Need to vent...Canon customer service and my A610

[Jeanne B]

I posted on here last month about the problem I was having with my A610 while we were on a cruise (the search function isn't working for me so I'm starting a new thread). The LCD was black except for the display information and the pictures were coming out black, everything else was working properly. One of the regulars on here, and I can't remember who it was now, made several suggestions but none of them worked so when we got back from our cruise I did a little research on dpreview and found a thread in which a handful of A610 owners were having the exact same problem as I was. As it turns out there was a service advisory posted in 06 in which Canon admitted there was a problem with some of the CCD's and the internal wiring could come undone, especially in high temps and high humidity (which makes sense, we've used ours mostly in Florida and the Caribbean). They don't have the A610 listed on the service advisory but I sent it in for repair anyway, included the copy of the service advisory and I get an email today stating they'll fix it for $107 so I call Canon and the first thing I'm told is that they can't repair it for free because it has side impact damage (they make it sound like it was in a car accident!!). Anyway, it has a slight dent in the top right corner and I told her that happened well over a year ago, I've taken hundreds of pictures since and that I didn't see what that could have to do with the KNOWN ccd problem and I mentioned the number of cases on dpreview in which people were having the same problem with their A610...she quickly told me that because the A610 wasn't on the service advisory they couldn't fix it for free but they could give me a courtesy 20% discount on the labor which would bring it down to $99. At that point I was so angry that I told her not to do anything yet with my repair request, I've spent nearly $1000 on Canon cameras and accessories in the last 2 years and I've recommended both the A and S series countless times on here and other boards and I'm just fuming at this point, especially when I see posts by other owners of A610's with the exact same problem and I went on dpreview tonight and there's someone on there with an S3 that's having the same problem.

I can't believe Canon isn't acknowledging that there are other models besides what's on the advisory that are having this problem. I'm really torn about what to do, I could buy one for less money on ebay but that one could end up with the same CCD problem, at least if I have Canon repair mine it should be guaranteed to not have this problem again, but why should I have to pay them to fix it?!?

If anyone has any suggestions about what to do I'd love to hear them. I feel like I should press this issue with Canon but I don't know what steps to take or if it will even do any good. Sorry for the long vent!!

Here's the link to the service advisory for anyone that's interested...

http://www.dpreview.com/news/0510/05100602canon_ccdproblem.asp

I'm just glad I didn't give Canon even more money when I bought my dSLR, I gave it to Pentax instead!!

 

[AndrewWG]

One of the regulars on here, and I can't remember who it was now, made several suggestions but none of them worked

I was wondering if you ever figured out that problem. I was the one trying to help you figure that out. Sorry it turned out so bad for you. If you like the camera and have the underwater housing for it, I would probably just bite the bullet and get it fixed. However, I would ask if that problem can be under a warranty of some kind or at least a guarantee to you that it won't happen again.

I hope your cruise was nice anyways!

 

[Jeanne B]

I was the one trying to help you figure that out.

I was thinking you were the one but I couldn't remember your whole screen name!!

As much as I hate to I'm probably going to end up biting the bullet like you said and have them fix it at my cost. I'd probably only hurt myself by refusing to pay the $100 to have them fix it...it would mean nothing to them to lose a $100 repair. But the way I'm feeling right now, I'll never buy another Canon product and I'll never make another recommendation for a Canon product. I'd be a lot less angry if it wasn't for the fact that other A610 and S series owners are having the same problem and it's not just recently, one of the threads I came across on dpreview was almost a year old so I'm not the first one with an A610 to bring this to Canon's attention.

And the cruise was fantastic by the way!! We're going on another one in March which is why I'm trying to get my camera problem resolved well in advance.

 

[My2Girls66]

I had the same problem with my Sony camcorder(it looks from the dpreview link that the component is made by Sony and is in other brand cameras and camcorders). Luckily Sony fixed mine(it was 2.5 yrs old) for free with no problem- they even paid shipping there and back. I just looked at Amazon.com at reviews for your model. It looks like they have many complaints similar to yours. One person complained enough to get the repair price down to $25.

http://www.amazon.com/review/produc...tBy=bySubmissionDateDescending#R32VT58P4GL76U

 

[jann1033]

there is another dept....can't remember the name but think it's customer resolution. that is who finally got my dslr and lens replaced...it's worth a try and copy down the sites who have the problem posted so you can refer them to them. till they got involved i just kept getting a run around from customer service...you might call into customer support, explain the situation and ask to speak with someone else, that is who sent me to the other dept.
if you dropped it or whatever gave it the dent,i can see why you are having a problem, in all honesty. they just see damage and it says if you drop it etc the warranty doesn't cover it... so you can see their position on that one but if others are having similar problems they should fix that.

however if you pay for or get it fixed for free the repairs are covered for 6 months

 

[ukcatfan]

I have had two different cameras replaced for free under that recall. The reason that they are not going to honor the recall on your camera is because it has a different sensor than the ones on the list. They are more than happy to fix/replace one on the list b/c Sony is the real one ending up with the bill. Sony sold them a bad product (the sensor) and Canon is more like the middle man in the recall. It is costing them a little something, but it is costing Sony the most. So... without being able to go back to Sony to cover the cost, Canon is not going to do a free replacement no matter what you say.

If you make enough noise (in the proper way), then they might grease the wheel making the noise. Be sure to keep your cool and sound as professional as possible. I have personally been able to use this technique to get a 50% off rate at ASMu and to get a replacement pair of Oakleys after my new pair fell apart after six months. I even had a conference call with two Oakley vice presidents!!! An E-mail will usually be alright, but a traditional paper letter tends to show more respect and effort.

BTW... In case you have not heard, the Pentax DSLR announcement later this month is suposed to be really big news. Rumor is that it is going to make all of the other makers do a double take. We can only wait and see.

Kevin

 

[ukcatfan]

The LCD was black except for the display information and the pictures were coming out black, everything else was working properly.

Checking back this morning, I realize something else. Your problem is not consistent with my problems on the two cameras they replaced for me. My LCD would flicker with horizontal lines that would also be on the captured image. It was still getting proper exposure though, so no black images.

Kevin

 

[ASFCurly]

I have a Powershot A70 that is one of the ones under the recall, and the screen went blank on Christmas, I called and they told me it was covered, though they sent the shipping label to the wrong email and I had to call them back a week or two later to get a new one sent, so it hasn't actually reached them yet.

 

[Jeanne B]

I haven't called Canon back yet but I read the Amazon reviews that My2Girls66 linked and between Amazon and dpreview I've come across almost 2 dozen people who have had the exact problem with their A610 that's described in the notice and that's just on two websites so I'm sure there are many more yet Canon refuses to admit there's a CCD problem with anything but what's on the advisory (which is now over 2 years old). Way to back your product Canon!!

I found myself looking at the Pentax W30 this morning (I'm having a hard time accepting that I need to give Canon more of my money) but it sounds like I could be taking a chance with it because some people are reporting having waterproofing problems with both the W20 and W30 and since we use our A610 and housing almost strictly for snorkeling I'm not sure I feel comfortable replacing that with the W30. It sounds like those who don't get a lemon love the W series, although I don't think the picture quality is quite as good, but with my luck I'd get another lemon!! I'm reading about similar waterproof problems with the Olympus cameras.

I'm going to call Canon Factory Service again on Monday and ask for a supervisor and see what I can do about getting them to take more off the repair cost and if they won't budge I'll probably give in but I'll surely be writing a letter to Canon about this (not that it will do any good but at least I'll know I was as vocal as I could be with them).

One other thing I found out is that if I authorize them to repair my camera they'll very likely send me a refurbished camera so I wouldn't even get my own camera back.

 

[ukcatfan]

You are in a tight spot with the underwater housing. Even if they were to honor a recall on that model, there is very little chance you would get the same model back. My A70 was replaced with an A520 and my S1 with a S2. Both are switches from CF to SD. They would not replace all of my CF memory, but did give me something like 512MB. They refused to replace the lens adapters b/c they said it is an accessory that is not required for proper functioning of the camera. So, even though I got new cameras, it was not a perfect situation. If they would not replace a simple $15 adapter, then I really doubt that they would do the housing.

If you do get a repair done, be sure you tell them that you must have the same model back. If fact, I would put it in writing and make yourself a copy for proof. It is pretty typical for replacements instead of repairs. For the $100 they ask you to pay, it is cheaper for them to just send a new one. A new one costs less than that to them, but even one labor hour for a technician is likely more than that after you consider all of the indirect costs like insurance, FICA, taxes, etc. (can you tell that I am an accountant ) Do not be too nervous about a refurb. Considering the cost of repairs I just mentioned, I have heard that all refurbs are just ones that they cannot sell as new. They do not actually have repairs done to them.

There has been one update to the recall which added some models, so it is possible there could be more. Again, this is more dependent on Sony than Canon.

Kevin

 

[Jeanne B]

A new one costs less than that to them, but even one labor hour for a technician is likely more than that after you consider all of the indirect costs like insurance, FICA, taxes, etc. (can you tell that I am an accountant )

I'm an accountant too so I know what you mean!!

 

[My2Girls66]

The picture of your 610 looks an awful lot like my 540 and 560. Are the housings camera model specific? Or maybe it would work on a different but similar model? I'd like to get a housing for our cameras- we maybe going to Cyprus in April which would mean diving/snorkeling. May I ask how much they cost and where you got it?

 

[My2Girls66]

I think I answered my own question. Looks like $170- they had one listed for the 540 but not the 560(they(the cameras) look exactly the same, tho). Can you use the zoom inside that casing? I'm guessing not.

 

[Jeanne B]

Can you use the zoom inside that casing? I'm guessing not.

We can zoom inside our Canon housing. I purchased it from Amazon. Before I knew what the problem was with my A610 the first thing I did was check to see if anything other than the A610 or A620 could be used with it but unfortunately it's specific to those two models. I thought maybe the latest A6x0 models would be compatible but they must have changed the dimensions slightly because there's a different housing for the newer models.

I'm now thinking about buying an A620 off ebay, I haven't come across any CCD problems with the A620 and it fits our housing. I'm being really stubborn about giving Canon my credit card!!

 

[Groucho]

BTW... In case you have not heard, the Pentax DSLR announcement later this month is suposed to be really big news. Rumor is that it is going to make all of the other makers do a double take. We can only wait and see.

Kevin

I've all a-quiver... I hope to order mine in the next month or two in time for WDW in April. Rumor has it that it's been being built for a couple months so there'll be good stock and it'll be available quick - K100Ds and K10Ds have been selling out to make room for the new ones.

I also am now the proud owner of the legendary Pentax 31mm F1.8 Limited - reportedly one of the absolute finest AF lenses ever made. I'm anxious to see how it + K20D do in the Haunted Mansion. Then to cap it off, Tamron's 70-200mm F2.8 will supposedly be out in the next few weeks - for only $700! One rumor is also that there'll be a Pentax-branded version. That's gonna have to wait, I'm breaking the bank as is.

Whoops, I'm going way off topic.

FWIW, I had very good luck getting a Minolta digicam replaced for a CCD issue... and my boss just bought a rather beat-up and abused Canon Powershot (don't remember the model) for $6 off eBay that had a CCD problem and promptly turned it around and shipped it off to Canon.

I would probably lean towards the eBay route. Actually, a quick glance at eBay shows an awful lot of busted "as is" A610s for sale... maybe I'd consider a slightly different model.

 

[Jeanne B]

I would probably lean towards the eBay route. Actually, a quick glance at eBay shows an awful lot of busted "as is" A610s for sale... maybe I'd consider a slightly different model.

I'm seriously considering buying an A620 off ebay, I've seen no CCD problems relating to this one and it will fit in our housing.

I made one last attempt at Canon this morning, asked for a supervisor after reading a bunch more reviews on CNET about the A610 CCD problem. Long story short I got nowhere, he refused to budge but told me if they repaired my camera and Canon later added the A610 to the advisory that they would refund my money. I said no thank you, send my camera back to me unrepaired, Canon isn't getting another dime from me. They guy said okay and hung up on me, not even a goodbye!! I was pretty polite throughout the phonecall and was just trying to plead my case as best I could but he was not at all friendly and I could feel myself starting to lose my cool towards the end and that's when I gave up...it's the principle of it and I just couldn't tell them to go forward with the repair when I know there are dozens of A610's with this problem yet they refuse to put it on an advisory even though there's clearly a problem with a batch of the A610's (there are also some S2's out there with this problem). I'm no longer a loyal Canon customer after this experience. (ok, never mind about the Pentax K100 that I own)

From what I've read on CNET people are having luck getting their A610 repaired for free IF they get through to the right supervisor, I obviously did not.