it sounds) then you could be up at the 50k mark in a few months, but if you're a "normal" person then barring being plain unlucky it could last you for years.

As CT says, you can get the shutter replaced, but more than likely, judging by the way new camera prices are dropping, by the time (if) that happens the cost will probably outweigh the value of the 450d, so don't worry about it
 
Longevity of the mechanical parts was important with film cameras because they take a long time to become obsolete. My F3 is getting on for 25 years old and must have had something like 3,000 rolls of film through it without a hiccup. It is still a delight to use for its simplicity and beautiful handling (apart from the stupid viewfinder illuminator and hotshoe) and although I have owned newer and more sophisitcated kit (still do) on the whole it is the F3 that I grab first.

DSLRs are different as there is a tendency to be a lot more shutter happy with them which means that it is not unusual to get through a couple of hundred shots during an afternoon walk in the country.

This has to be seen in the context of the upgrade cycle of these cameras. My F3 is still gong strong after all these years and is still in regular use. The same cannot be said for DSLRs that are 4 or 5 years old, the vast majority of these have not fallen into disuse because theay are broken but because their owners have moved on to newer models.

The key questions then become how shutter happy you are likely to be and how long you will hold out against the marketeers whispering in your ear that all you need to become a better photographer is a newer, more sophisitcated and complex camera.

Don't get me wrong, I am wholeheartedly in favour of progress but your question was about longevity and you would have to be pretty unlucky to have your camera fail before you want to get rid of it anyway.
 
To give you some idea,

My D2H is now 4 years old. I kept a minimum of 3000 shots from a 3-day BSB weekend which means I'll have rattled off at least 3500-3750 actuations over the weekend. I did 13 rounds a year plus 2 3-day tests for 3 years (not including my other sporting events) and it's still going strong now although I've quit BSB so wear is less now.

You get what you pay for..........
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top