Shutter Actuations

<p>I recently got a good deal on a D70s with a little over 43,000 shutter actuations. I was wondering how many clicks other people have on their various Nikons. I know that Nikon tests their cameras to 100 or 150k actuations, depending on the model. I think it's a mixed blessing that I found out how to determine the number of shutter clicks. It's nice to know, but I'm afraid that in the back of my mind, I'll be trying to keep the count low.</p>

<p>Jerry, do you love photography, or are you just a casual snap shooter? As a lover of photography, the number of times I fire my shutter is directly proportional to the joy I get out of my using my equipment. Just think how many good shots might have been missed had the shooter been thinking about keeping his count low. If I wore my shutter out due to using it to its max, I would consider that a good thing. Happy shooting!</p>

<p>Some get more than the rated amount. Some get less. The best thing you can do is wear your shutter out and have a tons of fun doing it!</p>

<p><em>"I know that Nikon tests their cameras to 100 or 150k actuations,</em>" - but not for the D70 camera.<br>

I believe D70, D50 were tested to 50,000.</p>

<blockquote>

<p><em>It's nice to know, but I'm afraid that in the back of my mind, I'll be trying to keep the count low.</em></p>

</blockquote>

<p>Put it out of your mind and just enjoy using it. It will fail when it fails. That could be at 44,001 shutter actuations or at 144,001 actuations. MTBF (mean time between failures) is just that ... a mean (average) life span of a component. Many will fail before that figure, many will fail after that figure. It doesn't pay to spend any time worrying about on which side of the curve yours will gasp and die. :)</p>

<p>I'm sure car manufacturers have a MTBF also. Do you drive your auto less because you are afraid it will break? Same thing with microwave ovens, shoes, watches, etc. </p>

<p>Use it. Enjoy it. Don't worry. Life happens.</p>

<p>Mark</p>

 

<p>for obvious reasons, you read much more about things that go wrong than things that don't with that in mind, go ahead and read some posts from people who've had issues with their cameras. shutters fail sometimes, but that's hardly the most common or frequent point of failure. my point is, it's not worth worrying about. if you got a good deal on your D70s, get as much use and enjoyment out of it as you can. most of all, don't be dwelling on the end at the beginning. can't you see where that leads?</p>

 

<p>I think I overstated my concerns. Since switching from film to digital, I don't give a second thought to how many pictures I take, but I do like to know how much use I have gotten out of the camera. The more pictures I take, the lower the cost per picture - but that's not my guiding principle. If I ever wear out my cameras, I'll be looking forward to getting a new model.</p>

<p>Actually, I was just curious about how many clicks others had on their cameras.</p>

<p>I'm an amateur photographer.</p>

<p>D300 received new 9/18/2008. Now have 28,352 clicks as of 8/19/2011. I guess we can round that out to 10,000 clicks per year.</p>

<p>Just had a wild thought tangent. Film cameras were kind of like today's cell phone contracts. The camera cost was minimal compared to the cost per negative+picture printed. In each case, the people making the equipment got their minimal profit up front. The cell phone carrier/film lab make the majority of the profit. Today's DSLR's have put a screw in the works for the film labs. We may only have 1 out of 1000 clicks printed at a lab, if we don't do it ourself.</p>

<p>Mark</p>

<p> </p>

<p>I used to be much more active with photography than I have been lately, and had a Nikon D2x for a little over 3 years. I only ran the odometer up to about 6,000 clicks at the time I sold it. Part of the low number is that I continued to shoot film during that time, but also that using a DSLR didn't change my film-based habit of being picky about what I shot.</p>

<p>I just got a used D200 and could not believe it only has about 7500 shutter clicks. Like you I'm kinda worried about it breaking too! It's funny we never worried about the shutter breaking in Film days. I'd be much more worried about dropping it! The cool thing is you bought it used which is smart. By the time you wear our that D70 you can probably buy a used D90 for the same price. Have fun! And by all means get some of those shots printed.</p>

<p>I wouldn't worry about it. 1500 on my D90, so it comes out to about 2000/yr. Shoot & enjoy.</p>

<p>My D70 has 48,000 shutter clicks on. Shutter still works great, but the camera won't read a cf card anymore. This is a common problem with the original D70</p>

<p>D3s from 23/07/2010 to now: 76,601<br>

D3s from 13/10/2010 to now: 73,631<br>

D3 from 22/03/2009 to 12/10/2010: 45,829 (sold 13/10/2010)<br>

D3x from 02/09/2009 to now: 3! I tried a few different methods to read the shutter count but it keeps coming out as 3. Should be about 17,000 according to Lightroom.<br>

I only use the D3x in the studio, the D3s's (and the old D3) are mainly used for covering fashion shows. I've realised that during London Fashion Week, I take an average of 30,000 shots. After this September's shows all my cameras will be going in for a service.</p>