A digital camera, similar to most home appliances, need to be serviced regularly so that it remains in top working conditions.
Even for a small event like a birthday, one could easily click a few hundred pictures with a digital camera, for bigger events like weddings, the number could easily go up to a thousand.
Taking so many pictures, and lots of travelling, creates wear on the unit, and although a camera is a robust instrument, it does require regular servicing to ensure all the parts are in top working condition, the lenses are in top working condition, so that the images taken continue to be sharp.
Should you service a camera if its working fine?
This is what I read on one of the camera forums…
“There are two schools of thought on how often to service a camera. One is to service a camera based on the manufacturer’s recommendations. The other is best expressed by the engineer’s philosophy: never open something up to see why it’s running right.”
Now, there are several photographers who’ve indeed never faced any problem with their cameras, and they firmly believe that as long as you keep a lens or body cap on all the time, you should be fine and should have no problem with your camera. So they continue to shoot with their camera as long as its working correctly, and only repair/service it if something goes wrong.
However, for cameras that are used professionally, the following usually applies.
- You take thousands of pictures with it
- You travel a lot with your gear
- You switch from one lens to another
- You load and unload memory cards very often
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So even if you’re aware of the basic precautions to be taken, if you’re in the middle of a shoot or event where things are always pressing, you tend to forget about those precautions, you will change lenses without noticing from which direction the wind is blowing, and so on.
And that is why most professional photographers have their cameras repaired and serviced regularly.
How often to service a camera?
Any DSLR camera, and most professionally used equipment, need to be serviced at least once in a year. Some professionals may do it in 6 to 8 months also, if they observe any change in the images clicked or in the working mechanism.
But in general, once a year is a good rule to follow, for cleaning, servicing and maintaining your camera. General recommendation for amateurs (who don’t use their cameras much) is every second to third year.
Based on SRT count
Another indicator that tells you whether its time to service your camera is Shutter Release Time (SRT). Most cameras have a shutter counter in them, and every time the shutter unit is fired the camera increases a count. This count gives a good indication of the type of service that your equipment may require.
Low shutter release count: Equipment may require basic cleaning, servicing and preventative maintenance.
High shutter release count: Cameras that have a high SRT (100,000 or above) usually require full cleaning and servicing, where the major moving parts of the camera is inspected for wear, by the technician. This is pretty much all entry level/mid range DSLR’s. So even though your camera may be fine, the shutter is likely to fail and will need to be replaced. Depending on the amount of wear, the equipment may also require the major moving parts to be replaced – Camera Shutter, Camera Aperture, Lens Diaphragm, Lens Silent wave motor, Lens Ultrasonic motor, Flash Tube.
what else is checked during a service?
Items included in a service will vary depending on the camera being serviced. But in general, the following are checked for a D-SLR camera:
- The main functionality of the camera
- The Autofocus system
- Metering is calibrated
- Firmware is updated where necessary
- Image sensor and mirror are inspected and cleaned
- External cleaning, removal of fingerprints, oils, greasy materials.
Its always a good idea to get an estimate first, and that too from multiple sources, so that you can avail of the best rates.
External Links
Benefits of a Clean Image Sensor
Adrian says
There are not many moving parts in a camera so not much needs to be done, except for say cleaning the sensor. You should ideally keep it clean of the debris which may accumulate over time due to change of lenses. But if everything seems okay, i will not bother. Don’t fix what isn’t broken.
Pradeep says
In most Indian cities, it costs around Rs.500 to clean the sensor. You can give it to the official Canon or Nikon service centre.