Like everyone else, I don’t like to be taken advantage of so when I got a bill for $229.00 for a slight warranty focus adjustment on my Tamron lens I got upset. It seems the Sacramento, CA Tamron repair agency found the Filter Ring was cracked on my 4 year old 28-75 lens and they could not proceed with the warranty adjustment until repairs were completed. I refused to pay the repair cost and was charged $15.00 for return shipping (70 miles).
Upon inspecting the returned lens I found that yes indeed the Filter Ring was cracked. Let me explain that the Filter Ring is on the front of the lens and it’s only function is to hold the lens hood and except filters. It has no other function and still worked just fine.
I decided to see what I could do and found the repair extremely simple, just pop off a small circular ring that looks like a retaining ring but just hides tiny Phillips screws which hold the Filter Ring and the front lens assembly. Removing the Filter Ring took less than of 2 minutes. I ordered a new ring ($3.36 + $5.00 shipping) which the estimate had as parts-$78.00. I guess the rest was Labor and return shipping.
Charging $229.00 for such a simple repair is shameful and must be taken into consideration when shopping for a new lens, I know I will.
If you can think from their perspective, they get an old lens that has a cracked filter thread. How did the filter ring crack? Was the lens dropped? Was excessive force was exerted on the lens? etc. etc.
It is an optical instrument. Just because it works ok doesn't mean it meets all spec. requirments set by design. So they probably took that into account and quoted the OP the price of the part - which is usually cheap any way, cost of labor to calibrate and clean the lens out (which can get pricey) and return everything to factory spec. Just because we don't see what they see, doesn't mean they are out to get you. They have to stand by their work (6 month warranty perhaps) and no large OEM does half the work and hopes everything will be ok. Everything has to meet spec.
If you really want to compare, Canon Irvine has charged me $400 to fix up my 35-350L (they said they simply had to change out what I considered a perfectly fine rear element), $380 to fix a 16-35mm f2.8 L that had been dropped but worked "fine", $600 to fix up a 1Ds Mk II that cracked from the hot shoe to lens mount when dropped but surprisingly functioned (flash unit connection did not work), etc. etc. Canon charges you $180 to clean up your 30D/40D as well as your 5D or 1-series - standard price across a camera that costs under $1000 compared to one that costs $8k.
Had the OP had Tamron restore the lens to spec, he would have had a lens as good as brand new which would still be preferable to most buyers than buying an uncalibrated used copy.
Snead wrote:
Like everyone else, I don’t like to be taken advantage of so when I got a bill for $229.00 for a slight warranty focus adjustment on my Tamron lens I got upset. It seems the Sacramento, CA Tamron repair agency found the Filter Ring was cracked on my 4 year old 28-75 lens and they could not proceed with the warranty adjustment until repairs were completed. I refused to pay the repair cost and was charged $15.00 for return shipping (70 miles).
Upon inspecting the returned lens I found that yes indeed the Filter Ring was cracked. Let me explain that the Filter Ring is on the front of the lens and it’s only function is to hold the lens hood and except filters. It has no other function and still worked just fine.
I decided to see what I could do and found the repair extremely simple, just pop off a small circular ring that looks like a retaining ring but just hides tiny Phillips screws which hold the Filter Ring and the front lens assembly. Removing the Filter Ring took less than of 2 minutes. I ordered a new ring ($3.36 + $5.00 shipping) which the estimate had as parts-$78.00. I guess the rest was Labor and return shipping.
Charging $229.00 for such a simple repair is shameful and must be taken into consideration when shopping for a new lens, I know I will.
skibum5 wrote:
wow thanks so much for this, I mashed my filter ring, maybe I can do this simple repair....
yeah that is a shame.
/quote]
You wouldn't have any trouble, it's really very simple. I have found that the Tamron filter ring is very frail and cracking is a common problem. A slight bump of the lens hood can cause it. I ordered an extra ring to have on hand in case it happens again.
Out of curiosity, where did you get the filter ring? I believe mine is also cracked or damaged. The hood wobbles as does the filter, which is incredibly annoying. I own the 17-50, and have been meaning to get Tamron service. I haven't been able to get the filter ring off, any hints would be nice
I'm not the original purchaser of the lens either, so I'm not sure how friendly Tamron is about this sort of thing.
diredesire wrote:
Out of curiosity, where did you get the filter ring? I believe mine is also cracked or damaged. The hood wobbles as does the filter, which is incredibly annoying. I own the 17-50, and have been meaning to get Tamron service. I haven't been able to get the filter ring off, any hints would be nice
I'm not the original purchaser of the lens either, so I'm not sure how friendly Tamron is about this sort of thing.
You can order the Filter Ring directly from Tamron (1-800 827-8880 option 6). A very nice lady helped me order the correct part.
I don't know about the 17-50 but on the 28-75 there is a small circular ring that mounts around the front lens element. This ring looks like a screw-in retainer but is actually thin plastic that is simply pressed into position. It can be easily popped out exposing 6 small Phillips screws, three hold the Filter Ring and three hold the front lens assembly. You will need a set of small Phillips screw drivers.
