As human beings that we are, we don't usually like to think about death. We're programmed to dodge the issue, luckily, because life would certainly be agonizing if death hung directly over our heads every moment of the day.
But the truth is that even if we do not think about it, it does not stop being a reality. We die and, believe it or not, our beloved SLR cameras usually die before us. Yeah, don't make that face, they die.
And not just by accident, as we tend to think, they die, like us, at a certain age and due to fatigue or wear and tear similar to ours. They die of old age.
HOW IS THE LIFE EXPECTANCY OF A CAMERA MEASURED?
Well, if we usually measure our approximate life expectancy in years, cameras are measured in number of shots .
Surely now you have seen your entire photographic life pass before your eyes. The number of times you pressed the shutter more than necessary because "totally, it's free" has passed through your mind, shooting in bursts or the lightness with which you take hundreds and hundreds of photographs to be left with only a few few decent ones
Yes, you are no different from the rest, don't worry because we all do it and the best part is that nothing happens ? Now you can stop holding your breath and breathe again because when we talk about the number of shots we talk about a really high number .
HOW DO I KNOW WHAT THE REAL LIFE OF MY CAMERA IS?
To find out the approximate life expectancy of your camera, you can use some online pages where you can indicate the model of your camera and it will give you the approximate values of shots at which it will stop working.
Normally the values are based on a statistical data collected from each particular model.
For example, this would be the life expectancy of my camera according to the Olegkikin page(cold sweat right now):
As you can see, it is not an exact science, but I can deduce that it is between 180,000 shots, with bad luck less, with good luck, up to 500,000.
You can see how, as the shots increase, the number of cameras that are still “operational” also decreases. Although it is possible to reach 500,000 shots with this camera (more than 60% of them achieve it), we see that after these values, the "survival" figures are almost anecdotal.
The normal thing is that, as the range of the camera increases, the number of shots that the camera can support (or rather, its shutter) also increases, with some professionals reaching more than 500,000 shots.
HOW TO FIND OUT THE NUMBER OF SHOTS TAKEN
And now after that cold sweat that you have surely had when finding out the approximate number of shots that your camera is going to “live”, surely you have wondered, how do I know how many shots I have taken so far?
The fastest is to access Camera Shutter Counton the web, here you must upload one of your latest unedited images and output directly from the camera without first going through an editing program. It will immediately offer you the number of shots you have taken with your camera.
Yes, I also just found out the number of shots from my camera and I've been ojiplática. That awful. And although I'm far from the 100,000 or 150,000 that this camera model predicts, I couldn't help but convert to film (yes, I was born and learned with them ? ) and I get 750 film, that's nothing.
Another option for those of you who use Photoshop:
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- You can find out directly from the program: Menu –> File–>Advanced–>Scheme and next to aux:ImageNumber, you will find the magic number ?
- Another option in case the first one fails or the editions are different: Go to File Information -> Raw Data. In the search engine at the top, enter and search among all the information -above we have an Image Number or Shutter Count. Et voilà ?
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO KNOW THIS INFORMATION?
Although for an ordinary person like you and me, who take the camera out for a walk on weekends, on vacations and something else, shooting from an SLR is something we shouldn't worry about a priori , it does seem to me An important piece of information when buying second-hand bodies.
A camera with 100 shots or even 1,000 is not the same as one with 50,000, right? And more knowing that 50,000 shots imply exhaustive use that can not only affect one aspect but several that can take their toll on us in the long run.
It is also useful for those who anxiously think that their camera has become somewhat old or obsolete. A camera of your own with 50,000 shots is at least half its life and probably a third of it, so stop using new cameras and invest in lenses, accessories or training ?
WHAT IS WRONG EXACTLY? IT CAN BE FIXED?
What fails is the shutter system, which after a certain number of movements ends up breaking due to excessive use.
And yes, in photography almost everything can be fixed, now, at what cost? Is it worth changing the shutter system when the rest of the camera is "old" and can fail at any time?
There is no easy answer to that. There are professional photographers who arrive at those shots with a relatively new camera and it may pay off for them. There are those of us who arrived after 10 years and consider that this camera is more than amortized...
There are even super handymen who dare to change the shutter system themselves. Each one should see what compensates them and weigh options ?
ACTIONS THAT WILL SHORTEN THE LIFE OF YOUR CAMERA
Above all, do not be obsessed, 100,000 or 150,000 shots are a lot of shots unless you dedicate 8 hours a day, 365 days a year to taking pictures, but it is true that there are actions that can shorten those years of idyll between you and your beloved camera :
- Always shoot in burst
- make time lapse
So now you know, cameras are finite, just like a mere mortal ? Although I'm sure if you're not a time lapse madman, you have many more years of love in the future. Surely you will want to change it even before that end comes.
How about? Did you know this topic? Surely you have run to find out how much life your camera has left and now you sigh with relief ? I hope so. What is clear is that to buy second-hand it is essential to know the shots, it is the same as when we buy a car and we are guided by the kilometers traveled ?
I hope this article has been useful to you and, if so, that you share it with everyone who has an SLR in their possession or who wants to get one. Thank you very much for reading this far, and until next time.
