# Input on bodies please? Shutter count?



## Valvebounce (Sep 22, 2013)

Hi Folks.
Well a bit of the background story first, some of you may have seen previous posts about poor focus quality of my EF-S 17-85. 
A couple of weeks ago I found an advert for a 20D plus 17-85 lens, body has error 99! Well I took a chance and bought it for less than a broken lens on ebay, turns out the lens ribbon is broken. The body works fine! 

I have my trusty 300D which I have had from new, it has 8990 shutter count, I know this as it had cellophane on the box when I got it and has never been reset, it has a fault on the info window showing exposure and aperture info, I caused this during fixing non pop up flash, it is the ribbon clip I broke! Other than that it is perfect with known history and I can't remember the last time I needed that display.

I also have the 20D that I just bought, it seems to work perfectly so far, and has 5988 showing as the current image number but it may have been reset and I don't know how to read the shutter count, I have seen the posts on the Internet about paying certain sites to tell me from an image but also heard this doesn't work, only tells IMG no.

The 300D is now my camera for documenting restoration work on classic cars, it is in a workshop most of its life, I still treat it with respect despite its near zero value, and for what it is used for it is great! Previous use has included time lapse of work just for a bit of fun and this accounts for a couple of thousand of the shutter count! 

Would any of you guys replace the 300D with the 20D, also very low resale value, would you determine true shutter count before making any kind of decision, if so how can I do that? 
Will there be an improvement in image quality from the extra pixel count, how much more durable is the 20D than the 300D, what is the expected shutter life of each?

No back button focus on 300D and so far I've not found if it can be enabled on 20D there is no dedicated button, a menu setting maybe? 

Currently I am having mainly sentimental reasons not to replace it as the 300D was a birthday present from my partner, in fact she has bought me both progressive upgrades as well (40D & 7D). I will not use either of these in the workshop just in case of a disaster.

What to do with the 300D if I do replace it with the 20D? 
I couldn't sell it for spares as I hate to think of such a reliable working camera being parted out for bits. My family are either too old too young or too disinterested in photography to make use of it! 

If you have got this far, sorry for rambling on, thanks for reading and hopefully you can help with some or all of the questions posed here! 

Any thoughts gratefully received. 

Cheers Graham.


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## agierke (Sep 22, 2013)

No offense meant, but I think you are expending way too much thought for cameras that are over 10 years old and not worth the worry. 

If they work for you great. Sounds like you have next to nothing invested in them. Use them til they die and then replace them with another bargain deal. It sounds like you have a knack for finding bargain gear and finding purpose for it.

Both these cameras are essentially from dslr's infancy...or at least very close to it. When you find they are no longer useful to you, then they are most likely going to become paperweights (proverbial or literal)


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## TexPhoto (Sep 22, 2013)

I would be looking to upgrade to something made in the last 5 years, even if a generation or 2 old Rebel.


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## Sella174 (Sep 22, 2013)

Sell the 20D for a profit, even though it is a better camera than the 300D.


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## emag (Sep 22, 2013)

Gave my 300D to my sister in law. Still have my old G2 though. No value, but it syncs at 1/1000, fun to play with and for time lapse in daylight. Advice - sell 20D, use 300D til it dies.


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## Deleted member 91053 (Sep 25, 2013)

Shutter count??
If it's any help a friend of mine has a 20D that is approaching 300K actuations - she still takes better landscapes than me with my expensive cameras and L glass!
Not fair!!!


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Sep 25, 2013)

The 20D is a big upgrade from the 300D. On a camera of that age, I would not worry about the shutter actuations. Verify that the shutter works at the max speed setting without any bars or dark bands in the photo.

I would suggest checking the sensor for hot pixels on both cameras. That's something that gets worse with age.

You can use the camera until it dies and then sell it for parts.


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## Jim Saunders (Sep 25, 2013)

If you want a count look up eosinfo, it should work for your 20D.

Jim


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## Valvebounce (Sep 26, 2013)

Hi Jim,
Thanks for that info, it looks like a handy little utility. However I just read through the FAQ's and found this paragraph. 

The shutter counter will not be displayed (or will be displayed as "0") on the 1D*, 5D, 10D, 20D, 30D, 300D, 350D, and 400D. It's not that I have anything against the owners of those cameras, but simply that the Canon SDK does not support retrieving the shutter count for them. Blast. 

Oh well I will probably download it and check my 40D and 7D as I think I may have put a used card in those before I knew it could change the count! 

I think I will take MT Spokane's advice and use it 'till it drops, what is the best way to find hot pixels please, I have read people find them in images but not seen how to force the issue for want of a better choice of word! 

Tex, although it would be an upgrade I do already have a 7D but not the courage to use it in a vehicle workshop where all manner of ills could befall it! 

Cheers Graham.



Jim Saunders said:


> If you want a count look up eosinfo, it should work for your 20D.
> 
> Jim


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## Jim Saunders (Sep 26, 2013)

If you're worried about failed pixels then I'd take photos of a white surface and a dark one; That should make any duds stand out.

Jim


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## Lichtgestalt (Sep 26, 2013)

Jim Saunders said:


> If you're worried about failed pixels then I'd take photos of a white surface and a dark one; That should make any duds stand out.
> 
> Jim



we all know 1 or 2 dead pixel in a 18-20 million pixel image can ruin it... ;D


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