Shutter count on mirrorless bodies why ?

the black fox

the black fox

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This question keeps coming up when people advertise a mirrorless body ,and it’s really starting to annoy me ..

What use is it to a buyer to know the shutter count of a camera with a electronic shutter I.e it could be a 5 year old camera that’s been used in electronic shutter so has a count of i.e 700 and been abused during its life

As opposed to a year old well looked after camera that has been used in mechanical and has a shutter count of 30,000 .

The electronics in the older camera are far more likely to fail than the newer higher shutter count model . In fact if you’re worried enough to ask a seller for a shutter count figure you would in fact be better off buying from a dealer with a warranty . Taking into account most new mirrorless cameras have a shutter rating of getting on for half a million actuations I can’t see why buyers keep asking the question , you would be better off looking for signs of wear on buttons , grips etc to estimate usage
This is really becoming a bee in my bonnet lately ,hence the post
 
It’s just one data point for a buyer, relevant for someone planning to use in mechanical shutter mode. For me, it’s not something worth getting a bee in a bonnet over.
 
Many people make greater use of the mechanical shutter either as a default or when they need to avoid rolling shutter issues. So shutter count is still relevant but I agree, wear and tear on the rest of the camera is probably more important. When buying used, you are probably looking at a camera that has a life expectancy of well below the 500,000 shutter operations you mention. Until relatively recently, most cameras had an expected life of 150,000 to 200,000 shutter operations.

In a previous life, I had a business retailing used cameras. I bought a camera in that had been used mainly for wildlife and had always been used with a silicon case. The body and buttons were excellent with no signs of wear, but when I persevered and got the shutter count (not easy on some cameras) I found the shutter to be pretty close to its life expectancy limit. I was suckered in by the cosmetic condition and couldn't, in all conscience, sell it on.
 
I’ve always wondered about why people are fixated on shutter count , there are other things that are more likely to cause problems with a camera such as leaving a wet camera in the camera bag or salt water damage but I guess it gives an idea on use
my cameras are all well used but I’ve never had a shutter fail or any camera go wrong
I have never bothered to try to sell a camera when I get a new one as the shutter count is always around 70K so thought that it would put people off but they have all been looked after
 
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Because its a built in obsolescence so that as it gets close to the "shutter count where your shutter will implode and open a portal to another world" then people will upgrade and buy the latest thing.

Where as in real life there are still plenty of cameras out there going strong that have gone way past their sell by date.
 
The expected life referred to will normally be the MTBF (Mean time between failure). Though this may appear to be a large figure it means that the probability of the device operating at that time is only 37%. I would certainly be concerned about shutter count for an SLR but I never buy second hand so do not need to worry.

Dave
 
Shutter count will give an *indication* of how much the camera has been used. Thus a camera with a high count may well have been out in all weathers, bashed, worn on the edges, have loose or intermittently functioning buttons, have had multiple sensor cleans, worn lens mount... the obvious list goes on. It's not the *sole* criteria to judge a camera, but it should certainly be a guide in the context of other information.

Shutter count is the only index you have to show how much a camera has been used. Whether the shutter was mechanical or electronic doesn't matter at all.
 
ancient_mariner said:
Shutter count will give an *indication* of how much the camera has been used. Thus a camera with a high count may well have been out in all weathers, bashed, worn on the edges, have loose or intermittently functioning buttons, have had multiple sensor cleans, worn lens mount... the obvious list goes on. It's not the *sole* criteria to judge a camera, but it should certainly be a guide in the context of other information.

Shutter count is the only index you have to show how much a camera has been used. Whether the shutter was mechanical or electronic doesn't matter at all.
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Only trouble with that is electronic shutter count doesn’t register . A friend has recently bought two used cameras with extremely low mechanical counts that have both gone tits up in the first week . ??
 
the black fox said:
Only trouble with that is electronic shutter count doesn’t register . A friend has recently bought two used cameras with extremely low mechanical counts that have both gone tits up in the first week . ??
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So does the 'shutter count' software not use the actual number of images shot to provide a count?
 
ancient_mariner said:
So does the 'shutter count' software not use the actual number of images shot to provide a count?
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nope it only shows mechanical shutter counts Toni ... very misleading as electronics i.e ribbons/linkages wear out .. even more so if the photographer is constantly chimping a turned in screen
 
I'd like to know how many shutter elements actually fail. Like miles... I'm on 175k and doing fine. Do they really break up that much? I don't think so.
 
stickytape said:
I'd like to know how many shutter elements actually fail. Like miles... I'm on 175k and doing fine. Do they really break up that much? I don't think so.
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Shutters usually have a rating somewhere in the specifications.

The longest I've had a camera is about 7 or 8 years. I had my Canon 20D 7 years and have had my Sony A7 a bit longer and haven't suffered a shutter failure yet, touch wood, but I'm not a machine gunner and never shoot bursts and I'd guess that helps to keep the count down.
 
No one talks about the number of iris operations or the amount of time the auto focus motor has operated on lenses. Strange.
 
redsnappa said:
No one talks about the number of iris operations or the amount of time the auto focus motor has operated on lenses. Strange.
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Write a piece of software that will provide that information and I'm sure people will start to care.
 
Doesn't it also show the number of times the camera has been activated?
Unless it was used by a machine gunning lunatic that should show if its seen much action.

Is it anymore daft to ask about shutter clicks than if something has a box?
Heard it said that means it's more likely to have been well looked after, why?
Another much used selling point is an unused strap, so what?

Just accept the fact its something buyers want to know so why not state it.
After all you presumably want to flog the camera, which leads me to another stupid statement.
I'm not selling it for x amount and might as well keep it.
Ok, but you obviously don't want it so why say that.
 
LCPete said:
I’ve always wondered about why people are fixated on shutter count , there are other things that are more likely to cause problems with a camera such as leaving a wet camera in the camera bag or salt water damage but I guess it gives an idea on use
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If your buying a camera and mine has over a million shutter count and someone else has 10k and both same price.. shutter count should tell you a story

and yes, mine have over a million :) thats what you call well used :)
 
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