DSLR lifespan

[CSmallenberg]

Just wondering if anyone out there has pushed their camera to the limit where the shutter gave out.  And what are the tell tale signs that this might be imminent?  I have a 10D and have read one can expect to get 30,000-50,000 shutter acuations.  I am at about 24,000 now and noticed while at the Australian International Airshow that the shutter seemed a little soft.  Sometimes I would press it and nothing would happen, sometimes it would fire right away, while most often there would be slight delay, nothing huge, but when shooting fast moving aircraft it can be rather irritating.  Even had the dreaded Error 99 occur on one occasion when it just wouldn't fire.  I'm thinking the shutter might be nearing the end and was curious if anyone has experienced this and what symptoms to look out for.  I'm likely going to take it in for someone to look at see if the shutter contacts are not working properly due to dust or dirt getting in behind the button. Certainly a possibility. 

As an extension to the above, if the shutter is going, repair really doesn't make much sense financially.  So then the question of a replacement.  Has anybody used the 30D and 10D and are there any significant differences between the two?  Most specifically in how the camera focuses.  I find with the 10D with fast moving aircraft, AI Servo AF mode just isn't reliable and there are lot of images that are not in focus.  In this situation I find using One Shot AF mode to be a little more reliable.  I don't get as many images this way, basically refocusing each shot, but the focusing seems better.  AI Servo does seem to work well with slower moving aircraft; for example landing airliners, etc. Was curious if there were any improvements in this regard from the 10D to the 30D or is it essentially the same thing?  I have seen the 30D compared to the 20D but not the 10D.

I did get a chance to try out a 1D MkII while at the show for the first time and needless to say it was amazing in comparison but price wise I don't know if I can pull that off.  The 30D is getting quite affordable now.  Leo's in Vancouver has them at just over C$1100 (including Canon rebate).  Used 1D MkIIs still appear to be over C$1000 more than this. 

Thanks for any input....pic attached from Avalon 2007.
Cheers.

[FlyingKiwi]

Chris,

A few years ago Canon here in the USA replaced the shutter assembly on my D60 as part of a regular $US180 servicing.

Don't know if they still do that, or if they do it for customers outside the USA, but it's certainly worth considering - it might mean that the repair does make financial sense!

Unless, of course, you were just trying to justify to yourself or significant other the purchase of a newer model!   

Richard.

[CSmallenberg]

Thanks Richard,

I will look into that and see if it an option to do something like that here in Canada through Canon.  $200 or so doesn't seem to be that bad.  I will have it looked at as well to see if it something as simple as getting a little dirt or dust in behind the shutter button causing the contacts to be partially blocked.  It wouldn't surprsie me after the weather at Avalon with the 50kph winds and dust blowing everywhere.

 Yeah I may be a little guilty as charged with whole justification thing....I think I might wait things out a bit and see what used 1D MkIIs might be going for in a few months; and see how the 10D holds up as well.  There's nothing that pressing coming up for me until Abbotsford in August.

Cheers,
Chris

[Ryan F]

My 10D has done about 115,000 shots (according to canon as of its last service) without any issues, my 1DmkII had its shutter die at 60,000 shots.So based on my experience there is no real signs or warning of when it will happen. I don't use my 10D anymore but it was always reliable and i was never worried about any shutter issues. As for the 10D vs 30D in terms of focussing the 30D is much better (still not as good as a 1DmkII) but quicker and more accurate than the 10D.

[Scotty G]

Chris,

I use Canon now, but I had an experience with my Nikon D1x. Blew the shutter apart. Literally. There was zero warning to it, and it was carnage of the blades. Easy fix, got it all back and Nikon, if I remember correctly, charged me around $300. I thought that was fair.

There might be other issues if you're getting error codes and differing problems each time.

[JClark]

I had my 10D shutter die at 10,700 shots - just 3 weeks after the standard 1-year warranty ran out.  For the $1600 acquisition cost, that is pathetic.  I saw several Error 99 messages starting to pop up with greater frequency in the last 200 shots.  Nothing felt different with the camera or looked different in the photos.  But soon, every shot resulted in an error 99. 

While film cameras may have been worth fixing, a new shutter mechanism on a 2nd-generation old digital camera would cost more than a current generation replacement body.

fwiw, I learned my lesson and now get the maximum warranty extensions on all digital equipment now.

[BC_Shutterbug]

Chris:

My 20D shutter died shortly after my visit to Abbotsford last summer.  I followed 5 days in Abbie with a 2 day rodeo event the following weekend, with a total of nearly 10,000 images between the 2.  My total actuations on the original shutter were around 75,000, but it was subject to a lot of hard shooting in VERY dusty conditions with all the hot dry weather we had last summer.

The total repair bill was just over $300, which was well worth the price.   I had limited warning when it went... a few Err99's and some isolated issues with misfiring, then just nothing.  From first warning signs to death happened in under a week, and through about 500 actuations.  One point of note...  the Error 99 is more often caused by failing communications between lens and body, and is generally solved by cleaning the contacts on both.  The misfiring seems to be more of a warning of pending failure of the shutter.

Cheers
njw

[CSmallenberg]

Thanks for the comments everyone.  Certainly sounds like that might be what's going on.  Hate to have it just go on me in the middle of a show.  Might need to look at a replacement (or potentially a $300 repair as Norm mentioned - now it is also a question of how much I want a new camera!).  At least its a few months til Abbotsford.

Hey Norm, goods thing you squeezed out the Abby show.  Would have been pretty crappy to have your camera go mid-weekend.

Thanks Ryan for your comments on the 10D versus the 30D.  That is helpful.

[jarrodeu]

While on the topic of DSLR lifespans, About how long are you guys seeing a Rebel XT last?
Thanks,
Jarrod

[CSmallenberg]

Just thought I'd bring this topic back from the depths to ask one more question.  The image below was taken recently with my camera. Does anyone known what might have caused the shaded area to the one side of the image?  Has anyone seen this kind of thing before?  It can't be an actual shadow (could it?) as it covers three different planes of wall/ceiling/vaulted ceiling in the background; for a shadow it seems too uniform.   Perhaps a sticky shutter? 

The image has been resized but not cropped at all.

Thanks.

[M.M.]

I think it's a shadow.  See how the angle changes slightly going from the sloped ceiling to the flat ceiling to the wall?

If the camera was vertical with the flash on the left, perhaps there was something like a door in the way?

-M.M.

P.S.:  Somebody needs more furniture! 

[CSmallenberg]

Hey Mark,
Yeah I'm tending to agree with you now.  It was a friend who was borrowing the camera to take some shots of his place he is selling.  I asked him how he held the camera and it would be consistent with the flash being on the door side potentially causing a shadow.   One would think I'm getting more and more creative in coming up with excuses for having to replace this camera with a new one....

[Mickey]

Interesting maybe? Shutterlife database.

Mickey

[TimApNy]

I just added that my 350D shutter failed at 28,000 shots. I take good care of my equipment but really felt that the Rebel XT was cheap feeling and the "grip" paint or waht ever it was flaked off within the first year. I'm getting it repaired, but plan to upgrade when I can.

Tim

[Jason-Fight2FlyPhoto]

I'm up to 33,000 on my 350D and no signs of any problems yet.... I just hope if it is going to fail soon it happens after Hillsboro in August! lol  By then I'll be significantly beyond what I'm at right now.