Hey there, new photographer here. So I recently learned that my Canon R6 has a lifespan of about 300,000 actuations of the shutter. I generally take about 1000 photos each shoot (obviously I cull the photos after). According to these calculations, my camera should last for about 300 sessions. This number seems a little low to me? Considering the immense cost of the camera? What is your opinion on this and have you also considered lifespan of the camera when shooting? Any suggestions? Should I be more conservative with my photos considering this? Thanks in advance!
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So, I’ve heard the shutter count argument when people are buying used cameras, etc. However, aside from accidentally burning a hole in a cloth shutter, I have never had the shutter be the failure point in any camera I have ever owned – some of which have been more than 60 years old.
I had a Nikon D70s that got daily work for almost 10 years with no issues. One of the lenses did end up with some kind of autofocus problem, but otherwise, was still running strong. I have a Leica MP typ 240 that has been in normal rotation since 2012 - no shutter problems.
The two problems I have had are:
- Internal connection corrosion, which makes them stop turning on.
- Screen failure
I haven’t seen the corrosion issue in a while because most camera bodies are weatherized now. The screen failure still pops up, both in the rear LCD and in the EVF. It most recently happened to me on a Panasonic SR1 EVF, and it was over $700 to get it replaced.
By the time you get that far you’ll be drooling over something new anyway
Following the logic of Shutter Count =s Longevity, what’s the longevity on mirrorless systems?
Infinity thanks to electronic shutter.
Not sure why people freak out about this so much. Other things are far likely to break before the shutter. Not to mention shutters aren’t generally that expensive
Shutter lifespan is like an expiration date for food. It doesn’t mean it will go bad, just don’t complain after it does. It’s a guaranteed minimum and often times can go well over it.
No, clicks cost almost nothing. If it is not distracting to take 1000 photos, click away.
I do high mag stacking work and I’ve probably doubled my body’s capability in the year I’ve had it :)
If you are really worried you could look up how much it is to replace and then devide it by 300. Each session you could charge your client that few dollars or that few cents extra (depending how expensive it is) as “gear maintenance costs". Keep that on the side that when it’s time to get it repaired, then you don’t have to worry about money. It’s probably gonna be just 1 dollar extra per session. I hope this can give you a peace of mind.
If camera shutters actually died that often you’d hear about it. I have never once in my 20 year career heard of anyone with a shutter issue. I personally keep body’s for 8-10 years and probably have 50-100k shots/year…
This “lifespan” is a general expectation, it doesn’t mean it will fail after that and it doesn’t mean it absolutely will be ok until 300k actuations. And it can be repaired if necessary. That is part of the cost of doing business.
You don’t hear much talk about it because it’s not really a big deal. Snap away. You’ll never wear it out. If you do, a shutter is cheap to replace. But you won’t. And if you do, it will have been a good use of the few hundred it will cost to replace it.
Mirrorless cameras can do electronic shutter aka no physical shutter count, so unless all you do is flash work - infinite shutter, OP.
R6 costs about $2000 for ease of math. If you charge $100 per shoot as your equipment fee that is 100x300=30000. So you can afford to buy another 150 cameras with the profit generated.
That’s 15 cameras. Plus, OP has to eat.
Honestly, not really. I photograph air shows, and over a busy weekend I can easily hit around 5k shots. But even with half a dozen shows over the summer months, that’s still ‘only’ 30k actuations. Which means a camera rated for 300k actuations would be expected to last for 10 years.
In reality, it’ll be less of course, because it doesn’t just sit in a cupboard for the other 9 months of the year; I photograph other events too, but those are at most 1k shots per weekend rather than 5k.
Even taking all that into account, the reality is that my oldest camera is a 6D Mk2, released in mid-2017. So it’s at most 6 years old (and more likely about 5, because I’m rarely an early adopter). Both my other 2 DSLRs and mirrorless bodies are considerably newer.
tl;dr - I’m almost certainly going to upgrade/replace the camera due to age and availability of shiny new tech before it hits its shutter count.
In my experience, the only time shutter count becomes an issue is when you decide to sell your gear. The buyer will sometimes ask for the count, and anything more than 50,000 usually influences the resale value.