Use It or Lose It: Keeping Digital Camera Systems Reliable
If it’s been a while since you last powered up your digital camera system, it may be wise to charge it up and run a few frames through it. Regular use can make a meaningful difference in long-term reliability.
As an example, think of a fifteen-year-old car. One that’s driven every couple of months can often head out on a long road trip without issue. But that same car left sitting idle for years may develop flattened bearings, dry rotted & flat-spotted tires, rusted brake rotors, leaking shocks or struts, and dried or failing gaskets and rubber components—all because those parts were never exercised, lubricated, or evenly worn through normal use.
I’ve found that objects in motion tend to stay in motion, while systems left dormant too long often develop problems when suddenly expected to perform as normal. That applies not only to the mechanical components of cameras, but especially to their electronics.
Over time, electrolytic capacitors can dry out as their electrolyte slowly evaporates. This degrades the oxide layer inside the capacitor and can reduce capacitance below what the system needs. The result may be startup issues, capture errors, or in some cases total system failure.
Just as seals and gaskets in a car benefit from regular circulation of lubricants, capacitors benefit from periodic energizing, which helps them reform and return to a ready state.
We’ve seen dozens of digital backs with millions of frames and no service history at all—the highest being 3.3 million exposures on a Phase One IQ180. At the same time, we’ve seen digital camera systems with fewer than 10,000 frames struggle to function after being brought out only once a year for a trip. In the same vein, we’ve seen shutters fail in 10-year-old cameras with fewer than 10,000 actuations, while the same shutter system has exceeded 225,000 frames in cameras that were used regularly and heavily.
If you’re not shooting regularly, it’s a good idea to schedule a quarterly check-in with your gear. Charge fresh batteries, power up the camera and digital back, let the system burn through a battery cycle while idle, then install another battery and shoot at least a couple dozen frames. It’s a simple habit that can help keep everything fluid, responsive, and ready when you need it most.
The inspiration for this article came from a recent client call. Their system had been shelved for too long, and now service may be required to bring it back into working order.
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