Shutter click Q on p&s

[Liz]

I have a question regarding shutter clicks/shots. How many shutter clicks should an average p&s camera get before having a problem? The reason I'm asking is because I just learned how to get the correct number of shutter clicks on the one y/o used G9 I just purchased, and it's already almost 12,000. I'm wondering now if it's worth paying just $50 less than the new G10 costs - and in some cases the G10 is less money. I bought the G9 for the longer zoom however. The G9 is a "hot item" on the market right now, hard to find and expensive. I paid the same price for this camera as I sold mine for, but I had less than 1,000 shots on mine.

12,000 seems like a LOT of shots for one year. What do you all think?

Thanks.
Liz

[Liz]

I thought I'd give this another "shot" to see if anyone has any input about the number of clicks - and if 12,000+ is a lot for what I paid for the camera (approx $400). I have to decide what to do today.

I'm posting the method I found on the internet to determine how many shots/clicks have been made by a camera. Does anyone know if this is correct?

Take a photo. Then push play arrow to view it. Press the display button so that info is displayed. In the upper right corner you'll see the number of shots and below that will be the file name, which is a number. A brand new Canon, G, A, Elf, is doesn't matter, they've followed this numbering format for a long time, begins with 100-0000.

The number I got was around 101-1900+

Any thoughts?
Liz

[Dave Smith]

This could be true Liz.

On my D60, if I take an unprosessed (right out of the camera) picture and check the EXIF data, it tells me how many shutter clicks have been made on the camera. (Total Number of Shutter Releases for the Camera)

As to the maximum number ... IMHO as long as it is still workin good, it hasn't reached the max yet.

[Jenn_B]

The number I got was around 101,1900+

Any thoughts?
Liz

I think that's 1,900 exposures, not 12,000.

[Dylan8i]

im not sure about this, but do p&s cameras have shutter mechanisms like slrs do? would they wear out like slrs do? i know my d200 is rated to 100k clicks, and i believe entry level dslrs are at 50k. id imagine p&s cameras can take a lot of clicks.

[Liz]

I think that's 1,900 exposures, not 12,000.

Jenn,
That's what I thought, but I was told the Number starts at 100-0000 - not 101-0000. On my original post above, I put a coma (,) after 100 instead of a dash - typo - sorry.

Liz

[Liz]

im not sure about this, but do p&s cameras have shutter mechanisms like slrs do? would they wear out like slrs do? i know my d200 is rated to 100k clicks, and i believe entry level dslrs are at 50k. id imagine p&s cameras can take a lot of clicks.

You're probably right.

I just read somewhere that p&s cameras operate electronically - including the shutter clicks - so that it shouldn't matter how many clicks. I didn't know that before. At any rate, I don't want to make a big thing out of this. I just thought 12,000 was overload. Maybe not.

Liz

[Jenn_B]

Jenn,
That's what I thought, but I was told the Number starts at 100-0000 - not 101-0000.

It starts at 100, but I'm pretty sure only the -0000 part of the sequence is the exposure count. I don't know what the 100- prefix counts. I have an A520 I barely use, and it's count is 110-1092.

[another view]

I think it's really like battery life - the number of shots they tell us you'll get from a battery is based on so many variables. I just got back from a weekend up north where it was cold (obviously!) and I took a lot of long exposures. One night I took less than 20 shots but they were all 30 seconds, used the LCD screen for review, and it was cold. This used 38% of the battery life in my D200. On the other hand, in more typical situations it'll do a couple hundred shots.

My point is that I don't think I'd plan on a camera failing once it reaches a magic number. Some people use cameras harder than others (ever look at a photojournalist's gear?). Also, look at cars - one might be in the shop every other week, where another of the same make, model and year goes for years without problems.

[mjs1973]

I wonder how shooting video with the G9 would affect the shutter count? If you're shooting video at 30fps, you will end up with 12,000 frames in less than 7 min.

[SmartWombat]

I think it's more diaphragm activations than shutter clicks.
With an electronic shutter on the sensor, then there's no shutter to wear out.
But with wide open metering and focussing and then stop down for exposure, what you hear as a click is probably just the diaphragm.

[Liz]

Thanks Guys - Gals.......

I've learned quite a bit here! This is indeed a great place to get an education in photography, electronics - and human nature!

At any rate (pun intended), I won't worry about shutter clicks anymore.

Liz

[Liz]

I wonder how shooting video with the G9 would affect the shutter count? If you're shooting video at 30fps, you will end up with 12,000 frames in less than 7 min.

Wow! Never thought about that one! This would make a great Trivia question. Interesting.

Liz