boy times have sure changed.......

canon service just quoted me $499 "basic service" + 16 bucks return shipping for calibrating my 100-400l II, and that assumes no parts are needed!

'Lower your underwear, and bend over..."
They are trying to get you to swallow the RF prices

Wow!

Wilt wrote in post #19219388
'Lower your underwear, and bend over..."
They are trying to get you to swallow the RF prices

Yup!

That's exactly what I said a few months ago when someone asked why the EF lenses are increasing in price, rather than decreasing. Canon wants you to go mirrorless.

So what is the service fee for a 100-500?

Either the RF has a different price sheet if the theory holds, or Canon is simply raising prices across the board for everything due to greatly reduced digital camera sales.

I think your last line hit the nail on the head TeamSpeed. Supply and demand...supply and demand.

WHAT!?!? I've never had a lens "calibrated" so I'm not sure what the jumping off point is here but, 500 bucks???

Some lenses (and bodies, DSLRs) need calibrated to work well together. I use AFMA myself, but a) before there was AFMA and b) some combos may still be really off, one would send their gear to Canon to calibrate them together.

Right, but that's a calibration designated to just that body & lens combo, correct?

I should have been more clear when I said "jumping off point", I meant the normalish price for a calibration compared to the 500 dollars stated here.

let's not muddy the waters here. bottom line is the labor cost for "basic service" is $499. this has nothing to do with EF or RF or any other conspiracies that require tinfoil-hat protection.

i expressed my displeasure with the cost and said "surely there's something you can do". he gave me a 15% discount so my cost is $441 instead of $516.

now....if the technician doing the repair finds that a part (s) is needed they will refund the $441 and send me another estimate.

Yikes, that's insane.

Yesterday, when coming back from a birding trip, my 16yo son, despite a million exhortations to not do so, had his 7D2 +100-400 II on his seat next to him. And yes, sure enough, one hard braking event later, the whole thing rolled forward on to the floor. It seems to be working ok and imaging seems to be fine. Just dodged a bullet hopefully.

ed rader wrote in post #19219481
let's not muddy the waters here. bottom line is the labor cost for "basic service" is $499. this has nothing to do with EF or RF or any other conspiracies that require tinfoil-hat protection.

i expressed my displeasure with the cost and said "surely there's something you can do". he gave me a 15% discount so my cost is $441 instead of $516.

now....if the technician doing the repair finds that a part (s) is needed they will refund the $441 and send me another estimate.

So they offered to use a bit of lube, when you objected to bending over. The indignity is the same, even with no conspiracy implicated.
I cannot imagine dropping my car off for service, and being given a $499 work estimate for a 'general checkup, basic service' with no specific operational complaint.

What is 'fixed' or 'checked' for that kind of minimum fee?! Even an office visit to the doctor for an 'annual visit' costs less! And you can get them to replace a shutter assembly in a dSLR for far less.

yeah. i recall when i bought the 70-200L f4 II. i was an early adopter and did not know that the IS unit would rattle if you did not turn camera off before removing the lens.

so i sent the lens in without the receipt and promptly received an estimate for $350ish. i asked the guy why was i being charged for warranty on a new lens. he said they had no way of knowing how old the lens was even though the lens was released only a few months earlier!

the guy offered me ..... a %15 discount but i told him i wanted to talk to the boss. the boss waived the charge and when i received the lens back i was told there was nothing wrong with it. the rattling was normal!

so they wanted to charge me $350 for nothing on a brand new lens!

i'm sorry but i lost that loving feeling with canon service years ago and today only further proves that they no longer have my best interests at heart like in the good ole days

Just to put perspective on this...

A Porsche GT2 oil change will cost right around $450 or so.

A Canon simple service on a lens is more than a Porsche GT2 oil change.

Yikes, something is completely out of whack here.

A different way to look at this is that a single Canon calibration/clean service on a lens would cost you the equivalent of an annual membership to Netflix, Amazon Prime/Video and an Xbox Gold annual live account.

I got an email a week or so ago reminding me to renew the membership. I had already decided not to reup, this just gives me more validation. Besides, the camera that's getting the workout these days is the A-1. The second generation 100-400mm was probably the last piece of kit I'd get but I couldn't afford it so just be sticking with the 400mm F/5.6.