While the CameraShutterCount website is convenient you may be unable to use it (because your manufacturer is unsupported) or you may not wish to use it (because you don’t want to share any image data with a third party). Watching the shutter slam open and closed in slow motion really emphasizes how much abuse such a tiny and delicate part really endures. In the video below you can see how the mirror swings up out of the way, and the shutter opens and closes to allow light to land on the digital sensor. In theory, this makes them less prone to failure. Mirrorless cameras are even simpler - they only have a moving shutter. Between the two of these devices the mechanical shutter is radically more delicate and prone to failure over the life of the camera.
In a DSLR, the two largest (and most important) moving parts are the main reflex mirror (the mirror that allows you to look through the lens from the viewfinder and that swings up and out of the way when you take the photo) and the shutter. What is a Good Shutter Count for a Used Camera?ĭigital Single-Reflex Lens (DSLR) and mirrorless cameras, like the SLR cameras they replaced, have very few moving parts.
