cmedin
Well-known
One. A Lumix FX-01. I sprayed it pretty good with saltwater on a trip to the beach and it never regained consciousness!
My wife killed an FX-01 taking it to the beach too. It was pretty windy and sand got into it.
Other than that, zero issues with digital. Unless you count the Elph dying after ~6 years of being banged around.
MrRanger
Rangefinder Jockey
I've had 2 digitals - a Nikon CoolPix 4600 that I have had for about 5(?) years and a Sony A300 DSLR that I got for Christmas last year. So far, no problems (knock on wood!).
Mike
Mike
clicker
Well-known
Digital camera failures
Digital camera failures
Never had a failure problem with my Nikon and Canon digital cameras.
Digital camera failures
Never had a failure problem with my Nikon and Canon digital cameras.
jmkelly
rangefinder user
One. A Lumix FX-01. I sprayed it pretty good with saltwater on a trip to the beach and it never regained consciousness!
My FX-01 decided it could not recover from flying off the roof of a car moving at 40 mph. Jeez - what a piece of junk (I kid!
). I still have our original digital P&S (Nikon Coolpix 775) and it still works - the kids use it. The only disappointment so far has been the replacement for the FX-01 - the Lumix FX37. I have not used this one enough yet to be certain, but so far it looks like every shot has the same noise you would see at ISO 1600. Lemon? Time will tell.
Computers are another story. These things take maintenance - like replacing hard drives and power supplies before they fail. And though I've never had a CPU failure I've had to replace perfectly good boxes because new versions of OS or software were too slow or would not run - much more annoying than not having 14.7mpx. Recently I've been replacing noisy power supplies, cooling fans and hard drives with quieter stuff just because I can. Now I'm looking forward to replacing the hard drives in my laptops with solid-state units.
narsuitus
Well-known
Three out of five of my digital cameras have failed. My first one no longer works on batteries. Since is still works on AC power, I have it permanently attached to a copy stand and a wall outlet.
The built-in flash on my second one, does not work. Therefore, I use it only for available light shots.
The third one broke when I fell off a table onto a carpeted floor. Even though it was in a case when it fell, the shock was enough to cause complete failure. It cost me over $100 to get it fixed. In contrast, I had a manual/mechanical film camera fall from waist high onto a concrete floor and the camera continued to work for a week before it completely failed.
The built-in flash on my second one, does not work. Therefore, I use it only for available light shots.
The third one broke when I fell off a table onto a carpeted floor. Even though it was in a case when it fell, the shock was enough to cause complete failure. It cost me over $100 to get it fixed. In contrast, I had a manual/mechanical film camera fall from waist high onto a concrete floor and the camera continued to work for a week before it completely failed.
ruby.monkey
Veteran
None so far.
climbing_vine
Well-known
I've had four digitals, none of which have ever failed (one broke an LCD when armed Greek airport pocket checkers flung it into a tray and it bounced off something hard and sharp, but I ordered the part and replaced it myself in five minutes).
Out of the probably three dozen film cameras that have passed through my hands, the only ones that didn't see serious "spontaneous" problems were a Canon PowerShot (which had electronics issues after the twelfth time I soaked it hiking down a storm drain, so I won't hold that against it), and my Pentax k1000 in college which I sorely wish I'd kept.
Out of the probably three dozen film cameras that have passed through my hands, the only ones that didn't see serious "spontaneous" problems were a Canon PowerShot (which had electronics issues after the twelfth time I soaked it hiking down a storm drain, so I won't hold that against it), and my Pentax k1000 in college which I sorely wish I'd kept.
climbing_vine
Well-known
Also, I work in tech in one of the largest universities on the globe, and the failure rate of computers (absent outright abuse, and for meaningful values of the word "failure") is lower than all but the very simplest film cameras--like an Argus C3. heh. Fact is, gears and rangefinders get bolloxed up relatively easily--firmware doesn't. Sorry. it's a fact. There's a reason that mission-critical duties in any shop are controlled digitally when possible. Not with steam engines or clockworks.
Silva Lining
CanoHasseLeica
Thats an interseting point. I wonder how much easier modern processes are as opposed to historical ones. One presumes things get quicker and easier to do, however I have noticed that this is not always he case.
[RANT] Changing channel on the television for example, used to be a matter of physically pressing a button or tuning with a dial. took about 1 second. Now with my HD TV and Cable box I have to first find the right controller. Then dail in the number for the channel. Then dial it in again as it has selected the wrong channel because it in-explicably ignored the first digit I pressed, then type it in again, as it has now remembered the first digit I pressed, but included it out of sequence and selected a different wrong channel. On average it takes 15 seconds to change channel. This of course includes the times when the Cable box is in a catatonic state and has to be hard rebooted. Which then means the TV doesn't select the HDMI connection and therefore can't display the EPG propoerly, so I have to find the other controller and select HDMI before I can begin the whole process again. [/RANT]
climbing_vine
Well-known
Absolutely agree. This is also why many, not all, p&s cams (whether film or digital) are nightmares. The tech is willing, but the interface is weak.
Once upon a time, mechanical works also had awful interfaces (read up on what you had to do to control an early car). They got better over time. Digital interfaces of all kinds are beginning to evolve as well, but many have a long way to go.
John Lawrence
Well-known
Well the D40 I've got has never failed - but then I only used it five times before I found out it wasn't for me. Whether it will still be working in seventy-five years time (like my Leicas) is another matter...
John Robertson
Well-known
Three compacts, one Leica Digilux2 and two Canon. Electronic death, not worth repairing.
Thrice bitten, now permanently shy.
I still have a Canon Sureshot A460, cost £70 new discounted, bin when fails.
Minilux also failed, not sure about Leitz electronics.
P.S. anyone know how to remove the lens from this, would make a good negative lupe.
Thrice bitten, now permanently shy.
I still have a Canon Sureshot A460, cost £70 new discounted, bin when fails.
Minilux also failed, not sure about Leitz electronics.
P.S. anyone know how to remove the lens from this, would make a good negative lupe.
Roger Hicks
Veteran
There's also a reason why computers are replaced so frequently, BEFORE they fail. You've never had a power supply blow up, a hard disk crash, a floppy drive fail...?
Cheers,
Roger
kuzano
Veteran
Tfm!!!...
Tfm!!!...
Too Many! One Olympus, Two Sony's, Two Fuji's, One canon. Granted, most of these were P&S or Prosumer level. Currently have a Sigma 18-125mm DLSR (oly mount) lens in for failed aperture. Out of warranty... repair estimate $144. New from Amazon to replace $175. Originally a $500 lens ($600 Plus MSRP manufacturer).
However, after 3 decades of film, and early adopter on consumer digital, I have never had this kind of failure rate with film cameras. To top it off, only one of the failures was during a warranty period. None of these items were abused in any way. I am careful with my gear.
Tfm!!!...
Too Many! One Olympus, Two Sony's, Two Fuji's, One canon. Granted, most of these were P&S or Prosumer level. Currently have a Sigma 18-125mm DLSR (oly mount) lens in for failed aperture. Out of warranty... repair estimate $144. New from Amazon to replace $175. Originally a $500 lens ($600 Plus MSRP manufacturer).
However, after 3 decades of film, and early adopter on consumer digital, I have never had this kind of failure rate with film cameras. To top it off, only one of the failures was during a warranty period. None of these items were abused in any way. I am careful with my gear.
johnastovall
Light Hunter - RIP 2010
Five digitals, Nikon 950 Coolpix, Canon 20D, Canon 5D, Leica M8 and GR-DII and never a failure or problem. The 5D and M8 have almost daily usage.
kuzano
Veteran
I wouldn't hesitate to power up w/new PS
I wouldn't hesitate to power up w/new PS
15 Years of hardware teching on pc's... Have never seen a power supply fail as a result of other internal problems. Power supplies have failsafes built in to be the "sacrificial device" in power failures. The PS usually fails before other devices in the system. However that doesn't mean a capacitor can't blow on a MOBO or a RAM chip fail of it's own accord. But my experience has been that those failures never feed back into a PS failure.
I've worked in a service shop environment. I 've taught community college "Build Your Own Computer" classes and for the last decade been self employed on hardware, software and networking. Never replaced a Power Supply with a new one that was subsequently damaged by other components in the system. Other component shorts in the system will simply not let the power supply power up... not damage it.
My experience so far.
I wouldn't hesitate to power up w/new PS
15 Years of hardware teching on pc's... Have never seen a power supply fail as a result of other internal problems. Power supplies have failsafes built in to be the "sacrificial device" in power failures. The PS usually fails before other devices in the system. However that doesn't mean a capacitor can't blow on a MOBO or a RAM chip fail of it's own accord. But my experience has been that those failures never feed back into a PS failure.
I've worked in a service shop environment. I 've taught community college "Build Your Own Computer" classes and for the last decade been self employed on hardware, software and networking. Never replaced a Power Supply with a new one that was subsequently damaged by other components in the system. Other component shorts in the system will simply not let the power supply power up... not damage it.
My experience so far.
K
Kin Lau
Guest
8 digital cameras, 6 dslrs, 2 P&S, the oldest being a Powershot A70 (approx 7 years old) and all are still working. The A70 is missing paint on all corners, scratched up everywhere and still working.
My 300D DReb had the shutter replaced and mirror fixed, but both were mechanical failures but it's been thru extreme heat and cold and _lots_ of shutter actuations.
My 300D DReb had the shutter replaced and mirror fixed, but both were mechanical failures but it's been thru extreme heat and cold and _lots_ of shutter actuations.
climbing_vine
Well-known
Indeed I have. I fail to see what that has to do with the question of statistical profiles, however.
literiter
Well-known
I don't have a professional digital camera, just some crappy little point and shoots. My experience is only with film.
Friends of mine shoot weddings using digital cameras, Canon and Nikon. They are not worried about the longevity of their digital equipment, in fact I think they are eagerly anticipating the advent of new stuff.
Friends of mine shoot weddings using digital cameras, Canon and Nikon. They are not worried about the longevity of their digital equipment, in fact I think they are eagerly anticipating the advent of new stuff.
benno
Hack.
Every digital camera I have had, has failed.
Several P&S cameras and a dSLR.
Several P&S cameras and a dSLR.