FRUSTRATED WITH CANON

[Cheryl Arena Molennor]

I need to post a major dissapointment I have with CANON and am reaching out to anyone whot can hook me up with a "higher up the ladder" for help. I have had my 1DMIII in for repair under Mack Warranty. The camera has been out of my hands since April 18th and to the Canon repair facility now three times for the same problem and is currently sitting on the desk of the warranty company waiting to be sent back again as they say it still is not right. I can't wait another 3 weeks to get it back. I want a camera NOW as I am sure you can all understand. I'd love some feedback Thanks

[arash_hazeghi]

Hi Cheryl,
Are you a CPS member? If so, send your gear directly to CPS Irvine, turn around is 48 hours if parts are in stock.

[Cheryl Arena Molennor]

Hi Cheryl,
Are you a CPS member? If so, send your gear directly to CPS Irvine, turn around is 48 hours if parts are in stock.

Hey Arash,
I have considered that but I paid for this warranty so I expect it to work for me. The problem is not the actual turnaround time it is that they are not fixing it right. It has been sent back three times by the warranty company, three times! And is going back AGAIN. AGHHHHHH! So fareeekin frustrated.

[arash_hazeghi]

Hey Arash,
I have considered that but I paid for this warranty so I expect it to work for me. The problem is not the actual turnaround time it is that they are not fixing it right. It has been sent back three times by the warranty company, three times! And is going back AGAIN. AGHHHHHH! So fareeekin frustrated.

What are they supposed to fix and who is deciding if it is being fixed or not?

Is this CPS or regular Canon service?

Extended warranties through 3rd party are usually a waste of money, they are not meant for professionals. They send your gear to regular Canon factory repair or their own repair shops which is meant for consumer products. They are slow and often not familiar with advanced issues such as critical focus calibration/offset. To get best service you need to become a CPS member and send to CPS directly. You will get your gear fixed in 48 hours, if not they send you a loaner until it is fixed.

IMO it is best to get photographers' insurance and send gear to CPS directly, then have insurance reimburse repair fees.


Hope it works out this time.

[Cheryl Arena Molennor]

What are they supposed to fix and who is deciding if it is being fixed or not?

Is this CPS or regular Canon service?

Extended warranties through 3rd party are usually a waste of money, they are not meant for professionals. They send your gear to regular Canon factory repair or their own repair shops which is meant for consumer products. They are slow and often not familiar with advanced issues such as critical focus calibration/offset. To get best service you need to become a CPS member and send to CPS directly. You will get your gear fixed in 48 hours, if not they send you a loaner until it is fixed.

IMO it is best to get photographers' insurance and send gear to CPS directly, then have insurance reimburse repair fees.


Hope it works out this time.

This is a third pary warranty from Adorama Camera, but they ARE sending it to Canon in New Jersey everytime. They are testing the repair at the warranty center and sending a CD of the SOFT images as the problem is the same auto focus, soft image problem I have had for wayyyy to long now. Ididn't know they offered reimbursment insurance fees. I think Canon should take the loss and send me a new mIII overnight now. They are the ones holding me up here.

[arash_hazeghi]

This is a third pary warranty from Adorama Camera, but they ARE sending it to Canon in New Jersey everytime. They are testing the repair at the warranty center and sending a CD of the SOFT images as the problem is the same auto focus, soft image problem I have had for wayyyy to long now. Ididn't know they offered reimbursment insurance fees. I think Canon should take the loss and send me a new mIII overnight now. They are the ones holding me up here.

I doubt if it is going through CPS. Of course Canon NJ has both CPS and consumer service. Address is the same but CPS is a different department with different staff and equipment. If the camera is not going through CPS channel it won't be inspected/checked by CPS service.

Maybe the problem is not the camera. Have you verified yourself that the issue is with focus? soft images can happen for many reasons, focus is only one of them.

Also I am confused, how is the warranty company or the camera store determining if the camera takes sharp images or not? An average person at a camera store cannot tell the difference between a sharp and a soft photo. They don't even know how to check it. On what basis they are saying the camera is or is not fixed?

[Cheryl Arena Molennor]

I doubt if it is going through CPS. Of course Canon NJ has both CPS and consumer service. Address is the same but CPS is a different department with different staff and equipment.

Maybe the problem is not the camera. Have you verified yourself that the issue is with focus? soft images can happen for many reasons, focus is only one of them.

Also I am confused, how is the warranty company or the camera store determining if the camera takes sharp images or not? An average person at a camera store cannot tell the difference between a sharp and a soft photo. They don't even know how to check it. On what basis they are saying the camera is or is not fixed?

Dont know . Why would CPS treat a repair any differently than the normal repair facility? Mack (the warranty co) is testing the camera with a 50 mm lens wide open or at least that is what I believe they said. They said that 70% are sharp 30% of the images are not. I am confused too. Somebody is messing up here. I know the soft images are coming from the camera because at first I thought it was the lens then we tested it on another lens and the images are soft. They said it was auto focus issue.

[arash_hazeghi]

Dont know . Why would CPS treat a repair any differently than the normal repair facility? Mack (the warranty co) is testing the camera with a 50 mm lens wide open or at least that is what I believe they said. They said that 70% are sharp 30% of the images are not. I am confused too. Somebody is messing up here. I know the soft images are coming from the camera because at first I thought it was the lens then we tested it on another lens and the images are soft. They said it was auto focus issue.

CPS staff are highly trained to address the issues of demanding pros such as critical focus. It's like mechanics who are trained to tune race cars vs. mechanics that service a Kia. It's not the same level service. With CPS you can physically talk to someone on the phone and express your concerns.

I think the MACK company are not competent in testing focus. Don't waste your time with them. I would just get the camera back out and test yourself. If there is consistent focus shift try Micro-adjustment. If issue persists send to CPS directly, explain the problem and I'm sure they will either fix or replace.

BTW, as you probably know the MKIII is famous for AF issues, some cameras could never be fixed unfortunately despite multiple calibration/repair attempts by Canon. If you have one of those lemons you're out of luck :(

PS. Here is what I wrote for MA a few years ago http://arihazeghiphotography.com/MA-web/

[Cheryl Arena Molennor]

CPS staff are highly trained to address the issues of demanding pros such as critical focus. It's like mechanics who are trained to tune race cars vs. mechanics that service a Kia. It's not the same level service. With CPS you can physically talk to someone on the phone and express your concerns.

I think the MACK company are not competent in testing focus. Don't waste your time with them. I would just get the camera back out and test yourself. If there is consistent focus shift try Micro-adjustment. If issue persists send to CPS directly, explain the problem and I'm sure they will either fix or replace.

BTW, as you probably know the MKIII is famous for AF issues, some cameras could never be fixed unfortunately despite multiple calibration/repair attempts by Canon. If you have one of those lemons you're out of luck :(

PS. Here is what I wrote for MA a few years ago http://arihazeghiphotography.com/MA-web/

Thanks for that link. Well all I can say is sh--! ya know? I am so sick of dealing with this issue, you have no idea. I will call cps on Monday and check into it. Thanks so much Arash

[Don Lacy]

Cheryl, I sent my MKIII in to cps after I dropped it along with my 500f/4 and 1.4TC the camera was fixed and returned to me in a week and it now AF better then it did before it was dropped. Call them up explain the issue they will email you the estimate for repair once they look at the camera for you to approve and will give you a detailed report on what they did to repair the camera when they send it back.

[Arthur Morris]

My only advice is to be a good and meticulous consumer. Keep accurate records of all repair attempts and then climb the ladder in an effort to get the thing replaced. I did that once when nobody knew who I was. The lady that helped me is no longer there but she was some kind of higher up with their consumer affairs group or department.... Good luck.

[Cheryl Arena Molennor]

As of last night I recieved a call which I have gotten everyday from John Dimauro on my status. After sending in all my gear they also found an issue with my lens which I have been saying all along. This is why it has been so frustrating for me. That lens has been there many times as I have shared with all of you for this issue. I am trying to stay positive and fear being to hopeful but my equipment will be coming home today after all being serviced and I will shoot in the AM tomoorrow if not this evening if I can get out. Thanks so much for all of your help, suggestions and support. This experience shows me that you just have to be persistant yet kind and insist that someone LISTENS to you. Bye the way I also joined CPS. Did you know they offer loaners to try new equipment? All we pay for is shipping. Pretty cool.

[arash_hazeghi]

Hey cheryl,
Hope it works out. BTW, I've been getting loaners from CPS for a couple of years now. It's a great way to test gear before buying!

[Juan Carlos Vindas]

Sounds like a pain!
I am very happy with the performance of my MK3 but it wouldn't hurt to check the MA. It is a pitty that Arash's link says it only works with certain models and mine is not on the list! :(