I am a self professed closet techno-geek. It's not that I am particularly knowledgeable about technology and electronics, just that I love every new gadget, software program and technology and would rather buy them than clothes (did I really say that?)
I am particularly fond of cameras. My husband used to (fondly) complain that I bought a new camera every year. Who wouldn't when each year they come out with new speeds, new settings, more...better...faster. Well, you get my drift.
Anyway, a year ago I decided it was time to upgrade to a new, smaller, faster better pixel digital camera. I loved our Sony...but it was big and boxy. After much reading and comparing, I decided on a Canon. In fact, I decided on three since I was buying one for my son and daughter as well. They each chose their model, and I chose the Canon PowerShot A80. It worked great for a year and one month. And then, suddenly, it didn't. It stopped taking photos. I could still view those that were on the memory card, but in camera mode all I could see was black...and any "photos" i attempted to take were black.
I contacted Canon, but of course I was now one month out of warranty. That's when I learned the following:
1) the folks at "tech support" weren't. They were customer service reps who listened and told you to send it in. When I tried to find out if this problem occurred frequently, I learned that it did. And you had better pray that it happens while you are still under warranty.
2) I had two choices (according to them)
- I could send it in for repair and they would let me know the cost of repair which would be no less than $150 and "probably" no more than $350. (have you seen the cost of a new camera?)
- I could "upgrade"...what that meant was I send them my camera, and they send me back someone elses refurbished A80. That would cost me a measly $150.
I did some googling, and found that there were many other unhappy users out there. And that included some who sent in their camera for repair and were still waiting, months later, for their camera back.
Bottom line...Canon does not stand behind their cameras, and from what I read that's true for their professional line as well. Canon advertises well. They market well. But their concern is only for their bottom line...not their customers. Canon's marketers are liars.
Doesn't surprise me really... from what I heard, they follow the same policy with their printers. The printers work for a few months beyond the warranty and then shut themselves off, for no apparent reason.
Posted by: Arancaytar | May 22, 2005 at 02:36 PM