# POLL: How many shutter cycles do you burn through?



## Marsu42 (Sep 7, 2014)

Having worn through my 60D in four years and having reached 160k, I wonder how much other people use their camera(s). I'm in a bad spot doing wildlife (= a lot of missed shots or the subject moved) and focus stacking, doing other photography styles certainly preserves the camera for a longer time.

I know it's hard to explain to people who are still rooted in the film/analog world how many digital shots I sometimes take home. But I'm curious about the dslr folk here and if I should go see the doctor about pressing the shutter button too often :->.

Feel free to elaborate in the thread how you achieve the shutter count you voted for (which photography style, full-time pro or weekend amateur, ...). Enabling Live view also counts as a cycle here, if you want to get the stats use a computer app or Magic Lantern.


----------



## Ruined (Sep 7, 2014)

I am not sure altogether. I know in the past couple of weeks I have burned through about 2500 or so.


----------



## pwp (Sep 7, 2014)

-Had a 20D "all-original" which clocked up a few hundred thousand before going to my daughter. It's still going

-Had a 5D Classic "all-original" which clocked up a few hundred thousand before going to an assistant. Still going.

-Have a 1DMkIIn with several hundred thousand up and for the most part is retired. It comes out for very dirty or wet boat salt-water jobs.

-Have a 1D MkIV with several hundred thousand clicks which works like new and is in daily use.

-Have a 5D3 with around 250,000 clicks which works like new and is in daily use.

The only two shutters I have ever replaced are in an EOS 1n film body where I punched my thumb through the shutter while changing film in the back of very bumpy helicopter flight, and the other in a 1 day old 5D3 which was officially DOA. The body was replaced without question. My experience indicates to me that the stated shutter life published by Canon is incredibly conservative. 

I guess I am a heavy shooter, but that comes with a required ability as a ruthless editor. I can flag 100 keepers from a 2000 frame shoot in about 45 minutes. This kind of workflow is not going to suit everybody; maybe more patient and considered shooters will probably come up with as good a 100 as me, but only shooting 200-300 frames. I shoot heavily to catch that magic moment locked inside a dynamic flow of human action which could be on a sports field, on an advertising shoot, in a studio portrait shoot or in a corporate office. I'm just grateful that shutters last as long as they do.

-pw


----------



## Besisika (Sep 7, 2014)

Ruined said:


> I am not sure altogether. I know in the past couple of weeks I have burned through about 2500 or so.


Agreed, I have few sport events in a year where I shoot 1500 to 2000 clicks then the majority is 2-300 at a pace of once in a week, sometimes three weeks.


----------



## lo lite (Sep 7, 2014)

23041 actuations on my 5dmkii (bought in May 2010)
more than 11587 actuations on my 5dmkiii (bought in October 2013)

I used ShutterCount to read the data from my bodies. But that app is buggy, it reports only 9834 actuations for my mkiii although I am already at IMG_1587 for the second time with it, so I guess the actual number of actuations with it must be higher than 11587.


----------



## WPJ (Sep 7, 2014)

Would have been higher but have hardly used the cameras this year....you gotta love expandable raid has with real time replication....i have 4 copies of everything, nas1 main copy and real time replicated to nas2, nas1 daily replicates to a separate raid 10 volume on separate disks and I have nas1 doing a daily replication to azure blob spaces. Would love to get nas2 to another location but no one is willing to give me that much bandwidth for free. Any takers?

Typically I would say 100k plus a year for average shooting nothing aggressive


----------



## ajfotofilmagem (Sep 7, 2014)

What a tough question... I work regularly in events, with my mentality of the time of film: Better to have just one good photograph, rather than 10 mediocre photograph.

Think more and shoot less. :


----------



## lo lite (Sep 7, 2014)

lo lite said:


> 23041 actuations on my 5dmkii (bought in May 2010)



As I said, ShutterCount.app seems to be buggy. I installed ML onto the mkii for the first time and it reports 23295+-4455 which results in 18840 cycles. That comes much closer to the current IMG number I have on that body: 7868 for the second time = 17868 pictures taken. That shutter count thingy seems to be a somewhat difficult value to get, I wonder why it is reported in such a strange way by ML, why the two values?


----------



## lo lite (Sep 7, 2014)

ajfotofilmagem said:


> What a tough question... I work regularly in events, with my mentality of the time of film: Better to have just one good photograph, rather than 10 mediocre photograph.
> 
> Think more and shoot less. :



my way of thinking too as I also come from the film age (1985 - 2002: Praktica MTL 5B, 2002 - 2010: EOS 33).


----------



## LuCoOc (Sep 7, 2014)

My 7D has about 18.5k since I got it in Nov. 2011. So for me it is about 5-10k a year. I started doing some time lapse photography a few weeks ago and expect my shutter count to get a lot higher in the next few months.


----------



## DominoDude (Sep 7, 2014)

I'm closing in on 10k clicks per year now. My shooting mode and frequency has changed a bit over the years, but I have my main focus points on birds and wildlife. I would shoot a lot more (on occasions and places) if I could afford it, but being long-term unemployed (and hating it to the core of my soul) I have to be a lot more selective about where I shoot and how to get there. Still, I find that I get more photos for each year that I have my 7D.
1st year (not a full one) ≈ 2600 keepers
2nd ≈ 3600
3rd ≈ 5800
So far this year > 4000 , but I'm deleting more duds now.


----------



## Hillsilly (Sep 7, 2014)

Have averaged just over 20k pa for the past few years. I'm a little surprised it is so high, as I'm mostly a weekend photographer. But I do the occasional time lapse which would account for quite a few photos.


----------



## Marsu42 (Sep 7, 2014)

ajfotofilmagem said:


> Think more and shoot less. :



I try to do this to make my cameras last longer 

But I've come home too often and saw that a potential very good wildlife keeper was unusable because some minor detail got in the way (animal blinked or moved, grass in the way of the flash, background not in the best position): "Haaaarrrrgggnnnnnoooooo!". That's why I rather do safety shots nowadays, if just to be on the safe side with the dodgy 6d af w/ focus & recompose.


----------



## RustyTheGeek (Sep 7, 2014)

I shoot in the annual 30K range at various events, campouts, swim meets, etc. Shooting swimming eats a lot of frames. I usually shoot several different bodies depending on the subject or activity.

For example, my 60D had about 26K frames on it in June 2011. I've probably got at least that many, probably more on the 5D3 as well. I've tried to slow down the frames a bit but in general, I just shoot what I feel is necessary at the time. Then I process them, upload them, move on. Cameras are just tools and the more you do, the more you use them. That's why I have them. Not using them fully would simply be a waste.

It is refreshing however to shoot only a hundred or so frames at smaller activities!


----------



## jrista (Sep 7, 2014)

I think I shoot about 50k-65k shutter actuations a year. I have a 7D with well over 100k shutter actuations in a little over two years, and I have a 5D III with around 10k actuations. I use both bodies these days, so the 50k+ actuations over the next 12 months will probably be split between the two.


----------



## jheez (Sep 7, 2014)

I do about 180,000 per year but photography is my job


----------



## Viggo (Sep 7, 2014)

1dx @ 95200'ish. Two years old, hobbyshooting .


----------



## Jim Saunders (Sep 7, 2014)

Somewhere around 20k between the 1Dx and the others; liberal use of exposure bracketing has no doubt inflated that figure somewhat. For static subjects I prefer to get them in one or two, but if it is moving then I don't feel the least bit bad about keeping one in one hundred.

Jim


----------



## pwp (Sep 8, 2014)

Marsu42 said:


> ajfotofilmagem said:
> 
> 
> > Think more and shoot less. :
> ...


Thinking and planning and shooting less is often the best approach, certainly if you're doing a very technical shoot or following a highly specific job brief. Yet looking back through my best & favourite shots, they've come from a position of pure knowing and instinct which is orders of magnitude faster than thinking. Like a musician, once you've got your technique deeply established, it moves smoothly into the background like a rock-solid rhythm section, freeing the artist to explore unhindered yet being technically completely grounded.

I'd never carry a consideration of holding back to make my camera last longer. They're generally spectacularly durable. You won't see a successful creative artist not using a brush in case it wears out, or an exploring type not walking that bit further to see into the next valley in case it wears out his shoes. 

Creativity needs to be free to run fast and unhindered. Durable cameras, plenty of card space, plenty of battery reserve and you're set!

-pw


----------



## beforeEos Camaras (Sep 8, 2014)

having just gotten a 70D in march after my trip to japan where my ti1 started to show its age.
it still great for single shots but not for birds in flight my new passion. on that trip alone I did 1 16 gig card and a 32 gig for around 1200 jpg raw shots. yes I do both and I am at 2600 on my 70D by the end of the migration time here in new England the shutter count should be around 5k on my new camera.


----------



## TeT (Sep 8, 2014)

15K 40/60 split between keepsakes with some rare top notch shots and pics for my eBay sales.


----------



## adhocphotographer (Sep 8, 2014)

I find there is a direct correlation between my shutter count and the number of times in that period I have managed to head to a national park... 

For street and general photography my shutter count is low ('high' keeper rate, 2/5 perhaps), but when i go to a national park, it is more like 1/10-100!


----------



## AcutancePhotography (Sep 8, 2014)

Every photographer has different styles. I, personally, am a slow photographer. Almost all my shots are on a tripod and I am one of those types that takes about 5 minutes per shot. So for me to go out for two hours and come back with 20 shots is a good day o' shootin' ;D

I think I used my high speed shutter control once.. when I was reading the manual. LoL

Other togs in my group will go out for one hour and come back with both their cards full.

Everyone is different. That's one thing we all have in common.


----------



## mackguyver (Sep 8, 2014)

AcutancePhotography said:


> Every photographer has different styles. I, personally, am a slow photographer. Almost all my shots are on a tripod and I am one of those types that takes about 5 minutes per shot. So for me to go out for two hours and come back with 20 shots is a good day o' shootin' ;D
> 
> I think I used my high speed shutter control once.. when I was reading the manual. LoL
> 
> ...


First of all, I love the "I machine gun wildlife" option! Too funny. For me, I'm like AcutancePhotography with my landscape and other work, so my 5DII barely turned a few thousand exposures, but my 7D and 5DIII had many thousands of exposures and with the 1D X, I'm frightened to see how many shots I've taken. It's way to easy to fire off 2 or 3 shots when you only want one.

I find that burst mode is best for unpredictable shooting, but if I'm shooting sports or other more predictable subjects, I try for the peak moment.


----------



## Besisika (Sep 8, 2014)

Marsu42 said:


> ajfotofilmagem said:
> 
> 
> > Think more and shoot less. :
> ...


+1
My motto is "think twice and miss twice". Action won't wait.
Unless my subject is posed, I'd rather choose than miss. At the end of the day, what is the lifespan of your camera? when do you intend to upgrade it? So why take the chance of missing? In the land of moving action, the variables are too much to guess. As long as I remember I always regret that I haven't shot enough. One day I finally understood that there is no need to lie to myself anymore and pretend to be a perfect photographer. I am an average. I chimp, I fix things in post, and I am a machine-gunner. Maybe one day, I will be, but not today.
I have a T1i and I wanted to be gentle with it. Today, it just stays in the corner somewhere, still in very good shape. 
Unless you found a cure to GAS, I am not sure what is the advantage of being a thinker.


----------



## Marsu42 (Sep 8, 2014)

Besisika said:


> My motto is "think twice and miss twice". Action won't wait.



Good I found someone who agrees with me  ... 



Besisika said:


> One day I finally understood that there is no need to lie to myself anymore and pretend to be a perfect photographer. I am an average. I chimp, I fix things in post, and I am a machine-gunner. Maybe one day, I will be, but not today.



I admit when talking to some photogs I feel completely moronic when I say that taking good wildlife pictures outside the zoo where animals wait for you many pictures are required. The usual reply is that if you know what you're doing, one shot is enough. I really don't know if this is true since I never saw such a good photog in action (while waist-high in water or lying in the mud between horse hooves, that is). I've gotten much better with exposure and framing, but I'm still way to slow to think first and then take the shot.


----------



## Hannes (Sep 8, 2014)

I'm a bit over 20k, nearer 30 probably. Much of this comes from going to some events where I come home with 1500 photos. Shooting any kind of action 10 fps helps immensely to get the best possible shot but it does mean lots of sifting when you get home


----------



## dgatwood (Sep 9, 2014)

adhocphotographer said:


> I find there is a direct correlation between my shutter count and the number of times in that period I have managed to head to a national park...



I find the same thing, except instead of national parks, it's any place that I've never been before and am unlikely to go to again soon.

Either way, I've noticed a curious thing:


With my first DSLR, I shot about 7,000 shots (this number may be high, because iPhoto creates a duplicate whenever you edit a photo) over about four years, or 1.75k per year.
With my next one, I shot somewhere around 20,000 (same questionable numbers—it could be as low as 17k) over the course of 6 years, or about 3.3k per year.
With my 6D, I've shot almost 29,000 shots in a little over a year.

I've done more traveling this year, but not an order of magnitude more....

I'm not sure if that high shot rate is because I'm trying to justifying spending so much money on gear last year, because I don't have to constantly wait for this camera to write pictures to flash, because I'm getting so many more keepers (the low-light handling of the 6D is freaking breathtaking compared with my XTi), or because of some other factor I'm not taking into account, but when I realized I had shot as many photos in a year with one camera as I had in the previous nine with two cameras, I wasn't quite sure what to say about those numbers. I'm still not sure.


----------



## Besisika (Sep 9, 2014)

dgatwood said:


> adhocphotographer said:
> 
> 
> > I find there is a direct correlation between my shutter count and the number of times in that period I have managed to head to a national park...
> ...


Let the "WHAT IF" begin then.
What if you shoot more because you are becomming a better photographer? 
What if you shoot more because you "identify" more interesting stuff. What if you shoot more because you realize that you should shoot the same subject from different angles and different focal length and different dof, .... What if you shoot more because you have more poses in your arsenal than before? What if you shoot more because you know better what you are looking for and you cannot let it go until you are sure you got it right? What if you shoot more because you know better your gear and you have more possibilities from it? What if you shoot more because you discovered more and better techniques that keeps you going even when your legs disobei you (off-camera flash for instance)?
Let me know if I am wrong. Because if I am not, then shooting more could mean something good.


----------



## ejenner (Sep 9, 2014)

In two weeks in Yellowstone this year I had 1500 exposures with my 7D and 4900 with my 5DIII.

I've been there a bunch of times so this was relatively 'calm' photography, but also with geysers it's kind of like sports - you take a lot if you are special situation, either with a particular geyser or light. I also bracket and focus stack a lot for landscapes. Having come from film too, but enjoying the ability to shoot without worrying about how much film I have.

Looks like I will en up with about 800-1000 exposures (including brackets, panos ect..) after culling and maybe 100 landscape shots I'll actually convert to .jpeg (i.e. final output and show people) and 100-200 more 'fun' or crap wildlife shots.


----------



## dgatwood (Sep 9, 2014)

Besisika said:


> What if you shoot more because you are becomming a better photographer?
> What if you shoot more because you "identify" more interesting stuff. What if you shoot more because you realize that you should shoot the same subject from different angles and different focal length and different dof, .... What if you shoot more because you have more poses in your arsenal than before? What if you shoot more because you know better what you are looking for and you cannot let it go until you are sure you got it right? What if you shoot more because you know better your gear and you have more possibilities from it? What if you shoot more because you discovered more and better techniques that keeps you going even when your legs disobei you (off-camera flash for instance)?
> Let me know if I am wrong. Because if I am not, then shooting more could mean something good.



What if it has just taken me this long to fully get over the cost of film.


----------



## JPAZ (Sep 9, 2014)

Really depends. I don't use the camera every day, but when I travel, I'll do about 1000 shots a week. I don't spray and pray but will do 2 or 3 shots of each photo I am trying to achieve.


----------



## cellomaster27 (Sep 9, 2014)

I used to shoot like a crazy person when I purchased my first dslr. I shot books, my desk, cup, fish, food, my roommate's hair, a/c, computer screen, soccer ball, candids, etc.. I think I deleted about 99% of them just recently. Now, I find 50 shots to be average on a photo walk. Around 500 for event shooting and a hundred or so with family gatherings. I try to only shoot what I would keep and out of those I delete mercilessly. Definitely end up with more keepers than before so that's a good thing! Keeps photography fun and simple for me (esp. the editing process).


----------



## johnb (Sep 9, 2014)

When I first had the 50D I was probably only shooting three or four thousand images a year. Now that's doubled or trebled. Most of the images are shot to go with occasional articles that I'm writing on fly fishing (text and images packages are much more saleable than words by themselves) and it's very easy to run up ridiculous numbers of images shooting high speed continuous on someone who's flycasting. I've just had the shutter button replaced by Canon UK but, so far, almost six years in, the shutter itself is holding up.


----------



## ChristopherMarkPerez (Sep 9, 2014)

I realized, a little too late, that I under-voted here.

15,000 - 20,000/year was with the 5D MkII only

10,000 - 15,000/year with a 7D (wildlife, special projects where AF speed is important)

15,000 to 20,000/year with a pair of Sony NEX (one of which recently died)

I tend to shoot and process images nearly every day of the week. Which leads to some great projects and publications (books, magazines, mooks, on-line stuff, everything).


----------

