Questions on shutter mechanism replacement

I have a basic question on shutter mechanism replacement. Camera body specifications normally state that the shutter durability is x thousand cycles. My questions are:

- What are the symptoms of a shutter that is reaching its "end of life"? Does the shutter jam up, or behave erratically, etc?
- Can the shutter mechanism be replaced or repaired? At what % cost of a new body?

Thanks for the inputs!

Symptoms of shutter failure can range from light bands across the frame at high shutter speeds to shutter blades detaching or the camera throwing an Error99 or just not turning on.

Cost depends on the body and if any other work needs to be done - on very high use 1 series bodies Canon will often replace the mirror box as well, adding considerably to the cost.

mrmarks wrote in post #13736761
- What are the symptoms of a shutter that is reaching its "end of life"? Does the shutter jam up, or behave erratically, etc?

Typically, it's fine one minute, and then the next shot the camera dies and won't take any more shots. That's what happened to me - the last shot had the shutter blades in it, and then the camera would take no more pictures.

mrmarks wrote in post #13736761
- Can the shutter mechanism be replaced or repaired? At what % cost of a new body?

Yes. I think mine cost about £140 on my 450D, which is I guess about 25% of what I paid new for it.

Dont worry about shutter dieing. It is like people who worry about dieing everyday and never go out to live their life. It will happen when it happens. When it happens, then you can worry about if it is more economical to repair or replace the camera.

The shutter will work fine one minute and die the next. There is no symptoms to tell that it is "on its way out". When you see it "'on its way out", its as good as dead. Shutters overall are pretty durable. Most of the time, when it happens, you will have gotten your full money worth out of the camera by then.

Yes, it can be replaced either by Canon or a camera shop. You should be able to find a local shop to do the work for less than Canon, I've seen reports of a 50% savings.
Replace it when it's impacting IQ (severe banding) or it fails.

Yep, usually there will be no warning signs,
It will be fine one one frame and gone the next.
Shutters will cry enough at any count.
I've heard of them lasting until around 300k plus (have no evidence of proof. Just anecdotal) and heard of them throwing in the towel at 30k or less (again just anecdotal, so no proof).
It's just luck of the draw and there is nothing you can do about it. Nothing.
Don't lose any sleep over the actuation count - you will drive yourself stir crazy.
Just use it, use it, use it. Expect that at some stage the shutter will die. It is a fact of life.
I've done three in various bodies.
The average user will have probably upgraded to a different body before it has a chance for the shutter to let go.

Often they will drop a blade and this is what you will see.
My 1D MkII in February 2010 after 187,737 frames

philwillmedia wrote in post #13738568
and heard of them throwing in the towel at 30k or less (again just anecdotal, so no proof).

Yep, mine went at 21K... just a few weeks out of warranty, typically enough...

How do you check the number of shutter cycles? Is there a service menu you can access?

mrmarks wrote in post #13740099
How do you check the number of shutter cycles? Is there a service menu you can access?

Depending on the body, you an try to use "EOS INFO" or "1D Count". Only worry about shutter count WHEN you are making the purchase of a camera body. Not after. If you already have it, just use it and have fun.

Its kinda like dieing yourself. You never know when you are going to die. You can live until you are 105years old, you can die tomorrow. Do you stop your life and stay inside the house because you know that one day you WILL die, you just dont know when? Live your life up and use your camera. Dont worry about it.

I once had a 50D, which I babied very much. It was the first new camera I bought. I choose to use other bodies mostly because I loved this one and was 'saving' it. A year later, I was upgrading and decided to sell it. I realized i only put 1200 shots on it and I never got to REALLY use it. I learned dearly from that. Dont worry about shutter count, just enjoy taking pictures.

mrmarks wrote in post #13736761
- What are the symptoms of a shutter that is reaching its "end of life"? Does the shutter jam up, or behave erratically, etc?
- Can the shutter mechanism be replaced or repaired? At what % cost of a new body?

as folks above have mentioned, shutters seem to just work fine, until they don't.

Occasionally you hear of different symptoms
- either dark or light banding across the frame on a slight tilt is the classic "leaf has broken"
- Error 99 (camera can't work out what's wrong so gives generic message)
- Multiplereleaseing, i.e. shutter operating on it's own until battery removed.

either way, it's a case of if it ever happens to you then it's time to worry about it.

Cost seems to vary depending on where you live, the part itself is between US$50 for consumer models to around US$180 for the 1D series. Labour is probably around 3 hours work.

Before the shutter of my 5DII passed away, I got this kind of bright stripe on the side of the frame at high shutter speeds (this one is @1/8000) :