B&H Mack Warrenty 1D Mark II Owners

HAs anyone purchased the warrenty for the 1D and had to use it so far? If so was it worth it ? Easy to use? Would you do it again?
Just asking, I'm going to look into the use my home owners policy or my PPA benefits. It's long over due for me to consider insurance on my gear.
Thanks

I bought it at the time I bought the camera from B&H. I hope I never have to use it. I usually don't buy EW's but it was miniscule in cost relative to the camera.

I've dealt with Mack Camera on two separate occasions in the past. Both experiences were sub par to say the least. First I brought in a D-100 because of a CF card error – basically the camera wouldn’t recognize my media. I live about an hour south of their location, and I dropped off the body. I was told initially that I was looking at approximately 2-3 weeks turnaround on the repair. Well, after they informed me that I needed a new card reader, the wait became “as soon as the part comes in,” which ended up being over 8 weeks! In the end, the incompetent amateurs discovered the problem wasn’t a bad card reader after all, rather a “speck of dust.” Quite agitated, I asked them why they hadn’t diagnosed the repair correctly initially, and they claimed that the “tech” (for obvious lack of a better word) didn’t actually open the card reader until they had the replacement part on the premises. How can a repair facility that handles such quantities of camera repairs be so bungling? I tied up my only DSLR (at the time) for the entire summer because the “tech” was too lazy or inept to check for the simplest and probably most common cause of my camera’s problem first, before ordering a repair part which I didn’t need and waited 2 months for! Eight plus weeks for a speck of dust! They didn’t even have the decency to apologize!

During that period, I also dropped off a Sony PD-150 for a cleaning and general service. They tied that camera up for three plus weeks, and I had to send it off to Sony thereafter, as it the image and frame dropping issue which brought it to Mack for service had worsened. Thankfully Sony was merciful and didn’t charge me out the wazoo to straighten out Mack’s handiwork.



I know a few other people who’ve had similar experiences with those characters. I will never purchase a Mack warranty again in this lifetime, and may I suggest you all think thrice before said purchase!



Jon

I suggest that anyone who buys a Mack Warranty from B&H and has problems with them to notify Henry Posner, President of B&H via email. I had an issue with Mack and he got involved after I contacted him. Mack is very responsive to B&H.

Ditto on what Scott said. I did exactly the same thing for exactly the same reasons.

I would put it on my home owners, as it is much cheaper then a Mack warranty. And, you are definatly covered for theft, Mack won't cover you there.

Just my .02

Mike

Thanks, everyone for your commnets, I'm first going to call my homeowners and see what they'll cover for all of my gear including Studio lighting and then I'll send out an email to the insurance company that the PPA suggest. It seems to me MACK has some weakness in their program on turn around time. I do have two backups and willing to wait but all the extra footwork may not be worth it for one camera.

Again Thanks,

Warranty and Insurance are two entirely different animals. Your homeowners insurance only covers theft, fire, etc. It will not cover warranty issues at all.

Jim,

I know, but I have gotten the hard sell on the Mack warranty when trying to buy a 1DMKII from one of those New York camera shops. I did not buy from that shop, I hung up in frustration. I think it was around $300-500.00 for three years of warranty. That will buy allot of insurance on ALL of my camera gear.

Besides, I have not read of any severe warranty issues regarding the 1DMKII. I think that most of us here would probably be more concerned about theft or, God forbid, dropping the camera. These are the two main problems that seem to plague the 1DMKII. The only mechanical issues I have run across are the fire wire connection breaking internally and I think one shutter problem. Both of these problems do not warrant such an expensive warranty from Mack. And I would rather send it back to Canon, as I have not heard any real good stories regarding Mack. I know that they have been around for like a hundred years, but this new digital stuff should go back to the guys that built it in my book. And, if you buy with a credit card, some will extend the factory warranty up to 2 to 3 years.

I figure I have a 1 year warranty from Canon, and an extra year from my credit card company, I should be good. From my expierience, if I have something that lasts longer then 60 days without malfunctioning, I am good to go in the electronics arena. In other words, the Mack warranty sounds like a rip off, and there have not been that many issues with the 1DMKII to warrant such a pricey extended warranty.

Mike