Buying A Camera? Does The Amount Of Shutter Clicks Matter?

[donny1963]

Buying A Camera? Does The Amount Of Shutter Clicks Matter?
Well in my experience and opinion with this question, and i see alot of people that are anal about Shutter Clicks when buying a used camara.

Does that mater? NO not really, it's not like buying a hard drive where close to it's mean time before failure , or not even really like Millage on a car,, Some say it is, but it's really not and i'll tell ya why.

It's very rare that a camera's shutter system will fail, not that they don't they do, some even fail after only 10 thousand shutter clicks, but it's very rare..

I have an Old Canon 50D and it's got well over 2 million shutter clicks and still works fine.
I have several camera's including old film camera's , like my Olympus OMPC i had for about 22 years and that still works fine.

You can even go to
canon eos 5dmkii | Camera Shutter Life Database for instance,

it will show you a graft of Canon EOS 5D Mark II Shutter Life , even at 100,000 shutter clicks it's a 10% chance for it to fail, even one million it shows only a 32% chance it could fail.

So it Don't really much matter about shutter clicks on a camera because it's not all that big of a deal and chances are you will get millions of shutter clicks out of it with out it failing.

If some idiot is selling his Nikon D810 for only $900.00 because he has 2 or 3 million shutter clicks on it, it's still worth buying it,
because, i looked into the cost to send it to Nikon to replace that shutter, and the cost is only $250.00, so that is well worth it even if the shutter has a couple million shutter clicks on it, that's not a huge deal.

 

[Overread]

Mechanical parts always have a limited life-span so the amount of use they have had is a very valid consideration when making a secondhand purchase. One should be aware of the manufacture suggested life-span in clicks of a camera and thus how close a camera is to its statistical point of failure. Sure some will last WAY long and some way less; but in general it gives you a rough idea of where the limit point is . That is the point at which you will have to expect to pay for a replacement to the shutter assembly.

This is important because it means that if its very close or past its limit the price of the second hand camera is not just the advertising price; but the price plus its repair cost. As you said this means you can still get a very good second hand deal; but you have to be aware of the potential for paying for that repair (in both money and time without hte camera).


In much older digital models its even more important to be aware of it because at some point the own brand services will stop repairing the sensors on them. Thus you might well have to then research third party repairshops.

 

[fmw]

It's a $250 deal. If a camera has fewer shutter actuations, it has less use. If it has less it is likely to last longer for a lot of reasons, including the shutter. It is also likely to look better if that matters.

 

[KmH]

Nikon would very much like to hear about any D810 they have made that has a shutter mechanism that has endured for 2 or 3 million actuations.
But, yep, replacement of the shutter is not very expensive.
However, if you paid $300 for a used DSLR that subsequently needs a $250 repair, just getting another $300 DSLR seems to be a viable alternative.

Entry-level DSLR shutters are not designed and made to last as long as the shutters in pro grade DSLRs.
Shutter life is effected by more than how many times the shutter has been actuated.
The environmental conditions a camera is used and stored in can also affect shutter life.

 

[donny1963]

Nikon would very much like to hear about any D810 they have made that has a shutter mechanism that has endured for 2 or 3 million actuations.
But, yep, replacement of the shutter is not very expensive.
However, if you paid $300 for a used DSLR that subsequently needs a $250 repair, just getting another $300 DSLR seems to be a viable alternative.

Entry-level DSLR shutters are not designed and made to last as long as the shutters in pro grade DSLRs.
Shutter life is effected by more than how many times the shutter has been actuated.
The environmental conditions a camera is used and stored in can also affect shutter life.

Exactly, I don't really mind buying a great camera used even if the shutter has lots of use, because it's fairly cheap.
I saw a Nikon D810 for 900.00 and they was selling it because the shutter failed, so even if you pay $300.00 to get it replaced, your getting a Nikon D810 for $1200.00 which is a great deal.. Pro camera's yeah it's worth it to replace the shutter, but your not going to do that for lets say a Nikon D90 or a Canon Rebel, Because a shutter replacement would cost almost as much as a new Camera with a Kit Lens.

about 6 months ago i found a Nikon D810 at a yeard sale where the guy died and his wife was selling all his camera equipment, the lady was rude because she had a price tag of $200.00 on it, and i tried to tell her this camera was worth way more then $200.00 even used, but before i could tell her she cut me off and said i don't care how much you think it's worth the price is $200.00 lol so i gave her the $200.00 and it had a 24-70 f2.8 lens on it lol, and they was 2 other lenses on the table and she was selling them for $150.00 each, they was a 80-200 f2.8 and a 10-24 f3.5 so i got all 3 lenses with the Nikon D810 for $500.00..
that was the deal of the century i thought lol, and even if the shutter was junk on that it still would have been a good deal to pay to get it replaced.
I'll Never forget that day..

 

[beagle100]

Buying A Camera? Does The Amount Of Shutter Clicks Matter?
Well in my experience and opinion with this question, and i see alot of people that are anal about Shutter Clicks when buying a used camara.
Does that mater? NO not really, it's not like buying a hard drive where close to it's mean time before failure , or not even really like Millage on a car,, Some say it is, but it's really not and i'll tell ya why.
It's very rare that a camera's shutter system will fail, not that they don't they do, some even fail after only 10 thousand shutter clicks, but it's very rare..

I have an Old Canon 50D and it's got well over 2 million shutter clicks and still works fine.
I have several camera's including old film camera's , like my Olympus OMPC i had for about 22 years and that still works fine.

You can even go to
canon eos 5dmkii | Camera Shutter Life Database for instance,

it will show you a graft of Canon EOS 5D Mark II Shutter Life , even at 100,000 shutter clicks it's a 10% chance for it to fail, even one million it shows only a 32% chance it could fail.
al.

2 million clicks on your Canon 50D ?
. 2,000,000 ... seriously ? !!
I guess I can keep on using my 60D for the next 20 years

 

[dennybeall]

Would you buy a car without looking and considering the mileage on it????

 

[robbins.photo]

Would you buy a car without looking and considering the mileage on it????

Well since you can drive them all until they hit 2 million miles, sure, why not?

 

[table1349]

Interesting article. Especially #2.
Top 4 Things to Check on a Used DSLR Camera

 

[zombiesniper]

I would definitely want to know the shutter average lifespan and use of any camera I'm buying. Take my 7dmk2. I've owned it about 6 months and guarantee it has more than 150 000 shutter cycles. Buying this camera from me in 4 years will be the better side of a million shutter cycles where as if you buy one from someone that doesn't try to get out every day you'll have a lot more expected life in that body.

Now is it the only/main thing to look at? No. I think overall condition of something can tell you more about its life than a shutter count.

 

[randymckown]

You should ALWAYS get the shutter count .. because you might be buying from someone like me During senior portrait season I have been known to roll the counter back over to zero in under a week.

Also consider not just how many clicks it has .. but how quickly those clicks were acquired. Would you rather buy a body with 100,000 clicks the were taken over the course of 3 years or 100,000 clicks and the body just came out at the beginner of summer? That 3 year old camera has probably been babied by a hobby shooter ... the newer one has been heavily used and abused as a daily workhorse .... I know I wouldn't buy a digital body from me LOL

 

[beagle100]

You should ALWAYS get the shutter count .. because you might be buying from someone like me During senior portrait season I have been known to roll the counter back over to zero in under a week.

me LOL

right, shutter count will matter in buying DSLR's ..... until they eventually have electronic shutters
(not withstanding the 2 million 50D)

 

[Bebulamar]

I must make a point to the OP. I do have many film cameras that are 30-40 year old and the shutter is still good. But I must say film cameras don't get 100,000 actuations even in 40 years.

 

[JennaLeighWeddings]

I'm not anal about shutter count, but if I can get a camera for $500 with 100 shutter counts or 1,000, I'll go with the lower one.

 

[sashbar]

I'm not anal about shutter count, but if I can get a camera for $500 with 100 shutter counts or 1,000, I'll go with the lower one.

Both 100 and 1,000 are extremely low by today standards. Both are practically new cameras. 1,000 shutter count is just 2-3 days of shooting.