So I bumped a few of my lenses, dropped one (no visible damage), etc. Figured I would just walk into the Canon service center in irvine, and maybe pay about 30-50 dollars a piece to have them calibrated.
Turns out it's about $250 to $270 per lens! Even with CPS gold, that's a pretty hefty fee. So I just had them look at the one I dropped and slooowly walked away from the counter. Yikes. I had no idea it cost that much
I dropped off 5 lenses to CPS in Jamesburg, and they calibrated each one, and shipped them back all for no cost.
Also had 2 5DIII's cleaned in an hour without any clean and check certificates.
So much depends on who you talk to, and how you talk to them / how you ask.
I was really nice to the rep. Sje asked what was wrong, and I said nothing really. I banged these up, during my last shoot, and I wanted to be sure they were good and calibrated for piece of mind. The lady said, hm, I'm not sure if you want to do that, and I said why not? And she said, because I think they're about 200-250 a piece. 35L, 24-70, and 16-35LMKII, plus a 1dsIII. I ended up using my last clean and check for the 1dsIII and paid after 30% bout 180 USD for the 24-70. The rest, I'm just going to do a focus test by hand and most likely end up doing the micro adjustments.
I even asked, for that price do they take everything apart? And she said no, it varies. But I'm just assuming they run it through a machine, make sure it's within tolerances, and adjust. Oh well. Maybe next time I'll try the phone and ask specifically for calibration.
Since you dropped off, you probably live closer to Irvine than I do (Simi Valley). I just mail my gear in addressed to CPS, along with a cover letter explanation and a CD of test shot examples (if needed to show problem). My last adjustment was for 17 TS-E that couldn't focus properly (only went out to about 15'). The charge was $130 with the 30% CPS discount.
Exactly! I thought they sounded like repair costs. I'm going to call the cps rep tomorrow just to see what's going on. Calibration prices like that seem a bit ridiculous.
Preaching to the choir my friend. That shit used to really piss me off back when I had bodies without micro-adjust. It was 50/50 whether buying a used lens would result in having to send it to Canon. Anyway, that's the price, no dinner or ear nibbling in included, just straight to the bedroom.
Checking calibration is a simple, quick procedure that they usually (maybe often) don't charge for.
If something needs to be done internally (I'm talking about a lens that's decentered, has a tilted element, etc., not just a focus adjustment) it can be a fairly simple, straightforward thing requiring just a minor disassembly. Or it can be a several hours job.
Centering a 100-400, for example, requires removing all of the barrels, reassembling the elements onto a special jig base, centering the elements, then reassembling the lens. A 70-200 f/2.8 IS may require removing all the rear barrels, reassembling everything but keeping the third barrel piece off to allow acces to centering collars, centering the lens, then taking it back apart and reassembling with the barrel back on.
I'm sure Canon factory service is much faster than I am, but the time it takes to optically adjust a lens runs 30 minutes for something really simple, up to 4 hours for more complex stuff. And remember the charge includes not just the tech's time, but access to a few hundred thousand dollars worth of equipment, software and space. (My very limited repair facilities include 2,500 SF of space stuffed to the brim with over 6 figures worth of equipment.)
I know I sound like an apologist, but "just an adjustment" makes it seem much simpler than it is. Also, people seem to confuse focus adjustment with optical adjustment. If a lens has an optical problem, all the focus adjustment in the world just makes a well-focused blurry image.
You were unsure about what, if anything, was wrong with them. As a result, so was she, and she didn't want to say you'd get it for free if they found out you had misaligned elements etc. She quoted you worst case scenario.
I'm not sure what the point was of asking for someone to check something when you have not noticed anything wrong(?). You should have just asked her to check the focus was calibrated only for free and leave it at that. Is there anything actually wrong with them? Once you start talking about dropping them, of course, warning lights go on.
It's no different than annual trips to the doctor/dentist, or dropping the car off for inspection before a long trip. It's a CLA, a checkup, regular inspection after use, etc. People have been doing this with their camera gear for decades, there's nothing fishy about it. In the off-season, you drop your gear off to get it checked out in hopes that it prevents any issues during the time when you really need it. They didn't know he dropped one and for all we know it rolled off a gear bag onto shag carpeting in some motel. There should be a basic inspection with a reasonable sub-$100 fee, which then opens the windows to other repairs and fees, if necessary. However, this is not how it works. The fee is almost always ~$250 and it often doesn't matter what was needed. I wish I would have saved my receipts over the years. Electrical adjustment - $250. Replace the entire lens body and recalibrate - $250. These are real prices they've charged me on lenses out of warranty. They work out great when your lens is fubar, but not when you want a checkup.
