Importance of shutter count

[Louis Champan]

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I'm considering the purchase of my first Leica the Q and have a used one lined up from a private seller, it's less than one year old but I don't know the shutter count. How important is a low shutter count and is there a published shutter life count?

Thanks

[jaapv]

There is no way to know the shutter count. It is a rather meaningless number anyway, as the camera will activate the shutter for various reasons, it might have been used on electronic shutter, for video, etc. It is reasonable to assume that heavy use will have left marks, so if the camera is in good cosmetic condition, there is not much cause for worry. 

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[beez]

^ I agree. Shutter actuation counts are more important for focal plane shutters, as they have a lot more moving parts that endure a lot of stress. The main shutter in the Q is a leaf shutter - there's less moving parts, and a lot less stress on the parts that do move. Leaf shutters are close to bulletproof. I still have an extensive 6x6 film Hasselblad kit from the 1970s - all the shutters are leaf shutters in the lenses, theyv'e had thousands of actuations over the years, and perform like new. I had them checked for accuracy about 10 years ago, and they're still perfect. I know a lot of folks with 4x5 and 8x10 leaf shutter lenses, and their experience is the same.

Edited May 19, 2018 by beez

[antigallican]

It would however be handy to set the shutter count. I have a q, an SL and an M9 and it would be great to have them on different series of numbers so I could see at a glance in, say, Lightroom, which picture came from which. Yes, I know you can reveal the info, but I’d like it at a glance.