A shutter replacement is almost guaranteed to cost more than the camera... that's why Canon camera's viable lives are measured in shuttercount... that camera has a lifespan of 50K shots in common with most lower end Canon cameras. Real Canon batteries cost an arm and a leg too... I think I'd stall on buying the battery and the card and chuck it in for a Canon service first (try I-Qlick - the official Canon dealer in Cambodia). The problem sounds more like a circuitry fault than anything else. They also have a decent deal on a 1200D if it's not cost-effective to repair.

TheGrinchSR wrote:A shutter replacement is almost guaranteed to cost more than the camera... that's why Canon camera's viable lives are measured in shuttercount... that camera has a lifespan of 50K shots in common with most lower end Canon cameras. Real Canon batteries cost an arm and a leg too... I think I'd stall on buying the battery and the card and chuck it in for a Canon service first (try I-Qlick - the official Canon dealer in Cambodia). The problem sounds more like a circuitry fault than anything else. They also have a decent deal on a 1200D if it's not cost-effective to repair.

The more I've played with it the more I think the battery is not discharging correctly after a certain amount of use - enough action for the onboard computer but not the shutter mechanism. Definitely not going replace the shutter, but might spring for a service in Bangkok next week.

I bought a cherry 400d today at under $200 including the kit 18-55mm, bag, hood, manuals etc. - absolutely delighted with it. Confident in the seller's claim of less than 5k actuations. Even had a quality 1Gb CF card. Tried the newer battery in the 350d and got a better response. If the 350d continues to behave I'll sell it to recover some costs.

I believe the shutter count limit on the 350d is 100k, and that this is a 'reasonable service life' rather than an actual time to die.

Thanks again for your thoughts.

^ What does cherry mean StroppyChops?

Anyway, that sounds like a great deal on the 400d. Where did you find it?

Jockey wrote:^ What does cherry mean StroppyChops?

Anyway, that sounds like a great deal on the 400d. Where did you find it?

Cherry = like new.

I bought the 400d online from a great bloke who said he had a lot of interest from people who couldn't accept there was nothing wrong with it for that price. Their loss is very much my gain.