I voted average. I've had great experiences (fixed in 1 trip) and horrible experiences (4 trips), so it's been a bit of a lottery for me. Anecdotally, Irvine was the one who took 4 trips, while I've sent multiple items to NJ and they've all come back fixed in 1 trip, but other people have experienced the opposite.
High praise from me... I called and spoke to a real person, very helpful with shipping instructions and knowledgeable of the product. Quick turnaround (Irvine, CA) for this warranty repair (hot pixels on long exposures). Return shipping was FedEx 2 day, so its all good.
Jul 10, 2008 at 09:48 AM
Lars Johnsson Offline • • • • • • • Upload & Sell: Off
I use the Canon Bangkok Repair/Service Center most of the time. And I have a CPS card. Their service is absolutely fantastic. Five times have I left my camera or lenses for repair or calibration/cleaning. Four times I have got them back the next day. One time I have to wait for two days They also send me an SMS or phone me as soon as I can get the repaired camera/lens.
I've had wonderful service from Canon Irvine (California) for years. Only exception was once when I sent in a brand new body that arrived with a really filthy sensor to be cleaned and it came back just as I sent it in, not one speck of glued on dust had been cleaned off or even moved. Other that that time, everything has been great.
And on a positive note, they replaced my 1D2's blown shutter (at 14k) for free even though it was out of warranty.
Edited by ShadowWalker on Jul 10, 2008 at 09:50 AM GMT
My experience with the Irvine facility has been excellent. Four separate occasions, camera bodies and lens. Very fast completion time. I am not a member of CPS.
1D2N - sent it in for a bad pixel remap. Came back fixed with cleaning, calibration and as a courtesy, they replaced the front mask cover ($139 part) which I had scratched. Sent it in on the last day of warranty.
1D3 - Sub mirror fix - sent it in on a Monday and got it back on the following Friday.
Canon-N.J. about 9 months ago, cleaned my 1DMK2 sensor,calibrated focus, replaced flash shoe and gave Cano-count, FREE, including mailing to my home. Now they want $206.00 to repair a dead XT ? Several years ago, the N.J. folks, lost my 75-300 lens, in house for many, many weeks. I have both praise and damm, for them.
Positive vote for CPS UK (Elstree). Phoned them when I dropped my 580 EX and snapped it at the foot. Took it in that afternoon and they fixed it while I had a cuppa - took about 20 mins, no charge.
At least so far they are in the 'spectacular' category for me.
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.
Here's my take on Canon Canada (Mississauga). I would like to note that the CPS reps have always been very friendly and helpful. Where I am left wondering is what happens once the equipment makes its way to the technicians....
Since the start of the year:
- Mark III #2 sent in for AF fix and high ISO hot pixel remapping... AF seems to be OK, though I still consider this body slightly less consistent in focus tracking than body #1. Hot pixels are still a problem, but I live with it. Too much hassle to send it in again.
- Mark III #1 sent in for AF fix, Err99, high ISO hot pixel remapping and a one pixel wide white line that appears in every high ISO image, which suddenly manifested itself many months after date of purchase. AF fix seems OK, Err99 has since reoccurred several times, hot pixels issue not resolved, white line issue not resolved. The camera is currently back for the THIRD time to address the Err99 and white line problem (sensor was replaced the first time). At least each time they have provided a loaner Mark III to hold me over, otherwise it would be a disaster.
- 16-35 Mark II lens, soft on left side at all f/stops between 16-18mm, currently in again for the third time. I have gone back to using my 16-35 Mark I, since they don't have MkII loaners available.
- 50 f/1.2 developed a loose front lens assembly that I could not figure out how to tighten on my own, covered under warranty, but took some time to turn around. Didn't even mention the minimum focusing distance backfocus problem... probably a lost cause to pursue, IMO.
- They currently have an out of warranty 135L with a loose front element and stuttering AF. I've been given an estimate of $59... which seems way too low...
Past years:
I've taken in a 1D, 1DII and two 1DIIN cameras for AF calibration and sensor cleaning, always successfully done, so no complaints there.
- 70-200 2.8 IS required IS and AF module replacements at the same time... cost over $700 but they turned it around in one day, just before New Year's eve!
- had a 400 2.8 II with fungus problems replaced with a refurb 400 2.8 IS after they decided the repair was uneconomical and was only charged the original estimate, which was a fraction of the lens's value... It took a couple months to resolve this but the outcome was certainly beyond what I expected. I could easily have been left SOL with a dying lens and instead received a virtually new replacement. A+ for this one!
- had a problem with a 15mm fisheye, well out of warranty. It was replaced instead of repaired for about $80, but took several trips to resolve, only after I was able to reproduce the problem with a senior technician present.
So, in the end, they usually come through, but it often requires several visits, which I feel is very unsatisfactory. The only factor that makes this remotely tolerable is the seemingly improved availability of loaner equipment to cover CPS members during repairs (compared to a couple years ago).
Front desk staff: A
Ability to fix problems first time around: C- (due to loaner availability)
Ron
PetKal wrote:
Here we go, my Canon Canada (Mississauga) experience:
* 20D erratic AF. Two repair attempts to no effect. Finally they gave me another 20D.
* 35L focus error. Third repair attempt brought the lens within focus.
* 50 f/1.4 soft wide open. Three repair attempts to no effect.Finally they gave me a credit for the lens.
* 50 f/1.2 backfocus. One repair attempt so far to no effect.
Additional considerations:
* Declined to inspect and clean one 200 f/1.8 a while ago. Reason given: They did not have the facilities to do it.
* Declined to focus-calibrate another 200 f/1.8 a couple of weeks ago. Reason given: The lens is not being serviced by Canon any longer. ...Show more →
Nothing but a great experience on my part -- I sent in my way out of warranty 5D because I thought i'd scratched the filter in front of the sensor. Sent in the body with a $100 service voucher on a Monday, they confirmed that it wasn't a scratch & cleaned my camera to the point it looked brand new. Picked it up on Thursday, no charge for the cleaning and they returned the service voucher as well. I couldn't have asked for more...
Paul
My experience with Canon in Irvine has been great. Last year I had to send my 5D in because of some water damage(I know.) I dropped it off on Wednesday and it was ready the following Monday. I will probably send it in again along with my 70-200 f/4 L for calibration.
Canon NJ has always provided me with excellent service. I've had to send my 5D in twice (once for warranty repair and another for sensor cleaning). Although I didn't have the warranty card for my first repair, they still got the repair back to me in a week and did not charge me. Their phone reps that I have spoken to on the phone have always been so nice and polite.
rscheffler wrote:
Here's my take on Canon Canada (Mississauga).disaster.
So, in the end, they usually come through, but it often requires several visits, which I feel is very unsatisfactory. The only factor that makes this remotely tolerable is the seemingly improved availability of loaner equipment to cover CPS members during repairs (compared to a couple years ago).
Front desk staff: A
Ability to fix problems first time around: C- (due to loaner availability)
Ron
Well, Ron, it seems that your experience is quite similar to mine. As a CPS member you do get a few perks which I have no access to. Other than that, I believe Canon Canada staff try hard to make their customers happy but it seems they don't have the resources (i.e, procedures, training, facilities, supervision, manpower) to make it all come together. In the end, that is a clear tell-tale sign of a poorly managed service function.
I've used them a number of times (easily at least 10 times, no joke) and have always been happy. I live on the east coast and typically use NJ, but I've tried CA once just for kicks and they were excellent too.
Always did exactly what I wanted. Relatively typical turn-around times with repairs, but very very quick with CPS. Totally worth the sign-up!
Just got a camera back from Fuji today, speaking of which, and they repaired the camera but not the physical impact damage and scratches to the case as I'd requested.
Granted, Canon typically only repairs functionality and not cosmetic issues too unless the cosmetic issues somehow impede upon its functionality.
Oh, one issue I had was where they literally sent my lens back to the wrong person! I kid you not.
Fortunately it was another photographer who went to the same college campus as me and I had a chance to meet a friend I later wound up shooting with, but still... that's very odd of Canon to do.
They also send me an SMS or phone me as soon as I can get the repaired camera/lens. 