Canon Factory Service and me.

[rick barclay]

I've had my Mark II for less than two weeks. I bought it from Kirk Enterprises and was wary of having to show CFS a warranty card and
bill of sale in order to get warranty service. However, the auto-focus
never worked from day one, and while I can manually focus as easily as I can auto, the price I paid for this bad boy dictates a camera that must
function on all cylinders. I called the store where I bought my Digital
Rebel. The person who answered said I had to send the camera someplace
in Illinois in order to get service and he couldn't help me with any details
at all. I looked on the Web but couldn't find anyone who repairs Mark II's.
Three times I tried a Canon site, only to be redirected to printers, products,
and other venues that had nothing to do with the Mark II. Finally, on my
third try I located a Canon web site with a phone number for customer
support. After traversing the menu course I was place online with a live
customer service rep. To start with, he asked me where I bought the
camera and what the serial number is. Satisfied with my answers, he asked me what was wrong with the camera and was I using Canon lenses. Satiisfied again, he then told me where my nearest Canon Factory
Service center is located, which , praise the glory and power of God,
luckily enough happens to be in Jamesburg, N.J., a mere 40 minute ride
from my house.
Today I took that ride. Canon has a huge, what must be regional, service
building located just off the N.J. Turnpike in Jamesburg. I encountered
a smiling lady who listened patiently to my complaint and then asked
for my bill of sale. When I showed her both the bill of sale and warranty
card, she waved me off and said, "Oh, don't bother with the warranty
card; all we require is the bill of sale." And off she went with my camera to see a technician. This is great, I thought. No hassles.
Then, after about a five minute wait, she comes back with my camera and
tells me, "Ok, it's all fixed. You can take it." The technician, it seems,
tweaked a custom function that controls auto focusing that must have
been set to off before Kirk shipped to me. Voila! My cameras fixed;
there's no thousand dollar service charge, and to top it off, the lady even asked me if I wanted to leave the camera there for the tech to do a
complete checkup on it. I politely declined, and there ends the story
of my first encounter with Canon Factory Warranty Service.
How many horror stories and warnings about buying used cameras that
come with unsigned warranty cards have we all heard in regard to Canon?
Today answered a lot of questions for me and took a load of worry off
my mind in dealing with Canon. All I can say in ending this little tale is
I hope your experience with Canon is as much a pleasure to you as mine
was today.

[rsnadel]

Nice to hear a "good news" story. My experiences with the factory service center in Irvine, California, have been mostly good as well. I'm about to send my Pro1 to the Illinois service center you referenced above (that center does NOT do EOS dSLRs, as you discovered)...I'm hoping for a good experience with that facility as well.

[Belmondo]

I had a similar experience with my MK II at the Irvine facility. I walked in with a sensor that looked like I'd blown my nose on it. They cleaned it while I waited even though I'd made no appointment.

[rickyd]

My experience with canon service ( Irvine) has been nothing but great! I have my MK2 in there now because I also think I have a focusing problem. Hope the solution is as simple as yours.

I sent the camera overnight on Monday, arriving Tuesday. I checked today, Wednesday , and the technician is already working on it!! Will be back to me in a couple of days. How can you beat that :D :D

[msvadi]

I had an excellent experience with the NJ service center too.

[Poon-Time]

Well that pretty much solidifies it. I'm not going to buy a used 10D. :D

[Belmondo]

Well that pretty much solidifies it. I'm not going to buy a used 10D. :D

Huh?

[Tom W]

I walked in with a sensor that looked like I'd blown my nose on it.

I'll bet thats-not something they like to deal with on a daily basis.

[Belmondo]

I walked in with a sensor that looked like I'd blown my nose on it.

I'll bet thats-not something they like to deal with on a daily basis.


Now that I think about it, I might have misunderstood the technician. It sounded like he said, "It looks like dust but it's snot."

Maybe he actually said, "--it's not." :lol:

Whatever it was, it sure looked gross on the photos.

[Tom W]

I walked in with a sensor that looked like I'd blown my nose on it.

I'll bet thats-not something they like to deal with on a daily basis.


Now that I think about it, I might have misunderstood the technician. It sounded like he said, "It looks like dust but it's snot."

Maybe he actually said, "--it's not." :lol:

Whatever it was, it sure looked gross on the photos.

Old commercial:

"If you think its butter but its snot .... it's Chiffon".

[defordphoto]

So Rick, since no one else has asked, what was this magical Cfn that they reset/set that cured your focus issues? Please share.

[robekert]

My money is on CF04. It was probably set to 1. This function sets the back button (*) for focusing and the shutter button for auto exposure lock. Incidentally I find the aformentioned setting very useful.
Rob

[12345Michael54321]

Today I took that ride. Canon has a huge, what must be regional, service building located just off the N.J. Turnpike in Jamesburg.I know that building. For years, my mother lived in East Brunswick, about 5 miles from the Canon facility, and I'd drive past it whenever I took Cranbury Road to or from the NJ Turnpike (exit 8A).

Attractive facility, really. Nice landscaping, a fountain on the lawn, plenty of parking, etc.

Yours is not the first account I've heard of what a friendly and efficient operation Canon's got there.

Even now, while mom's moved to Monroe Twp., she's still only about 4 miles from the Canon facility. So I know that if any of my Canon equipment needs service, I can easily bring it in when I go visit her. This convenience factor probably seems trivial to many, but I like knowing that I could get quick, free, quality service in person, rather than having to pack up a piece of photo gear, ship it off somewhere, and wait a couple of weeks for its return - hopefully fixed, but who knows?

[defordphoto]

My money is on CF04. It was probably set to 1. This function sets the back button (*) for focusing and the shutter button for auto exposure lock. Incidentally I find the aformentioned setting very useful.
Rob

That's my immediate thought too, but I wanted to hear it from the horses mouth—so to speak—and I also find the * setting useful in many cases, depending on what I am shooting.

One of the main reasons I asked that personally is that I have never used or seen the factory MKII settings. I loaded the SI settings into my camera in a motel room late one night in prep for a race shoot the next morning after having just received the camera literally as we were walking out the door for the 300 mile drive to this event.

[DS]

The Canon FSC in Hawaii is about 100 feet away from where I work (lucky). It is not a huge office but is very nice. Walk inside the show room, have a lots of nice pitures hang on the wall and the receptionlist and tech are very friendly. But I just hope I don't have to bring my mark II in there.

[robertwgross]

Whatever it was, it sure looked gross on the photos.

Uhhh, do you want to rephrase that?

You aren't allowed to use that term for anything trivial. It has to be for something totally repulsive.

---Bob Gross---

[Aylwin]

Canon Service is great! I bought my old G1 in Singapore years ago. I got it for a good price but they said it didn't come with a worldwide guarantee.

After 8 months, some of the pixels on the sensor died and all shots had a small pink dot on them. I was living in Finland at the time and took it to the local Canon service center with only the receipt in hand. The person at the counter mearly glanced at the receipt and took the camera. He said it may take awhile because of many other items waiting to be fixed. I checked back later and they said they were still waiting for the replacement parts.

In the end, it took close to a month to be fixed. However, when I got the camera back they said they replaced the sensor together with a few other things inside. It was like getting a new camera. :)

[Belmondo]

Whatever it was, it sure looked gross on the photos.

Uhhh, do you want to rephrase that?

You aren't allowed to use that term for anything trivial. It has to be for something totally repulsive.

---Bob Gross---

Sorry, Bob. I meant nothing by it.

In certain cases, gross can be quite lovely, I'm sure. Having now seen a photo of you in your hiking regalia, I have come to fully appreciate the fact that Gross, especially if capitalized, can represent something quite ---ummm, how shall I say---- quite out of the ordinary.

[rick barclay]

So Rick, since no one else has asked, what was this magical Cfn that they reset/set that cured your focus issues? Please share.

robekert got it right (I think). When the lady came back with the adjusted camera I asked her what setting the tech had changed and why. She didn't
know and refused my request to speak with him because he was busy with
other stuff. However, it just so happened that I turned on the camera,
pressed the MENU button and brought up the custom function screen, and
there in front of me, ready to be adjusted, was CFN04, so I assumed that's
the one where the problem was.

I was reading the custom function part of the manual last night, and it seems to me that both cfn04 and cfn07 share some of the autofocus responsibilities for the Mark II. I was thinking of asking here before trying customer service, but the Jamesburg location squashed all that. If I had to mail the camera any place, I probably would have asked, because the thought of that Mark II bouncing around in the back of some delivery truck
does my gastrointestinal tract no good at all.

RFM: I loaded the SI settings also a day after I received the camera, but it had no effect. No AF right out of the box. Of course, the SI settings are explained in detail on Sports Illustrated's site, but I'm really very inexperienced with this terminology and find it difficult to understand. That's why I didn't play around with the cfn settings myself, because I'd
probably just make things worse.

[robertwgross]

In certain cases, gross can be quite lovely, I'm sure. Having now seen a photo of you in your hiking regalia, I have come to fully appreciate the fact that Gross, especially if capitalized, can represent something quite ---ummm, how shall I say---- quite out of the ordinary.

This Gross has hardly been called lovely.

The only one that is lovely is Gross Profit.

---Bob Gross---

[PaulB]

Rick, Could I get this straight?
You bought a 1DMk2, have lots of posts here and read the manual about CF04 but daren't alter it to see if that was your problem - you assumed that the camera was faulty?
Hmmmm!

[rick barclay]

"C.Fn-04 Shutter button/AE lock button

"1. You can focus at one location and obtin AE lock at another location in the scene. Press the <*> button to autofocus and press the shutter button halfway to attain AE lock.

"2. In the AI Servo AF mode, you can press the <*> button to stop the AF operation momentarily. This prevents the AF from being thrown off by any obstacle passing between the camrea and subject. The exposure is set at the moment the picture is taken.

"3. This is useful for subjects which keep moving and stopping repeatedly. In
the AI Servo AF mode, you can press the <*> button to start or stop the AI Servo AF operation. The exposure is set at the moment the picture is taken. Thus the focusing and exposure will always be at the optimum point as you wait for the decisive moment.

"C.Fn-04 and C.Fn-19-0/1/2(p.153) both have AF start/stop and AE lock functions. If you have set both these Custom Functions and you execute
both Custom Function Operations, the latter operation will not work. The only exception will be when AF stop is executed after AF start."

That's what the manual says about Custom Function Four. The section
on C.Fn-07 seems much more relevent to AF than 04 does. To be perfectly honest, there is much stuff in the Canon manuals for the DRebel
and the Mark II that I don't understand. There's a lot of stuff posted on
this forum that I don't understand, either. In time, I suppose I'll get to
the point where I do understand what's being written, but for now, I'm
kind of uncomfortable with all the new terminlogy and explanations.
In view of that I didn't think it would be a smart move on my part to go
tweaking things I don't understand and know nothing about. In time with
a little study it will all come. But it makes no sense to me to fiddle with
something that's under warranty when the risk for doing more damage is
greater than the chances you'll fix the problem. So, I took it to Canon.
It was their pleasure to fix it. You may disagree with that line of thinking,
but it works for me. I have my camera back; it works fine; I'm happy; and
I learned a little something about custom functions that I didn't know
before I first received my camera.

I hope that sets things straight.

I do believe that C.Fn-04 was set to 1 when it should have been set to zero. Soooo, if I had pressed <*> in that situation, would the camera have auto-focused?

[jmb123]

Canon: more than one month to fix a 20D under warranty
I sent my 20D to Irvine one month ago. Under warranty. They found out the shutter assembly needed replacement. THey did not have one in stock. THey promised me the part would arrive by Sept 12. It has not arrived and they dont know when it will arrive. The person on eh phone says she has "no idea" as to when it may arrive... How exotic is a shutter assembly? Should it take one month to get one? Has anyone heard of a company, any company, that takes more than one month to fix a product under warranty?

[davidfig]

I had my XT in for repair. I had a choice of Irvine, or New Jersey. Since I live in California and there was a lot of good comments here about satisfaction with the Irvine facility, I sent it there. It was checked and accepted for repair under warranty. They repaired it (I tracked repairs right on the canon web site) and returned it 2day. I got it, and it was a star performer. I'm very happy and would recommend the Irvine facility.

[davidfig]

How exotic is a shutter assembly?

In the old days, that was the most expensive part of the camera. Today its probably a sensor, and the shutter assembly is the second. :cry:

[Sweekz]

Wow maybe I should send in my Rebel with the Bill of Sale only and see they will fix it free..........

my Rebel didnt come with a Warranty :(

[René Damkot]

I do believe that C.Fn-04 was set to 1 when it should have been set to zero. Soooo, if I had pressed <*> in that situation, would the camera have auto-focused?

Yes :lol:

"C.Fn-04 Shutter button/AE lock button

"3. This is useful for subjects which keep moving and stopping repeatedly. In
the AI Servo AF mode, you can press the * button to start or stop the AI Servo AF operation. The exposure is set at the moment the picture is taken. Thus the focusing and exposure will always be at the optimum point as you wait for the decisive moment.

On my Mk2, AE is locked with AF for as long as * is pressed when in evaluative metering....

Read the forums about setting CFn4. lots of info. Also there's an article by Canon on getting the most of your series 1 DSLR somewhere on the net. very informative.

[goatee]

Thanks for this topic - for some unknown reason I read it, and remembered what CF was at fault. Yesterday my new (albeit old) 10D arrived from USA, and it focused in basic modes, but not in creative modes - I quickly hopped down to CF4, and sure enough that fixed it. So thanks for saving me being worried! :)

[goatee]

Ok, I started reading http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=46965 and turned CF4 back to 1. It's only taken a few minutes of playing to see how flexible, and easy it is to work like that. Wow - I've used the AE lock quite a bit, but this is in a different world!

[gasrocks]

Just got my 2nd item back from Canon Repair in NJ. I think their service is great. This was my 1st 20D body, under warranty, no AF. I mentioned I was worried about shutter life since this body was close to 100,00 pix. (Even though it was working and not the problem.) Total time from when I sent it to them 'til I got it back = 17 days. No charge, fixed the problem and replaced the shutter! Works great.

[jimlp]

You have a 20D body that is less than a year old and it has 100,000 actuations?!!!! I am going to quit worrying about my 20D from now on.