Very few cameras are designed for that many duty-cycles. Only the
top-of-the-line, pro-grade models fall into that 100-150k category: Nikon
F,F2,F3,F4,F5, Canon F1,EOS I,EOS IV, Minolta 9, Contax RTS, Pentax LX. I've
never heard any figures for the OM 1,2,3,4 shutters, but I'd figure 100k. A
link to a 1998 OM list post below says the following:
"To shutter cycles: I´ve read in the OM magazin, that the first OM-1 and
OM-2 were designed for 100 000 shutter cycles. They tested them up to
this number and found no significant wear, so you could expect a much
higher shutter lifespan."
FYI, the Leica M shutter is rated for 400,000 cycles and is very overdesigned.
Their philosophy is very similar to the early 90's Mercedes, who priced
themselves out of the market by over-engineering their products. Zeiss Ikon
did the same thing with the Contarex in the 50's/60's.
BTW, 100,000 exposures is a LOT of pictures for anyone but a high-volume pro.
That's 277 rolls/year for 10 years, which is more than 990f amatuers. However,
a high-volume pro might go through 500 rolls in a month spread over 4-6 bodies.
Most of those shooters have moved to digital, which has vastly improved
workflow for such volumes.
Look here for comments:
http://www.nemeng.com/leica/007b.shtml
http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/fototech/help/howlong.html
http://zuiko.sls.bc.ca/swright/archives/1998/msg12437.html
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>Subject: [OM] camera life
> From: "William Sommerwerck" <williams@xxxxxxxxxx>
> Date: Tue, 11 Feb 2003 06:22:16 -0800
> To: <olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>
>Top-grade cameras are traditionally designed for 100K to 200K cycles. That's
>roughly 2500 to 5000 rolls of film, which is "nothing" for a heavy-shooting
>pro photographer.
>
>Five years ago a TIME photographer dropped by to photograph me for TIME
>Digital. He had several cameras, and the shutter on one (a Nikon) failed in
>the middle of the shoot.
>
>
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