C300: Canon USA is now offering an "update" to some internal c300 components...

[kevinseven]

PPS might be a wash unless the priority repair turn around and shipping appeal to you. One year costs $1k and that covers, I think, only three cleanings. So if you just paid for the cleanings outright you'd be spending about the same amount of money. I need to double check that in the contract. But if you only need one cleaning a year...well you can do the math.

And that's $1k per camera...being a rental house I can see that being pretty expensive if you've got 3 or 4 units. Now if it included unlimited cleaning or at least 6 cleanings... Then I could see the value.

 

[cowpunk52]

PPS might be a wash unless the priority repair turn around and shipping appeal to you. One year costs $1k and that covers, I think, only three cleanings. So if you just paid for the cleanings outright you'd be spending about the same amount of money. I need to double check that in the contract. But if you only need one cleaning a year...well you can do the math.

And that's $1k per camera...being a rental house I can see that being pretty expensive if you've got 3 or 4 units. Now if it included unlimited cleaning or at least 6 cleanings... Then I could see the value.

True - but I'm not having the dirty sensor cavity problem, so the cleaning is not my priority. I'm more interested in expedited & discounted repairs if something else goes wrong, and a loaner while it's "in the shop." Canon's Hollywood Service Center is just a few miles from me, so I don't have to ship anywhere - and they'll give me on-site support in my location. I realize it's not a good deal for everybody, but for me it could be worth it.

 

[kevinseven]

Canon's Hollywood Service Center is just a few miles from me, so I don't have to ship anywhere - and they'll give me on-site support in my location. I realize it's not a good deal for everybody, but for me it could be worth it.

Absolutely...a local service location makes it very attractive. It cost me $275 to ship my c300 to NJ with the FedEx insurance. If they sent me a loaner I'd have to ship that back...insure it...and spend another $275. So I'd probably just rent one local to save all the hassle.

The PPS paperwork also seems to say that it's unlikely you'd get a loaner cross shipped. So some no name independent like myself in my geographical area would need to wait the time for the repair unit to be received at Canon, have the unit checked out, the repair estimated and then they would make a determination if I rated a loaner. If all this happens under the "expedited repair" then my camera would more than likely be ready before the whole loaner option could be active.

So I'm certainly envious that you can drive a couple of miles, talk to a live person and probably walk out the door with a loaner.

 

[cowpunk52]

It's a shame that Canon doesn't make service easier and more thoughtful across its entire Cinema EOS ecosystem. Hopefully they'll wise up and improve warranty & customer service because that will go way farther in selling cameras than they realize.

 

[Dino]

A rental house in my market that has several C300's, does their own cleaning. They take the cameras apart themselves, because it's a recurring problem that would cause too much downtime and expense otherwise. Probably would void the warranty, but the priority is being able to service their clients and make a return on investment. Still a rather labor intensive use of staff time and something that other large sensor video cameras don't seem to suffer from.

 

[f44876]

It's a shame that Canon doesn't make service easier and more thoughtful across its entire Cinema EOS ecosystem. Hopefully they'll wise up and improve warranty & customer service because that will go way farther in selling cameras than they realize.

Somebody should screenshot this and email it to Canon. I've already abandoned them for Panasonic and Sony. Too many exhausting instances where cameras came back to me exactly the way I sent them in... issues unresolved. My worst instance was having to send a 7D in four times in a row, back-to-back, including multiple phone calls just to get them to properly correct a sensor voltage issue.