Canon Service... ? (Your experiences?)

number six wrote in post #5315292
You've had this lens for just two weeks? Why not take it back to the retailer and get another?

-js

+1. Take that puppy back!!!

(my experience with canon service has been first rate, btw.)

I sent my Mark III in for the AF fix on 5/3, they received the camera on 5/5 and it was fixed on 5/7. The repaired camera arrived on 5/12. They even replaced my scratched focus screen for free.

They were also quick to respond to e-mail questions.

tomjd wrote in post #5536409
You have to select your lens or camera type before you get to the service locator page, this is where I wound up when looking to get my EF 28-135 cleaned:
http://www.usa.canon.c​om …tegoryid=216&mo​delid=7337

Also, mine is out of warrenty. They have to evaluate before quoting. IF nothing else is wrong, What has a clean and calibrate run you?

It depends on the lens. It was $111 for the 35L including return shipping. I would guess that is pretty close to the minimum charge.

i've dealt w/ canon service twice.

once, i sent my grip back just before the warranty expired (it was giving intermittent failures via the controls when shooting portrait, mainly around AF point selection). the other was when i dropped my 50 f/1.4 and it wouldn't focus.

grip was fixed for no charge, lens was $93. both fixes were very satisfactory, though i never did get much info on why my grip failed in the first place. turnaround was good too (about a week).

Had focus/softness issues with my 50 1.4

Shipped it tuesday, they got it wednesday, had it back to me by saturday. focus seems a little off, but seems much sharper wide open.

Well, they've had my 100-400 L in California now since last Friday. My daily call to inquire about status led to,"We're working on it and hope to have it fixed by Monday." They have agreed to overnight it to me if it's fixed on Monday. That's pretty cool of them. Otherwise, I'm screwed and it will be waiting for me when I get back from Italy...I can't bring myself to go pay even more $ at this point to rent a 100-400 for my trip.

ChiefKeefe wrote in post #5537529
Well, they've had my 100-400 L in California now since last Friday. My daily call to inquire about status led to,"We're working on it and hope to have it fixed by Monday." They have agreed to overnight it to me if it's fixed on Monday. That's pretty cool of them. Otherwise, I'm screwed and it will be waiting for me when I get back from Italy...I can't bring myself to go pay even more $ at this point to rent a 100-400 for my trip.

Hmmmm..... they have had my 70-200 2.8 for 10 days........


*stares nervously at phone*

mattograph wrote in post #5537647
Hmmmm..... they have had my 70-200 2.8 for 10 days........

*stares nervously at phone*

Give them a follow-up call!

vincewchan wrote in post #5537718
Give them a follow-up call!

I did..... as I suspected, it was rear focusing!!!

Left to come back to me for Monday. Yeah!!!

I had an XT go in on a Friday and by Wednesday the next week they had finally recieved it but by Friday a week later it was repaired and on its way back home. My only complaint was the UPS. I wasn't home to pick it up and the only UPS location closed by 8:00 and wasn't open on weekends( and it was the only one in town that was closed on Saturday the rest of them were open). And I had my nephews first Communion that weekend. But hubby was able to swing by and get it...had by that night.

Canon did a great job. Camera works beautifully!

I just recently had my first and only experience with sending my equipment to Canon. My 50m lens was making my 20D totally lock up as well as the flash. The camera did not lock up with my 18-55 lens so I really thought it was a lens only issue. However, I was told to send the body, the lens and the flash to the repair center so that they could evaluate everything together. I was so nervous to pack everything up but did it. I was told that I'd receive an email with information about the problems found along with an estimate for repair. I was also told I'd be able to decide if I wanted to go ahead with any repairs.

Bubble wrap everything. Send a detailed letter stating what is wrong and be sure to include all serial numbers and contact info. INSURE the package!

I received 3 emails and was shocked that the techs felt I needed $350 worth of repairs to my 20D body, (a total shocker to me!), $100 for the flash and $50 for the 50mm. However, nowhere on the email did it tell me what the problems were. How could I determine if I wanted to invest money in the repairs before I knew how bad the problems were?

I called and the first person I spoke with told me that I was required to commit to paying the estimate before they would even start working on my carmera and really see what was going on. This was never told to me before I shipped my camera and gear off and I was really mad. When you take your car in to the shop, the repair man does not say "Okay, it's going to be $500. Just pay me and then I'll tell you what the problem was after." I asked where they came up with that estimate -- if they had not even started working on my camera, did they just pull that number out of thin air? I was told that Canon gives a low or high flat rate repair estimate and that their techs can determine if it's going to be a major or a minor repair.

I felt like Canon was keeping information from me that I needed to determine if it was worth repairing or buying new. I then spoke with another person and she said that once they got my camera on the operating table, I would be called if the repair price would be more than the estimate and at that point, I'd have the option to stop the repair and get a full refund.

Anyway, I was totally not expecting that the 20D body had any problems so I really didn' t know what to do. I did not like the fact that I was forced to okay the $350 estimate before getting any more information about the camera but I figured it was best to have Canon people working on it and I needed to know what was what since I have my daughters' graduation in June and didn't want to then have to take it somewhere else (where??)

I told them to go ahead with the body. I was told that they thought my shutter was going. (The camera is going on 3 years old) but I still think it is weird that only the 50mm lens created a problem. The flash was repaired for free since it was less than a year old and I did not fix the 50mm. I figured for another $30 I could buy a new one.

While I was not happy about learning more information after I sent my camera off, I will say that they did a great job getting my camera and flash back to me. I asked if there was any way to have it back before Mother's Day and lo and behold, on Saturday morning, my camera was delivered to my door.

I will never really know what was wrong with the 20D body but in any event, my equipment now has a 6 month warranty.

Good luck!
Jennifer

P.S. I forgot to mention that I had to pay for shipping both ways. No one every offered me a shipping lable. I had also sent it overnight mail and knew that the box had arrived but for 3 days I was told that they have the box but that no one had even opened the box.

I went to look at the website this morning concerning my 100-400 lens that was in Irvine for repair since 5/9. The website stated, "Completed, not yet shipped." I just spoke with them and they are sending it out today via FedEx for delivery tomorrow! I'm impressed!

Got my 30D back today. Still backfocusing after the second time to canon. I called the escalation number. At this point I don't even know if it it worth sending it in again. I have a 40D on the way to my house which I ordered last night. The 30D will be my backup. GrRrRrrrr!

Just to close the loop on this, the Canon factory service rep accidentally shipped my lens out 2nd day FedEx instead of next day FedEx. That would have had the lens arrive at my house while I was over the Atlantic Ocean. To make a VERY long story short, a manager at the Canon Irvine center worked with a Canon shipping specialist and FedEx to find my lens after they did a sort at a distibution center (which was luckily near enough to my house to drive to it). They held the lens for me until I was able to drive to the sort warehouse and pick it up in person.

In summary, Canon did a great job on the lens and with the exception of the person that shipped it FedEx 2 day instead of next day, they did an excellent job. I can't say enough positive things about FedEx though. They completely went above and beyond to help find and get the lens to me in time for my trip.