life span


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flowerpot99

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Feb 22, 2005
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Hi guys, anyone know the life span of a digital camera? Is it limited mainly by the lifespan of the LCD or the CCD? Will image quality detorate constantly with use? I mean will the sharpness or colour drop with use? Oh one last question if my LCD were to go dead what would it cost to change a 2.5" LCD screen? Sorry for asking so many at the same time :bsmilie: Hope any who know can just give me some info
 

flowerpot99 said:
Hi guys, anyone know the life span of a digital camera? Is it limited mainly by the lifespan of the LCD or the CCD? Will image quality detorate constantly with use? I mean will the sharpness or colour drop with use? Oh one last question if my LCD were to go dead what would it cost to change a 2.5" LCD screen? Sorry for asking so many at the same time :bsmilie: Hope any who know can just give me some info

Actually, there is no definite answer to your question. It really depends on your luck and how good you maintain your digital camera. Regular servicing and maintenance of your lens should keep your equipment in tip-top condition for many years I believe.

That applies to all other equipment e.g TV, hifi, etc. But I can say one thing is mechanical parts usually fail faster than electronics. If I'm not wrong the LCD shld be quite expensive. If your camera is not really new, I think it will be better getting a new camera than to change your LCD screen.

I'm jus a newbie. Sorry if I'm toking like a 'pro'.... :bsmilie:
Oops ... a lots of 'pro' here staring at me. :sweat:
 

General Lifespan of a Digital Camera:

If Point & Shoot: My friends and my own experience (2x) is about 3000-8000 shots and you'd most likely run in one servicing, minor or major issue. 3rd tiers/OEM digicams are another story altogether. My personal experience is a service run-in after the first 6-10mths with normal weekend/some weekday use. But from my associates exp, they have already written off the unit before it has even met back its maker, usually becos of frustration and increased product expectation, peer pressure another BIG factor. the poor OEMs get cast aside so soon that they still work well after many years! how ironic. just like what they say in BKK, a beautiful woman by the counter is more likely to be inflicted with a disease than an average one.

If DSLR: Checked with a few brand techies, assuming manufacturing flaws/bugs aside, usually the first to get serviced is the Shutter, flw by the CCD/Circuit Board. A prosumer styled DSLR shutter can last say 30,000+- (more on the +++ side). for comparision, D70 is unofficial at 30,000+ vs the pro-devices at 100,000 and above. Here there is no direct inference, just the technies their personal assessment thru their work. there aft, calibrations, alignments, fine-tune, cleaning seem to happen every other month.

That said, the same techies advise that the more you expose the CCD, for longer periods, aka long exposure shots, or continuously slam the shutter day in day out, and of course the standard impact and knock-overs, these will deteriorate the camera further and faster, be it P&S or DSLR, cos' the latter had more of these factored in in its design/manufacture process. aside that your new toy is a complete lemon at point of purchase, deteriorations usually comes in form of funny sounds, increased artifacts in pics (ie noise), overexposure or underexposure in normal day-to-day shots, flash failure or inconsistency, or simply here drop off, there slipped out... the best of all, you might experience all these in the same period off the same cam... just like ME...2 cameras!

On the other hand, think from a recent article, Digicam LCDs are made to last 3yrs?..my personal experience is they NEVER did die on me/my friends yet, the only exception is that they exhibit flaws (tinting/dead/coloured pixels) at the buying onset (hence exchange, if possible), or they get cracked by accidental impacts, again usually in the first year due to recklessness or inexperience! From the techies and other parts quoted, 1.5-8" LCD servicing would be ard $200++, and no there is only one size, thats the one your camera is designed to come with in the first place.

ultimately my personal expectation for a new cam (a reasonably respectable one la) is 2yrs++ coming to 3 max, with good regular care. i am not likely to pay for any major overhaul, lest the overhaul is 1/3 the price of a new cam (3yrs gauge mah). thereafter the big 3, i am prepared for it to die on me at the next sat outing.

anyone who likes to comment/amend, pls feel free.
 

Wow didn't know that P & S are so short lived. If I were to shoot 200 shots every outing... seems like death is near :bheart:

Can anyone tell me how many shots have you taken with your P & S and its still going strong?
 

I have a Sony S70..one of the earlier 3.1 megpixel camera. It is still with me and still shooting fine. No dead pixels. I don;t exactly treat it gently too. I use it for product shoting, outdoor..etc. And easily shot at least 30k shots and it is coming to 5yrs with no one trip to the service centre yet. Only thing needed to change was my battery after it started getting memory failure and not hold its charge after using it for about 3yrs. Call it dumb luck or what you want. I have heard many talk here and there from novice to so called experts. But I have had bought stuff that so far as outlasted 90% of the time. You sometime have to see where that "message"you hear is coming from. Some time out of fear, sometime out of prejudice, subtle push to buy one brand over another or just out to scare you. BUt yes sometime it can be real too. BUt there is such a thing as luck or what I call "act of God" heh. I am now changing my PC at the IT show by building a new system but efore that, my PC which I also built had lasted me 5 yrs and still fast and outlive what alot of people claim it should not have. I have a Nikon FG which is retire but the last time I got it checked out, the shutter i still fine and that camera I bought in 1982. Easily shot 30k shots and have only went into the shop one time to fix a battery leak problem. It is the cheapest Nikon...but it lasted. I am willing to gamble to say my D70 will last me easily another 5yrs. I am not one who buy buy buy mindlessily so I am certain even if another better camera comes around, this D70 will still remind with me. As plastic as it is for a body...this is the same plastic material they use to make the US stealth plane. And in terms of parts, it is not that bad. Plus it is still so new in the market, there is no way anyone can say how long it last for a new product unless you have a time machine. If you are concern about how long it last just to get as big a bang for your buck then anything you can think of or start to doubt how long it will last for the money you invest..I say. Give up the hobby or purchase. heheh..

As the saying goes...as mean as it sound...if you have to ask, you can't afford it.

By the way...each weekend if I go shooting around town, I average at least 500 to 800 shots. If I happen to shoot alot more often then if it does wear down the parts then...so be it. You can't expect anything with moving parts to last forever without changes parts or completely "retiring" the item. nothing last forever...what you pay is not so much for the product but the journey it takes you. That's my view.
 

That figure of say 30,000 for the shutter is just an estimate. Normally, it should last somewhat longer, as the standard deviation to that figure should normally be high.

It depends. If you're a pro, just make enough money to buy the lastest cool gear. If you're just shooting for fun, then, just have fun shooting. If you shoot normally, nothing to worry. If you shoot like a GPMG, then, when the shutter fails on you, I say that you deserve it.

So, if you shoot normally, it should last longer than you border to use it - before it fails, you would fall for the brand new cool cam with all the cool features that tempt you.
 

i must be damn sway lei...

1. 1 Nikon Coolpix, need replace barrel+ccd = $4XX+, gave up on it.
2. 1 those cheapo OEM (hey not so cheap back then ok), 3MP interpolated, out of action despite light use, luckily just under 1yr, free servicing (think replace the innards), took nearly 2mths...then came back imed warty out, still working though after 2yrs+ now hhhmmm..
3. 2 early Minolta models, both big problem childs but again luckily under warranty, but atlas then spend very little time with the twin buggers as due, now gone gone gone.
4. 1 Oregon Scientific 1MP CardCam, bundle buy with Singtel purchase, dont spoilt at all for over 3yrs, but hey then again, dont use much for over 3yrs cos it dont show much!
5. 1 recent HP brand cam, bought on impulse, ok la but not impressive, least so far so good...

"If you shoot like a GPMG, then, when the shutter fails on you, I say that you deserve it." hahaha i like this analogy. you are what you buy, but if you dont shoot enough, then you dont know if you should buy better?!

...anyway, my groupies' exp is b4 30k shots up you need least one servicing, though i have had people plough right thru the 100k mark safely. comparing to previous models back then, naturally with most labels now made in china, instead the more prestigous label's hometown, i personally expected a lesser product lifespan, actually this also in line with the respective mkgt-QC dept intention,...after 1 yr+ abit, you rolls back into the prospective market...as an Upgrader!

wonder whats the next giant pile of sh*t hurdling towards me now...
 

best is to buy mint 2nd hand and if u maintain, can keep for at least the next 5 yrs
 

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