NIKON D3/D700/D300 Shutter Life/Failure thread - Post your experience here!

bloomphotog

A recent post reminded me that, yes, even us Nikon folks :wink have to deal with the dreaded shutter failure.

I would love to see some feedback from you fellow dgrinner's on this issue. Hopefully, we'll be able to identify the average life for particular DSLR models and know how to plan!

Sample:

Model: D700
Actuations at Failure: 167,000
Comments: I was motor driving at a Football game when it happened. Thankfully I had my backup body close by!

insanefred

I believe there is a site dedicate for this.

We all know the shutter is rated for 150,000 (D700). It's relatively cheap to get it replaced.

All in all, that sucks, but somewhat expected. :cry

DsrtVW

I am at 73000 on my D300 half way there.cry

Up to 103000 now 9/2010

angevin1

MODEL: D300, October 2008.

Shutter appx 20 clicks~

Details: Twenty Minutes after receiving it (NEW)from reputable Dealer, Shutter fails~

One hour and Twenty minutes: back into box to ship/return~

They fail new, And that's why we (I) buy from Reputable Dealers~

bloomphotog

angevin1 wrote:

MODEL: D300, October 2008.

Shutter appx 20 clicks~

Details: Twenty Minutes after receiving it (NEW)from reputable Dealer, Shutter fails~

One hour and Twenty minutes: back into box to ship/return~

They fail new, And that's why we (I) buy from Reputable Dealers~

That must be an all-time record! Geez.

angevin1

bloomphotog wrote:

That must be an all-time record! Geez.

Well, I see it like you said, "...we'll be able to identify the average life for particular DSLR models and know how to plan!"

And how to plan ought to always begin with Buying from a reputable Dealer or individual, EH? Early into your thread and we cover the buying first~
As far as it being a record, not sure...but I admit to being damn glad I bought from a good source~

Jeremy Winterberg

Well, my D300 only has around 15,000 clicks... so I can't comment on it failing yet. But, glad to hear they last more than 150,000.

The day I get that many clicks on my camera is the day I'm going to celebrate for being the worlds greatest photographer. In other words... it aint gonna happen. And, I will probably get a new camera before then anyways.

I'm not a spray and pray kind of guy. I get the exposure correct, and wait for the perfect moment to press the shutter release. Pretty much the exact opposite of Becker from the school who shoots till his camera freezes up.

Cool thread, looking forward to hear how long my camera will last me.

Ozzwald

After the shutter fails, you can get it replaced/repaired right? If so how much?

bloomphotog

Ozzwald wrote:

After the shutter fails, you can get it replaced/repaired right? If so how much?

Great question...anybody have first hand hand experience?

Jeremy Winterberg

I just did some searching... and a quote I got from a website to repair a shutter that is stuck or not functioning (Which I'm assuming is replacing it) was $102.49.

Whether that's replacing, or just making sure it's working properly I don't know. But, I guess that's a ballpark estimate as to how much it may or may not cost to get a new shutter.

Which, aint too bad! I'd rather pay $100 over a grand any day to have a working camera.

ziggy53

According to the ByThom website, the Nikon D300 and D700 are indeed rated for 150K actuations. The D3 is rated for 300K actuations. (I was not able to find other camera ratings.)

http://www.bythom.com/nikond700review.htm

The actual repair cost for a shutter box will depend partly upon the model of camera, who does the repair, and whether or not they replace the mirror box/assembly at the same time. Since the shutter and the mirror are both mechanical and since they both have approximately the same number of actuations (and the same actuation ratings), they are often replaced at the same time (except for premature failure).

Zanotti

Jeremy Winterberg wrote:

Well, my D300 only has around 15,000 clicks...

I'm not a spray and pray kind of guy. I get the exposure correct, and wait for the perfect moment to press the shutter release. Pretty much the exact opposite of Becker from the school who shoots till his camera freezes up.

Cool thread, looking forward to hear how long my camera will last me.

How do you know that Becker overshoots?

Jeremy Winterberg

Because I'm best buddies with him.

I WISH... no I'm a member of the School, and he has a video on there called "Relaxed Portraits"... which basically talks about making the portraits at the wedding go smoothly and having relaxed poses and whatnot... and he admits that he is a spray and pray shooter. Like, literally, He holds it down, and takes 10-15 exposures per pose. I find it a bit overkill.

Zanotti

Jeremy Winterberg wrote:

Because I'm best buddies with him.

I WISH... no I'm a member of the School, and he has a video on there called "Relaxed Portraits"... which basically talks about making the portraits at the wedding go smoothly and having relaxed poses and whatnot... and he admits that he is a spray and pray shooter. Like, literally, He holds it down, and takes 10-15 exposures per pose. I find it a bit overkill.

I follow his blog sometimes. He has a hell of an ego, but produces (shows) good results. Sometimes I get tired of his "persona"

Is the bschool worth it?

Jeremy Winterberg

Zanotti wrote:

I follow his blog sometimes. He has a hell of an ego, but produces (shows) good results. Sometimes I get tired of his "persona"

Is the bschool worth it?

Well, I'm new to the b school... I just signed up for it like last week. But, so far it has helped alot.

I'm going to be hiring a designer to redo my entire brand identity. Because my card, website, and logo DO NOT match... Which is bad. They all individually look alright, but together there is no consistency. and my favorite quote by me is "Consistency is vital, and without the vitals the body will not live."

sellis

Ozzwald wrote:

After the shutter fails, you can get it replaced/repaired right? If so how much?

In December, I had a D300 shutter replaced ("shutter mechanism" according to the invoice). It was $200 and included a general check and clean, clean ccd, and firmware upgrade.
It was acting up and I wanted to get it checked out before my friend bought it. Now he has a nice D300 with a new shutter.

Sam

shadowdancer36

What does shutter failure mean technically? Is it when the shutter opens then fails to close? I'm going through this right now at a concert Periodically it will open then won't close back. I have to keep turning the camera on and off or hit the flash test button for the shutter to finally release. I'm not sure how many clicks I'm at (can someone tell me how to bring up that info?) but it can't be anywhere near the amt you guys have mentioned.

ziggy53

shadowdancer36 wrote: »

What does shutter failure mean technically? Is it when the shutter opens then fails to close? I'm going through this right now at a concert Periodically it will open then won't close back. I have to keep turning the camera on and off or hit the flash test button for the shutter to finally release. I'm not sure how many clicks I'm at (can someone tell me how to bring up that info?) but it can't be anywhere near the amt you guys have mentioned.

Are you getting an error message?

Which camera body and which lens?

Are you using a vertical/battery grip?

Have you tried switching batteries?

InsuredDisaster

My D300 shutter came back in a bag when I had it repaired around 70,000 clicks. But that was after I took my camera to a water fight. I don't think the repair shop could figure out the problem so they just replaced everything.

Harryb

The shutter on my D3 failed after approx 100,000 clicks. The failure occurred on a very rough cart ride up a mountain in Alaska so I don't think the timing was coincidental.

Its currently at Nikon for repairs. The current repair estimate is $348.32

tinamarie52

I am also going through this right now. My D300 shutter freezes open. I either have to turn the camera off or click it a second time. At first I thought I had it in live view.

How do I tell how many actuations I have on the camera? I am guessing that I'm over 100,000.

The shutter freezes with and without the grip.

Chris

ziggy53

tinamarie52 wrote: »

I am also going through this right now. My D300 shutter freezes open. I either have to turn the camera off or click it a second time. At first I thought I had it in live view.

How do I tell how many actuations I have on the camera? I am guessing that I'm over 100,000.

The shutter freezes with and without the grip.

Chris

At over 100,000 actuations it certainly could be the shutter. I do suggest resetting the camera (2 green button reset) back to default settings first to see if maybe a custom setting is inadvertently causing the problem.

Kevinhooa

I was curious about how many shots my old camera took not too long ago. I downloaded an EXIF data reader which tells you what shot out of how many the camera has taken in its lifetime. I downloaded it here:
http://homepage.mac.com/aozer/EV/
It worked great, and is very simple. I couldn't find how to do it on my D50 or if it was even possible. Kind of funny as it would be like hiding the odometer on a car.

Art Scott

tinamarie52 wrote: »

I am also going through this right now. My D300 shutter freezes open. I either have to turn the camera off or click it a second time. At first I thought I had it in live view.

How do I tell how many actuations I have on the camera? I am guessing that I'm over 100,000.

The shutter freezes with and without the grip.

Chris

Opanda Exif there are a couple of free versions at the site.........

tinamarie52

I uploaded a photo to my firend's F;lickr acct and looked at the exiff. It showed the accuation number. It's now at 91,000 and I figured out that the mirror is hanging up not the shutter. Off to Nikon we go.

Thanks all.

ziggy53

tinamarie52 wrote: »

I uploaded a photo to my firend's F;lickr acct and looked at the exiff. It showed the accuation number. It's now at 91,000 and I figured out that the mirror is hanging up not the shutter. Off to Nikon we go.

Thanks all.

Good luck and please do keep us posted.

Best,

Matthew Saville

I've got a D300 that is rougly at the quarter-million mark. Still running fine, although I do get it serviced every year or so. The grip rubber falls off every 6 months, the magnesium alloy frame has plenty of scrapes and the battery compartment suffered a pretty severe blow that almost pinched the battery inside.

I tend to run my equipment into the ground. My 1st camera, a D70 in 2004 or 2005, (the year it came out?) got to maybe a half-million shutter clicks before I got rid of it. It has all sorts of issues, including the memory card CHA issue, the BGLOD, and other things, but the shutter worked perfectly.


Come to think of it, ever since the D2H I haven't heard of any serious shutter failure issues with Nikon. In fact the 5D mk1 is the ONLY camera other than the D2H that I know of with a known issue, and that's the mirror not the shutter. Yes, shutters WILL fail and you should always have a backup on hand, especially if images work cannot be re-scheduled. But for the most part, reputations have been pretty good lately unless there's a serious issue I'm not aware of...

=Matt=

Zanotti wrote: »

I follow his blog sometimes. He has a hell of an ego, but produces (shows) good results. Sometimes I get tired of his "persona"

Is the bschool worth it?

You have to meet Becker in person to understand what he's all about. Nicest guy in the industry, unlike SO many who have an "on / off switch" if you know what I mean. He's got an ego, but the minute you meet him you realize it's all just a big goof, he's actually pretty humble about the work he does and is genuinely interested in helping photographers who are serious about success.

I've been a member of the school since day 1, and I can honestly say it is the BEST private community out there. I've stopped visiting every other online community, save this one from time to time, and the school is the only place I go for real advice and brainstorming. We're currently having a pretty insightful discussion on industry change, and whether or not wedding and portrait industries can survive the onslaught of digital hobbyists.

But, no pressure. If you're not interested in making money at photography, there are plenty of other things to spend your money on. :-)

=Matt=

fldspringer

bloomphotog wrote: »

A recent post reminded me that, yes, even us Nikon folks have to deal with the dreaded shutter failure.

I would love to see some feedback from you fellow dgrinner's on this issue. Hopefully, we'll be able to identify the average life for particular DSLR models and know how to plan!

Sample:

Model: D700
Actuations at Failure: 167,000
Comments: I was motor driving at a Football game when it happened. Thankfully I had my backup body close by!

Here's a database to add to.

http://www.olegkikin.com/shutterlife/sitemap.php

cab.in.boston

Matthew Saville wrote: »

I've got a D300 that is rougly at the quarter-million mark. Still running fine, although I do get it serviced every year or so. The grip rubber falls off every 6 months, the magnesium alloy frame has plenty of scrapes and the battery compartment suffered a pretty severe blow that almost pinched the battery inside.

I tend to run my equipment into the ground. My 1st camera, a D70 in 2004 or 2005, (the year it came out?) got to maybe a half-million shutter clicks before I got rid of it. It has all sorts of issues, including the memory card CHA issue, the BGLOD, and other things, but the shutter worked perfectly.

...

=Matt=

Matt, I'm curious about your use of camera bodies. As a working pro, do you use these older bodies until they're dead, or do you regularly update? I ask b/c I purchased my D300 from a local wedding photog who was going to D700 bodies, and I've recently learned that she is replacing (refreshing?) her D700 with a new one. She offered to sell her ~1 yr/old D700 to a friend of mine, who is just getting into the portrait/wedding business. My friend says that this pro replaces her camera(s) every year, I assume that's to make sure it's new and in good working order so it/they doesn't/don't fail during a job.

So to see you say you have such high shutter count bodies makes me wonder if you are using them regularly, or if you simply still have them but don't use the older ones on paying gigs?

It's strictly curiosity, I am not nor do I plan to be a pro, and I plan to use my gear until it stops working. I'm just wondering if this is kind of SOP for pros, or if she is just being ultra conservative.

Matthew Saville

cab.in.boston wrote: »

Matt, I'm curious about your use of camera bodies. As a working pro, do you use these older bodies until they're dead, or do you regularly update? I ask b/c I purchased my D300 from a local wedding photog who was going to D700 bodies, and I've recently learned that she is replacing (refreshing?) her D700 with a new one. She offered to sell her ~1 yr/old D700 to a friend of mine, who is just getting into the portrait/wedding business. My friend says that this pro replaces her camera(s) every year, I assume that's to make sure it's new and in good working order so it/they doesn't/don't fail during a job.

So to see you say you have such high shutter count bodies makes me wonder if you are using them regularly, or if you simply still have them but don't use the older ones on paying gigs?

It's strictly curiosity, I am not nor do I plan to be a pro, and I plan to use my gear until it stops working. I'm just wondering if this is kind of SOP for pros, or if she is just being ultra conservative.

I use all my camera bodies until they die, yes, and my D300 is still my main body. However I keep backups at the ready whenever I'm on an important job. Depending on the situation, I might also rent a D700 or 5D mk2.

Everything, to answer your ultimate query, is about calculated risk and how you can minimize it without breaking your bank. Replacing a camera every single year is probably overkill, even if the photographer is the spray-and-pray type, but I won't ever pass judgment on someone who can afford to stack the odds in their favor. They're minimizing a risk.

However, these are professional cameras we're buying, made for professional reliability, and getting your camera checked out and serviced once a year is more than enough. Heck, a whole new shutter is just $300 I think.

But like I said, it is a professional's job to minimize risk, so whatever floats their boat!

=Matt=

red knot

I bought my D700 when it first came out. I work a great deal in performing arts, low light performing arts, string for numerous media outlets, maybe several sporting events each week, teach, yearbook contracts and have my own studio, anything that makes a decent dollar. This evening my shutter checked out, the last I looked at it, a few clicks under 400,000. Not to shabby. I have friends with D300's, close to 800,000 clicks. Lucky I guess.