60K actuations on my T3i: Too many?

[cannondale1974]

Hi everyone, pretty new to this forum so go easy. I've had my T3i for about 3 years and have racked up 60K in actuations according to the app counter I have. Lately my hit rate (especially with my 50mm 1.4) has been very low and I'm wondering if this may be attributed to my camera. It's better with the 17-55 but typically when do these Rebel's "wear out"? I'm very easy on my gear and only do this for a hobby, shooting mostly my daughter, neighborhood kids, school functions and lower light venues. Am I simply justifying a new purchase of a 70D or even a 6D? ha

Thanks for your input!
Jason

 

[mistaspeedy]

I don't think that the shutter can in any way influence your hit rate... it either works or it doesn't.

I recently bought an old Canon 20D, and what made a big difference to autofocus performance was 2 things:
1) using a rocket blower to blow air across the autofocus sensor at the bottom of the camera, dislodging dust that may have accumulated there.
2) cleaning all the mirror surfaces that bounce the image to the autofocus sensor:
a) top side of the main mirror
b) under side of that main mirror
c) top side of the smaller mirror underneath it

Dust can also accumulate in your lenses, but I don't know how much of a factor this may be or not. I know that my old nifty fifty worked better after cleaning some dust out of it (by disassembling the rear element).

Cleaning the mirror surfaces is hard to do, and you can smear dust and oily substances across it, making matters a lot worse.
You could potentially blow dust even further into the autofocus sensor with the rocket blower, worsening things.

DISCLAIMER: I'm not recommending you do any of these things.... and if you happen to do them, then do so at your own risk!

However, I am letting you know what worked for me, and maybe what an authorized Canon service center could do (at a price of couse).

 

[ajfotofilmagem]

The camera body wear usually happens first in the shutter mechanism and mirror box.
One symptom of this would be the failure of the shutter blades, showing part of the black image, and lack of synchronism with the flash.

Accumulated dust in the focus sensor can affect the hit rate, and needs to be cleaned by authorized service Canon.

Canon 50mm F1.4 USM suffers with auto focus accuracy, due to the mechanism that moves the barrel back and forth during focusing. I used a lens hood permanently mounted on my Canon 50mm F1.4 (even when stored) to protect the mechanism of possible pressures that could bend the inner helical of the lens barrel.

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

The number of shutter actuations should not be a issue, but the lens might be. A dusty AF sensor is possible, but unless you change the lens frequently in dusty air, its not likely.

As others noted, the 50mm f/1.4 is the first suspect. They tend to develop focusing issues from even a sight bump.

If its a problem, test the lens by putting the camera on a tripod, then take 10 photos of a high contrast object 4-6 ft away. Manually set the lens to infinity before each shot. If the focus varies a lot of the time, you have a issue somewhere. one or two photos not perfectly focused is normal. Try with a different lens if possible. If a second lens also has a high miss rate, then the camera AF sensor is suspect.

As far as your shutter goes, if it lasted to 60,000 shots, then the odds are that it will last the life of the camera.