How long does shutter last ?

[Kodak35]

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Hallo,

i'm shooting 35mm film as my favourite hobby, i just want to try with digital Leica camera
i've got a deal with an M8u /shutter counts more than 55,000;

let 's say:

i shoot about 36-72 pics/day in everyday

i don't shoot in continous

the camera will be in Dry cabinet after shooting

im wondering how long does shutter last ? any dead case of M8 when turn it on after didn't use in long time ? 

thanks to everyone have experience with M8/ M8u/ M8.2 can share with me.
Cheers.

Edited December 3, 2021 by Kodak35

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[a.noctilux]

I have this old M8 shutter life, this link to... statistics

50/50 for me as my M8 needed shutter repair and my wife's M8 does not.

 

[JohnW.]

Impossible to say, the shutter could go for another 55,000 or it could fail the day after you get it.  Don't forget as an M8u the shutter has already been replaced/upgraded from the original M8 shutter, so the count on the current shutter could be much less than 55,000.

For example I purchased my M8 Christmas 2006. The original shutter failed 2012 with a shutter count of around 12,000.  It was returned to Leica and I had the option to replace the original shutter or have the M8.2 shutter fitted, I chose the 8.2.  The shutter count on this shutter is currently around 29,000.  It could last another 9 years or fail soon.

I'm not sure if Leica can still replace the shutter should it fail but a number of repairs can no longer be carried out as there are no parts.  eg: Sensor, LCD, certain circuit boards.

 Buying any digital camera over 15 years old is going to be 'pot luck, but if the price is right and you have a warranty I would probably take the risk.

 

[AceVentura1986]

My M8’s shutter failed at 20,000 shots. 

[Rangeman133]

I had an issue with my M8 shutter at around 7k shots or so. I'm not exactly sure, but it was a shutter jam or something. Sent it to Leica, and they said it would work 'like new' when they had fixed it. I'm sure there might be some people that have had an M8 shutter fail on them twice, but as far as I know, if it's failed once and been repaired, you should be okay. The M8's do have issues with the shutter. 

I was really unlucky, in that I bought mine used, it worked fine, but out of nowhere it jammed.  if yours is an M8u, then if it's already been repaired/replaced, I suppose you should be ok.

[adan]

With modern blade-electronic FP shutters, manufacturers general "buy longevity" based on the camera market point,

Bottom-end SLR shutters are rated for 100,000 "mean activations before failure" - i.e. the design should last about 100,000 activations on average, but that will just be the peak of the bell curve - many will fail earlier, and many will last longer.

I expect Leica purchases "200,000 MABF" shutters as made for pro-sumer SLRs, with the "1/4000th top speed" option in most cases (quieter, and lower impact).

Top-end Nikons/Canons (D6, 1D Mk-whatever) have 500K MABF shutters.

But again those are always averages - on average half the shutters will have failed by 100K or 200K or 500K activations - and half will survive longer (possibly much longer).

I don't think camera makers make their own shutters any more - more cost-effective to buy the grade desired from Seiko and other dedicated factories by the truckload.

Nor are such shutters generally repaired, except for something very simple. Much cheaper and faster to take out the failed "unit" and plug in a new one with a half-dozen screws.

(imaged linked from https://www.whatdigitalcamera.com/technology_guides/focal-plane-shutter-work-60569 )

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[Kodak35]

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20 hours ago, a.noctilux said:

I have this old M8 shutter life, this link to... statistics

50/50 for me as my M8 needed shutter repair and my wife's M8 does not.

 

good news is you will have your wife's M8 as the gift

20 hours ago, JohnW. said:

Impossible to say, the shutter could go for another 55,000 or it could fail the day after you get it.  Don't forget as an M8u the shutter has already been replaced/upgraded from the original M8 shutter, so the count on the current shutter could be much less than 55,000.

For example I purchased my M8 Christmas 2006. The original shutter failed 2012 with a shutter count of around 12,000.  It was returned to Leica and I had the option to replace the original shutter or have the M8.2 shutter fitted, I chose the 8.2.  The shutter count on this shutter is currently around 29,000.  It could last another 9 years or fail soon.

I'm not sure if Leica can still replace the shutter should it fail but a number of repairs can no longer be carried out as there are no parts.  eg: Sensor, LCD, certain circuit boards.

 Buying any digital camera over 15 years old is going to be 'pot luck, but if the price is right and you have a warranty I would probably take the risk.

 

Ok, i got it, we have to deal with it anyway

19 hours ago, AceVentura1986 said:

My M8’s shutter failed at 20,000 shots. 

I'm so sorry to hear that, R.I.P that shutter
My friend has an M8 which was recorded as the first M8 replaced with M9's shutter inside, he must love his M8 very big to have that decision i think.

12 hours ago, Rangeman133 said:

I had an issue with my M8 shutter at around 7k shots or so. I'm not exactly sure, but it was a shutter jam or something. Sent it to Leica, and they said it would work 'like new' when they had fixed it. I'm sure there might be some people that have had an M8 shutter fail on them twice, but as far as I know, if it's failed once and been repaired, you should be okay. The M8's do have issues with the shutter. 

I was really unlucky, in that I bought mine used, it worked fine, but out of nowhere it jammed.  if yours is an M8u, then if it's already been repaired/replaced, I suppose you should be ok.

Thank you for your informations ! i'm looking for a M-mount lens to attached; another deal in progress is Summicron-C 40mm f/2, hope they will work well together.

12 hours ago, adan said:

With modern blade-electronic FP shutters, manufacturers general "buy longevity" based on the camera market point,

Bottom-end SLR shutters are rated for 100,000 "mean activations before failure" - i.e. the design should last about 100,000 activations on average, but that will just be the peak of the bell curve - many will fail earlier, and many will last longer.

I expect Leica purchases "200,000 MABF" shutters as made for pro-sumer SLRs, with the "1/4000th top speed" option in most cases (quieter, and lower impact).

Top-end Nikons/Canons (D6, 1D Mk-whatever) have 500K MABF shutters.

But again those are always averages - on average half the shutters will have failed by 100K or 200K or 500K activations - and half will survive longer (possibly much longer).

I don't think camera makers make their own shutters any more - more cost-effective to buy the grade desired from Seiko and other dedicated factories by the truckload.

Nor are such shutters generally repaired, except for something very simple. Much cheaper and faster to take out the failed "unit" and plug in a new one with a half-dozen screws.

(imaged linked from https://www.whatdigitalcamera.com/technology_guides/focal-plane-shutter-work-60569 )

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

 

Thank you for your informations.

Thank you all for your reply. Have a great day with any camera that you loved !

Edited December 4, 2021 by Kodak35

[a.noctilux]

My M8 repaired by Leica.

She keeps her's M8.

It was so many years ago, when Leica still repaired M8, around 1,000€ to repair.

 

Now we moved on with newer more modern/reliable Leica M.

I still use M8 for IR pictures, nothing to complain if not the short life of batteries that I must carry some to be prepared,

for some replacement(s) in field.

 

 

[jaapv]

Leica still repairs M8 as far as they have parts.

[a.noctilux]

4 minutes ago, jaapv said:

Leica still repairs M8 as far as they have parts.

I know but the repair price to pay may not be as we say economically livable.

Some months back, I saw one M8 for sale as parts ( cheap like 100 or 200€ ), the shutter repair cost was too high.

 

[jaapv]

The parts price of the shutter is about 170 Euro - the cost is in the dismantling and assembling.

[AceVentura1986]

4 hours ago, Kodak35 said:

 

good news is you will have your wife's M8 as the gift

Ok, i got it, we have to deal with it anyway

I'm so sorry to hear that, R.I.P that shutter
My friend has an M8 which was recorded as the first M8 replaced with M9's shutter inside, he must love his M8 very big to have that decision i think.

Thank you for your informations ! i'm looking for a M-mount lens to attached; another deal in progress is Summicron-C 40mm f/2, hope they will work well together.

Thank you for your informations.

Thank you all for your reply. Have a great day with any camera that you loved !

That said, my ME and M9M are functioning just fine. After 20+ years of shooting digital, I’ve only had two shutters fail on me, the M8 and a Canon 1Ds. Otherwise, every camera I’ve had, Canon, Leica and one Fuji have worked flawlessly. 

[Rangeman133]

My M8 cost around 700 USD for full repair, this includes the labor, and also includes a year of warrantee under Leica USA. To be quite honest, I don’t have any regrets getting it done, and the camera does feel ‘new’. But as pointed out above, a large percentage of the cost was for the labor. 
 

(I hope it’s ok for me to mention how much it cost to get repaired, it might have been a little less than 700, but it’s in that ballpark) this repair was recent btw, around several months ago 

Edited December 4, 2021 by Rangeman133

[a.noctilux]

11 hours ago, Rangeman133 said:

My M8 cost around 700 USD for full repair, this includes the labor, and also includes a year of warrantee under Leica USA. To be quite honest, I don’t have any regrets getting it done, and the camera does feel ‘new’. But as pointed out above, a large percentage of the cost was for the labor. 
 

(I hope it’s ok for me to mention how much it cost to get repaired, it might have been a little less than 700, but it’s in that ballpark) this repair was recent btw, around several months ago 

Interesting.

What was the repairing for ?

[Rangeman133]

13 hours ago, a.noctilux said:

Interesting.

What was the repairing for ?

from my understanding, it was a jammed shutter. whenever i put in a battery, it seemed that the camera was trying to re-cock the shutter, but failed to do so. it would keep trying until the battery would run out. unfortunately, i did not get a chance to speak to one of the technicians. i probably should call, and find out exactly what they did to fix the problem. but no complaints from my end, works great!

[aoivw]

My M 8.2 failed about 60,000 shutter count.

Repair charge was around $700

I'm very happy I can still use my M8.2

[a.noctilux]

5 hours ago, aoivw said:

My M 8.2 failed about 60,000 shutter count.

Repair charge was around $700

I'm very happy I can still use my M8.2

👍

M8-2 with less stress on the shutter than plain M8 logically last more counts.

[Kodak35]

Thank you all for your reply, we don't have too much choice with more than 10 yrs old camera, right  
I have received the camera yesterday, after a few shots testing, i realized that all my under-exposured photos with medium-high ISO (320-2500) alsway had this problem: 
red/ blue pixel lines appear in the photos

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is this normal with M8s sensor ? all the M8s have this ?
Could we have any solution for these type of photos ? or we have to live with it ?

Thank you again !
Have a great day with your cameras !

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[Al Brown]

The shutters on mirrorless cameras usually last much longer than on DSLR. That said, Canon 1Dx was declared at 150K and Sony's a7 cameras were at 300-400K. Of course the latter had some flaw in several models that made the shutter bite the dust at 100K +/-.

How long the Leica shutter lasts is always one of the magical mysteries of the red dot. With Leica it is not only auctuations, but also Live View that lifts the shutter, so this is added to the count. I am on my first NEW Leica (M10-R) so this will be a first hand experience, almost 20K now. I will report how far it takes me.

I once spoke to a well established seller and repairman of Leica cameras. He calls the digital Leicas "Digitalschrott" (digital junk in German), but speaks affectionately about the early M's. According to his theory on "M3 being built to last forever" he puts the M3 shutter at the brave 500-600K...

 

[jaapv]

9 hours ago, a.noctilux said:

👍

M8-2 with less stress on the shutter than plain M8 logically last more counts.

Yet, ,surprisingly, the reports on the forum at the time suggest that the majority of  shutter failures was with the M8.2. Leica did not alter the shutter between the cameras models to reduce stress on the shutter, but to reduce shutter noise. It seems that the extra damping introduced more stress on the blades.