Posted by Bob Falcone on April 14, 2015 at 1:30 PM
I'm going to rant here because I need to vent...
Eleven months ago while in RMNP, just as I was getting ready to shoot a bear and her cubs, my Canon 300 f/4 IS USM quit focusing. No AF or MF. It was stuck at "Macro". No bear shots.
Sent it off to Canon, and got it back after spending almost $300 on "standard" repairs. Fine.
On my recent trip to AZ, I climbed a steep hill to shoot moonrise (and with plans to shoot the "blood moon" eclipse the next morning) I took the lens out, and the same thing happened. No focus. Nada. Dead. I had used the lens just hours earlier. Also, no moon shots.
Sent it back to Canon again, who BTW warranties repairs for only 6 months. Just got another estimate for $450. For the same problem. This time they want to replace the focus mechanism, where last time it only needed an "adjustment". Or maybe it needed more?
Obviously, I'm rather displeased. Costs for repairs are exceeding half of what this lens cost to begin with.
I called Canon and complained, and did get them to cut 30% off of the labor costs, saving me a little over $100. But I'm still unhappy.
Am I being unreasonable to think that a L series lens shouldn't have the same problem twice in under a year? Anyone have any experience dealing with Canon on this type of issue? Or should I just shut-up and pay the bill?
Ok, done ranting.
Posted by Monika Chace on April 15, 2015 at 9:26 AM
Bob,
Sorry to hear about your troubles. Yes, I think an L series lens should be much tougher than that -- they probably should have replaced the focus mechanism the 1st time around. I looked at SLRGear & Roger Cicala's blog to see if that was a common problem with that lens. Nope. I haven't had focus mechanism issues (mine have all been, umm, impact issues) and what Roger Cicala said was that the MF/AF switches often break and focus mechanisms, being mechanical, wear out. Anyway, I would suggest contacting the Canon rep for the area. I bet if you call Mikes Camera (start with the service dept) you could find out who the rep is. Maybe a more personal contact would help you. I'm sure you'd do this, & I apologize if you're offended, but "be nice" (as Patrick Swayze said in Roadhouse) rather than outraged. And if worse comes to worse, at least repairs cost less than a new (or used) lens. Good luck!
Posted by Bob Falcone on April 16, 2015 at 7:19 PM
Monika,
Using the wonderful world of Twitter, I was able to get an e-mail address at Canon USA's corporate office, with an invitation to tell them what my complaint was. A few hours after sending them a message, I got another estimate for repairs, this time for parts only, for under $100, down from the original $450.
My argument to them was simply that lenses rarely fail once, and twice is pretty much unheard of. My contention was that the lens wasn't fixed right the first time. It appears that they agreed!
Discussion
2 repliesEleven months ago while in RMNP, just as I was getting ready to shoot a bear and her cubs, my Canon 300 f/4 IS USM quit focusing. No AF or MF. It was stuck at "Macro". No bear shots.
Sent it off to Canon, and got it back after spending almost $300 on "standard" repairs. Fine.
On my recent trip to AZ, I climbed a steep hill to shoot moonrise (and with plans to shoot the "blood moon" eclipse the next morning) I took the lens out, and the same thing happened. No focus. Nada. Dead. I had used the lens just hours earlier. Also, no moon shots.
Sent it back to Canon again, who BTW warranties repairs for only 6 months. Just got another estimate for $450. For the same problem. This time they want to replace the focus mechanism, where last time it only needed an "adjustment". Or maybe it needed more?
Obviously, I'm rather displeased. Costs for repairs are exceeding half of what this lens cost to begin with.
I called Canon and complained, and did get them to cut 30% off of the labor costs, saving me a little over $100. But I'm still unhappy.
Am I being unreasonable to think that a L series lens shouldn't have the same problem twice in under a year? Anyone have any experience dealing with Canon on this type of issue? Or should I just shut-up and pay the bill?
Ok, done ranting.
Sorry to hear about your troubles. Yes, I think an L series lens should be much tougher than that -- they probably should have replaced the focus mechanism the 1st time around. I looked at SLRGear & Roger Cicala's blog to see if that was a common problem with that lens. Nope. I haven't had focus mechanism issues (mine have all been, umm, impact issues) and what Roger Cicala said was that the MF/AF switches often break and focus mechanisms, being mechanical, wear out. Anyway, I would suggest contacting the Canon rep for the area. I bet if you call Mikes Camera (start with the service dept) you could find out who the rep is. Maybe a more personal contact would help you. I'm sure you'd do this, & I apologize if you're offended, but "be nice" (as Patrick Swayze said in Roadhouse) rather than outraged. And if worse comes to worse, at least repairs cost less than a new (or used) lens. Good luck!
Using the wonderful world of Twitter, I was able to get an e-mail address at Canon USA's corporate office, with an invitation to tell them what my complaint was. A few hours after sending them a message, I got another estimate for repairs, this time for parts only, for under $100, down from the original $450.
My argument to them was simply that lenses rarely fail once, and twice is pretty much unheard of. My contention was that the lens wasn't fixed right the first time. It appears that they agreed!