Back in April, I posted about how Canon called me with an estimate on my repair for the 10D. The estimate cost me $150, which I had to go in and pay in cash because I didn’t have a credit card of their choice. The standard service window for Canon is 10 to 15 days after you have approved the estimate. Being optimistic, I was hoping to get the 10D back before my exhibit opening (which would have been 10 days after the estimate) , or at least before my trip (which would have been just under 15 days after the estimate) But neither happen.
For anyone paying attention, you may have noticed that I have been shooting with a Canon 20D the past few weeks. It’s true, I had borrowed my father 20D for the trip to San Diego and Mexico. It’s a nice camera, but I really wanted my own camera again. It was already passed the 15 day service window, and I began to wonder if I should have used the money towards a new camera instead of a repair. So last Friday, I finally got a call from Canon saying that my camera was ready for pickup. Excited, I made my way over, just getting to their service facility in Mississauga before their closing time at 5pm.
So I get there and my 10D is not ready for pick up, in fact the mirror assembly that they need to fix my 10D is still on backorder. Instead, the service woman pulls a box out of the cabinet with my service tag on it. The box reads “20D”
Yes, I felt the very same way, I was dumbstruck. I had heard so many horror stories about Canon’s Service division that I would have been grateful to get my camera back in one piece, but basically Canon upgraded me from a 10D to a 20D for a mere $150 service estimate because they couldn’t fix my camera in a reasonable amount of time. My only beef about this situation is that now I have a 10D battery grip, which I picked up 3 month ago, which is now useless to me.
So if your paying attention to flickr tags or blog categories, “Canon 20D” is the new tag in town, and it wouldn’t be dissappearing any time soon.
UPDATE : Called Canon today regarding my orphaned 10D grip. They went ahead an exchanged my 10D battery grip for the 20D battery grip. So now I’m all set to shoot again.
Holy crap! That’s a sweet deal! Now, all you need is for them to call you up in a few weeks and say “Yeah, we’ve fixed your 10d, it’s ready for pickup”… which I’ve seen happen before as well.
You lucky, lucky man.
That is one lucky score. Is it a refurbished model? I’ve heard their policy is to replace damaged cameras with refurbs – even week-old camera with a manufacturer’s defect. Either way, lucky lucky.
that is cool rannie; i always applaud good customer service considering how rare it is.
Sweet! I’m in the process of breaking my G5 and sending it in for service…
Cool! Same thing happened to my A70. Canon replaced with a new model because they couldn’t get the spare part on time.
Lucky bastard!
I am actually getting the 20d or rebel xt this week. I have the d70 now and Lyle has the 20d and we want to share lenses and stuff… Actually if you know anyone who wants a d70 w/ a few lenes, point them in my direction because it will be on ebay (and my film camera the N80 will be as well)!
A little note about the Rebel XT
I found out this weekend that the lithium battery for the XT is actually a different model than the 20D … it may become a deciding factor.
I was surprised it was different, because all the Canon G series and all other DSLRs use the same battery except the XT
I had Canon 20D, and had a water spread inside the camera to make the LCD not work a year ago. do you think I can send to CANON’s Mississauga office to fix it??
coz, I scare they will charge me a high amount (expensive) and still can’t fix it. so, do you think I can as lucky as you did? or your case is very special? do you think I should try to send to them and fix it? how much they charge for?
Dorothy
If you send in your Camera to Canon, they will give you an estimate before they start any work on the camera. They will not start any work without you approving this estimate.