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You guys are just going to have to wait to see pictures of my jack-o-melon (melo-lantern?). My camera's not too happy right now, and I'm going to have to go back to film for the time being (thank goodness my old Olympus still has juicy full batteries). Which adds delays (like waiting to finish the roll (even a 12 exposure roll!) and waiting for it to be processed) to photography. I hope I can survive. My favorite thing about digital cameras is the instant gratification. But if we stick together I think we can all manage.
My poor camera. All I did was drop it on the beach... I always drop cameras on the beach! But strangely, I never drop them anywhere else. I don't know if it's a medical condition or merely a signature move, but every camera I've ever had (and there has been a fair number) has been dropped on the beach. This is the first one to suffer for it. Some sand got lodged inside of it, and now the lens is stuck halfway open. Poo. So I cut out from work early on Thursday to take it to Sacramento's #1 camera shop. (Their repairman is only there on Mondays and Thursdays.) They took a look at it, decided that it would have to be sent back to Pentax for repair, and gave me an estimate of $200 since it would have to be completely disassembled.
$200! I can get a new one on amazon which has more megapixels for only slightly more than that! I decided I needed a second opinion. Especially considering that if they were just going to send it in to Pentax, I might as well do that on my own. So I spelunked around in my closet until I found all the information that came with it. One of their regional repair facilities is in Sacramento, so I phoned them. But I guess they aren't a part of Pentax, but are just contracted by them. They said I could bring my camera in, but that they charge a $20 diagnosis fee. I don't want to pay $20 only to decide that it isn't worthwhile to fix it!
So next I called customer's service at Pentax. This was much more encouraging. They don't charge a diagnosis fee, I just have to send it in to their service center in Colorado. And they guy on the phone seemed to think that if it just needed to be taken apart and cleaned it would be relatively cheap. But before proceeding with any repairs, they tell you what the estimate is, and will ship the broken camera back to you if you decide that's too much. Seems pretty decent. So since I had nothing to lose (except $2.50 for shipping), I shipped it to Colorado. Cross your fingers that it will be a cheap repair!
Because if it isn't, I'll be in a quandary. If fixing it is a substantial percentage of the price of a new camera, then I really don't have much incentive to fix it. But it kills me to succumb to such a wasteful argument. I hate how Americans are living in a more and more disposable culture. (I even wash and reuse my ziplock bags!) [Mitzi says: kjjjjjjjjtgfhyuuuuuuu] So who knows. Maybe I will even pay $200 for a repair, if only to protect my camera from the trash. John says that he believes Nikon has some kind of deal where they'll repair a camera free of charge and then donate it to some organization. That way you won't have to pay for a repair that might not be in your economic best interest, but the camera isn't chucked either. That would be nice. But the customer's service guy said he hadn't heard of programs like that. I wonder if they have any recycling possibilities. Maybe I can let them keep it and salvage parts from it for new cameras? Here's hoping my camera will live on, in some capacity or other!
My poor camera. All I did was drop it on the beach... I always drop cameras on the beach! But strangely, I never drop them anywhere else. I don't know if it's a medical condition or merely a signature move, but every camera I've ever had (and there has been a fair number) has been dropped on the beach. This is the first one to suffer for it. Some sand got lodged inside of it, and now the lens is stuck halfway open. Poo. So I cut out from work early on Thursday to take it to Sacramento's #1 camera shop. (Their repairman is only there on Mondays and Thursdays.) They took a look at it, decided that it would have to be sent back to Pentax for repair, and gave me an estimate of $200 since it would have to be completely disassembled.
$200! I can get a new one on amazon which has more megapixels for only slightly more than that! I decided I needed a second opinion. Especially considering that if they were just going to send it in to Pentax, I might as well do that on my own. So I spelunked around in my closet until I found all the information that came with it. One of their regional repair facilities is in Sacramento, so I phoned them. But I guess they aren't a part of Pentax, but are just contracted by them. They said I could bring my camera in, but that they charge a $20 diagnosis fee. I don't want to pay $20 only to decide that it isn't worthwhile to fix it!
So next I called customer's service at Pentax. This was much more encouraging. They don't charge a diagnosis fee, I just have to send it in to their service center in Colorado. And they guy on the phone seemed to think that if it just needed to be taken apart and cleaned it would be relatively cheap. But before proceeding with any repairs, they tell you what the estimate is, and will ship the broken camera back to you if you decide that's too much. Seems pretty decent. So since I had nothing to lose (except $2.50 for shipping), I shipped it to Colorado. Cross your fingers that it will be a cheap repair!
Because if it isn't, I'll be in a quandary. If fixing it is a substantial percentage of the price of a new camera, then I really don't have much incentive to fix it. But it kills me to succumb to such a wasteful argument. I hate how Americans are living in a more and more disposable culture. (I even wash and reuse my ziplock bags!) [Mitzi says: kjjjjjjjjtgfhyuuuuuuu] So who knows. Maybe I will even pay $200 for a repair, if only to protect my camera from the trash. John says that he believes Nikon has some kind of deal where they'll repair a camera free of charge and then donate it to some organization. That way you won't have to pay for a repair that might not be in your economic best interest, but the camera isn't chucked either. That would be nice. But the customer's service guy said he hadn't heard of programs like that. I wonder if they have any recycling possibilities. Maybe I can let them keep it and salvage parts from it for new cameras? Here's hoping my camera will live on, in some capacity or other!
posted by Meg at
8:36 AM
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