Lifespan of a camera?

[SPL Tech1]

So I read a few posts on another forum and two members are arguing about how their camera is better than the others. One member stated that his camera was better because it has lasted for 15,000 shots. Well that got me to thinking. Is 15,000 shots from a camera and a lens an impressive number? In my opinion that’s a piss poor number to have a camera fail at. I would imagine the lifespan of a popular camera such as the EOS 40D or 350D with the stock lens would be more like 500,000 shots at the minimal. I mean hell I have 2,500 shots on my 40D already and its only two months old. lol

 

[rufus5150]

Lens isn't a factor, it's all a matter of shutter life. The consumer grade (rebels, xxD series, etc) expectation is around 50,000 shutter activations. The pro grade are upwards of 100,000.

Shutters can be replaced at a price less than the purchase price of a new camera.

 

[SPL Tech1]

So what happens when the shutters reach their lifespan limit? Do they simply fail to work or do they start so slow down to the point where they are no longer reacting as fast and you get pictures with shutter speeds that are different then what you wanted?

 

[hollyqie1984]

i also heard about the issue

 

[tsaraleksi]

I think the numbers for Canon were something like 50k for the rebels, 100k for the xxD, and 300k for the 1D series. Any camera can last as long as it keeps functioning, or could fail tomorrow. The estimates are just that. You will be able to tell when it fails, by the big black line across every frame.

 

[pugnacious33]

I hope my rebel dies at 50K shots so I'll have a good reason to upgrade.

I bet i'm getting close, but it still works like a charm.

 

[tsaraleksi]

There are plenty of reports of Rebels or xxD cameras that keep on trucking well past their lifespan estimates.

The one thing to keep in mind is that there will not be any warning that the shutter is going, except for the frame or two before it happens. You'll get some frames with a faint white line down the middle (that you might not even see in the LCD) and suddenly every frame will have a huge black chunk out of the middle.

I had that happen around 70k on my 1D2n, so much for 300k+ frames. However, there was some indication given to me that this was a specific problem for the 2ns, and that the replacement shutter would last like it was supposed to.

 

[mfares]

i never know this
i did took huge number of photos in my canon 50d . i need to know how much it usually cost to replace the shutter ? (as for my canon 50D)

 

[Village Idiot]

I think on average, replacement is $250ish. I can only guess that it's more for the FF cameras with the larger shutters.

I just have over 10k shots on my 30D since having it for two year in April.

 

[ksmattfish]

Here's a link to some tech specs at Canon.

http://www.canon.com/camera-museum/tech/report/f_index.html

I've got 2 20Ds that have been used hard for the last 4 years, and they are still going strong.

 

[Warren_G]

So what happens when the shutters reach their lifespan limit? Do they simply fail to work or do they start so slow down to the point where they are no longer reacting as fast and you get pictures with shutter speeds that are different then what you wanted?

Probably like a car that reaches 250,000 miles; some will keep going another 250,000 while others are lemons and start to need work long before that. It is a mechanical device, so a rating of 100,000 actuations is an estimate and probably an average based on quality control testing.