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| DragonSpeed PRO Fri 30th Jun 2006 22:25
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From my blog..... http://free-blog-site.com/dragonspeed/archive/2006/06/30/93437.aspx
An open letter to Canon Canada
Dear Canon,
About 3 weeks ago I began to suffer the classic problem that plagues every DSLR owner after a period of time: dust on my sensor. Here in Vancouver, I figured I'd be able to take it to my retailer and have them send it to a local shop to have the sensor cleaned. This, it turned out was the beginning of my camera abstinence period. :(
When I asked my retailer if I might have my camera back in time for some July travel I was planning, my retailer told me that it would likely take longer than that. "Oh!", I exclaimed. It was too bad, but I figured it might be OK to wait 3 weeks or so to get my camera back, if it came back with a nice clean sensor.
This week, I started inquiries with my retailer.... "How much is this going to cost? You had said I would get a quotation before they did any work on the camera."
This was met with "We haven't heard anything from Canon. It often takes 1.5 months after shipping before we get a quote back."
"Whaaaa??????" Oh My God! I'm going to be without a camera for probably the entire SUMMER at this rate.
I figured that I'd take the ball into my own hands and contact the repair centre. I asked my retailer for any WO# that Canon had issued upon receipt so that I could follow up. "Canon doesn't issue anything until they give you a quote."
Now, you, Canon are not a small company. I'm sure you get a few hundred cameras into your repair depots daily. It seems unlikely that you don't issue any receipt of goods statement, but from looking around the web, this appears to be EXACTLY your Modus Operandi. My camera is sitting somewhere in the bowels of some service centre, and only you, Canon Canada, know where, and how to retrieve it. Dumb.
I called the 1-800 number listed in the support pages for Canon, and then went through the annoying voice jail system until I could talk to a real tech. I asked him how I could find out more information about my camera, as it had been 3 weeks since it left my hands, and I had not heard anything. He told me that my retailer would have to call the repair centre during business hours and that they would not release any information to me, only them. I clarified my situation to the tech on the phone "This is MY CAMERA, not the store's."
"Sorry, privacy rules, they will only be allowed to give out the information to the retailer."
Obviously he was only spouting the company line, so I got the numbers of the two service centres an thanked him. Tuesday will be a different day. On Tuesday I am will be calling your Toronto service centre and by the time the day is done, I WILL find out WTF has happened to my camera, and why does it take so long to a) recieve a camera b) quote on service and c) actually do the $%*$& job and return my camera before it becomes two models out of date. :(
Canon - You make GREAT cameras. I own an S45, and S60, Film Rebel, and now a Digital Rebel. The quality of the photos that come from the cameras is only limited by my own photography skills. Your service would appear to SUCK. Why? In a few years I'll be shopping for a newer generation DSLR. Will I still be going Canon? I have a reasonable investment in Canon lenses, but if every service call will be like this, I just might have to take the hit, and try Nikon instead. It's hard to go DOWN from here, so what've I got to lose with Nikon?
So, I ask you - Is it really unreasonable to expect a modicum of service after dropping a couple Kilobucks? Our really do thing we should all just "sit down, shut up, and live with it"? It really feels like the latter. I certainly hope that others will also voice their issues, and show you that while we may not be major, high end professionals, we amateurs matter too, and we will soon be talking with our wallets, not just our mouths. If you 're not listening now, your competion will when we move to them.
If someone from Canon Canada actually reads this, (or someone reading this knows someone at Canon Canada that can do something) please feel free to either comment on this blog, or contact me via the "Contact Me" link. If I have it all wrong, I would be happy to be proven so, at which point I will correct this blog entry.
Sadly, I'm afraid that I won't have to :(
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| PhotoPro PRO Sat 1st Jul 2006 04:28
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DS - it's a shame you have to go thru all this agony - I can't imagine going a day much less weeks without mine.
Let me know after you get it back, with great fear and trepidation I began cleaning mine a couple of months after I got it and will continue to do so. I have been very pleased with the results and no apparent damage has been done.... according to a couple of sources I'm doing what Nikon service does anyway.
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| DragonSpeed PRO Sat 1st Jul 2006 06:23
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Originally posted by PhotoPro:
Let me know after you get it back, with great fear and trepidation I began cleaning mine a couple of months after I got it and will continue to do so. I have been very pleased with the results and no apparent damage has been done....
I'll definitely be looking into cleaning my own after this debacle too. :( All I have left is the compacts. Not quite the same.
Strangely - Microsoft has a great little article on how to determine if there is dust on your sensor (usually shows up in bright environments with high zoom)
Check out: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/digitalphotography/prophoto/sensorcleaning.mspx
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| DavidNewland PRO Sun 2nd Jul 2006 16:52
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In experience the friends I've had who send their camera's to canon to get their sensors cleaned end up getting the camera's back with just as much / even more dust ;)
When your car breaks down you book it in to get fixed.
When your car gets dirty, you dont take it back to the garage each time you find dust on it right ? ;)
Sensor cleaning seems to have this stigma with it that everyone who has done it has blown up their camera.
It's just dust ;)
If you get something more serious in there than dust ( liquid / something sticking ) then yes - on site repair is recommended, but people people... DUST ??
If you're using canon camera's a site called visibledust.com makes brushes tailor made for 300D's, 350D's ( or Rebel XT's to our American friends ) 10D's, 20D's, 30D's, 5D's and of course the highest end camera's too.
Just make sure the camera has a full battery, expose the sensor in a relatively dust free environment under a good light source and have a look at the sensor.
I'd a square element about the size of a postage stamp.
Can you actually see the dust particles? If you can then brush them away gently with your sensor brush.
NOW...Find a light coloured piece of card.
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| DavidNewland PRO Sun 2nd Jul 2006 16:57
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Step 2 :
Take photo's at the lowest, mid range and highest F-numbers possible before downloading the images to your pc.
Has the dust from previous photo's moved ? Is there more ? Less ?
Note whereabouts on the image the dust is. This will give you a better idea of which area of the sensor you need to brush :)
Repeat this over and over again until it is dust free or at a level which is satisfactory to you.
After a few goes at it you'll think nothing more of it and enjoy snapping again without the worry of those little black dots ;)
Just treat the sensor for what it is, delicate but you cant damage it by brushing is sensibly with a proper sensor cleaning brush ( I dont care what you read on a forum - do NOT jam a paintbrush in there or anything that is not a specialised sensor cleaning brush !!! )
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| PhotoPro PRO Sun 2nd Jul 2006 18:49
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I decided after reading several sites that recommended against using a brush to go with the sytem( http://www.Micro-Tools.com ) that uses disposable lint free "wipes" or pads wrapped around a special sized wand(they come in different widths - depending on your sensor size) and using only Eclypse cleaning fluid. You can buy the components individually or save a few $'s by buying a "kit"
But before I ever stick anything against my sensor, I always use my Giotto "Rocket-Air" blower. 99% of the time this cleans out the dust on my sensor or my mirror.
Most DSLR users probably know this, but it's recommended to only change lens with the camera turned off. It's an easy thing to forget(I do quite often). This is because the sensor holds an electrostatic charge when turned on. I even go a step further(yes, I'm a little retentive) and hold my camera with the lens oppening facing down when changing lens. Dirt may be able to fall up but I won't be adding to the problem myself by doing it this way.
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| ithacababe Mon 3rd Jul 2006 02:54
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that's horrible! when i had to have something repaired on my Canon A620 i had it back within two weeks, tops!
good luck, and i hope you get it back soon!
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| DragonSpeed PRO Mon 3rd Jul 2006 04:08
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David,
I would probably use an analogy of grime in my engine cylinders. On the average day, I'm not likely to be doing that cleaning myself. However, if my mechanic told me that he'd have my car for 2 months, and I wouldn't get a loaner, then I sure WOULD be looking to learn how to clean my own cylinders!!! I don't imagine that I _EVER_ will send my camera back to Canon for ANYTHING unless it's just plain DEAD, and under warranty. Easier to just do it yourself, or buy replacement. Sigh.
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| DavidNewland PRO Mon 3rd Jul 2006 14:17
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DragonSpeed,
We all hate having little dots in our images.
I googled around for ages trying to find the best tool for the job and went with visible dust purely by their reputation - I dont work for them !!
Basically it looks like a small paint brush which you very lightly brush over the exposed sensor.
If you can see the dust itself then better still !
If you ever saw my double rainbow pic http://www.fotothing.com/DavidNewland/photo/ec0d8245cd3d3bb125c4b849593818d1/start=219&oldest=first
( you can imagine how big those b@$t@rd dots were at full resolution !! )
It took me about 4 light sweeps with the sensor brush, took another photo and it was SPOTLESS ( no pun intended )
Absolutely 100% dust free.
I noticed a tiny spec under one of my recent parrot shots so I'll brush that off tonight too.
I cant recommend those little godsend brushes enough to you or any canon dslr user !!
If you need any advice I have a webcam and can show you how to do a sensor clean the best I can alright ?
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| PhotoPro PRO Mon 3rd Jul 2006 20:18
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Originally posted by DavidNewland:
I cant recommend those little godsend brushes enough to you or any canon dslr user !!
I'm glad they work so far for you David. But I wouldn't dream of using a brush that is just going to move the dust to somewhere else in the body of the camera. If the dust "sticks" to the brush, how do you ever know it will be clean? I also would think that even if the brush is "treated" anti-static that eventually the treatment will wear off and the dust will adhere.
As long as it works for you, great. For me I will continue to use the disposible pads only after I have "blown out" my camera with the Giotto, if it still needs it. I'm using the same system that Nikon service uses and couldn't be happier.
So whatever works, I guess. :))
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| jomoud PRO Tue 4th Jul 2006 03:07
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Brian:
I am pissed off with the run around you got.
I know you put the rant on your blog
I took the liberty of finding the Canon Canada customer complaint site, and sent them an email with your blog with the following header above it:
This following has now been posted on a worldwide photo blog site, whose membership buys and influences others in their buying decissions.
From my blog..... http://free-blog-site.com/dragonspeed/archive/2006/06/30/93437.aspx
An open letter to Canon Canada
Dear Canon,
etc etc etc
John
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| DragonSpeed PRO Tue 4th Jul 2006 04:08
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Thanks John.
And David and PP - I looked at the sensor. it's definitely not visible dust specks. I'll see if I can find my "proof" shot to show you the look though. Ouch.
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| PhotoPro PRO Tue 4th Jul 2006 13:43
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Originally posted by DragonSpeed:
it's definitely not visible dust specks
DS my dust spots were not ever visible to me on the sensor, it was only on the photos they looked huge. Again, I have cleaned huge artifacts off the sensor that I cannot see with the naked eye, a magnifying glass and a bright light - so I'm not surprised if you don't see them. Hopefully dust is all it is!!
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| DavidNewland PRO Tue 4th Jul 2006 14:11
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PhotoPro >> " But I wouldn't dream of using a brush that is just going to move the dust to somewhere else in the body of the camera. If the dust "sticks" to the brush, how do you ever know it will be clean? I also would think that even if the brush is "treated" anti-static that eventually the treatment will wear off and the dust will adhere. "
I have a giotti rocket air blower ( the big one ) and used it a few times - it shifted a couple of the smaller spots but never big ones !
http://www.visibledust.com/technology.php?TCID=1 ( this explains how the brushes work, complete with diagrams if you were curious ! )
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| jomoud PRO Tue 4th Jul 2006 14:49
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interesting stuff.
DS check this link as well: http://www.visibledust.com/technology.php?TCID=4
It contains a special warning for Canon owners, with additional instructions.
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| PhotoPro PRO Tue 4th Jul 2006 16:29
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I found this site very informational:
http://www.cleaningdigitalcameras.com/index.html
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| saxophonegirl Tue 4th Jul 2006 17:40
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That sucks.
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| DragonSpeed PRO Tue 4th Jul 2006 20:35
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Originally posted by saxophonegirl:
That sucks.
I just called them today.
"Sorry sir", that serial number isn't in the system yet. 3 WEEKS after shipping!! :( I think my retailer is going to hate me soon ;)
It's compact digital for now, but I really missed the real camera for the hummingbird and mountain scenery shots :(
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| Lenster PRO Sat 8th Jul 2006 05:37
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If I have problems with a relatively new camera (or anything new for that matter) and get the run-around from the manufaturer I just buy another one and return the old one in the new box. If the retailer tracks serial numbers then a little body swap is needed if possible so always pay in cash and have very small tools on hand. I figure the manufacturer is going to have to fix it anyway and this way I am not without my camera. Why should I suffer with their defective product and be put out by waiting for them to fix what should be replaced?
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| DragonSpeed PRO Fri 14th Jul 2006 04:12
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I finally heard from Canon today. I got the estimate to clean the sensor. $160.00 It had better come back REALLY clean :)
I wonder how long it will take for them to do the work, and get it back to me now. :(
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