lucas_jarvis Posted March 24, 2006 Share Posted March 24, 2006 I had err 99 messages on my 20D a while back and sent it in to be fixed. When I got it back they said they replaced the motor drive. What exactly is the motor drive? I'm assuming it's a motor that controls the shutter but I thought I'd ask. Does this mean that I have a whole new lifespan to my shutter? Or when a company says a camera has a certain shutter life, do they physically mean the shutter? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eye-of-searle Posted March 24, 2006 Share Posted March 24, 2006 A motor drive advances the film. That's why there is no advance lever on your camera. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lucas_jarvis Posted March 24, 2006 Author Share Posted March 24, 2006 How would a motor drive advance the film on my digital body? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eye-of-searle Posted March 24, 2006 Share Posted March 24, 2006 Ah, 20d! My bad. LOL! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alex_lofquist Posted March 24, 2006 Share Posted March 24, 2006 You mean that you don't have digital film in your 20D? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
james_lai Posted March 24, 2006 Share Posted March 24, 2006 The shutter still needs to be re-wound for every shot, that's what the motor drive does in a digital camera. On some older cameras winding would also reset the aperture mechanism but I don't think that's true on an EF mount camera like your 20D. The shutter mechanism is separate from the motor drive so you don't necessarily have a whole new shutter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lucas_jarvis Posted March 24, 2006 Author Share Posted March 24, 2006 So when a company says that a camera will last for, let's say 100,000 shutter releases, do they mean that the motor drive will last that long, or the shutter mechanism? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
james_lai Posted March 24, 2006 Share Posted March 24, 2006 I don't know, but if you ask the question on your other thread Bob Atkins probably knows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craig_gillette Posted March 24, 2006 Share Posted March 24, 2006 Seems likely the drive motors and related systems would be spec'd to at least what the shutter is, but people discuss relacing shutters and you seldom hear (read) of the other mechnicals being replaced before them or even concurrently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjmeade Posted March 25, 2006 Share Posted March 25, 2006 I believe that the 20D shutter mechanism is good for about 100k actuations. Your shutter curtains may still the the originals if all they changed was the drive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lex_jenkins Posted March 25, 2006 Share Posted March 25, 2006 The Achilles Heel of the otherwise excellent Canon T70 35mm SLR, part of the last of Canon's FD manual focus series, was the built in winder. These tended to fail long before any other component, including the shutter, leaving the photographer with an odd sort of interchangeable lens light meter. Technically there's a difference between a winder and a motor drive and I suspect what's built into cameras like the 20D and Nikon D70 are closer to winders than motor drives, the latter being larger and heavier and designed for longer service. But on a dSLR it's probably moot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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