Longevity of a CCD

[ckhaos]

Does anyone know how long a CCD can last? Obviously, being a photosensitive device, it does not last forever and its ability to collect photons deterioriate with time.

So, for a consumer level camera such as the Powershots or Coolpix's, how long do you think the CCD will last, before images become unacceptably noisy?

 

[Jed]

I can't speak for the consumer level cameras, but for the professional level cameras I don't think there is any reason to unduly worry. CCDs have been around long enough, and there has not been any major issue with their failing. The odd one does go down, but no more than the number of times I've seen a shutter failing or other things. In other words, it's down to Murphy's law.

 

[ckhaos]

Hello Jed, I don't mean to ask how often CCD's fail. What I am referring to is the gradual deterioration of a CCD due to continued use.

It is, afterall, a photo-sensitive device and, being continuously exposed to ambient heat and light, will deterioriate...

Have any studies being done on the accepted longevity (e.g., after how many exposures) before they become "unacceptabe"? Not that I am worried that my G3 will fail anytime soon, just want to know about CCD's in general.

 

[Jed]

Beats me, but as I said, there are still ancient DCS cameras in use today that seem for all intents and purposes to be working almost as new.

 

[CYRN]

How long does your TV last...or your PC monitor last..CD drive?

Long enough to warrant an upgrade before it dies...unles you suay suay.

To answer more directly...on the average, more than 5 years but unlikely 10 years.

 

[roygoh]

For the CoolPix cameras, I have heard or read about quite a number of consumers getting units with dead pixels on delivery.

For my own unit (CP995), after 1.5 years and 6000+ shots, I got a dead pixel.

 

[f55user]

My DSC-F55E (3 years, Dec 1999) still going strong (touch wood) Got one dead LCD pixel and some scratches on the LCD though. And it's Sony's first 2.1MP camera at that