Shutter Actuations/ How many is too much?

<p>I just acquired a beautiful used D90. Graded "bargain" the camera looks "out of the box new", not a scratch or a mark. It does have 70K shutter fires though, approximately 70% of its expected life.<br /> My old D50 (bought new) took 5 years for me to hit 13K.So if I still have "only" 30K shots left this will likely take me ten years.</p>

<p>Should I ignore the high count on the D90 and go about my happy life shooting pictures? Or should I return it to the seller (KEH). They also shipped a used bargain grade 28/F2.8 AF Nikkor that looks brand new inside and out! I love this company.</p>

<p>It sounds like it was gently treated. I'd keep if the price was right'</p>

<p>Kent in SD</p>

<p>It depends on two things:</p>

<ol>

<li>How much did you pay for that D90.</li>

<li>Are you going to use it for something critical, e.g. wedding photography.</li>

</ol>

<p>If you are going to use it for casual photography, e.g. if it fails, who cares? It doesn't matter.</p>

<p>I'm not shooting any thing critical so I'm all good. Thanks. The camera was $299 which is a good price.<br>

Amazon and Ebay typically sell these for more. Plus KEH has superb customer service.<br>

Has anyone ever shot 100,001 shots on one of these? I doubt they die at exactly 100K?<br>

I was just wondering if high shutter count red flags any big caveats? I assume not? </p>

<p>How does one check the actuations on a D90.<br>

Thanks AP</p>

<p>Hi Steve<br>

<br />I think 100000 is just a guide. Your mileage may vary. I've just had a look at the online shutter life expectancy of the D90 and it seems yours might be one of the long-life ones. Here's the link to the database: http://www.olegkikin.com/shutterlife/nikon_d90.htm</p>

<p>Someone managed to shoot over 600 000 with theirs. It looks like you also got a decent price with yours. It's a great camera and in your shoes, I wouldn't worry.</p>

<p>Hi Andrew<br>

<br />You can upload an image from the camera into shuttercounter.com or download one of the free exif viewer programs. I use Kuso Exif Viewer and it shows a lot of information from the image including the shutter count as long as your image editing software has not stripped this information out. Same for shuttercounter.com.</p>

<p>For that price you could afford to install a new shutter 2-3 (or 30 yrs) down the road. Anyway, enjoy making images.<br>

Les</p>

 

<p>I just did the math. My 13K actuations over 5 years equals about 7 frames a day every day for 5 years. So with 30K left on this shutter at a rate of seven frames a day, I have 11 years to shoot!</p>

<p>[[i've just had a look at the online shutter life expectancy of the D90 and it seems yours might be one of the long-life ones. Here's the link to the database:]]<br>

<br>

It should be clear that the site you have linked to is in no way a measure, test, or representation of anything. The site gives you zero information. The reported shutter counts are unverified and unchecked. I could report 40,000,000,000 shots if I wanted to. </p>

<p>I don't think anyone can say with any degree of certainty that the shutter won't fail unexpectedly at any time. It's like buying a high mileage used car; you just never know even if it's in mint condition. </p>

Rob, point noted. I should have put the disclaimer on.

<blockquote>

<p>So with 30K left on this shutter...</p>

</blockquote>

<p>This is *not* how it works. The shuttercount-as-life-expectancy is a completely false representation of what the "Shutter MTBF" means.<br>

A shutter can fail with after one shot, or after 4 million. The only thing that Nikon states is the stastical average per model on when a shutter failure is most likely to occur. Nothing else. It doesn't give you any warranties, nor a solid reference what to expect. Only a statiscal likelihood.<br>

The shutter is not the only thing that can fail anyway; the real point with 2nd hand cameras is more the overall idea whether a camera has been treated well, whether it shows a lot of wear and tear, or not etc. It seems you are OK, but you really cannot say your shutter has 30k photos left. Can be more, can be less.</p>

<p>I would pass on that. There are plenty of low-miles D90's out there, keep looking.</p>

<p>I agree with Dan. I came across a lot of D90s and most of them have less than 30k shots.<br>

In fact with DSLRs flooding the used market like they are now due to low competitive pricing and short model upgrade cycles, it's not uncommon to find a d90 under 10k shots.<br>

A 70k shutter d90 is probably owned by a semi pro or serious enthusiasts, normal folks wont ever reach 70k on a consumer camera like that.<br>

However, there's also a chance that KEH refurbished the d90 shutter but did not reset the shutter clock because whatever electronic component in there stays the same.<br>

There's just no way to tell, but certainly less risky with a lower shutter count</p>

<p>I just looked at mine tonight. I never knew it was right there in the info at the bottom. I am at 104k and still going strong. No issues other than self inflicted ones. I bought mine new not long after they came out. </p>

<p>I've been away from photography for about a decade, so I have a lot to catch up on, but in the past you didn't even know what shutter counts were. What was important was the overall condition of the camera. A camera exposed to the outdoors, especially one that has been around a lot of salt air, has a lot less life left than a studio camera used for portraits, weddings and illustration work.</p>

<p>I'm actually thinking about getting a D90. At the price point I can end up with 2 at some point. When I was shooting professionally the motto was to have a backup for everything. Even brand new equipment can fail out of the box. I have actually had dead batteries in a fresh package.</p>