Lens repair

[Dave]

Well I just received the invoice estimate for the repair cost for my Canon 100-400mm... £225

"DISMANTLE TO REPLACE OUTER FRICTION RING AND RESET OPTICS TO BEST POINT."

This £90 for the repair it's self, £97 for parts, £8 for carriage and insurance and a VAT of £30.

Costly! I might be able to claim something back with the £100 insurance I have on the lens however the chances are theres probably some small print stating that repairs can not be claimed from insurance.  Bad times!

[Paultojo]

Bad news mate give these guys a go http://www.fixationuk.com/Fixation/Repairs.html got a couple of good reports

Paul

[Snoop55]

Well I just received the invoice estimate for the repair cost for my Canon 100-400mm... £225

"DISMANTLE TO REPLACE OUTER FRICTION RING AND RESET OPTICS TO BEST POINT."

Ouch,

I was thinking about getting my checked out as I've a bad habit of tightening the ring then needing to quickly change the zoom and forcing it rather than releasing it first.  I think I'll wait another while before getting it looked at.

[Dave]

Thanks Paul, I will keep bookmark that website as to be honest, I have little faith in my 100-400 remaining in good condition once it returns.

Snoop, I believe mime outer friction ring started loosening whenever I had the lens in my bag with the hood attached to it (albeit inwards, facing towards the camera). Lessons learn't although it is apparently a common problem with the 100-400.

Is it worth all the hassle... maybe a 70-200mm F4 and a 300mm Prime would be a good alternate to the 100-400mm.

Thanks chaps for the input!

Dave

[Squad 701]

Hi Dave,
Having an 70-200f4 IS and a 300f4 IS, I still think generally if your going to be doing a lot of spotting trip's the 100-400L is maybe a better choice than having to change lenses a lot. The 300f4 IS is great for Bizjet's in Dublin (once it's not a G4/5 - too long) or angled shot's of smaller airliner's.
But there wouldn't be a huge amount in the quality for what's involved and the cost, remember I got the 300f4 partially for Birdwathching with a 1.4 teleconverter.
The 70-200f4 IS is perfect for Dublin, but I think worlwide the 100-400L is the most used Canon L aviation lens.
Cheer's.

Squad 701

PS- Have a look at the larger size of the Ryanair and Iberia shot's taken at EIDW yesterday with the 300mmf4, you only get one chance with the tight cropping involved as they get close enough for decent detail.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/squad701/

[Dave]

The Iberia and Ryanair shots are quality shots although getting only one chance for a shot makes things a lot more difficult. The quality of the shots produced seem to outweigh the extra hassle.

I'll wait for the 100-400mm to come back from repairs and try it out before making any decisions. To be honest, I'm just fed up of the bad copy I have of the 100-400mm which serves me right for buying it second hand.

Thanks for the replies guys

Dave

[Dave]

Well I had the lens arrive yesterday, a day after I had left for a MAN trip. Anyhow when getting home this evening, the first thing I notice when taking the lens out of the box... the friction locking mechanism still does not work, despite them purchasing a new one, costing me £95 for the new part. Bad workmanship? I'm quite annoyed over it  It will have to be returned to them so they can fix it properly!

[casper]

Sorry to hear that Dave, was it Canon that did the repair?

[Angry Turnip]

I would send it straight back and tell them if it`s not fixed properly (for free) you will take legal action.
Sounds to me like you have been charged for a part that has not been provided.

Are there no camera repair shops in Dublin for example rather than the hassle and expense of sending to the UK?

[Dave]

Sorry to hear that Dave, was it Canon that did the repair?

It was an Canon authorised Repair Centre so I'd have expected the lens back almost as good as new.

I would send it straight back and tell them if it`s not fixed properly (for free) you will take legal action.
Sounds to me like you have been charged for a part that has not been provided.

Are there no camera repair shops in Dublin for example rather than the hassle and expense of sending to the UK?

I sent them an email yesterday and they sent their apologies and asked me to send it back to them and they'll check over it and refund the postage costs. I hope they list it as high priority whenever they receieve it, rather than putting it in a queue and first examining it 2 weeks later. I need the lens for a Madrid trip in mid October. 

There's a repair centre in Dublin however they told me they would send the lens off to the repair centre in England so either way, the lens has to be sent over to the UK.

Also there's a Royal Mail postal strike this week... maybe have to use Parcel Force or DHL somehow.

[Angry Turnip]

Hope you get it resolved ASAP -don`t forget Parcelforce are part of Royal Mail so best avoided for the time being.
DHL,TNT or UPS might be a better bet.

As far as I can recall only TNT and UPS over a 24hr delievery to/from UK to Northern Ireland,I think DHL is 48hrs but I maybe wrong.

[Dave]

Thanks for the heads up. I just checked the Royal Mail website and they mention that packages sent with the Special Delivery ™ guarantee will be delivered the following day so looks like I'll be using them again.

I wonder if the repair company will add any little freebe's for such a stunning mess up. I'm amazed at how the lens could be returned incorrectly fixed.