Photography

You don’t hear much talk about it because it’s not really a big deal. Snap away. You’ll never wear it out. If you do, a shutter is cheap to replace. But you won’t. And if you do, it will have been a good use of the few hundred it will cost to replace it.

Following the logic of Shutter Count =s Longevity, what's the longevity on mirrorless systems?

By the time you get that far you’ll be drooling over something new anyway

In my experience, the only time shutter count becomes an issue is when you decide to sell your gear. The buyer will sometimes ask for the count, and anything more than 50,000 usually influences the resale value.

No, clicks cost almost nothing. If it is not distracting to take 1000 photos, click away.

I do high mag stacking work and I've probably doubled my body's capability in the year I've had it :)

Mirrorless cameras can do electronic shutter aka no physical shutter count, so unless all you do is flash work - infinite shutter, OP.

I got about 800 K on my old 5D Mark IV, it probably would have kept going until it got stolen.

R6 costs about $2000 for ease of math. If you charge $100 per shoot as your equipment fee that is 100x300=30000. So you can afford to buy another 150 cameras with the profit generated.

I’ve had a few Canons in my shooting career. Never had a single one fail. I don’t even keep track of the shutter count anymore. Just know that someday it may quit working and you’ll need to either get it repaired or buy a new camera. Chances are you’ll be ready for something much newer by the time it dies.

I had a Nikon D90 that I used as a product photography camera at my studio from 2009-2015.

In those 6 years the shutter count hit something like 700k. I then sold it to a guy who is still using it.

If you don't do lots of timelapse photography you shouldn't even think about it. I used an old 550d for timelapse and it was still going strong at over 600k when I swapped to sony.

So divide the price (let's say 2000) by sessions (300) - it's around 7 per session. If it bothers you - your price is way too low.

This number usually refers to the average estimated/guaranteed mechanical shutter lifespan. Most cameras will go much longer and even then, you can still switch to electronic shutter.

new photographer here.

I generally take about 1000 photos each shoot

This number will go down with experience.

Shutter lifespan is like an expiration date for food. It doesn't mean it will go bad, just don't complain after it does. It's a guaranteed minimum and often times can go well over it.

If you are really worried you could look up how much it is to replace and then devide it by 300. Each session you could charge your client that few dollars or that few cents extra (depending how expensive it is) as “gear maintenance costs". Keep that on the side that when it's time to get it repaired, then you don't have to worry about money. It's probably gonna be just 1 dollar extra per session. I hope this can give you a peace of mind.

If camera shutters actually died that often you’d hear about it. I have never once in my 20 year career heard of anyone with a shutter issue. I personally keep body’s for 8-10 years and probably have 50-100k shots/year…

This "lifespan" is a general expectation, it doesn't mean it will fail after that and it doesn't mean it absolutely will be ok until 300k actuations. And it can be repaired if necessary. That is part of the cost of doing business.

You’ll have more anxiety from worrying about it than from any actual problem.

If you track your shoots over time you'll find you probably actually shoot way less than you think. I had similar worries as you when we bought our first camera and yes, there are shoots where I near 2,000 shots in a couple hours, but those are rarer than they feel. I think we just crossed 200,000 with that camera and I think it's been maybe eight years or so now. That said, we do have two main bodies, so it helps that we're spreading the shots.

According to these calculations, my camera should last for about 300 sessions.

It's an average life expectancy, not a hard limit where it dies when it reaches 300k actuations. It could fail tomorrow at 20k actuations, or it could last 1m actuations.

This number seems a little low to me? Considering the immense cost of the camera?

And most photographers never reach that amount on a single body. Hell, most photographers don't shoot that much over the span of their hobby.

If it does fail, the cost of replacing the shutter is about $250. But you'll have likely upgraded by then.

Are you a pro? If not, why do you take 1000 pics a session? If you are, 2k for the main tool you use as a pro is not an immense cost.

How often are you doing said 1000 click shoots? Every weekend? If so then the camera will last 6 years. By then if you are still shooting EVERY WEEKEND you will probably be seeking an upgraded body anyhow.

Has anyone considered the value for shutter count

Honestly, not really. I photograph air shows, and over a busy weekend I can easily hit around 5k shots. But even with half a dozen shows over the summer months, that's still 'only' 30k actuations. Which means a camera rated for 300k actuations would be expected to last for 10 years.

In reality, it'll be less of course, because it doesn't just sit in a cupboard for the other 9 months of the year; I photograph other events too, but those are at most 1k shots per weekend rather than 5k.

Even taking all that into account, the reality is that my oldest camera is a 6D Mk2, released in mid-2017. So it's at most 6 years old (and more likely about 5, because I'm rarely an early adopter). Both my other 2 DSLRs and mirrorless bodies are considerably newer.

tl;dr - I'm almost certainly going to upgrade/replace the camera due to age and availability of shiny new tech before it hits its shutter count.

So I shoot 200k shots a year. As long as you are aware of when your shutter count gets close to the average limit and have a backup plan (a second body, even if its cheap) you are fine.

Hopefully I will only be shooting on these d4s's for another year and will move up to z9's but i don't think much about shutter count. If a shutter craps out on me I just swap over to the other body I have with me and send it off for a $500 replacement.

And 1k images in 1-1.5 hrs isn't that much really, I shoot that in 45 mins for a soccer half.

So, I've heard the shutter count argument when people are buying used cameras, etc. However, aside from accidentally burning a hole in a cloth shutter, I have never had the shutter be the failure point in any camera I have ever owned -- some of which have been more than 60 years old.

I had a Nikon D70s that got daily work for almost 10 years with no issues. One of the lenses did end up with some kind of autofocus problem, but otherwise, was still running strong. I have a Leica MP typ 240 that has been in normal rotation since 2012 - no shutter problems.

The two problems I have had are:

• Internal connection corrosion, which makes them stop turning on.
• Screen failure

I haven't seen the corrosion issue in a while because most camera bodies are weatherized now. The screen failure still pops up, both in the rear LCD and in the EVF. It most recently happened to me on a Panasonic SR1 EVF, and it was over $700 to get it replaced.

Not sure why people freak out about this so much. Other things are far likely to break before the shutter. Not to mention shutters aren't generally that expensive