Experienced photogs:~How many shots lifespan out of a Pentax DSLR

Iksobarg · 02-23-2012, 11:39 AM

I did a few searches and found nothing on the web and here on the forum so here goes...

Aside from being dropped or swimming (without the waterproof case) I like to have an idea of the typical (shot) lifespan of my Kx however I am interested in any kind of lifespan of other pentax dslrs.

1. Sooo, taking into account variance how many shots can I expect to take with my Kx before you-know-what happens?

I just got one with ~1400 and wasn't sure if this was a lot compared to new with zero.

2. Assuming my Kx has an uneventful life free of drops and swims what's most likely to be replaced when it gets there?

Philoslothical · 02-23-2012, 11:55 AM

Pentax DSLRs are rated for 100k shutter actuations. Other components aren't rated separately. It's reasonable to expect that kind of number, while acknowledging that there are many components that could possibly fail at some point in the camera's lifetime. A lot of it comes down to chance, like with any other piece of electronics.

We don't often see posts about shutter failure anyway, so I'm not sure it's the best metric. I have seen posts about sensor failures, mirror mechanism failures, bad circuit boards, bad aperture control mechanisms, but almost nothing about shutters. I still wouldn't worry about any of these happening. Pentax makes great cameras, and their failure rate seems low. Chances are you'll still be enjoying it by the time you want to get a newer model, and probably even after that if you keep it as a second body.

1400 clicks isn't much at all. Consider it almost new.

causey · 02-23-2012, 11:57 AM

Camera Shutter Life Database

TaoMaas · 02-23-2012, 11:58 AM

I don't know how many actuations our cameras have on them, but I've been shooting with a K10D for about 5 years now (bought new) and my wife has been using an istD that we bought used about 3 years ago. We've had no problems with either of them and both seem to have many years of life left in them. FYI, 1400 actuations is not very many.

**paulh** · 02-23-2012, 12:06 PM

You probably don't need to worry about it - chances are you'll upgrade your camera long before it gives up on you. I have a 9 yr old *istD, and a 5 yr old K100D, both with 20k+ shots, and neither of them show any sign of quitting. At 1400 shots, your K-x isn't even broken-in yet

HenrikDK · 02-23-2012, 12:44 PM

Originally posted by causey

Camera Shutter Life Database

Wow - Over a million shutter releases on many of these cameras!

OP: I sold a K-x after little over a year with about 8k actuations on it. I will exceed 10k with my K-5 very shortly after 9 months. So your camera is (as others have said) brand new! I just bought a K-x with 3k actuations and I would consider that extremely low shutter count.

I think the biggest problem with high shutter count is resale value - you will defintely get a premium for low (<10k?) shutter actuationms. Once you get over 15 to 20k it seems resale price suffers. Nothing scientific, but just watching prices. Most of those cameras would have PLENTY of life left, as long as they have not been abused

noblepa · 02-23-2012, 02:15 PM

1400 is practically brand new. Many people report brand-new, sealed-box cameras with 200-300 out of the box. Pentax apparently activates the shutter a couple of hundred times during production, as part of their quality assurance.

Don't worry about it. As someone else pointed out, any camera with less than 10,000 actuations is probably worth a slight premium. Your camera, with 1400 is like buying a three year old car with 5,000 miles on it; a little more than broken in.

ducdao · 02-23-2012, 02:26 PM

Have a look at this thread. https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-dslr-discussion/25564-pentax-shutter-count-up.html

Agreed with others that 1400 is basically new.

Alizarine · 02-23-2012, 02:35 PM

got pas 16,000 clicks after a year owning my K-x without any probs, tho the shutter button is somewhat getting sticky..

I agree with the others, 1400 clicks is still like having owned it for just a week.

Even if you did 10,000 shots a year, or even 20,000 - that's still 10 or 5 years before the "claimed number" can be reached. You probably have a new camera body by then. So yeah, if I upgrade to a K-7 or K-5, even if the thing had 30,000 clicks on it, I'd buy that since it will probably have a lot lesser value by then.

westmill · 02-23-2012, 02:42 PM

LOL errrrrr I take that many pics every wk lol
I have a therory that none use causes more harm than heavy use !

RonHendriks1966 · 02-23-2012, 02:48 PM

Well with my K-5's (I have two but used 4 different body since november 2010) I made 168.000 pictures now. So 1400 isn't much. Don't worry about it.

ducdao · 02-23-2012, 02:55 PM

Originally posted by RonHendriks1966

Well with my K-5's (I have two but used 4 different body since november 2010) I made 168.000 pictures now. So 1400 isn't much. Don't worry about it.

Wow that's a lot of pictures within 1.5 year. What is your keeper rate?

RonHendriks1966 · 02-23-2012, 03:33 PM

Originally posted by ducdao

Wow that's a lot of pictures within 1.5 year. What is your keeper rate?

Depending on your defenition for keeping for what purpose. I still have a few sets that I have to make a selection in. there are family snapshots, so I don't make the selection but my sister-in-law does. On other thing I make a selection of keeping 100 pictures (so sometimes a hard selection when I took a lot of pictures).

It's not about the numbers it is about the most important picture (to me). This is the one out of a set of 34.000 images (EC Waterfly).
Waterpolosters na thriller uitgeschakeld in Eindhoven | nufoto.nl | De laatste nieuwsfoto's zie je het eerst op NUfoto.nl!

**Ex Finn.** · 02-23-2012, 05:30 PM

I have shot 1200 shots in a single soccer game so 1400 is nothing, The difficult part was the fact that 97% were keepers, poor PC and HD.

**Lowell Goudge** · 02-23-2012, 05:40 PM

I am not sure this qualifies as real lifespan but I replaced the shutter, mirror and lens mount on my K10 after 10K operations and now at 16k the lens release and lockin mechanism has failed. The body can't lock lenses in place and the AF drive screw is recessed. Since I had already picked up a K7 (when the shutter failed) and a K5 (when the locking pin failed) the K10 is now an M42 body and still gets work (400+shots this week)

02-23-2012, 11:39 AM	#1
Iksobarg Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2012 Posts: 208	Experienced photogs:~How many shots lifespan out of a Pentax DSLR I did a few searches and found nothing on the web and here on the forum so here goes... Aside from being dropped or swimming (without the waterproof case) I like to have an idea of the typical (shot) lifespan of my Kx however I am interested in any kind of lifespan of other pentax dslrs. 1. Sooo, taking into account variance how many shots can I expect to take with my Kx before you-know-what happens? I just got one with ~1400 and wasn't sure if this was a lot compared to new with zero. 2. Assuming my Kx has an uneventful life free of drops and swims what's most likely to be replaced when it gets there?

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02-23-2012, 11:55 AM	#2
Philoslothical Veteran Member Join Date: May 2011 Posts: 1,889	Pentax DSLRs are rated for 100k shutter actuations. Other components aren't rated separately. It's reasonable to expect that kind of number, while acknowledging that there are many components that could possibly fail at some point in the camera's lifetime. A lot of it comes down to chance, like with any other piece of electronics. We don't often see posts about shutter failure anyway, so I'm not sure it's the best metric. I have seen posts about sensor failures, mirror mechanism failures, bad circuit boards, bad aperture control mechanisms, but almost nothing about shutters. I still wouldn't worry about any of these happening. Pentax makes great cameras, and their failure rate seems low. Chances are you'll still be enjoying it by the time you want to get a newer model, and probably even after that if you keep it as a second body. 1400 clicks isn't much at all. Consider it almost new.

02-23-2012, 11:57 AM	#3
causey Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Arlington, VA Photos: Albums Posts: 3,757	Camera Shutter Life Database

02-23-2012, 11:58 AM	#4
TaoMaas Pentaxian Join Date: May 2007 Location: Oklahoma City Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 3,574	I don't know how many actuations our cameras have on them, but I've been shooting with a K10D for about 5 years now (bought new) and my wife has been using an istD that we bought used about 3 years ago. We've had no problems with either of them and both seem to have many years of life left in them. FYI, 1400 actuations is not very many.

02-23-2012, 12:06 PM	#5
paulh Site Supporter Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: DFW Texas/Ventura County, CA Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 33,261	You probably don't need to worry about it - chances are you'll upgrade your camera long before it gives up on you. I have a 9 yr old *istD, and a 5 yr old K100D, both with 20k+ shots, and neither of them show any sign of quitting. At 1400 shots, your K-x isn't even broken-in yet

02-23-2012, 12:44 PM	#6
HenrikDK Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Charlotte, NC Photos: Gallery Posts: 386	Originally posted by causey Camera Shutter Life Database Wow - Over a million shutter releases on many of these cameras! OP: I sold a K-x after little over a year with about 8k actuations on it. I will exceed 10k with my K-5 very shortly after 9 months. So your camera is (as others have said) brand new! I just bought a K-x with 3k actuations and I would consider that extremely low shutter count. I think the biggest problem with high shutter count is resale value - you will defintely get a premium for low (<10k?) shutter actuationms. Once you get over 15 to 20k it seems resale price suffers. Nothing scientific, but just watching prices. Most of those cameras would have PLENTY of life left, as long as they have not been abused

02-23-2012, 02:15 PM	#7
noblepa Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Bay Village, Ohio USA Posts: 1,142	1400 is practically brand new. Many people report brand-new, sealed-box cameras with 200-300 out of the box. Pentax apparently activates the shutter a couple of hundred times during production, as part of their quality assurance. Don't worry about it. As someone else pointed out, any camera with less than 10,000 actuations is probably worth a slight premium. Your camera, with 1400 is like buying a three year old car with 5,000 miles on it; a little more than broken in.

02-23-2012, 02:26 PM	#8
ducdao Pentaxian Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Montreal/Vermont Posts: 2,160	Have a look at this thread. https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-dslr-discussion/25564-pentax-shutter-count-up.html Agreed with others that 1400 is basically new.

02-23-2012, 02:35 PM	#9
Alizarine Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Manila Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,185	got pas 16,000 clicks after a year owning my K-x without any probs, tho the shutter button is somewhat getting sticky.. I agree with the others, 1400 clicks is still like having owned it for just a week. Even if you did 10,000 shots a year, or even 20,000 - that's still 10 or 5 years before the "claimed number" can be reached. You probably have a new camera body by then. So yeah, if I upgrade to a K-7 or K-5, even if the thing had 30,000 clicks on it, I'd buy that since it will probably have a lot lesser value by then.

02-23-2012, 02:42 PM	#10
westmill Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Stoke on Trent Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,146	LOL errrrrr I take that many pics every wk lol I have a therory that none use causes more harm than heavy use !

02-23-2012, 02:48 PM	#11
RonHendriks1966 Banned Join Date: Jan 2009 Photos: Gallery Posts: 9,675	Well with my K-5's (I have two but used 4 different body since november 2010) I made 168.000 pictures now. So 1400 isn't much. Don't worry about it.

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02-23-2012, 02:55 PM	#12
ducdao Pentaxian Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Montreal/Vermont Posts: 2,160	Originally posted by RonHendriks1966 Well with my K-5's (I have two but used 4 different body since november 2010) I made 168.000 pictures now. So 1400 isn't much. Don't worry about it. Wow that's a lot of pictures within 1.5 year. What is your keeper rate?

02-23-2012, 03:33 PM	#13
RonHendriks1966 Banned Join Date: Jan 2009 Photos: Gallery Posts: 9,675	Originally posted by ducdao Wow that's a lot of pictures within 1.5 year. What is your keeper rate? Depending on your defenition for keeping for what purpose. I still have a few sets that I have to make a selection in. there are family snapshots, so I don't make the selection but my sister-in-law does. On other thing I make a selection of keeping 100 pictures (so sometimes a hard selection when I took a lot of pictures). It's not about the numbers it is about the most important picture (to me). This is the one out of a set of 34.000 images (EC Waterfly). Waterpolosters na thriller uitgeschakeld in Eindhoven \| nufoto.nl \| De laatste nieuwsfoto's zie je het eerst op NUfoto.nl!

02-23-2012, 05:30 PM	#14
Ex Finn. Site Supporter Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Southern Maryland. Espoo. Kouvola. Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 7,975	I have shot 1200 shots in a single soccer game so 1400 is nothing, The difficult part was the fact that 97% were keepers, poor PC and HD.

02-23-2012, 05:40 PM	#15
Lowell Goudge Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Toronto Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 17,886	I am not sure this qualifies as real lifespan but I replaced the shutter, mirror and lens mount on my K10 after 10K operations and now at 16k the lens release and lockin mechanism has failed. The body can't lock lenses in place and the AF drive screw is recessed. Since I had already picked up a K7 (when the shutter failed) and a K5 (when the locking pin failed) the K10 is now an M42 body and still gets work (400+shots this week)