Does using electronic shutter extend a camera’s shutter life?

Asked 7/11/2016

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Mechanical shutters wear with use, so it’s reasonable to ask whether switching to an electronic shutter avoids that wear. On cameras that offer both mechanical and electronic shutter modes, does using the electronic shutter increase the camera’s lifespan, or do some mechanical shutter actuations still occur? Also, does an electronic shutter have any meaningful lifespan limit of its own?

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

10y ago

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Cameras that have both electronic and mechanical shutters tend to leave the mechanical shutter closed when the camera is turned off. This means that in order to use the electronic shutter the mechanical shutter must be opened at least once each session. At the end of the session the mechanical shutter is closed and that will finish one complete cycle of the mechanical shutter.

When deciding whether to use mechanical or electronic shutter there are other things besides wear on the mechanical shutter to consider.

First and foremost would be the effect of that choice on the quality of the image produced. Sometimes a mechanical shutter is more useful to produce the image desired. Sometimes an electronic shutter is more useful. Sometimes other considerations, such as the amount of noise a camera makes and when it makes it, are also in the mix.

Second is the effect on the sensor of leaving the shutter open for long periods of time. This tends to cause the imaging sensor to heat up. As image sensors heat up they tend to produce more noise and the overall signal to noise ratio degrades. The images produced become noisier for the same scene shot with the same settings. When professional television production companies first started using DSLRs to shoot scenes for television shows they could only use a particular camera body for about ten minutes or so until the sensor got too hot and the image got too noisy (and this is with HD video, which is only 1080P and thus enjoys the advantage of noise reduction as a high resolution image is reduced in size)! They would then have to switch to another "fresh" body while the first was allowed to cool for up to an hour before it could be used again. Newer high end DSLRs tend to have better sensor cooling than those early original 5D and 7D bodies, but heat build up is still a concern when using them for professional productions.

Third is the eventual result of the second consideration: the more light a sensor is exposed to for a longer period of time the greater the number of pixels that develop defects. The number of stuck, hot, or dead pixels increase over the life of any sensor. Leaving the mechanical shutter open and the sensor energized and exposed to light over the course of an entire shooting session will reduce the life expectancy of the sensor by a considerable amount compared to using a mechanical shutter and only energizing and exposing the sensor to light when actually recording an image. If you think replacing a mechanical shutter on a digital camera is expensive, you don't want to know what it will cost to replace the sensor!

Originally by user15871. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user15871

10y ago

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Using an electronic shutter can reduce wear on the mechanical shutter, but it usually doesn’t eliminate mechanical use entirely.

On many cameras with both modes, the mechanical shutter still opens when the camera is powered on and closes when powered off, so you may still incur at least part of a mechanical shutter cycle each session. That means electronic shutter use can lower total wear, but not always to zero.

Electronic shutters don’t have a rated “actuation life” the way mechanical shutters do. Their limits are more like any other electronic component’s lifespan, not a curtain wearing out from movement.

That said, shutter choice shouldn’t be based only on longevity. Electronic shutters can introduce image artifacts in some situations, especially with certain sensor readout methods, while mechanical or electronic first-curtain modes may produce better image quality depending on the subject and lighting.

So: yes, electronic shutter use can help reduce mechanical shutter wear, but it may not completely avoid mechanical actuations, and image-quality tradeoffs are often the more important factor.

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