Well, I'm so solly you couldn't recover the ransom, Amelican fry-boy. As it sez in the 3rd edit of the review on Amazon, they refunded it...essentially extending their warranty. But I ran up against a stone wall until I stated that I'd written a "rather scathing review of Canon's alleged support" and that I could add Amazon to that review. All of a sudden I was put on hold and a minute or so later, the rep came back and told me that they'd refund the amount Canon charged me.
So, yeah, I got a fair deal from Amazon after a veiled threat to besmirch their name as I'd done with Canon. Apparently the rep and maybe a supervisor saw what I'd written and decided that $100 was a small amount to keep outta the mud-slinging.
I'm still pissed at Canon, but I appreciate the gesture from Amazon. As soon as I get that lens back, I'm gonna disable the lens lock somehow so it can't be engaged and broken again. And it could have been salved so easily. Tsk, tsk.
RtR At 07:56 PM 1/22/2010, you wrote:
That's rough, Ray. I agree that Canon should have fixed your lens, no questions asked. I ran into the same type of problem with Nikon years ago. I had a 50mm f/1.8, and about 32 minutes after the warranty ran out, a large chunk of anti-reflectionj material came loose from inside the lens, obviously a faulty application. I sent it in, and they told me essentially the same thing you got told. ( Sooo solly, Amelican plick!) We aren't any of the "Big Names" in photo...far from it, we just belong to the group who keep those companies in business, but, do they acknowledge that? No way! Soooo...what' s a guy to do? I paid the extortion, too. I was into the Nikon system by then, or I would have gone back to Pentax. (I still don't think that's such a bad idea....) We needed our lenses,and they had us over a barrel. It sounds as if you got a fair deal from Amazon, tho, so all's well.Cheers, C. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Ray Buck" <rbuck@xxxxxxxxxxxx> To: ratpack@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Sent: Friday, January 22, 2010 5:58:07 PM GMT -07:00 US/Canada Mountain Subject: [ratpack] Update on the Canon lens repair nightmare I got exactly nowhere with the Canon service center. I finally caved in and paid the ransom to get it fixed because I need that lens. Their standard line is: "we don't warranty broken parts." That's a verbatim quote from one of the gatekeepers I talked to. So: I suggest that if anyone is considering the 18-200mm EF-S lens, fuggedaboudit. Furthermore, I'd suggest that any Canon lens be carefully examined to ensure that it doesn't have the same style of lens lock. I wouldn't buy one with that style. I'm very displeased with Canon. I love their cameras, and most of their products are good. But this particular issue has left them with a black eye that, in my opinion, could have been avoided very easily. Here's the review I put on amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/review/R24DWL3BGIV66T/ref=cm_cr_pr_viewpnt#R24DWL3BGIV66T I'm gonna go looking for some other places to disparage their name. RtR
