I've been really wondering this lately when reviewing shots. I'm not sure if it's because my cameras have truly worn out or if I've just learned to see details.

I have four cameras, an Olympus e20n, two Sony DSC-F828, and a Panasonic DMC-FZ20. None of these cameras are known for having the sharpest lenses, especially the Sony. But lately, it seems that even the Panasonic, which has the best lens in my lineup, isn't as sharp as it used to be. Each of these cameras has taken at least 40k shots.

I know the Olympus has a function they recommend running once a year to find dead pixels on the sensor, but after Olympus repair messed up the metering and focus on the camera, I think the sharpness issue is related to their repair versus the sensor.

I know zoom lenses lose their sharpness over time at the ends due to use, which could contribute to issue. But would it be this bad? Do sensors lose their touch over the years? Any input appreciated. Personal experiences really welcome!

When someone mentions that "all" their cameras are suffering, I have to wonder how they are being reviewed?

In particular I have seen CRT monitors loose their sharpness and that will affect all images viewed on the monitor.

May we see some sample images showing before and after problems, preferably with full EXIF?

BTW, I have some very old lenses, primes and zooms, and they do not display a general loss in sharpness just because of age.

Some have developed internal problems like mildew which definitely impact image sharpness, but that's because they were improperly stored or they were consistently used in an environment which caused the mildew. Some are lenses I purchased with the problem for prices which allow repair. (2 - Pentax 500mm, f4.5 primes which I bought for a very fair price, for instance.) Some are lenses given to me. I have 1 lens that suffers from delamination of glued elements, but it's not a lens I commonly use.

I have some zoom lenses from the 1970s that still test OK, but I don't use them because I now have better lenses available. Optically they are still in pretty much the same condition as when they were young. Lens formulas, especially zoom lenses, continue to improve as do manufacturing tolerances.

just a thought here - is this when viewing a print or on a monitor? If Print disregard, if monitor - have you adjusted the monitor etc?

Originally Posted by brvheart just a thought here - is this when viewing a print or on a monitor? If Print disregard, if monitor - have you adjusted the monitor etc?

Monitor. I've actually never seen a real SM print yet.

The monitors aren't calibrated. The laptop I used to use for review can't handle SM anymore, so I've had to use the only other LCD I have. The CRT in front of me runs too high a resolution to be effective at reviewing the images off SM (I have the sized locked to Medium).

Here's an example of an image I'd not to happy with. It came from the newer of the two Sony cameras, f3.5 at 1/60, so shake shouldn't have been an issue.
http://huntsvillecarscene.smugmug.co...21916818_Wubto

Here's a shot from 2005 from the same Sony camera for comparison. The material of the seat is leather, so that makes a bit of difference and it's f2.8 at 1/60, so it has a bit more light and a slighly shallower dof.
http://huntsvillecarscene.smugmug.co...29617478_tVUWz

Originally Posted by SamirD ... Here's an example of an image I'd not to happy with. It came from the newer of the two Sony cameras, f3.5 at 1/60, so shake shouldn't have been an issue. http://huntsvillecarscene.smugmug.co...21916818_Wubto Here's a shot from 2005 from the same Sony camera for comparison. The material of the seat is leather, so that makes a bit of difference and it's f2.8 at 1/60, so it has a bit more light and a slighly shallower dof. http://huntsvillecarscene.smugmug.co...29617478_tVUWz

It's a little hard to see at these image sizes but it almost looks like the first image is back focused a bit. Is that possible?

Do Cameras Lose Sharpness Over Time?

No, but Photgraphers do!

Seriously, I too have some very old equipment. I've never experienced nor heard of a decrease in sharpness sue to age alone.

Originally Posted by ziggy53 It's a little hard to see at these image sizes but it almost looks like the first image is back focused a bit. Is that possible?

I think that is a real possibility.

I started using spot focus/metering since a lot of shots were missing focus when set to the auto multi-point pattern. If it's metering the back of the passenger compartment, then at that dof, there is a good chance that the closer objects would be out of focus. That was actually going to be my experiment when shooting this weekend--use multi-point again for interior shots.

But from what I'm gathering from the responses in this thread, is that none of you have had deteriorations in digital equipment over time? This is contrary to the results I'm getting from general Internet searches.

Thank you very much for the quick response.

For review, I use a particular LCD monitor. I used to use a Toshiba Tecra 8100 laptop that had an even better LCD on it, but because SM has become so much more system intensive, this laptop can't be used to do this efficently. I also have Eizo and Nanao CRT monitors that were top of the line and were over $1500 about 10 years ago. These were always well-reviewed in the desktop publishing publications. I don't use these for review because they are not color calibrated to my cameras and can be much further off color-wise than the LCD. But I can look at an image on them quickly to double check focus, dof, etc.

I'll have to dig to find good before and after examples. I literally have shot 250k photos and will have to comb through them. Luckily, I should have these already on SM, so a full EXIF will be available.

I know that SLR lenses typically won't lose their capabilities, but since these cameras are all aimed at consumers and have built-in lenses, I don't think the rules that apply to SLR lenses will apply to these. I have a real feeling that these aren't built to the quality levels of individual lenses. I think the Olympus is the only exception to this. It has ED glass and was aimed at pros, not consumers.