Blowout

I am pushing close to having covered 1,000 assignments this year and I have been wondering who would wear out first, my camera or me. Today halfway through a ride-along with San Joaquin Sheriff’s Department my camera let me know it had enough. At just 140 frames into the assignment I had what is best described as blowout with my camera.

It was back in may of 2007 when I had my first shutter malfunction with a Canon 1D Mk II. The shutters are rated for 250,000 cycles (exposures) and with the dreaded ER 99 message I was relegated to a backup camera. Today without any warning or error message I noticed a strange highlight creeping across my picture frame.

I shot some test frames of anything and saw an unusual shadow. That feeling of dread spread over as I pooped the lens off set the camera on the “bulb” setting to take a look at the shutter. Hanging in the middle across the sensor as a lone shutter blade, not a good sign. In technical terms the camera is hosed and will head off to a Canon repair facility some time in the future. Back at the office I exchanged my new paperweight for the spare canon body and went off to my next three sporting events.

I did the math and it seems I made it to nearly 1,500 assignments before the shutter snapped again. I am heavy on the motor drive so figuring a couple hundred or so exposures per assignment and I might have been pushing the 250,000 limit on the shutter. There is nothing worse than a blowout on assignment. Hopefully I will get it repaired soon and be back in action. Then it will be back to who last longer, the camera or me. My money is one the camera.