How many shots from a single camera?

[chisnpeke]

How many shots can you get from a single point and shoot camera before it starts to fail? I have a Canon A560 that I got in December 2007 and it has 5,000 to 6,000 shots taken on it. It still works but I am going on a cruise in September and want to make sure that it will be ok since I anticipate taking around 2,000 pictures on the trip.

Is there a limit to the number of shots a camera typically has in its lifetime?

 

[zackiedawg]

P&S cameras don't have any specific time limit on them - it's just down to wear and tear of the parts. However, I think you are very very far from any worries on the camera life based on the number of shots you've taken. I had taken over 10,000 shots on my Sony DSC-H5 ultrazoom when I gave it to my stepfather 3 years ago, and he's still using it for about 200-500 shots per cruise, 4-6 cruises per year. My last DSLR was well over 35,000 clicks over 2 years and still working fine when I sold it to a friend...and my current DSLR is already well past 15,000 clicks in 6 months. DSLRs tend to be more sensitive to the number of shots because of the wear on the mechanical shutter and mirror mechanism flipping around...something P&S cameras don't have to worry about.

Most likely, your camera will eventually fail from damage, body wear, sensor/electronics failure, or any number of other reasons before it will fail because of the number of shots you took - so don't worry about it!

 

[GrillMouster]

Every camera has a rolling counter inside that tells you exactly how many pictures it has left; It looks like an odometer. On some cameras you can shine a light in the battery compartment and see it. If you can't see it there, then you can open up the camera (you need a tiny screwdriver) and find it inside. I cracked open my old Canon point-and-shoot and the counter said it had 1,000 pictures left. Unfortunately, I broke the camera when I opened it up. I hope you're not buying this.

Zackiedawg was right on.

 

[plyeng2ff]

My Kodak P & S camera had 11000 pictures taken on it and the only reason I bought I new camera was I notice the LCD was starting to fade a little. Second reason was I am going to Alaska next year and I use that as a reason to get a new camera and the wife said OK.

 

[MICKEY88]

Every camera has a rolling counter inside that tells you exactly how many pictures it has left; It looks like an odometer. On some cameras you can shine a light in the battery compartment and see it. If you can't see it there, then you can open up the camera (you need a tiny screwdriver) and find it inside. I cracked open my old Canon point-and-shoot and the counter said it had 1,000 pictures left. Unfortunately, I broke the camera when I opened it up. I hope you're not buying this.

Zackiedawg was right on.

sounds like you've been hanging around that Mark Guy too much...LOL

 

[GrillMouster]

sounds like you've been hanging around that Mark Guy too much...LOL

Now if only Barbieri's talent (and bank account numbers) would rub off on me, too!

 

[photo_chick]

There is a finite number of images a sensor can take before it's expected to fail. But those numbers are usually high enough that on a point and shoot, like said above, other parts start to fail long before it's a factor.

We're talking tens of thousands of images before you have to even think about it. A lot of other stuff can, and will, go wrong before the average user hits 30 or 50 thousand images on one camera.

 

[chisnpeke]

You all have been very helpful! Thank you so much.

Looks like my camera will last for a few more years unless I drop it (fate of my last camera) or a similar fate.

 

[Shyvioletisme]

I've had my Kodak P&S since 2005 and it has gone on numerous vacations and regular everyday use(not sure the exact number of pictures taken, but let's just assume it's alot) and it is still working fine.

 

[FellowTraveller]

Late to the party, but...

I am on my 4th Sony point-and-shoot in about 10 years. Had about 3000 pictures on the first, maybe 13,000 pics on the second, a maybe 10 thousand on the 3rd and maybe 4000 pics on the current one (I always have a P&S in my pocket). The waterproof Fuji I bought recently went back after taking about 1400 pics in 20 days (some WDW, some home stuff) as it was a great yet nasty camera and had issues, design flaws and other problems.

(I've been sticking with Sony due to recording in raw MPEG-2 video rather than the proprietary Kodak/Nikon/Lumix/... video codecs. Now that hidef is the thing, I'll be moving on to the new format}

Having said that, I am far from a pro fotograffer and the wear-and-tear of carrying (and occasionally dropping, bumping and clunking) those cameras were what ended their life (one was replaced by Sony under warranty) and not actual wearing out of sensor components. The zoom drive motors and shutter and film-gate solenoids and switches and stuff tend to wear out after a few years especially as cheaper and cheaper materials are being made and especially with lower-end commodity gear. A well designed and well made DSLR should last decade(s) of near constant use as have some well worn film cameras.

The LCD screen has been cracked on my current one for about 16 months (the inside glass broke in my pocket the next day after I put a 'screen protector' on it). I but I can't bring myself to stop using it and have a big memory card in it and have memorized the display settings so I can switch modes and settings without a screen... lol

 

[seashoreCM]

Every camera has a rolling counter inside that tells you exactly how many pictures it has left; It looks like an odometer. On some cameras you can shine a light in the battery compartment and see it. If you can't see it there, then you can open up the camera (you need a tiny screwdriver) and find it inside.on.

You mean they go to the added expense of putting this component in every camera?

I would have thought that the picture counter would be just part of the software in the camera.

 

[zackiedawg]

You mean they go to the added expense of putting this component in every camera?
I would have thought that the picture counter would be just part of the software in the camera.

Take particular note of the very next sentence he threw in:
"I hope you're not buying this".

He was jesting. Just having a little fun!

 

[DisneyFairytale]

How many shots can you get from a single point and shoot camera before it starts to fail? I have a Canon A560 that I got in December 2007 and it has 5,000 to 6,000 shots taken on it. It still works but I am going on a cruise in September and want to make sure that it will be ok since I anticipate taking around 2,000 pictures on the trip.

Is there a limit to the number of shots a camera typically has in its lifetime?

Oh man, on my most of my disney trips, I take an average of about 1,000 pictures a day from the time we get up until late that night. Give or take a couple hundred from that.
Out of a huge amount of photos, only so many will turn out the way you want. I'm on those people where I honestly want to capture EVERYTHING. We can re-live what we went through when we go back at the hotel for the evening. I absolutely love photography