 Barbara Helgason |
Camera Mileage: How Many Shots? Just got my Rebel XT 3 weeks ago, and I've already shot nearly 2000 pics! Of course, I've been practicing and do plan to slow down, but a friend said I am putting too much mileage on my camera and I am wearing it out before its time. I had never even entertained such a thought as "camera mileage", and I guess I am now wondering if there is any truth to this concept. Not that it will in any way change the amount of pictures I plan to take.
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Jon Close |
Go ahead and shoot it till it quits. Realize, however, that regardless of make or model, the mechanical shutter in a film or digital SLR has a finite lifetime and will eventually wear out. Canon's professional 1-series bodies are designed for at least 150,000 shutter actuations. The shutters in the lower-line bodies are not as rugged and probably rated for at least 20,000 to 50,000 actuations. That's not a hard limit by any means. There may be the odd shutter that fails earlier, or it may outlive you.
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Brendan Knell |
Also, even if you did take about 2000 photos every month, it would take you more than 6 years to get to 150,000. And there is a good chance that in 6 years, you might have a new camera(or at least lens, which would give you another 6 years) Also, I think you can get the shutter replaced, right?
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Barbara Helgason |
Thanks, with the way today's technology advances, I guess it wouldn't be unrealistic at all to upgrade in 6 years.
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Brendan Knell |
You're right Barbara, my Sony F828 is about like the Rebel XT (except not DSLR), and I plan (hope, more like it) on upgrading in less than 6 years.
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Maria Melnyk |
I don't believe that the Rebel XT is a professional 1-series body; therefore, taking 2000 photos every month would make it last only 10 months, not 6 years.
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Barbara Helgason |
10 months?!?!? I am going to contact Canon, now I really want to know!
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Christopher A. Vedros |
Like Jon said, these figures are just an estimate. As with most things in life, "actual results may vary."
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Maria Melnyk |
Sorry, Barbara, I didn't mean to scare you. I was just doing the arithmetic. But do you really plan on taking 2000 photos every month? Even if you do, I'm sure the camera will last longer than 10 months. However, keep in mind when buying any camera that the pro models are designed for heavy use like that, whereas Rebels are not. Both the outer material and some of the insides are "flimsier". If you do call Canon, let us know what they say.
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Barbara Helgason |
Here is the answer I just received from Canon: Dear Barbara I am sorry Barbara, but the information regarding the shutter cycle life is
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Maria Melnyk |
OK, so according to your Canon person your camera should last 8 years. Makes you feel better, doesn't it? I will disagree with just part of their statement - the one where the shutter cycle is similar. Canon itself says that their pro cameras are designed for more rugged use. In all my experiences with calling them, they've been wrong more than half the time. So I don't trust them a whole lot. However, the bottom line is, you have nothing to worry about. Your camera will last long enough that you will want a new one before it wears out. Just don't make the mistake I did: Something possessed me to touch the shutter in one of my cameras, and now it has a cute little dent in it. But it still works fine.
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Barbara Helgason |
I am not really sure what to think of Canon's answer. I feel it doesn't really answer my question. I've done some more research but I seem to get a different answer everywhere I turn. What I did find out was that replacing the shutter will only cost me about $300.00. So I will try to be a little less shutter happy, (don't need to have it on multiple exposures all the time!!!) and at the same time continue to take all the pictures I want.
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Will Turner |
Compared to many older film SLR cameras (25+ years), consumer-level DLSRs are crammed with sensitive and fragile electonics, and are built to be very light-duty. 2-3 years is an oft-quoted figure, some people have dead cameras in under a year, usually a chip failure, dead sensor or LCD rather than a shutter problem. The marketing strategy seems to be that by the time most buyers have a malfunction, they will be on to another more advanced digital camera. So why build 'em better? Until that buying pattern changes, we are unlikely to see much change in durability of new digital cameras.
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Elisabeth A. Gay |
Wow, and I was hoping my 300D and Fuji S7000 would last me a good 3-4 years! Hmm, if ever there was a case for film!!
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Kerry L. Walker |
LOL! Y'all come on back. We'll take you back!
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