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Author Topic: What does timelapse do to shutters  (Read 15100 times)

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« on: September 08, 2017, 11:39 »
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Just wondering if timelapse photographers have wrecked their shutters with so many exposures. And how many exposures before the shutter dies on various cameras - or are they far more resilient than expected?


« Reply #1 on: September 08, 2017, 11:44 »
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Just wondering if timelapse photographers have wrecked their shutters with so many exposures.

I'm sure some have, but I haven't. Yet.  :D

are they far more resilient than expected?

Yes. I believe so.

« Reply #2 on: September 08, 2017, 11:53 »
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Just wondering if timelapse photographers have wrecked their shutters with so many exposures. And how many exposures before the shutter dies on various cameras - or are they far more resilient than expected?

I replaced one of my camera's shutter mechanism. I believe that camera reached about 100k actuations, when it failed.

« Reply #3 on: September 08, 2017, 13:20 »
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Just wondering if timelapse photographers have wrecked their shutters with so many exposures. And how many exposures before the shutter dies on various cameras - or are they far more resilient than expected?

I replaced one of my camera's shutter mechanism. I believe that camera reached about 100k actuations, when it failed.

You could burn through 100,000 shots and not have very many videos to show for it. It could be a significant additional expense, though I don't know what a new shutter costs.

« Reply #4 on: September 08, 2017, 14:58 »
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Just wondering if timelapse photographers have wrecked their shutters with so many exposures. And how many exposures before the shutter dies on various cameras - or are they far more resilient than expected?

I replaced one of my camera's shutter mechanism. I believe that camera reached about 100k actuations, when it failed.

You could burn through 100,000 shots and not have very many videos to show for it. It could be a significant additional expense, though I don't know what a new shutter costs.

Yes, it can be a significant cost, indeed, especially if you use a high-end DSLR and an authorized dealer to do the work

In my case, I only paid about $120 bucks (if I remember correctly) to a private citizen from California who did a great job (new shutter + professional sensor cleaning included in the price)

There is also an option to use the silent shutter feature available through Magic Lantern, but I only used it for focus stacking, not for timelapses, since it has some limitations for the exposure duration (I believe it can work with ND filters for scenes with little light variation)
« Last Edit: September 08, 2017, 15:00 by Zero Talent »

PaulieWalnuts

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« Reply #5 on: September 08, 2017, 23:36 »
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Every camera is rated for shutter life expectancy. I haven't seen anything that says time-lapses alter the total shutter life expectancy for better or worse.  100,000 seems to be common for consumer DSLRs while pro DSLRs can be rated for over 300,000 cycles.
« Last Edit: September 08, 2017, 23:38 by PaulieWalnuts »

« Reply #6 on: September 09, 2017, 04:29 »
+1
1 hour of timelapse footage (@30 fps) means 108000 shots! So it is definitely an issue.

« Reply #7 on: September 09, 2017, 04:41 »
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Some of the newer mirrorless cameras, as my Sony A6300, has a silent shutter option, where it's all electronic.
So I use the silent shutter when making timelapse.

« Reply #8 on: September 09, 2017, 06:26 »
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Just wondering if timelapse photographers have wrecked their shutters with so many exposures. And how many exposures before the shutter dies on various cameras - or are they far more resilient than expected?

No one can tell when will the shutter fail, not even factory specified numbers. It's sheer luck. Most modern cameras are rated at 150k, some of them fail in 3 digits, some go one even after one million.
There was a website where users reported shutter fails of different models and there was a graph, but not much conclusion could be pulled out of it, fails where all over the count scale, with only noticable peaks a few thousand clicks before the rated number and some long after the rated number. There was a significant number of fails under 10k or so. As I said, all over the place. I don't think that website is updated anymore.

Timelapse will up your numbers in no time, this doesn't mean the shutter will fail, who could tell if the shutter fails from wear, time it takes materials and grease to harden, bumping the camera around or the combination of all of this.
What it will certainly do is lower your camera's resale value, especially if it's not a pro level camera, where shutter replacement cost is just a fraction of body cost.
 


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« Reply #9 on: September 09, 2017, 07:35 »
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Panasonic GH3, GH4 and GH5 (and other models) all have electronic shutters to use mechanical shutters for Timelapse is a waste. I had several shutters replaced without using them for timelapse for Canon 5D (regardless of the mark) it was usually at 170.000 actuations. As others noted Sony has this feature too. Shutter replacement for 5D is usually between 300,- to 400,- Euros.
« Last Edit: September 09, 2017, 07:40 by 50% »

« Reply #10 on: September 09, 2017, 14:46 »
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What is the downside of using electronic shutter?
I mean if you just put it on electronic all the time, what is the downside?


SpaceStockFootage

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« Reply #12 on: September 09, 2017, 21:34 »
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1 hour of timelapse footage (@30 fps) means 108000 shots! So it is definitely an issue.

Although if you're selling stock then each timelapse will be 10 to 30 seconds... so that's 120 to 360 timelapses. Most will probably go closer to 10 seconds than 30... if you can get away with hanging around for one or two hours, why hang around for three or six hours... but you're right. It's still a pretty low limit, especially if you specialise in timelapse.

« Reply #13 on: September 11, 2017, 03:44 »
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80,000 shutter actuations for this one (D750):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHrCI9eSJGQ

But a timelapse film like this is worth at least $10,000. Most likely much more if he sells some of the clips as stock.
« Last Edit: September 11, 2017, 04:01 by increasingdifficulty »

« Reply #14 on: September 11, 2017, 08:34 »
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80,000 shutter actuations for this one (D750):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHrCI9eSJGQ

But a timelapse film like this is worth at least $10,000. Most likely much more if he sells some of the clips as stock.
How would he realise $10,000 (unless it's a contract up front)? Not on microstock, thats for sure.

« Reply #15 on: September 11, 2017, 09:03 »
+1
How would he realise $10,000 (unless it's a contract up front)? Not on microstock, thats for sure.

First of all, $200-300 from YouTube in the FIRST TWO DAYS alone. Of course no one knows how many views it will get but $1,000-5,000 is very likely. More is somewhat likely on a video like this.

Why not on microstock? That film can be broken down into about 20-40 timelapses, some of them very unique (where he enters the ports for example). That stuff sells a lot.

A good timelapse can easily make $1,000-2,000 over two years on microstock. Many make much more.

I think $10,000 is conservative.

On top of all that of course custom requests to use the footage as the YouTube video gets more and more views.
« Last Edit: September 11, 2017, 09:05 by increasingdifficulty »

« Reply #16 on: September 11, 2017, 09:49 »
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How would he realise $10,000 (unless it's a contract up front)? Not on microstock, thats for sure.

First of all, $200-300 from YouTube in the FIRST TWO DAYS alone. Of course no one knows how many views it will get but $1,000-5,000 is very likely. More is somewhat likely on a video like this.

Why not on microstock? That film can be broken down into about 20-40 timelapses, some of them very unique (where he enters the ports for example). That stuff sells a lot.

A good timelapse can easily make $1,000-2,000 over two years on microstock. Many make much more.

I think $10,000 is conservative.

On top of all that of course custom requests to use the footage as the YouTube video gets more and more views.

This is interesting!
One question: what makes you say it is $100-$150/day?
I'm using an Youtube earnings calculator indicating something as low ~$47/188k views. True, it may be more, based on the quality of the advertisers.
« Last Edit: September 11, 2017, 09:52 by Zero Talent »

« Reply #17 on: September 11, 2017, 09:56 »
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This is interesting, but what makes you say it is $100-$150/day?
I'm using an Youtube earnings calculator indicating something as low ~$47/188k views. True, it may be more, based on the quality of the advertisers.

Normal Youtube earnings lie between $1-2 per 1,000 views, but it's a bit more complicated than that of course. It depends on what countries the viewers are in, what network the YouTuber is affiliated with, and many other factors. "Clean" content will earn more (this video would be that). But watch time also plays a big role, and has become more and more important. As this is a video that likely gets lots of watch time it will earn a bit more (more expensive ads, unskippable pre-rolls).

$47/188k is low on clean content (approved for all advertisers). By the way, it's now 201,000.  ;D

Personal example: I found one of my videos with around 180,000 views in June and it earned $280.
« Last Edit: September 11, 2017, 11:27 by increasingdifficulty »

SpaceStockFootage

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« Reply #18 on: September 11, 2017, 11:53 »
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I heard you can make up to $20 per 1000 views but that;s very rare. Top performers, ads at the beginning and people watch them all the way through... but $1 per 1000 should be relatively easy to achieve. So on that video, I'd be very surprised if they didn't make $10K in the next year. Plus stock sales on top.

« Reply #19 on: September 11, 2017, 13:47 »
+1
Well that's very interesting. Thanks for the info.

« Reply #20 on: September 12, 2017, 10:01 »
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Just a fun little update a day later, it's now at 487,462 views! This kid is going places.  ;D

Low ad revenue is about $300 per day. It's probably more.

« Reply #21 on: September 12, 2017, 11:08 »
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Well the timelapse is amazing, it deserves all the views it gets. And all the money as well, I'm sure he killed is camera doing that

Sent from my ONEPLUS A3003 using Tapatalk




« Reply #24 on: September 14, 2017, 13:10 »
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80,000 shutter actuations for this one (D750):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHrCI9eSJGQ

But a timelapse film like this is worth at least $10,000. Most likely much more if he sells some of the clips as stock.

And it passed 1,000,000! That was faster than I thought.  :D

« Reply #25 on: September 14, 2017, 22:51 »
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Maybe we should reach out to this gentleman and ask him how his camera fared after all this timelapse. Also did he make enough to get a new camera

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« Reply #26 on: September 15, 2017, 00:19 »
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Maybe we should reach out to this gentleman and ask him how his camera fared after all this timelapse. Also did he make enough to get a new camera

Sent from my ONEPLUS A3003 using Tapatalk

Well, since you can see the end of the video his camera seems to be all right. The D750 is weather-sealed but the lens he used isn't so a little water got in. Not a big deal, you just let it dry.

As for the shutter, not a big deal to replace it, but there's no exact science behind how long it will last.

« Reply #27 on: September 15, 2017, 07:27 »
+1
This shutter life expectancy database can help you: http://olegkikin.com/shutterlife/

A online user reported shutterlife database.


 

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