Help with a Canon Digicam repair

[Twoplanker]

Does anyone have any experience with repairs on a Canon camera? My A70 took a hard whack in Tahoe awhile ago. It's been acting funny ever since, and now I think it's totally dead.

Since I can buy a new one for about $280, I'm guessing that any repairs that Canon does will cost close enough to that to not make it worth geting it repaired.

Does anyone here have any experience with Canon repairs, or repairs of digital cameras in general?

Totally bummed. I love my camera

[splat]

Originally posted by Twoplanker
Does anyone have any experience with repairs on a Canon camera? My A70 took a hard whack in Tahoe awhile ago. It's been acting funny ever since, and now I think it's totally dead.

Since I can buy a new one for about $280, I'm guessing that any repairs that Canon does will cost close enough to that to not make it worth geting it repaired.

Does anyone here have any experience with Canon repairs, or repairs of digital cameras in general?

Totally bummed. I love my camera

Have you taken it into a shop for a quote, 2P?
I feel quite responsible since I jumped off that rock with it in my hand to get a shot off you going off and it was messed up afterwards. So I'm down for contributing to a repair or a new cam.

[Dr. Crash]

Stanley door hinge.

drC

[backpack]

it depends on what exactly is wrong with it... my G2 had a power problem and it cost $120 to fix... expensive, but depending on your problem it could cost more or less

[splat]

Originally posted by Dr. Crash
Stanley door hinge.

drC

Damn............I almost forgot. Heading to Home Depot now. lol.

[Twoplanker]

Originally posted by splat
Have you taken it into a shop for a quote, 2P?
I feel quite responsible since I jumped off that rock with it in my hand to get a shot off you going off and it was messed up afterwards. So I'm down for contributing to a repair or a new cam.

I talked with the manager/ camera expert at the shop where I bought it and he confirmed what I feared. Working on these things is so time intensive that most repairs quickly run up to $200. With a new camera costing only about $280 or so, the repair expense is probably not worth it. I called Canon and they were useless - "send it to us and we'll bill you, but it's not likely to be cheap."

Basically, the impression I got is that the technology in these things is so small and complicated, repairs are extremely time consuming and expensive.

So cool of you to offer to help with a new one. Shoot me an email about that. Once again, you've demonstrated that you are a standup Maggot. Anyone who says otherwise gets a swift kick in the nuts from me!

[Twoplanker]

Originally posted by backpack
it depends on what exactly is wrong with it... my G2 had a power problem and it cost $120 to fix... expensive, but depending on your problem it could cost more or less

This was a crushing blow to the lens contraption. There is some broken housing, an internal software error, and it is having problems staying on. The lens covers that move to shield the lens are totally gone. It's looking pretty rough, but still functioning on and off.

It worked for awhile, but it seemed to just poop out on my last trip. I can now hear lots of little things rattling around inside, which I think are inhibiting the mechanism that drives the zoom.

[fridge]

Hey 2P, how much abuse can one of these cameras take? I have an A60, but I've been worried about taking it out for fear of breaking it on one of my many trips to the ground.

[summit]

Good luck! Ever taken apart a modern P&S much less a SLR or digicam?

An old OM-4 will make you shit a brick looking at it's insides. Unless you think its a simple mechanical problem or problem ith electrical connections, you'd best send it back to Canon.

[Twoplanker]

Originally posted by fridge
Hey 2P, how much abuse can one of these cameras take? I have an A60, but I've been worried about taking it out for fear of breaking it on one of my many trips to the ground.

I've taken mine backpacking and skiing quite a bit. The A70 seems to be fairly tough, but expect to have to baby it.

The incident that Pat described above was just a freak thing. We were setting up for a shot of me skiing off a rock. I gave Pat the 30 second scoop on how to work the camera and then he dropped on the rock, camera in hand. It's hard to say what happened - maybe it his his binding or boot or ski or something, but it could not have been too hard of a hit because he didn't feel it happen. The housing is just plastic, so if you hit it on something hard, it will break. They make a waterproof casing which would probably protect the camera quite a bit.

In a case, in your backpack, I think the camera is pretty safe.

[Twoplanker]

Originally posted by SummitCo 1776
Good luck! Ever taken apart a modern P&S much less a SLR or digicam?

An old OM-4 will make you shit a brick looking at it's insides. Unless you think its a simple mechanical problem or problem ith electrical connections, you'd best send it back to Canon.

I was seriously contemplating taking mine apart, but I thought better of it.

[Lumpy]

My s230 elph has zoom problems after not too many trips skiing. The return on the zoom lever no trabaja anymore...it is as I feared. They are toss aways if Canon is so optimistic about fixing the little pricks.

[Spats]

Originally posted by Twoplanker
Does anyone have any experience with repairs on a Canon camera? My A70 took a hard whack in Tahoe awhile ago. It's been acting funny ever since, and now I think it's totally dead.

Since I can buy a new one for about $280, I'm guessing that any repairs that Canon does will cost close enough to that to not make it worth geting it repaired.

Does anyone here have any experience with Canon repairs, or repairs of digital cameras in general?

Totally bummed. I love my camera

I've had mine back twice for warranty: once it just randomly died, and another time something in the lens mechanism got stuck and it wouldn't retract. Both times they fixed it for free. Of course I hadn't just dropped it on a rock...

You'd better send it back to Canon -- just go directly to factory service, don't go through a shop. Include a nice letter telling them you want to know how much it'll cost to get fixed and that they should call you to give you an estimate.

Odds are they'll just replace it and bill you for some random amount. Odds are also that this will be a lot less than a new camera would cost. Try it.

I've taken mine skiing many times, and it has never broken while/after siing. I keep it in a chest pocket...if I take a hard impact to the chest, I've got more problems than my camera.

If not in my jacket, it always lives in a padded case. Also you should put on the wrist strap.

That's the one problem with the A60/70/80...they're a bit delicate. The Elph or S series are burlier but cost a lot more.

[shamrockpow]

A60 was fine backpacking, skiing, etc. as long as it was in the case, but then I made a big mistake. I let my 4 year old niece look at one of the pics and she immediately dropped it on the floor. Now the housing is dislodged, the zoom is a little slow in either direction, but the camera's still working for now.

After this experience I'd reccomend the camera, but like everyone else said: baby it

[summit]

I just got my A70... we'll see how well it holds up vs my MIA Rollei P&S and my 35mm Canon SLR gear.

I didn't see the elph or the S series as valid alternatives because I demand the manual control over my image making.

The next step up for me would be the G5 but at that point I should be plopping down for a 300D or 10D to go with my plethora of EOS lenses.

[Buzzworthy]

My A70 has been great, BUT I do baby it if I'm out on the slopes or packing. So far just a few scratches on the LCD and the camera it self. The shutter has stuck a few times while closing but it now is fine. Case is a must. ANd yes, use the hand strap.