30D longevity?

Hello Everyone!

I am seriously thinking of upgrading from my S3 to a 30D. I'm thinking of making the jump because the 30D is coming down in price.

My question is.....How long can I expect a new 30D to last me? Not technology wise, but mechanically. I am only an occasional photographer, so I don't take many pictures. Assuming Canon can fix it if and when it needs to be, I don't think there is any reason why it shouldn't last me many, many years? I'm not certain how old the XT is, but there are still many people on this forum who still use them.

I guess that I'm just worried I'm going to shell out ~ $950 for a camera that is only going to last me a few years. I guess that if Canon can fix it if it breaks, it will last me a long time.

Thanks so much!

Well, the shutter is guaranteed for 100,000 shots - that's a LOT for occasional use!

Other than routine maintenance, i.e. cleaning I can't see why it would last for years. To be honest you'll probably want to upgrade before it lets you down.

snatiep wrote in post #3916457
...I don't think there is any reason why it shouldn't last me many, many years?

Nope, there isn't.

It's built well and should, all things being equal, outlast your S3. Now's a great time to pick up a 30D.

Well ive had my 30D for a year now still shoots the exact same as when i got it. I shoot quite a bit. The first six months i had it i was shooting paintball photography using the rapid fire style shooting.(multi-frame shooting) On the canons site they tell you how many times the shutter can be used until it starts to "break" and its in the 100,000s + range ive shot about 6000 shots.(which is low i think for shooting for a year.)

Canon say an average of 100.000 exposures. For some this would be little, for me it's like 10 years or more, at my rate of shooting. By that time I'd be bored of it and buy a new one anyway.

burchy wrote in post #3916482
Well, the shutter is guaranteed for 100,000 shots - that's a LOT for occasional use!

Other than routine maintenance, i.e. cleaning I can't see why it would last for years. To be honest you'll probably want to upgrade before it lets you down.

i don't think that's correct. the camera is guaranteed for a year. 100k clicks means 1k to 250k or something like that...it's not a guarantee.

my 5d shutter went out in about 15k clicks.

i've heard that canon does not have some parts for the 10d....and the 10d was released, what, 5-6 years ago?

ed rader

I went from an S2 to a 30D, and I'm happy I did!

Well I hope they last....I'm just about to get one!

IMHO it still takes sharper pics than the 40D.

Thanks for the posts. If I do decide to get one, I plan on using it for many years. I don't have to have the latest and greatest. So as long as Canon can repair the 30D, It should last me for a long time. Look at the people still using the original Rebel XT.

Thanks for any more thoughts!

I own a consumer electronics repair center. What I have found with many electronic devices, IE: Camcorders, DVD players, receivers, amps, digital projectors, etc. is that they may last and be perfect mechanically but there are components that just go bad. I don't work on DSLR's so I have no insight specifically. A major failure is surface mounted capacitors. They have been using a fish oil liquid instead of PCBs since some environmental issues were discovered about 10 plus years ago. The oil breaks down the seals in the capacitors and leaks onto the circuit boards causing corrosion which if left unchecked will become non-reparable. This is never discovered until a model is about 5-7 years old and by then it's too late, replacement parts are not available, damage repair exceeds value of the item etc. By the time you start having problems it is already probably too late. I hope this does not turn out to be the case with Canon gear but wherever little capacitors live there is the potential. BTW, it does not matter if the item is used every day or in the box on a shelf, if it's going to happen it will just the same. Hope I did not ruin anyone's sleep.

I went from sd550 to s3 to 30d. The 30d kicks butt. Start with the 50mm f1.8 and then decide which lenses to get. SO far I have the 50mm f1.8, 28mm f1.8, 100mm f2.8 macro and the 100-400.