frame count , cameras

[omegacrux (David)]

Just wondering with second hand cameras the frame count does that affect the price of the camera ? and what is a high count ? Or being electronics it doesn't matter , I just haven't had much to do with modern digital SLR's

Ta David

[citivolus (Ric)]

Yes, the shutter is mechanical on DSLRs and can wear out. However, good luck getting the actual count out of the camera unless you can get it in your hands. Here is a quick link on the subject: http://digital-photography-school.co...ter-actuations

Since I was curious, my 50D is currently at 16,000, so it looks like statistically I can probably expect it to live for another 80,000 or so.

[Danack (Dan Ackroyd)]

with second hand cameras the frame count does that affect the price of the camera ?

A little - though it's usually because it's a good indicator the rest of the camera will be not worn out either.

and what is a high count ?

More than 50% of the mean count before failure. This varies between about 100,000 for consumer cameras and 300,000 for pro cameras

Or being electronics it doesn't matter

The shutters are quite definitely material rather than electronic but it doesn't really matter.

There are only two states for a shutter to be in:

i) Working perfectly - the shutter could easily last for another 100,000 shots.

ii) Buggered - the shutter is on the way out and is unlikely to last another 10,000 shots.

Basically if you want to test the shutter is working properly, inspect the shutters by locking the mirror up to make sure there's no marks on them, and then take some properly exposed shots at the fastest shutter speeds possible for a camera. If you see anything like this:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/danack/4978674401/

Then the shutter is buggered and is unlikely to last that much longer.

It's annoying because although the replacement is simple, it still involves so much work and expensive replacements that otherwise good cameras are not economic to repair.

[omegacrux (David)]

Yeah I was wondering because people can now rattle off hundreds of pics of tat for one good shot
And they do , miss-aligned , not interesting too many of what appears to be exactly the same pic of pops head

Ta Ric & Dan
David

[supernova1965 (Warren)]

Thanks for the link Ric I was pleasantly surprised my second hand D200 has only 16004 actuations and I have had it for one and a half years so I should have a good life expectancy with it as it was tested at and average of 150000 before failure and some went as much as 280000.

[Deeno]

Originally Posted by supernova1965

Thanks for the link Ric I was pleasantly surprised my second hand D200 has only 16004 actuations and I have had it for one and a half years so I should have a good life expectancy with it as it was tested at and average of 150000 before failure and some went as much as 280000.

That's good to know. At 37500 actuations, my D200 is only just 'run in'.......