BEWARE! Canon Warranty & Dealers

Canon EOS 10D Digital SLR Camera

- What you may need to know if you are considering a purchase of this or ANY Canon camera-

Beware this camera and Canon's warranty!! - See the pictures below!

I am a great fan of Canon cameras and equipment. I have owned and used a number of digital cameras, most recently before purchasing the EOS 10D a Canon Powershot G2. The G2 is a fantastic camera and I used it for nearly a year. However, I did want something with more capabilities - most specifically that could use 35mm type lenses so I could get telephoto and other shots that just aren't possible with a "point and shoot" like the G2, despite its great capabilities.

When I saw the reviews for the Canon EOS 10D Digital SLR in some photographic magazines (PHOTOgraphic and Shutterbug) I knew the time had come to move up. At the time (early May, 2003) there was a 2 - 3 week waiting list just about anywhere. The street price was $1,500. for the camera body only; if one wanted to pay $2,000., there were plenty available immediately. But, with LOTS of phone calls and Internet searches I finally located one in stock at the "street price" at TriState Camera & Video in New York. I ordered it and was thrilled when it arrived. It took fully two weeks to gradually assemble all of the lenses and accessories I wanted for it and it was a real thrill to actually get started with it and see what all it could do. I was not disappointed - it's a great camera. Well, when it works, it is...

If you are considering a Canon 10D, you may want to seriously consider my experience with this one!

I used the camera for about 2 weeks with no problems. I shot nearly 2,500 pictures - many just to get the feel of it and learn the techniques to get good extreme close-ups (as you see in may of the Gallery shots on this site). Most of the pictures I take are outdoors. I think it is reasonable to expect that a camera will be built in such a way as to be useable outdoors. I live in Louisiana and it is hot and humid here. I've had a lot of digital cameras before and have never experienced a problem using them outdoors in the hear and even with having some perspiration get on them... there is no shortage of perspiration on a humid 90 degree day in Louisiana!

One day, using the camera outdoors at about 85 degrees and perspiring, the camera started focusing erratically, displayed the "ERR99" error message (meaning something undefined is wrong) and then just quit working. A call to Canon's tech support resulted in my packing the camera and shipping it the next day to Canon Factory Service for what I was sure would be a warranty repair on this brand new camera. I shipped the camera on a Saturday; they received it the following Monday; just over a week later I got the bad news... $500.00 to fix the camera!!

According to Canon, the camera had been severely water damaged and required extensive work to repair it. The damage was not covered by warranty and, in fact, voided the warranty.

Here I will note that I do understand how to take care of a camera. No problems with previous camera used in a similar fashion - though I did treat this one a bit more gingerly. And I didn't spend over $4,500.00 on camera, accessories, and lenses to mistreat it!

I would also like to note that the people at Canon Factory Service were EXTREMELY nice and courteous. I explained to them that I knew I hadn't subjected the camera to water. I also explained that there might be a perspiration-on-the-camera issue, however, any reasonably well made camera should be constructed in such a way as to allow for this and have measures to attempt to prevent the entry of moisture into the camera. Therefore, my reasoning was that there was a defect in the camera and it should be repaired under warranty because:

• I didn't subject it to any amount of liquids
• I did perspire and my hands were somewhat wet as I was using the camera at times. The camera should be designed to resist this limited amount of moisture.
• Possibly the camera had been subjected to moisture at some point in the manufacture or distribution process.

Canon Factory Service provided me with the first two pictures below documenting the internal corrosion of the camera. I was absolutely stunned! Their contention was that the camera had been subjected to a LOT of liquid which caused the corrosion. After seeing the pictures, I was forced to agree with their point on that. However, I maintained, I simply hadn't had the camera long enough to get it that corroded nor had I subjected it to any large amount of moisture. I asked how long it would take for it to corrode that much? They don't know; they don't care; it is corroded and that's the end of the story. According to them, it did not (could not) happen in the manufacturing process and if it happened in the distribution chain, that wasn't their problem. - Does this mean no one should buy a Canon camera from anyone but Canon if they want to be assured their warranty will cover it? But, Canon doesn't sell directly! So who is responsible for warranty coverage of their products? I guess that's up to whatever Canon decides they are willing to cover!

I requested Canon send me damaged items that they were replacing so I could make more effort to determine the cause of this damage. While they did send me the parts (pictured below) they just cleaned up the corrosion on the frame and did not provide a sample that I was hoping to have analyzed to determine exactly what liquid had done the damage. The end result is I now have a "new" $1,500. camera with an additional $500. in repairs and corroded and cleaned parts inside as well as some new parts.

In looking at the corrosion on the other parts returned, I can only conclude that it would not have been possible for me to corrode the camera this much this quickly. I can also say that if, somehow, my perspiration got into the camera, it shouldn't have and that was defective product engineering. In any event, if you are planning on this type of camera - consider carefully before choosing Canon if you plan to use the camera in any situations where you might break a sweat! And maybe you should thoroughly check the camera when you get it - if there is any damage and it is not immediately apparent, Canon may not cover it in their warranty process!

There is even some question (at least for me) as to whether I have any warranty remaining on my camera. While the Canon Factory Service representative I've spoken with say the rest of the warranty remains in effect, the billing I received plainly states "Unit was found to have water damage. Condition voids warranty."