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Hours Meter - How much is "too" much?

Nick Pujic

Nick Pujic

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How much is considered too much? What's the life expectancy on an Epic / Dragon? I ask because I feel like I use our REDs much more than I hear others using them. It's the nature of the beast for what I shoot though. This year alone I've put on 600 hours on one of our Epics.

Does anyone know what they are considered to be good until? Are there any moving parts other than the fans?
Thanks guys - as always,

Nick
 
I'm not an expert on RED internals... but when it comes to digital cameras there really isn't any 'aging' problem. Sure some electronics may fail after an extended period of time... but the amount of time (the Mean Time Between Failures) for devices like cameras is VERY long. I suspect some mechanical parts (lens mount) may wear out eventually, and electrical connectors are typically rated for number of plug/unplug cycles... but that stuff can all be repaired, just as the fans can be replaced when needed.

So... you may need to get the camera serviced at some point... and you may need to replace cables... but I bet you'll have moved on to the next great tech long before the camera wears out.

Anecdotal data... I just threw away a bunch of digital cameras from the early 2000's, they all still worked but were long past their useful lifespan (and it was to the point that it was difficult to get data off them... interfaces have changed a lot). Some had been used quite a lot.
 
I think it might also depend on when you're recording versus simply letting the camera idle.

I know one owner that never turns off his camera on a shoot and simply let it idle when not recording (like for an hour even). It's kind of like the old argument of computers. Was it better to constantly zap the power on and off on a computer/electronic or simply have electricity constantly flow? Camera hours can be deceiving (recording versus idling) but more so then that is the camera getting wear and tear on parts getting power zaps. Who knows what can affect a lifespan of electronics...
 
Beats me, sounds like a bomb squad question
 
Personally I would rather buy a used camera with 7000 hours tha has been babied than a low hour camera that hasn't been. Hours are relatively unimportant IMO
 
Hours used to be important when there mechanical parts such as tape mechanisms that would wear out . These days it's not as important, If the camera has worked for several hundred or thousand hours, then it's probably going to keep on working. If a camera is going to fail then it'll probably fail in the first month after it comes off the assembly line as some here can attest to.
 
My Epic M has been upgraded twice, both times the camera was reset to zero, so I would ignore any low no your quoted.
A normal shoot day is probably 12 hours, so I would expect cameras to do 600-3000 hours a year, any less & I can't see why anyone would buy a camera.
 
If i were to buy a used camera with any number of hours, i would ask the buyer to send their camera to Red for inspection, easy to do and would make the sale easier and safer.
Some sellers who sell their camera do send their cameras to Red anyway before selling it.
 
I replace mine with a new one every 100 hours.
 
Danny Dunlop said:
I replace mine with a new one every 100 hours.
Click to expand...

Based on your philosophy...... I shoot 10 hour days, 20 times a month i would need a new camera every 2 weeks!
 
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