Do sensors and associated electronics wear out or degrade?

[AndrewCassino]

I have a Canon 5D and, it seems to me, the recent low-light images I've been making, with exposure times ranging from 1/8 second to 30 seconds or more, show more amplifier bloom and banding than similar images I took when I first got the camera. I don't have any controlled tests to base this opinion on, it's just a gut sense that I am dealing with retouching more of these issues than I used to. (Or, it could be I am just getting pickier as time wears on! )

However, this does have me wondering, what should one expect in terms of sensor lifetime? Does the performance (particularly, noise performance) of the full frame Canon CMOS sensors (and associated electronics) degrade over time? If so, is it a minor, moderate, or major effect? It is unreasonable to expect a FF DSLR to perform roughly the same as new for 5, 10 or even 20 years?

Andrew

[ChuckWestfall]

Hi, Andrew:

Good luck on finding an authoritative answer to that question. To the best of my knowledge, none of the major camera manufacturers has expressed an opinion on the subject, and personally I doubt that they ever would. There are several good reasons why:

1. Like many other types of electronic devices, the design of image sensors evolves over time. Therefore, what may be true for one particular sensor does not necessarily hold true for every sensor, even if it's the same brand. And for that matter, it doesn't make sense to generalize sensor longevity among different manufacturers.

2. When it comes to testing longevity, the proof is in the pudding, so to speak. It's possible to test sensors based on actual usage, but it's not possible to simulate the effects of time.

3. Quite bluntly, in an era where digital cameras are no longer repaired by manufacturers 7 years after the end of production, there is no good business reason to claim sensor longevity beyond that point.

4. For what it's worth, Canon has not detected any deterioration in image sensor performance with any EOS Digital SLR since we first started manufacturing our own sensors 9 years ago with the EOS D30. In other words, the performance in terms of sensitivity and color values has remained stable over that period of time.

[AndrewCassino]

Thanks Chuck, for the thoughtful reply!