Recently my trusted Nikon d700 felt it needed a rest. The camera’s shutter is rated for 150,000 clicks. I’ve put this poor camera through the mill taking 149,652 photos over the years. The shutter needs to be replaced at a cost of about $200.00. Not bad, but it maybe time for a new camera.
This got me thinking. How many images did I take at the several FREE sporting events I shot or the many, many, many FREE photo shoots I’ve done? If I hadn’t volunteered for these shoots, would my d700 still have life? Yes, but honestly I choose to do those non-paying shoots, I have no regrets. I’m not the type to put plastic covers on my couch so it will last longer. I like to use the things I have.
So how much did these free shoots cost me?
Let’s stick with a simple black and white answer. If we take the cost of the camera body when new; $2999.00 and divide it by the rated shutter life of 150,000 we come up with $0.02 cents per click. So that 2013 High School Lacrosse season where I took 10,170 photos cost me $203.04 and the 2014 season’s 17,439 photos cost me $348.78.
Digital isn’t free but it’s worth it
Before we stop volunteering for events or think twice about taking a shot, digital is still relatively inexpensive. If I repair my camera at $200.00, I’ll add that to my initial investment of $2999.00 for a total of $3199. My shutter count returns to zero giving me an additional 150,000 clicks for a total of 300,000. This brings the cost down to $0.01 cent per click. Great for a back up camera.
Budget in an equipment fee
My d700 did us a huge favor by dying. We took a look at our budget and reviewed the gear we use on a regular basis. Studio strobes, speedlights, pocket wizards and even gaff tape. We’ve started to add a fix cost of $125.00Â per shoot as an equipment fee. The fee is set aside for camera repairs and miscellaneous cost. The idea came to us after watching a video training course “Budgeting Video Projects” by Richard Harrington on Lynda.com. The same concepts for video applies to photographers.
Continue to take those shots and budget in for your next camera. Digital may not be free, but it’s well worth it!
Great article, though one thing is that by replacing your shutter you aren’t resetting your camera back to 0. You are merely resetting your shutter back to zero. The rest of the camera is still sitting towards the end of it’s lifespan, I’d be surprised if you can get another 150,000 frames out of it without more repairs.
I have to disagree with you Ryan, though the camera body may well be ‘older’ it’s by no means ready to be sent to Kodachrome Heaven, sakes… there are plenty of the original Nikon F out there that STILL work perfectly… like any good tool, a little maintenance now and then is all that’s required.
Good article… though it got me thinking of the non-digital days…
let see (and assume these are all estimates)
6.00 for a 24 exposure roll of film
8.00 to get it processed
———
14.00 / 24 exposures = .60 per picture…
SO
The 2013 High School Lacrosse season where you took 10,170 pictures = $6,102 ish… ;)
… and digital wins :-)
So true!
Not really a valid comparison… I don’t know anybody silly enough to shoot 10,170 pictures FOR FREE and ON FILM. But you have a point, the main reason why nobody would do that is indeed the cost of it.
When I used slide film (1998- 2004)it was Kodak VS $10Can each 36 roll, if I bought a brick, which I did. It also cost me $10Can to get the slides developed. Then I needed a Nikon Scanner to scan the slide to the computer. Then Photoshop 6.0 cost me $1000 in the days like now, that our dollar paled in value to the US$. I am very happy with the Nikon D4 for wildlife, and the Nikon 810 for landscape. Throw in some Sony mirrorless to carry less weight for landscape. Converted my Nex-6 to color infrared to get… Read more »
There is one factor that I haven’t seen and that is the total of what you learned while doing all those ‘free’ shoots. Learning curves aren’t flat but bumpy. You learn different things in different environment and sometimes those things you learn can be used in multiple places. just think, all those free shoots were actually ‘free instruction’. You can’t place an accurate price on the things you learn that saves you future errors.
Great insight. The only time I felt it was a waste of time, both from the learning sense and financial benefit, was when I wasn’t having fun or learning something new. At that point I usually took on an intern and used the time to develop my teaching skills.
Thanks for the comment!
Interns… zomg, that is brilliant! Haha, I should start doing that!
Excellent article. I was shooting at a church event and of course I didn’t charge them for taking pictures. But this one lady came up to me after the event and wanted to know if we were related. Anyway, after finding out our family tree, she has an event that she does every year and she hasn’t had much luck finding good photographers. She wanted to know if I would shoot her event for free and if I knew anyone else that could help. I must have been caught up in the family tree/church event/kumbaya feeling that I said I… Read more »
I feel for you. Tell her the shoot is free, but you need to charge for an “Equipment Fee” to cover the cost of your gear. That way you give her a chance to back out or pay the fee…
let me know how it goes
Can you possibly do a quick edit on this, so the math actually works? Please change .02 cents per click to either “$0.02 per click” or “2 cents per click”, and similar for the .01 cents per click examples. If you say .02 cents per click, that means it’s 50 clicks for one penny, whereas the corrected 2 cents per click means it’s 50 clicks for a dollar, and that’s a lot different.
$200.00 / 150000=$0.00133333
So .02 cents per click is right.
Peter was fixing the way I wrote 2 cents. The math is right, the way I wrote.02 then added cents to the end of it was not proper. adding the $ to 0.02 or just typing 2 cents would work. Either way we get the point :)
Peter,
I fixed the math! I’m glad you caught it and not Sister Paula my 4th grade teacher :)
Thanks for catching that
Well that begs a question – for a newbie buying their first camera, is it worth it to by a used one then? If replacing the shutter costs, say half of what the used purchase price is, would buying new better?
Missy good question. It’s hard buying used gear unless you know the person you’re buying it from or the company. You can ask for a shutter count and see how many photos were taken. I did buy the D700 used from a close friend who hardly used the camera. It served me well for years. My D810 ia new. Since we bought it a week ago, we found there is already a recall. Buying new means you know for sure if maintenance and recalls were handled. Last advice… it’s better to invest in high quality lens than the camera when… Read more »
Reblogged this on garyjimenez's Blog and commented:
In the digital world it is easy to click away, throwing shutter clicks away like they are nothing. Protect your not only your gear but your future as well.
The discussion of shutter life cycles brings up my question about how you go about checking how many shutter cycles any particular used camera has. I want to make the jump from film to digital on a budget to learn the ins and outs before I spend thousands for equipment. I’m looking at a Canon Rebel XT. How do I find out what the shutter cycle life is?
So camera shutters do die at their said actuation? :(
Perhaps it’s okay for professionals like you because you can afford another camera/replace the shutter. But for us amateurs, it somehow becomes a big deal. I often think of shooting less because I have an entry level camera with less shutter actuation. And when it reaches the number, the shutter replacement isn’t going to be worth the money. I’ll have to buy a new camera. Thoughts like that often make me want to spend less time shooting for practicing.
Great Observation!
LR presets can work here too but I want a Global preset that will automatically be applied based on my camera too. If I switch from the D810 doing portraits to the D710 (hopefully soon) for sports, LR applies my global change making it faster to import plus one less step
What do you mainly shoot.
I mainly shoot portraits. But due to myself being an introvert I know very small number of people. So most of the time I don’t have a subject to shoot. I like taking landscape shots but I have a hard time finding a subject/composition. I mean, it’s out of my comfort zone, if you will. I like shooting portraits. I’m not best at it, and it has its challenges (how the model wants to look doesn’t always match how I want them to look :P ), still I enjoy doing portraits. Other than that I work as a part time… Read more »
I wrote an article “How to Talk to Strangers” and “How to Find a Model” check them out
https://photofocus.com/2014/09/21/talkingtostrangers/
Join Photofocus on Facebook and upload some of your photos I would love to see them. Tag me so I know when you do.. If you have questions on anything feel free to ask! The respect you have for your camera and photography is brings a smile to my face
Thanks. I didn’t find any group named Photofocus to join on Facebook. There’s only a Facebook page. I ‘Liked’ the page anyway. I also crawled back to your site and then to your Facebook profile. Hope it is okay add you to my list. :)
Yes , join that page
Exactly! Now before you stop photographing family events and they show up on my doorstep asking for my head, 150,000 photos is a lot. Remember I shoot 9 frames per second for sports using only 1 image. Plus I’m really hard on my gear, shooting in the rain and mud. Your camera should last a long time. This is helpful if you buy a used camera.
Thanks for your response! I take very good care of my gadgets (laptop. phone, camera, etc). And I love my camera so much that I cannot think being without a camera (though I do not shoot that much in comparison to how much I love). And that’s one reason why I’m afraid of shooting unplanned (like street, nature, random portraits, etc). If my camera stops working because of me taking too many pictures, I don’t know if I can buy another one (depending on the financial situation of that time). It is another reason why I don’t keep my camera… Read more »