Simple way to determine shutter actuations on M Monochrom

[colint544]

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Hi guys,

 

After idly wondering for the past few years how to figure out the shutter count on my M Monochrome mk1, I finally did a little research. I found this excellent (i.e. very easy even for me to use) Leica app on the Leica Rumors site - https://leicarumors.com/2010/11/02/free-software-for-viewing-leica-m9-images-and-exif-data.aspx/

 

Dragged the most recent file I shot onto the app, and found that the shutter actuations on my camera number 36,950.

 

Does anyone think that's a high number? I know that pro Nikon and Canon cameras are over-engineered, and their shutters are designed to exceed 250,000 but the M9/M Monochrom mk 1, I think, is not designed for that kind of high mileage. Leica were kind enough to replace my sensor last year (for free), and I just wonder how many more useful years are left on the shutter of my cherished camera.

 

Anyway, if you've ever wondered about your shutter count, do get the app - it's incredibly simple to use.

 

Best wishes all,

 

Colin

Edited May 3, 2017 by colint544

[a.noctilux]

Hello,

 

With Monochrom (M9 base), there are many ways to find out shutter actuations

some are describe in this link:

http://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/269645-how-to-actually-display-shutter-actuations-on-m9-m9-p-m-e/

 

Your MM almost 37k count is average for M9 and co

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[Herr Barnack]

Given the age of your camera, 36,950 does not seem to be a high count.  When I got my M-P 240 a couple of years ago, I started a log book to keep track of my shooting habits.  So far I have averaged around 1000 shots per month or a total of 24,000 and change.  In other words, I am active but I'm nowhere Garry Winogrand's monumental rate of image creation (but then who is?)

[jdlaing]

I do believe that count is exposures and not necessarily the shutter count.

I could be wrong.

[colint544]

I do believe that count is exposures and not necessarily the shutter count.

I could be wrong.

 

Thank you. Little unclear on what you mean. Wouldn't the number of exposures, and the shutter count be much the same thing? Surely every time the shutter is fired, an exposure of some kind (even a blank frame, if you've left the lens cap on) is made?

 

If there is some discrepancy between the two (for example, if you go around firing the shutter without a memory card in the camera), wouldn't the number of times the shutter is fired still be the best guide as to how heavily the camera has been used?

 

Might it not be easier, more likely, and more useful, for the camera to simply record the number of clicks on the shutter, rather than account for times the shutter was fired with/without the memory card, and subtracting one from the other? If someone did just fire the shutter a lot without a memory card, and the camera didn't count those clicks, we'd be disappearing down the rabbit hole of confusion, as to how much a camera has really been used.

 

What would be the use of counting exposures, rather than the actual shutter count?

 

Or is there something I'm not getting here?

 

Thanks again,

 

Colin

[colint544]

Actually - I think I know what you mean. I've overthought it.

[fotografr]

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When the M8 was introduced, I heard unofficially that the shutters were engineered for 100,000 actuations. That has undoubtedly been improved with later models, including the original M Monochrom. In any event, if the shutter fails when the camera is out of warranty, it can be replaced at a cost far less than replacing the camera.

 

Before replacing your M Monochrom version 1, remember that you will likely never see a CCD version again.

Edited May 13, 2017 by fotografr

[colint544]

When the M8 was introduced, I heard unofficially that the shutters were engineered for 100,000 actuations. That has undoubtedly been improved with later models, including the original M Monochrom. In any event, if the shutter fails when the camera is out of warranty, it can be replaced at a cost far less than replacing the camera.

Before replacing your M Monochrom version 1, remember that you will likely never see a CCD version again.

Thank you. I could never be parted from my M Mono mk1. Close to five years I've had it and I've never run up against its limits. The quality of the files it outputs still astonishes me.

[fotografr]

I recently bought a MM Version 1 which was advertised as having a shutter count of 750. I was skeptical, but bought it anyway and it appeared to be like new. After using it for a few weeks I did a search to find out how to determine the shutter counts and came across this thread. After downloading the app and dragging my latest dng file into it, I was very pleased to see a shutter count of 2010. There can't be too many MM1 cameras around with a shutter count that low. It also has the latest sensor (53) so should be free of the defect that plagued the M9 series.

Thanks for the info! Colin, my opinion about the image quality of the MM1 coincides with yours. Namely that it is due to the CCD sensor that now belongs to a bygone era.

[kuad82001]

I just checked mine....25598

Thanks for the info. 

Grateful

 

 

[AceVentura1986]

The estimated shutter life is just that: an estimate. A shutter with a mean lifespan of 100,000 results in 1/2 of all shutters failing before that number. My old Canon 1Ds2 had a shutter rated at 200,000 but failed at about 50,000. My M8 failed at about the same number, too. The good news, tho, is that for every early failure havre must necessarily also be a corresponding shutter with a longer lifespan than the manufacturer’s rating. 

Anyway, I wouldn’t make too much of this. All shutters fail, just like all hard drives.