Has anyone ever had a total failure of a digital back? Do you have experiences with the lifespan of older backs?
For me it could become a big problem if the back stops working when working on location (I am an architectural photographer).
My only solution would be switching to film - fortunately I have never had a single problem during one year working with my digital back.

Dominique

Define what you mean by total failure?

Sure there are plenty of reasons why a back could stop working just as there is with any other piece of electronic or mechanical equipment. Failures are rare, but they are impossible to keep from happening.

As for older backs. I have seen plenty of backs that are 10+ years old still being used in service every day. I think technological advances have made backs obsolete long before their duty cycles are up. I still see customers with Leaf DCB II, Leaf Cantare XY, Megavision, and Sinar 22 backs in service that are approaching or past 10 years of service. Any aging piece of equipment can have problems, but in most circumstances they can be repaired.

Hope that helps ..

Matt LaPointe
Sinar Bron Imaging
National Sales Support Specialist
(219) 670-9905

Anything can fail, at any tim3 and for any number of reasons. That's why backups are needed when doing critical work.

But digital back have turned out to be very robust devices. They have almost no moving parts, and like most high-end electronics once they are past their first few hours and a few hard knocks they likely continue for many years.

When I was visiting Phase One last year they told me that they have seen their P backs used in aerial mapping applications that have preformed more than 1 million expoures without failure.

Michael

I can only confirm Matt's experience with "old" backs: we have tausends of users still working with the very first generation of digital backs: the Sinar 22 mentioned below is not the 22 MPx one, but the first ever Sinar digital high-end back with 4 MPx!

Best regards,
Thierry