kevinseven
Member
Sorry for the long post but perhaps my experience will help some of you.
Canon USA is now offering an "update" to some internal components that make the interior "sealed" sensor and ND area less prone to dust contamination.
My c300's insides were filthy...big chunky bits on my sensor and each ND filter looked like a shag rug. I exaggerate of course but given that I've only shot a couple of projects and all indoors, I was shocked to have my camera look like I'd been touring the wilds of Afghanistan. I called Canon's EOS number (1-855-246-3367), described the problem and told them it was coming. They gave me packing instructions and an address in NJ.
They never mentioned the update.
I FedEx'd the camera -- a cost of $275 I might add -- and waited for the email estimate I was told I would receive once the camera was checked out. Four business days later, no email. I eventually called to be told that Canon Service had been trying to reach me because they were not sure why my camera had been sent in. So besides the fact that I hadn't gotten any calls and if I had, they were not leaving voicemails...it seemed odd that they had a document with my number to call me at but nothing resembling a work order that stated "PLEASE CLEAN MY SHAG RUG SENSORS AND FILTERS!"
The Canon rep apologized and said they would look at it right away.
Still no mention of the update.
Within 10 minutes I got an estimate email for out of warranty sensor cleaning priced at $359 and $15 ground shipping. I rang them up and handed over my credit card info and they told me it should be done in about 7 business days. Add the ground shipping and I was thinking that this camera will have been gone for 2 weeks or more. I asked if there was some way to expedite...or pay to expedite...and sat on hold for a couple of minutes while the customer service person asked around. The rep came back on and said they'd give me Standard Overnight free of charge and that most likely the cleaning would be done in the next day or so. Oddly accommodating but much appreciated.
Still no mention of the update.
I then started to think that between shipping and the cleaning charge, and the replacement rental this camera is going to cost me a fair amount of money if i have to do this a couple of times a year. Surely Canon offers some kind of extended warranty product. I brought this up with the rep and she thought about it for a sec and transferred me to Bruce in the EOS Cinema division. He told me about the Canon PPS Support Pack where for $2300/3-years or $1700/2-years you get three free cleanings per year, 20% discounts on parts, loaner options, expedited repairs and shipping, etc.
Seemed reasonable...not great since the PPS is per product. So thats $2300 for each camera you own. Or X number of dollars for each lens you get covered. I wish it was some kind of blanket coverage for all the Cinema EOS products you own. But what can you do. My big question is why isn't my dealer hammering me to buy this every time I'm in there buying another light stand or whatever. And why hadn't the people on the phone at Canon tried to sell this to me in the previous four or five calls I had made over the past several days.
Still no mention of the update...or what I've come to believe is actually a silent recall. But that's just my opinion.
As I pondered the cost of ownership of the Cinema EOS line, wondered about adding a second camera or even jumping ship to another manufacturer, I did one more Google search on dirty NDs. I found a post on another site linking to a Canon Europe press release from March announcing the update -- http://cpn.canon-europe.com/content/news/eos_c300_upgrade_now_available.do
Back on the phone with Canon and they are all like, "Oh yeah...the update. Did you want one of those? I'll tell service to do that while your c300 is here getting cleaned. Cost? Nah...no charge. Thank you for choosing Canon. Have a nice day"
Huh?!?
Canon USA is now offering an "update" to some internal components that make the interior "sealed" sensor and ND area less prone to dust contamination.
My c300's insides were filthy...big chunky bits on my sensor and each ND filter looked like a shag rug. I exaggerate of course but given that I've only shot a couple of projects and all indoors, I was shocked to have my camera look like I'd been touring the wilds of Afghanistan. I called Canon's EOS number (1-855-246-3367), described the problem and told them it was coming. They gave me packing instructions and an address in NJ.
They never mentioned the update.
I FedEx'd the camera -- a cost of $275 I might add -- and waited for the email estimate I was told I would receive once the camera was checked out. Four business days later, no email. I eventually called to be told that Canon Service had been trying to reach me because they were not sure why my camera had been sent in. So besides the fact that I hadn't gotten any calls and if I had, they were not leaving voicemails...it seemed odd that they had a document with my number to call me at but nothing resembling a work order that stated "PLEASE CLEAN MY SHAG RUG SENSORS AND FILTERS!"
The Canon rep apologized and said they would look at it right away.
Still no mention of the update.
Within 10 minutes I got an estimate email for out of warranty sensor cleaning priced at $359 and $15 ground shipping. I rang them up and handed over my credit card info and they told me it should be done in about 7 business days. Add the ground shipping and I was thinking that this camera will have been gone for 2 weeks or more. I asked if there was some way to expedite...or pay to expedite...and sat on hold for a couple of minutes while the customer service person asked around. The rep came back on and said they'd give me Standard Overnight free of charge and that most likely the cleaning would be done in the next day or so. Oddly accommodating but much appreciated.
Still no mention of the update.
I then started to think that between shipping and the cleaning charge, and the replacement rental this camera is going to cost me a fair amount of money if i have to do this a couple of times a year. Surely Canon offers some kind of extended warranty product. I brought this up with the rep and she thought about it for a sec and transferred me to Bruce in the EOS Cinema division. He told me about the Canon PPS Support Pack where for $2300/3-years or $1700/2-years you get three free cleanings per year, 20% discounts on parts, loaner options, expedited repairs and shipping, etc.
Seemed reasonable...not great since the PPS is per product. So thats $2300 for each camera you own. Or X number of dollars for each lens you get covered. I wish it was some kind of blanket coverage for all the Cinema EOS products you own. But what can you do. My big question is why isn't my dealer hammering me to buy this every time I'm in there buying another light stand or whatever. And why hadn't the people on the phone at Canon tried to sell this to me in the previous four or five calls I had made over the past several days.
Still no mention of the update...or what I've come to believe is actually a silent recall. But that's just my opinion.
As I pondered the cost of ownership of the Cinema EOS line, wondered about adding a second camera or even jumping ship to another manufacturer, I did one more Google search on dirty NDs. I found a post on another site linking to a Canon Europe press release from March announcing the update -- http://cpn.canon-europe.com/content/news/eos_c300_upgrade_now_available.do
Back on the phone with Canon and they are all like, "Oh yeah...the update. Did you want one of those? I'll tell service to do that while your c300 is here getting cleaned. Cost? Nah...no charge. Thank you for choosing Canon. Have a nice day"
Huh?!?
