what is a good shutter count on a used camera

[melt]

i am looking to buy a use d300..the camera is 6 month with a shutter count of 7000. is this good for the age or not. How much before the camera ned to service ..

thank you

[Colin Southern]

i am looking to buy a use d300..the camera is 6 month with a shutter count of 7000. is this good for the age or not. How much before the camera ned to service ..

thank you

In terms of shutter counts, 7000 isn't even "the end of the beginning" territory, let alone "beginning of the end". Also, shutter replacements are relatively inexpensive (few hundred dollars).

[Kremos]

Colin,

do you mean shutter count can be restart?

Best,
Kremos

[Colin Southern]

Colin,

do you mean shutter count can be restart?

Best,
Kremos

No - the shutter count is never reset (because there are other mechanicals moving as well) (eg mirror), but if you do replace a shutter then you should note the number of actuations that it was replaced at (I assume Nikon can tell you this - I know Canon can), so you know how many clicks are on the new shutter.

I'm not sure what the D300 shutter is rated at but - assuming 150,000 - at 7000 it's used less than 5% of the shutter's rated life (ie "still a baby").

[Kremos]

Colin,

do you know how much range of shutter count for Canon and Nikon can reach? no need to exact.

Best,
Kremos

[Colin Southern]

Colin,

do you know how much range of shutter count for Canon and Nikon can reach? no need to exact.

Best,
Kremos

Can't speak for Nikon, although I would assume it to be about the same as Canon. For entry-level cameras it's usually 50,000. For profeccional cameras (eg 1D3, 1Ds3) it's 300,000. For pro-sumer cameras it's inbeween (100,000 for 50D, 150,000 for 5D2 off memory)

[starsage56]

ive never heard of a shutter count but it makes sense now that i do know. is there a way myself to find what my camera is at or is that something a nikon/other technician has to do?

[kevinbythebeach]

ive never heard of a shutter count but it makes sense now that i do know. is there a way myself to find what my camera is at or is that something a nikon/other technician has to do?

you have to take it in to a technician

[Sean]

Colin,

do you know how much range of shutter count for Canon and Nikon can reach? no need to exact.

Best,
Kremos

Model--------------------------------------------- Rated Shutter Life
Canon EOS Digital Rebel XS / 1000D ------------------not disclosed
Canon EOS Digital Rebel XSi / 450D--------------------not disclosed
Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi / 400D---------------------50,000
Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT / 350D----------------------50,000
Canon EOS 50D ------------------------------------------100,000
Canon EOS 40D -------------------------------------------100,000
Canon EOS 30D--------------------------------------------100,000
Canon EOS 20D--------------------------------------------50,000
Canon EOS 5D---------------------------------------------100,000
Canon EOS 1D Mark III ----------------------------------300,000
Canon EOS 1D Mark II N----------------------------------200,000
Canon EOS 1DS Mark III----------------------------------300,000
Canon EOS 1DS Mark II-----------------------------------200,000

According to http://www.the-digital-picture.com/R...ra-Review.aspx

Near the bottom of the page.

[eNo]

As has been suggested before, the D300's shutter is indeed rated at 150,000 actuations.

Sources:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13580_3-9766019-39.html
http://www.digitalreview.ca/content/...R-Camera.shtml

At 7,000, it has barely been broken in... In 6 months of use, my D90 has already crossed the 10,000 threshold. Of course, I am a little trigger happy.

[Amberglass]

If you have a pc, you can use Opanda IExif which is free to find your shutter count. There is one for a mac, just google for it. FYI, if you take real good care of your camera, it will last longer than what it is estimated for.

But yes, 7000 is barely broken into.

[kevinbythebeach]

If you have a pc, you can use Opanda IExif which is free to find your shutter count. There is one for a mac, just google for it. FYI, if you take real good care of your camera, it will last longer than what it is estimated for.

But yes, 7000 is barely broken into.

Cool but it only works for Nikons.......

[Colin Southern]

Perhaps a better answer to "the great shutter count question" might be "who cares" ... in the unlikely event that one fails, simply have it replaced for a few hundred dollars.

[Amberglass]

Cool but it only works for Nikons.......

Here's one that works for Canons on pc and mac. http://astrojargon.net/40dshuttercount.aspx

When buying a used camera, I would suggest that you send it in for a full cleaning and assessment. I helped a friend buy a used camera that was never ever cleaned, because the original owner thought it was not necessary with the sensor clean feature. He already bought bought a new camera because he thought the sensor was failing because of all the spotty images (sensor dust). it took.

[baldrick]

I use Photome to read exif data - including shutter count. I think it works for all cameras, I know it works for Pentax.
Simmo.

[carregwen]

Perhaps a better answer to "the great shutter count question" might be "who cares" ... in the unlikely event that one fails, simply have it replaced for a few hundred dollars.

Think I agree with that. And it raises an interesting question - if you get a really good camera (I just bought a used 5D) why not just keep on repairing it? It's a lot cheaper than eventually buying a new one, and unless there are serious developments in sensor technology then why bother? Probably not worth it if the camera is a cheap one, but with an expensive, high-quality unit it must be.

[Colin Southern]

I use Photome to read exif data - including shutter count. I think it works for all cameras, I know it works for Pentax.
Simmo.

I'd be surprised if it worked for many Canons - for some reason they tend to go to great lengths to stop that info being decoded; I can't say that I pretend to understand why

Happy to send you a Canon 1Ds3 file if you'd like to try.

[Colin Southern]

Think I agree with that. And it raises an interesting question - if you get a really good camera (I just bought a used 5D) why not just keep on repairing it?

Taking that a bit further, I'd be surprised if the higher end cameras even needed to be repaired (in terms of shutter replacements anyway) any more than once or twice in their lifetimes ... I suspect that most cameras could "outlive" their owners by a considerable margin.

[Raycer]

I'm not sure what the D300 shutter is rated at but - assuming 150,000 - at 7000 it's used less than 5% of the shutter's rated life (ie "still a baby").

good assumptiion Colin, D300 is rated for 150,000

[Raycer]

Cool but it only works for Nikons.......

Opanda works for Nikon. It'll show the shutter count BUT on D300 shutter count is not accurate because of live view.