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Archive 2013 · Question on Canon Bad Shutters

  
 
kat5
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Question on Canon Bad Shutters


This may have been discussed previously, but I need help.

I've been shooting sports with a 1d Mark IIn for several years. One month ago, during a soccer game, a light streak started appearing in all my pictures. And in some, a large dark shadow. I know from reading this forum that that is the result of a bad shutter. At 205K actuations, I was expecting it. So I sent it in for repair. While I was waiting for the camera, I bought a used Mark IIn from a local camera shop. It had 52K actuations when I bought it. After about 500 shots, the light streaks appeared again. So I took it back to the local store I bought it from and they replaced it with one that had 81K actuations. This one lasted 5,000 shots before the streaks showed up. Three cameras, three shutters gone bad in 2 weeks.

So my question is... am I just unlucky or is it something I'm doing wrong? I'm using the same Sigma 120-300 F2.8 EX DG HSM lens that I've used since I first got the original. The lens is stuck at 300, but I've used it that way for several years. Could it be the battery? I just bought a new third-party battery. I love the Mark IIn but should I just give up and buy a different camera?

I just can't believe that it's just mere coincidence that these things are going out on me all of a sudden. As a software analyst by day, my brain just does not work that way. I'm wired to FIND the reason.

Forgive my ignorance. I'm just baffled. Any help would be appreciated.

KatFive




Oct 05, 2013 at 12:24 AM
Paul Mo
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Question on Canon Bad Shutters


So, you got no feedback from the shop or Canon?


Oct 05, 2013 at 12:33 AM
kat5
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Question on Canon Bad Shutters


Yes, on the first camera. Bad shutter.

The shop that I bought the used camera and replacement camera said it was just a coincidence and that Canon was notorious for bad shutters.




Oct 05, 2013 at 12:35 AM
Paul Mo
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Question on Canon Bad Shutters


Mmm... that sounds like a dodgy reply. Canon are not notorious for bad shutters - perhaps they are notorious for selling bad cameras.




Oct 05, 2013 at 12:41 AM
kat5
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Question on Canon Bad Shutters


That's what I thought. They either want to sell me a newer, more expensive camera, or they didn't want to replace another camera. I probably should just send the second camera to Canon, like the first, but I'm reluctant to spend the money to fix it if I'm doing something to make these shutters go bad.


Oct 05, 2013 at 12:46 AM
kat5
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Question on Canon Bad Shutters


This morning, I took the camera to a camera shop to get some answers. Here's what the guy said. 90% of my shots are high school sports for which I use fast shutter speeds of 1/500 for soccer to 1/1000 for baseball. He said that these speeds are extremely hard on shutters, especially the amount I use those settings at 90% of my 750 - 1000 shots a game, four times a week. He said that most sports photographers lower their expectations for shutter life and budget regular shutter replacement as a cost of doing business.

Does this sound reasonable?



Oct 05, 2013 at 10:26 AM
EB-1
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Question on Canon Bad Shutters


1/1000 is nothing for a shutter. The shutter on a used 1D series body may already have a high number of actuations, so I would not expect it to particulary last long.

EBH



Oct 05, 2013 at 10:48 AM
kat5
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Question on Canon Bad Shutters


Yeah, it sounded peculiar as this is a camera that a lot of my "sports photographers" friends use.

The used 1D I bought had 51K actuations and the replacement camera had 82K actuations on it. Not too terribly high for a shutter that sports a reported 200K actuations on its' life. I expected it to at least break 150K



Oct 05, 2013 at 10:54 AM
onesickpuppy
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Question on Canon Bad Shutters


I have moved up from the MKIIn, MKIII, now on the MKIV.
Historically, I have had shutters go out in as little as 32k and upward.

I have come to believe somewhat on the principle you mentioned....that if used with faster shutter speeds...this "may" lead to premature death.....but then...I also balance out that through extensive testing....Canon wouldn't give a projected life of 200k either if they didn't feel it could be reached.

I know of several pros that hit that number and above on a unit...before the need for a shutter.

I have somewhat decided that if and when you have a device that is 'slamming' around like a shutter for its life work.....it is subject to the forces and can and most likely die....whenever.

Unless you are excessively hard on your bodies....banging on bleachers...barriers, etc.....then WHEN a shutter goes out will remain a crap shoot for ANYONE.

Buying used....always increases your chance...since you have no history with the body and something that must be weighed in at time of purchase. My bodies almost always look like new when I sell.....but can have high shutter count on them since at each event...I possibly put on 2-3K each time.



Oct 05, 2013 at 11:57 AM
scalesusa
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Question on Canon Bad Shutters


Its true that high shutter speeds are hard on a camera. There is extra stress on all the components. Its particularly true on older cameras where you don't know the history, and the shutter may have been used for a lot of high speed shots and have already been worn out.

I avoid buying from used camera shops, and buy used ones from individuals who can tell me the history of the camera, and where I can get a idea as to how careful they are with their equipment. A camera that has been stored in a hot car, for example is going to have a much shorter life.



Oct 05, 2013 at 12:16 PM
Imagemaster
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Question on Canon Bad Shutters


I have taken thousands of shots with everything from a 10D to a 1DX and never had a shutter failure. And over 50% of those shots were taken at shutter speeds of 1/2000 or faster.


Oct 05, 2013 at 01:13 PM
ICee
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · Question on Canon Bad Shutters


My 1d's have been great, my mk2 I had two one was 287,000 the other 234,000 my 1d mk3 was 210,000 and I have never replaced a shutter.

By the way these were used in press and sports work.



Oct 05, 2013 at 01:24 PM
kat5
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · Question on Canon Bad Shutters


So it's not Canon product. And it's possible but not probable that it's high shutter speeds.

I guess I'm just unlucky then. Buying used is always a crap shoot, but I did check them out thoroughly before I bought them. Neither (used camera and replacement) had the streaks on the photos. Both had an acceptable amount of shutter actuations. Neither had bad scratches or dents. Both took acceptable photos of cars going by at 35 mph. And while I couldn't question the actual owners, it's not guaranteed that I would have gotten an honest answer anyway.

Maybe I need to shoot the debate team instead of the football, baseball and soccer teams




Oct 05, 2013 at 02:31 PM
runamuck
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · Question on Canon Bad Shutters


How can high shutter speed be so hard? The shutter leaves travel at the same speed, whether it's a one minute or 1/8000 second exposure. One shutter blade starts traveling, and at the predetermined moment the second shutter starts traveling the same path. The *only* difference is the size of the sliver of light as it travels over the sensor. Again, the speed of the shutter leaves, blades, or whatever you want to call them, remains constant, with only the size of the slit changing. This traveling slit of light is what makes baseball bats "curve" in photos.

Shutters are like life. Some people die at birth, some in childhood, some as young adults. Most make it to a long life. The "fickle finger of fate" is in charge here. Granted, poor design or sloppy manufacture can shorten shutter life, but Canon and Nikon have been making shutters for a long time and literally have it down to a science.

Here's a video on youtube. Watch closely and you will see one curtain open, then the second follows the same path. The time between the two curtains moving is what determines shutter speed, not the speed at which the curtains travel.




Oct 05, 2013 at 02:46 PM
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · Question on Canon Bad Shutters


runamuck wrote:
Most make it to a long life. The "fickle finger of fate" is in charge here. Granted, poor design or sloppy manufacture can shorten shutter life, but Canon and Nikon have been making shutters for a long time and literally have it down to a science.

Not fate, but heaven. The workings of heaven are infinitely more complex than the workings of men.

To answer one of the original questions, it is theoretically possible that the battery has something to do with it, but at the same time rather unlikely. I don't know if the shutter itself is driven directly (unregulated) from the battery, but if so, surges, spikes, or dropouts could have a negative effect, while still not actually causing a camera reset or power interruption.



Oct 07, 2013 at 12:04 AM





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