03-30-2011, 02:54 PM
My experiences vary - I assume we don't have stick to lens manufacturers.
Tamron
About 5 years ago I owned a Tamron zoom 17-50 and it never autofocussed properly. I sent the thing in and got it back after about 2 months. I figured that if I can't use a new lens for 2 months, and there's a risk of it having further problems, it was too much of pain to keep, so I sold it.
In themselves, Tamron lenses can be good or even great, but for me it's too risky to have a lens I need for work in the repair shop for 2 months.
Canon
In one shop in Berlin, the staff were extremely arrogant and unhelpful - I had to practically threaten them with a lawyer before they took my old Canon in to fix the focus problems and clean the dirt off the centre (it was 3 months old). It took about5 weeks, and I didn't notice any improvement when I got it back.
Just last year I visited a different Canon service centre with my 5D MK II, and they checked the camera and sensor, gave everything a clean-up and blow-out, all without charge.
Basically, I prefer to just live with small problems on Canon equipment, because I can't be bothered with the hassle and waiting weeks where I might have to hire gear for work because mine is in repair.
Sigma
Had a Sigma lens years ago with a mechanical problem, and it took weeks to repair. Like Tamron, they can make decent gear, but if you have a problem it can mean your working gear is not available for several weeks.
Zeiss
I've never had any reason to contact their service department. <img src='http://forum.photozone.de/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='
' />
Metz
I own two Metz flashes, and one of them got the foot broken off after someone tripped over a cable. I phoned Metz, and instead of asking me to send it in to repairs or buy a new unit, the woman from the technical department actually treated me like an intelligent person: she said I could repair it myself! I was sent a replacement part 2 days later (18 euros) and I fitted it myself following that nice woman's instructions.
First class service, and a German company!
In general, I think the repair turnaround time is the biggest problem with most photographic equipment companies. It's not acceptable to wait more than 2 weeks for a repair, and for working photographers it can mean extra costs if you have to hire similar equipment in that time.
These days I try to only buy equipment where I'm fairly convinced that it's been through a proper quality control and will not have any major problems - that said, even cheaper products should still have good quality control.
Tamron
About 5 years ago I owned a Tamron zoom 17-50 and it never autofocussed properly. I sent the thing in and got it back after about 2 months. I figured that if I can't use a new lens for 2 months, and there's a risk of it having further problems, it was too much of pain to keep, so I sold it.
In themselves, Tamron lenses can be good or even great, but for me it's too risky to have a lens I need for work in the repair shop for 2 months.
Canon
In one shop in Berlin, the staff were extremely arrogant and unhelpful - I had to practically threaten them with a lawyer before they took my old Canon in to fix the focus problems and clean the dirt off the centre (it was 3 months old). It took about5 weeks, and I didn't notice any improvement when I got it back.
Just last year I visited a different Canon service centre with my 5D MK II, and they checked the camera and sensor, gave everything a clean-up and blow-out, all without charge.
Basically, I prefer to just live with small problems on Canon equipment, because I can't be bothered with the hassle and waiting weeks where I might have to hire gear for work because mine is in repair.
Sigma
Had a Sigma lens years ago with a mechanical problem, and it took weeks to repair. Like Tamron, they can make decent gear, but if you have a problem it can mean your working gear is not available for several weeks.
Zeiss
I've never had any reason to contact their service department. <img src='http://forum.photozone.de/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='
' /> Metz
I own two Metz flashes, and one of them got the foot broken off after someone tripped over a cable. I phoned Metz, and instead of asking me to send it in to repairs or buy a new unit, the woman from the technical department actually treated me like an intelligent person: she said I could repair it myself! I was sent a replacement part 2 days later (18 euros) and I fitted it myself following that nice woman's instructions.
First class service, and a German company!
In general, I think the repair turnaround time is the biggest problem with most photographic equipment companies. It's not acceptable to wait more than 2 weeks for a repair, and for working photographers it can mean extra costs if you have to hire similar equipment in that time.
These days I try to only buy equipment where I'm fairly convinced that it's been through a proper quality control and will not have any major problems - that said, even cheaper products should still have good quality control.