Hi, in their latest issue (212 - April 1999), Chasseur d'Images tested the Dynax 9, F100 and EOS 3 for what reliability concerns. The test was pretty basic: the shutter was fired until it died and the speed value was checked regularly for drifts. The Dynax 9 shutter exploded after about 80.000 exposure, but battery consumption started to increase at around 55.000 exposures. The shutter speed did not drift. The F100 shutter died after about 130.000 exposures, but the speed values were still right on. The EOS3 shutter lasted for around 425.000 exposures!!! The precision had started to drift, but only very slightly. The shutter could have been replaced, for about 3000 FRF (~500 USD). The F100 outlived the 100.000 milestone, but not by a huge margin. That's probably why it is not officially guaranteed for 100.000 shots. The EOS 3 performance has to be tempered, as probably nobody will ever take 425.000 pictures with the same camera (that's shooting 50 rolls a week for 4 1/2 years, or almost 400 years if one only shoots 30 rolls a year), but the shutter will probably outlive the rest of the camera. The EOS3 may be a bunch of plastic, but with a pretty good shutter ;-) Nicolas.
