CF card mishap

[lacy daemon]

Well, last night, while shooting a band in a dark bar, I went to change out my CF card and accidentally put it in the wrong way. I retried it in the correct position and oh, oh, error 02. I went into a lighted area and tried a new card , no luck same message. Looked inside the camera (DRebel) card slot and to my utter dismay, bent pins.
Sadly, I have bent the pins.
I will be sending it in to Canon service center tomorrow and since this is my first time dealing with them I was wondering if someone could tell me their experience of what Canon's repair turn around time is like. Is it worth the extra expense for me to overnight the shipment to them? I would really like my camera back as quick as possible. Has anyone else made this terrible mistake and had the resulting damage?

[defordphoto]

Depends on how busy the center is at the time. Figure 10 days to two weeks. I have heard of some other people doing this, but it's pretty rare.

[timmyquest]

That really sucks man.

As with a women, if things are moving smoothly it may be time to take a differnt aproach ;-). Lesson learned.

[dsze]

:oops: ...I've done this too. I didn't put the card in backwards, but I was in a real hurry to put it in and it got slightly crooked while going in and bent just one pin. ....but that was more than enough to give me the err02 message. I sent my rebel into Canon and had it back in about 2 weeks I think. My camera was still under warranty. *Be alerted: Canon tried to charge me $275 to fix it. I replied stating that $275 to fix a bent pin was crazy and that I was very disappointed. Canon stated to me that it is almost IMPOSSIBLE to put a CF card in wrong....so I argued that if that is so, then the alignment devices in my rebel were wrong to begin with. They agreed and they fixed it for FREE. They will try to overcharge for anything you send to them (in my experience)....and I would bet that most people will just pay it. If you question the estimate a little bit, they will back off and be more reasonable. ....thats been my experience anyway.

-daniel

[lacy daemon]

. ....thats been my experience anyway.

-daniel


Thanks so much for the insight into Canon, this will be helpful in dealing with them. I am still under warranty and will will give it my best to have them cover what appears to be two bent pins. I have to agree that it does seem to be somewhat a design issue, as they could make the guides only work in one direction thus not allowing the card to go as deep into the slot if put in backwards.

[defordphoto]

This is not a warranty item, so you should expect to pay for it and if you don't have to, consider yourself lucky.

[dsze]

... I agree, it is not a warranty covered issue. However, considering myself lucky for not having to pay nearly $300 for a bent pin is ridiculous. Do you really think that is a reasonable estimate from Canon? ...and if it truly was reasonable, I believe they would have charged it whether or not I protested. I should also note that my protest was NOT angry in the slightest... the conversation went something like this,

CANON:
"Ok, it is going to be $275 and it should be done in 14 days."

Me:
"$275? Are you serious?"

CANON:
"Well, its very unusual for this to happen."

Me:
"Then maybe the CF card alignment was incorrect in my camera?"

CANON:
"Ok, we'll fix this for you at no charge this time."


....seriously, it was just like that. It sure seems to me like Canon estimates HIGH and waits to see if the customer will question it or just pay it. I mean, they went from a $275 estimate to a $FREE estimate in about 1.5 minutes.


-daniel

[gsmx2]

Since you live is Chicago, you should be able to find a local photo store that can fix this for you....not for free, but for less than $300.00.

[dsze]

....or just send it to Canon and when they tell you how much it will cost, you tell them that you know a guy who had the same issue fixed at no cost. Canon must have known that they would be setting a precedent by fixing mine at no cost.

-daniel

[defordphoto]

... I agree, it is not a warranty covered issue. However, considering myself lucky for not having to pay nearly $300 for a bent pin is ridiculous. Do you really think that is a reasonable estimate from Canon?

I wouldn't know. I have never disassembled a camera to find out how difficult it is to replace the CF interface. I highly doubt they just bend the pin back. I'm sure they'd replace the entire socket.

That being said, it's pretty high price to pay at 1/3 the price of the camera. Nevertheless, he know has his scenario on how to hanlde Canon when they call him with the bad news.

[lacy daemon]

Have called Canon this morning and am sending the camera to Jersey today. 10-15 days they say. I'll let you all know how it turns out.
Thanks for the shared info.

[lacy daemon]

Just got an email from Canon:

To Our Valued Customer:

We have received your equipment for evaluation and repair, as detailed below. Based on our initial examination, we will start the necessary repairs at no charge to you.

You can expect the repair to be completed and returned back to you within approximately 10 business days* from the date shown above.

Examination / Request Details Service / Work Type
ERROR 02. CF PINS BENT. CHECK ALL FUNCTIONS. 1X COURTESY NO CHARGE ON CF PINS.ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF RECEIPT ONLY. RESPONSE TO THIS FORM IS NOT NECESSARY Warranty, Repair

[dsze]

Right on Lacy! Good for you.

-daniel

[Belmondo]

Well, mark one up for the home team. Excellent.

[dsze]

....there was no way they could have denied fixing yours at no cost, when they just did mine for no cost last year. I'm glad you didn't take it to another place for an estimate.

Again, just my opinion....but something is slightly wrong with the Rebel's CF card alignment. It simply shouldn't be possible to insert a CF card incorrectly. I don't see why that would be a hard safety feature to design..

I guess Canon could always insist that we all use ONLY Canon CF cards to avoid this...

Anyway, glad you're getting it fixed free. Hopefully, you wont' have to be without for long. They did get mine back to me very quickly.

-daniel

[lacy daemon]

:D
I agree totally, I and can't wait to get my camera back. I didn't realize how much I was going to miss it!
I am going to mark my cards in some manner, so this situation never gets repeated and I am going to start carrying a mini flashlight as well.
Thanks for the support.

[Kenski]

:D
I agree totally, I and can't wait to get my camera back. I didn't realize how much I was going to miss it!
I am going to mark my cards in some manner, so this situation never gets repeated and I am going to start carrying a mini flashlight as well.
Thanks for the support.


Seems strange that they have you send it to Jersey when there refurb joint is in Chicago.. Hmmm.... When I got my refurb'd 550ex it came from Canon USA of Chicago...

[lacy daemon]

I had the choice of either California or Jersey. Jersy was closer. I think that the Canon/Chicago service center only does warranty work on PowerShot repairs, that's what the website said as I recall.