Shutter life?

[blazing fire]

Hey there!

Do any of you have a camera which died due to the end of shutter life? What signs were there before it died and what happens after it dies?

[mjs1973]

I had a camera where the sub mirror assembly broke. There was no warning at all. One photo was fine, the next only exposed the top 2/3rds of the sensor. The bottom 1/3 was black. I sent it in and had if fixed. It's works fine now.

[blazing fire]

What do you mean by "sub mirror". I'm not really familiar with cameras .

My next question is, how much does the repair cost?

[deckcadet]

There are actually two mirrors behind the lens mount. One you see very clearly- that one reflects the light up into the viewfinder. The sub-mirror is a second one that is actually behind this mirror, where there is a portion that is actually only semi-silvered and has no backing. This mirror reflects the light coming through that down into the autofocus system (and sometimes the metering system depending on the camera). It folds back up into the main mirror when you shoot, so a broken sub mirror means it would hang down and block the sensor.

A shutter repair is generally one of the most expensive for an SLR. Depends on the camera, but it could be $350ish from what I hear on some cameras.

[mjs1973]

I don't think my sub mirror repair was that much, but then again, it's not the same thing as the shutter. I have never had a shutter problem. With my experience with the sub mirror going out without any warning, I would guess that the same could happen with the shutter.

[drg]

Hey there!

Do any of you have a camera which died due to the end of shutter life? What signs were there before it died and what happens after it dies?

A failing shutter will change exposure or cause incomplete exposure. Usually they 'stick' open briefly and over expose the film. Sometimes they lag/drag/or bind and you will get half a picture.

I've only had one 35mm film camera shutter totally fail. And that was after 15 plus years of heavy daily use. Even with maintenance it died. Nikon gladly and easily fixed that old F3. It was still cranking along, albeit at a much lower level of usage the last time I knew.

I did have a shutter go bad on a DSLR, it wasn't changing speed on one of the original EOS-1D series. That camera just got replaced.

Here's a post from last summer about a failure with a film camera.

Shutter Problem

Do you have camera you suspect is starting down that path? If so I would take it in for a checkup before it goes completely. It may just need some adjustment or there may be a less costly repair.

Canon pretty much charges a flat rate for a shutter problem. That amount depends upon the model.

[blazing fire]

There are actually two mirrors behind the lens mount. One you see very clearly- that one reflects the light up into the viewfinder. The sub-mirror is a second one that is actually behind this mirror, where there is a portion that is actually only semi-silvered and has no backing. This mirror reflects the light coming through that down into the autofocus system (and sometimes the metering system depending on the camera). It folds back up into the main mirror when you shoot, so a broken sub mirror means it would hang down and block the sensor.

A shutter repair is generally one of the most expensive for an SLR. Depends on the camera, but it could be $350ish from what I hear on some cameras.

Oh thanks man!

I don't think my sub mirror repair was that much, but then again, it's not the same thing as the shutter. I have never had a shutter problem. With my experience with the sub mirror going out without any warning, I would guess that the same could happen with the shutter.

That's good!

A failing shutter will change exposure or cause incomplete exposure. Usually they 'stick' open briefly and over expose the film. Sometimes they lag/drag/or bind and you will get half a picture.

I've only had one 35mm film camera shutter totally fail. And that was after 15 plus years of heavy daily use. Even with maintenance it died. Nikon gladly and easily fixed that old F3. It was still cranking along, albeit at a much lower level of usage the last time I knew.

I did have a shutter go bad on a DSLR, it wasn't changing speed on one of the original EOS-1D series. That camera just got replaced.

Here's a post from last summer about a failure with a film camera.

Shutter Problem

Do you have camera you suspect is starting down that path? If so I would take it in for a checkup before it goes completely. It may just need some adjustment or there may be a less costly repair.

Canon pretty much charges a flat rate for a shutter problem. That amount depends upon the model.

1) 15 years is a lot. I'm gald cameras last that long.
2) Nope. I'm just wondering how frequent such incidents happen. I don't see many "My camera died" threads being started . Thanks for that advice! I shall bear that in mind.

Btw, that's an amazing shutter.