 Paige |
How long does a camera body last? Hi! Does anyone know how long a dSLR camera body lasts? Or does it depend on the camera? Thanks so much!
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W. |
About 1/10th of a second, under a 40 tonne truck.
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Who Me? |
Till a new one comes out that catches your eye, then the original sits in your backpack, while the other works. Then in a few years on a shelf. Then given to a friend. Then given to a child. By then it will be cheaper to buy a new camera rather than replace the shutter, so it gets tossed. Then it will sits in a landfill for a hundred years. Then one day, another hundred years after the landfill has closed down, while tilling the soil someone finds the remains and try to sell it for alot of money on e-bay. By then they will have the giga-pixel with one lens that can be converted to any lens in PS. "in a nutshell"
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Michael A. Bielat |
I bought my Nikon D100 in 2002-2003 and still use it frequently. I just got myself a D200 because of my fear that the D100 will fail on me any day now (I got a TON of use out of it. That was my main camera for over 4 years!)
A better question would be how long before your huge $2k-$8k investment becomes obsolete and a newer better model comes out. And how long before ebay has them for a fraction of the initial cost. haha.
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Paige |
Thanks Michael! For some reason, I was thinking a body only lasted 2 years, but I'm glad toknow they last a little bit longer! I'm looking at getting the D80, as soon as I've saved up enough money! Hahha! I know, it seems like new cameras are coming out left and right!
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John Rhodes |
Paige, At my age, the body seems to be going downhill fast--parts breaking down everywhere. Oh, the "camera's" body. I thought you meant the "photographer's" body. John
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Willie L |
Wow! This website should be called... BetterJokes.com
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Michael A. Bielat |
Paige, The D80 is a great camera and will last you quite long. IMO when you pick up a Nikon, you know it will last. It feels sturdy, they have metal frames on some if not all of their digital cameras and they just feel like the will hold up. I was going to switch to Canon a while back but they don't "feel" like they will go the distance. All I have to say is invest in decent lenses. I bought a bunch of slow lenses and always fought my way through photos because I was limited. I also never had any real wide angle lenses to use. Don't forget that if you have a 50mm lens, the photos come out as 1.5x that because of Nikon's don't have a full frame sensor Sigma makes some real great lenses. I am super happy with my 18-50mm f/2.8 of theirs as well as their 15mm f/2.8 fisheye. They are reasonably priced and are very well constructed.
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John P. Sandstedt |
Most of us will die before our cameras crap out. Life of a camera is just another discussion topic - like the life of an inkjet print. Artificial tests show inkjet print might last for 100 years. I'll be gone log before that. My Canon 30D sports 100,000 cucles - the only problem I have is that I don't know what a cycle is [and exposure, erasure of a memory card, pressings on the shutter?]
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Paige |
Thanks guys! hahaaha...you all are too funny on here!
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Sharon Day |
So all these responses basically say no one knows :o). I was hoping someone could answer that question.
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Pete H |
I believe engineers call this "TBF" or "Time Between Failure" The camera body will no doubt last a VERY long time. I believe Nikon has tested up to 100,000 Pete
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W. |
"So all these responses basically say no one knows" No, Sharon, you got that wrong. That's not at all what all these responses say. There is no way to tell how long a camera body lasts IN GENERAL. Buy 2 identical cameras, and one may not last the first week, because it gets run over by a truck, while the other may be excavated by future archaeologists in 10,000 years in pristine working order! So "how long does a camera body last" may be a simple question. The answer is NOT as simple.
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Sharon Day |
What about the sensors? Does anyone know how long those are likely to last on average?
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W. |
What's wrong with you, Sharon? Don't you get it? IT DEPENDS! If that sensor is in that camera under that truck it won't last one week. If you stick it in some deep hiding place inside a mountain it may still function excellently in a thousand years. So in YOUR daily life sensors, and the cameras they sit in, can outlast you and your children and your grandchildren, if only they are handled carefully enough.
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Sharon Day |
What's wrong with you W? Don't you get it??? I said on AVERAGE!!! Sensors get hot. They develop hot or dead pixels. No doubt other things can go wrong with them. There must be a wearing process with them. I didn't ask you how long before MY sensor goes bad. Obviously you think it already has! Shew, why do SOME men get snotty when they don't know the answer to something?
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W. |
Probably because 'some women' apparently can't wrap their head around the concept that some questions don't HAVE a simple answer, Sharon....
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Deborah Liperote |
My suggestion would be, if you really want serious answers to these questions, is to ask different photographers personally how long their equipment has lasted them. The is no standard answer to the questions. Ask John, Chris, or Debby specifically how long their individual cameras have lasted them. They shoot alot and would be able to give you a direct answer because they have probably "WORN OUT" some cameras in their life time. Others here maybe have never worn their cameras out, they just upgrade to the newer model. I don't think you can really answer these questions unless you have worn your camera out! I know I can't. I still have my Nikon 2020 from 18 years ago and it takes awesome pictures. But I used it lightly back then. Now I shoot weddings and I have a canon 30D and maybe it will last me five years (I don't Know). So would it be fair to say Nikon is better than canon...no. Would it be fair to say film is better than digital...no. I use my camera as a work horse now.. so it only makes sense that the life span of my camera(canon) will be shorter than my hobby(nikon)camera of 18 years ago. I hope this helped. And Will & Derek- you guys are too funny!!! Oops, I just read more closely the thread. John did speak up. He's always their to give help!
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W. |
Indeed, Deborah. But "John, Chris, or Debby" – being 'only' 3 of 26 million photographers (or whatever number) – won't be able to give Sharon what she wants: an AVERAGE 'age' for cams and sensors. And to add to the confusion: I've still got an Olympus Trip 35 from 1972 that works like it did on day one.
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Sharon Day |
W, there's still the law of averages even if everyone can't "wrap their heads around a concept." It doesn't really matter how long they last. The manufacturers will only provide parts for so long anyway. I might wonder how long that would be but I don't want to know bad enough to field insults again.
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W. |
"wonder how long that would be" Now THAT'S an easy one: as long as they can make a profit on it....
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Deborah Liperote |
Sharon, Don't let Will get to you. His comments are always sarcastic and humorous- to some. It's not you personally. He'll reply sarcastically to anyone that gives him something to work with. I think he's probably a good guy that's always desiring to have the last word. Take it light Will... you know what I mean.:)
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Sharon Day |
I don't think it's Will. I think I got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning ;)! I apologize. It always irritates me when I'm the one giving the comedians something to work with :o)!
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W. |
Don't mind me! I'm only a rokcet scientist... ;–P
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Deborah Liperote |
Mr. Smith, Did you just stick out your tongue at me? :-O
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W. |
Naaah, Deborah. That's just in preparation for what comes next! I C you're training to be able to articulate "Otto" properly.... I think we'll get along! ;–))
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Dwayne Barbee |
Sharon, typically the shutter mechanism is the first to go on a digital camera, most pro-sumer models have a shutter life on average of 100,000 - 150,000 cycle. A cycle is each time use activate the shutter mechanism. Now I have had my Digital Rebel for about 3 years and have taken 5000 photos with it to date. But it depends on how many photos you take. As far as the sensor goes the longer the exposure the more heat generated. Heat is the usual gremlin that destroys electronics. Hope this has helped. And it didn't even require sarcasm.
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Dwayne Barbee |
Sharon, typically the shutter mechanism is the first to go on a digital camera, most pro-sumer models have a shutter life on average of 100,000 - 150,000 cycle. A cycle is each time use activate the shutter mechanism. Now I have had my Digital Rebel for about 3 years and have taken 5000 photos with it to date. But it depends on how many photos you take. As far as the sensor goes the longer the exposure the more heat generated. Heat is the usual gremlin that destroys electronics. Hope this has helped. And it didn't even require sarcasm.
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Sharon Day |
Thank you, Dwayne! My first DSLR I didn't worry too much about it. It's a few month past 2 years old and probably 20,000 cycles by now. Lately I've tried to be more discriminating in hopes it will last a while. I guess the newness of digital has finally worn off to the point where I don't feel I have to take quite so many photos of everything.
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Dwayne Barbee |
Yes it definitely changes things when you no longer have to pay for processing or spend the time and money in the darkroom. Happy shooting!
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Who Me? |
till I steal it while you're at work.
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BetterPhoto Member |
On a serious note, I have a Minolta X700 body that I've owned for, well, forever (since 1983). Your answer lies in the care of the equipment. Have fun and keep shooting, PS, my body is falling apart, too.
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Who Me? |
serious about photography, but not about taking pictures.
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