20D Lament

TheOtherBob · Jun 17, 2008

So today I sent my 20D to the Canon Service Center in New Jersey -- we'll see if they can fix it. The camera would still "take" pictures (e.g. the shutter would fire and I think the images would write to the "buffer" or something like that) -- but it couldn't record them to the memory card or show them on the LCD. None of the menus would work, either -- so no option of loading firmware or anything fancy like that to try to fix it.

But here's the lament part: it stopped working while standing in some ancient Roman ruins just outside of Budapest.

With five days left in the vacation.

So I saw some beautiful sights in Budapest - a night tour down the Danube - a trip to the Gellert Hotel and Gellert Hill - Buda Castle...and...yeah, I know that the memories are still great without actual photographic records, but...argh!

Now I have to wait to find out how much it would cost to repair the thing. (It's 14 months old -- so just out of warranty, of course.) If it's too much, I may just upgrade to a 40D, given the sale -- though at the moment, the rash inclination is to sell all the Canon lenses and move to Nikon... I know I just got unlucky with this one, but...well, the whole thing just sucked.

Also thinking that the next vacation should involve some sort of backup camera! Even my old 2mp Hewlett Packard from the late 90's would have been better than nothing.

Anyways, here's one pic from in Budapest the day we got there -- before "the incident" out in Aquincum: http://www.flickr.com/photos/7734937@N07/2585886579/

Big Mike · Jun 17, 2008

Sorry to hear that.

I've got a couple 20Ds and haven't had any serious problems (knock on wood). I even got my first one soaked while in the rain forest in Costa Rica. It fogged up on the inside of the screen for a few days but kept working and hasn't missed a beat since.

Moglex · Jun 17, 2008

I really feel for you.

It's aweful being surrounded by beautiful sights and not being able to record them.

With high quality compacts being so small, light and flexible nowadays I would have thought that carrying one as a backup would be a better bet than scrapping all your Canon gear.

Just remember to make sure you have enough spare power and memory for it should it suddenly become te main 'workhorse'.

TheOtherBob · Jun 17, 2008

Moglex said:
With high quality compacts being so small, light and flexible nowadays I would have thought that carrying one as a backup would be a better bet than scrapping all your Canon gear.

A definite "lesson learned."

(And I'm not really going to scrap all my gear -- though there was a brief temptation to chuck it into the Danube at one point. :lol:

)

JerryPH · Jun 17, 2008

Sadly, you are about the 8th or 9th person that I know who's 20D has died around the 1 year mark. Is Canon having some issues with this model?

Big Mike · Jun 17, 2008

Is Canon having some issues with this model?

Not that I've ever heard.

It is a 4 year old model now...and it was probably one of the best selling mid level DSLR cameras...so I'm sure there are many, many of them out there. 99% of them working just fine.

TheOtherBob · Jun 17, 2008

JerryPH said:
Is Canon having some issues with this model?

It's possible, and if anyone has heard about that I'd be interested to know. But my guess is that it was just bad luck.

Jon, The Elder · Jun 17, 2008

Is Canon having some issues with this model?

One person on one little forum has a malfunctioning camera.

Reality anyone?

Senor Hound · Jun 17, 2008

Big Mike said:
Sorry to hear that.

I've got a couple 20Ds and haven't had any serious problems (knock on wood). I even got my first one soaked while in the rain forest in Costa Rica. It fogged up on the inside of the screen for a few days but kept working and hasn't missed a beat since.

My boss carries a point and shoot with him when he goes out to Utah (Moab). He uses it out there cause the enclosed body is better with all the dust flying around and whatnot.

That really sucks about your camera, OP. I can definitely understand the desire to jump ship after such a horrible experience, but I have a feeling it was just bad luck. Without having any info to support it, I would assume Canon has one of the better customer satisfaction ratings in the industry, so I have a feeling you wouldn't be able to get much better.

Also, I hate how companies have such short warranties nowadays. They say its to lower the costs, but their lens warranties are longer, so I see it as them basically saying they don't trust their equipment to last longer than 52 weeks. But they all do it, so what are you gonna do?

TheOtherBob · Jun 20, 2008

Well, it looks like Canon is estimating that it will take $330.55 to repair. I have no experience in these things -- that might be a low number as camera repair goes, but to me it seems like a lot.

I'm wondering if it's worthwhile to fix it -- especially since I've been planning to upgrade to either a 40D or 5D at some point in the next couple of years (and could afford to do so now). This could be the opportunity to make a move. At the same time...well, I'm still ticked off at the whole situation -- and the thought of buying a new Canon to replace one that just lasted a year...I know I'm being irrational, but it doesn't sit well. I know that the fact that my Canon was junk doesn't mean that all Canons are junk...but, as illogical as it is, it's hard to shake that feeling. :lol: