do digital cameras wear out

[katie h.]

I have a friend who shoots with a Fuji S2. She said she's having

more problems with blown out highlights and someone told her its

because the sensor wears out after 10,000 clicks. Is that true? Can

a sensor wear out? What happens? How long does it take? If this is

true I'll have to think twice before buying a used DSLR. I've tried

searchs but I can't seem to find any information on this. I hope

someone can solve this mystery for me. Thanks, Katie

[ray]

<em> because the sensor wears out after 10,000 clicks</em>

<p>Utter baloney. Blown out highlights are due to incorrect exposure. The solution is to

learn how to read the histogram and not overexpose the image on a sensor that has a

smaller latitude than negatives.

<p>I don't think there are any reliable answers as to how long DSLRs last since I've run

into DSLRs (of the medium format kind) that are well past 5 years old (I cannot even

imagine the # of exposures on these pro units).

[ellis_vener_photography]

<I>She said she's having more problems with blown out highlights and someone told her

its because the sensor wears out after 10,000 clicks. Is that true?</I><P>Your friend is

getting bad advice. Can Digital cameras wear out/ of course they can because they are

machines and eventually all machines fail, but what you describe isn't related to that. She

should have the camera serviced.

[mfeetham]

I talked to someone last weekend who had to send his D70 in for a repair on the shutter mechanism. He had taken over 110,000 shots over a 3 month period (nobody said these were GOOD shots).

 

I believe most manufacturers reference a life cycle for the camera/sensor, but only time will tell.

[Greg M]

So you're worried about something wearing out before you even buy it??

 

Sounds like you need to wait 5-6 years & verify what's being made today still works- then you can buy without fretting so much. I imagine there will still be people shooting with Canon D30's and D60's at that point.

 

You will probably need a new computer before you need a new camera.

[fernando_dentone]

I think the S2 uses a Bayer sensor. Bayer sensors use a colour filter. This colour filter is initially a transparent material, afterwards dyed with red green and blue. Exposure to light will, eventually, start to degrad the dye, so with time you should see that colours start to wash out. Having said that, I really:

1. Don't know when this occur, it really has to do with expusure to light, rather than number of clicks,

2. Haven't heard anyone reporting this

3. 10,000 clicks sound waaaay too a little number to cause this problem. I am a pure amateur and already did 4000 with my D70, bought last May. Imagine that pros do a lot more than this, certainly more than 10,000.

The problem with the internet is that you will always find troubles with whatever you are researching, try google: "S2" and "problems" you will find thousands. I agree with the previous postings, your friend is getting really wrong advise, probably the camera needs to be serviced, or she changed some setting that might have altered the exposure.

So in short, yes, digital cameras do wear out, eventually, 10,000 clicks is probably far away from this.

Cheers,

Fernando

PS: your TV set suffers from more or less the same problem, still you bought one ...

[mike_elek]

Someone here last week asked about a used DSLR (I think that was the question), and everyone here said they would never buy a used DSLR. Why?

[beauh44]

Mike, I can only venture a guess, but because there's no film to develop, most DSLRs see heavy use, even from amateurs. Unlike film, it just doesn't cost any more to take 500 shots than it does to take one, so people do. Consequently the shutter can wear out faster, but a shutter can certainly be fixed too. Best wishes . . .

[jon_austin]

<I>"Bayer sensors use a colour filter. This colour filter is initially a transparent material, afterwards dyed with red green and blue. Exposure to light will, eventually, start to degrad the dye, so with time you should see that colours start to wash out."</I><P><P>

 

Really? I've done extensive, if not exhaustive, reading on sensor technology, and I thought the color assignments in the Bayer array were accomplished digitally in the camera's image processor, not by analog means such as physical dyes.<P><P>

 

The only filter I was aware of in my dSLR is the colorless / clear / transparent anti-aliasing filter that is (more or less) permanently mounted in front of the sensor. (Incidentally, my greatest concern in purchasing a used dSLR would be that the previous owner had scratched / damaged the AA filter, by improper or overly aggressive cleaning to eliminate sensor dust...)

[roger krueger]

Jon: Proof that reading is no substitute for common sense... if the colors aren't being

discriminated physically in front of the sensor, no digital "magic" is going to sort them out

thereafter. (The "Ted Turner" colorization process, while amazing, requires extensive

manual intervention.)

 

Fernando: Yeah, but put something transparent in your window and see how long it takes

to fade--at least a month or two. Now figure out how 1/125 exposures that'd be.

 

Katie: Death due to wear is mostly a shutter issue. I'd heard multiple rumors that my

E?10's shutter would only be good for 20,000, but it was closer to 25,000 when it got

stolen, and still running fine.

[phule]

<< Exposure to light will, eventually, start to degrad the dye, so with time you should see that colours start to wash out >>

 

I once had a bookmark to a website that examined a CCD security camera that had been run outdoors continually for x number of years. The image out developed a burn-in "ghosting" of the scene (dark in some areas, light in others) and it was proposed that the above was the reason.

 

I wish I could figure out where that bookmark went...

[roger krueger]

Rob: A security camera is a 100% duty cycle--it's exposed to light all of the time. What

percentage of its life does a DSLR sensor spend exposed to light--.0001%?

 

Assuming 10,000 1/125th clicks you're looking at 80 seconds.

 

(Not that exposure time really matters since the goal of different exposures is to deliver

the same total light to the CCD. ISO settings and gross overexposure would be a factor,

but still not nearly enough to put a DSLR in the same league as the tired security camera.)

 

But the security camera image burn IS an interesting phenomena. Please let us know if you

find the link.

[phule]

<< Rob: A security camera is a 100% duty cycle--it's exposed to light all of the time. What percentage of its life does a DSLR sensor spend exposed to light--.0001%? >>

 

That was one of the points brought up on the web page, if I recall correctly. If the ghosting was the result of x number of years of continual operation, and what really started to fail was either the filter array or anti-aliasing filter, then the life-time of a sensor in a digital camera is certainly a non-issue.

 

Google isn't returning anything close, nor are searches in dpreview.com's forums. But I'm on a mission!

[Karim Ghantous]

Rob, perhaps this is it:

 

http://www.hogsett.com/goodies/ccdburn.htm

[mike_elek]

So, on one hand, people are saying it's fine to buy a used DSLR. And on the other hand, none of them would buy one for themselves.

 

In truth, given normal use and handling, a used DSLR should be fine. I would check physical condition. There also might be a way to show how many photos have been taken. That might give you an indicator of use.

[jon_austin]

<I>"Proof that reading is no substitute for common sense... if the colors aren't being discriminated physically in front of the sensor, no digital "magic" is going to sort them out thereafter."</I><P><P>

 

Roger: I must have at least a <I>little</I> common sense, because I recognize a veiled insult when I read one. You must have developed quite a physique, dragging that huge ego of yours around...

[geoff_cuthbert]

Great question. I've been trying to find the same information on digital sensors in general. A further question is are they replaceable or is a new sensor = new camera body

[awindsor]

Jon, your response to Fernando's correct description of Bayer technology colour

sensitive CCDs was <p>

 

<em>Really? I've done extensive, if not exhaustive, reading on sensor

technology...</em><p>

 

which is pretty strong. I though Roger's response was a relatively mild correction.

[phule]

Karim,

 

Wow, either I need to go back to Google 101 or you have some amazing ability to find stuff. :)

 

That was the page I was thinking of. Thank you. My memory just isn't so good these days... For some reason I thought the page was more extensive, but I think it's a good illustration of the change in the filter array.

[greg s]

While I have taken only about 14,000 shots on my S2 (over 1 1/2 yrs), there are pros out there who have gone WAY PAST the 100,000 mark on multiple bodies. 'Blown out highlights' is a sign of improper camera exposure (user error) and has absolutely nothing to do with sensor wear.

 

The only thing I am concerned about with my S2 is the dreaded 'sensor totally stops working' phenomenum experienced by a few unluckies. This is due to power problems on the circuit board, resulting in a non-functional sensor. Solution = replace the circuit board, increasingly unlikely as the S2 gets older.

 

Cheers, Greg

[katie h.]

Thanks for everyones input. The advice she'd gotten sounded kind of unlikely but I hadn't found any info to disprove it. Thanks again,

Katie

[charlie_vigue]

I saw an S2 in service at Busch Gardens, Tampa for shooting tourists pictures in the horse barn. That thing must get hundreds to thousands of frames per day. The one at SeaWorld Orlando (also a Busch park) is probably even busier. They lived on a tripod, and the cases looked pretty shiny/polished where humans touched them, so I think they're not changed out every 10,000 frames. :-)