Time for a bit of a sweep up on tales of photography which came to conclusions recently…
Remember my whinge about Jessops’ poor repair service where they’d taken 10 days to get it to Canon’s repair centre? I got my EOS 5D Mark 2 back with a note of ‘readjustment’ – after a little bit of research it turns out that this is a fairly common operation, and while they don’t map the pixels out they actually re-adjust the CCD (which bit I don’t know, so don’t ask). Jessops themselves are unrepentant about the delay, it’s fairly average for them and the Interwebs are full of complaints.
In the course of my investigations into quicker repair options I came across Canon Professional Network. While most of the website is open to everyone (I recommend the video tutorials/masterclasses from professionals), if you qualify for their full programme you get priority repairs and equipment loan if it takes more than a week to get the unit back to you. The entry requirements are fairly sizeable – you have to own at least 2 L-series lenses and 2 ‘professional’ bodies (base requirement is EOS 40D so your entry-level dSLRs don’t count nor do the older bodies).
They also make sure there’s a repair centre on-site at major events such as Wimbledon and other major sports events, yada yada. That way if something goes bang you can get it sorted damn quick (and they cover your lenses too, hooray).
Anyway, I qualified for it in the end because I’ve acquired a Canon EOS 50D as a body for Nicky to use. The 30D has been very heavily used (the trigger is reluctant to fire sometimes) and the accessories will fit a 50D so it seemed like a sensible purchase. Nicky’s used it a little bit on holiday and I’m looking forward to the first gig pics using it.
I guess I’ll see how the repair service deals with the G9’s failure and will report sometime in the future, but bear in mind the experience may be a little different as it’s a travel-insurance job.
On a side-note, there’s unsubstantiated rumours of the EOS 7D (again) and of course the new G11 has been announced. Maybe if the G9 is irrepairable I’ll go find one of those instead.
I’m so Canon’s bitch.
August 20, 2009 at 1:43 pm
The rumours of the 7d’s feature set are rather yummy. 12MP but full-frame! Sounds like a cheaper version of a 5d to me, which is just what I like to hear!
It also fits in with what they’ve done with the G11: lower megapixel count but lower noise and higer ISO. In other words, ignore the silly MP race (once you’re over 10MP then it’s good enough to beat 35mm film for resolution) and concentrate on what matters.
It will be interesting to see if the brave ploy works in the marketplace…
August 21, 2009 at 8:35 am
What’s happened to your G9? Mine has died too. Think it may have taken a bump but there’s no sign of life at all.
August 26, 2009 at 4:22 pm
The G9 lens mechanism has failed – basically the lens is stuck out and when it attempts to retract there’s a grinding noise.
This is the second failure it’s had – the first time it just refused to power up completely. The repair stated ‘logic board replacement’.