Mr. Pan at Rainbow (Canon's reps here in Taiwan) Kaohsiung always solved the problems in a friendly and helpful way. When my 2nd hand 100-400 turned out to have been stolen (several links in the chain back) they also confered with the shop where I bought it (they did not know it was stolen either) so that I got all my money back - even after using it for 18 months..
Will Patterson wrote:
Both times I've sent something to the NJ facility it was disappointing. The first time was for cleaning my 5D and calibrating my 17-40 which at first for the 5D they said my $100 coupon for the 5D would apply, but I ended up not being able to use it because the previous owner apparently had already used the coupon, canon refused to do anything about it so I got the shaft for over $320 to have the 5D cleaned and the lens calibrated. I was really PO'ed about that joke of an experience. The lens came back focusing no better than it did before I sent it to them.
Second time, I sent my brand new 70-200 2.8 IS to them to have it calibrated, it was horrible at anything over 100mm focual length. It came back a week later still with the same exact problem. Even my girlfriend who knows nothing about photography was asking why the pictures were blurry that I took at the 4th of July parade. She also said the ones that were "closer" (below 100mm) looked way better.
So that lens and the body are on their way to NJ right now. ...Show more →
Canon got my gear overnight, and today I got two emails with seperate repair numbers for the camera and lens, nice!
It's kind of ridiculous that Canon has only two service facilities in the US. I envy those who live close enough to take there equipment to them in person and then pick it up so they don't have to wait for shipping.
10D front focus problems. Resolved by NJ repair center.
Canon 24-70/2.8 soft. Only partially resolved by NJ repair center.
Canon 550EX flash not firing slaves when used as master. Returned by Canon NJ repair center, claiming they fixed it. They did not -- same problem, as if they didn't even look at it.
All items were under warranty. Service speed was decent. Service results mixed, at best.
After a couple of hundred or so shots my 100-400 started having an Err 1 problem with my 40D. It was still semi-functional so I was able to use it with some success the rest of that trip (I was in northern Kenya - an area lacking Canon repair facilities) so sent it to Canon Irvine when I returned. While they told me it would be returned in a week to ten days it was almost a month before I got it back. Their enclosed note said they were able to duplicate the problem, but unable to determine its cause, and therefore they "replaced some parts" and determined the problem fixed. Initially it seemed fine.
So.... last week I was at Glacier NP. I was focused on a moose...I pressed the shutter and ...Err 1. It stopped functioning altogether. I was not pleased. Now I get to go through the experience of sending it back to the people who didn't fix it the first time because they couldn't figure out the problem, and who knows how long it'll take this time. I'm falling into the "dreading Canon service" column. I'm actually now convinced that I got a lemon lens.
I was going to go to an air show this weekend. I don't see the point now. Thanks, Canon.
Irvine CA, Service Center has been spectacular all 3 times I've needed them. Longest time without my gear is 8 days. The 2 lenses I've sent in for calibration have come back super sharp!!!
Canon "service" varies from country to country and is not comparable, and CPS service is not comparable with pleb service.
In Australia Canon service is abysmal.
CPS may be ok, but the gap to pleb service for those of us who don't have two 1-series bodies is enormous -- disgraceful.
Only one depot to cover the whole country, they rarely do what is asked, they take 6 weeks MINIMUM (two weeks just to get a quote back), they lose documentation, they forget to fix problems, they lose track of of items sent in as a pair, return lenses with new problems, can't answer questions about what they did, force you to speak to a non-native English speaker to answer your questions and refuse to let you talk to anyone who actually dealt with your gear, and don't keep promises in terms of time to repair or to do what they say they will do.
I'm sitting here now with a 400mm lens that doesn't quite focus and don't know what to do about it - I have a choice of not having use of the lens for a long time (which I can't afford to do) and still getting it back unfixed as happened last time, or not getting it fixed and using f8 instead of f5.6. Why should anyone have to put up with this having spent $2000 on a lens?
My experience with Canon Mississauga has been so-so.Back in the 80's, they "lost" an F-1 with a 17-35 2.8 lens, which thet subsequently replaced after a couple of months. Slow, but honorable service.
Sent my 1D3 in for Submirror fix in mid May,along with a 24-70 lens(in 2 pieces, but don't ask) and got the camera back in about a month. No estimate on the lens until June 18, at which time I was given an estimate for $ 81.00, for which I told them to go ahead. Still waiting for the lens to come back. BTW, I'm a CPS member. I think they are hand carrying the lens back to me on the West Coast.
I spoke with Canon Irvine on Friday and the woman told me she would expedite my order, overnight it, and I should have it this Wednesday.
Called today, spoke to a very rude guy, and he insisted that they wouldn't even pick up the package until Friday (I guess it sits in an imaginary holding room), and that from there it would take 7-10 business days to "process" the package, and that I could then expect to receive my equipment a few business days after that.
I hope he was mistaken, that would be nearly a month (at minimum) without the gear. If it comes back still soft, I might fly to California and go postal.
Have to say poor and that is being polite. Sent a lens to Calgary for cleaning, they did not clean it and sent it back to my mailing address which is a PO Box so it ended up in Post Office in a store in a nearby town. They ignored the shipping address and never assisted me in tracking down where the lens was.
Tried Canon Mississauga for my 20D. Called them before shipping it and was told time and charges. Once it arrived it was a $200 flat rate plus parts. They replaced the LCD screen and sent it back after one month. Examined the camera and found the tech's thumbprint on the inside of the LCD cover. Back it went. Over 6 weeks and two trips to Ontario for a $10 part.
Tried Calgary again when my 20D developed an intermittent on the hot shoe. Sent it in early December 2007 and got it back finally in late February 2008. They replaced the flash assembly but in the process of reassembling the camera again they left the inside cover of the LCD with some type of smear. Back it goes again and this time I get it back in March.
Sent my 5D to Calgary to have the sensor examined. Appears there is a depression of some type on the LPF. It is not a scratch as it follows any colour applied to it, found it by accident examining dust spots. It appears the material had a defect before the coating was applied. Sent them my phone number, email address and a detailed explanation of what I was seeing. Camera came back saying they cleaned the sensor, I thought for sure they would contact me if they did not understand what I described. I can see it on my monitor at 100% at f16 or greater.
My 1D MKIII has developed an intermittant Error 99, decided to preregister the camera for repair. The system indicates a 20 - 25 day average repair time, longer if the problem is difficult. Decided to live with the Error until our short summer season is over with.
It takes Canon Calgary 4-5 working days to unpack a camera and enter it in their system. This is what they told me when I shipped my 20D back to them.
They have no QC, you would think the tech working on the camera would examine it for flaws after it was repaired or the shipping dept would pick up on a smear that stands out like a sore thumb. They just blindly pack it up and sent it out.
Boggles the mind how they can treat their customers this way. Just total apathy in my experience. The US has 10X our population yet I read about how people get their cameras back in less than a week!
The shutter on my MkIIn stopped working just as I was finishing a Sat afternoon HS football game. I sent it to Jamesburg, NJ by Express Mail on Monday morning. It was delivered Tuesday before noon. I didn't get the expected e-mail so I called on Wed. The first person I talked to said that normal procedure was to allow 3-5 business days for it to be logged into their system. I called again and got to speak with someone a little more knowledgable. She checked on my camera by it's serial number and found that it was already in the hands of a technician and said that there was a 50-50 chance I might get it back by Sat, if not Monday for sure. To my surprise it arrived on Thursday afternoon in time for an assignment that evening. I was truly amazed it came back that fast.
I've had the camera for a little over two years so it was out of warranty. But the shutter is supposed to last for 200,000 shots and mine was at about 115,000. A reasonable compromise was to supply the replacement parts for free and only charge me for the labor.
No complaints here. I hope all of my future experiences with Canon Factory Repair Service go as well as my first.
Canon has been awesome with me, only issue that I wasn't plesed with is a 16-35 II that was soft throughout its range. Took three attempts and the last tech was the head guy at Irvine who discovered a element was out of alignment significantly causing the issue. But he, to his credit found the issue and I have an amazing piece of glass
But now I have questions for all of you:
My 1D3, I just sent it in. I've been unable to send it in till now.
It has three issues.
A) The AF hasn't been spot on since the sub mirror replacement.
B) The sensor is always getting dirty, were talking crazy dirty. I keep getting it cleaned locally and the tech thinks the seals aren't working or something is giving a charge to the sensor. He had to clean the sensor 2x times once and then the next weak it was filthy again. I'm not changing lenses in a dust storm
C) Hot pixels like you wouldn't believe. I seem to spend a great deal of time cleaning up on even low iso long exposures (over 15 seconds) the same pixels constantly. we're talking over 30 of them. Is that normal for anyone? It's driving me insane, I mean it's better than using a ccd and seeing the corners bend out but still.
That being said I've got a month of down time and expect them to do a great job fixing it
canon irvine irritates the hell out of me. i sent my 1d mk 2 in (using CPS) for repeated Err 99 where the mirror would get stuck flipped up. they sent it back (only 80K clicks, out of warranty) after i paid $260 to get it fixed (supposedly replaced the shutter).
a year and a day later, the shutter actually blew (one of the blades, typical light arc showing up in photos). sent it in, they said "shutter out of alignment" and charged $260 again.
about a month later, got err 99 repeatedly. they finally "replaced some parts" for free.
turns out, my friend sent his in to irvine, without CPS, for a blown shutter blade, and they fixed his for free...about 2 weeks after i had to pay $260 for it! very hit or miss with these guys......
I sent my 1Ds to NJ where they repaired the low pass filter and did the usual CLA, too. 11 day turnaround wasn't bad, but they put a 1/4 inch scratch in the rear LCD, dammit. Not a word of acknowledgement either. Low marks, definitely. Never had a service person damage my gear, ever. Canon-NJ, you've scored a first with me.
