# Shutter actuations



## PhotoFrenzie (Feb 7, 2012)

Can someone please explain this to me? Also does it really mean anything?

Because I have had people tell me that it does, meaning that the shutter will break after so long, and some people tell me that it doesn't, and that the shutter will last for ever as long as its taken care of.

Who's right?


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## Trever1t (Feb 7, 2012)

Manufacturer's rate their shutters for so many actuations. Think of it like tire life...you might get 50K miles from your tires, more or less.....


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## Josh66 (Feb 7, 2012)

How ever many actuations your shutter is rated for, generally half of them will fail at (or near) that number.  The rest will fail sooner or later.  How much sooner or later is any-body's guess, mostly.


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## IgsEMT (Feb 7, 2012)

I had to replace shutter mechanism on my D90 around 5k mark. I had to replace shutter curtains at 3k on my d300s. I sold my d70s with 200,000plus and never once had a problem with that camera.
Buddy of mine replaced his shutter mechanism around 1500, after the first wedding he used it on. Another bud, changed it on his d3 at around 50k.
These things are random, unfortunately.


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## SCraig (Feb 7, 2012)

It varies with the camera.  Consumer-grade bodies have relatively low-life shutters since the rationalization is that they won't be used all that much.  Pro-grade bodies have very robust shutter assemblies that probably will last forever.  Everything else is somewhere in between.



IgsEMT said:


> I had to replace shutter mechanism on my D90  around 5k mark...


My D90 has 26,171 on it right now.


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## 480sparky (Feb 7, 2012)

Nothing lasts forever.

Shutter count database.


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## djacobox372 (Feb 8, 2012)

Its really just a measure of how "used" a camera is.  High shutter count cameras have seen a lot of use and hence are more prone to fail in many ways, not just the shutter.


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## patrickt (Feb 8, 2012)

And, where do you find the shutter count?


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## 480sparky (Feb 8, 2012)

patrickt said:


> And, where do you find the shutter count?



Online.

Or offline.


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## MReid (Feb 8, 2012)

Shutters can be replaced, not really something to worry about.
I have never had a shutter fail.....taken a LOT of pictures.


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## KmH (Feb 8, 2012)

As mentioned, for me the shutter actuation count is an indication of how hard or gentle a camera has been used.

Nikon cameras launched in the last 7 years or so write the shutter count info the the cameras EXIF data when JPEG is the selected capture file type. Canon cameras don't. Consequently the only way to get a for sure accurate shutter count from a Canon camera is to have a Canon Service facility read the count.

Be aware that EXIF data can be edited.

Here is what it looks like using the Opanda EXIF reader to read the EXIF from a JPEG made by a Nikon DSLR:


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## Trever1t (Feb 8, 2012)

another YaY for the big N.


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