Extended warranty

[Skychurch]

There are a number of options on the market for extended warranties for new cameras. My wife and I decided to get a Canon Rebel XT to replace our old EOS 630.

At the local camera shop, they told us that the camera would cost us $700 and a 5 year extended warranty would cost us another $550. The man at the camera shop basically tried to convince us that to buy a camera of this quality and not get the extended warranty was a very bad idea.

I guess the questions that first come to mind are,

1) is the Canon Rebel XT really that bad that it needs an extended warranty and
2) At $550, this almost makes the Rebel XT a disposable camera as the warranty is almost as much as a new camera.

I have been searching this forum and haven't found much on extended warranties. Are most people not getting the warranties?

Also, the man at the counter told me that the CMOS needs cleaning once a year and that will cost about $70. He told me that this cleaning needs to be done by a professional.

Elsewhere, I have seen DSLR cleaners for sale implying that this can be done by the consumer. Are people finding that they can clean their DSLRs themselves?

Any advise would be greatly appreciated.

Regards,
Jim

 

[Big Mike]

Welcome to the forum.

First of all, I suggest finding a new camera shop. Sounds like this guy is trying to soak you. $550 for an extended warranty is absolutely ridiculous (from what I've heard, most of that goes right to the salesman anyway).

The camera should come with a one year Canon warranty, that should be good enough. While this camera is not as robust as the more expensive models...it's not a toy. If you take care of it, it should last you many years.

Do you have home insurance? My home insurance covers my personal camera gear (a few thousand dollars worth). Further to that, for a few dollars a month, I have a ryder for my photo gear so that it has a much lower deductible than the rest of my home & possessions.

The sensor will need to be cleaned from time to time. Occasionally, all you need to do, is to displace the dust that gets on it. Less often, you may need to actually clean the sensor. You do have to be careful but you can certainly do it yourself. Google 'sensor cleaning' for products and techniques.

I hope that answers your questions.

 

[el_shorty]

Two years ago I bought the Nikon F100 from Ritz Camera, and I bought a two year warranty, it was about $150, then six months later I dropped the camera from a moving car going about 40 mph, took the camera completely destroyed back to the store, and because they couln't fix it they gave me a new camera, but the lens was lost because I didn't have a warranty on it.
If your home insurance doesn't cover your camera gear, I would suggest that you at least get a two year warranty.

 

[Big Mike]

I guess it depends on what the warranty covers. If it covers all perils, like dropping from a car...that's definitely better than if it only covers manufacturer's defects etc.

What it should cover, is being obsolete...in 5 years time, there will probably be three new upgraded models.

 

[rmh159]

LOL that's awesome... I would think it's only common sense that if your style of photography includes hanging the camera out of a car doing 40mph a warranty would be worthwhile... or at least a good neck strap.

I agree with Big Mike though. I'm always VERY suspicious of sales people that will dismiss your ability to do something yourself. For all he knows... you're a very experienced photographer who cleans sensors regularly??? It's good to give opinion and suggestions but it sounds like he's trying to take advantage.

You could easily shop around and then you should see quickly what's "reasonable" for pricing.

... then six months later I dropped the camera from a moving car going about 40 mph

 

[Boltthrower]

I know that this is probably going to be a really bad analogy

I look at extended warranties like I look at car insurance.
(besides it being the law)
I have car insurance just incase I get into an accident.
and the extended warranty is just incase something happens.

and that's my 2 lincolns

 

[Big Mike]

I think the important part of car insurance is the liability. It's there in case you damage someones property or hurt someone. It either case, the claim paid out would probably be quite a lot. Yes, collision insurance is kind of like an extended warranty...but a lot of people find it better to skip the collision insurance and just pay out of pocket...if they need to.

To me, a warranty should cover you if anything goes wrong that is not your fault...like if it was made poorly or something broke during normal use. Insurance should cover things like theft or accidental breakage.

I guess a good extended warranty is a lot like insurance...but for $550, you could probably pay for a lot of insurance.

 

[Oldfireguy]

I am pro extended warranty but not for five years. Most of us don't keep a camera that long. One or two years after the manufacture's warranty runs out would seem to be more practical.

I've had one camera replaced with a newer model, a computer system replaced with a newer model, and countless fixes on an automobile with extended warrantys so for me they have paid for themselves.

Sometimes they don't.

 

[LWW]

For an extended warranty to be worthwhile it must:

A-cover what is likely to happen.
B-cost a small fraction of the price of the unit.

IOW, let's say the lifespan on average of the camera is 7 years...I know many last 20 years, but some die in 2 also...and the unit costs $700.00.

In that scenario $100-$150 to extend a warranty from 1 to 5 years makes some sense. I'm not saying it's a great deal, but it isn't a ripoff either if it truly offers good coverage.

If you are the type that cleans the camera after every use with a dustbulb and always keep it in a case or padded bag it may not be worth it. If you aren't and/or use it the rain, rockclimbing, in snowstorms, eycetera then it makes more sense.

At $550 on a $700 camera I wouldn't even consider it. My $0.02. YMMV.

LWW

 

[Torus34]

You can check extended warrantee prices for reasonable-ness by comparing them to those offered by the major houses such as B&H and Adorama.