donrent Loc: Punta Gorda , Fl

Been thinking about this for a long time...

If your camera is up in shutter counts - 20 thousand or more - do you think it should be sent in a cleaning and check up ?

bkyser Loc: Fly over country in Indiana

Don, this is just my opinion, but I don't think it ever hurts to send in a camera body every couple of years, just to have it gone over. It was a bit different when cameras were mechanical, and we could carefully adjust and clean things. Other than cleaning the sensor for the brave ones of us, there are other things that a complete cleaning and adjustment will address that go beyond the sensor swabs.

MtnMan Loc: ID

Some professionals send their cameras in every year. Nikon has a program for that. MT Shooter mentioned it once.

nikonlad Loc: Venice, FL

I do.

camerapapi Loc: Miami, Fl.

Would you change the oil in your car every 5k miles?
Manufacturers recommend periodic maintenance which depends on the use of the camera.
If your camera has that mileage I do recommend that you send it in for cleaning and adjustments.

Jackinthebox Loc: travel the world

Very interesting. I wish I could send my camera in for a professional cleaning, adjusting any firmware update and whatever.
It makes sense to me but due to location I doubt I ever get it back. Shucks, lucky you Don. Send it in and please tell us about it.

Come to think of it, will do so later this year on my annual trip to Bangkok and Saigon. One more reason to buy a new camera in Saigon. :idea:

Jackinthebox Loc: travel the world

I change the oil in my motorbike every 1000km. Makes good sense to me. Oh, oil the chain as well.

Disclosure, I do not ever do this myself. very cheap to take it to a shop. In South East Asia that is.

Nothing to do with cameras of course but the same principle.

jim quist Loc: Missouri

Thats not very many shutter actuations. I have never had mine cleaned until I send it in for repair. Now you have me thinking about doing a cleaning schedule.

sueyeisert Loc: New Jersey

I would think about sending in a camera that seems fine for a checkup. I can tell you a horror story about sending a camera in to the manufacturer. It also depends how close you are to the repair centre.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

I do all of my gear at least once every 18 months - cameras and lenses. And if I sell any of my gear, it takes a trip to Nikon before I sell it. I don' like to get the email that says - this is not in 100% condition.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Definitely. Some people here have mentioned sending their cameras in for an inspection and cleaning every year. At 20,000 shots, that sounds like a good idea. You might want to check the price first, just avoid any unpleasant surprises.

houdel Loc: Chase, Michigan USA

No. In my younger days, changing your engine oil every three thousand miles was almost a religion. My most recent cars have monitoring systems in the engine computer to tell me when the oil needs to be changed based on my driving habits and operating conditions. Thanks to improvements in engines and emission controls, oil contamination has been greatly reduced and modern oils are much more capable of handling and protecting the engine from the contaminants. The engine computer is able to predict an appropriate point to have the engine oil replaced based on modern science and technology rather than an arbitrary interval based on a worst case scenario. Interestingly, my 18 year old son, who recently graduated from high school after taking 2 years of automotive technology courses, is fixated on the 3k oil change interval. Even though he is quite a bit more technologically knowledgeable than I, the 3k dogma was drilled into his brain by an old school instructor.

What does that have to do with cameras? Well, I just bought a Nikon F3 HP film SLR. When it gets here I'll likely send it out for a CLA. Why? Because its a 35+ year old camera with some 1600 mechanical parts; the lubricants in it are probably dried out, deteriorated, and contaminated; and older cameras were not sealed very well so it probably has a lot of crud floating around its innards. The seller is not the original owner and knows little about its prior history, so after 35+ years and uncertain maintenance a good CLA is probably a good idea.

I also recently picked up a used Nikon D3X with 30k clicks and a used Nikon D300 with 18k clicks. Do they need servicing? It would be nice if the manufacturers gave recommended service intervals, but I can not find anything specific on either the Nikon USA or Canon websites. The Nikon Europe website does recommend service at 3 to 5 year intervals. I'm guessing both the D3X and D300 are at least five years old, so servicing is probably a good idea.

If I were a professional using my cameras extensively and depending on them for my main or only source of income, I'd have my cameras serviced annually. Based on the Nikon Europe recommendation, I'd say an amatuer who uses their equipment a lot or uses or stores it in less than ideal environmental conditions might want to consider service at three year intervals; an average user who uses and stores their gear in recommended environmental conditions might want to consider service at five year intervals.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Three thousand mile intervals? Wow! That's been a dead issue for decades.

The camera executive who comes up with a must-do maintenance schedule for their cameras will get a huge bonus. Having to send your camera to the Service Center every so often would generate huge amounts of money for camera makers.

I would recommend sending a camera in for inspection and adjustment before the warranty expires. Finding a problem during warranty is better than finding it a month later.

boberic Loc: Quiet Corner, Connecticut. Ex long Islander

Does that mean I have to change the shutter fluid?

Jackinthebox Loc: travel the world

Yes only use genuine Mobile.