Shutter Actuations

Simply put, a shutter actuation is how many times the shutter has been fired on a particular camera. If you look up shutter actuations on the internet, all kinds of information is available about this subject. In trying to decipher all of this information, the question is, what is relevant and accurate? The relevance of knowing how many times the shutter has been fired on a particular camera is so that you can get an idea how much it has been used. For example, when purchasing a used car, you look at the odometer reading to determine how many miles it has been driven. Sounds logical, but is it an accurate way of determining how much a digital SLR has been fired?

Before I answer this question, I’ll give a little background information… Shutter actuations predate DSLR’s, but was previously not much of an issue. Digital technology has allowed consumers to fire camera shutters more frequently. Because of the expense of developing film and making prints, the shutter was simply not fired as much on film cameras. Now that a consumer can fire a shot, look at the image immediately, and delete the image if they choose, shutters are fired 10 fold (or more) than their predecessors.

Shutter actuation count ratings are usually available on the internet for many DSLR’s. Just type in your camera model and search for the actuation count rating. An example is the Nikon D3. The shutter in this camera is rated for 300,000 shutter actuations. That doesn’t mean the shutter will fail within one or two shots past the rating. It’s just an average or guideline.

So, in light of these facts, KEH does not give out shutter actuations when selling used DSLR’s. All of our used equipment is tested before reselling it to a consumer. We give a 6 month, non-transferable warranty and a 14 day return period for the customer to return it if they are not happy with the camera. We also provide the availability of a 2 year MACK warranty for most of our DSLR’s.

Hopefully this will clear up some misinformation you may have previously read, and let you know what our policies here at KEH are in regards to shutter actuations.