Canon 550D EOS...

[gwpriester]

The camera is digital, so the number of shots is determined by the amount of memory available for the SDHC memory card. These cards are not expensive.

You can move the photos from the camera to your computer. So if you get a 16 or 32GB memory card, you will be able to shoot all day and not come close to the amount of memory on the card.

Here are some numbers. A 16GB memory card equals 16,384MB. If your image size is 10MB, you can get 1,638 photos on one card.

[Rik]

One thing to bear in mind is that you can take pictures in JPEG and RAW format, at the same time.
In that case, the amount of pictures will be reduced.
My camera is 18 megapixel.
On a 16Gb card, I can take 999 pictures in JPEG format and 461 pictures if I have JPEG + RAW selected at the highest setting for both.

Hope that helps.

[pauland]

It used to be that photographers used to rate their second hand cameras by the number of pictures taken during the life of the camera. Is this perhaps what sonic9999 is asking?

I'm not sure it applies these days in the digital world.

[Rik]

How many pictures you can take, still applies to Digital SLR Cameras.
The shutter still has to open to expose the sensor, to be able to take the picture.

If sonic9999 is asking about shutter life, then this link gives some numbers.
http://olegkikin.com/shutterlife/canon_eos550d.htm

If you purchase a new camera, then you are likely to change the camera before the shutter fails.
The shutter can fail at any time. It's not guaranteed.
My Canon 7D is rated at 150,000 clicks. It may last 50,000 clicks or it may last 300,000 clicks. But, Canon have tested it to provide 150,000 clicks, on average.

[JonH27]

Hi ssonic9999

If the shutter count is what you're after, there's more here http://www.canon5dtips.com/on-the-we...anon-eos-dslr/ including links which will help you find the count for your camera. If buying secondhand it's worth asking the seller for the count information. BTW needing to replace a shutter isn't necessarily a horrendously expensive job (although obviously better avoided if you can...). I'm no expert myself but my son got the shutter replaced after it misfired in his EOS40D for quite a modest amount (think it might have been around £100) at a UK Canon official repair agent.

Jon