[lesmore49]

In another thread someone indicated that a digital electronic camera...I supoose like my K10D for example...won't last as long as the old mechanical cameras...say like my K1000D, which my wife bought around 1980...geez, that would be 29 years old this year.

Now the K1000 is still working fine, as is my Pentax S1a bought in '68 (41 years old), my Pentax ES 11 (bought in '75)...35 years old or even my '52 Leica 11f (almost 60 years old).

The difference between my K10D and the other cameras is the K10D is a digital with lot's od computer type electronics, but then my 35 year old ES 11 has some electronics and still works fine.

Now I do take more pictures with my K10D because i don't pay for the film or pay to have prints made. That might be a factor.

Well, even though it is still early in the digital SLR history..does any one have say a Pentax istD DSLR or a K100D DSLR that died after awhile ? If so is this typical ?

The question remains do DSLR's not last as long as the old mechanical SLR's and Rangefinders (Leica)....???

[garth1948]

I have taken over 5000 shots with my K20D in the last 6 months.
I have probably taken less than this with various film Slrs over the last 40 years!

This puts the change to digital in perspective.

[pingflood]

The question remains do DSLR's not last as long as the old mechanical SLR's and Rangefinders (Leica)....???

I don't think anything will last like a screwmount Leica. I have a IIf (from 1954) and had a III (from 1936). Sent the III in for a checkup/lube and it came back with no real adjustments needed. Still on the original shutter and everything. I've had plenty of old SLRs crap out (OM2 had prism corrosion and the string connecting the aperture ring to the meter snapped; the Mamiya DL had all sorts of problems; the K1000 had a sticky mirror), but the old Leicas seem virtually indestructible.

As far as DSLRs, it's too early to tell. Even the older ones (e.g. Rebel/300D) are going on 6-7 years now (unless you count the somewhat experimental DSLRs from the late 90s). I know a couple of people who have the original Rebels and they are still going strong. My 10D is six years old and working like new still. There really isn't much other than the shutter that'll wear on them, so as long as they are well taken care of they will probably live for a long time. Most likely they'll be considered relics long before they start breaking down, and get tossed to the side. I just look at my 1DsII: a few years ago this was a $8,000 camera, now it's a quarter of that, and in a few years it will probably be of little worth to anyone, what with its 2" LCD, no live view, and slow CF/SD card recording.

[MRRiley]

Yes... but this is true of many, if not most, "modern" electronic devices. Manual or mainly mechanical tools and devices have looser "operating" tolerances. For instance, you can use a hand shovel until the blade is worn down to a nub and it will still perform to some degree. A gas hole auger will last as long as the motor holds out but once that goes out, it's sort of hard to twist that auger bit into the ground by hand. Electronic devices like modern TVs, DVD players, microwaves, AND digital cameras, operate on a much finer margin. If one circuit breaks, the entire device can be easily rendered partially or totally inoperable. The degree of disability depends on the importance of the circuit. The problem is, the number of potential failure points is immeasurably higher than in most mechanical devices.

This is one reason I am personally leary of lenses getting too fancy electronically. I don't care if a lens is a little slow or noisy focusing because it is driven by the camera. Once the motor and electronics are in the lens our lenses will begin to have a similar lifespan to our digital bodies... NOT GOOD!

On the other hand, assuming high quality circuitry and construction, and a little luck not to have a critical component hit by a cosmic ray, modern digital devices can last a long time. They certainly will last longer than most people use them for. The usaul "reason for replacement" with modern electronics is to get new or improved capabilities, not solely or even primarily because the earlier device failed.

(for those of you who've read other recent posts by yours truly, the reason I keep using digging and augers as examples is that I am getting ready to have to dig about 50 fence post holes... LOL)

Mike

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Last edited by MRRiley; 03-31-2009 at 09:30 AM. Reason: typo

[losecontrol]

for some reson we still see old pentax 67 in good shape....

still we haven't live that long to be able to speak about the shape of k20d in 40 years..

I think the electronic ****s it all up...so mecanic will be more durable.
just my opinion

[Mike Cash]

My 1962 SV is going strong, although it did have a recent CLA and shutter curtain replacements.

Not an SLR, but my approximately 80 year old Kodak box brownie is still chugging right along and working perfectly.

[jmc7104]

It is like a lot of other things in life. It's not the years of age as much as the miles and roads that it has been driven on. With my Mechanical Cameras I probably only took 2/300 Photo's and or slides a year.
As to Digital, there is many a day when I take 2/300 shutter actuations, especially when shooting Manual lenses, due to preview. In years most likely it will not last as long but in Pictures taken will probly out do older Cameras.
jim

[Nesster]

As long as the camera doesn't run Windows, it should last. Some of the switches and things may turn intermittent, the batteries may become obsolete and unobtainable, but unless in environmentally hazardous conditions, the circuits themselves should be ok for the long run.

My ZX-10 and my Fuji F10 both developed switch problems at the same time: the concentric turn to swoggle kind of switch (circular motion) on both is kaput. The ZX-10 works in one direction but hardly in the other; the F10 is stuck in Auto mode regardless of setting the switch.

In old mechanical cameras, the things that may go wrong are mechanically correctable (new lube etc). All of my cameras from the '30s are still going strong.

In the modern SLR era, it's the batteries that corrode or go obsolete, sometimes the meter mechanicals or resistors go bad, and in the early integrated circuit cameras, when the circuits go you may be out of luck.

[stewart_photo]

(snip) The question remains do DSLR's not last as long as the old mechanical SLR's and Rangefinders (Leica)....???

Since digital cameras are virtually tethered to ever changing computer technology, you're digital camera will certainly be obsolete long before it's film equivalent (a few years versus decades for the latter). Thus, your quesion regarding hardware inside the camera really isn't something to be all that concerned about.

stewart

[alohadave]

<i>The question remains do DSLR's not last as long as the old mechanical SLR's and Rangefinders (Leica)....??? </i>

The real question should be how many of these vintage cameras are still around after 40 years? How many and what percentage didn't survive for whatever reason?

[lesmore49]

<i>The question remains do DSLR's not last as long as the old mechanical SLR's and Rangefinders (Leica)....??? </i>

The real question should be how many of these vintage cameras are still around after 40 years? How many and what percentage didn't survive for whatever reason?

I don't think that's the question (I'm the original Poster). Many of us have old mechanical cameras....myself included...I listed then and the number of years I've had them and used them. They're still working. We don't need to know how many Pentax S1a's bought in the '60's are still around and working. We would never find out and trying to would be an exercise in frustration. But what I do know is that all my old mechanical cameras from the '50's, '60's, '70's and '80's are still alive an clicking...

I wonder if my DSLR Pentax will still be around in 39 years....I probably won't...but will my son be using my K10D...if he wishes.....will it function as well then as it does now ?

I know about all those outside factors such as technology will change, I'll want something else, etc.....but will the K10D still work ?

[pingflood]

<i>The question remains do DSLR's not last as long as the old mechanical SLR's and Rangefinders (Leica)....??? </i>

The real question should be how many of these vintage cameras are still around after 40 years? How many and what percentage didn't survive for whatever reason?

Good point, most cameras that old which are still in use are "survivors". Who knows, for every SRT101 still working fine, there might be 99 broken ones.

[OregonJim]

I know about all those outside factors such as technology will change, I'll want something else, etc.....but will the K10D still work ?

I think that's an unanswerable question due to the relatively young age of the technology. Remember, even the personal computer itself is still less than 30 years old!

The bigger question, assuming your K10D is still around in 30 years (and you can still get batteries for it), is whether or not there will be any software that still understands the image format.

[Mike Cash]

Good point, most cameras that old which are still in use are "survivors". Who knows, for every SRT101 still working fine, there might be 99 broken ones.

And we will never know what proportion just got thrown into a drawer or a long-forgotten box in the attic after upgrading to a newer body. Just as we can never know what proportion of the much-touted "24 million lenses" our Pentax cameras are compatible with are still in use....or actually even exist anymore.

[Nesster]

For that matter, how many 10 year old pc's and mac's are still usable?