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timmciglobal · Oct 17, 2004, 10:14 PM

I was wondering, I just bought a new rebel. How long can I expect it to work well assuming no abuse? What goes first? Are they repairable?

Thanks,

Tim

Greg Chappell · Oct 17, 2004, 11:52 PM

I don't think you can nail down a for-sure number on that. Too many things are taken into the calculation.

I bought a Digital Rebel in January & have around 9,000 images taken & it's as good as new today & still looks new. I would imagine around 50,000 clicks is a good general number on the shutter life, although some will go well beyond that number and some lemons or bodies subjected to more wear & tear will last less time. There are a lot of consumer film SLR cameras from the 1970's still in good working order that have far outlasted what their original intended life was supposed to be. I imagine that will be the case with digital SLR's as well because so many of them are discarded with much if not most of their useful life left everytime an upgrade is announced. You will probably look to upgrade long before your camera's shutter or any other part quits working.

50,000 clicks is like shooting 1,389 rolls of 36 exposure film. Put into another vein, if you shot one 36 exposure roll of film EVERY day it would take 3 years to take that many rolls. I also bought a 10D a month ago, meaning my Digital Rebel is not being used as often. I fully expect to have mine at least 3-5 years.

Of course they are repairable! Canon is still making them and you got a one-year warranty with yours. Canon will be obligated to repair them for some time after they are discontinued. I think the current laws say you have to offer repairs up to 7 years after a product is discontinued, so that should not be a concern.

Setiprime · Oct 18, 2004, 7:56 AM

Kind of echoing Gregs comments- If a manufacturer puts out a product and expects sales in the hundreds of thousand units - common sense would dictate that it will be quite durable. The risk is too great not to provide a solid reliable unit. Word travels VERY fast in the camera community (worldwide). Example: the recent 20D firmware upgrade !

I fully expect and am confident that my 7000+shotRebel will still be functioning for several more years.

Canon is rather unique in that they manufacture all of their own components or have strict control of all phases of the products lines. This is a core product for them, so to intentionally turn out a shoddy product would be extremely damaging to them.

It's not because they like us so much - it is just raw economics !!

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Oct 17, 2004, 10:14 PM	#1
timmciglobal Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 4	I was wondering, I just bought a new rebel. How long can I expect it to work well assuming no abuse? What goes first? Are they repairable? Thanks, Tim

Oct 17, 2004, 11:52 PM	#2
Greg Chappell Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Dallas, Texas USA Posts: 6,589	I don't think you can nail down a for-sure number on that. Too many things are taken into the calculation. I bought a Digital Rebel in January & have around 9,000 images taken & it's as good as new today & still looks new. I would imagine around 50,000 clicks is a good general number on the shutter life, although some will go well beyond that number and some lemons or bodies subjected to more wear & tear will last less time. There are a lot of consumer film SLR cameras from the 1970's still in good working order that have far outlasted what their original intended life was supposed to be. I imagine that will be the case with digital SLR's as well because so many of them are discarded with much if not most of their useful life left everytime an upgrade is announced. You will probably look to upgrade long before your camera's shutter or any other part quits working. 50,000 clicks is like shooting 1,389 rolls of 36 exposure film. Put into another vein, if you shot one 36 exposure roll of film EVERY day it would take 3 years to take that many rolls. I also bought a 10D a month ago, meaning my Digital Rebel is not being used as often. I fully expect to have mine at least 3-5 years. Of course they are repairable! Canon is still making them and you got a one-year warranty with yours. Canon will be obligated to repair them for some time after they are discontinued. I think the current laws say you have to offer repairs up to 7 years after a product is discontinued, so that should not be a concern.

Oct 18, 2004, 7:56 AM	#3
Setiprime Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Posts: 484	Kind of echoing Gregs comments- If a manufacturer puts out a product and expects sales in the hundreds of thousand units - common sense would dictate that it will be quite durable. The risk is too great not to provide a solid reliable unit. Word travels VERY fast in the camera community (worldwide). Example: the recent 20D firmware upgrade ! I fully expect and am confident that my 7000+shotRebel will still be functioning for several more years. Canon is rather unique in that they manufacture all of their own components or have strict control of all phases of the products lines. This is a core product for them, so to intentionally turn out a shoddy product would be extremely damaging to them. It's not because they like us so much - it is just raw economics !!