6d Done Died

at least its still under something. when i got my mk3 within the first 2-3 weeks of getting it i was missing most of one line of pixels. it was sent out and i told them i was in a hurry, i have a vacation coming up really soon (i did actually and they did hurry it up). they replaced the main board, cmos and some other things. originally they sent me a bill for like $1200 and i told them, no way that's covered and they agreed and paid for it. so its pretty pricey to get things fixed.


---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

Blech. ...

I did get the three year big warranty but still a pain.

I actually was leaving this afternoon but a lot of other stuff happened today to set me back and I don't want to kill myself trying to get everything done just so I can take off today. The good news is I use the 7d most of the time anyway unless I'm doing landscapes so I won't miss the 6d as much for this trip. Sometimes when a bunch of stuff happens to conspire to set me back or knock me off the trail completely I begin to take it as a sign that maybe I shouldn't go.

My main gripe is that it's adding insult to injury when Canon doesn't cover the cost of shipping and insurance. Some places do, some don't, but sometimes if I bitch about it they will cover it just to shut me up. A small price to pay, LOL. At any rate this is more of an irritation than a tragedy. It's just that I've been touting the wonders of the 6d here and elsewhere and now I find that it's just another flawed piece of doo doo.

The happy news is, because I hadn't taken off yet, I was here to answer a client call and was offered a fun design project for new wines. So I guess it's not all sour grapes after all.

JC, I got the 3rd party oopsie warranty that's for either 2 or 3 years but the Canon warranty is only a year and that seems way too short for that kind of money.

it is short, and when you send the camera in, you learn that they have a pay program that makes you a gold member to get i think discounts and faster service, but it doesn't count if you use it when you send it in. and its expensive.


---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

lol Im a Nikon kid, Started with Canon way back when, the D60 I think, was awesome...6.3 mp....I was like wow, what will I ever do will with all those Megapixels!!!! lol.

Uh, oh. Mine is just slightly newer than yours, Cathleen. I do have a Rebel T2i I could fall back on, but hopefully I won't have the same problem.

I did get a black screen once - the image would not show - that only happened once. Fingers and toes crossed.....

Check out CPS and at least sign up for the free one if you have enough equipment.

http://www.cps.usa.canon.com

Even under warranty they always come up with water damage or impact damage or some reason to have to pay for whatever it is to get fixed.

CPS will at least be helpful. If you don't have the basic one at least they don't seem to care that you have thousands of dollars worth of their equipment.

The last time I had to have a Nikon fixed was like 20 years ago. And they replaced all the electronics on the film camera for a hundred bucks. Basically if it is a Nikon USA camera they don't charge a lot, even if it is out of warranty. My D70 was sold before it ever needed repair. My D300 was used for my whale observation work from the bows of ships in the subtropics in the summer and off New England in the winter. These days I mostly shoot from the ocean beach in blowing salt and sand. I wore out a rubber grip and the second one may need replacement too. I think I replaced the battery cover after I dropped it.That was 5 bucks. $1200 for a repair? I would be running to a Nikon dealer. Glad I didn't get sucked into the Canon brand by their low priced entry level Rebel cameras.

Traded my Nikon D600 in for a D610 due to the dust issue. Didn't cost me a thing.

Kathleen, did they tell you it would be a couple of weeks?

I had a great experience with the Canon service center. Yes, I had to pay shipping and insurance, but I shipped it ground and it wasn't that expensive. What was important was that they repaired for free my 20D when it was 3 months out of warranty. They cleaned it up and it looked like new. Moreover they shipped it back to me via overnight delivery. It was gone only about a week.

Did you buy it with a credit card? Some cards automatically double the warranty. There was a program with Visa Platinum where you would buy a 3 year extended warranty that included full replacement if the item was not repairable.

Chuck, I usually buy with my Amex because it doubles the warranty and gives cash back but I couldn't afford to pay it off in 30 days so I had to buy it through Bill Me Later to avoid interest. It's a point of honor that I never pay a dime in interest and never have so far. But I did get the 3 Year Square Trade Drops & Spills Warranty and just realized that it also covers mechanical failure. They provide free shipping and it's a quicker turnaround time than Canon so I am looking into that now. Their repair center is in San Francisco, which is much closer to home than So. Cal.

OK, here's the deal - The Square Trade insurance is good for drops and spills for 3 years from the date of purchase. They cover mechanical/electrical failures for 2 years from the date that Canon's warranty expires so I need to send it to Canon while it's still under their warranty but I can email Square Trade the receipt for shipment to Canon and they will reimburse that charge.

Kathleen, can you take that warranty any time? I mean can I take it as long as I'm still under the 1 year Canon warranty?

By the way, I see I spelled your name wrong in my previous post. Forgive this forgetful old lady.

I would be curious as well if anyone has a 50 Megapixel camera. That's a lot of pixels....

Mary, I may be wrong but I think I had 2 months to buy their warranty after purchase. I bought it on the date of purchase but if I remember correctly, I was vacillating on getting it with another purchase (through B&H) and I think they told me I had 2 months to decide. You can contact Square Trade directly to find out. I've seen complaints about them in reviews but I don't remember the specifics.

I did have a hard time understanding the 2 reps I spoke with today though I finally got answers to my questions. English is not their first language. I asked one of them to please slow down and that helped somewhat.

Yes, Mary, you are forgiven, lol! Just don't call me Johnson (if you are truly old, you'll remember the reference).

You can call me Ray, or you can call me Jay......

Yeah, I'm old, I remember that one LOL.

Well I got the camera more than two months ago, so I guess I'm stuck with the Canon warranty.

I wish you good luck in getting it back fast. The thread has prompted me to take the other camera on vacation as well, just in case. I have room for it in my camera bag if I leave the lens hoods home (which I never use - probably should). It's a tight squeeze with the 6D and two lenses to get the Rebel in there with my better lens, but I did it once before.

It's always good to bring a backup or backups, Mary. Lots of times I've thought about selling older cameras and lenses just to get them out of the house but if the new and improved versions go belly up the old ones are better than nothing. I still bring the old T3i (with a decent macro attached) every time I go on a trip. Don't use it much but if I was going specifically to shoot landscapes on this trip I'd pop on the 24-105mm from the defunct 6d and still be able to get some wide shots. Winter before last I spent 2 months in the southwest border country and hit a lot of birding sites. My old Sigma quit zooming in a place where 20 to 30 thousand cranes were wintering. I had 2 other cheap Canon zoom lenses that did a pretty cruddy job compared to the Sigma but it was way better to have them than not be able to shoot at all.

Well, don't tell anyone this (Shhh), but I didn't take my camera the last time we visited our daughter because I thought we were going to an art museum. We ended up at an arboretum instead so I took photos with my phone. I was surprised how well an i-phone works in optimal conditions. I have a few posted for sale - of course, I kept the prices out of the larger sizes, but hey - it was better than nothing.....(don't tell).

Why not Mary? Nothing wrong with that at all.